settled in Pennsylvania. He was a magistrate, and at one time owned a
farm in Pennsylvania of 900 acres. Col. Francis Johnston of the
Revolution was his son.
Michael Wright, a native of Mountmellick, Queens County, Ireland, served
during the Revolution in a Rhode Island regiment of the Line. He is
mentioned in a return as 42 years of age and as having his residence in
Seaconnet, R. I.
Gen. Stephen Moylan, of the Revolution, was a brother of the Roman
Catholic bishop of Cork, Ireland. Two of his sisters became nuns. One of
them was abbess of the Ursuline convent in Cork, and the other was a nun
in the same convent.
Macarty de Marteigue was the commander, in 1782, of the French warship
_Le Magnifique_, which formed part of the naval force sent over by
France to aid the American Revolution. Du Fay de Carty is mentioned as
an ensign on the same ship.
The Massachusetts Revolutionary records mention Patrick Burke, a soldier
of Col. John Crane’s regiment of artillery. Burke enlisted for the town
of Wrentham, Mass., was a sergeant, and is at one period referred to as
“Orderly to the General.”
Hugh McLean, a native of Ireland, was born in 1724. He settled in
Milton, Mass., and died in 1799. His son, John McLean, was a benefactor
of Harvard College and of the Massachusetts General Hospital, the latter
institution in Boston, Mass.
Among those serving during the Revolution, in the First Regiment,
Virginia Light Dragoons, were James Casey, Thomas Hogan, John Carroll,
William Hicks, John Powers and Niel McCaffry. They are mentioned in the
Virginia records of that period.
Some years after the close of the Revolution, Christopher Fitzsimons, a
wealthy Irishman of Charleston, S. C., passed away, leaving an estate
worth $700,000. His daughter, Anne, married one of the Hamptons,
receiving $100,000 as her dower.
Mention is made in the Massachusetts Revolutionary records of John
McLaughlin, a marine who served aboard the _Alfred_, commanded by John
Paul Jones. McLaughlin is referred to as entitled to prize shares in the
ship _Mellish_ and the brig _Active_.
Before 1800, Masters Knox and Crocker, natives of Ireland, taught school
at Bowen’s Hill (Coventry, R. I.), and the neighborhood. (Cole’s
_History of Washington and Kent Counties, R. I._) The name Knox is found
in the Coventry records as early as 1766.
David O’Killia, a son of David, “the Irishman” of old Yarmouth, Mass.,
married Anna Bills in 1662. He had a brother named John who wedded in
1690. Another brother, Jeremiah, died in 1728. A sister, Elizabeth,
became the wife of Silas Sears in 1707.
Timothy McKlewain’s name appears in a list of subscribers at a meeting
in East Windsor, Conn., April 21, 1777. The meeting was “For ye Great &
important Purpose of furnishing our Proportion of men for the
Continental Army.” He subscribed £1 10s.
Alexander Bryan, from Armagh in Ireland, was a settler at Milford,
Conn., as far back as 1639. In 1661 he bought of the Indians the last
twenty acres they owned on Milford Neck. He paid them therefor six
coats, three blankets and three pairs of breeches.
Among the ancient inscriptions in the old Granary Burial Ground, Boston,
Mass., is the following: “Here Lyeth Interred y^e body of Charles
Maccarty, son to Thadeus and Elizabeth Maccarty, aged 18 years, wanting
7 days. Deceased y^e 25 of October, 1683.”
Patrick Cavenaugh, a soldier of the Revolution, served in the Eighth
Regiment of the Pennsylvania Line. On one occasion he saved General
Lincoln from being captured by the British, in New Jersey. He was
afterwards an express rider for General Greene.
A Massachusetts soldier of the Revolution was Daniel McCarty. He was
born in Ireland, came to this country and enlisted in the Patriot ranks.
He served in Greaton’s regiment and is credited in the records to
Roxbury, Mass. He is reported as killed in 1777.
