Michael McBane. Bytown 1847: Élisabeth Bruyère & the Irish Famine refugees, 2022.
In 1847, there was massive Irish immigration to Canada as families fled the starvation and deaths resulting from the Great Famine linked to the potato blight. The Irish migrants brought with them body lice infected with typhus, contracted on the unsanitary and overcrowded ships crossing the ocean. Over three thousand of the Irish emigrants arrived in Bytown. The temporary fever sheds erected by the municipality quickly filled with families of the sick and dying, and several hundred individuals died within days.
Without the interventions of Élisabeth Bruyère, many more would have perished in appalling conditions. During the worst health crisis faced by this small community, Élisabeth Bruyère organized her small group of nuns to provide care and compassion while working with minimal supplies in dangerous situations. She battled the bigotry of Upper Town Protestants against Lower Town Catholics and resisted the efforts of local and colonial government officials to undermine the work.
Michael McBane has gathered a wealth of information about Élisabeth Bruyère and about Bytown during the 1847 typhus period. His book recounts tales of heroism and tragedy, particulars about early public health efforts, and insights into the people and political institutions of the period.
The book also connects to some of the early Irish families that settled in Lowertown and surrounding areas. In the Appendix are the familiar names of Brennan, Doran, Finn, Gleason, McGuire, Quinn, Vaughan and others who went on to build homes, businesses, schools and churches in our community.
But primarily, it reveals the extraordinary efforts by Élisabeth Bruyère and her faithful followers as they cared for sick and dying refugees fleeing the Great Famine. It tells a remarkable story of a young woman who triumphed over the barriers created by prevailing prejudices based on race, class, gender, and religion.