The Irish in America – with giveaway By Donna Schlachter

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When we think of Irish immigration to America, we often think of the 1845 Potato Blight and the subsequent years through the 1860s as the prime time when folks from Ireland fled to America. However, the Irish came to America during colonial times, too. Charles Carroll emigrated in 1706, and seventy years later, his grandson, also Charles Caroll of Carollton, signed his name to the Declaration of Independence, a brave move by men from any nation, as that act alone could place a price on their heads.

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Between 1820 and 1860, over one-third of immigrants to the US originated in Ireland. In the 1840s specifically, that number climbed to almost half of all immigrants. Prior to the Potato Famine, almost all immigrants from Ireland were male, but during and after the Famine, entire families sought a better life in America.

Courtesy of Pixabay.com

 

The majority of Irish immigrants left a rural lifestyle, and they found it difficult to assimilate into a primarily east coast urban setting, including the latest in industry and technology. Most larger cities on the east coast of the US were specialized, which meant families were sometimes separated because of occupation. While the poorest could never escape Ireland because they couldn’t raise the needed boat fare, the middle class arrived in America with little more than the clothes on their backs. As a result, they accepted whatever work they could find, and they crowded together in tenements to be able to keep a roof over their heads and food in their stomachs. As a result, cholera, typhoid, tuberculosis, and mental illness ran rampant. They sometimes faced hostility because they were accused of carrying or starting these epidemics.

Irish immigrants often entered the workforce at the bottom of the pay scale, which meant that everybody in the family had to work so they could survive. Many women became servants, while many men labored in mines or built railways and canals.

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As Irish immigrants moved inland, they found themselves in competition for jobs they often had no experience in. However, employers hired them because they’d work for less than anybody else. This then resulted in complaints, strikes, and outright battles from other workers trying to keep their jobs.

Most Irish immigrants stayed true to the Catholic upbringing and faith, which didn’t always set well with a primarily Protestant America. From verbal abuse to mob attacks, the Irish struggled to survive in their new land. In particular, in the 1840s, anti-immigration and anti-Catholic groups formed strong alliances which rejected “foreign influences” and promoted “traditional American ideals”, a notion now considered ironic considering the majority of those living in America at the time had been born elsewhere, or were first or second generation immigrants themselves.

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Added to these problems was the Conscription Act of 1863, which made all white men between twenty and forty-five years of age eligible for the draft by the Union Army. Free men of color could volunteer if they chose. Monied white men could buy their way out of the draft, while the less affluent couldn’t. Into this latter category is where more Irish fell. Racial tensions increased, and several cities fell victim to draft riots. Enrollment officers and free men of color were targeted, primarily by Irish men.

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By the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, however, Irish Americans became a powerful political force in the US. As they had done in Ireland, they formed strong alliances that created political groups that focused on raising the Irish presence at all levels of politics. For example, New York’s Tammany Hall was under Irish American control for more than fifty years, and the city boasted its first Irish American mayor in 1880. In 1884, Hugh O’Brien added Boston to that prestigious club. These alliances enabled Irish Americans the open doors needed to get better job, deal with naturalization issues, and also rewarded supporters with political appointments.

While Irish Americans might have had a rocky start, those who came to America were changed by this country, and they changed this nation. They and their descendants contributed through politics, industry, labor, religion, literature, and art. 

https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/mary-harris-jones

For example, Mary Harris, also known as Mother Jones, spent more than fifty years unionizing works throughout the country. Trained as a schoolteacher and seamstress, she was arrested, personally attacked, and faced with many hardships, but she earned an audience with United States Presidents from McKinley to Coolidge.

Regardless of the difficulties these early immigrants from Ireland faced, they came to America in hopes of finding a better life than the one they left behind. They set the example for chain immigrations, bringing family and relatives to the US, because they still believed in the American dream.



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About “Time Will Tell”:

After Sadie Bauer inherits her father’s watch and clock repair shop in Pueblo, she soon learns that Fate conspires against her.

Will O’Reilly longs to help this beautiful damsel in distress, but she’s about as prickly as a porcupine.

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Check out the book here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09MNX4SKV



About Donna:

A hybrid author, Donna writes squeaky clean historical and contemporary suspense. She has been published more than 50 times in books; is a member of several writers groups; facilitates a critique group; teaches writing classes; ghostwrites; edits; and judges in writing contests. She loves history and research, traveling extensively for both.

