Alexander Gilligan was a resident of Marblehead, Mass., in 1674.
Many Irish participated in the settlement of Salem, N. Y., in 1765.
(_The Salem Book._)
Samuel and Robert Elder, brothers, came from Ireland about 1730 and
settled in Falmouth, Me.
In 1746 a marriage license was issued, Spottsylvania, Va., to
Patrick Connelly and Ann French.
Dennis Lochlin, of Putney, Vt., was a representative to the General
Assembly of that state in 1777.
Lucy Todd O’Brien married, in 1698, John Baylor of Gloucester
county, Va. (_Virginia Historical Magazine._)
The records of Braintree, Mass., note the birth “6th mo. 18. 1669”
of Samuel Daly, a son of John and Elizabeth Daly.
Timothy Hierlehey was captain of the seventh company of the First
Regiment of the Colony of Connecticut, 1758.
Rev. James Tate, a Presbyterian minister from Ireland, organized
Tate’s Academy, in Wilmington, N. C., about 1760.
At a great fire in Boston, Mass., 1787, among those whose premises
were burned were Dennis Welch and Andrew Kalley.
Capt. Wm. McGinnis, with 89 men of Schenectady, N. Y., was at the
battle near Fort George, Sept. 8, 1755, and was killed there.
About 1762–65, Rev. Ezra Stiles, of Newport, R. I.,acknowledges
having received from Capt. Jno. Nichols a firkin of “Irish butter.”
James Warren settled at South Berwick, Me., as early as 1656. He was
a native of Scotland; his wife, Margaret, a native of Ireland.
On May 14, 1663, Miles More and Michael Rice of New London were
accepted as freemen by the General Assembly of Connecticut.
Among the men serving under Capt. John Gilman, New Hampshire, in
1710, were Daniel Lary, Thomas Lary and Jeremiah Connor.
Major William Waters, son of Capt. Edward and Grace (O’Neil) Waters,
patented land in Maryland as early as 1663. He left six sons.
We learn in Frothingham’s _Charlestown, Mass._, that in 1640 “there
came over great store of provisions both out of England and
Ireland.”
Edwin Larkin was located at Newport, R. I., as early as 1655. His
name appears in the “Roule of y^e Freemen of y^e colonie of everie
Towne.”
Several years previous to 1686, “persons from Ireland, picked up at
sea and brought hither, have £17 given them.” (Felt’s _Annals of
Salem, Mass_.)
As early as 1636, Edward Brick, or Breck, and his son Robert, “of
Galway in Ireland,” are heard from in Dorchester, now a part of
Boston, Mass.
In 1659 “John Morrell an Irishman and Lysbell Morrell an Irishwoman
were married 31st August by John Endecott,” Governor. (_Boston,
Mass., Records_.)
John Casey, James Brannon, John Bryan and James Moore were among the
field officers appointed by the Provincial Congress of North
Carolina, in 1776.
Cornelius Conner witnessed a deed (conveyance of real estate), in
1665, by John Clough of Salisbury, Mass. (_The Essex Antiquarian_,
Salem, Mass., Jan., 1902.)
Among the soldiers at Fort William and Mary, N. H., in 1708, were
John Foy, Jeremiah Libby, John Neal, Samuel Neal, John Mead and
Timothy Blake.
John Donaldson, an Irishman, commanded, during the Revolution, an
armed brig of 10 guns and carrying 45 men. He was at one time a
resident of Salem, Mass.
Stephen Decatur, Sr., married “a young lady named Pine, the daughter
of an Irish gentleman.” Stephen Decatur, the distinguished naval
officer, was their son.
Samuel Neale, Quaker, was born in Dublin, Ireland, 1729. He came to
this country, and in 1772 preached at Newport, R. I. He died in
Cork, Ireland, 1792.
John Moore, “formerly of Dublin,” is mentioned in Charlestown,
Mass., about 1680. He was a shipwright. (Wyman’s _Genealogies and
Estates of Charlestown_.)
The Massachusetts records show that in 1661 “John Reylean an
Irishman & Margaret Brene an Irishwoman were married 15th March by
John Endecott Governor.”
From the files of York County, Me., we learn that Thomas Crowley,
and his wife Joanna, had a daughter Arpira Sayward who had a son
Samuel, born about 1668.
Roger Kelley was representative from the Isles of Shoals at the
first General Court of Massachusetts under the new charter, 1692.
(Farmer’s _Genealogical Register_.)
Joseph McDowell and his wife, Margaret O’Neal, came from Ireland to
Winchester, Va., about 1743. Two of their sons became distinguished
in the Revolution.
Hon. Charles Jackson, Governor of Rhode Island, 1845–’46, was a
descendant of Stephen Jackson, a native of Kilkenny, Ireland, who
came to this country about 1724.
Col. James Moore, who commanded the First Regiment of North Carolina
Continentals in the Revolution, was of the Irish Moores who had
settled in that part of the country.
In Felt’s _Annals of Salem, Mass._, is found mention, 1789, of “John
Brenon from Dublin,” who “performs on the slackwire, balances and
gives specimens of legerdemain.”
Charles MacCarthy was one of the founders of the town of East
Greenwich, R. I., 1677. He had previously resided in St. Kitts. He
had a brother who went from Ireland to Spain.
The oldest Irish organization in this country is the Charitable
Irish Society, Boston, Mass. It was founded in 1737, and is still
enjoying a prosperous existence. Gen. Henry Knox was a member.
Thomas McDonoghue was a resident of Charlestown, Mass., in 1798.
John Russell married Mary Malonie in 1772. Russell is heard of as
early as 1769. (Wyman’s _Charlestown_.)
Kennedy O’Brien was one of the early residents of Augusta, Ga. He
was a merchant. A deposition made by him in 1741 is mentioned.
(_Collections of the Georgia Historical Society._)
According to Felt’s _Annals of Salem, Mass._, Butler Fogarty was a
school teacher there in 1792. He gave up his school to become clerk
of the Essex bank, but in 1794 went back to teaching.
St. Patrick’s Lodge of Masons was instituted at Johnstown, N. Y., in
1766. Another lodge bearing the same name was located at Portsmouth,
N. H., and was chartered March 17, 1780.
Edward Jones, of Wilmington, N. C., a native of Ireland, was elected
to the North Carolina House of Commons in 1788 and served until
1791, when he became Solicitor-General of the state.
Edward Rigg, an Irishman, died in New York city, 1786. He was for
many years a school teacher there. Edward Fogarty, another school
teacher, died in New York city about the same time.
Hon. Edward Kavanagh became governor of the state of Maine on the
resignation of Governor Fairfield, 1843. Governor Kavanagh’s father
was a native of New Ross, County Wexford, Ireland.
