LEADING EVENTS IN THE CAREER OF THE SOCIETY, FOR 1900, OR OF SPECIAL
INTEREST TO THE MEMBERS.
Jan. 1. Hon. Patrick J. Boyle, state vice-president of the Society
for Rhode Island, was to-day inaugurated mayor of Newport for
his sixth term.
Jan. 1. Hon. James F. Leonard, of the Society, is inaugurated mayor
of Lawrence, Mass.
Jan. 11. Joseph Smith, Lowell, Mass., of the Society, addresses a
Pro-Boer meeting at Lawrence, Mass. Ex-Mayor Breen of
Lawrence, another of our members, presides at the meeting.
Jan. 13. Joseph Smith, Lowell, Mass., just mentioned, is elected
president of the Papyrus Club, Boston.
Jan. 18. Annual meeting and banquet of the Society, at Sherry’s, New
York City, with addresses by Hon. Thomas H. Carter, United
States senator from Montana, and other gentlemen.
Jan. 20. The _New York World_ to-day mentions “The Cipher in the
Plays and on the Tombstone,” a work by one of our members,
Hon. Ignatius Donnelly. Mr. Donnelly is also the author of
an “Essay on the Sonnets of Shakespeare,” “Atlantis, the
Antediluvian World,” “Ragnarok,” “The Great Cryptogram,”
“Cæsar’s Column,” and other works. He has been a member
of congress, and was for two terms lieutenant-governor of
Minnesota.
Jan. 23. Hon. Andrew J. White, ex-police justice and former dock
commissioner, dies at his residence in New York City. He
became a member of the Society, Jan. 19, 1899.
Jan. 24. Death of Hon. William F. Reddy, of the Society, Richmond, Va.
He had been a member of the Virginia House of Delegates.
Feb. 5. Article published in the _New York Sun_, from the pen
of Secretary T. H. Murray, relative to Andrew Jackson’s
ancestry.
Feb. 10. Contribution appeared in _The Monitor_ of San Francisco,
Cal., descriptive of the Society’s work and urging active
interest therein. The author is James Connolly, of Coronado,
the Society’s state vice-president for California.
Feb. 18. Rev. Michael Gilligan, rector of St. Joseph’s Catholic
church, Medford, Mass., died to-day in Norfolk, Va. He was a
member of the Society.
Feb. 20. Lieut. Martin L. Crimmins, Sixth U. S. Infantry, a member of
the Society, writes an interesting descriptive letter from
the Philippines. The letter was subsequently published in the
_New York Sun_ of March 13.
Feb. 24. Rev. Cyrus Townsend Brady, Protestant Episcopal Archdeacon of
Pennsylvania, and member of the Society, begins to-day, in
the Philadelphia _Evening Post_, his serial, “The Grip of
Honor.”
March. In _Donahoe’s Magazine_ for this month is an article by
T. St. John Gaffney, of the Society, on “The Alleged
European Coalition Against the United States During the
Spanish-American War.” The article was subsequently
reprinted in pamphlet form for the American Raad.
Mar. 1. Check for $50, life membership fee, received to-day from P.
F. McGowan, New York City.
Mar. 3. The steamship _Lucania_ arrived off Sandy Hook from
Liverpool. Among her passengers was John E. Milholland, of
New York, a member of the Society. On the passage over a
British baronet bought champagne for the saloon passengers
and proposed the health of the British queen and a toast to
the success of the British arms in the war against the Boers.
Mr. Milholland and others refused to drink the toast.
Mar. 6. Richard Ryan, of the Society, was a candidate for mayor of
Rutland, Vt., in to-day’s election in that city.
Mar. 6. Capt. Patrick O’Farrell, the Society’s vice-president for
the District of Columbia, participated in the banquet at
Washington, D. C., of the Second Army Corps Association, he
being a member of the executive committee of the Association
and treasurer of the banquet committee.
Mar. 8. President McKinley to-day sent to the senate the nomination
of Second Lieutenant Hugh A. Drum, Twelfth U. S. Infantry, he
to be first lieutenant. This officer is a son of our late
member, Capt. John Drum, Tenth U. S. Infantry, killed in
battle near Santiago de Cuba, July 1, 1898.
