Mr. Tuke’s Fund for Assisted Emigration 1882-5

What is inside?

This extraordinary book, was a private collection of 20 separately published pieces relating to work by the Committee of Mr. Tuke's Fund. This fund was established in 1882 to assist emigration from the west of Ireland to America, specifically the Unions of Belmullet, Newport & Swineford in Co. Mayo, and Clifden, Oughterard and the Aran Islands in Co. Galway. 9,482 people were assisted by this fund up to 1885, and this book contains a vast amount of detail about the working of the fund, but also about the experience of the emigrants themselves. This includes extensive descriptions of the places where emigrants came from, the emigrants themselves, the process of emigration (including anecdotal reports on their experiences), where they went (USA, Canada and Australia), a detailed list of the specific places they were settled in the US, dates of emigration and sailing details. Most unusually the book contains extensive letters home from the emigrants on arrival. It also analyses what happened to their small holdings in Ireland after they left, giving a full list of emigrants' names and the townlands they came from. This one-off book also has an inserted hand written letter from James H. Tuke to the Duke of Bedford, President of the Committee, explaining that he was sending him this copy of the Reports to better understand the experience of his fund to that date.

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