Finnigans, Slaters, and Stonepeggers: A History of the Irish in Vermont [Paperback]

Vincent E. Feeney (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 10, 2009 | ISBN-10: 188459252X | ISBN-13: 978-1884592522 | Edition: First

The first book that peels back the Yankee mythos and examines the surprisingly rich, true story of the Irish in Vermont, from the first steady trickle of colonial pioneers to the flood of famine refugees and onward.  From Fort Ticonderoga to Civil War battlefields to up until the years after World War II: how the Irish arrived, survived, fought, labored, organized, worshipped, played, and managed to prosper . . . a surprisingly behind-the-scenes American success story that has never been fully told until now. 

6x9 50 photos and prints. Map. Chapter Notes. Bibliography. Index.

A meticulously researched, beautifully written book by the scholar who knows most about the Irish in Vermont. This long-awaited book fills a critical gap in Vermont studies, and is a model for future historians.
- Dona Brown, Associate Professor of History, University of Vermont,
author of Inventing New England: Regional Tourism in the Nineteenth Century.

In his carefully researched and meticulously referenced book, the author has provided both the serious and casual student of Vermont history with a fresh and engaging perspective on our ancestors that informs the literature as well as the reader.
- Deborah Doyle-Schechtman, writer, historian, and author of By the Old Mill Stream: A History of Quechee, Vermont

If it is true that we are not real until we are recorded in history, then this book makes the Irish in Vermont real. It is a must for all Irish Americans in Vermont, and for everyone else for that matter. It is all our story.
- Greg Delanty, Poet. St. Michael s College

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Vincent E. Feeney received a BA from San Jose State University, MA from the University of Vermont, and PhD from the University of Washington, all  in History. He was Adjunct Professor of History at the University of Vermont 1977-2006. Since 2003 he has been a Lecturer for the Vermont Humanities Council. Feeney is also the author of Vermont: An Illustrated History with John Duffy (American Heritage Press, 2000) and The Great Falls on Onion River: A History of Winooski, Vermont (Winooski History Society, 2002). He is a member of the Vermont Historical Society, Center for Research on Vermont, Chittenden County Historical Society (President 1999-2003), and the Winooski Historical Society. He lives with his wife in Marshfield, Vermont.

Product Details

• Paperback: 250 pages
• Publisher: Images from the Past; First edition (September 10, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 188459252X
• ISBN-13: 978-1884592522
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,010,480 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautifully written book, January 26, 2010

By 

Paul Lappen (Manchester, CT USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Finnigans, Slaters, and Stonepeggers: A History of the Irish in Vermont (Paperback)

When talking about the history of the Irish in America, places like Boston or New York City come to mind, not Vermont. This book aims to change that oversight.

In the 1700s, many Irish came to America by way of the British Army. Whatever the reason for signing up, extreme poverty in Ireland, or the lure of adventure on foreign shores, after fighting in the French and Indian War, many Irish stayed in the unnamed land between New York and New Hampshire. After the Revolutionary War and into the 1800s, desertion was rife among British Army units in Canada. The lure of rampant land speculation south of the border was pretty powerful. If the Irish did not come to Vermont via the British Army, they came because relatives or family members were already established in Vermont.

With the coming of Irish Potato Famine of the 1840s, the immigration trickle to Vermont turned into a flood. These new starved and half-dead immigrants, who came because they had no choice, were generally able to find work doing what they did back home. Laying railroad tracks or factory work, for instance, was backbreaking work for very little pay, but, it was work. During the Civil War, Vermont quarries were the main source for all those monuments and headstones. After the Civil War, in which Vermont Irish played their part, Yankee farmers were seized with a desire to head West, and find better farmland than Vermont's hilly, hardscrabble farms. The Irish were only too happy to buy up those farms; back in Ireland, land ownership was an impossibility for most people.

Ethnic and religious tensions among the various groups living in Vermont were never far below the surface. In the early days, living in a certain town meant that attendance at the local church was mandatory, regardless of the religion. In most towns, there was an Irish Catholic church, and a French-Canadian Catholic church; worshipping together was simply not an option. Sober, hardworking Irish Presbyterians, who came to Vermont under more favorable circumstances, called themselves "Scots-Irish" in order to distinguish them from the "shiftless, alcoholic" Catholic Famine Irish immigrants. Through the 1900s, the Catholic groups grew closer together, but, if anything, Irish Catholics and Protestants grew farther apart. Their children went to separate schools, and they belonged to separate business organizations.

Here is a beautifully-written book that is recommended for anyone interested in New England history or the history of the Irish in America. It gets two thumbs-up.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent addition to Vermont history collections and college library shelves, March 12, 2010

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Finnigans, Slaters, and Stonepeggers: A History of the Irish in Vermont (Paperback)

Finnigans, Slaters and Stonepeggers is a carefully researched and engagingly presented history of the Irish in Vermont, from those who came with colonial pioneers to the tidal wave of refugees from the great potato famine, through the first half of the twentieth century. A handful of historic black-and-white photographs illustrate this extraordinary tale of cultural shifts, prosperity, demographic transformations, and much more. An enjoyable tour of Irish contributions to Vermont history, accessible to readers of all backgrounds, Finnigans, Slaters and Stonepeggers is an excellent addition to Vermont history collections and college library shelves.