HON. JOHN C. LINEHAN.
A Founder of the Society, and the first Treasurer-General of the same. Born in Macroom, County Cork, Ireland, Feb. 9, 1840. Died in Penacook (Concord), N. H., Sept. 19, 1905.
Transcriber’s Note:
The cover image was created by the transcriber and is placed in the public domain.
HON. JOHN C. LINEHAN.
A Founder of the Society, and the first Treasurer-General of the same. Born in Macroom, County Cork, Ireland, Feb. 9, 1840. Died in Penacook (Concord), N. H., Sept. 19, 1905.
The present is the fifth volume of the Journal of the American-Irish Historical Society. I desire to acknowledge the many courtesies received during its preparation, and to express my deep appreciation of the same. This volume sets forth the work done by the organization during the year, presents several historical papers of value and contains other matter of interest. All the volumes of the Journal thus far issued have received a cordial welcome and have been the recipients of the most gratifying praise. It is hoped that the present work will be equally well received. The Society continues to enjoy a prosperous existence, has no indebtedness, and is constantly adding new members to its roll.
The Society held its annual meeting and dinner on Tuesday evening, Jan. 24, 1905, at the Hotel Manhattan, 42d Street and Madison Avenue, New York City. In the unavoidable absence of the President-General, until late in the evening, Hon. Morgan J. O’Brien of New York presided. Thomas Hamilton Murray of Boston, Mass., Secretary-General of the Society, attended to the duties of the latter office. The following is a copy of the notice for the event:
Dear Sir: The annual meeting and dinner of the American-Irish Historical Society will take place at the Hotel Manhattan, 42d Street and Madison Avenue, New York City, on Tuesday evening, Jan. 24, 1905.
A reception committee will be on duty at the Manhattan as early as 3 p. m., to greet members of the Society and their guests, especially those coming from other cities and states.
At 6.30 p. m. members and guests will be received by the officers of the Society.
At 7 p. m. the annual meeting will be called to order.
At 8 p. m. the line will be formed and proceed to the annual dinner.
Tickets for the dinner will be $3.50 each, and are now ready for delivery. A dinner committee of New York members of the Society has been appointed and consists of Mr. John F. Doyle, 45 William Street; Major John Crane, 10 Bridge Street; Hon. Samuel Adams, 339–355 Sixth Avenue; Dr. J. Duncan Emmet, 103 Madison Avenue; Mr. James Curran, 512 West 36th Street; Mr. Thomas B. Lawler, 70 Fifth Avenue; Mr. John Goodwin, 70 West 23d Street; Mr. James O’Flaherty, 22 North William Street, and Mr. P. Tecumseh Sherman, 15 William Street.
Checks for dinner tickets should be made payable and forwarded to Mr. Doyle of the committee, at his address here given.
During the dinner, selections will be rendered by one of the best orchestras in New York City, and there will also be vocal numbers by eminent soloists. The after-dinner exercises will include a number of brief addresses 9along the Society’s line of work by Hon. Hugh Hastings, State Historian of New York; Mr. Osborne Howes, Treasurer of the Boston Board of Fire Underwriters, and by other gentlemen. Mr. Howes, here mentioned, is a descendant of an Irishman who settled on Cape Cod, Mass., as early as 1657—nearly 250 years ago.
Kindly state, as soon as possible, whether you intend to be present with us on the forthcoming occasion.
Members may bring personal guests.
The attendance was one of the largest ever present at a like event under the auspices of the Society. The business session was of more than usual interest, the annual reports elicited the closest attention, and the whole affair was marked by a most commendable degree of enthusiasm.
Secretary-General Murray stated in his annual report that the following members of the Society had died during the year:
The Secretary-General paid an appropriate tribute to each of the foregoing, and fitting action in honor of the deceased was taken by the Society.
It was stated by the Secretary-General that during the year the following-named gentlemen had become Life members of the organization, each paying $50:
The Secretary-General stated that during the year he had opened temporary headquarters at 509 Fifth Avenue, New York, for the purpose of securing new members and inducing members in arrears to settle their indebtedness. Although able to devote but a few weeks to the work, the result was very satisfactory.
During the year the Secretary-General collected and remitted to the Treasurer-General, $1,247. “The Society is today,” said Mr. Murray, “in as prosperous a condition as at any period since its formation, and we hopefully look forward to many years of continued prosperity and usefulness.”
Hon. John C. Linehan of Concord, N. H., Treasurer-General of the Society, in his annual report stated that the total resources of the Society for the year were $2,341.17; and the total expenditure, $1,248.80, leaving a balance in the treasury, Dec. 31, 1904, of $1,092.37.
The committee appointed to audit the Treasurer-General’s accounts, reported the same as correctly kept and that all expenditures were accompanied by proper vouchers.
The annual reports were unanimously accepted and adopted.
Mr. Joseph Smith of Lowell, Mass., moved as the sense of the Society, that the latter heartily approves the project to erect a monument in Washington, D. C., to Commodore John Barry. The motion was unanimously adopted.
The annual election of officers for the Society then took place and resulted in the choice of the gentlemen whose names are given on pages 5, 6 and 7 of this volume.
The following were elected to membership in the Society:
Upon the adjournment of the business meeting, the Society and guests proceeded to the banquet room for the annual dinner. One hundred and forty-five gentlemen participated.
Among those seated at the head table with Hon. Morgan J. O’Brien, the presiding officer, were: Rev. Henry A. Brann, D. D., New York City; Hon. Joseph F. Daly, New York City; Mr. Osborne Howes, Boston, Mass.; Hon. John C. Linehan, Concord, N. H.; Hon. Hugh Hastings, Albany, N. Y.; Thomas Addis Emmet, M. D., New York City; Mr. M. F. Dooley, Providence, R. I.; Mr. John F. Doyle, New York City; Mr. Stephen Farrelly, New York City, and Mr. Joseph I. C. Clarke, New York City.
After grace had been said the company devoted itself to the fine menu.
During the repast music was furnished by an orchestra. There was also singing by the entire company, in chorus, and solo singing by Mr. John W. Donovan of New York; Mr. Joseph M. Byrne of Newark, N. J., and Hon. John C. Linehan of Concord, N. H.
At an interval during the dinner, Mr. Joseph Smith of Lowell, Mass., alluding to the approaching departure of James Jeffrey Roche, LL. D., for Genoa, Italy, as United States Consul, moved that the Society bid him God-speed on his journey and wish him a brilliant career in his new sphere of duty. The motion was adopted.
While the post-prandial exercises were in progress, Hon. William McAdoo arrived and the chair was yielded him by Judge O’Brien.
The paper of the evening was by Hon. Hugh Hastings, State Historian of New York, who took for his subject: “Thomas Dongan and the Earl of Bellomont, Governors of New York.” The paper was one of great merit and was frequently applauded.
Several brief addresses were made during the evening, having a bearing on the Society’s line of work.
12While the dinner was under way, a toast to President Roosevelt, “one of our members,” was proposed by Hon. Thomas Z. Lee of Providence, R. I., and drank amid great enthusiasm.
The following letter written by President Roosevelt to Mr. William M. Sweeny of Astoria, L. I., N. Y., a member of the Society, was read to the company by Judge O’Brien:
My Dear Mr. Sweeny: Replying to your letter of the 14th inst., I would say that my Irish ancestors came to Pennsylvania early in the seventeenth century. They included John Potts and his wife, Elizabeth McVaugh (so set down in the records; I do not know what the real name was); John Barnhill, whose wife was Sarah Craig, and a man named Lukens, who may have been a German from the Palatinate.
They were all of them humble people, farmers, merchants, etc., although Sarah Craig is put down as being descended on her mother’s side, through the Barnwalls, from various well known Irish families, both of the pale and outside the pale, the Butlers, the Fitzgeralds, O’Neills and O’Briens. But about this more illustrious descent I fear I cannot give you any specific particulars.
The reading of the foregoing letter was received with great applause.
Letters expressing regret at inability to attend the dinner were received from the following:
The Society held an interesting observance, April 19, 1905, the date being the anniversary of the battle of Lexington, Concord and Cambridge, fought in 1775. The programme comprised a patriotic pilgrimage to Lexington, and other features of interest.
The Boston members, and their guests, went out to Lexington in automobiles, leaving Boston about 10.15 a. m. Each member and guest wore a neat badge, specially designed for the occasion, and comprising the Revolutionary colors buff and blue. Each badge bore the initials of the Society, “A. I. H. S.,” and the inscription, “Lexington, 1775–1905.”
Reaching Cambridge, the party stopped at the City Hall there and a call was made on Hon. Augustine J. Daly, mayor of Cambridge. All the members of the party were introduced to the mayor, who was assisted in receiving by City Clerk Edward J. Brandon, J. Edward Barry, president of the board of aldermen; Mr. Edward A. Counihan, mayor’s clerk, and other officials.
After the introduction and greetings, lunch was served. Leaving Cambridge city hall, the party started for Lexington. Many historic points were passed, including Harvard College, the Old Elm, where Washington took command of the American Army, and a number of memorial tablets.
Arriving at the Lexington town hall, the party was warmly welcomed by Mr. George W. Taylor, chairman of the board of selectmen, and by other officials of the town. All then walked to the battle monument on the village green, where the Society placed a laurel wreath to the memory of the patriotic dead. This wreath measured about three feet in diameter, and was tied with buff and blue ribbon.
14Assembled around the monument at this time, in addition to the members of the Society, was a large gathering of the people of Lexington, and visitors from out of town. After the wreath had been put in place on the monument, an oration was delivered by City Clerk Brandon of Cambridge, who dwelt upon the objects of the Society and the lessons of patriotism inculcated by the observance of the day. Mr. Brandon’s remarks were frequently applauded and at the close he was given an ovation. The Society was then grouped, with the monument as a background, and a large photograph of the whole taken.
The Society and guests, escorted by Chairman Taylor of the board of selectmen, then proceeded to the latter’s beautiful residence, “Larchmont,” where they were hospitably entertained. The ladies of the party were specially taken charge of by Mrs. Taylor, while the gentlemen were waited upon by Mr. Taylor and his talented daughter, Miss Amy Ethel Taylor. An elaborate lunch was served, and then followed congratulatory and patriotic addresses by a dozen or more of the visitors.
Following the lunch and the speech-making there was vocal and instrumental music, the whole affair being one of great enjoyment.
Members of the Society were present, during the day, from Boston, Cambridge, Lowell, Lexington and Springfield, Mass.; Providence and Pawtucket, R. I.; Hartford, Conn.; and New York City.
Among those participating in the exercises were: Hon. Patrick Garvan of Hartford, Conn., and his daughters, the Misses Agnes and Genevieve Garvan; Mr. and Mrs. Fred C. Murphy, Springfield, Mass.; Mr. and Mrs. T. H. Murray, Boston, Mass.; Mr. and Mrs. Charles V. Ryan, Springfield, Mass.; Miss M. Olive Murphy, Boston, Mass.; Mr. T. Vincent Butler, New York City; Mr. Patrick Carter, Providence, R. I.; Mr. John F. Kinsela, Lowell, Mass.; Mr. J. J. Cassidy, Lowell, Mass.; Mr. Bernard McCaughey, Pawtucket, R. I.; Mr. T. P. Kelly, New York City; Mr. Bernard J. Joyce, Boston, Mass.; Mr. M. H. Cox, Mr. Joseph F. O’Connell and other Boston people; Mr. Christopher S. Ryan, Mr. Orlando Bowman and Rev. M. H. Owens, all of Lexington, Mass., Mr. T. F. Gorman, Boston, Mass., and a number of others.
The following is a copy of a letter from Selectman Taylor in connection with the foregoing event, and received previous thereto:
| 15 | |
| OFFICIAL SEAL. |
OFFICE OF SELECTMEN. |
| Geo. W. Taylor, H. A. C. Woodward, Frank D. Peirce, |
Selectmen of Lexington. |
My dear Sir: Your favor of the 22nd inst., relative to a patriotic pilgrimage of the American-Irish Historical Society on April 19th, is at hand.
As Chairman of the Board of Selectmen, I shall be most happy to receive you at the Town Hall at noon, and will also be glad to attend your exercises on the Common, after which I should be pleased, if you find it convenient, to have you make an informal call at “Larchmont,” my home on Bedford Street, where I had the pleasure of meeting so many of your Society three years ago.
Chairman, Board of Selectmen,
Town of Lexington.
Leonard Scot, in his Discoverie of Witchcraft, gives this definition of a witch: “The sort of such as are said to be witches are women which be commonly old, lame, bleare-eied, pale, fowle, and full of wrinkles; poore, sullen, superstitious, and Papists; or such as know no religion.” Ralph Hoven, an Anglican divine, concedes: “All Papists be not witches, but commonly all witches be the spawn of the Pope.”
The Rev. Josiah Templie, in a sermon preached at Rye in 1619, says: “Because of witchcraft we have divers mischiefs and disorders; and witches they be so long as there be Papists, drabs of the strumpet Pope,” and so on. Oates, in The Witchcrafts of the Roman Jezebel—a folio that brought him a considerable fortune,—repeats the foregoing statements in language not printable.
John Cunliffe of Preston complained in 1596 that witchcraft was made a plea for “burning those of the Old Religion; in moste parte they who be in great povertie.” How many of those burned for witchcraft in England were Catholics, it is not impossible to ascertain. Much material appertaining to the subject waits to be investigated.
The opinion fostered in England that a witch, a devil, and a Catholic were different terms for the same thing, was as sedulously cared for in New England; and we find Cotton Mather, in his Magnalia, and in a sermon preached in Old North Church, Boston, 17using virtually Scot’s definition of a witch to describe the subject of this sketch.
“Glover,” he says, “was a scandalous old Irishwoman, very poor, a Roman Catholic and obstinate in idolatry.”
A Boston merchant, one Robert Calef, who knew Mrs. Glover, writes of her in More Wonders of the Invisible World, printed in London in 1700. The sympathy he expresses for her was bold for the time, prevented the publication of the work in Boston, brought on him the vituperations of Cotton Mather, and caused the book to be burned in Harvard College yard, by order of Harvard’s president, Dr. Increase Mather.
Calef says: “Goody Glover was a despised, crazy, poor old woman, an Irish Catholic, who was tried for afflicting the Goodwin children. Her behavior at her trial was like that of one distracted. They did her cruel. The proof against her was wholly deficient. The jury brought her guilty. She was hung. She died a Catholic.”
Drake, in his Annals of Witchcraft in New England, makes the following comment on this passage: “Glover was not a crazy person, as we now understand the word; it was not meant that she was insane, but simply that she was weak and infirm.” We have not lost the old meaning of the word; and such expressions as “a crazy table,” “a crazy structure,” are quite common.[4]
Ann Glover [commonly called Goody Glover] and her daughter had been living in Boston for some years prior to her execution in 1688. It is not known what part of Ireland she came from. She herself has stated that she and her husband were sold to the Barbadoes in the time of Cromwell. She also related that, shortly after the birth of her daughter, her husband was “scored to death and did not give up his religion, which same I will hold to.”
How Mrs. Glover came to be in Boston can only be conjectured. It is possible she came in that train of servants and Indian slaves brought to the Puritan Colony from the Barbadoes, some of whom fell to the Rev. Mr. Parris, of Salem fame. Little is known of her life in Boston before 1682, beyond the fact that the presence of a Catholic in a community that looked upon itself as “the only Christian people” gave great umbrage.
In 1682 a woman who had labored in vain to convince Mrs. 18Glover of her “Papistical errors,” accused her of witchcraft; and, dying shortly after, prophesied that “Goody Glover would be hung.” The prophecy was not forgotten.
The mother and daughter were wretchedly poor, and barely able to make a scant living by washing the clothes of such as could be induced to employ a “Papist.” Among those who employed them was the family of John Goodwin. John Goodwin had come to Boston from Charlestown, and was the father of four children—Nathaniel, Martha, John and Mercy,—all of whom were to be in the plot which did to death two harmless women, and which “sadly perplexed and befooled Cotton Mather.”
Cotton Mather, who was charged in 1693 with being “the chief cause, promoter and agent, and favourer of the prosecutions for witchcraft”! Cotton Mather, who “countenanced the executioners by his presence, and in various ways urged the terrible work of blood in Salem”! Cotton Mather, who, from being extolled for sanctity and learning, has come to be scoffed at as an “ignoramus, vain and mendacious”! Such was the pastor of Old North Church, of which the Goodwins were “pillars.”
In 1687 Martha Goodwin, who was then a child of twelve years, charged Mrs. Glover’s daughter with having purloined some clothes. The charge was indignantly repelled, and accusation was made that Martha wished to get Mrs. Glover into trouble. And then the daughter cried out: “You may have us whipped, but to the sermons we will not go.” Hereupon, Martha fell into a fit, which the “learned physicians of Boston declared to be diabolical.”
I think you will agree with me, when Martha’s pranks are further displayed, that the little girl had an attack of nerves and temper. What between tirades against witches, Catholics, Baptists and Quakers, and long sermons and long faces, the whole community was in a highly nervous state. Cheerfulness was sinfulness. Read of that monstrous Pharisee of five years old lauded in the Magnalia. She never laughed; she prayed her mother might be one of the elect, even as she was.
Mrs. Glover and her daughter were now in sorer straits than ever. No one would employ them, and had it not been for some secret aid they received from the Calefs, who were not bereft of reason and humanity, they must have starved. Even as it was, the treatment the daughter received—“stonings and revilings”—turned her brain, and she died a lunatic, frightened to death.
19In the meanwhile, the lost clothes were found, by a woman employed in the Goodwin household, “stuck under a wardrobe.” This discovery led to no good results for Mrs. Glover, for now Mercy and the two Goodwin boys had fits “like unto those of the maid Martha”; and then Martha took it into her head to be again “afflicted.” The children asserted that the spirit of Goody Glover struck them with blows, cut them with knives, strangled them and sat on their chests. At devotions they pretended they could hear nothing of what was said. “Goody Glover stopped their ears! Goody Glover would have them worship her idols!” was their cry.
All this was so much gospel to a people saturated with prejudice; and the Boston and Charlestown ministers held a fast at Mr. Goodwin’s house. “The fast did greatly relieve the children.” Which goes to prove that if Mr. Goodwin had “whipped them all soundly and sent them to bed,” they would have been permanently cured.
But now “the magistrates, long annoyed by the presence of an obstinate Papist in Boston, ordered Goody Glover to be taken into custody.” A search was made of her house, “and certain images were found in secret.” It is not difficult to conjecture what they were. Beads or medals, maybe; certainly a cross or crucifix was one of them.
She was “loaded with chains” and placed in a prison. As no provision was made to feed prisoners in Massachusetts at that time, her condition must have been one of great distress. It is said that the Calefs continued to succor her, and there is a statement that a Dame Nourse of Salem, visiting Boston, gave her some aid. Can this be the explanation of Mather’s inexorable pursuit of Rebecca Nourse?
To relieve the tedium of an existence deprived of innocent amusements, the Goodwin children renewed their deceptions, and Cotton Mather, “to relieve the distress of the afflicted John Goodwin, took Martha to his house to live.” Now it was that the cunning mischief-maker befooled Cotton Mather to the top of his bent. Page after page of the ponderous Magnalia is occupied with a grave recital of the pranks played by this child in the minister’s house. “She screamed with pain, and cried that Glover’s chains were about her leg.... To prevent the escape of the prisoner’s spirit, to afflict the child, they put other chains on Glover.... They chained the Papist till she could not move and she did spew blood.”
Martha would not allow the spirit to be confined. She said Goody 20Glover brought her a horse to ride, and her pastor tells us “she would make all the motions of a person who rides, about the room and up the stairs, like one astraddle of a horse.”
Imagine the impish glee of the child at seeing the most important person in the Colony following her about in her horseplay, with looks of awe! Her terrible precocity taught her to play on his hatred of Mrs. Glover’s creed. “While possessed of the devil and Mrs. Glover,” he says, “she could read Popish books, but not books against Popery.” In the pastor’s study “she would become calm, and no longer afflicted. This was witnessed by divers persons, and many times.” When asked why she was not afflicted in the pastor’s study, the child replied, with a thorough reading of Mather’s greatest weakness—his vanity, “Your study is too holy a place for the devil or Glover to enter.”
The trial of Mrs. Glover was a farce. Pounded with questions on all sides, the poor woman was only able to answer her tormentors in Irish. “This she was instigated to do by the devil,” says Cotton Mather. There be no doubt that, owing to her great age, her sufferings in prison, the confusion of the court, which was added to by the screams of pretended pain from the Goodwin children, Mrs. Glover was temporarily deprived of English, “for which she never had a great facility.” One question, however, she did give answer to in English. They asked her if it was true that she was a Papist, “and showed to her an idol which was secret in her house. She snatched at it with a joy that was diabolical, and said: ‘I die a Catholic!’” Considering the material of which it was composed, it is no wonder that the jury, after this declaration of Faith, found her guilty.
The magistrates visited her in prison that night, “and they found her agreeable to their questions.” They asked her what would become of her soul after she was hanged. The simple and much-tried woman had the humility Cotton Mather lacked. “You ask me a very solemn question, and I can not tell what to say to it. I trust in God,” she replied. Cotton Mather also visited her in prison.... He asked her to say the Lord’s Prayer; for the common belief was that this could not be done by a Catholic or a witch. “She recited the Pater Noster to me in Latin,” he says, “and in Irish, and in English, but she could not end it.” Of course she could not end it in Cotton Mather’s way.
She caused Mather to wonder that she repeated in a voice “marvellous 21strong” the petition, “deliver us from evil.” He considers this to be a sign that she “reproached the devil for deserting her to be hung.” Poor, befogged man, whose conceit would not permit him to see that it was he himself she petitioned to be delivered from; for he argued with her to destroy her Faith. She refused Mather’s spiritual ministrations, and he feels assured that her “Catholic spirits” will not permit her to accept them, and he predicts to her, her speedy and eternal damnation.
The proffering of these several consolations increased Mather’s habitual satisfaction with himself, and he says: “Comforted at having performed a solemn duty” [the consigning of a soul to perdition], “I returned to my house.” Arrived there, he found the “Maid Martha galloping about the room on the horse, her feet not touching the ground, which was a great wonder.”
Mrs. Glover was hanged on the following day. “There was a great concourse of people to see if the Papist would relent.... Her one cat was there, fearsome to see. They would to destroy the cat, but Mr. Calef would not [permit the cat to be killed]. Before her execution she was bold and impudent [!] making to forgive her accusers and those who put her off.... She predicted that her death would not relieve the children, saying it was not she afflicted them.” This was construed into a threat; and the children continued their sport, till, “a very strict fast being held, they were completely restored.” After recounting the details of this “joyful restoration,” Cotton Mather becomes more than usually prolix in a relation of the piety of his protegés.
It is not denied that before and after the execution of Ann Glover there was a vast number of arrests and executions of reputed witches and wizards in New England, beginning in 1647, under John Winthrop, and culminating in the Salem massacre of 1692. It is not denied that neither age, sex, nor condition was spared. Some were children—one but four years old,—others of eighty and beyond; one was a minister; many were the most reputable people in the Massachusetts Colony.
What is asserted is that Ann Glover was put to death not so much because she was reputed a witch, as for the certainty that she was a Catholic. All we know of her is in the words of her enemies and executioners, except what is found in the scant record of Robert Calef, who exposed himself to utter ruin by his defence of her. The little we know, however, confirms the truth of my assertion.
22It was only when all attempts to move Mrs. Glover’s “obstinate Papacy” had failed, that she was first accused of witchcraft in 1682. That the Goodwins were in the league “to bring her out of the burning”—that is, to induce her to forswear the Faith—may be inferred with safety from what took place in 1687. When her daughter was accused of theft by Martha Goodwin, she does not say, “You may have us whipped, but we are innocent of stealing”: this she had asserted before. She cries out: “You may have us whipped, but we won’t go to the sermons.” Does not this outburst unfold a tale of antecedent persecution suffered for religion’s sake?
A fast “had greatly relieved the Goodwin children”; the tempest they had aroused was lulled, and what happened? “The magistrates, long annoyed by the presence of an obstinate Papist in Boston, ordered Goody Glover to be taken into custody,” says Drake. At her trial there was not even such evidence to prove her a witch as would satisfy the gullible magistrates. It was only when Goody Glover made the declaration that she would die a Catholic that “the jury brought her guilty.”
It went hard with the magistrates and Cotton Mather that a poor old Catholic, a “scandalous Irishwoman,” withstood the doctrine of the self-reputed “saints”; and even now Goody Glover could have saved her life had she “relented.” The magistrates went to her on her last night alive, to beat down her opposition by questions of her soul. They failed, and Cotton Mather took their place.
He was above the law in the cheerless Colony. When, in 1692, the jury brought in poor Rebecca Nourse innocent of witchcraft, he had them sent to reconsider the evidence: at his beck they found her guilty. Then the governor, Sir William Phipps, pardoned her. In defiance of the pardon, Cotton Mather had her hanged, and saw her die on Witches’ Hill at Salem; and, “sitting on his black horse, he rebuked those who did bewail her; for she was an excellent woman.”
In view of this exhibition of his arbitrary power, is it too much to say that, had Goody Glover “relented,” in his vainglory over the conquest of a broken-down old woman, Cotton Mather would have had her set free? But the old Irishwoman conquered Cotton Mather. “She died a Catholic”; and, imitating her Divine Master, she died forgiving her enemies,—all those from whom she had suffered grievous wrong.
It has never been generally known that the first cannon shot at the enemy, after the adoption of the Declaration of Independence by Congress, at Philadelphia, on the evening of July 4, 1776, was fired in Elizabeth, N. J., then known as Elizabethtown, and as the present time seems opportune for the revivication of local incidents in the war for independence, I will narrate an exciting episode to awaken additional interest.
Up to February, 1776, the state of New Jersey, or province as it then was, had no artillery organization, and the importance of that arm of the service being acutely felt, the Provincial Congress, in session at Burlington, on the 13th of that month, adopted the following resolution:
Resolved, That two complete artillery companies be raised in this colony.
The ordinance provided that the term of enlistment should be for one year, and that one company should be stationed in the eastern part of the province, the other in the western. Each company was to consist of a captain, one captain-lieutenant, two second lieutenants, four sergeants, four corporals, and one hundred and fifty matrosses. (The last term was at that time used to denote gunners’ mates, or soldiers in a train of artillery, who assisted in loading, firing and sponging the guns.) The day following the passage of the ordinance the first or eastern company was organized in Newark by the election of the following officers:
Captain—Frederick Frelinghuysen.
Captain-Lieutenant—Daniel Neill.
Second Lieutenants—Thomas Clark and James Heard.
24Captain Frelinghuysen served but one month and resigned—Lieutenant Neill succeeding him.
Shepard Kollock, born in Delaware in 1750, after learning the “art preservative of all arts” in Philadelphia, came to Elizabethtown after the war had commenced, and joined Captain Neill’s battery. He was with it when it attacked and destroyed a British gunboat off this city, and by his distinguished gallantry on that occasion was promoted to the first lieutenancy.
At the close of the campaign in 1778, General Knox, commanding the American artillery, advised Lieutenant Kollock to establish a newspaper in Elizabethtown, as he would thereby be able to render great service to the patriot cause. Lieutenant Kollock liked a soldier’s life, and did not want to leave the army, but General Knox finally prevailed upon him to engage in the newspaper enterprise, so he resigned, and securing a rude outfit located in Chatham, a much safer place than Elizabeth was at that period, and for some years afterwards Lieutenant Kollock continued the publication of the New Jersey Journal and Political Intelligencer at Chatham, until peace was declared, when he removed his plant to Elizabeth, where it has since remained.
Captain Neill, a young man born in Ireland, by untiring energy and devotion to duty, quickly got his command in good trim for the active service it was soon to engage in. In the latter part of June Captain Neill, who had been stationed in Newark, N. J., being ordered to Elizabeth, took possession of the earthworks at what is now the foot of Elizabeth Avenue, where he made a comfortable camp. To relieve his men from ennui when not engaged in drilling, Captain Neill caused them to throw up more earth, thus adding to the strength of the redoubt. He placed his four guns so they would command the sound, narrow at that point, as well as the entrance to the Elizabeth River, then known as “Mill Creek.”
William Livingston, a resident of Elizabeth, who resigned his seat in the Provincial Congress at Burlington, to be made commander-in-chief of the New Jersey militia, overjoyed at the presence of Captain Neill’s battery, on the morning of July 4, 1776, wrote General Washington as follows:
... We now have two field pieces, 18 pounders, with a part of Captain Neill’s company of artillery in this province.
Shortly after the mounted courier had set out with the dispatch for Washington’s headquarters in New York, American piquets posted 25on the ground now occupied by the buildings of the Singer Company, were surprised to see a large British gunboat lying off the southern end of Shooters’ Island. They at once sent word to General Livingston, whose home on Morris Avenue is now occupied by the family of Senator Kean.
Early in the evening General Livingston mounted his horse, ever saddled, and rode to the lower part of the town, where he had a conference with Captain Neill, who had already taken steps to repel an attack, in case the vessel meditated mischief.
The sudden appearance of the gunboat in our waters was a great surprise to our soldiers, as no British vessel had been hereabouts since Washington occupied New York City and Long Island. The gunboat was a part of Admiral Lord Howe’s fleet, just arrived from England, and that day anchored off Cliffton, Staten Island. The British army at once landed on the eastern shore of the island, gladly welcomed by the supporters of British oppression.
Along towards the middle of the night the gunboat was seen coming slowly through the Achter Koll, opposite the Singer factory. In the soft moonlit night the craft was plainly distinguishable to our argus-eyed soldiers keeping watch and ward along the shore. As any effort they could make against the ship with their smooth-bore muskets would be innocent, they maintained a painful silence, feeling assured that when it reached the battery our guns would give a good account of themselves.
The commander of the vessel, in blissful ignorance of the possession of artillery by the Americans, sailed unconcernedly and tranquilly over the placid waters. Like most British officers at that period of the war, he had profound contempt for American militiamen, whom he did not consider foemen worthy of his steel.
Captain Neill, who had been on the qui vive for some time, on learning of the vessel’s approach, impatiently awaited a closer proximity in order that his shots might be fully effective and his welcome to the stranger more hearty, if less hospitable. His guns, ready shotted, were admirably posted close to the water, and matches already lighted by the fire-workers.
It was only when the vessel, but slowly making its way through the silver-rippled water, owing to the lightness of the breeze, reached a point directly opposite the redoubt occupied by Captain Neill, that his dogs of war were loosened, and from their brazen throats belched forth sheets of bright red flame, preceded by iron missiles, which 26swept the deck of the craft, carrying death, destruction and dismay to the hitherto confident and unsuspecting crew.
The salvo, like a clap of thunder from a serene sky, awoke echoes, which were followed by a rain of merciless iron, utterly demoralizing the officers and crew, and creating scenes of indescribable confusion and terror. A state of chaos ensued; discipline was thrown to the winds—it was every man for himself. The distracted sailors, finding themselves in a trap and seeing no way of escape save by surrender, deserted the vessel by jumping overboard, at least those who had not been killed or maimed by the well-directed fire of our artillerymen.
Those who thus sought safety by springing into the water, endeavored to reach either shore; most of them, however, struck out for the Jersey side on account of its nearness. Some succeeded in gaining the Staten Island shore, but many failed to reach either.
Meanwhile the gunboat, totally disabled, drifted with the outgoing tide, no attempt being made by any one on board to work any of the fourteen guns with which she was armed.
When Captain Neill, true-hearted soldier that he was, saw the desperate helplessness of the British sailors, and their attempts to save themselves, he ceased firing and sent men to rescue them from watery graves. The gunboat was carried by the tide beyond the mouth of the Elizabeth River, and, being in flames, went down to Davy Jones’ capacious locker just after passing the spot now occupied by the Dry Dock Company.
Some thirty years ago, oystermen raked up a large number of British coins and many other articles from this spot, and many believed the treasure was at one time possessed by the sailors of the ill-fated gunboat.
General Livingston, who had remained with Captain Neill and witnessed the attack and destruction of the vessel, at once wrote the following dispatch to General Washington, sending it off post-haste:
One of the enemy’s sloops of war, mounting fourteen guns, having this evening run up to this point, was attacked from the shore by the twelve-pounders, a great number of her men killed, she set on fire and entirely destroyed.
As Captain Neill’s attack on the British gunboat occurred about midnight, July 4, 1776, there can be no shadow of doubt that his guns 27were the first ones fired after the immortal Declaration of Independence was adopted, the Congress in session at Philadelphia having formally performed this act between nine and ten o’clock that evening. It was the first exploit of the new-born nation, and a gallant young Irish patriot, a citizen of this province, carried it to success.
Captain Neill and his battery was shortly after assigned to Col. Thomas Proctor’s[6] regiment of artillery, and subsequently to the brigade of artillery commanded by General Knox.[7] The battery participated in the battles of Trenton, Assinpink Creek, Princeton and Monmouth.
But it was at Princeton that the heroic Neill sealed his devotion to the cause of American liberty and independence with his life’s blood. He was instantly killed by a British sharpshooter just after Hugh Mercer, a Scotsman, was mortally wounded.
In view of the important services rendered by this patriotic son of the Emerald Isle to the cause of American freedom, it would seem especially fitting at this time that a proper recognition of Captain Neill’s devotion to the interests of this community in a dark hour of its history should be made by our citizens.
Daniel Neill nobly gave all he possessed for the benefit and enrichment of posterity, and it behooves us to recognize the value of his splendid services in our behalf by erecting a suitable monument, marking the spot in our town where he struck a deadly and brilliant blow at the ruthless enemies of our blessed land.
Shall it be done?
Richard Dexter was admitted a “townsman” of Boston, Mass., in 1641. He was an Irishman and came to this country with his wife Bridget. Less worthy people have been adequately chronicled. Of Richard Dexter, however, but little has been said. He may be ranked as a forgotten pioneer.
In the New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, January, 1891, is a brief paper on “The Dexter Family.” In that it is stated that “Richard Dexter, the pioneer, with his wife, Bridget, came from Ireland, where his fathers had lived for upwards of 400 years.”
The descendants of Richard and Bridget have been very numerous, many of them attaining prominence in civil, military and educational life. F. Gordon Dexter, a wealthy Boston man, is mentioned as one of these descendants, as is also the late George Dexter of Albany, N. Y. Mention of others will hereinafter be found.
In Vol. III, page 181, of a work published by Munsell on American Ancestry (Albany, N. Y., 1899), it is stated that John Dexter, the only son of Richard, the immigrant, was born in 1639 and probably in Ireland. He was doubtless brought to this country by his parents while still an infant.
The Irish Dexters derive their descent from Anglo-Norman sources and are first heard of in Ireland about A. D. 1169, or more than seven centuries ago. The name has variously appeared in Ireland as De Exeter, D’Exeter, Dexeter, Dexetra, Dexter, etc.
Some of the family, especially those settling in Mayo, in the kingdom of Connaught, assumed the surname Mac Jordan (descendant of Jordan), after an ancestor—Jordan Teutonicus, or Jordan De Courcy, a brother of John De Courcy, Earl of Ulster. These Dexters were commonly known as Dexter-Mac Jordans, and sometimes as Mac Jordan-Dexters. Much of the history of the Dexters must be sought under the names Jordan and Mac Jordan.
29The pioneer Dexters in Ireland soon fell in with the people and though, at first, conflicts ensued between them and the old native clans, their descendants eventually became “as Irish as the Irish themselves.” The fact that they were of the same religious faith greatly assisted, of course, in bringing this about.
Richard Dexter, son of Stephen Dexter, wedded, in 1272, Lady Penelope O’Connor, a daughter of the ruler of the Irish kingdom of Connaught. The Dexter-Mac Jordans became lords of Athleathan, in Mayo, Connaught, and built one of their strongest castles there. Stephen Dexter, son of one of the lords of Athleathan, was a Dominican monk, and wrote the Annals of Multifernan.
The Dexter-Mac Jordans also had possessions in the Irish principality of Meath, where they built Castle Jordan. About 1274 they founded an abbey in Mayo. In De Burgo’s time the Dexter family had reached its thirteenth generation in Ireland.
In common with other great Irish families, the Dexters suffered much at the hands of the English enemy, a large part of their choicest property being seized and confiscated. While some of the Irish Dexters took the name Mac Jordan, others, it would appear, did not, for we find Dexters prominently mentioned in the Munster counties of Cork and Limerick.
It is a well-known fact that at one time the Irish living within the pale were obliged by law to drop their Irish surnames and assume others. Possibly, some of the Dexters bearing the name Mac Jordan came under the operation of this enactment and went back to their original name of Dexter. Be that as it may, it is certain that several of the Irish Dexters of Munster were unscrupulously victimized during the Cromwellian and Williamite regimes.
Thomas Dexter of Cloyne, Cork, was among the forfeiting proprietors under the Cromwellian settlement. He was of the Barony of Imokilly. Stephen Dexter of the Parish of Templemurry, County Limerick, also suffered at the same time and in like manner. William Dexter, likewise of Templemurry, was similarly treated by the rapacious foe.
What part of Ireland Richard Dexter, the Boston pioneer, came from we do not know. It is reasonable to conclude, however, that he was from either Munster or Connaught—the south or the west, since it is in these two provinces the Irish Dexters are mainly found. Neither do we know the maiden name of his wife, Bridget. Richard Dexter was admitted a townsman of Boston on “the 28th day of the 30twelfth month, 1641.” At the meeting where this action was taken there were present: Richard Bellingham, John Winthrop, William Tynge, Captain Gibbones, Valentine Hill, Jacob Eliot, James Penn and John Oliver.
According to Savage’s Genealogical Dictionary, Richard Dexter, the pioneer, was of Charlestown, Mass., in 1644. Munsell’s American Ancestry states that he was born in 1606, which would make him about thirty-five years of age on his arrival in Boston from Ireland. He bought a large amount of land on “Mystic side,” and must, at the outset, have been a man of considerable means. In 1648 his name appears signed to a petition relative to the laying out of a highway in Charlestown, Mass. The petition thus quaintly concludes: “So shall wee be bound to pray as we desire dayly to doe for yr prsptie & peace temporall & Eternall.”
On “the 14th of the third month, 1650,” Richard Dexter purchased of Robert Long of Charlestown five lots on “Mystic side.” In 1654 John Palmer mentions the sale to Dexter of five acres of “arable land” in Charlestown, which land had at one time belonged to Maj. Robert Sedgwick. Richard Dexter also purchased other pieces of land, chiefly upland, in Charlestown at various times. In 1663 he became owner of forty acres in Malden, Mass., buying the same of Edward Lane of Boston. This latter property was increased from time to time, and much of it remained in possession of descendants of Richard down to as late a period as 1854.
In 1651, Richard’s wife, Bridget Dexter, signed a petition of Malden and Charlestown women. This was called “The petition of Many Inhabitants of Malden and Charlestown on Mestickside.” A record is extant showing that “Thomas Molton of Malden, Planter,” sold to Richard Dexter five acres of upland. “It is scituate on mistik syde nere the south springe.” Richard Dexter, the pioneer, died at Charlestown in 1680.
John Dexter, the only son of Richard, was born in 1639. He is spoken of as “of Charlestown and Malden.” He was killed in the latter place in 1677. His wife’s name was Sarah. They had several children, including a son, who was named Richard. This Richard is mentioned as “of Lynn and Malden.” He was born in the latter place in 1676, and died there in 1747. John Dexter of the family was a selectman of Malden for many years, and in 1717 was commissioned captain of a company of Foot by Governor Shute. This John Dexter died in 1722. He had eight children.
31Another John Dexter of Malden, of the same family, was born in 1705 and died in 1790. He had thirteen children, was clerk of the town for several years, a patriot of the Revolution and delegate to the Provincial Congress.
The Rev. Samuel Dexter was born in 1700, dying in 1755. He was a brother of Selectman John of Malden. This Samuel graduated at Harvard College, 1720, and subsequently taught school at Taunton, Lynn, Malden, and elsewhere in Massachusetts. He eventually located in Dedham, Mass. He had a son, also named Samuel, who became an eminent merchant of Boston, and died in 1810.
This second Samuel left a bequest to Harvard University, on which bequest was subsequently founded the Dexter lectureship. He became a member of the Council of Massachusetts. He was “an active and sagacious leader on the popular side, and a man of marked ability.”
Another member of this distinguished family was Richard Dexter, a physician at Topsfield, Mass. He was born in 1713 and died in 1783. This Richard was a brother of the Rev. Samuel Dexter, and wedded Mehitable Putnam, a sister of Gen. Israel Putnam.
Two members of the Dexter family, William and Richard, descendants of Richard, the Irishman, were members of a Malden company of Minutemen that marched to Watertown, Mass., April 19, 1775, in response to the Lexington alarm. John Dexter, probably the one just mentioned, was with Captain Blaney in the Point Shirley expedition, 1776, and later was lieutenant aboard the brigantine Hawke. William Dexter of Malden, who responded to the Lexington alarm was with Colonel Brooks’ regiment of guards at Cambridge from February to April, 1778. Thus we see these descendants of the immigrant Richard were as ready to oppose British tyranny as their Irish ancestors had been.
Another member of the family, Aaron Dexter, was born in 1750 and graduated at Harvard in 1776. He witnessed the battle of Bunker Hill from the Malden side of the river; studied medicine and made several voyages as surgeon. He was captured by the British and taken into Halifax, but was subsequently exchanged. Thomas Dexter is heard from at Lynn, as early as 1630. He at one time owned 800 acres in that vicinity. Whether he was related to Thomas Dexter of Cloyne, Cork, to Stephen or William Dexter of Limerick, or to Richard Dexter, the Boston pioneer, is not known.
Who was the first among New Hampshire’s early settlers to bear the ancient west-of-Ireland name Kelly, is now hard to determine. Probably it was either Roger Kelly, who, with his two brothers John and William, were on the Isles of Shoals shortly after their settlement by the English, or one of the descendants of John Kelly, who came to Newbury, Mass., in 1635.
The exact year when Roger Kelly and his two brothers came to the Shoals is not given in Jenness’ history of the island, but it must have been about the date mentioned. It is written of them that “they were men of energy and substance.” All three lived on Smutty Nose Island. From the records Roger seems to have been the most prominent. A conveyance of land and buildings at the Shoals to him from Nathaniel Fryer is entered in the Province records.
Therein he is styled the fisherman. For this reason it would not be surprising to learn that he came from Galway, Ireland’s greatest fishing mart from the earliest times. Elsewhere in the same work he is alluded to as “Roger Kelly, the ancient magistrate and taverner.” A queer combination of titles from a modern standpoint, and no doubt the occasion for the underscoring of the word taverner.
The people on the Shoals in those early days led a free and easy life. Neither women nor hogs, it is said, were allowed there,—not even married women. The swine ate or spoiled the fish, and the presence of women for obvious reasons caused trouble between the men.
These hardy fishermen, whose manly virtues, despite their human failings, find a staunch advocate in Jenness, “were not very deeply moved by questions of government, or statutes, or courts.” A considerable proportion of criminal complaints against them were for 33resisting, assaulting, and reviling the officers of the law, and treating with contempt the awe-inspiring badge of his office.
However, this feeling of contempt for the minions of the law was not confined to the inhabitants of the rocky isles, for it is on record that Maj. William Vaughan of Portsmouth, N. H., seized the truncheon of the king’s officer who was on the point of serving a writ upon him, and beat him over the head with it. And as well, that Andrew Wiggin of Stratham, N. H., threw Lieut.-Gov. Walter Barefoote on the blazing coals in his own fireplace, and, in addition, sat on him, breaking some of his ribs, knocking out some of his teeth, and partially roasting his body.
So, for a similar reason, on the Shoals, Abraham Kelly and others were arrested for reviling a constable and attempting to assault him, and even Roger himself, the ancient magistrate and taverner, “was presented in Court for selling without due license to a party of fishermen, while playing nine-pins on Hog Island, twelve gallons of wine which they drank in one day.” An appetite for liquids like this in our day, and with our population, would surely create a famine in that line.
Still, strange as it may seem now, in those good old times, and for a century later, the great man of the town, as a rule, was the tavern-keeper, and Roger was not an exception. His name headed many weighty petitions in favor of, or protesting against, every measure respectively beneficial or injurious to his fellow-citizens of the rocky island. That he was an educated man is apparent from the positions he held, as well as the location of his name at the head of other signers on petitions.
In 1689 he was one of many petitioners to the Massachusetts General Court for the appointment of a suitable person to command the militia.
This fact is on record in the Provincial papers, and Jenness wrote that in 1690, during the King William War, the Massachusetts authorities appointed Roger Kelly “Captain of the Isles.” A company of militia under command of Captain Wiley was sent to the Shoals from Massachusetts, and this was the occasion of some trouble. The fishermen were opposed, it is said, to all manner of government rates and taxes unless the moneys received therefrom were expended on the Shoals. They, therefore, resented the billetting of the soldiers on them and even refused to pay for their subsistence, and Roger Kelly was the leader of the protestants.
34There is a record in the Provincial papers of payment to Roger for services as a soldier. The date of the death of Roger Kelly cannot be given here, neither can his descendants be traced without trouble; but undoubtedly they, as well as those of his brothers, are scattered all over the United States, for as Kelly, or Kelley, the name is now one of the most common among Americans. Clarke has immortalized the name in his poem, “The Fighting Race,” and it is well to remark here that “Kelly and Burke and Shea” were here in New Hampshire long before 1700 in the persons of Roger Kelly, James O’Shea and John Burke, whose names appear in the Provincial records.
