The Great Famine

The Great Famine

Irish Americans

January 26, 2009

Kathleen Broughfman

ETH/125

Axia College of University of Phoenix

Hello my name is Kathleen. It is Irish for “the pure one.” It is 1848 and I am 14 years old. I live in Ireland were my father is a potato farmer and my mother stays home to raise my four sisters, three brothers, and myself. At one time life was great here in Ireland, but now my father is struggling to keep us all feed. He thought that life would be better since most of our neighbors gave him their land to start a new life in America (Potter & Yale University, 2009). For the past three years (since 1845) everyone has been moving to American (Potter & Yale University, 2009). We all have the same problem here in Ireland it is called “The Great Famine” (Potter & Yale University, 2009). Starvation and disease in the land has lead to everyone immigrating to America (Potter & Yale University, 2009). The famine is caused by a potato disease called Late Bright (Potter & Yale University, 2009). Before everyone left we all ate potatoes at every meal because all of our fathers were potato farmers. Late Bright infects a potato which causes them to be shrunken on the outside (Potter & Yale University, 2009). In the inside the potatoes are corky and rotted (Potter & Yale University, 2009). My parents are talking about moving to America to start a new life like all our friends.

Today my parents wrote our friends in America to tell them we are coming in a few months. Most of our friends went to a city called Boston (Reid, 2002). My parents keep on talking about how scared they are to ride the Coffin Ships (Reid, 2002). Some of our neighbors had children that died, and in one family their mother died (Reid, 2002).

Today we are leaving to go to the ship. My little brother has been sick for a few days; mother will not stop crying. She says that he might not survive the long journey (Reid, 2002).

We are now at the ship. I thought it would look...

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