1896. Dec. 26. Call issued at Boston, Mass., for a meeting to
organize the society.
* * * * *
1897. Jan. 20. The meeting was held on this date at the Revere House,
Boston, Mass.; the Society was organized, and a
Constitution and a code of By-Laws adopted. Hon.
Thomas J. Gargan presided at the meeting, and Thomas
Hamilton Murray was secretary.
1897. Jan. 20. At this first meeting addresses were delivered by Hon.
John C. Linehan, Concord, N. H.; Joseph Smith, Lowell,
Mass.; Hon. Hugh J. Carroll, Pawtucket, R. I.; Charles
A. De Courcy, Lawrence, Mass.; George H. Moses,
Concord, N. H.; Rev. John J. McCoy, Chicopee, Mass.;
Osborne Howes, Boston, Mass.; P. J. Flatley, Boston,
Mass., and one or two other gentlemen.
1897. Jan. 20. Paul B. Du Chaillu, the famous explorer, author of
“The Land of the Midnight Sun,” “The Viking Age,”
etc., was present at the meeting as the guest of the
chairman, Thomas J. Gargan, and made an address.
George H. Moses, mentioned in the preceding minute,
was present as the guest of Hon. John C. Linehan, and
took so much interest in the movement that he signed
the agreement of association. Mr. Moses is editor of
the _Concord_ (N. H.) _Monitor_.
1897. Jan. 20. Rear Admiral Richard W. Meade, U. S. N. (retired), was
elected as the first president-general of the Society.
1897. Jan. 20. Thomas Hamilton Murray was elected secretary-general;
Hon. John C. Linehan, treasurer-general, and Thomas B.
Lawler, librarian and archivist. Of these, Mr. Murray
then resided in Lawrence, Mass.; Mr. Linehan is state
insurance commissioner of New Hampshire, and resides
in Concord, while Mr. Lawler was, at the time, a
resident of Worcester, Mass.
1897. Jan. 20. The following were chosen to be members of the
Executive Council of the Society: James Jeffrey Roche,
Boston, Mass.; Robert Ellis Thompson, Philadelphia,
Pa.; Theodore Roosevelt, New York city; Thomas J.
Gargan, Boston, Mass.; Augustus St. Gaudens, New York
city; Joseph Smith, Lowell, Mass.; Thomas Dunn
English, Newark, N. J.; Maurice F. Egan, Washington,
D. C.; Edward A. Moseley, Washington, D. C., and T.
Russell Sullivan, Boston, Mass. A list of state
vice-presidents was also submitted and adopted.
Osborne Howes, Boston, vice-president for
Massachusetts, is a descendant of David O’Killia
(O’Kelly), who settled on Cape Cod as early as 1657,
and who is mentioned in the old Yarmouth, Mass.,
records as “the Irishman.” The records show that at
the close of King Philip’s War, O’Killia was assessed
his proportionate part towards defraying the expenses
of that struggle.
1897. Jan. 20. Secretary-General T. H. Murray announced at this first
meeting that letters expressive of interest in the new
organization, acknowledging an invitation, or giving
an expression of opinion, had been received from Rear
Admiral Richard W. Meade, U. S. N., Germantown, Pa.;
Governor Hastings of Pennsylvania; United States
Senator Hoar of Worcester, Mass.; Rev. Cyrus Townsend
Brady, Protestant Episcopal archdeacon of
Pennsylvania; Dr. Thomas Addis Emmet, New York city;
Edward A. Moseley, secretary of the Interstate
Commerce Commission, Washington, D. C.; Joseph F.
Swords, Hartford, Conn.; Ex-United States Senator
Patrick Walsh, Augusta, Ga.; Gen. John Cochrane,
president of the New York Society of the Cincinnati;
Ex-Governor Waller of Connecticut; Rt. Rev. Thomas J.
Conaty, later rector of the Catholic University,
Washington, D. C.; Gen. Francis A. Walker, Boston,
Mass.; Rev. George W. Pepper (Methodist), Cleveland,
O.; Rev. J. Gray Bolton (Presbyterian), Philadelphia,
Pa.; Ex-Congressman T. A. E. Weadock, Detroit, Mich.,
and John P. Donahoe, Wilmington, Del.
1897. Jan. 20. Secretary Murray also announced letters from Prof.
William M. Sloane, of Columbia University, New York;
President Tyler, of the College of William and Mary,
Virginia; President Lee, of Washington and Lee
University, Virginia; Provost Harrison, of the
University of Pennsylvania; Rev. Thomas J. Shahan of
the Catholic University, Washington, D. C.; Very Rev.
Andrew Morrissey, president of the University of Notre
Dame, Indiana; H. B. Adams, professor of American and
Institutional History, Johns Hopkins University,
Maryland; Henry Stoddard Ruggles, Wakefield, Mass.;
Samuel Swett Green, of the American Antiquarian
Society, Worcester, Mass.; Theodore Roosevelt, New
York city; Thomas Dunn English, Newark, N. J.; Judge
Smith of the Superior Court, Pennsylvania; Col. D. S.
Lamson, Weston, Mass.; Rev. George C. Betts
(Protestant Episcopalian), Goshen, N. Y., and Hon.
Emmet O’Neal, United States attorney for the northern
district of Alabama.
1897. Jan. 21. _The Boston Globe_, _Herald_, and other papers
contained reports concerning the formation of the
Society. _The Springfield_ (Mass.) _Republican_ said:
“The American-Irish Historical society, organized at
Boston yesterday with a remarkable list of officers
and the assurance of a charter membership as
noteworthy, will prove without question a body of real
public importance.... Among those present at the
meeting mostly from Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and
Rhode Island, was Edward A. Hall, of this city, whose
history of the Irish in Hampden county has grown into
a history of the Irish in western Massachusetts,
where, in fact, they settled a great number of the
hill towns, and their descendants live to this day....