Mar. 9. William Hopkins, member of the Society, is elected a
vice-president of the Boston Press Club.
Mar. 11. Gen. James R. O’Beirne, state vice-president for New York,
delivered an address at the Hyperion theatre, New Haven, Ct.,
to-night, on the Irish patriot, Robert Emmet.
Mar. 12. The editor of the _Review of Reviews_ writes for information
concerning the Society.
Mar. 17. Anniversary of the evacuation of Boston by the British. The
anniversary was observed to-night under the auspices of the
South Boston Citizens Association. Hon. John B. Martin, a
member of our Society, presided.
Mar. 17. Col. James Armstrong, Charleston, S. C., member of our
executive council, responded to a toast at a banquet of the
Hibernian Society in Charleston to-night.
Mar. 17. Hon. James A. O’Gorman, of the Society, presided to-night at
a banquet of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick, New York City.
Mar. 17. Annual meeting at Boston of the Charitable Irish Society
(founded, 1737). Five members of our Society were elected
to offices in the organization, as follows, viz.: Edmund
Reardon, president; Dennis J. Gorman, vice-president; P. J.
Flatley, M. A. Toland, and M. J. Jordan, directors.
Mar. 17. Hon. Theodore Roosevelt, governor of New York, a member of
the Society, delivered an address to-night at a banquet of
the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick, Albany, N. Y.
Mar. 17. Judge John J. McDonough, of Fall River, Mass., and Mayor
Boyle, of Newport, R. I., both members of our Society,
participated in a banquet at Fall River this evening.
Mar. 17. President Daniel M. O’Driscoll, of St. Patrick’s Society,
Charleston, S. C., and state vice-president for South
Carolina of our Society, presided at a banquet in Charleston
to-night.
Mar. 18. The _Boston Sunday Globe_, to-day, had a symposium on “Can
Ireland ever be Reconciled to the British Crown?” Two of our
members, P. J. Flatley and Thomas B. Fitzpatrick, both of
Boston, contributed to the discussion.
Mar. 18. In the _New York World_, to-day, appeared a contribution from
Hon. Joseph F. Daly, of the Society, on “The Fallibility of
Circumstantial Evidence,” a judicial study.
Mar. 19. The _Augusta_ (Ga.) _Chronicle_ had an editorial to-day
entitled “A Sad Anniversary.” It related to the death, March
19, 1899, of Hon. Patrick Walsh, ex-United States senator
from Georgia. Mr. Walsh was also editor and proprietor of the
_Augusta Chronicle_, and manager of the Southern Associated
Press. At the time of his death he was state vice-president
of our Society for Georgia.
April 3. Dr. Sherwin Gibbons of Lexington, Mass., a member of the
patriotic celebration committee for the battle anniversary on
the 19th inst., writes to the Society that Christopher S.
Ryan of Lexington has been appointed a special committee to
receive the members of our Society on their arrival in town
that day.
April 10. Hon. William A. M. Mack, of the Society, is to-day reëlected
mayor of Elizabeth, N. J.
April 12. The city council of New Bedford, Mass., this evening,
reëlected two of our members to official positions, viz.:
City auditor, Charles J. McGurk; inspector of buildings,
Edmund O’Keefe.
April 16. Thomas Carroll, Peabody, Mass., a member of the Society,
reads a paper before the Essex Institute of Salem, Mass.,
on “Bands and Band Music in Salem.” In his paper he mentions
the great musician, Patrick Sarsfield Gilmore, who, in
December, 1854, was elected leader of a Salem band, taking
the position in 1855. He also mentions William Carroll and
James Byrne, two other band leaders in Salem, and alludes
to the “Jackson Musketeers, of Lowell, commanded by Capt.
Patrick H. Proctor.”
April 19. The Society observed the anniversary of the Battle of
Lexington, Concord, and Cambridge, Mass., by a visit to
Lexington, where it deposited a laurel wreath to the memory
of the patriots who fell, April 19, 1775.
April 19. In the evening succeeding the event just mentioned, the
Society held a banquet at the Hotel Bellevue, Boston.
Among the guests were President Capen of Tufts College
and President Hall of Clark University, Mass. Each made
an address.
