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Irish American Newspaper Clippings Scrapbook, 1830-1874

By Lauren Goss

Collection Overview

Title: Irish American Newspaper Clippings Scrapbook, 1830-1874

Predominant Dates: 1860-1870

ID: MSS IrishAmerican

Extent: 0.3 cubic feet. More info below.

Arrangement: The scrapbook is loosely divided into two sections focusing on poems and articles.

Date Acquired: 02/00/2015

Languages of Materials: English [eng]

Abstract

The Irish American Newspaper Clippings Scrapbook is mainly comprised of poems, articles and speeches. The poems relate to domestic topics, the Irish American immigrant experience and the Catholic faith. The remainder of the scrapbook contains political speeches, articles, and obituaries of Irish nationalists and religious leaders. The articles describe Irish sociopolitical issues such as emigration, and Irish nationalism.

Due to the fragility and overall condition of this item, it is strongly recommended that researchers access the digital copy of this item, which is available upon request.

Scope and Content Notes

The Irish American Newspaper Clippings Scrapbook is chiefly comprised of poetry and newspaper articles originating from predominantly American newspapers, pasted into a bound scrapbook. There are additional loose newspaper clippings located in between pages of the scrapbook.  The majority of the clippings are poems related to domestic topics including love, marriage, family, death, nature, seasons, dreams, farming, and friendship. Many poems depict the Irish American immigrant experience, reminisce about Ireland, and describe elements of the Catholic faith. Other poems illustrate the United States Civil War from the soldiers’ perspective, as well as memorialize President Abraham Lincoln. The remaining one-third of the scrapbook contains political speeches, obituaries, and social advice columns. The majority of articles describe Irish cultural and sociopolitical issues such as emigration to the United States of America, practicing Catholicism in America, and relations with the United Kingdom. Also included are several profiles of Irish nationalists such as Robert Emmet Daniel O’Connell and Thomas Francis Meagher, as well as Irish Catholic leaders including Archbishop John Hughes. The creator of the scrapbook is unknown.

Due to the fragility and overall condition of this item, it is strongly recommended that researchers access the digital copy of this item, which is available upon request.

Biographical / Historical Notes

Many Irish immigrants arrived in the United States of America from 1820 to 1860. Primarily driven by the Great Irish Famine of 1845-1852, large numbers of immigrants settled in Northeast port cities including New York City, Baltimore, Boston, and Philadelphia.  Irish Americans served on both sides of the United States Civil War.  Irishmen, many of whom were immigrants themselves, held prominent positions in the Catholic Church. Irish American groups, such as the Fenian Brotherhood, supported efforts for Irish independence from British rule.

Author: Lauren Goss

Administrative Information

More Extent Information: 1 oversize box

Statement on Access: The collection is open for research.

Acquisition Note: The scrapbook was purchased in 2015.

Related Materials: Both the U.S. Civil War Collection, 1862-1898 (MSS CivilWar) and the Collection of Historical Newspaper Issues, 1723-1941 (MSS HistNewsIssues) contain issues of contemporary U.S. newspapers. The Hans Plambeck Papers contains material on Irish-Americans in Oregon.

Preferred Citation: Irish American Newspaper Clippings Scrapbook (MSS IrishAmerican), Oregon State University Special Collections and Archives Research Center, Corvallis, Oregon.

People, Places, and Topics

Ireland--Emigration and immigration--History--19th century
Ireland--Politics and government--19th century
Irish Americans
Poetry
United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865.

Forms of Material

Newspapers.
Scrapbooks.


Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.