"GIRLS: Irish Immigrant Women in Upstate New York"

Irish society and culture were severely changed by the effects of An Gorta Mor, also known as the Great Hunger or the Great Famine. Young single women with no options left in Ireland emigrated to America for the opportunity to break free from their perpetual girlhood. Four of the seven women identified as having worked at the Becker Mansion either came from Ireland themselves or came from families who emigrated from Ireland.