Mary-Lou
03-16-2008, 11:35 AM
Most Americans of a certain age must have heard of "The Boston Irish". I am a proud descendant of Irish Immagrants who came to America in the 1800's.
My Maternal Grandmother came from Carigtul, County Cork, Ireland, during the Great Famine, when the potato crop failed for three years in a row. She went to Liverpool, said she was 17 years old so that she could travel alone, and sailed to Boston, Massachusetts. The fare was $70.00 on what were called "Coffin Ships", because the nightmare voyage took six weeks in steerage. Conditions were so bad with moldy food, scarce water and overcrowding, that many of the older and weker passangers died and were disposed of at sea.
When she landed in Boston in 1849, my Grandmother was 14 years old. Boston, at that time, was ruled by very rich Protestants known as "The Boston Brahmans", who owned five-story brownstome homesalong Beacons Street and Commonwealth Avenue. The would send their Butlers down to the docks to meet the "Coffin Ships" and hire the young Irish girls to work in these mansions. The girls were treated like slaves. They slept up on the fifth floor, where there was no heat, and hardly a breath of air in the summertime. Wake up call was at five am, when the maid had to rise and get the fire going for the cook to prepare breakfast for the Master and Mistress. Trays had to be brought to everyone in the household. Then the days work began, scrubbingall those stairways, cleaning, and polishing, doing all kinds of heavy chores, until 10:00 or 11:00 at night, for $2.50 a week, seven days a week. These girls got two hours off on Thursday afternoon and one hour off on Sunday morning for a 5:30 AM Mass, as they were all Roman Catholics.
Somehow she saved enough money to send for her sister Bessie, who also went to work for another rich Boston Brahman family. Together, they saved enough to bring sister nellie over. Later, the three of them sent for their father and brother.
My Grandmother, Mary, when she was older, married another Irish Immagrant, Dan Daily, who faught in the Ninth Massachusetts Infantry Regiment in the Civil War. He was wounded at Manasses and recovered, but stayed in the national Guard and helped fight the Great Boston Fire in 1872. Mary had six children with him. When he died in 1888, she only had one child left. The others had all died from childhood illnesses.
She later married for a second time in 1890, and my mother was the only child of this second marriage. She was widowed again when my mother was 17 years old. She had a hard life which came to a terrible end when she was hit by a car in 1923 right in front of my mother who was holding in hand my 3 year old sister Mary and my 2 year old brother Bill.
More to come about my Irish Heritage!
Posted: 3/16/2008 at 12:14
My Maternal Grandmother came from Carigtul, County Cork, Ireland, during the Great Famine, when the potato crop failed for three years in a row. She went to Liverpool, said she was 17 years old so that she could travel alone, and sailed to Boston, Massachusetts. The fare was $70.00 on what were called "Coffin Ships", because the nightmare voyage took six weeks in steerage. Conditions were so bad with moldy food, scarce water and overcrowding, that many of the older and weker passangers died and were disposed of at sea.
When she landed in Boston in 1849, my Grandmother was 14 years old. Boston, at that time, was ruled by very rich Protestants known as "The Boston Brahmans", who owned five-story brownstome homesalong Beacons Street and Commonwealth Avenue. The would send their Butlers down to the docks to meet the "Coffin Ships" and hire the young Irish girls to work in these mansions. The girls were treated like slaves. They slept up on the fifth floor, where there was no heat, and hardly a breath of air in the summertime. Wake up call was at five am, when the maid had to rise and get the fire going for the cook to prepare breakfast for the Master and Mistress. Trays had to be brought to everyone in the household. Then the days work began, scrubbingall those stairways, cleaning, and polishing, doing all kinds of heavy chores, until 10:00 or 11:00 at night, for $2.50 a week, seven days a week. These girls got two hours off on Thursday afternoon and one hour off on Sunday morning for a 5:30 AM Mass, as they were all Roman Catholics.
Somehow she saved enough money to send for her sister Bessie, who also went to work for another rich Boston Brahman family. Together, they saved enough to bring sister nellie over. Later, the three of them sent for their father and brother.
My Grandmother, Mary, when she was older, married another Irish Immagrant, Dan Daily, who faught in the Ninth Massachusetts Infantry Regiment in the Civil War. He was wounded at Manasses and recovered, but stayed in the national Guard and helped fight the Great Boston Fire in 1872. Mary had six children with him. When he died in 1888, she only had one child left. The others had all died from childhood illnesses.
She later married for a second time in 1890, and my mother was the only child of this second marriage. She was widowed again when my mother was 17 years old. She had a hard life which came to a terrible end when she was hit by a car in 1923 right in front of my mother who was holding in hand my 3 year old sister Mary and my 2 year old brother Bill.
More to come about my Irish Heritage!
Posted: 3/16/2008 at 12:14