According to Coffin, the historian of Newbury, Mass., John Kelly of that town was of English as well as of Irish descent. His father, as tradition has it, was an Irishman who went from his native country to Newbury, England. While in the service of a gentleman there he was successful in defending the house from an attack by robbers. He secured the gentleman’s daughter for his wife. The immigrant, John Kelly, was the offspring of this union. He came to Newbury in 1635.
In the allotment of land to settlers he was dissatisfied with his assignment and selected his land so far away from the rest that the people of the town were fearful that he would be destroyed either by the Indians or by wild beasts, and in consequence the town voted “that if the said John Kelly or any of his family are killed by the Indians or wild beasts their blood” should be on their own heads.
However, this did not trouble John Kelly. In time, he was looked upon as one of the most enterprising and courageous men in the settlement, and fearless to an extreme degree. He had five sons and five daughters. His descendants are numerous in New England, and especially in New Hampshire. They were thrifty, prosperous and leading citizens in the towns in which they settled.
Before the Revolution, not a few schoolmasters, natives of Ireland, were teaching the young ideas how to shoot in New Hampshire. They were well thought of in those days, and spoken of, as a rule, in the highest terms by the people with whom they came in contact.
Such men as John Sullivan, father of the general, in Dover; Edward Evans of Northfield, who was General Sullivan’s secretary, and adjutant of one of the three Continental regiments; Henry Parkinson, whose grave is in Canterbury Center cemetery; Edward 35Donovan of Sandwich; William Donovan of Weare; Patrick Quinlan of Concord; Richard Dowling of Stratham; Darby Kelly of Exeter and Hercules Mooney of Somersworth, were some of these schoolmasters.
Few of New Hampshire’s early settlers have left more useful descendants than Darby Kelly, whose name appears in the Province wills in 1728. The exact time of his arrival, or the section of Ireland from which he came, is unknown. Kelly is one of the most ancient names in Connaught, the western province of Ireland. It is an Anglicization of the Gaelic Ceallaigh. It would not, therefore, be surprising if he emigrated from that part of the country. In the Reminiscences of New Hampton, which were written by one of his descendants, the Hon. F. H. Kelly, ex-mayor of Worcester, Mass., it is stated that he settled in Exeter, N. H., in the early part of the 18th century, and that little is known of him except by tradition. He was reputed to have taught school before leaving home, and “is said to have been a bright, quick-witted Irishman.”
Contrary to rule, this much was said of him by the writer quoted, who had not followed the usual course in calling his ancestor a “Scotch-Irishman.” However that may have been, the record shows that he was a useful, thrifty citizen, possessed of the traits which distinguished so many of his descendants. There is another tradition that he taught school in New Hampshire. If so, the inscription, in part, on the headstone of Capt. Henry Parkinson, Stark’s quartermaster, who died in 1829, would also apply to Darby Kelly. “Hibernia begot me. Columbia nurtured me, ... I have fought, I have taught, and I have labored with my hands,” etc. For if Darby had taught, which is likely, he had also labored with his hands, and fought as well.
The Provincial papers show that when his services as a soldier were required, he shouldered his musket and fought against the common foe, the French and the Indians; so in this way we find his name enrolled as one of the company commanded by Capt. Moses Foster, on scouting duty in 1748; again, serving in Capt. Elijah Sweet’s company, Col. Peter Gilman’s regiment, in New York, 1755; again, in Capt. Elisha Winslow’s company, Col. Nathaniel Meserve’s regiment, in the Crown Point expedition, 1756; and as Sergt. Darby Kelly he is found again in Capt. Richard Emery’s company, Col. Nathaniel Meserve’s regiment, in the second Crown Point expedition, 1757. One battalion of this regiment suffered 36severely in the massacre at Fort William Henry. Out of 200 men engaged 80 were killed or captured. His final enlistment was in Capt. Somerbee Gilman’s company, of Col. John Hart’s regiment, in 1758. Here is a military record his descendants may well point to with pride, for it enables them to gain admission to all the patriotic Colonial War societies thus far organized.
That he was an active business man is clearly evident, for there are on the records, especially in the Province wills in the New Hampshire State House, entries of deeds of land to or from him from Dec. 11, 1728, to March 31, 1770,—one in Exeter, four in Kingston, and ten in Brentwood. His name appears on a petition from Exeter for parish privileges in 1741, and on another from Brentwood in 1742, and he is recorded as a ratepayer in that town. His name is signed to a receipt for 100 pounds, old tenor, paid to him in 1769 for services as a soldier.
He married Sarah, the daughter of Philip Huntoon of Kingston, N. H. The date and year of his marriage cannot be given here, but it was before 1729. That he had won the good will and the esteem of his wife’s father is clear from the inspection of a deed of land conveyed to him and to his wife, dated July 25, 1729, and recorded in the Province deeds, Vol. 19. It reads in part, stripped of the phraseology of the times, as follows:
“To all people to whom these presents shall come, greeting: Know ye that I, Philip Huntoon, Sr., of the town of Kingstown, in the Province of New Hampshire, in New England, husbandman, Know ye that I, the aforesaid Philip Huntoon, for and in consideration of the natural love and affection which I have and do bear toward and to my beloved daughter and son-in-law, Sarah Kelly and Darby Kelly, of ye said town of Kingstown, county and province aforesaid, and for other good causes and considerations, have given, granted made over and confirmed,” etc.
This is a loving tribute to a son-in-law. It would be of interest to know, were it possible, how he stood with his mother-in-law, but on this point the records are dumb. As a rule, the women were silent in those days. From the language of this deed it is to be taken for granted that he and his wife were residents of the town at the time the deed was made. In the sketch of the family printed in the Reminiscences of New Hampton, it is said that Samuel Kelly, the oldest son of Darby, was born in Exeter in 1733, and died in New Hampton, N. H., on June 28, 1813, aged 80 years. We will now 37leave Darby to his well-merited rest, and look up the records of some of his descendants.
Samuel Kelly mentioned, married Elizabeth Bowdoin. Here, then, we find a union of three nationalities thus early in the history of the province. Kelly, Huntoon and Bowdoin, respectively, Irish, English and French,—not a bad combination, for each of the three peoples represented have cut quite a figure in the world’s history for the past three centuries. Mrs. Kelly was born in 1740, and died in 1816, outliving her husband three years. Both were buried in the family lot on Kelly Hill, New Hampton.
The family went from Brentwood, N. H., to New Hampton in 1775. Samuel Kelly was a carpenter by trade, and at this time was 42 years old. He is credited with being a man of courage, ability and energy, and at the end of a few years found himself in possession of a considerable part of what is now New Hampton, and this was entirely due to his great perseverance and hard work, aided largely by an iron constitution. He had nine children, six of whom were sons. It is said that his aim was to provide a farm for each. One of his daughters, Sally, died in Machias, Me., in 1840. Another who was married, as the first-named was, moved to Steubenville, O., Two of his sons, John and Dudley, removed to Youngstown, Pa.
Samuel Kelly planned and built the first meeting-house in town. He was a worthy son of Darby Kelly and Sarah Huntoon. He can well be credited as the leading pioneer settler of New Hampton. That his venerable father accompanied him to New Hampton in 1775 is evident from a letter written by Elder Ebenezer Fisk of Jackson, Mich., printed in the Reminiscences mentioned. For, in describing the location of the several families in the town, he wrote, “Next was Darby Kelly whose honored wife died at the advanced age of 103 years.”
Samuel Kelly, son of Samuel, and grandson of Darby Kelly, was born in Brentwood in 1759, and died in New Hampton in 1832. His widow survived him 14 years, dying in 1846, aged 84. He had seven children, four of whom were sons. Of these sons, Michael B. and Jonathan F. Kelly inherited the farm settled on and cleared by their grandfather, the first Samuel Kelly. At the present time, and for a number of years past, it has been owned by the Hon. Joseph H. Walker of Worcester, Mass., who married Hannah M. C. Kelly, youngest child of Michael B. Kelly, and the sister of the late Capt. Warren M. Kelly of Hooksett, and the late Frank H. Kelly, ex-mayor of Worcester.
38A Samuel Kelly of New Hampton was on the roster of Col. Hercules Mooney’s regiment in the battle of Rhode Island under Gen. John Sullivan. Later, the name of Lieut. Samuel Kelly of New Hampton is on the roster of the same regiment, and another Samuel Kelly of Meredith was enrolled in a company raised for service at Ticonderoga in 1777.
These were undoubtedly descendants of Darby Kelly. Their residence in one instance is given as at Meredith, and in two as of New Hampton. The evidence for these facts will be found on the pages of the Revolutionary rolls. It is possible that the Lieut. Samuel Kelly may either have been the son or grandson of Darby.
Maj. Nathaniel Kelly, the third son of Samuel, second, and grandson of Darby, moved to Akron, O., before 1835. His son, bearing the same name, with his family followed later. No doubt they are the ancestors of many western Kellys.
Col. William B. Kelly, the fourth son of Samuel, and grandson of Darby, was born in Exeter in 1769. He came to New Hampshire with his father when he was six years old. He had 11 children, of whom six were sons. He was the first postmaster of New Hampton. The mails were distributed from his house before 1800. He was a member of the state Legislature, and one of the two founders of the New Hampton Academy, which was first opened in 1822. It is written of him that “he inherited the military spirit of his ancestors, and transmitted it to his posterity,” as will be seen by the prominent part taken by some of them in the Civil War. His children became widely separated, their descendants now dwelling in almost every state in the Union.
Maj.-Gen. Benjamin F. Kelly, son of Col. William S. Kelly, and great-grandson of Darby Kelly, was born in New Hampton in 1807. When a young man he moved to West Virginia, and was residing there when the first gun was fired on Sumter. It is claimed for him that he raised the first Union regiment and won the first Union victory south of Mason and Dixon’s line. He was commissioned colonel of his regiment on May 25, 1861. His first service was under General McClellan, in West Virginia, and under his direction Colonel Kelly assumed command of all the troops then in that part of the state. He won his first victory at Grafton, where he defeated a Confederate force under command of Colonel Porterfield. On this occasion, in addition to his own regiment, he had command of the Sixteenth Ohio and the Ninth Indiana regiments. The enemy was 39completely routed and large quantities of arms and ammunition fell into Colonel Kelly’s hands. Kelly was badly wounded. At first it was supposed mortally. For his conduct here he was congratulated by Generals Morris and McClellan. Both complimented him for his brilliant and efficient service. McClellan recommended him for promotion to the rank of brigadier-general. The request was complied with. He was also complimented for his valor and skill at Romney in October, 1861, by President Lincoln, General Scott, and Gen. E. D. Townsend, the assistant adjutant-general of the United States army. Thus were honors showered unlimited on the head of the grandson of the modest colonial Crown Point soldier, Darby Kelly, who was with Sir William Johnson at Fort William Henry a little more than a century before.
Later, General Kelly was assigned to the command of the department at Harper’s Ferry and Cumberland. On the organization of the Department of West Virginia, in 1863, he was assigned to that command. His services from the beginning to the end of the war are too well known to repeat them here. During the invasion of Pennsylvania, in 1862, his conduct brought to him the thanks of General Wright, and for his successful defence of Cumberland, Md., in 1864, he received from the president the rank of major-general by brevet, and from the people of Cumberland, their heartfelt thanks for the skill and courage displayed by him and his officers, and the bravery exhibited by his soldiers in their successful resistance to the capture of the city. General Kelly had six children, four of whom were sons, all of whom served in the United States army.
Capt. Warren Michael Kelly was the son of Michael B. Kelly, the nephew of Gen. B. F. Kelly, and the great-great-grandson of Darby Kelly. He was born in New Hampton in 1821. He was residing in Manchester when the Civil War broke out. In August, 1862, he raised a company which was attached to the Tenth Regiment New Hampshire Volunteer Infantry, commanded by the late Gen. Michael T. Donohoe. He remained in the service until the close of the war. He was wounded once. His first fight was at Fredericksburg, one of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War, on Dec. 13, 1862. It is claimed for him that he commanded the first organized body of white troops that entered Richmond, after the surrender of Lee. Captain Kelly was as modest as he was brave. He was 41 years old when he went to the front with his regiment in 1862, but none 40in his command rendered more efficient service during the three years following.
There was no opportunity for promotion in his regiment, as there was no change in the colonel or the lieutenant-colonel from 1862 to 1865, neither of them being killed, neither did they resign, for both Gen. M. T. Donohoe and General Coughlin were among the bravest of the brave. Captain Kelly, as the ranking captain, had command of his regiment on several occasions during the first quarter of 1865, and was in command of the skirmish line when the Union troops entered Richmond on April 3d of the same year. It is quite a coincidence, and worthy of mention, that Captain Kelly should serve in a regiment whose field officers and a large proportion of the rank and file were composed of men of the same nationality as his great-great-grandfather, Darby Kelly.
Of the sons of Gen. B. F. Kelly, John G., the eldest, was colonel of the Seventh Virginia Infantry. William B. was a captain on his father’s staff. Frank was a quartermaster in the United States army and died in Texas in 1870. Wright Kelly, a captain of cavalry, was wounded and died from the effects of his wounds in 1869.
Hon. Frank H. Kelly was a brother of Capt. Warren M. Kelly. He was born in New Hampton, Sept. 9, 1827. He was a physician, studying and practising in various places until 1851, when he located in Worcester, Mass. He followed his profession actively 32 years. He joined the Massachusetts Medical Society in 1875. He was the first president of the board of trustees of the City Hospital in 1870, serving in that capacity 13 years. As a member of the school board, of the common council, of the board of aldermen, he served his adopted city long and faithfully.
He wrote the Reminiscences of New Hampton, from which a goodly portion of this paper, or rather the material for it, has been culled. Therein he styled his great-great-grandfather, Darby Kelly, “a bright, quick-witted Irishman.” Here we will leave the emigrant Darby Kelly and his American descendants. It is said that regardless of the number born in New Hampton, none of the name resides there. They are scattered all over the country, but wherever located, it will be found that they are keeping up the record made by their New Hampshire fathers. The Kelly blood runs in the veins of some of the best people within and without the state of New Hampshire, and in at least one instance it returned across the Atlantic by the marriage of one of Darby’s descendants to M. Clemenceau, 41the celebrated Parisian writer and statesman. But few of Darby’s descendants are here mentioned. They are too numerous. But judging from the record of those given, the emigration of Darby to New Hampshire was quite an accession to the people of the province and state.
Referring again to John Kelly who came to Newbury, Mass., in 1635, many of his descendants must have come to New Hampshire. Among them undoubtedly was Abial Kelly of Methuen, Mass., originally, whose name occurs several times in the Provincial papers in connection with the settlement of the boundary line between New Hampshire and Massachusetts, in 1745. It also occurs in the Province wills, 1728, 1740, and 1743.
Capt. Richard Kelly, another descendant of the Newbury immigrant, was an officer in the Sixth Regiment of militia, in 1744. The same name appears on a petition from Londonderry, N. H., for the release of Stephen Holland, the Tory, in 1777. The names of Hugh Kelly and Peter Kelly are on the same petition. Richard Kelly, Jr., evidently the son of Captain Kelly, served in the company commanded by Captain Nesmith in Canada in 1776.
A Richard Kelly was a grantee and one of the first settlers of Contoocook, now Boscawen, in 1748. As Boscawen’s first settlers were from Newbury, Mass., it is reasonable to think he was also a descendant of John Kelly. A Richard Kelly was at Winter Hill, near Boston, Mass., in 1775, in the company of Capt. Jacob Webster, which was one of the companies raised at the request of General Sullivan to take the place of Connecticut troops, during the siege of Boston, who had refused to serve after their term had expired.
This interesting episode of New Hampshire history cannot be repeated too often. On Dec. 1, 1775, Sullivan sent up word by express of the defection of the Connecticut men, and made an urgent request for volunteers to take their places. In response to this, 31 companies, numbering 2,058 men, were enlisted for six weeks, and marched to Winter Hill. New Hampshire had at this time, in addition, three full regiments in the field, thus making the total number of New Hampshire men at the siege of Boston in 1775 over five thousand. This is evidence of the character of the men of the old Granite State in those stirring times.
Capt. Richard Kelly was authorized by Gov. Benning Wentworth to call the first town meeting in Salem, N. H., in May, 1750.
42William Kelly was a taxpayer in Newcastle, N. H., in 1727. Doubtless he was a descendant of Roger or John Kelly mentioned.
A William Kelly appears on a petition in 1737. Another was one of the company commanded by Captain Eastman on scouting duty in Penacook, now Concord, N. H., in 1747.
Still another William Kelly served at Crown Point, in 1755, in Captain Goff’s company, and another was one of the grantees in the town of Salem, N. H., in 1750; a William Kelly was also on the alarm list of the town of Warner, N. H., in 1741. William P. Kelly was in Northwood, and another William Kelly in Salisbury, respectively, in 1735 and 1813.
A William Kelly was enrolled in Captain Page’s company, Senter’s regiment, in 1777. Sergt. William Kelly was in Captain Libby’s company, Col. Stephen Evans’ regiment, at Saratoga in 1777. Corp. William Kelly served in the battle of Rhode Island in the regiment of Colonel Hercules Mooney in 1779. He was from Epping, N. H.
Rev. William Kelly was the first settled minister in Warner, Feb. 6, 1772. He was born in Newbury, Mass., 1744, and was undoubtedly a descendant of John Kelly who landed there a little over a century before. His pastorate closed in 1801. He made the opening prayer at the first town meeting held in Warner.
Hon. John Kelly was his son. He was born in Warner. He was an attorney, editor and author. He was the first Warner man to take a degree from Dartmouth. His permanent home was in Exeter, N. H. He was register of probate for Rockingham County.
Abner B. Kelly was his brother. He was Warner’s town clerk in 1820. He was representative to the state Legislature, postmaster of Warner for six years, state treasurer of New Hampshire for six years, a clerk in one of the departments at Washington, D. C., a director of the Concord Mechanics Bank of Concord, and of the company incorporated for the manufacture of silk. He is credited as being a fine penman. “His handwriting was faultless.”
William Kelly, “an Irish tailor,” was in Barnstead, N. H., in 1814. The historian of that town wrote that he was the first Irishman in Barnstead. Regardless of that statement, however, Thomas, John and Stephen Pendergast were among its first settlers. This name is not quite as Irish as Murphy, but comes very near it. It came from France to Ireland in 1170.
George W. Kelly, a brother of Rev. William Kelly, was deputy sheriff in Warner in 1808. Caleb Kelly came to Warner from Newbury, 43the nursery of the Kellys. Kelly Hill takes its name from him. His family removed to Wisconsin. J. R. B. Kelly is recorded as a graduate of Francestown Academy, and Frank H. Kelly was one of the directors of the Francestown Soapstone Company.
Dudley Kelly was serving at West Point in 1789. He was from Brentwood.
Zachariah Kelly was also at West Point in 1781, and an entry in the records reads, that he had received a ration of half a pint of rum and a pound of sugar with the other members of his company.
Israel W. Kelly of Boscawen was a lieutenant in Captain Green’s company in 1797, when there seemed to be a prospect of a war with France.
In December, 1776, James Kelly was paid for services in apprehending Daniel Meserve and others for counterfeiting Provincial bills.
Another James Kelly appeared on a petition in 1732 for the laying out of a new town along Lake Winnepesaukee. The names of John and James Kelly appear on the roll of ratepayers in the parish of Cocheco in 1753. Another James Kelly appears on a petition from Northwood in connection with some town dispute. James Kelly served in Captain Drew’s company in the expedition to Canada in 1776 and 1777, and a man of the same name from Exeter enlisted for three years in the Fourth regiment of militia.
A James Kelly was one of the proprietors of Wakefield in 1749, and another James Kelly was one of the grantees of Peterborough in 1750. Still another of the same name was engaged in the defence of Piscataqua Harbor in 1791. James Kelly was a British prisoner of war in 1781, who, with others, was consigned for safe keeping to New Hampshire.
James Kelly was one of the soldiers who were indebted to the sutler for supplies in 1761. This kind of a creditor was not infrequent in 1861, a hundred years later. He served in Captain Gerrish’s company.
James Kelly was one of the grantees of Holderness, N. H., in 1751. Among those who were with him were John Cavanaugh, John McElroy, William Curry, Hercules Mooney, Bryan McSweeney and Michael Dwyer.
John Kelly was one of the selectmen of Dover, N. H., who aided in taking the census in October, 1775. He served in the state Legislature four years, and from the records seemed to have been an 44active, public-spirited citizen. John Kelly was a ratepayer in Plaistow and Atkinson in 1786.
A John Kelly in Salem appears on a petition for the formation of one or more counties in 1769. Samuel Kelly was one of his associates. John Kelly renders an account of individual losses which he met at Ticonderoga. John Kelly of Dover, in 1782, furnished an affidavit in relation to the identity of a soldier. John Kelly of Deerfield was a recruit for the Continental army in 1780. John Kelly was one of the selectmen of Salem in 1775.
John E. Kelly was one of Warner’s selectmen in 1801. John Kelly of North Hampton was one of Captain Parsons’ company, Colonel Runnells’ regiment, at Charleston, in 1781.
John Kelly of New York was granted 69,100 acres of land in Lamoiville, Vt., in 1787. In 1791 he was given 30,000 acres more. In both cases the grants were made by the legislature of Vermont. This John Kelly must have been one of the “Royal Order of Patroons.” Kellyburg, Kellyvale, and Kelly Grant marked his progress in the Green Mountain state. John Kelly, a native of Plaistow, graduated from Amherst College in 1825. He lived in Chester in 1833. The history of the town speaks of him in the highest terms.
Ezekiel Kelly, a native of Newbury, Mass., was in Chester, N. H., in 1784. Col. Israel W. Kelly resided there in 1810, and Ephraim Kelly was one of the selectmen in 1825.
Rev. John Kelly of Hampstead was of the sixth generation of John Kelly of Newbury, Mass., who came over in 1635. He had five sons and seven daughters. He died in Hampstead in 1848. Three of his sons were college graduates. He wrote a history of Hampstead. He was pastor of the church in that town from 1792 to his death in 1848, fifty-six years.
The ways of the Kellys were not always smooth, for Brewster’s Rambles Around Portsmouth says, that in July, 1686, John Kelly and his family were ordered to give security or leave town, a survival of the custom in vogue in Boston and probably introduced to New Hampshire when the Province came under the control of Massachusetts Bay.
John Kelly was a Revolutionary soldier and died in Raymond. A John Kelly was one of Windham’s first settlers, and a type of the late historian Morrison’s so-called “pure-blooded Scotch Irishman.”
John Kelly was a member of the governor’s council in 1846. John Kelly was register of probate for Hillsborough County, N. H., 451831 to 1837. John Kelly was register of deeds in Rockingham County from 1832 to 1837.
Joseph Kelly was one of the selectmen of Sunbudy in 1757. Joseph Kelly was a prisoner in Amherst jail in 1774. The occasion for it was an assault he made on John Holman. It seems clear that the cause of the trouble was political, for the Provincial papers contain several petitions from some of the towns of Hillsborough County asking for his release. He was a Nottingham man, and from the records seemed to be in hot water a good part of the time. He raised a company in June, 1775, but his men refused to allow Major Hobart to muster them into the service. His troubles extended to 1787.
Col. Moses Kelly, on the authority of Dearborn, historian of Salisbury, was born in Newbury, Mass. He was living in Goffstown, N. H., before the outbreak of the Revolution. He represented that town in the Fourth Provincial Congress held in May, 1775, and again in the Fifth Provincial Congress in December, 1775.
He represented Goffstown and Derryfield in the Legislature of 1776. Although not serving in the Continental army, he was, from the State records, one of the most active men in the state. It is written of him that he owned mills in Goffstown at the place now known as Kelly’s Falls upon the Piscataquog River. He was a zealous patriot, and kept a public house upon the Mast road. Many of the forays against the Tories of that neighborhood were concocted at Colonel Kelly’s.
He was appointed major of the Ninth regiment of militia on Dec. 21, 1775, and promoted to colonel of the same regiment in 1779. New Hampshire possessed an efficient force of militia during the Revolution and from its ranks were drafted men for three Continental regiments as occasion required. Some of these militia regiments distinguished themselves at Bennington, under Stark, and at Rhode Island, under Sullivan.
It is doubtful if any one man had more to do with affairs at home than Colonel Kelly, and his special forte was in furnishing recruits for the veteran regiments at the front. In the reorganization of the state militia under General Sullivan, in 1784, he was reappointed colonel of his old command, the Ninth New Hampshire.
Like Sullivan, he was continually in the service of the state in one capacity or another. As late as 1807, he read the Declaration of Independence from the top of a large boulder in Amherst, N. H. 46His son, bearing the same name, was coroner of Hillsborough County in 1789. Another son, Hon. Israel Kelly, removed to Salisbury, in 1803. In 1843 he removed to East Concord, where he made his home until his death in 1857.
He was the sheriff of Hillsborough County, a judge of the Court of Sessions, and United States marshal under President Taylor. His wife was a sister of Grace Fletcher, who was the wife of Daniel Webster. Her mother and grandmother, bore the time-honored name of Bridget, denoting an affinity of some sort with the natives of the Emerald Isle.
Joshua Kelly was one of the proprietors of Conway, N. H., and on its list of rate payers in 1773. He was one of the active men of the town, and had seen military service. Samuel Kelly was one of the coroners of Strafford County in 1776. One of the same name was a member of the House of Representatives in 1776. It appears again on a petition from Madbury in 1786. Lieut. Samuel Kelly was one of the special force raised by Sullivan in December, 1775. A Samuel Kelly served in Captain Barron’s company from Pembroke in 1776, and a Samuel Kelly was in Captain Moore’s company in Stark’s regiment in the same year.
Samuel Kelly of New Hampton, undoubtedly one of Darby’s descendants, served in Col. Hercules Mooney’s regiment in Rhode Island in 1779.
Another Samuel Kelly of Meredith, saw service at Ticonderoga. Rev. Samuel Kelly, according to Bouton’s History of Concord, N. H., was the first settled pastor of the Methodist Episcopal church in Concord. He was chaplain of the state prison in 1730. The name of Samuel Kelly of Brentwood is mentioned four times in the Provincial deeds, and once again in Derryfield in 1768. He was undoubtedly the oldest son of Darby Kelly and one of the first settlers of New Hampton.
Daniel Kelly was in Sanbornton, N. H., in 1748, and another Daniel Kelly was recorded as a deserter from a British vessel in Boston Harbor in 1770. He probably found the change from the forecastle of a ship to the picturesque hills of New Hampshire desirable.
Daniel Kelly was ordered to appear before the Committee of Safety at Exeter to account for being concerned in the destruction of powder at Brentwood, May 20, 1799. Daniel Kelly was one of two grantees of a bridge, called Bridgewater and New Hampton bridge, at New Hampton in 1784.
47Daniel Kelly was a soldier in Captain Light’s company at Louisburg in 1745. Daniel Kelly of Hawke and Sandown was interested in some scheme relating to the currency in 1786. The Province deeds contain the name of Daniel Kelly three times from 1720 to 1731, from Hampton; five times, from 1737 to 1740, from Kingston, and once each from the towns of Epping and Newton, and twice from the town of Nottingham, from 1752 to 1764.
Edward Kelly of Sanbornton was one of the signers of the test oath in 1775 and his name and that of his son Edward appears on a petition for a ferry in 1781, and Edward Kelly was one of the men who enlisted under Sullivan’s call in November, 1775. He served in the company of Captain Copp. An Edward Kelly recruited from the militia regiment of Colonel Webster in 1780 for the Continental army.
The name Edward Kelly is written in two deeds dated 1761 and 1765, both at Brentwood.
David and Ebenezer Kelly were two signers for the incorporation of a new town in Strafford County in 1788. David Kelly was a private in Captain Tilton’s company, Colonel Poore’s regiment, June 12, 1775. Later, he was promoted to sergeant-major and second lieutenant.
David H. Kelly of Warner was a soldier in Capt. Jonathan Bean’s company in 1812. Jacob Kelly and Micajah Kelly were in Gilmanton in 1789. Jacob Kelly and Israel Kelly were two of the grantees of Newport, N. H., in 1753.
Nehemiah Kelly served in Captain Calfe’s company, Colonel Bartlett’s regiment, in 1776–1777. He was also under Sullivan in Rhode Island.
Philip Kelly was a soldier in Colonel Blanchard’s regiment, at Crown Point, in 1755.
Robert Kelly’s name was on a petition for the appointment of Captain Folsom to be lieutenant-colonel of the Fourth regiment in 1775.
Jonathan Kelly of Epping was a soldier in Captain Moore’s company, Poore’s regiment, in 1775, and served in an expedition to Canada in 1776. He re-enlisted in 1777 in the First New Hampshire of the Continental line for three years, or during the war. This man had a splendid record, serving from Bunker Hill to Yorktown. He is recorded as re-enlisting in 1781 for three more years. His grave, wherever it may be, should be decorated Memorial Day.
48A Jonathan Kelly appears in the list of soldiers living in Northfield, N. H., in 1785.
Abial Kelly, by the establishment of the boundary line, in 1745, was transferred to Methuen, Mass. His name often appears in the Province deeds. Josiah Kelly served in Colonel Gilman’s regiment in 1776. Dr. Benjamin Kelly, a veteran of the Revolutionary War, was a resident of Gilmanton in 1801. Stephen Kelly was a ratepayer in Cocheco parish in 1741. Ebenezer Kelly was a petitioner for a classification of towns for representatives in 1798. He lived in Bridgewater.
Ephraim Kelly was a soldier in Stark’s regiment at Bunker Hill, where he was wounded.
Holbridge Kelly was on the roll of Colonel Walton’s men for scouting duty, in 1710. This name occurs eight times in the Province deeds, as of Stratham, Nottingham and Bow.
Timothy Kelly was one of Captain McConnell’s company, Colonel Hazen’s regiment, in 1778. As the most of the soldiers in this regiment were of Irish or French-Canadian parentage, and recruited in Canada, this Timothy Kelly may have been of Irish birth. Another Timothy Kelly was in Candia in 1770, and still another was in Boscawen in 1812. His daughter, who was the wife of Nicholas M. Noyes of the same town, is the authority for stating that her father was a native of the County Waterford, Ireland. His parents were well-to-do. He was involved in the movement for Irish independence in 1798, which resulted in the murder by the British of Lord Edward Fitzgerald and the execution of Robert Emmet.
For his safety, his parents sent him to this country. He landed in Newbury, Mass., and from thence he moved to Boscawen, marrying his wife as stated, and he remained there until the time of his death. Through him his daughter, Mrs. Noyes, was well acquainted with the history of Ireland, as well as with the events that resulted in the sad tragedy of the execution of young Emmet.
He had three sons, John M., Roland B., and Andrew J. Kelly. The latter was a soldier with an exceptionally fine record. He enlisted for three years in the New Hampshire battalion of Berdan’s sharpshooters on Aug. 8, 1861. He re-enlisted for three years more on Jan. 2, 1864, remaining until he was mustered out at the close of the war, June 28, 1865. At this date, June, 1905, he resides in Hopkinton, N. H., a living type of one of the trio of “Kelly and Burke and Shea.”
49Hon. Timothy Kaley was born in Dunmanway, County Cork, Ireland, in 1817. He came to this country when quite young. He arrived in New England by way of Canada, a frequent route taken in these early days by Irish emigrants, and a sad way it proved to be for thousands whose remains lie along the banks of the St. Lawrence, from its mouth to Kingston, who died from ship fever. Mr. Kaley was in business for a time in Canton, Mass. In 1860 he came to Milford, N. H., where he remained until the time of his death. In this town he established himself as of the firm Morse, Kaley & Co., for the manufacture of knitting cotton. The product of his mill became known all over the country. It is written of him that “from the time he became a citizen of Milford until the day of his decease, he ranked among the most enterprising and progressive citizens of the town.” He was a public-spirited man, taking an active part in the affairs of the community as well as in those connected with his adopted state and nation. He was elected to the state senate in 1881 and 1882, but died before his term of office expired. He was a good speaker, a ready debater, and was gifted with a very retentive memory.
In 1879 or thereabouts, while in Richmond, Va., on an excursion with the New Hampshire Club, he declaimed the celebrated speech of Patrick Henry from the same pew in the historic St. John’s Church in which it was given originally by the fiery Virginian whose inspiring words “Give me liberty or give me death” have been repeated in every schoolhouse in New England.
His son, the Hon. Frank E. Kaley, is the worthy heir of an honored sire. He is the treasurer of the firm established by his father, director of Souhegan National Bank, president of the Milford Building and Loan Association, a trustee of the Milford Savings Bank, vice-president of the Milford Tanning Co., and a member of the Board of Water Commissioners. He was elected a member of the Executive Council of Governor Bachelder for the years 1903 and 1904, but what is better than all these positions of honor, is that few men in New Hampshire are esteemed more highly at home or abroad, and what is still better, it is all deserved.
The name Kaley is without question derived from the same Gaelic root, Ceallaigh, more commonly known as Kelly, but occasionally written Kaley and Kiley. The experience of the father and son is a remarkable illustration of the vigor of the old Gaelic blood, for with equal opportunities the men in whose veins it runs, let them be Irish 50or Highland Scotch, take no second place in the varied walks of life. The birthplace of Timothy Kaley was not a great distance from that of the ancestors of the Sullivans of New Hampshire, who also came from the south of Ireland.
Dr. Nathaniel Kelly was an eminent physician in the town of Plaistow, N. H., where he was born in 1800. He represented his town in the state Legislature. Dr. Langley Kelly was another distinguished physician residing in Weare, N. H., in 1878.
In placing the foregoing names before the reader, one cannot help being surprised at the number of men bearing a distinctive Irish name appearing in either the Town, Provincial or State records of New Hampshire. Even in our day but comparatively few men have their names printed in the public records. It is safe, therefore, to say that the greater part of these men had done something to specially merit them a place in the records.
Again, a good idea can be formed of the number of men bearing distinctively Irish names, as the number of persons bearing this one name figured in New Hampshire affairs, or a greater part of them, before 1800, an unusually large proportion of them having seen service in the Provincial wars or in the war for independence. Assuredly, a most fitting conclusion to this article will be Mr. Joseph I. C. Clarke’s poem:
St. Patrick’s Day was celebrated in New York City as early as 1762. Of this fact we have a record. But the anniversary was, doubtless, observed here even at a much earlier period, if not by organization, then by groups of congenial friends. Irish residents of Boston, Mass., celebrated St. Patrick’s Day as far back as 1737, and, we have no doubt, the anniversary was as early recognized in New York.
Thomas Dongan, an Irish Roman Catholic, became governor of the Province of New York in 1683 and held the office until 1688. There is little doubt that during this period the anniversary of St. Patrick was, in some manner, observed by the governor and his friends and countrymen in these parts. It would be strange if this were not so, and we shall not be surprised if, one of these days, evidence confirmatory of this comes to light.
As a matter of established fact, however, we for the present date St. Patrick’s Day celebrations in New York City from 1762. In the New York Mercury, under date of March 15, 1762, we find the following notice: “The anniversary Feast of St. Patrick is to be celebrated on Wednesday the 17th instant, at the house of Mr. John Marshall, at Mount Pleasant, near the College; Gentlemen that please to attend will meet with the best Usage.” We find no further mention of the event, but the same was, undoubtedly, a complete success.
A notable celebration took place in New York City in 1766. Some of the toasts offered on that occasion appear very strange in these days. It should be remembered, however, that British influence dominated the gathering and that if any of the assembled company disagreed with “The Glorious Memory of King William,” for instance, 54they very wisely kept their opinions to themselves. Some of the toasts, however, appear to have been quite commendable. The New York Gazette, March 20, 1766, and the New York Mercury, March 24, 1766, have the following account of the celebration:
Monday last being the Day of St. Patrick, tutelar Saint of Ireland, was ushered in at the Dawn, with Fifes and Drums, which produced a very agreeable Harmony before the Doors of many Gentlemen of that Nation, and others.
Many of them assembled, and spent a joyous tho’ orderly Evening, at the House of Mr. Bardin in this City, where the following Healths were drank, Viz.
The next celebration of which we find mention took place in 1768, concerning which the New York Gazette, March 14, that year, had the following:
Who intend dining together on St. Patrick’s Day, are desired to send their Names to Bolton and Sigell’s that Dinner may be prepared accordingly.
55In the same issue of the Gazette we also find a statement to the effect that “The Members of the most ancient and truly benevolent Order of St. Patrick intend to celebrate the anniversary of that Saint, at the House of John Marshall, at the ancient Mason’s Arms, near the Hon. William Walton’s, Esq.; on Thursday the 17th Instant, for which Purpose Tickets are now delivered at the said John Marshall’s.”
Now comes into view an organization known as the “Friendly Brothers of St. Patrick.” It appears to have been divided into “knots” and to have been largely, or entirely, composed of men in the British service. In the New York Gazette of March 13, 1769, a notice appears, stating that:
The principal Knot of the Friendly Brothers of St. Patrick, in the XVIth Regiment of Foot, will meet at Messieurs Bolton and Sigel’s, on Friday the 17th Inst. being the Patron Day of the Order, at 2 o’Clock, to dine and transact Business. Such Gentlemen in this City as are of the Order, are desired to attend.
In the New York Journal, March 30, 1769, is a notice reading as follows: “The Friendly Brothers of St. Patrick, and several Gentlemen of this City intend dining together at Bolton and Sigel’s Next Monday, and from thence to go to the Play in the Evening; such Gentlemen as propose to join them will be pleased to send in their Names to the Bar of said Tavern two Days before. New York, March 28, 1769.”
If this latter event was intended as a celebration of St. Patrick’s Day it is strange that it was held at so late a date after the anniversary. However, there may have been a special reason for this. It is possible, too, that it was a union celebration by the Friendly Brothers instead of by a single “knot” of the organization as was that held on the 17th of the month.
In 1770, members of “the 16th Regiment of Foot” again paid honor to the memory of St. Patrick as the following notice in the New York Gazette of March 12th, that year, indicated they would:
The Principal Knot of the Friendly Brothers of St. Patrick, in the 16th Regiment of Foot, will meet at Bolton’s on Saturday the 17th Instant, being the Patron Day of the Order, at 9 o’Clock in the Forenoon to breakfast, transact Business and dine. Such Gentlemen in this City as are of the Order, are desired to attend. Signed by Order,
56We again find mention of the Friendly Brothers in the New York Gazette of March 25, 1771, it being there stated that “at the usual celebration of the repeal of the Stamp Act on 18 March, the assemblage on 18 March 1771, drank the usual toast ‘Prosperity to Ireland and the worthy Sons and Daughters of St. Patrick.’ Messages of civil Compliments were exchanged by those Gentlemen and the Friendly Brothers of St. Patrick, who dined at the Queen’s-Head Tavern; as also with a Number of other Gentlemen who dined at Protestant Hall, at Mr. Samuel Waldron’s, on Long Island.”
In Rivington’s New York Gazette, March 10, 1774, we find a notice to the effect that “The Friendly Brothers are desired to meet at Hull’s Tavern, on Thursday the 17th instant. Dinner to be on table precisely at three o’clock.—F. T. M.”
The same paper under date of March 17, 1774, says “This morning the Gentlemen who compose the most benevolent society of the Friendly Brothers of St. Patrick will give a very elegant breakfast, at Hull’s to the principal Ladies and Gentlemen of this city, in commemoration of the tutelar Saint of Ireland, it being their Patron Day,” and the same issue of the Gazette announces that “The Concert which was to have been performed at the Assembly Room, as usual this Evening, is deferred until next Monday Evening, on Account of a public Breakfast, given by the Gentlemen, who compose the Society of The Friendly Brothers.”
On March 16, 1775, Rivington’s New York Gazette announced that “To-morrow being the anniversary of St. Patrick, Tutelar Saint of Ireland, will be observed with the usual respect and attention, by his generous sons and their descendants.”
The British evacuated New York Nov. 25, 1783. Thenceforth, the St. Patrick’s Day celebrations there took place under the inspiring presence of a different order of things.
The evacuation of New York by the enemy was attended by many interesting features. Preceding it, a conference took place at Dobb’s Ferry between Washington, Governor Clinton and Sir Guy Carleton. At this conference, it was arranged that the British were to get out of New York on the date above mentioned. On the morning of Nov. 25, General Knox, who was of Irish parentage, marched his men in from Harlem as far as “Bowery Lane.” There he halted, at what is now the junction of Third Avenue and the Bowery. The Americans remained here until about 1 p. m., as the enemy had claimed the right of possession until noon. Before 3 p. m., Knox 57had taken control of the city and of Fort George, amid the acclamations of a great concourse. Washington located at Fraunces’ Tavern, where during the afternoon a public dinner to the officers of the army was given by Governor Clinton. In the evening the city was illuminated by rockets, bonfires and other evidences of rejoicing. The British flag at Fort George had been nailed to the staff and the latter was then made as slippery as possible. The emblem of tyranny was soon removed, however, and the American flag hoisted in its place.
On St. Patrick’s Day, 1784, the year following the British evacuation of New York, a celebration took place in that city under the auspices of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick, a society organized that year and which is still in existence. The exercises comprised a banquet at Cape’s Tavern. Speaking of this event, the New York Packet and Advertiser, of the next day, says:
Yesterday, being the anniversary of St. Patrick, his patriotic sons met at Cape’s Tavern, where they gave an elegant entertainment to His Excellency the Governor, Lieut.-Governor, Chancellor, and a number of other respectable gentlemen of this State. The day and evening were spent in festivity and mirth, and a number of suitable toasts were drank upon this joyful occasion. The greatest unanimity and conviviality pervaded this numerous and jovial company, and perhaps this great Saint was never honored with a concourse of more generous and truly patriotic sons than this assembly afforded.
In 1785, the same organization observed St. Patrick’s Day by dining at “The Coffee House,” conducted by Mr. Bradford, in Water Street, near Wall Street. The society dined there again in 1786, the New York Daily Advertiser stating that “Yesterday the Society of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick held their anniversary meeting at the Coffee-House, where an elegant dinner was provided by Mr. Bradford.—The company were numerous and respectable; and the day spent with that decorum and hilarity, so truly characteristic of this friendly society.”
Speaking of this observance, the Independent Journal, March 18, and the New York Packet, March 20, 1786, inform their readers that “The anniversary of St. Patrick, patron of the Irish nation, was on Friday celebrated with great festivity by our worthy friends of that kingdom: A very elegant entertainment was provided at Mr. Bradford’s Coffee-House, at which were present His Excellency the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, the Chancellor, Chief Justice, Judge 58Hobart, the Mayor, Recorder, and many other persons of distinction.—The day and evening passed with that convivial spirit which ever distinguished the true Milesian.”
In 1788, the Friendly Sons, it is stated, dined at the Merchants’ Coffee House, at the southeast corner of Wall and Water streets. The New York Journal & Patriotic Register, March 18, that year notes two celebrations, the first of which is believed to refer to the Friendly Sons. The Register’s mention thus reads:
Yesterday, being the anniversary of the Tutelar Saint of Ireland, a number of gentlemen of that nation, assembled at the Merchants’ Coffee House, in this city, where they partook of an elegant entertainment, drank a number of toasts, and “liberally good cheer did bestow.”
A company also met at Corre’s.
The New York Packet speaking of the observance in 1788, states that a large company assembled “at the Coffee house” but does not mention “Merchants’.” The reference appears in the Packet of March 18, that year, and states that “Yesterday being the anniversary of St. Patrick, the Tutelar Saint of Ireland, a large company of gentlemen, natives of that country, assembled at the Coffee-House; where a genteel entertainment was provided, and which was well conducted. True festive mirth and hilarity were displayed at this convivial board.”
About one mile back of the west shore of Lake Chautauqua, N. Y., and almost directly behind the present Chautauqua Assembly ground, lies a farm now occupied by Chauncey Moses. This farm was formerly the home of William Prendergast, one of the pioneers of Chautauqua County.
To the rear of the house, and on a hill, is an old family graveyard where are buried the pioneer, his wife and many of their children and other descendants. The pioneer’s tombstone bears an inscription stating that he was born in Kilkenny County, Ireland, Feb. 2, 1727, that he was a son of Thomas and Mary Prendergast, and that he died Feb. 14, 1811.
His wife, Mehitable (Wing) Prendergast, is buried beside him. The inscription on her tombstone states that she was the daughter of Jedediah and Elizabeth Wing of Beeker, Dutchess County, N. Y., that she was born March 20, 1737, and died Sept. 14, 1811.
For some years after their marriage, Mr. Prendergast and his wife resided at Pawlings, Dutchess County. I have heard it said that William, the pioneer, came to America when he was but nineteen years of age. He continued to live at Pawlings until the year 1766. At that time the inhabitants of Rensselaer, Dutchess and Columbia counties who rented their lands, instead of owning them, became dissatisfied by what they considered the unreasonable demands of the proprietors, and broke out in open revolt.
Prendergast, who was looked upon as a leader of the disaffected, was taken prisoner, tried for treason and sentenced to death. He was, however, pardoned by the British king, George IV, on taking an oath never again to bear arms against the government of England. This oath he kept, so that during the Revolution neither he nor his 60sons were actively engaged in the Patriot cause, although sympathizing therewith.
