What did being Catholic mean to Anne?

Mary Ellen Gagan Hughes's rosary

Hannah is making her first communion this year. That momentous event, combined with my focus on this project, has led me to the question -- what did religion mean to Anne?

We believe that Anne spoke Irish, and was very much a rural, probably, provincial, girl. The Irish language and the preponderance of references to God within common phrases suggests to some scholars that religion and Irish culture was tightly combined; examples of these phrases are listed in "Irish Bridgets"

• "Is giorra cabhair De Na an doras" God's help is nearer than the door
• "Dia duit" standard greeting for good day -- meaning God bless you
• "Dia's Muire duit" standard reply to above, meaning God and Mary to you

In 1834, 80% of the Irish were Catholic; 38% of these heard mass on Sundays; my grandmother told me that the Irish were not allowed to worship. What I've read is that at the time of the Reformation, all churches became the property of the Church of Ireland (Protestant) and the Irish worshiped outside at mass rocks or in people's homes.

Priests were revered. However, a strict adherence to papal "procedures" if you will does not seem to have been followed. The Irish fused Catholicism with many of their pagan beliefs, creating a flavor of worship richly tied to their culture. Apparently, this fusion was mitigated after the Famine, with the Catholicism more global, but clearly Anne would not have seen this.

Anne arrived in New York at the age of 13; like many of her country women, she was on her own. Several books written after she had grown to a woman and was a mother herself, including Guide for Catholic Young Women, Especially Those Who Earn Their Own Living by Father George Deshon, and Advice to Irish Girls In America by Sister Mary Frances Clare encouraged 'Bridgets' to work near churches, attend mass, say their rosary, and work to educate Protestants (especially their mistresses) of the value of Catholicism with an eye toward converting them.

It appears that religion and socialization were closely tied. Irish girls found jobs through churches, and enjoyed socializing after mass with other young Irish Catholics.

Our story tells us Anne left Kilcumnin with only her feather bed, some money, and a brass candlestick. There is no mention of rosary beads, which does not mean she did not have a set, only that I don't know of their existence. I do have Anne's grand daughter's (Mary Ellen Gagan Hughes') and they are the photo which starts this post.

Anne did have many children, four of whom died, and I hope for her sake her faith brought her comfort as she anticipated seeing them again and was thankful these children had returned to the love of God. I don't know what she thought about her faith. I'd like to spend some time learning where she may have attended mass in Rye as that may be an easier thing to determine than trying to guess where she worshiped while in New York.

However, it is her years in New York that have me most interested. As hard as I have tried, I am still not in her skin. I imagine her life and project my own 13 year old self into the experience. I can't decide what Anne was like - how mature, how confident, how secure - so that I can then extrapolate what decisions she may have made. I can tell you that 13 year old Amy would not have gone to Mass -- but that does not mean that 13 year old Anne did not. So, I remain in research mode.

Margaret Lynch Brennan and Kerby Miller continue to inform me as I travel this journey.

What was Anne's life in Kilcumnin like?

I wonder what the Hoey cottage in Kilcumnin looked like. Our family story tells us "their homes were poorly furnished and the only heat was from a fireplace in the kitchen. They burned peat (which is great heat) but the only warm spot was just in front of the fireplace."

An 1841 Irish census shows that 50% of rural Irish families lived in single room cabins; and that the majority of Irish families were rural. At this time, these homes had thatched roofs, dirt floors, and few if any windows; as you may have surmised, running water and electricity were not available. The cabins were white washed -- three to four times a year -- a task which fell to the women. Furniture was minimal and the family would eat around the fire - on which the food was prepared.

Potatoes were a dominant part of the diet, along with buttermilk. Tea was becoming more fashionable and common when Anne was a little girl. Whiskey was drunk at social events and family gatherings; men and women both drank whiskey - although when it was time to drink in the local pub -- that experience was reserved for men.

I've read that Irish girls often wore red -- a lucky color that kept away the fairies and refrained from wearing green (worn by the fairies.) Lynch-Brennan mentions red petticoats in one description. This same story notes that girls from West Ireland, as Anne was, wore flowered bodices and red skirts.

