Chapter XXII: Introduction (16)

We have no reason to hang our heads at the part which our people have played in the history of the United States. No element that enters into the cosmopolitan population of this country has contributed more in every quality that goes to make a great people than the Irish. We have given eloquence to the bar, dignity to the bench, learning and virtue to the pulpit, wisdom to the Senate, and glory to the sword. We were present at the birth of the Nation and sustained its infantile arms during the years of its struggle for liberty, sharing in the hardships of Valley Forge and in the glory of Yorktown. We fought with Jackson at New Orleans and with Perry in Lake Erie; stormed Chapultepec with Shields, rode from Winchester down the valley of Shenandoah with Sheridan; stormed Marye’s Heights with Meagher and his brigade, and later climbed the heights of San Juan with Buckey O’Neill and “Rafferty of ‘F’.” On every field the Irish marched to the battle-front side by side with the Puritan from New England, the Knickerbocker from New York, and the liberty-loving dweller of the rolling prairies of Iowa and Illinois. In the same deep grave they sleep “the silent sleep that knows no waking.” The snows of winter, like a winding sheet, lie coldly above them, and as each returning spring awakens into life and beauty the sleeping forces of nature, the green grass grows and the wild flowers bloom above their common grave.

I will close by quoting the following tributes to the Irish by men who were not of our race: Col. John Parke Custis, the adopted son of Washington, says: “Then honored be the old and good services of the sons of Erin in the war of Independence. Let the shamrock be entwined with the laurels of the Revolution; and truth and justice, guiding the pen of history, inscribe on the tablets of American remembrance: ‘Eternal gratitude to Irishmen.’”

Similar sentiments were expressed by the late Senator Bayard, in the Senate of the United States. “If,” said he, “the names of the men of Irish birth and of Irish blood who have dignified and decorated the annals of American history were to be erased from the record, how much of the glory of our country would be subtracted? In the list of American statesmen and patriots, theologians and poets, soldiers and sailors, priests and orators, what names shine with purer lustre or are mentioned with more respect than those of the men, past and present, we owe to Ireland. On that imperishable roll of honor, the Declaration of Independence, we find their names, and in the prolonged struggle that followed there was no battlefield from the St. Lawrence to the Savannah but was enriched with Irish blood shed in the cause of civil and religious liberty.”

THE REMINISCENCES OF AUGUSTUS SAINT-GAUDENS, ONE OF THE FIRST MEMBERS OF
THE SOCIETY, EDITED BY HIS SON, HOMER SAINT-GAUDENS, AND PUBLISHED
THROUGH THE COURTESY OF THE CENTURY MAGAZINE.

My father began his reminiscences in the early spring of 1906, while recovering from a surgical operation in the Corey Hill Hospital of Brookline, Massachusetts. As he had spent a most active life, he chafed at that confinement until this scheme was devised to pass his hours; whereupon, to his great amusement, he dictated the first quarter of the work. Later, after his return to Windsor, when, to his bitter disappointment, he found that he could not for any length of time remain on his feet to model, he continued to write at odd moments up to the middle of the summer.

The contents of my father’s text itself I have left intact, save where exceptionally rough; but the order of thought and anecdote, which was badly tangled, owing to the lack of revision, I have shifted back and forth into a semblance of methodical progression.

My father begins:

“Reminiscences are more likely to be tiresome than otherwise to the
readers of later generations; but among the consoling pleasures that
appear over the horizon as years advance is that of rambling away
about one’s past....

* * * * *

“I was born March 1, 1848, in Dublin, Ireland, near 37 Charlemount
Street. If that is not the house, no doubt the record in the nearest
Catholic church would give the number.”

My uncle, Mr. Louis Saint-Gaudens, who visited Dublin in the summer of 1890, found the building at number 35, near the head of Charlemount Street and not far from a bridge built over the canal which runs by the southeastern part of the city. There, under the trees that line the banks and in sight of the Wicklow Hills, my father as a baby must have been carried by my grandmother.

The reminiscences continue:

“My mother’s maiden name was Mary McGuiness. Of her ancestry I know
nothing except that her mother was married twice, the second time to a
veteran of the Napoleonic wars.”

My father’s maternal grandmother’s name was Daly. She married Arthur McGuiness, of whom it is only recalled that he worked in the Dublin plaster mills and that he was a Freemason. Neither of the couple lived to be old. Their daughter Mary McGuiness was born to them at Bally Mahon, County Longford.

To return to the autobiography:

“Of my mother’s family the only member of which I have had a glimpse
was her brother George McGuiness, whom I saw in Forsyth Street. I have
a daguerreotype of his delightfully kind and extremely homely face—a
face like a benediction, as I have heard some one describe it. He, of
all men, became the owner of two slaves in the South, and, judging
from a daguerreotype, married an equally homely and kindly-looking
woman. He was in some way connected with the navy yard at Pensacola.
The war cut off all further communication with him.

“Of my father’s birth and ancestry I am as ignorant as of my mother’s,
knowing only that his father was a soldier under Napoleon, who died
comparatively young and suddenly after what I suspect was a gorgeous
spree.”

My father’s paternal grandfather was called André Saint-Gaudens. His wife’s maiden name was Boy. Tradition has it that she sold butter and eggs in the market-place at Aspet, and that she became a miser, leaving under her bed upon her death the conventional box crammed with gold pieces.

The reminiscences continue:

“My father’s full name was Bernard Paul Ernest Saint-Gaudens; Bernard
Paul ‘Honeste,’ if you please, he called it later in life; it sounded
nicer. He was born in the little village of Aspet, about fifty miles
from Toulouse, at the foot of the Pyrenees, five miles south of the
town of Saint-Gaudens, in the arrondissement of Saint-Gaudens, in the
department of the Haute-Garonne, a most beautiful country, as the many
searchers for health at the baths of Bagnères-de-Luchon know.”...

