Type the word “Roscommon” into Google and the first result will be County Roscommon, Ireland. Of course, we who live in Roscommon Michigan know they are wrong, even though Irish people have played a key role in the development of the United States. During its formative years, our nation needed hardy pioneers to populate its vast territories and the Irish came. After our nation became established, the repressed Irish saw it as a place of freedom and opportunity. The result was a massive immigration of Irish to North America. In 1845, the already heavy Irish immigration exploded when the poor people of Ireland suffered with the Potato Famine and left their native land in waves.
The list of famous Irish people in the United States is long and impressive and includes some names you may not have guessed. Buffalo Bill, Davy Crockett, President Andrew Jackson, and Billy the Kid were all Irish. In fact, the U. S. now has at least 10 times more folks claiming to be Irish than Ireland itself.
It is not surprising then, that many place names in the United States have been given Irish names since the early settlers had such a high proportion of Irish among them. The State of Michigan was no exception as Irish flocked here in search of opportunities that were not available in their native lands.
The first territorial governor of Michigan, Lewis Cass, turned to his friends and associates for help in organizing the vast wilderness of the region to meet the requirements of statehood specified by the Northwest Ordinance of 1787. One of the requirements was the establishment of counties with local government. The process began with land surveys to establish county borders. After that, counties were named and officials appointed to operate the fledgling local governments.
In 1815, Michigan organized its first county around its largest city, Detroit. It was named Wayne County in honor of “Mad Anthony” Wayne, the famous general who helped win The Northwest Territory from Indians. Thereafter, other counties were surveyed and organized as the region gradually filled with people.
Two years later, Monroe County (next to Wayne County) was organized and named and, important to our story, Michilimackinaw, was organized and named in 1818. A large wave of counties was named in 1829; eight of them named for President Andrew Jackson and members of his cabinet: Barry, Berrien, Branch, Calhoun, Eaton, Ingham, Van Buren.
The Michigan legislature was ultimately responsible for naming Michigan counties and it accepted recommendations from anyone who cared to offer a name. One of the early namers of counties in northern Michigan was Henry Schoolcraft, protégé of Territorial Governor Lewis Cass. Schoolcraft had published several texts about Native Americans and he sought to name many of Michigan’s northern counties for famous Indians who lived in the area. The young Michigan legislature seemed to agree with Schoolcraft’s ideas as they adopted several Indian names for northern counties including the name Mikenauk for our county. That name was short-lived.
Schoolcraft was mightily disappointed in 1840 when the legislature changed the names of 16 counties and gave five of them names from Ireland as replacements for Indian names. Four of the new names chosen were from counties in Ireland: Antrim, Clare, Roscommon and Wexford. A fifth name, Emmet, was chosen to honor one of Ireland’s most important figures, Robert Emmet.
When I learned these facts during research for my book, The Early History of Roscommon County, it seemed strange to me that Irish names would be favored over those of Native Americans. I decided to complete further inquiries on the matter when time and opportunity permitted. This fall the opportunity arose when I scheduled a vacation tour of The Republican of Ireland. The next series of my blogs is the result of many inquiries and that trip. I hope you will enjoy learning about our connection to County Roscommon, Ireland as much as I did, especially our connection with Roscommon Betty, The Pirate Queen, and Charlie O’Malley.
Michigan’s Emmet County is named for Irish Hero Robert Emmet
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Young Robert Emmet
Robert Emmet was an Irish patriot and martyr who led an uprising against the British rulers of Ireland in 1803. The revolt failed miserably, but the young Emmet became famous across Ireland in song and verse. Emmet gained fame across Ireland after he faced execution for his rebellion yet decided to remain in Ireland to be close to his fiancée. On Sept. 19, 1803, the government brought Emmet to trial. Before sentencing, Emmet brilliantly defended his nationalism. He said he was prepared to die for the future of Irish freedom, closing with the words: "Let no man write my epitaph…. When my country takes her place among the nations of the earth, then, and not till then, let my epitaph be written." He was 23 when he was sentenced to death and hung.
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