Over the past 2 years, I have been researching my family on ancestry.com, using nothing more than "oral history". Of particular interest are my maternal great, great grandparents who immigrated from Europe, as Catholics. His family was killed in the Siege of Paris (1870-71). Born in 1856, my great great grandfather was found by French sailors clinging to the body of his mother and taken on board their ship. As they traveled, they saw to his education in various locales. By the time he reached adulthood, according to the oral record, he spoke 7 languages and could read Sanskrit. I am a polyglot and attribute this gift to him. Once returned to France, he set sail for Ireland and served as a translator in the Irish Royal Courts. While in Ireland, he met and married. Bride and groom then immigrated to New York.
Working from that history, I had only census records to trace what happened once they arrived. The records indicate they took up residence in New York City's infamous "Hell's Kitchen"; essentially, a ghetto for Irish Catholic immigrants. Despite the linguistic abilities, the only position my French great great grandfather could land was as a painter and, later, a meat packer. It was no mean feat to find them on the 1900 census but I eventually discovered them under a strange spelling of the family name. Initially perplexed, I vocalized the name and began to laugh. It was the family name spoken with an Irish brogue. Not surprisingly, my Irish great great grandmother was illiterate and the census taker recorded the name phonetically.
The point of this comment is to point out the prejudice against Catholics that persisted even as late as the turn of the 20th century.
On this Fourth of July, I look back at those who came before me, their struggles and persistence in establishing a new life in America. Through their sacrifices, I now have a fairly comfortable and stable life. Would that more Americans would explore their ancestry to better appreciate their present lifestyle.
One of the best films I have ever seen on the topic of Irish immigrants is Far and Away, starring Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman. Cruise and Kidman play Irish immigrants seeking their fortune in 1890s America, eventually taking part in the Land Run of 1893. While it does not focus on religion, it definitely provides some insight into the struggle of Irish immigrants at that time.