Charles O’Gorman was one of the “lieutenants en second” of the
Irish-French regiment of Walsh during the American Revolution. His name
is preserved in the French military archives and is mentioned in _Les
Combattants De La Guerre Americaine_ (Paris, 1903).
About 1735, Richard Copley with his wife, Mary (Singleton) Copley, came
to America from County Clare, Ireland. His health being poor, he went to
the West Indies to recuperate. John Singleton Copley, the eminent
artist, a native of Boston, Mass., was their son.
Matthew Hurley was one of the soldiers serving in the war against
Philip, the Indian king, 1675–’76. He was at one period of the company
of Captain Wadsworth, who was killed in the battle at Sudbury, Mass.,
and is mentioned in Bodge’s work on _King Philip’s War_.
Patrick McLaughlin, a soldier of the Revolution, served in the First
Pennsylvania regiment, commanded by Col. John Philip De Haas; was taken
prisoner by the British at Three Rivers, June 9, 1776. He is mentioned
in the Revolutionary records of Pennsylvania.
Abbe Bartholomew O’Mahony was chaplain of the French warship _L’Ivelly_
during the American Revolution. _L’Ivelly_ was commanded by M. le
Chevalier Durumain, and formed part of the fleet of Count De Grasse.
(See _Les Combattants Francais De La Guerre Americaine_.)
In an old cemetery at Rutland, Mass., is a gravestone to the memory of
Patrick Gregory, who was born in County Donegal, Ireland, about 1690.
When he came to this country is unknown. He died July 5, 1756. On the
gravestone just mentioned shamrocks are carved.
A native of County Armagh, Ireland, Thomas Robinson, was born in 1745
and died in Providence, R. I., 1809. He had been a resident of
Providence for seventeen years; was described as “an ingenious and
useful citizen” and “possessed the most enduring philanthropy.”
An influential man in Maryland, in 1647 and later, was Philip Conner. In
the year named he was appointed a commissioner for Kent County. He is
referred to as “The last commander of old Kent.” A descendant, James
Conner, in 1705 wedded Elinor Flannagan.
Born at sea, of Irish parents, 1745, William Patterson died in 1806. He
was a member of the first Constitutional Convention of New Jersey;
attorney-general of the state; United States senator; governor of New
Jersey; and judge of the Supreme Court of the United States.
At a military review near Trenton, N. J., in 1776, George Fullerton, a
native of Ireland, was killed by the accidental discharge of a pistol.
He was a merchant in Philadelphia, Pa., and a member of the First City
Troop. In his will is mentioned John Fullerton, an uncle in Ireland.
Three Irish Rhode Islanders in the Revolution were James Bishop, William
Parker and John Wilson. Bishop was born in Dublin; Parker in County
Waterford, and Wilson in County Kilkenny. They served in Captain
Topham’s company of Col. Thomas Church’s regiment.
Ensign Patrick Cronin was of Colonel Malcom’s New York regiment of
levies in the Revolution. Also on the regimental rolls appear the names
Cleary, Conner, Crane, Daley, Griffin, Jackson, McCarty, McCoy, McGee,
McWilliams, Mead, Moore, Morrison, Murphy and the like.
Hon. Thomas McKean, a signer of the Declaration of Independence and
president of Congress, was a founder, an incorporator, and the first
president of the Hibernian Society of Philadelphia, Pa. His parents were
both natives of Ireland. (Campbell’s _History of the Hibernian
Society_.)
Michael Connolly was captain and paymaster, during the Revolution, in
the Second New York Regiment of the Line. Philip Van Cortland was
colonel of the regiment. There were many Irish in the command, as
reference to _New York in the Revolution_, by James A. Roberts, will
show.
An Irish trader at Fort Pitt (Pittsburg) before the Revolution was John
Ormsby. He suffered depredations during Pontiac’s war, and was later
granted a large tract of land at Fort Pitt. He was an active patriot
during the Revolution and took a prominent part in the struggle for
liberty.
