Chapter D: M. Carter (2)

The provincial authorities were anxious to attract immigrants to open up the virgin forest and extend the bounds of their domain, so we find them in communication with the government agents in England and Ireland, offering the most flattering inducements to all who desired to settle in the new country.

Farmers, artisans and agricultural laborers were particularly needed, while they objected to the importation of convicts and other undesirable persons. Irish political refugees were sometimes classed as “convicts,” and while the provincial history, supported by other testimony of an indubitable character, indicates that great numbers of Irish “convicts” settled in Virginia, it is seen that once they had landed on the soil, they were, in a manner, “tolerated” and permitted to stay, and accordingly were parcelled out among the planters and others who needed the services of able-bodied men.

The privations suffered by those imported Irish “convicts” under the vassalage of their colonial masters are, in some cases, beyond description, and would shake the credulity of the most sympathetic. Many of them occupied even lower positions than the Southern slaves of a later day. Not only were they the tillers of the soil, the woodsmen of the forest, and the builders of the highways, but they occupied “the firing line” in the resistance of the planters to the attacks of the savage redskins. Here where the ravages of the Indians were so terrible, these Irishmen and boys, so rudely torn from their own country, inflicted on savagery many a mortal blow and opened the way for the civilization whose fruits we now enjoy.

The continued cry for settlers attracted the avarice of many of the Cromwellian adventurers in Ireland, who thus became most efficient aids in carrying on the barbarous work of the English commissioners, who were appointed by government to exterminate the Irish.

As Prendergast relates in his _Cromwellian Settlement of Ireland_, they had agents actively engaged throughout Ireland, “who were authorized by Parliament to seize women, orphans and the destitute to be transported to Barbadoes and the plantations of Virginia.” Among the destitute were those whose ancient properties had been confiscated by the crown and many of whom had become wanderers over the stricken island, or had become inmates of the workhouses. “The commissioners for Ireland,” says Prendergast, “issued orders to the governors of garrisons to deliver all prisoners of war; to the jail-keepers for all offenders in their custody; to the masters of workhouses for the destitute in their care, and gave directions to all in authority to seize those who had no visible means of livelihood and deliver them to the British agents.” All unfortunates who were thus caught were quickly conducted to the waterside and there herded like so many cattle until such time as a sufficient number had been gathered in to embark them on board some ship bound for the West Indies or the coast of Virginia.

Some of the English adventurers in Ireland also engaged in the business of man-hunting on their own account, and we find from the records of Virginia that on April 12, 1621, Sir William Newce, an English officer who resided in the County of Cork, wrote to the governor “offering to transport two thousand persons to Virginia.” The same records indicate that Daniel Gookin, an Irish Quaker merchant of Cork City, was in the business of transporting cattle from Ireland to Virginia. On one occasion, he came in person to the colony, and, seeing the probable advantages of a permanent settlement in the country, he sailed from Cork in the _Flying Harte_ with a large number of his countrymen, who, we are told, “were exceedingly well furnished with all sorts of provisions and cattle,” and landed at Newport News in November, 1621.

Notwithstanding that the records of Virginia say that this large colony came from Ireland, they are referred to by historians, who at all make reference to them, as “English.” The fact that they were so “well furnished” would also indicate that Ireland sent forth other colonizers to America in those early days besides the “convicts” and the “destitute.”

In the “Records of the London Company” (the Proprietors of Virginia), Daniel Gookin is mentioned as having undertaken “to transport great multitudes of people and cattle to Virginia,” and as having “received patents for 300 people.” The records do not state from where this large colony came, but, from the fact that their leader had formerly been a merchant in the city of Cork, from where his first contingent sailed, it is entirely within the bounds of probability that the second colony was largely, if not entirely, composed of Munstermen.

In 1622 many of the colonists were massacred by Indians, after which the remainder were ordered to abandon the outlying plantations and to concentrate their forces about the stronger ones. Gookin’s Irish settlement, which had been located near the mouth of the James River, back of Newport News, was one of those ordered to be abandoned, but he refused to obey the order, and, “gathering together his dependants, who by that time numbered only 35, he remained at his post, to his great credit and the content of his adventurers.” (Stith’s _History of Virginia_.)

In 1637 Gookin received a grant of 2,500 acres of land in Upper Norfolk, now Nansemond County, and in 1642 he was appointed commander of the county. The court records show, under date of May 24, 1642, that “Daniel Gookin, late of Ireland,” was still a resident of Upper Norfolk County. His son, Daniel, left Virginia for Massachusetts, where he became superintendent of Indian Affairs, with the title of major-general. He was also the author of a history of the Indians. It is said that his descendants are now very numerous in the United States.

Neill, in his _History of the English Colonization of America_, a most authoritative work, gives in full a sermon preached at Bowe Street Church in London in 1622, by a famous clergyman named Rev. Patrick Copland, who had been employed by the East India Company in Barbadoes. In this sermon he referred to “a fleete of nine sayle of ships that not one person out of 800 who had been transported out of England and Ireland for the plantations of Virginia, had met with any mishap by the way.”

In a footnote to the remarks of the preacher, the historian in referring to the great exodus from Ireland to the American colonies, remarks that “Ireland has always been a hive from which America has derived sturdy hewers of wood to subdue the forests.” In 1622, Rev. Patrick Copland was appointed first president of the College of Virginia and general manager of all its properties. The college was founded by King James in 1622 and was established at Henrico City, fifteen miles below Richmond. (See _Old Churches and Families of Virginia_, by Bishop William Meade.)

At this period there must have been a goodly number of Irish in Virginia, if we are to judge from the contents of a little book, “suitable for a projected school in Virginia,” prepared in 1621 by an English Puritan minister named John Brinsley. The book was intended as “a plea for learning and the school master.” The author stated that “the incivility among manie of the Irish, the Virginians, and all other barbarous nations” grew “from their exceeding ignorance of our Holy God and of all true and good learning.” On another page the author said it was his unfeigned desire to adapt the book “for all functions and places, and more particularly to every ruder place, and more especially to that poor Irish nation with our loving countrymen in Virginia.”