Savage’s _Genealogical Dictionary_ of New England states that in
1654 Edward Welch, “an Irish youth,” was sent over, by the ruling
power in England, in the ship _Goodfellow_, “to be sold here.”
John Campbell, who was twice speaker of the North Carolina House of
Assembly, was reared in Coleraine, Ireland. He was “a wise and
thrifty man.” (Moore’s _History of North Carolina_.)
Among the members of Capt. Fullwood’s Company of volunteers, South
Carolina, 1775, were William Martin, William McCoy, John Laferty,
Patrick Fagan, Robert Reilly and Cornelius Donavan.
It is stated that in 1720 the Irish of Lancaster County,
Pennsylvania, were excused from rents “in consideration of their
being a frontier people forming a kind of cordon of defence if
needful.”
Allan Mullins, surgeon, son of Dr. Alexander Mullins of Galway,
Ireland, was married to Abigail, daughter of John Butler, of New
London, Conn., April 8, 1725. (_New London Marriage Records._)
In Pearson’s _Genealogies_, relating to the “Ancient County of
Albany, N. Y.,” is mentioned Pieter Macarty of Half Moon who, in
1736, married Greefje Rhee. His second wife (1742) was Anna Abt.
Nicholas Rowe is mentioned at Portsmouth, N. H., in 1640, and
Matthew Rowe at New Haven, Conn., in 1650. The latter had three
sons,—John, Joseph and Stephen. (Farmer’s _Genealogical Register_.)
Arthur Dobbs, governor of North Carolina, took the oath at Newbern
in 1754. “He was an Irishman and had been a member of the parliament
of that country.” (Moore’s _History of North Carolina_.)
Daniel Neil was captain-lieutenant of Frelinghuysen’s Eastern
Company of Artillery (New Jersey state troops), and subsequently
commanded the same. He was killed at the battle of Princeton, 1777.
In 1674 there were nine Catholic religious confraternities in St.
Augustine, Florida, one of them being under the patronage of St.
Patrick. (John Gilmary Shea in _The Catholic Church in Colonial
Days_.)
The Fellowship Club was organized at Newport, R. I., in Dec., 1752.
The first meeting was held at the Black Horse Inn. John Murphy was
admitted to membership in 1803, and William Callahan in 1817.
In Wyman’s _Genealogies and Estates of Charlestown, Mass._, is
mentioned Edward Larkin, a wheel-maker. He was admitted an
inhabitant in 1638. His wife was Joanna. A son was named John
Larkin.
A return of the men enlisted by Lieut. Henry Piercy of the Second
Pennsylvania Regiment, 1778, mentions Patrick McQuire, a native of
Ireland, 42 years of age, and says that he “has the brogue on his
tongue.”
The provincial congress of North Carolina, 1776, appointed James
Hogan paymaster of the Third Regiment and also of the three
companies of Light Horse. (Wheeler’s _Historical Sketches of North
Carolina_.)
Thomas Burke was chosen governor of North Carolina in 1781. He was
an Irishman by birth and had been educated for a physician. He came
to America long prior to the Revolution and first settled at
Norfolk, Va.
We learn from the published records of Providence, R. I., that, in
1682, Cornelius Higgins bought of Andrew Harris, of Pawtucket, R.
I., 98¼ acres in Scituate, in the “precincts of y^e said Town^e of
Providence.”
John Keeney and Thomas Roach of New London, Conn., were nominated
for freemen at the General Court, opened in Connecticut on Oct. 14,
1669. Timothy Forde was nominated for freeman on May 14, 1668.
John, Daniel and Nancy O’Brien were residents of New London, Conn.,
in 1795. John Callahan and Henry McCabe were there in 1796. Patrick
Mann and John Sweeney were residents of Hartford, Conn., in 1799.
It is said of Arthur Dobbs, an Irish governor of North Carolina
(1754), that he brought over a few pieces of artillery, one thousand
muskets “and a plentiful supply of his poor relations.” (Moore’s
_North Carolina_.)
James Coleman, Maurice Murphey, Jr., Matthew Murphey, John Kenneday,
and Francis Kenneday were among the organizers of a military company
on the northeast side of the Pee Dee river, South Carolina, in 1775.
On Aug. 16, 1688, at Northfield, Mass., three men, two women and a
girl were killed by the Indians. One of the victims was John Clary,
father of the John Clary who was killed at Brookfield, Mass., in
1709. (_Temple._)
John Neil, from Ireland, was in Scituate, Mass., as early as 1730.
He established a pottery thereabouts. Edward Humphries, from
Ireland, was a resident of Scituate as far back as 1740. (Deane’s
_History of Scituate_.)
Thomas Donohoe was major of the Sixth Regiment, North Carolina Foot,
organized at Hillsborough, 1776. He became a member of the Society
of the Cincinnati at the latter’s inception at Newburg, on the
Hudson, 1783.
The records of the Church of Christ, Bristol, R. I., note the
baptism, in 1712, of Bridget, daughter of James and Bridget Cary. In
1747, is noted the baptism of Michael and Bridget Phillips, children
of Michael and Bridget.
Among the old New York families may be mentioned the Van Bergens of
Catskill and Coxsackie. Elizabeth Van Bergen, born in 1781, married
Richard McCarty. One of her children married a daughter of John
McCarty.
John Casey of Muddy River (now Brookline, Mass.) was a participant
in King Philip’s war, 1675–’76. He took part in the attack on the
Indian fort in “the Great Swamp,” Rhode Island, and was wounded in
that engagement.
A prominent regiment in the American Revolution was the First
Pennsylvania line. The regimental rolls show over 200 typical Irish
surnames, some of them being several times repeated, borne by
different members of the command.
The 30th of 11th mo., 1642. “John Smith, Gent., his assessment of
——, unto the last county rate, is remitted unto him, upon
consideration of the great losses that have of late befallen him in
Ireland.” (_Boston Town Records._)
In 1767–’68, the British warship _Cygnet_ wintered at New London,
Conn. The purser of the ship bore the name John Sullivan. Becoming
enamored of civil life as well as of Elizabeth Chapman, he married
and settled in New London.
James Stacpole, born in 1652, was probably a son of Philip, of
Limerick, Ireland. James was living in Dover, N. H. (Rollinsford),
in 1680. He died in 1736. The name is also spelled Stackpole.
(Stackpole’s _History of Durham, Me._)
Alfred Moore, Sr., of North Carolina, was a son of Judge Maurice
Moore and nephew of Col. James Moore who commanded the First
Regiment, North Carolina Continentals, during the Revolution. Alfred
was a captain in the regiment.