Three years my grandfather passed in London and, later, seven years in Dublin before he met his future wife in the shoe store for which he made shoes and where she did the binding of slippers. There, previous to my father’s birth, two sons, George and Louis, died, George at the age of six, and Louis in infancy. But when my father was six months old, “red-headed, whopper-jawed, and hopeful,” as he would repeat, the famine in Ireland compelled his parents to go with him to America, setting out from Liverpool, England, in the sailing-ship _Desdemona_.

The autobiography goes on:

“Father told me that an overcrowded passenger-list prevented his
leaving Dublin with my mother, with me at her breast, in a ship named
the _Star of the West_ that burned at sea during the trip. But because
he told me this does not mean that it was so. His Gascon imagination
could give character or make beauty wherever these qualities were
necessary to add interest to what he was saying.

“They landed at Boston town probably in September, 1848, he a short,
stocky, bullet-headed, enthusiastic young man of about thirty, with
dark hair cf reddish tendencies and a light red mustache, she of his
height, with the typical long, generous, loving Irish face, with wavy
black hair, a few years his junior, and ‘the most beautiful girl in
the world,’ as he used to say.

“Leaving mother in Boston,—where, by the way, I am beginning this
account in the hospital fifty-six years afterward,—he started to find
work in New York. In six weeks he sent for her. He said we first lived
in Duane Street. Of this I knew nothing.

“From there we went to a house on the west side of Forsyth Street,
probably near Houston Street, where now is the bronze foundry in which
the statue of Peter Cooper which I modeled was cast forty-five years
later. There my brother Andrew was born on Hallowe’en in 1850 or 1851,
and there I made the beginning of my conscious life.

FRANCIS I. McCANNA, ESQ.,

of Providence, R. I.

A Valued Member of the Society.
]

“The beginnings of my father’s business were peculiar, since what
interested him infinitely more than his store were the two or three
societies to which he belonged and of which he was generally the
‘Grand Panjandrum.’ There were constant meetings of committees and
sub-committees when there were not general ones. The principal society
was the ‘Union Fraternelle Française,’ a mutual-benefit affair of
which he was one of the founders and for many years the leading
figure.”

My grandfather enjoyed as well the making of speeches at Irish festivals, where he would round off his conclusions with spirited perorations in the Gaelic tongue. Also he became an abolitionist, a “Black Republican,” during the Civil War; while, to involve matters still further, he was a Freemason who insisted on associating with the Negro Freemasons, and presiding at their initiations. The white Freemasons thereupon blacklisted him.

The reminiscences say of him:

“In the daytime, notwithstanding mother’s gentle pleadings, instead of
preparing work, he was constantly writing letters about these
societies, all naturally to the serious detriment of his affairs.

“Nevertheless, for so small an establishment, father had an
extraordinary clientèle, embracing the names of most of the principal
families in New York—Governor Morgan, General Dix, some of the Astors,
Belmonts and the wife of General Daniel E. Sickles.”

Horace Greeley also was a steady purchaser, for he delighted to wrangle with this argumentative shoemaker upon the philosophy of footwear.

The reminiscences continue:

“No doubt those who came were attracted by my father’s picturesque
personality, as well as by the fact that at that time everything
French was the fashion, and by the steadiness of his assurance as to
the superiority and beauty of his productions. His sign, ‘French
Ladies’ Boots and Shoes,’ must have been irresistible when taken
together with the wonderfully complex mixture of his fierce French
accent and Irish brogue. This bewildering language was just as bad at
the end of fifty years as when he first landed. In the family he spoke
English to mother and French to the three boys; we spoke English to
mother and French to him; mother spoke English to all of us.”

Moreover, further to adorn his discourse, my grandfather constantly embroidered his remarks with fantastic proverbs of uncertain and international origin. “As much use as a mustard plaster on a wooden leg,” he would say; or, “Sorry as a dog at his father’s funeral”; or “As handy with his hands as a pig with his tail”; or “A cross before a dead man”; or (and this my father repeated after him through all his life) “What you are saying and nothing at all is the same thing.”

“In addition, close to that time my mother’s cousin, John Daly, a marine on one of the United States government ships, paid us a visit, when he read to us in papers brought from Honolulu and showed us great walrus teeth that had come from the Pacific. And finally I can see myself among the other children who attended the Sunday school of St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Elizabeth Street.”

THE BATTLE OF COLLIERVILLE.

BY CAPT. P. J. CARMODY.

On a lovely October morning the battalion left Memphis by rail. It was the 11th day of the month,—Sunday—1863. The battalion consisted of the headquarter guard, with General Sherman and his staff, destined to reinforce Grant at Chattanooga. We got away from Memphis about ten o’clock, General Sherman, the staff and officers occupying the coaches. The rest of the battalion took places on top of the cars. Everything went smoothly enough until we got to Collierville, a small station about twenty-six or seven miles out of Memphis. I did not feel exactly right that morning; I had a premonition that something was going to happen, and, as first Sergeant of E Co., 13th U. S. Infantry, I was over-vigilant. I took particular pains to see that the men did not remove accoutrements.

Within something like a mile from Collierville, as the train panted along, I discovered three men riding hard towards the track. They were armed with crowbars instead of guns. One of our men let fly a shot at them, and the battalion was immediately in arms. The train stopped at the station. It was nearly mid-day, and no time was lost in action. The first work of General Sherman was to telegraph to Germantown, about twelve miles away, for hasty reinforcements, saying he had to cope with a division of Confederates numbering 3,100, with five pieces of artillery. It was the one opportunity of a generation for the Confederates to make a great capture; and the result would have been simple if those three men with crowbars and wire-cutting apparatus had got in their work in time. But it was not to be; fortune was on our side and the telegram for reinforcements reached its destination in time.