How very solicitous he was for the “uncivil” Irish! To him, of course, they appeared rude and uncivil because they did not in those days speak in the English tongue, but in their own undefiled and mellifluous Gaelic. The book was presented by Brinsley “at a court held for Virginia on December 19, 1621,” on which occasion a committee was appointed to determine whether the book was suitable for distribution among the school children. This circumstance is related by the historian Neill.

FRANCIS J. QUINLAN, M. D., LL. D.

New York City.
]

WALSH’S IRISH REGIMENT OF MARINE ARTILLERY, FRENCH ARMY.

BY T. H. MURRAY, SECRETARY-GENERAL OF THE SOCIETY.

A few years ago there was issued from the government printing office at Washington, D. C., a volume entitled: _A Calendar of John Paul Jones Manuscripts in the Library of Congress_.

The volume is of great interest, is arranged chronologically and contains 883 entries. Most of these mention letters written to and from Jones during the Revolution and cover a great deal of ground relating to that trying period. These records are very valuable.

Frequent mention is made in them of Walsh’s Irish Regiment of Marine Artillery, French Army, and the Calendar, as published, also mentions other people of Irish birth or blood who took a prominent part in the struggle for American liberty. We extract from the book:

1779. Feb. 5 =Fitz-Maurice=, ——, Chevalier de. _A captain in Walsh’s Irish
regiment, French army._ “Quimper.” [Quimber, France.] Letter
to Capt. [John Paul] Johnes [Jones], L’Orient. Recommends
“Mr. [Edward] Stack a Lieutenant of this Regiment”, who
desires service under Jones; his abilities; recommends also
“Mr. [Eugene] Macarty” [Macarthy]; requests that information
be given “those Gentlemen” respecting their pay and prize
money; it is necessary for them to obtain leave from Court;
desires information regarding method of procedure.

1779. Mar. 1. =Fitz-Maurice=, ——, Chevalier de. _A captain in Walsh’s Irish
regiment, French army._ Quimper, [Quimber, France.] Letter
to Capt. [John Paul] Jones, [L’Orient]. Acknowledges receipt
of letter of 26th ult.; is pleased with success of his
journey to Paris; makes him his “most sincere compliments”
on his fine command [the _Bon Homme Richard_]; thanks him
for his offer to accompany him; only possible by order of
the King; “would cheerfully comply” with such orders if
given; “our Gentlemen desire their compliments to you.”

1779. Mar. 3. =Macarthy=, [Eugene.] _A lieutenant in Walsh’s Irish Regiment,
French army._ Quimper, [Quimber, France.] Letter to Capt.
[John Paul] Jones, L’Orient. Has heard that Jones has
received the command of a frigate of 40 guns [the _Bon Homme
Richard_] and that he desires officers; wishes to “make
a Campaigne * * * under command of a Gentleman who has
Distinguished himself by his Superior talents”; requests
information on all things relating to his purpose.

1779. Mar. — =Fitz-Maurice=, ——, Chevalier de. _A captain in Walsh’s
Irish regiment, French army._ “Quimper”, [France.] Letter
to [Capt. John Paul] Jones, L’Orient. Hopes he mentioned
“Lts. [Edward] Stack and [Eugene] Macarty” [Macarthy] only
in writing to Court; impossible for Fitz-Maurice himself
to accompany Jones; latter should have seen that “such
expeditions are not fitt for persons of my rank”; if Jones
has taken any steps relative to Fitz-Maurice joining him
hopes he will “countermand” them; requests information
respecting the “conditions, treatment &c.” which will be
given the “two Gentlemen” of whom he wrote. Endorsed by
Jones: * * * rec’d May 1st.

1779. May 20. =Fitz-Maurice=, ——, Chevalier de. _A captain in Walsh’s
Irish regiment, French army._ “Painbœuf,” [France.] Letter
to Capt. [John Paul] Jones, L’Orient. Acknowledges receipt
of letter of 1st inst.; considers Jones’s offer as a mark
of “favour and friendship”; regrets that Jones mistook the
“sense” of his letter [of March —, 1779]; regards the
offer [to take Fitz-Maurice on the _Bon Homme Richard_] in
a “most flattering light”; did not desire any steps taken
“opposite the Court” as he feared Col. [Francois Jacques
Comte] Walsh[-Serrant]’s opposition; it might serve as an
impediment to Fitz-Maurice’s future advancement. Addressed
care of [James] Moiland [Moylan].

1779. Jun. 14. =Walsh-Serrant=, [François Jacques,] Comte de. _Colonel of
the Irish regiment of marine artillery, French army._
Paimboeuf, [France.] Letter [to Capt. John Paul Jones,
Groaix]. Reputation of Jones in Walsh’s regiment is such
that [James Gerald] O’Kelly, sub-lieutenant of grenadiers,
wishes to join his two comrades [Edward] Stack and [Eugene]
Macarthy in serving under his command; feels it best that
O’Kelly should serve against the common foe wherever he
wishes; recommends him in the highest terms.

1779. Jun. 18. =Moylan=, J[ames.] _Merchant and United States commercial
agent at L’Orient._ L’Orient, [France.] Letter to [Capt.]
John P[aul] Jones, [Groaix]. Introduces “Mr. [James Gerald]
O’Kelly”; he has resigned from Walsh’s regiment in hopes of
“going under your orders”; has strong recommendations; “he
will cheerfully embrace” any vacancy on the “_Poor Richard_”
[_Bon Homme Richard_].

1779. Jun. 18. =Nesbitt=, Jonat[han.] _Banker, L’Orient._ L’Orient, [France.]
Letter to [Capt.] John P[aul] Jones [Groaix]. Introduces
“Mr. [James Gerald] O’Kelly, Lieutenant of Grenadiers in the
regt. of Walsh”; his recommendations; service to O’Kelly
will be regarded as a favor to himself.

1779. Oct. 21. =Stack of Crotts=, _A captain in Walsh’s Irish regiment,
French army_. “pinboeuf” [Paimboeuf, France.] Letter [to
Capt. John Paul Jones, The Texel, Holland]. Requests
information respecting [his son] Edmond [Edward?] Stack,
Lieut., Walsh’s Irish regiment; was appointed [Lt. Col. of
Marines] on the _Bon Homme Richard_; fears he is dead; if he
has served like a “gentleman and a Soldier I Shant half
regret his death”; “his loss will lie heavy ’pon me the rest
of my days.”

