early as 1825 (1). In 1834 the first family of Irish came to Milford, and the next year a few others appeared (2). Irish came to Lynn in small numbers about the same time (3); Lowell contained Irish inhabitants as early as 1822, in 1827 its Irish population consisted of twenty-one families and thirty unmarried men, and by 1830 they had increased to four hundred (4). The Irish were thus gradually spreading out into the towns of Massachusetts. They were employed as laborers in the quarries, or upon the railways and canals which were being constructed, or as factory operatives in the mills. At Quincy for example in 1837, of the five hundred men employed in the quarries the greater portion were foreigners, chiefly Irish (5). The building of railroads brought the Irish to Milford (5); while Irish emigrants were attracted to Lowell because they could find employment as laborers in digging the canals and building mills. Before 1830 a few Irish were employed in the 1) Spear, History of North Adams, p.56. mills at Clinton(1). The appearance of this foreign element excited a hostile sentiment out of proportion to its real numerical importance. That the arrival of these aliens made a deep impression upon the people,is evident from the fact that we so frequently find in the local press specific mention of the arrival of the first Irishman in many of the Massachusetts towns. The hostility towards the Irish was due to the fact that they were foreigners, to their religious proclivities, and to the jealousy of others of the working classes. The latter considered them intruders, and some desired the passage of laws providing for their forcible return to Europe(2). By 1833 anti-Catholic sentiment was growing in Boston, and in 1834 it resulted in an outbreak of violence. In 1819 an Ursuline Convent was established in Boston, but was soon after transferred to Charlestown(3). In 1833 Rebecca Reed, a nun who had recently joined this convent, fled therefrom, and soon Ford, History of Clinton, p.505. (2) Abdy, Tour of the United States,111,p.263. (3) Cullon, Irish in Boston,p.125. published an account of her treatment in a book entitled, Six Months in a Convent. This publication aroused some popular excitement, and increased the anti-Catholic prejudice. The following year (August, 1834), a false rumor was circulated, to the effect that a nun was being detained against her will in this convent. Public feeling became uncontrollable, and on the night of August 11 a mob burned the convent, and several days elapsed before quiet could be restored, thirteen of the rioters being arested. The citizens of Boston held a meeting to express their indignation at this outrage, but the Catholics could not secure indemnity for their loss (1). Another outburst of hostility towards the Irish occurred in Boston three years later. On June 11, 1837, there were the Broad Street riots, arising out of a right-of-way dispute between an Irish funeral procession and a fire company. The Irish were at first successful; but later, when their opponents received reenforcements, the Celts were driven from the street to their homes. The mob then attacked and (1) Winsor, Memorial History, 111, p.521; Desmond, Know Nothing Party, p.15. |