Westward Cork Migration by Sail 1815-1860 by John Sutton

PART II EMIGRANT PERSPECTIVE

Meanwhile, on the other side of the country, the 1850 California Census during the early Gold Rush documented a major population increase with 92,597 residents, of which 13.5% were foreign-born, consisting of 4.4% British, 3.2% German, and just 2.6% Irish. The subsequent 1860 Census for California documented 146,528 (47.98%) foreign-born residents with: Ireland - 33,147 , Germany - 21,646, England - 12,227 , British America - 5,437 , and Scotland - 3,670 . The report also states a large number of ‘Asiatics’ were attracted to ‘The Land of Gold’. The Irish were the main ‘Europeans’ - and the Chinese a majority. On the Pacific north coast, the same 1860 Census indicates the populations of Oregon State ( 52,465) and Washington Territory ( 11,594) to be small despite the antebellum migration on the Oregon Trail, hinting that many deviated to California, contributing to the 1850’s surge in both native and Irish-born residents in that state. As for the 5,122 (9.76%) foreign-born residents in Oregon, the Irish were the prime European ethnic group with: Ireland-- 1,266 , Germany – 1,078 , England – 690 , BNA – 663 , and Scotland – 217 (‘Asiatics’ not counted). The 1860 US Census reviewing all the 34 States, the District of Columbia, and Territories that year documented (‘Asiatics’ were omitted) foreign-born Irish a majority in 20 states and the District of Columbia, foreign-born Germans in 12 states (including Texas and Maryland), foreign-born from BNA in Vermont and Maine and foreign-born English in the Territories. The other ten states with more German foreign-born than Irish were Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, and Wisconsin – major Mississippi and Ohio Valley farming states. Ireland was otherwise well represented across the USA. The 1860 US Census was vague about ‘Asiatic’ residents. What conclusions can be derived from these statistics? 1. Many Irish emigrants remained at their Northeast ports of entry or nearby for a while after arrival. 2. The Irish seemed less nimble than the English or Germans in their ability to populate more distant states. It would seem plausible to attribute that shortcoming to their known destitution and poor physical and financial health on arrival in Famine times. 3. Given a short period of recovery time, the Irish migrated onward, penetrating every state in the nation and becoming the dominant ethnic group in most of the states by 1860. What factors spurred internal inter-state foreign-born Irish migration in the USA? By mid-century news spread easily between family, friends and the broad nation-wide Irish community network. At the same time, Irish immigrants were subject to the same forces that encouraged the migration, usually westward, of native-born Americans to other states. Because, the whole nation was on the move, and in the aggregate, one-fourth of all native- born citizens had migrated from their states of birth by 1860. Total native-born migration from the popular Irish immigrant entry states by 1860 :

New York: 867,032 of 3,469,492 citizens = 25% Pennsylvania: 582,512 of 2,862,416 citizens = 20% Massachusetts: 235,030 of 1,040,576 = 22.6% Maryland: 137,258 of 618,319 = 22.2% Louisiana: 26,974 of 241,268 = 11.2% And where did-native born citizens go? New York: - to Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Ohio.

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