April 19. At the banquet of the Society at the Hotel Bellevue, Boston,
this evening, Thomas F. O’Malley of Somerville, Mass., read
an historical paper on “Hugh Cargill,” an Irishman of
Concord, Mass., who participated in the battle of April 19,
1775.
April 22. M. le Comte Margerin de Cremont, Paris, France, writes to
Secretary T. H. Murray. M. de Cremont is president of the
Association Artistique et Litteraire de Saint-Patrice, of
Paris. He presents his regards to our Society.
May. Hon. James F. Brennan, Peterborough, N. H., state
vice-president of the Society, has a paper in this month’s
issue of the _Granite Monthly_ on the “Peterborough Town
Library.” The paper is illustrated and of great interest and
value.
May 3. Letter of inquiry written to Secretary Murray, by Dr. John B.
Cosgrove of Worcester, Mass. He seeks information relative to
the Irish Bacons who settled at Dedham, Mass., in 1640.
May 8. At a convention of the Gaelic League of America, which opened
in Boston on this date, Stephen J. Richardson, of New York, a
member of our Society, was chosen national president of the
League.
May 9. Thomas F. O’Malley, Somerville, Mass., of our Society,
lectured before the Somerville Historical Society this
evening on “Curiosities of the Colonial Laws.”
May 10. Hon. Ignatius Donnelly, of the Society, was nominated at
Cincinnati, O., to-day, for vice-president of the United
States.
May 11. A New Haven, Ct., member of the Society, Hon. James P.
Bree, is chosen national secretary of the Ancient Order of
Hibernians at the latter’s convention in Boston.
May 19. _The Boston Globe_ of this date publishes an interesting
notice of the Society’s second annual volume, the notice
having been written by M. E. Hennessy of the _Globe’s_ staff,
who is also a member of the Society.
May 21. Secretary Murray to-day received a check for $50 from the
Knights of St. Patrick, of San Francisco, Cal. This is a life
membership fee for the Knights, the latter having voted to
affiliate with the Society. The check was forwarded through
John Mulhern of 124 Market St., San Francisco.
May 27. Eugene T. McCarthy, Lynn, Mass., of the Society, died. He was
a well-known and highly esteemed lawyer and a leader among
the members of the Essex county bar.
May 27. Rev. P. J. Kavanagh, rector of St. Bridget’s church,
Lexington, Mass., a member of the Society, observed to-day
the 25th anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood.
May 30. Hon. Thomas J. Gargan, chairman of the Boston citizens
committee to receive the Boer envoys, meets the latter at
Providence, R. I., and escorts them to Boston; with him were
James Jeffrey Roche, also of the Society, and others. The
envoys were Messrs. Fischer, Wessels and Wolmarans.
June 1. Notice issued to the members of the Society for an observance
of the anniversary of the battle of Bunker Hill, the
observance to take place in Boston on Monday, the 18th inst.,
the anniversary itself falling on Sunday, 17th inst.
June 1. John F. Doyle, 45 William St., New York city, forwards $50 to
the Society, life membership fee.
June 1. A number of our members in Springfield, Mass., were on the
committee to receive the Boer envoys in that city this
afternoon. The members referred to included City Solicitor
Wm. G. McKechnie, Ex-Postmaster John H. Clune, Dr. Philip
Kilroy and James B. Carroll.
June 4. William H. O’Hearn, M. D., a Lawrence, Mass., member of the
Society, died in that city.
June 9. The _Charlestown_ (Mass.) _Enterprise_, of this date,
contains a splendid article relative to the Society’s
programme for the Bunker Hill anniversary celebration on the
18th inst.
June 10. Daniel B. Kelley, of the Society, died to-day at his home in
Haverhill, Mass. He was a graduate of Yale University, and a
lawyer by profession.
June 10. _The Boston Sunday Globe_, to-day, contains the Society’s
programme for the Bunker Hill celebration on the 18th inst.
June 14. Under this date, the _Catholic Sentinel_ of Portland, Oregon,
publishes an appreciative notice of the Society and its work.
