The Early Irish in Belleville

The first evidence of the Irish presence in Belleville is a little surprising. These are the Irish connected to the Dutch Reformed Church. Long before the Irish Famine that saw thousands flee hunger and oppression, Irish were settling in the area that would become Belleville. The earliest identified are Dennis Price and his wife Dorothy Moor. Dorothy was the daughter of Anthony Moor of Emoc, Queen's County (now County Laois). They were married at the Dutch Reformed Church on August 25, 1733. "Dennys Prys" is identified as a native of Ireland, "Dalle Moore" as a native of Dublin. Both were living in Second River at the time of their marriage. Dorothy died on October 15, 1739, at the age of age 28, and was buried in the churchyard, where her tombstone can be seen. 

Among the marriages that were solemnized at the Dutch Reformed Church are those of a couple of other Irish natives. Robert Clark, an Irish native, and widower of Rachel Cloud, and Abigal Pingham, widow of William Pease, and both living at Second River, were married on October 21, 1764. The banns for the marriage of Joseph McKarll, born in Ireland, and Mary Sproils, living in "Beskenriets" (Basking Ridge) were published three times in 1758, but they never married. There are other names in the records that could be names of Irish natives, but their birthplaces are not indicated.  

More Irish came over in the early 1800s, presumably to take advantage of the growing industrialization of Belleville. Not surprisingly, given Belleville's position on the Passaic River, and its connection to shipping, many Irish came from the northern counties of Ireland and worked in the shipping industry, or found other employment. Peter Donnelly, from the north of Ireland, first appears in the records on December 15, 1826, when he marries Eliza Cole at the Dutch Reformed Church. He was Catholic, and remained so. She, a native of New Jersey, was either Dutch Reformed or Methodist. Their son Hugh would convert to Methodism, and was the foreman of the Hendricks Brothers Copper Mill. 

Employees of Hendricks Brothers Copper Rolling Mill

On October 15, 1832.this same  Peter Donnelly “of Bloomfield” bought for $50 a plot of land “at Belleville” but “being in the township of Bloomfield” from Solomon I. Isaacs and his wife Elizabeth of the city and state of New York. This is identified in the deed as “Lot #169 on Isaacs Street.” This Solomon Isaacs was a co-owner, with Harmon Hendricks, of the copper mill at Soho. It was at this time that Solomon sold his part in the copper mill. This lot was contiguous to one owned by one Murtaugh, who was, judging by his name, another Irishman.

Peter was naturalized on July 1, 1834, and William Dow testified that Peter had been in the United States at least five years, the required time for residence before one could apply for citizenship. 

On 11 June 1835, he bought another piece of land in Bloomfield. Although the land was in present-day Belleville, Belleville would not be set off from Bloomfield until 1839. This 4 65/100 acre piece of land, bought from John H. Farrand and his wife Isabella W. of Bloomfield for $100, was at the intersection of the branch brook and the Morris Canal. In 1848, he added to this piece of land a piece contiguous to it. By deed dated 17 July 1848, “Peter Donally” of Belleville bought of Robert Baldwin and his wife Mary D. of Newark, for $650, 90/100 acres of land to the east of the land bought in 1835. On the same day, according to this same deed, Robert and Mary Baldwin sold a piece of land contiguous to this one to Peter Kahoe [Kehoe]. On 9 October 1849, Peter Donnelly and Peter “Kohoe” jointly bought another piece of land contiguous to both of their lots, containing four acres and situated to the east of the Morris Canal.    

Another early Irishman, possibly related to Peter by marriage, was Henry McLaughlin. I am still trying to straighten out all of the information about this man, but it seems that he was born in County Tyrone on December 13, 1813, and came to Second River (Belleville) where he bought three pieces of land in 1830, one of them from Solomon Isaacs. He is listed in the 1830 census, which census tells us that he had living in his household ten white males aged 20 to 30, and eleven white males aged 30 to 40. Of these, fifteen were aliens.  He must have had financial troubles soon thereafter, since in 1838 his property was sold at auction to pay debts. He was probably affected by the depression that had hit the country in 1837. He returned to Ireland, where he died in Magheragart, County Tyrone, and was buried in the old family cemetery there. He was probably related to the McLaughlins of Brooklyn, whose descendants would include George Vincent McLaughlin, one-time Police Commissioner of New York City, since Peter Donnelly's brother Hugh had married a Brooklyn McLaughlin who was related to George Vincent's family.

Living near McLaughlin in 1830 were several men with Irish names: William Walsh, Barney Cunningham, William Hanly, and James Murtaugh. 

So the Irish presence in Belleville was particularly strong several years before the famine.