The battalion was detrained and ordered to form a line of battle. I will never forget that line. I looked to the right and to the left, scanning about two hundred and forty as good and brave officers and men as ever met an enemy. We marched in battle line two or three hundred yards from the train towards the enemy, and were ordered to lie down. We observed that communication was being made in the rebel lines with a flag of truce. This communication was received by Col. Irish, commander of the little dismantled fort, with 240 or 250 men stationed at that point. General Chalmers demanded the unconditional surrender of General Sherman, his troops and supplies. He added that refusal would mean a useless sacrifice of lives, because he had 3,100 cavalry, infantry and artillery in his command. What do you think your “Uncle Billy” said? “Give my compliments to General Chalmers,” said he, “and tell him that the government pays me to fight, not to surrender.”

As soon as the rebel aide rode back to his command, the ball opened with grape and cannister; but they overshot us and only a few were wounded. They threw four or five rounds into us, and the order was given to stand up and then to fall back on the fort and entrenchments. This was done in fairly good order, but let me tell you, comrades, we made awfully fast time in the three hundred yards to the fort. I cast the heel of my shoe—shot off.

The men were disposed of to the very best advantage. It was an easy matter to distribute the 240 of our battalion, and I suppose Col. Irish, with his six companies of the 66th Indiana, did not have much trouble in placing them where they would do most good. Well, here we were partially protected by rifle pits, a dismantled fort, and a train of cars—480 men against an army of 3,100. Comrades, think of it!

I had been paid at Memphis and I had two fifty dollar bills with me. I was so sure of being captured, I cut the sole of my shoe open and slipped the two fifties in there. I knew that if we were taken prisoners, they would shake us down; and made up my mind that the money would help my chances of escaping during the night if captured. It was hammer and tongs until about four o’clock in the afternoon.

This was the first time I had seen General Sherman under fire, and he was certainly worth watching. He was mad as a march hare at being trapped in such a manner; something was wrong in the line of communication—somebody had made a mistake. But he was Sherman all the time that afternoon. I could not help studying this remarkable man whenever I got the opportunity. Great as his anger was at the beginning, he became later on, calm and resolute. The interior of this earthwork contained about thirty or forty men and quite a number of cooks, waiters and followers of the headquarters’ guard. The general with his hat off in the broiling sun was a marvel to look at. When a man was shot he would get one of these headquarters’ employees and say to him: “Don’t you see that man is killed? Take his cartridge box and his gun and load it. Fight for your country, sir.”

I had four men with me in defending one point. Two were wounded, which left myself and two others, Privates Warner and Klineham. Pretty soon Warner was shot in the neck and killed instantly. The rebels had gotten in the trees around the fort, and were doing serious damage to those inside. The General was ever moving about, and I was afraid they would hit him. The only one of my companions from my company was shot in the breast, and, I supposed, mortally wounded. When he was hit he said to me, “Sergeant, give me my knapsack, I want to go home.” I said, “Harry, what is the matter?” “Huh,” he said, and pointed to his breast. The blood was spurting from his wound, and I put my finger to his back to find out if the ball had gone through. My finger sunk into a cavity, and I thought he was done for. I put him in a protected position and went direct to General Sherman, who was only a few feet away.

I said, “General, these men are being killed from the trees and you will surely be hit if you don’t keep under cover.” What do you suppose I got for an answer? “Sergeant,” said the General, “attend to your business, sir; attend to your business, I will take care of myself, sir.” I stopped at once making suggestions to the General as to his safety.

Of course, I was not in a position to see anything of the fighting outside. I was a “lone fisherman” guarding my post. I was the only one left.

The behavior of the battalion in the earthworks and other shelter enabled us to hold our own until reinforcements came about four o’clock. The first man to reach the fort and report to General Sherman was Col. Tim O’Meara and his orderly bearing a green Irish flag of the 90th Volunteer Irish regiment.

The advance of reinforcements caused the rebels to fall back—without Sherman and his “Little Battalion of Regulars,” as he always called them.

The next order of business was to look after the wounded and bury the dead, which was done as soon as possible. It was now dark. Officers were being congratulated by the General with instructions to convey these congratulations to their men.

A singular thing happened that night. A captured rebel lieutenant was shot through the kneecap, which was shattered by the ball. Amputation about the knee was necessary. He waited calmly until his turn came to be treated. He was a fine handsome fellow. I felt sorry for him. He was a large heavy man. I helped put him on the improvised operating table and held his limb while the surgeon was taking it off. He wore high, cavalry boots up to the knee. In removing the boot, I discovered a paper inside. It was a pass through the lines for the day before. This man was evidently the spy who brought news of Sherman’s departure for Iuka, Sunday morning.

In conclusion I think we did a good day’s work, even if it was the Sabbath day. The 13th U. S. Infantry and the 66th Indiana Volunteers are entitled to equal credit in this memorable engagement. They displayed the highest soldierly qualities and genuine American manhood.

After we had taken an invoice of the humanity on hand, we found that we had lost in killed, wounded and missing a little over twenty-five per cent. of our command. I shall never forget the moment I saw that green flag and poor Colonel O’Meara saluting the General after the battle of Collierville. Being an Irishman myself, I naturally felt proud that the flag of the Emerald Isle had led the way to help save Sherman.

MEMORIAL TO ROBERT EMMET.

A unique memorial to Robert Emmet, to be erected by the subscriptions of Americans of Irish birth or descent, is proposed by Miss Anna Gallagher of Boston, Mass., to take the form of a ship to bear the name of the Irish patriot.