1779. Oct. 22. [=Stack=, Edward.] _A lieutenant in Walsh’s Irish Regiment,
French army, and formerly Volunteer on U. S. S. “Bon Homme
Richard.”_ The Texel, [Holland]. Affidavit respecting escape
of deserters. Escape on Oct. 1st? of twenty-six seamen from
the _Serapis_; with aid from the _Pallas_ sixteen men were
captured; five were drowned and five escaped; Capt. [Denis
Nicolas] Cottineau [de Kloguene] gave an account of this
occurrence to the Commandant of the Road of Texel [Commodore
—— Reimersima]. Attestation of “Lt. Col” [Antoine Felix]
Wiebert [Wybert], Richard Dale, Samuel Stacy, John Mayrant
and Beaumont Kroube [Groube], officers of the United States
squadron, that the above statement is correct and that the
deserters were enlisted and swore allegiance to the United
States.

1779. Nov. 25. =Walsh-Serrant=, [François Jacques,] Comte de. _Colonel of
the Irish regiment of marine artillery, French army._
Paris. Letter to [Edward] Stack, [The Texel?, Holland]. Has
received orders from the [French] Court for the embarkation
of the second battalion of his regiment for the Antilles;
impossible for him to remain with [Capt. John] Paul Jones;
hopes this order for his immediate return to his regiment
will reach him through [Paul François de Quélen,] Duc de La
Vauguyon; he has the thanks of the King [Louis XVI] for his
brave conduct while with Jones.

1785. Apr. 13. =Jones=, [John] Paul. _Capt., U. S. navy._ Paris. Certificate
to [Lieut.] Edward Stack. Gives an account of Stack’s
services on the _Bon Homme Richard_; with the consent
of [Benjamin] Franklin gave him a commission of brevet
lieutenant of marines in the U. S. navy; on being ordered to
the West Indies in Nov. 1779 Stack received from Louis XVI a
commission of captain and a reward of 400 livres; now wishes
to join the Society of the Cincinnati; Jones has no doubt
that he merits the honor; considers that “a similar opinion”
from Comte d’Estaign, Comte de Rochambeau, Marquis de
Lafayette, Marquis de Saint Simon and Col. Humphreys “at the
foot hereof” with the payment of a months wages into the
charitable fund of the Society will give him standing in
America as a member.

1785. Apr. 17. =Macarthy=, [Eugene.] _A Captain in Walsh’s Irish regiment,
French army._ Paris. Certificate regarding “Commodore”
[Capt. John] Paul Jones. Certifies that at the time of the
action between the _Serapis_ and the _Bon Homme Richard_ the
latter vessel was rendered unseaworthy; on deciding to
abandon her the care incidental to transporting the wounded
to the _Serapis_ prevented Jones from saving his personal
effects or those of the crew.

1785. Apr. 19. =Stack=, [Edward.] _A Captain in Walsh’s Irish regiment,
French army._ Paris. Certificate regarding [Capt. John] Paul
Jones. Certifies that neither Jones nor his crew were able
to save their personal effects after the engagement between
the _Bon Homme Richard_ and the _Serapis_.

One battalion of the Regiment of Walsh fought at Savannah. The rest of the command also rendered valiant service during the war, as did likewise the Regiment of Dillon. The following general extracts are also from the John Paul Jones papers:

1776. Nov. 3. =Gallagher=, Bernard. _Midshipman, U. S. brig “Providence.”_
Boston. Letter to Capt. John [Paul] Jones, Philadelphia.
Taken prisoner by the _Gen. Gates_, Capt. William Kilton,
and carried into Canser [Canso, Nova Scotia]; attempted to
escape but was captured and put in irons by Capt. [ ]
Dawson; owing to representations of Capt. [ ] Dory was
“fetched to Halifax”; confined for two weeks; then taken
to Marblehead, [Massachusetts] on the _Carlisle_; arrived
at Boston Nov. 2d with James Rogers and George Nicholson;
left Benjamin Allen, John Fears and [ ] Munroe ill on the
_Carlisle_; hopes to reach Philadelphia before Jones’s
departure; wishes his chest sent to James Gallagher.

1776. Nov. 15. =J[ones,]= J[ohn] P[aul.] _Capt., U. S. S. “Alfred.”_
_Alfred_, off Newfoundland. Orders to Philip Brown. Appoints
him to command the prize _Mellish_; is to accompany the
_Alfred_ and render assistance if called on; if separated is
to proceed to nearest port in the United States, preferably
Rhode Island. “By order of the Senior Officer, James Hogan,
Secretary.” Autograph draft signed.

1777. Jan. 18. =Gallagher=, Bernard. _Master, U. S. merchant ship._
[Philadelphia?] Letter to Capt. John Paul Jones, Boston. Has
written two letters to him; last was sent in care of John
Manley; wishes money due [George] Lovie [Lavie?] and [James]
Beckup to remain unpaid until his articles [list enclosed]
of which they disposed to widow Weeding and others in
Newport, are returned; if money be allowed him, wishes it
remitted to Conyngham & Nesbitt, Philadelphia merchants, of
whose private ship he is engaged as master; the _Favorite_
has been retaken and carried to the Bermudas; has seen [ ]
Wesley and [ ] Hardy.

[1777. Mar.] =Manley=, John and others. _Capts., U. S. navy._ [Boston.]
“Uniform dress for the Navy agreed to at Boston by the major
part of the Captains.” Signed by Captains John Manley,
Hector McNeill, Dudley Saltonstall, E[lisha] Hinman, Joseph
Olney, John Roche, John Paul Jones, Hector McNeill for
Thomas Thompson, Joseph Olney for Abraham Whipple. Copy by
Hector McNeill.

1778. May 10. =MacNamarra=, —— Chevalier de. _Lieutenant French ship of war
“Charmante.”_ Brest, [France.] Letter to Capt. [John Paul]
Jones, [Brest]. Regrets not having seen him before leaving;
desired to compliment him on his success; reasons therefor;
“Le Chevr. de Clonard,” his friend, expresses his regrets
also; apologizes for writing in French; will wait for him at
San Domingues.