After his pardon, he removed to Pittstown, Rensselaer County, twenty-two miles above Albany, N. Y., where he lived until 1805. At this time the family decided to remove to Tennessee, and departed for thence, traveling in wagons and on horseback. Not liking the place, they returned through Ohio and Pennsylvania to New York state. When they had reached a point some miles within New York, the horse ridden by Thomas Prendergast, one of the sons, became lame. Being near a settler’s log cabin, Thomas entered the latter and soon prevailed upon the settler to sell him his claim. Thomas, therefore, decided to go no further but to settle there and make the locality his home, which he accordingly did.
William Prendergast, the pioneer, and his wife, were the parents of seven sons and six daughters. All but one of these children arrived at maturity, and all but one settled in Chautauqua County, N. Y. The children just mentioned were:
The foregoing data, relating to the births and deaths of the children, while possibly not exact in every instance, is approximately so, and is the best it is now possible to procure. Of the children here mentioned:
I can remember when I was a child of six or seven years of visiting Colonel Prendergast’s house on Christmas Day and seeing his wife roast the turkey in a tin oven before the fireplace, cooking the vegetables in kettles hung on a crane over the blaze and pounding coffee in a mortar. She also “dipped” her candles and cooked in a brick oven.
She had a red broadcloth cloak, trimmed with red satin, which I was allowed to wear if I would sit still, and at the end of the visit my great-great uncle always gave me a piece of gold or silver money. One yet in my possession bears the date 1776.
Alexander T. Prendergast was a son of James Prendergast, the founder of Jamestown, N. Y., and of his wife, whose maiden name was Agnes Thompson. This Alexander had one son, James, who was a lawyer by profession and served as a member of the State Assembly. His parents founded the James Prendergast Free Library at Jamestown, an Episcopal church there called the Prendergast Memorial, gave a public drinking fountain, a window in the Congregational church, scholarships in the Jamestown schools, and 62other benefactions. There are no living descendants of James, John, William, Minerva, Martha, Elizabeth, or Elinor—children of William Prendergast, the pioneer.
Descendants of others of the children achieved a good measure of success. One of them, Col. Henry A. Prendergast, served as a paymaster during the Civil War and died of sickness contracted in the service. He was also a member for many terms of the New York State Assembly.
My own grandfather, a son of Matthew Prendergast, participated in the battle of Black Rock during the War of 1812, and rendered able service as a surgeon. He served many terms as a supervisor and was a famous physician. The only members of this family, bearing the Prendergast name, now left in Chautauqua County are my two brothers—John H. and Dr. William Prendergast—and James Hunt Prendergast, son of John H. This James is a lawyer practising at Westfield, N. Y. To these must be added myself. My sister, Mrs. Whallon, has a grandchild named William Prendergast Whallon who is now eight years of age and is of the seventh generation.
Thomas Coffin Amory begins his biography of his grandfather, Gov. James Sullivan, as follows:
James, the fourth son of Master Sullivan, was born in Berwick, Me., 22d April, 1744. The cellar of the house occupied by his parents is easily distinguished by some portions of its walls still remaining in a field near Salmon Falls river, and within half a mile of Great Falls village. The barn which served to store away their harvests for the long winters of New England climate has only quite recently (1858) been destroyed by fire. Near by, but separated from the old dwelling by a public road, laid out in comparatively modern times across the farm, is the ancient cemetery, where Master Sullivan and Margery his wife, when their long protracted lives were over, were laid to their last repose amid the scenes of their humble labors and of the pleasures and various vicissitudes of more than half a century.
The above is incorrect in one particular: Gov. James Sullivan was not born in Berwick, Me.; he was born in Somersworth, N. H., then a parish in Dover. Mr. Amory made the mis-statement because he had not all the facts at hand in regard to the question. That particular part of Somersworth in which Master Sullivan lived is now in the town of Rollinsford, having been set off from Somersworth in 1849, and is now the village at Rollinsford Junction.
This village is one mile from Salmon Falls village and one mile from South Berwick village, at the lower fall where the fresh water meets the tide water; this is the ancient Quamphegan, and the point where the river changes its name to Newichawannick, which it holds till it gets to Dover Point, where it joins the Pascataqua, six miles from Quamphegan. The settlers on Dover Neck did not use the 64Indian name Newichawannick, but called it Fore River, and the river on the west side of the Neck they called Back River.
The Somersworth village in the days of Master Sullivan was much larger than the modern village of Rollinsford Junction; this is distant about four miles from the depot in the city of Somersworth. For more than a century it was the home of several of the leading men of New Hampshire. It was the home of Master Sullivan from 1723 to 1754. Here his children were born; here he did the most important part of his teaching; here he educated his sons to be governors, and leaders in the Revolution, and leaders after the American government was formed.
They were important factors in forming the state governments of New Hampshire and Massachusetts. At this village school of Master Sullivan the sons of many other men were taught in a way that fitted them to enter Harvard College, and fitted them to be leaders in the great struggle for independence. Here Master Sullivan not only kept school, but was also the scribe and counselor for his neighbors and fellow-citizens.
He was a fine penman, and wrote wills, deeds, mortgages, and such other legal documents as the needs of the parish demanded. Here he served in the local military company; here he swept the parish meeting-house and rang the bell for services on the Lord’s day; here he sat under the ministrations of Rev. James Pike, who was the faithful and able pastor of this parish for more than sixty years.
The farm which Mr. Amory speaks of in Berwick was purchased by Master Sullivan in August, 1753. He bought it of Mr. Samuel Lord, and there is no record that he bought any land anywhere before that date. It is on a beautiful elevation which overlooks the city of Somersworth, a mile away, across the Salmon Falls River. Much of the land is now cut up into streets and house lots in the fast-growing village of Berwick. A garden occupies the spot where Master Sullivan’s house stood; a street crosses the spot where he and his good wife were buried. Their remains were removed to the Sullivan cemetery in Durham, and now repose near the grave of their illustrious son, Gen. John Sullivan.
It is not known precisely when he moved his family to Berwick, but probably in 1754, and there they resided more than forty years. In Berwick he was a farmer, as well as a schoolmaster and scrivener for his townsmen. Tradition says that his wife was the better farmer of the two. He was so fond of his books that the weeds 65oftentimes got the better of his crops. His wife Margery cared nothing for books, and delighted in out-door work.
The town of South Berwick was set off from Berwick in 1814; the First parish is at South Berwick, and recently celebrated its two hundredth anniversary with an elaborate and interesting service. In 1754 the present Berwick was established as the North parish, on petition of 39 freeholders (landowners). This petition for an enabling act to choose parish officers was granted by Governor Shirley and the council, April 17, 1754, the house concurring on the next day. One of the 39 signers to that petition was Master John Sullivan. He helped organize the parish and owned a pew in the meeting-house; later two of his sons owned pews there.
Because Master Sullivan spent the last 40 years of his life in this parish of Berwick, the writers of cyclopedias, biographical dictionaries, and biographies of his sons have taken it for granted that he always lived there, hence say his sons were born there. If Master Sullivan’s sons were like the ordinary sons of men, nobody would care or take the trouble to inquire whether they were born in Maine or New Hampshire. They are not like ordinary sons; they are extraordinary, and that is why New Hampshire should claim the honor which is its due, just as we delight to boast that Webster and Chase, and a host of distinguished men, are the sons of New Hampshire. The Sullivan family is one of the most notable families in the history of New England. There were five sons and one daughter. I will give a brief summary of their lives.
I. Benjamin was born in 1736; he received a thorough education from his father; he enlisted in the British navy and rose to be an officer, when most young men would be only ordinary seamen; he was tall, handsome and brilliant, and walked the decks as one who was born to command. Unfortunately, he and his ship, with all on board, were lost at sea just previous to the Revolution.
II. Daniel, the second son, was born in 1738; after being carefully educated by his father he engaged in mercantile business in Berwick and was very successful; about 1770 he was leader of a company of gentlemen who founded a town at the head of Frenchman’s Bay in eastern Maine; this town is called Sullivan in his honor. When the Revolutionary War commenced he organized and commanded a company which did valiant service for the Patriot cause; he was leader in the defense of Castine against the attacks of the British navy. Captain Sullivan was so conspicuous and efficient in the defense 66that the officers of the fleet marked him for special revenge; one ship went up from Mt. Desert to the head of Frenchman’s Bay specially to capture the captain; a sortie of marines at midnight went to his house, when all the family were asleep, caught the captain, drove his family out of doors and burned the house and contents; the British officer offered to release him if he would swear allegiance to the king; the captain positively refused to accept freedom on such condition; he was then carried to New York city and confined in a prison ship several months; he was then exchanged but died on his way home, from disease contracted while in prison. He has the reputation of being a man of extraordinary ability, both as a military leader and a business man. Before the war he had acquired large possessions in land, lumber, and sawmills.
III. John, the third son, was born in 1740; after thorough training by his father, he studied law with Judge Livermore in Portsmouth; he commenced practice of the law in Berwick in 1761, and was married about that time. He removed to Durham in 1763, much against the wishes of some of the good people in that town, who feared a lawyer would make trouble. General Sullivan was the first lawyer the town ever had; but the people soon learned to love and respect him; although his office was in Durham, his practice soon extended throughout Rockingham and Strafford counties in New Hampshire and York County in Maine; his success was remarkable.
Before 1775 he was acknowledged as leader at the bar in all of those counties, where John Adams, the second president of the United States, was for several years one of his competitors; not only was he a great lawyer but he also engaged extensively in business, owning several mills and much real estate; at the opening of the war it was estimated he was worth £40,000; most men with such holdings would have hesitated much before rebelling against the king of England; John Sullivan did not hesitate; he took the lead and was commander of the expedition which committed the first overt act of war in the Revolution, by capturing and removing the gunpowder from Fort William and Mary at Newcastle, Dec. 14, 1774; of course you all know the story; the hundred barrels of powder were taken up the river to Durham and hid in various places; a larger part was placed in the cellar of the old church near General Sullivan’s residence; the monument to his memory now stands on the spot.
Some of that powder was used at the battle of Bunker Hill; all of it was used in the Revolutionary War, except a small bottleful which 67Maj. John Demeritt of Madbury now has, being handed down to him as an inheritance from his ancestors; this capture of the powder was four months before the Lexington and Concord affair.
While attending to his law business and his sawmills and lumbering, he had taken a hand in the local military affairs, and in 1774 was major of the regiment of militia in his section of the province; Governor Wentworth could not persuade him to hold it after the little affair at Fort William and Mary; he was delegate to the first Continental Congress in 1775; he was appointed brigadier-general in the Continental army in 1775; a major-general in 1776; commanded the New Hampshire troops at Germantown and Brandywine; commander-in-chief in the Rhode Island campaign in 1778; commander-in-chief in the great and hazardous expedition against the Six Nations in 1779, which resulted in the overthrow of the most complete organization of the Indians ever effected on this continent. To commemorate this great service of General Sullivan the state of New York has erected costly tablets on the spots where the most important encounters took place.
This was General Sullivan’s closing service in the military operations of the war. I think he should be ranked second only to Greene and Washington as a military leader. His services in civil affairs which immediately followed were quite as valuable and important as his military service. In 1780 he drafted the bill, which the Legislature adopted, to regulate the militia; in 1781 he was delegate in the National Congress; in 1782, ’83 and ’84 he was attorney-general of New Hampshire; he was president of the state in 1786, ’87 and 89; he was the Federal candidate in 1788 but was defeated by John Langdon, the Republican candidate. Sullivan had defeated Langdon in the two years previous, and in the year following; Sullivan was a Washington federalist; he was a presidential elector when Washington was elected the first time; he was president of the convention that adopted the Federal constitution, June 21, 1788, which was the act that established the Federal union; the vote stood 57 in favor to 42 against adoption; it was largely through the influence of General Sullivan that the 57 votes were secured and the Federal union was formed.
September 26, 1789, President Washington appointed him United States district judge for New Hampshire, and he entered upon the duties of that office Dec. 15 of that year; he remained in that office until his death, Jan. 23, 1795, being nearly fifty-five years old, having 68been born on the 17th of February, 1740. A better American, a more capable, a more useful, or more fearless citizen than John Sullivan, New Hampshire never had.
In this connection it may be well to say a few words about his descendants, to show how strong was the hereditary force that came down from Master Sullivan. General Sullivan’s son John was a prominent and able lawyer in one of the Southern states, but died young. His son George was attorney-general of New Hampshire twenty years. His grandson, John, son of George, was attorney-general ten years or more, and his grand nephew, John S. Wells, held the same office several years. They were all able attorneys, and no family in the state has the equal of this illustrious record.
IV. James, the fourth son of Master Sullivan, was born in Somersworth in May, 1744, and died in Boston, Dec. 10, 1808. He was thoroughly educated by his father, quite the equal of a Harvard graduate of that period; he studied law with his brother John; opened an office at Saco about 1767 and practised his profession there until about 1780; he was very successful, and with his brother John did the larger part of the law business in York County. When he was twenty-six years old he was appointed attorney-general for the district of Maine and held the office until the Revolution began; he was delegate in the first Continental Congress, when he was thirty years old; when he was thirty-one he was appointed judge of admiralty; the next year he was promoted to a seat on the bench of the Supreme Court, which office he held several years; he removed to Boston in 1782. While he was in Maine, John Adams, who used to go down there once or twice a year to attend court at Saco and Portland, said that he always found the Sullivans in possession of all the best and most important cases.
In 1783, ’84 and ’85 he was delegate in the Continental Congress, and also was representative from Boston in the Massachusetts General Court; he was member of the Executive Council in 1787; judge of probate from 1788 to 1790; attorney-general from 1790 to 1807; in 1804 he was presidential elector, casting his vote for Thomas Jefferson, of whom he was a great admirer. The Federalist abused him fearfully for so voting. He was governor of Massachusetts in 1807 and 1808, dying a short time before his term expired. Notwithstanding he gave so much time to official business, he was one of the founders of the Massachusetts Historical Society and its president many years; he wrote and published a history of Maine; he published 69numerous pamphlets on various questions that concerned current business affairs; he was a clear and forcible writer and an eloquent advocate; he delivered innumerable addresses on public occasions and stood in the front rank of literary men and the legal fraternity of Boston.
V. Mary Sullivan was the fifth child of this remarkable family; she was born in 1752; her father as carefully educated her as he did his sons; she was tall and handsome, like her father, and inherited his fondness for books; she was brilliant and attractive, mentally and socially; like her father she was a successful teacher several years, at a time when most women thought they were highly accomplished if they could write their own names. She married Mr. Theophilus Hardy and resided in Durham near her brother John. To them were born several daughters; one of these, a very gifted woman, married Edward Wells, Esq., and they also resided in Durham, which was then one of the liveliest business centers of the state. They had a large family of children, and several of the sons manifested those strong traits of intellectual power of their Sullivan ancestors; one son, Samuel Wells, was governor of Maine two years, 1858 and 1859; another son, John Sullivan Wells, whom many of you may remember, lacked only fifty votes of being elected governor of New Hampshire in 1856, the Know-Nothing tidal wave being a little too much for him to overcome; he was attorney-general several years; United States senator; speaker of the House in the New Hampshire Legislature, and also president of the Senate. He was an able lawyer, a brilliant and fascinating public speaker, and one of the most popular men in his party and he was generally popular with all parties. Another brother, Joseph Bartlett Wells, was a distinguished lawyer in Illinois, where he was attorney-general several years, and was lieutenant-governor at the time of his death; had he lived he would undoubtedly have been governor of the state. A fourth brother was consul at Bermuda several years and died there. These were great-grandsons of Master John Sullivan.
VI. Ebenezer was the sixth child and youngest son of Master Sullivan and his wife Margery; he was born in 1753, and died in 1797. He was educated by his father and studied law with his brother John. Before he could get established in his profession the Revolution commenced, and he engaged earnestly in the cause of the colonies; starting as a private, he rose to be captain of a company and did valiant service.
70He was taken prisoner and narrowly escaped being burned at the stake by the Indians. After the war he married and resided at South Berwick, and engaged in the practice of his profession. He was the leader at the bar in York County, a thorough lawyer and a powerful advocate. He was a tall, handsome, powerfully-built man, whose presence was commanding wherever he stood.
Such were the children of Master Sullivan. What say you, Mr. President, are these boys worthy for the New Hampshire Historical Society to claim them as sons of New Hampshire?
Seven cities claimed the honor of being the birthplace of Homer. Other great men in later times have honored the cities where they were born by their great deeds; should not New Hampshire feel everlastingly honored by having such a family born within its borders? I will take it for granted that you will answer all my questions in the affirmative. Then what proof have I that they were born in New Hampshire and not in Maine? I will tell you shortly.
On page 356 of McClintock’s History of New Hampshire Fred Myron Colby has the following concerning Master John Sullivan:
The grandfather of the New Hampshire Sullivans was Major Philip O’Sullivan of Ardea, an officer of the Irish army during the siege of Limerick. His son John, born at Limerick in 1692, was one of the company that in 1723 emigrated from Ireland and settled the town of Belfast in Maine. At this place he hired a sawmill and went to work. Two or three years afterward another vessel of Irish emigrants landed at Belfast. On board was a blooming young damsel, who, after the custom of those days, had agreed with the shipmaster to be bound out at service in the colonies in payment of her passage across the Atlantic. She was bright and witty, with a mind of a rough but noble cast. During the passage over a fellow-passenger jocosely asked her what she expected to do when she arrived in the colonies. “Do?” answered she with true Celtic wit, “why raise governors for thim.” Sullivan saw the girl as she landed, and struck with her beauty, made a bargain with the captain, paying her passage in shingles. He wooed and won her, and the Irish girl entered upon her initiatory steps to make good her declaration. Immediately after his marriage (1735) Mr. Sullivan settled on a farm in Berwick and began clearing it for the plow.
Following this is a statement that John was the oldest son of this couple, and a lot more of fictitiously interesting biography of the general. Now what are the facts?
Master Sullivan landed in York, Me., from Limerick, Ireland, in the winter of 1723; he hadn’t a cent to pay the captain for his passage 71across the Atlantic. After working at farming a week or so he got weary of it, and applied to Rev. Dr. Moody, pastor of Scotland parish, to help him. He made his application in a letter written in seven languages, so the doctor might know he was an educated man. The worthy doctor was favorably impressed, and loaned him the money to pay his fare and then helped him to a school in Dover. May 20, 1723,[11] Master “Sullefund” was chosen one of the two teachers of the town of Dover, at £30 salary per year. Just where he kept that school is not stated in the record, but it undoubtedly was in that part of Dover then called the “Summer parish,” from the fact that meetings were held in a barn there during the summer and fall by Parson Cushing, then pastor of the First parish.
These summer meetings were held to accommodate the people who objected to walking or riding five or six miles to attend meetings at Cochecho, where now is the center of the city of Dover. As this is the place where Master Sullivan spent thirty years of his life, I may as well explain further in regard to this name, Somersworth, which is unique in the history of towns and cities in the United States, no other place in the country having that name.
The people had become familiar to having the village called the “Summer parish,” so in 1730, when this district was separated from the First parish as a distinct parish, it was the most natural thing for the leaders, who were educated men, to retain the familiar name, and they did it by changing “parish” to “worth,” and they had “Summersworth.” The word “worth” is the old English termination for names of places, so Summer parish and Summersworth mean precisely the same thing. You will notice that the present spelling is Somersworth.
The ancient spelling of the parish was Summersworth, and when the citizens petitioned for an act of incorporation as a town they 72asked to have it spelled that way, but when they got their charter they found that the clerk of the General Court, or somebody else, had changed “Sum” to “Som,” so they let it go that way. This change in orthography made no change in the meaning of the name. According to Dr. Samuel Johnson, whose large dictionary was published in 1755, the year after this town was chartered, “Sumer” is Saxon and “Somer” is Dutch for the English word “Summer.”
Before Summersworth was made a separate parish the town of Dover looked after the schools; but after it became a parish the people managed their own schools by votes in parish meetings. July 2, 1734, the parish “Voted that Hercules Mooney be the schoolmaster here for one month (viz) from July 4th to Augt 4th, 1734 next ensuing at three pounds fifteen shillings per month.”
“Voted that Capt. Thomas Wallingford and Mr. Philip Stackpole be the men that Joyn with the Selectmen at the months end above to agree with Mr. Mooney or any other suitable person to keep school in this Parish for the Residue of this Sumer and autum.”
In 1735 it was “Voted that Mr. Jono Scrugham be school master for one month in this Parish at the Descression of the Selectmen.” Also, “Voted that there be thirty pounds raised to Defray the Charge of a school this sumer and autum.”
In 1737 the parish “Voted sixty pounds for a school master.”
“Voted that Mr. John Sullivan be the schoolmaster for the ensuing year.”
“Voted that John Sullivan to sweep and take care of ye meeting house & to have thirty shillings.”
From that date to 1752 no schoolmaster is named, but from year to year the parish would vote to have a school and leave the matter with the selectmen to hire a teacher. As they had voted Master Sullivan in once, it was taken for granted that he would be the teacher. April 6, 1752, “Voted Mr. Joseph Tate twenty three pounds old tenor to keep ye Parish School one month.” The record does not show that Master Sullivan kept the parish school after Mr. Tate began work there.
Master Sullivan was married to Margery Browne in 1735. Soon after that he commenced to sign his name as witness to documents as “John Sullivan of Summersworth.” Their third child, John, was born in 1740. In 1787, when he was the Federalist candidate for governor, then called president, his opponents charged him as guilty of being born in Berwick, Me., hence was not eligible for the office.
73The New Hampshire Gazette, March 10, 1787, replied to this as follows:
Surely the collector of intelligence has not consulted all the people in this state, or he would have found out that President Sullivan was born in Somersworth, in the county of Strafford.
In the summer of 1743 Master Sullivan and his wife had a falling out, and he went off to Boston to remain till her temper cooled. She repented of her cruel treatment, and published the following advertisement in the Boston Evening Post, July 25, 1743, from which I copied it in the Boston Public Library. It shows conclusively that Summersworth was Master Sullivan’s home in 1743:
Your abrupt departure from me, and forsaking of me your wife and tender babes, which I now humbly acknowledge and confess, I was greatly if not wholly the cause by my too rash and unadvised speech and behaviour towards you; for which I now in this public manner humbly ask your forgiveness, and hereby promise upon your return to amend and reform and by my future loving and obedient carriage toward you, endeavor to make an atonement for my past evil deeds, and manifest to you and to the whole world, that I can become a new woman, and will prove to you a loving, dutiful and tender wife.
If you do not regard what I have above written, I pray you harken to what your pupil, Joshua Gilpatrick, hath below sent you, as also the lamentations and cries of your poor children, especially the eldest (Benjamin) who though but seven years old, all rational people really conclude that unless you speedily return will end in his death; and the moans of your other children (Daniel and John) are enough to affect any human heart.
And why, my dear husband, should a few angry and unkind words from an angry and foolish wife [for which I am now paying full dear, having neither eat, drank nor slept in quiet, and am already reduced almost to a skeleton, that unless you favor me with your company will bereave me of my life] make you thus forsake me and your children? How can you thus, for so slender a cause as a few rash words from a simple and weak woman, cause you to part from your tender babes, who are your own flesh and blood? Pray meditate on what I now send and reprieve your poor wife and eldest son, who take your departure so heavily, from a lingering though certain death, by your coming home to them again, as speedily as you can, where you shall be kindly received, and in a most submissive manner by 74your wife who is ready at your desire to lay herself at your feet for her past miscarriage, and am with my and your children’s kind love to you, your loving wife.
The Hon. Thomas Wallingford, who resided in Summersworth and lived near Master Sullivan, was captain of the company of militia in that parish in 1746, and probably several years before. The late Rev. Dr. A. H. Quint had the muster roll of this company, and I presume his widow now has it. Dr. Quint published it in his Historical Memoranda, and it can be found on page 377 of the book of this memoranda that I recently published. In this list of soldiers appears Master Sullivan’s name, although the clerk of the company spells it “John Sullevant.” Of course he was an old resident there, or he would not have been enrolled as a soldier.
Another witness, and I leave this part of my subject. Mr. Michael Reade of Dover was born in the same year as General Sullivan and lived to be more than eighty years old. He went to school to Master Sullivan and knew him and the boys well, hence, of course, knew where they lived. This Michael Reade’s son Michael was born in 1773, and lived to be more than eighty years old. He knew Master Sullivan, saw him many times, and his father told him much about the old master; among other things, that he lived in Summersworth many years before he removed to Berwick and united farming with school teaching. The younger Michael Reade was living when Dr. Quint wrote much of his Historical Memoranda, and furnished the doctor many facts about many topics, and one was that his father always said General Sullivan and his brothers were born in Summersworth.
I will give a brief summary of the points: May 20, 1723, the town of Dover voted to hire him to teach school one year and give him £30. Jan. 10, 1737, he wrote and witnessed a deed, Tebbets to Tebbets, and signed as of Summersworth. Dec. 13, 1737, the parish of Summersworth voted to hire him to keep school one year, and also sweep the meeting-house. The New Hampshire Gazette says he lived in Summersworth when his son John was born in 1740. His wife Margery says their home was in Summersworth when she advertised for him to come home in 1743. Capt. Thomas Wallingford says he was a citizen of Summersworth in 1746. And last, but 75not least, Michael Reade told Dr. Quint the boys were all born in Summersworth.
On the other hand, there is nothing in the Berwick records, parish or town, which even mentions Master Sullivan before 1753. Aug. 12 of that year he bought his farm in Berwick of Samuel Lord; and after that his name frequently appears.
Master Sullivan and his wife Margery were a remarkable couple. They are two of the interesting characters in Sarah Orne Jewett’s story, The Tory Lover, recently published, which, of course, you have all read, or will read.
Master Sullivan was born in Limerick, Ireland, in 1691, during the siege of the city by King William’s forces. His wife, Margery Browne, was born in Cork, Ireland, in 1714. In 1723 they both set sail from Limerick in the same ship for New England. The captain intended to land at Newburyport, but owing to stress of weather he was compelled to land at York Harbor, Me. In his old age, when he and his wife were calling at a neighbor’s, they got to talking about his younger days, and he told the following story, which was recorded by the person who heard it. Master Sullivan said, in the presence of his wife:
I sailed from Limerick, Ireland, for New England in 1723; owing to stress of weather the vessel was obliged to land at York, Maine. On the voyage my attention was called to a pretty girl of nine or ten years, Margery Browne, who afterwards became my wife. As my mother had absolutely refused to furnish me the means for paying transportation, and I had not means otherwise, I was obliged to enter into an agreement with the captain to earn the money for my passage.
After I landed at York, for a while I lived on the McIntire farm in Scotland parish. Unaccustomed to farm labor, and growing weary of manual occupation, I applied to Rev. Dr. Moody, pastor of the parish, for assistance. I made my application in a letter written in seven languages, so that he might see I was a scholar. He became interested in my behalf, and being conversant with my ability to teach he loaned me the money with which to pay the captain the amount I owed for my passage. Thus set free from the McIntires, I was assisted to open a school and earn money to repay Dr. Moody.
Later in life, when he was past fourscore years old, he made another statement in regard to himself, at the request of his daughter-in-law, wife of General Sullivan. He wrote it with his own hand and gave it to the general’s wife. She gave it to her daughter, wife of Judge Steele; from Mrs. Steele it passed to her son and grandson; 76by the latter it was given to Thomas Coffin Amory, who published it in his biography of Gov. James Sullivan. It is as follows:
I am the son of Major Philip O’Sullivan of Ardea, in county of Kerry, Ireland. His father was Owen O’Sullivan, original descendant from the second son of Daniel O’Sullivan, called lord of Bearehaven. His father married Mary, daughter of Col. Owen McSweeney of Musgrey, and sister of Capt. Edmund McSweeney, a man noted for his anecdotes and witty sayings.
I have heard that my grandfather had four countesses for his mother and grandmothers. How true this is, or who they were, I know not. My father died of an ulcer raised in his breast, occasioned by a wound he received in France in a duel with a French officer. My ancestors were short lived; they either died in their bloom or went out of the country. I never heard that any of the mankind arrived at sixty, and I do not remember but one alive when I left home.
My mother’s name was Joan McCarthy, daughter of Dermod McCarthy of Killoween. She had three brothers and one sister. Her mother’s name I forget, but she was daughter of McCarthy Reagh of Carbery. Her oldest brother, Col. Florence, alias McFinnen, and his two brothers, Capt. Charles and Capt. Owen, went in defense of the nation against Orange. Owen was killed in a battle at Aughrim. Florence had a son, who retains the title of McFinnen. I can just remember Charles. He had a charge in his face at the siege of Cork. He left two sons, Derby[12] and Owen. Derby married with Ellena O’Sullivan of the Sullivans of Banane. His brother married Honora Mahoney of Dromore. My mother’s sister was married to Dermod, eldest son of Daniel O’Sullivan, lord of Dunkerron. Her son Cornelius, as I understand, was with the Pretender (Charles Edward) in Scotland in 1745.
This is all that I can say about my origin, but shall conclude with a Latin sentence:
All this condensed into a paragraph is that in Master Sullivan’s veins flowed the blood of the Norman Butlers and Fitzgeralds who went over from England to Ireland, when the Irish were first conquered by the English, and in time they became more Irish than the original race; that is, they fought the English government more 77fiercely than the Irish themselves did. Master Sullivan’s sons won in America what many generations of their brave ancestors had failed to win in Ireland.
As has already been stated, Master Sullivan was born in Limerick during the siege in 1691. Limerick, however, was not captured; a truce took place, and a treaty was formed. This treaty did not last long, and a large number of Irish were compelled to take refuge in France. Among these were Maj. Philip O’Sullivan and his family.
This family remained in France several years. Major Sullivan died there, as has been stated; his wife and children remained till peace reigned in Ireland to the extent that she was allowed to return and take possession of her large estates. While in France she carefully educated her son John, and, unwittingly, prepared him to be the future schoolmaster of New Hampshire. It was there that Master Sullivan learned his French so thoroughly that when he was past ninety years of age he wrote a letter in excellent French to his son, the general.
When his mother returned to Ireland her son was a young man, and I suppose passed his time as other young Irishmen did who were in the front rank of society in the city of Limerick. At length a difference of opinion arose between Madam O’Sullivan and her son; he fell in love with a young woman, who probably could not tell who her grandmother was. This displeased his mother very much. Madam was very haughty and aristocratic; she was proud of her ancestry and of her son’s ancestry. She could not endure the thought of his marrying a girl of low ancestry; she opposed the match.
I suppose that made Master Sullivan’s love burn more fiercely. After the affair had drifted along quite a while Madam forbid her son, peremptorily, to have anything more to do with the girl, and gave him two weeks in which to break the engagement; if he did not do it inside of that time, she would disinherit him. Per contra, Master Sullivan told his mother he would give her two weeks in which to consent to the marriage; if she did not consent inside of that time, he would leave Ireland forever, and neither she or the girl should ever hear more of him. They were both of the same grit; neither would yield, and the result was he sailed for America and in due time landed in York, Me. But the thought of that girl he had left behind him in Ireland haunted him for many years, and it was not till he was forty-four years old that he again entertained the thought of marriage. His mother afterwards repented of her stern act and 78made search for years for her runaway son, but she never found any trace of him.
Hamlet says in the great drama that bears his name:
Suppose Master Sullivan had obeyed his mother’s wishes and remained in Ireland, or suppose Providence had not concealed him from his mother’s search after she repented of her rash act, and he had been found and induced to return to Ireland, what a difference there would have been in the management of affairs and the history of New Hampshire.
Margery Browne was born in Cork, Ireland, in 1714; she died in Berwick, Me., in 1801. Nothing is known of her ancestry, but the name is essentially English, hence we may conclude that her parents, or their ancestors, crossed over from England and settled in Ireland. She came to this country in the same ship with Master Sullivan; she was nine years old and he was thirty-two; they never had met before boarding the ship. Why a girl of nine years should start on such a voyage alone is a mystery that will never be solved.
Her parents may have started with her and died on the way, or she may have taken a freak and stowed herself away among the freight and kept concealed till the ship was well at sea. Whatever may have been the cause of departure, she had no money to pay her passage, so the captain had to sell her service at auction in Portsmouth to get his pay. The tradition is that she was so young and so small that nobody would bid for her services. At last Master Sullivan consented to raise the sum the captain wanted for her passage. It is said that he finally paid it in shingles, which he cut himself in the forest and carried to Portsmouth in a boat.
It is not known where she spent the twelve years from 1723 to 1735, but probably in York, as a house girl on some farm. Master Sullivan does not appear to have taken any interest in her till a short time previous to their marriage, when he heard that the young men of York were falling in love with her and one had gone so far as to propose. He went over from Somersworth to York to see about it. He found a keen-witted, handsome and attractive young woman; the 79thought of the girl he had left in Ireland twelve years ago began to fade from his mind. She was equally impressed with his fine appearance; the result was she told the other young men they need not call any more. Master Sullivan and Margery Browne were married soon after.
She is described by those who saw her in the prime of womanhood as short of stature, beautiful in form, face and manners. She was a great worker, quick tempered, and quick to repent of what she did wrong in her madness. Her tongue was equal to her temper. If tradition can be relied on, she could have given Xantippe several points to start with and then have won easily in a scolding match, although Socrates’ wife has the standard reputation of being the greatest scold the human race has yet produced. Margery Sullivan did not scold all the time; it happened occasionally, like volcanic eruption, when she could not hold in any longer.
Governor Samuel Wells of Maine wrote to a friend as follows about his great-grandmother:
Master Sullivan’s wife was as well known as he was, and when reference was made to her distinguished sons she was more frequently alluded to. She has been uniformly represented as a woman of considerable native strength of mind, yet entirely uncultivated, having the strong passions common to her country women, of which some are good and some are bad, wholly unsubdued by habit. These marked traits of character show a wider contrast between her and her two distinguished sons than between them and their father, and furnish a theme for remark, with anecdotes not a few, brought up whenever allusion was made to the family. That she was a masculine, energetic woman, with the resolution of a man, there is no doubt. That she performed out-door labor in the field, suitable only to men, in order that her husband might not be diverted from his occupation of teaching, was recently told me as coming from herself, in the presence of my informant, one of the few who now (1855) survive to remember her.
Attorney-General John Sullivan of Exeter gave the following description of his great-grandfather, Master Sullivan. He says:
I have been told he was a tall, spare man, very mild and gentle, thoughtful and studious, an excellent scholar, but averse to bodily exercise. He was exclusively a teacher.
An aged lady, who remembered seeing him when he was more than a century old, told me her recollection of him, as she saw him at his house one day, was that of a tall, venerable old man in a dressing gown, seated at a table reading a Bible; he wore his hair long on his shoulders.
80From what his great-grandson says, and from what I gather from other sources, I draw the conclusion that Master Sullivan was a tall, fine-looking man, who had a lofty and fine spirit. He had an excellent education in his youth, which he enlarged and improved in his later years, making him one of the best scholars in New England in the eighteenth century. He evidently was not satisfied with his lot in life, but never complained. The magnificent success of his sons was the source of great pleasure to him in his old age. He probably was the teacher of more men who took a distinguished part in the Revolution than any other one teacher in New England, and in that way he exercised a powerful influence in shaping the turn of events in that great contest.
Master Sullivan died the first of June, 1796, aged 105 years; his remains were interred in a field on the hillside, about 50 rods from where his house stood in Berwick. His wife died in 1801, and was interred at the same spot. Soon after his death, Gov. James Sullivan had a stone, with suitable inscription, erected there; some years later their great-grandson, Governor Wells of Maine, had the spot enclosed with a substantial iron fence. Thus it remained till October, 1877, when Mr. Ricker, the present owner of the land, got permission to remove the remains to the Sullivan cemetery in Durham, as he wanted to run a new street through his land directly over the grave.
The head of the old grave is now marked by a cherry tree, which stands by the sidewalk. When Mr. Ricker and Mr. Stillings, who lives near there, opened the grave, they found the skull perfect, also the hair and some of the large bones of Master Sullivan; over the forehead a root of the cherry tree had grown so that it half encircled the skull, and had to be cut before the bones could be removed. The skull was very large, with a high forehead, and the hair was long and perfect, being a dark brown mixed with slight sprinkle of gray. The remains had been interred there 81 years.
When Master Sullivan died, some one, presumably his pastor, Rev. Matthew Merriam, wrote an obituary of him, which was published in a Portsmouth paper, The Oracle of the Day. His death occurred on Saturday, June 3, 1796, and the article is in the publication of the week following.
The article is quite long, hence I will give only the substance of it here. The writer says he was extraordinary in his acquirements as a student, his brilliancy of mind, his power as a teacher, and in 81his influence over the community in which he lived. He taught school till he was 90 years old and then retired, lamenting he could no longer be useful to his fellow-men. He still continued his studies, reading his Bible, his Homer, and his Horace with as keen a relish as he did a half century before. He wrote a good hand till he was 102 years old; he continued his reading till he was 104, when his eyesight failed, but his mental powers remained perfect till seven days before his death, when his speech failed, but he seemed to understand what was said to him till the last hour; when he closed his eyes as in sleep, and his noble soul took its flight.
His health had been remarkably good throughout his long life of more than a century; he was a stranger to pain till a few months before death, when he became subject to cramps and nervous troubles which caused him great distress.
He was active in out-of-door exercise after he had passed the century mark; he would yoke and unyoke his oxen, drive them to the blacksmith shop and get them shod, and work them about the farm; he was able to cut wood for his household fires, and do chores of various sort.
Thus Master Sullivan appeared to his pastor, who had known him for forty years and more. Thus I deposit in the archives of the New Hampshire Historical Society my pen picture of New Hampshire’s grandest old schoolmaster.
Martin Murphy, Sr., is held in loving reverence as an early pioneer of California. A native of Ireland, nurtured on Wexford’s historic soil, he imbibed a love for his native land which was as the breath of his life. Her joys, her sorrows, her glories, were his.
In his boyhood he witnessed the gallant struggle of “’98,” when kindred and friends perished in the vain effort to cast off the English yoke, and beheld the cruel persecution and bloodshed that followed the suppression of the Rebellion, scenes which left their impression indelibly impressed upon his heart. No distance could alienate him from, no pleasure cause him to forget, the “Niobe of Nations.”
Years afterwards, when a dweller on the Pacific Coast, at a time when intercourse with the outer world was difficult, and mails scarce more than semi-annual, a tourist who shared the hospitality of his home wrote thus:
Eager to hear news of Ireland, he listened as I told him the sad story of famine and death which had desolated his native land; tear-dimmed eyes and quivering lips told his deep emotion. When I ceased, the venerable patriarch bowed his head, murmuring, “O my unhappy Country! will your suffering and sorrow never end.”
But if he loved Ireland much, he loved freedom with the devotion of his race, and longed for a clime where right, not might, held sway. 83The Canadian colonies offered an opportunity to settlers of obtaining homes by purchase, homes free from the tyranny of a landlord’s whim, and thither Mr. Murphy resolved to emigrate. Disposing of his leasehold, whose tenure extended for the term of his life, he embarked for the New World, reaching Quebec in 1820.
He purchased land in the township of Frampton, 30 miles from the quaint old city which has since given its name to the province. “It was the forest primeval,” but he bravely set to work at the labor incidental to the building up of a home in the northern wilderness, the clearing of the land of its dense growth of timber before the plow could penetrate its rich virgin soil.
The long, cold winters with their mountainous snowdrifts and cutting blasts, and the countless inconveniences of frontier life to which he and his gentle wife were so unaccustomed, were borne with cheerful Christian patience. Soon many of his old friends and neighbors joined him, and a thriving Irish settlement grew up around him. His home was the center to which all new comers self-exiled from Erin turned while seeking a haven for themselves. There they found the whole-souled welcome of truly hospitable hearts, and kindly care when overtaken by sickness.
Prior to the erection of a church and the formation of a parish, zealous priests at his request visited the settlement to celebrate Mass, administer the sacraments and instruct the children, thus keeping aglow the light of Faith in the hearts of the exiles.
But the desire for more perfect freedom remained in Mr. Murphy’s heart, and although past the golden milestone of life he prepared to seek a new country. In 1840 he bade farewell to his friends, and taking with him his wife and his unmarried children, set out upon his westward journey to Missouri. He made his home in Holt County, then known as the Platte Purchase, since divided into Holt and Atchison counties.
There he was joined later by his sons Martin and James with their families, and his daughter Mary, Mrs. James Miller, with her husband and babes. His eldest daughter, Margaret, Mrs. Thomas Kell, with her husband and family, came subsequently from Upper Canada, whither they had emigrated in 1838.
Many of those who had cast their lot with him in Canada followed him to Missouri, and formed the prosperous settlement known as Irish Grove. Among these were the Sullivans, Enrights, Corcorans, Jordans, Walshes and Whites, names since familiar as pioneers of California.
84The soil was fertile, the climate mild and pleasant, but unfortunately the malarial fevers common to the Mississippi and its tributaries prevailed, and the colonists suffered much from sickness. Mrs. Murphy succumbed to the dread disease, and on June 9, 1841, yielded her pure soul to the hands of her Creator. A model wife, a loving mother, a devoted friend, an ideal Christian woman, pious and charitable in word and deed, of her it may be truly said:
A Catholic missionary who visited the colony told Mr. Murphy of California, a land of health, where almost endless summer reigned, under whose cloudless skies fertile valleys smiled unfurrowed by the plow, and thither he resolved to direct his course.
Disposing of his lands, he procured the outfit required for such a long and dangerous journey, and bearing with him a passport from Governor Reynolds of Missouri, assuring him and his the protection due American citizens, he once more turned his face toward the setting sun.
The party of devoted pilgrims started on their westward course May 6, 1844, reaching California in November of the same year. The names of the members of the company are given as follows:
“Captain Stephens was a native of North Carolina, reared in Georgia, a trapper for 28 years, and was accustomed to frontier life. He had no trail to guide him across the plains and started without even a pocket compass, but no train that traversed the continent to the Pacific was more blessed, freer from disaster, or so safe from savage attacks.”
The toils and dangers of the way have been told so often that it is needless to repeat them here. That they were many we know; deep rivers had to be forded, roads made through almost impassable mountain fastnesses, vigilant watch kept to protect the train and its belongings from prowling savages and predatory animals.
At Fort Hall, the train separated, those whose destination was the Northwest taking the Oregon trail; Mr. Murphy, his family and friends continuing to California. The difficulties of the route were augmented by the lateness of the season. Snow had fallen when they reached the Yuba, and further progress with wagons was impossible. Cabins for the accommodation of the families were erected, and there a number of the emigrants remained until March, 1845. Among those who wintered there were James Miller and family and Martin Murphy, Jr., and family.
Mr. Murphy, his daughter Helen, his sons Daniel, John M., Bernard D., James, the latter’s wife and child, Dr. Townsend and wife, with others of the party, proceeded on horseback to Sutter’s Fort, where they were hospitably received by that grand old pioneer, J. A. Sutter.
When Mr. Murphy reached California he found the country in a state of rebellion. “The native Californians had revolted against Mexican rule, seized the government arms and ammunition stored 86at the Mission of San Juan Bautista and marched upon the capital. The Mexican military force in the country was small and Governor Micheltorena, fearing defeat, called for aid upon John A. Sutter, who had been a foreign resident in the country since 1839. Sutter responded, and with one hundred mounted men, mostly foreigners, hastened to the rescue.”
Mr. Murphy and his sons were of the number who journeyed southward, “making haste slowly” ’neath winter’s sun and showers through the fairest land on which the light of Heaven shone. They reached Los Angeles late in January or early in February, 1845. After the battle of Chauvenga and the overthrow of the Mexican administration, Mr. Murphy and his sons returned to Santa Clara valley. Here he found the glorious realization of his hopes in a soil of rare fertility and a climate equable and healthy, and here he made his home.
He purchased the Rancho Ojo de Agua de la Coche, Rancho San Francisco de las Llagas, Rancho de las Uvas, that portion of the San Ysidro ranch now known as Ba Polka, and one-sixteenth of the Rancho de Las Animas, a stretch of country extending from mountain top to mountain top east and west, and from the vicinity of Madrone station in the North to the present town of Gilroy in the South.
His home at the Ojo de Agua de la Coche was well known by all who traveled the Camina Real from Monterey to San Francisco, and its generous hospitality was shared by the distinguished men of all nations which held the balance of power during the formative period of our state’s existence, and who with decisive energy moulded its chaotic elements into the perfect whole which has made California the wonder of an admiring world.
Clergymen, distinguished soldiers, grave statesmen, and authors whose names are honored, loved to linger there. Bayard Taylor describing a ride made in company with Mr. Murphy to the summit of El Toro, the lofty peak near his home, draws a vivid picture of the wondrous beauty of hill and valley in his exquisite word painting.
In 1850, Helen Murphy became the wife of Capt. Charles W. Weber of Stockton, John M. Murphy married Virginia E. Backenstoe Reed, and in 1851 Daniel wedded Mary C. Fisher. In this year also Bernard, having revisited Canada, there married Catherine O’Toole. On his return to California he was accompanied by his sister, Mrs. Johanna Fitzgerald, who with her children came at her father’s request to share his loving care, she being recently widowed. 87Mrs. Kell had reached the Pacific in 1846, and the family were again citizens of one land.