It is proposed that the craft shall be a combination of merchantman and steamship to ply between ports in Ireland and America for the transportation of Irish merchandise and passengers.

Miss Gallagher and those who are associated with her in the project intend that the Robert Emmet shall be built in an Irish shipyard, probably Belfast, by Irish workmen, and the materials used in the vessel’s construction shall be of Irish production or manufacture. The furnishings of the vessel are also to be of Irish make.

Laying patriotism and sentiment aside, the promoters of the enterprise hope to open a wider market and create a more general demand for the products and manufactured articles of the Emerald Isle.

For three months each year the Robert Emmet will be used for a vacation ship, enabling those who so desire to take an ocean voyage in comparative luxury at an expense, the promoters claim, less than that now demanded for steerage passage by the regular steamship lines. All passengers will be carried in one class and one rate.

Miss Gallagher is the originator of the Daniel O’Connell memorial, which is to take the form of a building somewhere in Boston or its suburbs for business or other purposes, including a hall of fame to perpetuate the memory of great Irish men.

CELTIC CROSS ON IRISH FAMINE VICTIMS’ GRAVE.

In the presence of about 7,000 American and Canadian Irishmen a monument was unveiled and dedicated at Grosse Isle, Quebec, Aug. 15, 1909, to commemorate the spot where 12,000 Irish immigrants, victims of the famine fever and the ship fever of 1847–48, are buried in the long trenches at the Quarantine Station on Grosse Isle, in the St. Lawrence River, forty miles from Quebec. The monument is a beautiful Celtic cross and it was erected by the Ancient Order of Hibernians. The solemn ceremony was attended by many prominent Americans and Canadians of Irish blood.

The story which the monument will bring to the new people flocking to this great country will be a story filled not only with the heart’s blood of a great race, but with undying evidence of the equal faith, charity and hospitality of the French, who were the first settlers on these shores. A tale of terror and suffering, of faith and courage, of devotion to fellowman and unswerving loyalty to the faith of their fathers under the most bitter adversity is entwined about the great cross which now stands to mark the graves of ten thousand unknown martyrs.

Dignitaries of the Church, high officials of state, priests and laymen, Irish and French, humble and of high degree, stood side by side beneath the open sky, or kneeled silently before the great cross with but one thought—the honor of the martyrs who had died for their faith. To do honor to their memories men had gathered from a score of Provinces and States; many had traveled thousands of miles. Awe inspiring in its solemnity, the scene carried to every bowed heart a meaning far beyond the words of the speakers and left a mark which should last through a lifetime. A new epoch, a renewal of faith and brotherly love, was begun, and few there were in attendance who will not carry the spirit of the great gathering with them into daily life.

From every standpoint the great ceremony was a success. Not a flaw occurred in the arrangements or their execution. In spite of the comparative inaccessibility of Grosse Isle, every man, woman or child who wished to attend the ceremonies was provided for. A perfect day smiled on the scene, as boat after boat, crowded with passengers, left Quebec in the early morning. No one was left. No accident marred the occasion. Thousands had gathered in the city during the day and night. Special trains from Ottawa and Montreal brought their quota of members of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, of church dignitaries and government officials.

To the untiring zeal and energy of the A. O. H. officials was due the success of the great undertaking. P. Keane, P. Doyle, T. Heavers, P. Scullion, T. Heaney, J. Foley, H. N. Morrow, H. Cundy and other officers of the order in Montreal were in charge of the excursion from there. Having already taken a leading part in the movement with the national convention of the order in Indianapolis last year, which resulted in the decision to erect the great memorial cross, these men were vitally interested in the successful completion of the plan and their efforts were fully rewarded.

The train from Montreal, carrying a delegation of several hundred, left Saturday night, and the party arrived in Quebec by six o’clock Sunday morning. There they scattered about the old town until the sailing of the boats, between nine and ten o’clock.

From Ottawa almost an equally large delegation was in attendance. From Toronto, Winnipeg and other cities representatives of the Ancient Order of Hibernians flocked to the great celebration, and many States contributed their quota. As far away as Colorado branches of the order sent representatives, while four delegates traveled from Winnipeg. The States represented were Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Vermont, New York, Wisconsin and Colorado.

The sail down the river from Quebec to Grosse Isle was a fitting prelude to the program which followed. Forming at the wharf on Grosse Isle the procession, headed by the band, moved toward the cemetery. Following were the Hibernian Knights of Montreal, Halifax, St. John, etc., the Hibernian Cadets of Montreal and Quebec, the National Board and officers, Hibernians of Montreal, Quebec and other cities, clergy, altar boys, invited guests and congregation. There Low Mass was celebrated by Father Hanley, C. SS. R., and following the sermon and attendant ceremonies the vast audience moved to the high promontory of Telegraph Hill, where the granite cross with its tablets overlooked the placid river.

Almost more impressive than the scene of the kneeling thousands before the open altar near the old cemetery was the scene at the foot of the great cross. Chief among the speakers at the monument was the Hon. Charles Murphy, Secretary of State. Introduced by Chairman C. J. Foy as a man who needed no introduction for his prominence in the country and his rise to power and influence, Mr. Murphy took the platform facing the cross and the broad expanse of the river, with the eager audience gathered in a natural amphitheater on the rock at his feet.

Tears came very near the surface as Mr. Murphy opened his address with the reading of a telegram which he had received from Vancouver, B. C., a day or two before. “This telegram,” he said, “means to me the undying loyalty and devotion of the Irish people, and coming as it does from a family scattered throughout the continent, for the memory of a grandmother long since dead, is particularly touching and typical.”

The telegram is self-explanatory. It follows:

VANCOUVER, B. C., Aug. 11, 1909.