1778. Nov. 10. =Moylan=, James. _Merchant and United States commercial agent
at L’Orient._ L’Orient, [France.] Letter to Capt. J[ohn]
P[aul] Jones, Brest. Acknowledges receipt of his letter by
[Joseph] Whittal [Whitall]; has received his letter of 4th
inst. also; information respecting ships suitable for
purchase; the _Beaumont_ not yet returned from America; the
_Turgot_ sold; recommends the _Duras_ [_Bon Homme Richard_];
sends orders from Samuel Smalliorse of the _Hampden_ for
£670 to [Lieut. Peter] Amiel; [Capt. Thomas] Bell sends
“compts.”

1778. Dec. 19. =Mehegan=, John. _Clergyman and chaplain to Comte
d’Orvilliers._ Brest, [France.] Letter to [Capt.] John Paul
Jones, [L’Orient]. Has not heard from him for sixteen days;
regrets being deprived “of news of a man * * * so much
valued and esteemed”; hopes to be informed by him respecting
the “encouragement you so merit”; regards to [Lieut. Peter]
Amiel; message is being sent by [ ] Le Lay; compliments to
[James] “Moyland”; the “Colfat” wishes to be remembered; an
escaped prisoner from the British ship _Losely_ offers Jones
his services; [ ] Monier wishes his nephew to enlist as a
volunteer.

1778. Dec. 21. [=Jones=, John Paul.] _Capt., U. S. navy._ L’Orient, [France.]
Letter to “The Revd. John Mayhagan” [Mehegan], Brest.
Capt. Thomas Bell may deliver this letter to him; if so,
requests that Mehegan obtain for Bell two hogsheads of
porter belonging to Jones but now with the King’s store; one
is to be taken to Robert Morris, the other is for Bell and
J[ohn] Brown. Autograph draft.

1778. Dec. 23. [=Jones=, John Paul.] _Capt., U. S. navy._ L’Orient, [France.]
Letter to “The Revd. Father John” [Mehegan], Brest.
Acknowledges receipt of letter of Dec. 19th by [ ] Le Lay;
is not “occupied either by Love or War”; to write would have
given him some “token of existence merely not of Life”; a
few days will “remove my doubts or realize my fears”; will
write him the “true account”; has given Capt. [Thomas] Bell
a letter to him respecting the delivery of his [Jones’s]
porter; has sent to the American Commissioners the memorial
of [British] prisoners; will do all in his power to effect
an early exchange; [Lieut. Peter] Amiel is well and returns
his compliments; “Present my compliments to the Bishop, and
the _Calfateur_”; congratulates him on the safe delivery of
the Queen [of France]; “She is a _Sweet Girl_ and deserves
to be Happy”; requests that inventories of prize ships at
Brest be sent to John Ross, Nantes, and [Joseph] Whitall,
Bordeaux, in care of [John] Bonfield [Bondfield]. Autograph
draft.

1779. Mar. 9. [=Jones=, John Paul.] _Capt., U. S. S. “Bon Homme Richard.”_
[L’Orient, France.] Letter to Capt. John Plaince, Cork,
[Ireland]. Has been impossible to forward the within bill
until now; “It is the last of the set drawn by Mr. [ ]
Newberry”; those drawn by [Louis Daniel] Charrier are
lost; letter [of Mar. 9, 1778] will explain everything,
both as to “present and future Remittances from the same
hand”; this letter “contained no Sentiment whatsoever that
did not * * * flow directly from the Heart of the Author”;
Miss Plaince’s answer to letter of June 1st was received
open; “interruption of that correspondence has been owing
to no change of Sentiment * * * and the parties are now
and will continue real Friends.” Autograph draft.

1779. Apr. 11. [=Jones=, John Paul.] _Capt., U. S. S. “Bon Homme Richard.”_
L’Orient, [France.] Orders [to Lieut. Peter Amiel, Brest].
Is to proceed to Paimboeuf to join [Matthew] Mease with
Americans who have enlisted to serve under Jones; if wind is
favorable is to bring them to L’Orient in vessel provided by
[Jonathan] Williams; otherwise to come by land; hopes that
others will join them when they know that Jones is about to
sail for America; is then to proceed to Angoulême to the
cannon foundry of [Louis] Sezarac L’ainé et fils; is to
send proportions of 8 and 18 pounders to [James] Moylan;
instructions governing his stay at Angoulême. Secretary’s
draft.

1779. Apr. 30. [=Jones=, John Paul.] _Capt., U. S. S. “Bon Homme Richard.”_
L’Orient, [France.] Letter to “Revd. father John” [Mehegan,
Brest]. Is informed by [Jonathan] Williams, his “Friend and
Attorney”, that the American agent at Nantes [John D.
Schweighauser] wishes a revaluation made of the Countess of
Selkirk’s plate; has given his consent to this; thinks [ ]
Cortentine will feel affronted at the revision of the first
estimate; directions concerning the revaluation; requests
that Mehegan be present; judges that Williams will forward
[plate] to L’Orient when revalued; desires a chaplain;
arrived from Paris a few days since; met [Lt.] Gen. [Louis
Guillouet, Comte] d’Orvilliers “on the road”; is “this day
so sick” that he writes in bed; wishes an early reply.

1779. May 1–3. [=Jones=, John Paul.] _Capt., U. S. S. “Bon Homme Richard.”_
L’Orient, [France.] Officers of auxiliary vessels under
command of. (May 1.) _Pallas_: Denis Nicolas Cottineau de
Kerloguen [Kloguene], Captain; Henry Ange François Le
Meignan, Pierre François Magonet and Beninge Worle des
Essart Mischateau, Lieutenants; François Pettibon de La
Masc, Master; Maurice O’Connell, Capt. of Marines; Jean
Petit, Surgeon. (May 2.) _Cerf_: Joseph Varage, Captain;
Armand Coudre La Coudrais, Lieutenant. (May 3.) _Vengeance_:
Philippe Nicolas Ricot, Captain; Pierre Vinet de Nantes and
Nicolas Lejoille de St. Valery, Lieutenants; Jean Beaudot de
Rennes en Bretagne, Master.

1779. May 18. =Manoville=, ——, Le Chevalier de. Brest, [France.] Letter to
Capt. John Paul Jones, [L’Orient]. Understands that he can
obtain from Jones some Irish salted butter; if such is the
case would like to purchase some.