David Flanagan is buried at Bedford, Westchester County, N. Y. He
was born in Dublin, Ireland, in 1759. During the Revolution he was
clerk on board a vessel of the American navy. He subsequently became
a bookseller, and died in 1805.
At a great Boston fire, 1760, Michael Carroll and Capt. Killeran are
mentioned among those whose homes were consumed. Mr. Carroll resided
“Towards Oliver’s dock,” while Capt. Killeran was located at “Milk
Street and Battery-March.”
John Kelley, of Providence, R. I., died in 1701–’02. His widow,
Grace Kelley, refused administration of the estate, and in her stead
the Town Council appointed Pardon Tillinghast, Jonathan Sprague and
James Browne. (_Records of the Town of Providence._)
In 1677, 61 families at Salem, Mass., representing 295 persons, who
were in needy circumstances owing to King Philip’s war, were given
£44 5s from contributions collected in Ireland. This was a portion
of “The Irish Charity.” (Felt’s _Annals of Salem_.)
Gen. Thomas Proctor was born in Ireland, 1739, and settled in
Philadelphia, Pa. He entered the Patriot army in the Revolution, and
rendered distinguished service at the battle of Brandywine and
elsewhere. He was an artillery officer. He died in 1806.
Patrick Mark is mentioned in Charlestown, Mass., in 1685. He was
then 55 years of age. His wife was named Sarah. Their children were
Sarah, Peter, Hannah and Mercie. A daughter was killed by the
Indians in 1691. (Wyman’s _Genealogies and Estates_.)
Pittston, Me., was incorporated in 1779. Among the early settlers of
the town were: Stephen Kenny, William Burke, Thomas Moore, Daniel
Ring, Martin Hailey, Thomas Hailey, Joseph Hailey and William
Hailey. (_Maine Historical and Genealogical Recorder._)
James Given, a native of Ireland, born in 1777, participated in the
Irish rebellion of 1798. Subsequently he came to this country and
located at Fishkill, N. Y. A “useful and prominent citizen for 60
years.” (_N. Y. Genealogical and Biographical Record_, Jan. 1893.)
James Boies, writing in 1749–’50, from Cork, Ireland, to Samuel
Waldo of Boston, Mass., says: “My business here is to carry
Passengers & Servants,” meaning, of course, to America. He requests
that letters be sent him “to y^e care of m^r Winthrop, merch^t in
Cork.”
Lieut.-Col. Goffe, an Irishman, was, in 1760, ordered by Gen.
Amherst to take a regiment of 800 men, raised in New Hampshire, and
cut a road through the wilderness from “No. 4” to Crown Point, or
more properly to the Green Mountains. (_History of Springfield,
Vt._)
Rev. Ezra Stiles, writing at Newport, R. I., Aug. 9, 1774, says:
“Last month arrived at New Castle [Del.] the snow _Charlotte_, Capt.
Gaffney, from Waterford, with 100 passengers, and the ship _Hope_,
Capt. McClenachan, from Newry, with 200.” (_Diary of Ezra Stiles._)
Hon. Thomas Dongan, the Irish governor of the province of New York,
1683–’88, was a wise and just man. He founded representative
government in New York, and the Charter of Liberties given the
colonists at that time has greatly served to perpetuate his fame.
In a general return of Col. William Thomson’s regiment of Rangers,
Sept. 20, 1775, occur the names Lieutenant Richard Brown, a native
of Ireland, and Lieut. David Monaghan. Of the drummers, three were
born in Ireland. The command was operating in the South.
A paragraph in the _Virginia Historical Magazine_ states that Davis
Stockton came from Ireland, with Michael Woods, and lived for some
time in Lancaster county, Pa. About 1734 Stockton went to Albermarle
County, Va., where he patented large tracts of land. He died in
1760.
William Preston was born in Ireland, 1730. He was captain of a
company of rangers in Virginia in 1755–’56, and was a member of the
Virginia House of Burgesses in 1766, 1767, 1768 and 1769. During the
Revolution he held important commands in southwest Virginia.
Sir William Johnson, an Irishman, “of Johnson Hall, in the County of
Tryon, and Province of New York,” in his will, 1774, mentions
bequests to William Byrne, of Kingsborough; Patrick Daly (“now
living with me”); and Mary McGrah, daughter of Christopher McGrah.
In June, 1794, Capt. Harding arrived at Portland, Me., from Ireland,
in the brig _Eliza_. He brought about 200 passengers, men, women,
and children, “chiefly farmers and weavers,” an “honest and
industrious set of people.” (_Maine Historical and Genealogical
Recorder._)
Bryan Lefferty was attorney and private secretary to Sir William
Johnson and became surrogate of Tryon county, N. Y. Johnson’s will
is believed to have been drawn up by him. Sir William’s farm manager
was an Irishman named Flood. (Simms’ _Frontiersmen of New York_.)
In August, 1795, the brig _Eliza_, Capt. Wm. Fairfield, arrived at
Salem, Mass., from Belfast, Ireland, with 89 emigrants. Among them
were Samuel Breed, James and Sarah Dalrymple, John and William
Lemon, the Dunlap family, and others of note. (Felt’s _Annals of
Salem_.)
One of the first military organizations in Albany, N. Y., enlisted
in the Revolution, included David MCCarthy, James MCCarthy, John
McEnry, David Sullivan, William Magie (Magee), Morris Welch, and
other men whose names indicate Irish extraction. They signed the
roll in June, 1775.
William McMahon was a taxpayer in Falmouth, Me., in 1777. Mention of
him is made in the _Maine Genealogist and Recorder_. The same
publication speaks of Edward Clarey and Patrick Manan as having
belonged to Capt. John Hill’s military company of Berwick, Me., in
October, 1740.
The intentions of marriage between Benjamin Blanchard of Canterbury,
N. H., and Bridget Fitzgerald of Contoocook, were posted up “at the
Meeting House Door” in Rumford, N. H., March 26, 1739. (John C.
Ordway in _Salem [Mass.] Press Historical and Genealogical Record,
Vol. 2_.)
Thomas McLaughlin, of Bedford, N. H., was lieutenant in Capt. John
Moore’s company, Col. Stark’s regiment, at the battle of Bunker
Hill, June 17, 1775. McLaughlin was made captain of the company the
morning after the battle, in place of Moore, promoted. (_Military
Records of New Hampshire._)
A Mrs. Hall and Mr. Keating arrived at New London, Conn., in August,
1770, from Dublin, in the brig _Patty_. Captain Forbes in the 58th
year of his age died at Cork, Ireland, on March 5, 1791. He was a
native of Hartford, Conn., and had resided in Ireland for many years
prior to his death.
