¶ … Famine to Five Points
The story From Famine to Five Points is based on experiences of Lansdowne's people and their immigration from Europe to North America's Most Notorious Slum. Tyler uses individual's experiences to highlight the social, economic and political transformation of this population from the famine and disease stricken mountain region of Kerry to the Most Notorious area in New York. Tyler Anbinder tells the story of Ellen Holland and her journey from Kerry parish of Kenmare to New York. An English nobleman Henry Petty Lansdowne made it possible for the Irish immigrants including Holland as he financed the emigration program in Europe. He was an influential politician serving in whig cabinet and owned large tracks of land from which all those emigrants he assisted came from. The Lansdowne tenants especially those who lived in the mountain regions, were the poorest. In the summer, they would leave their cabins to walk long distances through the counties in search of work. In the autumn, they would go begging in the low country as it was the harvest season. By 1848, the living conditions in this region was dire, the cabins here were filthy with the occupants clothed in tatters.
The potato blight attack on the farms made things worse there was wide-spread famine. People were emaciated...
Theft and plunder became the order of the day the cholera epidemic sweeping Europe in 1849 also struck them due to overcrowding.
As a result of Lansdowne's discussion with his estate agent, William Trench offered emigration to everybody. This came as good news to the masses who rushed to leave the country. Almost everybody in Lansdowne left with only 50 tenants choosing to forgo the emigration offer.
Tyler Anbinder also tells the story of Tim Sullivan's encounters to depict the daily encounters of this immigrant community. These Irish immigrants came to North America to escape the famine in Lansdowne. This historic relocation commonly called the famine immigration to America; saw the immigration of about 2 million Irish people from Emerald Isle to America. They were determined to build better lives for themselves in America. Most of these Lansdowne immigrants settled in New York's Five Points neighborhood, a slum with drunks, prostitutes, plenty of other immigrants all living in one of the worst tenement blocks in the world. However many of these immigrants were determined to rebuild their lives after years of unemployment. They were eager to work the lowly jobs available such as menial day laborer and washer person. Lansdowne immigrants lived in dilapidated and…