1779. Dec. 17. =O’Connell=, [Maurice.] _Capt., U. S. marines._ Rotterdam,
[Holland.] Letter to [Capt. John Paul] Jones, The Texel.
Regrets that he could not have seen Jones before leaving
the Helder; considered himself too old to be under [Capt.
Paul de] Chamillard’s orders; if he had been embarked with
Jones, would not have left; has been taken for “the brave
Paul Jones” in many places; as a result has been highly
complimented; will rejoin him if needed; letters should be
addressed to him in care of “Marquis De Brancas” [Louis
Marie Bufile Brancas, Marquis de Lauraguais?]; wishes
Jones would write a line to [Benjamin] Franklin in his
behalf. Endorsed: “From Captain O’Connally * * *”

1780. May 15. =Sarsfield=, ——, Count. [Paris.] Letter to [Capt. John Paul]
Jones, Passy. Understands that Jones is to leave on
Wednesday, [May 17th]; wishes an interview before that time;
will remain at home Tuesday afternoon; would go to Passy but
fears that they will miss each other; “will certainly call
upon Dr. [Benjamin] Franklin Wednesday morning”; if Jones
postpones his departure until the afternoon will be happy to
wish him Godspeed.

NEHEMIAH WALTER, BORN IN IRELAND, 1663.

At a meeting of the Cambridge (Mass.) Historical Society held in Cambridge in 1906, a paper was read by William Coolidge Lane, Esq., in which he devoted some attention to the career of Nehemiah Walter. The matter is of so interesting a nature that we here reproduce a portion of the paper, the title of which is “The Nehemiah Walter Elegy on Elijah Corlet.” Walter was born in Ireland in 1663 and came to New England in 1679. Mr. Lane tells us that he became a minister highly esteemed here.

At the age of thirteen he is said to have readily conversed in Latin. He had been apprenticed to an upholsterer in 1674, but it was found that his tastes were altogether literary. After coming to this country, he was at first placed under Ezekiel Cheever, the Boston schoolmaster, but entered college almost immediately, in 1680. He was butler in 1683, and graduated in 1684. Soon after, he made a voyage to Nova Scotia, where he became proficient in French, but returned to study in Cambridge, and was often employed by Corlet as his assistant. “It reflected a luster on his character that the memorable Mr. Elijah Corlet, master of the Grammar School in Cambridge, used to express a distinguishing value for him by employing him to officiate at times in the care of his school when obliged to be absent himself, always esteeming his place well supplied by Mr. Walter, and fully confiding in his skill, prudence and diligence.”

The Elegy was composed when he was but three years out of college, and was still studying for the ministry in Cambridge. In 1688 he was ordained as a colleague with John Eliot in Roxbury, Mass., then 84 years old. His people in Roxbury, and Eliot himself, showed a deep affection for him, and the liveliest satisfaction at having secured him for their minister. Walter continued as the minister of the church in Roxbury up to 1750, so that his ministry and Eliot’s together covered a period of one hundred and eighteen years. He was for many years a member of the corporation of Harvard College, and sided with Increase Mather, his father-in-law. After Mather’s exclusion from the presidency, he attended no more meetings of the corporation, and was considered to have abdicated his office.

HON. EUGENE A. PHILBIN.

A Regent of the University of the State of New York.

A MEMBER OF THE SOCIETY.
]

IRISH INFLUENCE IN THE LIFE OF BALTIMORE.

BY D. J. SCULLY OF BALTIMORE, MD.

It is a peculiar thing to study out fairly, even without setting down aught except that which can be actually proved, what an important part Irishmen have taken in shaping this Irish-named city which in the estimation of those who do not stop to think, is deemed an “Anglo-Saxon” community. This phrase, Anglo-Saxon, is now the thing, especially among some educators. It is a handy phrase. It may mean something, but as often means nothing in particular.

It is like the stuff coined at trial tables, such as “brain-storms” and “Dementia Americana,” sufficient for the atmosphere of a courtroom, but no where else on earth, where common sense is supposed to prevail. Hence the delicious and unmeaning phrase, “Anglo-Saxon” this and “Anglo-Saxon” that, as used by the educated few, to mislead the so-called uneducated many. It is naturally a bold man who would call an Irishman an Anglo-Saxon to his face, but the average American educationalist and writer does not make such statements to the Gael in propria persona.

He does it at long range, and hides behind his school book and his inkwell until the storm has passed by. The Irish who have influenced and who have directed in many ways the past of Baltimore laid no claim to be Anglo-Saxons and no one in their day sought to claim them as such. They were rather proud of their Irish birth and descent and made no effort to hide it. But it was a fact that it was no shame in those days to be Irish, and nobody thought so, not even the English.

If it had been so awful to be Irish, no doubt the early settlers and founders of the city would have never allowed it to be named Baltimore. Prior to the Revolution the most important merchants and educators, and even professional men in the town, were Irish by birth. They laid the foundation of the town’s trade and commerce and built it up not only morally and physically, but financially. The man who laid the foundation of the town’s trade was Dr. John Stevenson, who, although a physician, had an eye to trade, and coming direct from Ireland deemed it wise to establish a line of ships between this city and Irish ports.

This was the beginning of Baltimore’s commerce, which for nearly seventy-five years after Stevenson’s pioneer line was established, almost rivalled New York’s commerce in general, and in many ways excelled it. This will be refreshing news to many, but is not by any means overdrawn. The work done by Stevenson in establishing trade for Baltimore was continued by the Purviances, William Patterson, Bowly, John O’Donnell, John Smith, William Smith, William McDonald, Robert and John Oliver, Wm. Wilson, Talbott Jones, Isaac McKim, Robert Garrett, Luke Tiernan, Cumberland Dugan, David Stewart, Stephen Stewart, James Calhoun, John Sterrett, John McLure, Thomas Russell, Samuel Hughes, William Neill, Hugh Young, Patrick Colvin, Alexander Pendergast, Patrick Bennett, Robert Welsh, Mark Pringle, William Kennedy, James O. Law, Hugh McElderry, Charles M. Dougherty, William Walters, John McCoy, D. J. Foley, Hamilton Easter, Robert Neale, Hugh Birchhead, John Coulter, and others, who, from time to time, have figured prominently in the shipping and commercial annals of Baltimore.

