Grosse Ile, Quebec
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Grosse Ile (literally: large island) is an island off the port of Quebec City, Quebec in the St. Lawrence River.
From 1832 to 1937 it was used for the quarantine of immigrants. Many of the prospective immigrants were disease ridden and never made it off the island. 6000 are buried there. In 1847 during the typhus epidemic, the immigrants arriving from Ireland on the coffin ships - overcrowded freighters that people escaping the famine were crammed into - died in the thousands. Grosse Ile is the site of the Irish Memorial Historic Site which is a National Memorial site of the Canadian Government to honour those who did not make it ashore.
From this sadness came a great and lasting success. The children of those who died were adopted into the French-Canadian population and allowed to keep their Irish names. From them have come Premiers (Prime Ministers), Cabinet Ministers and Publishers in the Province of Quebec. Today among French speakers of Quebec, Johnson, O'Neill and Ryan are common names.
 |
This Quebec location article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