Capt. Daniel Malcom, an Irishman, died in Boston, Mass., 1769. He “was a
true son of Liberty, a friend to the Publick, an enemy to oppression and
one of the foremost in opposing the Revenue Acts on America.” His
remains rest in a brick tomb in the old Copp’s Hill graveyard, Boston.
Capt. Edward Connor was of Col. Marinus Willett’s New York regiment in
the Revolution. Also in the regiment appear such names as Burk, Crowley,
Downing, Garvey, Hicks, Kelly, Kenny, Lane, Lyons, McCoy, McGee, McGill,
McVey, Molloy, Moore, Quin, Ryan and Welsh.
A Connecticut soldier of the Revolution, George McCarty, served in
Bigelow’s artillery company, the first company of artillery raised in
Connecticut during the war. It marched to the northern department and
was stationed during the summer and fall of 1776 at Ticonderoga and
vicinity.
Born in Tipperary, Ireland, Edward Fitzgerald came to this country and
became a soldier of the Revolution. He was a resident of Newport, R. I.
He is mentioned as of the Rhode Island Continental Line when he was but
19 years of age. He saw much service at Ticonderoga and elsewhere.
A native of Dublin, Ireland, John Read was born in 1688. He came to this
country, purchased an estate in Maryland, and was one of the founders of
Charlestown on the headwaters of Chesapeake Bay. He was appointed by the
Colonial Legislature a commissioner to lay out and govern the town.
Paul Cox, an Irishman, was of Philadelphia, Pa., as early as 1773. He
became a member of the Pennsylvania State Navy Board, 1777, and was
otherwise prominent. The inscription on his tombstone in Philadelphia
states that he was “Thrice an elector of the president of the United
States.”
Christopher Marshall, a native of Dublin, Ireland, was born in 1709. He
settled in Philadelphia, Pa., and was a druggist. During the Revolution
his firm furnished drugs and medicines to the Continental army. He was a
member of the Committee of Safety throughout the whole period of the
war.
Maj. John Gillespy is mentioned as serving during the Revolution in the
Fourth Regiment, Ulster County (N. Y.) Militia, commanded by Colonel
Hardenburgh. Also of the same regiment was Lieut. Samuel Gillespy. (Vide
_New York in the Revolution_, by Comptroller James A. Roberts, Albany,
1898.)
In the old graveyard attached to the stone church built on the site of
Fort Herkimer in the Mohawk valley, N. Y., is buried John Ring “of the
Kingdom of Ireland, captain of one of His Majesty’s companies of this
Province, who departed this life 20th day of Sept., 1755, in the 30th
year of his age.”
Thomas McCarthy, a soldier of the Revolution, enlisted from Newtown,
Pa., Jan. 14, 1776, for three years, in Capt. George Lewis’ troop, Third
Regiment, Continental Dragoons, commanded by Col. George Baylor. On May
1, 1777, he was assigned to the cavalry of the Commander-in-Chief’s
Guard.
John M. O’Brien is mentioned in the Rhode Island records as a soldier of
the Revolution. He served in Captain Dexter’s company, of the “Late Col.
Greene’s regiment,” and died in 1781. He is believed to have been the
soldier elsewhere mentioned in the Rhode Island records as John Morris
O’Brien.
Andrew Caldwell, born in Ireland, became a prominent merchant in
Philadelphia, Pa. He was a patriot of the Revolution; member of the
Council of Safety; member of the First City Troop, Philadelphia; member
of the Navy Board; port warden of Philadelphia; a director of the Bank
of North America.
George Bryan, an Irishman, became a resident of Philadelphia, Pa.; was a
member of the Assembly; a delegate, in 1765, to the Stamp Act Congress;
a patriot of the Revolution; vice-president of the Supreme Executive
Council of Pennsylvania: president of the same; a judge of the Supreme
Court of the state.
In Mason’s _Reminiscences of Newport_ (R. I.) is an interesting
reference to Henry Goldsmith, a native of Westmeath, Ireland. He settled
in Newport when he was 24 years of age, married there in 1779, and had
14 children. At the close of the Revolution, Mr. and Mrs. Goldsmith
removed from Newport.