In 1790, Norwich, Conn., had a printer named Major John Byrne. About
this time he went to Windham, Conn., where he published the _Phœnix_
or _Windham Herald_. In 1795 he was the postmaster of Woodstock,
Conn., and in 1807 a member of the Aqueduct Company of Windham.
The British evacuated Boston, Mass., March 17, 1776, and the
Americans marched in and took possession. Washington, from his
headquarters at Cambridge, authorized as the parole for the day:
“Boston;” and the countersign: “St. Patrick.” Gen. John Sullivan was
brigadier of the day.
Keeney’s Ferry, operated over the Connecticut River at Hartford,
Conn., took its name from Richard Keeney, who was granted the
privilege in Oct., 1712, by the Assembly. The ferry was discontinued
by act of the Assembly in May, 1753. (_Rev. James H. O’Donnell,
Norwalk, Conn._)
Florence Maccarty bought land in Roxbury, Mass., in 1693. He was a
provision dealer and contractor in Boston. He subsequently added to
his Roxbury purchase, the property becoming known as the “Maccarty
farm.” The tract at one time comprised 60 acres. (Drake’s _Town of
Roxbury_.)
John O’Kane came to this country from Ireland in 1752. He was then
18 years of age. He located in or near Albany, N. Y., and married a
daughter of Rev. Elisha Kent. On his marriage he is said to have
dropped the “O” from his surname. (_N. Y. Genealogical and
Biographical Record_, July, 1878.)
Michael Magee was a member of Capt. Marsh’s Troop of Light Horse, of
Essex, N. J., in the Revolution, and was wounded. Thomas Magee was a
matross in Capt. Hugg’s Western Company of Artillery, New Jersey.
(_Official Register of the Officers and Men of New Jersey in the
Revolutionary War._)
William Henry came from Coleraine, Ireland, and established a
manufactory of arms in Pennsylvania before the Revolution. In 1777
he was deputy commissary general and was active in sending supplies
to the Patriot army at Valley Forge. He was elected to Congress in
1784, and died in 1786.
Matthew, John and Thomas Kilpatrick (also written Gillpatrick) came
from Ireland in the early part of the 18th century and settled in
Warren and Ware, Mass. In time the name was condensed to Patrick.
John Patrick, of the family, was commissioned a lieutenant in the
Patriot forces, Feb. 5, 1776.
Among the sufferers in the French and Indian war, sometimes called
Gov. Shirley’s war (1744–’49), was Michael Dogan, an Irishman. “He
listed at Philadelphia, a soldier for Louisbourg, and was taken in
his passage by a French” warship. He sickened, recovered, but had a
fatal relapse. (_Drake._)
James Devereaux was born at Wexford, Ireland, in 1766. He came to
Salem, Mass., in 1780, with his uncle, John Murphy. In 1792
Devereaux married Sally Crowninshield of Salem. Later, he commanded
the ship _Franklin_, said to have been the first merchant vessel
from the United States to visit Japan.
Capt. James Neall of New Hampshire had a group of scouts, in 1775,
and was engaged in guarding the frontiers of said province. The
scouts included Sergt. Philip Johnson, Francis Orr, James Rowe,
William Mack and John McMahon. (_Military History of New Hampshire,
Adjutant-General’s Report, 1866._)
Here are two inscriptions from the Granary Burial Ground, Boston,
Mass.: (1) “Here lyes ye body of Sarah Mahoney, Dau’r of Mr. Cain
Mahoney, of Marblehead, aged 26 years, Died Nov. 29, 1734.” (2)
“Here lies the Body of Mrs. Elizabeth Kelly, wife of Mr. Patrick
Kelly, aged 28 years, Died Sept. 25, 1758.”
Andrew Brown was a native of Ireland, born about 1744. He was
educated at Trinity College, Dublin, came to this country and fought
in the patriot ranks at the battle of Bunker Hill. In 1777 he was
made Muster-Master-General in the Patriot army. He died at
Philadelphia, Pa., in 1793. (Drake’s _American Biography_.)
Hugh Williamson was a member of the North Carolina House of Commons
in 1782 and 1785; he was also elected to the Continental Congress.
He was a native of Pennsylvania. His father, an Irishman, had been a
clothier in Dublin, and came to this country in 1730. (Wheeler’s
_Historical Sketches of North Carolina_.)
George Conn emigrated from Ireland about 1720 and eventually settled
in Harvard, Mass. His son, John, was born at Harvard, 1740, and
located in Ashburnham, Mass., probably about 1761. John was
lieutenant in a company of Minute Men and was with his command at
Cambridge, Mass., 1775. He died in 1803.
Patrick Burn, of Wenham, Mass., participated in the Cape Breton
expedition (Louisburg), 1744–’49. Later, he and others petitioned
for an allowance on account of services and sufferings. The
committee of war was ordered to pay the selectmen of Wenham £7 “for
the use of said Burn.” (Drake’s _French and Indian War_.)
From the Town Records of Boston, Mass., Nov. 8, 1737: “Capt. James
Finney Mess^{rs}. John Karr and William Hall Executed a Bond of the
Penalty of Six Hundred Pounds to Indemnify the Town on Acco^t. of
One Hundred and Sixty two Passengers Imported by the said Finney in
the Snow _Charming Molly_ from Ireland * * *”
At a meeting in 1744 of the proprietors of the common and undivided
lands belonging to the town of Kittery, Me., among those drawing
tracts of land were: John Gowen, Nicholas Gowen, Andrew Haley, John
More, Joseph Mitchell, James Troy, Andrew Neal, and Samuel Ford.
(_Maine Historical and Genealogical Recorder._)
Thomas Butler settled in Kittery, Me., before 1695. He is
grandiloquently described by a modern writer as “of the ancient
English house of Ormonde.” Perhaps it would have been nearer the
point to say that Butler was an Irishman “of the house of Ormonde.”
He had a son, Thomas, born at Berwick, Me., 1698.
From the Town Records of Boston, Mass., Nov. 8, 1737: “Hugh Ramsey,
John Weire, and William Moore, Executed a Bond of the Penalty of one
Thousand Pounds to Indemnify the Town from Charge on acc^o. of Three
Hundred and Eighty One Passengers Imported by Capt. Daniel Gibbs in
the Ship Sagamore from Ireland.* * *”
“Daniel y^e Son of Darby and Elizabeth Mallonee” was baptized, in
Barbadoes, 1679. The same year mention is made of Teag Conner, of
the parish of St. Michael, Barbadoes. “Mary y^e Wife of Morgan
Murphy” of the parish of St. James, Barbadoes, was buried in 1679,
as was also “Cornelius y^e Son of Dearman Driskell.” (Hotten’s
_Lists_.)