It will be the work of the Society to show what a vast
influence the Irish element had in building our free
commonwealths whose alliance made the first great
country of the people, in which with all its faults
reposes the hope of the progress of the world into a
world of the people instead of one of warring
dynasties and vicious religious hatreds, setting
nation against nation. We look to this Society for
active, earnest, ardent work for the enlightenment,
brotherhood and unity of this people first, and of all
other peoples in the long event. God hath made of one
blood all the nations of the earth.”
1897. Jan. 21. Rev. Edmund B. Palmer, Jamaica Plain, Mass., writes a
congratulatory letter to Treasurer-General Linehan.
Mr. Palmer states that he is a great-grandson of
Barnabas Palmer of Rochester, N. H., who was born in
Cork or Limerick, 1725, and who emigrated from there
with two brothers, and enlisted under Sir William
Pepperill. Barnabas sailed from Portsmouth, N. H.,—one
of the force of 3,000 men, 1745, and on the Isle of
Cape Breton, under Fort Louisburg, left his right arm.
Subsequently, he settled in Rochester, N. H., married,
had fourteen children, and was a member of the general
court of New Hampshire that ratified the Constitution
of the United States.
1897. Jan. 21. Col. D. S. Lamson, Weston, Mass., writes desiring to
become a member. He was lieutenant-colonel commanding
Sixteenth regiment (Mass.), 1861; A. A. G., Norfolk,
1862; served on staff of General Hooker; is a member
of the Society of Colonial Wars, Sons of the American
Revolution, and Military Order of the Loyal Legion;
one of his ancestors landed at Ipswich, Mass., in
1632, and received a grant of 350 acres which still
remains in the family; another ancestor, Samuel, of
Reading, Mass., participated in King Philip’s War and
had a son in the expedition of 1711. Another member of
the family, Samuel, of Weston, commanded a company at
Concord, Mass., April 19, 1775, and was major and
colonel of the Third Middlesex regiment for many
years, dying in 1795.
1897. Jan. 21. William Halley, editor of _The Vindicator_, Austin,
Ill., writes a congratulatory letter. Mr. Halley came
to this country from Ireland, in 1842, as a fellow
voyager with Thomas D’Arcy McGee.
1897. Jan. 23. Lieutenant Commander J. D. Jerrold Kelley, U. S. N.,
attached to the battleship _Texas_, expresses a
request to be admitted to membership.
1897. Jan. 26. Rear Admiral Richard W. Meade, U. S. N., writes from
Germantown, Pa., accepting the office of
president-general.
1897. Jan. 26. T. Russell Sullivan, Boston, Mass., a descendant of
Governor James Sullivan, of Massachusetts,
acknowledges his election as a member of the Executive
Council of the Society.
1897. Feb. 3. Hon. John C. Linehan, Concord, N. H., presents the
Society a copy of the volume issued by the state of
New Hampshire and descriptive of the exercises
attending the dedication, Sept. 27, 1894, at Durham,
N. H., of the monument to Gen. John Sullivan of the
Revolution.
1897. Feb. 4. N. C. Steele, M. D., Chattanooga, Tenn., writes
interestingly relative to the Society. He says: “I am
four generations removed from Ireland.”
1897. Feb. 6. O’Brien Moore, Washington, D. C., writes, expressing
his desire to become a life member.
1897. Feb. 8. Hugh McCaffrey, Philadelphia, Pa., writes enclosing
fifty dollars in payment of life membership fee.
1897. Feb. 9. Hon. William McAdoo, assistant secretary of the U. S.
Navy, Washington, D. C., thanks the Society for having
elected him vice-president for New Jersey, his
residential state.
1897. Feb. 10. Hon. Edwin D. McGuinness, mayor of Providence, R. I.,
and ex-secretary of state of Rhode Island, writes that
he is entirely in accord with the purposes of the
Society, and wishes to become a member.
1897. Feb. 11. The editor of the _Rosary Magazine_, through Rev. J.
L. O’Neil, O. P., New York city, becomes a life
member. This life membership is to stand to the credit
of “The Editor of the _Rosary Magazine_.” It is so
arranged in order that successive editors of the
publication may enjoy the rights and privileges of the
Society. Father O’Neil was the first to represent the
magazine in the organization.
1897. Feb. 16. Paymaster Mitchell C. McDonald, U. S. N., attached to
the battleship _Texas_, cordially accepts an
invitation to join the Society.
1897. Feb. 19. Arthur H. Chase, state librarian of New Hampshire,
expresses a desire to receive the publications of the
Society for the state library. He says: “I assure you
the publications will be of great value to us.”
1897. Feb. 23. Henry Carey Baird, Philadelphia, Pa., writes. His
grandfather was a founder of the Hibernian Society of
Philadelphia (1790).
1897. March 3. Hon. Ignatius Donnelly, author of “The Great
Cryptogram,” is admitted to the Society.
1897. March 6. Rev. Michael O’Brien, Lowell, Mass., becomes a life
member.
1897. March 9. Heman W. Chaplin, Boston, Mass., writes desiring to
become a member of the Society. He is a descendant of
the O’Briens of Machias, Me., patriots of the
Revolution.
1897. March 15. Hon. Daniel H. Hastings, governor of Pennsylvania,
expresses regrets at his inability to attend the
meeting on the 19th prox.
1897. March 17. Joseph Smith, Lowell, Mass., a member of the Executive
Council of the Society, reads a paper before the Irish
Society of that city on “The Irish Element Among the
Founders of Lowell.”
1897. March 26. C. H. Meade, Germantown, Pa., writes informing the
Society of the serious illness of President-General
Meade.
1897. April 5. Call issued for the second meeting of the Society (to
be held on the 19th inst.).