April 11, 1853, Bernard, while en route to San Francisco, was killed by the explosion of the boiler of the steamer Jenny Lind, plying between Alviso and the city. With him was his nephew, Thomas Kell, who shared his sad fate.
In 1854, Mr. Murphy erected a commodious chapel on the San Martin ranch, that the Catholic families settled in the neighborhood might enjoy the consolation of religious instruction. It was visited monthly by the pastor of St. Joseph’s Church, San José, until 1856, when it was placed in charge of the pastor of San Juan Bautista, the Rev. Francis Mora, who later became bishop of Monterey and Los Angeles. In 1864, a resident pastor, Rev. Thomas Hudson, was appointed and a church erected in the town of Gilroy. St. Martin’s chapel was destroyed by an incendiary fire April 2, 1879.
To the last, Mr. Murphy never faltered in the performance of life’s daily duties. He personally attended to business, and his real estate in city and country benefitted by his immediate supervision. He saw to the details of the wearying lawsuits entailed in the quieting of land titles, making long journeys to distant parts of the state, paying with scrupulous exactness every claim, lest the shadow of wrong might rest upon him.
Notwithstanding his advanced age he never failed to keep the fast of Lent, and his charity to the poor was bounded only by his ability to help them. Food and shelter were never refused an applicant. He was his own almoner and broke his bread with the needy and the orphan. He shrank from public applause and press notoriety, and loved the quiet of peaceful country surroundings. His life in word and deed inculcated strict obedience to the commands of God, and a faithful compliance with the laws of the land.
On March 16, 1865, Mr. Murphy laid down the burden of life. He went peacefully to rest, “like one who wraps the drapery of his couch about him and lies down to pleasant dreams.” Supported by the consolations of religion, surrounded by his children, the venerable pioneer passed away, sincerely mourned by all. I quote here a few lines taken from the tribute to his memory offered by F. B. Murdock, a pioneer editor of California:
We have known Mr. Murphy personally and well for the last twelve years. He seemed to enjoy as good health, and look as young a few weeks before his death as when we first saw him twelve years ago. He was in 88many respects a remarkable man. He was always gentlemanly, always kind and considerate, with a countenance singularly mixed with an expression of gravity, gentleness and cheerfulness. We don’t think he had an enemy, we never heard of one; we never heard any one speak of him except in terms of high respect. Truthfulness, conscientiousness and natural goodness, in its broad sense charity, were prominent marks in his character. We never heard Martin Murphy, Sr., say an unkind word of a single being, living or dead—we have often heard him utter a word of excuse or apology, something to extenuate when others were condemning. Certainly that was a most beautiful Christian trait in his character, and it is not to be wondered at that such a man should live beloved and respected and die regretted.
These sentiments voiced the feelings of the immense concourse that attended the solemn funeral rites at St. Joseph’s church, San José, heard the eloquent eulogy of the deceased pronounced by Rev. Father Kenny, S. J., and followed Mr. Murphy’s remains to their last resting place in the Catholic graveyard in Santa Clara.
As a token of respect for Mr. Murphy, and that all who desired might attend the funeral, the County Court adjourned immediately upon opening on the 18th.
Realizing the wide influence of Mr. Murphy’s long years of gentle unostentatious virtue, it is not too much to say in closing this brief notice of his life, that “the world is better because he lived.”
Mr. Murphy married early in life. His wife was Mary Foley, daughter of Daniel Foley of Enniscorthy, Ireland. Of Mr. and Mrs. Murphy’s children, Martin, James, Margaret, Johanna, Mary and Bernard were born in Ireland, Helen, John M. and Daniel in Canada.
Martin married Mary Bulger; died Oct. 20, 1884.
James married Anne Martin; died Jan. 14, 1888.
Margaret married Thomas Kell; died Dec. 30, 1881.
Johanna married Patrick Fitzgerald; died Dec. 28, 1899.
Mary married James Miller; died Dec. 26, 1883.
Bernard married Catherine O’Toole; died April 11, 1853.
Helen married C. M. Weber; died April 11, 1895.
John M. married V. E. B. Reed; died Feb. 17, 1892.
Daniel married Mary C. Fisher; died Oct. 22, 1882.
James Bourk, “captain of the brig Neptune,” is mentioned at Newport, R. I., 1773.
William Welch, “from Ireland,” settled in Charlestown, R. I. He was born in 1700 and died in 1786.
Richard Field, “a native of Dublin, Ireland,” was long a resident of Newport, R. I., and died in 1769.
Thomas McCartee of Hartford, Conn., is mentioned in the “Lexington Alarm” list of that place, 1775.
An Irishman, John Fitton, settled in Providence, R. I., about 1750. He was a merchant. He died in 1810.
Daniel Byrn was lieutenant in a regiment (1759) raised by act of the General Assembly of Rhode Island.
The records of Nantucket, Mass., contain the following entry: “Betty ye dau. of Denis Manning was born July ye 10, 1679.”
James Dailey is mentioned in the Revolutionary records as of the corps of Sappers and Miners; was at the siege of Yorktown.
The Chevalier Theobald Dillon was “colonel en second” of the Irish-French regiment of Dillon during the American Revolution.
Stephen Brady was of Col. Obadiah Johnson’s Connecticut regiment, 1778. The regiment participated in the battle of Rhode Island.
Constant Maguire “of County Fermanagh,” Ireland, settled in Rhode Island prior to 1750, and became prominent in Warwick and East Greenwich.
In 1751–’52, Terence Donnelly was engaged by the town of Newport, R. I., as a schoolmaster. He later conducted a school of his own in that place.
90The ship Sally arrived at Boston, Mass., in 1763, having been fifty-nine days on the voyage from Ireland. She was quarantined at Boston for smallpox.
A privateer captain in the Revolution was William Malone. He is believed to have been of Newport, R. I. He commanded at one period The Harbinger.
John Conley of Stratford, Conn., served in the second troop of Sheldon’s Continental Light Dragoons during the Revolution and is mentioned as a trumpeter.
John Flynn of Woodstock, Conn., is mentioned in the Woodstock “Alarm List,” 1775. He is also mentioned as a trumpeter in Major Backus’ Light Horse, 1776.
Owen Neill of New London, Conn., sustained losses aggregating £91, 14s 6d by the ravages of the British at the time of the latter’s attack on New London, 1781.
Bridget Clifford came from Ireland, 1635, in the Primrose bound for Virginia. She was accompanied by two of her brothers. She died at Suffield, Conn., in 1695.
Peter Welsh was adjutant during the Revolution of Col. Frederick Weissenfels’ New York regiment of levies. He is also mentioned as quartermaster of the regiment.
Thomas Fitzgerald was a midshipman during the Revolution on the Continental frigate Trumbull. The latter was built in Connecticut under the authority of Congress.
Patrick Canny, a soldier of the Revolution, was serving at Horseneck, Conn., in 1782–’83. He is mentioned in Stiles’ History and Genealogies of Ancient Windsor, Conn.
Philip Mullen was fire master of Albany, N. Y., in 1755, and Philip Ryley was in charge of the town clock. (Hon. Franklin M. Danaher in Early Irish in Old Albany, N. Y.)
John McGinnis was a New York soldier of the Revolution. He served at one period in Bradt’s Rangers. Also in this corps were Edward Early, Richard Kain and Barney Kelley.
Luke Burns, a cordwainer, resided in Providence, R. I., and died in 1788. Jonathan Green, “living near the Mill-Bridge in Providence,” was appointed administrator of the estate.
91Bryant O’Dougherty was in Salem, Mass., in 1683. At that period there were many Irish in Salem. (Eben Putnam in “Historical and Genealogical Notes and Queries,” Salem Observer.)
James Kasson, with his father and six brothers, came from Ireland in 1722 and landed at Boston, Mass. He later settled in Voluntown, Conn., removing to Woodbury, Conn., in 1742.
Armand O’Connor was one of the “capitaines en second” of the Irish-French regiment of Walsh during the American Revolution. He is referred to as the Chevalier Armand O’Connor.
Henry Paget, “an Irish gentleman much respected,” was admitted a freeman of Rhode Island, 1742. He wedded a daughter of Rev. John Checkley, rector of a church in Providence, R. I.
Thomas Ryan is mentioned in the Connecticut Revolutionary records as a drummer in Captain Brewster’s company, Colonel Huntington’s regiment (Seventeenth Continental), 1776.
A Rhode Island merchantman, the Abby, Capt. John Donovan, was attacked in August, 1752, by a French warship. Captain Donovan met the attack in a spirited manner but was killed.
Maj. Matthew Donovan of the Ninth Virginia regiment during the Revolution died in the service, 1777. The state of Virginia allowed his heirs 6,893 acres. (See mention in Saffell.)
Abbe Dowd, “Irlandais,” was a chaplain of the French warship Le Jason in the American Revolution. Le Jason was of the fleet of Count De Ternay, which was assisting the American cause.
In the Massachusetts force that rendezvoused on “Dedham Plain,” for the Narragansett campaign, 1675, was a soldier named Jeremiah Neal. He is mentioned as a sergeant of the sixth company.
Lieut. Hugh McManus and Lieut. John Riley served in the Sixth Regiment, Albany County, N. Y., Militia, during the Revolution. The regiment was commanded by Col. Stephen John Schuyler.
The Connecticut Revolutionary records mention Michael McGee, a soldier who served in Colonel Burrall’s regiment of that state. McGee was taken prisoner in “the affair at the Cedars,” 1776.
Over fifteen members of Capt. John Giles’ company, 1723–’24, were natives of Ireland. The company was engaged operating against the Indians in Maine, and is mentioned in the Massachusetts records.
92Tench Francis, son of an Irishman, was born in Maryland, 1732; became attorney-general of the province of Pennsylvania; was captain of the Quaker Blues; subscribed £5,500 in aid of the Patriot army.
David Dowd, soldier of the Revolution, served in a Connecticut light infantry company, under Lafayette, February-November, 1781. The company was commanded by Capt. Samuel Barker of Branford, Conn.
A settler at Sudbury, Mass., Richard Burke, came from Ireland prior to 1650. He married in 1670 and left many descendants. He was one of the earliest Burkes to settle in America of whom we have record.
An early resident of Newport, R. I., was Owen Higgins. His wife was born in 1640. In 1701, his son Richard is recorded as a freeman of Newport. (See Austin’s Genealogical Dictionary of Rhode Island.)
Five ships arrived in Boston Harbor, Aug. 4, 1718, with Irish immigrants aboard. Many of these subsequently settled in New Hampshire. These facts are referred to in Cullen’s Story of the Irish in Boston.
Daniel Sullivan, born in Ireland, 1717, died in Providence, R. I., 1814. In an obituary notice it is stated that “He had long resided in this town where his integrity and piety secured him confidence and esteem.”
Charles McAfferty, “an Irishman,” was a soldier of the Revolution and served in Col. Jeremiah Olney’s Rhode Island Continentals. He was one of the first to enter the enemy’s redoubts at the capture of Yorktown.
Patrick McSherry was an officer in the Irish-French regiment of Dillon during the American Revolution. He is mentioned in that recent work, Les Combattants Francais De La Guerre Americaine (Paris, 1903).
James Buchanan, a native of County Donegal, Ireland, came to this country in the brig Providence, 1783. He was then in his twenty-second year. His son, James, became president of the United States.
Two members of the Commander-in-Chief’s Guard (Washington’s), in the Revolution, were James and Robert Blair, both natives of 93Ireland. Godfrey’s history of the guard furnishes a biographical sketch of each.
“In the discharge of his duty he has at all times proved himself an alert, brave and intelligent officer.” The foregoing tribute was paid by Gen. Henry Knox to Lieut. Florence Crowley, a soldier of the Revolution.
Jacques O’Driscoll was one of the “capitaines en second” in the Irish-French regiment of Walsh during the American Revolution. Others of the same rank in the command were Edouard Stack and Charles O’Croly.
Hon. James Sullivan was governor of Massachusetts in 1807 and 1808. He succeeded Hon. Caleb Strong and preceded Hon. Christopher Gore. Governor Sullivan was a brother of Gen. John Sullivan of the Revolution.
Ten ships, bringing nearly one thousand passengers, arrived at Boston, Mass., from Ireland, during the two years, 1736 and 1738. It was at this period, 1737, that the Charitable Irish Society of Boston was organized.
Thomas Quirk, “a brave and fine-looking Irishman,” served under Gen. George Rogers Clark in the latter’s western campaign. He had been a sergeant and is later mentioned as a major. He was alloted 4,312 acres.
Robert Beers, an Irishman, was slain “ye 28 March 1676,” by the Indians. The tragedy occurred at “the ring of the town,” within the limits of what is now East Providence, R. I. Beers was a brickmaker by occupation.
A distinguished officer of the Revolution, Edward Hand, was born in Kings County, Ireland. He came to America in 1767; espoused the Patriot cause, and was successively lieutenant-colonel, colonel, and brigadier-general.
The first funds of Rhode Island College, now Brown University, were obtained in Ireland. The original subscription book is still carefully preserved. (Guild’s work on The First Commencement of Rhode Island College.)
In 1774 the Second Company, Governor’s Foot Guard, of New Haven, Conn., engaged Edward Burke as instructor “in the military exercise.” The company is one of the oldest existing military organizations in America.
94Gov. Thomas Dongan of New York, an Irish Catholic, visited Milford, Conn., in 1685, to confer with Governor Treat regarding the boundary between the two colonies. Governor Treat terms Dongan “A noble gentleman.”
Stephen Decatur, a Genoese Catholic, arrived in Newport, R. I., about 1740–’46; married a woman of Irish lineage; became captain of a privateer. His son, also named Stephen, attained high rank in the United States navy.
Thomas Casey was born in Ireland about 1636. He became a resident of Newport, R. I. In 1692 he and his son Thomas witnessed a deed given by James Sweet of East Greenwich, R. I., to Thomas Weaver of Newport.
Jean Baptiste O’Meara was one of the “lieutenants en second” of the Irish-French regiment of Walsh in the American Revolution. Holding like rank in the regiment were Jacques O’Sheil, George Meighan and Eugene MacCarthy.
On the roster of the British garrison at Albany, N. Y., when the place was reconquered from the Dutch and held for a short time in 1673, appear the names Capt. John Manning, Patrick Dowdell, John Fitzgerald and Thomas Quinn.
Matthew O’Bryan was a Massachusetts soldier of the Revolution. He served in Col. John Crane’s regiment of artillery. In one return he is credited with service for 21 months and 25 days as bombardier and 12 months as matross.
Jane Brown was born in Providence, R. I., 1734. Her father, Rev. Arthur Brown, was a native of Drogheda, Ireland. She married Samuel Livermore, who became attorney-general of New Hampshire and United States senator.
Thomas Amory emigrated from Limerick, Ireland, to South Carolina. He removed from the latter place to Boston, Mass., in 1721. The late Thomas C. Amory of Boston, author of the Transfer of Erin, was one of his descendants.
Mrs. Grant in her Memoirs of an American Lady mentions “A handsome, good-natured looking Irishman in a ragged provincial uniform,” named Patrick Coonie, with his wife and children, who settled near Albany, N. Y., in 1768.
Matthew Mease, who was born in Strabane, Ireland, became purser of the Bonhomme Richard and served under John Paul Jones 95in the engagement with the British 44–gun ship Serapis. Mease was wounded in that engagement.
In 1768, Patrick Mackey, mentioned as from Philadelphia, Pa., opened in Providence, R. I., “a skinner’s shop near the Hay-ward, on the east side of the great bridge.” He dealt in deer leather, in wool, and in goat and sheep skins.
The New York Revolutionary records mention Thomas Quigley, first lieutenant of the privateer General Putnam, “formerly the Betsey.” She was commanded, successively, by Capt. Thomas Cregier and Capt. William Mercier.
A roll of Capt. John Givens’ company of militia, Augusta County, Va., 1777–’82, includes the names James Donohoe, Peter Carrol, John Morrison, Neil Hughes, John Craig, Andrew Mitchell and others indicative of Irish extraction.
Alexander Johnston came from near Londonderry, Ireland, about 1721, and settled in Pennsylvania. He was a magistrate, and at one time owned a farm in Pennsylvania of 900 acres. Col. Francis Johnston of the Revolution was his son.
Michael Wright, a native of Mountmellick, Queens County, Ireland, served during the Revolution in a Rhode Island regiment of the Line. He is mentioned in a return as 42 years of age and as having his residence in Seaconnet, R. I.
Gen. Stephen Moylan, of the Revolution, was a brother of the Roman Catholic bishop of Cork, Ireland. Two of his sisters became nuns. One of them was abbess of the Ursuline convent in Cork, and the other was a nun in the same convent.
Macarty de Marteigue was the commander, in 1782, of the French warship Le Magnifique, which formed part of the naval force sent over by France to aid the American Revolution. Du Fay de Carty is mentioned as an ensign on the same ship.
The Massachusetts Revolutionary records mention Patrick Burke, a soldier of Col. John Crane’s regiment of artillery. Burke enlisted for the town of Wrentham, Mass., was a sergeant, and is at one period referred to as “Orderly to the General.”
Hugh McLean, a native of Ireland, was born in 1724. He settled in Milton, Mass., and died in 1799. His son, John McLean, was a benefactor of Harvard College and of the Massachusetts General Hospital, the latter institution in Boston, Mass.
96Among those serving during the Revolution, in the First Regiment, Virginia Light Dragoons, were James Casey, Thomas Hogan, John Carroll, William Hicks, John Powers and Niel McCaffry. They are mentioned in the Virginia records of that period.
Some years after the close of the Revolution, Christopher Fitzsimons, a wealthy Irishman of Charleston, S. C., passed away, leaving an estate worth $700,000. His daughter, Anne, married one of the Hamptons, receiving $100,000 as her dower.
Mention is made in the Massachusetts Revolutionary records of John McLaughlin, a marine who served aboard the Alfred, commanded by John Paul Jones. McLaughlin is referred to as entitled to prize shares in the ship Mellish and the brig Active.
Before 1800, Masters Knox and Crocker, natives of Ireland, taught school at Bowen’s Hill (Coventry, R. I.), and the neighborhood. (Cole’s History of Washington and Kent Counties, R. I.) The name Knox is found in the Coventry records as early as 1766.
David O’Killia, a son of David, “the Irishman” of old Yarmouth, Mass., married Anna Bills in 1662. He had a brother named John who wedded in 1690. Another brother, Jeremiah, died in 1728. A sister, Elizabeth, became the wife of Silas Sears in 1707.
Timothy McKlewain’s name appears in a list of subscribers at a meeting in East Windsor, Conn., April 21, 1777. The meeting was “For ye Great & important Purpose of furnishing our Proportion of men for the Continental Army.” He subscribed £1 10s.
Alexander Bryan, from Armagh in Ireland, was a settler at Milford, Conn., as far back as 1639. In 1661 he bought of the Indians the last twenty acres they owned on Milford Neck. He paid them therefor six coats, three blankets and three pairs of breeches.
Among the ancient inscriptions in the old Granary Burial Ground, Boston, Mass., is the following: “Here Lyeth Interred ye body of Charles Maccarty, son to Thadeus and Elizabeth Maccarty, aged 18 years, wanting 7 days. Deceased ye 25 of October, 1683.”
Patrick Cavenaugh, a soldier of the Revolution, served in the Eighth Regiment of the Pennsylvania Line. On one occasion he saved General Lincoln from being captured by the British, in New Jersey. He was afterwards an express rider for General Greene.
A Massachusetts soldier of the Revolution was Daniel McCarty. He was born in Ireland, came to this country and enlisted in the 97Patriot ranks. He served in Greaton’s regiment and is credited in the records to Roxbury, Mass. He is reported as killed in 1777.
Charles O’Gorman was one of the “lieutenants en second” of the Irish-French regiment of Walsh during the American Revolution. His name is preserved in the French military archives and is mentioned in Les Combattants De La Guerre Americaine (Paris, 1903).
About 1735, Richard Copley with his wife, Mary (Singleton) Copley, came to America from County Clare, Ireland. His health being poor, he went to the West Indies to recuperate. John Singleton Copley, the eminent artist, a native of Boston, Mass., was their son.
Matthew Hurley was one of the soldiers serving in the war against Philip, the Indian king, 1675–’76. He was at one period of the company of Captain Wadsworth, who was killed in the battle at Sudbury, Mass., and is mentioned in Bodge’s work on King Philip’s War.
Patrick McLaughlin, a soldier of the Revolution, served in the First Pennsylvania regiment, commanded by Col. John Philip De Haas; was taken prisoner by the British at Three Rivers, June 9, 1776. He is mentioned in the Revolutionary records of Pennsylvania.
Abbe Bartholomew O’Mahony was chaplain of the French warship L’Ivelly during the American Revolution. L’Ivelly was commanded by M. le Chevalier Durumain, and formed part of the fleet of Count De Grasse. (See Les Combattants Francais De La Guerre Americaine.)
In an old cemetery at Rutland, Mass., is a gravestone to the memory of Patrick Gregory, who was born in County Donegal, Ireland, about 1690. When he came to this country is unknown. He died July 5, 1756. On the gravestone just mentioned shamrocks are carved.
A native of County Armagh, Ireland, Thomas Robinson, was born in 1745 and died in Providence, R. I., 1809. He had been a resident of Providence for seventeen years; was described as “an ingenious and useful citizen” and “possessed the most enduring philanthropy.”
An influential man in Maryland, in 1647 and later, was Philip Conner. In the year named he was appointed a commissioner for 98Kent County. He is referred to as “The last commander of old Kent.” A descendant, James Conner, in 1705 wedded Elinor Flannagan.
Born at sea, of Irish parents, 1745, William Patterson died in 1806. He was a member of the first Constitutional Convention of New Jersey; attorney-general of the state; United States senator; governor of New Jersey; and judge of the Supreme Court of the United States.
At a military review near Trenton, N. J., in 1776, George Fullerton, a native of Ireland, was killed by the accidental discharge of a pistol. He was a merchant in Philadelphia, Pa., and a member of the First City Troop. In his will is mentioned John Fullerton, an uncle in Ireland.
Three Irish Rhode Islanders in the Revolution were James Bishop, William Parker and John Wilson. Bishop was born in Dublin; Parker in County Waterford, and Wilson in County Kilkenny. They served in Captain Topham’s company of Col. Thomas Church’s regiment.
Ensign Patrick Cronin was of Colonel Malcom’s New York regiment of levies in the Revolution. Also on the regimental rolls appear the names Cleary, Conner, Crane, Daley, Griffin, Jackson, McCarty, McCoy, McGee, McWilliams, Mead, Moore, Morrison, Murphy and the like.
Hon. Thomas McKean, a signer of the Declaration of Independence and president of Congress, was a founder, an incorporator, and the first president of the Hibernian Society of Philadelphia, Pa. His parents were both natives of Ireland. (Campbell’s History of the Hibernian Society.)
Michael Connolly was captain and paymaster, during the Revolution, in the Second New York Regiment of the Line. Philip Van Cortland was colonel of the regiment. There were many Irish in the command, as reference to New York in the Revolution, by James A. Roberts, will show.
An Irish trader at Fort Pitt (Pittsburg) before the Revolution was John Ormsby. He suffered depredations during Pontiac’s war, and was later granted a large tract of land at Fort Pitt. He was an active patriot during the Revolution and took a prominent part in the struggle for liberty.
99Capt. Daniel Malcom, an Irishman, died in Boston, Mass., 1769. He “was a true son of Liberty, a friend to the Publick, an enemy to oppression and one of the foremost in opposing the Revenue Acts on America.” His remains rest in a brick tomb in the old Copp’s Hill graveyard, Boston.
Capt. Edward Connor was of Col. Marinus Willett’s New York regiment in the Revolution. Also in the regiment appear such names as Burk, Crowley, Downing, Garvey, Hicks, Kelly, Kenny, Lane, Lyons, McCoy, McGee, McGill, McVey, Molloy, Moore, Quin, Ryan and Welsh.
A Connecticut soldier of the Revolution, George McCarty, served in Bigelow’s artillery company, the first company of artillery raised in Connecticut during the war. It marched to the northern department and was stationed during the summer and fall of 1776 at Ticonderoga and vicinity.
Born in Tipperary, Ireland, Edward Fitzgerald came to this country and became a soldier of the Revolution. He was a resident of Newport, R. I. He is mentioned as of the Rhode Island Continental Line when he was but 19 years of age. He saw much service at Ticonderoga and elsewhere.
A native of Dublin, Ireland, John Read was born in 1688. He came to this country, purchased an estate in Maryland, and was one of the founders of Charlestown on the headwaters of Chesapeake Bay. He was appointed by the Colonial Legislature a commissioner to lay out and govern the town.
Paul Cox, an Irishman, was of Philadelphia, Pa., as early as 1773. He became a member of the Pennsylvania State Navy Board, 1777, and was otherwise prominent. The inscription on his tombstone in Philadelphia states that he was “Thrice an elector of the president of the United States.”
Christopher Marshall, a native of Dublin, Ireland, was born in 1709. He settled in Philadelphia, Pa., and was a druggist. During the Revolution his firm furnished drugs and medicines to the Continental army. He was a member of the Committee of Safety throughout the whole period of the war.
Maj. John Gillespy is mentioned as serving during the Revolution in the Fourth Regiment, Ulster County (N. Y.) Militia, commanded 100by Colonel Hardenburgh. Also of the same regiment was Lieut. Samuel Gillespy. (Vide New York in the Revolution, by Comptroller James A. Roberts, Albany, 1898.)
In the old graveyard attached to the stone church built on the site of Fort Herkimer in the Mohawk valley, N. Y., is buried John Ring “of the Kingdom of Ireland, captain of one of His Majesty’s companies of this Province, who departed this life 20th day of Sept., 1755, in the 30th year of his age.”
Thomas McCarthy, a soldier of the Revolution, enlisted from Newtown, Pa., Jan. 14, 1776, for three years, in Capt. George Lewis’ troop, Third Regiment, Continental Dragoons, commanded by Col. George Baylor. On May 1, 1777, he was assigned to the cavalry of the Commander-in-Chief’s Guard.
John M. O’Brien is mentioned in the Rhode Island records as a soldier of the Revolution. He served in Captain Dexter’s company, of the “Late Col. Greene’s regiment,” and died in 1781. He is believed to have been the soldier elsewhere mentioned in the Rhode Island records as John Morris O’Brien.
Andrew Caldwell, born in Ireland, became a prominent merchant in Philadelphia, Pa. He was a patriot of the Revolution; member of the Council of Safety; member of the First City Troop, Philadelphia; member of the Navy Board; port warden of Philadelphia; a director of the Bank of North America.
George Bryan, an Irishman, became a resident of Philadelphia, Pa.; was a member of the Assembly; a delegate, in 1765, to the Stamp Act Congress; a patriot of the Revolution; vice-president of the Supreme Executive Council of Pennsylvania: president of the same; a judge of the Supreme Court of the state.
In Mason’s Reminiscences of Newport (R. I.) is an interesting reference to Henry Goldsmith, a native of Westmeath, Ireland. He settled in Newport when he was 24 years of age, married there in 1779, and had 14 children. At the close of the Revolution, Mr. and Mrs. Goldsmith removed from Newport.
James Calhoun, grandfather of John C. Calhoun, came from Donegal, Ireland, in 1733, with his family, and settled in Pennsylvania, later removing to western Virginia, and at a later period, further south. In 1765 they established the “Calhoun settlement” in South Carolina, near the Cherokee Indian frontier.
101James Blaine came from Ireland with his family prior to 1745. He settled in Toboyne township, Cumberland County, Pa., where he died in 1792. He left a widow and nine children. Col. Ephraim Blaine of the Revolution was one of these children. The late Hon. James G. Blaine of Maine was a descendant.
One of the officers in the Irish-French regiment of Dillon, during the American Revolution, was Patrick Murphy. His name is preserved in the military archives of France, and by its publication in Les Combattants Francais De La Guerre Americaine, is recalled and forever made known to the American people.
Mary Peisley was a native of Kildare, Ireland, and was born in 1717. She entered the Quaker ministry about 1744, came to America with Ann Payton, and perhaps other Quakers, about 1753, labored in New York, the Carolinas, Maryland and Rhode Island; returned to Ireland and married Samuel Neale of Dublin.
James Moore, who was chosen governor of South Carolina, was born in Ireland about 1640. He came to this country in 1655, settled in Charleston, S. C., wedded a daughter of Sir John Yeamans and had 10 children. One of his sons, also named James Moore, was likewise chosen governor of South Carolina.
Born in Ireland in 1705, Jeremiah Smith came to Boston, Mass., with his wife, in 1726, and finally settled in Milton, Mass., 1737. He was an intimate friend of Governor Hutchinson, Governor Hancock and other leading men. He engaged in the manufacture of paper, and carried on the business until 1775 when he retired.
The Virginia records show that Symon Tuchin was in that colony in 1625. He was master of the Due Return, and “having been banished out of Ireland was reported as strongly affected to popery.” Accordingly, “The Governor and Council of Virginia sent him as a prisoner, in January, 1625, to the Company in England.”
Mary Mallins, “from Bandon in Ireland,” was among those arrested in Boston, Mass., at the time of the prosecution of the Quakers, she being one of the latter. She and twenty-seven other Quakers were finally liberated by Endicott and were ordered to leave the jurisdiction at once, nor to return at their peril.
Morison’s Life of Judge Jeremiah Smith, who was a native of Peterborough, N. H., states that “He began to study Latin when about twelve years old, with Rudolphus Greene, an Irishman employed by 102the town to keep school a quarter of the year in each of the four quarters of the town.” Judge Smith was born about 1771.
John Mitchell, a native of Ireland, was muster-master-general of the Pennsylvania State navy, 1775–’76; acting commissary, 1776–’77; lieutenant on the Chatham, 1775; captain of the Ranger, 1776; a merchant in France after the Revolution; United States consul at Santiago de Cuba; admiralty surveyor of Philadelphia, Pa.
A Rhode Island soldier, 1756–’59, was named William Sheehan. He is mentioned in the former year as a lieutenant and quartermaster for the expedition against Crown Point. In 1758, he appears as first lieutenant in the major’s company of his regiment, and is also referred to the same year as captain and quartermaster.
A Virginia trooper who rendered service against the French and Indians was Thomas Doyle. The Assembly of Virginia passed an act in 1756 for the payment of men engaged in said service. Doyle was voted 1,860 pounds of tobacco, and other troopers were to be paid like amounts. (Boogher’s Gleanings of Virginia History.)
Daniel Magennis is a name frequently met in King Philip’s War, 1675–’76. Daniel became a corporal and was at one time company clerk. He served at various times under Captain Henchman, Captain Wheeler and other commanders. His name also appears in the records as Maginnis. (See Bodge’s History of King Philip’s War.)
Col. Charles Stewart was born in County Donegal, Ireland, 1729. He came to America, 1750; was deputy surveyor-general of Pennsylvania; patriot of the Revolution; colonel of a New Jersey regiment of Minute Men; colonel of a New Jersey regiment of the Line; served on Washington’s staff; member of the Continental Congress.
“In the Mayflower ... were one hundred and one men, women, boys and girls as passengers, besides captain and crew. These were of English, Dutch, French and Irish ancestry, and thus typical of our national stock.” (Rev. William Elliot Griffis in Brave Little Holland and What She Taught Us. New York, 1894. Page 208.)
Bernard O’Neill was a captain in the Irish-French regiment of Dillon in the American Revolution. He was probably the “Captain Commandant O’Neill” who participated in the expedition against Savannah, where he was wounded in the breast, and may have been 103identical with “Le Baron Bernard O’Neill,” who became a Chevalier of St. Louis.
Thomas DeCourcy was a native of Newport, R. I. His father came from Ireland and settled in Newport about 1720. The father’s brother, also named Thomas, was Baron Kinsale. Upon the latter’s death, Thomas, the native of Newport, succeeded to the title and estates. Mention of these facts may be found in Peterson’s History of Rhode Island.
Eleanor Ledlie was of Irish parentage. She became the wife of Capt. Samuel Bowman, an officer of the Revolution, who as commander of the guard walked arm in arm with Major Andre, the British spy, to the place of the latter’s execution. (Hon. Edward A. Moseley of Washington, D. C., in an address to the American-Irish Historical Society.)
Matthias Alexis de Roche Fermoy, of Irish extraction, was an officer in the French forces that came to America during our Revolution and assisted in establishing the independence of the United States. He became a brigadier and is mentioned in the work entitled Generals of the Continental Line in the Revolutionary War (Philadelphia, 1903).
Brian Murphy was a soldier in King Philip’s War, 1675–’76. He is mentioned in Bodge’s history of that war and is credited with garrison duty at Mendon, Mass. Thomas Tally, Patrick Morren, Timothy Larkin, Joseph Griffin, Jeremiah Toy, Philip Butler, John Hand and Thomas Welch are also mentioned by Bodge as participating in that struggle.
During the Revolution, Capt. William Burke of the armed schooner Warren was captured by the British frigate Liverpool and carried into Halifax, from whence he was sent to New York and confined on board a prison ship. He was later exchanged for Capt. Richard Jones, “a British officer of equal rank.” Captain Burke is mentioned as of Marblehead, Mass.
Susannah Lightfoot, a native of Ireland, was born in 1720. She was a Quaker, and with Ruth Courtney came from Ireland to America on a visit to Friends here. On her return to the Old Land, she landed at Cork. In 1760, she paid a second visit to these shores, and four years later removed with her husband from Ireland and permanently settled here.
104Among those serving under Esek Hopkins, during the Revolution, was Patrick Kaine. He is mentioned as a marine and served aboard the Cabot. In an engagement with the British ship Glasgow, April 6, 1776, he was killed. Anthony Dwyer, Richard Sweeney, John Connor, Thomas Dowd and Andrew Magee also served aboard the Cabot under Hopkins.
Jeremiah Driskel, William Henussey and John Leary all served in the Commander-in-Chief’s Guard (Washington’s) during the Revolution. Driskel had previously served in a Maryland regiment; Henussey, in a Pennsylvania command, and Leary, in a regiment commanded by John Stark. (See Godfrey’s work on The Commander-in-Chief’s Guard.)
In 1776, John O’Kelley was a member of a military company in the town of Warren, R. I. The company was commanded by Capt. Ezra Ormsbee. Also in the company were Daniel Kelley and Joseph Kelley. The General Assembly of Rhode Island, in 1782, gave “Mrs. Elizabeth O’Kelley, widow of John O’Kelley,” of Warren, permission to sell certain real estate.
Thomas Jones, “from Strabane, Ireland,” came to Rhode Island prior to 1699; later he removed to Long Island, N. Y. He married Freelove Townsend, whose father gave them land at Massapequa, where they settled. They are mentioned in Bunker’s Long Island Genealogies. Mr. and Mrs. Jones had a son David, born in 1699. Thomas, the immigrant, died in 1713.
Andrew Meade, a Kerry Irishman, and a Catholic, emigrated to New York, married Mary Latham, a Quakeress of Flushing, went to Nansemond County, Va., and died there in 1745. His son was Col. Richard Kidder Meade, an aide-de-camp of General Washington. (Quoted by Martin I. J. Griffin of Philadelphia, Pa., in American Catholic Historical Researches.)
Thomas, John and Walter Dongan, kinsmen of Governor Dongan of New York, are believed to have been residing in New York in 1715. In 1723 a private act was passed by the Assembly of the province “to enable Thomas Dongan and Walter Dongan, two surviving kinsmen of Thomas, late Earl of Limerick,” to sell part of their estate. A similar act was passed in 1726.
Hotten’s Original Lists (London, 1874) contain the names of many Irish who were conveyed to Virginia, Barbadoes and other 105parts. The work comprises the period from 1600 to 1700 and mentions “Persons of quality, emigrants, religious exiles, political rebels, serving men sold for a term of years, apprentices, children stolen, maidens pressed” and other wayfarers of the time.
Charles Carroll, grandfather of Charles Carroll of Carrollton, came to this country about 1689 and settled in Maryland. In 1691 he was made judge and register of the land office, and agent and receiver for Lord Baltimore’s rents. His son, also named Charles Carroll, was born in 1702 and died in 1782. Charles Carroll of Carrollton was a son of this second Charles Carroll.
Michael Ryan, a soldier of the Revolution, was acting-adjutant of the Fourth Pennsylvania regiment, commanded by Col. Anthony Wayne, from Feb. 17, 1776; was appointed adjutant March 15 that year; became a captain in the Fifth Pennsylvania, and was inspector of General Wayne’s division; was promoted brigade-major, Nov. 18, 1777; also served as major of the Tenth Pennsylvania.
The Massachusetts records mention Patrick McMullen as serving during the Revolution aboard the Providence, under John Paul Jones. He is referred to as entitled to a prize share in the ship Alexander, captured in 1777, and is also mentioned as a marine aboard the Alfred, commanded by Jones. In this latter capacity he was entitled to prize shares in the ship Mellish and the brig Active,
Andrew Brown, born in Ireland, was educated at Trinity College, Dublin, came to this country and eventually settled in Massachusetts. He was a patriot of the Revolution, fought at Lexington and Bunker Hill; served as major under Gates and Greene. After the war, he established the Federal Gazette at Philadelphia, Pa., the publication being later known as the Philadelphia Gazette.
An Irish schoolmaster in Brunswick, Me., was Thomas Crowell. He settled there shortly after the close of the Revolution, and taught school there for over twenty years. Many of his pupils became leading business men, and some of them famous shipmasters. Sumner L. Holbrook read a paper, a few years ago, before the Pejepscot Historical Society, of Brunswick, devoted to Master Crowell.
John Donnaldson, “son of Hugh Donnaldson of Dungannon, Ireland,” was a shipping merchant in Philadelphia, Pa.; a patriot of the Revolution; member of the First City Troop; took part in the battles of Trenton, Princeton, Brandywine, and Germantown; subscribed 106 £2,000, in 1780, in aid of the army; became register-general of Pennsylvania; and comptroller-general of the state.
David McCarty, Albany, N. Y., was a member of the Committee of Safety there during the Revolution. He was a valiant soldier and at the time of his death was a general of state troops. In May, 1771, he married Charlotta, granddaughter of Pieter Coeymans, the founder of a wealthy Dutch family. By this marriage McCarty came into the possession of much land in the Coeymans Patent.
Well-nigh forgotten now is Christopher Stuart, an Irishman and soldier of the Revolution. He was born in the Old Land, 1748, and settled in Montgomery County, Pa. He served successively as captain, major and lieutenant-colonel of Pennsylvania troops, including the Line; took part in the battle of Long Island, the storming of Stony Point, and in other actions of the war; died, 1799.
Patrick Googins, “a young Irish weaver,” came to this country about 1722 and settled at Old Orchard, Me. He married Hester Rogers. Her father gave Patrick as her marriage portion 200 acres there. In years long after, the place became known as “the old Googins farm.” The farm remained in the Googins family for four generations. (See an article in the Old Orchard Mirror, 1902.)
One of the founders of the Charitable Irish Society of Boston, Mass., 1737, was Joseph St. Lawrence. In the records of the Boston selectmen, that year, appears the following: “Mr. Joseph St. Lawrence from Ireland, Merchant, having imported upwards of Fifty Pounds Sterling, Prays he may be Allow’d to Carry on his Business in this Town.” It is presumed the desired permission was granted.
Charles Thomson, who for nearly fifteen years was secretary of the Continental Congress, being sometimes referred to as its “Perpetual secretary,” was born in Ireland, 1729. He participated in various treaty proceedings with the Indians, and was styled by the latter “The man of truth.” He married Hannah Harrison whose nephew, William Henry Harrison, became president of the United States.
Robert Temple arrived at Boston, Mass., from Ireland, in 1717, with a party of Irish Protestants. He settled on Noddle’s Island, now East Boston, and had a house there that “contained elegant rooms suitable for the reception of persons of the first condition.” He commanded a company in operations against the Indians. He became a member of the Boston Charitable Irish Society in 1740.
107George Taylor, a native of Ireland, died in Providence, R. I., in 1778. He taught school there for over 40 years, was for a number of years president of the Town Council and held other positions of trust and honor. He was a man of public spirit and witnessed events of the earlier part of the Revolution. The Providence Gazette states that “He was an honor to the country that gave him birth.”
Col. Israel Angell of the Second Rhode Island regiment in the Continental Line, has this entry in his diary under date of March 17, 1781: “Good weather. A great parade this day with the Irish, it being St. Patrick’s. I spent the day on the Point [West Point], and tarried with the officers.” This diary has been reproduced in printed form by Edward Field, secretary of the Providence, R. I., Record Commission.
Alexander Black, an Irishman, was a resident of Providence, R. I., as early as 1762. He was a merchant and was associated in business with James Black, and later with Alexander Stewart. Alexander Black died in Providence, 1767. In a notice of his death, which appears in the Providence Gazette, he is declared to have been “A fast friend to the liberties of America, and studied to promote the public weal.”
James Kavanagh, a native of County Wexford, Ireland, came to Boston, Mass., in 1780, during the Revolution, but settled at Damariscotta Mills, Me., and engaged in the lumber business. His son, Edward, became president of the State Senate of Maine, a member of Congress, United States charge d’affaires in Portugal, a commissioner to settle the northeastern boundary of Maine, and acting governor of Maine.
Edmund Fanning, an Irishman, was a victim of the Cromwellian confiscation, and fled at the time of the surrender of Limerick, 1651, and settled in Groton, Conn. His uncle, Dominick Fanning of Limerick, was one of the 21 persons exempted from pardon by Ireton and was beheaded at that time. D. H. Fanning and Walter F. Brooks, Worcester, Mass., are descendants of Edmund Fanning, the Groton settler.
Morgan Connor, a Pennsylvania soldier of the Revolution, was successively lieutenant, captain, major, and lieutenant-colonel commandant. He served in Col. Samuel Miles’ Pennsylvania Rifle 108Regiment; was wounded in the right wrist at Princeton; was called from camp by Congress in March, 1776, and sent South as brigade major for General Armstrong; was afterwards lieutenant-colonel of Hartley’s regiment.
John Brown, a native of Ireland, came to this country about 1760. He settled in Virginia, in the Warm Spring Valley, and had a tract of 400 acres. About 1778 he married Mary Donnelly. He commanded a company in the Revolution, and after the war was a justice for Bath County, Va., sheriff and treasurer of the county, major of the Second Battalion of militia, and a member of the General Assembly of Virginia.
Daniel Dulany, a native of Queens County, Ireland, was born in 1686. He was a cousin of Rev. Patrick Dulany, dean of Down. Daniel came to this country when quite young and settled in Maryland. He was admitted to the bar in 1710, became attorney-general of the province, judge of admiralty, commissary-general, agent and receiver-general, and councillor. He was in the public service of Maryland for nearly 40 years.
Edward Fox was born in Dublin, Ireland, 1752; came to this country, studied law and eventually settled in Philadelphia, Pa. He held various positions of prominence there; became secretary of the Bank of the United States, secretary of the American Fire Insurance Co., recorder of deeds for the county of Philadelphia, and treasurer of the University of Pennsylvania. One of his sons married a daughter of Gen. Stephen Moylan.
Cortlandt Schuyler of Albany, N. Y., was captain in “a marching regiment” of the British Army. He married a handsome Irishwoman in Ireland, while stationed there, and brought her to Albany about 1763. Upon his death, she returned to Ireland with her children, “where it is said their desendants bearing the name Schuyler still live.” (Mrs. Grant’s Memoirs of an American Lady, quoted by Hon. Franklin M. Danaher of Albany.)
In 1769–’70, Rev. Hezekiah Smith made a tour of South Carolina and Georgia in aid of Rhode Island College, now Brown University. He says in his diary of the tour: “Thursday, March 1, 1770, went to Malachi Murfee’s.” The list of those who subscribed in aid of the college, on this Southern trip, includes Edward Dempsey, Charles Reilly, Patrick Hinds, James Welsh, Hugh Dillon, John Boyd, Matthew Roach and Capt. John Canty.
109An officer who came with our French allies during the Revolution was Isidore de Lynch. He was at one period an aide-de-camp to the Chevalier de Chastellux. Referring to the return of the French to Boston after the surrender of the British at Yorktown, Count Segur speaks of “Isidore de Lynch, an intrepid Irishman, afterwards a General.” Lynch became commander of the Irish-French regiment of Walsh, and was decorated with the Cross of St. Louis.
The Dutch records of Albany, N. Y., mention Jan Fyne, “van Waterfort in Irlandt.” His name likewise appears as Johannes Fine, which in English would probably be John Finn. He is believed to have been a soldier who was sent to Albany in 1690. He settled there and is later mentioned as a cooper. In 1696 he wedded Jopje Classe Van Slyck. His second wife, whom he married in 1699, was Alida, daughter of Jacob Janse Gardiner of Kinderhook.
Watson H. Harwood, M. D., of Chasm Falls, N. Y., in a paper contributed to the Register of the New England Historic, Genealogical Society, January, 1898, treats of the Clogstons of New Hampshire. He states that “The Clogston family is of Irish origin,” and that it came to New Hampshire sometime after 1718. Paul Clogston, a descendant of the immigrants, died of wounds received at Bunker Hill, 1775. The name is sometimes written Clogstone.
Blair McClenachan, an Irishman by birth, settled in Philadelphia, Pa., at an early age, and became the “largest importer in the city except Robert Morris”; was a patriot of the Revolution; subscribed, in 1780, £10,000 in aid of the army; was one of the original members of the First City Troop; a member of Congress, 1797–’99; was made commissioner of loans by President Jefferson. One of McClenachan’s daughters married Gen. Walter Stewart.
