The Irish had been emigrating for years but did not do so in large numbers until the blight and the years immediately following. Passage was paid for mostly by family members already living in North America. The British government funded some passages and landlords and private and religious charities, others. Packing was a simple affair. The emigrants just brought any kind of food and bedding they had, plus the clothes on their back. More emigrants left in spring or early summer to avoid storms over the Atlantic. Most left as quickly and quietly as they could once they'd made the decision or gained the wherewithal to emigrate. Many emigrants took along a chunk of the "auld sod," turf they'd dug from the ground of Ireland.
A new custom was born, the "American.....
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