1897. April 9. Letter from Gen. John Cochrane, New York city, a
descendant of an officer of the Revolution.
1897. April 10. Letter written by Charles E. Brown, town clerk of
historic Concord, Mass.
1897. April 17. Letter written by Leonard A. Saville, town clerk of
Lexington, Mass., acknowledging on behalf of the
selectmen and himself, an invitation to be present as
guests on the 19th inst. They are unable to attend
owing to a home celebration.
1897. April 19. The second meeting of the Society. Held in the Revere
House, Boston, Mass. Thomas J. Gargan of Boston
presides. Four papers read.
1897. April 19. The first paper at this meeting was by Thomas Hamilton
Murray, the secretary-general, on “The Irish Bacons
who settled at Dedham, Mass., in 1640,” one of whose
descendants, John Bacon, was killed April 19, 1775, in
the fight at West Cambridge (battle of Lexington).
1897. April 19. The second paper at the meeting was by John C.
Linehan, treasurer-general, on “The Seizure of the
Powder at Fort William and Mary,” by Maj. John
Sullivan and his associates, some of which powder was
later dealt out to the patriots at Bunker Hill.
1897. April 19. The third paper was by Edward J. Brandon, city clerk
of Cambridge, Mass., on “The Battle of Lexington,
Concord, and Cambridge,” during which he read a list
of Irish names borne by minute men or militia in the
battle of the nineteenth of April, 1775.
1897. April 19. The fourth paper was by Joseph Smith, member of the
Executive Council, on “The Irishman Ethnologically
Considered.”
1897. April 21. Henry A. May, Roslindale, Mass., writes for
information concerning the Society. He states that he
is a descendant through his mother, Roxanna Butler of
Pelham, N. H., from James Butler, the planter of
Lancaster, Mass. (1653), who came from Ireland, and
was the largest land owner in what is now Worcester
county. He owned land in Dunstable, Woburn and
Billerica, where he died in 1681. His son, Deacon John
Butler, was the first child of Irish parentage born in
Woburn, Mass., and John was the first settler of what
is now Pelham, N. H., and lies buried there. A
monument was erected to his memory on “Pelham Green,”
in the centre of the town of Pelham, in 1886, by his
descendants, some 1,200 being present at the
dedication in June of that year.
1897. April 29. Death of Col. Jeremiah W. Coveney, postmaster of
Boston, the first member of the Society to pass away.
1897. April 30. C. H. Meade states that his father, the
president-general, is in a critical condition.
1897. May 4. Death at Washington, D. C., of the president-general
of the Society, Rear Admiral Richard W. Meade, U. S.
N.
1897. May 5. Edward A. Moseley, Washington, D. C., a member of the
Executive Council of the Society, pens a letter of
condolence to Richard W. Meade, Jr., on the death of
the latter’s father, the Society’s president-general.
1897. May 6. Edward A. Moseley, just mentioned, writes to
Secretary-General Murray relative to the obsequies of
the president-general. Mr. Moseley states that the
matter of a floral tribute from the Society has been
arranged.
1897. May 7. Letter from Richard W. Meade, Jr., to Mr. Moseley,
thanking the Society, through him, for the floral
emblem contributed, and stating that it “now rests on
my father’s grave.”
1897. May 15. First meeting of the Executive Council of the Society
held in Boston, Mass. Present: Thomas J. Gargan,
Boston; John C. Linehan, Concord, N. H.; Thomas
Hamilton Murray, Lawrence, Mass.; Joseph Smith,
Lowell, Mass.; James Jeffrey Roche, Boston, Mass., and
Thomas B. Lawler, Worcester, Mass. Mr. Gargan
presided.
1897. May 15. At this first meeting of the Council, Edward A.
Moseley, of Washington, D. C., was chosen
president-general of the Society, to fill the
unexpired term of the late Admiral Meade. Mr. Moseley
is secretary of the Interstate Commerce Commission,
Washington, D. C. He was born in 1846, at Newburyport,
Mass. He is a member of the Society of Colonial Wars,
a member of the Society of the Sons of the American
Revolution, a member of the Society of the Sons of the
Revolution, a member of the Bunker Hill Monument
Association (his great-grandfather fought in the
battle as captain in General Putnam’s brigade from
Connecticut); has received the thanks of the
commonwealth of Massachusetts “for distinguished
services in the cause of humanity”; is the
great-great-grandson of Col. Jonathan Buck;
great-grandson of Col. Ebenezer Buck; also claims
descent from Col. William Gilmore of New Hampshire,
formerly of Coleraine, Ireland—all Revolutionary
heroes.
1897. May 24. Hon. John D. Crimmins, New York city, becomes a life
member of the Society.
1897. June. Among the cities officially visited this month by the
secretary-general was Lynn, Mass., where special
courtesies were extended him by Daniel Donovan and
Capt. P. S. Curry, both of that place.
1897. June 6. Secretary-General Murray addresses a meeting at
Portland, Me., in behalf of the Society. James
Cunningham of Portland presides.
1897. June 14. President-General Moseley writes to James Cunningham
of Portland, Me., thanking the latter for his interest
in getting up the meeting in that city on the 6th
inst.
1897. June 14. Prof. Maurice Francis Egan of the Catholic University,
Washington, D. C., becomes a member of the Society.
1897. June 24. John R. Alley of Boston, Mass., forwards check for
$50. Life membership fee.
1897. June 30. Second meeting of the Council of the Society. Held in
the Parker House, Boston, Mass. James Jeffrey Roche of
Boston presided. Treasurer-General Linehan was
authorized to make arrangements for the first annual
field day of the Society, the same to be held at
Newcastle, N. H.
1897. July. The secretary-general visited Peabody and Salem,
Mass., this month, being assisted in obtaining members
there by Thomas Carroll of the former place.