John Kehoo and Edward Dalton, two young Irishmen, came to Salem,
Mass., in 1776. “They were both remarkably handsome, and promising
men, and by their circumspect conduct and industrious habits, soon
gained the respect and confidence of the community.” Kehoo was lost
at sea while aboard the privateer _Centipede_, in 1781.
In Felt’s _Annals of Salem, Mass._, it is stated under date of April
20, 1681, “a ketch, Capt. Edward Henfield, picked up a boat with
Capt. Andrew and six of his crew, 150 leagues from Cape Cod. These
persons, so rescued, belonged to a Dublin ship bound to Virginia.
She sank on the 18th, with sixteen men and three women, who
perished.”
Daniel Gookin “of Cargoline, near Cork, Ireland,” commenced a
plantation in Virginia in 1621–’22. He is said to have been born in
England and to have “settled in Ireland.” He came to Virginia with
fifty men of his own and thirty passengers, and located at a place
called Mary’s Mount, near Newport News. (_Virginia Historical
Magazine._)
At a town meeting in Boston, March 12, 1771, “A letter from that
celebrated Patriot, D^r Lucas of Ireland, owning the Receipt of one
transmitted him by a Committee of this Town together with the
Pamphlet relative to the horrid Massacre in Boston, March, 5,
1770—was read and attended to with the highest satisfaction.”
(_Boston Town Records._)
From the Town Records of Boston, Mass., Sept. 19, 1744: “At the
Desire of His Excellency the Governour The Select men Sent up to
the Almshouse Sixteen Girls & Three Boys & a Woman arrived here
yesterday from Cape Breton who were taken About Six Weeks since by
a French Privateer [they] being bound from Ireland to
Philadelphia * * *”
From the _Connecticut Gazette_, Jan. 5, 1764: “Just imported from
Dublin, in the brig _Darby_, a parcel of Irish servants, both men
and women, to be sold cheap, by Israel Boardman, at Stamford.” The
people thus advertised were doubtless of the “Redemptioner” class,
to be disposed of for a term of years, to pay for the expense of
bringing them over.
From the Boston Selectmen’s Records, Jan. 15, 1715: “Jarvice
Bethell, sho maker Late of Ireland who w^{th} his wife came by the
way of New found Land into this Town in August Last is admitted an
Inhabit^t on condition, he finde suretyes to y^e Satisfaction of y^e
Sel. men to y^e value of 100 [£], Since its consented y^t Mr.
Shannon’s bond Shall Suffice.”
Hon. John Fanchereau Grimke was a colonel in the Revolutionary army
and judge of the Supreme Court of South Carolina. Early in life he
wedded Mary Smith. She was of Irish and English stock, and was the
great granddaughter of the second landgrave of South Carolina, and
descended on her mother’s side from the famous Irish chieftain,
Roger Moore.
Daniel McCurtin, believed to be of Maryland, was in the Patriot army
at the siege of Boston. He kept a journal of his observations and
experiences. The same has been published and narrates many
interesting incidents of the siege. The journal may be found in
_Papers Relating Chiefly to the Maryland Line During the
Revolution_, edited by Thomas Balch.
The town of Sterling, Conn., was named in honor of Dr. Henry
Sterling, an Irish physician and surgeon, who was located in
Providence, R. I., before and during the Revolution. When the
patriots from Providence destroyed the British armed vessel
_Gaspee_, June 10, 1772, Dr. Sterling responded to a summons to
attend the wounded commander of the _Gaspee_.
Timothy Murphy, an Irish physician, came to this country in 1776 and
settled in Monmouth county, New Jersey. He engaged in farming;
married Mary Garrison, granddaughter of Richard Hartshorne, of that
county, who was a member of the Colonial Council and of the Assembly
of the Province. Murphy served in the Patriot army during the
Revolution.
Nehemiah Walter was sent by his father from Ireland to America,
about 1674, to serve an apprenticeship to an upholsterer in Boston.
Having a fondness for books he, with the consent of his father,
attended college and graduated in 1680. He settled in Roxbury,
Mass., and married Sarah, a daughter of Increase Mather. (_N. E.
Hist., Gen. Register_, Jan., 1853.)
Rev. James Hillhouse was born in Ireland, and in 1720 came to
America. He settled in Connecticut and married a great granddaughter
of Capt. John Mason. Their son, William Hillhouse, became a member
of the Continental Congress and was a cavalry officer in the
Revolution. He represented his town in 106 semiannual sessions of
the legislature.
Sometime in 1745 as James McQuade and Robert Burns of Bedford, N.
H., were returning from Penacook to their homes, whither they went
to procure corn for their families, they were fired on by Indians
who appeared to be lying in wait for the opportunity. McQuade was
shot down and killed, but his companion escaped. (Drake’s _French
and Indian War_.)
The Rev. Robert Morris, who was pastor of the First Church in
Greenwich, Conn., in 1785, was “born and brought up in N. York. His
parents came from Ireland, the Father a rigid Churchman, his mother
a Roman Catholic. He living and being brot up with a Baptist at N.
York became one.” (_Rev. Ezra Stiles, quoted by Rev. James H.
O’Donnell, Norwalk, Conn._)
We find Joseph Manly in Conventry, Conn., in 1786; Patrick Butler in
Hartford, and Richard Kearney in New London in 1793. In the list of
expenses paid by Connecticut for the capture of Ticonderoga and
adjacent posts, occurs the name of an Irishman: “To Patrick Thomas,
for boarding prisoners, £1, 5s.” (Rev. J. H. O’Donnell in _Catholic
Transcript_, Hartford, Conn.)
On July 2, 1788, Captain Chapman, and nine emigrants from Ireland,
were drowned a short distance from the shore of Fisher’s Island. He
had just arrived with about 20 emigrants, some of whom were ill. In
attempting to land the latter at a spot where they were to be placed
in quarantine, all perished. (Rev. J. H. O’Donnell in _Catholic
Transcript_, Hartford, Conn.)
John J. Henry’s parents came from Coleraine, Ireland. John was born
in Lancaster, Pa., 1758, and was with Arnold’s expedition to Quebec.
He was captured by the British and kept a prisoner for nine months.
On being released, he was offered a lieutenancy in the Pennsylvania
line, but desired a captaincy in the Virginia line. Ill health
interfered somewhat with his military career.
According to Hotten’s _Lists_, Brian Kelley, aged 20, embarked for
Virginia in the vessel _Safety_, 1635. Among those to be transported
to “y^e Barbadoes,” 1635, were Dennis MacBrian, Teague Nacton,
Dermond O’Bryan and Margaret Conway. They embarked in the
_Alexander_. Mary Driskell, of St. James’ parish, Barbadoes, was
buried 1678. Dorothy Callahan, of Barbadoes, was buried Aug. 10,
1679.