Many of these men were not only the pioneers, but the leaders for years in the matters which concerned the carrying trade of Baltimore and also in the business concerns of the town and city. Their names are so closely associated with the history of Baltimore for the first hundred years of her history at least that it is impossible to disconnect them. They were honest merchants of the old school and their methods were direct and above suspicion. They laid the foundation of Baltimore’s reputation for business honesty. Their trade was with the East and West Indies, with South America and with Europe. Their white-winged clippers sailed every known sea, and their house flags were known in every country, aye, even by the savage African.

It is highly interesting to trace the rise and rule of these expatriated Irish merchants who came to Baltimore, many of them with money and business experience, driven from Ireland by England’s unjust tariff laws, the same in character as those which now apply to our “possessions,” Porto Rico and the Philippines, to “encourage” their trade and commerce. These men hated England as strongly as they loved fair play. They waxed rich and placed everything they had at the services of their fellow citizens and of their country. They were well aware of England’s hypocritical methods and thus when the Revolution came on they cast their fortunes to a man with the colonies, and gave of their blood, their experience and their means to assist the patriots.

During the Revolution, in Baltimore and Maryland they were prominent in all works of importance. Thus we see Samuel Purviance, the chief man of the town; Purviance was a leading merchant. He was chairman of the Committee on Correspondence, a sort of Ways and Means Committee, and as such he raised supplies for the patriotic cause and supervised methods of defense. His services to the patriot cause were vast, and he was frequently complimented by Washington and the Continental Congress for his services. He was largely instrumental in helping Lafayette to clothe his half-starved and half-clothed army when on its way to the South to prosecute that historic campaign which ended in the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown.

Thus he played a prominent part in one of the historic events in history, and considering the present status of this republic, the most momentous campaign in history. The Irish merchants who contributed to this fund to buy cloth and make uniforms for Lafayette’s ragged army were Messrs. Purviance, William Patterson, John McLure, Daniel Bowly, Ridgely and Pringle, James Calhoun, James McHenry, Charles Carroll, Wm. Smith, Alex. Donaldson, Samuel Hughes, Russell & Hughes, William Neill, John Smith, William Smith, Hugh Young and Robert Patter Purviance. William Smith and William Patterson and other Irish merchants were also prominent in the committee work during the Revolution, and if it had failed, would have no doubt decorated the short end of a hangman’s rope for their love of liberty. The services of Charles Carroll of Carrollton and of his cousin, Charles Carroll, of Mount Clare, to the patriot cause and to the city and state, even the nation, it is needless to recount here, as they are well known.

They were Irish-Americans, however, and not ashamed of it, and their influence in the city and its environs were considerable along all lines. William Patterson gave Patterson Park to the city, and also contributed largely to the foundation of many public enterprises, some of which survive today as monuments to the activities of himself and his fellow Irishmen. Prime among those monuments is the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. Isaac McKim, another Irishman, founded the first free school set up in Baltimore. It still stands at Baltimore and Aisquith streets a monument to him, and has been in its day a strong sphere of influence. John Oliver, another Gael, founded the Oliver Hibernian Free School, which has been for nearly a century a wide center of influence for good. It was the first school established in the United States for the exclusive education of Irish-Americans, and was established at a time when Americans of other races were without free schools of any kind. Prominent in the establishment of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad and of the Northern Central Railroad were other Irish merchants and professional men, such as Robert Garrett, Alexander and George Brown, the latter of whom conceived the idea of building the road; Isaac McKim, Charles Carroll of Carrollton, John V. L. McMahon, the Irish American lawyer, who drew that first railroad charter ever drawn for the Baltimore and Ohio, which has served as a model ever since; Patrick McCauley, the Irish educator; Talbott Jones, Robert Oliver and others. These men gave not only their influence to these roads, but their money. How well they built, facts establish. John O’Donnell, the Irishman, was the man who named Canton, on the southeast side of the basin, because he thought it looked like Canton, China; and he was the first president of the Baltimore Gas Light Company. What that company has developed into the present shows. His son, Gen. Columbus O’Donnell, was for many years the honored president of the company.

Gen. Wm. McDonald was the first man to run packets on the Chesapeake Bay, and also the first to run steam vessels. And thus he was the founder of Baltimore’s great bay trade. That he was a man of influence the conditions of the present prove. He may have builded better than he knew, but he built greatly. Alexander Brown, Robert Garrett and Isaac McKim were practically the founders of the banking business of this city, and with others of the great Irish business men influenced the financial interests of Baltimore for many years. In fact, their descendants have a powerful influence in banking matters locally at this time. Every one is familiar with the tremendous influence exercised in railroad circles for many years by the Irish-American, John W. Garrett, and his son, Robert Garrett. There can be no question about those facts.

In the religious concerns of the city the Irish have ever played an important part. The city is the seat of the Roman Catholic church in this country, the first bishop and archbishop of which was John Carroll, an Irish-American. Since his day the Irish have been in the forefront in Catholic affairs in Baltimore, and the pewholders and attendants at the Cathedral and other Catholic churches have included many of Baltimore’s leading citizens. St. Mary’s Seminary has educated hundreds of Catholic priests who have gone out and labored for the salvation of souls. Of these Levites the great and almost overwhelming majority have been Irish-Americans.

Many of these good men have spent their lives in this city and have proven great sources of influence for upliftment to their fellowmen. The Irish names of the priests and bishops who have labored here in Baltimore would make a respectable directory for information on the municipality’s work for the betterment of men. Many will recall the names of the saintly McColgan, Dolan, McManus, Coskery, Slattery, McCoy, Dougherty, Malloy, Dugan, Gaitley, McDevitt, and many others of equal note who have served prominently in this city and have been towers of strength to their co-religionists. The stature of Archbishop Carroll in his day was heroic, and he was regarded as one of the chief citizens of the republic, as his famous successor, Cardinal Gibbons, is today.