1897. July 20. Capt. John Drum, Tenth U. S. Infantry, admitted to
membership.
1897. July 28. Third meeting of the Council of the Society. Held at
Salisbury Beach, Mass. President-General Moseley
occupied the chair. Mr. Moseley had earlier in the day
entertained the Council at lunch in the Wolfe Tavern,
Newburyport, Mass.
1897. Aug. 4. Death of Henry V. Donovan, M. D., Lawrence, Mass., a
member of the Society and a graduate of Harvard
University.
1897. Aug. 30. Rear Admiral Belknap, U. S. N. (retired), writes from
Newport, R. I., regretting his inability to be present
at the meeting to be held in Pawtucket, R. I., on the
1st prox.
1897. September. An article descriptive of the Society’s purposes
appears in the current issue of the _Granite Monthly_,
Concord, N. H. It is from the pen of Treasurer-General
Linehan.
1897. Sept. 1. Fourth meeting of the Council takes place at the
Benedict House, Pawtucket, R. I. James Jeffrey Roche
of Boston, Mass., presided. Secretary-General Murray
read extracts from old Rhode Island documents
containing mention of early Irish settlers.
1897. Sept. 1. The Council was entertained at a banquet this evening
by the Rhode Island members of the Society. The event
took place at the Benedict House, Pawtucket. Hon. Hugh
J. Carroll, ex-mayor of the city, presided.
Secretary-General Murray, then a resident of
Pawtucket, delivered an address of welcome.
1897. Sept. 18. Fifth meeting of the Council. Held in the Parker
House, Boston, Mass. James Jeffrey Roche, of Boston,
presides. A gift to the library of the Society from
Gen. St. Clair A. Mulholland, Philadelphia, Pa., is
announced. It comprises a copy of the “History of the
Friendly Sons of St. Patrick and of the Hibernian
Society,” of that city.
1897. Sept. 21. Hon. John C. Linehan, treasurer-general of the
Society, presents the library a copy of the “Addresses
at the Dedication of the Monument Erected to the
Memory of Matthew Thornton at Merrimack, N. H.,
September 29, 1892.”
1897. Sept. 24. William McConway, Pittsburg, Pa., writes to
President-General Moseley, enclosing life membership
fee.
1897. Sept. 28. Edward Fitzpatrick, a member of the organization,
contributes an article to the _Louisville_ (Ky.)
_Times_, on “Irish Settlers in Louisville and
Vicinity.”
1897. Sept. 28. Hon. Joseph T. Lawless, secretary of state of
Virginia, writes a cordial letter, and desires to be
admitted to membership.
1897. Oct. 7. Death of Gen. John Cochrane, a member of the Society,
New York city.
1897. Oct. 23. Hon. Elisha Dyer, governor of Rhode Island, writes
accepting an invitation extended him to join the
Society.
1897. Oct. 23. Death of Laurence J. Smith, Lowell, Mass., a member of
the Society.
1897. Nov. 10. Governor Dyer of Rhode Island writes, regretting that
he will be unable to attend the meeting of the Society
on the 16th.
1897. Nov. 10. E. Benjamin Andrews, D. D., LL. D., president of Brown
University, sends a letter in which he cordially
expresses his appreciation of the purposes of the
Society. On another occasion he writes of the
organization: “I wish it success with all my heart.”
1897. Nov. 15. The Friendly Sons of St. Patrick, New York city, in
session this evening, send fraternal greetings to the
Society, the bearer thereof being Thomas B. Lawler,
the Society’s librarian and archivist.
1897. Nov. 16. The third meeting of the Society was held this evening
in Young’s Hotel, Boston, Mass. Gen. James R.
O’Beirne, New York, presided at the business session,
and Thomas J. Gargan, Boston, at the banquet
immediately following.
1897. Nov. 16. At this meeting an address was delivered by John
Mackinnon Robertson, of London, England, author of
“The Saxon and the Celt.” Dennis Harvey Sheahan,
ex-clerk of the Rhode Island house of representatives,
read an interesting paper.
1897. Dec. 7. Secretary-General Murray addressed the Churchmen’s
Club of Rhode Island, at Providence, on “Five Colonial
Rhode Islanders.” Mr. Justice Stiness of the Rhode
Island Supreme Court presided. The five treated by Mr.
Murray were all of Irish birth or extraction.
1897. Dec. 11. Sixth meeting of the Council of the Society is held in
the Parker House, Boston, Mass. Thomas J. Gargan, of
Boston, presides. It is voted to prepare for
publication, and publish, the first volume of the
Journal of the Society’s Proceedings. The volume thus
authorized was issued some months later. There is
received from Dr. J. C. O’Connell, Washington, D. C.,
a copy of his work on “The Irish in the Revolution and
in the Civil War.”
1897. Dec. 18. Death of Hon. Owen A. Galvin, a member of the Society,
Boston, Mass.
1898. Jan. 14. Joseph F. Swords, of Hartford, the Society’s state
vice-president for Connecticut at this time,
contributes a letter to the Boston _Pilot_ treating of
the origin of the family name Swords in Ireland.
1898. Jan. 25. Death of Hon. Charles B. Gafney, a member of the
Society, Rochester, N. H.
1898. Jan. 29. Seventh meeting of the Council of the Society. Held in
the Parker House, Boston, Mass., Thomas J. Gargan,
presiding. It was decided to hold the annual meeting
and banquet of the Society at the Hotel San Remo, New
York city, on the evening of the 17th prox.
1898. Feb. 7. Hon. Thomas M. Waller, ex-governor of Connecticut,
qualifies as a member of the Society.
1898. Feb. 17. Eighth meeting of the Council, held at the Hotel San
Remo, New York city, Thomas J. Gargan, of Boston,
presiding.