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Check out previous blog posts at www.HiStoryThruTheAges.wordpress.com and www.AllBettsAreOff.wordpress.com

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Resources:

https://www.loc.gov/classroom-materials/immigration/irish/irish-contributions-to-the-american-culture/
https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/mary-harris-jones

White House Weddings: John Adams II

During the administration of sixth president John Quincy Adams, the White House was the scene of a messy romantic entanglement which resulted in all three of Adams’ sons falling in love with the same woman, their cousin, Mary Catherine Hellen…and one White House wedding, leaving the two rejected swains devastated.

Mary Catherine Hellen Adams, silhouette

Mary (born in 1806) was the niece of the First Lady Louisa Adams. Orphaned at age 9, Mary and her siblings moved in with their aunt, uncle, and three male cousins, George, John II, and Charles Frances. 

When Mary was thirteen, Aunt Louisa attended one of the receptions for presidential daughter Maria Monroe’s wedding, and found it lacking. She lamented, “I didn’t get a bit of cake and Mary had none to dream on” (referring to the practice of placing a piece of wedding cake under a girl’s pillow so she could dream of her future husband).

Mary didn’t seem to need cake to dream about gentlemen, however. By the time she was fifteen, she was acknowledged to be beautiful and highly flirtatious. She set her sights within the home, however, falling for Charles, youngest son of John Quincy and Louisa. He was a year her senior, and by all accounts a sensible young man.

Naturally, Charles’ heart was broken when Mary’s eye turned to his eldest brother, George. In his grief he called her “one of the most capricious women that were ever formed in a capricious race.” George, an alcoholic with a roving eye, didn’t listen to his youngest brother, and dove headlong into a relationship with Mary. He offered marriage and she accepted, but they determined to wait to marry until George finished his education. He left for Boston to continue his studies, leaving his fiancee in his parents' continued care.

John Adams II, artist unknown, public domain

In 1825, John Quincy Adams was elected president of the United States, and the entire household moved into the White House. Middle son John Adams II came, too, since he’d just been expelled from Harvard for fighting and inciting a student riot.

Meanwhile, Mary was distracted while waiting for George to finish school. John, now his father’s secretary, was a daily presence in her life, and she enjoyed his sarcasm and good looks. If he had a drinking problem like his older brother, he kept it under control. John decided to steal Mary from his brother, and she was quite willing. She broke things off with George and accepted John's proposal. There are hints that their relationship was physical and caused talk.

Louisa Adams did not approve of the match, but felt the amorous couple should be married post haste. She speedily arranged a wedding much like the first White House wedding of a Presidential child, Maria Monroe—except this wedding would provide sufficient cake. On February 28, 1828, they celebrated the wedding of John, now 25, and Mary, 22, in the Elliptical Room, now known as the Blue Room.

Louisa Adams by Gilbert Stuart, Public domain

A reception followed, where the president danced a Virginia reel with his new daughter-in-law.

Neither Charles nor George attended the ceremony. Louisa wrote of the wedding to Charles: “Madame (Mary) is cool easy and indifferent as ever.” And John? He “looks already as if he had all the cares in the world upon his shoulders and my heart tells me that here is much to fear.” Ill from worry about the match, Louisa took to bed for several days.

The bride and bridegroom settled into the White House. Nine months later, their first daughter, Mary Louisa, was born in the White House.

Despite naming their second daughter Georgeanna Frances, for her uncles, neither George nor Charles was quite over the sting of John and Mary’s marriage. George drank heavily, and in 1829, he fell or jumped over a ship’s railing and drowned—accident or suicide, no one is certain.

John went into the flour business after his father left the White House, but failed and, now a heavy drinker, died at age 31. Mary moved in with her in-laws and cared for them until their deaths. Sadly, both her daughters died before she did--one in childhood, and the other as a matron.

And her first love Charles, the youngest son? He married, had several children, and was a success in federal politics.

**

BIO: 

Susanne Dietze began writing love stories in high school, casting her friends in the starring roles. Today, she writes in the hope that her historical romances will encourage and entertain others. A pastor’s wife and mom of two, she loves fancy-schmancy tea parties, travel, and curling up on the couch with a costume drama and a plate of nachos. Susanne is the author of nine new and upcoming historical romances; her latest, For a Song, is in the EPCA and PW Bestselling The Cowboy's Bride Collection from Barbour. You can visit her on her website, www.susannedietze.com.

Sources include:

Best Little Stories from the White House by C. Brian Kelly

http://www.whitehouseweddings.com/j-adams-ii.html

White House Weddings: Maria Monroe

Maria Monroe

The first White House wedding of a president’s child was that of Maria Monroe, daughter of fifth president James Monroe and his wife Elizabeth, to White House staffer (and son of Elizabeth’s sister) Samuel Gouverneur on March 9, 1820.

