How did my Irish ancestors survive the Potato Blight and Famine years 1845-1852 ?

During the Blight and Famine period, my Irish ancestors resided in the Townland of Aughrim, in the parish of Murher , County Kerry. I believe my GGGF was probably a Richard Stack born in Ballincluhir, Parish Lixnaw in 1821. There is a high probability his wife was a Hanora Riordan of Kilbaha, Parish Listowel born in 1816. The Irish genealogical site (http://www.irishgenealogy.ie/en/) baptismal records indicate that they had three male children, Patrick b:1844, Michael b:1853 and Richard Stack b:1856, my GGF. All of the Stack children were born in Aughrim. Hanora Riodan had a brother, Patrick, who was also born in Aughrim in 1822. The Griffith’s valuation ( http://www.askaboutireland.ie/griffith-valuation/) shows that a Richard Stack occupied plot no 26 and a Patrick Riordan occupied plot no 29 in Aughrim in 1851. Plots 26 and 29 are adjacent indicating that Richard Stack probably married the proverbial girl next door. The plot 29 Patrick Riordan could be either Hanora’s Father or her brother.

Richard and Hanora had a nine year gap between their first and second born children which coincides with the Blight and Famine years (B&F) which begs the question of how did they survive and did any of their children perish? It was apparent that Richard and Hanora were relatively poor land leased farmers as the Griffith’s valuation indicates that their rented plot consisted of a House and only two acres of ground 1, see Table 1. The valuation ( the annual rental value) was one pound 5 shillings (20 shillings per pound) for the land and 5 shillings for the house. Furthermore, the 1901 Irish Census indicates that their son Richard b:1856 (my GGF) occupies a one room house at 6 Ahalana, Newtownsandes parish Murher (Moyvane) with eight other family members. The census describes the building as constructed of walls of mud or wood and roof of wood or thatch. The building had one front window.

One would suppose that if Richard and Hanoria suffered malnutrition during the B&F years it likely would have affected their fertility. Alternatively they may have had children that did not survive the B&F years. The recently made available book. . .

Teampall Ban Aspects of the Famine in north Kerry, 1845-1852 by John D Pierse (Ref 1)

. . .indicates that 55% of the B&F related deaths were to children under the age of 15. The author lists other pertinent statistics on the deaths in Northern Kerry. The southern barony of Clanmaurice was hardest hit with a decrease in population from 1841 to 1851 of almost 36%. In the northern barony of Iraghticonnor, the decrease in population was only 5.4% but Parish Murhur was one of the hardest hit with a population decrease of 26%, some 868 people ,and a loss of 153 houses 2. Consulting the Griffiths valuation, I counted some 321 plots in Parish Murher in 1851, near the end of the B&F period. Assuming that there was one house per plot I would estimate that approximately 25% to 30 % of the houses in Murhur Parish were destroyed. Evictions were made to expel tenants that were not paying the rent but were more likely the result of converting the land from crops to more profitable sheep or cattle grazing which required less manpower. England could then get corn cheaper from the Caribbean and Russia versus Ireland and reduce the price for their appetite for beef . The land owners would evict the tenants and destroy the houses to discourage the tenants from staying on 3. Ref (2) states that the hardest hit counties affected by the B&F were Kerry and Mayo.

Some of the population decrease was due to emigration 4, and strangely enough Listowel parish had almost a 53% increase in population over the same time period indicating a migration from rural North Kerry to the counties where there were workhouses. There must have also been some children born that survived the B&F years which makes the B&F related mortality difficult to determine. Many emigrants also died in transit either on the “Coffin Ships” or once they arrived at their destinations of primarily the USA, Canada and Australia. Ref (3) states that it was common for the mortality rate on the “Coffin” Ships to be 30% 5. The Ref (1) author estimates that some 2000 to 3000 destitute people went to the Listowel Work 6 House to get food and died. The Listowel parish workhouse is adjacent to Murher. Murher residents could also have gone to workhouses in the parishes of Galey and Kilnaughtin and Glin (after 1850). The nameless dead were buried in mass graves without coffins , one of which is Teampall Ban near Listowel. There were probably no records kept of the dead.

Unfortunately the Teampall Ban book did not break down the B&F deaths any finer than by Parish , and in particular no clue for my ancestors in the Townland of Aughrim.

In the Appendix to Ref (1) Teampall Ban. . . . , the author states that

“The majority of us living in north Kerry today are descended from people who survived the Famine in the area. The subscription lists (persons who donated to charity for the destitute B&F victims) printed here are the best available indicator of what was done locally to help those most affected by the calamity.”

