THE JOURNAL
OF THE
AMERICAN IRISH HISTORICAL SOCIETY

With the hope that we have succeeded in some measure in living up to the high standard set by our honored predecessor, Thomas Hamilton Murray, in the compiling of the Journal of the American Irish Historical Society, we beg to offer Volume VIII.

It is greatly to be regretted that the illness and death of Mr. Murray made it impossible to issue a Journal for 1908, and that a break was necessitated in the series of interesting and ably-edited publications for which he was responsible. It is hoped, therefore, that there will be found enough of interest in the records here submitted to compensate in some small degree for the lapse of a year in the spreading of the Society’s records before its members. The last Volume by Mr. Murray was issued on December 31, 1907. Volume VIII contains nothing of the records of the subsequent year except the account of the annual meeting and dinner held at the Manhattan Hotel, New York, January 29, 1908. This account was compiled through correspondence with various members who were present at that time.

The present incumbent was appointed Acting Secretary-General of the Society on November 18, 1908, by the President-General to serve until the next annual meeting, January 16, 1909. At that time he was formally elected to the office for the ensuing year. There being no data previous to this election from which to compile a chronological index for this Volume, its omission has been necessary. Full accounts of all proceedings will be found, however, and every address delivered at any event under the auspices of the Society is given in full, everything of the sort having been reported stenographically by the Society’s stenographer. Many events of direct or indirect interest to our members have also been touched upon.

The Society is at the present time in a most prosperous condition. Its financial status is satisfactory, and its membership is steadily increasing, already numbering men of national and international prominence. Its influence is rapidly becoming national, and the accomplishment of its great primary object, “To Make Better Known the Irish Chapter in American History,” seems assured.

Providence, R. I., April 1, 1909.

Believing that the part taken in the settlement, foundation and upbuilding of these United States by the Irish race has never received proper recognition from historians, and inspired by love for the republic, a pride in our blood and forefathers and a desire for historic truth, this Society has met and organized.

Its mission is to give a plain recital of facts, to correct errors, to supply omissions, to allay passion, to shame prejudice and to labor for right and truth.

While we as loyal citizens of this republic are earnestly interested in all the various phases of its history, we feel that we should be false to its honor and greatness and recreant to our own blood if we did not make a serious effort to leave to those generations which will follow us a clearer and better knowledge of the important work done by men and women of the Irish race on this continent.

People of this race—men and women born on Irish soil—have been here from the first, prompted in their flight by the motives common to all immigration, dissatisfaction with the old order of things and the resolve to obtain a freer and better life in the new land under new conditions.

And so we have come together—natives of Ireland, American sons of Irish immigrants, and descendants of immigrants even unto the seventh, eighth and ninth American generations—to duly set forth and perpetuate a knowledge of these things.

In the days to come that lie in the womb of the future, when all the various elements that have gone and are going to make the republic great are united in the American—the man who in his person will represent the bravest elements of all the old races of the earth—we desire that the deeds and accomplishment of our element shall 6be written in the book of the new race, telling what we did and no more, giving us our rightful place by the side of the others.

To accomplish this is the purpose of this organization. It is a work worthy of the sympathy and aid of every American who can rise above the environment of today and look into the broad future. Fidelity, truth, honor are the watchwords of such a purpose, and under their noble influences should our work be done.

The objects and purposes of this Society are:

(1) The study of American history generally.

(2) To investigate, especially, the immigration of the people of Ireland to this country, determine its numbers, examine the sources, learn the places of its settlement, and estimate its influence on contemporary events in war, legislation, religion, education and other departments of human activity.

(3) To examine records of every character, wherever found, calculated to throw light on the work of the Irish element in this broad land.

(4) To endeavor to correct erroneous, distorted and false views of history, where they are known, and to substitute therefor the truth of history, based on documentary evidence and the best and most reasonable tradition, in relation to the Irish race in America.

(5) To encourage and assist the formation of local societies in American cities and towns for the work of the parent society.

(6) To promote and foster an honorable and national spirit of patriotism, which will know no lines of division, which will be based upon loyalty to the laws, institutions and spirit of the republic to whose upbuilding the Irish element has unselfishly contributed in blood and treasure, a patriotism whose simple watchwords will be true Americanism and human freedom and which has no concern for any man’s race, color or creed, measuring him only by his conduct, effort and achievement.

(7) To promote by union in a common high purpose a sincere fraternity, a greater emulation in well doing, a closer confidence and mutual respect among the various elements of the Irish race in America, that by putting behind them the asperities of the past they 7may unite in a common brotherhood with their fellow citizens for the honor of the race and the glory of the republic.

(8) To place the result of its historical investigations and researches in acceptable literary form; to print, publish and distribute its documents to libraries, institutions of learning, and among its members, in order that the widest dissemination of historical truth may be obtained and placed within the reach of historians and other writers and readers.

(9) To sift and discriminate every paper, sketch, document bearing on the Society’s line of work before the same is accepted and given official sanction in order that its publication may be a guarantee of historical accuracy; to do its work without passion or prejudice, to view accomplished facts in the true scientific historical spirit and having reached the truth to give it to the world.

Any person of good moral character who is interested in the special work of this Society shall be deemed eligible for membership in the same. No tests other than that of character and devotion to the Society’s objects shall be applied to membership.

Every applicant for membership shall be recommended by two members of the Society before his application shall be considered by the Secretary-General, and the application shall be accompanied by the dues in the amounts laid down in the by-laws.

Members will be elected as follows: Candidates may send their applications—for which blanks will be furnished—to the Secretary-General, accompanied by the fee as provided in the by-laws, and each application must be endorsed by two members of the Society. The Secretary-General shall submit the application to the executive council, and a three fourths vote of that body by ballot or otherwise will be necessary to elect the candidate.

The Society shall comprise life members and annual members, who shall pay dues as provided in the by-laws. The Society may also choose honorary and corresponding members, who shall be exempt from dues but shall not have the right to vote.

The officers of the Society shall consist of:

(The word “General” herein to be considered equivalent to National.)

The officers of the Society shall be elected annually.

The duties of the President-General shall be to open and preside over the Society during its deliberations, to see that the Constitution is observed and the by-laws enforced, to appoint committees, and to exercise a watchful care over the interests of the Society, that its work may be properly done and its purposes adhered to. In the absence of the President-General a presiding officer pro tem may be chosen.

It shall be the duty of the Vice-President of each state to represent the President-General at all meetings of state chapters of the Society and for the Vice-President of the state to which the President-General belongs, or in which the meeting is held, to represent him at all meetings of the parent Society when he cannot be present and in his absence to act as chairman pro tempore. In the absence of both the President-General and state Vice-President, a presiding officer pro tem may be chosen from the assembled members of the Society.

The Secretary-General shall keep a record of all the proceedings of the Society and the executive council. He shall have charge of the seal and records. He shall issue and sign in conjunction with the President-General all charters granted to the subsidiary chapters, and shall with him certify to all acts of the Society. He shall, upon orders from the President-General, give due notice of time and place of all meetings of the body; give notice to the several officers of all votes, resolutions, orders and proceedings of the body affecting them or appertaining to their respective offices and perform such other duties as may be assigned him.

The Treasurer-General shall collect and receive all dues, funds and securities and deposit the same to the credit of the American Irish Historical Society, in such banking institution as may be approved by the Executive Council. This money shall be drawn to the check of the Treasurer-General for the purposes of the Society and to pay such sums as may be ordered by the Executive Council of the Society in meeting, said orders to be countersigned by the President-General and Secretary-General. He must keep a full and accurate account of all receipts and disbursements and at each annual meeting shall render the same to the Society, when a committee shall be appointed by the President-General to audit his accounts. He shall present at annual or special meetings a list of members in arrears.

The Librarian and Archivist shall be the custodian of all published books, pamphlets, files of newspapers and similar property of the Society. He shall have charge of all documents, manuscripts and other productions not assigned by this Constitution to other officers of the Society, and shall keep the same in a place or places easy of access and safe from loss by fire or other causes.

The Historiographer or official historian of the Society shall perform the duties usually pertaining to that office.

The Executive Council shall consist of the President-General, Secretary-General, Treasurer-General, Librarian and Archivist, Historiographer and ten members, all to be elected by the Society. The Executive Council shall be the judge of the qualifications of applicants for admission and if satisfactory shall elect the same. The Council shall recommend plans for promoting the objects of the Society, digest and prepare business, authorize the disbursement and expenditure of unappropriated money in the treasury for the current expenses of the Society; shall prepare and edit—or cause to be prepared and edited—contributions of an historical or literary character bearing on the special work of the Society for publication and distribution; may appropriate funds for the expenses of special branches of research for historical data and for the purchase of works to form a library for the Society whenever it shall have a permanent home or headquarters. The Council shall have power to fill vacancies in office until the annual meeting, exercise a supervisory care over the affairs of the Society and perform such other duties as may be intrusted to them. At a meeting of the Executive Council five members shall constitute a quorum.

The annual meeting of this Society shall be held on the third Wednesday in January. A field day of the body shall be held during the summer of each year at such time and place as the Executive Council shall select, due regard being given to the convenience of the greatest number, and, as far as possible, the meeting place selected shall be one whose historical associations are of interest to American citizens.

11The annual meeting shall be for the purpose of electing officers, hearing reports and transacting such other business as may come properly before it. Until otherwise ordered such meeting shall be held in the city of Boston, Mass. There shall be four stated meetings each year.

Special meetings may be called at any time by the Executive Council.

Chapters of the parent Society may be established in any city or town in the United States upon the petition of ten persons for a charter, and such charter shall be issued upon payment of the sum designated for such in the by-laws.

The President, Secretary, Treasurer, Librarian and Historiographer of all subsidiary societies shall be admitted to all meetings of the parent Society as members during their term of office, with all the privileges of membership except that of voting.

Amendments to the Constitution shall be submitted to the Executive Council through the Secretary-General at least thirty days before the meeting of the Society. A vote of two thirds of the members present at the meeting shall be necessary for the adoption of such amendments.

(1) The initiation fee shall be three dollars. The annual membership fee shall be three dollars, payable not later than the first day of February in each year.^[1]

(2) Payment of fifty dollars in advance at one time shall constitute a life membership. Life members shall be exempt from further dues.

(3) The Executive Council shall provide for each regular meeting of the Society an address, essay or paper dealing with some topic in the Society’s line of work.

12(4) A copy of all original productions read before the Society shall be requested for deposit in the Society’s archives.

(5) The annual field-day program shall include an oration, poem and dinner. Other features of an appropriate nature may be added.

(6) A fraternal spirit shall be cultivated with other American historical bodies. The Society shall also keep in touch with historical organizations in Ireland, France and other countries.

(7) Any person elected to membership in this Society who fails to pay his initiation fee within one year from the date of his election shall, having been duly notified by the Secretary-General, be considered as having forfeited his right to membership and his election shall be cancelled.

(8) A member neglecting for two years to pay his annual fee shall be notified of such omission by the Secretary-General. Still neglecting for three months to pay the dues such delinquent member shall be dropped as no longer belonging to the Society.

(9) The stated meetings of the Society shall be held in January, April, July and October. The President-General, upon receiving a request in writing, signed by ten members, asking for a special meeting, shall cause the said meeting to be convened forthwith.

(10) Ten members shall constitute a quorum at any meeting of the Society, except stated meetings, when fifteen members shall be necessary.

(11) The general order of business at meetings of the Society shall be as follows:

(12) When not otherwise provided, Cushing’s Manual shall be the authority on points of procedure at meetings of the Society.

(13) No part of these by-laws shall be amended, altered or repealed unless proposition is submitted in writing covering the proposed amendment at least thirty days before the meeting when it is to be acted upon, when, if two thirds of the members present and voting express themselves in favor of the change, the same shall be made.

13It has been deemed necessary that a revision of the above be made in order to make them conform to the present needs of the Society, and a committee consisting of Michael J. Jordan, Esq., Hon. Patrick J. McCarthy, Joseph T. Ryan, Esq., John E. O’Brien, Esq., and the Secretary-General, appointed by the President-General at Washington, D. C., January 17, 1909, has the revision in charge.

The Society was organized on January 20, 1897, in Boston, Mass., and now has members in nearly all the states, the District of Columbia, one territory and four foreign countries.

The object of the organization is to make better known the Irish chapter in American history.

There are two classes of members—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 government comprises a President-General, a Vice-President-General, a Secretary-General, a Treasurer-General, a Librarian and Archivist, a Historiographer 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 members, public libraries, historical organizations and 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 or descent, and of whatever creed, 14who take an interest in the objects for which the Society is organized. Membership application blanks will be furnished on request to the Secretary-General at his office, 49 Westminster Street, Providence, R. I., or to John J. Lenehan, Chairman of the Committee on Membership, 71 Nassau Street, New York City. Blank applications found at the end of this volume.

The membership includes many people of prominence and occupies a position in the front rank of American historical organizations.

The Society is a corporation duly organized under the laws of the State of Rhode Island and is authorized to take, hold and convey real and personal estate to the amount of $100,000.

Gifts or bequests of money for the uses of the Society are solicited. We depend entirely on our membership fees and dues, and if we had a suitable fund on hand its income would be most advantageously used for historical research, printing and issuing historical works and papers and adding to our library. The following is a form of bequest good in any state or territory:

“I give and bequeath to the American Irish Historical Society —— dollars.”

If desired, a donor or testator may direct the application of principal or interest of his gift or bequest.

“Irish Settlers in Pennsylvania.”

“Early Irish in St. Louis, Missouri.”

“Patriots Bearing Irish Names Who Were Confined Aboard the Jersey Prison Ship.”

“Commerce Between Ireland and Rhode Island.”

“Some Irish-French Officers in the American Revolution.”

“The Voyage of the Seaflower.”

“The Defense of Fort Stephenson on the Sandusky.”

“Irish Settlers on the Opequan.”

“Irish Pioneers in Boston and Vicinity.”

“The Irish in America.”

15“Goody Glover, an Irish Victim of the Witch Craze, Boston, Mass., 1688.”

“Capt. Daniel Neill, an Artillery Officer of the Revolution.”

“Richard Dexter, One of Boston’s Irish Pioneers.”

“The New Hampshire Kellys.”

“Some Early Celebrations of St. Patrick’s Day in New York City, 1762–1788.”

“Master John Sullivan of Somersworth and Berwick and His Family.”

“Martin Murphy, Sr., an Irish Pioneer of California.”

“Historical Notes of Interest.”

“Irish Ability in United States.”

“The Affair at Fort William and Mary.”

“Incident of an Expedition under Gen. John Sullivan.”

“Irish Builders of White House.”

“Col. Francis Barber, a Soldier of the Revolution.”

“A Glance at Some Pioneer Irish in the South.”

“Walsh’s Irish Regiment of Marine Artillery, French Army.”

“Irish Influence in the Life of Baltimore.”

“A Bit of New York History.”

“The Kelts of Colonial Boston.”

“The Battle of New Orleans.”

“Battles of Lexington, Concord and Cambridge.”

“Matthew Watson, an Irish Settler of Barrington, R. I., 1722.”

“Irish Emigration During the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries.”

“Some Pre-Revolutionary Irishmen.”

“Some Irish Settlers in Virginia.”

“The ‘Scotch-Irish’ and ‘Anglo-Saxon’ Fallacies.”

“Early Irish Settlers in Kentucky.”

“The Irish in South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana and Tennessee.”

“Hugh Cargill, a Friend of Liberty.”

“The Irish Settlers of Pelham, Mass.”

“Thomas Fawcett, Irish Quaker, American Pioneer.”

“Early New Hampshire Irish; Some Pre-Revolutionary Dennises, Corneliuses, Patricks and Michaels.”

“The United States Torpedo Boat O’Brien.”

“Daniel Morgan and the Battle of Cowpens.”

16“Irish Schoolmasters in the American Colonies, 1640–1775.”

“The Irish at Bunker Hill.”

“David Hamilton, a Soldier of the American Revolution.”

“Irish Pioneers in Texas.”

“The Irish Chapter in the History of Brown University.”

“Men of Irish Blood Who Have Attained Eminence in American Journalism.”

“William Prendergast, a Pioneer of Chautauqua County, N. Y.”

“The Battle of Rhode Island.”

“Rev. James MacSparran, Irishman, Scholar, Preacher and Philosopher, 1680–1757.”

“Irish Pioneers and Builders of Kentucky.”

“Rev. James Caldwell, a Patriot of the American Revolution.”

“Great Irishmen in New York’s History.”

“Life and Deeds of Major-General John Sullivan.”

“Irish Pioneers in New York.”

“Irish Pioneers of the West and Their Descendants.”

“Advantages of Historical Research to Irish Americans.”

In accordance with a vote of the Executive Council at a meeting held in Providence, R. I., the date and place of the tenth annual meeting and banquet of the Society was fixed for January 29, 1908, at Hotel Manhattan, New York City. President-General McGowan caused notice to be sent each member as follows:

Dear Sir: The annual meeting and dinner of the American Irish Historical Society will take place at the Hotel Manhattan, Madison Avenue and Forty-Second Street, New York City, on Wednesday evening, January 29, 1908.

A reception will begin at 5.00 p. m., to be followed at 6.30 p. m. by a business meeting. The line will be formed for dinner at 7.30 p. m.

The reception committee as designated by the Executive Council of the Society comprises: T. P. Kelly, John F. Doyle and T. Albeus Adams of New York; P. F. Magrath, Binghamton, N. Y.; James L. O’Neill, Elizabeth, N. J.; John F. O’Connell, Providence, R. I.; Hon. Thomas J. Gargan, Boston, Mass.; D. H. Tierney, Waterbury, Conn.; James O’Sullivan, Lowell, Mass.; Hon. William Gorman, Philadelphia, Pa.; Hon. P. T. Barry, Chicago, Ill.; Hon. Thomas Z. Lee, Providence, R. I.; Hon. John Hannan, Ogdensburg, N. Y., and D. J. McGillicuddy, Lewiston, Me.

Tickets for the dinner are now ready at $3.50 each. They can be obtained by addressing T. P. Kelly, Esq., chairman of the Dinner Committee, 544 West Twenty-Second Street, New York City. Make checks payable to the American Irish Historical Society, and forward to Mr. Kelly at the address given.

Music will be furnished at the dinner by an orchestra and by a vocal quartet. There will be other features of an entertaining nature designed to make the occasion one of more than ordinary interest.

Members are at liberty to invite personal guests, and a large attendance 18is cordially desired. Kindly inform us as soon as possible whether you intend to be present on the twenty-ninth.

A goodly number of members responded to the notice, and the sale of tickets gave evidence that a large gathering would be present.

The Reception Committee was early in attendance and rendered much valuable service. It greatly assisted the Secretary-General, who was ill, in the performance of his duties, introduced the new members as they appeared and arranged the seatings of members for the banquet.

At 6.30 p. m. the annual meeting was called to order by Hon. Thomas Z. Lee, in the absence of the President-General and Vice-President-General, and, upon being elected President-General pro tem, presided throughout the business meeting.

Treasurer-General Dooley announced through the Chairman that the funds of the Society were deposited in the Union Trust Company, Providence, R. I., at the time of its suspension, and that a plan for its reorganization had been suggested, but not yet adopted. The funds were therefore not available for our use and he could not tell when they would be. In order that the Society might have its funds subject to its disposal and not be obliged to await a more or less indefinite reorganization of the Union Trust Company, Mr. Dooley had drawn his personal cheque for the total amount of our detained funds and deposited same to the credit of the Society. He asked that we give him an assignment of our money in the Union Trust Company in order that he instead of us might do the waiting and take the chances of being repaid.

Mr. Dooley’s generous offer was most cordially accepted, and a committee appointed by the Chairman for that purpose immediately executed the assignment of our detained funds as requested.

Upon motion of Mr. Dennis H. Tierney, a vote of thanks was extended Treasurer-General Dooley for the transaction above mentioned, and remarks of a most complimentary nature were made by several previous to the adoption of the vote.

19The annual report of the Secretary-General was read and it was ordered that the same be received and placed on file.

The annual report of the Treasurer-General showing receipts, disbursements and balance on hand was read, and it was ordered that the same be received and placed on file.

A number of new members were elected, some of whom were present later at the banquet.

The election of officers for the ensuing year was called for, and the following gentlemen, having the unanimous endorsement of the Executive Council, were by ballot duly elected to the following offices:

Mr. Willis B. Dowd spoke at length concerning our next annual meeting and banquet and then moved that it be held in Washington, D. C. Mr. T. Vincent Butler seconded the motion and spoke in support of Mr. Dowd’s views. The motion was unanimously adopted.

The new President-General, Francis J. Quinlan, having arrived, the Chairman appointed Rev. John J. McCoy, LL. D., T. Vincent Butler, Esq., and S. J. O’Sullivan, Esq., to wait upon the incoming President-General and escort him to the chair.

The Committee retired and presented Doctor Quinlan, who thanked the Society in a few well chosen words and immediately began his duties.

At 7.30 p. m. the line was formed for the banquet, and a large number of members and guests took seats at the tables.

President-General Quinlan presided and grace was said by Rev. Dr. John J. McCoy.

Music was furnished by a male quartet and an orchestra, and 22throughout the evening they led the Society in patriotic American and Irish songs.

The tables were handsomely decorated with plants and flowers and presented a pretty picture. During the evening a flashlight photograph of the diners was obtained with satisfactory results. The menu was all that could be desired.

There were present:

Rev. Fr. Curtain; Michael F. Dooley, Providence, R. I.; John F. Kehoe, Newark, N. J.; Hon. P. T. Barry, Chicago, Ill.; John F. O’Connell, Providence, R. I.; Hon. Patrick Garvan, Hartford, Conn.; John J. Rooney, New York City; Hon. Joseph F. Daly, New York City; P. H. Garrity, Waterbury, Conn.; J. J. Daly, New York City; James O’Sullivan, Lowell, Mass.; Dennis H. Tierney, Waterbury, Conn.; David Healy, New York City; T. P. Kelley, New York City; Dr. M. F. Sullivan, Lawrence, Mass.; 23John F. MacDonnell, Holyoke, Mass.; Joseph Geoghegan, Salt Lake City; T. Vincent Butler, New York City; James L. O’Neill, Elizabeth, N. J.; William T. Cox, Elizabeth, N. J.; John F. Kenah, Elizabeth, N. J.; Hon. Patrick J. Ryan, Elizabeth, N. J.; Hon. Matthew P. Breen, New York City; Henry J. Breen, New York City; John Jay Joyce, New York City; Nathaniel Doyle, New York City; T. H. Murray, Boston, Mass.; Hon. Thomas Z. Lee, Providence, R. I.; J. Duncan Emmet, M. D., New York City; Stephen Farrelly, New York City; S. J. O’Sullivan, New York City; Dr. Bryan DeF. Sheedy, New York City; Judge Lorenz Zellar, New York City; Judge James J. Walsh, New York City; Michael F. Farley, New York City; Philip Bloch, New York City; William Crowley, New York City; Roswell D. Williams, New York City; M. F. Laughman, New York City; Col. Charles F. Crowley, New York City; William Cahill, New York City; Peter J. Crotty, New York City; Sidney Williams, New York City; J. A. Lyons, New York City; William H. Breen, New York City, and many others.

President-General Quinlan opened the proceedings, and the Rev. Dr. John J. McCoy said grace.

A most eloquent speech was delivered by Mr. Henry J. Breen, son of Hon. Matthew P. Breen, and he was followed by Hon. John F. O’Connell of Providence, who spoke concerning the Sullivan Memorial and the work of the Society in Rhode Island.

Rev. Dr. John J. McCoy was then introduced, and his discourse was graceful, eloquent and learned, and a beautiful tribute to the work of the Society.

Hon. Patrick J. Ryan of Elizabeth, N. J., told in a most interesting manner of the growth of New York and of his experiences as a boy romping about on the present site of the hotel where the banquet was held.

Mr. T. Vincent Butler of New York made a short speech about our fellow-member, President Roosevelt, and proposed a toast to his health, which was drunk amid much enthusiasm.

Dr. M. F. Sullivan of Lawrence, Mass., gave a number of very practical suggestions as to how the membership of the Society could be increased and the sphere of its work extended.

Mr. David Healy of New York spoke of the supreme importance of the work of the Society in centering the light of organized, intelligent 24and painstaking research upon Ireland’s part in the making of American history; of her contributions to America’s greatness, and the proud place which has been honorably won by her children as an integral part of American life, American ideals, and American nationality.

“One of the great disadvantages with which the Irish element in American life has had to deal,” said Mr. Healy, “has been the fact that histories and school text-books, current in the English speaking world, have been too largely the product of minds influenced and prejudiced by inherited anti-Irish animosities and pro-English traditions.

“The Irish have been considered as pre-eminently a martial race because of their persistent and unconquerable struggles for a score of generations to vindicate the principle of Irish nationality.

“It is true that the Celtic race has also been universally awarded an exalted place in the realm of poetry, oratory and song, as well as in devotion to family and in faithfulness to principle. It remains for the American Irish Historical Society to show other and equally important and admirable characteristics of the Irish race, and to point to other fields wherein Irishmen have distinguished themselves in meeting the current and pressing problems of America’s rapid and unparalleled development.

“It remains for us to realize and to show to others that not only was it the Irishman’s pick that brought the earth’s hidden treasures to the surface, his shovel that made ready for the iron rail across the continent, but it was Irish brain and enterprise largely that developed the mines and constructed the steel pathway between the East and the West, thus making a national unit qualified and competent to deal with the nations of the world.

“In the great life current of American nationality, the rich red blood of the Celt has been a dominant and fructifying tributary.

“It also remains for us to realize our shortcomings and to aim for the highest ideals, not to be content with a leading place in the world of military renown, financial, industrial and commercial enterprise. We should earnestly seek correspondingly high places in the realm of philanthropy, moderation and universal brotherhood.”

During the evening the Sullivan Memorial Committee having in charge the erection and dedication of a bronze memorial at the 25State House in Rhode Island to Maj.-Gen. John Sullivan, made a report through Judge Lee, its chairman, showing substantial progress and an intention to dedicate the memorial some time during the present year.

Mr. Dennis H. Tierney made stirring remarks concerning “The Star Spangled Banner” as a patriotic song taken as a whole, and deplored the disposition of so many public bodies to leave out parts of it.

After remarks by other members the company dispersed, having participated in one of the most entertaining and instructive banquets ever held by the Society.

An event of much historical significance to Rhode Island, and indeed to the entire country, took place under the auspices of the Society at the Rhode Island State House on Wednesday, December 16, 1908, when an impressive bronze memorial was dedicated to the memory of Major-General John Sullivan, one of Rhode Island’s Revolutionary heroes.

The memorial, which most appropriately commemorates the services of General Sullivan to his race, his country and his State, is placed in a fitting position in the broad corridor of the main entrance to the capitol. Large, beautifully designed and in every way worthy of its mission, it immediately claims the attention of everyone who enters the State House. It has already been the object of favorable comment from many distinguished people, and is acknowledged to be a credit not only to the memory of the distinguished soldier, but also to the Society through whose efforts it was placed in its present position.

The exercises on the day of the unveiling were in every way worthy of such an occasion. People of distinction in every walk of life were present, all the historical organizations of the State were represented by officers and members, and addresses befitting the event were delivered by men of prominence in public life and in historical research. Col. David C. Robinson, of New York, a well-known student of history and a most eloquent speaker, was the orator of the day, and inspiring speeches were made by Dr. Francis J. Quinlan, of New York, President-General of the Society; Gov. James H. Higgins, of Rhode Island; Governor-elect Aram J. Pothier; ex-Governor Charles Warren Lippitt; Mayor Patrick J. McCarthy, of Providence; and Gen. William Ames, chairman of the State House Commission. Hon. Thomas Z. Lee, of Providence, chairman of the Sullivan Memorial Committee, presided. The exercises took place in the presence of a large gathering and one thoroughly representative of the public and social life of the city and State.

27Following the dedicatory exercises luncheon was served at the Narragansett Hotel, the Society’s headquarters, and this also was followed by a number of brief addresses from well-known Rhode Islanders and members of the Society from other States.

The proceedings at the State House began at noon, Judge Lee making the opening address. He said:

“Honored Guests, Members of the American Irish Historical Society, Ladies and Gentlemen:

“We are assembled in the Rhode Island State House today to dedicate a memorial in honor of Maj. Gen. John Sullivan whose service to the country and this State during the war of the Revolution is familiar to every American, and whose career as a soldier, statesman and jurist will be eloquently depicted by those who will be presented to you later. My remarks will be confined to a short history of the American Irish Historical Society under whose auspices the memorial was erected, and a reference to the movement and spirit which prompted the work.

“The American Irish Historical Society was organized in Boston, January 20th, 1897. Certain gentlemen interested in historical work, believing that proper recognition had not always been given by historians and others to the part taken in the settlement, foundations, upbuilding and general affairs of the United States by those of Irish descent, brought forth the idea of a society, national in its scope, that should be devoted to making better known the Irish Chapter in American history, by giving plain recitals of facts, correcting errors, supplying omissions, discouraging prejudice, establishing right and truth, and giving rightful place and just due to historical matters concerning American citizens of Irish nativity, blood or extraction. Invitations were sent out by these gentlemen, and an enthusiastic meeting took place, at which representatives from seventeen States were present; and the following were elected the first officers of the Society:

“Rear Admiral Richard Worsam Meade, U. S. Navy, of Washington, President-General; Mr. Osborne Howes of Massachusetts, 28Vice-President-General; Hon. John C. Linehan of New Hampshire, Treasurer-General; Thomas Hamilton Murray of Rhode Island, Secretary-General; and Thomas B. Lawler of New York, Librarian and Archivist.

“The first Executive Council consisted of the foregoing and Mr. James Jeffrey Roche of Boston, Hon. Robert Ellis Thompson of Philadelphia, Hon. Theodore Roosevelt of New York, Hon. Edward A. Moseley of Washington, Mr. Augustus St. Gaudens of New York, Mr. Joseph Smith of Lowell, T. Russell Sullivan, a direct descendant of General Sullivan, of Boston, and Hon. Maurice F. Egan of Washington.

“The first Board of State Vice-Presidents was as follows: Maine, Mr. James Cunningham of Portland; New Hampshire, Mr. T. P. Sullivan of Concord; Vermont, Mr. Thomas W. Moloney of Rutland; Massachusetts, Mr. Osborne Howes of Boston; Rhode Island, Mr. M. Joseph Harson of Providence; Connecticut, Mr. Joseph F. Swords of Hartford; New York, General James R. O’Beirne of New York City; New Jersey, Hon. William McAdoo, Assistant Secretary of the Navy, of Jersey City; Pennsylvania, General St. Clair A. Mulholland of Philadelphia; South Carolina, Ex-United States Senator M. C. Butler of Edgefield; Georgia, Ex-United States Senator Patrick Walsh of Atlanta; Ohio, Rev. George W. Pepper of Cleveland; Illinois, W. J. Onahan of Chicago; Michigan, Ex-Congressman Thomas A. E. Weadock of Detroit; Minnesota, Mr. Daniel W. Lawler of St. Paul; Missouri, Mr. Richard E. Kerens of St. Louis; District of Columbia, Mr. J. D. O’Connell of Washington.

“The work that the Society has undertaken is worthy of the sympathy and aid of every American who is interested in the past, present and future of this, the greatest country on earth; and in doing its work the watchwords of the Society are Fidelity, Truth and Honor, and we feel and know what the influence and inspiration of these words mean.

“One of the preambles in the Constitution reads: ‘While we as loyal citizens of this Republic are earnestly interested in all the various phases of its history, we feel that we should be false to its honor and greatness and recreant to our own blood if we did not make a serious effort to leave to those generations which will follow 29us, a clearer and better knowledge of the important work done by men and women of the Irish race in the United States.’

“The broad scope of our work may be comprehended from a statement of our objects and purposes:

“(1) The study of American history generally.

“(2) To investigate, especially, the immigration of the people of Ireland to this country, determine its numbers, examine the sources, learn the places of settlement; and estimate the influence on contemporary events in war, legislation, religion, education and other departments of human activity.

“(3) To examine records of every character, wherever found, calculated to throw light on the work of the Irish element in this broad land.

“(4) To endeavor to correct erroneous, distorted and false views of history, where they are known, and to substitute therefor the truth of history, based on documentary evidence, and the best and most reasonable tradition, in relation to the Irish race in America.

“(5) To encourage and assist the formation of local societies in American cities and towns for the work of the parent Society.

“(6) To promote and foster an honorable and national spirit of patriotism, which shall know no lines of division, which shall be based upon loyalty to the laws, institutions and spirit of the Republic to whose upbuilding the Irish element has unselfishly contributed in blood and treasure, a patriotism whose simple watchwords shall be ‘true Americanism’ and ‘human freedom,’ and which has no concern for any man’s race, color or creed, measuring him only by his conduct, effort and achievement.

“(7) To promote by union in a common high purpose, a sincere fraternity, a greater emulation in well doing, a closer confidence and mutual respect among the various elements of the Irish race in America, that by putting behind it the asperities of the past, it may unite in a common brotherhood with its fellows for the honor of the race and the glory of the Republic.

“(8) To compile the results of its historical investigations in suitable literary form; to print, publish and distribute its documents among libraries, educational institutions and its own membership with a view to the wide dissemination of historical truths, and in 30order that such data may be placed within the reach of historians and other writers and readers.

“(9) To discriminate every paper, sketch and document bearing on the work of the Society before the same is accepted and given official sanction, in order that its publication may be a guarantee of its historical accuracy; to do its work without passion or prejudice, to view acknowledged facts in the true scientific historical spirit; and, having reached the truth, to give it to the world.

“Some two years ago the movement for the erection of this memorial was started. The first suggestion came from Mr. Thomas Hamilton Murray, the late honored Secretary-General of the Society. The Rhode Island members at once manifested a deep interest, formed themselves into a committee, and, in due time, solicited among their number subscriptions for this memorial. These subscriptions came in very satisfactorily, and, when we were assured that it was possible to erect a suitable memorial, a sub-committee of the general committee conferred with the Board of State House Commissioners, who assigned to us the most appropriate space in the State House, beside the cases of flags carried by Rhode Island regiments in the different wars.

“The memorial has been erected with the aid of Rhode Island subscriptions, with one or two exceptions. It was designed by the brilliant young sculptor, Mr. John G. Hardy, under whose direction it was executed by the W. J. Feeley Company, of Providence.

“I now take great pleasure in behalf of the American Irish Historical Society and in behalf of its committee, in presenting to the State of Rhode Island the Sullivan memorial, which Mr. Hardy will now unveil. (At this point the flags draping the memorial were drawn aside by the sculptor.)

“And now I have the great honor to present to you a gentleman well-known and highly-honored by all Rhode Islanders, one who has shown deep interest in this, as in all other worthy projects, Hon. James H. Higgins, Governor of Rhode Island.”

Governor Higgins spoke as follows:

“Ladies and Gentlemen: In behalf of the State of Rhode Island, I am not only pleased but proud indeed to accept this splendid memorial. Rhode Island has a particular interest in the career and 31achievements of General Sullivan. He was delegated to the command of the forces in Rhode Island largely through the recommendation of General Greene, the greatest soldier of all in the Revolution next to Washington. Through the joint recommendations of Washington and Greene, Sullivan was placed in command of the forces in this State.