James Calhoun, grandfather of John C. Calhoun, came from Donegal,
Ireland, in 1733, with his family, and settled in Pennsylvania, later
removing to western Virginia, and at a later period, further south. In
1765 they established the “Calhoun settlement” in South Carolina, near
the Cherokee Indian frontier.
James Blaine came from Ireland with his family prior to 1745. He settled
in Toboyne township, Cumberland County, Pa., where he died in 1792. He
left a widow and nine children. Col. Ephraim Blaine of the Revolution
was one of these children. The late Hon. James G. Blaine of Maine was a
descendant.
One of the officers in the Irish-French regiment of Dillon, during the
American Revolution, was Patrick Murphy. His name is preserved in the
military archives of France, and by its publication in _Les Combattants
Francais De La Guerre Americaine_, is recalled and forever made known to
the American people.
Mary Peisley was a native of Kildare, Ireland, and was born in 1717. She
entered the Quaker ministry about 1744, came to America with Ann Payton,
and perhaps other Quakers, about 1753, labored in New York, the
Carolinas, Maryland and Rhode Island; returned to Ireland and married
Samuel Neale of Dublin.
James Moore, who was chosen governor of South Carolina, was born in
Ireland about 1640. He came to this country in 1655, settled in
Charleston, S. C., wedded a daughter of Sir John Yeamans and had 10
children. One of his sons, also named James Moore, was likewise chosen
governor of South Carolina.
Born in Ireland in 1705, Jeremiah Smith came to Boston, Mass., with his
wife, in 1726, and finally settled in Milton, Mass., 1737. He was an
intimate friend of Governor Hutchinson, Governor Hancock and other
leading men. He engaged in the manufacture of paper, and carried on the
business until 1775 when he retired.
The Virginia records show that Symon Tuchin was in that colony in 1625.
He was master of the _Due Return_, and “having been banished out of
Ireland was reported as strongly affected to popery.” Accordingly, “The
Governor and Council of Virginia sent him as a prisoner, in January,
1625, to the Company in England.”
Mary Mallins, “from Bandon in Ireland,” was among those arrested in
Boston, Mass., at the time of the prosecution of the Quakers, she being
one of the latter. She and twenty-seven other Quakers were finally
liberated by Endicott and were ordered to leave the jurisdiction at
once, nor to return at their peril.
Morison’s _Life of Judge Jeremiah Smith_, who was a native of
Peterborough, N. H., states that “He began to study Latin when about
twelve years old, with Rudolphus Greene, an Irishman employed by the
town to keep school a quarter of the year in each of the four quarters
of the town.” Judge Smith was born about 1771.
John Mitchell, a native of Ireland, was muster-master-general of the
Pennsylvania State navy, 1775–’76; acting commissary, 1776–’77;
lieutenant on the _Chatham_, 1775; captain of the _Ranger_, 1776; a
merchant in France after the Revolution; United States consul at
Santiago de Cuba; admiralty surveyor of Philadelphia, Pa.
A Rhode Island soldier, 1756–’59, was named William Sheehan. He is
mentioned in the former year as a lieutenant and quartermaster for the
expedition against Crown Point. In 1758, he appears as first lieutenant
in the major’s company of his regiment, and is also referred to the same
year as captain and quartermaster.
A Virginia trooper who rendered service against the French and Indians
was Thomas Doyle. The Assembly of Virginia passed an act in 1756 for the
payment of men engaged in said service. Doyle was voted 1,860 pounds of
tobacco, and other troopers were to be paid like amounts. (Boogher’s
_Gleanings of Virginia History_.)
Daniel Magennis is a name frequently met in King Philip’s War, 1675–’76.
Daniel became a corporal and was at one time company clerk. He served at
various times under Captain Henchman, Captain Wheeler and other
commanders. His name also appears in the records as Maginnis. (See
Bodge’s _History of King Philip’s War_.)
