Which States Did Immigrants Live In? Census of 1860

According to the Preliminary Report of the 1860 Census, the foreign-born population in 1860 broke down as follows:

 

Roughly 90% of immigrants lived in the Free States, 5% in the Border States, and 5% in the future Confederate States.

 

Although there is a persistent belief that large numbers of Irish and Scottish immigrants enlisted in Confederate regiments, the census numbers show that the base immigrant population in the South was too tiny to supports many units above the size of companies. New York and North Carolina provide a stark contrast in numbers. North Carolina had 889 Irish-born and 637 from Scotland in its total population in 1860. By contrast New York had 498,072 Irish born and 27,641 from Scotland.

 

South Carolina had fewer than 5,000 people from Ireland and about 500 from Scotland.

 

That chart says a lot. Thanks for posting it.

 

Please forgive my ignorance, what is British America, were they people that had settled under British rule?

 

Thank you.

 

What we now call Canada did not exist as a Confederation until 1867.

 

In 1860, British North America consisted of the United Province of Canada (Ontario and Quebec), New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland, Vancouver Island and British Columbia. Each of these colonies had its own government which related back to the UK, but not to other colonies in British North America. British North America also included the northwest territories.

 

I've never heard that large numbers of Scots and Irish immigrants enlisted in the Confederate cause. However, it is true that the CS Army contained large numbers of Americans of Scots and Irish descent.

 

Here is an interesting table of the states persons tended to migrate to if they left the state of their birth:

 

I can't find the publication date, but I am guessing the report on the 1860 Census came out the following year.

 

Guessing it was classified by town village and county.

 

It is common knowledge that the Confederate states did not have many foreign born citizens. I have no idea where the concept that huge number of Irish, Germans, or Scots fought for the Confederacy. the numbers have never supported this.

 

Some other interesting details: We think of Pennsylvania as being some how "German" but the Irish immigrants out numbered the German immigrants at the start of the Civil War. Over half of all Irish immigrants lived in just three of Northern states.

 

That's a very interesting table indeed Pat. I'm printing it and adding it to my file cabinet hard-copy materials.

I of course had to look at English and German immigrants in South Carolina because of my family connections. Lots of Germans there but not very many English by comparison. I wonder why.