The similarity between Dr. Carroll and the cardinal on the lines of personal influence is remarkable. What Dr. Carroll was in his day a century ago, the cardinal is today, and the person who is familiar with the cardinal’s character knows what power and inspiration that is for good. Other prelates who were of Irish extraction and who labored here were Archbishops Neale and the illustrious Kenrick, the latter one of the greatest of church writers and a strong man of his day. In other denominations we have Dr. Patrick Allison, the first pastor of the First Presbyterian Church, and a remarkable man in many ways, who was the friend of Dr. Carroll, and his contemporary. Rev. John Glendy, a native of Ireland, who was a rebel in 1798, and had to fly for his life to this country, was the first pastor of the Second Presbyterian Church, and an orator of unusual ability. In their day they were strong men, and exercised an overmastering influence for good upon their flocks. Rev. John Healey was the first Baptist minister in Baltimore town, and founded the first Baptist chapel. He ministered here for many years and was without doubt an influential man. The congregations of the Presbyterian and Baptist churches included a number of prominent Irish business and professional men, in fact the cream of the business men of the town and city belonged to them. Hence they were widespread centers of influence and they have so remained.

Their descendants to this day include many of Baltimore’s leading citizens in all lines of activity. The first Methodist preacher that we know of who preached in the vicinity of this city was Robert Strawbridge, the Irishman. He preached about the countryside, it being as much a felony for a Methodist preacher to preach as it was for a Catholic priest to say mass in his day in Maryland. We know that there were several well-known Irishmen who were among the first members of the first M. E. church, old Light Street, now Mount Vernon Place Church; among them being Patrick Colvin and Patrick Bennett. This Colvin afterwards was buried from the old Light Street church, which caught fire during his funeral, and was burned to the ground. His daughter founded the old Colvin Institute in his honor, and Colvin Street is named after him. He was an influential merchant as well as a leading Methodist.

The first mayor of the city, James Calhoun, was an Irish-American. The first secretary of the navy from Maryland was an Irishman, James McHenry, after whom the fort is named. It is well to remark that Fort Carroll is also named after Charles Carroll, the Irish-American. The first secretary of state and attorney-general from Maryland was Robert Smith, son of John Smith, the Irishman. Gen. Samuel Smith, the Revolutionary hero, who served more years than any other from this state in the United States Senate, also commanded the forces at the battle of North Point and the defense of Fort McHenry. The first and only chief justice of the United States from Maryland was Roger Brooke Taney, the Irish-American, who was also an attorney-general of the United States. One of the two secretaries of the navy from this state was John Pendleton Kennedy, the Irish-American. All of these facts serve to show that the Irish have played some part in public affairs in this city and state.

Past and present, the Irish element has been so closely identified with the history of Baltimore that it has played an important part in influencing every detail of the life of the city. Deny it as some will, the influence is still apparent in the city’s spheres, probably not so prominently as in the long ago, but still markedly. Prosperity has somewhat dulled the ambition of the local Gael, but that he is still in evidence, commercially, religiously, professionally, socially and industrially, the shallowest of investigations will prove. The readiness of the Irishman to assimilate with other nationalities in our country may have had something to do with the disappearance from the prominent places which they formerly occupied of the leading families of the city who bear the names of the splendid men who at one time led in the city’s advance. But considerable of the wealth and the influence of the city is still held by the descendants of these old pioneers, and by those who have succeeded them in the life of the City of the Calverts.

LOOKING BACK AT OLD CAMBRIDGE, MASS.

Extract from an address by Prof. Charles Eliot Norton at a meeting of the Cambridge (Mass.) Historical Society, October 30, 1905: “But even a greater change than that from country village to suburban town has taken place here in Old Cambridge in the last seventy years. The people have changed. In my boyhood the population was practically all of New England origin, and in large proportion Cambridge-born, and inheritors of Old Cambridge traditions. The fruitful invasion of barbarians had not begun. The foreign-born people could be counted up on the fingers. There was Rule, the excellent Scotch gardener, who was not without points of resemblance to Andrew Fairservice; there was Sweetman, the one Irish day-laborer, faithful and intelligent, trained as a boy in one of the ‘hedge-schools’ of his native Ireland, and ready to lean on his spade and put the troublesome schoolboy to a test on the Odes of Horace, or even on the _Arma virumque cano_; and at the heart of the village was the hair-cutter, Marcus Reamie, from some unknown foreign land, with his shop full, in a boy’s eyes, of treasures, some of his own collecting, some of them brought from distant romantic parts of the world by his sailor son. There were doubtless other foreigners, but I do not recall them, except a few teachers of languages in the college, of whom three filled in these and later years an important place in the life of the town,—Dr. Beck, Dr. Follen and Mr. Sales.”

A BIT OF NEW YORK HISTORY.

Thomas F. Meehan in _N. Y. Catholic News_.

There was considerable popular opposition manifested [in New York City in 1829 and thereabouts] to the change of the cemetery from about St. Patrick’s to the Fifth Avenue, or Middle Road, as it was then called, site. In the [N. Y.] _Truth Teller_ appears the following:

CATHOLIC BURIAL GROUND.

In giving publicity to the following communication we beg it may be distinctly understood that we express no opinion of our own upon the subject. The writer has left his name with the editor of this paper, and our columns are open to any correspondent who may feel disposed to do the same:

“_To the Editor of the Truth Teller_:

“NEW YORK, March 24, 1829.

“SIR: The subject of procuring a suitable place for a general Catholic
burial ground in this city has, for a long time, excited a deep
interest among us. I beg leave, therefore, to suggest a few remarks on
the best method to be adopted for the accomplishment of so desirable
an object, before any definite measures are taken for a permanent
location.

“It appears by a hand-bill circulated a few days ago, that the
trustees of St. Patrick’s Church, without consulting the Catholics of
this city, have bought a tract of land opposite the Botanic Garden, a
distance of between four and five miles from the city hall; that the
nature of the soil is entirely unfit for the said purpose; and that
this place has been actually appropriated by them for a general
Catholic burial ground.

“Query? Have the trustees of that church or any of the other Catholic
churches in this city the right to act definitely upon this general
subject without previously ascertaining the opinion and obtaining the
consent of the heads of families belonging to this Catholic community?

CAPT. MARTIN L. CRIMMINS.

Sixteenth U. S. Infantry, formerly of the Nineteenth Infantry.

