Immigration Ireland to Philadelphia—Mid-Nineteenth Century

My McAdoo sept immigrated to Philadelphia between 1845 and 1852. The three families settled in the Fishtown section of Lower Kensington. I recently read an interesting article, Philadelphia: Immigrant City, by Fredric M. Miller describing the history of Philadelphia as an immigrant port. I have copied several paragraphs that are relevant to the McAdoo immigration years—

“One reason was simply ice in the river. The city finally bought an iceboat in 1838, but shippers were not confident it would prevail against the five-foot thick ridges of ice. That same year, moreover, transatlantic steam navigation was proved practicable, but because local businessmen failed to raise funds for a Philadelphia-based line, the city faced the massive Irish and German migrations of the late 1840s with only its one line of sailing ships to Europe.

“In any case, demand quickly brought forth an increased supply. Two new lines of sailing ships were established between Liverpool and Philadelphia; another line plied between Philadelphia and Londonderry and individual ships sailed from other ports. All told in the eight years from 1847 through 1854, over 120,000 immigrants arrived in Philadelphia, now the nation's fourth largest immigrant port. The total for 1853 alone 19,211 exceeded the total for the entire decade of the 1820s.

“The city's first steamship line, known officially as the Liverpool and Philadelphia Steam Ship Company, was owned by William Inman and his partners the Richardson Brothers, who were Liverpool Quakers. In 1850 Inman convinced the Richardsons to buy a new steamship named the City of Glasgow, which left Liverpool on December 17 with 400 passengers and arrived only ten days later in Philadelphia. Within a few years it had been joined by more ``City" ships, named after Manchester, Baltimore, and Philadelphia. A steerage ticket cost eight pounds eight shillings several months' wages for a laborer and business was brisk.

“Of course, many sailing ships continued to bring immigrants to the wharves lining the Delaware riverfront. Some companies tried to offset the extra travel time by reducing fares below those to New York. But the tedious two-week voyage around Cape May and up the river all the more frustrating since land was always in sight continued to limit immigration through Philadelphia.

“One company which operated a profitable, if small, sailing operation was McCorbell & Co. of Londonderry, in what is now Northern Ireland. In July 1851, the Emigration Officer at Londonderry, Edward Smith, offered a Parliamentary inquiry a detailed account of the migration to Philadelphia. He noted that in the first half of 1851, with the effects of the great famine still evident, thirteen ships from Londonderry had gone to Philadelphia compared to four to New York and five to Canada. The year's total migration to Philadelphia was probably around 2500 already, he explained, and there likely would be seven more voyages to that city before sailings halted in the early fall. The Emigration Officer thought that Londonderry emigrants were somewhat wealthier than the Irish who left from Liverpool since fares from the latter city were even lower. Nevertheless, the money that recent arrivals in America remitted for the passage of others was central to the whole link between Londonderry and Philadelphia. According to Smith, one firm probably McCorbell had received from America 24,000 pounds for tickets in 1850 alone.

“The season for emigration to Philadelphia lasted from April to October, and the trip took about a month, Smith continued. On the McCorbell ships, which accommodated up to four hundred passengers per voyage, a bulkhead divided their one deck into intermediate and steerage classes. The steerage berths were six feet by six feet and held four people each. While single men and single women were separated, two married couples were sometimes berthed together. On the return trip to Londonderry, the passengers were replaced by 'Indian' corn.”

You can read the entire article at: http://www2.hsp.org/exhibits/Balch%20resources/phila_ellis_island.html