Miss Virginia Baker of Warren, R. I., author of a “History of Warren
in the War of the Revolution,” writes us: “Perhaps you will be
interested to know that the first Irishman known to have settled in
Warren was one John O’Kelley. I think he arrived in town prior to
1770.... I have located real estate that he owned.” Miss Baker also
informs us that some of his descendants are still to be found in
Warren.
Cornelius Merry, an Irishman, of Northampton, Mass., had a grant of
land in 1663. He married Rachel Ballard. Their children were John,
who “died soon;” John (2d), born in 1665; Sarah, born 1668; Rachel,
1670; Cornelius, Leah, and perhaps others. Cornelius, the father,
participated in the “Falls fight” against the Indians. After the war
he removed to Long Island, N. Y. (Savage’s _Genealogical
Dictionary_.)
John Lamb, who was captain of a brig called the _Irish Gimlet_ is
found at New London, Conn., in 1774; Lawrence Sullivan “of
Connecticut” was taken prisoner by the British at the battle of
Bunker Hill, and was released February 24, 1776; Captain Richard
McCarthy of New London, was wrecked in a storm off Plum Island, May
27, 1779, when he and five sailors perished. (_Rev. James H.
O’Donnell, Norwalk, Conn._)
Capt. Philip Mortimer, who came from Ireland, was one of the
selectmen of Middletown, Conn., in 1749. He was a rope maker, was
very wealthy, and donated Mortimer cemetery to the town. Being
childless, he sent to Ireland for his niece to come out and become
his adopted daughter. The son of Capt. John Reid, Mortimer’s
partner, was despatched to Boston with a coach and four and escorted
her to Middletown.
Glancing through Deane’s “History of Scituate, Mass.,” the other
day, we found mention of Richard Fitzgerald, “a veteran Latin
schoolmaster.” He wedded Margaret Snowdon, of Scituate, in 1729.
Doubtless he was one of the many Irish teachers who abounded in the
American colonies at that and subsequent periods. The Society has
already published the names, and something concerning the career, of
about forty such.
Charles Clinton was a native of County Longford, Ireland, and was
born in 1690. He and his friends, numbering about 200, chartered a
vessel and sailed from Dublin in 1729 for Philadelphia, Pa. After a
passage lasting 139 days the captain, inadvertently or by design,
landed them on Cape Cod, Mass. Ninety-six of the ship’s company had
died on the voyage. One of Clinton’s sons, George, became governor
of New York.
An Irish colony, consisting of sixteen families, was settled about
1740, under the patronage of Sir William Johnson, himself an
Irishman, on a tract a few miles southwest of Fort Hamilton, N. Y.,
in the town of Glen. The settlers erected dwellings, cleared land
and planted orchards. Indian hostilities, however, prevented the
success of the settlement, and the pioneers returned to Ireland. (J.
R. Simms’ _Frontiersmen of New York_.)
Robert Dunlap was a native of the County Antrim, Ireland, and was
born in 1715. He embarked for America in the spring of 1736. The
vessel, with nearly 200 emigrants aboard, was wrecked at the Isle of
Sable and nearly one half of the passengers perished. The survivors,
including Dunlap, managed to reach Canso and were then taken to Cape
Ann, Mass. Governor Dunlap of Maine (elected in 1833), was a
descendant of Robert, the Irishman.
The records of Trinity Church, New York city, contain mention of the
following marriages: Hugh Kelly and Elizabeth Griffin, 1746; Ralph
Steel and Mary Branegan, 1747; John Trotter and Ann Hogan, 1748;
John Cusick and Mary Freeman, 1748; John Hurley and Elizabeth
Hannon, 1748; Patrick Hawley and Jane Ament, 1748; Jeremiah Dailey
and Margaret Fitzgerald, 1748; Patrick Boyd and Mary Peltreau, 1748;
Patrick Martin and Rozannah O’Neil, 1748.
The Boston _News Letter_, Sept. 12, 1720, has an advertisement in
which it is stated that an Irish man servant, Edward Coffee, had run
away from his master, Stephen Winchester of Brookline, Mass. Coffee
was probably a bond servant or redemptioner. He is described as
about twenty years of age, with “cinnamon coloured breeches with six
puffs tied at the knees with ferret ribbon.” He also had “a wig tied
with a black ribbon.” A reward was offered for his capture.
Capt. James Magee, “a convivial, noble-hearted Irishman,” commanded
an American privateer in the Revolution. In the winter of 1779 his
ship was driven ashore near Plymouth, Mass., during a terrible
storm, and 79 of the crew were frozen to death. Twenty-eight of the
survivors were rescued by the men of Plymouth. Drake’s _Town of
Roxbury, Mass._, states that in 1798 Capt. Magee bought an estate in
Roxbury. In 1819 William Eustis purchased the estate of Magee’s
widow.
The Society of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick, Philadelphia, Pa.,
was instituted on March 17, 1771. No creed lines were drawn, and in
the organization “Catholics, Presbyterians, Quakers, and
Episcopalians were united like a band of brothers.” Stephen Moylan,
brother of the Catholic bishop of Cork, Ireland, was the first
president. The Society of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick, New York
city, was founded in 1784. Daniel McCormick, a Presbyterian, was the
first president.
In 1644, Roger Williams, arriving at Boston, from England, brought
with him letters from members of the British parliament to “leading
men of the Bay” in which, counseling friendship, mention is made of
undesirable “neighbours you are likely to find near unto you in
Virginia, and the unfriendly visits from the west of England and
from Ireland.” It so happened that, eventually, Roger Williams
himself became “undesirable” and “unfriendly” to the self-sufficient
rulers of “the Bay”
Thomas Healey is mentioned as of Cambridge, Mass., in 1635, and
William Healey in 1645. John Joyce was an early resident of Lynn,
Mass., and removed to Sandwich, Mass., about 1637. David Kelly was
of Boston as early as 1664, and belonged to the artillery company
there. Stephen Hart was of Cambridge, Mass., in 1632; Edmund Hart of
Weymouth, Mass., 1634; John Hart of Salem, Mass., 1638; Thomas Hart
of Ipswich, Mass., 1648. (Farmer’s _Genealogical Register_.)
In a Virginia regiment, of which George Washington was colonel, long
before the Revolution, appear the following surnames: Barrett,
Bryan, Burns, Burke, Carroll, Coleman, Conner, Connerly, Conway,
Coyle, Daily, Deveeny, Devoy, Donahough, Ford, Gorman, Hennesy,
Kennedy, Lowry, McBride, McCoy, McGrath, McGuire, McKan, McLaughlin,
Martin, Moran, Murphy, Powers, etc. The regiment participated in the
struggles against the French and Indians. (_Virginia Historical
Magazine._)
Dennis Rochford, of County Wexford, Ireland, and his wife Mary, came
to Pennsylvania with William Penn in 1682, on the ship _Welcome_.
