The Application of Isonymic Analysis to Historical Data: Irish Migration to Britain, 1851-1901

M.T. Smith1, A.C. Hepburn2, D.M. MacRaild3

1 Dept. of Anthropology, University of Durham, UK2 School of Arts, Design, Media and Culture, University of Sunderland, UK 3 School of Humanities, University of Northumbria, UK

Overview

• An introduction to isonymy

• Illustrative Case studies – Surnames and occupation– Surnames and religion– Spatial distribution of surnames

• Irish migration to Northern England– Population structure of Ireland– Population structure of Irish in England

Isonymy Methods

• G H Darwin (1875)• Marital Isonymy (Crow and Mange, 1965)• Random Isonymy (Morton 1973, Lasker 1977, Relethford

1988)

• Isonymy treats surnames as if they were strictly inherited, like genes. Because they are passed in the male line, surnames behave like genes on the Y chromosome.

• Assumption that all bearers of a surname are descended from a shared common ancestor – this assumption is often untrue

Darwin pedigree

ErasmusDarwin

ElizabethPole

MaryHoward

Robert WaringDarwin

FrancesSamuelGalton

FrancisGalton

JosiahWedgwood

Sarah Wedgwood

Susannah Josiah II John

John BartlettAllen

Elizabeth Hensleigh

Elizabeth Jane Catherine

Caroline Sarah CharlesJosiah III Emma Henry Jessie

Hensleigh

James Macintosh

Frances

George Howard Francis Horace

Charles Galton

Richard DarwinKeynes

Horace BasilBarlow

0.0625 0.0625 0.125

0.0625

Y-chromosome inheritance

The pattern of surname transmission inEngland and many other countries, mimics the inheritance of the Y chromosome

Introduction to isonymy through North Yorkshire coastal parishes

Robin Hoods Bay

RunswickStaithes

Hinderwell

In local populations surname frequencies have a characteristic skewed distribution

Many moresurnamesoccur onlyonce

with a few names repeated several times,and many occurring only once or twice

Staithes, 1851

Surname

CLEARSON

WALLER

SANDERSON

TRUFITT

FELLTRATTLES

BURTON

HICKS

CROOKS

KINGRO

BINSON

PARRITT

WEBSTER

JEFFERSON

ABRAHAM

SHEPPY

THOMPSO

N

COLE

HARRISON

BROW

N

THEAKER

WARD

VERRILL

Fre

qu

en

cy

20

10

0

Runswick, 1851

Surname

STONEHOUSE

JEFFELS

HEWARD

APPELBY

MO

NEHOUSE

WO

OD

WHITE

DOBSO

N

STEWARD

LONGSTER

BELLBESW

ICK

CLARK

HUTTON

PATTON

CARLING

TAYLOR

TOSE

CALVART

Fre

qu

en

cy

10

8

6

4

2

0

The coefficient of relationship by isonymy Ri devised byGabriel Lasker (1977)is calculated between a pair of populations

Ri = ΣpiA.piB/2where piA is the relative frequency of the ith surname in population A and piB is thefrequency of that surname in population B

