Deer Island

Boston Irish Famine Memorial Unveiled on June 28, 1998

Explore New England, History & Heritage, Irish Boston History

History is replete with stories about refugees from around the world coming to Boston, Massachusetts, seeking help from tragedies of historic proportions that were too massive for them to face….

History is replete with stories about refugees from around the world coming to Boston, Massachusetts, seeking help from tragedies of historic proportions that were too massive for them to face. Very often they were poorly received, as locals feared the burden these immigrants would have on society. One of the most compelling chapters in the…

On June 1, 1847, six year old Irish girl is the first to die at Boston’s Deer Island Quarantine Hospital

History & Heritage, Irish Boston History

On June 1, 1847, Mary Nelson became the first Irish immigrant to die at the new quarantine hospital at Deer Island. She died of typhus fever and was six years…

On June 1, 1847, Mary Nelson became the first Irish immigrant to die at the new quarantine hospital at Deer Island. She died of typhus fever and was six years old. During the first ten days of June, 1847, other deaths included: Mary Connelly, age one on June 3; Mary Flaherty, age 21, on June…