One of the early settlers of Peterborough, N. H., was William McNee. He was born in Ireland, 1711, and before coming to this country married Mary E. Brownley. In an address delivered at Peterborough, some years ago, Hon. James F. Brennan of that town said that McNee’s “descendants have now reached the eighth generation, but unfortunately the name is entirely lost. The first and second generations retained the name, but the third changed it to Nay.”
Michael Morgan O’Brien, a native of Ireland, became a West India merchant in Philadelphia, Pa., and was located there as early as 1780. He was a member of the First City Troop of Philadelphia, 110of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick, the Hibernia Fire Company, and the Hibernian Society. He died in France, 1804. He bequeathed his books to the “Rt. Reverend Father in God, John Carroll, R. C., Bishop of Baltimore, as a testimony of the great respect and esteem I bear him.”
A prominent man in his day was John Patton. He was born in Sligo, Ireland, 1745, settled in Philadelphia, Pa., and became a merchant there. A patriot of the Revolution, he was successively major and colonel of the Sixteenth Pennsylvania regiment, and rendered gallant service during the war. In 1780 he subscribed £1,000 in aid of the army. After the war he was an iron manufacturer, and at the time of his death, 1804, was major-general of Pennsylvania state troops.
Christopher Colles, a native of Ireland, was born in 1737. He came to this country and lectured on pneumatics, inland navigation, water supply for cities and similar topics. In 1775, he became an instructor in gunnery and was so employed in the American Continental Army until 1777. He memorialized the New York Legislature, in 1784, in favor of a canal from the Hudson River to Lake Ontario. He constructed and operated a telegraph, in 1812, at Fort Clinton.
One of the victims of the Boston massacre, March 5, 1770, was Patrick Carr. On that date, British soldiers in Boston, Mass., fired on a gathering of the people, three of the latter being instantly killed and five dangerously wounded. Crispus Attucks, the leader of the gathering, was among the killed and Carr was mortally wounded. A granite monument stands on Boston Common to commemorate the victims of the British. High up on the shaft, among the others, appears the name of Patrick Carr.
The Mercury (Philadelphia) of Aug. 28, 1735, reported: “On Monday last, Capt. Blair arrived from Carick Fargus in Ireland with 168 Irish passengers and servants and on Monday evening before any of them landed one of them fell into the river and was drowned.” The next paper announced: “the body was found, the next tide carried up seven miles from the mouth of the Schuylkill.” (American Catholic Historical Researches, Philadelphia, Pa., Martin I. J. Griffin, editor.)
From the records of the selectmen, Boston, Mass., Aug. 4, 1736: “Dennis Sullivant being present Informs, That he with his Wife are 111lately come into this Town from South Carolina by land; That he has been in Town about Five Weeks; That he first Lodg’d at the White Horse Two nights, and a Fortnight at Mrs. Snowdens and now lodges in Long lane, That he designs to return to England or Ireland, as soon as he can Conveniently Obtain a Passage for himself and his said Wife.”
Gen. William Thompson of the Revolution was an Irishman by birth. He came to this country prior to the War for Independence; served during the French and Indian War; became captain of a troop of Light Horse; led a regiment, in 1775, to the American camp at Cambridge, Mass., and participated in the siege of Boston; had many sharpshooters in his command; was made brigadier-general in 1776; relieved General Lee in command of the American forces at New York; died in 1791.
A veteran soldier of the Revolution was Patrick Leonard, who was born in Ireland, 1740. He came to this country and enlisted in the Patriot ranks; served in Proctor’s artillery and in the First Regiment, Pennsylvania Line. He saw much service and took part in the battles of Bunker Hill, Long Island, White Plains, Trenton, Princeton, Brandywine, Germantown and Stony Point; also served, in 1791–’96, under Harmar, St. Clair and Wayne. He was residing, in 1817, at Cincinnati, Ohio.
A native of County Westmeath, Ireland, John Shee, came to America between 1742 and 1745; became prominent in Philadelphia, Pa.; a patriot of the Revolution; commanded the Third Pennsylvania regiment; member of the Pennsylvania State Board of War; subscribed £1,000 in aid of the army; is referred to as “a man of excellent manners and good acquirements”; after the war, became a general of Pennsylvania state troops; collector of the port of Philadelphia; city treasurer of Philadelphia.
A native of Strabane, County Tyrone, Ireland, John Dunlap, was born in 1747. He settled in Philadelphia, Pa.; became printer to Congress, and to the state of Pennsylvania; published the Philadelphia Packet; was cornet, lieutenant, and commander of the First City Troop; commanded the cavalry in the Whiskey Insurrection campaign. During the Revolution he subscribed £4,000 in aid of the Patriot army. He was at one time the owner of 98,000 acres in the South, in addition to real estate elsewhere.
112One of the earliest Irishmen in this country of whom we have record was Francis Maguire. Hon. Hugh Hastings, state historian of New York, writes that Maguire arrived at Jamestown, Va., with Capt. Christopher Newport, about 1607, remained in the country nearly a year, and returned to England with Newport. Maguire “wrote an account of his voyage to Virginia and submitted it to the Privy Council of Spain.” In one account he is described as an Irishman and a Roman Catholic.
Teague Crehore was a resident of Milton or Dorchester, Mass., as early as 1640–’50. He is stated to have been stolen from his parents in Ireland when a child. He died in 1695, aged 55 years. This would show that he was born about 1640. He had a son Timothy, born in 1660, who died in 1739 and is buried in Milton, Mass. This Timothy had a son Timothy, grandson of Teague, who was born in 1689 and wedded Mary Driscoll of Dorchester, Mass., in 1712. He died in 1755 and is buried in Milton.
Rev. Samuel Dorrance, an Irish Presbyterian clergyman, arrived in Voluntown, Conn., 1722, and was installed as pastor of the church there. His nationality caused some dissatisfaction, and the disgruntled members of the church drew up a petition for his removal. They were informed, they said, that “He came out of Ireland” and that since his coming “The Irish do flock into town.” (Larned’s History of Windham County, Conn., quoted by Rev. James H. O’Donnell in his History of the Diocese of Hartford.)
The “poll list for the election of burgesses for the County of Prince William,” Virginia, 1731, contains many Irish names, including Darby Callahan, Edward Barry, John Mead, Thomas Conway, Samuel Conner, Michael Regan, James Curry, Owen Gilmore, John Murphey, William Hogan, Thomas Hicks, Michael Scanlon, John Madden, Dennis McCarty, Thomas Jordan, Richard Higgins, Thomas Welsh, etc. These and other names, constituting the entire list, are set forth in Boogher’s Gleanings of Virginia History.
A gallant soldier of the Revolution, who has almost been forgotten, was John Haslett. He was born in Ireland, came to this country and located in Delaware; was for several terms a member of the State Assembly; participated in the battles of Long Island and White Plains. On one occasion, he surprised a British picket, took 36 prisoners, 60 muskets, and two pairs of colors; became colonel 113of a Delaware regiment and was killed at the battle of Princeton, 1777. His son, Joseph, became governor of Delaware.
Among the many Irish names on the roster of the Commander-in-Chief’s Guard, during the Revolution, is that of Hugh Hagerty. He served in a Pennsylvania regiment of the Line, and was transferred at Valley Forge, March 19, 1778, to the Guard just mentioned. This organization is sometimes referred to as Washington’s “Life Guard,” and was composed of picked men. Hagerty participated in the battle of Monmouth and other engagements of the war. (Godfrey’s recent work on The Commander-in-Chief’s Guard.)
The Dutch records of New York mention Jan Andriessen, “the Irishman.” Jan was at Beverwyck, now Albany, N. Y., as early as 1645. He is also referred to as “De Iersman van Dublingh.” His name in English was probably John Anderson. In 1649 he leased a “bouwerie” or farm. It is also known that he bought a farm and homestead of Peter Bronck at Coxsackie, N. Y. In one document his signature is thus attested: “This is the mark of Jan Andriessen, the Irishman, with his own hand set.” He died in 1664.
William Hogen, also written Hogan, is heard from in Albany, N. Y., as early as 1692. The Dutch records state that he was from “Yrland in de Kings county.” At a mayor’s court held in Albany, May 14, 1700, he was deemed “convenient and fitt to be one of the fyre masters for ye Citty.” June 25, 1700, he was on a petit jury to try an action between two Dutchmen. He also served on a jury in 1703. In 1700 and 1704 he was elected an assessor. (Hon. Franklin M. Danaher in Early Irish in Old Albany, N. Y.)
James Butler came from Ireland, and is heard from at Lancaster, Mass., 1653. He became the largest landowner in what is now Worcester County, Mass. He also owned land in Dunstable, Woburn and Billerica, Mass. He died in 1681. His son, Deacon John Butler, was the first child of Irish parentage born in Woburn, and settled in Pelham, N. H., and lies buried there. (From a letter written to the American-Irish Historical Society by Henry A. May of Roslindale, Mass., a descendant of James Butler the immigrant.)
A resident of Yarmouth, Mass., as early as 1645, was Teague Jones, who is stated to have been an Irishman. He was one of the men sent from the town, in the year just mentioned, against the Narragansett Indians. His period of service at the time was thirteen or 114fourteen days. In 1667, the selectmen of “the towne of Yarmouth returne the name of Teague Jones for not coming to meeting.” In a “rate” made in 1676 to defray the expenses of King Philip’s War, Teague was assessed £2 4s, as his share. He had a son, Jeremiah.
A prominent resident of Albany, N. Y., during the Revolution, was Hugh Denniston, “a true Irishman.” For many years he conducted the only first-class hotel and tavern there. It was the first stone house erected in the place. Denniston was a sturdy patriot and his hotel was a meeting place for the liberty-loving citizens of Albany. Washington was a guest at the hotel on his visits to Albany in 1782 and 1783, and was there presented the freedom of the city.
Charles MacCarthy was a founder of the town of East Greenwich, R. I., 1677. Like many surnames at that period, his is variously spelled in the records. Thus, it appears as Macarta, Macarte, Macarty, Mecarty, Mackarte, etc. In the year mentioned, he was one of a party of forty-eight settlers to whom a grant of 5,000 acres, to be called East Greenwich, was made by the General Assembly of Rhode Island. Later, the area of the town was enlarged by the addition of 35,000 acres on the western border. Charles’ will is dated Feb. 18, 1682.
The twenty-six original members of the Charitable Irish Society, Boston, Mass., which organization was founded in 1737, were: Robert Duncan, Andrew Knox, Nathaniel Walsh, Joseph St. Lawrence, Daniel McFall, Edward Allen, William Drummond, William Freeland, Daniel Gibbs, John Noble, Adam Boyd, William Stewart, Daniel Neal, James Mayes, Samuel Moor, Philip Mortimer, James Egart, George Glen, Peter Pelham, John Little, Archibald Thomas, Edward Alderchurch, James Clark, John Clark, Thomas Bennett and Patrick Walker.
Jasper Moylan was a native of the city of Cork, Ireland, and half brother of Gen. Stephen Moylan. He was educated in France, studied law, came to this country and attained eminence in his profession in Philadelphia, Pa. In addition to English, he had a splendid knowledge of the French and Spanish languages. He was a member of the First City Troop of Philadelphia. He and his brother John, and their half brother Stephen, were known in that city as “the three polite Irishmen,” owing to their elegant manners. Jasper died in 1812.
115Among Virginia officers in the Revolution were Maj. William Croghan, Capt. Ferdinand O’Neal, Capt. Patrick Carnes, Capt. John Fitzgerald, Capt. Andrew Nixon, Capt. William Barrett, Capt. John Jordan, Capt. Lawrence Butler, Capt. James Curry, Lieut. Joseph Conway, Lieut. Luke Cannon, Lieut. Peter Higgins, Lieut. William McGuire, Lieut. Lawrence Manning, Lieut. John Rooney, Lieut. Matthew Rhea, Ensign William Connor and others bearing Irish names. Some of these subsequently attained higher rank than that here given.
Sharp Delany, born in County Monaghan, Ireland, established himself as a druggist in Philadelphia, Pa., about 1764. He was a patriot of the Revolution. In 1777, he was a commissioner “to seize the personal effects of traitors,” and in 1778, was an agent to look after “forfeited estates.” In 1779, he was colonel of the Second Pennsylvania regiment. He subscribed £1,000 in aid of the army in 1780; was collector of the port of Philadelphia; a member of the Society of the Cincinnati, and occupied other honorable positions in life.
John Hamilton, “an Irish servant-man,” was a Redemptioner or indentured servant who, in 1752, was held by Henry Caldwell of Chester County, Pa. Hamilton ran away that year and Caldwell advertised to recover him. Hamilton was then about twenty-two years of age. Caldwell offered a reward to “whoever takes up said servant, so that his master may have him again.” Mention of the incident is found in Karl Frederick Geiser’s recent work on Redemptioners and Indentured Servants in the Colony and Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
George Taylor, one of the Irish signers of the Declaration of Independence, was born in the Old Land, in 1716. He came to this country when twenty years of age. Having a good education, he advanced from the occupation of laborer in an iron foundry to the position of clerk; married his employer’s widow, and accumulated a generous fortune. He was a member of the Pennsylvania Assembly for five consecutive years. In 1770, he was made a judge of the Northumberland County Court, Pa., and was elected to Congress in 1776.
One of the first settlers of Waterford, Conn., was Thomas Butler. He and John Butler were there about 1681. Rev. James H. O’Donnell, now of Norwalk, Conn., says that the “name of Waterford was, 116no doubt, given to their new home in honor of the old, the beautiful city on the banks of the Suir,” in Ireland. He thinks it not unreasonable to infer that the founders of the Connecticut Waterford were Irish Catholics. Thomas Butler died in 1701, aged 59 years. John Butler died in 1733, aged 80 years. Thomas was, therefore, born about 1642, and John about 1653.
William Hibbins came from Ireland to Boston, Mass., on the Mary and John, about 1634. He married Mrs. Anne Moore, a widow, whose brother, Richard Bellingham, was governor of Massachusetts. Mr. Hibbins died in 1654. His wife fell a victim to the witch-hunting fanatics of the period and was hanged by order of the Massachusetts authorities, in 1656. No jury could be found to convict her and she suffered death at the hands of the General Court. She bequeathed her property to her two sons, in County Cork, Ireland, John and Joseph Moore. (See Cullen’s Story of the Irish in Boston.)
Molly Pitcher, “a young Irishwoman” having “a handsome, piercing eye,” was the wife of a cannoneer in the Patriot army during the Revolution. At the battle of Monmouth her husband was killed at his post, whereupon Molly, who was engaged bringing water from a spring, dropped her bucket, seized the rammer of the cannon and taking her husband’s place continued to serve the piece of artillery. The next morning she was presented by General Greene to Washington, who praised her heroism and made her a sergeant. She was placed upon the list of half-pay officers for life.
Anthony Gulliver, a native of Ireland, was born in 1619. He died at Milton, Mass., 1706. His children were: Lydia, born 1651; Samuel, born 1653; Jonathan, born 1659; Stephen, born 1663; John, born 1669; Elizabeth, born 1671; Nathaniel, born 1675. There were also two other children, Hannah and Mary. The children were all born in this country, Cullen’s Story of the Irish in Boston states that “Anthony Gulliver was the ancestor of a large number of able and influential men and women, who have been prominent in the history of church and town affairs of Milton for nearly two hundred years.”
From the Calendar of Colonial State Papers: “April 1st, 1653. Order of the Council of State. For a license to Sir John Clotworthy to transport to America 500 natural Irishmen.” On Oct. 3, 1655, it was ordered that “1000 Irish girls and the like number of boys of 14 years or under,” be sent to Jamaica, “the allowance to each 117one not to exceed 20 shillings.” May 22, 1656, an order was adopted “for the transportation of 1200 men from Knockfergus in Ireland and Port Patrick in Scotland to Jamaica.” (Quoted by Rev. James H. O’Donnell in his History of the Diocese of Hartford, Conn.)
A Rhode Island soldier, Patrick Tracy, participated with Montgomery in the assault on Quebec. He was of the company of Capt. Simeon Thayer of Providence, R. I., and was killed in the assault just mentioned. Cornelius Hagerty and Corporal James Hayden of the company were wounded. In a work on this invasion of Canada, reference is made to John M. Taylor, “keen as an Irish greyhound,” who was Arnold’s purveyor and commissary in the wilderness. Mention is also made of Lieut. William Cross, “a handsome little Irishman, always neatly dressed,” who commanded, on the Isle of Orleans, a detachment of some twenty men.
Among the land patents granted in New York under the English colonial government, was one to David Mooney, 1765. The tract was located in Washington County and comprised 2,000 acres. It was known as the Mooney patent. The Otsego patent, 100,000 acres, was granted to George Croghan and ninety-nine others, in 1769. Croghan is also mentioned in connection with other patents. Michael Byrne and others were granted the Stony Hill Tract, 18,000 acres, in 1768. It was located in Schoharie County. The Adaquataugie patent, 26,000 acres, in Otsego County, was granted in 1770 to Sir William Johnson, an Irishman, and others.
The rolls of the Third New York Regiment of the Line, during the Revolution, contain a large number of Irish names. They include Brady, Brannon, Burke, Burns, Butler, Condon, Connolly, Dempsey, Doherty, Dunn, Flynn, Garvey, Geraghty, Gillaspy, Hickey, Hogan, Kelly, Lyon, McCarty, McConnelly, McCord, McCormick, McCoy, McDermot, McGinnis, McGown, McGuire, Mackey, McLaughlin, McNeal, McQuin, Madden, Mahan, Moloy, Moore, Morris, Morrison, Mulholand, Murray, O’Connoley, Quigley, Riley, Ryan, Sullivan, Sweeny, Tobin, Wall, Welch and others. (Vide New York in the Revolution, by Comptroller James A. Roberts, Albany, 1898.)
Among Irish names found in Connecticut at early periods may be mentioned Brian Rosseter, Windsor, 1639; Thomas Dunn, New Haven, 1647; Lawrence Ward, Branford, 1654; Thomas Welch, Milford, 1654; John Mead, Stamford, 1656; Richard Hughes, New Haven, 1181659; Edward Fanning, Mystic, 1662; Thomas Ford, Windsor, 1669; Richard Butler, Stratford, 1669; Hugh Griffin, Stratford, 1669; William Meade, New London, 1669; Thomas Sha (Shea), Sr., Stonington, 1669; Thomas Tracy, Norwich, 1669; Timothy Ford, New Haven, 1669; Jeremiah Blake, New London, 1681; James Kelly, New London, 1682; Owen McCarty, New London, 1693.
Gen. Walter Stewart, a Pennsylvania officer of the Revolution, was born in Ireland, about 1756. He settled in Philadelphia, Pa., espoused the cause of the Patriots, and in 1776 was commissioned captain. He was made an aide-de-camp to General Gates the same year. In 1777, Stewart was commissioned colonel of the Pennsylvania State Regiment of Foot, took part in the battles of Brandywine and Germantown, and retired in 1786 with the rank of brevet brigadier-general. In 1794, he was major-general of Pennsylvania state troops. General Washington was godfather to his eldest son. (Campbell’s History of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick, Philadelphia.)
The Marquis de Chastellux in a tour through Connecticut, 1780, stopped at Litchfield. His host there was a Mr. Philips. The latter was, the Marquis tells us, “an Irishman transplanted to America, where he has already made a fortune; he appears to be a man skillful and adroit; he speaks with caution to strangers, and fears to compromise himself; for the rest he is of a gayer mood than the Americans, even a little of a joker, a kind but little known in America.” (From Voyages de M. Le Marquis de Chastellux dans L’Amerique, Septentrionale les annees 1780, 1781 and 1782; quoted by Rev. James H. O’Donnell in his History of the Diocese of Hartford.)
A prominent merchant in Philadelphia, Pa., at one period, was James Caldwell. He was a native of Ireland. He was a patriot of the Revolution, a member of the First City Troop, Philadelphia, and took part with it in the campaign of 1776–’77. Campbell’s History of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick, Philadelphia, says that he was “one of the six volunteers of the Troop who accompanied Colonel Reed on December 30, 1776, from Trenton to reconnoitre the advanced posts of the enemy, and who captured twelve British soldiers during that expedition.” In 1780, Caldwell subscribed £2,000 to the bank that was organized to supply the Continental army with provisions.
119Rev. Mr. Lyons, an Irish clergyman of the Church of England, who was located in Derby, Conn., was subjected to great abuse there because of his nationality. Writing to London, May 8, 1744, he says: “As soon as they had advice of my appointment, and from what country I came, and, indeed, before I arrived among them, they abused me, calling me ‘an Irish Teague and Foreigner,’ with many other reflections of an uncivilized and unchristian kind. It would be too tedious to record all the abuse and insults I have received in Derby.” (Church Documents of the Protestant Episcopal Church, quoted by Rev. James H. O’Donnell in his History of the Diocese of Hartford.)
Patrick Ward, a lieutenant, was one of the defenders of Fort Griswold, Conn., during the Revolution. The fort was attacked by the British during the raid conducted by Arnold, the traitor, and after a gallant resistance was captured by the enemy. The atrocities committed upon the surrendered and helpless garrison, by the British, constitutes one of the blackest chapters in the history of warfare. The event has ever since been known as the “Massacre of Fort Griswold.” Ward was one of the victims. On a stone over his grave was placed this inscription: “In memory of Mr. Patrick Ward who fell a victim to British cruelty in Fort Griswold, Sept. 6th, 1781, in the 25th year of his age.”
Felt’s Ecclesiastical History of New England mentions William Collins who, about 1640, accompanied a party of refugees from the West Indies to what is now New Haven, Conn. After a time these wayfarers dispersed “and some returned to Ireland.” Collins afterwards taught school at Hartford, Conn., and subsequently wedded a daughter of Anne Hutchinson who with her family had been banished from Boston, Mass., by the intolerant Boston church, because of her religious views. She took up her residence on the island of Rhode Island. Later, the family removed to territory under Dutch jurisdiction, where Mrs. Hutchinson, her son and her son-in-law (Collins) were killed by the Indians.
An interesting tradition is told concerning George Berkeley, “the Kilkenny scholar,” Anglican dean of Derry, and later bishop of Cloyne. The tradition relates to his arrival at Newport, R. I., in 1729, and is thus narrated: “The captain of the ship in which he and his party sailed could not find the island of Bermuda, and having given up the search for it, steered northward until they discovered land unknown to them and supposed to be inhabited by savages. 120On making a signal, however, two men came on board from Block Island, in the character of pilots, who on inquiry informed them that the harbor of Newport was near.” The tradition may be founded on fact, but opinions vary concerning it.
John Mease, born in County Tyrone, Ireland, became a shipping merchant in Philadelphia, Pa., and was a patriot of the Revolution. He was with the force that crossed the Delaware with Washington on the night of Dec. 25, 1776, and surprised the Hessians at Trenton. On another occasion he was of a detail told-off to keep the fires along the American front burning while the patriots secretly moved in another direction to fall upon the British at Princeton. On one occasion during the war Mease subscribed £4,000 in aid of the Patriot cause. He was affectionately spoken of in his old age as “The last of the cocked hats,” on account of his continuing to wear the three-cornered hat of the Revolution.
Count Arthur Dillon, commander of the Irish-French regiment of Dillon during the American Revolution, perished by the guillotine in Paris, a victim to the Terror. The regiment of Dillon formed part of the Irish brigade in the service of France, and was a most historic corps. It dated its organization back to the previous century. Count Dillon, above mentioned, came with his regiment to America with our French allies and rendered valiant service. He took part in the capture from the British of St. Eustache, Tobago and St. Christopher, participated in the attack on Savannah and in the siege and capture of Yorktown. He became a brigadier and marechal-de-camp, and, in 1792, was in command of a division in the French army.
In 1743 there was born in Dublin, Ireland, a boy who was destined to take a prominent part in the American Revolution. He was Richard Butler. He came to this country, espoused the Patriot cause, and attained distinction as a soldier. His ability was early recognized by Congress and, 1776, he was appointed major. In 1777 he was commissioned colonel of the Fifth Pennsylvania; was an officer of Morgan’s Rifle Corps, and took part in the battles of Bemis’ Heights and Stillwater; was made colonel of the Ninth Pennsylvania; commanded the Americans at the storming of Stony Point; participated in the siege and capture of Yorktown. He attained the rank of major-general and was second in command of St. Clair’s army for operations against the Indians. He was killed in battle by an Indian, 1791.
121“Thomas the Irishman” is mentioned in the Dutch records of New York. Thus, Hon. Peter Stuyvesant, Director-General of New Netherland, writing to Capt. Martin Cregier, 1663, says: “Your letter by Thomas the Irishman has just been received.” ... On Aug. 5, 1663, Captain Cregier writes in his journal: “Thomas the Irishman arrived here at the Redoubt from the Manhatans.” On Sept. 1, 1663, Captain Cregier writes: “Thomas the Irishman and Claesje Hoorn arrived with their yachts at the Kill from the Manhatans,” and on the 17th of the same month the captain writes: “Thomas the Irishman arrived today.” The foregoing references may be found in Documents Relating to the Colonial History of the State of New York, edited by Fernow, Vol. XIII, Albany, 1881.
The first president of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick, New York City, 1784, was Daniel McCormick, a native of Ireland. He came to this country prior to the Revolution, and amassed a large fortune, was one of the first directors of the Bank of New York, and was associated with William Constable and Alexander Macomb, two Irishmen, in extensive land enterprises. Barrett’s Old Merchants of New York states that “Mr. McCormick was a glorious example of the old New Yorker,” and “stuck to short breeches and white stockings and buckles to the last.” He was a great entertainer, “gave good dinner parties, and had choice old wines upon the table.” He is also mentioned “as one of the most polished gentlemen of the city.” He “was the last occupant of a first-class dwelling on Wall Street, since devoted wholly to business.”
From the records of the selectmen, Boston, Mass., May 4, 1723: “Whereas great numbers of Persons haue [have] very lately bin Transported from Ireland into this Province, many of which by Reason of the Present Indian war and the Accedents befalling them, Are now Resident in this Town whose Circomstances and Condition are not known, Some of which if due care be not taken may become a Town Charge or be otherwise prejuditial to the wellfair & Prosperity of the Place, for Remady whereof Ordered That Every Person now Resident here, that hath within the Space of three years last past bin brought from Ireland, or for the future Shal come from thence hither, Shal come and enter his name and Occupation with the Town Clerk, and if marryed the number and Age of his Children and Servants, within the Space of fiue [five] dayes, on pain of forfeiting and paying the Sum of twenty Shillings for Each offence***.”
122Matthew Lyon, “the Hampden of Congress,” was born in County Wicklow, Ireland, 1750. He came to this country in 1765; located in Connecticut, and later in Vermont; participated with Ethan Allen in the capture of Ticonderoga from the British; became adjutant of Col. Seth Warner’s regiment; served under General Montgomery in the campaign against Canada, 1775; became paymaster, with the rank of captain, in Warner’s regiment; took part in the battles of Bennington and Saratoga; became commissary-general of militia, with the rank of colonel; was a member of the State Legislature and judge of Rutland County, Vt.; member of Congress from Vermont from 1797 to 1801; cast the vote that made Thomas Jefferson president of the United States; removed to Kentucky and represented that state in Congress from 1803 to 1811.
Sarah W. Alexander, who wedded Christopher R. Perry of Rhode Island, became the mother of Oliver H. Perry—best known as Commodore Perry—who defeated the British in the naval battle on Lake Erie. She was a native of Newry, Ireland, and was born in 1768. Mackenzie, in his Life of Commodore Perry, just mentioned, says that her friends in Ireland “Had been involved in the Irish rebellion. She herself, had felt a lively interest in the cause of liberty, and had listened with deep interest to every account she had heard of battles and skirmishes in the neighborhood. She took a pleasure in recounting ... the achievements of her countrymen and always insisted that they were the bravest people in the world. These narratives fired the mind of Oliver and created a desire in him to pursue the profession of arms.” Oliver received much of his early education from “Old Master” Kelly, an Irish school teacher at Tower Hill, R. I.
From the records of the selectmen, Boston, Mass., Aug. 16, 1736: “mr. James Wimble Informs That Capt. Benedict Arnold who just arrived from Cork with Passengers, came to his House yesterday, being Lord’s day in the afternoon, bringing with him the following Persons, Vizt. Mr. Benja. Ellard, Gent, and his Wife and Three Children, and a Maid Servant, Joseph Atkins, John Clark, John Seley, Thomas Morgan, James Ellard, John Ellard, Benjamin Gillam, Elizabeth Ellard and William Neal. Accordingly the Master Capt. Arnold was sent for Who appear’d and gave Information, That he came from Ireland about Twelve Weeks ago, and that he is Bound to Philadelphia with his Passengers, Who in all, are one Hundred and Twenty, Hopes to Sail in a few days, as soon as he can Recruit 123with Water and Provisions, and Promises That the Passengers which came ashore Yesterdy shall repair aboard again to day, The Ships name is the Prudent Hannah.”
Gen. William Irvine of the Revolution was born near Enniskellen, County Fermanagh, Ireland, 1741. He came to America in 1764, and settled at Carlisle, Pa. He espoused the patriot cause, raised and commanded the Sixth Pennsylvania regiment; commanded a brigade at the battle of Monmouth, and when Lee’s troops were retreating, they so impeded the advance of this gallant Irishman’s brigade that he threatened to charge through them before he could make his way to take an advanced position. Irvine was made a brigadier-general in May, 1779, and was assigned to the command of the Second brigade of the Pennsylvania Line; later he became a member of the State Council of Censors; member of the Continental Congress; senior major-general of Pennsylvania State troops; a presidential elector; in charge of United States military stores at Philadelphia. He was a member of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick, Philadelphia. (Vide Campbell’s History of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick.)
William Constable was born in Dublin, Ireland, 1752; a patriot of the Revolution; joined the Continental army as an aide to Lafayette; prominent as a merchant in Philadelphia, Pa.; married Ann White, a schoolmate of the wife of General Washington; removed to New York City in 1784; also very prominent there; associated in business with Robert Morris and Governeur Morris, the firm being known as Constable & Co.; engaged in huge land speculations, purchasing large tracts in New York, Ohio, Kentucky, Virginia, and Georgia; bought in 1787, with Alexander Macomb, a tract of 640,000 acres in New York, Constable’s share being 192,000 acres; in 1791, he and Alexander Macomb and Daniel McCormick purchased a tract, in New York, of some 4,000,000 acres, or about a tenth part of the whole state. This purchase comprised the “whole of the present counties of Lewis, Jefferson, St. Lawrence and Franklin, with parts of Oswego and Herkimer.” On one occasion, about 1797, Constable lent $1,000 to the fugitive Duke of Orleans in this country, which loan was afterwards repaid by Louis Philippe. Constable was a member of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick, Philadelphia, and of the Hibernian Society of that city. He was president of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick, New York City, in 1789–’90 and in 1795.
Mathew Carey, the Philadelphia publisher, was born in the city of Dublin, Ireland, on the 28th of January, 1760. His father, Christopher Carey, at one time in the British navy, was subsequently an extensive contractor for the army, through which means he achieved an independence.
The son early evinced a passion for the acquisition of knowledge, and in addition to some familiarity with Latin, soon became proficient in French, without the assistance of a master. To do this, however, he studied as much as fifteen or sixteen hours a day, hardly allowing himself time for his meals. The peculiar orthography of his Christian name as rendered by himself, “Mathew,” and not “Matthew,” was the result of a philological discussion with one of his brothers, when quite a young man, and his then arriving at a belief that from its derivation this was the correct mode of spelling it.
When about fifteen years of age it became necessary for Mathew to choose a trade. He was decidedly in favor of that of printer and bookseller, which were then generally united. His father had a strong aversion to the trade, and refused to look out a master for him, which he did for himself, and he was accordingly apprenticed to a printer and bookseller of the name of McDonnel. A lameness which took place owing to the carelessness of his nurse when he was about a year old, and which continued throughout life, was a constant drawback to him, and interfered greatly with him in his career.
His first essay as a writer was when he was about seventeen years old, and was on the subject of dueling, which he condemned with great severity—the occasion being the attempt of a bookseller in Dublin to bring about a duel between an apprentice of his own and 125one of McDonnel’s. As will be seen, however, after he came to the United States, Mr. Carey was himself a principal, and was wounded in a duel.
His next attempt at authorship was one which involved most serious consequences to himself, and drove him into exile. Having directed his attention to the oppressions under which the Irish Catholics stood, and having read every book and pamphlet on the subject which he could procure, and with his mind filled with their sufferings, and his indignation aroused, he, in 1779, wrote a pamphlet entitled The Urgent Necessity of an Immediate Repeal of the whole Penal Code against the Roman Catholics, Candidly Considered; to which is added an inquiry into the prejudices against them; being an appeal to the Roman Catholics of Ireland, exciting them to a just sense of their civil and religious rights as citizens of a free nation.
When nearly ready it was advertised for publication in a few days, with the title page and its mottoes, and the attention of the public was called to it by an address, couched in very strong language, and wherein reference was made to the fact that “America by a desperate effort has nearly emancipated herself from slavery.” It excited considerable alarm. Parliament was then in session, and the advertisement was brought before both houses. The publication was denounced by an association of Roman Catholics, which, as Mr. Carey has asserted, “partook of the general depression and servile spirit, which a long course of oppression uniformly produces.”
This association offered a reward for the apprehension of the author, and engaged lawyers to carry on the prosecution in case of discovery. The authorship having become known to Mr. Carey’s father, was to him a cause of great alarm, and efforts were made to appease the wrath of the committee, and induce them to abandon the prosecution by an offer to destroy the entire edition. This was of no avail, and after being concealed for some days, Mr. Carey got on board of a Holyhead packet and proceeded to Paris.
He carried with him a letter of introduction to a Catholic priest, by whom he was introduced to Dr. Franklin, then the American Minister to the French Court, and who had a small printing office at Passy for the purpose of printing his dispatches from America. In this office Mr. Carey was employed while this work lasted. Afterwards he found a position with the celebrated publisher, Didot, who was then printing some English books. While at Passy he made the acquaintance of the Marquis de Lafayette—whose friendship 126at a subsequent period became one of the most controlling influences of his future career.
In about twelve months he returned to Dublin, and the remainder of his apprenticeship having been purchased from McDonnel, he engaged for a time as the conductor of a paper called the Freeman’s Journal. Finally, on the 13th of October, 1783, his father furnished him with the means to establish a new paper called the Volunteers’ Journal. For this work, he says, he was “miserably qualified,” although he had “a superabundance of zeal and ardor, and a tolerable knack and facility of scribbling.” He adds: “The paper, as might have been expected, partook largely of the character of its proprietor and editor. Its career was enthusiastic and violent. It suited the temper of the times, exercised a decided influence on public opinion; and, in very short time, had a greater circulation than any other paper in Dublin, except the Evening Post, which had the great merit of calling into existence that glorious band of brothers, the Volunteers of Ireland, whose zeal and determined resolution to assert and defend the rights of country, struck terror into the British cabinet, and forced the ministry to knock off chains that had bound down the nation for centuries.”
“The Volunteers’ Journal, fanning the flame of patriotism which pervaded the land,” says Mr. Carey, “excited the indignation of the government, which formed a determination to put it down, if possible. A prosecution had for a considerable time been contemplated—and, at length, the storm which had so long threatened, burst, in consequence of a publication which appeared on the 5th of April, 1784, in which the Parliament in general, and more particularly the Premier, were severely attacked.”
Accordingly, on the 7th of the same month, a motion was made in the Irish House of Commons, for an address to the Lord Lieutenant, requesting the apprehension of Mathew Carey. He was arrested on the 11th, and on the 19th was taken before the House of Commons, when certain interrogatories were put to him, which he positively refused to answer, on the ground that he was arrested by the civil power, and being under prosecution for the supposed libel of the Premier, he was not amenable to another tribunal. He preferred charges against the Sergeant-at-Arms in whose custody he was. An exciting debate arose; the Sergeant-at-Arms was justified by a large majority, and Mr. Carey was committed to Newgate jail, Dublin, where he remained until the 14th of May, when Parliament having 127adjourned, he was liberated by the Lord Mayor. “During my stay there,” says Mr. Carey, “I had lived joyously—companies of gentlemen occasionally dining with me on the choicest luxuries the markets afforded.”
Although thus freed from the clutches of Parliament, the criminal prosecution for libel of the Premier still stood suspended over his head. In the then inflamed state of the public mind it would have been impossible to procure a grand jury to find a true bill against him; but the attorney-general filed a bill ex-officio which dispensed with the interposition of the grand jury. Mr. Carey’s means were, in a great measure, exhausted; and, dreading the consequences of the prosecution and a heavy fine and imprisonment, his friends thought it best for him to leave his native country; and, “accordingly, on the 7th of September, 1784,” he says, “when I had not reached my 25th year, my pen drove me a second time into exile.” He embarked on board the America, Captain Keiler, and landed in Philadelphia on the 1st of November. He was induced to select Philadelphia as his new home for the reason that he had seen notices of his examination before the Irish House of Commons in two Philadelphia papers. There his case was therefore known, and would probably make him friends.
He had sold out his paper to his brother for £500, to be remitted as soon as practicable, and he landed in Philadelphia with about a dozen guineas in his pocket, without a relation or a friend, or even an acquaintance, except those of the America. A most unlooked for circumstance soon occurred which gave a new direction to his views and changed the course of his future life. A fellow passenger of his had brought letters of recommendation to General Washington, and having gone to Mount Vernon to deliver them, he there met the Marquis de Lafayette.
The conversation turning upon the affairs of Ireland, the Marquis said he had seen in the Philadelphia papers an account of Mr. Carey’s troubles with the Parliament, and inquired what had become of the poor persecuted Dublin printer, when he was informed that he was then in Philadelphia. On the arrival of the Marquis in that city, he wrote to Mr. Carey requesting him to call upon him. Mr. Carey then told him that upon receipt of funds from home he proposed to establish a newspaper in Philadelphia. Of this the Marquis approved, and promised to recommend him to his friend, Robert Morris, and others. The next morning Mr. Carey was 128greatly surprised at receiving a letter from the Marquis containing $400. “This was the more extraordinary and liberal,” says Mr. Carey, “as not a word had passed between us on the subject of giving or receiving, borrowing or lending money.”
Nor was there a word in the letter about the inclosure. Mr. Carey went to the lodgings of the Marquis, but found that he had left the city. He wrote to him at New York expressing his gratitude in the strongest of terms, and received a kind and friendly answer. “I have more than once assumed, and I now repeat,” says Mr. Carey, “that I doubt whether in the whole life of this (I had almost said) unparalleled man, there is to be found anything which, all the circumstances of the case considered, more highly elevates his character.”
Although this sum was in every sense of the word a gift, Mr. Carey always considered it as a loan, payable to the Marquis’ countrymen, according to the exalted sentiment of Dr. Franklin, who, when he gave a bill for ten pounds to an Irish clergymen in distress in Paris, told him to “pay the sum to any Americans he might find in distress, and thus let good offices go round.” Mr. Carey paid the debt in full to Frenchmen in want, and subsequently in addition discharged it to the Marquis; the latter only accepting it upon the urgent solicitation of the former.
On receiving this money, Mr. Carey at once issued proposals for the publication of the Pennsylvania Evening Herald, and the first number was accordingly published January 25, 1785. He received but £50 from the sale of the Volunteers’ Journal, in Dublin, his brother having been ruined partly by the persecutions of the government, and partly by the establishment of an opposition paper of the same name under government patronage. The success of the Evening Herald was not very great, and the means of the publisher being small, on the 25th of March he took two partners, and enlarged the paper. It, however, made but poor progress until Mr. Carey, in August following, commenced the publication of the Debates in the House of Assembly, a great novelty and innovation which gave the Herald an advantage over all its contemporaries.
Party feeling in Pennsylvania ran very high at the time, and in the course of a political controversy, he became involved in a quarrel with Col. Eleazer Oswald, who had been an officer of artillery during the Revolutionary War; and this difficulty resulted in a duel which took place in January, 1786, in New Jersey, opposite to Philadelphia, in which Mr. Carey was wounded in the thigh, from the effects of 129which he did not entirely recover for many months. He, subsequently to the duel, greatly disgusted his second and others, by performing, as he says, “a gratuitous act of justice, which was probably one of the best acts of my life”—that of publishing a card retracting the charges he had made against Colonel Oswald.
In October, 1786, in partnership with five others, he commenced the publication of the Columbian Magazine, to the first number of which he contributed four pieces, one of which, “A Philosophical Dream,” was an anticipation of the state of the country in 1850, in which, strange as these predictions must have seemed at the time, are now quite remarkable in their realization. In December, 1786, owing to the difficulty of realizing profits from so many partners and other causes, he withdrew. In January, 1787, he issued the first number of the American Museum, a magazine intended to preserve the fugitive essays that appeared in the newspapers. This publication, sets of which, in 12 volumes, 8vo, now exist in a number of public and private libraries, is one of great value, and presents a graphic and truthful record of the times. It was issued for six years, and brought to a close in December, 1792, after a hard struggle for life.
About this time he married Miss Bridget Flahavan, the daughter of a highly respectable citizen of Philadelphia who had been ruined by the Revolution. Mr. Carey’s wife was an industrious, prudent, economical woman, with, as he says, a large fund of good sense, but, equally with himself, without means. The match was, as he acknowledges, imprudent; but he and his wife determined to indulge in no unnecessary expense, and they carried out this resolution faithfully, even when he was doing a business of $40,000 to $50,000 per annum, and with the happiest results.
When he relinquished the American Museum, he commenced bookselling and printing on a small scale. His store, or rather shop, was of very moderate dimensions; but, small as it was, he had not full-bound books enough to fill the shelves—a considerable portion of them being filled with spelling books. He procured a credit at bank, which enabled him to extend his business; and by care, indefatigable industry, the most rigid punctuality and frugality, he gradually advanced in the world. For twenty-five years, winter and summer, he was always present at the opening of his store.
In 1793 he was a member of the Committee of Health, appointed for the relief of the sick by yellow fever, and of the orphans made 130such by it. The duties of this position were faithfully and calmly fulfilled, “and his whole life,” says Prof. R. E. Thompson, “corresponded to the promise of that year.” He subsequently wrote a full account of this epidemic, of which four editions were published. Stephen Girard, who was one of the members of this committee, as Mr. Carey says, “to the inexpressible delight” of the members, volunteered his services, and became superintendent of the yellow fever hospital on Bush Hill.
In 1792, or ’93, feeling for the sufferings and wretchedness of the numerous Irish immigrants who arrived in Philadelphia, he called a meeting, at the Coffee House, of a number of the most influential and prominent Irishmen, and submitted to the meeting a constitution, which he had prepared, and which was adopted, and thus was formed “The Hibernian Society for the Relief of Emigrants from Ireland.” This society exists at the present day in a highly flourishing condition. In 1796 he zealously engaged with a few other citizens in the formation of a Sunday-school Society, of which Bishop White became president.
Between 1796 and ’98 he became involved in a very acrimonious controversy with William Cobbett, which was not of his seeking, but which he conducted with unflinching courage and ability. In addition to a considerable correspondence between them, the war became one of pamphlets and newspapers—Cobbett using his Porcupine Gazette. Mr. Carey issued a pamphlet entitled A Plum Pudding for Peter Porcupine, in which he says he “handled him with great severity.” He next published The Porcupiniad, a Hudibrastic Poem, in which he turned some of Cobbett’s own paragraphs into Hudibrastic verse, and “it is wonderful,” he says, “how smoothly they ran, in many instances, with the alteration of a single word or two.” Cobbett made no reply, and never after had Mr. Carey’s name in his paper but once or twice incidentally. This ended the controversy, and subsequently they became very good friends.
His publishing business was pushed with wonderful energy, and for those days on a grand scale. He has stated that for many years he was involved in such financial difficulties and embarrassments that he was “oppressed and brought to the verge of bankruptcy,” which “nothing but the most untiring efforts and indefatigable industry and energy could have enabled me to wade through.” These difficulties were brought about, he says, by his own folly in over-trading. A few figures in regard to his publications will give an idea how these difficulties 131arose. For instance, he printed 2,500 copies of Guthrie’s Geography, 4to, with a folio atlas of 40 or 50 maps, price, $12; 3,000 Goldsmith’s Animated Nature, 4 volumes, 8vo, illustrated with a large number of plates, price $10. In 1801 he published 3,000 copies of a 4to edition of the Bible, with additional references, for which he paid an editor $1,000. This book was prepared by the collation of eighteen different editions of the Bible, in which the most extraordinary number of discrepancies were detected. Soon after the publication of this edition, the success of which was very great, he embarked in the preparation of a standing edition of the 4to Bible. Stereotyping had not been invented, and for this volume he purchased the entire type which was kept permanently standing. About this time he purchased, for $7,000, a school Bible, and also a large house in Market Street, in which he lived for many years. In 1802 he was elected by the Senate of Pennsylvania a director in the Bank of Pennsylvania, which added greatly to his financial resources.