HON. CHARLES MURPHY:

Our beloved grandmother Graham was one of the fever victims of 1847.
Enclose $10 for flowers for the monument, and accept thanks of,

JAMES HARRISON BROWNLEE,
(_Prov. Surveyor, Vancouver_).
ARCHIBALD GRAHAM BROWNLEE,
(_Mining Engineer, Denver, Colo._).
MRS. STANTON,
_Chicago_.

Continuing Mr. Murphy took as the keynote of his address the fact that the monument now stood as much an evidence of an enduring bond between the Irish and the French as it did to the memories of the martyrs whose graves it marked.

Sir Charles Fitzpatrick, Chief Justice, also spoke briefly at the monument. The whole terrible tragedy was a manifestation of faith and loyalty, said he, which has helped and through the ages will help men to die as men should, or live as men should.

Continuing, he thanked the Papal Delegate and the Lieutenant-Governor for their presence and closed with the remark: “Ireland has not been desecrated and persecuted for nothing. It is her pride and her glory but to point to the Cross.”

At the early services at the open altar near the old cemetery the Rev. Father Maguire, Provincial Chaplain, A. O. H., preached an eloquent sermon, telling of the trials and sufferings of the ship fever victims and the devotion of the priests.

Mr. C. J. Foy, National Director A. O. H., presiding at the ceremonies at the monument, made a stirring address. Speaking briefly of the history of Ireland, he drew the great fact that though always persecuted, and always hounded, the Irish had never bowed in submission, and had never allowed a stain upon their religion or upon their homes. In this he cited the French as a nation of similar pride.

Mr. Matthew Cummings, National President of the A. O. H., made a touching and eloquent address, citing points in Irish history showing the sadness of the nation’s history.

Mr. J. Turcotte, M. P., delivered an effective speech in French, expressing the sympathy of the French Canadians with the Irish, their admiration for the abiding faith and their pleasure in assistance at this memorial for their martyrs.

A short address in Gaelic by Major McCrystal, National Director A. O. H., concluded the speeches.

Monsignor Sbaretti, Papal Delegate, then blessed the cross and the ceremonies were at an end.

Returning to Quebec in the early evening, the beauty and solemnity of the sunset on the river lent the final touch of grandeur to the day. In Quebec the delegations scattered and took their various trains during the course of the evening.

Among the prominent men present were Monsignor Sbaretti, Papal Delegate; Lieutenant-Governor Pelletier, Sir Charles Fitzpatrick, Chief Justice; Hon. Charles Murphy, Secretary of State; Mr. M. Cummings, National President, A. O. H.; the Hon. E. B. Devlin, M. P.; the Hon. C. R. Devlin, J. A. Turcotte, M. P.

Beautiful floral pieces were presented by the provincial government, the Ste. Jean Baptiste Society of Montreal and Ste. Jean Baptiste Society of Quebec, and an anchor from Mrs. Lemieux of Quebec.

IRISH PIONEERS IN SPRINGFIELD, MASS.

The early history of the Irish in Springfield and vicinity is of deep interest to those who are in sympathy with the sturdy people who are so important an element in our City, State and Nation. There are revelations in even a cursory insight into early Irish history hereabouts. Few persons imagine how early Irish people were settled in the vicinity of Springfield.

In “The Irish Pioneers of the Connecticut Valley,” by Edward A. Hall, and published in the “Papers and Proceedings of the Connecticut Valley Historical Society,” one may learn of the earliest records of the Irish in this vicinity. In 1684 Henry Chapin sold sixteen acres of land on the west side of the Connecticut to John Riley and this was described as “north of the Riley tracts,” so this was not the first land hereabouts owned by an Irishman. This is part of the so-called “Ireland parish” and the present site of the Brightside home. Miles Morgan made his mark upon the deed in the form of a pickaxe in witnessing it and it was recorded by John Holyoke.

It is probable that the Irish who were in New England at that time were those who came, under the contract made in 1642, to supply three hundred men and two hundred and fifty women in the prime of life for immigration to New England. These Irish men and women were drawn from near Cork, Kerry, Waterford, Wexford and Tipperary, from the purest blood of the south of Ireland. The early Irish who came to this city and vicinity probably numbered among them some who were in this first large migration to New England. Other towns about Springfield were able sooner to support a Catholic Church, for until about 1840 Springfield was a mission of Hartford or Chicopee. Rev. George Reardon, the first pastor, was not a resident pastor, but lived in Worcester and conducted many missions for miles about. Rev. John Dougherty, who came from Boston in 1848, was the first resident pastor. A house for him on Howard street was bought from Noah Porter.

The first church was bought of the Baptists and moved by George Dwight from its location at the corner of Maple and Mulberry streets to the corner of Willow and Union streets. This was bought in 1846 and cost $3,500. The lot on Union street added another $1,000 to the expense of getting the little seventy by forty-five foot church ready for the first Catholic services held in Springfield in a church building. Pastors from Hartford and other places had for years before this said Masses in the open air or in homes. But even with the starting of the new St. Benedict’s Church there was interruption of the regular services. The first resident pastor remained but three years, and for a time another could not be secured, services being conducted by the Chicopee priest.

Many Springfield Catholics walked to Sunday morning services at Cabot, now Chicopee Center. Rev. Michael P. Gallagher, the next priest, was the early Catholic clergyman here whose work was of the deepest importance. He bought in 1860 the property at the corner of State and Elliott streets, which has been added to until it has reached its present size and importance. Father Gallagher was a keen business man. The numbers of the Irish in Springfield increased rapidly during the second quarter of the nineteenth century. Two localities where the first Irish gathered their little houses were Ferry street and along old Mechanics row, which ran between Howard and Bliss streets. Some of these people came all the way from Ireland to the back yards of their future homes by boat. Irish residents of Springfield now can recall relatives of theirs who came from Ireland to New York, New York to Hartford and from Hartford to Springfield in little steamboats.