FILE FYLI HIND RUNS SCAR STAI WHIT

FILE

FYLI 0.0009

HIND 0.0010 0.0013

RUNS 0.0005 0.0010 0.0010

SCAR 0.0013 0.0007 0.0014 0.0012

STAI 0.0009 0.0015 0.0023 0.0012 0.0010

WHIT 0.0006 0.0012 0.0013 0.0007 0.0006 0.0013

Relationships by isonymy between pairs of places, North Yorkshire Coast,1851

FILE FYLI HIND RUNS SCAR STAI WHIT

FILE

FYLI 0.0009

HIND 0.0010 0.0013

RUNS 0.0005 0.0010 0.0010

SCAR 0.0013 0.0007 0.0014 0.0012

STAI 0.0009 0.0015 0.0023 0.0012 0.0010

WHIT 0.0006 0.0012 0.0013 0.0007 0.0006 0.0013

Relationships by isonymy between pairs of places, North Yorkshire Coast,1851

Staithes and Runswick – next door neighbours butwithout much in common

FILE FYLI HIND RUNS SCAR STAI WHIT

FILE

FYLI 0.0009

HIND 0.0010 0.0013

RUNS 0.0005 0.0010 0.0010

SCAR 0.0013 0.0007 0.0014 0.0012

STAI 0.0009 0.0015 0.0023 0.0012 0.0010

WHIT 0.0006 0.0012 0.0013 0.0007 0.0006 0.0013

Relationships by isonymy between pairs of places, North Yorkshire Coast,1851

Staithes and Runswick – next door neighbours butwithout much in common

data matrix is difficult to make sense

of

“Map” of relationships between pairs of places, North Yorkshire Coast,1851

done using SPSS Alscal procedure

Case Studies

• Selsey, Sussex– gives a feel for the method

• Fylingdales, North Yorkshire– occupation and surnames

• Ards Peninsula, County Down– Geographical distance and surnames, also settlement history,

religion and occupation

• Origins of 19 C Irish migrants to Britain– a substantive research question posed by historians

Selsey Peninsula, West Sussex

Occupational groups include farmers,agricultural labourers,fishermen, others(tradesmen, craftsmen,and professionals)and coastguards

Coastguards were short-term postings,usually of outsiders,‘foreigners’ in the eyes of the local community

Relationship by isonymy between occupational groups, Selsey 1841-1881, all years combined

farmers ag labs fishermen others coastguards

Relationship by isonymy between occupational groups, Selsey 1841-1881, each year separate

farmers ag labs fishermen others coastguards

Relationship by isonymy between occupational groups, Selsey 1841-1881, tracing change through time

4

8

8

44

4

8

8

8

4 8

4

farmers ag labs fishermen others coastguards

Relationship by isonymy between occupational groups, Fylingdales 1841-1881, tracing change through time

4

8

4

8

8 4

844

8

4

8

8

4

ag labs

shipowners

mariners

others

farmers

fishermen

The Ards Peninsula, Co. Down

This example shows the influence of distance, settlement history, religious persuasion and occupation on surname distributions

The Ards was settled in the 12 C by Anglo-Normans led by Hugh de Courcy

17 C plantation by English and in particular Scots Presbyterian settlers in the north of the peninsula

Scrabo Tower, Ards Peninsula

Ards Peninsula: relationship by isonymy, marriage registers, 1840-1910.

Roman CatholicEpiscopalian

Presbyterian

Population structure of Ards Peninsula• Surnames reflect settlement history, geographical

distance and religion• Why is Portavogie different?

Population structure of Ards Peninsula• Surnames reflect settlement history, geographical

distance and religion• Why is Portavogie different?

Portavogie was a fishing village, with continuing links to the Scottish coast

Population structure of Ards Peninsula• Why is Portavogie different?

Portavogie was a fishing village, with continuing links to the Scottish coast

Little or no emigration or immigration has taken place … Surnames are scare; Palmers can be counted by the score; Adairs, Mahoods, Cullys, Hughes, and Coffeys by the dozen: a fact to some extent accounted for by the tendency to intermarry. The young men seldom venture outside the limits of the village in their search for a wife; hence a strong family likeness prevails …

(Belfast News Letter 26 October 1885 Portavogie and its Fishermen)

North Yorkshire coast 1851-1881

• Population structure partly determined by isolation-by-distance

• Maritime communities more stable than land-based communities

• Maritime communities more isolated from each other

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

4

0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5

R5

R8

St5

St8

Sc5Sc8

Fi5Fi8

H8H5

W5

W8

Fy8Fy5

R5 - R8 Runswick 1851-1881 St5 - St8 Staithes 1851-1881 H5 - H8 Hinderwell 1851-1881 W5 - W8 Whitby 1851-1881 Fy5 - Fy8 Fylingdales 1851-1881 Sc5 - Sc8 Scarborough 1851-1881 Fi5-Fi8 Filey 1851-1881

Isonymic relationships between North Yorkshire coastal populations, 1851-1881.

The Irish in Britain, 1881: where are they from?

The origins of Irish migrants to northern England

(1) Population structure of Ireland in the mid nineteenth century

(2) Population structure of Irish-born migrants to northern England at the 1881 Census

Population structure of Ireland in the mid nineteenth century

Study Aims

• Elucidate the historical population structure of Ireland by isonymy – Is isonymy between populations consistent

with geographical distance?– Do administrative divisions constrain surname

distributions?