“There was perhaps no State in the Union which, in proportion to its size and population, suffered more of the hardships of that great struggle than our own. Some historians have suggested that one section of our State, Newport and the Island of Rhode Island, have never recovered from the blow dealt it through the long occupation of that section of the State by the British forces. We of Rhode Island, therefore, have a particular interest in the efforts of General Sullivan to expel the British from this State.

“We are proud, therefore, to know that the American Irish Historical Society has taken this matter up and has shown such active interest in perpetuating the memory and the exploits of General Sullivan. I am sure that I can say on behalf of our united citizenship that the State appreciates this activity, this patriotism, on the part of the American Irish Historical Society, and we want to say to you, sirs, that the fruit of your interest—this memorial—will ever be preserved by our State as a remembrance of his splendid achievements, as well as of the generosity and the patriotism of the organization which prompted it. May your activity, my friends, be continued throughout the length and breadth of the land and throughout the entire period of your career in the same creditable and patriotic manner that has characterized your work concerning General Sullivan.

“Again, sirs, I am pleased to accept in behalf of our State this splendid remembrance, to assure you of our profound appreciation, and to say that it shall ever remain as a memento of your patriotism and character, of the gratitude and appreciation of our good State, as an inspiration to all future generations and to all visitors to this splendid Capitol, of the value and eternity of that thankfulness which a grateful people feel for those who serve them well.

“It is now my pleasure to turn the memorial over to General William Ames, the Chairman of the State House Commission, in whose trustworthy hands this monument will be placed and from whom I am sure it will receive the same careful and patriotic attention 32that all his other duties have received in connection with the management of our splendid State Capitol. I am pleased, therefore, to introduce to you one of our most honored fellow citizens, General William Ames, who will accept in behalf of the State House Commission.”

General Ames responded as follows:

“Your Excellency, Members of the American Irish Historical Society, Ladies and Gentlemen: As Chairman of the Commission having in its care and keeping this beautiful State House it is my privilege to bid you welcome here today. We are assembled, not for an ordinary occasion, but for an extraordinary one. We are here to inscribe upon this marble wall the name of one who was patriot, soldier and statesman, the commander who planned and fought the Battle of Rhode Island in 1778.

“General John Sullivan passed on long years ago to make his final report to the great Commander of us all. Yet we have treasured his memory, and through the years it has grown ever dearer to the hearts of all patriotic Americans—to us of Rhode Island more than all. And now that love has found fitting expression in this memorial, which shall commemorate through the coming ages his patriotism, his devotion, and his loyal services to his country.

“A State can perform no more graceful act than to make public record of the deeds and accomplishments of its famous sons. It therefore gives me great pleasure, and I deem it a high honor, to accept for the State House Commission the custody and care of the beautiful memorial placed upon these walls by the American Irish Historical Society.”

At the conclusion of General Ames’ acceptance Chairman Lee introduced Mayor McCarthy in the following words: “The thanks of the American Irish Historical Society are due and are hereby tendered to General Ames and to Hon. James M. Scott and Col. J. Edward Studley, the other members of the Board of State House Commissioners, for their great courtesy to us. It was to them we first addressed ourselves for permission to place our memorial to General Sullivan in the State House, and when it was ready for its permanent position a few weeks ago, we went to them again concerning the dedicatory exercises. Our comfortable seating was provided for, the freedom of this beautiful capitol extended us and an 33ample force of employees placed at our disposal. We may well be grateful for the uniform courtesy and consideration that marked all the Commission’s dealing with our Society.

“The Secretary of our committee is a very worthy member of the Society. As I happened to be the Chairman, it was my privilege to sign my name over his in issuing the invitations. It is the first time I have ever had an opportunity of putting my name before that of His Honor the Mayor, and I enjoyed the opportunity. But now, after doing his work as Secretary of the committee very faithfully, he has tendered his resignation, which we have most regretfully accepted, in order that he might do his duty as Chief Executive of the City of Providence. I have the honor to introduce to you our esteemed fellow-member, Hon. Patrick J. McCarthy of Providence, who will, I am sure, extend to us a warm welcome to the principal city of the State over the destinies of which he presides so ably.”

Mayor McCarthy said:

“Mr. Chairman, Fellow Members of the American Irish Historical Society, Ladies and Gentlemen: I am deeply sensible of the honor my official position and duty brings me on this occasion as Mayor of Providence in greeting the representatives of The American Irish Historical Society and its distinguished guests from many states; I tender you a ‘Providence Welcome,’ and the freedom of the city.

“I thank the Society for its munificent gift of the beautiful bronze memorial, which commemorates the heroic deeds of Major General John Sullivan of the Continental Army and his services to his native State (New Hampshire) as citizen, legislator, jurist and governor, and also to the United States as a member of Congress.

“The people of Providence thank the State House Commissioners for allotting space for the memorial in the Capitol Building of Rhode Island; it is an appropriate place for a memento of the hero of the Battle of Rhode Island. The good deeds of men live after them. General Sullivan’s life was spent in the service of his state and country. He was generously endowed by nature, with the mental and physical qualities that are characteristic of his race, which enabled him to perform his duty on the field, on the bench, as 34chief magistrate of his State, and as a citizen, courageously and zealously with loyalty to God and country—seeking honor only in the discharge of duty.

“The history of his life work survives him. We are assembled to honor his memory. The memorial you have this day placed in this State House is a page in bronze, of the history of the early struggles of our countrymen for National Independence, equal rights, and freedom—a page which future generations will read with inspiration to emulate the honorable career of General Sullivan.

“We honor ourselves in dedicating this monument to his memory. Providence is grateful to the Society for possession of it within the city, and is modestly proud of the fact that it is the product of a Providence artist and establishment.

“The dedication of permanent monuments in grateful recognition of the noble service of good men inspires others to heroic deeds and sacrifices, and perpetuates the history of such men and their achievements.

“The American Irish Historical Society, in placing this beautiful memorial in Rhode Island, commemorates one of the early battles in support of the Declaration of Independence and for national separation of the Colonies from Great Britain, fought by an American General of the Irish race, ever loyal to the cause of freedom and equality and commends the history of his life, and the history of the Irish race in America to all men of good will.”

Chairman Lee: “A generous response to our invitations has been received, nearly all our invited guests being present. We have received letters of regret, however, from Rev. W. H. P. Faunce, President of Brown University, Hon. Asa Bird Gardiner, Rt. Rev. Mathew Harkins and one or two others whose letters are not this moment before me. Our fellow-member, the President of the United States, in a letter to us, tenders his regrets at being unable to be present, and cites urgent business at home as the reason. Judging from the accounts in the morning papers about his trouble with the yellow journals, I take it he is pretty busy at this time in Washington.

“We have letters of regret from other members of the Society who are unable to be present. I will read the names only. Rt. Rev. Philip J. Garrigan, Bishop of Sioux City; Rt. Rev. M. J. Hoban, Bishop of Scranton; Hon. W. Bourke Cockran of New 35York; John Moriarty of Waterbury, Conn.; J. B. Spillane of New York; M. C. O’Brien, M. D., of New York; James H. Devlin, Jr., of Boston, Mass.; Rev. John J. McCoy, LL. D., of Worcester, Mass.; John W. Bourlet of Concord, N. H.; Rev. Gerald P. Coghlan of Philadelphia; Hon. Willis B. Dowd of New York; Richard Worsam Meade of New York; Patrick Gallagher of New York; Edward J. Brandon of Cambridge, Mass.; J. C. Griffin of Skowhegan, Me.; W. P. Regan of Lawrence, Mass.; W. J. O’Hagan of Charleston, S. C.; John J. Slattery of Louisville, Ky.; John F. Doyle of New York; P. F. McBreen of New York; John J. Keenan of Boston, Mass.; William Francis Byrnes, M. D.; Hon. J. C. Monaghan of New York; Wiliam B. Sullivan of Boston, Mass.; Hon. P. J. Ryan, Mayor-Elect of Elizabeth, N. J.; H. M. Cox, M. D., of New York; Dr. George McAleer of Worcester, Mass.; William Gilbert Davies; Charles V. Dasey of Boston, Mass.; Finley Peter Dunne of Chicago; Hon. John J. McDonough of Fall River, Mass.; Eugene Lynch of Boston, Mass.; Stephen Farrelly of New York; Mitchell McDonahue; Henry L. Joyce of New York; Major E. J. O’Shaughnessy of New York; Lawrence Clancy of Oswego, N. Y.; Rt. Rev. Thomas J. Conaty, Bishop of Monterey, Los Angeles, Cal.; Judge Mathew Breen of New York; Capt. James Connolly of Coronado, Cal.; Gen. A. G. Malloy of El Paso, Texas; John J. Daly of New York; Hon. Edward A. Moseley of Washington; Judge Victor J. Dowling of New York; Rev. M. J. Cooke of Fall River and Rev. Cyrus Townsend Brady of Toledo, Ohio.

“Before presenting the orator of the day I desire to say to all members who have not visited the Society’s headquarters at the Narragansett Hotel that luncheon will be served there after the ceremonies here; delegates of all the organizations represented in response to our invitation are also cordially invited to join us at luncheon. The headquarters are in room 10 at the hotel, and luncheon will be served in the main dining-room immediately upon our arrival there.

“The Society is fortunate in having secured for the principal speaker today a gentleman who knows perhaps more about the life and works of General Sullivan than does any other in the United States; a statesman whose record is widely known, and whose voice has been heard in discussion of historical and other matters in the 36New York capitol at Albany on many occasions. The son of a former governor of New York, he has always been identified with New York institutions and New York laws. Through his efforts the Legislature of that State recently appropriated $10,000 for the purpose of erecting a suitable memorial to General Sullivan, and, while the purposes of that resolution have not yet been fulfilled, it will be but a short time before a fitting tribute is paid by the State of New York to the memory of Major General Sullivan. And the credit for that tribute will be due in large part to the gentleman I now have the honor to introduce, Col. David C. Robinson, of Elmira, N. Y.”

Colonel Robinson spoke as follows:

“Mr. Chairman, Your Excellency the Governor, Members of the American Irish Historical Society, Ladies and Gentlemen: I should do less than justice to the emotions of the hour if I did not, at the outset, express my high appreciation of and my profound thanks for the honor done me in the invitation from your Society to voice our mutual sentiments upon so important an occasion as this. It is an honor to be invited as a spectator to take part in such a ceremony as this; it is a higher honor to be accounted worthy even by a few to say a word on such an occasion; it is honor most of all that I have your unanimous invitation to say that which I may be able to in memory of one of the noblest and purest characters on whom the sun of history has ever shone.

“It has been the habit of my life, my friends, to speak without a note; the professional training of many years has made it easier. I do remember many, very many things about Major General John Sullivan and his life; I do not remember all that I should mention, for the line is long, and I am, therefore, contrary to my usual custom, obliged to ask you to bear with me while I refresh my recollection from time to time with a memorandum of some of the most distinguished services with which this man’s life was filled, to the end that I may impress the lesson which speaks from this memorial, which speaks from the long-drawn procession of brave and good and kind deeds with which the life of the one whom we commemorate today is surrounded.

“And first, before I enter on that which I would say of this memorial and of him to whose memory it is dedicated, I want to congratulate 37this Society on that which it has even in the few years of its existence accomplished, and on the labors, increased in volume every year, by which it makes known the Irish chapter in American history.

“To trace that which we owe to the line of blood of which this man was one of the most illustrious examples, is a duty which belongs to every student of American history. Let us find, if we may, wherein lay that in which he so far exceeded most of his fellowmen. Let us make it a lesson not alone to say that this man was one of the greatest of American Irish or Irish Americans, but that he illustrated a trait of character which Americans and Irish American citizens all ought to follow, ought to teach their children to follow, ought to endeavor to perpetuate in the thoughts, the work, the labors of this land.

“Now we are met principally to do honor to the memory and the merits of a brave and good man; that is our purpose; but in our acts and words today, my friends, we do honor not only to him and to his memory, but we do honor to ourselves and our countrymen. He belongs to us and we appreciate it. The laurels which we lay on the graves of such as he, who periled life, limb, fortune, happiness and health that we might enjoy the blessings which are ours today, are laurels piled upon our own characters, our own qualities.

“From this beautiful tablet, so fittingly placed in honor of him, whose name in this hour fills all our hearts, the veil has just fallen in your sight. I do not envy that American who, at such a time as this, does not feel his heart swell with patriotic pride at the thought of what this graven monument means to us and ours.

“A thousand recollections sparkle in the chambers of memory as we recall the chivalry, the worth, the dauntless courage and self-denying loyalty of him whose heart, stilled in its own earthly tenement for more than a hundred years, yet lives and throbs and pulses in the hearts of every lover of his land and of human liberty the wide world around; and, although appreciating to the fullest extent all that your Mayor has so well said and the Chairman so ably suggested of the beauty of this memorial, I may be pardoned for saying that no work of art, no accomplishment of high design, no costly metal, no skilful chiseling, no beautiful moulding, can 38make a memorial worthy of such a man as was Major General John Sullivan.

“For when I think of what he was and what he did, when there rises to my sight the sacrifice and effort, the combat and the stern endurance, the privation and the grief, the sorrow and the pain, which marked his labor and his life throughout the years which spanned the rise of freedom, yea, the hope of men upon this continent, I feel sure that pen may not write, voice may not sound, nor can the chisel of art produce token worthy of his high deserving.

“I would that the task of voicing our sentiments upon this occasion, the impressions of this hour, had fallen to other and to abler hands than mine. I wish that some peerless orator, born of that great race from which he sprang, might tell us here whence came the greatness, the nobility, the grace and loveliness which were so gloriously his, and, in telling that, might teach our children how he came to that high state of manly quality which all the world now knows was his.

“But, friends of this great Society, whose well-bent efforts have done so much to give deserving heroes the credit which was rightly theirs, I know you will not let the awakened and quickening memories of this great soul for one moment hesitate in their progress toward wider and better appreciation.

“I know that my own shortcomings will be more than complemented by your larger opportunity of bringing within the circle of his admirers every patriotic citizen of this Republic. Nay, more, I hope the day will come when every State House in the land shall hold a tablet such as this, when every schoolboy shall read lessons from his life, when every human being who seeks partnership and title in the freedom of his kind shall, in his memory, cherish the name of Major General John Sullivan as one who deserves a niche unshadowed and a fame unscarred among the scanty array of those great souls whom the genius of Liberty proudly calls her own.

“This is not the fulsome word of hyperbole; it is not the sounding tinkle of rhetoric or idle eulogy. It is the measured testimony of those who have read aright the history of the great struggle for Independence, and have found therein no light or shadow in which the great soul of Major General Sullivan did not sparkle with the luster of a flawless diamond. And in this hour, beneath the lofty 39dome henceforth to shadow this memorial, in this free atmosphere which seems even now to echo with the guns he fired against his country’s foes, in this bright light, not purer than the soul he wore upon his sleeve, let us trace out a few of those strands of character which made him what he was, and, in our speaking, draw some inspiration from a few of the many debts which Liberty and our common country owe to him.

“Ah, my friends, the account is long. We find him early trained as a lawyer, and at the age of 32 Major of the New Hampshire Regiment; in the spring of 1774, a member of the Provincial Assembly of New Hampshire; in September of the same year and in 1775, a delegate to the Continental Congress, by which he was in June, 1775, appointed a Brigadier-General, and in 1776 a Major-General.

“Yet even while he was, at 34, only a New Hampshire Major, he had accomplished perhaps the most daring personal feat of the Revolution in the seizure of the powder and arms at Fort William and Mary in Portsmouth Harbor. Do you realize what that meant? Little more than a boy, anticipating, as he always anticipated, troubles to come, he dealt a crushing blow to the greatest power on earth, a boy with a dozen companions, and he sounded in that one daring act the keynote of that grand chorus of Liberty whose majestic final chords were heard in the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown.

“I challenge the world to find a busier or more useful life than his for the five years from 1774 to 1779. No wonder, my friends, that no memorial can do justice to this. We find him on Winter’s Hill at the siege of Boston, working with all the energy of a vigorous manhood and high purpose; again at Portsmouth to advise and assist in warding off a menaced attack from the British fleet; thence hastily ordered to New York to aid General Putnam with a powerful detachment.

“The pressing needs of the imperiled American army in Canada caused General Washington, in the spring of 1776, to hurry him off with six regiments to join its Commander at the earliest possible moment. Do you realize, my friends, what a journey to Canada with six regiments—a hasty journey—meant in those days? Yet Sullivan was there, only to see the death of the Commander whom he had been ordered to assist, from a malignant attack of smallpox; 40and himself suddenly succeeded to the place of Chief Commander of the entire expedition.

“Nothing could exceed the vigor and discretion of his work as Commander of this most difficult expedition. Washington wrote of him at this time—and I love to quote of this man who has always been my historical ideal the words of the greatest mind in war and peace this country has ever known—Washington wrote of him at this time: ‘He is active, spirited and zealously attached to the cause. His wants are common to us all. He wants experience to move upon a grand scale, for the limited and contracted knowledge which any of us have in military matters stands in very little stead.’

“But Washington’s most competent biographer, Washington Irving, declares with emphasis and truth: ‘This want was overbalanced on the part of General Sullivan by sound judgment, some acquaintance with men and books, and an enterprising genius.’

“It is a source of profound regret to the thoughtful student of American history that General Sullivan was not left in charge to work out the problem of the Canadian expedition. True, he was only thirty-six years of age and had had but limited experience, but his successful combinations of a few years later leave it more than possible that, with him as a leader, the whole of Canada might have been added to the United States even at that early day, and the Revolution there terminated in half the time it finally lasted.

“This was not destined so to be, for Congress somewhat hastily decided to commit the command of the Northern army to the much older but, as many of us now believe, far less competent hands of General Gates. I should not do justice to General Sullivan’s character if I did not concede that this replacement caused him some hurt, and I might say grief, but his magnanimous and instant efforts in the very moment of his return from Canada to serve his country by taking up as temporary Commander the perilous work on Long Island which General Greene had been compelled by illness to lay down, showed the soldier, the gentleman and patriot as no less trying circumstances could.

“In the midst of the carnage of the disastrous battle of Long Island, Sullivan was taken prisoner. At once paroled and soon after exchanged, we find him in December, 1776, hastening to join General Washington.

41“Let me now turn from the track of this all too historical resumé to call your attention to the fact that, when Lord Howe paroled General Sullivan, desirous then of accelerating and possibly terminating the Rebellion without severance with the colonies, he selected John Sullivan as the honored representative of the British Government to convey his message to George Washington, and General Sullivan, under his own parole, brought from Lord Howe to George Washington the propositions which Lord Howe felt he could entrust to no more worthy hands than those of this man who was the absolute and the untiring enemy of Great Britain. That is a testimonial to General Sullivan whose place no monument can take.

“In December, 1776, he hastened to join General Washington. On the morning of the attack of Trenton, after a night of storm and cold so bitter that some of his men were frozen to death and many of his guns were rendered wet and useless, he reported to Washington the defective condition of his muskets, as was his duty, but was ordered to advance and charge, which he did with so much effect that his regiment was really the first in action at the lower end of the town.

“Next we find him, September 11th, 1777, on the disastrous but glorious field of Brandywine, every duty discharged with promptness, cool courage and sound discretion and judgment, and even in the closing hours of that struggle his was the foremost figure in the desperate center of the fray.

“Brandywine and its disappointing finish was scarcely over before the conflict at Germantown involved him with his division in another desperate struggle, where an unfortunate and needless delay by General Knox and the sudden rising of a dense and impenetrable fog snatched from his hands a victory earned and well earned by every exhibition of soldierly quality a commander could give. And even in the hour of keenest personal disappointment, balked of a victory he had richly earned, a victory which would have set his name ringing around the world as its chief author and cause, his thoughts were not of himself, but of the personal danger to Washington to whom he gave the lifelong devotion which only lives in the breasts of noble men.

“Without a pang or plaint of his own peril and disappointment, he writes: ‘I saw with great concern our brave Commander-inChief 42exposing himself to the hottest fire of the enemy in such a manner that regard for my country obliged me to ride to him and beg him to retire.’ And in the longer account of which these words are a part, my friends, not a suggestion can be found or guessed of the added peril which the writer himself freely braved in the efforts to remove his Chief from danger.

“This hasty and inadequate resumé of his service in the first two years of the Revolution brings us to the great military operation of which he was the chief and on which will always rest much of his fame—the investment of Rhode Island and the series of movements of which the State and coast of Rhode Island formed the picturesque theater.

“The enterprise was a favorite one with Washington, who hoped, indeed, that it would emphasize the French alliance at the outset by an overwhelming and successful effect of an attack on the British army almost within the sound of our voices. Its success was very dear to Washington’s heart, and for it he chose three officers perhaps more closely in his confidence and affection than any others in the Revolutionary Army. Sullivan was in chief command, with Greene and Lafayette as equal subordinate assistants, each having a division comprising as nearly as possible half of the army.

“The plan of operations had been agreed upon between Washington and the French Commander, and the conflict was laid out to be, as it should have been, the first great effort of the allied French and American forces against the British army of invasion.

“I am speaking to an audience whose youngest members should and probably do know more of the details of these military movements than I can ever hope to know.

“From first to last, down to the finest particular of necessary prevision, General Sullivan was more than ready. All that a commander could do to insure success, he had accomplished so well that the only criticism made of his actions was that he had seized the British works opposite the north end of the island one day ahead of time. At this, the French General who had expected a joint attack to be made the next day professed to believe his notions of military etiquette had been shocked, but, as no harm resulted and a distinct gain in time had been effected, he had small foundation for his complaint, which was soon practically abandoned.

“There had been an excellent opportunity to make the joint undertaking 43a magnificent success. If, as is now apparent, the attack had been made in the latter part of July as it might easily have been in view of Sullivan’s perfect preparations and the presence of the French fleet, it is probable that the war would have reached a complete and glorious close almost within sight of the ground upon which we stand today. Postponed as it was from day to day until August 10th, the British were given time to reinforce their fleet, hasten it to Newport, and there engage the French fleet in dilatory manœuvering which used up days of precious time and completely dissipated all hope of substantial assistance from the French warships. The expected, or that which should have been expected by the naval commanders, soon happened; many of us who have spent much time around here would have expected it to happen.

“About the twentieth of August, one of those storms for which the region of Point Judith is famous, set in with almost unexampled fury. Land and water forces were alike put out of condition for offensive or defensive operations. The French fleet limped away to Boston to refit, and Sullivan, deeply chagrined at the utter failure of his naval auxiliaries to render any assistance, set to work to protect his army and extricate it from a position made perilous by the departure of its entire marine support and the consequent desertion of most of his militia.

“The story of his great achievement in retiring his entire force in the face of a vastly superior English army, of the masterly retreat covered by his most skilfully selected position at Butts Hill, as I believe it is called—as to its proper name, I shall not attempt to correct a Rhode Island audience—a retreat effected finally so completely that not a man was left behind and not a single article lost, while, in the course of that retreat, signal and marked punishment was inflicted upon the British army, will ever read like a romance of model leadership, and, if General John Sullivan had no other memory, my friends, than of what he did within a radius of sixty miles of this Capitol, his fame could be no less great and no less enduring than it is, and, what is more, would be richly deserved.

“Thus briefly, as becomes my scanty time, I have sketched the work of John Sullivan to the close of 1778. I have not made the motive of my story clear if it has not already appeared that this man was greater in the hour of undeserved disappointment than most men in the exaltation of victory. Again and again, the fruits of deserved 44and brilliant success were held to his lips, only to be dashed away by the folly of the foibles of some weaker spirit necessarily entangled in his plans. Yet never for an instant did he yield to the despair and mortification which would have sunk less noble souls. Each disappointment seemed to but nerve him to stronger and more brilliant efforts. And herein, my friends, to my mind, is illustrated and should be made prominent one grand characteristic which we have taken from the noble Irish race. The patience under disappointment which Major General John Sullivan illustrates, the patience under disappointment which again and again was manifestly the fault of men to whom he never gave a word of rebuke or complaint, the steadfast iron determination with which he set to work instantly to repair the ruin that some, associated in common with him, had wrought, is the brightest leaf in the chaplet which America has put upon his grave.

“It is an honor to belong to that grand old race, aye, even to hold one drop of Irish blood in your veins, but, good friends all, with or without it, I am proud to testify to what Irish friendship, Irish loyalty and the matchless Irish courage can do. No man ever knew as I have known what Irish friendship is, no man ever knew as I have known what Irish hospitality is, no man ever knew as I have known what Irish loyalty and patience is, without bowing in humble respect to it, whether he drew his blood from France or from Russia, from America or from England, each one of which owes Ireland a measureless debt. And all who love truth in history and gratitude for priceless gifts received, will urge your Society onward every day and hour you labor in the work you have so well begun till every heroic son of this great line who has helped to build the fabric of American liberty shall have his rightful place in history and the laurels he has fairly won.

“I have now come to that which, in justice to Major General John Sullivan, I think should be related. I shall ask you to turn from the beautiful State in which you live to that far off region of beauty in which I have the honor to hold my home. In 1778 occurred in Wyoming that awful massacre whose horrors yet ring in the history of our country and in the hearts of the descendants of those who lost part of their families, who lost limb, who lost health, who were maimed, in that most horrible of savage invasions. Early in 1779 Congress, representing a country which had been 45shocked to the limit by those terrible outrages, passed a resolution of unlimited vigor, calling upon Washington to arrange for their punishment. It was suggested at first to Washington that General Gates should have the command, but Washington, whose knowledge of Indian warfare was complete, wanted General Sullivan, and to that officer was entrusted the conduct of that great fight.

“In the history of Indian warfare in this country there is nothing more successful, more thoroughly creditable to the commanding officer, than the history of what General John Sullivan and his command did in the then wilderness reaching from Wyoming to the Genesee; and today, think of him what you may, build to him tablets as beautiful as this, recall his manifestly skilful work in the State where you stand, and you cannot accord to him one half the veneration and the love which the citizens of the counties around me, now a million in number, feel towards General John Sullivan for the work which opened up that magnificent line of valleys unequalled in their fertility, and whose line of bordering hills to this day, one hundred and thirty years after, is resounding with thanksgiving and praise for what General John Sullivan did there.

“Every morning when I look out of my window in the far distance I can see in the battlefield which decided the ownership of that region a tall and stately monument built by private subscription to General Sullivan, to commemorate his work on that bloody day, and just below it stands a magnificent marker of granite, placed there by the Sons of the American Revolution to mark the very center of the conflict which took those valleys away from the possession of the Indians and turned them over to civilization and happy and peaceful occupation; and those who know the iron will and determined character of John Sullivan know, as we do, that when he got through with the Indians and their worthless white associates they had no more thirst for blood. Sullivan served notice on them and carried it out that if there was any more blood shed in that part of the country the Indians would furnish the blood.

“So perhaps, in an humble way, I have alluded to that feature of Sullivans’ life—his closing campaign, which identifies him with Northern Pennsylvania and Central New York.

“With the close of the campaign of 1779, which may be said to have terminated his military career, General Sullivan resigned his commission and retired from the army. The constant strain of five 46years almost constantly in active and perilous service had wrecked a constitution never of the strongest, and he felt he had given all of his life and strength to the cause of Independence.

“His resignation was accepted with profound regret, although it was universally felt that the reasons for his retirement were imperative. Although he lived for fifteen years after his resignation, his health was not robust and he died in 1795 at the early age of fifty-four, universally admired and lamented. He had, however, no sooner left the army than his brilliant legal and forensic talent was seized upon, for such services to the country as his health would permit, in the legislative halls of the nation, the executive chair of his own State, and later upon the Federal Bench.

“In 1780–1781 he was a delegate to Congress. In 1782 he was appointed the Attorney-General of New Hampshire and was re-appointed to that office on the adoption of the new constitution of that State in 1784.

“In 1786–1787 he was President and Chief Magistrate of the State of New Hampshire, an office equivalent to that of Governor at the present time.

“In 1788 he was speaker of the House of Representatives of New Hampshire and President of the Convention that ratified the Constitution of the United States.

“In 1789 he was a presidential elector and voted for General Washington for President of the United States, and in March of the same year he was elected Chief Magistrate of the State for the third time.

“Later in 1789 he was appointed by Washington, his affectionate friend and admirer during his whole life, as Judge of the United States District Court of New Hampshire, an office which he held with honor to himself and the Judiciary until his death in January, 1795.

“I have thus briefly sketched the outline of a life which deserves an autobiography perfect in every detail and of the highest grade. History shows this man in more varied and brilliant lines than almost any character in Revolutionary annals. Consider him, my friends, as a young lawyer, prompt, keen, resourceful and competent, and you have a model of early professional life. Mark him as an active officer of the line, reckless of danger, ready to dare all that could be dared, willing to do all that he had dared. Mark him again as a commanding general, reliable, faithful, prudent and dauntless, unswerved by passion, unstained by chagrin, unmarred by envy and uninfluenced by clamor, steady and well-poised in the hour of peril or in a moment of undeserved injustice. Consider him again, my friends, when after years of fierce combat he is chosen for the command of such an expedition as I have indicated, which needs great skill in combination and with such resources in provision for the needs of a frontier army that his success seems impossible.

47“And here let me digest for a moment words which, in my own hearing, fell from the lips of the distinguished General Slocum, speaking of General Sullivan’s great Indian campaign in the presence of General Sherman thirty years ago on the one hundreth anniversary of the same. General Slocum said:

“‘As I have sat listening to the speeches today, I have drawn a parallel between those two expeditions. Sherman’s march was the longer of the two, but, in many respects, he had greater advantages. While he had a great distance to travel he had roads made for him by the enemy; he had his produce brought by mule trains; while General Sullivan made his march through trackless woods and carried his provisions upon the backs of his soldiers. Sherman had good arms; General Sullivan had the old flintlock musket. But after all, the spirit which prompted both expeditions was the same. It was bold and daring, and, although there was no great loss of life in either, yet the results of both were far greater than many battles in which lives by the thousand and tens of thousands were lost.’

“And on the same occasion—it is my excuse for quotations, my friends, that I want you to hear these words from two of the greatest Generals we have ever known—on the same occasion, remembering then, as we remember today, how unjustly General Sullivan was at one time criticised for the harshness of his treatment of the Indians on the Susquehanna expedition, remembering, too, that he suffered these criticisms in silence rather than to lay the blame upon his beloved Chief, Washington, who had given him the orders which were condemned, I quote from the words of General Sherman, spoken also in my hearing on the same occasion:

“‘Our fathers, when they first landed upon this continent, came to found an empire, based upon new principles, and all opposition to it had to pass away, whether it were English or French on the north, or Indians on the west; and no one knew it better than our father, 48Washington. He gave General Sullivan orders to come here and punish the Six Nations for their cruel massacre in the valley of Wyoming, and to make it so severe that it would not occur again. And he did so. General Sullivan obeyed his orders like a man and like a soldier, and the result was from that time forward your people settled up these beautiful valleys around here, and look at their descendants here, a million almost. If it had not been for General Sullivan and the men who followed him from Easton, and Clinton’s forces that came across from Albany, probably some of you would not have been here today.’

“I still read: ‘Battles are not measured by their death roll, but by their results, and it makes no difference whether one man was killed or five hundred if the same result follows. This valley was opened to civilization. It came on the heels of General Sullivan’s army, and has gone on and gone on until today. The same battle is raging upon the Yellow Stone. The same men endowed by the same feelings that General Sullivan’s army had today are contending with the same causes and the same races two thousand miles west of here, not for the purpose of killing, not for the purpose of shedding blood, not for the purpose of doing wrong at all, but to prepare the way for that civilization which must go along wherever yonder flag floats.’

“It might be thought perhaps, my friends, that this rehearsal of the opinions of General Sherman and General Slocum, two of the greatest military leaders of our country, might have been more properly used here than on the dedication of a tablet somewhat, in its scope as a memorial, limited to your own State, but it has been my purpose, my friends, to illustrate General Sullivan as one of the most admirable representatives of his race; and when I have set before you a parallel drawn in the presence of General Sherman himself between the difficulties and the success of Sullivan’s march from Wyoming to the Genesee and Sherman’s own march to the sea, and have given you the opinions of both General Sherman and General Slocum, I have illustrated my proposition that of all the debts which America owes to Ireland, God bless her, General John Sullivan, in his varied talents, in that which he accomplished, in every spot and place in which we put him, is entitled to rank with the noblest and purest contribution which we, in America, have from the grand old Irish race.

49“My friends, my words are in substance ended. I have detained you longer than I meant to, but they who live around me could have told you that you have only to mention the name and memory of Major-General John Sullivan to set going any thoughtful student of American history who lives in the magnificent valleys of the Susquehanna, the Wyoming, and the Genesee. What we owe to this man we can never repay.

“I am proud and happy to have been allowed to participate in the unveiling of such a tribute as this. As I said at the outset, I hope the day will come when every State House in this land will have one, and yet, when I think of what he was and what we owe him, I feel that no monument can make him greater than he is in the affections of our people a hundred and thirty years after his death. And yet I am proud for our own sake, for the uplifting of our own people, that we have thus recognized that which we know of his worth. I might have spoken in his behalf with truth the words of the great Roman: ‘Exegi monumentum aere perennius’—‘I have builded a monument more enduring than brass.’”

Former Governor Lippitt was the next speaker, introduced by the Chairman as follows: “One of our invited guests, representing the Society of the Cincinnati, is obliged to go to a neighboring city within the next hour to deliver an address, and we will not have the pleasure of his company at our luncheon or the benefit of any words from him afterwards. I will therefore introduce him at once.

“As General Sullivan was one of the original members of the Society of the Cincinnati, it is singularly fitting that we call on an honored Rhode Islander, whose father as well as himself has served the state as Governor, and whose devotion to the history and affairs of the commonwealth has given him a well deserved position as an authority on his subject.

“It gives me great pleasure to introduce Hon. Charles Warren Lippitt, ex-Governor of Rhode Island.”

“Mr. Chairman, Members of the American Irish Historical Society, Ladies and Gentlemen: I feel surprised at finding myself somewhat unexpectedly in this position, but will try to aid in honoring this occasion.

“Veneration for General Sullivan, for his services on the Island of Rhode Island, and for his noble victory, has always been mine. That he was of Irish extraction, and that his ancestors, like those 50of all the rest of us who are not descended from Indians, emigrated from a home land to this new country in the western hemisphere, is well known. My descent is from the English, with a strain of the French and the German races rather than from the Irish. No one in any way familiar with American history can hesitate an instant in according to the Hibernians the honor of many noble actions and the respect due to sacrifice of untold value, in every emergency of our common country.

“General Sullivan came of a sturdy race. His father was born during the siege of Limerick, away back in 1691, of such good stock that he outlived the century and did not pass away until 1796, at the age of one hundred and five. It was his son that gave so much of his life and energy, his intelligence and ability, to the cause of American freedom. That he served with distinction in the Continental Army goes without question. That he was at Trenton the night before Christmas and aided in the defeat and capture of that hated Hessian contingent that had been marauding up and down New Jersey is also an established fact. It is equally true that with the three Rhode Island regiments, forming a material part of Washington’s army, he braved the elements in that historic night march from Trenton to Princeton, fought the next morning in the battle of Princeton, and successfully assisted in driving Cornwallis out of New Jersey. It was the crisis of the Revolution. In that time of stress and doubt John Sullivan, the descendant of an Irishman, like so many others of his race, stood shoulder to shoulder with the descendants of the English and the French in securing for us and the millions that have inhabited this land the priceless privileges of liberty.