William Hart and Mrs. Timothy Kenefick came from Ireland in the same vessel in 1833, and records say that their children were the first Irish-Americans baptized in the city. Fathers Reardon and Brady performed the ceremonies at the time, when Mass was being said there once a month or so in the family of some Catholic. The numbers of Irish coming from their native country to America rapidly increased because of the inducements which labor held out in the building of railroads and the demand for factory employees caused by the rapid development of the country. The famine of 1847 caused a veritable stampede to America. It is said that there were twelve hundred Irish Catholics in the city when Rev. M. P. Gallagher took the pastorate in 1856.

There were well-known names among the early Irish who lived in Springfield. One of the most famous of these was Gen. Robert Emmet Clary, who fought in the Civil War. He and his brothers and his sisters were born in the home of their father, which was situated on Benton Park, at the corner of State and Federal streets. The father, Ethan Allen Clary, was a well-known figure in Indian wars and in the war of 1812, when he was Commissary of the Port of Boston. John Mulligan, president of the Connecticut River Railroad, was a well-known Irish-American. He came to the city nearly seventy years ago from Hartford, where his father lived. He was the first child of Irish parents born in that city. Mr. Mulligan came to Springfield to work for the Western Railroad and later came to be chief executive of the Connecticut River road, which was later absorbed by the Boston and Maine.

Those who remember the early Irish as they were characteristically are filled with astonishment at the contemplation of what some of the descendants of those people have become. Along in the first of the time the Irish were in Springfield in large numbers almost all of them were laborers. The men were employed any way that they could earn money without much skill. Many of the women were employed as servants. There was hardly an Irishman in business and for years not one in a profession. Many remember Malley’s little dry goods store, which was near where the Gilmore hotel is now, and which was burned in the big fire which took the Haynes Opera House. For years there was also a little shoe store on Main street, between Harrison avenue and Hilman street, kept by James Burke.

No one needs to have pointed to him the contrast which the virility of those early Irish have made possible in their descendants. Irish are in every activity of the city life, and the best of them are filling creditably positions in every profession and business.

CONFERENCE WITH THE VICE-PRESIDENT FROM VIRGINIA AND MEMBERS OF THE
SOCIETY FROM THAT STATE.

In response to an invitation from Capt. James W. McCarrick, Vice-President of the Society for Virginia, to the general officers for a conference at Norfolk, Va., to discuss ways and means of adding to the Society’s membership rolls from the lists of eligible Americans of Irish blood in that State, President-General Quinlan, Chairman Lenehan of the Membership Committee, and the Secretary-General visited Norfolk June 24th last and were met at the steamship wharf by Capt. McCarrick, General McGinnis and Mr. John Burke, and were escorted to the Virginia Club, which was made headquarters during the day.

After a short visit to points of interest throughout the city the party returned to the club and from there went to Ocean View, where they were joined by Hon. Joseph T. Lawless, Mr. John O’Connell, Mr. George Maxwell of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, President W. R. Boutwell of the Pilot Association, and Capt. Foster of the William A. Graves Company, where a bountiful southern dinner was served, which for novelty and excellence was greatly appreciated by all present.

Further consideration of the work of the Society took place, and speeches were made of an encouraging nature by all present and plans laid for a campaign of membership in Virginia.

The party dispersed late that afternoon, and the officers returned to their homes in the north well pleased with their visit.

SPLENDID ACHIEVEMENT IN ILLINOIS.

No less enthusiasm in the good work of swelling the ranks of the American Irish Historical Society is displayed by the Illinois Chapter thereof, and it is with great pleasure we are able to state the results of the excellent work done in that regard.

On October 19th, 1909, in response to a call from Vice-President Moloney, a meeting of the Illinois members was held at the Auditorium Annex in the city of Chicago, and, as a result of that meeting, fifty-one members of high standing and ability were enrolled on our books, forty-two of whom thus far have qualified.

To Mr. Moloney is due most of the credit for obtaining these valuable acquisitions to our membership roll, and the thanks of the Society are hereby tendered him for the ability and painstaking efforts expended in its behalf. Our roster for Illinois is a constant reminder of the noble work accomplished by him, and a no more fitting tribute to his interest in the welfare of the Society can be paid than the character of the individuals whom he has submitted for membership and who represent the highest type of American citizenship.

GOOD NEWS FROM CALIFORNIA.

The Knights of St. Patrick, one of the most worthy and respected organizations on the Pacific Slope, composed of Irish Americans, who are not only interested in the land from which their ancestors came but in the United States and its institutions, conceived a plan in April last to bring together a number of leading citizens who would become members of the American Irish Historical Society, with a view to joining in its work and if possible forming a State Chapter thereof.

Capt. James Connolly, Vice-President of the Society for California, and John Mulhern, Secretary of the Knights of St. Patrick, with earnest and most commendable effort discussed their plans with various individuals, and on February 17, 1910, sent the names of the following gentlemen to Treasurer-General Dooley, with checks for membership fees:

February 17th, 1910.

