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

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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.

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.