“His course in the Genesee Valley and the very proper punishment he administered to the savages who committed the horrible massacre at Wyoming has been eloquently traced. His campaign in Rhode Island has, perhaps, been studied in rather more detail in this neighborhood than in other parts of the country.

“History records and practically every American schoolboy can tell how the Americans fought at the battle of Bunker Hill. Wherever the Revolution is known there is an intimate knowledge of that great conflict. We all of us glory in its story, and remember with gratitude and sympathy the bravery of those untrained patriots who administered such a fearful blow to British power and prestige.

“Compare for a moment the battle on Rhode Island and the results 51secured by Sullivan’s generalship with the circumstances and the issue on that hill near Boston. The loss of the English at Bunker Hill was 1,054 men, that of the Americans 449. Until the British entered the redoubt, the Americans fought behind entrenchments. In the third attack the British captured the redoubt, drove the Americans from the hill, and retained undisputed control of the battlefield.

“In the campaign on Rhode Island the inability of the French to control the sea obliged the Americans to retire to Butts Hill. In the valley separating it from Quaker, Turkey and Anthony hills, immediately south, a battle was fought, not behind entrenchments, but in the broad open, where each army had equal advantages and success was won by brilliant tactics and skill and spirit in using weapons. In the retreat and in the battle between the nearby Rhode Island hills, the English lost 1,023 and the Americans 211. After repulsing two vigorously and pertinaciously pressed charges of the English army, the Americans were obliged in the early afternoon to face a last violent onset that almost broke the right wing of Sullivan’s army under the immediate command of General Greene. Jackson’s regiment connected with Colonel Livingston’s detachment, that had contested during the early morning the British advance up the island, after a needed rest on the north side of Butts hill were marched around the rear of the army, by Sullivan’s direction, to the extreme right of General Greene’s command. The British and Hessians charged down the slope of Anthony hill and were met in the valley by Greene’s somewhat exhausted forces. It was the final struggle for victory. At this critical moment Colonel Livingston led Jackson’s regiment, using the cold steel, in a fierce onslaught against the enemy’s flank that gave the British the final blow and sent them scurrying up the slope of Anthony hill to their entrenchments on the top. The Americans, closely following the flying foe, captured Brady’s battery as an evidence of their victory.

“The Americans maintained absolute control of the battlefield. Colonel Campbell of the Twenty-Second British Regiment sent to General Sullivan the day after the battle and asked permission to search among the dead for the body of his nephew, who had been killed the day before by his side, but whose body he could not remove they were so closely pursued.

“The Battle of Rhode Island was a gratifying success for the 52Americans. Victory was due to the skill, the intelligence, the courage and the audacity of General Sullivan, and to his brave officers and men. Lafayette characterized it as ‘the best fought action of the war,’ and the statement accords the highest compliment to the military skill of General John Sullivan.

“It is a great pleasure to participate with so many friends in expressing our high appreciation of the services of Sullivan that have been so adequately and happily recognized by the American Irish Historical Society. It is an intense gratification to contemplate the success of these ceremonies and to sincerely join in congratulation and in commendation of efforts that have resulted in adorning this noble State House with this beautiful, substantial and enduring tablet to our heroic dead.”

President-General Quinlan of the Society was then introduced by the Chairman, as follows: “I have the pleasure now to call upon the President-General of the American Irish Historical Society, under whose careful and enthusiastic administration it has been possible to erect and dedicate this tablet. There never has been a time when his efforts, his energy, and all his powers were not at our disposal. There never has been a time when we have called on him for anything since the memorial has been under way that he has not promptly and vigorously responded. I have the great honor of introducing to you, ladies and gentlemen, our President-General, Francis J. Quinlan, M. D., L. L. D., of New York City.”

President-General Quinlan said:

“Mr. Chairman, your Excellency, Mr. Mayor, Ladies and Gentlemen: Before I attempt to say a few words in honor of the auspicious event of this day, I will take occasion to render the tribute of my personal thanks and of the collective thanks of our Society to the distinguished assemblage gathered here to do honor to our illustrious hero by the loyal support of their presence.

“I take occasion, first of all, to thank the Ex-Governors, the present Governor, the Governor-elect, and the Department of the G. A. R., an association that to me is representative of the rarest and choicest texture of the loom of American Independence. (I would rather wear their button than be decorated by one hundred kings.) To those who represent the Society of Colonial Wars I extend my heartfelt thanks for their presence. To the Daughters of the American 53Revolution and to the distinguished Sons, as well as to the Sons of Veterans and also the illustrious Society whose early achievements in this country need no word of commendation from me,—the Society of the Cincinnati,—to them and to their representatives I extend my thanks and my greetings. To the Rhode Island Citizens’ Historical Association I also offer welcome. To those who are associated with none, but whose attendance is due to their interest in these exercises, I am thankful for their presence here today.

“Now, ladies and gentlemen, you have heard the stirring notes of welcome that have rung out in this beautiful building, the tributes that have been paid by those gentlemen, one of them with a line of nine generations of pure and unsullied English blood. What further tribute do we need, what other ratification or emphasis do we require than that which comes from one whose nation held us in subjugation, with its heel of tyranny upon our neck, for seven hundred years, when this offspring, eager to forget past enmities, frankly tells us in tones of eloquence that the Irish have been and always will remain loyal and true and constant and devoted to every cause they espouse! We need but little further argument to justify our existence, but it behooves me, on an occasion of this kind, not apologetically, but in bold words, to explain the purpose of the American Irish Historical Society.

“It has been truly said by the Chairman of this meeting that this Society was born in the City of Boston in the year 1897, for the study of American history generally, as well as to trace the immigration of the people of Ireland to this country, to correct erroneous and distorted views of history in relation to the Irish people in America, and to encourage and promote the formation of local associations in American cities and towns as aids in the work of the parent Society. These purposes have been so enlarged upon by the Chairman that they need no word of encouragement from me.

“You know that the tide of immigration turned to this country in the last century. Irish people haven’t always been immigrants. Nine hundred years before Columbus set sail from Palos, Spain, a bishop of the old faith named Brendan left his home in Galway, sailed over the sea, visited Iceland and Greenland, and there are today evidences of this man’s presence in Delaware and Virginia—nine hundred years before Columbus set foot on this continent. Even in the very crew which made up the contingent in Columbus’ navy 54which manned the three ships there was one to whom, when Columbus left, he gave the custody of one of those ships, and this man’s record proves he was an Irishman, William Ayer of Galway. We have historical facts; they cannot be gainsaid; they stand out in bas-relief today; the story is plain and intelligent men accept it.

“Immigration! Do you know that as the years have gone by they have witnessed immigration from many lands? Germany has furnished us with some of the best bone and sinew of its country. England, through her unwise laws, through her erring principles of justice, exacted from the Irish people something that they would not give—taxation without representation, and surrender of civic and religious liberty. Deprived of everything that men in common hold dear, deprived of education, of religious worship, they were driven from the shores of Ireland and found the arms of Columbia extended and ready to receive them as children. We came here, and we thank England for sending us here. If it hadn’t been for the conditions of a hundred and fifty years ago, we might be toiling there today. It is a wise Providence that directs and overrules conditions. We came, and this asylum was beautiful, the flag of freedom and union waved for us, everything was lovely compared with what we had left behind. Friends and kindred, religion and society grew up within our own experiences. The warm heart of the Irishman broadened; he grew, and when the country rang out the alarm, when the country announced that it was menaced with danger, in that Irish boy’s ears rang the traditions and the wrongs of ages. He buckled on his belt; he took down the flintlock from the wall; he marched forward anywhere, everywhere, under the command of Washington and Sullivan,—Washington, the ideal, and Sullivan, the son of an Irish exile. These were the traits exhibited.

“‘Theirs not to reason why—not to make reply—but to do and die.’ These men made it possible for you and for me to live to enjoy the conditions of today, to be here in this temple of local pride.

“I am reminded of the story so beautifully told in Roman history of the mother who once paid a visit to a wealthy matron of that glorious republic so many centuries ago. After dinner the matron said, ‘Now I must show you my beautiful jewels.’ They were carefully guarded, but she displayed them to the eyes of her visitor, and then remarked, ‘You must show me your jewels when I go to your house.’ In turn she called upon the mother, and stayed a little longer than 55is usual, awaiting the exhibition of jewels. Finally she inquired, ‘Have you forgotten to show me your jewels?’ ‘Oh, no,’ the mother replied. ‘Come this way,’ and as she threw open a door five beautiful children were revealed. ‘These,’ she exclaimed, ‘are my jewels.’

“People of Rhode Island, these noble patriots and these scarred flags are your sacred jewels. Guard their memory, defend it, and, as your blood has the rich central vein of patriotism, so sacrifice all you have to keep these jewels sacredly enshrined in your hearts forever.

“I would that Sullivan could get a day’s leave from his sacred parole. I would that he could come back to us today, that he might obtain from the St. Gabriel of St. Peter’s Gate a day’s leave of absence to look at these pillars and to gaze about these corridors. We almost hear the whisper, can almost note the footfall of a strange presence here. It is the spirit of the Revolutionary hero that communes with us; it is the lofty emotion that emanates from him, though unseen, and which commends our spirit of patriotism and ratifies our act, not to him individually but to the noble band of which he was Captain.

“This is a great day for Rhode Island. This is a great day for America, because this afternoon and tomorrow the wave of thought that is ours will extend beyond us and be carried everywhere to receptive minds. The sunlight will dash it into every possible nook and corner of the land; the rivers will take it down to the Mexican slope; the whole country will vibrate with it. You who know the history of the man we honor, cherish it in your memory, and when you recall these exercises, congratulate yourself that in assisting at them you have fulfilled a duty; one and all, you have paid the homage of a great and noble State.

“One moment more, my friends. I have tarried long. This page stands out alone in the history of this Society of which I have the honor and rare privilege of being the Executive. Ladies and gentlemen, that Society has one purpose; that purpose is written between the lines of today’s event. We want to know the men who have lived, who have fought, who have bled, who have given everything to the cause of the American people. We want to record their deeds in order that the womb of the future may bring forth a race, generations distant from us, that will stand up and say, ‘I, too, am Irish, although I have six generations separating me from that blood,’ 56a race that will cherish everything Irish and will extend the open hand of welcome to everyone who bears the hall mark of Ireland, whether his religion be Catholic or Protestant.

“We are broad, we are honest, we are liberal. We want to attack no man, but when we peruse the pages of American history, when we turn over volume after volume, chapter after chapter, page after page, and search paragraph after paragraph, line after line, syllable after syllable, and see no recognition of the services of Irishmen, our hearts bleed because the omission is culpable and not due to the fact that the historian could find no achievements to make good his lines.

“We claim our place in this Republic. We have sacrificed everything in the world for it. We would go further tomorrow and pledge every security, sever ourselves from home, to protect our freedom and these flags. The United States is ours, whether on the shores of California, Maine, Texas, or Washington. There is one freedom, one brotherhood of man.

“I could detain you longer, friends, but the time allotted me forbids. I have lingered longer than I should, but I know of no sentiment with which I might more fittingly conclude than that of one of your great New England worthies, the man who is enshrined in the sanctuary of your hearts, John Boyle O’Reilly. He says, in his own peculiar but grand way:

At the conclusion of Doctor Quinlan’s address the Chairman declared the ceremonies of dedication over, thanking all those present for their attendance.

The several organizations were represented at the dedication as follows: Society of the Cincinnati, Ex-Governor Charles Warren Lippitt, Ex-Governor George H. Utter, Hon. William Page Sheffield, Edward Aborn Greene, George Humphrey, Thomas A. Peirce, Rev. Daniel Goodwin; Society of Colonial Wars, Henry B. Rose, 57Gen. Hunter C. White, Hon. John T. Blodgett, Prof. Wilfred H. Munro, E. A. Burlingame and George C. Nightingale; Daughters of the American Revolution, Miss Mary A. Greene, Mrs. Charles Warren Lippitt; Rhode Island Citizens’ Historical Association, T. W. Bicknell, H. A. Atkins, A. L. Anthony, Ellen R. Jolly, Caroline A. Weeden, Mrs. Lyons Delaney, B. L. Dennis, Francis Gallagher, Elizabeth Doyle, J. H. Foster, John R. Richmond, Elizabeth Halton, C. H. Eddy and Mrs. R. B. P. Tingley; Rhode Island Historical Society, Professor Munro, Amasa M. Eaton, Robert P. Brown and Clarence S. Brigham. Among others present were: Dr. Francis J. Quinlan of New York, D. H. Tierney of Waterbury, Conn., John J. Linehan, Worcester, Bernard J. Joyce of Boston, Michael J. Jordan of Boston, Edmund O’Keefe of New Bedford, John F. Hurley, Mayor, of Salem, Mass., Patrick H. Powers of Boston, John Morgan of New York, Augustin H. Morgan of New York, P. F. Magrath of Binghamton, N. Y., T. B. Fitzpatrick of Brookline, Mass., Michael F. Dooley, Frederick Roy Martin, Dr. James E. Sullivan, Col. James H. McGann, Col. James C. Moran, Michael W. Norton, John F. O’Connell, Patrick Carter, M. S. Dwyer, John McManus, Barnard McCaughey, William L. Wood, both of Pawtucket; Gen. Charles R. Brayton, Col. Frank T. Sibley, Mrs. Chadwick, wife of Admiral F. E. Chadwick; Mrs. James Chadwick, James C. Collins, Gen. Elisha H. Rhodes, T. M. O’Reilly, Frederick H. Jackson, Rev. Austin Dowling, Col. J. Edward Studley, Mr. and Mrs. J. H. Chandler, Mary A. Darling, Benjamin L. Dennis, General Treasurer Walter A. Read, Secretary of States Charles P. Bennett, Attorney-General William B. Greenough, Mayor-elect Henry Fletcher, Judge Elmer J. Rathbun, John Dunn, Secretary of the State Board of Agriculture; Hugh J. Carroll, Mr. and Mrs. Albert G. Chaffee, John F. McAlevy, Thomas E. Maloney, V. S., Fall River; Benjamin L. Dennis, Mrs. Doyle, William J. Feeley, Walter H. Barney, Dr. M. H. Sullivan of Lawrence, Mass., Dr. Michael F. Kelly of Fall River and Frank Carter.

At the termination of the exercises at the State House the Society and its guests proceeded to the Narragansett Hotel for luncheon. Chairman Lee acted as toastmaster, and speeches of an appropriate nature were made by the following: Gen. Charles R. Brayton, representing the National Encampment, G. A. R.; Hon. John F. O’Connell; Prof. Wilfred H. Munro of Brown University, President of the Rhode Island Historical Society; Hon. Walter H. Barney, representing the Rhode Island Bar; Judge Livingston Scott, whose wife is a direct descendant of General Sullivan; Hon. Thomas Williams Bicknell, President of the Rhode Island Citizens’ Historical Association; Mrs. Ellen Ryan Jolly, President of the Ladies’ Auxiliary, A. O. H.; Gen. Elisha H. Rhodes, representing the Rhode Island G. A. R. and the Military Order of the Loyal Legion; Hon. John H. Hurley, Mayor of Salem, Mass.; and John G. Hardy, the sculptor who designed and executed the memorial.

Judge Scott during his address read the following original letter to Gen. Sullivan from President Washington:

“Sir: I have the pleasure to enclose to you a commission as Judge of the United States for the District of New Hampshire, to which office I have nominated, and by and with advice and consent of the Senate, appoint you. In my nomination of persons to fill office in the Judicial Department, I have been guided by the importance of the object, considering it of the first magnitude and the pillar upon which our political fabric must rest.

“I have endeavored to bring into the high offices of its administration such characters as will give stability and dignity to our national Government; and I persuade myself that they will discover a due desire to promote the happiness of our Country by a ready acceptance of their several appointments. The laws which have passed relative to your office accompany the Commission.

59The Committee having in charge the erection and dedication of the memorial were: Thomas Zanslaur Lee, Chairman; Patrick J. McCarthy, Secretary; Michael F. Dooley, Treasurer; Patrick Carter, James E. Sullivan, William P. Dempsey, James Murphy, Francis I. McCanna, William J. Feeley, Bernard McCaughey, Patrick E. Hayes, John McManus, James Moran, John F. O’Connell, James H. McGann, Rev. Austin Dowling, James H. Hurley, John F. McAlevy, James T. Egan.

The entire proceedings at the dedication were reported verbatim by Miss Viola Follis, the official stenographer for the Society, and hence we are able to print the excellent orations in full.

At the conclusion of the post-prandial exercises a special meeting of the Society was held at headquarters, President-General Quinlan presiding.

A vote of thanks was tendered Col. David C. Robinson for his efficient services in behalf of the Society.

It was voted that the thanks of the Society be extended Mr. Michael W. Norton for the use of his automobiles and carriages to transport members and guests to and from the State House, and in special recognition of Mr. Norton’s kindness the President-General appointed him chairman of the Reception Committee to be on duty at the White House at Washington January 16, 1909, when President Roosevelt gives a reception to the Society.

The acting Secretary-General was directed to extend Colonel Robinson the Society’s invitation to be its guest at the Annual Dinner and President Roosevelt’s reception at Washington.

Following is the circular letter which was sent to members of the Society, informing them of the plans for the dedicatory exercises:

The committee of the American Irish Historical Society having in charge the erection and dedication of the Major-General John Sullivan Memorial in Rhode Island beg to announce that the dedication will take place in the Rhode Island State House, Wednesday, December 16, 1908, at twelve o’clock noon.

The principal address will be delivered by Colonel David C. Robinson, through whose efforts an appropriation of ten thousand dollars for a monument to General Sullivan in the State of New York was obtained, and whose knowledge of historical events of the Revolutionary War is most extensive.

Delegations will be in attendance from the following organizations: Rhode Island Historical Society, Rhode Island Division Sons of Veterans, Daughters of the American Revolution, Society of the Colonial Wars, Society of the Cincinnati, and Rhode Island Citizens Historical Association.

Invitations have been extended to the Department Commander and Staff of the G. A. R., General Tanner and staff of the Rhode Island National Guard, Hon. James H. Higgins, Governor of Rhode Island, Hon. Aram J. Pothier, Governor-elect of Rhode Island, and other State officers.

The Society’s headquarters will be at the Narragansett Hotel, where proper provision will be made for the reception and entertainment of members and guests during the day.

Shortly before twelve o’clock, the hour of dedication, the Society and guests will go in a body to the State House, a short distance from the hotel, where provision has been made for ample and comfortable seating of all. After the exercises, which are planned to 61last probably an hour and half, we will return to the Narragansett Hotel, where luncheon will be served, at which there will be several interesting addresses. Price of tickets, $1.50, which may be obtained from the Secretary-General or the Entertainment Committee.

This is an affair of great importance to the American Irish Historical Society, and we earnestly hope every member will be present.

Send back enclosed postal if you intend to be present so we will know how many to provide for.

It having been voted at the annual meeting at New York January 29, 1908, to hold the next annual meeting at Washington, D. C.; the Executive Council at a well-attended meeting thereof held at the residence of the President-General, December 5, 1908, considered the necessary arrangements, and resolved to make this event a notable one in the Society’s history. A committee previously appointed by the President-General to confer with Hon. Theodore Roosevelt, President of the United States, and ascertain his pleasure as to a reception to the Society and attendance later at the dinner, reported that owing to pressure of official business President Roosevelt would be unable to attend the Society’s dinner, but would be pleased to meet his fellow-members at the White House and there make a short address.

In accordance with the instruction of the Executive Council the Secretary-General opened correspondence with Mr. William Loeb, Jr., Secretary to President Roosevelt, and the details of the reception were promptly arranged.

President-General Quinlan thereupon appointed a Reception Committee to officiate at the White House and afterwards be on duty at the Society’s headquarters in Washington, and a Dinner Committee to arrange all the details of the annual banquet.

The appointees on these committees appear in the circular letter which follows.

The Dinner Committee carefully looked over the available places in Washington suitable for the annual banquet, and decided upon the Hotel Raleigh as most desirable, not only for this purpose but also for the headquarters of the Society.

Mr. Thomas J. Talty, the manager of the Hotel Raleigh, extended the Committee every courtesy and made their work in the Society’s behalf easy and pleasant.

63As soon as all necessary details were completed, the following circular letter to members was issued:

Program for Annual Meeting, Reception to the Society by the President of the United States, and Annual Banquet at Washington, D. C., January 16, 1909.

Our fellow-member, Hon. Theodore Roosevelt, President of the United States, will receive the Society at the White House at 2.30 p. m. Secretary Loeb requests us to be on time and provide each member with a card of identification. Such a card is enclosed and must be presented to the doorkeeper at the White House. Ladies and guests may accompany members, and tickets for them can be obtained from the Acting Secretary-General upon application of any member by mail or on the day of the Reception.

Members whose convenience will permit will leave New York Saturday morning, January 16, 1909, from West 23d Street station at 7.50 a. m., or from Liberty Street station at 8 a. m., to take the Royal Blue Line train leaving Jersey City at 8.12 a. m., arriving in Washington at 1.12 p. m. Reduced round trip rates have been arranged for on this line, a dining-car will be attached for our comfort and convenience, and this is the only train landing us in Washington in time to get to our quarters at the hotel and be in season for the President’s Reception.

Immediately after the President’s Reception, the annual meeting of the Society will be held in the parlors of the Hotel Raleigh, where the Society’s headquarters will be established, for the election of officers for the ensuing year, the receiving and acting upon resolutions on the death of several prominent members of the Society, including our deeply-lamented Secretary-General, and the transaction of such other business as may come before the meeting. The resolutions and eulogies to be offered are of a high order.

At the termination of the business meeting, opportunity will be given to visit the capitol, Congressional Library, public buildings, historical societies, and other points of interest in Washington.

The tickets for the dinner are $5.00 each and may be obtained from the Acting Secretary-General, whose address is below. It is very important that we know exactly how many members are to be present, and you are earnestly requested to send your remittance for tickets promptly so that we may notify Mr. Talty of the Hotel Raleigh how many he may expect. Members may invite guests at the same price per ticket.

The Reception to the members of the Society by its officers will take place in the parlors of the Hotel Raleigh at 6.30 p. m., and this will be an excellent opportunity for exchange of good fellowship with the new members, nearly one hundred and fifty of whom have been elected during the past year. The Reception Committee, consisting of Michael W. Norton, Esq., of Rhode Island, 64Hon. John D. Crimmins of New York, Hon. Joseph Geoghegan of Utah, Patrick F. Magrath, Esq., of New York, Hon. John F. O’Connell of Rhode Island, Dr. M. F. Sullivan of Massachusetts, Bernard J. Joyce, Esq., of Massachusetts, Patrick Carter, Esq., of Rhode Island, T. Vincent Butler, Esq., of New York, John J. Daly, Esq., of New York, Gen. D. F. Collins of New Jersey, Francis I. McCanna, Esq., of Rhode Island, Hon. Alexander C. Eustace of New York, Hon. Thomas J. Lynch of Maine, Gen. John R. McGinness of Virginia, and Hon. Thomas M. Waller of Connecticut, will be in attendance during the day to do everything possible to make it a pleasant occasion for the members.

At seven o’clock the annual dinner will take place. It will be in charge of the Dinner Committee, consisting of Hon. Edward A. Moseley, chairman; Rear Admiral John McGowan, these two former Presidents-General of the Society; Michael F. Dooley, Esq., Treasurer-General; Hon. Lawrence O. Murray and Patrick J. Haltigan, Esq.

An elaborate menu, excellent music and extensive floral decorations have been provided, and the principal speakers at the post-prandial exercises and their toasts will be as follows:

“A Capitol Welcome,” Hon. Thomas H. Carter, U. S. Senator from Montana.

“Irish Pioneers of New York,” Hon. Victor J. Dowling, Justice of the Supreme Court of the State of New York.

“The Irish Pioneers of the West and Their Descendants,” Hon. Maurice T. Moloney, ex-Attorney General of Illinois.

“Advantages of Historical Research to Irish Americans,” Hon. Robert J. Gamble, United States Senator from South Dakota.

Other addresses will follow if time permits.

Our list of guests is headed by Hon. Edward D. White of Louisiana, Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, and will include many notable men.

Please send in your replies as early as possible. The seats at the table will be allotted members and guests in the order in which the applications are received. The officers of the Society earnestly request the attendance of every member who can make it possible to come, because it is desired to make an excellent showing in Washington and thus bring the Society and its work more successfully to the attention of all the people in the country interested in making “better known the Irish Chapter in American history.”

65The following blank was enclosed with the circular, in order that we might have early information as to the number intending to be present:

Dear Sir: It is my intention to be present at the annual banquet of the American Irish Historical Society, to be held at Hotel Raleigh, Washington, D. C., Saturday evening, January 16, 1909.

I desire provision made for..........guests.

The responses came in so well that the Society felt warranted in ordering a special train for the comfortable transportation of members and guests to Washington, and through our fellow-member, Mr. Henry L. Joyce, the Royal Blue Line provided a train of six Pullman parlor-cars, a dining-car and a baggage-car for our exclusive use, and so notified the Society.

Further notice was then sent to the members as follows:

Annual Dinner and Reception by the President of the United States, Washington, D. C., January 16, 1909.

Royal Blue Line train with special cars attached leaves New York, 23d Street station, at 7.50 a. m. If 100 members are on hand, a special train will be put in commission and start ten minutes later from the same place. Fares reduced for us on this line.

We want at least 250 members at Washington. Ladies, accompanied by members, may attend reception and dinner. Tickets, $5 each. Headquarters, Hotel Raleigh. Reception at White House 2.30 p. m. Annual meeting at headquarters afterwards, and dinner at 7. Reception Committee at hotel all day.

Messrs. Henry L. Joyce and W. C. Hope, respectively General Manager Marine Department and General Passenger Agent of the Royal Blue Line, will be 66at the 23d Street station with the Secretary-General early Saturday morning and full information may be had.

This will be the best affair we have ever had. Excellent speakers, fine dinner, good music and floral decorations already provided for. Please be present.

A large party of members and guests availed themselves of the pleasure of the special train, and our comfort was well cared for by Mr. Joyce, ably assisted by Mr. P. Wilfred Heroy, Eastern Passenger Agent of the Central Railroad of New Jersey, and a picked train crew.

Owing to a severe snowstorm encountered en route, it became evident the special would not reach Washington on scheduled time, and a telegram to Secretary Loeb was sent from Baltimore as follows:

“Special train of American Irish Historical Society unavoidably delayed en route. Regret inability to reach White House before two forty-five.”

In order that no time should be lost, orders were given the train crew to take the baggage of each passenger to the Hotel Raleigh, there to be cared for until our return from the White House.

The following copy of the order given by C. H. English, Passenger Trainmaster of the Central Railroad Company of New Jersey, providing for the running of the special train, is interesting and gives us an idea of the amount of detail necessary to clear the way for the operation of a train on an up-to-date railroad, and the people to whom orders must go:

Mr. C. E. Chambers, Division Master Mechanic; Mr. A. E. Detro, General Foreman, Fiddlers; Mr. L. F. Duffy, Assistant Foreman, Fiddlers; Mr. C. L. Campbell, Chief Dispatcher, Jersey City; Mr. C. L. Hollis, Superintendent Marine Department, New York; Mr. W. Whittaker, Ferry Master, Jersey City; Mr. G. F. Wernert, Station Master, West 23d Street; Mr. C. H. Vanderveer, Station Master, Liberty Street.

Gentlemen: Please arrange for special train Saturday, January 16, to leave West 23d Street 8.05 a. m., Liberty Street 8.15 a. m., for Washington, consisting of baggage car, dining car and six Pullman cars, account of American Irish Historical Society.

67Will advise later regarding the return movement. Acknowledge receipt.

The Dinner Committee was on hand to meet the train and special street cars were in readiness to take us to the Reception.

Nearly 300 members and guests were in attendance at the White House when President Roosevelt made his appearance, accompanied by his military attendants. He was in excellent spirits and pleased to see so large a representation of the Society in Washington.

In introducing President Roosevelt to the assemblage, President-General Quinlan said:

“Ladies and Gentlemen, I am especially honored today in presenting to you the gifted ruler of our great nation, one who at all times has shown true sympathy with our cause and who has recorded his feeling by associating himself with our Society. It is with feelings of mingled pride and satisfaction that I introduce to you our fellow-member, Mr. Theodore Roosevelt, President of the United States.”

President Roosevelt replied as follows:

“It is a great pleasure to me to bid you welcome to Washington, and especially to have the chance of saying a word of greeting to you here in the White House. I am sorry we didn’t give you a little better weather, and I especially regret that, in view of the fact that so many of you have had the wisdom to bring your better halves with you; for I have always insisted that, while the average American citizen is a pretty good fellow, his wife is a still better fellow.

“I need scarcely say the great interest that I take in the work of this body. Here on this continent we are building up a great new nation, a nation akin to, but different from, each of the Old World nations of middle and western Europe. To this country have come men of many different origins, and here they are being fused together into a new type, and it is greatly to be desired that we should have historical associations like this which shall commemorate the different strains in the national blood.

“It is a mistake to suppose, as is so often assumed, that at the time of the Revolution our people were not of mixed blood. They were then, just as they are now. Many different strains from the 68beginning contributed to make up what is now American citizenship, and from the beginning in this country the men who themselves, or whose fathers, came from Ireland have played a great and leading part in the affairs of the nation. I myself have some of that blood in me, and doubtless this accounts for the difficulties with which I have found myself confronted at times. It may also account for my disposition after getting into a fight to let the other fellow know I was in it. I thank you, ladies and gentlemen, for coming here.”

There was great applause and much enthusiasm upon the well-chosen words, and afterwards the assemblage formed in line and each person was presented to President Roosevelt by President-General Quinlan and Hon. Edward A. Moseley, Michael F. Dooley, Esq., Hon. Lawrence O. Murray and Patrick J. Haltigan, Esq., of the Dinner Committee.

At the termination of the Reception the party went to the Hotel Raleigh for the annual meeting.

The annual meeting of the Society was held this 16th day of January, 1909, in the banquet hall of the Hotel Raleigh, and was called to order at 3.30 p. m. by President-General Quinlan, a large number of members being present.

Reading of records of the previous meeting was omitted.

The first business being the election of officers for the ensuing year, the Secretary-General read the following list of nominees selected by the Executive Council to be voted upon at this meeting. Each of the general officers were voted upon separately, and the members of the Executive Council and list of State Vice-Presidents as a whole, and all were unanimously elected to serve until the next annual meeting and until others are chosen in their stead.

71After the election, the Secretary-General stated that several letters of regret had been received by the Society, and they were ordered read. They are as follows:

Nothing could have given me greater pleasure than to be able to attend the annual meeting and reception to the American Irish Historical Society by President Roosevelt on Saturday evening, the 16th inst. Unfortunately, I am so tied up with engagements on that evening that it will be impossible for me to leave here, one being a dinner engagement of long standing, which, however, I might be able to break; but, in addition, I am scheduled to speak at the annual meeting and banquet of the field force of the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, of which, as you know, I am a director, and which is to be held at Delmonico’s. This arrangement was made prior to the time when the date of the reception to your Society was fixed, and it is incumbent upon me to be present, and while I fully intended going to Washington and attending the reception, and so expressed myself to Judge Dowling, who, I understand, is to deliver an address, yet I now realize the impracticability of being in two places at the same time, and will therefore have to forego the pleasure of being there.

I trust you will appreciate my position, and I assure you that ordinarily I would be only too glad to break any engagement I might have and avail myself of the pleasure of being present on such an occasion, but in reaching a decision I could not do otherwise than give way in favor of the engagement which was prior in point of time.

I deeply appreciate your kind expressions, and the more than attractive manner in which you urge me to be present, all of which would be unnecessary in any matter in which you were concerned, because the mere expression of your wish that you desired my co-operation in any of the good works in which you are interested would always receive from me a prompt response.

With kind regards personally, believe me to be,

My dear Mr. Lee: I have received your several communications in regard to the meeting and annual dinner on January 16 at Washington, and I planned to go, but things have so shaped themselves that I find it impossible to leave at this time. I certainly regret very much my inability to attend, but do wish you all possible success.

My dear Judge: I have to thank you for your letter of the 13th inst., but regret that I shall not be able to leave New York on Saturday to attend the meeting of our Society in Washington. Herewith I give you my check for $5 to cover the amount of my dues for the current year.

Wishing you a very delightful trip and a good time at the convention, I remain,

Salem, Mass., January 14, 1909.

Hon. Thomas Z. Lee, Secretary-General of the American Irish Historical Society, Providence, R. I.

My dear Sir: The Mayor has been sick since Friday of last week, and although he is now out of bed the doctor positively forbids him to make a trip to Washington. He sent a message to me requesting me to notify you of this fact and to express to you his deep regret. I know he was looking forward with very pleasant anticipation to this trip and to his meeting with you again.

I find in the mail two tickets to the banquet and not appreciating the situation fully I am enclosing them to you, thinking that you may be able to make some use of them as long as the Mayor can not go, but if these are sent out and charged to the persons to whom they are sent, you will please advise the Mayor and he will send you the cost of the same.

My dear Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge receipt of a ticket to the annual banquet of the American Irish Historical Society, to be held at Hotel Raleigh January 16, 1909, at 7 p. m., and sincerely thank you for the favor.

Will endeavor to be present, but on account of business appointments that I have about that time that will take me away from Washington and probably will not allow my return in time, would suggest that you do not figure on my making any remarks at the meeting.

With best wishes for the Society’s success,

My dear Judge Lee: I have deferred writing you on the subject of attending the forthcoming banquet of the American Irish Historical Society in the hope that I might find it possible to be present. However, I am doomed to disappointment. I cannot, much as I regret it, find a way to be with you and our friends to share in the festivities. That you will have an edifying and jolly good time goes without saying and I regret exceedingly my inability to share in it. With cordial best wishes,

My dear Mr. Lee: It is with sincere regret that I am compelled to advise you of my inability to participate in the annual exercises of the American Irish Historical Society in Washington, D. C., January 16. I assure you it is a grievous disappointment to me, but conditions are such that it will be impossible for me to leave Utah at the present time.

Please convey to my fellow-members my very best wishes for the continued prosperity of the Society. With my best personal regards to yourself, I remain,

Dear Sir: I regret that an engagement to consecrate an altar at Columbia, S. C., on January the 17th will deprive me of the pleasure of joining you at the reception at the White House January 16.

With best wishes for the New Year, I remain

My dear Judge Lee: I am just home from the Appellate Division of our Supreme Court at Albany, and have your kind invitation to attend the dinner of the American Irish Historical Society at Washington on the 16th inst. as the guest of the Society.

I very greatly appreciate the honor of this invitation and I have delayed answer for a day trying to arrange my engagements so that I could have the 74pleasure of meeting with the Society on that occasion, but I am very sorry to find that it will be impossible for me to reach Washington for the 16th. I cannot tell you how deeply I regret my enforced absence.

With kindest regards to yourself and the many members of the Society to whose hospitality I am so indebted, and with cordial thanks for the honor of the invitation believe me,

Dear Sir: Justice Hendrick acknowledges notice of the general meeting at Washington and expresses regret that owing to the pressure of court duties it will be impossible for him to attend.

My dear Sir: I regret exceedingly that I cannot go with you and be present at the reception to the American Irish Historical Society by His Excellency President Roosevelt, as I anticipate being away from New York about that time.

I believe you will have a very pleasant time and my best wishes go with you.

With all the compliments of the season, believe me,

New York, December 31, 1908.

Francis J. Quinlan, M. D., 33 W. 38th Street, City.