Again, Margaret Lynch-Brennan's work, The Irish Bridget is to thank for my brief thoughts. Her accessible book is impossible to put down and has brought me tremendous joy. I am also finding, that the more I learn, the more questions I have!

What was Anne's work day like?

We read in Anne's story that she owned a home "free and clear" later in life. I plan to do some research on where that home was -- but I have spent some time reading up on what working and money meant to Irish immigrant women like Anne.

Scholarship on Irish immigrant women in America suggests that for these women, working was valued and earning and saving money was of paramount importance. Irish women saved impressive amounts of money; from 1850 up until 1870, domestic workers in New York City (nearly 50% of which were Irish born women) made between $50.00 to $70.00 a month. These women sent money back to Ireland; in 1870 33% of the money in Ireland was from women Irish domestics. Irish women were significant depositors with the Emigrant Savings Bank in New York City. (these bank records list 8 Ann Hoey's and 19 Ann Nolan's as depositors between 1850-1883.)

Domestic work seemingly gave Irish women great freedom; they switched jobs and employers often - they could do so because these types of jobs were abundant. Some scholars suggest that the dynamic of having a young girl, living and working in the home, along side the family, gave the employee some power over her mistress.

The work was hard. I found a summary of what her morning may have been like in an 1857 publication by Mrs. Elizabeth Elllet "The Practical Housekeeper"

• wake at 5:30 AM (I am already out)
• get coal
• polish stove, light fire
• dust, sweep, clean street door
• prepare breakfast
• open bedrooms, clean out slops, bring up fresh water
• make beds
• eat breakfast

I am not certain, yet, where Anne worked -- we have verbal history of her working at Ophir Farm-- but her time in New York City thus far is unclear. But, in any event, until I get more information, think about that list.

Wake at 5:30 AM -- how? Get coal - outside I assume? Had she lite a fire, prepared breakfast, etc the years after her mom died and before her father remarried? Probably -however, likely in a more rural setting. Where the urban kitchen or kitchens in which Anne worked something she could quickly adapt to? If the adapting took time, who taught her?

Ideas in this post inspired by Erin's Daughters in America, by Hasia Diner

Anne's occupation was "maid"

We know from our family history about Anne that she got a job in a boarding house in Hell's Kitchen as a maid. The narrative mentions an 1870 census entry with Anne as a maid -- I cannot recreate that research but have found Anne in the 7th Ward of New York City, with baby John (2) and Mary (7) keeping house. I will keep looking for census records that add some more detail to our story.

Many Irish women who immigrated to American between 1840 and the beginning of the 20th century found work in domestic service. This type of work was well suited for unmarried women, as it often required living in (the hours and work load left no option) and the work was very available as many middle class families were anxious to employ a single servant so as to demonstrate their status.

'Bridgets' as they were called, were young girls, often from rural, simple backgrounds with limited education. Scholarship suggests that these girls arrived in America bi-lingual -- as English was already the dominant language in public areas in Ireland -- with "Irish" reserved for home conversations. These girls had limited exposure to fine dining, table manners, or any of the experiences that the urban, middle class life they were to support required.

These girls had left a culture and society that nurtured and in many cases, expected female independence. Irish literature and narratives of the time tell tales of women holding their own against men in battles of wit; a diminutive quiet lady was not the typical Irish dame.

I think the combination of culture shock, added to innate or learned feistiness (and we can perhaps assume that the MOST feisty girls emigrated from Ireland -- can't we?) collided. A Harpers Bazaar article -- dated November 11, 1871, called "Bridget" voices some complaints about Irish domestics -- they were "ignorant of names of utensils" and "ignorant of manners of the country" and "laden with an accent difficult to comprehend."

Were these insults spoken about Anne as she sat, 14 years old, away from her home, working? Did Anne speak English upon arriving? Was she learning it as she lived each day? Was Anne feisty? Was she quiet and shy, thrust into a world she could not control? Was she hard to understand? What did her voice sound like?

these ideas were developed by reading Margaret Lynch Brennan's The Irish Bridget