Maria (pronounced “Moriah”) was seventeen, accomplished, and madly in love with the dashing Samuel. But her wedding caused a bit of talk, and not the good kind.

Maria moved into the White House when she was fourteen years old. Her mother, Elizabeth, viewed the role of First Lady far differently than her predecessor, Dolley Madison. While Mrs. Madison was a popular hostess and public figure, Elizabeth Monroe was reserved and concerned with propriety. Influenced by her time in Europe, she adopted a protocol she felt was more befitting the office of President: limiting access to him and his family.

This protocol was most profoundly executed by refusing to make or receive calls or socialize with political or diplomatic spouses, believing such familiarity would imply official recognition of the president. While this style of etiquette might have been familiar in Europe, it was not well-received in America. (It's also interesting to note that even before the Monroes entered the White House, they lived in Washington D.C. for seven years and rarely entertained.)

Elizabeth Monroe, First Lady

The new protocol was not well received. Politicians and diplomats felt snubbed, if not outraged. When the Monroes determined not to host the traditional Independence Day open house, however, the public was insulted, too.

This was the atmosphere in which Maria Monroe planned her wedding.

Or rather, in which she tried to plan her wedding. Elizabeth Monroe was ill, perhaps suffering from epilepsy, so she recruited her 33-yr old daughter Eliza Hay to be her representative in many duties. 

Eliza Monroe Hay

When Eliza learned that a Russian diplomat inquired about paying his respects at Maria and Samuel's wedding, Eliza put her foot down, citing protocol. Samuel and Maria resented the intrusion, especially when it came to the guest list, but Elizabeth and James Monroe approved Eliza’s changes, and nothing could be done.

In the end, forty two guests—all family and close friends approved by Eliza—gathered in the White House, possibly the Blue Room, which was then called the Elliptical Room. The Rev. William Hawley of St. John’s Episcopal Church officiated. Gifts were discouraged, but they arrived anyway, including a bas relief of the teenage bride and a pianoforte from her parents.

On display at the James Monroe Museum

Directly following, the group adjourned to the State Dining Room for a meal. Since the White House had been burned by the British six years before (during the War of 1812) and rebuilt, the State Dining room, like other rooms, was refurnished in 1817. President Monroe himself ordered green silk wallpaper, two Italian Carrara marble mantelpieces, and a 14-foot long gilded bronze plateau centerpiece from France that could be shortened depending on the size of the table. 

Also added at this time were vermeil flatware and silver dishes (place setting for 72, plus tureens, chafing dishes, and more). The expense was great, which was another complaint lodged by opponents of the Monroes.

The local paper included a 34-word write-up of the wedding. Since no diplomats, reporters, or political cronies were invited, there was apparently very little to say on the matter.

While it is true that early 19^th-century weddings were not lavish, and today we would view a family wedding as a private affair, the circumstances surrounding Maria’s wedding were ill-received by Washington society. It should be noted, too, that this was not the wedding Maria or Samuel wanted. They urged President Monroe for a formal reception to smooth ruffled feathers and extend a nod to their friends. He eventually relented, but Elizabeth and Eliza refused to invite the diplomatic corps.

In response, Samuel and Maria scheduled a round of balls--although some of the guests still felt the celebrations were thin. Louisa Adams, whose husband John Quincy Adams was then Secretary of State, came home from one of the receptions disappointed that she received no cake, and therefore her young niece had none to put under her pillow to dream about her future husband.

Nevertheless, Maria and Samuel enjoyed a happy marriage until her death in 1850. They had three children, and Samuel’s role in politics continued, and he became a member of the New York State Assembly. They opened their home to James Monroe after Elizabeth’s death in 1830, and the former president died there. 

As for Eliza? She had a reputation as a “domineering perfectionist who alienated much of Washington’s social and diplomatic worlds with her pretensions” (All the President’s Children, Doug Wead). Whether or not this is fair, one fact cannot be disputed: the first White House wedding of a Presidential child was evidently charged with emotion…just like many a modern day wedding.

**

Your turn: Did you watch Prince William and Kate Middleton get married on TV?

**

BIO:

Susanne Dietze began writing love stories in high school, casting her friends in the starring roles. Today, she writes in the hope that her historical romances will encourage and entertain others. A pastor’s wife and mom of two, she loves fancy-schmancy tea parties, travel, and curling up on the couch with a costume drama and a plate of nachos. Susanne is the author of six new and upcoming novellas; her latest, One Word From You, is in White Fire’s Austen in Austin Volume I. You can visit her on her website, www.susannedietze.com.

For further reading:

http://www.whitehouseweddings.com/maria-monroe.html

http://www.firstladies.org/biographies/firstladies.aspx?biography=5