Dear Sir: Yours with enclosure received. Regret to say I will not have the pleasure of attending the annual meeting of the Historical Society at Washington, as I expect to be in the South at that time.

Trusting you will have the usual good time, I remain

Dear Sir: I beg to inform you that Archbishop Keane is not home, nor is his return expected for some months. It will therefore be impossible for him to accept the kind invitation of the American Irish Historical Society.

75Boston, January 5, 1909.

T. Z. Lee, Esq., Providence, R. I.

Dear Sir: I am sorry I will be unable to attend the meeting of the Society in Washington. Am very sorry I cannot be there.

Dear Sir: Your esteemed favor announcing the forthcoming annual banquet of the Society at the Hotel Raleigh in Washington, and also the reception to be given to the Society by President Roosevelt on January the 16th is received, and for which accept thanks. I regret exceedingly that it will be impossible for me to be present on that occasion. I have been somewhat ailing for several weeks past and am recuperating so slowly that I fear I will be unable to get away from my home at the date of your banquet. Should I feel able to do so, however, it will afford me great pleasure to be present, as I always enjoy the annual dinner of the Society.

Dear Judge Lee: The meeting in Washington comes at the time of our annual firm meeting and I regret exceedingly I shall not be able to be with you. I trust you will have an enthusiastic meeting.

My dear Mr. Lee: Your esteemed favor of the 6th inst. reached me during a trip in the West and I appreciate very much indeed your remembrance of me by your kind invitation to be the guest of your Society at the annual banquet in Washington, D. C., on the evening of January 16, at the Hotel Raleigh, and also to attend with you a reception at the White House by President Roosevelt.

Although it will be impossible for me to accept these courtesies, I beg to express my great appreciation of the same and to assure you that it will always be my pleasure to at any time entertain the Society at my home in Lexington whenever it is their pleasure to visit our good old town.

My dear Judge: My absence this evening I exceedingly regret. I trust the dinner and meeting will be pleasant and interesting. What heart does not dilate with feelings to this night’s occasion, and what a host of interesting recollections spring up in the mind when we reflect upon the time when Irishmen came to the shores of this country in the spirit of holy zeal, leaving the land of their birth, braving the winds of Heaven and the angry wrath of the mighty Atlantic, landing in the wilderness and planting the seeds of a holy religion as well as laying the foundation of the mighty and greatest of all republics.

I am with you in spirit this evening and I hope the effects of our good Society will establish its prestige in every city and town of this country of ours.

Norfolk, Va., January 15, 1909.

To the American Irish Historical Society,

Hotel Raleigh, Washington, D. C.

Gentlemen: Until today it was my intention and hope to be with you in Washington tomorrow. Conditions beyond control will prevent, consequently my greetings must be conveyed by mail.

Mr. Patrick M. Keating presented and read the following memorial to the late Hon. Thomas J. Gargan, former President-General of the Society, which was adopted by unanimous vote:

“The members of the American Irish Historical Society by this memorial desire to pay a tribute of love and respect to the memory of their late associate and President-General, Thomas J. Gargan, and to express their appreciation of his character and ability and their recognition of the great loss the Society has sustained in his death.

“His parents were among the pioneer Irish emigrants who came to this country in the early part of the nineteenth century and settled in Boston, where he was born about sixty-six years ago.

“In early life he was engaged in mercantile pursuits, but the 77practice of law strongly attracted him and he was admitted to the bar in the year 1875. As a lawyer he was not merely a successful practitioner, but an ornament to the profession, scorning to descend to dishonorable tactics or to adopt the acts of a pettifogger.

“He filled various positions of honor and responsibility, both public and private, faithfully and efficiently. He took an active part in causes that brought into requisition the zeal, sympathy and interest of worthy citizens and rendered valuable service to his city, state and country. Whether it was a call for patriotic service for the preservation of the republic or an invitation to join his fellow citizens in aiding a people struggling for liberty, or in providing relief for those who were afflicted by reason of some extraordinary catastrophe—on all such occasions he responded cheerfully and contributed his full share by word and by deed.

“While he rendered conspicuous public service as an American citizen he was ever mindful of the land of his forefathers, and of the race from which he sprung. In early manhood he became the president of the Charitable Irish Society of Boston, which is one of the oldest societies in this country, having been established in the year 1737, and from the time the American Irish Historical Society was organized he was interested in its welfare, and was honored about ten years ago by being elected to the highest office within the gift of its members.

“His eloquence, copiousness of ideas and fluency of speech made his orations edifying and instructive, and his voice, so rich and tender and with depth of feeling, made the public addresses delivered by him in memory of the late Mayor Collins and other distinguished men, models of eulogistic oratory.

“But he was esteemed most highly by the members of this Society as a true and kind friend, whose sunny temperament, sparkling wit, genial humor and upright character won their love and admiration and will long keep him alive in their memories.”

Resolved, That this memorial be entered upon the records of this Society and that a copy thereof be sent to the widow of our late fellow-member together with the assurance of the deep respect and affection in which he was held by us and the expression of our heartfelt sympathy in her sorrow and bereavement.

Mr. Keating’s eulogy followed the memorial and was an eloquent tribute to our late President-General.

78Mr. Gargan was born at Boston, Mass., October 27, 1844, and died at Berlin, Germany, July 31, 1908.

The following memorial to the late Mr. James J. Phelan was presented and read by Mr. Edward J. McGuire, and it was unanimously voted that the same be adopted and that a copy thereof be sent to the family of Mr. Phelan:

“James J. Phelan died at his country home at Allenhurst, New Jersey, on August 3, 1908, in the sixty-first year of his age. He was a native of the city of New York.

“His father was of Irish birth. His mother was a native of Maryland. His father, John Phelan, came to New York in his early youth with his father. They settled in Greenwich Village, afterwards known as the “Old Ninth Ward,” early in the nineteenth century, and established a successful business in the grocery trade. John Phelan was a man of shrewdness and commercial ability, which qualities he transmitted to his son. He was one of the Phelan family that distinguished itself in the commerce of San Francisco in the pioneer days and still maintains its high reputation there. John Phelan largely increased his fortune by his relations to the trade with California in the decade between 1850 and 1860.

“James J. Phelan attended first the public schools and then the commercial department of the College of St. Francis Xavier, of which famous institution he remained a steadfast friend ever afterwards.

“In 1867, his father, intending him for a business career, established him as the proprietor of a general store at Fordham, which was then a village in Westchester County but which now forms one of the important centers in the borough of the Bronx, New York City. He spent the formative years of his business life in the conduct of this venture.

“In 1870, at the age of twenty-five, he formed the firm of Phelan and Duval, which engaged in the wholesale wine and spirits trade and became one of the important houses in its department. He continued in active management of the affairs of this business until the year 1883, when he took charge of even larger interests.

“The American Contracting and Dredging Company was formed about that time among other things for construction work upon the Panama canal under the French concessionaries. It controlled 79valuable patent rights in dredging machinery. It secured several important contracts from Count Ferdinand de Lesseps as president of the French company and afterwards constructed fifteen miles of the Panama canal. It was most successful financially and its careful management avoided serious complications with the misfortunes of the Frenchmen. When its contracts were completed it withdrew from the field. Mr. Phelan was one of the master minds in this great work. Among his associates were Eugene Kelly, Charles N. Fry and George Bliss of distinguished and honorable memory in American finance, and Commander Gorringe of the United States Navy, who will be remembered for his engineering success in transporting the obelisk from Egypt to Central Park and setting it in its place without a single mishap.

“This, however, was but one of the important enterprises carried on by Mr. Phelan with success. His ability in commercial and corporate affairs was rare and as his remarkable grasp of great affairs and his skill in their administration became known he was invited into enterprises of the most important and lucrative character. He achieved from them a large fortune as well as a high reputation in finance. He died a member of the Chamber of Commerce of the City of New York.

“His active business life did not absorb all his energies. He was a man who from his youth took active part in the political life of the city. He joined also the societies working in the field of religion and morality. He was fond of his friends and of social life. He was always faithful to the traditions of the old Irish race from which he was descended and active in its cause.

“In 1890 he became a commissioner of the Dock Department of the City of New York on the appointment of Mayor Hugh J. Grant. He left upon that office the impress of his ability in one of the most important divisions of the affairs of the world’s greatest seaport, at a time when millions of dollars were available and were spent in providing for the oceanic trade of the port of New York. His service lasted four years, when he resigned with the praise and good wishes of the entire municipality.

“He was identified almost from his youth with the work of the Xavier Alumni Sodality, of the Catholic Club and of the St. Vincent de Paul Society. He rendered each of them great service, both as an officer and as a member. He was a trustee of the Roman Catholic Orphan Asylum, of the Catholic Benevolent Legion, 80of the Catholic Summer School and of many other philanthropic societies. He was a member of many of them in their struggling years and he gave his powers and his industry in full measure to their proper development.

“He was a member of the American Irish Historical Society from its establishment. He was always most interested in its work and devoted to the cause for which it stood. His pleasant face will be missed from its gatherings.

“He was married twice, the second time in 1881 to Marie Foran of New York. He had four sons and four daughters, who with his widow survive him.

“James J. Phelan was an example of the truth that in proper conditions the men of the Irish race surely rise to eminence in fields in which the current prejudice and error of the age deny that excellence is possible to them. From small beginnings and in conflict with adverse circumstances he rose to great fortune and conspicuous position in the metropolis by the exercise of thrift, temperance, honesty and intelligence. He met all sorts and conditions of men and asking no favor he conquered success, holding fast at the same time to the ideals of the race from which he sprung and the ancient faith to which he was ever loyal.”

The following memorial to the late Thomas Hamilton Murray, former Secretary-General of the Society, was presented and read by the present Secretary-General, Mr. Thomas Z. Lee, and it was unanimously voted that the same be adopted and that a copy thereof be sent to the widow of Mr. Murray:

“On June 5, 1908, Thomas Hamilton Murray, editor, genealogist and historian, died at his home in Sea View in the town of Marshfield, Massachusetts, in the fifty-first year of his age.

“He was one of the founders of the American Irish Historical Society and its Secretary-General from the date of its organization until his death. During his administration the Society grew in numbers and influence, pursuing its good work and historical researches into most of the states of the Union, until he saw it occupying the foremost place in this country of any organization engaged in similar work. He was proud of the Society and gave it 81his best efforts. To him every individual member was personally known, and he took pride in stimulating each with a sense of the responsibility undertaken in making better known the Irish chapter in American history.

“Mr. Murray obtained his early education in the public schools of Newton, Cambridge and Boston, Mass., and, when he reached his majority, chose journalism as his profession. He was a close observer, a ready writer and possessed a style direct and attractive. The seven volumes of the Journal edited by him bear eloquent testimony to his literary ability. For a while he contributed educational, literary and historical articles to the Boston Pilot and enjoyed the coöperation and friendship of its then editor, John Boyle O’Reilly; later he became a member of the staff of the Boston Globe, where he remained several years. Ben Palmer was editor of the Globe at that time, and the Globe office was one of the best schools of journalism in the country. With a well-regulated mind and a strong constitution, Mr. Murray worked hard and the training there obtained well fitted him for the life work he had undertaken and the filling of important positions to which he was later called.

“After leaving the Globe, Mr. Murray became court reporter for the Boston Daily Star, then editor of the Roxbury Advocate, and afterwards editor of the Daily Advertiser, a morning paper at Shelton, Conn. He next became night editor of the Morning News, of Bridgeport, Conn., but soon returned to day work and became editor of the Daily Record at Meriden, Conn., where he remained until called to the editorial chair of the Evening and Sunday Telegram at Providence, R. I. After five years in this position, he became editor of the Lawrence Daily Sun, and four years later took charge of the Evening Call at Woonsocket.

“He had long taken a deep interest in historical studies, particularly in relation to the events and epochs of persons of Irish extraction, and his lectures and writings showed not only his devotion to his subjects, but a wide range of learning and research as well as a high order of literary ability. In addition to his invaluable work for this Society he was the author of many historical works, some of which are as follows:

“The Libraries of Boston: Public, Semi-Public and Probate. (Boston, 1882.)

“The Old Schoolmasters of Boston. (Boston, 1884.)

“The Mason Name in New England History. (Boston, 1884.)

82“The Thayer Name in America. (Boston, 1884.)

“The Irish Element in Connecticut. (Bridgeport, Ct., 1888.)

“From Dawn to Revolution. (Boston, 1889.)

“Thirty Historic American Families of Irish Extraction. (Boston, 1889.)

“Reminiscences of Life Along Narragansett’s Shores. (Providence, R. I., 1890.)

“Rambles in Rhode Island’s South County. (Providence, 1891.)

“Some Early Irish Members of the Society of Friends in Rhode Island. (Providence, 1894.)

“The Dorrance Purchase—An Irish Leaf from Rhode Island History. (Boston, 1895.)

“The Dunlevy Family in Irish History; Sketch of the Clan’s Patrimony in Ancient Ulidia. (Lawrence, Mass., 1895.)

“David O’Killia (O’Kelly), the Irishman; A Pioneer Settler at Yarmouth, Mass., as early as 1675. (Boston, 1895.)

“Concerning the McGuinness, McGinnis Name. (Providence, R. I., 1895.)

“The Irish Chapter in the History of Brown University. (Providence, 1896.)

“The Dempsey Name, Old and Puissant. (Denver, Col., 1898.)

“The Irish Soldiers in King Philip’s War—“Great Swamp” Fight. (New York City, 1896.)

“The First Regiment, Pennsylvania Line, In the Revolution. (Boston, 1896.)

“The Irish Morrisons; A Glance at the Origin of the Clan Name, Together with Reference to the Family’s Patrimony in the Ancient Kingdom of Connacht. (Lawrence, Mass., 1896.)

“Some Patricks of the Revolution. (New York City, 1896–’97.)

“Five Colonial Irish Rhode Islanders. (Providence, 1897.)

“Some Facts Concerning the Irish Washingtons. (Boston, 1898.)

“Early Irish Schoolmasters in Rhode Island. (Washington, D. C., 1898.)

“The French Chapter in American History. (Boston, 1899.)

“Matthew Watson, an Irish Settler of Barrington, R. I., 1723. (Boston, 1900.)

“The Irish Moss Gatherers of Scituate, Mass. (New York City, 1900.)

“The Irish at the Battle of Bunker Hill, 1775. (Boston, 1900.)

“A Point Made Clear—The Brecks of Dorchester, Mass. (Boston, 1901.)

“Irish Settlers, Previous to 1742, in Portsmouth, N. H. (Boston, 1901.)

“The Story of Miss Fitzgerald. (Boston, 1901.)

“The Romance of Sarah Alexander. (New York City, 1901.)

“Early Irish in the Plymouth Colony. (Boston, 1901.)

“Charles MacCarthy, a Rhode Island Pioneer, 1677. (Somerset, O., 1901.)

“Thomas Casey of Ireland and Rhode Island, 1636–1719. (Boston, 1901.)

“The Voyage of The Seaflower—from Ireland to Boston, 1741. (Boston, 1902.)

“Early Irish Educators of American Youth. (San Francisco, Cal., 1902.)

83“A Glance at the Vanguard—Irish Pioneers in Colonial Massachusetts. (Boston, 1902.)

“Richard Dexter, a Forgotten Irish Pioneer of Boston, Mass., 1641. (New York City, 1902.)

“Hugh Gaine, Irishman, New York Publisher, 1752–1809. (Boston, 1902.)

“Gen. John Sullivan and the Battle of Rhode Island. (Providence, 1902.)

“The American Not an ‘Anglo-Saxon’ People. (Boston, 1902.)

“To the American Irish Historical Society he was ever loyal and faithful. No call for service came to him in its behalf to which he did not respond. The highest office in the Society he might have had and political preferment could have been his from the appreciative citizens of Rhode Island and Massachusetts, but he turned from them lest his time and efforts might be diverted from that branch of history he loved so well. As long as his strength held out, he was in the harness serving the Society and, at our last annual meeting in New York, unable to walk, he was carried from the Grand Central Depot to the Manhattan Hotel, and there he conducted to the end the magnificent dinner and entertainment that followed the meeting. The effort was almost fatal, and during the night loving and tender friends watched over him but, by determined will, he rallied and reached his pretty villa at Sea View from which he never departed again in life. In all his work for the Society, he was ably assisted by his noble wife, Mary H. Sullivan Murray, a lady of great intelligence and refinement, who took up the work of the Secretary-General and faithfully maintained it until a member could be selected to relieve her. In paying our deep tribute to her husband, it would be amiss not to mention the faithful wife and assistant who now mourns with us his loss.

“We wish to record here the great benefits which we have received from the work and services of our first Secretary-General and pay tribute to his learning and ability; we further record the deep sorrow with which we look upon his vacant place, and, lastly, we record our loving tribute of affection for Thomas Hamilton Murray as a man, fearless, honest and faithful, an upright citizen and an earnest member of the Society.

“‘The soil out of which such men as he are made is good to be born on, good to live on, good to die for and be buried in.’”

Resolved, That the American Irish Historical Society, in appreciation of the services and efforts in its behalf by Thomas Hamilton 84Murray, late Secretary-General, unanimously adopts the minute prepared by Mr. Lee, orders that it be spread in full upon the records of the Society, and that a copy of the same under the seal of the Society be presented to the widow, Mrs. Mary H. Sullivan Murray.

The following are a few of the many letters received by Mrs. Murray immediately before and after the death of our late Secretary-General:

Dear Mrs. Murray: I am pained to learn of Mr. Murray’s low condition. You have my heartfelt sympathy. Mr. Magrath has just called, and spoke of his visit. I am still hoping that Mr. Murray will rally.

I am writing Mr. Lee of Providence to call, as I understand Mr. Murray wishes to see some member of the Society.

We have missed Mr. Murray greatly the last few months and will miss him always, for he may be considered as the founder of that honorable association of men, the American Irish Historical Society.

With the assurance of my esteem and regard together with my sincere sympathy, I am, dear madam.

We tender you our deepest sympathy in this hour of your great bereavement. Will attend funeral.

Sincere and profound sympathy on the death of your husband.

Dear Mr. Jordan: I have received the news of Mr. Thomas Hamilton Murray’s death with profound regret, and am very sorry that an important engagement for Monday will prevent my going to Boston for the funeral.

I beg you will convey to Mr. Murray’s family my sincere sympathy and condolence in their sad bereavement.

85We have all suffered a great loss in his death; and the noble work he carried forward so devotedly in developing the Irish chapter in American history will not readily find again as zealous or able an advocate. He had been the steady reliance of the Society. The patriotic work he did will long be a pride and glory to the race he loved and the cause so faithfully served.

With profound regret and sincerely sympathizing with all his friends and fellow members, I am,

Dear Mrs. Murray: Accept my sincere condolences on the death of your dear husband, which I read in the New York Herald this morning with profound sorrow.

We have lost a noble and a true friend to the American Irish Historical Society. In looking back over the past it is consoling to think his life has been a most exemplary one. How much better would our communities be, if we had more such men as your husband. His good and simple life was a model for all. He was a man whose character was the soul of buoyancy and kindness.

Dear Sir: Your telegram received, and I regret exceedingly that I was unable to reach Boston in time for Secretary Murray’s funeral.

I was very, very sorry to hear of his death, and while it is a great loss to his family, our Society has lost a very valuable member. Please convey my sympathy to the family.

I do not know what the circumstances of the family are, but certainly the Society if necessary should do something to assist them at this time. I know that in his home loving hands did all they could for him and it is for the Society to assist financially if necessary.

My dear Mr. Jordan: Your telegram notifying me of the time of Mr. Murray’s funeral reached me yesterday morning on my return to the city. I regret exceedingly the untimely death of our friend. He was a devoted and whole-souled worker in the cause of historic truth. I have never met anyone who surpassed him in zeal and unselfishness. He leaves vacant a place in the 86ranks of the lovers of the Irish race and the adherents of the Catholic Church which it will be hard to fill.

I have not the address of his family. May I ask you kindly to extend to them my heartfelt sympathy?

Dear Mrs. Murray: I am very sorry to learn of the death of Mr. Murray. I did not hear of it till it was too late for me to attend the funeral to show the respect and esteem I have felt for him from the first time I met him, several years before the American Irish Historical Society was organized. From that time to this our relations were most cordial and my most sincere sympathy is extended to yourself and your family for the great loss you have sustained. It is a great loss. You and your family have not alone felt this loss, but everyone who had or has any interest in American Irish history must also recognize it. It will be hard to get a man to fill his place in this latter capacity. Again let me express my sincere sympathy with you in your bereavement.

Let me thank you for the return of the pictures that I received last Saturday. I was thinking, before their receipt, where I would send a letter addressed to you expressive of my sympathy at your loss but could not make up my mind where to send it. I saw the Sea View postmark on the envelope over the pictures and I send this to that address.

Dear Mrs. Murray: I have only now heard of dear Tom Murray’s death and I am so grieved over it that I can hardly contain myself to write you this letter.

While his demise was not entirely unexpected it is nevertheless a great shock, and I hasten to extend my deep and heartfelt sympathy in this your time of sorrow. You have lost a good and worthy husband and I a true friend, of whom I was very fond, and I’m sorry that I was far away from home when he was taken by loving and tender hands to his last resting place.

A clipping from a newspaper sent by my mother told the sad story. She sent it several days ago, but as I have been going about from place to place the news missed me till now.

May God bless and protect you is my humblest wish for you this night.

Dear Madam: I am just in receipt of a journal of the American Irish Historical Society with printed request that I acknowledge it to the Secretary-General. Would that I could, and that he were still with us! I learned some weeks ago of his death and I beg to offer you my sincere sympathy and pray Our Lady, the Consoler of the Afflicted, to comfort you and the Lord to grant him His reward, the reward of the faithful and just.

Dear Madam: I received the Journal of the American Irish Historical Society, Volume VII, 1907, and beg leave to thank you for the same. It is admirably gotten up in Mr. Murray’s usual good style and nicely illustrated, and well bound.

It is like all the previous numbers, a monument to the great ability and devoted industry of your husband. His loss to the Society is indeed very great. His devotion to the work of this Society endeared him to all who knew of his earnest efforts, and his work in its behalf has made for him a most enduring monument.

The following memorial to the late Major John Crane, prepared by Hon. Eugene A. Philbin, was also unanimously adopted, and it was voted to send a copy thereof to the family of Major Crane:

“It very rarely happens that it is given to a man to be a source of inspiration to his fellowmen in more than one phase of human effort. A man may, during his life, have given evidence of exalted and self-denying patriotism, or have been conspicuous in the great field of charity, or an example of the highest type of the successful and upright business man, or a great leader in movements for the uplifting of mankind, but the average man cannot hope to establish a claim for recognition for more than one of these achievements. John Crane, however, was entitled to credit for a distinguished career in all. He was born in Morgan County, Ohio, on the 10th day of February, 1840. His mother died while he was quite young and his father took the family to the State of Wisconsin. 88War was declared between the North and South when he had hardly attained manhood, but, with two other young men, he organized a company of volunteers and was elected first lieutenant. This company offered its services to the governor of the State and was assigned to the Sixth Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry. The regiment was ordered to the Army of the Potomac, and was incorporated with other regiments which were known as the “Iron Brigade,” and as such attained great distinction for noteworthy services during the war. Mr. Crane served with the Sixth Wisconsin until the winter of 1862, when he resigned, but only for the purpose of aiding in the organization of the Seventeenth Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, an Irish regiment which was being raised in that State. He was successful in organizing Company A, and became its first lieutenant. This regiment in March, 1862, was ordered South, and their first stop was at St. Louis, whence they went to Tennessee, arriving at Pittsburgh Landing, Tennessee, a couple of days after the Battle of Shiloh. The regiment was assigned to the division of General McArthur, with whom it served during the campaign, taking part in numerous skirmishes and the Battle of Corinth. About this time the Adjutant of the regiment resigned and Lieutenant Crane was appointed Adjutant, which position he held until the close of the war. Upon the organization of the Seventeenth Army Corps, Gen. J. B. McPherson commanding (afterwards killed before Atlanta), the regiment became one of the regiments of this Corps, taking part in the campaign before the Siege of Vicksburg. They participated in the siege, and the regiment, Lieut.-Col. Thomas MacMahon commanding, joined with others in making the first assault on the breastworks at Vicksburg, May 19, 1863. The regimental officers and men were most highly commended by their commanding officer. John Crane bore a distinguished part in this assault and was personally complimented by the general commanding. The Seventeenth Corps was part of the Army of the Tennessee under General Sherman and served in all its campaign before Atlanta and on the march to the sea. Notwithstanding the fact that John Crane was of a naturally impulsive nature, during the battle his ability to command and exercise a considerate supervision of his men was never affected. His bravery was characterized by unfaltering fearlessness, but never marred by recklessness. He remained in the service until the war was concluded.

89“In the year 1868 Mr. Crane engaged in business with Colonel MacMahon, to whom reference has been made. Later William A. MacMahon, who served in the same regiment, entered the business, which was conducted under the name of Crane & MacMahon at the time of Mr. Crane’s death, which occurred on April 8, 1908, in New York City. The tie that had been formed with the MacMahon brothers in the service was strengthened by Mr. Crane’s marriage to their sister in the year 1866. She still survives him.

“From the outset, even when his time was much taken in forming his business relations and organizing his affairs, he was deeply and practically interested in charity. He commenced then the practice which was continued to the end of his life, not only of giving most liberally, but also of devoting his time and personal attention to the relief of the poor. For many years he was chairman of the finance committee of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul and it was largely due to his gentle but firm persistency that persons able to do so were made to contribute. It was rarely that a meeting of the committee was held that there was not some practical suggestion by him towards procuring those already interested to take a still greater interest or to secure the sympathy of people who had not already contributed in the great work. His effort in this important field was never limited to satisfying the physical suffering of the moment, but included a practical and effective course, having for its end not only the provision for pecuniary resources, but the inspiration of new courage and hope. The battle always became easier and the prospect more hopeful after a visit from John Crane.

“Since he carried into business the great elements of character that had made him a distinguished and able soldier and was constantly inspired by the broad spirit of charity which engendered the desire for fair dealing, it was only natural that his efforts should meet with success and that he and his associate should attain a position in the business world distinguished for an honorable policy and ability to produce effective results.

“The reward which attended his efforts in the great spheres of life, to which reference has already been made, caused a deeper appreciation of the value of spiritual inspiration. He realized that 90the battles that he had fought on the field of war and in civic life had been won because of his reliance not upon man or things, but upon the Supreme Being. He took advantage of every opportunity to convey this great lesson to his fellowmen. When about ten years before his death Governor Roosevelt appointed him a member of the board of trustees of the Soldiers’ Home in Steuben County, New York state, he was given an opportunity that probably brought him more real gratification than any other one thing in his philanthropic career. He organized at the Soldiers’ Home religious societies which furnished spiritual gratification to the veteran soldiers, and also gave them a new occupation that tended to relieve the monotony of institutional life. It seemed to him as if he were again, after the lapse of so many years, participating with pathetic care and solicitation in the careers and welfare of those who, under his guidance, were giving their lives to their country. It is not difficult to imagine what this opportunity meant to Major Crane. It is needless to say that the duty was discharged, not only in a manner that gave happiness to the inmates at the time, but also inaugurated methods that were so meritorious as to remain permanently to the advantage of the Home.

“Major Crane never entered actively into politics, although he was a man of clear and positive views as to public welfare. From time to time he freely lent his voice and aid to movements having for their object civic betterment.

“He was for many years the almoner of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick, and gave the same intelligent and able consideration to the appeals made to the Society by the unfortunate as he had given to many other cases of distress. He was a most active and faithful member of the latter society, and, in fact, was deeply interested in anything that concerned the Irish race and furnished evidence of the great benefits it had conferred upon mankind.

“Major Crane was especially interested in American-Irish history because of its eloquent testimony in support of Irish virtue and ability. His own noble record will always be a bright page in the annals of the race in this country.

In the death of Hugh Kelly, President of the corporation of Hugh Kelly & Co., 79 Wall Street, New York City, the downtown business community of New York lost a man of sound judgment of men and affairs, and a true friend.

Mr. Kelly was born in Chicago, September 24th, 1858, and when a year old came to New York, where he lived thereafter. He was graduated from the College of the City of New York with high honors and was later honored with the degrees of Master of Arts and Doctors of Laws by Fordham University. In 1871 he entered the West Indian trade and in 1884 established the house of Hugh Kelly & Co., which is well-known throughout the cane sugar world. He was very successful in designing and constructing several of the largest and most modern sugar cane factories in Cuba, Porto Rico and Santo Domingo, and was one of the best known merchants in that industry.

He was president of several sugar companies in the West Indies, but found time also to devote himself to maritime and municipal affairs, and was in the directorate of the United Fruit Company, The Emigrant Industrial Savings Bank, the Nipe Bay Company, and other industrial enterprises. He was also a Trustee of St. Patrick’s Cathedral, the Roman Catholic Orphan Asylum, Calvary Cemetery, the Sevilla Home for Children, and the Central Islip State Hospital.

Mr. Kelly served the city as a member of the Board of Education from 1895 to 1898, and was Treasurer of its Finance Committee.

He was Vice-President of the Maritime Exchange in 1894 and 1895, President in 1896 and 1897, and for seven years was on its directorate.

Mr. Kelly was made president of The Oriental Bank in an effort to save it shortly before it failed last Winter. He was a director in the bank at the time of the financial depression, and when the bank was threatened Mr. Kelly took up the task, two or three days after his return from Europe, of realizing on the bank’s assets and meeting the claims against it. He was going along very well when fresh bank failures caused a run on the Oriental, which led to its suspension. Attorney-General Jackson had receivers appointed but they were soon removed by the Court. Full payment to every depositor 92was eventually made through an arrangement with the Metropolitan Trust Company, which took over the Oriental Bank’s assets. Mr. Kelly in his desire to keep the bank on its feet when he accepted the presidency refused to accept a cent of remuneration, his sole desire being to keep the bank going. The strain under which he labored at that time, and the many false rumors which those antagonistic to the bank had issued, preyed upon him greatly, and an acute nervous ailment forced him to give up work three weeks before his death, which occurred October 30th, 1908, at 3 a. m.

The funeral was held at St. Patrick’s Cathedral on November 2d. Archbishop Farley celebrated solemn requiem mass. Some of the other church dignitaries who assisted in the service were Mgr. Lavelle, Mgr. Hayes, Father McCluskey and Father McQuade.

The pall bearers were Joseph Rigney, Michael E. Bannin, Thomas E. Murray, Col. John McAnerney, Richard S. Treacy, James H. Post, President of the National Sugar Refining Company, Joseph W. Foster, Frank Schaffer, Vice-President of Hugh Kelly & Co., Thomas Mulry, President Emigrant Industrial Savings Bank and Myles Tierney, President of the Hudson Trust Company. The interment was in Calvary Cemetery.

Mr. Kelly is survived by his widow, three sons and four daughters.

Personally, Mr. Kelly was a quiet, hearty, genial man, easily approachable and warm-hearted, seeming to have time for every demand upon him in spite of his numerous responsibilities, and a host of friends esteemed him most highly for his ability, integrity and sound judgment. In the business life of New York in which he moved, he will be deeply missed.

The following memorial to the late James Jeffrey Roche, Esq., was also unanimously adopted, and it was voted to send a copy thereof to his family:

Mr. Joseph Smith of the Boston Traveler, one of the founders of the Society, and at the invitation of its officers, presented the following memorial to the late Hon. James Jeffrey Roche, LL. D., which was ordered spread upon the records and a copy thereof sent to the family of Dr. Roche:

James Jeffrey Roche was born in the little Quaker town of Mountmellick in Queen’s County, Ireland, the son of Edward and Mary (Doyle) Roche and was taken while yet an infant of a few weeks, to Prince Edward’s Island, whither his parents emigrated. He grew up in Charlottetown, where his father Edward Roche, an accomplished scholar, conducted a school; and he supplemented the training given him by his scholarly father by a course at the Jesuit College of St. Dunstan’s in Charlottetown, from which he was graduated. Among his college classmates were Chief Justice Sullivan of Prince Edward’s Island and Archbishop O’Brien of Halifax, N. S.

Mr. Roche settled in Boston in 1866 and was engaged in business there for some years; but his peculiar gifts and tastes drew him to journalism and letters; and in 1883 he became one of the staff of the Pilot, under his brilliant friend John Boyle O’Reilly; and after his death he succeeded to the post of editor-in-chief of the paper which he filled with vigor and brilliancy, in full keeping with the traditions of such predecessors as Thomas D’Arcy Magee, O’Reilly and others. The Pilot was the avowed champion not only of the Irish people and of their religion, but it stood ready to do battle with persecution, injustice, intolerance and wrong, no matter against what race or creed they were directed; and no individual paper in the world did better or more effective work for the men and cause of the Irish race; and under the management 94of James Jeffrey Roche, zeal and fidelity to all good causes were always fortified by sanity and justice and tempered by humor, good temper and a fine inhospitality to passion and demagoguery.

While devoting most of his time and talents to his editorial work and duty, he still found opportunities to turn to the field of letters of a more enduring character. A writer of virile and picturesque prose, James Jeffrey Roche will always be best known as a poet whose verse is marked by beauty, sweetness, lyrical quality and a belle esprit all his own, and ranging in scope from the light, brilliant and witty vers de société to such serious and compelling poems as his “Babylon.” His “Songs and Satires” is a volume that sparkles with wit and rapier-like touches. His “Ballads of Blue Water” is a book for American men and patriots, unique and stirring; the ballads will live while Americans look back with pride to the deeds of an heroic past; and no American singer has written any better ballads of action than “The Armstrong Privateer,” “The Constitution,” “The Alamo” and other stirring songs. His “Life of John Boyle O’Reilly” was the tribute of a devoted friend and admirer to a man and comrade he loved and labored with, and is a biography whose literary excellence is amazing when we consider the pressure under which it was written. His other prose work varied from the brilliant accuracy and gravity of “The Story of the Filibusters” (republished by the Harpers as “The Byways of War”) to those airy medleys of fun and philosophy “Her Majesty the King” and “The Sorrows of Sap’ed,” which have made the world laugh and think.

A close personal friend and admirer of President Theodore Roosevelt, he was appointed by him American Consul at Genoa, Italy, in 1904, when his health being precarious, a change of work and climate became necessary; and in 1907 the President transferred him to the capital of Switzerland, Berne, where he lived until the final call came to him.

When in 1896 I broached to a few interested friends the project of establishing an organization which would bring together men of the Irish race interested in gathering and perpetuating the record of the achievement of that race on this American continent, and preserving it in such form that historians could utilize it and thus ensure us our share of the honor and credit of upbuilding the American Republic, I found him sympathetic and enthusiastic in the matter; 95and out of those gatherings and discussions sprang the movement which resulted in the foundation of the American Irish Historical Society. James Jeffrey Roche, John Linehan, Hamilton Murray and I drew up the call, signed it, secured other signatures, called a meeting at the Revere House, Boston, Mass., 20th January, 1897, and the Society was born. He became one of the members of the Executive Council and for many years we attended its meetings and outings until conditions and circumstances stopped our attendance without attenuating our interest in its progress.