All or nearly all the passengers were Quakers. Two daughters of
Dennis and Mary died on the voyage. The passengers were described as
“people of consequence” and as “people of property.” Dennis was a
member of the Assembly in 1683. (Scharf-Wescott _History of
Philadelphia, Pa._, quoted in Vol. VI, Transactions of the Kansas
State Historical Society.)
In the “Great Swamp fight” in Southern Rhode Island, during King
Philip’s war, 1675–’76, were the following soldiers from
Connecticut, among others: James Murphy, Daniel Tracy, Edward
Larkin, James Welch and John Roach. The town of Norwalk, Conn.,
subsequently gave Roach, as a gratuity, a tract of land “consisting
of twelve acres more or less, layed out upon the west side of the
West Rock, so called.” In the Norwalk records Roach is spoken of as
a soldier in the “Direful Swamp Fight.”
Eaton’s Annals of Warren, Me., mention two Irish schoolmasters
there. They were John O’Brien and John Sullivan. O’Brien was “a
native of Craig, near Cork,” and taught in Warren for many years,
beginning at about the close of the Revolution. He was “an elegant
penman and a good accountant.” He married a daughter of Col.
Starrett. Sullivan was a native of Dublin, Ireland, and began
teaching in Warren about 1792. He was of “never failing good humor.”
He died in Boston, Mass.
Martin I. J. Griffin of Philadelphia, Pa., mentions Thomas Burke,
the one-eyed member of the Continental Congress and governor of
North Carolina, of whom Wheeler’s _Historical Sketches of North
Carolina_ says: “No public functionary was ever employed by the
state in more troubled times, none more active or talented, none
suffered more, none less known to posterity. He was a native of
Ireland and of the most finished education.” It was said of him that
he publicly professed and openly avowed the Catholic faith.
Here is an example of how certain names sometimes undergo a change:
A legislative act was passed in 1806 providing that “John O’Neil,
Jun., of Madison, in the county of Kennebec [Maine], shall be
allowed to take the name of John Neil; James O’Neil, of said
Madison, shall be allowed to take the name of James Neil; Samuel
O’Neil, of Norridgewalk, shall be allowed to take the name of Samuel
Neil.” (From _List of Persons whose Names Have Been Changed_, etc.,
published by the state of Massachusetts, Boston, 1893.)
George Berkeley, “the Kilkenny scholar,” Dean of Derry and later
Bishop of Cloyne, visited Boston in 1731. His visit is thus
mentioned in John Walker’s manuscript diary (in possession of the
Massachusetts Historical Society): “Sept. 12, 1731; in y^e morn Dean
George Barkley preacht in y^e Chapell from y^e 1^{st} Epistle to
Timothy, y^e 3^d Chap., Verse 16, and a fine Sermon, according to my
opinion I never heard such an one. A very great auditory.” By the
“Chapell” was meant the King’s Chapel, still in use in Boston.
From an entry in the _New England Historic, Genealogical Register_,
Jan., 1893, we learn that Capt. John McCarty of New London, Conn.,
died while on a return voyage from the West Indies in 1804. His wife
died soon after, leaving four young children, including Elizabeth,
who married Samuel Forman, of Syracuse, N. Y.; Rebecca, who married
Schuyler Van Rensselaer of Albany, N. Y., and Abby, who married
Sanders Van Rensselaer, brother to Schuyler. Capt. Richard McCarty,
believed to be father or brother of Capt. John, was lost at sea in
1779.
At a meeting of the selectmen of Boston, Mass., April 15, 1737, a
communication was mentioned as having been received from Capt.
Samuel Waterhouse. The latter stated that he was “twelve weeks from
London and seven from Cork; that smallpox had broken out on the
voyage, afflicting four of his ship’s company.” One of these was put
ashore, one died at sea, and two recovered. The ship having been
cleansed, the Boston selectmen gave him permission to “come up from
Nantasket to Spectacle Island” and drop anchor near the hospital
there. (_Report of the Boston Record Commission._)
Hon. James Buchanan, president of the United States, has left this
statement concerning himself: “My father, James Buchanan, was a
native of the County Donegal, in the Kingdom of Ireland. His family
was respectable but their pecuniary circumstances were limited. He
emigrated to the United States before the date of the Definitive
Treaty of Peace with Great Britain; having sailed from —— [no port
stated] in the brig _Providence_, bound for Philadelphia, in 1783.
He was then in the 22d year of his age.” (Quoted in George Ticknor
Curtis’ _Life of James Buchanan_, President.)
In a volume published by the state of New York (Albany, 1860),
record is found of marriage licenses, issued by the secretary of the
province, previous to 1784. Among the names mentioned are: Edward
Briscow and Jane McDermont, 1736; Matthew Sweeny and Mary Thorn,
1756; Patrick Hyne and Hannah Van Sice, 1757; Andries Van Schaick
and Alida Hogan, 1757; Owen Sullivan and Hannah Orstin, 1759; Wynant
Van Zant and Jane Colgan, 1760; Rynear Van Yeveron and Hannah Hogan,
1772; John Moore and Mary Van Dyck, 1772; Martin Van Haugh and
Judith Carroll, 1775.
In the Minutes of the Boston Selectmen, 1727, we find mention of the
following “Strangers warned to Depart Accord^n to Law”: John White,
an Irishman from Dedham; Robert Phenne, an Irishman from Wells;
William Nugel, an Irishman from Philadelphia; Robert Sterling, an
Irishman from Rutland; Patrick Jorden from Virginia; James Dawley,
an Irishman from Lisborn; Joseph Doyle from Rhode Island. These men
were doubtless worthy enough, but, perhaps, could find no one to “go
their bond,” and thus secure the town against the possibility of
their becoming, at some time, a public charge.
For the “expedition against Crown Point,” 1756, New Hampshire raised
a regiment of 700 men, commanded by Col. Nathaniel Meserve of
Portsmouth. In this regiment were included the following: Daniel
Murphy, James Meloney, Darby Sullivan, John McMahone, Daniel Kelley,
James O’Neil, Jer. Connor, Daniel Carty, Benjamin Mooney, Michael
Johnson, Darbey Kelley, John Meloney, James Molloy, James Kelly,
John Welch, Thomas Carty, William Kelley, Bryan Tweny (Sweeny?),
James McLaughlin, John McLaughlin, Thomas McLaughlin, and others
bearing typical Irish names. (_Military History of New Hampshire,
Adjutant-General’s Report_, Concord, 1866.)
