A land known for its culture. Ireland, home to the Irish Potato Famine of 1845. It is here where the story begins."

Born in 1814, Dennis Kelly lived in Ireland, until about 1842, when he left for the United States. What inspired Kelly and other immigrants to leave Ireland? The simplest explanation—Ireland suffered tremendously throughout the 1800s. Issues arose with growing population and increase demands for land. Consequently, Irish agriculture degenerated.[1] Furthermore, Ireland faced a series of chronic and local crop failures, which lead to agricultural and economic disaster. Coinciding with chronic crop failures, there was a decrease in the price of grain. This led to negative impacts on the Irish worker’s household, with many workers losing their homes. Under the Irish Poor Law of 1838, there was a surge of evictions, and workers were forced to go elsewhere.[2] It was with these problems that many fled from Ireland and arrived in the United States. It is not clear what it was exactly, that sent Kelly to New York, but clearly life in Ireland was growing increasingly difficult.

Two years into living in the United States, Kelly was convicted of “receiving stolen goods.” According to the 1866 Penal Code of New York, the crime receiving stolen goods was defined as someone who buys or receives stolen property. The crime was punishable with imprisonment in a state prison for up to five years. It was also possible for a sentence of up to six months to be handed down, if the sentence was served in a county jail. [3] We don’t know what compelled Kelly to commit the crime or what stolen goods he received, but Kelly was convicted and sentenced to two years in Sing-Sing Prison. He served his time and was released in 1846 on the basis of good conduct. Following his release from prison, Kelly was referred to the Prison Association for help. On November 23^rd, 1846, the thirty-two-year-old Kelly met Hopper for the first time.

During the first encounter with Hopper, Kelly informed Hopper that he had a wife and two children, though the family’s whereabouts were not recorded in the Diary. Kelly made his intentions clear—he wanted to search for employment. Throughout his search for employment, he continued to live in New York City, residing at 23 ½ Orange Street with a man named John Feely, likely Kelly’s landlord. When Kelly returned to Hopper’s office five days later, he still had not secured employment. Hopper gave him two dollars in order to pay his board. From the Diary, we can glean that clients of the Association often lived in boarding houses and that rent was approximately one to two dollars per week. Furthermore, within New York City, rent varied by location. For example, living in Brooklyn, was more attractive than living on Manhattan Island, and as a result, rent in Brooklyn was higher.[4] Prices of rent were also impacted by the inclusion of board and the number of meals required. Rent would be considered cheaper when only breakfast was included, compared to the inclusion of three meals a day.[5]

December 16^th, 1846—it would appear that Kelly had yet to secure employment, as Hopper noted that he lent Kelly one dollar for his board. Eight days later, Hopper gave another dollar to Kelly for board. The search for employment continued on into the new year. There appeared to have been hope on January 11^th, 1847. When Hopper provided Kelly with seventy-five cents to purchase a shovel, “For clearing the foot ways of snow,” we do not know whether this might have been a form of employment or if Hopper was having Kelly do chores for the Association.

Months after his release from prison, Kelly had yet to secure a job. It is not clear how he supported his family or whether they were even there in New York. With him, Kelly’s story highlights the challenges of survival of those returning to society from prison. Without help from the Association for basic provisions like food and shelter, it is hard to imagine how Kelly might have survived.

Footnotes:

[1] Robert Ernst, Immigrant Life in New York City, 1825-1863. (Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 1994), 5.

[2] Ernst, 6.

[3] Commissioners of the Code, "The Penal Code of the State of New York." New York (State) Statutes, 1865, 216.

[4] Margo, Robert A. "The Rental Price of Housing in New York City, 1830-1860." The Journal of Economic History 56, no. 3 (1996): 605-25.

[5] Robert A. Margo, "The Rental Price of Housing in New York City, 1830-1860," The Journal of Economic History 56, no. 3 (1996): 615.