June 18. Celebration to-day, by the Society, of the anniversary of the
battle of Bunker Hill. In the morning a laurel wreath was
placed on one of the memorial tablets at Charlestown, and an
address was delivered by Thomas F. O’Malley, of Somerville,
Mass. In the evening the Society held a banquet at the United
States Hotel, Boston.
June 18. At a meeting to-day of the Bunker Hill Monument Association,
Rev. Joshua P. Bodfish, of the Society, was elected a
director of the Association.
June 21. Death at Washington, D. C., to-night, of Michael Cavanagh,
a member of the Society; had been long a worker in Irish
national movements; was employed in the war department at
Washington for many years.
June 21. Hon. Theodore Roosevelt, governor of New York, and member
of the Society, was to-day nominated for vice-president of
the United States, by the Republican national convention
assembled in Philadelphia, Pa.
June 23. Obsequies at Washington, D. C., to-day, of Michael
Cavanagh. The pall bearers included Edward A. Moseley,
ex-president-general of the Society, and two other
members—Capt. Patrick O’Farrell and J. D. O’Connell—all of
Washington, D. C.
June 23. Michael F. Cox, M. D., M. R. I. A., member of the Society
of Antiquities, Ireland, and member of the Senate of the
Royal University of Ireland, expresses his interest in our
organization and states that he would be pleased to be
admitted. He has since been admitted.
July. _The New England Bibliopolist_ (Boston), for this month,
contains an appreciative review of Vol. II of the Journal of
the Society. The review is from the pen of Frederick Willard
Parke.
July 1. Hon. John J. Hayes, Boston, Mass., a member of the Society,
died early this morning in that city. He was a graduate of
Trinity College, Dublin; served several terms as a member
of the Boston school board, and was also elected to the
Massachusetts senate.
July 4. Edward A. Moseley, Washington, D. C., ex-president-general of
our Society, was to-day elected to membership in the Society
of the Cincinnati in place of his father, recently deceased.
July 11. A contribution appears in the _New York Sun_, to-day, from
the pen of T. St. John Gaffney, a New York member, dealing
with the ancestry of President McKinley.
July 11. Death of one of our members, William H. Quinn, Hallowell, Me.
He had been a member of the board of aldermen of that city.
July 16. Secretary Murray, of the Society, has a contribution in
the _New York Sun_ to-day relative to President McKinley’s
ancestry.
July 16. On or about this date a letter was written by Rev. Fred B.
Cole, chancellor of the Protestant Episcopal diocese of Rhode
Island, in which he very kindly offered his services as guide
in a contemplated pilgrimage of the Society to the grave of
“Old Parson” MacSparran. Rev. Dr. MacSparran was an Irishman,
born toward the close of the 17th century and for nearly
forty years was pastor of St. Paul’s church, in Narragansett,
R. I. A vote of thanks was extended Rev. Mr. Cole.
July 18. T. M. Bryan, of Montesano, Wash., writes to the Society
desiring information regarding his great-grandfather, John
Bryan, who was an officer in the patriot ranks during the
American Revolution. This officer came from Ireland and Mr.
Bryan is of opinion that he had served in a company from
Chester county, Pennsylvania.
July 21. J. D. O’Connell, a Washington, D. C., member of the Society,
has an article in the _N. Y. Irish World_ of this date on
“The Irish in the Civil War.”
Aug. 3. Hon. Timothy J. Howard, Manchester, N. H., of the Society,
was nominated for congress to-day.
Aug. 9. _The Tribune_, of East Liverpool, Ohio, publishes an article
to-day on the “Fawcett Memorial Tablet” erected in that city
to the Fawcett family. Thomas Fawcett, the pioneer of the
family in this country, was an Irish Quaker, born in 1747.
His wife, Isabella Snodgrass, was also born in Ireland, 1754.
Thomas platted “Fawcettstown,” now East Liverpool, O., in
1798.
Aug. 12. Rev. Thomas W. Broderick, a Hartford, Conn., member of the
Society, died in that city to-night. He was rector of St.
Peter’s church there for sixteen years.
Aug. 26. Mrs. Charles Warren Lippitt, regent of Gaspee chapter,
Daughters of the American Revolution, writes to Secretary
Murray, from Newport, R. I., to enlist his interest, and
that of the Society, in the project to preserve the old
Revolutionary fort on Butt’s Hill, Portsmouth, R. I.
