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Duffy's Cut: New searches for remains of Irish migrants | Duffy's Cut: New searches for remains of Irish migrants |
(about 9 hours later) | |
New searches are under way in the US to try to find the remains of 51 Irish railroad workers who died - or were murdered - in 1832. | New searches are under way in the US to try to find the remains of 51 Irish railroad workers who died - or were murdered - in 1832. |
Fifty-seven workers were hired to build a stretch of railway in Pennsylvania known as Duffy's Cut. | Fifty-seven workers were hired to build a stretch of railway in Pennsylvania known as Duffy's Cut. |
However, within weeks all of them were dead. | However, within weeks all of them were dead. |
It is thought some died from cholera, while others were murdered by local people who believed the immigrants were spreading the disease. | It is thought some died from cholera, while others were murdered by local people who believed the immigrants were spreading the disease. |
They all hailed from counties Tyrone, Donegal and Londonderry. | They all hailed from counties Tyrone, Donegal and Londonderry. |
Six sets of remains have previously been uncovered and the new searches that are taking place are at what is believed to be the site of a mass grave containing the remaining 51. | Six sets of remains have previously been uncovered and the new searches that are taking place are at what is believed to be the site of a mass grave containing the remaining 51. |
In July, a funeral mass and burial took place at St Patrick's Church in Clonoe, near Coalisland, County Tyrone, for one of the migrants - 29-year-old Catherine Burns. | In July, a funeral mass and burial took place at St Patrick's Church in Clonoe, near Coalisland, County Tyrone, for one of the migrants - 29-year-old Catherine Burns. |
Injuries to her skull indicated she had been murdered. | Injuries to her skull indicated she had been murdered. |
The new search site is about 50 yards from where the other remains were found. | The new search site is about 50 yards from where the other remains were found. |
Duffy's Cut and its story have been brought to light over the past 12 years by brothers Frank and William Watson, a Lutheran minister and a historian at Immaculata University. | Duffy's Cut and its story have been brought to light over the past 12 years by brothers Frank and William Watson, a Lutheran minister and a historian at Immaculata University. |
Dr Frank Watson said the site currently being searched is close to the modern railway line. | Dr Frank Watson said the site currently being searched is close to the modern railway line. |
They had to negotiate with Amtrak, the national railroad in the United States, to carry out the dig. | They had to negotiate with Amtrak, the national railroad in the United States, to carry out the dig. |
"What we are conducting now are core samples at the site of what we believe is the mass grave of the remaining 51 labourers at Duffy's Cut," he said. | "What we are conducting now are core samples at the site of what we believe is the mass grave of the remaining 51 labourers at Duffy's Cut," he said. |
"We have core samples being taken between 20 and 30 feet along an area underground that our geophysicist indicated looks like the mass burial place. | "We have core samples being taken between 20 and 30 feet along an area underground that our geophysicist indicated looks like the mass burial place. |
"If we find human remains in these core samples, our intent is to excavate the remains and re-inter them in the United States and Ireland as we have already done with the first six bodies who were buried at the base of the 1832 railroad tracks." | "If we find human remains in these core samples, our intent is to excavate the remains and re-inter them in the United States and Ireland as we have already done with the first six bodies who were buried at the base of the 1832 railroad tracks." |
The new searches are close to a stone memorial wall that was built for the migrants in 1909. | The new searches are close to a stone memorial wall that was built for the migrants in 1909. |
"That wall replaced an earlier 1872 wooden fence put in place by Irish-American railroaders who wanted to remember those who died at Duffy's Cut," Dr Watson said. | "That wall replaced an earlier 1872 wooden fence put in place by Irish-American railroaders who wanted to remember those who died at Duffy's Cut," Dr Watson said. |
"Anti-Irish and anti-Catholic sentiment combined with fear of a worldwide cholera pandemic that hit Chester County, Pennsylvania in the summer of 1832, led to the vigilante violence at Duffy's Cut." |
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