For Parish Murher, I compiled the following subscriber Stack forenames from Ref ( 1) that contributed typically between 10 shillings and one pound in 1846.

Murher: Pat (Possibly Richard’s brother), Edmond, James (2), Maurice, Edw, John

Table 1 lists all of the Stack occupants of Murher in 1851 along with the acreage they rented and the total annual valuation of their rented plots and houses. The Stack “subscribers “ appear to be of some means which probably helped to enable my ancestor, Richard Stack of minimal means, to survive the B&F period. A donation of one pound is no small sum back then as the annual rental fee for Richard’s house, plot 26, was 5 shillings. Ref (1) cites the daily wage for an Irish peasant during the B&F period as eight pence a day! (There were 12 pence per shilling)

Other large subscribers were Trinity College, 50 pounds, and a Rev Richard FitzGerald, 5 pounds, who was the rent collector ( lessor) for Aughrim according to the Griffith’s valuation. He collected the rent for St John T Blacker Esq (a prominent landowner in the Listowel Poor Law Union (Ref (1) )and lived on plot 9. There is also a Church Education Society (CES) school house on plot No 9 at the Aughrim site which is listed as a tax exclusion and Rev R Fitzgerald was probably in charge of the CES school operation as well as rent collector. The CES is a body that promoted the Anglican church in the primary schools of Ireland after 1839.

Another Murher family name that had significant subscribers for B&F relief were the Mulvihills. My GGM’s mother’s maiden name was Mulvihill and my GF (Richard Stack b:1881) when he immigrated to the USA in 1907 listed his destination to be that of his cousin, Dan Mulvihill in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Several Connors in Murher were cited as subscribers in Ref (1). The Griffith’s valuation correlates well with the same Connor forenames and several were renters of substantial land. Richard’s aunt, Margaret Connor, occupied a house on Richard’s plot 26 and his mother was Catherine Connor, Margaret’s twin sister.

In Knockanure Parish, the following Stacks were listed as subscribers for the B&F relief: Knockanure: Patt, Garrett, Tho, William, Phillip

In Listowel Parish the following Stacks were listed as subscribers:

Listowel: Robert, James, Edward The largest subscriber was the Rt Hon Earl of Listowel, 300 pounds!

There were numerous other Stack subscribers from the Barony of Clanmaurice

Ballybunnion: Eyre Massey Stack

Ballylongford: Garrett, Phillip, James (2), Maurice (2), Mrs, Patt

Killury & Rattoo: Robert

Kilshinane & Kilfeighny: Robert (Irramore), Maurice (2), John (2), Garett, Ja, Wm, Tho, Widow, Rob, Mic, Bob

Kiltomy: Maurice

Table 1 Griffith’s Valuation list of Stacks in Parish Murher in 1851.Ref: http://www.failteromhat.com/griffiths/kerry/murher.htmSurname Forename Townland Parish County Acres Value

Stack Edmond * Gortdromasillahy Murher Kerry 191 #51Stack Johanna Gortdromasillahy Murher Kerry 0 (house) Stack Bridget Moyvane North Murher Kerry 0 (house)Stack Edmond * Moyvane South Murher Kerry ( Shared with Maurice) Stack Maurice * Moyvane South Murher Kerry 170 # 48 95s

Stack Edmond * Kilbaha Middle Murher Kerry 0 (house) --Stack James * Bauragoogeen Murher Kerry 0 (house) 5 sStack John * Leitrim Middle Murher Kerry 37 # 10 14sStack Michael Moyvane South Murher Kerry 0 (house) --Stack Michael Murher Murher Kerry 30 #6 5 sStack Patrick * 2 Drommurher Murher Kerry 41 #24 10 sStack Richard 1 Aughrim Murher Kerry 2 # 1 10 s

1 My GGGF Richard Stack b:1821 on my mother’s side 2 Possibly Richard Stack’s brother b 1826

* Murher Stack Subscribers who made charitable contributions during the Potato Blight and Famine period in 1846 per Reference 1. All of the townlands listed above are within five miles of Aughrim.

There were several Stacks cited for their service in the Ref (1) book which I will briefly summarize :

Workhouse orphaned girls (in preference to males) were encouraged to emigrate to Australia with free passage: Margaret Stack of Kiltomey in 1849 (pg 57) and a Mary Stack in 1850 (pg 58)

Mother Mary Augustine Stack, last of the founding nuns of Listowel Convent (pg 77)

Folklore story relating the B&F suffering by Pat Stack of Murher told by Nurse Stack of Newtownsandes (pg 84). My probable GGGF, Richard Stack of Ballincluhir b:1816, had a brother named Patrick Stack b:1826. Both Richard and a Patrick Stack are shown residing in Parish Murher in 1851 in Griffith’s valuation.My GF emigrated from Newtownsandes in 1907.

