Irish Immigration to New Jersey
In the nineteenth century the people of Ireland emigrated from their native country and flooded into the English speaking countries of the world such as England, Wales, Canada, Australia and New Zealand in great numbers. The great number of Irish immigrants from this period, however, decided to try to make their new life in the United States of America, especially the American Northeast. Millions of Irish came into the United States during the nineteenth century with a vast percentage of them arriving in New York City; from the year 1852 to 1857 there was 582,140 Irish that emigrated to the United States and of them 444,960 arrived in New York City, which is over 76% of all Irish immigrants during this period. In fact a staggering number of 8,154,930 Irish would come to America in the second half of the nineteenth century from 1850 to 1900 alone. During the nineteenth century close to a million of these Irish immigrants would venture a short distant south and settle their families in the state of New Jersey; and a rich Irish and Catholic tradition still persists in many part of this state to this day. With so many other places as a possibility to start a new home and life, did so many Irish emigrants decide to settle in New Jersey? The fact is that these Irish were willing to take on the great challenge and risk of a trans-Atlantic journey, in usually horrible conditions, to try to obtain a better life for them and their family. Many of the Irish came to American through New York eventually would settle down in the area between the two great American cities of Philadelphia and New York. Once arrived at their destination these immigrants would join together in communities in order to look out for their common goals, especially because of the harsh prejudice against them from their nativist neighbors. As these Irish immigrants settled more and more of their relatives and friends would join them in their new home away from the Emerald Isle, this trend would