MEMBER OF THE SOCIETY.

A Son of the Hon. John D. Crimmins, New York City.
]

“This question ought to be fairly discussed before any final decision
is made on the location of the contemplated cemetery; and I hope the
columns of your widely circulated paper will be always open for the
discussion of this point of general interest.

“This affair, in the humble opinion of the writer, ought to be managed
by a separate board, composed of the Right Rev. Bishop of the diocese
and two members from each congregation, duly elected by the pewholders
of the several Catholic churches of this city, with power to select
the ground, the location, to make regulations, etc., etc. This
suggestion is made with the view of ascertaining the sense of the
Catholics of this city (who have very liberally contributed to the
support of their several churches and charitable institutions)
respecting this interesting question which agitates their minds.

“Very respectfully, your obt. serv’t,
“A SUBSCRIBER.

“And a Catholic resident of the city of New York.”

At the meeting of the trustees on March 6, 1833, every member present pledged himself to use his utmost endeavor “in finding and prosecuting the invaders of the vault out of town,” which seems to indicate that the opposition to the up-town movement had taken a very radical turn. Previous to this, however, the idea of locating the graveyard there was abandoned, and on August 29, 1832, a committee of five trustees appointed to provide “a good and convenient location for a new graveyard,” paid $37,050 to Alderman Charles Henry Hall for the block bounded by East Eleventh and Twelfth streets, First Avenue and Avenue A.

It is related that Mr. Hall soon after repented of his bargain and offered to pay $50,000 if the block were deeded back to him. The offer was refused, but 100 feet in depth on three sides of the plot was sold to lighten the debt and the rest of the land, 413x206 feet, was devoted to cemetery purposes. Permission for the first interment was given on March 13, 1833, and from that date until the old Eleventh Street burial ground was officially closed in August, 1848, the total number of interments made in its limits was 41,016. As has been stated, the interments in St. Patrick’s graveyard, from May 25, 1813, to March, 1833, were 32,153, so that in these two old downtown graveyards in thirty-five years, a total of 73,169 Catholics were buried. These figures are taken from Archbishop Corrigan’s paper on “The Catholic Cemeteries of New York” and are therefore official. The Avenue A end of the Eleventh Street plot was originally a hollow and had to be filled in about eighteen feet above the level at the time of its purchase.

There was a wooden fence around the property at first and this was replaced by the iron railing that now encloses it. The high brick wall around St. Patrick’s was put up just before the anti-Catholic excitement of 1836 and served as a protection to the old church that largely helped, when manned by stout defenders, to awe the mob that assembled to plunder and destroy it. In the same year, June 5, 1836, it was determined to rebuild St. Peter’s Church in Barclay Street. The graves in the little space about the church were opened and most of the remains reinterred in St. Patrick’s graveyard. Some of the pioneers were left undisturbed and still repose under the walls of the new church built over the old site.

The dead who sleep about the walls of old St. Patrick’s made up the very flower of the pioneer families, mainly Irish, who built up the church in New York. Among the long list are the first pastors and their assistants, Fathers Michael O’Gorman, Richard Bulger, Charles Brennan and Peter Malou—who was a general in the Belgium army and then a Jesuit. One of his sons became a bishop in his native land—Fathers Luke Berry, of St. Mary’s; Gregory B. Pardow, an uncle of the Jesuit of our day; James Neale, Carberry J. Byrne, Thomas C. Levins, John N. Smith of St. James’ and Dr. John Power, V. G. The remains of the bishops of the See, except the first, were transferred from old St. Patrick’s to the crypt of the Fifth Avenue Cathedral after it was opened.

The parents of Cardinal McCloskey were buried in old St. Patrick’s and so were a son of the famous French general, Moreau, Capt. Pierre Laudais, of the navy, who fought with Paul Jones in the Revolution; Thomas, the father of the great lawyer, Charles O’Conor; Thomas S. Brady, father of James T. and Judge John R. Brady; Capt. James McKeon, of the army in 1812 and father of John McKeon; Andrew Morris, Stephen Jumel, Dominick Lynch and his numerous children; John B. Lasala, the Denmans, the Hargous, Binsse, Coughlan, Brandegee, De Londe, Shea, O’Brien and other prominent old New York families.

In the Eleventh Street graveyard the 41,016 dead are of a later period, but include many names of special local interest on the old stones, such as the Murphy, Lynch, Carroll, Hanly, Sweeney, Bradley, Davey, McMahon, Holahan, and other families. A local character, who died September 26, 1838, and was buried here, was an Italian named Joseph Bonfanti, who kept what might be called the first “department store” in New York. It was located at 297 Broadway, and it was his boast that no one could go into his store and ask for anything in fancy articles he could not produce for sale. He advertised in rhymes and some of the efforts in this direction are wonderful productions. Local fame had it that he kept poets on salary to supply his needs in this direction. His tombstone told that he was born in Monticello, December 9, 1798, was “universally esteemed as an affectionate husband, a kind father and a sincere friend,” and that,—

“Cheerful he journeyed through life’s chequered wild,
Honest, sincere, benevolent, mild.
As husband, father, friend, fulfilled his part,
Affection’s smile the sunshine of his heart.”

Capt. John McMahon had a monument erected to him by the Montgomery Guards, of whom he was commander. He was a native of Limerick, Ireland, and died aged 37 years on April 17, 1849.

Another epitaph was as follows:

“This tomb was erected by Rosanna, widow of John Connolly, Jr.,
carpenter, of Gargin, parish of Killaly, County of Galway, Ireland, in
memory of the most affectionate of husbands, who died in New York on
the 6th day of March, 1841, aged —— years; as also her daughter Mary,
who died on the 10th of August, 18—, aged —— months, as also her son,
Michael, who died on the 1st of August, 1840, aged —— months.

“This stone has been sent her by her father-in-law as a token of
respect for her and love for his son John, her husband. May their
souls rest in peace.

“Dated Galway, Ireland, 1846. This stone has been sent her by her
father-in-law, Michael Connolly.”

The stone to the memory of James, son of Denis and Winifred Hanley, who died November 28, 1839, gave this advice:

“Weep not for me, my parents dear,
I am not dead but sleepeth here.
As I am now so you will be;
Prepare for death and follow me.”