The Carr Family History©

The name Carr in Ireland is an anglicized form of a number of different native Gaelic Sept names. These include the O'Carraigh Sept of County Louth, the Mac Giolla Domhnaigh Sept of County Derry and the O'Ceardain Sept of County Donegal. This is two variations of their shield.

"The opening decades of nineteenth century saw a marked decline in the economic fortunes of Ireland.  The ending of the Napoleonic wars after 1815 was a major factor in the economic slump that affected the city.  Prices for agricultural produce declined by one-third to one-half of the wartime prices.  The harbours no longer regularly hosted fleets of the Royal Navy and this caused a major decline in the provisions trade.  The return of the currency to the gold standard led to a contraction of credit and the subsequent collapse of many banks.  After 1824, Irish industry was exposed to competition from the far more developed British economy.

"The combined impact of these developments was catastrophic for the textile industry and the provisions trade.  Unemployment in Ireland rose to very high levels.  Remarkably, the population of the city did not decline.  This was mainly due to the massive influx  to the city of migrants from the economically depressed rural areas.  A major outbreak of cholera in the city in 1832 exacerbated the already difficult economic situation.  The cholera outbreak was part of a European-wide pandemic of cholera in that year.

"Between the years 1845-1850, Ireland was subjected to one of the greatest catastrophes in its long and troubled history - The Great Famine.  As one of the seminal events in Irish history, the Famine influenced the political, social and economic history of the country for generations.  During this period Ireland witnessed scenes of horror and destitution which are barely imaginable to modern residents of the city. (I assume this refers to Dublin--the writer does not state.)

"In 1841 Ireland supported a population of 8,175,124.  Approximately 3 million of the population depended almost entirely on potatoes, supplemented with milk, for their subsistence.  A general failure of the potato harvest would obviously spell disaster for huge numbers of people.  Reports of an outbreak of potato blight began to circulate in the autumn of 1845.  By the winter of 1845/46 it was clear that more than half of the crop was unusable and widespread hardship was felt among the rural and urban poor.

"The relief committee was set up in March 1846 and with government support organized the distribution of maize, known as Indian meal, to the poor and started schemes of public works to enable those employed to earn enough to buy food from the food depots.  The maize was not given to the poor, it had to be paid for.  The wages on the public works schemes were very low.  The laissez-faire economic doctrine, dominant at the time, viewed government interference in the economy as a bad thing.  This outlook hampered government relief measures throughout the period of the Famine.

"By the summer of 1846, the Relief Committee was preparing to wind itself up and discontinue the food depots and work schemes.  The hope was that the forthcoming potato harvest would be good.  When the potato harvest failed again, there was widespread fear and despondency.

"The enormous scale of the problem overwhelmed all the efforts at amelioration.  The winter of 1846/47, 'Black 47' in folklore, was the worst in living memory.  The rural poor fleeing from starvation and evictions poured into the cities.  Special constables were organized to expel rural vagrants from the city.  The workhouse and the city hospitals were full.  Starving beggars died on the streets.  The cemeteries in the city couldn't cope with the numbers to be buried and a new cemetery was opened at Carr's Hill outside the city.  Often, the mass graves contained so many coffins that those interred near the tops of the graves were insufficiently covered with earth allowing the foetid odour of decaying corpses to escape.  

"Between 1845 and 1851 the population of Ireland decreased by approximately 2 million."

*Julie did not cite her source, but I believe this to be from "The Famine Years", a definitive book on the potato famine of Ireland.  If you have not read this resource, and are researching Ireland during this time period, I highly recommend that you obtain a copy and read it.  It explains much of what happened and why.  I do not recall the name of the author.  

i. Edmund Carr, born Abt. 1842; married Hanora Stack.

ii. James Carr, born Abt. 1843.

iii. Richard Carr, born Abt. 1844.

iv. Josephine Carr, born Abt. 1845.

1 v. Catherine Carr, born 05 Nov 1846 in Alhalahana Farm, Co. Kerry, Ireland; died 06 Jun 1914 in Omaha, Douglas, NB; married (1) John Carr 02 Feb 1869; married (2) David Osborne 07 Apr 1869 in Maquoketa, Jackson, Iowa; married (3) Moses Michael Kanouse 12 Feb 1908 in Florence Nebraska (St Phillips).

vi. Bridget Carr, born 1864 in Ballylongford, Munster, Kerry, Ireland; died 1954.

vii. John Carr⁷, born 1865; died 07 Mar 1865 in County Kerry, Ireland; married (2) Catherine Carr 02 Feb 1869; born 05 Nov 1846 in Alhalahana Farm, Co. Kerry, Ireland; died 06 Jun 1914 in Omaha, Douglas, NB.

7. OneWorldTree, Ancestry.com. One World Tree (sm) [database online]. Provo, UT: MyFamily.com, Inc.