A Pat Stack is listed as a storekeeper in Listowel in 1849 (pg 110). Storekeepers distributed cooked food as outdoor relief (non workhouse) 7. A Thomas stack is also listed as a storekeeper at Ballybunion in 1849.

Rob Stack is listed as an elected member of the Board of Guardians of the Listowel (Poor Law Union ) (pg 97). The Board of Guardians collected rates (money/food) to run the workhouse and distribute food to the destitute.

John Stack, Esq is listed as a principal land holder in the Listowel (Poor Law) Union (pg 166). He does not appear to be a direct lessor in Murher Parish according to the Griffith’s valuation data. He could be an absentee land owner, either English or Anglo Irish.

The Ref (1) author states that Sir Charles Edward Trevelyan, the Assistant Secretary to the Treasury of Britain initially (in a letter) made an appeal to the Empires wealthy for pity and charitable assistance for the poor of Western Ireland in 1847. However, the thesis of another book I read on the B&F, Ref (2), indicates that Trevelyan was the chief architect of the British policy (or lack there of) for the B&F period going as far as accusing the British of genocide. The Ref (2) author quotes a John Mitchell as having said. . . .

“God sent the blight but the English created the Famine”.

Conclusion: I could not determine exactly how my ancestors survived the B&F period. Did they receive charity from other Stacks, Mulvihills or Connors or was the man of God, Rev R Fitzgerald the lessor of Aughrim, that helped them? They could also have spent some time in a workhouse. I once read in a book about the Universe how very improbable it is that any one of us walks the earth today, considering history’s long list of wars, pestilence, drought and disease. Having acquainted myself with the B&F period of Irish history, I have a much better appreciation of how fortunate I am to have had Irish ancestors that were so resilient to adversity.

James Richard (Stack) Beard July 2015

Notes:1) From Ref (2) chapter 2, the author states that “a farmer and his wife could

get sufficient potatoes to live from . . . . .two acres.” Ireland had 135, 000 plots of one acre or less in 1845 out of almost one million plots. Subdivision of the lots was blamed as part of Ireland’s population / food shortage problem. For example, lots were subdivided by farmers to provide a dowry for a daughter. My ancestor, Richard Stack b: 1821 lived on his two acre plot with a second house occupied by a Margaret Connor. His baptismal record shows his mother to be a Catherine Connor and one of his sponsors (God Parent) was a Margaret Connor. The Irish Co. Kerry Baptismal records show a Margaret and Catherine Connor as twins born to John Connor and Catherine Doody of Tralee in 1793. Richard probably had to provide food for his wife, his first son Patrickb:1844 and probably for his Aunt, Margaret Connor, from his two acre plot.

2) From Ref 2 Chapter 1 there were 8,175,124 Irish in the 1841 census. From 1841 to 1851 the official census lists 985,000, deaths. The author noted that some respected historians placed the death toll at more like 1.9 million. From the list of events in Ref 2, the population decrease from 1841 to 1851 due to deaths and emigration was quoted as 1,643,000 which is about a 20% reduction in population.

3) 20,000 Irish were evicted in 1850, Ref 2 list of events.4) The Ref (2) list of events states that 210,000 Irish emigrated in 1850 and

250,000 in 1852.5) “It was said that sharks could be seen following the ships, because so many

bodies were thrown overboard”, Ref (3) .6) There were 81 workhouses throughout Ireland, Ref (2) In 1849 there were

250,000 souls in the workhouses, Ref (2) list of events. Listowel workhouse numbers peak at 5000 in 1850, Ref (1) list of events.

7) There were 3 million Irish receiving soup in 1847, Ref ( 2) list of events

References: 1) Teampall Ban Aspects of the Famine in north Kerry 1845-1852, John D

Pierse, 2014, Listowel Tidy Towns Committee2) The Famine Plot,England’s Role in Ireland’s Greatest Tragedy, Tim Pat

Coogan, 2012, by Palgrave Macmillan3) En.m.wikipedia.org

Eviction

Note the lad on the right center has no shoes.

My GGF Richard Stack b:1856 of Aughrim, Parish Moyvane(Murher) and his wife Margaret McCarthy

My GF Richard Stack b: 1881 of Ahalana, Newtownsandes,Parish Moyvane Returning to Ireland in 1959 aboard the USS America(Pop had a much more comfortable ride than his immigration passage aboard the Umbria in 1907)

Irish Cottage on Lissadell estate circa 1911