Personally, James Jeffrey Roche was one of the most lovable and charming of men, who carried under a surface of wit and joyous frivolity a nature whose depth, sincerity, devotion to ideals, capacity for friendship, passion for freedom, love of race and motherland, high-minded patriotism and loyalty to duty and honor, were understood only by those who knew him intimately. He hated all meanness and dishonor; friendship was a sacred thing to him; and he had that clairvoyant vision of the poet which saw the humbug and pharisee under the skin of the charlatan, when many a reputedly wiser and more sophisticated man accepted the demagogue and pretender at their own valuation.

I knew him for many years; to me he was as my own flesh and blood; I could not love a brother more; and his death was merely the final chapter in the grief I experienced when he went from Boston to represent the Republic abroad, in such physical condition that I knew I would never look upon his face again in life; and I know that in voicing my own sorrow I am but expressing the feelings of those who were comrades in the past and lovers of him always. He had reached the zenith of his literary powers before he left the land of his adoption and love forever; and he himself realized that his work was done, and that only the official duties of his consular position remained to preoccupy him until the final call.

Besides a host of friends, he left a wife, a son and a daughter to mourn his passing; and while the idle reader of contemporary literature may time and again derive pleasure and profit from his joyous wit, and gentle philosophy, his intimates and brothers in soul will seldom meet without recalling with a hush and a sigh the friend and comrade who has passed and who awaits them where work and worry, sweat and sorrow, are no more forever.

96He was buried in Holyhood Cemetery, Brookline, Mass., within a stone’s throw of the spot where sleep his comrades in the flesh, John Boyle O’Reilly, Thomas J. Gargan and Patrick A. Collins, his grave marked by a handsome granite column adorned with a bronze tablet, erected by a group of friends who loved him in life and mourn him in death. May he sleep in peace; for no gentler, sweeter spirit was ever added to the company of Heaven than James Jeffrey Roche.

The following list of applicants for membership in the Society was read by the secretary-general, and by unanimous vote they were duly elected members:

John J. Kenney, New Brighton, Staten Island, N. Y. (proposed by J. J. Lenehan).

William Gilbert Davies, 32 Nassau Street, New York City (proposed by J. J. Lenehan).

Martin Hughes, Hibbing, Minn, (proposed by Hon. C. D. O’Brien).

Patrick F. McBreen, 404 Munroe Street, Brooklyn, N. Y. (proposed by J. J. Lenehan).

Thomas Murphy, Irvington-on-Hudson, New York (proposed by Francis J. Quinlan, M. D.).

Dr. Thomas E. Dolan, 250 Elizabeth Avenue, Elizabeth, N. J. (proposed by James L. O’Neil).

Jeremiah D. Leary, 246 Clark Place, Elizabeth, N. J. (proposed by James L. O’Neil).

Rev. Cornelius F. O’Leary, Wellston, St. Louis, Mo. (proposed by Michael J. Jordan).

Frank L. Tooley, D. D. S., 157 East 79th Street, New York City (proposed by J. J. Lenehan).

Martin I. J. Griffin, 1935 North 11th Street, Philadelphia, Pa. (proposed by J. J. Lenehan).

John C. McGuire, Hotel St. George, Brooklyn, N. Y. (proposed by J. J. Lenehan).

Rev. Thomas J. McCarty, 1011 Douglas Street, Sioux City, Iowa (proposed by Bishop P. J. Garrigan).

William J. Delaney, Saratoga Springs, N. Y.

Patrick L. Hughes, 1 Blackstone Street, Boston, Mass.

97Edgar Stanton Maclay, Standard Union, Brooklyn, N. Y. (proposed by Thomas Z. Lee).

Michael W. Norton, Narragansett Hotel, Providence, R. I.

Dr. John P. Reilly, 215 Elizabeth Avenue, Elizabeth, N. J. (proposed by James L. O’Neil).

Joseph F. McLoughlin, attorney-at-law, 2 Rector Street, New York City (proposed by T. Vincent Butler).

Peter J. Dufficy, 120 West 59th Street, New York City (proposed by T. Vincent Butler).

Joseph Murray, 1245 Madison Avenue, New York City (proposed by Edmond J. Curry).

Rev. James J. Murphy, Ph. D., 1011 Douglas Street, Sioux City, Iowa (proposed by Bishop P. J. Garrigan).

J. C. Delaney, Department of Factory Inspection, Harrisburg, Pa. (proposed by Francis J. Quinlan, M. D.).

Peter J. Gibbons, M. D., 49 Park Avenue, New York City (proposed by Francis J. Quinlan, M. D.).

Charles J. Perry, World Building, Park Row, New York City (proposed by J. J. Lenehan).

William T. A. Fitzgerald, Court House, Boston, Mass. (proposed by James H. Devlin, Jr.; seconded by Michael J. Jordan).

Edward Hamilton Daly, 54 Wall Street, New York City (proposed by T. Vincent Butler).

John B. White, 121 East 86th Street, New York City (proposed by T. Vincent Butler).

Edward D. Farrell, 158 West 125th Street, New York City (proposed by T. Vincent Butler).

Col. P. J. Nevins, Haverhill, Mass, (proposed by J. J. Lenehan).

William F. Downey, 1622 L Street, Washington, D. C. (proposed by J. J. Lenehan).

Richard J. Donovan, 170 Broadway, New York City (proposed by Francis J. Quinlan, M. D.).

John E. McGuire, Haverhill, Mass, (proposed by Dr. M. F. Sullivan).

Constantine J. McGuire, 120 East 60th Street, New York City (proposed by Francis J. Quinlan, M. D.).

Jeremiah A. O’Leary, 38 Park Row, Manhattan, New York (proposed by John J. Daly).

98Gen. Michael Kerwin, Broadway Central Hotel, New York City (proposed by Francis J. Quinlan, M. D.).

Edward Tingent, 68 Broad Street, Elizabeth, N. J. (proposed by Francis J. Quinlan, M. D.).

James P. Conway, 296 East 3rd Street, Brooklyn, N. Y. (proposed by John J. Daly).

Leo F. Farrell, 171 Westminster Street, Providence, R. I. (proposed by Francis I. McCanna).

Dennis A. Spellissy, 302 Broadway, New York City (proposed by J. J. Lenehan).

Rev. John Brosnan, Cornwall-on-Hudson, New York (proposed by J. J. Lenehan).

Peter L. Keough, 41 Arch Street, Pawtucket, R. I. (proposed by John T. F. MacDonnell).

John E. Murphy, Bretton Hall Hotel, New York City (proposed by John E. O’Brien).

Rev. William A. Keefe, Norwich, Conn. (proposed by Edmond J. Curry).

Michael W. Sullivan, Century Building, Washington, D. C. (proposed by David Healy).

Joseph E. G. Ryan, Chicago Inter Ocean, Chicago, Ill. (proposed by Frank S. Colton).

William Gilshenan, New York City (proposed by T. P. Kelly).

Rev. M. A. McManus, Newark, N. J.

Thomas F. Kilkenny, Providence, R. I. (proposed by M. W. Norton; seconded by John F. O’Connell).

Thomas F. Mulry, president Immigrants’ Savings Bank, Brooklyn, N. Y. (proposed by M. E. Bannin).

Hon. Lawrence P. Lee, Ellis Island, N. Y. (proposed by Thomas Z. Lee).

John Woods, 297 Broadway, South Boston, Mass. (proposed by Michael Maynes; seconded by Michael J. Jordan).

John Howlett, 49 Portland Street, Boston, Mass. (proposed by Michael Maynes; seconded by Michael J. Jordan).

M. J. Sheehy, merchant, Foot 39th Street, New York City (proposed by Henry L. Joyce; seconded by John F. O’Connell).

99James C. Shannon, vice-president David Shannon Company, New York City (proposed by Henry L. Joyce; seconded by John F. O’Connell).

William C. Burke, contractor, 143 Liberty Street, New York City (proposed by Henry L. Joyce; seconded by John F. O’Connell).

James F. Mack, attorney-at-law, New York City (proposed by Henry L. Joyce; seconded by John F. O’Connell).

Joseph Rowan, attorney-at-law, New York City (proposed by Henry L. Joyce; seconded by John F. O’Connell).

John L. Murray, 223 West 42d Street, New York City (proposed by M. H. Cox; seconded by Bernard J. Joyce).

Major Thomas F. Lynch, United States Army Building, Whitehead Street, New York City (proposed by John J. Daly).

Daniel S. Mahoney, 131 Charles Street and 277 Broadway, New York City (proposed by John J. Daly).

Charles B. O’Connor, New York State Construction Company, Broad Street, New York City (proposed by John J. Daly).

Frank T. Molony, 70 Jane Street and 277 Broadway, New York City (proposed by John J. Daly).

Joseph T. Ryan, 149 Broadway, New York City (proposed by Henry L. Joyce).

Patrick J. Haltigan, editor Hibernian, Washington, D. C.

Stephen McFarland, 44 Morton Street, New York City (proposed by John Jay Joyce).

Stephen McPartland, 134 W. 92d Street, New York City (proposed by H. G. Bannon).

Stephen J. McPartland, 391 West End Ave., New York City (proposed by H. G. Bannon).

P. J. Nee, 1341 Girard Street, Washington, D. C.

John J. Buckley, 99 Nassau Street, New York City (proposed by John J. Daly).

In addition to the above, Ernest Van D. Murphy, first lieutenant, Twenty-Seventh Infantry, United States Army, Havana, Cuba, was elected a life member of the Society.

100Mr. Michael F. Dooley, Treasurer-General of the Society, presented the following report, covering the period from January 28, 1908, to January 15, 1909, and the same was adopted by unanimous vote:

A motion was made that the next annual meeting of the Society be held in New York City, at a time and place to be later appointed, and after some discussion the motion prevailed.

The meeting thereupon adjourned.

The Eleventh Annual Banquet of the American Irish Historical Society took place this evening at 7.30 in the magnificent banquet hall on the tenth floor of the Hotel Raleigh, and over two hundred members and guests were present. The arrangement of the tables, floral decorations and candelabra was commendable, and was a great credit to the efforts of the Dinner Committee.

President-General Quinlan presided and acted as toastmaster for the evening.

With him at the head table were seated: Hon. Edward D. White, Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States; Hon. Thomas H. Carter, United States Senator from Montana; Hon. Robert J. Gamble, United States Senator from South Dakota; Hon. Joseph A. O’Connell, Congressman from Massachusetts; Hon. William Sulzer, Congressman from New York; Hon. John J. Fitzgerald, Congressman from New York; Hon. Michael F. Dooley of Rhode Island, Treasurer-General; Rear Admiral John McGowan of Washington, former President-General; Mr. Francis I. McCanna of Rhode Island; Hon. John D. Crimmins of New York, former President-General; Hon. Patrick J. McCarthy, Vice-President for Rhode Island; Hon. Victor J. Dowling, Justice of the Supreme Court of New York; Mr. Patrick Carter of Rhode Island; Hon. Edward A. Moseley of Washington, former President-General; Mr. David S. Barry of Washington; Hon. Maurice T. Moloney of Illinois; Rev. M. A. Quirk of Illinois; Mr. Michael H. Cox of Massachusetts; Mr. W. J. O’Hagan, Vice-President for South Carolina; Hon. Thomas B. Fitzpatrick of Massachusetts; Hon. Lawrence O. Murray of Washington; Mr. Bernard J. Joyce of Massachusetts; Hon. John F. O’Connell of Rhode Island; Hon. John Hannan of New York; Mr. Humphrey O’Sullivan of Massachusetts; Rev. Michael A. 106McManus of New Jersey; General D. F. Collins of New Jersey; Mr. Michael J. Jordan, Vice-President for Massachusetts; Mr. John L. Murray of New York; Mr. Patrick J. Haltigan of Washington; and Mr. Thomas Zanslaur Lee, Secretary-General of the Society.

The press was represented by the following gentlemen: Jerome S. Fanciulli, Associated Press; John Monk, New York Sun; A. P. Arnold, United Press Association; David S. Barry, Providence Journal; J. W. Bathon, Washington Post; Archie Jamieson, Washington Herald; James R. Quirk, Washington Times; and W. H. Landvorgt, Washington Star.

Divine blessing was invoked by Rev. Dr. Joshua P. L. Bodfish of Canton, Mass., after which a flashlight picture of the assemblage was successfully taken by the National Press Association of No. 1423 F Street, Washington, for the benefit of those who wished a photographic souvenir of the occasion.

The menu, which was finely served, was as follows:

107After substantial justice had been done every part of the dinner, the President-General asked for attention and said:

“Ladies and Gentlemen, as well as Honored Guests of the American Irish Historical Society: If I feel somewhat overawed, somewhat oppressed, by the consciousness of standing in the place formerly occupied by a man of such national, nay, international, reputation as the President-General whom I succeed, all the more is it incumbent upon me on this occasion to take my duty very seriously, and endeavor to discuss with the sobriety and earnestness appropriate to one of my profession the aims which this organization has in view, and the things to be sought after or avoided in prosecuting those aims.

“Let me call your attention, particularly the attention of the many new acquisitions whom I am so happy to see here tonight, to the five words which form the motto upon our corporate seal: ‘That the world may know.’ The interpretation put upon that legend by another former President-General, Thomas J. Gargan, of whom I must speak later on, was this: ‘To place the Irish element in its true light in American history.’ It is not necessary to warn you, at this stage of our existence as a body, that the American Irish Historical Society does not live either to pick holes in the coats of others or to trail its own coat over the sod by way of challenge. Rather, I may say, the purpose of our organization is defensive; to employ the armory of historical truth in vindicating for men of Irish blood that place in American history of which it has been defrauded either wilfully or through ignorance. Many causes have contributed to create misrepresentation on the one hand and honest misconception on the other. We need not discuss these causes in detail just at present. I am here to deliver a general address and not a special lecture in history. But we all know, and every well-informed American is aware, that the ignorant and the vulgar not so very long ago had but two well-defined ideas about Irishmen: One, that they wore red whiskers and carried hods; the other, that they loved a fight. The former of these errors we strive to dissipate—and I think we have succeeded notably—by the very fact of the Society’s existence and by the publication of the annual journal with its roster of membership. As to the latter, we are not, I fear, in a position to deny it without some reserve. It may, however, be fairly claimed that this Society has already done much to proclaim its sympathy with the arts 108of peace in electing a member of my profession to be the immediate successor of such a man as Admiral McGowan.

“So far to establish what I take to be the solid reasons which justify the existence of such a society as ours. Now let me call your attention to an absolutely indispensable condition of our success in the future, as it has been, I think, one great factor of our success in the past. It is our aim to make better known the Irish pages of American history. These pages do not refer, let us remember, to any one section, type, class or creed of Irish-descended Americans, but to all without discrimination. And this function of our Society evidently will never be, could never have been, effectively discharged without a hearty collective effort to sink all differences of religious belief and of political connections. We must continue to act, within our own body and in pursuit of our common object, independently of those sectional, religious or political ties which bind us individually as loyal citizens and as sincere Christians. From the days of Brian Boru and of Dermot McMorough down to our own time we know that that little isle where grows the ‘chosen leaf of bard and chief’ has been a prey to the invader only because the invader knew how to foment dissension among its native sons. Gentlemen, this essential quality of our organization is both forcibly and happily borne in upon us in these days when we hear that the land of our fathers is at last beginning to assert its power as a political unit by realizing that very idea of being ‘Irish first,’ that idea of national unity, her neglect of which has been the comfort of her enemies in times past.

“Their proneness to dissension has been more or less facetiously accounted for by the theory that the Irish are a nervously high-strung race, who find a pleasant counter-irritant in the ‘man-enobling conflict.’ It has been said that an Irishman would rather fight another Irishman than a man of alien race, simply because he recognizes in an antagonist of his own blood the most promising opportunity of a truly exciting battle.

“The memory is still fresh upon me of that important event at which I had the honor of assisting on the 16th of last month, the unveiling of the beautiful tablet placed in the State House at Providence, Rhode Island, to the glorious memory of Major-General John Sullivan of Revolutionary fame. We all know that this splendid and public-spirited memorial is one of the achievements of 109the past year on which our Society has reason to congratulate itself. Let the still fresh memory of that proud occasion be my excuse for dwelling at such great length upon the warlike qualities of the Irish race. For these qualities, in truth, are quite generally admitted by both friends and enemies. Our more pressing call, it seems, is to emphasize the achievements of the Irish race in peace. After listening to those eloquent tributes in the Providence State House from the lips of Governor Higgins, Ex-Governor Lippitt and others, it was borne in upon me how easily a public man’s peaceful achievements may be eclipsed by his military exploits. John Sullivan was, as our tablet records, a statesman of distinction; as a jurist he left his mark upon the legal history of New Hampshire, and yet it is almost exclusively as the patriot soldier that he lives today in the popular mind.

“Another hero of the American Revolution whose memory we must tonight recall with especial satisfaction was Commodore John Barry. We have the right, gentlemen, and I think that we should insist upon it strenuously in these days, to call Barry the Irish father of that splendid American navy of which we are all so justly proud. And it is matter for congratulation that, since our last annual meeting, and largely through our own organized efforts, historical justice is now at last to be done to the man who was a commissioned Captain in the American navy when Paul Jones was only a Lieutenant. A prominent site has been officially chosen for a statue of Barry at the national capitol, and we have every reason to hope that the work will be executed by some sculptor of great repute of Irish descent.

“But, proud as we must all feel of Irish services to the Republic ‘on the decks of fame’ and on many a stricken field, is it not rather our duty as an organization to shed the light of history upon Irish services in the council chamber and the law court, in science and scholarship, and the fine arts? In the retrospect of the year that is gone, what Irish-descended American can fail to thrill with pride at the spectacle of that distinguished and at the same time enthusiastic assembly which paid honor to the memory of Augustus St. Gaudens, a native of Dublin, and the foremost American sculptor of our own day?

“And in this retrospect we have to include at least one example of the type of Irish descendant which rises to eminence in the peaceful professions in our late-lamented and highly-respected President-General, 110Thomas J. Gargan, whose obsequies in Boston last fall were the occasion of so impressive a manifestation of civic gratitude and esteem. Surely his life was in itself a powerful effort to ‘place the Irish element in its true light in American history.’ Eminent in the legal profession in a community where the standards of that profession are especially high, he also gave to the state of Massachusetts as a trusted official such services as were duly acknowledged by the presence in his funeral cortege of the Mayor of Boston, the present and past Governors of Massachusetts, and an immense multitude of citizens. And if this great lawyer’s career brilliantly illustrated the truth that the Irish race excel in other things besides fighting I must not pass over in silence that other departed fellow-member, Major John Crane of New York, a man whose career was illustrious both in war and in peace, a citizen who first turned his back upon commercial success in order to take up arms for what he considered the cause of the Republic, and then, when he had won glory for himself in four years of active military service, returned to the peaceful pursuits of commerce to achieve a place among the leading merchants of New York, and at last to dispense his honorably-acquired wealth and to apply his talents and his time in the charitable relief of poverty and suffering.

“I have purposely left to the end of this retrospect my sincere tribute to the memory of that man whose death, coming in the interval since our last annual meeting, has been a peculiar loss to us as a body. In addressing you two years ago, my distinguished predecessor, Admiral McGowan, said, referring to our then Secretary, Thomas Hamilton Murray: ‘A competent secretary is a priceless possession for any society, and we have been especially fortunate in this respect.’ The distinguished Admiral was speaking in the presence of Mr. Murray when he uttered those words. What may we not add now that death has removed the restraints imposed in such circumstances by modesty and good taste. Thomas Hamilton Murray was indeed a man to whom the American Irish will forever owe a debt of gratitude for his work along that line which we, as a society, have especially taken for our own. He was a journalist by profession, an ornament, I may say, to American journalism, as so many good American Irish have been; and before this Society had come into existence he had already anticipated its aims, by rendering out of his own initiative and his own exertions no insignificant service toward placing the Irish element in its true light in American history. From its very inauguration our Society was aware that no other man in all the length and breadth of this country could have held his position with so much advantage to the cause which we have at heart. To say nothing of that which many of us must feel in the removal of a dear friend, the Society cannot but be conscious of the calamity it has sustained in the loss of this truly ‘priceless possession’ to whom our rapid success in the past has been so largely due.

111“In the year that has passed our Society has singularly suffered from the loss of many of its ardent and enthusiastic workers. These pioneers of our organization have been summoned from our midst, but the heritage they have left is beyond measure or computation. Their memory will always be fragrant with the sweetness of their lives, and, whilst we chant their requiem, may they enjoy the hosannas that are sung for them in their happier abode.

“Coming now to the actual aspect of our life as an organization, we may congratulate ourselves, I rejoice to say, upon a thoroughly sound and vigorous condition. Most especially would I single out for mention the astonishing success of our new membership committee. That committee, under the chairmanship of Mr. John J. Linehan, was appointed in New York City, I need hardly remind you, scarcely two months ago, with the object of promoting the numerical increase of our membership, while of course taking due care that its quality should not fall below the standard which we had thus far maintained. So zealously and efficiently has the work of the committee been done, so just and cordial has been the appreciation of the Society’s aims, that within one month 125 new and good names were added to our roster, and the total increment, I believe, since the appointment of the committee, amounts at the present moment to something over 200. I am sure that we all heartily welcome these new recruits, and in voicing that welcome let me express the hope that every man of the new squad intends to do his utmost for the furtherance of our great aims.

“To do this, gentlemen, no mere machine action of the Society will be adequate. Our work is, remember, a work of enlightenment, therefore a work dealing with the intellect of our times and our country, and not to be accomplished without intellectual exertion. Now while societies, academies and universities have their immense value as a directive and unifying apparatus, the intellectual forces 112which operate under their control must of necessity be individual. To be effectual all effort must be controlled by system, but the most perfect system without an abundance of individual effort must be like an elaborately-constructed piece of artillery without a sufficient supply of ammunition.

“Our system has now been elaborated by the inauguration of the Recorder, to be published at stated periods and which will serve as a vehicle for such notices on topics of American Irish history as the zeal and enterprise of individual members may prompt. It is confidentially hoped that the supply of such material will be both abundant and rich in quality, and that our Recorder will become in itself a valuable magazine of information in those lines of research which are the Society’s special province.

“Let me even urge on members the advantage to our cause that would be attained if every one of us will make a point of forwarding to the Secretary-General, Judge Lee, who has assumed, in addition to the many exacting duties of his present office, that of editor of our Recorder, any newspaper clippings or other material concerning contemporary happenings relating to our work.

“Finally, gentlemen, it is in no perfunctory spirit that I here publicly render thanks to the members of our official staff, without whose zealous coöperation our year could not have been brought to the happy and glorious conclusion in which we rejoice tonight. Since the death of our beloved Secretary-General six months ago Judge Thomas Z. Lee of Rhode Island has fulfilled in large measure the colossal duties of that office, and to whom the Society owes more than mere words of thanks. With him I associate in my heartfelt gratitude our esteemed and respected Treasurer-General, Mr. Michael F. Dooley, whose devotion to our work and our interests has been, I may say without exaggeration, heroic. And, gentlemen, I must not conclude without expressing in both my own behalf and that of the Society as a whole those thanks which are fairly due to the various committees who have so successfully carried out the work of organizing this meeting. I hold that the manner in which that labor of love has been performed has been in itself a very positive demonstration of the faculty of concerted action which belongs to our race, at least on this side of the Atlantic, if not everywhere and always. And now I conclude with my personal thanks to all who are here tonight, especially the ladies, who have given a fine atmosphere 113to this occasion and without whose hearty and sympathetic countenances our gathering could not have been, as I am confident it will be, a memorable one in the history of the American Irish Historical Society.”

Hon. Patrick J. McCarthy: “Rhode Island proposes three cheers for the ladies.”

This suggestion met with a hearty response, and was quickly followed by similar proposals from representatives of Boston and New York.

President-General Quinlan: The first toast on the program is “The President of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt.”

This was drunk standing and was followed by three ringing cheers. The orchestra then played “The Star Spangled Banner,” which was sung by the assemblage.

President-General Quinlan: We will now turn to the serious aspect of this page in our history. This evening we are especially honored, ladies and gentlemen, by having at this table one of the most distinguished men, not only in the United States, but in the world. Without further ado, without further expression, because it is like carrying coals to Newcastle, I will go on and introduce to you Hon. Edward D. White, Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States of America.

Mr. Justice White was greeted with hearty applause and cheering as he arose, and, after order was restored, he spoke as follows:

“Mr. President-General, Gentlemen of the American Irish Historical Society, Ladies and Gentlemen: When the privilege was extended to me of coming here tonight there was also a request which was by me declined, to respond to one of the set toasts. This was done because it has been my wont since taking up judicial duty in Washington to eschew as far as I could public speech-making, because the thought has always been mine that if public speech-making were indulged in, even occasionally, the habit might grow and thus I might become what it seems to me is an abomination—a too loquacious and indiscreet speech-making judge. Strange as it may seem to any of you who have had to go over ponderous judicial opinions, the result of judicial work is to cause one to hesitate about words. They come to the one who does such work to be things which may be productive of great wrong if misused or misapplied. True as this is as to judicial work generally, it is more so when the character 114of that work in our own country is considered. Under our system judicial duty is not confined to the settlement of controversies between men. It is more extensive, since it controls man in his relations to government and the relations of government to the individual. It involves the power to limit government itself, since upon it is cast the ultimate duty to maintain the Constitution and apply its limitations. It, therefore, in a sense not only restrains both the national and State governments, but regulates their relations one to the other. From this all-embracing extent of the judicial authority it must be apparent that in our own country much more than in any other the discharge of judicial duty involves the dealing with subjects of the most acute public concern, where passion and political agitation are flagrant. When these things are considered it is certain that the performance of the judicial function in our country—to paraphrase the words of the Romans—involves the science of all things human and divine, the knowledge of all things good and evil.

“With these thoughts in my mind I stand up upon the generous solicitation of your President and look into your kindly faces and form the purpose to say a few words concerning your and my duty to preserve the institutions of government with which we are blest, and with the thought comes the admonition that I must be circumspect and say nothing which ought not to be said. Indeed, as I speak, there comes unbidden to my mind that beautiful prayer of the Catholic Liturgy where the Priest, as he approaches the Gospel, invokes the aid of Almighty God to cleanse his mouth as with a living coal in order that his lips may be worthy to syllable the inspired subject which he is about to approach.

“Before I say anything further, however, let me briefly establish my right to be among you tonight upon a more intimate basis than that of a mere guest. This can hardly be done because of my being an Irish American, for I am only of Irish blood on my father’s side in the fourth generation. But my right to be one of you from another point of view is quite apparent. In the state in which I was born there lived an Irish American bearing the name of White. At a public dinner—I do not believe it was an Irish American affair—he sat near one whose name was O’Rourke. Leaning over to him he said: ‘Mr. O’Rourke, what countryman are you?’ ‘What countryman?’ said O’Rourke. ‘I am an Irishman. Why do you ask me?’ 115‘Because I thought from your name you might be a Frenchman,’ was the reply. Quick came the retort: ‘That is more than I can think of you, for I can kick a White out of every sod in Ireland.’

“But there is a deeper claim than mere name on my part to be one of you, since going back over my whole life from the time when I sat as a boy learning to read out of a primer, down to this night, I can look back to nothing of joy or sorrow, of success or failure, where some Irish American friend did not stand near me aiding in the realization or accomplishment of the one or sustaining and supporting in submission to the other.

“When the French Republic was born some one asked a great French orator to prove its existence. He said: ‘The Republic is like the sun; blind is he who sees it not.’ And so tonight I shall not attempt to recount the many and priceless services from the days of the Revolution to this time which the Irish American has rendered to the upbuilding of this great and free country which we possess and enjoy. Why should this be done, since their services shine down the pathway of our national life with an effulgence so bright that blind indeed must he be who sees them not.

“The question which I ask myself, therefore, is not the superfluous one of what the Irish Americans have done for our country, but what they owe it. By what means were they enabled to render the great services which they have rendered? The answer is clear. Their possibilities arose from the wise, the free institutions which our forefathers founded and under the shelter of which the Irish Americans were enabled here to seek a haven and to establish their new homes, thus affording them the opportunity of rendering the services which they have rendered to the expansion and preservation of our institutions.

“This being true, I ask myself the question, and I ask of each one of you, how best can we honor them? How best can we show our appreciation of the great work which they have done? The answer comes spontaneously to the mind: By preserving and perpetuating those institutions which have blessed them so much and which they have in return so helped to establish and preserve.

“As I look, Mr. President, at present conditions in our country, there are indications to my mind of great danger to our institutions. It seems to me I observe a tendency in the minds of the people to forget how vital to their perpetuation is the preservation of all the 116wise limitations which our forefathers ordained. It seems to me that there is a growing forgetfulness of the fact that the liberty which our fathers founded was not license but a liberty restrained by law; that the government which they established was one of limited powers and divided authority, national and local, each fulfilling their separate functions and each intended to move in their allotted sphere like the orbs of the Sidereal universe, thus securing the plenitude of local rights whilst at the same time obtaining national power and authority, not unlimited, but confined to its allotted orbit.

“I say that it seems to me there is a tendency to forget these things because it is observable at the present time that wherever an evil obtains which needs remedying the tendency of the public mind is to attribute the evil, not to a mistaken administration, but to the existence of some one of those great safeguards upon the preservation of which our institutions depend. So also it seems to me it is observable that there is a great tendency in the public mind, whenever it is deemed that a wrong requires remedy, to grow restive under the restraints imposed by constitutional limitations, to regard them as antiquated or obsolete, and thus seek to redress the wrong without regard to those limitations, forgetful of the great truth that whatever may be the temporary good to be accomplished by a disregard of the fundamental limitations of our Constitution, such good is insignificant in comparison with the untold harm which must result from overthrowing the very foundations upon which our government rests and by the adhering to which alone it can endure.

“Again, it seems to me that this tendency in the mind of the people generally finds manifestation in the exertion of the powers of government. There seems to me to be a growing tendency to chafe at the limitations on power which the Constitution imposes; to seek to accomplish some temporary good by means deemed to be the most direct, wholly without reference to the question whether the resort to such means will conflict with or set at naught those essential limitations upon power which the Constitution was expressly adopted to secure.

“With this danger confronting us may I not say that if we would honor and reverence the memory of the Irish Americans who have done so much for the upbuilding of our institutions, that we may best do it by seeing to it that the institutions which they have helped to build up shall be preserved in all of their integrity. Ah, then, if we would perform the duty of honoring those who have gone before, let us each and all fix in our hearts the enduring purpose to see to it that these evil tendencies are corrected and thereby renew and revivify our resolution to preserve and perpetuate our institutions.

117“With this in mind, before I take my seat let me propose to you a toast: ‘The Irish American of today, and the Irish American to come. May they honor and reverence the memory of their forerunners by bringing the splendor of their courage, the generosity of their devotion and the keenness of their intellect to the perpetuation of the government which the fathers founded, embodying, as it does, liberty restrained from license, government, both national and local, with limited and defined powers in the continued existence of which our future of peace and prosperity are bound up and in whose perpetuation the hopes of all mankind who value true liberty are so intimately involved.’”

Mr. Justice White’s eloquent and graceful address received the closest attention, and great applause and cheering followed the stirring toast at the end.

President-General Quinlan: “Ladies and Gentlemen, some time ago I was present at an entertainment where the orator of the occasion bore an international reputation. The chairman of the evening took an hour and a quarter to introduce the gentleman, but his speech lasted only a quarter of an hour. Now I could take an hour and a half to introduce the next speaker to you, but I will just announce his name, the Hon. Victor J. Dowling, Justice of the Supreme Court of the State of New York, who will respond to the toast “Irish Pioneers in New York.””

Judge Dowling said:

“While we know that an Irishman was in Columbus’ crew on his first voyage to the New World, we have no means of ascertaining whether any of his countrymen were on the ships of either Verrazano, Gomez or Hudson, upon the first three occasions when the Bay of New York was seen by Europeans. The mystery which has enveloped the early life of Hudson and which shrouded his end surrounds as well many of the details of his memorable cruise. We do know that besides the captain there were but two aboard that vessel out of its total equipment of from sixteen to twenty men who spoke English—Robert Juet of Limehouse, England, 118the captain’s clerk, who kept the journal of the voyage, and one John Colman, a sailor, referred to as an Englishman by Juet, but who may have been of Irish descent. He was evidently an experienced seafaring man and a follower of Hudson’s, for in the first known reference to the latter, which is the record of his voyage of discovery for the Muscovy Company, April 19, 1607, in search of a passage by way of the North Pole to Japan and China, Colman was one of the sailors. As Hudson passed the Highlands of Navesink September 1, 1609, and entered the lower bay, he was so impressed with its beauty that he described it as ‘a very good land to fall in with, and a pleasant land to see.’ On September 6 a boat’s crew was dispatched from the ship and, entering and passing the Narrows, beheld the first view of Manhattan Island. The land encircling the bay was covered with trees, grass and flowers and the air was filled with delightful fragrance. On their return the crew were attacked by Indians in two canoes, and John Colman was killed by an arrow piercing his throat—the first blood offering to the approaching civilization which was to revolutionize the hitherto peaceful scene.

“While the Dutch occupation of New Amsterdam continued, we find no positive traces of Irish names or inhabitants, save in two instances. One is the mention of the Irishman from Virginia who went to confession to Father Jogues in 1643, while the latter was temporarily sojourning in the town after his rescue by the Dutch from the hands of the Indians, and who advised the latter of the presence of Jesuit fathers in Virginia. The other is the name, several times appearing, of ‘Thomas, the Irishman,’ concerning whom I have been able to collect many scattered items. His real name was Thomas Lewis, although he is to be found referred to at various times as ‘Thomas, the Irishman,’ ‘the Irishman,’ and Lodewycksen or Lodewycksz, as well as by his proper name. He was the captain of one of Director Stuyvesant’s war yachts, which served for a dispatch-boat as well.

“His was an interesting career, and I am glad to be able to present some of its salient features, which may enjoy at least the merits of novelty. He was born in Belfast, and becoming involved in the Cromwellian wars, his family was dispersed, his two sisters first flying to Holland for refuge, where they afterwards died. They were followed by Lewis, who upon their death applied to the West India Company at Amsterdam and was by them sent to New York. 119In the Directors’ letter to Director Stuyvesant and his Council (June 14, 1656), they notify the latter: ‘In the ship Blauwe Duiff (Blue Dove) goes also over Thomas Lodewicksen, carpenter, for whom the Company, too, paid the fare, on condition of his remaining in New Netherland for three years, or if he leave before he must refund the passage money to you in Holland coin or its equivalent.’ The Blauwe Duiff arrived here September 5, 1656. Lewis appears to have gone to Albany (then Fort Orange) for in 1658 he was in partnership there with Reynier Wisselpennigh as carpenters and builders and they sued the local church for 270 guilders for building the ‘Doop-huysie’ (baptistry) and received the full amount. In 1661 his partner and he had differences over the cost of fitting out a sloop they were building. He must have come to New Amsterdam shortly thereafter, as the court records here show. In the meantime he had married, in Fort Orange, Geesje Barents.

“On October 17, 1662, Reiner Wisselpenninck brought suit against ‘Tomas, the Irishman’ in the Mayor’s Court at the City Hall, to recover a balance of six beavers due for a half-interest in a bark, and two beavers for a barrel of tar. Defendant counterclaimed and plaintiff had judgment for three beavers only. On May 29, 1663, certain tobacco contained in the bark of ‘Thomas, the Irishman’ and belonging to Samuel Etsal was attached in a suit against the latter. Hendrick Zanzen Smith sued Gysbert Frerickzen October 2, 1663, and in that action an attachment was levied on moneys belonging to defendant in the hands of ‘Thomas, the Irishman.’

