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This project is a genealogical collection of profiles of people born in North Cork Ireland who emigrated to the United States arriving at Ellis Island.
People who left North Cork to start a new life elsewhere:
- Murphy families - between 1898 and 1904 24 people with this surname arrived at Ellis Island in New York.
- Healy families - between 1899 and 1902 6 people with this surname arrived at Ellis Island in New York
- Walsh families - between 1899 and 1902 11 people with this surname arrived at Ellis Island in New York
Above are just some examples of emigration from Mallow, these are the people who registered where they came from, the majority of passengers just wrote down Ireland or the Irish Free state and are therefore more difficult to trace.
Ellis Island arrivals started in 1889, before this all Irish passengers arrived at Castle Garden in New York.
This only gives some idea about the amount of people who emigrated, the total amount is much greater as another big group is less traceable, emigration to the United Kingdom for example did not leave a passenger record.
Effects of the Famine
In the period over the famine decade 1841-1850, 1.3 million people emigrated overseas Of these, 70% went to the USA, 28% to Canada and 2% to Australia. Most people paid their own fares to make the trip, although perhaps 3% had their fares paid by their Landlords [. The cheapest fares were to Canada, around 55 shillings, while a fare to the USA cost between 70 shillings and ﾣ5 (100 shillings). There were two ways one could travel; either in a standard class or steerage. Standard passengers had berths and could walk on the deck. Steerage passengers were crowded together below decks and often could not use the deck. For many emigrants, steerage was the most they could afford.
The picture above shows emigrants waiting on a quayside looking for passage to America. The signs are advertising services to Boston, New York and Quebec. Some were cheated out of the little money they had brought, to pay their fares, by fast-talking rogues. In many cases, getting passage on a ship seems to have been a matter of waiting for an opportunity rather than booking tickets in advance.