Join us for a look at Plentiful Country: The Great Potato Famine and the Making of Irish New York.
In 1845, a fungus began to destroy Ireland’s potato crop, triggering a famine that would kill 1 million Irish men, women, and children—and drive more than 1 million more to flee for America. Ten years later, the United States had been transformed by this stupendous migration, and nowhere more so than New York: by 1855, roughly a third of all adults living in Manhattan were immigrants who had escaped the hunger in Ireland.
These so-called “Famine Irish” were consigned to the lowest-paying jobs and subjected to discrimination and ridicule by their new countrymen. Even today, the popular perception of these immigrants is one of destitution and despair. But it turns out that the Famine immigrants did far better, far more quickly, than we have previously realized.
During this program, historian Tyler Anbinder will discuss his new book Plentiful Country: The Great Potato Famine and the Making of Irish New York, and how it upends what we thought we knew about the Famine Irish in New York and beyond. His overview will be followed by a conversation between him and NYG&B President D. Joshua Taylor.
This program is part of our Preserving Your New York Story series and is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.
This is a free online webinar, but registration is required.
About the Presenters
Tyler Anbinder is an emeritus professor of history at George Washington University, where he taught courses on the history of American immigration and the American Civil War era. He is the author of three award-winning books: Nativism and Slavery: The Northern Know Nothings and the Politics of the 1850s (1992); Five Points: The Nineteenth-Century New York Neighborhood that Invented Tap Dance, Stole Elections, and Became the World’s Most Notorious Slum (2001); and City of Dreams: The 400-Year Epic History of Immigrant New York (2016). Dr. Anbinder has won fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities and served as the Fulbright Thomas Jefferson Distinguished Professor of History at the University of Utrecht. His fourth book, Plentiful Country: The Great Potato Famine and the Making of Irish New York, was published in both American and Irish editions in 2024.
D. Joshua Taylor, MA, MLS, FUGA is the President and CEO of the NYG&B and a nationally known and recognized genealogist. Previously, Joshua held senior leadership positions with Findmypast and the New England Historic Genealogical Society and has volunteered in leadership positions for the Federation of Genealogical Societies and other organizations. A prolific author and popular speaker, Joshua has been a coordinator for courses at the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy (SLIG) and the Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh (GRIP) and is the recipient of RootsTech’s Distinguished Presenter Award. He has been a featured genealogist on Who Do You Think You Are? and was a host on the PBS series Genealogy Roadshow. Joshua holds a Master of Library Science degree in Archival Management and a Master of Arts degree in History from Simmons University.
This series is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.
