Irish

It may be, as the Times Record newspaper of Troy wrote, that:

The Irish came in during building of the Erie Canal.

Editorial. “The Friendly City.” Times Record. August 16, 1968: 10.

… but there were Irish in Lansingburgh well before the beginning of the construction of the Erie Canal in 1817. To give but one example:

[Alexander] Walsh was born in 1783 in Duncannon, Tyrone, Ireland and emigrated in 1799 with his parents, Alexander Walsh Sr. (1737-1820) and Jan (Smith) Walsh (1740-1807). The elder Walsh opened a general store in the village and his succesful business was continued for a number of years after his death by Alexander Jr.

Brderick, Warren.”Walsh Was Noted Horticulturist.” Times Record. May 8, 1971: B20.

Alexander Walsh, Sr. can be found on the 1800 US Census, enumerated in the Town of Troy, though he was then living in the Village of Lansingburgh (the Town of Lansingburgh would not be created until 1807).

The Old Catholic Burial Ground in Lansingburgh, created in 1829, contains a number of headstones giving the place of birth of the deceased, like those for Richard McCormick (abt 1795-1831) of Ireland; Patrick Higgins (abt 1806-1831) of County Cavan, Ireland; Catherine Armstrong McGuire (abt 1794-1832) of County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland; Patrick Menane (abt 1801-1832) of Emly, County Tipperary, Ireland.

REPEAL MEETING.—The friends of Irish Repeal we are informed, intend holding a meeting at the Universalist Church in Lansingburgh, on the evening of Tuesday next.

Daily Troy Budget. December 4, 1841: 2 col 5.

In Lansingburgh, yesterday, JOHN TRACY, Esq., aged 57 years, a native of Ireland, and for twenty years a resident of Lansingburgh. His loss will be deeply felt in that village.

His funeral will take place to-morrow afternoon at 2 o’clock.

Daily Troy Budget. November 28, 1842: 2 col 4.

The friends of Ireland and Civil and Religious Liberty, in Troy, Lansingburgh, Waterford, and West Troy, are invited to attend the Celebration of this Glorious Event, on THURSDAY EVENING, at 7 o’clock, at the Court House in this city.
A Procession, escorted by the Troy Brass Band, will form at the Court House at 5 1/2 o’clock, and march thence down to Liberty street, down Liberty to Third, up Third to River, up River to Jacob, up Jacob to North Second, down North Second to Fifth, down Fifth to Congress, down Congress to Court House.

REV. C.C.BURR,

CALVIN E. MATHER, Esq.

The Evening Entertainment will be enlivened by the introduction of Patriotic and National Airs.

By order of Committee.

WILLIAM WALLACE,

MICHAEL BOUHAN,

DENNIS LEONARD,

WILLIAM DUNN.

Troy Daily Whig. October 23, 1844: 2 col 6.

The 1850 US Census included 1,246 people in Lansingburgh whose place of birth was given as Ireland. Later that decade, Irish population centers in Rensselaer County were described:

strong Irish neighborhoods—city of Troy, village of Lansingburgh and village of Greenbush.

“The Buchanan County Convention.” Troy Weekly Times. October 25, 1856: 1 col 4.

1860 US Census: 1,009
1880 US Census: 823
1900 US Census: 615

Below is a spreadsheet with just the Irish-Lansingburgher extracted from the list of Lansingburgh entries from Oakwood Cemetery’s interment books 1851-1900. Eight of the people died prior to 1851 (the first in 1824); they were reinterred from other cemeteries. Three people, all of the McQuide family, did not have years of death entered; other sources will have to be consulted to fill in that information.