In his 1992 movie “Far and Away” famous Oklahoman Ron Howard tells the tale of Irish immigrants seeking their fortune by taking part in the Land Run of 1893. A lasting impact of the movie is Tom Cruise being included on every top ten list of worst Irish accents to come out since release of the film. The reviewers at Irish Central place Cruise’s accent in the “it’s so bad, it’s funny” category. Despite bad accents and corny lines the general premise of the movie – Irish immigrants seeking a better life – is not without merit.
However, land runs were not the only or even first events that brought the Irish to Oklahoma.
Frontiersmen and soldiers were probably the first Irish to come to Oklahoma in the early 1800’s. The second influx came as a result of the Indian Removal Act of 1830. Many Scotch-Irish (known as Ulstermen or the Presbyterian immigrants from what is now Northern Ireland) made passage to America as indentured servants. Often they would escape their masters and make their way to Appalachia and further south where they would marry a Native American woman, start a family and otherwise blend into their adopted society. The prevalence of intermarriage was such that many political leaders of southern tribes were at least part Irish or of some other European ancestry. In the 1814 war Andrew Jackson fought with the Creeks the chief of the Creeks, Red Eagle, was only one-eighth Creek. He was also known as William Weatherford. Thus the forced migration of the Cherokees, Choctaws, Chickasaws and other tribes included families with part Irish ancestry as well.
Construction of the railroads saw an influx of native Irish to Oklahoma in the 1870’s. The Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railway Company, and the St. Louis and San Francisco Railway laid lines through the territory. At around the same time period commercial coal mines began operation in Choctaw Nation drawing Irish immigrants to there for work. Many of the railway worker and miners chose to remain in Oklahoma.
Greater awareness, or perhaps acknowledgement of ‘Irishness’ has ballooned. According to the 1910 census 1,800 Oklahomans listed themselves as Irish born. Another 4,500 indicated that they had at least one parent born in Ireland. Fast forward to the 2000 Census and over 350,000 Oklahomans claim Irish ancestry.
A useful resource for Irish ancestry information in Oklahoma is can be found at Oklahoma Celtic Heritage Association.
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