In 1801, induced by the advantages to literature which had resulted from the fairs of Frankfort and Leipsic, he formed the project of establishing a literary fair in this country, to meet alternately at New York and Philadelphia. He accordingly issued a circular dated December, 1801, inviting all publishers and booksellers to meet in New York on the 1st of June, 1802, for the purpose of buying, selling and exchanging their publications. He wrote out a constitution, which was adopted, and a society formed with Hugh Gaine, the oldest bookseller in the United States, as president. The plan worked well for a year or two, but it was found that country booksellers published inferior editions of popular works, with which, by means of exchanges, they flooded the country. It was therefore abandoned.
In 1806, being then a member of the Select Council of the City of Philadelphia, he united with Stephen Girard and others to relieve real estate of a portion of its taxes, by transferring it to personal property, when he published a pamphlet on examination of the existing system of taxation in that city, but with no results. In 1810, when the question of the renewal of the charter of the Bank of the United States, which was to expire on the following March, came up, he took an active and earnest part in its favor, neglecting his business for three months, and publishing a series of essays on the subject. Nearly all the Democrats of the city were opposed to this, and he made himself hosts of enemies by his course.
The publication of The Olive Branch, which was made at a critical 132period in the history of the country, proved to be one of the most successful books up to that time ever issued from the American press, and he regarded its preparation as one of the most important events in his life. The War of 1812–’15, between the United States and Great Britain, had developed such an acrimonious state of feeling between parties in the country, as to appear to forebode civil war. In September, 1814, Mr. Carey, in a “moment of ardent zeal and enthusiasm, was seized with a desire to make an effort by a candid publication of the numerous errors and follies on both sides to allay the public effervescence, and calm the embittered feelings of the parties.”
Hence, he began the preparation of The Olive Branch, September 18, and the book was through the press November 6th, and was published on the 8th. It was a volume of 252 pages, 12mo. The edition of 500 copies was sold within a few weeks, and it was revised and enlarged from time to time, and in three and a half years ten editions were sold, amounting to 10,000 copies. “A greater sale probably,” as he has said, “than any book ever had in this country, except some religious ones,” up to that time. He gave permission to several parties to print the book, without payment of copyright, and editions were printed at Boston, Mass., Middlebury, Vt., and Winchester, Va.
In 1818 he set laboriously and seriously to work to prepare a vindication of Ireland. Accordingly, in the following year, he published Vindiciæ Hibernicæ; or, Ireland Vindicated, of which a second edition was published in 1823. This is a large 8vo volume involving great research.
Early in 1819, struck with the prevailing condition of the United States, he commenced writing on political economy, investigating the causes, and pointing out the necessity for protecting our industries against foreign competition. Few men ever enlisted in any public cause with more enthusiasm, few ever worked with more energy and industry in such a cause. He was one of the founders of the Philadelphia Society for the Promotion of National Industry; he attended conventions in various parts of the country, and he made more extensive contributions to the literature of the subject than any other man had then done on this continent.
Some idea may be formed of the extent of this work when it is stated that between 1819 and 1833 his books and pamphlets on this question reached an aggregate of 2,322 pages. To no other man, 133not in public life, was the first protective tariff of 1824, as well as that more protective one of 1828, due. These were results which would have exerted a permanent influence on the country but for the nullification movement of South Carolina and Georgia.
This latter movement produced Clay’s Compromise Tariff Act of 1833, which was only abandoned in 1842 in the midst of a bankruptcy so widespread and universal that it involved not merely individuals and banks and other corporations, but state governments, and even the government of the United States itself. Mr. Carey was much discouraged by the illiberal conduct of manufacturers and others who had much at stake in the cause, and he ever after believed that to this illiberality and supineness was due the triumph of nullification, for it did triumph in the enactment of the Compromise Tariff, Act of 1833.
However, amid these discouragements, he derived some consolation from a recognition of his services by a portion of his fellow countrymen. In 1821 he was presented by citizens of Wilmington, Del., with a handsome piece of silver plate bearing the following inscription: “A tribute of gratitude to Mathew Carey, Esq., in approbation of his writings on political economy; presented by some friends of National Industry, in Wilmington, Del., and its vicinity, April, 1821.” In 1834 he was presented with a service of plate by citizens of Philadelphia and others, “as a testimonial of their respect for his public conduct and their esteem for his private virtues”; who deemed his “whole career in life an encouraging example, by the imitation of which, without the aid of official station or political power, every private citizen may become a public benefactor.” Sometime previously he received two silver pitchers from other citizens of Philadelphia.
In 1824 he was instrumental in reviving and carrying through the project for the construction of the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal, which had lain dormant from 1805. This undertaking involved weeks of labor, and of personal solicitations for subscriptions.
In 1825 he retired permanently from business on a well-earned competency, and the remaining years of his life were devoted to public and philanthropic work, with an energy that never tired. Among his correspondents were Washington, Franklin, Lafayette, Hamilton, John Adams, Jefferson, Madison, Henry Clay, and hosts of others in public and private life, during a period covering more than half a century. His writings, a tolerably complete set of which 134is in possession of The Library Company of Philadelphia, make nine large 8vo volumes.
He died in the city of Philadelphia on the 16th of September, 1839, in the eightieth year of his age, universally respected, and his death was mourned as a public loss. His remains were followed to the grave by thousands of his fellow citizens. A venerable and distinguished journalist, who had known him long and well, announced his death in the following terms: “The friend of mankind is no more. Long and sincerely will he be lamented, not in high places only, amid the pomp and circumstance of grief, but in the solitary corner of the poor and the friendless. Upon his grave honest tears will be shed. The orphan and the widow will wander there, and, in the heart’s deepest accents, implore the blessings of Heaven upon his departed soul.”
He was buried in St. Mary’s churchyard, Fourth Street, above Spruce, Philadelphia. Mr. and Mrs. Carey had nine children, three of whom died young. The remaining six were:
Maria, who died unmarried.
Henry Charles, who married, but died without issue.
Eliza Catharine, who married Thomas James Baird, a graduate of West Point, who was lieutenant of artillery in the War of 1812.
Susan M., who died unmarried.
Frances A., who married Isaac Lea.
Edward L., who died unmarried.
Mathew Carey’s will mentions his sister, Margaret Burke, and his deceased brother, John Carey. In Father Finotti’s work on Catholic American Bibliography is given a list, somewhat incomplete, of Mathew Carey’s works.
The following members of the Society died during the year 1905, much and deservedly regretted:
Brennan, Michael, New York City; owner of the Hotel San Remo, Central Park West, New York, and other property. He was born in Sligo, Ireland, 1832; died at his home, 2 West 75th Street, New York, May 30. He was a member of the New York Friendly Sons of St. Patrick and of the Catholic Club. He became a member of the American-Irish Historical Society soon after the organization of the latter, and the first meeting and dinner held by the Society in New York took place at his hotel, the San Remo, just mentioned.
Collins, Hon. Patrick A., mayor of Boston, Mass. He was born in Fermoy, County Cork, Ireland, March 12, 1844, died at Hot Springs, Va., Sept. 14, 1905. His mother brought him to this country when he was but four years of age. They settled in Chelsea, Mass. In the course of time, Patrick entered the law school of Harvard University and was graduated therefrom in 1871. He had gone into political affairs while he was a student and had been elected a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives in 1868. He served two terms there and one in the State Senate. When he was admitted to the bar, in 1871, Mr. Collins made public announcement of his determination not to hold public office again in ten years. He kept to the resolution, but he stayed in politics. He became chairman of the Boston Democratic Committee in 1873 and held the responsibilities of the place for two years. He served as judge advocate-general on the staff of Governor Gaston of Massachusetts. While in the Legislature, Collins was identified with the passage of such liberal and reformatory legislation as freedom of worship for Catholics in penal, correctional and charitable institutions, the abolition of a distinct oath for Catholics, the ten-hour law, and legislation looking towards equal rights for foreign-born citizens. He was married in 1873 to Mary E. Cary. They had three children, Paul, Agnes and Marie. After serving two terms as congressman from the fourth Massachusetts district, he declined a third term, but was forced in his party’s interest to reconsider his decision. During his three terms in Congress he served on the Committee on the Judiciary, and sometimes in addition on the Committees on Pacific Railroads, French Spoliation Claims and other important bodies. He was delegateat-large 148to the National Democratic Conventions of 1876, 1880, 1884 and 1892. He was permanent chairman of the 1888 convention and made an address which attracted admiring attention from the whole country, as did his speech seconding the nomination of Grover Cleveland four years later. It was generally understood that Mr. Cleveland offered Mr. Collins a cabinet office, but Mr. Collins declined to take such office. Mr. Cleveland gave him instead one of the highest-paid government posts, that of consul-general at London, where the salary is $5,000 a year, and the fees in Mr. Collins’ time amounted to about $25,000 a year or more. Mr. Collins resigned from the chairmanship of the Democratic State Committee and went to London. When he was consul-general Mr. Cleveland again asked him to come into the cabinet as secretary of war. Mr. Collins refused. He was quoted as saying that he refused because he “didn’t care for second-hand clothes.” He never denied the remark. At the opening ceremonies of the Hotel Cecil, Mr. Collins’ remarks regarding the good will of Mr. Cleveland toward the British people were jeered by some of his hearers. He turned on them and said: “There is no antagonism between the United States and any well-meaning state on earth. If the rest of the world understood the United States as well as the United States understands the rest of the world there would never be any danger to peace between my country and other nations.” There were no more jeers. In 1897 Mr. Collins returned to the practice of law in Boston. He was nominated for mayor in 1899, but was beaten by differences in his own party. He was elected the next term, was re-elected, and held the office at the time of his death.
Galligan, Edward F. (M. D.), Taunton, Mass. He was a native of that city and was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Patrick Galligan. He studied medicine and was graduated from the medical department of Harvard University. In 1884, he was appointed city physician of Taunton and filled the position for several years. He was a trustee of the Morton Hospital, a member of the Taunton Physicians’ Club, of the North Bristol Medical Society and of the American Medical Association. He died Sept. 26, 1905.
Harty, Rev. John, a Roman Catholic clergyman; rector of the Church of the Sacred Heart, Pawtucket, R. I. He was a native of Ireland, and was ordained to the priesthood in Dublin, 1874. He died, June 2. He was at one period connected with St. Patrick’s Church, Providence, R. I., and was later rector of the church in East Providence.
Hayes, John, Manchester, N. H. He was a native of Ireland, and was of a splendid type as a man and a citizen. He died at Manchester in March. One of his sons, the late Hon. John J. Hayes, of Boston, Mass., was also a member of the Society.
149Hicks, Michael, New York City; inventor of the “Hurricane lamp,” which was used on railway trains, and especially in the Pullman palace cars, until it was supplanted by the Pintsch light. He was born in County Meath, Ireland, 1832; died at his residence, 147 West 121st Street, New York, March 6.
Linehan, Hon. John C., Penacook (Concord), N. H. He was state insurance commissioner of New Hampshire; a founder of the American-Irish Historical Society and treasurer-general of the same from its organization in January, 1897, to August, 1905, when he resigned owing to ill health. Commissioner Linehan was born in Macroom, County Cork, Ireland, Feb. 9, 1840, and came to this country in 1849. He was a son of John and Margaret (Foley) Linehan. He enlisted in August, 1861, in the band of the Third New Hampshire Volunteers and in after years was prominently identified with the Grand Army of the Republic, holding various offices therein. He served as a councilman and alderman of Concord, was chosen a member of the executive council of the state of New Hampshire to serve during the term of Gov. Charles H. Sawyer in 1887 and 1888. He was appointed trustee for the state industrial school by Gov. Samuel W. Hale in 1884, and except for a brief interval of a few months served continually since. He was secretary of the board for several years, and since 1897 was its president. He was also one of the committee to select the location for the Concord soldiers’ monument, as well as to select its design and inscription. He was appointed insurance commissioner of New Hampshire for three years by Gov. David H. Goodell, on Sept. 28, 1890. He was reappointed in 1893 by Gov. John B. Smith, in 1896 by Gov. Charles A. Busiel, and in 1899 by Gov. Frank W. Rollins. His record as insurance commissioner is well known. He was fearless and conscientious in the performance of his duties and received the commendations of his superiors, the governors and councils, as well as of the people of the state. His management of the insurance department was highly commended, and throughout the country he bore the reputation of being an honest, fearless, conscientious and capable public servant. A pamphlet published by the United States government in 1894, in which was printed the argument of Hon. John L. Thomas, assistant attorney-general, for the post office department, in the case of the United States v. the National Investment Company, contained 19 pages of extracts from Commissioner Linehan’s reports for the years 1891–’92–’93. He was one of the charter members of William I. Brown Post, G. A. R., and its first commander, filling the position over two years. He was chosen to represent the Department of New Hampshire, G. A. R., at the National Encampment in Albany in 1878, and a member of the national Council of Administration in 1880–81. He was elected department 150commander of New Hampshire in 1883 and 1884, and was appointed a member of the National Pension Committee, serving until 1887, when he was unanimously chosen junior vice-commander-in-chief, G. A. R. He was president of the New Hampshire Veteran Association in 1885 and 1886, and from its institution, with the exception of several years, its musical director. When his candidacy for the office of commander-in-chief at the annual G. A. R. encampment in Cincinnati in 1898 was before his comrades throughout the country, it received the heartiest indorsement, and when he withdrew there was much regret. He was elected one of the board of directors of the Gettysburg Battlefield Monument Association, and placed on the Executive Committee in 1884. He was a trustee of the Loan & Trust Savings Bank of Concord, a member of the New Hampshire Historical Society, Knights of Columbus, and of the Charitable Irish Society of Boston. He was a steady contributor to weeklies and periodicals. He contributed a chapter, The Irish in New Hampshire, to McClintock’s History of New Hampshire, also a chapter to the History of the First New Hampshire Regiment, on The Irish of New Hampshire in the Civil War, and a chapter to the History of the Seventeenth New Hampshire Regiment, on Music and Songs of the War. He has written many sketches on the early Irish settlers in the thirteen colonies, which have been published in papers and magazines. Several papers from his pen have appeared in the publications of the American-Irish Historical Society. He received a degree from Dartmouth College in 1887. He was also in demand as a speaker and lecturer, and had spoken more or less during every political campaign since 1884. He was married to Mary E. Pendergast by the Rev. John O’Donnell, in Nashua, N. H., Jan. 2, 1864. Of the children born to them, four survive—Margaret, now Sister Mary Joseph, of the Order of Mercy; John Joseph, Timothy Patrick and Henry Francis. Commissioner Linehan died Sept. 19, 1905.
Naphen, Hon. Henry F., Boston, Mass. He was a native of Ireland, and was born in 1852. He came to this country and was educated in Boston and Lowell, Mass. He graduated from Harvard University with the degree of LL. B., and also took a special course at that institution as resident LL. B., later continuing law studies at Boston University. He was elected a member of the Boston School Committee for three years, and at the end of that period declined a renomination. In 1885 and 1886 he represented the Fifth Suffolk District in the State Senate. In 1898 he was elected to Congress in the Tenth Massachusetts District. Throughout his first term he made memorable speeches on the Porto Rican question, the trusts, the Philippine question, improvement of Boston harbor, and many other important measures. Renominated by his 151party in 1900, Congressman Naphen was reëlected by a majority of more than 7,200 votes, a remarkable victory. He was a member of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company, Boston Athletic Association, City Point Catholic Association, Charitable Irish Society, Catholic Union, Knights of St. Rose, Massachusetts Catholic Order of Foresters, the Knights of Columbus, and other societies; was a director and clerk of the board of directors of St. Elizabeth’s Hospital, and a vice-president of the Working Boys’ Home. He was a bail commissioner for the County of Suffolk, and was also an honorary member of Dahlgren Post 2, G. A. R., and Benj. Stone Post 68, G. A. R. He died in Boston in June.
Travers, Francis C., New York City. He was born in that city, and was the founder of the house of Travers Brothers Company, manufacturers of, and dealers in, twine and cordage; was president of the company; was also a director of the Columbia National Life Insurance Co., a trustee of the Franklin Savings Bank, vice-president of the Merchants’ Trust Co., and was a member of the New York Friendly Sons of St. Patrick, the Catholic Club, and other prominent organizations. He was an intimate personal friend of President Theodore Roosevelt, and was very highly esteemed by the latter. Mr. Travers died at his home in New York, March 18.
Walsh, James A., Lewiston, Me. He was resident agent for the Lewiston Bleachery and Dye Works, where he had been located for some twelve years. He died in Lewiston Feb. 7. aged 53 years.
Adams, Hon. Samuel, president and treasurer of the Adams Dry Goods Co., 339–355 Sixth Avenue, New York City; director, Garfield National Bank, New York; member of the New York Chamber of Commerce; an ex-senator of Colorado.
Adams, T. Albeus, president of the Gansevoort Bank, Fourteenth Street and Ninth Avenue, New York City; also president of Adams & Co.; president of the Adams Bros. Co.; president of the Manhattan Refrigerating Co.; director, Mercantile National Bank.
Ahern, John, 5 Highland Street, Concord, N. H.
Allen, Rt. Rev. Edward P. (D. D.), Mobile, Ala., bishop of the Roman Catholic diocese of Mobile.
Aspell, John (M. D.), 139 West 77th Street, New York City; member of the Academy of Medicine; of the County Medical Association, and of the Celtic Medical Society; recently president of the latter; visiting surgeon to St. Vincent’s Hospital.
Bannin, Michael E., of Converse, Stanton & Co., drygoods commission merchants, 83 and 85 Worth Street, New York City; member of the Merchants Association, New York; director, the Emigrant Industrial Savings Bank; director, the Catholic Summer School (Cliff Haven); member of the Merchants and Catholic clubs, New York, of the Montauk Club, Brooklyn, and of the Brooklyn Arts and Science Institute; director, the Columbian National Life Insurance Co.; director, American Investment Securities Co.
Bannon, Henry G., 107 East 55th Street, New York City; president of the Irish National Club; secretary, Celtic-American Publishing Co.
Barrett, Michael F., of Barrett Bros., wholesale and retail dealers in teas, coffees, etc., 308 Spring Street and 574 Hudson Street, New York City.
Barry, Hon. Patrick T., 87–97 South Jefferson Street, Chicago, Ill. (Life member of the Society); advertising manager, Chicago Newspaper Union; director, First National Bank of Englewood, Ill.; director, The Chicago Citizen Company; has been a member of the State Legislature of Illinois; prominently identified with educational interests.
153Barry, Rev. Michael, Oswego, N. Y.
Baxter, Rev. James J. (D. D.), 9 Whitmore Street, Boston, Mass.
Bodfish, Rev. Joshua P. L., Canton, Mass.; formerly chancellor of the Roman Catholic archdiocese of Boston; a director of the Bunker Hill Monument Association.
Bourlet, John W., of the Rumford Printing Co., Concord, N. H.
Boyle, Hon. Patrick J., now serving his eleventh term as mayor of Newport, R. I.
Brady, Rev. Cyrus Townsend (LL. D.), 455 East 17th Street, Flatbush, Brooklyn, N. Y.; member of the Society of Colonial Wars, of the Sons of the Revolution, of the Military Order of Foreign Wars, and of other patriotic organizations; chaplain of the First Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, war with Spain; formerly Protestant Episcopal archdeacon of Pennsylvania; author of For Love of Country, For the Freedom of the Sea, Stephen Decatur, Commodore Paul Jones, Border Fights and Fighters, and other works.
Brady, Owen J., with The H. B. Claflin Co., 224 Church Street, New York City.
Brandon, Edward J., city clerk, Cambridge, Mass.
Brann, Rev. Henry A. (D. D.), 141 East 43d Street, New York City (Life member of the Society).
Bree, Hon. James P., lawyer, 902 Chapel Street, New Haven, Conn.; state auditor of Connecticut; recently a senator.
Brennan, Hon. James F., lawyer, Peterborough, N. H.; a trustee of the New Hampshire State Library.
Brennan, James F., contractor, 2 Garden Street, New Haven, Conn.
Brennan, P. J., 788 West End Avenue, New York City.
Brierly, Frank, 268 West 131st Street, New York City.
Broderick, William J., 52 Morton Street, New York City.
Brosnahan, Rev. Timothy, rector of St. Mary’s Church, Waltham, Mass.
Buckley, Andrew, Parsons, Labette County, Kansas.
Burke, Robert E., recently city solicitor, Newburyport. Mass.
Burr, William P., lawyer, 35 Nassau Street, New York City.
Butler, T. Vincent, with R. G. Dun & Co., New York City.
Buttimer, Thomas H., lawyer, Hingham and Boston, Mass.
Byrne, C. E., of the C. E. Byrne Piano Co., East 41st Street, New York City.
Byrne, Maj. John, 45 Wall Street, New York City; director, Detroit City Gas Co.; president, Shawmut Coal and Coke Co.; chairman Board of Directors, Pittsburg, Shawmut & Northern R. R. Co.; president, Kersey Mining Co.; president, Kersey R. R. Co.; chairman Board of Directors, Shawmut Mining Co.; trustee, Emigrant Industrial Savings Bank of New York City.
Byrne, Joseph M., insurance, 800 Broad Street, Newark, N. J.
154Byrne, Rt. Rev. William (D. D., V. G.), rector of St. Cecilia’s Church, St. Cecilia Street, Boston, Mass.
Cahill, John H., 15 Dey Street, New York City.
Cahill, M. J., dry goods merchant, Essex Street, Lawrence, Mass.
Cahill, Thomas M. (M. D.), 40 Pearl Street, New Haven, Conn.; son of the late Col. Thomas W. Cahill who commanded the Ninth Connecticut Volunteer Infantry (an Irish regiment), in the Civil War.
Calnin, James, 101–107 Lakeview Avenue, Lowell, Mass.
Cannon, Thomas H., of the law firm Cannon & Poage, Stock Exchange Building, Chicago, Ill.
Carbray, Hon. Felix, Benburb Place, Quebec, Canada; member of the Royal Irish Academy; Fellow of the Royal Society of Antiquaries, Ireland; member of the Quebec Harbor Commission and of the Quebec Board of Trade; consul for Portugal at Quebec, and dean of the Consular Corps; trustee of St. Patrick’s Church, and of St. Bridget’s Asylum; has represented his district in the parliament of the Province of Quebec. He was one of the pioneers in the lumber trade between the St. Lawrence and South America; has engaged in the general commission and shipping business, and has been a member of the successive firms: Carbray & Routh; Carbray, Routh & Co.; and Carbray, Son & Co.
Carmody, T. F., lawyer, Waterbury, Conn.
Carney, Michael, of M. Carney & Co., Lawrence, Mass.
Carroll, Edward, Leavenworth National Bank, Leavenworth, Kansas.
Carroll, Edward R., 333 East 51st Street, New York City; clerk’s office, Court of General Sessions of the Peace, City and County of New York.
Carroll, John L., 18 State Street, Newark, N. J.
Carter, Patrick, real estate, mortgages and insurance, 32 Westminster Street, Providence, R. I.
Carter, Hon. Thomas H., Helena, Mont.; a United States senator.
Casey, Michael, of Casey & Bacon, wholesale grocers, Pittsfield, Mass.
Cassidy, John J., 907 Adams Street, Wilmington, Del.
Cassidy, Patrick (M. D.), Norwich, Conn.; was surgeon-general on the staff of Gov. Luzon B. Morris of Connecticut, ranking as brigadier-general.
Chittick, Rev. J. J., Hyde Park, Mass.
Clancy, Laurence, dry goods merchant, West Bridge Street, Oswego, N. Y.; trustee, Oswego County Savings Bank; director, electric street railway; member, Normal school board; has repeatedly declined a nomination for mayor of Oswego.
Clare, William F., lawyer, 149 Broadway, New York City.
Clark, Rev. James F., New Bedford, Mass.
Clarke, James, of James Clarke & Co., booksellers and publishers, 3, 5 and 7 West 22d Street, New York City.
Clarke, Joseph I. C., Sunday editor, New York Herald, Herald Square, New York City.
155Clary, Charles H., Hallowell, Me.; a descendant of John Clary, “of Newcastle, province of New Hampshire,” who married Jane Mahoney, of Georgetown, Me., 1750. Four children were born to them before 1760. Mr. Clary of Hallowell, Me., here mentioned, was one of the founders of the Clary Reunion Family which meets annually.
Cockran, Hon. W. Bourke, 31 Nassau Street, New York City; a member of Congress. (Life member of the Society.)
Coffey, John J., Neponset (Boston), Mass.; served during the Civil War in the Twenty-eighth Massachusetts Infantry (the Faugh-a-Ballagh regiment), which formed part of Meagher’s Irish Brigade, First Division, Second Corps; participated in the valorous charges of the brigade against the Confederates at Marye’s Heights; was wounded at Gettysburg and still carries the bullet in his body. His brother Michael J., was color sergeant of the Irish flag of the regiment and carried it until he fell mortally wounded at the second battle of Bull Run.
Coffey, Rev. Michael J., East Cambridge, Mass.
Coghlan, Rev. Gerald P., 2141 North Broad Street, Philadelphia, Pa.
Cohalan, Daniel F., lawyer, 271 Broadway, New York City.
Coleman, James S., 38 East 69th Street, New York City; of Coleman, Breuchaud & Coleman.
Coleman, John, capitalist, Louisville, Ky.
Collins, James M., 6 Sexton Avenue, Concord, N. H.
Collins, Hon. John S., Gilsum, N. H.; manufacturer of woolens; an ex-state senator of New Hampshire.
Collins, William D. (M. D.), Haverhill, Mass.
Conaty, Bernard, 30 Cypress Street, Providence, R. I.
Conaty, Rev. B. S., 340 Cambridge Street, Worcester, Mass.
Conaty, Rt. Rev. Thomas J. (D. D.), Los Angeles, Cal., bishop of the Roman Catholic diocese of Monterey and Los Angeles.
Condon, Edward O’Meagher, U. S. Court House and Postoffice, Nashville, Tenn.; connected with the office of the U. S. Supervising Architect, Washington, D. C., as an inspector of public buildings; served in the Union army during the Civil War.
Coney, Patrick H., lawyer, 316 Kansas Avenue, Topeka, Kan. He entered the Union army in 1863, at the age of 15 years, enlisting in the One Hundred and Eleventh New York Infantry. He was detailed as dispatch bearer on General McDougall’s staff, promoted as an orderly dispatch bearer on Gen. Nelson A. Miles’ staff, served in this capacity on to Appomattox and Lee’s surrender, and was transferred June 5, 1865, to Company H, Fourth New York Heavy Artillery. He served until October 5, 1865, when he was honorably discharged at Hart’s Island, N. Y. He was wounded at the battle of Peach Orchard in front of Petersburg, Va., on June 16, 1864, and rejoined his command from the hospital after sixty days’ convalescence. In addition to his law 156practice, he is general manager of the American Investment and Development Co., which is engaged in the promotion and development of 11,000 acres of mineral, gas and oil lands in Benton County, Mo. Gen. Nelson A. Miles is president of the company.
Conlon, William L., Portsmouth, N. H.
Connery, William P., Wheeler and Pleasant Streets, Lynn, Mass.; recently candidate for mayor of Lynn.
Connolly, Capt. James, Coronado, Cal. He was born in County Cavan, Ireland, 1842; came to this country when he was but ten years of age, and spent much of his youth at East Dennis, Cape Cod, Mass. His early love for the sea was gratified later in life when he became captain of some of the finest deep-water ships sailing from Baltimore, Boston and elsewhere. His first command was the bark May Queen, a regular Baltimore and Rio packet, 1872. He then had command of the ship Pilgrim of Boston, and made several voyages to the East Indies. In 1884 he was given command of the Charger, a larger and finer ship than the Pilgrim, and sailed to ports in Japan. He next had command of the South American, “the Commodore’s ship,” of the Hastings fleet (Boston), and took her to Australia and other parts. He made several record voyages during his career, and some of these records still stand, having never been equalled. On one occasion he was wrecked off the coast of Africa; he and his wife upon being rescued were hospitably entertained by the Boers of the adjacent country. Returning to East Dennis, Mass., his wife’s health became poor and so he removed with her to Coronado, Cal., hoping that the change of climate would benefit her, but she died in 1901. She had accompanied her husband on several of his voyages, and had with him visited many parts of the world. Captain Connolly has written much and entertainingly. He has at present in manuscript form a novel of ocean life entitled The Magic of the Sea.
Connolly, Rev. Arthur T., Center and Creighton Streets, Roxbury (Boston), Mass.
Connor, Michael, 509 Beech Street, Manchester, N. H.
Conway, James L., 113 Worth Street, New York City.
Conway, Matt, of Conway & Kessler, real estate, loans, exchange and insurance, 405 Laughlin Building, Los Angeles, Cal.
Cooke, Rev. Michael J., Fall River, Mass (Life member of the Society.)
Cooney, Brig.-Gen. Michael, U. S. A. (retired), 500 T Street, N. W., Washington, D. C.
Corcoran, John H., dry goods merchant, 587 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Mass.
Coughlin, John, 177 Water Street, Augusta, Me.
Cox, Michael F. (M. D., M. R. I. A.), 26 Merrion Square, Dublin, Ireland.
Cox, Michael H., 54 Commerce Street, Boston, Mass.
157Cox, William T., 12 South Second Street, Elizabeth, N. J., owner of Cox’s Towing Line; for some years chairman of the fire commissioners of Elizabeth; ex-chief of the Elizabeth Volunteer Fire Department.
Coyle, Rev. James, Taunton, Mass.
Coyle, Rev. John D., 79 Davenport Avenue, New Haven, Conn.
Crane, John, 8 & 10 Bridge Street, New York City; of the firm Crane & MacMahon, manufacturers of wheels, carriage woodstock, and hardwood lumber. Among offices held by him may be mentioned: director of the Ganesvoort Bank, New York; trustee of Emigrant Industrial Savings Bank; president of the Irish Emigrant Society; president of Ascension Conference, Society of St. Vincent de Paul; member of the Superior Council, Society of St. Vincent de Paul; chairman of the Finance Committee for Special Work, of the same society; vice-president of the Virginia and North Carolina Wheel Co., Richmond, Va.; vice-president of the St. Marys Spoke and Wheel Co., of St. Marys, Ohio; trustee of the Soldiers and Sailors Home, Bath, N. Y.; president of the Society of the Army of the Tennessee. He is also a member of the New York Commandery, Military Order of the Loyal Legion, of the New York Friendly Sons of St. Patrick, and of other organizations. He was a commissioned officer during the Civil War in the Sixth and Seventeenth Wisconsin Regiments of Infantry, saw four years of very active service, and was regimental and brigade adjutant for a considerable period.
Creagh, Rev. John T. (J. U. L., S. T. L., J. C D.), Catholic University, Washington, D. C.; associate professor of canon law.
Creamer, Walter H., 4 Prescott Place, Lynn, Mass. His great-grandfather, Edward Creamer, was born in Kinsale, Ireland, 1756, was graduated from Trinity College, Dublin, and in 1784 settled in Salem, Mass. He was a physician there. This Edward had a son George who married Hannah Gardner whose mother was Mary Sullivan, a sister of Gen. John Sullivan of the Revolution and of Gov. James Sullivan of Massachusetts. Walter H. Creamer, here mentioned, is a grandson of the said George and Hannah (Gardner) Creamer.
Crimmins, Hon. John D., 40 East 68th Street, New York City; a Life member of the Society; president-general of the organization in 1901, 1902 and 1905; a member of the New York Municipal Art Commission. Mr. Crimmins served as a park commissioner of New York City from 1883 to 1888, during which time he was treasurer and president of the board. He was a member of the Board of Visitors to West Point in 1894, and presidential elector (Democratic), in 1892 and 1904. He was appointed by Governor Roosevelt and served as a member of the Greater New York Charter Revision Commission. In 1894, he was a member of the New York State Constitutional Convention. Mr. Crimmins is a member of the New York Chamber of Commerce, and is officially 158connected with many railway, realty and banking corporations. He is president of the Essex and Hudson Land Improvement Co.; president of the Port Richmond and Bergen Point Ferry Co.; president of the Bergen Point and Staten Island Ferry Co.; honorary vice-president of the Trust Company of America, New York; vice-president of the Title Insurance Co. of New York; vice-president of the New York Mortgage and Security Co.; director of the Fifth Avenue Bank of New York, and also a director in the following companies: New York City Railway Co., Metropolitan Securities Co., the Century Realty Co., and the Chelsea Realty Co. He is prominently identified with the charities of the Roman Catholic Church as well as with non-sectarian charities. He is chairman of the executive committee of the trustees of St. Patrick’s Cathedral; member of the board of managers of the Roman Catholic Orphan Asylum; member of the board of managers of St. Vincent’s Hospital; member of the board of trustees of St. John’s Guild, and also of the Provident Loan Society of New York. Mr. Crimmins is also a director of the City and Suburban Homes Co. of New York, which has for its object to provide model homes at reasonable cost for working people. He is a member of the following clubs: Catholic, Metropolitan, Lawyers, Democratic, Manhattan, and of the Wee Burn Golf Club, of which he was formerly president. He is likewise a member of the board of managers of the Sevilla Home for Children, a non-sectarian charity, and is also one of the managers of the Society for the Reformation of Juvenile Delinquents.
Crimmins, Capt. Martin L., U. S. A.; care of War Department, Washington, D. C.; a son of Hon. John D. Crimmins of New York City.
Cronin, Capt. William, Rutland, Vt.
Croston, J. F. (M. D.), Emerson Street, Haverhill, Mass.
Cummings, Matthew J., Overseer of the poor, 616 Eddy Street, Providence, R. I.
Cummins, Rev. John F., Roslindale (Boston), Mass.
Cunningham, James, 277 Congress Street, Portland, Me.
Curran, James, of the James Curran Manufacturing Co., 512–514 West 36th Street, New York City; a veteran of the Civil War.
Curry, Capt. P. S., contractor and builder, Lynn, Mass.; a veteran of the Civil War.
Curry, Edmond J., 69–71 East 89th Street, New York City.
Curtin, Jeremiah, Bristol, Vt.; author of Hero Tales of Ireland, Myths and Folk-Lore of Ireland, Myths and Folk-Tales of the Russians, Western Slavs and Magyars; translator of works of Henryk Sienkiewicz; Mr. Curtin was acting U. S. Consul-General in Russia, 1865–’66; actively connected with the Bureau of Ethnology, Smithsonian Institution, 1883–’91. He is one of the greatest of living philologists and linguists.
159Daly, Hon. Joseph F. (LL. D.), Wall Street, New York City; Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas, New York, 1890–’96; Justice of the New York Supreme Court, 1896–’98; member of the Board of Managers, Roman Catholic Orphan Asylum; member of the Advisory Board, St. Vincent’s Hospital; served in 1900 on the commission to revise the laws of Porto Rico.
Danaher, Hon. Franklin M., Albany, N. Y.; member of the State Board of Law Examiners; many years Judge of the City Court of Albany.
Danvers, Robert E., 349–351 West 58th Street (the St. Albans), New York City; dealer in iron and steel.
Dasey, Charles V., Board of Trade Building, Broad Street, Boston, Mass.; steamship and insurance agent; general Eastern agent, Anchor Line S. S. Co., and of the Italian Royal Mail S. S. Co.; general agent, Insular Navigation Co.; general agency for ocean travel.
Davis, Dr. F. L., Biddeford, Me.
Davis, Hon. Robert T. (M. D.), Fall River, Mass. He was born in County Down, Ireland. 1823; was a member of the Massachusetts State Constitutional Convention, 1853; a state senator, 1858–’61, and member of the National Republican Convention that nominated Abraham Lincoln for president in 1860. In 1873, Dr. Davis was elected mayor of Fall River. In 1882, he was elected to Congress, and was reëlected in 1884 and 1886. He has been prominently identified with the manufacturing interests of Fall River, has been president of the Wampanoag and Stafford mills, and has also been officially connected with the Merchants’, Robeson and other mills.
Day, Joseph P., real estate, 932 Eighth Avenue, New York City.
Deeves, Richard, of Richard Deeves & Son, builders, 305–309 Broadway, New York City.
Delahanty, Dr. W. J., Trumbull Square, Worcester, Mass.
Delehanty, Hon. F. B., Judges’ Chambers, Court House, City Hall Park, New York; a Judge of the City Court.
Dempsey, George C., Lowell, Mass.
Dempsey, William P., treasurer and manager, the Dempsey Bleachery and Dye Works, Pawtucket, R. I.
Devlin, James H., 35 Parsons Street, Brighton (Boston), Mass.
Devlin, James H., Jr., lawyer, Barristers Hall, Pemberton Square, Boston, Mass.
Dewire, Thomas A., 405 Washington Street, Somerville, Mass.
Dixon, Richard, insurance, 52–54 William Street, New York City.
Donahue, Dan A., 178 Essex Street, Salem, Mass.
Donahue, R. J., cashier of the National Bank of Ogdensburg, N. Y.
Donoghue, D. F. (M. D.), 240 Maple Street, Holyoke, Mass.
160Donovan, Daniel, 21 High Rock Street, Lynn, Mass.; an authority on heraldry, armorial bearings, etc., particularly as the same relate to Ireland.
Donovan, Henry F., editor and proprietor The Chicago Eagle, Teutonic Building, Chicago, Ill.; late colonel and inspector-general, Illinois National Guard.
Donovan, John W., of Larkin, Donovan & Co., real estate, mortgages, and insurance, 1228 Amsterdam Avenue, New York City.
Donovan, Col. William H., Lawrence, Mass.; commander of the Ninth Regiment M. V. M.; served with the regiment in Cuba during the recent war with Spain.
Donnelly, Thomas F., lawyer, 257 Broadway, New York City.
Doogue, William, superintendent of Public Grounds, Boston, Mass.
Dooley, Michael F., treasurer of the Union Trust Co., Providence, R. I.
Doran, Patrick L., Salt Lake City, Utah.
Dowd, James J., insurance. High Street, Holyoke, Mass.
Dowling, Hon. M. J., Olivia, Minn.
Dowling, Rev. Austin, rector of the Cathedral, Providence, R. I.
Downing, Bernard, secretary to the president of the Borough of Manhattan, New York City.
Downing, D. P., with National Biscuit Company, Cambridge, Mass.
Doyle, Alfred L., of John F. Doyle & Sons, real estate agents, brokers and appraisers, 45 William Street, New York City.
Doyle, James, 50 Front Street, New York City; present oldest member of the flour trade in New York; member of the New York Produce Exchange from the beginning; member of the board of managers of the Exchange, 1897–1901. He and his son, Nathaniel, are associated in trade as James Doyle & Company.
Doyle, John F., of John F. Doyle & Sons, 45 William Street, New York City. (Life member of the Society.)
Doyle, John F., Jr., of John F. Doyle & Sons, 45 William Street, New York City.
Doyle, Nathaniel, of James Doyle & Co., flour, etc., 50 Front Street, New York City; member of the board of managers, New York Produce Exchange; secretary of the exchange; member of the New York Club, 5th Avenue and 35th Street.
Drummond, M. J., of M. J. Drummond & Co., 182 Broadway, New York City.
Duffy, P. P., Parsons, Labette County, Kansas.
Duggan, John T. (M. D.), Worcester, Mass.
Dunn, Hon. Robert C., publisher of The Union, Princeton, Minn.; candidate in 1904 for governor of Minnesota.
Dunne, F. L., 328 Washington Street, Boston, Mass.
Dwyer, J. R., 732 Alpine St., Los Angeles, Cal.
Dyer, Dr. William H., Dover, N. H.
161Editor of “The Rosary Magazine,” Somerset, O. (Life member of the Society.)
Egan, James T., of the law firm, Gorman, Egan & Gorman, Banigan Building, Providence, R. I.
Egan, Maurice Francis (LL. D., J. U. D.), Professor of English Language and Literature, Catholic University of America, Washington, D. C.
Egan, Rev. M. H., rector, Church of the Sacred Heart, Lebanon, N. H.
Egan, Hon. Patrick, 271 Broadway, New York City; recently United States Minister to Chili.
Ellard, George W., 180 Lisbon Street, Lewiston, Me.
Emmet, Dr. J. Duncan, 103 Madison Avenue, New York City.
Emmet, Robert, The Priory, Warwick, England.
Emmet, Thomas Addis (M. D., LL. D.), 89 Madison Avenue, New York City (Life member of the Society); grand nephew of the Irish patriot, Robert Emmet.
Eustace, Hon. Alexander C., of the law firm A. C. & J. P. Eustace, 334 East Water Street, Elmira, N. Y.; during the past sixteen years identified, as attorney or counsel, with many of the most important litigations before the courts in southern and western New York; was for three years, prior to 1893, president of the New York State Civil Service Commission.
Fallon, Hon. Joseph D. (LL. D.), 789 Broadway, South Boston, Mass.; justice of the South Boston Municipal Court; vice-president, Union Institution for Savings.
Fallon, Hon. Joseph P., 1900 Lexington Avenue, New York City; justice of the Ninth District Municipal Court.
Farley, Charles J., Department of Docks, New York City.
Farley, Most Rev. John M., (D. D.), 452 Madison Ave., New York City.
Farrell, James P., superintendent of the Brooklyn Disciplinary Training School, 18th Avenue, between 56th and 58th Streets, Brooklyn, N. Y.
Farrell, John F., Brander-Walsh Co., 89 Worth Street, New York City.
Farrell, John T. (M. D.), 16 Messer Street, Providence, R. I.
Farrelly, Stephen, American News Co., New York City. (Life member of the Society.)
Fay, Martin, 55 Bainbridge Street, Roxbury (Boston), Mass.
Feeley, William J., treasurer of the W. J. Feeley Co., silversmiths and manufacturing jewelers, 185 Eddy Street, Providence, R. I.
Ferguson, Hugh, of Hugh Ferguson & Co., George Street, Charleston, S. C.
Finen, Rev. J. E., Tilton, N. H.
Finerty, Hon. John F., 69 Dearborn Street, Chicago, Ill.; editor of the Chicago Citizen; ex-member of Congress.
Finn, Rev. Thomas J., Box 242, Port Chester, N. Y.
162Fitzgerald, Rev. D. W., 9 Pleasant Street, Penacook, N. H.
Fitzgerald, Hon. James, New York City; a justice of the New York Supreme Court.
Fitzpatrick, Edward, on the staff of the Louisville (Ky.) Times; a resident of New Albany, Ind.; member of the committee to select books for the New Albany Public Library; was, from 1878 to 1885, Indiana correspondent of the Louisville Courier-Journal, reporting the Legislature two terms, 1883–’85, for that paper, and at the same time was assistant to the chief clerk in the House of Representatives; was appointed a clerk in the U. S. Q. M. Depot at Jeffersonville, Ind., in 1885, but resigned to re-enter the employ of the Courier-Journal, as political reporter in Louisville; was four years on the Louisville Post; returned to the Courier-Journal; was transferred to the Times (the afternoon edition of the Courier-Journal), and has been on that paper for many years past. He is a keen and forceful writer, and is one of the ablest men in American journalism.
Fitzpatrick, John B., real estate, etc., 23 Court Street, Boston, Mass.; has been deputy sheriff of Suffolk County, Mass.
Fitzpatrick, Thomas B., senior member of the firm Brown, Durrell & Co., importers and manufacturers, 104 Kingston Street, Boston, Mass.; Rand McNally Building, Chicago, Ill., and 11–19 West 19th Street, New York City; president of the Union Institution for Savings, Boston, and a director in the United States Trust Co. of that city.
Fitzpatrick, Rev. William H., 2221 Dorchester Avenue, Boston, Mass.
Flannagan, Andrew J. (D. D. S ), Main Street, Springfield, Mass.
Flannery, Capt. John, Savannah. Ga.; of John Flannery & Co., cotton factors and commission merchants; was a non-commissioned officer of the Irish Jasper Greens in garrison at Fort Pulaski, 1861; was later lieutenant and captain, C. S. A., serving under Gen. Joe Johnston and General Hood; became a partner, in 1865, in the cotton firm, L. J. Guilmartin & Co., having a line of steamers from Charleston, S. C., to Palatka, Fla.; bought out the business in 1877; founded the house of John Flannery & Co.; became director and president of the Southern Bank of the State of Georgia; is ex-president of the Southern Cotton Exchange; captain, 1872–’98, of the Jasper Greens.
Fogarty, James A., 264 Blatchley Avenue, New Haven, Conn., recently a police commissioner of New Haven.
Fogarty, Jeremiah W., Registry of Deeds, Boston, Mass.
Ford, Hon. Peter J., Ford Building, Wilmington, Del.
Fox, John J., 1908–1910 Bathgate Avenue, New York City.
Foy, Julius L., lawyer, Rialto Building, St. Louis, Mo.
Franklin, A. H., 56 West 33d Street, New York City.
Gaffney, Hon. T. St. John, lawyer; member of the French Legion of Honor; 41 Riverside Drive, New York City; U. S. Consul General, Dresden.
163Gallagher, Patrick, contractor and builder, 11 East 59th Street, New York City. (Life member of the Society.)
Gargan, Hon. Thomas J., of the law firm, Gargan, Keating & Brackett, Pemberton Building, Boston, Mass.; Life member of the Society, and president-general of the same in 1899 and 1900; member of the Boston Transit Commission; director of the United States Trust Co.; director, the Columbian National Life Insurance Co.
Garrigan, Rt. Rev. Philip J. (D. D.), bishop of the Roman Catholic diocese of Sioux City, Iowa.
Garrity, P. H., 221 Bank Street, Waterbury, Conn.
Garvan, Francis P., assistant district attorney, 23 Fifth Avenue, New York City.
