The Irish in England and Wales By Sherry Irvine, MSC CG FSA Scot
Irish Origins includes two databases of the Irish in England and Wales. You can search the 1841 and 1871 census data for people whose birthplaces were recorded as Ireland. This census may be less informative than others but enough can be gleaned from the returns to help your research. In addition, the enumeration took place several years before the devastating famine of 1847-1850 but at a time when significant numbers had made the move already from Ireland to mainland Britain.
Background
In 1841 the Irish-born population in Great Britain
(England, Wales and Scotland) surpassed 400,000. About
70% of the total lived in England and Wales, and about
80,000, 20% of the total, were in Liverpool.
Irish workers were an essential part of the Industrial
Revolution. They were the labour supply for the heavy
jobs, such as building canals, roads and railways.
They also worked in the textile factories of
Lancashire and Scotland. Besides Liverpool there were
large Irish population groups in London, Manchester,
Glasgow and Dundee. You can find about this online;
links about the Irish in two cities, Liverpool and
Wolverhampton, are at the end of the article.
The Irish had been journeying across the Irish Sea for
a long time but the numbers began to grow in the
1790s. There were many Protestants from Ulster in the
early years, more merchants and skilled workers. Then
there was a shift to labouring classes, some intending
to stay and others coming for seasonal agrigultural
jobs. By the 1830s the use of steam ships shortened
the journey and cut the cost.
Low pay and harsh conditions pushed people out of
Ireland. At first, Britain was a more attractive
destination because the trip was shorter and cheaper,
and not such a final departure. At the time of the
Great Famine there was a shift and America became the
first choice destination for Irish emigrants. However,
the number of Irish in England and Wales continued to
grow and by 1861 there were over 600,000 people
recorded as born in Ireland. This figure excludes any
British born children of earlier immigrants; so, the
Irish were a large segment of the British population.
The 1841 Census Database
The 1841 census gives names of everyone in each
household, place of residence, rounded-off ages for
those over 15, vague birthplace information, and
occupations. It is possible to look for facts to help
research in Ireland. Here are four questions to ask.
How old is the Irish born person?
Does he or she have any children born in Britain?
Who else is in the household?
Is the name common, geographically clustered or rare?
Ages were supposed to be rounded down to the nearest
five years, which means you can estimate when a
baptism could have occurred. Childrens' ages were
accurate, and the age of a child born in England gives
a clue as to time of migration. If there are people
with other surnames in the household you can look for
places in Ireland where these names occur close
together. To do this, and to find out about surname
distribution, look at the Irish Surnames CD (Eneclann,
2003) See Grenham's Irish Surnames in Origins Store. When the place of origin is unknown, less
common names, clustered names, or two names occurring
together can at least give you a research theory to
test in local records.
Other Origins Data
This is not the only database of the 1840s available
in Irish Origins. You can also search Griffith's
Primary Valuation and the William Smith O'Brien
Petition. These are later than the 1841 census and may
help you narrow the time period of a move or help you
find collateral relations who remained in Ireland.
If you have been working back through other censuses,
found your Irish born ancestors in 1861 or 1851, for
example, and found nothing in 1841, then you need to
check Griffith's Valuation and the William Smith
O'Brien Petition. If you find your ancestor in either
or both of these records, you have narrowed the search
for the date of migration. Be sure to note the year
that Griffith's Valuation occurred in any areas you
search.
Some of you will be fortunate and discover your
England resident Irish ancestor among the 10,000
people living in England who signed the William Smith
O'Brien Petition. The detailed information about this
database is most useful for understanding what the
facts tell you about location.
Conclusion
Many Irish families had connections in Britain. No
matter where your ancestors went, to Canada, the USA,
Australia or elsewhere, chances are a relation went
only as far as England, Wales or Scotland. Take
advantage of 1841 census data within Irish Origins to
look for new opportunities in your Irish research.
Hey, David. The Oxford Companion to Local and Family History. Oxford: Facts on File, 1990.
Lines, Clifford. Companion to the Industrial Revolution. Oxford University Press, 1996.
Sherry Irvine, who lives in Courtenay, British Columbia, is an internationally known speaker and writer. She is the Course Director for Pharos Teaching and Tutoring Ltd. She is author of Your English Ancestry and Scottish Ancestry: Research Methods for Family Historians. Her activities in 2007 include lectures at the Society of Genealogists in London, and a seminar course on British migration in Salt Lake City for the International Society for British Genealogy and Family History. She is a past president of the Association of Professional Genealogists.