Taken from Tyler Anbinder's "Five Points" (p48)
Typically portrayed in a negative light by many historians of its time, Five Points, modern day New York City’s Chinatown, is shown in its true essence in Tyler Anbinder’s detailed account of the infamous 19th Century neighborhood describing the many effects of immigration on society. Anbinder uses many reliable sources in his book “Five Points”, mostly adhering to reliable primary and secondary sources like the following:
Emigrant Savings Bank Test Book: This is a reliable primary source as it is a source of bank records of emigrant borrowers and depositors. The records of test books also provided the names, family and residence information of the account holders which is a very accurate statistics of emigrants of many nationalities.
1855 New York census: Another type of primary source, a census is a mostly accurate set of data collected first-hand. This 1855 census shows the emigrant family statistics and of a certain district in the city to prove Anbinder’s analysis on characteristics of family immigration.
Marriage Register, Church of the Transfiguration: A marriage register is a primary source as details are recorded first-hand and usually registered by the couples themselves. It is a reliable source of records kept by the Roman Catholic Church and Anbinder uses it for describing Five Pointers born in Irish counties.