Griffiths Valuation as a source of Irish historical demographic data

• No 19th Century censuses survive

• Griffiths Valuation 1848-64 – Index of tenants, i.e. household heads for

every property– Problem with tenants having more than one

property– Sampled only one forename/surname

combination per parish

Random 10% sample from each county

Sampled to minimise tenancy duplication problem

Method gave 84,100 named individuals for analysis

Resulting matrix of relationships between counties displayed as a2-D map by MDS

Griffiths Valuation national sample

MDS plot of isonymic relationships between counties

R2 = .922

MDS plot of isonymic relationships between counties• Surname distributions between counties

closely matched to geography– Between Provinces– Within Provinces

• Why are Munster counties so close and Ulster counties so dispersed?– Settlement differences, Ulster Plantation,

demic expansion in Munster

Do administrative boundaries constrain surname distributions?1. Between-county vs within-county

contiguous parish pairs for ancient province of Ulster

Hypothesis that relationship within counties will be greater than relationship across county boundaries

Mean R within counties = 0.00388 Mean R between counties = 0.00266 One tail T-test, p = .01

2. Parish Transect

-2

-1.5

-1

-0.5

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

-2 -1 0 1 2

Donegal

Tyrone

Fermanagh

Leitrim

Roscommon

Galway

Clare

Limerick

Kerry

Cork

MDS plot of isonymic relationship betweentransect parishes

Parish transect

R2 = .440

Conclusions

• Isonymy consistent with isolation by distance country-wide

• Some evidence that administrative boundaries – county and provincial – may constrain surname distributions

• Distribution of Norse-derived surnames does not help explain earlier studies of population structure

Irish migrants to Northern England in the late nineteenth century Study Aims

• Explore the population structure of Irish migrant communities in northern England by isonymy– Did Irish and English control populations show

isolation by distance or other relationships to geography?

– What caused Irish populations in England to be geographically structured?

Data Sources and Samples

• 1881 Census of England and Wales*• Cumberland, Co. Durham, Northumberland• Isonymy sampling – Irish-born male heads of

household, male boarders and male lodgers – 33,625

• English controls, equivalent, born in residing parish or adjacent parishes – 29,630

• Limited information on county of birth of Irish will be used to interpret findings

*Enhanced version of LDS transcription from AHDS History

LegendStudy Parish - Northumberland

Study Parish - Durham

Study Parish - Cumberland

County

Cumberland

County Durham

Lancashire

Yorkshire NR

Northumberland

Parishes of Northern England, 1881 Census

¯0 60 12030 Kilometres

Criteria for parishselection:

Represent eachCounty

Isonymy samplemust be >100

Parishes includedin isonymy analysis

Isonymy by distance, 1881 Census

0.0000

0.0005

0.0010

0.0015

0.0020

0.0025

0.0030

0.0035

0.0040

0 50 100 150 200

Kilometres

Rel

atio

nsh

ip b

y is

on

ymy

English

Irish

MDS plot of isonymy between English control samples, 1881 Census

RSQ = .250

1 Carlise2 Cleator3 Cockermouth4 Crosscanonby5 Dearham6 Egremont7 Harrington8 Millom9 Preston Quarter10 Whitehaven11 Wigton12 Workington13 Benfieldside14 Birtley15 Bishop Auckland16 Bishopwearmouth17 Conside & Knitsley 18 Crook &Billy Row19 Darlington20 Dawdon21 Durham22 Gateshead23 Hartlepool24 Jarrow

25 Hetton-Le-Hole26 Heworth27 Houghton-Le -Spring28 South Shields29 Southwick30 Stockton- On-Tees31 Sunderland32 Tanfield33 Westoe34 Wingate35 Winlaton36 Witton Gilbert37 Wolsingham38 Alnwick39 Bedlington40 Hexham41 Longbenton42 Morpeth43 Newcastle All Sts44 Newcastle St Andrew45 North Shields46 Tynemouth47 Wallsend48 Westgate