“In June, 1663, Director Stuyvesant sailed from Manhattan to Wildwyck (Kingston) on Lewis’ yacht, and on the 15th of the month while lying in the ‘Long Reach’ (North River) he sent a message to the magistrates at Fort Orange, in the course of which he noted ‘this is written in haste on board of the Irishman’s yacht.’

“In the correspondence between Director Stuyvesant and Captain Cregier at the Esopus and in the minutes of the government of the latter reference is made five times in 1663 to the arrival of Lewis at ‘the redoubt’ at Esopus from Manhattan; on August 5th, on September 1st (when he and Claesje Hoorn came in their yachts) and on September 17th, 19th and 21st. On all these occasions he is referred to as ‘Thomas, the Irishman.’ In an order of the Council, August 29, 1663, Tomos Lodewyck and Claes Lock were ordered to await 120orders from Captain Cregier before the Redoubt (Roudont). This was during the Indian war in the Esopus.

“Thomas Lewis was an active and successful man, and in addition to being a ship-owner and pilot was evidently engaged in trade and in the sale of liquor. He first figured in the Mayor’s Court February 5, 1667, when he was sued by John Danrell, and the matter was referred to arbitrators. On the 7th of the same month he contributed eight beaver skins to the support of the minister. He was engaged in a long controversy with Simon Turcq in 1668 over 230 planks, which he claimed to have theretofore paid, and out of which rose a suit against Poulus Leenderson for ninety of the same boards. In 1669 he was sued by Warner Wessels, the city farmer, for taking into his house ’1 hogshead of rum and 3 anckers of stilled waters’ without accounting therefor. This suit he won. But he lost an action brought by Hendrick Obe to recover f.79.5 in wampum for the excise duties on some wine and beer. At a Council meeting held at Elizabethtown, New Jersey, November 7, 1671, it was ordered that no corn or provision be transported out of the Delaware River except what was then aboard the sloop of Thomas Lewis, then in the river, for which he was given a special license. In 1672 he sued William Waldron for borrowing his boat without his consent, and then setting it adrift, when it was thereafter found by John Benneco at Staten Island, who demanded salvage. The defendant was mulcted in the salvage and was directed to turn the boat over to the owner, who was to send his boy to the island to take possession of it. At a council held at Fort James January 27, 1673, permission was given to all vessels from this point to go up the Delaware River above New Castle, upon producing the Governor’s certificate in consequence of a complaint concerning Capt. Lewis’ sloop. During the Dutch re-occupation of the city, when war again threatened, we find in the ‘Records of New Amsterdam’ ‘that the Schout, Burgomasters and Schepens being assembled “Collegialiter” in the City Hall of New Orange March 10, 1674, they sent for the skippers and barquers of the city, when they were notified of the Governor General’s order that no more than two sloops shall go at once to Willemstadt and Esopus, and one to the South river, and that they sail alternately to be determined by lot; also that no passengers be conveyed without passports.’ Whereupon the skippers making 121known in turn their views, ‘Thomas Lewis is satisfied with what the Governor and Council decree.’

“We find records of trips made by him to Virginia, Boston, Rhode Island and the Delaware (South) River from 1665 to 1669, carrying merchandise of all kinds. September 26, 1671, Governor Lovelace promises ‘Mr. Tom’ at the Delaware to send him information by Peter Alrick ‘who tomorrow will embark in Tom the Irishman’s yacht.’ In 1675, he was appointed to make a calculation of the expense for building a new church in conjunction with Adolph Pieters and Abraham Jansen. We find that in 1678 he owned a sloop called the Katharine.

“In a list of the richest inhabitants of New York made February 19, 1674, Thomas Lewis is credited with the possession of property valued at 6,000 florins, Holland currency, only sixteen appearing therein as being wealthier. At the time of the English occupation he owned real estate on the west side of Pearl Street between Wall and William streets, then known as the Water Side, then valued at $10,000; also on the South Street (now William) between Hanover Square and Wall Street.

“From the records of the baptisms in the Dutch church we learn that he had eight children, named, respectively, Barent, Cornelia, Leendert, Catharina, Cornelia, Thomas, Cornelis and Rachel. Anthony Brockholst was one of the witnesses at the baptism of the last named in 1678. The descendants of Barent, Leendert (or Leonard) and Thomas are scattered throughout the Hudson Valley, and the family name appears at various times in the records as Lenwis, Leuis, Lieuwens, Lieuwes, Lieuwis, Lievens, Lievenszen, Lieuens, Liewensen, Liewes, and Liewis. In the New York Genealogical and Biographical Record (Volume XXXIV) the date of Thomas Lewis’ death is given as September 24, 1684, and his age as 56. His will was admitted to probate under Governor Dougan, April 1, 1686, and letters testamentary were issued to his wife Geesie Lewis. She then lived with her daughter Catharine along the Strand (Lang Strant) and they were members of the Dutch church. Her sons then living were Barent, Thomas and Leonard, with the eldest Lodiwick (apparently born at Fort Orange) who at the time of his father’s death was living with Lewis Thomson at Belfast, and thereupon returned to New York, where he died without issue.

“But there are some names of merchants doing business here from 1221643 to 1647 which, if not English, must be Irish, and while the present ascertainment of their exact nationality seems hopeless, yet careful research might still enroll them in the honor roll of Irish pioneers. These were Rev. Francis Doughty, the English minister, residing in Pearl Street, between Whitehall and State streets, who on March 28, 1647, received a grant of 6,666 (Dutch) acres of land at Mespath (Newtown patent); Robert Butler, residing on the same street, between Stone and Bridge streets; Michael Pickett, residing on Broad Street, near Beaver; and Thomas Sanderson, residing on Beaver Street, who received grants of land on this island July 13, 1643, October 25, 1653, and September 14, 1665.

“There was a Jan Patrickx or John Patrick here in 1653 and a James Code or Cody in 1658. Thomas Higgins was sued for value of 275 pieces of firewood on November 20, 1661, and by Thomas Hall for the return of a saw January 31, 1662.

“Among the names of those to whom grants of land under the Dutch occupancy were made were Thomas Hall, Thomas Chambers and George Holmes, each receiving more than one grant; the first two took the oath of allegiance to the English authorities between October 21 and 26, 1664.

“The English capture of New Amsterdam in 1664 did not, so far as we have any records, lead to any influx of Irish settlers here. So novel was their coming that we find reference made as a remarkable fact to the presence of the person, unnamed, who is supposed to have been the first direct Irish immigrant to New York, being an Irish girl, a servant in the household of Isaac Allerton, a well-known English tobacco merchant, and who was working therein in 1665, shortly after the English occupation. Little could she have dreamt of the host of her sister voyagers who brought to this country the spirit of devotion, of self-sacrifice, of faithful discharge of duty, which ultimately forced itself upon the grudgingly-given attention of the community and admiration for which as well as for the tenderness and purity of the women of the Irish race was the most potent force in tearing down the wall of hostility and hatred which intolerance and ignorance had reared in the way of the progress of the Irishmen in this country towards recognition, equality and success.

123“Patrick Hayes must have been a resident of the city for some years. He apparently came from the colony of Maryland. We find a record of his service as a juryman in the Mayor’s Court on many occasions during the year 1666. He evidently was a tapster and hotel-keeper, for he had controversy with the excise in 1667. He must have been engaged in general business as well, for in suits between third parties moneys were attached in his hands in 1667 and he sued various parties for goods sold in 1667 and 1668. In two of these cases Thomas Carr was a joint plaintiff. In the action of William Urgent against John Ashman for slander, June 2, 1668, he was a witness to prove his knowledge of the plaintiff as a freeman in the province of Maryland. John Daaly was a plaintiff in two suits in the Mayor’s Court in 1670. John Quigly figures as a plaintiff in the Mayor’s Court against Ralph Huddison August 15, 1671, when he sued successfully to recover £16, 10 sh., for earthenware sold. He served as a juror in the same month, and was one of the arbitrators appointed in the suit of Samuel Bach and David Gomer against the Ketch Betty (attached). Dennis McKarty sued Thomas Edwards, master of the Ketch ‘Society’ in the Mayor’s Court October 24, 1671, to recover £5 for cutting and chipping logwood, and recovered judgment. He was himself sued by Samuel Hall November 14, 1671. Thomas Griffin was one of the public cartmen of the city February 13, 1672.

“During the intervening years, until the Dutch re-occupation in 1673, when its name was changed to New Orange, the city saw but few Irish faces and the list of the burghers contains no Irish names. Upon the re-cession of the city to England in 1674, when English rule became an assured fact, it is reasonable to suppose that some Irish arrivals must have been noted. Yet we can only surmise that from the names as we afterwards find them on the rolls. So, in 1674, Andrew Clare is recorded as owning land on Pearl Street, between Whitehall and State streets; in 1677, we note as residing here, William Walsh; in 1680, Abraham Corbett, a distiller, residing on Broadway near Exchange Place, and William Cox, flour merchant, residing on Hanover Square; in 1691, Lawrence Reade; in 1695, John Morris and Peter Matthews; in 1698, William Morris; in 1702, Thomas Flynn, surgeon, and Patrick Crawford; in 1703, John Barr, Thomas Carroll, Richard Flemming, Bartholomew Hart, Henry Mooney and Peter Moran; in 1708, Anthony Lynch; in 1710, Thomas Kearney; in 1711, James Maxwell. All these were freemen. In 1696, the then Governor Fletcher returned to the home authorities a list of eleven Irish Catholics residing in the city, none 124of whom was a burgher nor a landowner. Captain Evans, of the Richmond frigate, who was here with the Governor, was the son of an Irish shoemaker.

“It is significant that we first begin to notice Irish names after the administration of Governor Dongan had commenced. The commanding position held by an Irishman for the first time in Colonial history must have attracted to this colony many of his less favored compatriots, who found here not only a haven of refuge where they could practise their religion, but a favored spot where under his enlightened sway the hope of entire civil liberty was near realization. The life and services of Thomas Dongan have never received their just recognition at the hands of historians, nor do we realize the debt, which, as citizens of a great city, we owe this man whose conceptions of liberty were far in advance of his time. At the risk of triteness I cannot forbear epitomizing his career, for it is that of the first Irishman who not only figured prominently in the city’s history, but, as well, moulded its future and made it possible of achievement. Thomas Dongan, second Earl of Limerick, was born in 1634 at Castletown, County Kildare, Ireland, the youngest of the three sons of Sir John Dongan, Baronet. His mother was a sister of Richard Talbot, Earl of Tyrconnel and Lieutenant-Governor of Ireland. The family removed to France after the execution of Charles I, when Dongan entered the army and was commissioned by Louis XIV, in an Irish regiment, where he rose by degrees to the rank of Colonel. Returning to England after the Restoration, after declining an offer of preferment in the French Army, he was commissioned and an annual pension of five hundred pounds given him. In the same year, 1678, he was sent as Lieutenant-Governor to Tangier under Lord Inchiquin, where he served for two years, returning to London to spend the life of a man of society and a favorite at Court. Through the influence of the Duke of York he was made Governor of the Province of New York, his jurisdiction including parts of Maine besides Long Island, Martha’s Vineyard, Nantucket and all the land from the Connecticut River to Delaware Bay. He was also commissioned Vice-Admiral. Arriving in New York August 25, 1683, from Nantasket, he had on the way hither promised the inhabitants of the easterly end of Long Island that ‘no laws or rates for the future should be imposed but by a General Assembly’—but a slight foretaste of what he was really to accomplish. 125The population of the city was then less than four thousand and it extended from the Bay to the entrenchments along Wall Street. From the Collect Pond (the site of the Tombs) to the northwest towards the North River extended a marsh of seventy acres. From the Bouweries to Harlem there stretched a wood haunted by bears and wolves, and within the city walls themselves bear hunts took place in the orchards, one located between Cedar Street and Maiden Lane. Under his rule, general hunts were held to exterminate wolves from the city. The inhabitants were largely Dutch, but there were many French Huguenots and some few English. In this rather primitive community, great things were about to be done for liberty. Pursuant to his instructions from the Duke, Dongan ordered an election of a ‘General Assembly of all the freeholders by the persons whom they shall choose to represent them,’ in order to consider with the Governor and Council ‘what laws are fit and necessary to be made and established for the good weal and government of the said colony and its dependencies and all the inhabitants thereof,’ with full liberty of consultation and debate among the members. All laws passed were to be subject to the veto of the Governor, and if approved by him were to be submitted to the Duke of York, remaining effective until disapproved by him. It is to the glory of Dongan that he not only approved but initiated many of the revolutionary measures afterwards enacted. On September 13, 1683, a date memorable in the city’s history, the Freeholders of New York, Long Island, Esopus, Albany and Martha’s Vineyard were notified to elect representatives to meet in General Assembly in New York City on October 17th. Seventeen delegates responded, whereof four were from New York and Harlem. This first popular representative assembly met at Fort James, and Matthias Nicoll was speaker. Fourteen acts were passed, whereof the most important was, ‘The Charter of Liberties and Privileges granted by His Royal Highness to the inhabitants of New York and its dependencies.’ This was declared to be enacted ‘for the better establishing the government of this province of New York, and that justice and right may be equally done within the same.’ Among the provisions of this well-named Charter of Liberties were those providing for at least a triennial session of the General Assembly; that every freeholder and freeman should have the elective franchise without constraint or imposition; that majorities should decide every issue; that representatives should 126be apportioned among the counties; that the members should enjoy all the privileges of members of Parliament; and in fine extending to the inhabitants of this colony all the rights and privileges which Englishmen at home enjoyed under Magna Charta and the provisions of English law. Entire freedom of conscience and of religion were guaranteed to all peaceable persons ‘which profess faith in God by Jesus Christ,’ and the privileges of all existing churches and their discipline were protected. No tax was to be levied without the consent of the Governor, Council and Assembly, thus recognizing the principle which the people had wrested from Mary of Burgundy, in 1477, by the charter called ‘The Great Privilege.’ And thus, for the first time in America, the people were recognized as having legislative power and authority. Accepted by the Governor and proclaimed October 31, 1683, a new standard was set for popular liberty and popular aspiration so that Governor Hunter was able to write to Dean Swift, in 1704, ‘this is the plan of government they all aim at and make no scruple to own.’ The Duke of York accepted this charter October 4, 1684, but when he became King James II he refused to confirm it as being too liberal and implying too much recognition of the people as a political entity, and it died by his veto October 4, 1684. But the seed had been sown, and its growth could not be stopped. At the same session, courts of justice were by statute provided for; the naturalization of aliens was prescribed, and twelve counties were established in the province. To add to the other landmarks of his administration, a charter was granted to New York City April 27, 1686, which has since continued to be the basis of our municipal laws, rights, privileges, public property and franchises. ‘It was worded with care and showed that those who framed it were possessed of a broad and enlightened sense of the sanctity of corporate and private rights.’

“During all his busy rule, Dongan was kept occupied with questions of statesmanship which none but an able and resourceful man could have handled; whether adjusting boundary disputes with New Jersey, Pennsylvania or Connecticut, or outgeneralling the Governor General of Canada at his own game; whether negotiating with the Indians or planning combinations with the other colonies to resist French aggression or undertake offense operations;—in every phase of his varied activities he displayed resourcefulness, tact and power.

“He was a humane man. Under the Duke’s laws, in force from 1271665 to 1683, no Christian could keep a slave; but the New Yorkers, being unable to keep pace with the New Englanders, who habitually used their services, slaves were allowed to be kept by orders from England. But in the instructions which Dongan issued May 29, 1686, it was directed that no cruelty should be practised upon them, and the wilful killing of Indians and negroes was to be punished with death. We find as well on October 6, 1687, he proposed to his Council that some means be found for releasing Spaniards and other free people who were held here as slaves and that he forbade their masters either to sell or trade such persons pending their appeal for liberty. Again, July 30, 1688, he ordered that ‘all Indian slaves within the province, subjects of the King of Spain, that can give an account of their Christian faith and say the Lord’s Prayer shall be forthwith set at liberty, and sent home at the first convenience, and likewise them that shall hereafter come to this Province.’

“The troubles accumulating in England found their echo here and the King prohibited the establishing of printing-presses here, and on January 20, 1687, dissolved the popular Assembly. In that year Dongan wrote ‘one of the most careful as well as most honest pictures of his provincial government which an American subordinate ever sent home to his English sovereign.’ In the course of it he says: ‘I believe for these seven years past there has not come over into this province twenty English, Scotch or Irish families.’

“The entire winter of 1687 he spent at Albany, supervising the protection of the colony against the French, and being without financial help from the other settlements, he pledged his personal credit and mortgaged his farm on Staten Island for £2,000 to meet the expenses of the expedition then raised.

“On March 23, 1688, he was superseded as Governor by Andros, who was made Governor General of New England in America, comprising all of British North America, except Pennsylvania. Dongan was offered the rank of Major General, which he refused in order to remain in New York. His homestead was at Hempstead, Long Island. He owned a hunting lodge on his estates at Castleton, Staten Island, which were named after his original home; and he had property at Martha’s Vineyard as well. His city residence was on Broadway, between Maiden Lane and Ann Street, where his flower garden was a special feature. Between these places he spent 128his time, seeking to rebuild his fortune, severely shattered by his expenditures for the protection of the colony he loved, until the reins of power fell into the hands of Jacob Leisler, after the flight of James II to France, when Dongan was hunted as a rebel and enemy of the new régime, and driven to seek refuge on his brigantine, on which he kept in hiding in the lower Bay. The winds being adverse, he was unable to sail away, and flying to New York in secret, thence to New London, to Hempstead, to New Jersey, and to Boston the first advocate of popular rights was finally forced to escape the persecutions of the people, whose liberties he had assured, by sailing to England in 1691. Never repaid any considerable part of the fortune he had spent to defend the honor of his country and the safety of her colony, he died, without issue, December 14, 1715, at the age of eighty-one years. With him the history of Irish activity in New York may well be said to begin. While he came here as an official, he identified himself with the Colony and with the City, and grew so to love it that no honors appealed to him which involved leaving it. To have been the means of assisting in conferring upon a people popular government, civic liberty and religious freedom in an age of despotism and persecution, is an honor which reflects credit upon the race to which he belonged, as well as upon himself. He has been characterized by historians as ‘an excellent and prudent magistrate’ (Winsor); ‘a man of integrity, moderation and genteel manners, who may be classed among the best of our governors’ (Smith); ‘his firm and judicious policy, his steadfast integrity and his pleasing and courteous address soon won the affections of the people and made him one of the most popular of the Royal governors’ (Booth); ‘of a noble, praiseworthy mind and spirit’ (Gov. Hinckley); ‘a ruler who for breadth of mind, wide sympathy and executive ability stands far in advance of his times and measured by the system of government which he inaugurated, is easily one of the most attractive and momentous personages in American Colonial History’ (Driscoll). It is significant that this great Irish pioneer should have been an office holder, a tradition which the race did not forget when its hour of opportunity arrived. It may be said at this time that three other royal governors of the colony were of Irish birth, the Earl of Bellomont, who served from 1698, and who was the son of Baron Coote of Colooney; William Cosby, who arrived August 1, 1732, and who was an Equerry of the Queen, 129Colonel of the Royal Irish Regiment and the tenth son of Alexander Cosby of Stradbally, Queens County; and Sir William Tryon, the last of the line. But no one of these ever identified himself with the colony or is to be reckoned with as a constructive force.

“After Dongan departs from the scene, we again have a long period of silence upon Irishmen in New York. The meagerness of detail as to anything affecting their names, their activities or their achievements is disheartening. Much of it may be attributed to the lack of wealth or social standing upon the part of those who immigrated here in the end of the seventeenth and the beginning of the eighteenth centuries. Much may be charged to their desire to conceal themselves from persecution and worse. There must have been refugees here from Virginia, New England and the Barbadoes, where penal laws were savagely enforced. Maryland must have furnished its quota when religious liberty was abolished. But New York seems never to have been so favorite a resort for the persecuted as Pennsylvania. Then again many redemptioners must have come here, when their time of service had expired. These were the immigrants who were unable to pay their passage and who on arriving were sold for a specified time to those who would reimburse the ship captain for their carriage.

“In October, 1700, a number of recruits arrived in New York from Ireland, and one of them, Cottrill, a former ensign in King James’ army, was shot in the Fort here for participation in a mutiny. It is evident from reading the record that these men had been impressed into the service and coming here involuntarily, sought freedom on their arrival. In the answers which Brigadier Hunter sent to Secretary Popple, August 11, 1720, he wrote: ‘The inhabitants increase day by day from New England, and of late from the North of Ireland.’

“Among the North of Ireland emigrants to New York are many who figured prominently in the religious life of the colony. Rev. Charles Inglis, afterwards Rector of Trinity Church, came here as a missionary in 1759. In 1766 Philip Embury arrived, and helped to found the John Street Church. He is among the pioneers of the Methodist Episcopal Church in America. In that year Paul Runkle, Luke Rose, Jacob Heck, Peter Barkman and Henry Williams, all referred to as Irish Palatines, landed. Charles White and 130Richard Sause, prominent in Methodist circles, came from Dublin in 1766, and later, John McClaskey and Paul Hick.

“Major Henry Dawson left Dublin in 1760 and resided here for many years, serving as Clerk of the Common Council for twenty-six years.

“Among the freemen of the city we find the following significant names: 1740, Bartholomew Ryan; 1741, John Ryan and John Lamb; 1743, Patrick Phagan, John McGie, John Christie, John Brannigan, John Connelly, Andrew Cannon, William Blake; 1744, Andrew Carroll, Anthony Glin; 1745, Benjamin Daly, John Carr, Bryan Nevin; 1746, Donald McCoy, Hugh Rogers; 1747, Timothy Allan, Hugh Mulligan, James Welch, Hugh Gill, John McGoers, Jr., Alexander McCoy; 1748, Philip Hogan, Matthew Morris; 1749, Alexander Connelly, physician. In 1761 the poll list included seventy-four characteristic Irish names.

“Immigration from Ireland to the colonies in general did not become noticeable until 1718. It was then a steady influx, though not very large in numbers, until 1755, when it fell off and remained of less amount until after the Revolution. At the outset, the Irish families immigrating were almost entirely Presbyterians. The first Presbyterian clergyman in New York was Rev. Francis McKemie, born in Ireland, who arrived here in 1707. He was a brave and fearless man, whose pulpit utterances led to his trial for libel, upon which he was acquitted. The large Catholic exodus did not begin until after our Independence had been achieved. A prominent citizen of New York in the eighteenth century was Sir Peter Warren, born in County Meath in 1702, and the uncle of the famous William Johnson, also born in County Meath in 1715, whose life is a romance. Warren was a very heavy real estate holder in the city, owning 260 acres here, much of his holdings being of land which since has become enormously valuable. Warren Street is named after him. He was a prominent social figure in Colonial life. Among the names of those who were active in commercial life in New York City, prior to the Revolution, are many Irishmen, who figured as some of the most successful and reputable merchants of their time. Such were the two Wallaces, Alexander and Hugh, who were in business from 1750, Hugh being the second President of the Chamber of Commerce; Miles Sherbrooke, one of the founders of the Chamber in 1768, and a member of the Committee of Correspondence, the advance 131guard of the Revolution; Patrick McDavitt, an auctioneer in Kings Street, from 1768; Alexander Mulligan, an importer of Irish goods, beef, linen and other commodities; Hercules Mulligan, a merchant tailor; Oliver Templeton, an auctioneer; Daniel McCormick, also an auctioneer. During the time of the Revolution and following it, we find the names of Michael Connolly, dealer in lumber; William and James Constable, in the West Indian, China and Indian trade; the Pollocks, Carlisle, George and Hugh; John Haggerty, an auctioneer; William Edgar; John Glover; John W. and Philip Kearney, commission merchandise; John and Nathan McVickar, linen drapers; Alexander McComb, a fur dealer and then a land speculator, who invested heavily in city real estate; and Michael Hogan, in the commission and shipping business, who owned, and in memory of his birthplace in County Clare, named the northern part of his holdings, Claremont. All these men were representative, flourishing men, who stood as high in public esteem as any of the residents of the city of that day. They were all either Irish by birth or by immediate descent. How many of their poorer fellow-countrymen were then here we have no means of knowing, but it is significant that while the Jews had a synagogue here from 1730, there was no Catholic place of worship from the time when Dongan had Mass said within the Fort until the year 1786.

“Lieutenant-General John Maunsell was born in 1724, the son of Richard Maunsell of Limerick, a member of Parliament from 1741 to 1761. Commissioned as an ensign in 1741, he was at the sieges of Louisburg, Quebec, Montreal, Martinique and Havana, during which time he rose to be Captain and finally in 1761 Major of the 60th or Royal Americans. He was gazetted for gallantry Lieutenant-Colonel of the 83d Regiment October 31, 1762, and was thereafter transferred to the 27th Foot (Iniskillings). He had received for his services a grant of land adjoining Major Skene’s at Whitehall (old Skenesborough). Coming to New York City, he married for his second wife Elizabeth Stillwell, widow of Captain Peter Wraxall, at Trinity Church, June 11, 1763. He lived here with his wife at Greenwich, in the Ninth Ward, in property belonging to Oliver DeLancey, until he sailed for England with other loyalists in May, 1775, leaving his wife behind him. Returning for her in 1776, he then went to Kinsale, in Ireland, where he had received an appointment which he had requested in order to avoid serving 132against the Colonies. October 19, 1781, he was gazetted Major-General on half pay in the Irish Establishment. Living in London until 1784 he resided in New York continuously thereafter, his city house being at 11 Broadway. He was made Lieutenant-General October 12, 1793. He owned a farm of 60 acres on Harlem Heights, between Morris and Watkins places, the site now being divided by St. Nicholas Avenue. He died July 27, 1795, and was buried in the Bradhurst vault in Trinity Cemetery.

“Another striking figure of pre-Revolutionary days, and an aggressive if unpopular one, was Hugh Gaine, the printer. And it is strange that after Bradford and Franklin, the two great figures in the early history of printing in America should be those of Irishmen—Gaine in New York and Matthew Carey in Philadelphia. Gaine has been a much-abused man and was very unpopular during the Revolutionary period, but he is an example of a successful business man. Born at Belfast in 1726, he was apprenticed at an early age to James McGee, a printer there. He emigrated to New York in 1745 ‘without basket or burden,’ and secured employment with James Parker at wages of $1.25 a week. He went into the business of bookselling in 1752 in partnership with William Weyman, a former apprentice of William Bradford. A characteristic advertisement of the period is the following: ‘To be sold by Weyman & Gaine at their House on Hunters’ Key, next door but one to Mr. Perry’s, Watchmaker; Bibles of different Sizes, with and without the Common Prayer; gilt and plain Common Prayers of most sorts, Church and Meeting Psalm Books, History of the New Testament, History of the Five Indian Nations, Account of the Earthquake at Lima, Ovid’s Metamorphosis, Virgil, Cornelius Nepos, Mariners’ Compasses, Scales and Dividers, Writing paper by the Quire or Sheet, also choice good Bonnet Papers.’ On August 3, 1752, Gaine alone commenced the publication of the New York Mercury at the same store, the subscription being twelve shillings per year, and advertisements of a moderate length were published for five shillings each. He sold books and stationery as well at this time, and his was one of two stores where theatre tickets were sold. After various migrations the business was finally located at the Bible and Crown in Hanover Square in 1745. During a bitter controversy caused by the attempt of the Presbyterians to curb what they thought was the undue dominance of the Episcopalians, a letter in the form of a petition ostensibly coming from the Irish residents in New York, was sent by a committee for insertion in the Mercury, to be published anonymously; but the letter was in bad English, misspelled and full of ridiculous exaggerations—all purposely done—and Gaine refused to print it as a reflection on the Irish nation, of which he was proud. The Mercury, in 1758, in announcing the fall of Louisburg, printed a wood cut diagram of the fortress—an unusual piece of enterprise for the times. That printers did not then consider advertising the principal feature of their papers may be inferred from his apology in an issue of 1759: ‘We hope those of our customers whose advertisements are omitted this week will not take it amiss, it being occasioned by the agreeable advice received from the Fleet and Army at Quebec.’ In this connection it may be noted that in 1755 he had offered for sale ‘A very few brass mounted Broad Swords, late the property of his Most Christian Majesty; so that the purchaser, in case of a French war, will have the advantage of his enemies, as he can encounter them with their own weapons.’ He offered for sale at various times corkscrews, razors and wafers; playing cards, blacking balls and liquid blacking; boots, pumps and shoes; hogs’ fat, shaving soap and German flutes; a parcel of choice Irish butter, lottery tickets and patent medicines.

133“Many books issued from his press, including a series of almanacs. But his bookselling and newspaper furnished his chief source of wealth. His paper was delivered in the city by messenger. We find him advertising in 1780: ‘Wanted, a Person that will engage to deliver this paper to the Customers in Town for twelve months or longer. Good encouragement will be given. He need not attend more than four hours every Monday.’ Printing paper being scarce, he continually advertised for rags to be brought to him for purchase and in 1760 he commenced advertising in this form: ‘Ready money for clean Linen Rags to be had at H. Gaines’.’ In 1773 a paper mill was established at Hempstead by him and two of his friends.

“Among the important printing done by his press was ‘The Votes and Proceedings of the General Assembly,’ whereof the first volume appeared in 1764, the second in 1766. Appointed Public Printer by the colony, January 15, 1768, he also became the official City printer. General Gage’s famous proclamation of June 12, 1775, was printed by him, the work being done here that it might remain a 134secret in Boston until published. Up to this time Gaine had given every proof of being in sympathy with the cause of freedom, so that he was forced to fly to Newark when the British occupied New York in 1776. The authorities seized his printing plant here and published the New York Gazette therefrom, using his name for a time as proprietor. Tiring of his exile, he evidently made terms with the invaders, for he returned to New York and his business was restored to him, the first issue of the resumed paper dating from November 11, 1776, leaving behind him his press at Newark, which was promptly seized by the patriots and a paper printed thereon for some time. From this time on he was a thorough going Tory, and was the subject of particularly virulent attack from the Americans, the Pennsylvania Journal in 1777 for example enquiring: ‘Who is the greatest liar upon earth? Hugh Gaine of New York.’ But he lived through the turmoil and after freedom was obtained, he continued doing business. In 1788, against violent protest, he received the contract for printing the paper money for the State of New York. He was Treasurer and Vice-President of the St. Patrick’s Society, a vestryman of Trinity Church and an active Mason. He owned a country home at Kings Bridge Road, and a large tract of land at Canajoharie. He bought and sold land in the city, there being records of twenty-four parcels of land sold by himself or his executors.

“Gaine died April 27, 1807, at the ripe age of eighty-one, and was buried in Trinity Churchyard. Two of his children had predeceased him, and three survived, as well as his second wife. His executors were his son-in-law, John Kemp, and his friends Richard Harrison and Daniel McCormick, the latter already referred to. His lines had not fallen in pleasant places during the Revolution and his abandonment of the patriot cause was never entirely forgiven, but as a business man his integrity was never questioned.

“It is not my purpose to refer to Irish activity in the city during Revolutionary days, for that would be a field worthy of independent study and treatment. The roll of the martyrs of the Jersey prison ship, for example, is studded with Irish names. Nor is it pertinent to our subject, for no pioneers came here then, as the tide of immigration practically stopped during the war, although it is worthy of note that Richard Montgomery, destined to undying fame, bought a farm at Kingsbridge in 1773, and had intended to make this city his 135home. He was born at Swords, near Feltrim, Ireland. Like nearly all the Irish of New York, he did not hesitate a moment before casting his life and fortune into the balance when the call to arms came.

“But after the declaration of peace the Irish Catholic influx began. Among those whose names have survived, no one stands higher than Dominick Lynch. Born in Galway in 1754, he received a thorough education and went to Bruges in Flanders to open a commercial house, in which he accumulated a fortune. There he met Don Thomas Stoughton (afterwards his brother-in-law and Spanish Consul at New York) with whom he entered into partnership for the establishment of business in New York. Stoughton came here first, arriving in 1783, and Lynch followed in 1785, with his fortune in ready money, the largest sum brought to the colonies in many years. The firm dissolved in 1795. Lynch lived in luxury, occupying a house on Broadway, near the Battery, adjoining that of the Spanish Minister. He was a prominent figure in assisting in the establishment of the first Catholic Church in New York. Tradition has it that the first Catholic congregation worshipped in Ann Street, where they were ministered to by Rev. Ferdinand Farmer, and we find later a record of another composed of Frenchmen and Spaniards, who met in a building in Warren Street, known as Vaux Hall, where Rev. Charles Whelan, a Capuchin, was their pastor in 1784. St. Peter’s Church was incorporated, succeeding them, June 10, 1785. Lynch helped from his private purse to meet their needs and was one of the trustees and incorporators. He issued an appeal to the people of Galway for funds to help in building the church, most of the Irish in the fold coming from that County. He was one of the laymen authorized by Bishop Carroll to receive subscriptions for the establishment of Georgetown Academy (now the University) and was one of the signers of the address on behalf of the Catholics of America to General George Washington, four being laymen, and Bishop Carroll, the fifth. One of his sons was baptized in St. Peter’s Church—Alexander Didacus—born April 23, 1788, and for whom His Excellency Didacus de Gardoqui, Ambassador of Spain, was a sponsor. He owned two thousand acres of land adjoining Fort Stanwix on the Mohawk River, where he laid out a village called Lynchville, which afterwards became the city of Rome. His county seat was in Westchester County, on the site of the present Sacred Heart Academy, at Classon-on-the-Sound, said to have been 136the place where Mass was first said in that county. He died June, 1825, and was buried in Old Saint Patricks. His son, Dominick, was a vocalist, musician, musical critic and general society favorite, whose house was the favored resort of the most brilliant people of his time. He lived in Greenwich Street, near the Battery, and is thought to have been instrumental with Lorenzo da Ponte, the librettist of “Don Giovanni” and “Le Nozze di Figaro,” in having brought to New York the first Italian Grand Opera troupe under Garcia, when Mme. Malibran first won success and laid the foundation of her fame.

“Cornelius Heeney, born in Kings County, Ireland, in 1754, was another contemporaneous successful merchant. He was a bookkeeper for William Backhous, an English Quaker furrier, at 40 Little Dock (now Water) Street. John Jacob Astor was a porter and salesman there. When Backhous retired from business he turned it over to Astor and Heeney, who afterwards dissolved partnership. He was a very wealthy and a very charitable man, and his benefactions still continue, through the agencies he created, to maintain them. He was one of those who took title to new Saint Patricks, the other being Andrew Morris, a successful soapmaker, also born in Ireland.

