Places In Ireland Whence The Friends Came
PLACES IN IRELAND WHENCE THE FRIENDS CAME To make some attempt at an accurate determination of the places in Ireland whence the friends emigrated, an examination of records of all certificates of removal brought over by Irish Friends between the years 1682 and 1750. Evidence suggests that from Ulster came 172 adult members; from Leinster 183; from Munster 42; and from places which are not specified 43. This makes a total of 440 adult persons from twenty-nine or more meetings. If, however, we count the children and the women whose names evidently have not been recorded, and likewise those persons of whose emigration we have no record, we may safely estimate that at least between 1,500 and 2,000 Irish Friends came to Pennsylvania between 1682 and 1750. County Armagh in the province of Ulster sent ninety-five colonists, more than any other county. Dublin Meeting sent fifty-four, more than any other meeting. Grange Meeting, in a country district near Charlemount, County Armagh, comes next with forty-one; then follows Ballynacree, an obscure county meeting near Ballymoney, County Antrim, with thirty-five. The Friends from Ulster and those from Leinster, with the exception of Dublin, were almost wholly from the country districtd. Some few were tradespeople, but the majority were yeomen or farmers, and when they came to Pennsylvania, they bought farms and engaged in agriculture. The Quaker colonists from Munster, on the other hand, were nearly all tradesmen from the cities and towns. They, with the emigrants from Dublin, settled for the most part in Philadelphia.Close