Hometowns - 1850 Ireland

Hometowns:
1850 Ireland

Meath Countryside

1850 Ireland: The O'Neills and Kerrigans
In 1791, the population of Ireland was about 4,753,000. During the next half century before the potato famine, at least 1,750,000 people emigrated. Nevertheless, by 1841, the census showed the population had swollen to 8,175,000.

Irish tenant farmers during this period produced grains and livestock for the English market in order to pay one of the 8,000, mostly absentee, landlords. They survived on potatoes which provided the greatest yield per acre. Families ate potatoes for all meals and an acre could just provide a years worth of food under ideal conditions.

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Healthy Potato Leaves

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Potato Leaves with Blight

The Potato Famine

Emigration to America during the famine years peaked in 1851 as the chart below indicates.

Year	Emigration
1845	50,000
1847	117,000
1849	177,000
1851	216,000
1853	157,000
1855	57,000

The O'Neill Name

The O'Neills in my family emigrated from County Meath