“A trio of great men who came to New York after the rising of ’98 were Thomas Addis Emmet, Dr. William James McNevin and William Sampson. The lives, high professional attainments and success of the first two are too well known to require more than a passing reference. They did immeasurable good in instilling respect for Irish characteristics and admiration for Irish genius. Emmet exercised a potent influence on the early political history of the country. His location in this city, instead of going to Ohio as he had intended, was due to the advice of Governor George Clinton, and was followed by his election as Attorney-General of the State within eight years after his reaching these shores. The monument to his memory in St. Paul’s churchyard is a fitting companion to the memorial to General Montgomery. He collaborated with Doctor MacNevin in the production of ‘Pieces of Irish History.’ Doctor MacNevin, in the midst of a busy and highly lucrative practice, and while acting as a professor in a medical college, found time to establish a bureau to obtain places for Irish servant girls, and to publish “Directions or Advice to Irishmen 137Arriving in America.” William Sampson, the third of the number, was born in Londonderry, Ireland, January 17, 1764. He held a commission in the Irish Volunteers, after studying at Dublin University and being admitted as a barrister. His sympathy with the patriots and his brilliant professional defense of members of the United Irishmen led to his arrest after the uprising and his confinement in prison for some time. After his release he was re-arrested in Portugal, whither he had gone for safety, and was imprisoned on the complaint of the British Government. Secretly taken to France, he finally came to New York, arriving here July 4, 1806. He then practised stenography, as well as his profession of the law, ranking second only to Thomas Lloyd, the great reporter of Congress, as a shorthand writer. His notes furnished the basis of many volumes of reports. But as a lawyer he was especially successful and made a reputation for wit, forcefulness, ability and integrity. His daughter married a son of Theobold Wolf Tone. When Sampson removed to Washington in 1825, he was presented with an address from the citizens of New York, among the signers being James Kent and DeWitt Clinton.

“The years after the Revolution were fruitful of steady Irish arrivals, without much of great note occurring. A careful study of the statistics of the first third of the nineteenth century, so far as they are available, would doubtless be productive of good results. By 1833 there were 40,000 Irish-born residents here, it was then estimated. This growth had been gradual, but hardly remarked, and certainly was not expected. This may well be realized when we know that the graveyard in the rear of St. Peter’s Church answered all the purposes of burial for the Irish Catholics at the outset, and, until old St. Patrick’s site was bought from St. Peter’s Church in 1801, to serve for a general Catholic burial ground. It is also worthy of note that no move for a larger cemetery was made until 1826, when the site of the present Cathedral was bought at a cost of $5,500 for that purpose by the parishes of St. Peter’s, St. Patrick’s and St. Mary’s, but was abandoned after a few years’ trial as being too far out in the country. Of course, a tremendous tide of Irish immigration set in after the famine years of 1846, 1847 and 1848. But before that time, the period of the pioneers had ceased, and that of construction had begun. It ended in New York with the arrival of Bishop John Hughes. Under his masterful guidance the position 138of the Irish here completely changed; from the dwarfed and apologetic attitude which many of his people had theretofore assumed, they rose to man’s estate. He asserted their rights and made them realize the justice of their appeal for fair treatment and decent consideration. He courageously defended them from unjust attack and took every possible occasion to announce the splendor of their history and the value to American citizenship of their racial characteristics. Impressing himself on the country, and finally winning its confidence, he did more than any other one man has ever done to make the Irish people an active, useful, aggressive force in the community. He pointed out the way by which they have since risen from poverty, misery and persecution—from an isolation worse than the Ghetto—to a position so commanding as to seem almost miraculous.

“There is an impression that Irish immigration is a matter of only half a century. From this hasty sketch we have seen that it is a matter of gradual growth, the earlier citizens being successful merchants, adding to their capital, the later being the industrious, if humble, whom necessity had driven abroad from a land which no other force could have induced them to leave. Let us hope that the inspiration of this Society may lead some one to undertake this seemingly hopeless task of wresting from the past the record of those who, today unknown, did the work whose fruits we are all enjoying. All honor to the early exiles, whose very names are forgotten, and yet who, hungry, exhausted from toil, hated and despised, with their very heartstrings throbbing with the grief of a sensitive race justly proud of its glorious traditions, then scorned and derided,—yet in silence and resignation built deep and solid the foundations of the free institutions of our country. Without these pioneers the history of Irish genius and its accomplishments would have been the less glorious, but without them there would have been as well a different tale to write of this latest experiment in human freedom. New York owes that race a particular debt of gratitude, which gave to the State its first Governor, George Clinton, the son of a County Longford emigrant, and his kinsman, DeWitt Clinton, the father of the Erie Canal; which gave to the city its first mayor, James Duane, an Irishman’s son; and which gave to the city fame as the scene of the first successful attempt to conquer a way over the waters by the use of steam, when the son of a Kilkenny man, Robert Fulton, saw 139the fruition of his dreams as the Clermont sailed the Hudson, August 11, 1807.

“Irishmen and their sons have always been fond of the city which to them symbolized the freedom and opportunity of the West. New York has been the haven of their hopes. Here their eyes, still dim with tears at the thought of Erin, first saw the glimmerings of hope and confidence. She has honored and enriched their sons, and they have not been ungrateful nor unworthy. From tens of thousands of Irish hearts, when the hour for the closing of their earthly pilgrimage was near at hand, has gone up an aspiration for her continued prosperity who had not forgotten the stranger within her gates. Many an Irishman has voiced the wish which Diedrich Knickerbocker was represented as uttering as the expression of the Dutchman’s love: ‘Haply this frail compound of dust, which while alive may have given birth to nothing but unprofitable weeds, may form a humble sod of the valley, whence may spring many a sweet wild flower to adorn my beloved island of Mannahata!’”

Judge Dowling’s address met with hearty applause and he received many compliments upon the masterly manner with which he handled the difficult subject assigned him.

President-General Quinlan: “Ladies and Gentlemen, I have much pleasure in announcing to you that the next speaker of the evening, who comes from the garden spot of the Middle West and who will respond to the toast of ‘The Irish Pioneers of the West and Their Descendants,’ is the Hon. Maurice T. Moloney, Ex-Attorney General of the State of Illinois.”

Hon. Maurice T. Moloney:

“Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen of the American Irish Historical Society:

“The subject suggested for me to talk on, ‘The Pioneer Irish of the West and Their Descendants,’ is one of great latitude, yet it is one that has not been historically treated as it deserves. I hope, however, in the short time I propose to devote to it, I will not fall into the same line of thought as did one of Moore’s characters. In the Veiled Prophet of Korassan, the great chamberlain, Fadladeen, 140when about to criticise the young poet’s story, said: ‘In order to convey with clearness my opinion of the story this young man has related, it is necessary to take a review of all the stories that have ever’—and when at this point he was interrupted by the good Princess, he became mortified at not being allowed to show how much he knew about everything but the subject immediately before him. Bearing in mind, then, Fadladeen’s misadventure, still, we should not be unmindful of our migration hither, and some of the causes that led to it.

“The successive misfortunes that have overtaken that unfortunate people ever since Nicholas Brekespear gave a quit-claim deed of them to Henry II constitute even in the blood-stained pages of English history some of the greatest tragedies of ancient or modern times, and should lead some at least of those good people who believe in future rewards and punishments to consign that same Brekespear to a warm abode.

“It is needless, no doubt, to tell Irishmen or their descendants, or those interested in Irish history, of the many migrations from that country. During the latter part of the seventeenth and the first part of the eighteenth centuries, hundreds of thousands of them filled the continental armies and many other thousands, young and old, were banished to the West Indies and the colonies, as helots, under the direction of that brutal, canting knave, Cromwell, and others. I will call your attention, however, for a few moments only, to some of the migrations of the nineteenth century.

“I find on an examination of the Report of the Devon Commission to Parliament in 1845, that in the decade from 1831 to 1841, 430,963 emigrants left Ireland. I further find from an examination of Irish Immigration Statistics, that in the following decade from 1841 to 1851, 1,508,454 left the Island, and from 1851 to 1907, 4,130,015 persons emigrated from that unfortunate country, making a total leaving the Island in seventy odd years of 6,069,432. The present population of that country is about four and a half millions—a little less. What a terrible indictment of England and her seven centuries of oppression! No language that I am capable of using could more eloquently depict her continued infamies than that contained in these statistics.

“Of course, all of these people did not come to this country. Some went to other countries, especially to the Antipodes, but the great bulk of them came to the Great Republic, where many thousands of their kith and kin had preceded them.

141“It would be interesting as well as instructive to follow up and trace the careers and fortunes of those Irish exiles and their descendants who thronged the shores and trod the soil of the Republic. It has never been done so far as I know. McGee, in the fifties, and Maguire, in the sixties, each wrote a small volume on the subject, and they are of some value to the student of history. Of this great swarm, how many crossed the Alleghanies and steered their course for the West? It is difficult to say. We have not even approximately correct data on the subject.

“I think, however, I am safe in saying that half of those who came to this country within the last named period did so. In the Middle West, in the great states of Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois and Iowa,—indeed, in all the great western states—there is not a county, city or village where they or their descendants are not to be found in goodly numbers. Thank Heaven! race suicide has not as yet overtaken them.

“Maguire, in his work written in the sixties, advised his countrymen to settle in the West, especially in the state of California. His advice, no doubt, carried great weight and influenced many of them in seeking Western homes.

“I remember, as a boy in Ireland, reading his lectures on the subject, and subsequently, after graduating at the University of Virginia, I determined to go to California, but straightened conditions intervening, I was compelled to remain in Illinois. Hence, I am fairly familiar with the people of that great State, and I think the history of the Irish there would be fairly typical of them in other Western States.

“And now I think I hear you ask—what of them? What have they done, and what are they doing, in what many of you Eastern gentlemen are pleased to call the ‘wild and woolly West.’ To be frank, taking into consideration their old home conditions, and the circumstances attending their coming, they are doing and have done fairly well. They were mostly of the tenant farming class and day laborers. Manufacturing in Ireland long prior to this time ceased to be a factor, having been either abolished, or prevented by successive English Parliaments. They were of necessity very poor, they and their forebears for centuries having been plundered by heartless 142tyrants. No people prefer indigence and want to prosperity. It was artificially enforced poverty that compelled them to emigrate.

“On arriving in the West, therefore, they were for the most part forced to occupy the hard lot of the unskilled laborer, and I may say without fear of contradiction, what they undertook to do they did well. They dug our great canals, built our great lines of railroads, erected our telegraph lines from Chicago to San Francisco and helped to operate them. They engaged in farming and stock raising and have been successful in both. There is not a public utility in the West whose physical structure at least does not owe its existence in the main to Irish hands; and let it not be forgotten, too, that gradually, as these men were able to put by a little of their hard earnings, they tried to elevate themselves and their children in the various walks of life. They did not rest content with their lot. They knew their natural capabilities and tried to and did improve them. Many of them, too, were men of initiative. Of course, the rich and the learned, as a rule, were not among them. People of that kind do not have to leave their country to seek homes in other climes. Labor, however, manual or otherwise, is no disgrace; rather is it a badge of respectability.

“Of course many of them,—alas, too many,—fell by the way.

“As to the work done by our people in the West, take as an illustration the Illinois & Michigan Canal, which begins at Chicago on the southern bend of Lake Michigan and enters the Illinois River at La Salle, a distance of a hundred miles. From its inception to its close the work was mainly done by Irish emigrants. It has been to Illinois and the West a great benefit. Not only was this great work done by the labor of Irishmen, but its successful accomplishment in a financial way was due to the exertions of one of them. In 1842 work on the canal had to be abandoned because of the financial condition of the State Treasury. At that time the counties of La Salle, Grundy and De Kalb constituted a Senatorial District, and a young Irishman twenty-six years of age, one Michael Ryan, was elected State Senator from there. He was, even at that early age, easily the peer of any man in the West. So thoroughly did he master the subject both as to the necessities of the canal and its resources 143that he introduced and carried through the State Legislature, not without opposition, however, a bill enabling the State to borrow one million, six hundred thousand dollars, to complete the work. The Governor at the time, recognizing his great ability, appointed him and a Mr. Oakley agents for the State to proceed to London and borrow that sum—no small amount for those days. They succeeded in doing so. It is said of him (and there are those still living in my home town who knew him well and speak of him with affection) that he was a brilliant man, kind and courteous, an honest man. To him did the State of Illinois mainly owe its success in raising the means to complete that great undertaking.

“Another leading Irishman in Illinois in those days was one William Reddick, a State Senator for many years, a leading temperance advocate, and a man of whom any people might be proud. He left a large fortune to the city of Ottawa for library purposes. Many of the younger emigrants learned trades and became skilled workmen. Many of them engaged in the mercantile business, at the beginning in a small way, but eventually became prosperous. So, too, did they engage in manufacturing. Many of them owned coal mines and of course many, very many, were miners. The Kilgubbin coal shaft, as it was called, a valuable property in the county I reside in, was owned and operated by one Nicholas Duncan, a Cork man.

“Of course, of the hundreds of thousands of Irishmen who have lived and still live with their descendants in the great city of Chicago, it is not possible for me to give more than a passing glance, and say that they are among the leading business men, lawyers, doctors and financiers of that great metropolis. Volumes might be written about them.

“There were not many professional men among those early emigrants. There was one, however, who deserves special mention. His name was E. G. Ryan. He was born in Dublin and came to Illinois in the thirties. He practised law in that State and was recognized at once as being among the leaders of the bar. He afterwards moved to Wisconsin and there became Chief Justice of the Court of Last Resort of that State. He was a profound lawyer, a regular encyclopædia of learning. He was probably the greatest jurist of the West, and there are those who say that he would bear favorable comparison with the great John Marshall. He has been dead for some few years.

144“Very many of the descendants of those pioneers entered the different professions. In law and medicine they easily hold their own in the West. The ablest, all-around lawyer I ever met was Thomas A. Moran of Chicago, for a time Judge of the Circuit and Appellate Courts in that State. He, too, has passed out into the Great Beyond.

“Another who made history might also be mentioned.

“In early days, as we say out West, one John H. Mulkey, then about twenty years old, came to the southern part of the State of Illinois from the State of Tennessee, as an itinerant Methodist preacher. Being a man of good sense, he soon abandoned the ministry and took up the study and afterwards the practice of the law. He met with great success. He had a splendid career. He was elected to the Supreme Court and served as an honored member of that body for a number of years. In 1896, while I represented the State, he came to my office (he was then practising law) and sought a continuance of a case in the Supreme Court. I readily consented, and he dictated to my stenographer the agreement for a continuance. While he was doing so it occurred to me that he had a very peculiar name indeed, and when he got through I said rather abruptly, I confess: ‘Judge, where in the world did you get that name? I can’t think to what nation your ancestors could have belonged.’ He looked at me, laughed, and said, ‘I am as Irish as you are, but an ancestor changed the good old Irish name of Mulcahey to Mulkey, and’ he added, ‘he didn’t improve it.’

“Mulkey had a high sense of honor. He had a solicitous regard for the reputation of his profession. He was a scholarly man, a conscientious jurist. He detested a dishonest man and especially a dishonest lawyer. Apropos of this, it may not be uninteresting if I relate a few of the circumstances attending a dissenting opinion which he wrote while on the Bench. It seems that two men, one named Hughes and the other Appleton, were neighbors and both practised law in Chicago. Hughes conveyed the title to a piece of property worth eight to ten thousand dollars to Appleton, without consideration. The latter was merely a trustee. Appleton disposed of the property and converted the proceeds to his own use. The Attorney-General of Illinois filed an information in the Supreme Court setting up these facts and asking for the disbarment of Appleton. On a final hearing that Court denied the application on the 145ground that the relation of attorney and client did not exist between them. Mulkey not being able to agree with the majority of the Court wrote a unique dissenting opinion, in which among other things, he said: ‘This defense so forcibly reminds me of the old story of the profane bishop who had the good fortune to be a duke also, I cannot refrain from telling it. An acquaintance who happened to overhear him using profane language asked him how it was that he, being a bishop, could be guilty of swearing. “Ah, my friend,” replied his reverence, “I swear as a duke and not as a bishop.” “But,” retorted the other, “when the devil comes to get the duke, what will become of the bishop?” So, in this case, when his Satanic Majesty calls for Appleton the trustee, I should like to know what will become of Appleton the attorney.’ I might add that some years after his admission to the bar, he became a Catholic, and died in that faith.

“I wonder how many Irish names have been mutilated like that of the good judge. I fear too many.

“In the management of railroads, our people have excelled in the West. The children of two Irishmen, brothers, named Egan, born within about thirty miles of where I reside, have been important, if not chief factors in the management of many railroads. They have been connected with the Grand Trunk, the Illinois Central and other roads. I remember well, in 1894, when the great strike, almost an incipient insurrection, occurred in Chicago, that one of these Egans was selected by the officers and directors of all the railroads centering in that great city, to take entire control of their properties and manage them during the strike. This was quite a tribute to the son of a poor Irishman. Another, still comparatively young, might be mentioned. He was born in the town I live in. I remember him as a poor boy, a brakeman on a branch line running through our city. His name is Patrick Houlihan. A brochure has been written on his career and is entitled, I believe, ‘From Water Carrier to General Manager.’ He has on different lines, successively occupied the positions between that of water boy and superintendent, and is now general manager of the Toledo, St. Louis & Western and the Chicago & Alton Railroad Companies, with headquarters at Chicago. He is bright and brainy, with years of usefulness before him. He is a credit to our race.

“In literature, we have fairly well held our own. I do not mean 146to say that we have written as many novels, good bad and indifferent, as others, but the Rileys, the Finnertys, the Sullivans, the Clearys and Dunns, and men and women of such names have left their impress upon our literature. Many of you no doubt have met and all must have with pleasure, read that Western product, the discoverer of Mr. Dooley and Archie Avenue road, that droll, inimitable writer of ‘dialect’ a philosopher in his way—Finley Peter Dunn, who like other good men, has recently gone wrong, in having against the advice of Greeley and all the sages of the republic, migrated backwards as it were until now Gotham claims him for her own.

“And now a few words as to the tillers of the soil.

“Many of those emigrants settled upon the lands of the West, though under disadvantageous circumstances. There are many townships in my county, and in adjoining counties, and indeed scattered all over the West, that have been settled almost exclusively by them. Those lands are now worth on an average $150 per acre. Measurably, this is true of the Middle West. It is literally true of Illinois.

“Nebraska settlement, as it was called, embracing all that territory from Kansas to Canada, and from the Missouri to the Rocky Mountains, was thrown open for settlement in 1854. A large number of Irish were among the early settlers. In 1857 a convention was held in Buffalo to perfect plans for establishing Irish colonies in the West. Delegates assembled from all over the country. Three large colonies started as a result of this convention—one led by Father Trecy founded St. Patrick’s Colony in Nebraska, now Jackson. Another, under Father Powers, of Pennsylvania, went to Missouri, and a third went to Minnesota. In the latter state, additional Irish colonies have been established. They endured almost untold trials and hardships in a new and wild country. Father Trecy’s colony celebrated its Golden Jubilee in July, 1907, a dozen of the original settlers being present. Greeley County, Nebraska, is practically an Irish county, being settled almost exclusively by Irishmen, especially is this true of the towns of Greeley Center, O’Connor, Spalding and O’Neill.

“Instances of this kind might be indefinitely extended. Notwithstanding this fact, we have been criticised for not going in larger numbers upon the broad prairies and fertile lands of the West. I admit the farmer’s life is the ideal one, but it took something more 147than hands and limbs and brains, too, to go upon a farm. It required money even when land was cheapest. How could a family in Ireland, turned out on the roadside by the crowbar brigade, who with the greatest difficulty could scrape enough together to pay their passage to America, be expected upon their arrival to purchase land and agricultural implements, to go farming with? It was hardly within the possibilities. Even if the father came alone, as he often did, he was compelled to go to work on the first opportunity to provide for his immediate wants and save something to send to the half-starving family at home or pay the passage to America. And, if it was a son or daughter who managed to come, they were ever striving to send for one more of the family or likely enough, to send the greater part of their hard earnings to pay the exorbitant rent of the heartless landlord. I know whereof I speak. I am a living witness of those happenings. As a boy, I was compelled to leave the land of my birth, and I can say without affectation, that I never experienced more real joy than I did when making my first remittance to Ireland. Though I knew the ultimate destination of most of it was the landlord’s pocket, still I think I had more pleasure in sending than he had in receiving it.

“Of the gold seekers of ’49 who rushed to the coast, many of them were Irish. Many settled down in different parts of that slope and as you know, many of them became millionaires. I need only mention the names of Flood, O’Brien, Mackey, Phelan and others, to conjure up visions of wealth. But, cui bono. The richest people are not always the most interesting even when the wealth is honestly acquired, and here I may remark (though a little foreign to the subject) if the wealth of many of our multi-millionaires were tomorrow turned into the National Treasury, it would not begin to compensate for the moral shame and degradation their practices have brought on the republic. Kerosene colleges will never make straight, or light, Heaven’s pathway.

“When the greatest crime of the nineteenth century was about to be perpetrated in the dismemberment of this Union the Irish people of the West, in goodly numbers, rushed to its defense and sealed with their blood, their love of the republic. You all, no 148doubt, have heard of a Sheridan, a Shields, a Corcoran, a Lawler, and others of the West, who died that the Union might live. Ingratitude has never been the failing of Irishmen. Gratitude for favors, even small ones, adherence to principle, through good and evil times, have ever been characteristic of the race. Prior to that war, the hereditary enemy of our people despised America. Since its termination, they have hated, but fear it. You know Gladstone, when Jefferson Davis was inaugurated President, exclaimed that a new nation had been born. We may in the future as we sometimes have in the past, send de-natured Americans to London, but no occasional slobbering over the great republic by perfidious Albion can disguise that hatred. Napoleon said, scratch a Russian and you will find a Tartar, scratch an Englishman or an Irishman of the garrison, and almost invariably you will find a hater of America.

“In conclusion, let me say, and I say it with some pride, but in no boastful spirit, that the Irish people in the West, though having to struggle from the lowest rung of the ladder, are physically, intellectually, morally, and I might add, financially, the peers of their neighbors. They are not a dying race. I wish some competent hand would write their history.”

Mr. Moloney’s address was greeted with much applause and cheering, and at this point Senator Carter of Montana arrived in the hall and was escorted to his place at the head table by the Secretary-General and Mr. Moseley.

President-General Quinlan: “We are honored this evening by the presence of one of our most earnest members, whose distinguished services to his country in the United States Senate and earnest and unselfish devotion to the work of our Society endears him to all. It is with pleasure I introduce Hon. Thomas H. Carter, United States Senator from Montana.”

Senator Carter: “Mr. Toastmaster, Fellow Members of the Society, Ladies and Gentlemen: I am billed upon this program to deliver a ‘Capital Welcome.’ I at once disclaim ability to do that.

149“‘Capital Welcome’ seems to imply a good or excellent welcome, and that accomplishment is beyond me,—but I most cheerfully extend to you a cordial welcome to this, the Capital City of our common country, and I sincerely hope that as you each depart from here, you will not feel impelled to write upon the register a sentiment similar to that written by one of our distinguished fellow-countrymen upon leaving a watering-place in England. Each of the party was called upon to write on the register of the hostelry a sentiment, and one bright member wrote these words: ‘I came here for change and rest; the porter has the change, the landlord the rest.’

“The man who wrote that was not the same man whom Brother Lee desires me to tell about, who described the kind of a man that Casey was. The man at the head of the table said ‘What kind of a man is Casey?’ ‘Well,’ says Murphy, ‘I’ll tell you what kind of a man Casey is. I went over to Casey’s house. Says he to me, “Murphy, will you have a drink?” I says, “Of course I will, Mr. Casey.” He says, “Murphy, shall I pour or will you pour?” “Pour yourself,” says I, “Mr. Casey.” He says, “All right, tell me when to stop.” He poured out a drop or two, and out of politeness I said “Stop, Casey,” and Casey stopped. That’s the kind of a man Casey is.’

“This Society needs no welcome to the Capitol City of this nation. Wheresoever you may turn in viewing our parks or avenues or historic halls, you will see in bronze and in marble mute evidences of the appreciation expressed by a grateful people of the achievements and contributions of the Irish and the Irish Americans, in building up and maintaining this great Republic.

“In LaFayette Square, immediately in front of the White House, is a statue of Andrew Jackson, a renowned President of the United States who was the son of an Irishman. Out in the northwest part of the city, but a few days ago, we assembled to unveil an equestrian statue to a man whom General Grant pronounced the greatest soldier of any time, the son of an Irishman, Philip Sheridan. Come down but a little farther and you will find a square adorned with trees and flowers, and in its center a beautiful statue to Admiral Farragut, of Irish blood on his mother’s side. Over in Iowa circle, to the northeast of this point, is the statue of General John A. Logan, the son of an Irishman. Pennsylvania Avenue has been gazed upon for years and years by the sightless eyes of a bronze statue of General John A. Rawlins, the confidential friend of the peerless victor of Appomattox. General Rawlins was of Irish extraction.

“Across Pennsylvania Avenue from this hotel is a great building 150in which throbs the heart of the mighty postal system of the country for which we will expend two hundred and thirty millions of dollars during this fiscal year. The first Postmaster-General admitted to the Cabinet of a President was John Barry, the son of an Irishman. And that reminds me of the way Cabinet officers are selected. It is generally supposed that the President’s Cabinet is organized in conformity with law, but such is not the fact. One day Postmaster Barry received a note reading thus: ‘Tomorrow and hereafter you will attend Cabinet meetings.’ Signed ‘Andrew Jackson.’ It was that which established the custom of calling in the Postmaster-General as one of the counselors of the President of the United States, and that custom has been maintained to this day.

“Go through the hall of statuary in our Capitol, and there you will find in marble men of proud fame in this country’s history—General Louis Cass, Henry Wilson, General Shields and others, making a long roll of men of Irish birth or lineage which I will not undertake to call here tonight.

“Just across the Potomac River, when the life of the nation was assailed, Colonel Corcoran of New York was the first to move forward with the Stars and Stripes. When the Capitol was menaced from the southwest, ‘Phil’ Sheridan was there with his cavalry to meet the enemy. When the fate of the nation was trembling in the balance upon the historic field of Gettysburg, the Union Army was directed by the masterful mind of General Meade of Irish blood.

“I will not go back to the early days of the country’s history. It is sufficient to say that in a parliamentary inquiry as to the conduct of the war against the colonies by a committee of the House of Commons of which Edmund Burke was a member, this interesting fact was brought forth. In the cross-examination of Major General Robertson, Mr. Burke asked the question, ‘Of what elements is the Continental Army composed?’ Robertson said, ‘On authority of General Lee, I inform you that more than half the Continental Army is made up of Irishmen.’

“The illustrious names that adorn our country’s history are entitled to imperishable renown because of great deeds well done in that Revolutionary struggle. Among them is a list of men of Irish birth, beginning with the man who struck the first blow, General Sullivan, and continuing along the line to the close of the war. And when I think of the contributions made, the common sufferings 151endured, and the sacrifices made without limit as to time or circumstance, I say the Irish and their descendants are entitled to the privilege of claiming with proud confidence that this is their own country.

“The history of Ireland is confined to an island with its curious, sad and heroic circumstances, but the history of the Irish people is limited only by the inhabitable portions of the globe.

“I have been, as you have been, chagrined to perceive the disposition to rob these people of the credit which is truly and justly their due. Who can read of Burke and Goldsmith and Johnson and Sheridan and Tyndale as English authors without a feeling that some one has been guilty of grand larceny and misrepresentation.

“Who can read the page of history which places Arthur Wellesley as an Englishman without feeling that the hero of Waterloo has been misplaced? Why deny to this island, bereft of the right to control its own destiny, the privilege of claiming the honor and distinction properly due to the achievements of its distinguished sons?

“It is desirable that a society like unto this should be established in England to change the trend which leads to error and confusion. What we undertake here should be undertaken there. I am glad that this Society has taken up the work of developing the history of the Irish and their descendants in the United States, for it is a great and glorious feature in American history. While proud of the past, while proud of the achievements of those whose deeds we record, it is important, I think, that we should at the same time bear in mind the duty we owe to the future.

“I would that the Americans of Irish birth and descent in this country could unite their energies and make of this force in American life a leading force for higher conceptions of civic duty, a force looking to better living, a force working for a civilization such as has not been dreamed of by those who have struggled in the past. This we may do while recording that which has gone by with fidelity and truth. Let us be true to ourselves by working for such conditions as will make our race more distinguished henceforth in its achievements than it has been in the splendid work of the past.”

152President-General Quinlan: The next and last toast of the evening is “Advantages of Historical Research to Irish Americans.” The response will be made by a noble American of Irish ancestry, who comes from the granary belt of the great Northwest, the land of Sitting Bull and the brave Sioux, where the ardent flames of patriotism burn with the intensity of true Americanism.

I take great pleasure in introducing to you, ladies and gentlemen, Hon. Robert J. Gamble, United States Senator from South Dakota.

Senator Gamble: Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen: I accept the kindly and humorous felicitations of your President. I admit I hail from South Dakota, once the land of the Sioux, of Red Cloud and Sitting Bull. In these later years, however, it has been transformed with marvelous rapidity into an empire of wealth, of productiveness, of social and civic development, and with ideals at least equal to those of any in the Sisterhood of States. In her wonderful prosperity she has been as jealous of the one as the other. In her Constitution and in her laws she has sought to make liberty secure, to foster and provide for the education of her children, to encourage the highest ideals of citizenship, to inspire a patriotism worthy of the opportunities of her people. Along all of these lines we feel South Dakota has met with a high degree of success. She stands almost the lowest in the percentage of illiteracy of her population. Pauperism is scarcely observable. Wealth and comfort are very generally diffused amongst her people. Her schools and colleges are equal to the necessities of the state. The door of opportunity 153is open to all. For more than a decade she has produced each year more wealth per capita than any other state in the Union. (Applause.)

Mr. President, at this late hour I give you assurance of brevity in what I have to say. I appreciate very much the compliment of your invitation, and indeed it is a great pleasure to be present on this occasion and to respond to the toast to which I have been assigned.

The history of Ireland in itself is a sad one, but the high purpose and invincible courage of her manhood and her womanhood, their high ideals and devotion to liberty and to national integrity, have been fraught with blessings and have brought encouragement to human liberty the world over. (Applause.)

Within the circumscribed limits of their own nationality success rarely crowned the patriotic efforts and heroic struggle for liberty of the Irish people. Their field of activity, however, has not been confined to the land of their birth, and has been limited only wherever humanity has asserted itself against tyranny and in a struggle for better conditions and for orderly liberty.

America owes a wonderful debt of gratitude to the Irish race. We must recognize that preceding American independence there was a strong element of our population composed of Irish Americans.

Among the strongest advocates for American independence were Irishmen, or the descendants of Irishmen. Hancock and Rutledge and the Carrolls and their co-workers contributed vastly to the development of a National spirit. The work of these strong, patriotic and efficient men had much to do with drawing the colonies together in united effort and cementing their interests in the common cause. Their voices had long been raised in protest against the Mother Country before the musketry was heard at Lexington. These brave and courageous men, and their associates, with their large vision and patriotic purpose, pointed out the way and crystalized the sentiment for national independence. The work they performed for the cause of national independence, though different in character, was as important in its way as that of the actual participants in the field, of the general or the soldier.

As indicative of the high character of the Irish race, and of their activities and large influence in the formative period of our National history it is gratifying and with a sense of pride in this presence to state that in the First Continental Congress, with a membership 154of fifty-four, eleven were Irish or of Irish descent. The same race has also to its credit three presidents of the Republic whose ancestors came from the Emerald Isle. And Roosevelt, an honored member of this Society, not only our President, but the most distinguished citizen of the world, takes pride in the fact that he can trace his lineage to this indomitable people. (Applause.)

Of the membership of the Continental Congress that put forth the immortal Declaration of Independence, twenty per cent was Irish or of Irish descent. The hand of Thompson that first transcribed it upon parchment was Irish; the first signature that was placed to it as President was that of John Hancock, an Irishman-American; and when those immortal words were read for the first time to the assembled multitude from the balcony of Continental Hall at Philadelphia, it was by the voice of an Irishman, Mr. Nixon; and when it was placed in type for the first time it was by one Dunlap, an Irish printer.

In the spring of 1777, when Congress appointed eighteen brigadier-generals, six of those who were thus commissioned were Irish by birth or descent. Among the number were the dashing and brilliant Mad Anthony Wayne and the strong and courageous Clinton. I need only speak of the accomplished Montgomery, whose valor has been justly praised and who died a hero’s death upon the plains of Quebec, or of Sullivan, the splendid leader and the associate of Washington, upon whom the latter leaned more than upon any other, and for whose great service the thanks of Congress were extended; of Knox and Stark and many others who were ideal and successful leaders in the great Revolutionary struggle. It has been asserted, but undoubtedly with very much exaggeration, that half of the Continental Army were Irish or of Irish descent. Even if this be not true it must be admitted that the race had a large representation in the Army, and it speaks well for their patriotism and devotion to the cause of American Independence.

The Irish race I think can take a just pride in the accomplishments of its people, not only as statesmen and leaders in contributing vastly towards shaping the policies of the colonies in the formative period of our history with a view to the ultimate forming of the Federal Union, and also in leadership and on men in the field of battle.

But it was not alone upon the land that the heroism of the race 155asserted itself in the cause for National Independence. If not the first, at least among the first naval fights of the Revolution was the capture of the British ship Margaretta at Machias Bay on the Coast of Maine on May 11, 1775. The Americans were commanded by Captain O’Brien, the son of an Irish immigrant. This victory has frequently been called “The Lexington of the Seas.”

It was John Barry, a native of Ireland, who received one of the first naval commissions from Congress. Through his ability and leadership and his many well earned victories he brought the highest credit to America upon the seas. Commodore Barry today is justly called “The Father of the American Navy.” He was the great naval commander of the Revolution. I might name many other distinguished officers of this nationality who rendered conspicuous service to their country and added to the fame of the Navy in the war of the Revolution.

Irish womanhood also gave evidence of its devotion and heroism in the person of Mollie Pitcher, who took the place at the cannon of her fallen husband and is accorded a hero’s place in the battle of Monmouth.

The devotion of those of Irish blood did not exhaust itself in the cause of the Revolution alone. In the War of 1812 it contributed some of its most conspicuous figures. It was Jackson at New Orleans, Commodore Stewart on the sea with his Constitution, McDonough on Lake Champlain and Perry on Lake Erie that won imperishable glory for the American Army and Navy in that War.

In the war with Mexico the men of this race had representatives in the persons of Generals Kearney and Shields. The latter also received the exceptional distinction of having been elected to a seat in the United States Senate on three different occasions in separate elections from three different states.

In the recent war, among the most illustrious names is that of General Sheridan, the son of an Irishman, and although less conspicuous others of the same blood rendered high service to their country, and amongst them are such honored names as Meade, Logan, Meagher, Mulligan, Shields and Corcoran.

It is no idle boast to assert that the names of the men of Irish blood adorn the most conspicuous pages of the history of the Republic. They aided as wise, safe and patriotic counsellors in laying the foundations of our institutions. They fought with heroism 156and devotion in the struggle for independence, both upon the land and upon the sea. In every trial and test that has come to us in our history they have made willing and great sacrifice to defend the honor of their country and to perpetuate and sustain her institutions.

Ireland has contributed much to the Republic. In a high degree the race has been unselfish. The devotion of the race has not alone been confined to the United States. It has been frequently and truthfully said though not always gratefully and freely admitted that she gave a Wellington to England and in these later years she has also contributed a Wolsey, a Roberts and a Kitchener. To France she gave McMahon, and to Spain an O’Donnell.

Many of her brave and devoted men followed Bolivar in South America and aided materially in laying the foundations of the Republic in the Southern Hemisphere.

On every field of human endeavor the Irish name has a conspicuous place. In statesmanship she has given Burke, who enriched our language with his oratory. She supplied also Phillips, Grattan and O’Connell.

In literature she has been most generous in giving to the world Goldsmith, Moore, Collins, Knowles, Sheridan and a host of others. In the sciences she has contributed Lardner, Rowe, Proctor, Tyndall, Faraday and our own Fulton.

