The city of Milwaukee had a
population of just over 62,200 when the 1860 U.S. Federal Census was
enumerated.[1] Of
this number, Irish-born residents account for about 8.6% of the population at circa 5,375.[2]
The county of birth was recorded for 562 of those people from Ireland. The
numbers for each county are contained in the table below. Clare, Galway,
Kilkenny and Meath were the counties that had the highest number of such instances
recorded.
All instances of the Irish county
of origin were for immigrants who lived in the 4th ward of the city. The census
enumerator, or Assistant Marshall to use the correct terminology, for this part
of Milwaukee was Maven Power. Maven was a lawyer who lived in the Town of Lake,
Milwaukee County. His entry in the 1860
U.S. Federal Census noted that he was born in the state of New York about 1819.[3]
Also residing with him at the time was 31 year old Adelaide Powers, presumably his wife,
and 18 year old Mary Kelly, a house servant, also born in the state of New
York. It is very likely that Maven's Power ancestors were from Ireland and this
could be a reason why he noted the counties of birth for some of those that he enumerated.
County
|
Approx No. of Entries[4]
|
Clare
|
91
|
Galway
|
76
|
Kilkenny
|
59
|
Meath
|
51
|
Kerry
|
42
|
Tipperary
|
42
|
Cavan
|
28
|
Tyrone
|
24
|
Offaly (Kings)
|
22
|
Waterford
|
16
|
Mayo
|
16
|
Roscommon
|
15
|
Dublin
|
15
|
Sligo
|
11
|
Carlow
|
10
|
Down
|
9
|
Longford[5]
|
8
|
Laois (Queens)
|
6
|
Cork
|
6
|
Armagh
|
3
|
Monaghan (Monahan)
|
3
|
Westmeath
|
3
|
Fermanagh
|
2
|
Limerick
|
2
|
Derry
|
1
|
Wicklow
|
1
|
Leitrim
|
0
|
Donegal
|
0
|
Antrim
|
0
|
Kildare
|
0
|
Louth
|
0
|
Wexford
|
0
|
TOTAL
|
562
|
Table: Instances of Irish county of origin in 1860 U.S. Federal Census,
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
The page below (click to view larger version) from the census enumeration
shows the variation of places of birth for people who lived closely together in
just seven houses - Galway, Mayo, Waterford, Carlow, Kings (Offaly) and
Kilkenny are all represented.[6]
Irish counties of origin in 1860 U.S. Federal Census, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
The 4th ward likely attracted
Irish immigrants due to its proximity to jobs on the Milwaukee River and the
railroad. A map of the city from 1856 shows the location of the 4th ward on the
west bank of the river with the Milwaukee and Mississippi Railroad running
through the southern section of the ward (click to view larger version).[7]
The legacy of this Irish area of Milwaukee can be seen in a later map from 1874 as there is a street in the 4th ward called Hibernia.[8]
Section of Lapham's Map of Milwaukee showing 4th ward
I'd like to thank commenter
cmkinhunter for directing me towards this example back in May. See the Census Series section for other instances of Irish place of
origin recorded in the U.S. Federal Census.
[1] Manual
tabulation based on numbers at: https://familysearch.org/search/collection/results?count=75&query=%2Bresidence_place%3A%22milwaukee%2C%20wisconsin%22&collection_id=1473181
[3]
Fold3.com, 1860 U.S. Federal Census, Milwaukee
County, Lake, population schedule, Town of Lake, Page 78, House 597, family 597,
Maven Power and family; digital image, Fold3.com http://www.fold3.com:
accessed 26 September 2015; citing NARA microfilm publication M653, roll 21250.
[4]
All totals are approximates based on a manual search of county names. It is
possible that some towns were listed instead of county names.
[5]
The index gives 10 returns for Longford but two of these are for 'Long Ireland'
and upon inspecting the census documents they were for people from Long Island (New York
State).
[6] Fold3.com,
1860 U.S. Federal Census, Milwaukee County, Milwaukee, population schedule, City
of Milwaukee, Page 67, House 497-505, families 503-511; digital image, Fold3.com
http://www.fold3.com: accessed 26 September
2015; citing NARA microfilm publication M653, roll 21253.
[7] Lapham,
I.A. 1856. Map of Milwaukee. New
York, NY: Sherman and Smith. Available
online http://www.davidrumsey.com/luna/servlet/detail/RUMSEY~8~1~1954~190067:Map-Of-Milwaukee-?sort=pub_list_no_initialsort%2Cpub_date%2Cpub_list_no%2Cseries_no#:
accessed 26 September 2015
[8]
Mithcell, SA. 1874. Plan of Milwaukee.
Philadelphia, PA: S.A. Mitchell Jr. Available
online http://www.davidrumsey.com/luna/servlet/detail/RUMSEY~8~1~254634~5519457:Plan-of-Milwaukee?sort=pub_list_no_initialsort%2Cpub_date%2Cpub_list_no%2Cseries_no:
accessed 26 September 2015