1898. Feb. 17. Annual meeting of the Society at the San Remo, New
York city, following the meeting of the Council. Gen.
James R. O’Beirne, of New York, presides. Edward A.
Moseley, Washington D. C., is reëlected
president-general.
1898. Feb. 17. Annual banquet of the Society at the San Remo,
immediately following the annual meeting. General
O’Beirne also presided at the banquet. Resolutions of
sorrow adopted on the loss of the U. S. battleship
_Maine_, in Havana harbor, and copies of the
resolutions ordered transmitted to the president of
the United States, and to the secretary of the navy.
1898. Feb. 17. At this annual banquet, Joseph Smith, of Lowell,
Mass., a member of the Council of the Society,
contributed a paper on “Some Ways in which American
History is falsified.” Addresses were delivered by
Hon. Thomas Dunn English, of Newark, N. J.; Dr. Thomas
Addis Emmet, New York city; Judge Wauhope Lynn, New
York city, and other gentlemen.
1898. Feb. 18. Hon. John D. Crimmins, of New York city, gives a
reception to the Society and entertains the latter at
lunch at his residence, 40 East 68th street.
1898. Feb. 24. John Goodwin, New York city, forwards check for $50 in
payment of life membership fee.
1898. Feb. 25. The navy department, Washington, D. C., acknowledges
receipt of the resolutions of condolence on the loss
of the battleship _Maine_, adopted by the Society on
the 17th instant, and returns thanks “in the name of
the officers and men of the navy.”
1898. March 3. Hon. Robert T. Davis, Fall River, Mass., ex-mayor of
Fall River, and ex-member of congress, becomes a
member of the Society.
1898. March 5. Andrew Athy, Worcester, Mass., joins the Society as a
life member.
1898. March 13. Edward Fitzpatrick, Louisville, Ky., a member of the
Society, contributes an article to the _Louisville_
(Ky.) _Courier-Journal_, on “The Lost State of Clark.”
He mentions Thomas Connolly, who was a fifer in
Clark’s regiment.
1898. March 14. Hon. Patrick J. Boyle, mayor of Newport, R. I.,
admitted to the Society.
1898. March 17. Secretary-General Murray and Treasurer-General Linehan
are guests at a banquet of the Irish Society of
Lowell, Mass. Joseph Smith of that city presides.
1898. March 27. Thomas J. Gargan, of the Society’s Council, and Thomas
Hamilton Murray, secretary-general of the Society,
contribute to a symposium in the _Boston Sunday Globe_
on the subject of an Anglo-American alliance. Both
oppose the idea.
1898. April 18. President Andrews of Brown University writes,
accepting invitation to attend the meeting in
Providence, R. I., on the 21st instant.
1898. April 19. Letter written by Harvey Wheeler, chairman of the
selectmen of historic Concord, Mass., sending hearty
greetings to the participants in the meeting under the
auspices of the Society on the 21st instant.
1898. April 20. Hon. John H. Stiness, a justice of the Rhode Island
supreme court, sends regrets that he cannot attend the
meeting on the 21st instant.
1898. April 21. Ninth meeting of the Society’s Council is held at the
Narragansett Hotel, Providence, R. I. Letter read from
Hon. Eli Thayer, Worcester, Mass.
1898. April 21. In the evening, following this Council meeting, a
reception and banquet was given the Council by the
Rhode Island members of the Society, at the
Narragansett, Providence. Dennis Harvey Sheahan, of
Providence, presided.
1898. April 21. The post-prandial exercises at this banquet included a
paper by Thomas Hamilton Murray, the
secretary-general, on “Matthew Watson, an Irish
Settler of Barrington, R. I., 1722.” There were
addresses by President Andrews of Brown University;
Prof. Alonzo Williams of Brown; Hon. John C. Linehan,
Concord, N. H.; Rev. Arthur J. Teeling, Lynn, Mass.;
Joseph Smith, Lowell, Mass.; Capt. E. O’Meagher
Condon, New York city; James Jeffrey Roche and Thomas
J. Gargan, Boston, Mass., and other gentlemen.
1898. April 21. Prof. William M. Sloane of Columbia University, New
York, admitted to membership.
1898. April 28. James G. Hickey, manager of the United States Hotel,
Boston, Mass., becomes a life member of the Society.
1898. May 15. Death of Andrew Athy, Worcester, Mass., a life member.
1898. May 15. Secretary-General Murray addressed a meeting at
Bangor, Me., in the interests of the Society. William
F. Curran, of Bangor, presided.
1898. May 21. Secretary Murray visits Springfield, Mass., to enlarge
the Society’s membership, and receives valuable
assistance from Edward A. Hall and Dr. Philip Kilroy,
both of that city.
1898. June. Secretary Murray this month visited Portsmouth and
Dover, N. H.; New Haven, Conn.; New Bedford and
Holyoke, Mass. Special courtesies were shown him at
Portsmouth by John Griffin; at Dover, by John A. Hoye;
and at New Bedford by Edmund O’Keefe and Rev. James F.
Clark.
1898. June 3. Edward Fitzpatrick, Louisville, Ky., contributes an
article to _The Times_ of that city on “Early Irish
Settlers in Kentucky.”
1898. June 21. Death of John R. Alley, Boston, Mass., a life member
of the Society.
1898. June 22. The secretary-general addresses a meeting at Chicopee,
Mass., Rev. John J. McCoy, of Chicopee, presiding.
1898. June 25. Death of Joseph H. Fay, M. D., Fall River, Mass., a
member of the Society and graduate of the University
of Vermont.
1898. June 30. First field day of the Society. Held at Newcastle, N.
H., with headquarters at the Hotel Wentworth. The
exercises in the evening were presided over by Hon.
John C. Linehan, Concord, N. H. Bernard Corr, of
Boston, Mass., read a paper on “The Ancestors of Gen.
