Will Donnan

GNED 1300-9
10/4/09

Digital Creative Memoir: Mapping Migratory Cultures (Annotated

Bibliographies)

Sheppard, George "Starvation, moral ruin and a frozen grave." Beaver 70.5 (1990): 6. Academic

Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 5 Oct. 2009.

1. The article titled, “Starvation, moral ruin and a frozen grave,” gives me a great lead for

my digital creative memoir. My ancestors emigrated from Ireland in the 1840’s due to

horrible conditions in Ireland. This article notes some of these conditions which included

incessant rains, potato famine, and extreme poverty. Unlike most Irish of their time, my

ancestors migrated to Ontario, Canada instead of the United States. This article focuses

on the idea that the Irish held false impressions of Canada due to fake rumors printed in

newspapers throughout Ireland. Canada, in the 1800’s, tried hard to balance out the

immigrations of Irish into Canada and the U.S., but more Irish still chose the States over

the northern territories of Canada. For example, the article reads, “Apparently some Irish

believed that one had to convert to the Protestant faith if one chose to live in Canada,”

and “It was fully believed by some that most Canadians were riggers, that if not frozen to

death, the emigrants would be kept in servitude for years, that they would be dressed in

"Kennedy" clothes like convicts, that the English Government was sending round coffin

ships to take them off.” The Canadian government attempted to stop these rumors, and in

the mid 19th century, they appeared to be successful. In the 1840’s, 37,000 Irish migrated

to Canada to escape the hardships in their native home. This was the time period in which
 my ancestors fled Ireland. This article will be extremely helpful for me since it focuses

more on Irish migration into Canada than into the U.S.

Mageean, Deirdre M. "Emigration from Irish ports." Journal of American Ethnic History

13.1 (1993): 6. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 5 Oct. 2009.

2. The second article I have chosen, “Emigration from Irish Ports,” by Deirdre Mageean,

focuses on the conveniences that Irish ports held for migrants and the main reasons for

emigration. Mageean explains “The main causes of emigration in this period were

economic- the burden of ever-increasing rents and tithes, absentee land lords, short leases

and insecurity of tenure, failures of the linen industry and periodic crop failures.” This

information is extremely important to know and understand since my ancestors

experienced these horrible economic conditions. This article explains that the emigration

to Canada grew out of links in the lumber trade. My ancestors sought out to farm when

they emigrated. At that time, Ontario, was sparsely populated and held very fertile soil

that was suitable for agriculture. I have been trying to understand how my ancestors,

along with the hundreds of thousands of other Irish immigrants, succeeded in paying their

dues to emigrate. This article explains that many made their way across the ocean as

indentured servant. The article also explains, however, that “demand for labor in the

United States and relaxation in the British Navigation laws drove down the cost of fares.”

This information is very interesting to know and has helped me better understand the

surrounding conditions that were present when my ancestors emigrated.

Rees, Jim "The Surplus People." Beaver 78.5 (1998): 5. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO.

Web. 6 Oct. 2009.

3. The third article I have chosen, “The Surplus People,” by Jim Rees makes several great

points to start out the passage. First of all, I love the title of this article. “The Surplus

People” perfectly describes the Irish during the 19th century. Between 1845 and 1855,

over 2,250,000 Irish traveled across the Atlantic for emigration. That is a massive amount

of people leaving a country. This group of starving and destitute people traveled

everywhere in order to escape the horrors of their country. The article explains “A series

of potato crop failures in the previous three years had deprived the vast majority of Irish

rural dwellers of their staple diet and created a situation in which emigration was for

many the only alternative to starvation.” This statement makes a valid point: the Irish left

their country and homes not only for new opportunities, but they left in order to escape

death. My ancestors, in my opinion, made a great decision in migrating to Canada instead

of the U.S. As evident in United States history, Irish immigrants in the U.S. were looked

down upon. In many cases, businesses held signs outside their buildings stating: “Irish

need not apply.” This prejudice was not nearly as evident in Canada. In fact, as described

in the first article, the Canadian government wanted Irish emigrants. For this reasoning,

along with the job opportunities present, I feel that my ancestors chose wisely in

migrating to Canada and pursuing agriculture.