Ties that Bind: Ethnic and Religious Factors in the Marriage Choices of Irish-American Catholics on the Dakota Frontier

Abstract

Research on the marriage patterns of the Irish in nineteenthand early twentieth-century urban America points to a significant degree of group cohe siveness. Studies of the Irish in such cities as Worcester, New York, Butte, and San Francisco show that Irish immigrants had very high rates of in-group mar riage, usually over 90 percent.1 Equally significant is that the propensity for in group marriage continued among the American-born children of the immi grants, although, as might be expected, to a lesser extent than among the first generation. For example, in Worcester in 1880,91.7 percent of second-generation Irish men and 81.2 percent of second-generation Irish women had first or sec ond generation Irish spouses, while in 1900 the in-group rates were 79.7 percent for men and 76.3 percent for women.2 In New York City from 1908 through 1912 the second-generation Irish had an in-group marriage rate of 66.0 percent (70.2 percent for men and 61.7 for women).3 Similarly, in 1880 in San Francisco