Benjamin H. Trask, teacher and historian, will explore the impact of the yellow fever outbreak of 1855 on the Irish communities in Norfolk and Portsmouth. This horrific epidemic came at a time when the American Party (Know-Nothings), an anti-immigrant movement was a political force in Virginia. This complex and timely discussion will examine the roles of the Catholic clergy, famine immigrants and the “hidden” Irish in the cities. Trask is the author of Fearful Ravages: Yellow Fever in New Orleans, 1796-1905 and six related articles.

FREE and open to the public