Col. Charles Stewart was born in County Donegal, Ireland, 1729. He came
to America, 1750; was deputy surveyor-general of Pennsylvania; patriot
of the Revolution; colonel of a New Jersey regiment of Minute Men;
colonel of a New Jersey regiment of the Line; served on Washington’s
staff; member of the Continental Congress.
“In the _Mayflower_ ... were one hundred and one men, women, boys and
girls as passengers, besides captain and crew. These were of English,
Dutch, French and Irish ancestry, and thus typical of our national
stock.” (Rev. William Elliot Griffis in _Brave Little Holland and What
She Taught Us_. New York, 1894. Page 208.)
Bernard O’Neill was a captain in the Irish-French regiment of Dillon in
the American Revolution. He was probably the “Captain Commandant
O’Neill” who participated in the expedition against Savannah, where he
was wounded in the breast, and may have been identical with “Le Baron
Bernard O’Neill,” who became a Chevalier of St. Louis.
Thomas DeCourcy was a native of Newport, R. I. His father came from
Ireland and settled in Newport about 1720. The father’s brother, also
named Thomas, was Baron Kinsale. Upon the latter’s death, Thomas, the
native of Newport, succeeded to the title and estates. Mention of these
facts may be found in Peterson’s _History of Rhode Island_.
Eleanor Ledlie was of Irish parentage. She became the wife of Capt.
Samuel Bowman, an officer of the Revolution, who as commander of the
guard walked arm in arm with Major Andre, the British spy, to the place
of the latter’s execution. (Hon. Edward A. Moseley of Washington, D. C.,
in an address to the American-Irish Historical Society.)
Matthias Alexis de Roche Fermoy, of Irish extraction, was an officer in
the French forces that came to America during our Revolution and
assisted in establishing the independence of the United States. He
became a brigadier and is mentioned in the work entitled _Generals of
the Continental Line in the Revolutionary War_ (Philadelphia, 1903).
Brian Murphy was a soldier in King Philip’s War, 1675–’76. He is
mentioned in Bodge’s history of that war and is credited with garrison
duty at Mendon, Mass. Thomas Tally, Patrick Morren, Timothy Larkin,
Joseph Griffin, Jeremiah Toy, Philip Butler, John Hand and Thomas Welch
are also mentioned by Bodge as participating in that struggle.
During the Revolution, Capt. William Burke of the armed schooner
_Warren_ was captured by the British frigate _Liverpool_ and carried
into Halifax, from whence he was sent to New York and confined on board
a prison ship. He was later exchanged for Capt. Richard Jones, “a
British officer of equal rank.” Captain Burke is mentioned as of
Marblehead, Mass.
Susannah Lightfoot, a native of Ireland, was born in 1720. She was a
Quaker, and with Ruth Courtney came from Ireland to America on a visit
to Friends here. On her return to the Old Land, she landed at Cork. In
1760, she paid a second visit to these shores, and four years later
removed with her husband from Ireland and permanently settled here.
Among those serving under Esek Hopkins, during the Revolution, was
Patrick Kaine. He is mentioned as a marine and served aboard the
_Cabot_. In an engagement with the British ship _Glasgow_, April 6,
1776, he was killed. Anthony Dwyer, Richard Sweeney, John Connor, Thomas
Dowd and Andrew Magee also served aboard the _Cabot_ under Hopkins.
Jeremiah Driskel, William Henussey and John Leary all served in the
Commander-in-Chief’s Guard (Washington’s) during the Revolution. Driskel
had previously served in a Maryland regiment; Henussey, in a
Pennsylvania command, and Leary, in a regiment commanded by John Stark.
(See Godfrey’s work on _The Commander-in-Chief’s Guard_.)