John Sullivan.” Addresses were delivered by Mayor
Tilton, of Portsmouth, N. H.; Dr. William D. Collins,
Haverhill, Mass.; John F. Doyle, New York city; James
F. Brennan, Peterborough, N. H.; William J. Kelly,
Kittery, Me.; Dr. W. H. A. Lyons, Portsmouth, N. H.;
Joseph Smith, Lowell, Mass.; Capt. E. O’Meagher
Condon, New York city; James Jeffrey Roche, Boston,
Mass.; Charles H. Clary, Hallowell, Me.; John Griffin,
Portsmouth, N. H.; James H. McGlinchy, Portland, Me.;
Secretary Murray and other gentlemen.
1898. June 30. Charles H. Clary, of Hallowell, Me., who is here
mentioned as making an address this evening, is a
descendant of “John Clary of Newcastle, province of
New Hampshire, who was published to Jane Mahoney of
Georgetown, Me., 1750.” John settled in Georgetown
presumably about the time of his marriage. Four
children were born before 1760.
1898. June 30. A communication from President-General Moseley was
read at the exercises this evening by the
secretary-general. Mr. Moseley called attention to the
fact that Hon. John D. Long, secretary of the navy,
had consented to name one of the new torpedo-boats,
soon to be constructed, the _O’Brien_, and to name two
of the new torpedo-boat destroyers, respectively,
_Barry_ and _Macdonough_, these names to perpetuate
the fame of three American patriots of Irish blood.
The meeting adopted a vote of thanks to Secretary
Long.
1898. June 30. Secretary-General Murray, this evening, called
attention to the fact that on Sept. 10 would occur the
anniversary of the battle of Lake Erie when Commodore
Perry, the son of an Irish mother, administered such a
thorough defeat to the British. It was suggested that
the anniversary be duly observed by the Society.
Referred to the Council. The secretary-general also
suggested that the anniversary of the surrender of the
British General, Burgoyne, Oct. 17, and that of the
surrender of Lord Cornwallis, Oct. 19, be celebrated
by a public meeting in Boston or New York. Referred to
the Council.
1898. July. During this month Mr. Murray, the secretary-general,
visited Lewiston, Augusta, Hallowell, and Gardiner,
Me., in the interests of the Society, being greatly
assisted in the three latter places by Thomas J.
Lynch, a prominent lawyer of Augusta. Mr. Murray also
visited Biddeford, Me., where he addressed a meeting,
specially called, and presided over by Cornelius
Horigan, of that city. He was also materially assisted
by Rev. T. P. Linehan, of Biddeford. Secretary Murray
likewise visited, this month, Manchester, N. H., and
was introduced to prominent people there by Michael
O’Dowd, of Manchester. The object of the
secretary-general’s visit to these places was to
explain the purposes of the organization and to obtain
additional members for the latter.
1898. July 1. Capt. John Drum, Tenth United States Infantry, a
member of the Society, killed in battle before
Santiago de Cuba.
1898. July 25‒26. Secretary-General Murray visits Nashua, N. H., and
while there addresses a gathering of several gentlemen
invited to meet him. Dr. T. A. McCarthy, of Nashua,
presides.
1898. August. The Society issued this month a pamphlet entitled:
“Irish Schoolmasters in the American Colonies,
1640‒1775, with a Continuation of the Subject During
and After the War of the Revolution.” The authors are
Hon. John C. Linehan, the Society’s treasurer-general,
and Thomas Hamilton Murray, the secretary. An edition
of 2,000 copies was printed.
1898. Aug. 4. Secretary Murray addressed a meeting at Rutland, Vt.,
T. W. Maloney, a leading lawyer of that city,
presiding. During his stay in Rutland, Mr. Murray also
received valuable assistance from John D. Hanrahan, M.
D., of that city.
1898. Aug. 18. Tenth meeting of the Council of the Society. It was
held in the Parker House, Boston, Mass.
President-General Moseley occupied the chair. A minute
was adopted on the death of Capt. John Drum, Tenth
United States Infantry. Capt. Drum’s son, John D., of
Boston, was elected to membership in the Society.
1898. Aug. 25. Death of City Marshal John E. Conner, of Chicopee,
Mass., a member of the Society.
1898. Aug. 30, 31; Sept. 1. Secretary Murray visits Waterbury, Conn., and obtains
several new members for the Society. He receives
courtesies from Dr. J. F. Hayes and other gentlemen of
that city.
1898. September. The Society issued this month a pamphlet on “The
‘Scotch-Irish’ Shibboleth Analyzed and Rejected; with
Some Reference to the Present ‘Anglo-Saxon’ Comedy.”
The author is Joseph Smith, Lowell, Mass. An edition
of 1,500 copies was printed.
1898. Sept. 3. Obsequies in Boston, Mass., of Capt. John Drum, Tenth
U. S. Infantry, his body having been brought home from
Cuba. James Jeffrey Roche, of Boston, represented the
Society as a pall bearer. The organization contributed
a floral offering.
1898. Sept. 23. Death at Newport, R. I., of Rev. Philip Grace, D. D.,
a member of the Society.
1898. October. Secretary-General Murray visited this month, among
other places, Philadelphia, Pa., and was assisted in
his work there by Hugh McCaffrey of that city, a life
member of the Society.
1898. Oct. 21. Henry Collins Walsh, a descendant of Gen. Stephen
Moylan of the Revolution, becomes a member of the
Society.
1898. Nov. 11. James Whitcomb Riley, the “Hoosier Poet,”
Indianapolis, Ind., admitted to membership.
1898. Nov. 14, 15, 16. Secretary-General Murray visits Albany, N. Y., in the
interests of the organization.
1898. December. Death of Capt. John M. Tobin at Knoxville, Penn., a
member of the Society. He was a veteran of the Civil
War, and in the war with Spain had been a
quartermaster in the First Brigade, Second Division,
First Army Corps.