Garvan, Hon. Patrick, 236 Farmington Avenue, Hartford, Conn.; paper and paper stock. (Life member of the Society.)
Garvey, Patrick J., lawyer, Holyoke, Mass.
Gavin, Michael, of M. Gavin & Co., wholesale grocers and cotton factors, 232–234 Front Street, Memphis, Tenn.
Gavin, Dr. P. F., 331 Broadway, South Boston, Mass.
Geary, William M., headquarters, Knights of Columbus, New Haven, Conn.
Geoghegan, Charles A., 537–539, West Broadway, New York City.
Geoghegan, Joseph, Salt Lake City, Utah (Life member of the Society); vice-president of the board of education, Salt Lake City; director of the Utah National Bank; director of the Utah Loan and Building Association; director of the Butler Liberal Manufacturing Co., all three concerns of Salt Lake City; also, director in many other corporations. He is general agent in Utah for Swift & Co. of Chicago; Borden’s Condensed Milk Co. of New York; the American Can Co. of New York, and the Pennsylvania Salt Mfg. Co. of Philadelphia. He is broker for the following: the Western Sugar Refining Co. of San Francisco, Cal.; the Utah Sugar Co. of Lehi, Utah; the Amalgamated Sugar Co. of Ogden, Utah; the Idaho Sugar Co. of Idaho Falls, Idaho, and the Fremont County Sugar Co. of Sugar City, Idaho.
Geoghegan, Joseph G., 20 East 73d Street, New York City. (Life member of the Society.)
Geoghegan, Walter F., 537–539 West Broadway, New York City.
Gibbons, John T., merchant, corner of Poydras and South Peters Streets, New Orleans, La.; brother of Cardinal Gibbons.
Gillespie, George J., of the law firm Gillespie & O’Connor, 56 Pine Street, New York City; trustee, Catholic Summer School (Cliff Haven); president of Champlain Club there; member of the board of managers of the Roman Catholic Orphan Asylum; vice-president of the Particular Council, Society of St. Vincent de Paul, New York City; recently tax commissioner of the city of New York. (Life member of the Society.)
164Gilman, John E., 43 Hawkins Street, Boston, Mass.; has been adjutant-general on the staff of the national commander-in-chief, Grand Army of the Republic. In August, 1862, Mr. Gilman enlisted in Co. E, Twelfth Massachusetts Infantry (Webster Regiment), and participated in the campaigns under Generals Pope, McClellan, Burnside, Hooker and Meade up to the battle of Gettysburg, Pa., where, on July 2, 1863, his right arm was shot off near the shoulder. Securing his discharge from the army on Sept. 28, 1863, he returned to Boston. In 1864, he entered the service of the state and served in various departments until 1883, when he was made settlement clerk of the directors of Public Institutions of Boston. He was appointed soldiers’ relief commissioner, April 2, 1901. He has been a comrade of Posts 14, 7 and 26, G. A. R., since 1868, being commander of the latter post in 1888. He was department inspector of the Massachusetts G. A. R. in 1895; junior vice-commander in 1896; senior vice-commander in 1897; delegate at large in 1898; and department commander in 1899.
Goff, Hon. John W., recorder, New York City.
Goodwin, John, of the John Goodwin Co., dressmakers’ supplies, 70–72 West 23d Street, New York City. (Life member of the Society.)
Gorman, Dennis J., assessors’ office, City Hall, Boston, Mass.
Gorman, John F., lawyer, Stephen Girard Building, Philadelphia, Pa.
Gorman, William, lawyer, Stephen Girard Building, Philadelphia, Pa.; member of the Pennsylvania Bar Association, the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, the American Academy of Social and Political Science, the Alumni Association of the University of Pennsylvania, and other organizations. He is officially connected with the Commonwealth Title Insurance and Trust Co. of Philadelphia. (Life member of the Society.)
Gray, Dr. Joseph F., 10 North Hammels Avenue, Rockaway Beach, L. I., N. Y.
Griffin, John F., insurance, Skowhegan, Me.
Griffin, Martin I. J., 2009 North 12th Street, Philadelphia, Pa.; editor and publisher American Catholic Historical Researches.
Griffin, Rev. P. J., Holyoke, Mass.
Griffin, Rt. Rev. Mgr. Thomas (D. D.), St. John’s presbytery, 44 Temple Street, Worcester, Mass.
Guiney, John, Biddeford, Me.
Hagan, James H., treasurer of the Park Brewing Co., 1100 Elmwood Avenue, Providence, R. I.
Haggerty, J. Henry, of the Haggerty Refining Co., oils, 50 South Street, New York City.
Haigney, John, 439 58th Street, Brooklyn, N. Y.
Halley, Charles V., 1014 East 175th Street, New York City.
Hannan, Hon. John, mayor of Ogdensburg, N. Y.; president of the Ogdensburg Coal and Towing Co.
165Hanrahan, John D. (M. D.), Rutland, Vt., a native of County Limerick, Ireland; was graduated in medicine from the University of the City of New York, 1867; in June, 1861, he was, on examination (not having graduated), appointed surgeon in the United States Navy, and served through the entire Civil War. The vessels on which he served did duty mostly on the rivers of Virginia and North Carolina, where he served with the army as well as the navy, thereby having the benefit and experience of both branches of the service, especially in the surgical line. In August, 1863, the vessel on which he was serving was captured at the mouth of the Rappahannock River and all on board made prisoners. They were taken overland to Richmond where they were confined in Libby Prison. At that time the Confederates were very short of surgeons and medical supplies, and be was asked if he would go over to Belle Island and attend the Union prisoners. After consulting his fellow-prisoners he consented, and for six weeks he attended the sick and wounded Union prisoners faithfully, under very great disadvantages, as the appliances were very limited. After that he was paroled. While a prisoner of war he was treated with the greatest courtesy and consideration by the medical staff and officers of the Confederacy. After the close of the war he was settled in New York city, but for nearly 40 years has been a resident of Rutland, Vt. He was town and city physician of Rutland for many years. He was appointed surgeon of the Third Vermont Regiment, 1871, by Governor Stewart; was the first president of the Rutland County Medical and Surgical Society; has been a director and consulting surgeon of the Rutland, Vt., Hospital; consulting surgeon to the Fanny Allen Hospital, Winooski, Vt.; a member of the Vermont Sanitary Association, and a member of the Vermont Society for the Prevention of Tuberculosis; president of Rutland Village two years and trustee eight years; county commissioner one year; president, United States pension examining board four years under President Cleveland, and president of same board four years under President Harrison. He was postmaster of Rutland during the second term of President Cleveland. He has since its organization been an active member of the G. A. R.; surgeon of Roberts Post, the largest in Vermont; has served three terms as medical director of the Department; served on the staffs of three commanders-in-chief—Veasy, Palmer and Weissert; a member of Commander-in-Chief Stewart’s staff. Dr. Hanrahan is the author of several medical papers, has performed many surgical operations, and has served through several epidemics of smallpox and diphtheria. He was a delegate to the Democratic National Conventions of 1884, 1888, and chairman of the Vermont delegation to the National Convention of 1892. Also a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in St. Louis, 1904, and to the Ancient Order of Hibernians Convention in St. Louis, July 19, 1904.
166Hanlon, Marcus, P. O. Box 1920, New York City.
Harbison, Hon. Alexander, Hartford, Conn, recently mayor of Hartford.
Harrington, Rev. J. C., rector of St. Joseph’s Church, Lynn, Mass.
Harrington, Rev. John M., Orono, Me.
Harrington, William F., Manchester, N. H.
Harris, Charles N., Tryon Row, New York City.
Harrison, A. J., 514 East 23d Street, New York City.
Harson, M. Joseph, Catholic Club, 120 Central Park South, New York City.
Hart, Frank M., 335 Carroll Street, Brooklyn, N. Y.
Hayes, John F. (M. D.), 15 South Elm Street, Waterbury, Conn.
Hayes, Nicholas J., fire commissioner, 157–159 East 67th Street, New York City.
Hayes, Col. Patrick E., Pawtucket, R. I.
Hayes, Timothy J., 688 Lafayette Avenue, Brooklyn, N. Y.
Healy, John F., general superintendent of the Davis Coal and Coke Co., Thomas, Tucker County, W. Va.
Healy, Col. John G., insurance, 117 Sherman Avenue, New Haven, Conn.; a captain in the Ninth Connecticut Infantry, April, 1862, to October, 1864. Upon the consolidation of the regiment, in the latter year, into the Ninth Battalion he, being the senior captain, was given command of the latter. On December 1, 1864, he was promoted lieutenant-colonel and as such commanded the battalion until the same was mustered out. Since the war he has been vice-president of the Nineteenth Army Corps Association. When Luzon B. Morris was governor of Connecticut, Colonel Healy served on his staff as assistant adjutant-general. Colonel Healy is a member of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion, of the Army and Navy Club of Connecticut, and of the Second Company of the Governor’s Foot Guard, New Haven.
Healy, Richard, Main Street, Worcester, Mass.
Hennessy, Dr. Daniel, Bangor, Me.
Hennessy, Michael E., on the staff of the Boston Daily Globe; a newspaper man of wide experience and exceptional ability. One of the most highly-valued men on the Globe, he is regularly assigned to “cover” events of national importance and annually travels thousands of miles in the service of his paper.
Henry, Charles T., 120 Liberty Street, New York City.
Hickey, James G., manager of the United States Hotel, Boston, Mass. (Life member of the Society.)
Hickey, Michael J., manufacturer, Haverhill, Mass.
Hickey, Rev. William A., Clinton, Mass.
Higgins, James J., 85 Court Street, Elizabeth, N. J.
Hoban, Rt. Rev. M. J. (D. D.), Scranton, Pa., bishop of the Roman Catholic diocese of Scranton.
167Hogan, Charles M., with Siegel Cooper Co., Sixth Avenue, 18th and 19th Streets, New York City.
Hogan, John W., lawyer, 4 Weybosset Street, Providence, R. I.; recently a candidate for Congress.
Holland, John P., 95 Nelson Place, Newark, N. J.; inventor of the submarine torpedo boat.
Horigan, Cornelius, 229 and 231 Main Street, Biddeford, Me.; is treasurer of the Andrews & Horigan Co.; has been a member of the state Legislature of Maine.
Howes, Osborne, secretary and treasurer of the Board of Fire Underwriters, 45 Kilby Street, Boston, Mass. He is a descendant of David O’Killa (O’Kelly), who settled on Cape Cod as early as 1657, and who is mentioned in the old Yarmouth, Mass., records as “the Irishman.” The records show that at the close of King Philip’s War, O’Killa was assessed his proportionate part toward defraying the expenses of that struggle.
Hughes, Rev. Christopher, Fall River, Mass.
Hurley, John E., 63 Washington Street, Providence, R. I.; vice-president and superintendent of the Remington Printing Co.; president, in 1904, of the Rhode Island Master Printers’ Association.
Jameson, W. R., 1786 Bathgate Avenue, borough of the Bronx, New York City.
Jenkinson, Richard C., 678 High Street, Newark, N. J.; of R. C. Jenkinson & Co., manufacturers of metal goods; candidate for mayor of Newark in 1901; was president of the Newark Board of Trade in 1898–’99 and 1900; has been a director in the Newark Gas Co.; was president of the New Jersey Commission to the Pan-American Exposition, and one of the vice-presidents of the Exposition, representing the state of New Jersey by appointment of Governor Voorhees.
Jennings, Michael J., 753 Third Avenue, New York City.
Johnson, James G., of James G. Johnson & Co., 649, 651, 653 and 655 Broadway. New York City.
Jordan, Michael J., lawyer, 42 Court Street, Boston, Mass.
Joyce, Bernard J., salesman, 7 Water Street, Boston, Mass.
Joyce, John Jay, 47 Macdougal Street, New York City.
Kane, Dr. John H., Lexington, Mass.
Keane, Most Rev. John J. (D. D.), Dubuque, Ia.; archbishop of the Roman Catholic archdiocese of Dubuque.
Kearney, James, lawyer, 220 Broadway, New York City.
Keating, Patrick M., of the law firm Gargan, Keating & Brackett, Pemberton Building, Boston, Mass.
Keenan, John J., Public Library, Copley Square, Boston, Mass.
Kehoe, John F., 26 Broadway, New York City; officially connected with many corporations. (Life member of the Society.)
Kelly, Eugene, Temple Court Building, New York City.
168Kelly, John Forrest (Ph. D.), Pittsfield, Mass.; born near Carrick-on-Suir, Ireland. He was educated in Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, N. J., received the degree of B. L. in 1878, and that of Ph. D. in 1881. His first occupation was as assistant to Thomas A. Edison, in Menlo Park laboratory, his work then principally relating to the chemistry of rare earths. Late in 1879 Mr. Kelly became electrical engineer of the New York branch of the Western Electric Company. This was the time when the telephone was being generally introduced, and when dynamos were being first applied to telegraphic purposes. In the construction and installment of instruments for telegraphy and telephones and of such measuring instruments as were then known, Mr. Kelly received a thorough training. In 1882 he became laboratory assistant to Edward Weston, then chief electrician of the United States Electric Lighting Company, and, with the exception of a year which he spent in connection with the Remingtons, Mr. Kelly continued his association with Mr. Weston until July, 1886. Some of the most important work, such as the research which ended in the discovery of high resistance alloys of very low or even negative temperature co-efficients, were substantially carried out by Mr. Kelly under general directions from Mr. Weston, whom Mr. Kelly succeeded as chief electrician of the United States Electric Lighting Company, which, in 1889, passed to the Westinghouse interests; but Mr. Kelly retained his position as chief electrician until January, 1892, when he resigned to join William Stanley in experimental work. The work done by Mr. Kelly, in this connection, gave a great impetus to the alternating current business. Mr. Kelly’s inventive work is partially represented by eighty patents. The art of building transformers and generators of alternating currents was revolutionized, and Mr. Kelly and his colleagues were the first to put polyphase motors into actual commercial service. That success naturally led to long-distance transmission work, and the first long-distance transmission plants in California (indeed the first in the world) were undertaken on Mr. Kelly’s recommendation and advice. He was the first to make an hysteretically stable steel, a matter of vastly more importance than the comparatively spectacular transmission work. Mr. Kelly at present occupies the position of president of the John F. Kelly Engineering Company, president of the Cokel Company and president of the Telelectric Company, as well as president of the Conchas River Power Company and director of the Southwestern Exploration Company. The Cokel Company is organized to exploit the invention of Mr. E. W. Cooke, by means of which foodstuffs may be perfectly dehydrated, losing on the average ninety per cent. in weight. Foods dehydrated by this process, although free from all chemical preservatives, are entirely stable, and yet preserve their pristine freshness through extremes of temperature, and when served are indistinguishable from fresh foods of the ordinary 169type. The Telelectric Company is organized for the manufacture of electric piano players, which are either entirely automatic or entirely controllable at will. Mr. Kelly was married to Miss Helen Fischer, in New York City, in 1892, and they have two children—Eoghan and Domnall. Mr. Kelly is a thorough and unswerving Irish Nationalist, and his splendid generosity to the cause is well known.
Kelly, Michael F. (M. D.), Fall River, Mass.
Kelly, T. P., 544 West 22d Street, New York City; of T. P. Kelly & Co., manufacturers of black leads, foundry facings, supplies, etc.
Kelly, William J., 9 Dove Street, Newburyport, Mass.
Kelly, William J., insurance, Kittery, Me., and Portsmouth, N. H.
Kenedy, P. J., 3 and 5 Barclay Street, New York City.
Kennedy, Charles F., Brewer, Me.
Kennedy, Daniel, 197 Berkeley Place, Brooklyn, N. Y.; of the Kennedy Valve Manufacturing Co., Coxsackie, N. Y.
Kennedy, Roderick J., 924 Sixth Avenue, New York City.
Kenney, James W., Park Brewery, Terrace Street, Roxbury (Boston), Mass.; vice-president and director, Federal Trust Co., Boston.
Kenney, Thomas, 143 Summer Street, Worcester, Mass.
Kenney, Thomas F. (M. D.), Vienna, Austria.
Kent, Daniel V., Kansas City, Mo.
Kerby, John E., architect, 452 Fifth Avenue, New York City.
Kiernan, Patrick, 265 West 43d Street, New York City.
Killoren, Hon. Andrew, Dover, N. H.; recently a senator of New Hampshire.
Kilmartin, Thomas J., (M. D.), Waterbury, Conn.
Kilroy, Patrick, lawyer, Main Street, Springfield, Mass.
Kilroy, Philip (M. D.), Springfield, Mass.
Kinney, Thomas I., Whitney Avenue, New Haven, Conn.; recently candidate for mayor of New Haven.
Kinsela, John F., 509 Gorham Street, Lowell, Mass.
Kivel, Hon. John, Dover, N. H.
Knights of St. Patrick, San Francisco, Cal. (Life membership.) Care of John Mulhern, 124 Market Street, San Francisco.
Lally, Frank, 161 Saratoga Street, East Boston, Mass.
Lamb, Matthew B., 516 Main Street, Worcester, Mass.
Lamson, Col. Daniel S., Weston, Mass.; Lieutenant-Colonel commanding Sixteenth Regiment (Mass.), 1861; A. A. G., Norfolk, 1862; served on staff of General Hooker; is a member of the Society of Colonial Wars, Sons of the American Revolution, and Military Order of the Loyal Legion; one of his ancestors landed at Ipswich, Mass., in 1632, and received a grant of 350 acres; another ancestor, Samuel, of Reading, Mass., participated in King Philip’s War and had a son in the expedition 170of 1711. Another member of the family, Samuel of Weston, commanded a company at Concord, Mass., April 19, 1775, and was major and colonel of the Third Middlesex Regiment for many years, dying in 1795.
Lappin, J. J., 7 Grant Street, Portland, Me.
Lavelle, John, Inquiry Division, Post Office, Cleveland, O.
Lawler, Thomas B., 70 Fifth Avenue, New York City; with Ginn & Company, publishers; member of the American Oriental Society and of the Archæological Society of America.
Lawless, Hon. Joseph T., lawyer, Norfolk, Va.; recently secretary of state, Virginia.
Leahy, Matthew W., 257 Franklin Street, New Haven, Conn.
Lee, Hon. Thomas Z., of the law firm Barney & Lee, Industrial Trust Building, Providence, R. I.
Lembeck, Gustav W., of Lembeck & Betz, Eagle Brewing Co., 173 Ninth Street, Jersey City, N. J.
Lenehan, John J., of the law firm Lenehan & Dowley, 165 Broadway, New York City. (Life member of the Society.)
Lenihan, Rev. B. C., Fort Dodge, Iowa.
Lenihan, Rt. Rev. M. C., bishop of the Roman Catholic diocese of Great Falls, Mont.
Lennox, George W., manufacturer, Haverhill, Mass.
Leonard, Peter F., 343 Harvard Street, Cambridge, Mass.
Linehan, John J., Linehan Corset Co., Worcester, Mass.
Linehan, Rev. T. P., Biddeford, Me.
Lonergan, Thomas S., journalist, 665 Broadway, New York City.
Loughlin, Peter J., Court House, Chambers Street, New York City.
Lovell, David B. (M. D.), 32 Pearl Street, Worcester, Mass.
Luddy, Timothy F., Waterbury, Conn.
Lyman, William, 51 East 122d Street, New York City.
Lynch, Bernard E., lawyer, 42 Church Street, New Haven, Conn.
Lynch, Eugene, 24 India Street, Boston, Mass.
Lynch, J. H., Dyker Heights, Brooklyn, N. Y.
Lynch, John E., school principal, Worcester, Mass.
Lynch, Thomas J., lawyer, Augusta, Me.; was city clerk of Augusta, 1884 and 1885; postmaster of Augusta from 1894 to 1898; and trustee of the Public Library; is now one of the water commissioners; a director of the Granite National Bank; trustee of the Kennebec Savings Bank; trustee of the Augusta Trust Company; president of the Augusta Loan & Building Association; director of the Augusta, Winthrop & Gardiner Railway; director of the Augusta Real Estate Association; and trustee of many estates.
Lynn, John, 48 Bond Street, New York City.
171Lynn, Hon. Wauhope, 257 Broadway, New York City; recently a judge of one of the New York courts.
MacDonnell, John T. F., paper manufacturer, Holyoke, Mass.
Magenis, James P., of the law firm McConnell, Magenis & McConnell, Tremont Building, Tremont Street, Boston, Mass.
Magrane, P. B., dry goods merchant, Lynn, Mass.
Magrath, Patrick F., 244 Front Street, Binghamton, N. Y.; with the George A. Kent Company, Binghamton, wholesale cigar manufacturers. He has been connected with this house for the past twenty-seven years, for twenty of which he has been its Eastern representative. (Life member of the Society.)
Maguire, P. J., 204 Madison Street, New York City.
Maher, Stephen J. (M. D.), 212 Orange Street, New Haven, Conn.
Mahony, William H., dry goods, 844 Eighth Avenue, New York City. (Life member of the Society.)
Malloy, Gen. A. G., El Paso, Texas; a veteran of the Mexican and Civil wars; during the latter conflict he was successively major, colonel and brigadier-general; has been collector of the port of Galveston.
Maloney, Cornelius, publisher of the Daily Democrat, Waterbury, Conn.
Maloney, Dr. Thomas E., North Main Street, Fall River, Mass.
Marshall, Rev. George F., rector of St. Paul’s Church, Milford, N. H.
Martin, James, managing editor, New York Tribune, New York City.
Martin, Hon. John B., penal institutions commissioner, 762 Fourth Street, South Boston, Mass.
McAdoo, Hon. William, police commissioner of the city of New York; ex-member of Congress; ex-assistant secretary of the navy; member of the law firm McAdoo & Crosby, 25 Broad Street, New York City.
McAleenan, Arthur, 131 West 69th Street, New York City.
McAleer, Dr. George, Worcester, Mass.
McAlevy, John F., salesman, 26–50 North Main Street, Pawtucket, R. I.
McAuliffe, John F., engraver, with the Livermore & Knight Co., Westminster Street, Providence, R. I.; born in New York City, Nov. 4, 1856; educated in that city; learned the art of bank note engraving. His father’s father was a parishioner and intimate friend, in Ireland, of Rev. Theobald Mathew.
McBride, D. H., to Barclay Street, New York City. Dealer in ecclesiastical works in Italian marble, stained glass windows, church furnishings, etc.
McCaffrey, Hugh, manufacturer, Fifth and Berks Streets, Philadelphia, Pa. (Life member of the Society.)
McCall, John A., president of the New York Life Insurance Co., New York City. (Life member of the Society.)
McCanna, Francis I., lawyer, Industrial Trust Building, Providence, R. I.
172McCarrick, James W., general southern agent, Clyde Steamship Co., Norfolk, Va. Mr. McCarrick is a veteran of the Civil War. He was transferred, 1861, from Twelfth Virginia regiment to North Carolina gunboat Winslow, and appointed master’s mate. Transferred to Confederate navy with that steamer, and ordered to Confederate steamer Seabird, at Norfolk navy yard. Attached to Seabird until latter was sunk. Taken prisoner, Elizabeth City, N. C. Paroled February, 1862. Exchanged for officer of similar rank captured from United States ship Congress. Promoted to master and ordered to navy yard, Selma, Ala. Served later on Confederate steamships Tuscaloosa, Baltic and Tennessee at Mobile, and in Mobile Bay, and on steamer Macon, at Savannah, and on Savannah River. Detailed to command water battery at Shell Bluff, below Augusta, after surrender of Savannah. Paroled from steamship Macon at Augusta, Ga., after Johnson’s surrender.
McCarthy, Charles, Jr., Portland, Me.
McCarthy, George W., of Dennett & McCarthy, dry goods, Portsmouth, N. H.
McCarthy, M. R. F., 82 Court Street, Binghamton, N. Y.; a commissioner of the department of Public Instruction.
McCarthy, Patrick J., lawyer, Industrial Trust Building, Providence, R. I.; has been a member of the General Assembly of Rhode Island.
McCaughan, Rev. John P., Holyoke, Mass.
McCaughey, Bernard, of Bernard McCaughey & Co., house furnishers, Pawtucket, R. I.
McClean, Rev. Peter H., Milford, Conn.
McConway, William, of the McConway & Torley Co., Pittsburg, Pa. (Life member of the Society.)
McCormick, Edward R., 15 West 38th Street, New York City.
McCoy, Rev. John J., rector of the Church of the Holy Name, Chicopee, Mass.
McCready, Rt. Rev. Mgr. Charles, 329 West 42d Street, New York City.
McCreery, Robert, room 427, Produce Exchange, New York City.
McCullough, John, 55 Maxfield Street, New Bedford, Mass.
McDonald, Mitchell C., care Navy Department, Washington, D. C.; paymaster, U. S. N.
McDonnell, Peter, 2 Battery Place, New York City; general railroad, steamship and banking business; agent, New York, Ontario & Western Railway.
McDonnell, Robert E., lawyer, 206 Broadway, New York City.
McDonough, Hon. John J., Fall River, Mass.; justice of the second district court of Bristol County, Mass.
McEldowney, W. A., 225 Sixth Street, Ashland, N. J.
McElroy, Rev. Charles J., rector of St. Mary’s church, Derby, Conn.
173McEvoy, John W., 137 Central Street, Lowell, Mass.
McGann, James E., real estate, 902 Chapel Street, New Haven, Conn.
McGauran, Michael S. (M. D.), Lawrence, Mass.
McGillicuddy, Hon. D. J., of the law firm McGillicuddy & Morey, Lewiston, Me.; ex-mayor of Lewiston.
McGolrick, Rev. E. J., 84 Herbert Street, Brooklyn, N. Y.
McGolrick, Rt. Rev. James (D. D.), bishop of the Roman Catholic diocese of Duluth, Minn. (Life member of the Society.)
McGovern, James, 6 Wall Street, New York City. (Life member of the Society.)
McGovern, Joseph P., of J. P. McGovern & Bro., fur brokers, 193 Greene Street, New York City.
McGowan, Rear Admiral John, U. S. N. (retired), 1739 N Street, N. W., Washington, D. C. (Life member of the Society.)
McGowan, P. F., manufacturer, 224 East 12th Street, New York City; member of the board of education. (Life member of the Society.)
McGuire, Edward J., lawyer, 52 Wall Street, New York City.
McGurrin, F. E., of F. E. McGurrin & Co., investment bankers, Security Trust Building, Salt Lake City, Utah; president of the Salt Lake Security & Trust Co.
McIntyre, John F., of the law firm Cantor, Adams & McIntyre, 25 Broad Street, New York City.
McKelleget, George F., of the law firm R. J. & G. F. McKelleget, Pemberton Building, Boston, Mass.
McKelleget, Richard J., of the law firm R. J. & G. F. McKelleget, Pemberton Building, Boston, Mass.
McLaughlin, Henry V. (M. D.), 40 Kent Street, Brookline, Mass.
McLaughlin, John, builder, 348 East 81st Street, New York City.
McLaughlin, Marcus J., 250 West 25th Street, New York City.
McLaughlin, Thomas, Hallowell, Me.
McLaughlin, Thomas F., 19 East 87th Street, New York City.
McMahon, James, 51 Chambers Street, New York City.
McMahon, Rev. John W. (D. D.), rector of St. Mary’s church, Charlestown (Boston), Mass.
McManus, Col. John, 87 Dorrance Street, Providence, R. I.; was appointed colonel of the Rhode Island Guards regiment by Governor Van Zandt, in 1887; was one of the commissioners to revise the militia laws of the state; aide-de-camp, with the rank of colonel, on the staff of Governor Davis of Rhode Island; has been prominently identified with all movements for the betterment of Ireland—his native land; is of the firm John McManus & Co., prominent clothing merchants of Providence.
McManus, Michael, of McManus & Co., Fall River, Mass.
McManus, Rev. Michael T., rector of St. Mary’s Church of the Assumption, Brookline, Mass.
174McNamee, Hon. John H. H., 51 Frost Street, Cambridge, Mass.; recently mayor of Cambridge.
McOwen, Anthony, 515 Wales Avenue, Borough of the Bronx, New York City.
McPartland, John E., Park Street, New Haven, Conn.
McQuade, E. A., 75–77 Market Street, Lowell, Mass.
McQuaid, Rev. William P., rector of St. James Church, Harrison Avenue, Boston, Mass.
McSweeney, Edward F., Evening Traveler, Summer Street, Boston, Mass.
McWalters, John P., 141 Broadway, New York City.
Meade, Richard W., 817 Eighth Avenue, New York City; son of the first president-general of the society.
Mellen, Hon. W. M. E. (M. D.), Chicopee, Mass.; ex-mayor of Chicopee.
Milholland, John E., Witherspoon Building, Philadelphia, Pa.; president of the Batcheller Pneumatic Tube Co., of Philadelphia; president of the Pneumatic Dispatch Manufacturing Co., of Pennsylvania; director in the Pearsall Pneumatic Tube and Power Co., of New York, and a director in the Pneumatic Transit Co., of New Jersey. Under him the successful pneumatic tube of the large diameter have been constructed, and it is largely due to his energy and effort that the U. S. post-office department now considers a part of its general delivery system the pneumatic tube service. He is a member of the Transportation Club of New York, the New York Press Club, the Republican Club, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the American Museum of Natural History, and a number of other organizations.
Molony, Henry A., of Molony & Carter, 16 New Street, Charleston, S. C.
Monaghan, Hon. James Charles, chief of the Bureau of Statistics of the U. S. Department of Commerce and Labor, Washington, D. C.; formerly U. S. consul at Mannheim and at Chemnitz; recently professor of Commerce, University of Wisconsin.
Monaghan, Rt. Rev. John J. (D. D.), bishop of the Roman Catholic diocese of Wilmington, Del.
Montfort, Richard, Louisville, Ky.; chief engineer of the Louisville & Nashville R. R.
Montgomery, Gen. Phelps, 39 Church Street, New Haven, Conn.
Moore, O’Brien, president and general manager of The Citizen Printing and Publishing Co., Tucson, Ariz. On the breaking out of the war with Spain, he entered the service as lieutenant-colonel of the Second West Virginia Infantry. After a year’s service, and peace being declared with Spain, he became lieutenant-colonel of U. S. Volunteers for the operations in the Philippines, where he served for eighteen months, until his regiment was mustered out. He then settled in Tucson, and is now head of a valuable newspaper plant, which issues a daily and a weekly. (Life member of the Society.)
175Moran, Col. James, Providence, R. I.; a veteran of the Civil War. He was appointed second lieutenant in the Third Regiment, Rhode Island Volunteers, by Special Orders 53, A. G. O., R. I., Aug. 27, 1861; was commissioned second lieutenant, Fifth Rhode Island Heavy Artillery, Nov. 5, 1861; mustered in, Dec. 16, 1861; in command of Company A, from Aug. 8, 1862, until Sept. 20, 1862; assumed command of Company D, Sept. 26, 1862; was commissioned captain and mustered in as such Feb. 14, 1863; on General Court Martial, July, 1863; in command of Fort Amory, at Newberne, N. C., from Sept. 1, 1863, until Oct. 15, 1863; assumed command of Post, at Hatteras Inlet, N. C., April 21, 1864; in command of Forts Foster and Parke, at Roanoke Island, from May 2, 1864, until January, 1865; mustered out Jan. 17, 1865. In May, 1873, he was commissioned colonel of the Rhode Island Guards Regiment, and in June, 1887, became colonel of the Second Regiment, Brigade of Rhode Island Militia.
Moran, Dr. James, 345 West 58th Street, New York City.
Morgan, John, 44 West 46th Street, New York City.
Morkan, Michael J., P. O. Box 543, Hartford, Conn.
Moriarty, John, 135 Broadway, Waterbury, Conn.
Morrissy, Thomas, 48–50 West 14th Street, New York City.
Moseley, Edward A., Washington, D. C., president-general of the Society in 1897 and 1898. He succeeded to the position, in the former year, on the death of Admiral Meade, who was the first president-general of the organization. Mr. Moseley is secretary of the U. S. Interstate Commerce Commission. He is ninth in descent from Lieut. Thaddeus Clark, who came from Ireland, and died in Portland, Me., May 16, 1690. Clark was lieutenant of a company of men engaged in the defence of Falmouth, now Portland, during the Indian War. He fell into ambuscade with his company while making a reconnoitre, and was killed with twelve of his men. Mr. Moseley is also a descendant of Deputy-Governor Cleeves (or Cleaves), a founder of Portland, formerly Falmouth, and is sixth in descent from Lieut. John Brown of Belfast, Me., who came with his father from Londonderry, Ire., and was one of the settlers of Londonderry, N. H.; Brown was chairman of the First Board of Selectmen of Belfast, Me., chosen Nov. 11, 1773, ’74 and ’75; he removed from Londonderry, N. H. While residing there he had been a commissioned officer in the Provincial Army, and had served in the French War. Mr. Moseley is also of patriotic Revolutionary stock, and is a member of the Society of Cincinnati.
Moynahan, Bartholomew, lawyer, 120 Broadway, New York City; official stenographer to the New York Supreme Court.
Mullen, John F., 26 Trask Street, Providence, R. I.; foreman, Wildprett & Saacke, gold ring manufacturers; musical director, St. Joseph’s Church, Providence, 1886–1888; solo baritone, St. Michael’s Church, 176since 1893; musical director, Rhode Island Irish Language Society, 1896–1897; assistant director, Gesang Verein Einklang, since 1897.
Murphy, D. P., Jr., 31 Barclay Street, New York City.
Murphy, Edward J., of the Edward J. Murphy Co., real estate brokers, Springfield, Mass.
Murphy, Frank J., 109 Mason Street, Salem, Mass.
Murphy, Fred C., of the Edward J. Murphy Co., Springfield, Mass.
Murphy, James, 42 Westminster Street, Providence, R. I.
Murphy, James R., lawyer, 27 School Street, Boston, Mass.
Murphy, Hon. John R., lawyer, Boston, Mass.
Murray, John F., captain of police, Cambridge, Mass.; residence, 9 Avon Street.
Murray, Hon. Lawrence O., assistant secretary, U. S. Department of Commerce and Labor, Washington, D. C. He is a lawyer by profession. He first went to Washington as secretary to William Edmund Curtis, assistant secretary of the treasury. Subsequently, he held other positions in the treasury, including that of chief of division, and, from Sept. 1, 1898, to June 27, 1899, that of deputy comptroller of the currency. He left the government employment to become the trust officer of the American Trust Company, continuing in that place for three years. He then went to Chicago as secretary of the Central Trust Company of Illinois and served there for two years before becoming assistant secretary of commerce and labor.
Murray, Michael J., lawyer, 27 School Street, Boston, Mass.
Murray, Patrick, insurance, 318 West 52d Street, New York City.
Murray, Thomas Hamilton, 36 Newbury Street, Boston, Mass.; secretary-general of the Society; a newspaper man of twenty years’ experience, during which he has been editorially connected with journals in Boston and Lawrence, Mass., Providence, R. I., and Bridgeport and Meriden, Conn.; has devoted much attention to historical research, particularly in relation to the Irish element in American history, and has delivered addresses on the subject before the New England Historic, Genealogical Society; the Rhode Island Historical Society; the Phi Kappa Sigma of Brown University; the Boston Charitable Irish Society (founded 1737), and other organizations; is the author of a number of papers, pamphlets and books.
Neagle, Rev. Richard, Malden, Mass.
O’Beirne, Gen. James R., 290 Broadway, New York City. In military life he has held every commissioned rank up to brevet brigadier-general of volunteers; has also been provost marshal, District of Columbia; deputy U. S. marshal, District of Columbia; register of wills, District of Columbia; editor Sunday Gazette, Washington, D. C.; special agent U. S. Indian affairs; special agent U. S. treasury department; assistant U. S. commissioner of immigration at New York City; commissioner of charities, 177New York City; commander U. S. Medal of Honor Legion. In business life has been president of Yonkers Electric Light Co.; secretary of Flemington Coal and Coke Co. of West Virginia, and treasurer of Manhattan Distilling Co. In social life, president of the United Irish societies of New York City and vicinity, and member of various clubs and other organizations.
O’Brien, Hon. C. D., lawyer, Globe Building, St. Paul, Minn.; prosecuting attorney of Ramsey County, Minn., from 1874 to 1878; assistant U. S. district attorney from 1870 to 1873; mayor of St. Paul from 1883 to 1885.
O’Brien, Dennis F., of the law firm Sheahan & O’Brien, Banigan Building, Providence, R. I.
O’Brien, Rev. James J., 185 Summer Street, Somerville, Mass.; a son of the late Mayor Hugh O’Brien of Boston, Mass.
O’Brien, John D., Bank of Minnesota Building, St. Paul, Minn.; of the law firm Stevens, O’Brien, Cole & Albrecht.
O’Brien, Hon. Morgan J. (LL. D.), 729 Park Avenue, New York City; a justice of the New York Supreme Court; trustee of the New York Public Library.
O’Brien, Patrick, of Driscoll & O’Brien, contractors, 399 South Broadway, Lawrence, Mass.
O’Byrne, M. A., 370 West 118th Street, New York City.
O’Callaghan, Rev. Denis (D. D.), rector of St. Augustine’s Church, South Boston, Mass.
O’Connell, Rt. Rev. Mgr. Denis Joseph (S. T. D.), rector of the Catholic University, Washington, D. C.
O’Connell, John, 302 West End Avenue, New York City.
O’Connell, John F., 306 Broadway, Providence, R. I.
O’Connell, Joseph F., lawyer, 53 State Street, Boston, Mass.
O’Connell, P. A., vice-president of the Wm. Filene’s Sons Co., dry goods, 453–463 Washington Street, Boston, Mass.
O’Connor, Edward, 302 Broadway, New York City.
O’Connor, Hon. J. J., 414–416 Carroll Street. Elmira, N. Y. (Life member of the Society.)
O’Connor, J. L., Ogdensburg, N. Y.
O’Connor, M. P., Binghamton, N. Y. (Life member of the Society.)
O’Doherty, Rev. James, Haverhill, Mass. (Life member of the Society.)
O’Doherty, Hon. Matt., Louisville, Ky.; a judge of the Circuit-Court.
O’Donovan, Jeremiah (Rossa), Cork County Council, Cork, Ireland; late of New York City.
O’Donnell, Rev. James H., Norwalk, Conn.
O’Donnell, Hon. John B., lawyer, Northampton, Mass.; ex-mayor of Northampton.
178O’Dwyer, Hon. E. F., 37 West 76th Street, New York City; chief justice of the City Court of New York.
O’Farrell, P. A., Waldorf-Astoria, New York City. (Life member of the Society.)
O’Flaherty, James, advertising, 22 North William Street, New York City.
O’Flynn, Rev. D. P., 138 Waverly Place, New York City.
O’Gorman, Hon. J. A., 318 West 108th Street, New York City; a justice of the New York Supreme Court.
O’Gorman, Thomas A., the O’Gorman Co., dry goods, Providence, R. I.
O’Hagan, Thomas (Ph. D.), 151 Mutual Street, Toronto, Canada.
O’Herin, William, Parsons, Labette County, Kan.; superintendent of machinery and equipment, Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railway. (Life member of the Society.)
O’Keefe, Edmund, superintendent of buildings, New Bedford, Mass.
O’Keefe, John A., 25 Exchange Street, Lynn, Mass.; a native of Rockport, Mass.; was graduated from Harvard College, class of 1880; member of the Phi Beta Kappa; taught school in Housatonic, Mass.; was elected submaster of the Lynn, Mass., High School in 1881 and headmaster of the same in 1885; became a member of the teaching staff of the English High School, Boston, Mass.; studied law; was admitted to the bar of Essex County, Mass., and has since practiced law in Lynn. In 1897 he was the Democratic candidate for attorney-general of Massachusetts. Member of the Lynn Board of Associated Charities; member of the New England Association of Colleges and Preparatory Schools; of the Essex Institute, and of the Executive Board of the Civic League of Lynn. Among Mr. O’Keefe’s classmates at Harvard were: Hon. Theodore Roosevelt, president of the United States; Hon. William S. Andrews, justice of the New York Supreme Court; Robert Bacon, partner of J. P. Morgan; Harold N. Fowler, professor of Latin; Hon. Josiah Quincy, mayor of Boston, Mass.; Albert Bushnell Hart, historian and professor, and many other people of note.
O’Leary, Jeremiah, 275 Fifty-eighth Street, Brooklyn, N. Y.
O’Leary, P. J., 161 West 13th Street, New York City.
O’Loughlin, Patrick, lawyer, 23 Court Street, Boston, Mass.
O’Malley, Thomas F., lawyer, 21 Dane Street, Somerville, Mass.
O’Meara, Maurice, of the Maurice O’Meara Co., paper manufacturers, 448 Pearl Street, New York City.
O’Neil, Frank S., lawyer, O’Neil Building, Binghamton, N. Y.
O’Neil, Hon. Joseph H., president of the Federal Trust Co., Boston, Mass.; formerly a member of Congress; was later U. S. Treasurer at Boston.
O’Neil, Rev. John P., Peterborough, N. H.
O’Neill, Rev. Daniel H., 935 Main Street, Worcester, Mass.
O’Neill, Rev. D. P., Westchester, N. Y.
O’Neill, Eugene M., Pittsburg, Pa. (Life member of the Society.)
179O’Neill, Francis Q., Charleston, S. C., of the firm Bernard O’Neill & Sons (house founded in 1845); president of the Hibernia Trust and Savings Bank, Charleston; president of the Standard Truck Package Co.; president of the Riverside Paper Box Factory; director, First National Bank; director, Equitable Fire Insurance Co.; an alderman of Charleston, and mayor pro tem. of the city; president of the Charleston Country Club; member of the Board of Trustees of the College of Charleston.
O’Neill, James L., 220 Franklin Street, Elizabeth, N. J.; connected with the Elizabeth post office for the past sixteen years; has been president of the Young Men’s Father Mathew T. A. Society, and treasurer of St. Patrick’s Alliance, Elizabeth. He was one of the prime movers in the projection and completion of a monument to the late Mayor Mack of Elizabeth.
O’Rourke, Hon. Jeremiah, of J. O’Rourke & Sons, architects, 756 Broad Street, Newark, N. J.; U. S. Supervising Architect under President Cleveland. (Life member of the Society.)
O’Rourke, John F., consulting and contracting engineer, 26 Nassau Street, New York City.
O’Sullivan, Humphrey, treasurer of the O’Sullivan Rubber Co., Lowell, Mass.
O’Sullivan, James, president of the O’Sullivan Rubber Co., Lowell, Mass.
O’Sullivan, John, with the H. B. Claflin Co., Church Street, New York City.
O’Sullivan, Sylvester J., 66 Liberty Street, New York City, manager of the New York office of the United States Fidelity and Guaranty Co., of Baltimore. Md.
Owens, Joseph E., of the law firm Ketcham & Owens, 189 Montague Street, Brooklyn, N. Y.
Patterson, Rev. George J., rector of St. Vincent’s Church, South Boston, Mass.
Phelan, Hon. James D., Phelan Building, San Francisco, Cal.; recently mayor of San Francisco.
Phelan, James J., 16 Exchange Place, New York City; president of the Traders’ and Travelers’ Accident Co.; treasurer of the King’s County Refrigerating Co., Astoria Cordage Co., and the Pontiac Building Co.; director in the Stuyvesant Insurance Co. When Ferdinand de Lesseps contracted to build the Panama Canal, Mr. Phelan became treasurer and manager of the American Contracting and Dredging Co., in which he was associated with the late Eugene Kelly, H. B. Slaven and others. This company contracted for and built fifteen miles of the canal. In 1891 Mr. Phelan was appointed treasurer of the Department of Docks of the city of New York, which office he held for five years.
180Phelan, John J., lawyer, 7 Wall Street, New York City; graduate of Manhattan College and of the Columbia Law School; member of the Xavier Alumni Sodality, the N. Y. Catholic Club, and the Manhattan Alumni Society.
Phelan, Rev. J., Marcus, Ia.
Philbin, Eugene A., of the law firm Philbin, Beekman & Menken, 111 Broadway, New York City.
Piggott, Michael, 1634 Vermont Street, Quincy, Ill.; a veteran of the Civil War. He was made second lieutenant of Company F, Western Sharpshooters, in 1861, while at Camp Benton, St. Louis, Mo.; was promoted first lieutenant, and while at Fort Donaldson, in the spring of 1862, was made captain; lost a leg at Resaca, Ga. in May, 1864; was subsequently connected with the U. S. Revenue Service; messenger in the National House of Representatives, Washington, D. C.; was made postmaster of Quincy, Ill., during President Grant’s first term, and held the position for over sixteen years; was appointed Special Indian Agent by President Harrison, and in that, as in every position held, displayed eminent ability.
Plunkett, Thomas, 257 Sixth Street, East Liverpool, O.
Power, Rev. James W., 47 East 129th Street, New York City.
Powers, Patrick H., president of the Emerson Piano Co., 120 Boylston Street, Boston, Mass.
Prendergast, W. A., 20 Nassau Street, New York City.
Quinlan, Francis J. (M. D.), 33 West 38th Street, New York City; was for a number of years surgeon in the U. S. Indian Service; recently president of the New York Celtic Medical Society.
Quinlan, Col. James, 120 Liberty Street, New York City; a veteran of the Civil War; served in the Eighty-eighth New York Regiment (of Meagher’s Irish Brigade); member of the U. S. Medal of Honor Legion.