-3

-2

-1

0

1

2

3

-3 -1 1 3

Cumberland

Durham

Northumberland

37

10

22

25

26

9

17

16 40

12

47

14

6

13

4

8

7

2

4238

41

4275

44

46

41

39

43

45

2431

21

3423 33

19

29

32

28

35

13

18 20

36

MDS plot of isonymy between Irish samples, 1881 Census

RSQ = .244

1 Carlise2 Cleator3 Cockermouth4 Crosscanonby5 Dearham6 Egremont7 Harrington8 Millom9 Preston Quarter10 Whitehaven11 Wigton12 Workington13 Benfieldside14 Birtley15 Bishop Auckland16 Bishopwearmouth17 Conside & Knitsley 18 Crook &Billy Row19 Darlington20 Dawdon21 Durham22 Gateshead23 Hartlepool24 Jarrow

25 Hetton-Le-Hole26 Heworth27 Houghton-Le -Spring28 South Shields29 Southwick30 Stockton- On-Tees31 Sunderland32 Tanfield33 Westoe34 Wingate35 Winlaton36 Witton Gilbert37 Wolsingham38 Alnwick39 Bedlington40 Hexham41 Longbenton42 Morpeth43 Newcastle All Sts44 Newcastle St Andrew45 North Shields46 Tynemouth47 Wallsend48 Westgate

Factors influencing settlement

Transport routes

Factors influencing settlement

Transport routes

Chain migration

Factors influencing settlement

Transport routes

Chain migration • Family-based

Factors influencing settlement

Transport routes

Chain migration • Family-based

• Community-based

Factors influencing settlement

Transport routes

Chain migration • Family-based

• Community-based

Sectarian issues

Factors influencing settlement

Transport routes

Chain migration • Family-based

• Community-based

Sectarian issues• Protestant shipyard workers from Belfast

go to Clydeside, then to Tyneside

Factors influencing settlement

Transport routesChain migration • Family-based• Community-based

Sectarian issues• Protestant shipyard workers from Belfast

go to Clydeside, then to Tyneside• Roman Catholic Churches, Orange Order

and other societies

Catalogue Reference:PRO/RAIL 910/1

http://www.movinghere.org.uk/

Shipping routes were a primary determinantof settlement in England

Catalogue Reference:PRO/RAIL 910/1

http://www.movinghere.org.uk/

Cumberland and North Lancashire

Settlement in North-East England via several routes

Catalogue Reference:PRO/RAIL 910/1

http://www.movinghere.org.uk/

Cumberland and North Lancashire

Liverpool

Settlement in North-East England via several routes

Catalogue Reference:PRO/RAIL 910/1

http://www.movinghere.org.uk/

Cumberland and North Lancashire

Liverpool

Glasgow and Clydeside (shipyard workers)

Settlement in North-East England via several routes

Catalogue Reference:PRO/RAIL 910/1

http://www.movinghere.org.uk/

Cumberland and North Lancashire

Liverpool

Glasgow and Clydeside (shipyard workers)

South Wales (ironworkers)

Settlement in North-East England via several routes

We have identified county of birth (c-o-b)for 151,216 Irish-bornliving in England and Wales at the 1881 Census

The number with identifiable birthcounty is a smallproportion of the total

e.g. Co Durham 1881

Irish-born 36,527Isonymy sample 20,307Known c-o-b 5,705

Irish Origins

The relative frequencyof Irish from Co. Tyroneis highest around the iron works town ofConsett, Co. Durhamand in Barrow in Furness,Lancashire

Irish Origins

In 1881 the highest settlement density of Irish-born from Co. Down is in Cumbria

Irish Origins

Conclusions

• Population structure of Irish migrants to England shows little isolation-by-distance.

• Irish population is geographically structured, consistent with settlement influenced by shipping routes, migration streams, and economic and social-cultural factors.

• English population structure reflects isolation-by-distance, topography and migration associated with recent industrial development.

Acknowledgements

This paper comes out of a wider study entitled

Funded by the Economic and Social Research Council

The Application of Isonymic Analysis to Historical Data: Irish Migration to Britain, 1851-1901

M.T. Smith, A.C. Hepburn, D.M. MacRaild