1898. Dec. 3. Eleventh meeting of the Council. Held in the Parker
House, Boston, Mass., Thomas J. Gargan, of Boston,
presiding. Committees were appointed to take
appropriate action on the death of City Marshal John
E. Conner, of Chicopee, Mass., and on that of Rev.
Philip Grace, D. D., Newport, R. I.
1899. Jan. 14. Gen. George Bell, U. S. A. (retired), Washington, D.
C., is admitted to membership.
1899. Jan. 19. Twelfth meeting of the Council of the Society. Held at
Sherry’s, 44th street and Fifth avenue, New York city.
Thomas J. Gargan, of Boston, Mass., presided. Among
the members of the Council present were Hon. John D.
Crimmins, New York; Joseph Smith, Lowell, Mass.; James
Jeffrey Roche, Boston, Mass.; Francis C. Travers, New
York; Hon. John C. Linehan, Concord, N. H.; Thomas B.
Lawler, New York, and Thomas Hamilton Murray,
Woonsocket, R. I.
1899. Jan. 19. Annual meeting of the Society held at Sherry’s, New
York city, immediately following the meeting of the
Council. Gen. James R. O’Beirne, New York, in the
absence of the president-general, presided. Thomas J.
Gargan of Boston was chosen president-general of the
Society for the ensuing year; Hon. John D. Crimmins,
New York, was chosen vice-president-general; Thomas
Hamilton Murray, Woonsocket, R. I., was reëlected
secretary-general; Hon. John C. Linehan, Concord, N.
H., was reëlected treasurer-general; Thomas B. Lawler,
New York, was reëlected librarian and archivist.
1899. Jan. 19. The annual banquet of the Society was held at
Sherry’s, New York, immediately after the annual
meeting. Gen. James R. O’Beirne, New York, presided.
The attendance numbered about 175 gentlemen, many
cities and states being represented. The post-prandial
exercises included the reading of four original
papers, viz.: By Dr. Thomas Addis Emmet, New York, a
paper on “Irish Emigration During the Seventeenth and
Eighteenth Centuries”; by Hon. John C. Linehan,
Concord, N. H., a paper on “Some Pre-Revolutionary
Irishmen”; by Rev. John J. McCoy, P. R., Chicopee,
Mass., a paper on “The Irish Element in the Second
Massachusetts Volunteers in the Recent War” (with
Spain); by James Jeffrey Roche, Boston, Mass., a paper
on the general lines of the Society’s work. There were
also several addresses.
1899. Jan. 20. Hon. Theodore Roosevelt, governor of New York state,
gives a reception to the members of the Society at the
residence of his sister, Mrs. Cowles, Madison avenue,
New York city. He is assisted in receiving by Mrs.
Cowles, and the members are presented by Gen. James R.
O’Beirne, state vice-president of the Society for New
York. Governor Roosevelt delivers an address.
Following the reception, lunch is served.
1899. Jan. 20. Subsequent to the reception by Governor Roosevelt, the
members are received by Hon. John D. Crimmins,
vice-president-general of the Society, at his New York
residence, 40 East 68th street.
1899. Feb. 9. Rev. Richard Henebry, Ph. D., professor of Keltic
languages and literature, Catholic University,
Washington, D. C., admitted to the Society.
1899. Feb. 15. James McGovern, New York city, admitted to life
membership.
1899. Feb. 19. John J. Lenehan, New York city, admitted to life
membership.
1899. March. A work is issued this month on “The Irish Washingtons
at Home and Abroad, Together with some mention of the
Ancestry of the American Pater Patriæ.” The authors
are Thomas Hamilton Murray, secretary-general of the
Society, and George Washington, of Dublin, Ireland.
The work is dedicated to the Society.
1899. March 9. Myles Tierney, New York city, enrolled as a life
member of the organization.
1899. March 16. Communication written by Rev. William L. Ledwith, D.
D., librarian of the Presbyterian Historical Society,
Philadelphia, Pa., asking for information relative to
the American-Irish Historical Society. He concludes:
“The lines on which your Society and ours are working
must often meet.”
1899. March 19. Death of Hon. Patrick Walsh, mayor of Augusta, Ga.,
ex-United States senator, and member of the Society.
1899. March 30. Maj. William H. Donovan of the Ninth Massachusetts is
commissioned colonel of the regiment. He was one of
the majors of the command in the war with Spain, and
participated in the gallant work of the regiment on
Cuban soil. Colonel Donovan is one of our members in
Lawrence, Mass.
1899. March 31. Death at Boston, Mass., of Col. Patrick T. Hanley, a
veteran of the Civil War, and member of the Society.
1899. April 9. Death of Hon. John H. Sullivan, East Boston, Mass., a
member of the Society.
1899. April 11. The selectmen and town clerk of Lexington, Mass.,
express regrets that they will not be able to attend
the meeting at Providence, R. I., on the 19th inst.
Their letter bears the official seal of the town.
1899. April 13. E. Benjamin Andrews, superintendent of public schools,
Chicago, Ill., writes expressing his regret that he
cannot attend the meeting on the 19th inst.
1899. April 15. Death of Hon. Eli Thayer, Worcester, Mass., a member
of the organization.
1899. April 16. Death of William F. Cummings, M. D., Rutland, Vt., a
graduate of the University of Vermont, and member of
the Society.
1899. April 19. The thirteenth meeting of the Society’s Council is
held in the Narragansett Hotel, Providence, R. I., on
this, the anniversary of the battle of Lexington
(1775). Thomas J. Gargan, president-general of the
Society, occupies the chair. Stephen J. Richardson,
New York city, is introduced, and explains the plan
and scope of a projected “Encyclopædia Hibernica.” The
Council approves the work. It is voted that the annual
field day of the Society, this year, be held at
Elizabeth, N. J., on the occasion of the launching of
the U. S. torpedo-boat _O’Brien_.