R. C. O’Connor, 1835 Scott St., San Francisco, Cal.
Thomas V. O’Brien, Haywards Hotel, Haywards, Cal.
Jeremiah Deasy, 808 Cole St., San Francisco, Cal.
P. F. McGrath, 709 Castro St., San Francisco, Cal.
J. S. McCormick, 1524 Masonic Ave., San Francisco, Cal.
Thomas I. Dillon, 712 Market St., San Francisco, Cal.
J. F. Gibbons, M. D., 1944 California St., San Francisco, Cal.
Thomas F. McGrath, 215 Parnassus Avenue, San Francisco, Cal.
Joseph Patrick O’Ryan, 4381 17th St., San Francisco, Cal.
John H. McGinney, 766 McAllister St., San Francisco, Cal.
Dr. R. B. Corcoran, Presidio, San Francisco, Cal.
James D. Phelan, Phelan Building, San Francisco, Cal.
John F. Seymour, 52 Pierce St., San Francisco, Cal.
Eugene McCoy, 80 Liberty St., San Francisco, Cal.
Neal Power, Mills Building, San Francisco, Cal.
William F. Stafford, Grant Building, San Francisco, Cal.
Rt. Rev. D. J. O’Connell, 1100 Franklin St., San Francisco, Cal.
Joseph S. Tobin, Hibernia Bank, San Francisco, Cal.
James H. Barry, 1122 Mission St., San Francisco, Cal.
J. H. Dignan, 774 Cole St., San Francisco, Cal.
Richard Bunton, 1148 O’Farrell St., San Francisco, Cal.
Martin W. Fleming, 3821 Sacramento St., San Francisco, Cal.
Dr. William B. Howard, 400 Stanyan St., San Francisco, Cal.
Dr. J. H. O’Connor, 2572 California St., San Francisco, Cal.
Robert P. Troy, Call Building, San Francisco, Cal.
Peter O’Reilly, 835 Octavia St., San Francisco, Cal.
Maurice J. McNellis, 115 Fell St., San Francisco, Cal.
Judge Daniel C. Deasy, Mills Building, San Francisco, Cal.

LIFE MEMBERS.

James V. Coleman, 711 Balboa Building, San Francisco, Cal.
John Mulhern, 140 Second St., San Francisco, Cal.

Immediately upon receipt of the applications for membership a copy of Volume VIII of the Journal of the Society, published in 1909, was sent to each of the new members, and a personal letter written apprising each member of the work and purposes of the Society and asking for biographical sketches.

At a meeting of the Executive Council held in New York March 12th last the efforts of Vice-President Connolly and Mr. Mulhern being called to its attention, a unanimous vote of appreciation and thanks was directed to be extended to these gentlemen. As the Knight of St. Patrick is a Life Member of the Society, it was also voted that the thanks and appreciation of the Society go forth to it as a body for the assistance it rendered in adding to our membership rolls this list of eminent men.

* * * * *

As an evidence of the appreciation of the work of our Society and the desire of gentlemen to join it, we cite the case of a gentleman high in banking and financial circles in one of the western states, who was so much impressed with what we are doing that he sent in his application for membership, accompanied by his membership fee, and in a few days later sent in an application, again accompanied by check.

HON. EDWARD D. WHITE,

Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.

A Friend of the Society.
]

MISCELLANEOUS.

(COMPILED BY THE SECRETARY-GENERAL FROM MATERIALS FURNISHED DURING THE
YEAR BY MEMBERS OF THE SOCIETY.)

For information concerning Irishmen in the Civil War, persons desirous of enlightenment may consult with profit any of the following publications:

“Journal of the American Irish Historical Society,” Volumes I to IX.

“American Irish Historical Miscellany,” by John D. Crimmins.

“The Irish Ninth of Massachusetts in Bivouac and War,” by MacNamara.

“The Gallant Sixty-Ninth,” by F. S. Root.

“Life of Thomas Francis Meagher,” by Cavanaugh.

“Irish Soldiers,” by Colonel McGee.

“Life of General Sweeny,” by William M. Sweeny.

“The Irish Brigade,” by D. P. Conyngham.

“The Irish in America,” by Maguire.

“The Irish Race in America,” by Condon.

HONOR FOR CAPT. G. S. ANTHONY.

Mr. Dennis H. Tierney, who was active in the collection of funds for Capt. George S. Anthony, of New Bedford, received a very nice letter from the Captain and in return sent him a letter of which the following is a part:

“WATERBURY, CONN., December 8, 1909.

“_Captain George S. Anthony, New Bedford, Mass._:

“_My Dear Captain_—I received your kind letter of the 4th inst.
containing the endorsed checks which the contributors to your fund
desire to hold as souvenirs. A press of business prevented me from
replying at once. It is indeed a great pleasure for me to be among the
Irish gentlemen who have contributed towards the creation of a fund
which will release the mortgage from the home of a man who exposed
himself to the dangers incidental to the rescue of Irish political
prisoners who were confined in bondage in western Australia; ‘their
only crime being love of country,’ and for that brave and meritorious
service in their rescue which occurred April 17th, 1876; and in
reviewing the danger which you and your companions in a small boat
were exposed to on that stormy night of April 17th, 1876, it is an
incident worthy of the brush of Raphael and the pens of Moore and
Davis; even those great geniuses in their respective professions would
inadequately portray the thrilling incident, and therefore it is with
pride and pleasure that I, an Irishman, extend to you the right hand
of fellowship, and I believe my countrymen the world over are in
sympathy with me in it and do approve of my act.”

Previous to going to New Bedford on December 17, the delegation, headed by Lawrence H. O’Brien and Mr. Tierney, paid a visit to headquarters in Providence, where they met Hon. Jno. W. Cummings of Fall River and Hon. Harry C. Curtis of Providence, and discussed the object of their visit to New Bedford, where they made formal presentation to Capt. Anthony of a check for $1,037.

THE FRENCH CAMP AT WATERBURY.