In 1776, John O’Kelley was a member of a military company in the town of
Warren, R. I. The company was commanded by Capt. Ezra Ormsbee. Also in
the company were Daniel Kelley and Joseph Kelley. The General Assembly
of Rhode Island, in 1782, gave “Mrs. Elizabeth O’Kelley, widow of John
O’Kelley,” of Warren, permission to sell certain real estate.
Thomas Jones, “from Strabane, Ireland,” came to Rhode Island prior to
1699; later he removed to Long Island, N. Y. He married Freelove
Townsend, whose father gave them land at Massapequa, where they settled.
They are mentioned in Bunker’s _Long Island Genealogies_. Mr. and Mrs.
Jones had a son David, born in 1699. Thomas, the immigrant, died in
1713.
Andrew Meade, a Kerry Irishman, and a Catholic, emigrated to New York,
married Mary Latham, a Quakeress of Flushing, went to Nansemond County,
Va., and died there in 1745. His son was Col. Richard Kidder Meade, an
aide-de-camp of General Washington. (Quoted by Martin I. J. Griffin of
Philadelphia, Pa., in _American Catholic Historical Researches_.)
Thomas, John and Walter Dongan, kinsmen of Governor Dongan of New York,
are believed to have been residing in New York in 1715. In 1723 a
private act was passed by the Assembly of the province “to enable Thomas
Dongan and Walter Dongan, two surviving kinsmen of Thomas, late Earl of
Limerick,” to sell part of their estate. A similar act was passed in
1726.
Hotten’s _Original Lists_ (London, 1874) contain the names of many Irish
who were conveyed to Virginia, Barbadoes and other parts. The work
comprises the period from 1600 to 1700 and mentions “Persons of quality,
emigrants, religious exiles, political rebels, serving men sold for a
term of years, apprentices, children stolen, maidens pressed” and other
wayfarers of the time.
Charles Carroll, grandfather of Charles Carroll of Carrollton, came to
this country about 1689 and settled in Maryland. In 1691 he was made
judge and register of the land office, and agent and receiver for Lord
Baltimore’s rents. His son, also named Charles Carroll, was born in 1702
and died in 1782. Charles Carroll of Carrollton was a son of this second
Charles Carroll.
Michael Ryan, a soldier of the Revolution, was acting-adjutant of the
Fourth Pennsylvania regiment, commanded by Col. Anthony Wayne, from Feb.
17, 1776; was appointed adjutant March 15 that year; became a captain in
the Fifth Pennsylvania, and was inspector of General Wayne’s division;
was promoted brigade-major, Nov. 18, 1777; also served as major of the
Tenth Pennsylvania.
The Massachusetts records mention Patrick McMullen as serving during the
Revolution aboard the _Providence_, under John Paul Jones. He is
referred to as entitled to a prize share in the ship _Alexander_,
captured in 1777, and is also mentioned as a marine aboard the _Alfred_,
commanded by Jones. In this latter capacity he was entitled to prize
shares in the ship _Mellish_ and the brig _Active_,
Andrew Brown, born in Ireland, was educated at Trinity College, Dublin,
came to this country and eventually settled in Massachusetts. He was a
patriot of the Revolution, fought at Lexington and Bunker Hill; served
as major under Gates and Greene. After the war, he established the
_Federal Gazette_ at Philadelphia, Pa., the publication being later
known as the _Philadelphia Gazette_.
An Irish schoolmaster in Brunswick, Me., was Thomas Crowell. He settled
there shortly after the close of the Revolution, and taught school there
for over twenty years. Many of his pupils became leading business men,
and some of them famous shipmasters. Sumner L. Holbrook read a paper, a
few years ago, before the Pejepscot Historical Society, of Brunswick,
devoted to Master Crowell.
John Donnaldson, “son of Hugh Donnaldson of Dungannon, Ireland,” was a
shipping merchant in Philadelphia, Pa.; a patriot of the Revolution;
member of the First City Troop; took part in the battles of Trenton,
Princeton, Brandywine, and Germantown; subscribed £2,000, in 1780, in
aid of the army; became register-general of Pennsylvania; and
comptroller-general of the state.