Going Green
On this St. Patrick's Day, there are more sons of the Auld Sod in Butler County and the state of Pennsylvania than you can shake a shillelagh at.
From Philadelphia to Pittsburgh, a robust population of residents of Irish descent are honoring their ancestors by celebrating the feast day of Ireland's patron saint.
According to the Pennsylvania State Data Center, in 2011, more than 2.2 million Pennsylvanians claim Irish ancestry.
Pennsylvania ranks third among the states in total number of Irish-Americans, behind only New York and California, according to 2011 American Community Survey statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau.
In proportional terms, however, the state ranks seventh as 17.6 percent of Pennsylvania's population claims Irish ancestry. Six of the top 10 states in these terms are in New England, led by Massachusetts, at 22.7 percent. At the bottom of the list, Hawaii, Utah and New Mexico had the smallest number of Irish-Americans — less than 6.5 percent.
According to the census bureau, 4.8 million Irish immigrants have gained permanent residence in the United States since fiscal year 1820, the earliest year for which official records exist. Only Germany, Mexico, Italy and the United Kingdom have had more.
“We still have a sizable Irish population in the county,” said Luanne Eisler, genealogist at the Butler Public Library.
As of 2005, according to the reference work, “Ancestry and Family History of Butler County, Pa.,” the major ethnic groups in the county were German, 32 percent; Irish, 16 percent; Italian, 9 percent; English, 8 percent; Polish, 5 percent, and Scots-Irish, 4 percent.Irish immigrants were the earliest settlers in many Butler County townships, arriving in Adams in 1796, Franklin in 1797 and Parker in 1798. Pioneer families included the Dugans, O'Donnells, Boyles, McFaddens and Hagertys.How and why they got here is a tribute to the stereotypical “Fighting Irish.”“The Scots-Irish are known as a scrappy people. There's a whole history on that,” Eisler said.“It all goes back to William Penn,” she said. James Logan, a Quaker from Ulster, acting as Penn's secretary and land agent, began inviting the Scots-Irish to settle in Pennsylvania around 1720.“The term Scots-Irish is open to interpretation,” said Eisler.Most of the Scots-Irish were descended from Scottish and English families who colonized Ireland, particularly the Ulster area, during the 17th century.“These were people that were born in Scotland and moved to Ireland. When the children were born in Ireland, they were Irish,” said Eisler.Historians also say the term Scots-Irish came into use later to separate the earlier Irish immigrants from the later waves of Irish arriving in the 19th century.“They arrived and settled near Philadelphia in Bucks County and up to the mouth of the Susquehanna River,” Eisler said.By 1724 the Irish newcomers were moving to the then frontier counties of Lancaster, Dauphin and Adams.
However, Eisler said, the Irish offered a stark contrast to the earlier, orderly German settlers in Penn's colony. The Irish proved to be a clannish, quarrelsome bunch and were soon involved in disturbances such as election riots.According to Eisler, Logan wrote, “Five of these families in a settlement gives me more trouble than 50 of any other people.”By 1743, said Eisler, Logan hit on the idea of moving the Irish further to the west.“The Scots-Irish could be a useful barrier between the Indians and the colonists,” Eisler said. “The Irish were hard on the Indians, and it ended the squabbling with the Germans. He thought he was taking care of the Indian problem.”Once prodded west, the Irish kept going, crossing the Allegheny Mountains and reaching what is now Westmoreland County in 1759.Immigrants continued to arrive in Butler County during the Revolutionary War. After the war, many soldiers, granted land by the new nation, settled in the county.By 1856, the first observance of St. Patrick's Day was recorded in Butler County.Eisler said it took place in Coylesville in Clearfield Township where, according to an account in the Democratic Herald dated March 19, 1856, the residents formed a procession to march to church and then assembled in the town to listen to speeches described “as both eloquent and beautiful.”<B>IRISH BY THE NUMBERS</B>✓ <B>4</B> Number of places in the U.S. named Shamrock, the floral emblem of Ireland. Mount Gay-Shamrock, W.Va., and Shamrock, Texas, were the most populous, with 2,623 and 1,828 residents, respectively. Shamrock Lakes, Ind., had 152 residents and Shamrock, Okla., 122.✓ <B>9</B> Number of places in the U.S. that share the name of Ireland's capital, Dublin. Since the 2000 census, Dublin, Calif., has surpassed Dublin, Ohio, as the most populous of these places (44,541 compared with 39,310, respectively, as of July 1, 2009).✓ If you're still not into the spirit of St. Patrick's Day, then you might consider paying a visit to Emerald Isle, N.C., with 3,695 residents. Other appropriate places in which to spend the day: the township of Irishtown, Ill., several places or townships named “Clover” (in South Carolina, Illinois, Minnesota, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin) and the township of Cloverleaf, Minn.<I>Sources: U.S. Census Bureau; American Fact Finder and population estimates</I>