From the Boston Selectmen’s Records, Aug. 9, 1736: “By a List from
the Impost office, It appearing that Nineteen Transports were just
Imported from Cork in Ireland, in the Brig^t Bootle, Robert Boyd
Commander, accordingly the said Master was sent for, Who appear’d
And the Select men Ordered him to take effectual Care to prevent any
of the said Transports from coming on Shoar from said Vessell, the
said Master promised Accordingly that they should not come on Shoar,
That he was obliged by his orders to Carry them to Virginia, Whither
he was bound, and that in the meantime he would keep a Strict Watch
on board his said Vessell to prevent their escape.”
James Cochran, an Irish boy, is mentioned in the Massachusetts
records. He was captured by Indians, but escaped and brought back a
couple of scalps as evidence of his experience. The _Boston News
Letter_, April 29, 1725, says of him: “James Cochran, ye youth that
came into Brunswick with two scalps, came to town on Monday last,
and on Tuesday produced ye same scalps before ye Honorable
Lieutenant Governor and Council, for which he received a reward of
two hundred pounds. And for ye further encouragement of young men
and others to perform bold and hardy actions in ye Indian war, His
Honor ye Lieutenant Governor has been pleased to make him sargeant
in ye forces.”
A gallant officer, who has almost been forgotten, was Gen. John
Greaton of the Revolution. He was a native of Ireland. Augustus
Parker, writing in the Boston _Transcript_, says of him that he
belonged to the first company of Minute Men raised in America, in
1775, and was chosen major, lieutenant-colonel, and colonel of
Heath’s regiment. After the battle of Lexington he was engaged in
the skirmishes about Boston, until he joined that memorable
expedition to Quebec in the winter through the woods of Maine, where
the army suffered untold hardships. He served through the war, was
one of Washington’s most trusted officers, was mustered out October,
1783, and died the following December, worn out in the service of
his country. Gen. Greaton’s father kept the Greyhound tavern on
Washington street, opposite Vernon street, in Roxbury, Mass.
Rev. Cotton Mather was born in Boston, Mass., Feb. 12, 1663. He was
a Puritan, hard and fast. In 1700 he delivered a sermon in honor of
the arrival of Gov. Bellomont, calling it a “Pillar of Gratitude.”
In this sermon occurs the following: “There has been formidable
Attempts of Satan and his Sons to Unsettle us: But what an
overwhelming blast from Heaven has defeated all those attempts....
At length it was proposed that a Colony of Irish might be sent over
to check the growth of this Countrey: An Happy Revolution spoil’d
that Plot: and many an one of more general consequence Than That!”
Mather was rather late in his opposition to Irish comers, for they
had been arriving in this “Countrey” before he was born. Were he
alive to-day he would doubtless realize that instead of checking the
country’s growth, they have greatly contributed to that growth.
Passing through Bridgeport, Conn., by train recently, we recalled
the Rev. Robert Ross of that place. He was a son of Irish parents,
and was ordained to the Congregational ministry in 1753. His
biographer states that he was a remarkable man, six feet in height
and well proportioned. His presence was imposing, and his ruffled
shirt, wig and cocked hat seemed peculiarly in keeping with it. But
he most strongly impressed himself upon the community through the
warmth of his patriotism, and the decisiveness of his political
convictions. He became a man of influence on the patriotic side and
proportionally obnoxious to the royalists. At the outbreak of the
Revolutionary War he preached on the text, “For the divisions of
Reuben there were great searchings of heart.” A company of soldiers,
raised to join the invasion of Canada in the fall of 1775, mustered
in his door-yard and was commended to God in a fervent prayer by him
before starting on their expedition.
The dangers encountered by Irish immigrants who came over in the old
days of sailing vessels is well illustrated by the following
incident: The ship _Lime_ with 123 passengers sailed from Portrush,
Ireland, July 26, 1738, bound for Boston. Three days after leaving
Portrush she was leaking badly, so she put into Killybegs where
twelve days were spent making repairs. She again sailed, but had to
put into Galway to be again repaired. While at Galway, John Cate,
the master, died of smallpox, and Matthias Haines, the only mate,
was afflicted with the same disease. While at Killybegs and Galway
25 of the passengers deserted the ship, and but little blame could
attach to them for so doing. With the captain dead and the mate
sick, the contractors hired Gabriel Black as master of the vessel.
She finally sailed from Galway on Sept. 19, and reached Boston
harbor Nov. 16, 1738. Mention of the incident may be found in the
_N. E. Historic, Genealogical Register_, Oct., 1897.
In 1630, Governor John Winthrop and others of the Massachusetts Bay
Colony “hired and dispatched away Mr. William Pearse, with his ship
of about two hundred tons, for Ireland to buy more” provisions. As
he did not return as soon as expected, “many were the fears of
people that Mr. Pearce who was sent to Ireland to fetch provisions,
was cast away or taken by pirates.” In February, 1631, however, he
arrived at Boston, Mass., bringing the following supplies: “34
hogsheads of wheat meal, 15 hogsheads of peas, 4 hogsheads of
oatmeal, 4 hogsheads of beef and pork, 15 cwt. of cheese,
butter-suet, etc. These supplies were in good condition, and a day
of thanksgiving was ordered by the governor.” (Frothingham’s
_Charlestown_ and Drake’s _Boston_.) A second ship appears to have
arrived about this time, for the colonists near by “lifted up their
eyes and saw two ships coming in, and presently the newes came to
their eares, says one among them, that they were come from Ireland
full of victualls.”
In Stackpole’s _History of Durham, Me._, is an interesting reference
to Martin Rourk, at one time town clerk of that place. Rourk was
born in Ireland about 1760, and came to America about 1773. He spent
two years in his uncle’s store at St. John’s, and went to Boston,
Mass., in 1775. He became clerk in the company of Capt. Lawrence of
the Patriot army, and subsequently married his widow. In May, 1775,
Martin Rourk is mentioned as in a picket guard, having enlisted in
April of that year. He reënlisted several times, was at Ticonderoga
in 1776, and is mentioned as a sergeant after 1777. He settled in
Durham, Me., about 1784, and in 1796 bought a twenty-acre lot of
Thomas Mitchell, was town clerk in 1790–1807, and is spoken of as an
excellent penman. He was also “the foremost school teacher” of
Durham. He died in 1807. His children were Jane, John, Hannah,
William, David, Samuel, Silence, Cyrus, and Jacob H. Some of these
had the name changed to Roak before 1820. John, one of the sons,
wedded Joanna Larrabee and had seven children.