Aug. 28. Susan P. Swinburne of Newport, R. I., regent of William
Ellery chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution,
writes to Mayor Boyle of Newport, state vice-president of
our Society for Rhode Island. She hopes the Society will
place itself on record in favor of preserving the old
fortifications on Butt’s Hill, Portsmouth, R. I., near
Newport. These fortifications were constructed by Gen. John
Sullivan in 1778. The matter was submitted to the Society
at the gathering in Newport on the 29th inst., and the
project heartily commended.
Aug. 28. Death in Ireland of Rev. Michael O’Brien, of Lowell, Mass., a
life member of the Society.
Sept. 24. The torpedo-boat _O’Brien_, for the United States navy, was
launched to-day at the Crescent shipyard, Elizabethport, N.
J. The boat was “christened” by Miss Myra Lincoln O’Brien.
Oct. 2. Hon. John B. O’Donnell, ex-mayor of Northampton, Mass., was
to-day nominated for lieutenant-governor of Massachusetts. He
is a member of the Society.
Oct. 3. Letter received to-day from Col. James Moran of Providence,
R. I. He gives many valuable facts concerning Rhode Island
officers of Irish blood who served in the Civil War.
Oct. 4. Hon. Joseph J. Flynn, Lawrence, Mass., a member of the
Society, is to-day nominated for congress.
Oct. 15. A meeting of Narragansett Indians, remnant of the old,
historic tribe, was held this evening at Westerly, R. I., to
hear the report of their counsel, Francis M. Morrison of
Worcester, Mass., who is one of our members. Mr. Morrison has
long acted as counsel for these Indians in prosecuting
certain political and property claims. He has also been
attending to interests of the Mohegan, Montauk, and
Shinnecook Indians.
Oct. 17. Death to-day of John B. Wright, editor of _The Gazette_,
Haverhill, Mass. Mr. Wright became a member of the Society
soon after the organization of the latter.
Nov. 2. Rev. Michael J. Cooke, Fall River, Mass., contributes $50 to
the publication fund of the Society.
Nov. 14. Very Rev. John E. Barry, a Concord, N. H., member of the
Society, was killed this afternoon by a cable car on
Broadway, New York city. Father Barry was vicar-general of
the Catholic diocese of Manchester, N. H.
Nov. 22. The torpedo-boat _Blakeley_, for the United States navy, was
launched to-day at South Boston, Mass. She is named in honor
of Capt. Johnston Blakeley, U. S. N., who was a native of
Ireland, born in 1771. In August, 1814, he was appointed to
the command of the United States sloop-of-war _Wasp_. He
captured and burned the British sloop-of-war _Reindeer_,
engaged and defeated the _Avon_, and also took the _Atlanta_.
The _Wasp_ was spoken on Oct. 9, 1814, but was never heard of
afterwards. She is thought to have foundered in a storm.
Nov. 24. The seventeenth meeting of the Council of the Society was
held this evening at the Hotel Manhattan, New York city.
Preceding the business session, the members were hospitably
entertained at dinner by Hon. John D. Crimmins of New York.
Nov. 24. In the _Sacred Heart Review_ (Boston) of this date appears an
appreciative notice of Vol. II of the JOURNAL of the Society.
The notice is in the nature of a review, the author being
William A. Leahy of Boston.
December. John P. Holland, of the Society, has an article in this
month’s issue of the _North American Review_ on “The
Submarine Boat and Its Future.”
Dec. 4. Hon. James F. Leonard, of the Society, is to-day reëlected
mayor of Lawrence, Mass.
Dec. 17. Rev. John F. Cummins of Roslindale, Mass., a member of the
Society, was entertained by a reception and banquet this
evening at the Hotel Vendome, Boston, in honor of the
twenty-fifth anniversary of his ordination to the Catholic
priesthood. The event was not under the auspices of the
Society, although several members of the latter were present.
Dec. 24. The United States torpedo-boat destroyer _Macdonough_ was
launched to-day. She is named in honor of a distinguished
naval officer of Irish blood.
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