Mr. D. H. Tierney, vice-president of the Society for Connecticut, has erected on the camp ground of the French army to commemorate its march through Waterbury, Conn., enroute to Yorktown, June 27, 1781, a handsome monument of rustic construction with a good foundation, securely cemented and with a polished granite slab on top on which the following words are cut: “Camp of the French Army enroute to Yorktown, June 27, 1781.” The date of the erection of the monument is cut on the lower left-hand corner which is “1904.” Mr. Tierney writes:

“The erection of this monument brought out and emphasized the fact
that in the French army there were a large contingent of Irishmen. At
the unveiling exercises, the monument was draped with the American,
French and Irish flags. An American boy raised the American flag; a
French boy raised the French flag; and my son, Mark Tierney, raised
the Irish flag. At the unveiling of the monument, we had a large
gathering of representatives of patriotic societies and citizens, and
it was learned for the first time that in the French army there was a
large delegation of Irishmen who participated with the French in
helping the continentals to throw off the English yoke. It created
such a controversy that I was compelled many times to give authentic
proof concerning the fact that there were Irishmen in the French army
on that occasion.

“At the time of the erection of this monument, I entertained hopes
that others along the route of the French army would see fit to erect
monuments in the different states commemorating the march of the
French army while enroute to Yorktown.”

COUNTY NAMES OF IRISH ORIGIN.

Eight of the counties of North Carolina are called after plain Irishmen: Burke, from Governor Thomas Burke, born in Galway; Harnett, from Cornelius Harnett, a member of the Continental Congress, born in Dublin; Dobbs, for Gov. Arthur Dobbs, born in Carrickfergus; Rowan, for Robert Rowan, a Colonial President of the Council, also a native of Carrickfergus; Montgomery, for Gen. Richard Montgomery of Donegal; Moore, for Gov. Maurice Moore, a distinguished Colonial soldier; Rutherford, for General Griffith Rutherford of the Revolution, and Davidson, for William Davidson. The places of birth of the last three are not given, but their biographers say they were natives of Ireland. In addition Gaston, Jackson, McDowell and Wayne counties, N. C., were named in honor of descendants of Irishmen.

In Maryland are Baltimore, Carroll, Garrett, Montgomery, and Talbot counties. Baltimore got its name from an Englishman, of course, but he got it from Baltimore, County Longford. Talbot was named after George Talbot of Castle Rooney, County Roscommon, the founder (in 1680) of extensive colonial estates in Maryland, called New Connaught, which with New Munster and New Leinster were subdivisions of a larger territory called New Ireland, and now embraced in Hartford and Cecil counties, Maryland, and part of New Castle county, Delaware.

In Michigan are Antrim, Clare, Roscommon and Wexford, Barry, Calhoun, Clinton, Emmet, Jackson, Macomb and Wayne counties.

Twelve states of the Union have embalmed the name of Carroll, eleven that of Calhoun, eight that of Butler and six that of Sullivan in the nomenclature of their counties. Carroll was the famous “Signer”; Calhoun a Vice-President of the United States, the son of Patrick Calhoun of Donegal; Butler, the distinguished Major-General, one of five officers of the Revolutionary Army, all brothers, and all but one born in Ireland, and Sullivan was the famous Major-General from New Hampshire, son of John Sullivan, a County Kerry schoolmaster.

San Patricio County, Texas, was named by a Spanishized Irishman, and it is not unlikely that Patrick County in Virginia was called after some Irish “Paddy.”

There are counties in the United States named O’Brien, Conway, Ulster, Kearny, Kane, McDonough, McKean, Fergus, Meagher, Harney, McHenry, Taney, Shannon, Sheridan, Dunn, McCurtain, Sharkey, Walsh and many others of similar origin. In Texas are Callahan, Nolan, Reagan, Donley, McMullen, McLennon, Dawson, Calhoun, Cochran, Crockett, Fannin, Gillespie, Hayes, Jackson, Jasper and Montgomery counties.

In Georgia, Burke, Bryan, Carroll, Coffee, Calhoun, Dawson, Dooly, Dougherty, Earley, Fannin, Fulton, Glynn, Brady, Hart, Heard, Jackson, Jasper, McDuffie, Montgomery, Pickens, Talbot and Wayne. Eleven of these counties were called after native Irishmen who were prominent at one time or another in the Cracker State. In Kentucky there are no less than twenty-five counties, ten of which were named in honor of natives of the Green Isle, and fifteen from descendants of Irish pioneers, while in Kansas there are fourteen bearing Irish names.

Indian names are in the majority in the nomenclature of our counties.

HONOR FOR ENSIGN MONAGHAN.

One of the torpedo boat destroyers recently authorized by Congress will be named Monaghan, in memory of Ensign John Robert Monaghan, U. S. N., who was killed on April 1, 1899, by hostile natives in Samoa while engaged in a reconnaissance made by a combined force of British and Americans.

Ensign Monaghan was at that time attached to the Philadelphia. The expedition ashore was in charge of Lieutenant Lansdale. Ensign Monaghan stood steadfast by his wounded superior and friend—one rifle against many—one brave man against a score of savages. He knew he was doomed. He could not yield. He died in heroic performance of duty.

Ensign Monaghan was appointed to the Naval Academy on September 7, 1891, from the State of Washington. He was a son of Hon. James Monaghan, a member of the Society, who kindly contributed to the Society’s library a valuable and interesting work entitled “Life of John Robert Monaghan, the Hero of Samoa.”

MICHAEL HOGAN NAMED “CLAREMONT.”

Reminiscence of early New York days, when all of the upper west side fronting the river was occupied by the summer homes of the wealthy downtown merchants, were revived by the announcement last December that the last plot of land owned by the Post estate had been sold. The historic Claremont house, which for over half a century has been noted as a public house where the good things of life have been dispensed to the elite of the town, was for many years the summer home of the Post family.

The Claremont House, although removed from its original site several years ago when Riverside Park was laid out in 1872, is now the only one of these old-fashioned residences that remains very much in its original appearance.