Jeremiah W. Coveney.
Born in Cambridge, Mass., 1840; during Civil War enlisted in 28th
Massachusetts Regiment; was successively commissioned Lieutenant,
Captain, Major, and Lieutenant-Colonel; seriously wounded in 1864, while
Brigade Inspector of the Second Brigade, First Division, Second Corps;
member of the Massachusetts Legislature; surveyor of the port of Boston;
private secretary to Governor Russell; postmaster of Boston; admitted to
the society March 29, 1897; died in Cambridge, Mass., April 29, 1897.
Richard Worsam Meade, 3d.
Born in New York City, 1837; appointed Midshipman Oct 2, 1850; first sea
service in sloop-of-war _Preble_, 1851; warrant as Master and commission
as Lieutenant, 1858; Lieutenant-Commander, 1862; was a Commander in
1870; commissioned Captain in 1880; became a Commodore in 1892, and
Rear-Admiral in 1894; admitted to the society at its organization, Jan.
20, 1897, and chosen President-General of the same, being the first to
hold the office; died in Washington, D. C., May 4, 1897.
Laurence J. Smith.
Born in County Meath, Ireland, 1850; member of City Council, Lowell,
Mass., 1881–86; member Lowell Public Library Board; was made a License
Commissioner of Lowell, 1894; Police Commissioner, 1895; attained the
highest rank in the Foresters of America, having been Supreme Chief
Ranger of the United States; admitted to the society Feb. 27, 1897; died
in Lowell, Mass., Oct. 23, 1897.
Owen A. Galvin.
Born in Boston, Mass., 1852; admitted to the bar, 1876; elected to the
Massachusetts House of Representatives, 1881; a State Senator from
Boston during 1882, 1883, and 1884; candidate for President of the
Senate, 1884; candidate for Mayor of Boston, 1889; was U. S. District
Attorney, 1887–89; admitted to the society July 15, 1897; died in
Boston, Mass., Dec. 18, 1897.
Charles B. Gafney.
Born in Ossipee, N. H., Sept. 17, 1843; enlisted Sept 27, 1862, as
Second Lieutenant of Co. B, 13th New Hampshire Volunteers; promoted to
the rank of First Lieutenant June 1, 1863, and to that of Captain, May
30, 1865; severely wounded in the thigh at Petersburg, June 13, 1864;
served as aid to General Ripley, General McCullom, and General Roulston;
was graduated from the law school at Columbia University, Washington, D.
C., in 1868; was Clerk to the National Senate Committee on Naval Affairs
for eight years; went to Rochester, N. H., in 1871 and formed a law
partnership with Joseph H. Worcester, which firm became Worcester,
Gafney & Snow. Mr. Gafney was private secretary to Hon. Frank Jones
during the latter’s presidency of the Boston & Maine Railroad; in April,
1896, Mr. Gafney was appointed Judge of Probate for Strafford County by
Governor Busiel, to succeed Judge Young; admitted to the society Feb. 9,
1897; died in Rochester, N. H., Jan. 25, 1898.
Hon. John Cochrane.
Descendant of an officer who served under Washington; President of the
N. Y. Society of the Cincinnati, 7 East 62d Street, New York City; from
1857 to 1861 was a Congressman from New York City; was commissioned
Colonel of the First U. S. Chasseurs, June 11, 1861; Brigadier-General
of Volunteers, July 17, 1862; in 1864 was nominated at Cleveland, O.,
for Vice-President of the United States; had previously been
Attorney-General of New York State; admitted to the society on its
organization, Jan. 20, 1897; died in New York City, Oct. 7, 1897.
Andrew Athy.
Born Jan. 1, 1832, in County Galway, Ireland, and came to this country
at the age of sixteen years; located in Worcester, Mass., about 1850;
filled public offices of trust and responsibility in Worcester almost
continuously during more than thirty years. He was first elected to the
Common Council in 1865, and served thirteen years. He represented his
city in the Legislature of 1874 and 1875. He was a member of the Board
of Aldermen from 1881 to 1886, and was a member of the commission to
build the new City Hall, having been elected by the City Council. He ran
for mayor in 1886 as a Democratic candidate, and polled a surprisingly
large vote, and in 1891, 1892, and 1893 he was chairman of the
Democratic City Committee. He was a member of the old Jackson Guards at
the time of disbandment, during the Know-Nothing administration of
Governor Gardner; admitted to the society as a life member, March 5,
1898; died in Worcester, Mass., May 15, 1898.
Capt. John Drum,
the hero of Santiago, was born in Ireland, May 1, 1840. Coming to this
country at an early age, he went to California, and at the outbreak of
the Civil War entered the armies of the Union. At the close of
hostilities he obtained a commission as Lieutenant in the regular army.
He did gallant service in the various Indian wars, especially in the
southwest. In 1894 he was appointed Military Instructor in St. Francis
Xavier’s College, New York City. At the close of the detail he seriously
considered the advisability of retiring from the service, but the
destruction of the battleship _Maine_ put an end to the idea. He
immediately joined his regiment at Fort Sill and subsequently landed on
Cuban soil, where he fell in the gallant charge at Santiago. Captain
Drum has been a member of this society since its inauguration and took a
deep interest in Irish historical matters. He was buried with military
honors in Boston, Sept 3, 1898.