Quinn, John, lawyer, 120 Broadway, New York City.
Quinn, W. Johnson, manager of the Hotel Empire, New York City.
Regan, John H., lawyer, 422 35th Street, Brooklyn, N. Y.
Regan, W. P., architect, Lawrence, Mass.
Reilly, Robert J., Cedar Street. Bangor, Me.
Richardson, Stephen J., 1785 Madison Avenue, New York City; circulation manager New York World.
Rooney, John Jerome, of Rooney & Spence, customs and insurance brokers, forwarding agents, 66, 68 and 70 Beaver Street, New York City.
Roosevelt, Hon. Theodore, president of the United States, White House Washington, D. C.
Rorke, James, 40 Barclay Street, New York City.
Ryan, Charles V., Springfield, Mass.
Ryan, Christopher S., Lexington, Mass.
181Ryan, James T., 68 William Street, New York City.
Ryan, John J., 171 East 94th Street, New York City.
Ryan, Michael, 377 Broadway. New York City.
Ryan, Michael J., Waterbury, Conn.
Ryan, Nicholas W., 1444 Boston Road, Borough of the Bronx, New York City.
Ryan, Most Rev. Patrick J. (D. D.), Archbishop of Philadelphia, Pa.; the Cathedral, Philadelphia.
Ryan, Richard, Rutland, Vt.
Ryan, Timothy M. (M. D.), Torrington, Conn.
Ryan, Hon. William, of Wm. Ryan & Co., grocers, Port Chester, N. Y.
Sanders, Col. C. C., Gainesville, Ga.; president of the State Banking Co. of Gainesville; alternate commissioner to World’s Fair, Chicago, Ill., 1893; vice-president for Georgia, American Bankers’ Association. Colonel Sanders is of Irish and English ancestry. On the maternal side he is descended from Thomas and Theodosia M. Smyth, who emigrated from Ireland in 1793, landing in Charleston, S. C. They settled in Jones County, Ga. Thomas died Nov. 28, 1799. On the paternal side Colonel Sanders is a descendant of Rev. Moses Sanders, who emigrated from England, with two brothers, John and David, and arrived in Petersburg, Va., 1765. They embraced the Patriotic cause in the Revolution and were active in operations against the British. Colonel Sanders, the subject of this sketch, graduated from the Georgia Military Institute, in June, 1861; entered the Confederate service; was made lieutenant-colonel of the Twenty-fourth Regiment of Infantry, Georgia Volunteers, August, 1861; served under General Lee in the Peninsular campaign, in the seven days’ battles around Richmond, Va., and was among the bravest of the brave; commanded his regiment at Malvern Hill and at Marye’s Heights, Fredericksburg, where the Twenty-fourth was a part of the Confederate forces that received the valorous charges of Meagher’s Irish Brigade. He also commanded the regiment at the battles of Chancellorsville and Antietam, at which latter conflict he was placed in command of Wofford’s Brigade. While in this position he met a bayonet charge from the Federals by a counter bayonet charge, and in the desperate fighting that ensued, fifty-eight per cent. of Sanders’ heroic force was swept away. Colonel Sanders also led the Twenty-fourth at Cedar Creek, Chickamauga, Knoxville, the Wilderness, Spottsylvania Court House, and Sailor’s Creek. On April 6, 1865, Ewell’s Corps, to which Colonel Sanders’ regiment was then attached, was captured, and Colonel Sanders was sent as a prisoner of war to Washington, D. C. Writing of Meagher’s Irish Brigade, Colonel Sanders says: “I was in command of the Twenty-fourth Georgia Regiment, with other troops, at the foot of Marye’s Heights, 182receiving the five heroic and gallant charges of the Irish Brigade, whose prodigies of valor have filled the country with admiration. I saw the devoted Irish charge up to our breastworks, to be mowed down by a line of Confederate fire that no soldiers could withstand. I saw the Irish battalions cut down like grain before the reaper, yet the survivors would magnificently close up their ranks only to have huge gaps again cut through them. When forced back they rallied and came bravely on again, only to be riddled with bullets and torn by artillery. Their fifth charge was made with greatly decimated ranks that slowly recoiled like the waves of a tempestuous sea. When twilight descended upon the scene, a spectacle was presented unequaled in warfare. At least three fourths of my command was composed of men of Irish descent and knew that the gallant dead in our front were our kindred of the land beyond the sea. When, one by one, the stars came out that night, many tears were shed by Southern Confederate eyes for the heroic Federal Irish dead.” During the war Colonel Sanders was offered the rank of brigadier-general but declined the same.
Sasseen, Robert A., 50 Pine Street, New York City; insurance investments. (Life member of the Society.)
Scott, Joseph, lawyer, Bradbury Building, Los Angeles, Cal.
Shahan, Very Rev. Thomas J. (S. T. D., J. U. L.), professor of church history, Catholic University, Washington, D. C.; S. T. D., Propaganda, Rome, 1882; J. U. L., Roman Seminary, 1889.
Shanahan, Very Rev. Edmund T. (Ph. D., S. T. D., J. C. L.), professor of dogmatic theology, Catholic University, Washington, D. C.; A. B., Boston College, 1888; S. T. D., Propaganda, Rome, 1893; J. C. L., Roman Seminary, Rome, 1895; Ph. D., Roman Academy, 1895. Instructor in philosophy and dogmatic theology, American College, Rome, 1894–’95; lecturer in philosophy, University of Pennsylvania, 1898–’99; associate professor of philosophy, The Catholic University of America, 1895–1901.
Shanley, John F., 17 Washington Street, Newark, N. J.
Shanley, Thomas J., 344 West 87th Street, New York City.
Shea, Daniel W. (Ph. D.), professor of physics, Catholic University, Washington, D. C.; A. B., Harvard University, 1886; A. M., Harvard University, 1888; Ph. D., Berlin, 1892. Assistant in Physics, Harvard University, 1889 and 1892; assistant professor of physics in the University of Illinois, 1892–’93; professor of physics in the University of Illinois, 1893–’95.
Shea, John B., 19 Maiden Lane, New York City.
Sheedy, Bryan DeF. (M. D.), 10 West 46th Street, New York City.
Sheran, Hugh F., 46 Woodbine Street, Roxbury (Boston), Mass.
Sheridan, Rev. John A., 97 South Street, Jamaica Plain (Boston), Mass.
183Sherman, P. Tecumseh, of the law firm Taft & Sherman, 15 William Street, New York City; member of the Union League Club and of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion; son of the late Gen. William T. Sherman.
Shuman, A., merchant clothier, 440 Washington Street, Boston, Mass.
Slattery, John J., president Todd-Donigan Iron Co., Louisville, Ky.
Sligo Social Club, Roxbury (Boston), Mass. (M. J. Mulroy, secretary, 24 Faxon Street, Roxbury.)
Sloane, Charles W., lawyer, 54 William Street, New York City.
Smith, Hon. Andrew C. (M. D.), Dekum Building, Portland, Oregon; president of the State Board of Health; president of the Hibernia Savings Bank; member of the state senate from 1900 to 1904; has served on the staff of St. Vincent’s Hospital for fourteen years; has been president of the State and City Medical societies; represented Oregon for two years in the House of Delegates of the American Medical Association.
Smith, James, 26 Broadway, New York City.
Smith, Rev. James J., 88 Central Street, Norwich, Conn.
Smith, Joseph, secretary of the Police Commission, Lowell, Mass.
Smith, Dr. Thomas B., Wyman’s Exchange, Lowell, Mass.
Smith, Thomas F., clerk of the city court, 32 Chambers Street, New York City.
Smyth, Rev. Hugh P., rector of St. Joseph’s Church, Roxbury (Boston), Mass.
Smyth, Philip A., 11 Pine Street, New York City.
Smyth, Rev. Thomas, Springfield, Mass.
Smyth, Rev. Thomas M., East Liverpool, O.
Somers, P. E., manufacturer, 17 Hermon Street, Worcester, Mass. (Life member of the Society.)
Spillane, J. B., managing editor Music Trade Review, Metropolitan Life Building, 1 Madison Avenue, New York City.
Stang, Rt. Rev. William (D. D.), Fall River, Mass., bishop of the Roman Catholic diocese of Fall River.
Steele, Hon. John H., Phenix Building, Minneapolis, Minn.
Storen, William J., 232 Calhoun Street, Charleston, S. C.
Sullivan, James E. (M. D.), Providence, R. I.; was graduated from Bellevue Hospital Medical College, New York, 1879; also studied medicine in Dublin, London and Paris; was city physician of Fall River, Mass., for seven years; married, in 1885, Alice, daughter of the late Joseph Banigan of Providence; retired from practice in 1891; is a member of the Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Providence Medical societies; vice-president of the University Club, Providence; a director of the Rhode Island Hospital Trust Co.; president and treasurer of the Sullivan Investment Co., Providence.
184Sullivan, James Mark, lawyer, Exchange Building, New Haven, Conn.
Sullivan, John B., contractor, New Bedford, Mass.
Sullivan, John J., 61–63 Quincy Market, Boston, Mass.; of Doe, Sullivan & Co.
Sullivan, John J., lawyer, 203 Broadway, New York City.
Sullivan, Dr. M. B., Dover, N. H.; formerly a state senator.
Sullivan, M. F. (M. D.), Oak Street, Lawrence, Mass.
Sullivan, Michael X. (Ph. D.), instructor, Brown University, Providence, R. I.
Sullivan, Patrick F., of Sullivan Bros., 68 Pemberton Square, Boston, Mass.
Sullivan, Hon. Richard, lawyer, Tremont Street, Boston, Mass.; an ex-senator of Massachusetts.
Sullivan, Roger G., cigar manufacturer, 803 Elm Street, Manchester, N. H.
Sullivan, Dr. T. P., 318 South Main Street, Fall River, Mass.
Sullivan, Timothy P., Concord, N. H.; furnished granite from his New Hampshire quarries for the new National Library Building, Washington, D. C.
Sullivan, William B., lawyer, Tremont Building, Boston, Mass.
Supple, Rev. James N., rector of St. Francis de Sales Church, Charlestown (Boston), Mass.
Sweeney, Rev. Timothy P., St. Patrick’s Church, Fall River, Mass.
Sweeny, William Montgomery, 120 Franklin Street, Astoria, L. I., N. Y.
Swords, Joseph F., superintendent U. S. Reservation, Sulphur, Indian Territory. He is a descendant of Cornet George Swords, one of the A. D. 1649 officers in the service of Kings Charles I and Charles II in Ireland. Joseph F. Swords is a member of the Sons of the American Revolution. He is of the fourth American generation from Francis Dawson Swords, graduate of Trinity College, Dublin, 1750, who was exiled from Ireland, 1760, and who served in the Patriot Army throughout the War of the Revolution.
Tack, Theodore E., 52 Broadway, New York City.
Taggart, Hon. Thomas, Grand Hotel, Indianapolis, Ind.
Teeling, Rt. Rev. Arthur J., rector of St. Mary’s Church, Lynn, Mass.
Thompson, Frank, 1867 Seventh Avenue, New York City.
Thompson, Frank V., 116 Princeton Street, East Boston, Mass.
Thompson, James, of James Thompson & Bro., Louisville, Ky.
Thompson, Robert Ellis (Ph. D.), president, Central High School, Philadelphia, Pa.; recently a professor in the University of Pennsylvania.
Tierney, Dennis H., real estate and insurance, 167 Bank Street, Waterbury, Conn.
Tierney, Edward M., Hotel Marlborough, Broadway, New York City.
Tierney, Myles, 317 Riverside Drive, New York City. (Life member of the Society.)
185Toale, Patrick P., Toale P. O., Aiken County, S. C.
Toomey, A. J., F11 Produce Exchange, New York City.
Travers, Ambrose F., vice-president of the Travers Brothers Co., cordage, etc., 41 Worth Street, New York City.
Travers, Vincent P., treasurer of the Travers Brothers Co., 41 Worth Street, New York City.
Vincent, John, lawyer, 45 Cedar Street, New York City; was first assistant district attorney under the late Hon. John McKeon for two years, and on his death was appointed by the court as his successor ad interim.
Vredenburg, Watson, Jr., civil engineer, 32 Broadway, New York City.
Waldron, E. M., of E. M. Waldron & Co., building contractors, 84 South Sixth Street, Newark, N. J.
Walker, William O’Brien, 90 Wall Street, New York City, a descendant of the Revolutionary O’Briens of Machias, Me.
Wallace, Rev. T. H., Lewiston, Me.
Waller, Hon. Thomas M., ex-governor of Connecticut, New London, Conn.
Walsh, Frank, secretary and credit manager, Wilkinson, Gaddis & Co., wholesale grocers, 866–868 Broad Street, Newark, N. J.
Walsh, P. J., 503 Fifth Avenue, New York City.
Walsh, Philip C., 260 Washington Street, Newark, N. J.; of Walsh’s Sons & Co., dealers in irons and metals.
Walsh, Philip C., Jr., 260 Washington Street, Newark, N. J.
Walsh, Wm. P., 247 Water Street, Augusta, Me.
Ward, Edward, of Ward Bros., contractors, Kennebunk, Me.
Ward, John T., Kennebunk, Me.
Ward, Michael J., Brookline, Mass.
Wilhere, Hon. M. F., 31st and Master Streets, Philadelphia, Pa.
Wilson, Hon. Thomas (LL. D.), general counsel for the Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha Railway Co., St. Paul, Minn.; was chief justice of the Supreme Court of Minnesota, 1864–’69; member of the Minnesota House of Representatives, 1880; member of the Minnesota Senate, 1883; member of Congress, 1887–’89.
Woods, John J., 54 Federal Street, Newburyport, Mass.
Wright, Henry, 584 East 148th Street, New York City; secretary, Building Trades Employers’ Association of the Bronx.
Zabriskie, George A., 123 Produce Exchange, New York City.
Byrne, Maj. John, New York City. He was a native of Maryland and was born in 1845. Died in Mamaroneck, N. Y., Oct. 31, 1905. He was living in West Virginia with his father, a railroad contractor, when the war broke out. Although too young to enlist, he joined the Union army as a scout and served all through the contest. He settled in Cincinnati at the close of hostilities, and became a civil engineer. For over twenty years Major Byrne was identical with the railroad operations of the late C. P. Huntington. He was president of the Pittsburg, Shawmut and Northern Railroad Company, and of the Shawmut Mining Company. He was also a director of the Detroit City Gas Company and a trustee of the Emigrant Industrial Savings Bank of New York and was also connected with other corporations (see page 142). An ardent lover of the land of his fathers, Major Byrne took a very active part in the Land League movement. He was elected vice-president of the League at the great National Convention held at Philadelphia, and served out his term. With the late Eugene Kelly, he was one of the organizers of the Irish Parliamentary Fund in this city, and made a personal contribution to it of $15,000. He also paid the salary of an Irish member of parliament for several years himself.
Curran, James, president of the James Curran Manufacturing Company of New York City; a veteran of the Civil War. He died at his residence, 230 West 99th Street, New York City, Oct. 27, 1905, aged 64 years.
The Society was organized on January 20, 1897, in Boston, Mass., and now has members in twenty-seven states, the District of Columbia, two territories and five foreign countries.
The first president-general was the late Rear-Admiral R. W. Meade, U. S. N. (retired).
Briefly stated, the object of the organization is to make better known the Irish chapter in American history.
There are two classes of members in the organization,—Life and Annual. The life membership fee is $50, (paid once). The fee for annual members is $5, paid yearly. In the case of new annual members, the initiation fee, $5, also pays the membership dues for the first year.
The board of government comprises a president-general, a vice-president-general, a secretary-general, a treasurer-general, a librarian and archivist, and an executive council. There are also state vice-presidents.
The Society has already issued several bound volumes and a number of other publications. These have been distributed to the members and to public libraries; also to historical organizations and to universities. Each member of the Society is entitled, free of charge, to a copy of every publication issued from the time of his admittance. These publications are of great interest and value, and are more than an equivalent for the membership fee.
The Society draws no lines of creed or politics. Being an American organization in spirit and principle, it welcomes to its ranks Americans of whatever race descent, and of whatever creed, who take an interest in the objects for which the Society is organized. Membership application blanks will be furnished on request.
The membership includes many people of prominence, and has been addressed by many distinguished men. It occupies a position in the front rank of American historical organizations.
Volume IV of the Society’s Journal, covering the year 1904, was greeted with sentiments of high commendation as the preceding volumes had been. The following extracts are reproduced from a mass of acknowledgments, received by Secretary T. H. Murray, relative to the fourth volume:
From the Town Library, Peterborough, N. H.: “We have received the Journal of the American-Irish Society, for which please accept our thanks.”
From Mr. James Connolly, Coronado, Cal.: “I am in receipt of Vol. IV of the Journal of our Society. Please accept my congratulations on its excellence.”
From the Boston Athenæum: “The library committee gratefully acknowledge the gift of Journal of the American-Irish Historical Society, Volume IV. Chas. K. Bolton, Librarian.”
From Thomas Addis Emmet, M. D., LL. D., New York City: “I have received the fourth volume of the Journal of the American-Irish Historical Society, and am well pleased with it.”
From the Library of the University of Colorado: “I beg to acknowledge with thanks the receipt of your Journal, Volume IV, 1904. Gift to this library. Alfred E. Whitaker Librarian.”
From the Carnegie Library, Pittsburg, Pa.: “On behalf of the board of trustees I take pleasure in acknowledging your gift to the Carnegie Library of Pittsburg. Anderson H. Hopkins, Librarian.”
From the Public Library, Haverhill, Mass.: “The trustees acknowledge with thanks the gift of the Journal of the American-Irish Historical Society, Volume IV, 1904. John G. Moulton, Librarian.”
From Mr. Hugh McCaffrey, Philadelphia, Pa.: “I appreciate the fourth volume of the Journal of the Society, received lately, and which reflects great credit on you and the good work you have at heart.”
From Mr. John Lavelle, Cleveland, O.: “The fourth volume of the Journal of our Society has just come to hand. It is an extremely creditable work, and is of permanent value. Congratulations!”
190From the Public Library, San Francisco, Cal.: “The trustees acknowledge with thanks the receipt of one copy of the ‘Journal of the American-Irish Historical Society,’ by Thomas Hamilton Murray.”
From Mr. Edward J. Brandon, City Clerk, Cambridge, Mass.: “Permit me to tender my congratulations on Volume IV of the Journal. It seems to me that this is the best volume yet issued by the Society.”
From the Library of the University of Oregon: “Please receive hearty thanks for Volume IV of the Journal of the American-Irish Historical Society. Yours very respectfully, Camilla Leach, Librarian.”
From the University of Nebraska Library, Lincoln, Neb.: “The library board acknowledges with thanks the gift of the Journal of the American-Irish Historical Society, Volume IV. J. I. Wyer, Librarian.”
From Capt. Edward O’Meagher Condon, Nashville, Tenn.: “Many thanks for Volume IV of the Journal of the Society. It is splendidly gotten up and is creditable to you and the organization in every way.”
From the Brooklyn (N. Y.) Public Library: “We beg to acknowledge the receipt of the Journal of the American-Irish Historical Society, Volume IV. With thanks for your courtesy, Frank P. Hill, Librarian.”
From the New York State Library, Accession Department: “The library has received your Journal, Volume IV, 1904. The gift is gratefully acknowledged and will be duly credited. Melvil Dewey, Director.”
From the Nashua (N. H.) Public Library: “The library has received the Journal of the American-Irish Historical Society, Volume IV, for which the trustees return a grateful acknowledgment. Harriet Crombie, Librarian.”
From the Troy (N. Y.) Public Library: “Gentlemen: The Troy Public Library takes pleasure in acknowledging the receipt of Volume IV of the Journal of the Society. Yours very gratefully, Margaret Deming, Librarian.”
From the Otis Library, Norwich, Conn.: “The Otis Library acknowledges with thanks the receipt of Journal, Volume IV, a gift to the library from the American-Irish Historical Society. Jonathan Trumbull, Librarian.”
From Tufts College, Mass.: “The trustees of Tufts College have received from the American-Irish Historical Society the following gift to the library: The Journal, Volume IV, for which they return thanks. H. S. Mellen, Librarian.”
From the Public Library, Portland, Me.: “The library has received your gift, Journal of the American-Irish Historical Society, Volume IV, which is hereby gratefully acknowledged for the trustees. Alice C. Furbish, Librarian.”
191From the Holyoke (Mass.) Public Library: “Dear Sir, Please accept the thanks of this Library for one copy of the ‘Journal of the American-Irish Historical Society,’ received today. Very truly yours, F. G. Willcox, Librarian.”
From the Public Library, Denver, Col.: “The Public Library of the City of Denver acknowledges with thanks the receipt of Volume IV, Journal of the American-Irish Historical Society. Respectfully, C. R. Dudley, Librarian.”
From the University of Pennsylvania: “The library committee of the University of Pennsylvania gratefully acknowledges the receipt of the gift noted on the margin: (Journal of the American-Irish Historical Society, Volume, IV, 1904.)”
From the Library of Leland Stanford Junior University, California: “The library acknowledges with thanks the receipt of your gift of the Journal of American-Irish Historical Society, Volume IV. Respectfully Yours, Melvin G. Dodge, Librarian.”
From the University of Texas: “In behalf of the board of regents I hereby acknowledge with thanks the receipt of the following gift from you to the library: Journal, Volume IV. P. L. Windsor, Librarian. Austin, Texas, April 4, 1905.”
From the Enoch Pratt Free Library, Baltimore, Md.: “The trustees acknowledge with thanks the gift of Journal of the American-Irish Historical Society, Volume IV, from the American-Irish Historical Society. Bernard C. Steiner, Librarian.”
From the Library of the University of Chicago: “On behalf of the trustees I hereby acknowledge with thanks the receipt of Journal of the American-Irish Historical Society, Volume IV, as a gift to the library. Zella Allen Dixson, Librarian.”
From the Library of the University of Cincinnati: “This library begs to acknowledge, with thanks, the receipt of your gift of Volume IV of the Journal of the American-Irish Historical Society. Respectfully, Harriet Evans Hodge, Librarian.”
From the Public Library, Hartford, Conn.: “The officers of the Hartford Public Library acknowledge with thanks the receipt of the Journal of American-Irish Historical Society, Volume IV, a gift from the Society. C. M. Hewins, Librarian.”
From the Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, Vt.: “The trustees gratefully acknowledge the receipt of the American-Irish Historical Society Journal, with an analytical index, a gift from Thomas Hamilton Murray. Sarah C. Hagar, Librarian.”
192From Clark University Library, Worcester, Mass.: “Please accept the thanks of the University for your gift of Journal of the American-Irish Historical Society, Volume IV, the receipt of which is hereby acknowledged. Louis N. Wilson. Librarian.”
From the U. S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, Md.: “I have the pleasure of acknowledging the receipt of the following gift to this library: The Journal of the American-Irish Society, Volume IV. Very respectfully, A. N. Brown, Professor, Librarian.”
From the Public Library of Providence, R. I.: “The trustees of the Providence Public Library have received from the American-Irish Historical Society, the Journal, Volume IV, for which they return their thanks. William E. Foster, Librarian.”
From the Public Library, Brookline, Mass.: “The trustees acknowledge, with thanks, the gift of Journal of the American-Irish Historical Society, Volume IV, from the Society. Leonard K. Storrs, Chairman of the Board. Louisa M. Hooper, Librarian.”
From the Library Association of Portland, Oregon: “The directors acknowledge the receipt of Volume IV of the Journal of the American-Irish Historical Society, by T. H. Murray, for which they return sincere thanks. Mary Frances Isom, Librarian.”
From the Cornell University Library, Ithaca, N. Y.: “Dear Sir: I beg to acknowledge with best thanks the receipt of your gift to the library. Journal of the American-Irish Historical Society, Volume IV. Yours very truly, T. W. Harris, Librarian.”
From Mr. Joseph Geoghegan, Salt Lake City, Utah: “I beg to acknowledge receipt of the fourth volume of the Journal of the American-Irish Historical Society, and congratulate you on having maintained the high standard of the former volumes.”
From the Public Library, Peoria, Ill.: “The directors of the Peoria Public Library acknowledge with thanks the receipt of your gift to the Library, Journal of the American-Irish Historical Society, Volume IV. Respectfully, E. S. Willcox, Librarian.”
From Mr. William Giblin, New York City: “I beg to acknowledge receipt of the fourth volume of the Journal of the American-Irish Historical Society. Pray accept my congratulations on the success of the work and my hearty thanks to you for sending it.”
From the Library of Princeton University: “I am directed to convey to you the thanks of the trustees of Princeton University for your gift, which has been received and placed in the library. I have the honor to be yours very truly, E. C. Richardson, Librarian.”
193From Mr. James L. O’Neill, Elizabeth, N. J.: “Volume IV of the Journal of our Society has just come to hand. It is a splendid book and every member of the organization will undoubtedly be proud of it. The historical papers are of especial interest and value.”
From the University of Minnesota: “The University of Minnesota has received the Journal, Volume IV, a gift to the library from the American-Irish Historical Society, for which a grateful acknowledgment is hereby returned. William W. Folwell, Librarian.”
From the People’s Library, Newport, R. I.: “The People’s Library of Newport, Rhode Island, has received a copy of the Journal of the American-Irish Historical Society, Volume IV, for which is returned a grateful acknowledgment. Jane E. Gardner, Librarian.”
From Mr. Patrick F. Magrath, Binghamton, N. Y.: “I congratulate you on the excellence of the fourth volume of the Journal, just received. The book is fully equal in point of merit and workmanship to Vols. I, II and III. The entire series is a credit to our Society.”
From the Essex Institute, Salem, Mass.: “The Essex Institute has the honor to acknowledge, with cordial thanks, the receipt of Journal of the American-Irish Historical Society, by Thomas H. Murray, Volume IV, as a gift to the library. Alice G. Waters, Librarian.”
From the Columbia University Library in the City of New York: “The trustees acknowledge with thanks the receipt of Journal, Volume IV, from the American-Irish Historical Society, which has been placed to the credit of that institution. James H. Canfield. [Librarian.]”
From the Elizabeth (N. J.) Public Library and Reading Room: “The board of trustees acknowledge with thanks your recent contribution of one copy of the Journal of the American-Irish Historical Society, Volume IV, to the library. Respectfully, M. L. Prevost, Librarian.”
From the Free Public Library of Newark, N. J.: “The trustees have received from you as a gift to the library Volume IV of the Journal of the American-Irish Historical Society, for which they return a grateful acknowledgment. Placed in the library. J. C. Dana, Librarian.”
From the University of Vermont: “The faculty of the university acknowledge with thanks the gift of the Journal of the American-Irish Historical Society, Volume IV, 1904, from the American-Irish Historical Society. M. H. Buckham, President. Edith E. Clarke, Librarian.”
From the Public Library, Fitchburg, Mass.: “The trustees take pleasure in thanking you for your valued gift noted below, which will be carefully preserved and made useful to the public. G. E. Nutting, Librarian. (The Journal of the American-Irish Historical Society, Volume IV.)”
194From the Library of the University of Georgia: “I beg to acknowledge, with thanks, your gift to this library of Journal of the American-Irish Historical Society, Volume IV, 1904. I would like very much to have a complete set of your journals on our shelves. D. Burnet, Librarian.”
From the Duluth (Minn.) Public Library: “The directors gratefully acknowledge the receipt of Volume IV of the Journal of the American-Irish Historical Society, a gift to the library. Would it be possible for us to secure the three other volumes? Lydia M. Poirier, Librarian.”
From the Wilmington Institute Free Library, Wilmington, Del.: “The Board of Managers acknowledge with thanks the receipt of your gift to this library of the publication noted below. Very respectfully, C. L. Bailey, Librarian. (Journal of the American-Irish Historical Society, 1904.)”
From the City Library, Springfield, Mass.: “The City Library gratefully acknowledges the receipt of the article—noted below—which you have kindly given to it. Yours very truly, Hiller C. Wellman, Librarian. (Journal of the American-Irish Historical Society, Volume IV, 1904.)”
From the Oswego (N. Y.) City Library: “The trustees of the Oswego City Library desire to thank Mr. T. H. Murray, secretary, for the Journal of the American-Irish Historical Society, which has been received and placed in the library. Yours respectfully, Robert S. Kelsey, Librarian.”
From the General Library, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor: “I take pleasure in acknowledging, with thanks, the receipt of Journal of the American-Irish Historical Society, Vol. IV, 1904, which you have been so kind as to present to this library. Very truly yours, R. C. Davis, Librarian.”
From the St. Paul (Minn.) Public Library: “The board of directors of the St. Paul Public Library have received your gift, consisting of Journal of the American-Irish Historical Society, Volume IV, for which I am instructed to return their grateful acknowledgment. Helen J. McCaine, Librarian.”
From the Public Library, Detroit, Mich.: “The library has received from you the American-Irish Historical Society Journal, Volume IV, a gift to the library, for which, on behalf of the board of commissioners, I beg to return grateful acknowledgment and thanks. Henry M. Utley, Librarian.”
From Johns Hopkins University: “The Johns Hopkins University has received from the American-Irish Historical Society a copy of the ‘Journal of the American-Irish Historical Society,’ by Thomas Hamilton Murray, Volume IV, and gratefully acknowledges this contribution to its library.”
From the Cooper Union, New York City: “The trustees have received one copy of the Journal of the American-Irish Historical Society, a gift to the institution from the American-Irish Historical Society, for which they return their grateful acknowledgement. L. C. L. Jordan, Assistant Secretary.”
195From the Public Library, Minneapolis, Minn.: “The library board of the City of Minneapolis has received your gift, consisting of Journal, Volume IV, of the American-Irish Historical Society, for which I am instructed to return a grateful acknowledgment. Very respectfully, G. A. Countryman, Librarian.”
From the Redwood Library, Newport, R. I.: “The directors of the Redwood Library take pleasure in acknowledging the receipt of Journal of the American-Irish Historical Society, Volume IV, presented by you to the library, for which they return their sincere thanks. Richard Bliss, Librarian.”
From the Library of Dartmouth College: “Dear Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of Journal of the American-Irish Historical Society, Volume IV, 1904, and am instructed to tender to you the thanks of the trustees of this college for the same. Very respectfully, M. D. Bisbee, Librarian.”
From Harvard University: “The President and Fellows have received the Journal of the American Irish Historical Society, Volume IV, a gift to the library of the university from the Society, for which they return a grateful acknowledgment. William C. Lane, Librarian. Cambridge, Mass., Feb. 21, 1905.”
From the Newburgh (N. Y.) Board of Education: “The board of education of the City of Newburgh acknowledge with thanks the receipt of the following gift from you to the Newburgh Free Library: The Journal of the American-Irish Historical Society, Vol. IV, 1904. Thomas M. Hawthorne, Librarian.”
From the Steele Memorial Library, Elmira, N. Y.: “We are in receipt of the Journal of the American-Irish Historical Society, Volume IV. We will be pleased to have this volume in our library, and allow me to thank you for the courtesy of the gift. Yours very truly, (Mrs.) Kate Deane Andrew, Librarian.”
From the Newton (Mass.) Free Library: “The trustees of the Newton Free Library have received a copy of the Journal of the American-Irish Historical Society, Volume IV, a gift to the library from Mr. T. H. Murray, Secretary, for which they return a grateful acknowledgment. Elizabeth P. Thurston, Librarian.”
From the Boston Public Library: “Sir: I am directed to return to you the thanks of the City of Boston for your courteous gift, noted below, which has been received, accepted and placed in the Public Library. Very respectfully, Horace G. Wadlin, Librarian. (Journal of the American-Irish Historical Society, Vol. IV.)”
From the Utica (N. Y.) Public Library: “The trustees acknowledge with thanks the gift of the American-Irish Historical Society Journal, Volume 196IV, from Mr. Thomas H. Murray. The same has been officially entered in the records of the library. Nicholas E. Devereux, President. C. M. Underhill, Librarian.”
From the Manchester (N. H.) City Library: “The trustees have received Volume IV of the Journal of the American Irish Historical Society, a gift to the library from the Society, for which they return a grateful acknowledgment. Eugene E. Reed, Mayor, and ex-officio President of the Board. F. Mabel Winchell, Librarian.”
From the American Antiquarian Society, Worcester, Mass: “The American Antiquarian Society has received your donation of the Journal of the American-Irish Historical Society, Volume IV, for which I have the honor, on behalf of the council, to return a grateful acknowledgment. Edmund M. Barton, Librarian.”
From the Rutland (Vt.) Free Library Association: “It is my pleasant privilege to extend to you the thanks of the Rutland Free Library Association for the gift to the library of the Journal of the American-Irish Historical Society. Your kindness is truly appreciated. Very sincerely, Alice N. Coolidge (Mrs. O. H.), Secretary.”
From the Buffalo (N. Y.) Public Library: “The board of directors of the Buffalo Public Library thank you for your gift of a copy of the publication named below, which will be carefully preserved and made useful to the public. H. L. Elmendorf, Superintendent. (Journal of the American-Irish Historical Society, Volume IV.)”
From the Free Public Library, New Bedford, Mass.: “I am directed by the trustees to return you their thanks for your donation of the Journal of the American-Irish Historical Society, Volume IV, 1904, which has been placed in our library, and will be duly acknowledged in our next annual report. William L. Sayer, Secretary.”
From the Los Angeles (Cal.) Public Library: “The Los Angeles Public Library presents its acknowledgments and thanks to the American-Irish Historical Society for the gift of the Journal of the American-Irish Historical Society, by Thomas Hamilton Murray, Volume IV. By order of the board of directors. Mary L. Jones, Librarian.”
From the Free Library of Philadelphia, Pa.: “The board of trustees have received from you as a gift to the library one bound volume: Journal of the American-Irish Historical Society, for which they return their grateful acknowledgments. F. G. Rosengarten, president of board of trustees. Placed in the library. John Thomson, Librarian.”
From the Rhode Island Historical Society, Providence, R. I.: “Sir: I have the honor to return to you the thanks of the Historical Society for 197your courteous gift, noted below, which has been received and placed in the library. Very respectfully, Clarence S. Brigham, Librarian. (Journal of the American-Irish Historical Society for 1904.)”
From Brown University: “The Corporation of Brown University, in Providence, Rhode Island, have received Journal of the American-Irish Historical Society, Vol. IV, 1904, a gift to the University library from the Society, for which the corporation return a grateful acknowledgment on the part of the University. H. L. Koopman, Librarian.”
From Mr. Patrick P. Toale, Toale, Aiken County, S. C.: “I beg to acknowledge the receipt of the fourth volume of the Journal of the American-Irish Historical Society, and thank you very much for the same. I wish you and yours well and hope to see yearly a widening of the society and your efforts in a field that is so rich in historical treasures.”
From the Library of the U. S. Military Academy, West Point: “Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge, with many thanks, the receipt of the following-named publication presented to this Library: Journal of the American-Irish Historical Society, Volume IV, 1904. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, Edward S. Holden, Librarian.”
From the Library of the University of California, Berkeley, California: “Permit me to express the thanks of the University for your gift of the Journal of the American-Irish Historical Society, Volume IV, 1904. We should be most grateful if you could complete our set by giving us Volume I. Very respectfully yours, Joseph C. Rowell, Librarian.”
From the Library of Congress: “Washington, D. C., 28 February, 1905. I beg to acknowledge, with thanks, the receipt of the gift to this library of ‘Journal of the American-Irish Historical Society, by Thomas Hamilton Murray, Volume IV.’ Very respectfully, Herbert Putnam, Librarian of Congress. By E. L. Burchard, Chief of Order Division.”
From the Public Library, Taunton, Mass.: “The trustees have received the Journal of the American-Irish Historical Society, Volume IV, a gift to the library from Thomas Hamilton Murray, Secretary, for which they return a grateful acknowledgment. John H. Eldridge, President of the Board. Placed in the library, Joshua E. Crane, Librarian.”
From the Free Public Library, Worcester, Mass. “The directors have received from you, as a gift to the library, the Journal of the American-Irish Historical Society, by Thomas H. Murray, Volume IV, for which they return their grateful acknowledgments. Alfred S. Perkins, President of the Board. Placed in the library, Samuel S. Green, Librarian.”
From the Free Public Library, Lynn, Mass.: “The trustees have received the Journal of the American-Irish Historical Society, by Thomas Hamilton Murray, Secretary-General, a gift to the library from the Society, for which 198they return a grateful acknowledgment. John N. Berry, President of the Board. Placed in the library, Harriet L. Matthews, Librarian.”
From the Massachusetts Historical Society, Boston: “The Society has received a copy of the Journal of the American-Irish Historical Society, Volume IV, Boston, 1904, a gift to the library from the American-Irish Historical Society, which is hereby gratefully acknowledged. C. F. Adams, President. Placed in the library, Samuel A. Green, Librarian.”
From the Lithgow Library, Augusta, Me.: “The Lithgow Library and Reading Room has received the Journal of the American-Irish Historical Society, 1904, a gift to the library from Thomas Hamilton Murray, for which it returns grateful acknowledgment. Leslie C. Cornish, President. Placed in the library April, 1905. Julia M. Clapp, Librarian.”
From the Riggs Memorial Library, Georgetown University: “On behalf of the university I beg to acknowledge the receipt of your courteous gift,—Journal of the American-Irish Historical Society, Volume IV,—for which I am directed to return cordial thanks. Yours with much esteem, Henry J. Shandelle, S. J., Librarian. Washington, D. C., Feb. 21, 1905.”
From the Public Library, Quincy, Mass.: “The Thomas Crane Public Library of the City of Quincy has received from the American-Irish Historical Society, as a gift to the library, the book mentioned in the following schedule for which the board of trustees return their sincere thanks. H. A. Keith, secretary. (The Journal of the American-Irish Historical Society.)”
From Hon. P. T. Barry, Chicago, Ill.: “I thank you very much for the fourth volume of the Journal of the American-Irish Historical Society, which came duly to hand. I thank you, too, for having printed therein the little paper read by me before the Illinois State Historical Society, as I deem it quite an honor to have it printed in the volume with the able papers therein.”
From Bowdoin College: “The president and trustees of Bowdoin College have received the Journal of the American-Irish Historical Society, Volume IV, a gift to the library from the Society by Mr. T. H. Murray, secretary, for which they return a grateful acknowledgment. Wm. DeW. Hyde, president. Placed in the library April 3, 1905. George S. Little, Librarian.”
From the Peabody Institute, Peabody, Mass.: “The government have received the Journal of the American-Irish Historical Society, Volume IV, a gift to the library from Thomas Hamilton Murray, Esq., for which they return a grateful acknowledgment. Thomas Carroll, Chairman of Lyceum and Library Committee, Placed in the library. Lyman P. Osborn, Librarian.”
From the Public Library, Bangor, Me.: “The managers have received the publication named on the other side (Volume IV, Journal of the American-Irish Historical Society), a gift to the library from the American-Irish 199Historical Society, for which they return a grateful acknowledgment. F. O. Beal, President of the Board. Placed in the library, Mary H. Curran, Librarian.”
From the College of the City of New York: “I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of the following book: Journal of the Irish-American Historical Society, Vol. IV, which you were kind enough to present to the library of the College of the City of New York. Please accept our sincere thanks. Yours respectfully, Henry Evelyn Bliss, Deputy Librarian.”
From the New York Historical Society: “The New York Historical Society has received The Journal of the American-Irish Historical Society, by Thomas Hamilton Murray, Secretary-General, Volume IV, 8vo, Boston, 1904, a gift from the American-Irish Historical Society, for which I am instructed to return a grateful acknowledgment. Robert H. Kelby, Librarian.”
From the Free Public Library, Jersey City, N. J.: “I am directed to convey to you the thanks of the trustees of the Free Public Library for your gift of Journal of the American-Irish Historical Society, Vol. IV. The same will be duly placed to your credit upon our records, carefully preserved and made useful to the public. I have the honor to be E. E. Burdick, Librarian.”
From the New Hampshire State Library, Concord: “Dear Sir: In behalf of the trustees I beg to acknowledge the receipt of the following volume sent this library through your kindness: Journal of the American-Irish Historical Society, Volume IV, 1904. It will be their pleasure to give the book a fitting place upon the shelves. Yours very truly, Arthur H. Chase, State Librarian.”
From Mr. John J. Slattery, Louisville, Ky.: “I have received Volume IV of the Journal of the Society, which you kindly sent me, and delayed acknowledging its receipt until I had read it. Need I say what pleasure it afforded me? The series are all good, but this is one of the best. Because these publications furnish proof of facts stated—from the records—they are invaluable to many, to whom such knowledge is otherwise inaccessible.”
From the Public Library of Toledo, Ohio: “I beg to acknowledge with thanks the receipt of Volume IV of the Journal of the American-Irish Historical Society. I would very much like to secure Volumes I, II and III, in order to have a complete file. Please advise me if this is possible. I hope, also, that our library may receive subsequent volumes. Thanking you for your kindness, I am yours very truly, Willis F. Sewall, Librarian.”
From the University of Maine: “By authority and on behalf of the trustees of the University of Maine I desire to acknowledge with thanks the 200receipt of the Journal of the American-Irish Historical Society, Volume IV, which has been added to this library through your courtesy. If available for distribution, we should be glad to receive the earlier volumes of the Journal and others of your Society’s publications. Yours truly, Ralph K. Jones, Librarian.”
From the Reynolds Library, Rochester, N. Y.: “The trustees of the Reynolds Library acknowledge with thanks the receipt of your gift (Journal of the American-Irish Historical Society, Volume IV, 1904). We should be very glad if you could find it possible to place the name of our library on your regular mailing list, and also present us your first three volumes if you have copies to spare. I think a set would be appreciated here. Very respectfully, Alfred S. Collins, Librarian.”
From the Public Library of Milwaukee, Wis.: “We are greatly indebted to you for Volume IV of the Journal of the American-Irish Historical Society received this morning. It would be advantageous to our Irish-American citizens who are patrons of this library to have the complete set and to be able to consult the volumes as they come out. If you can send us the first three volumes and place us on your mailing list, we shall be under renewed obligations to you. Very truly yours, George W. Peckham, Librarian.”
From Mr. Dennis H. Tierney, Waterbury, Conn.: “I wish to congratulate you in the production of Volume IV, Journal of the American-Irish Historical Society for 1904. And in reading your paper entitled “Some Voices From Ye Olden Time,” I saw in it great research and pains taken on your part which I, as state president of the Society, feel prompted to commend, and on the part of the members of the state of Connecticut, I thank you for your very efficient work which I regard as a milestone, as it were, to guide the present and future historian.”
From the Librarian of Trinity College, Washington, D. C.: “It is a pleasure to thank you for the copy of The Journal of the American-Irish Historical Society, Volume IV, which you courteously sent to our library. I have examined the whole volume with a glow of pride and interest and feel sure the same sentiments will be awakened in our young people as they read. It is a valuable addition to our library. Should the Society publish monographs, bibliographies, or any thing relating to the Irish element in America, we shall be glad to be informed.”
1. Died Sept. 19, 1905.
2. Died March 18, 1905.
3. Of Baltimore, Md. This paper is reproduced, by permission, from the Ave Maria, of Notre Dame, Ind., in which publication it recently appeared under the title “A Forgotten Heroine.”
4. That there be no interruption to this narrative, let it be said that the facts relating to Mrs. Glover have been gleaned from Cotton Mather, Upham, Drake, Moore, Owens, Calef, Cartrie, and papers of the Massachusetts Historical Society.
5. Of Elizabeth, N. J. This paper was originally contributed to the Elizabeth Evening Times, Jan. 27, 1905.
6. Colonel Proctor was a native of Ireland.
7. General Knox was born in Boston of Irish parentage.
8. Of New York. President-General of the Society. This paper is from Mr. Crimmins’ recent work, Early Celebrations of St. Patrick’s Day.
9. Of Mayville, Chautauqua County, N. Y. A descendant of William Prendergast, the pioneer.
10. This paper was prepared by Mr. Scales for the New Hampshire Historical Society, and was read by him before that body. It is here republished by permission.
11. At A meeting of the Select men in Dover the 20th of May 1723 ordered that 2 Schoolmasters be Procured for the Towne of Dover for the year Ensuing, and that ther Sallery Exceed not £30 Payment a Peece and to attend the Directtions of the Select men for the Servis of the Towne in Equi’ll Proportion.
At the Same time Mr. Sullefund Exseps to Sarve the Towne abovesd as Scoole master three months Sertin and begins his Servis ye 21th Day of May 1723, and also ye Sd Sullefund Promised the Selectmen if he left them Soonner he would give them a month notis to Provide themselves with a nother, and the Select men was also to give him a month notis if they Disliked him.
12. This name has also been rendered Darby.—Editor.
Note. As Master John Sullivan here states that he was the son of Major Philip O’Sullivan, his own name was, therefore, originally O’Sullivan. At what period, and under what circumstances he dropped the “O,” is not now known.—Ed.
13. This sketch was written by Miss Fitzgerald, for the American-Irish Historical Society, at the request of the Knights of St. Patrick of San Francisco. The latter organization is, collectively, a life member of the Society. Miss Fitzgerald is a granddaughter of Mr. Murphy, the pioneer here mentioned, and resides in Gilroy, California, in the beautiful Santa Clara valley.
14. Grandson of Mathew Carey. This memoir is mainly compiled from a paper contributed by Mr. Baird to The American Bookseller, New York City.