Nor has she been lacking in the field of Art, but America adopted as her own the gifted St. Gaudens. In philosophy and theology she has many distinguished names.

Mr. President, in conclusion I would state I believe “The advantages of Historical research to Irish Americans” will give them a more just appreciation of the Irish character, of the services they have rendered in founding, sustaining and perpetuating our institutions and in maintaining the highest ideals of our common country.

President-General Quinlan: One final word. The Secretary-General wishes to say something, and I know it will interest you all.

Secretary-General Lee: Mr. Chairman, I move you that the thanks of the American Irish Historical Society be tendered the speakers of the evening for their excellent services in our behalf, and that the entire address of each be printed in the Journal.

Motion carried by unanimous vote.

157Secretary-General Lee: Mr. Chairman, I move you that the thanks of the Society and its invited guests are justly due and are hereby tendered Mr. Thomas J. Talty, Manager of the Hotel Raleigh, for his careful personal attention to the banquet and its details, and for his uniform courtesy to members and guests.

Motion carried by unanimous vote.

Secretary-General Lee: Mr. Chairman, I move you that the thanks of the Society be tendered to our fellow-member, Mr. Henry L. Joyce, Manager of the Marine Department of the Central Railroad Company of New Jersey, to Mr. W. C. Hope, General Passenger Agent of said Railroad, and to Mr. P. Wilfred Heroy, Eastern Passenger Agent of said Railroad, for their courtesy to members and guests of the Society and for their successful efforts to make our trip by special train pleasant and comfortable.

Motion carried by unanimous vote.

President-General Quinlan: This ends the proceedings of the Eleventh Annual Banquet of the Society. I thank you one and all for your attendance. The next annual dinner will take place in the city of New York, and we hope you will all be with us there and that the attendance will be even greater than tonight.

There being no further business before the Society, I declare this meeting adjourned.

The Committee in charge of the entire proceedings in Washington were as follows:

The entire proceedings of the Reception by President Roosevelt, Annual Meeting and Eleventh Annual Dinner were stenographically reported by Miss Viola Follis of Providence, R. I., and by her transcribed. Within a few days afterwards, a copy of his speech was furnished each speaker, so that it would come to the hands of the Editor of the Journal exactly as the speaker wished it finally to read.

The stenographic report and transcription were absolutely complete and without error.

The floral decorations on the tables and walls were beautiful and lavish, and at the termination of the dinner some of the nice pieces were sent to the quarters of our lady guests, while the remainder were sent to the hospitals.

During the evening music was furnished by a good orchestra. The words of “Star Spangled Banner,” “Columbia, the Gem of the Ocean,” “Wearing of the Green,” “Minstrel Boy,” and “Yankee Doodle” were printed on the program, and the assemblage, accompanied by the musicians, sung these songs with a will.

159A large number of guests left Washington Sunday, January 17th, on the Royal Blue Line 3 p. m. express for New York, and for their comfort special cars were attached exclusively for their use. In the dining car a special dinner was prepared and served under the supervision of Conductor Lewis A. Herring, which was enjoyed by nearly all who returned on that train, and he made the occasion enjoyable by pointing out several interesting bits of scenery en route, among which was the place where Washington crossed the Delaware. The menu was as follows:

A special meeting of the American Irish Historical Society was held in Room 124, Hotel Raleigh, Washington, D. C., this day at 1.30 p. m., President-General Quinlan in the chair.

On motion of Mr. Donovan of New York, it was voted to revise the constitution and by-laws of the Society, and the President-General was instructed to appoint a committee of five to do this work, they to report to the Executive Council.

On motion of Mr. T. Vincent Butler of New York, the thanks of the Society were tendered to the President-General and the Secretary-General for their efficient services in preparing for “the grandest meeting the Society has ever held.” Mr. Butler, in support of 160his motion, made interesting remarks concerning our fellow-member, President Roosevelt.

The President-General later announced that he had appointed the following gentlemen members of the Committee to Revise the Constitution and By-Laws: Messrs. Michael J. Jordan, Patrick J. McCarthy, Joseph T. Ryan, John E. O’Brien and Thomas Z. Lee.

Short addresses were made by the President-General and several other members on subjects connected with the welfare of the Society, after which the meeting adjourned.

Honorary State Regent for Rhode Island, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, Great-Great-Granddaughter of Thomas Hughes, Captain in the War of the Revolution and Major in the War of 1812 and an Original Member of the Rhode Island Society of the Cincinnati—a Man of Irish Parentage.

Who that visits Italy can fail to be inspired by the ruins of the Forum and the palaces of the Cæsars on the Palatine? The Italian Government has done wisely in making its work of excavation a work also of restoration by replacing as far as possible the statues and monuments of ancient time in their original positions, and in entrusting visitors to the care of guides educated for their duties by a university course in the history and archæology of the Eternal City. Such a guide, after a whole day spent in enthusiastic descriptions of the temples, public buildings, rostra and tombs of the Forum, was asked, “How happens it that you are so very enthusiastic over all this, when it is your duty to make this round day after day?” Never will the hearer forget his reply as, drawing himself up to his full height, he exclaimed with the proudest, loftiest accent, “I am a Roman.”

“The grandeur that was Rome” was the spirit of her citizens, their expression in the life of their city, of their high ideals. When these ideals failed to inspire, Rome fell.

That which makes a State is the character of its citizens. One of the strongest influences in the moulding of character is the example of the heroes of the past. Preservation of the history of those who helped to make and mould the nation is, therefore, essential to the maintenance of patriotism. Indeed, it is essential to the true moral development of the nation,—to the very preservation of the nation.

One great advantage of the memorial tablet and the statue over the printed page is that the former are seen and understood by all, while 164the pages of history are only turned by those who have a certain degree of education and interest. “What mean ye by these stones?” the children in the land of Canaan would ask, gazing upon the heap of twelve smooth stones by the banks of the Jordan. Then would the fathers in Israel reply, “Because the waters of Jordan were cut off before the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord, and these stones from the bed of the river are for a memorial forever of Jehovah’s leadership of his people through the dry bed of the river into the promised land.”

The historical and patriotic societies of the United States are doing a much needed work by the erection of tablets and the marking of historic spots. A want of reverence for those who founded our nation and fought to establish it; a carelessness as to the lessons to be learned from the early history of the country; a desecration of places consecrated by the blood of our heroes, had much to do with making us, in appearance, a flippant, boastful people, glorying only in the “bigness” of our country and what our own generation was doing, in short, the boastful Yankee caricatured by our European kinsmen.

That temper has changed. While the greater seriousness with which the American people undertake their problems of government is no doubt in part due to territorial expansion and greater international relations, credit must also be given to the impressive influence of the memorials placed in our State houses, our parks, along our streets, commemorating the worthy deeds of our ancestors.

It is then a direct benefit to the State, and aid to good government, and to the realization of the highest civic ideals, to place, where all can see, memorials reciting the virtues and the heroic deeds of men like Washington, Lincoln, Greene, Sullivan, Sherman and a host of others whose splendid achievements, in war and in peace, are a part of our heritage as American citizens, and are the inspiration of our youth to give also of their best, in talents and in loyal, patriotic effort; to make our country great in the best sense,—great in the character of its citizens, great in the accomplishment of high ideals; great in the enjoyment by all of the blessings of liberty.

Providence, R. I., February 12, 1909.

Ceremony Takes Place at Handsome Building, Corner Pine and Byron Streets, in Presence of Clergy, Prominent Business Men and Representatives of Religious Denominations.

In the presence of members of the clergy, prominent business men and representatives of various religious denominations, the new Day Nursery, erected at Pine and Byron streets as a memorial to Edward A. Carter, by his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Patrick Carter, was formally transferred to Bishop Matthew Harkins at 11 o’clock yesterday morning. Previous to this ceremony there was a low Mass, at which Bishop Harkins was the celebrant, Rev. Austin Dowling, also a member of the American Irish Historical Society, acting as his assistant, at which time the building was blessed.

A large audience assembled in the hall on the second floor to witness the transfer of the keys, the deed and other documents to the Bishop. It numbered men and women prominent in the business and social life of the city, as well as others interested in charitable work.

After Bishop Harkins, wearing the purple robes of his office, had taken a seat on the stage, with Fr. Dowling on his right and Rev. William Pyne on his left, Mr. Carter made the following speech in presenting the structure to the Bishop:

“Bishop Harkins: In my own name and that of Mrs. Carter I have great pleasure in handing over to you this morning, as the representative of Nazareth home and the head of the diocese of Providence, the keys of the Edward A. Carter Memorial, the receipted 166bills for its cost and a paid-up five years’ policy of insurance on the building for $15,000.

“I am sure it is a happy moment for Mrs. Carter and for me; I may say, the proudest moment of our lives, to be in a position to commemorate in this way our son who gave such promise in his youth, and who was taken from us so suddenly.

“A little more than a year ago we laid him away in St. Francis Cemetery and with him the hopes that we had built upon, but the money which would have been his to invest in business had he lived we have resolved to lay aside for his memory in another kind of investment.

“This is our only stipulation—that it be administered prudently, scientifically, but with mercy and in the spirit of Christian charity.

“We have no fear, Bishop, that the money which we have given to the Nazareth Home will ever be diverted from the purpose for which we intend it. We require no bonds from you, for your high standing makes the ordinary safeguard of business in this case unnecessary. Into whatever hands you entrust it, we feel certain that they will execute what we plan.

“You, ladies of the Queen’s Daughters, honor us with your presence here today. You have presided at the formation of this work; your ideas are here incorporated and you have pledged yourselves to its support; therefore, may I be the first to welcome you to its hospitality.

“Let me then, Bishop Harkins, in closing, hand over to you these evidences that the building so happily completed is entirely unencumbered; and let me assure you that while in doing so I now resign the responsibility which has been my preoccupation and pleasure for several months, still, while either Mrs. Carter or myself live, our hearts are in this building, both for the name it bears and for the work which we have confidence it will never fail to do in our community.”

In response Bishop Harkins said in part: “Mr. and Mrs. Carter, I receive very willingly and gratefully these evidences of your generosity. I express to you my thanks and those of the entire community. There may have been other cases in the United States like this, but this is the first case that has come to my knowledge where 167a memorial of this kind has been reared to an apparently lost, but not really lost, son.

“This is a very special, a very peculiar case. It shows not only a very strong affection, but a very lively faith. It is that faith that is necessary, a faith in the future, a realization that death does not end all.

“Your son was a Cathedral boy, and when I say that I speak with a considerable degree of pride. He was one of us and we knew him and loved him. You determined that he should live on in a certain way and live just about where he lived when he was here. So you have made your boy to live; you have given him a kind of earthly immortality, if I may use that term.

“He will live in the persons of the poor children who will be cared for here. They will have the uplifting influence of the good sisters, the Queen’s Daughters, the clergy, and all who can help them in any way. Yet it will be he who will be living here.

“I thank you in my own name and in the name of the diocese of Providence. I am sure that all those here present agree that no better example can be given a community than that given here today. There is gratitude in the hearts of all the citizens of Providence for this gift.

“In the name of the sisters who will have charge of this institution, I wish to thank you. I welcomed them to our city here in Providence, for I knew that I could not do greater service than to bring here the wise and careful administration of charitable work they have always shown. They will be mothers to the children. They will try to give, and will well-nigh succeed in giving, all the maternal love that is given children in the most favored homes. They will train them not only in their duties to the church, but in every duty they must perform in civil life.”

In conclusion Bishop Harkins paid a tribute to the Queen’s Daughters, the organization which has assumed the maintenance of the institution.

After the Bishop’s address, Miss Mary A. McArdle, President of the Queen’s Daughters, made a brief address, in which she stated that Mr. and Mrs. Carter had been elected honorary members of the Daughters of the Queen of Heaven, concluding by presenting to 168Mrs. Carter a bouquet of roses, in number the same as the years of life of the son in whose memory the structure was given.

Mr. Carter responded briefly and the visitors then inspected the building, many registering in the book provided for that purpose.

Among those present were: Mgr. Thomas F. Doran, Vicar General of the diocese; Rev. Owen F. Clarke, Rev. Edward E. Seagrave, Rev. D. F. Lowney, Rev. James C. Walsh, Rev. M. J. McCabe, Mayor P. J. McCarthy, Mayor-elect Henry Fletcher, Attorney-General William B. Greenough, Assistant Attorney-General Harry P. Cross, Cyrus P. Brown, Col. Cyrus M. Van Slyck, Judge Frank E. Fitzsimmons, Judge Thomas Z. Lee, John E. Canning and Thomas F. Monahan.

This nursery, said to be one of the finest institutions of its kind in the country, has been erected for the accommodation of poor children, regardless of race, creed or color. The Queen’s Daughters, a body of Catholic women with a membership of 700, which was organized in January of the present year for the performance of charitable works, has assumed its maintenance. The organization is affiliated with the Queen’s Daughters of St. Louis, formed in 1889 by thirty-two women of that city for charitable purposes.

The Sisters of the Holy Ghost, also known as the White Sisters, to whom the institution was donated, first came to work among the sick poor in this city in September, 1907. In their errands of mercy they found that a day nursery was very much needed in the section in which their home is located. The two day nurseries already established have been unable to take care of all the children, both having long waiting lists, and the building blessed yesterday will relieve the situation to a considerable degree.

The building is admirably arranged, the purpose for which it will be used having been taken into careful consideration by the architects, Stone, Carpenter & Sheldon, and the ideas of the architects being faithfully carried out by the builder, M. J. Houlihan.

169Mr. Carter’s intelligent liberality has rendered possible in Providence a charity of peculiar value. The handsome building is a better monument to his son’s memory than the most costly sarcophagus would be. It bids fair for many years to come to minister to the needs of great numbers of children of tender age whose parents cannot care for them during the working hours of the day; and the community would have double reason to congratulate itself if the example set by these donors were to inspire other citizens of Providence to similar generous gifts. There are twenty-three thousand women in this city who are employed in gainful occupations, and many of them are married, with small children to provide for. It is difficult to think of a more useful institution than one that helps to lighten the domestic anxieties of these workers during their enforced absence from home.

Mr. Carter is a member of the American Irish Historical Society and of its Executive Council and served on the Reception Committee at the events in Washington January 16, 1909.

In Volume VI of the Journal appeared a short sketch of Colonel Quinlan’s life, in which his military record was incomplete and the date of birth and receipt of certain commissions were incorrectly stated. The data having been carefully collected and verified, a revised sketch is hereby submitted:

James Quinlan was born in Tipperary, Ireland, September 13, 1833, and came to New York in 1850 and there studied engineering. In 1853 he joined the National Guard and became a member of the Sixty-Ninth Regiment, being commissioned a Lieutenant in 1855, under Charles S. Roe, and commissioned Captain in 1856.

On April 23, 1861, a few days after the fall of Fort Sumter, he left New York with the Sixty-Ninth as Captain of Engineers. He was present at the battle of Blackburn’s Ford, July 18th, and Bull Run July 21st, where he was severely wounded. After this battle Acting Brigadier-General T. F. Meagher recruited the celebrated Irish Brigade, and he was commissioned Major of the Eighty-Eighth New York Infantry, one of the regiments of that organization, in 1861, and ordered by General Meagher to proceed to Fort Schuyler 170and take command there until further orders. (As far as we know, he was the first volunteer officer to take command of a Fort in the Civil War.) He was present in all the battles of that famous Brigade in the Peninsular Campaign and commanded the regiment all through the Seven Days’ fighting. He won his Medal of Honor by leading a charge on a Confederate battery at Savage Station, Va., June 29, 1862. The battery in question was one of six guns, and had been very annoying to the Union troops. Several other regiments had made efforts to silence it, but without avail. General W. W. Burns, U. S. A., who was in command on that memorable day, wrote at the time Major Quinlan received his Medal of Honor as follows: “The Medal of Honor won by your gallant charge which silenced the enemy’s battery at Savage Station and closed that desperate attack upon the rear of the Army of the Potomac, June 29, 1862, is a just reward and memento for conspicuous bravery due from a grateful Republic to the brave leader of the gallant Eighty-Eighth New York. No one can feel more satisfaction for this signal proof of distinction and glory than your old Commander of that day. The Eighty-Eighth saved the lives of many gallant soldiers by that forlorn-hope charge, and cleared our way to victory that day. It commemorated the charge of the Irish Brigade at Fontenoy.” In the Circular “Medals of Honor” issued by the War Department October 31, 1897, the ground of award of Major Quinlan’s medal is as follows: “Led his regiment on the enemy’s battery, silenced the guns, held the position against overwhelming numbers, and covered the retreat of the Second Army Corps.” He was honorably mentioned by General McClellan for bravery at Malvern Hill and Antietam. He was commissioned Lieutenant-Colonel on September 22, 1862, and received his honorable discharge for disability on medical certificate February 4, 1863.

After a few weeks’ illness of heart trouble he died at his home, 104 East 96th Street, August 29, 1906.

And so has passed into history the name of a citizen of foreign birth, who owed allegiance to the whole of his adopted country, and when her troubles came he was found early at the front, dedicating his all to her perpetuity.

A firm, honest friend, a devoted Christian, a loyal brave soldier went to his rest when James Quinlan joined the soldiers of our great Republic who had gone before.

A great editor laid down forever a brilliant, beautiful and useful pen when Joseph O’Connor, the Rochesterian, passed into Eternity from his home in Rochester on the night of October 9, 1908.

In a few hours the news had flashed to all points of the compass, bringing a pause and a hush of sadness to thousands of homes, from Maine to California, wherein his unique personality was known and loved through his nearly forty years of journalistic leadership.

Born in New York State of Irish parents in 1841, he was educated in the best schools of his native State for the practice of the law, but he early chose journalism instead of law for his life work and he made a magnificent success of it.

He brought to the work a mind well-stocked with more of the true history of the world than falls to the lot of most students of history. He brought to his work a mind imbued with the true Christian philosophy of the Catholic catechism. He had formed from youth up a habit of broad, kindly outlook on things in general. He assumed and maintained a manly attitude in politics, uncompromising in principle, but tolerant of other men’s opinions. He had a born poet’s appreciation of true poetry, and a literary judgment that came to be universally respected. He had a gift of expression as a model of unique, finished, sincere writing. And his humility was the best of it all.

He won his readers to his way of seeing things as much by the very apparent unconsciousness of his own superiority as by his logical presentation of his subject.

Through all his long life of varied editorship and many degrees of political and literary success, there is no pessimism charged to his account, no animosity, no bitterness; not even discourtesy.

Many a time in the heat of a political campaign he had to strike at a champion of the other side, but his blow was always leonine. 172It was a settler of the subject in dispute, but it left no ugly memories—no galling personalities ever marred his political battles.

He scored his successes by the friendly hand shakes of his worsted antagonists.

He prized his independence in politics, and never jeopardized it by accepting favors or honors from friend or foe.

With one or two exceptions, every change that he made in his position was due to his insistent desire to maintain his personal independence as a writer. He left the Indianapolis Sentinel because he did not wish to conform to its political policy. His editorial work on the New York World became irksome on this same account. He broke with the managers of the Buffalo Courier in 1886 because he disliked Grover Cleveland and because he did not propose to stultify his editorial utterances in a newspaper whose proprietor was specially friendly at the time to the Buffalo President. He is said to have refused a flattering offer from Charles A. Dana to become editorial writer on the New York Sun because he did not believe he could conform to Mr. Dana’s ideas, however much he might admire the genius of that brilliant editor.

He set his editorial chair on a calm high level and from it addressed daily a clientele that loyally followed him in all his journeyings through fields of philosophy, history, poetry, romance and even the common things of everyday life. To read him once was to seek him again and remain his disciple.

He might have made his fame rest on his poetry, but he subordinated that gift to his passion for regular, constant work in his editorial chair, indulging in flights of fancy only as a pastime.

Mr. O’Connor was a master of the English language; indeed, it is doubtful if any man on the American press ever wrote it better. Some twenty years ago a correspondent of the New York Sun asked Mr. Dana for information regarding literary style. In the course of his reply he said:

“Among the newspaper writers of our own country and of the present day, perhaps the best style is that of Mr. Joseph O’Connor, the editor of The Post Express of Rochester. It is terse, lucid, calm, argumentative, and without a trace of effort or affectation.”

After quoting this tribute, said Father Cronin of the Buffalo Union and Times: “It is no small source of pride and gratification to us to know that one of the great princes of American journalism 173is an Irish American. Mr. O’Connor’s pen is like the Damascene blade, polished and beautiful, yet withal so smooth and keen that the victim of its blow is severed in twain almost without realizing the catastrophe. Long may Joseph O’Connor wield it, as he has always wielded it, a menace to evil and a swift and sure protection to the right.”

All over the State of New York the daily and weekly papers, the day after his death, contained most flattering and affectionate tributes to his memory, and these were echoed and reinforced since by the press of the whole country, for “The Rochesterian” gave the key to the right solution of many a question to hundreds of editors who sought in the exchanges for “J. O’C’s” latest.

Said the Rochester Times: “For intelligence and insight he had few peers among the great journalists of his time; but in addition he had what some more renowned than he have lacked—absolute bravery of conviction. His pen was unconditionally consecrated to truth as he saw truth; and nothing could weaken his allegiance. It is familiar history that he could have held some of the highest posts in American journalism had he been willing to bend his honor or relax his sincerity.”

“Intellectually,” says the Syracuse Herald, “he was one of the frankest and bravest of men, never hesitating to champion a cause that appealed to his reason or humanity because it happened to be temporarily unpopular.”

“Journalism,” says the Troy Press, “loses a philosophical writer, a brilliant scholar and a veritable ‘knowledge-box’ in the death of Joseph O’Connor of The Post Express. He was one of the few editors whose talent and resources were so abounding that adequately to replace him is practically out of the question.”

“He set before the men of his profession,” says the Rochester Herald, “an example of frankness, courage, and independence which is emulated wherever it is possible to follow it, and is admired and envied where conditions do not permit of its acceptance. The utterances of newspapers, elsewhere in the country as well as here, are more sincere, more fearless, and freer from cant and sham because of the ideals revered and upheld by Joseph O’Connor.”

“Mr. O’Connor,” says the Rochester Times, “was a man of extensive acquaintance, of legions of friends but with few ‘cronies.’ Among these favored few might be numbered Rev. Louis A. Lambert 174of Scottsville, editor-in-chief of the New York Freeman’s Journal; Rev. John L. Codyre of Fairport, Judge John D. Lynn, and a few others. His friendships were for literary characters and their conversation was of the ultra intellectual thought. Abstruse theological and philosophical problems were discussed with as much freedom as ordinary persons talk of the weather. Yet Mr. O’Connor in his kindly, lovable, winsome way could talk entertainingly on the commonest topic with any acquaintance and his was the tactful manner which never made one feel his smallness before him.”

Such is the tribute paid him by the Rochester, N. Y., Herald of October 10th, 1908, in its editorial column.

The Society, in response to its request for further information for its archives, received the following communication from Mr. O’Connor’s lifelong friend, Edmond Redmond, Esq., which we print in full:

Dear Sir: I duly received your letter of the 5th instant requesting such material as I may have in relation to a biographical sketch of the late Joseph O’Connor.

I assume that you have seen the notices printed in Rochester and other newspapers immediately following his decease. I regret that I can add but little to those eulogies, which were, I have reason to believe, written by intimate associates and came from the heart.

I thought that less was said by his recent friends about his interest in Ireland and her cause than deserves to be known. And on that point I can testify from acquaintance with him that few things were nearer or dearer to him than the land of his ancestors. His pen and voice were ever ready to work in the cause of Ireland, and I have no doubt that his personal fortunes, in the ordinary commercial sense, suffered from the persistence with which, all through life, he continued to bring to the attention of an indifferent public the wrongs inflicted on the people of the island. It was, however, a labor of love with him, and his zeal in the cause continued to the end. He had no confidence in secret societies effecting any great good in Irish politics; but he gave hearty support to the Land League in Parnell’s day. He was a delegate to the famous Land League convention of 1886 in Chicago, and was urged by friends to let them propose him for President of the American branch of the Society. He has been heard to say that he was indebted to the Land League for the experience which enabled him in later years to feel at home on his feet while engaged in public speaking on other subjects.

175His regard for Ireland could not have been stronger had he been a native of the land, and it was evidently inherited. Years ago he heard a friend humming “As Slow Our Ship Her Foamy Track,” and said that when his father was leaving Ireland a group gathered about him on the deck of the ship as he sung that song, and before it was finished they were all in tears.

Although usually slow to anger, he was liable to be moved on hearing the creditable deeds of plain Irishmen ascribed, as they are so often, to the “Scotch-Irish,”—a designation which he detested, employed as it usually is to detract from Ireland the reflected honor to which she is entitled from the worthy fame of her children.

If the nature and scope of the work which you have in hand permits of eulogy, it would be impossible to speak too highly of O’Connor’s character. In both public and private life he was the soul of honor. His talents were of the first order and always exerted toward good ends. His integrity was unbounding. Like Gay his “manners were gentle, his affections mild.” In a word he was a really great and uncommonly good citizen, a true and noble man. One of his favorite poets was Goldsmith and I cannot better end this too brief sketch than with what the author of “The Deserted Village” said of Reynolds:—

Mr. O’Connor was the author of many poems, and in 1895 the Putnams brought out a little volume of his modestly entitled “Poems.” Many of the shorter poems in the book are characterized by delicate fancy and graceful rhyming; such poems as “Her Hands,” “Water Lilies,” and the “Wine Song.” He favored these smaller, slighter children of his fancy. He thought the best poem he ever wrote was “The Cavalier Sword,” and next in order he placed “The Fount of Castaly.” In our opinion “Her Hands” is the sweetest and most graceful of them all, and we print it herewith:

David Irwin of San Francisco, an Irishman, formerly First Lieutenant of Company F, Third Rhode Island Heavy Artillery, who served under Gen. Charles R. Brayton, a guest and speaker at the dedication of the Society of the Sullivan Memorial December 16, 1908, has recently written a sketch of his service in the Army, and while compiling the story ran across several notes of incidents in Army life which directly concern Chief of Police Patrick Egan, of Providence, R. I.

Mr. Irwin has forwarded the information to General Brayton, in order that it may be preserved in the archives of the State. In his letter Mr. Irwin says: “Being a native of the Emerald Isle, I claim the right to make a little Irish bull by saying that when I enlisted at Providence the only man I knew in my regiment was a boy fifteen years old. The day that I made up my mind to be one of the ’200,000 more’ called for by President Lincoln, I went into the workshop where this boy was learning the shoe trade and said to him, ‘Patsy, I am going to enlist. Don’t you want to go?’

“He looked up with a smile on his face and replied: ‘Yes, if you will.’

“‘All right,’ I said, ‘come along. I’m going.’

“I can imagine I see him now getting up from his bench, taking off his apron, throwing it down and putting on his coat.

“Away we went to the recruiting office and signed the roll, he giving his age as seventeen, which no one doubted. He was tall for his years.

“I had hoped we would be placed in the same company, that I might be near him and keep an eye on him, for I felt somewhat responsible for taking him away from his widowed mother, but fate or fortunes of war willed it otherwise. I was assigned to Company G and he to Company C, which was afterward mounted as a light battery. However, he soon proved to be well able to take care of himself, except, perhaps, on one occasion.

178“That was soon after the Port Royal, S. C., expedition,” Mr. Irwin explains, “of which our regiment was a part, sailed from Hampton Roads late in October, 1861, the land forces, consisting of about 12,500 men, being under Gen. Thomas W. Sherman, and a fleet of seventeen warships and thirty transports and supply vessels, commanded by Commodore Samuel F. DuPont.

“About a week before sailing our regiment embarked on an old steamship, which had been used for carrying cotton from New Orleans to New York. Patsy’s company happened to be assigned to the poorest quarters on the ship—the lower hold. The accommodations for 1,000 men were none too good, consequently, we had more or less sickness on board.

“Hearing one day that Patsy was ill, I went in search of him, and found him in a dark, poorly ventilated hole. He was a very sick boy. I took him up to my company’s quarters and put him into a berth near the hatchway, where he got better air, and, with a little care—the best we could give him under the circumstances, as we were then off Cape Hatteras and having very stormy weather—he soon recovered and in a few days he was himself again.

“It may not be out of place to relate here a little incident which took place one night during the height of the storm. About midnight the rain was coming down in sheets, the sea running high and the wind blowing a gale, when, in an instant, over went the old ship on her beam’s end. This caused quite a commotion among the boys—we were all called ‘boys’ then—some of whom rushed to the hatchway to get on deck, but were prevailed upon to remain below. One of the foremost of them, ‘Jim’ Burns, a countryman of mine, dropped on his knees on the stairs and commenced praying like a good fellow. The others quieted down and paid all due respect to Jim and his prayers. In a few minutes the ship righted again, and in a short time the worst of the storm was over.

“Next day things looked a little brighter and some of the boys thought they might have a little fun at Jim’s expense. Being First Sergeant of the company, they suggested that I appoint Jim Chaplain of the company, seeing he had made such a good prayer the night before. When I told him of their wishes, he looked at me with a twinkle in his eye and replied:

“‘No you don’t appoint me Chaplain. Let them go to the ‘divil,’ and do their own prayin’.’

179“After losing four of our supply vessels during the storm, we arrived at our destination on the morning of November 7, 1861, and witnessed the same day the bombardment and capture by the Navy of Fort Walker on Hilton Head, and Fort Beauregard on Bay Point, S. C. We landed on the ‘sacred soil’ late in the afternoon, our regiment taking possession of the abandoned rebel fortifications.

“I saw but little of Patsy after this. Active operations were soon commenced, our regiment was broken up and the companies scattered over the islands and swamps about Charleston and Savannah, where they took a prominent part in the following: Siege and surrender of Fort Pulaski, Ga., from January 1 to April 15, 1862; battle of Secessionville, James Island, near Charleston, June 16, 1862; battle of Pocotaligo, S. C., on the Charleston and Savannah Railroad, October 21, 1862; capture of Morris Island and Fort Wagner, and in the bombardment and memorable siege of Fort Sumter, 1863, and many other smaller engagements.

“In the spring of 1863 I met his captain (Brayton), who had been a Lieutenant in my company and afterward Colonel of the regiment, and asked him how ‘Patrick Egan’—that was the boy’s name—‘was getting along.’

“He answered, ‘Egan is getting along all right. He is one of my best boys. I have just made him a corporal.’

“The first time I met Patsy after this was on the disastrous battlefield of Olustee, Florida, February 20, 1864. He was then a Sergeant and had charge of a section of his battery, which was temporarily attached to a four-gun Battery M of the First United States Artillery. When I was ordered to retire from the field with the remnant of the battery in which I was then serving, E, Third United States Artillery, by the late Senator Hawley, who was then Colonel of the Seventh Connecticut, and Acting Brigadier-General, we passed near to where young Egan was, with his two guns in position.

“I rode up to him and exclaimed, ‘Patsy, what are you doing here?’

“His reply was, ‘We are doing the best we can.’

“Not seeing any officers present, I then said to him, ‘You had better get out of here as soon as possible, or you and your men and guns will all be captured.’

“He limbered up, withdrew a short distance and fired a few more 180shots of cannister which, I have no doubt, checked, at a critical moment, the advance of the enemy.

“It was now dark, and I believe these were the last guns fired at the Battle of Olustee, where the Union troops under Gen. Truman Seymour lost 1,900 men in killed, wounded and missing, and five pieces of artillery, out of a force of about 4,500 men engaged.

“The Confederates were supposed to have about 6,000 troops, commanded by General Finnegan, and their loss was reported to be little over 900.

“This engagement seemed to be more like an ambuscade than anything else. It was so unexpected—like a thunderclap out of a clear sky. We were marching leisurely through a swampy, thickly-wooded country from early morning until 3 p. m., when we came to a clearing and found the enemy, who had been retreating for several days, posted in a very strong, well-chosen position, partly intrenched and sheltered by thick woods, while we were exposed to their deadly fire in the open field, which accounts for the great difference in the losses.

“We retired in good order during the night and next day to Jacksonville, forty miles distant, with but little trouble from the ‘Johnnies.’ Here young Egan joined his own battery, turned over his section to the commanding officer and reported a loss of one man killed, six wounded and twelve horses killed or disabled. He was slightly wounded himself and had a horse shot under him. The battery to which his section was attached lost about thirty-five men in killed, wounded and missing and three out of their four guns.

“I will now quote an incident of camp life taken from his narrative of the Florida campaign:

“‘A few days after our arrival in Jacksonville the battery, together with Barton’s Brigade, was ordered to Palatka. Palatka is a small town seventy miles from Jacksonville, on the St. John’s River, and is, at the present time, a winter resort for invalids. It was here that the famous ‘cow incident’ took place, and ‘Who killed the cow?’ afterward became a by-word in the brigade, especially when Colonel Barton was within hearing distance.

“‘It came about in this way: When we occupied Palatka, the only white person in the village was an old lady, who had a fine residence, and Colonel Barton, the commander of the brigade, made his headquarters there. This woman had a very nice cow, the only one in the village, and Barton was dependent upon her for milk.

181“‘During the day the cow would feed in the dooryards and on the lawns, and sometimes she would come around to where Battery C was camped. One day some of the boys thought what a nice steak and liver they could get from the cow, and, at the same time, get square with Barton, he not being a favorite with the boys. They thought they might kill two birds with one stone by getting the steak and liver, and, at the same time, cut off Barton’s milk supply. So the next day, when the cow came along, one of the boys drove her into a back-yard near the camp, and, in a short time, that cow was a thing of the past.

“‘Steaks and liver were cut out for those who had done the work and for their friends, and the rest of the meat was sent to the cook house, where all had nice beef stew. Everything was all right until milking-time, when the cow failed to show up. Then the fun began. Men were sent out from headquarters and also from the Provost Marshal’s office to try to find the cow and to make inquiries.

“‘Of course, the men of Battery C knew nothing about her. But they were eventually suspected, for the next morning the Provost Marshal came to our quarters asking all sorts of questions. Some of the boys, including your humble servant, knew nothing about it and were sorry for the Colonel. The following morning Colonel Barton sent for the non-commissioned officers and told us that he was satisfied that the last seen of the cow was near Battery C’s camp. He also said that all he wanted was the name of the man who killed the cow, and that some of the non-commissioned officers must know something about it. He then asked each one the name of the man who killed the cow, but each denied all knowledge of it.

“‘Well, someone must have given the whole thing away, for the next day Captain James had the “assembly” blown and the company fell in. He then called the names of nine men, comprising one Sergeant, one Corporal, and seven privates. The Sergeant and Corporal were reduced to the ranks, and, with the other seven, were confined in the guard house, put on a diet of bread and water, and made a “spread eagle” of until someone should tell who killed the cow.

“‘Morning and evening they were asked who killed the cow, but they denied they knew who did it. This was carried on for three days, when someone put up a job with the pickets, and on the afternoon 182of the third day they began firing, the long roll was sounded and the prisoners were released to man the guns. No Johnnies appeared, it being a bluff to get the men released. They could not be punished again for the same offence, so thus ended the cow incident, but Colonel Barton never found out who killed the cow.

“‘In justice to Colonel Barton, who has joined the “Grand Army above,” I wish to say that I knew him very well and served under him for nearly a year, and found him to be a nice gentleman, a strict disciplinarian, a good and a brave officer. I will also state that I have good reason for believing that Comrade Egan took no part in “cutting off the Colonel’s milk supply” and that the old lady was compensated for the loss of the cow.’