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Period: to
Irish Potato Famine
25% of Irish population dies or emmigrates from ireland -
Period: to
"Great Wave" of Irish Immigration to the Americas
Huge influx of Irish Immigrants to the Americas. Tremendous prejudice and racism toward newcomers as they strain cities with their numbers. -
Finnegan MacNeil - Born
Born to Martha Neil Quinn and Finnegan MacNeil in Belfast, Ireland -
MacNeil Family immigrates to the US
Aboard the McCorkell Line the MacNeil family immigrates to the US from Londonderry, Ireland to New York. -
Martha Neil Quinn - Death
Died in New York due to Illness -
I been working on the Railroad
With no relief in sight, Finn's father finds steady work on the Rail Roads and moves west with the line. -
Period: to
War of Northern Aggression
The War between States -
Homestead Act 0f 1862
A homesteader had only to be the head of a household or at least 21 years of age to claim a 160 acre parcel of land. Settlers from all walks of life including newly arrived immigrants, farmers without land of their own from the East, single women and former slaves came to meet the challenge of "proving up" and keeping this "free land". Each homesteader had to live on the land, build a home, make improvements and farm for 5 years before they were eligible to "prove up". A total filing fee of $18 -
Pacific Railroads Acts - 1862
The Pacific Railway Act -- signed by President Abraham Lincoln in 1862 -- provided Federal support for the building of the first transcontinental railroad, stretching from the Missouri River to the Pacific Ocean. The Act allowed the government to grant public land and issue bonds to fund construction of the railway, which further opened the western half of the country to development.
