THE IRISH PEOPLE IN MASSACHUSETTS.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume IV, Issue 203, 23 February 1877, Page 9

THE IRISH PEOPLE IN MASSACHUSETTS.

Twextt years ago, in 1855, there were 181,304 Irish-born people in Massachusetts ; ten years ago, in 1865, there were 183,177 — a growth of only 1,873 in ten years, which is very remarkable, and is, indeed, doubtful, when we find that in the next ten years, in 1875, the Irish born people number 234,556— a growth of 51,379. In other woivj^from 1855 to 1865, the Irish increase was 1-63 per cent.; while from 1865 to 1875, the increase was 28*05 per cent. The entire foreign-born population of Massachusetts in 1875 was 418,804, of which 234,556 or 56 per cent, were born in Ireland. It is worth remarking that the next largest foreign element were from Canada — 86,022; of whom one-fourth, at least, were Irish or of Irish extraction, as were numbers of those who came from England and Scotland. The Irish-born people in Massachusetts in 1875 were distributed •as follows : — IRISH-BOBS PEOPLE IK MASSACHUSETTS IN 1875

The " Nativities of Mothers " is a most valuable part of the report ; and were it supplemented with " The Nativities of Fathers," we could have a settlement of the question concerning the strength of any particular element. At it is, this report goes far to show the comparison between' the growth of the native population as compared with the foreign-born. The total number of women in Massachusetts who are or have , been married is 398,759. Of these the large number of 89,239 never | had children; the nativities of these are not given — but it is safe J to assume that they are mostly native. The total number of ; women who have become mothers is 309,520, of whom 190,311 are native, and 119,269 are foreign-born mothers ; that is, while the | population stands 74 per cent, native and 25 per cent, foreign, the mothers are 61 per cent, native and 38 per cent, foreign. As regards births, the following statement gives the averages : Average number of births to native mothers 3*52 Average number of births to foreign-born mothers .... 491 i Average number of births to all mothers 4*05 ' Average number of births to Massachusetts mothers.. 3*55 ! Average number of births to Irish mothers 5*03 j Average number of births to Canadian mothers 4"78 i Average number of births to German mothers 2 23 I The census does not give the number of Irish-b<^rn mothers in the State, which is to be regretted. We only find that, o: the 234,556 Irish-born people in the State 103,419 are males and 131,137 are females. Comparing the births in 1874 with the mothers in 1875 (no other reports being available) we find the whole number of births to native-born mothers duringjthe year was 20,666, or one birth to every 9 mothers ; while the whole number of births to foreign-born mothers was 24,965, or one birth to every 4$- mothers. In other words, 100,311 native mothers had 20,666 children, while 119,311 foreign-born mothers had 24,965. — ' Boston Pilot.'

Counties. Males. Females. Totals. The State Barnstable Berkshire Bristol Dukes Essex Franklin ■Eampden (Hampshire Middlesex Kantucket Norfolk Plymouth Suffolk Worcester.., 103,419 236 3,867 7,597 9 11,666 935 6,254 2,054 19,771 27 5,354 2,336 30,746 12,567 131,137 343 4,422 9,368 6 15,140 844 8,218 2,694 25,277 42 6.317 2,627 41,394 14,445 234,556 579 8,289 16,965 15 28,806 1,779 14,472 4,748 45,048 69 11,671 4,963 72,140 27,012