Irish-born residents of Augusta and Franklin Counties

Creative Writing

Write a series of letters from Augusta and/or Franklin Irish-born residents (or their children) to relatives in Europe. The letters can describe their lives in America. These letters could refer to 1. occupational status, 2. residential concentration, 3. wealth, 4. urban-rural patterns, 5. voluntary associations, churches, and schools.

or

Traditional Essay

To what extent did the Irish form distinct communities in Augusta and Franklin Counties, and to what extent did they integrate with native-born residents?

Use this class period to search the Valley of the Shadow archives, take notes, and write a basic outline for your paper.

Research suggestions:

• Search the 1860 Augusta County and Franklin County census for a list of Irish-born residents. OR, since this list will be quite large, you can narrow your search by asking for Irish-born residents with a certain amount of wealth, or with a particular occupation. Then pick individuals of interest (or at random) and search the census by those individual's family number. Did they marry other Irish-born people? Where were their children born?

• Find the wealthiest Irish-born Augusta County residents in the census. Then look up their names in the slave owner census. Did these individuals own slaves? Go to the Free Black Registry for Augusta County. Use your browser's "find" function and search for the name Guy. for some interesting information.

• If timeGo to the Newspaper Search Page. Set the "Year" for "all," and type "Ireland," "Irish," "Catholic," or the names of interesting individuals you have uncovered in your census search in the "keyword" box. Once you have gotten the results of your initial search, click the date of the particular newspaper that you want to see and then use your browser's "find" function to locate the particular article of interest.