Les Irlandais catholiques de Montréal : Genèse d’une communauté, 1800-1834

The author examines the characteristics, marital behaviour and family practices of Irish women and men in Montreal in the first third of the 19th century. He points out that some researchers, particularly Sherry Olson, have taken an interest in the Irish in Montreal by analysing socio-economic data, but mainly for the decades after 1840. However, the Irish community took root in the 1820s, as more and more Irish came to Montreal to work. The author sought to better understand the contours of Montreal's Irish population before the 1842 census by studying their family and social behaviours. By looking at parish registers, he was able to count 1,266 Irish men and women between 1800 and 1834. The various ephemeral construction projects in Montreal meant that most of them stayed in the city for only a short time. By analysing baptismal records, the author was able to confirm this phenomenon. In spite of this, some still settled in the city. The author points out that there are four main conclusions to be drawn from his study. First, a closer look at marriages shows that the Irish tend to marry within their ethnic group. Second, looking at the socio-professional activities of the spouses, the author determined that day labourers were not the only ones to marry in Montreal. There were also farmers, trades people and shopkeepers. From this, the author concludes that the Irish population was not strictly made up of working-class people. Moreover, his study of family practices reveals that the majority of these wives and husbands did not live in the city. A good proportion of them settled in the Lower Canadian countryside. Finally, the author notes that the networks created around family practices illustrate that Montreal's Irish community grew considerably in the 1820s.

Master's Thesis

Université du Québec à Montréal

Montréal

2021

viii-128p.

fr