1899. April 19. Hon. John D. Crimmins, New York city,
vice-president-general of the Society, at this meeting
of the Council personally subscribes five hundred
dollars for the general purposes of the organization.
This is the largest individual gift the Society has
thus far received.
1899. April 19. Lieut. Martin L. Crimmins, 18th U. S. Infantry, is
admitted to membership. Lieutenant Crimmins is at this
date with his regiment in the Philippines. He is a son
of Hon. John D. Crimmins, New York city.
1899. April 19. Thomas J. Gargan, Boston, Mass., and Stephen J.
Geoghegan, New York city, request to be recorded as
life members.
1899. April 19. Following the meeting of the Council the members
thereof are received and banqueted at the
Narragansett, in Providence, by the Rhode Island
members of the Society. M. J. Harson, of Providence,
presides. Addresses are made by President-General
Gargan, Vice-President-General Crimmins,
Treasurer-General Linehan; Thomas F. O’Malley,
Somerville, Mass.; Rev. S. Banks Nelson
(Presbyterian), Woonsocket, R. I.; Rev. Frank L.
Phalen (Unitarian), Concord, N. H.; Capt. E. O’Meagher
Condon, New York city, and Joseph Smith, Lowell, Mass.
1899. April 20. Miss Annetta O’Brien Walker, Portland, Me., writes to
President-General Gargan, with reference to the
forthcoming launching of the torpedo-boat _O’Brien_.
She is a great-grandaughter of Capt. O’Brien, brother
to the patriot in whose honor the boat is named. Miss
Walker desires to be present at the launching.
1899. April 29. Death of Joseph J. Kelley, East Cambridge, Mass., a
member of the Society.
1899. May 8. William Gorman, Philadelphia, Pa., enrolled as a life
member.
1899. May 17. Order issued by the war department to Major William
Quinton, 14th U. S. Infantry, a member of the Society,
to proceed from Boston to San Francisco, and thence to
Manila, for service in the Philippines.
1899. May 19. Dr. Thomas Addis Emmet, New York city, subscribes one
hundred dollars for the publication fund of the
Society.
1899. May 27. Lewis Nixon, builder of the U. S. torpedo-boat
_O’Brien_, writes from the Crescent shipyard,
Elizabeth, N. J., that: “The uncertainty as to the
delivery of certain forgings, making in Pennsylvania
for the _O’Brien_, renders it impossible, at this
time, for me to give you even an approximate date for
the launching. I am endeavoring to get some
information in this matter, and just as soon as I
receive it I shall communicate with you.” Mr. Nixon
states that he takes pride in the fact that he is
“building the _O’Brien_, which is a name honorably and
valorously associated with the early history of our
navy.”
1899. May 30. Secretary-General Murray attends a preliminary meeting
held in Boston, Mass., to form a Franco-American
Historical Society, and makes an address expressing
good wishes on behalf of the American-Irish Historical
body.
1899. July. Announcement is made that a member of the Society,
Rev. Cyrus Townsend Brady, Philadelphia, Pa., has
written a novel entitled, “For the Freedom of the
Sea,” the same being a romance of the War of 1812.
1899. July 22. Death of William Slattery, a member of the Society;
associate justice of the police court, Holyoke, Mass.;
graduate of Harvard University.
1899. Aug. 2. Rev. Frank L. Phalen, of the Society, is commissioned
chaplain of the Second Regiment of Infantry
(Massachusetts).
1899. Aug. 6. Death of Rev. George W. Pepper, D. D., Cleveland, O.,
vice-president of the Society for that state.
1899. Aug. 18. The librarian of the University of Washington,
Seattle, Wash., requests for the institution copies of
the reports and other publications of the Society. He
says: “We are very anxious to obtain these, and will
gladly pay all transportation.”
1899. Aug. 20. Death of Rev. Denis Scannell, rector of St. Anne’s
church, Worcester, Mass., a member of the Society.
1899. Aug. 29. Fourteenth meeting of the Council. Place: Aquidneck
House, Newport, R. I. Hon. John C. Linehan, of
Concord, N. H., presides. This is the anniversary of
the battle of Rhode Island, 1778, in which the
American forces were commanded by Gen. John Sullivan.
1899. Aug. 29. Suggestion made at this Council meeting, and favorably
considered, that the Society erect a bronze tablet to
the memory of soldiers of Irish birth or lineage who
were at the battle of Bunker Hill, 1775, fighting in
behalf of American liberty. A committe is appointed to
further consider the matter.
1899. Aug. 29. This evening, subsequent to the Council meeting,
dinner was partaken of at the Aquidneck by some 25
gentlemen including members of the Society and
prominent citizens of Newport who had been invited to
be present. The post-prandial exercises were presided
over by Hon. Charles E. Gorman of Providence, R. I.
Hon. Patrick J. Boyle, mayor of Newport, R. I.,
delivered an address of welcome, as a member of the
Society and as mayor of the city. The paper of the
evening was by Thomas Hamilton Murray,
secretary-general of the Society, on “The Battle of
Rhode Island, 1778.” Addresses were made by Hon. John
C. Linehan, treasurer-general of the Society; by Rev.
L. J. Deady of Newport, R. I.; by Dennis H. Tierney of
Waterbury, Conn.; by P. J. McCarthy of Providence, R.
I., and by J. Stacy Brown, city solicitor of Newport.
An original letter written by Gen. John Sullivan in
1778, was read and exhibited.
1899. Sept. 9. In answer to an inquiry on behalf of the Society, the
United States navy department replies, giving
information as to the percentage of completion
attained by the torpedo-boats _Blakeley_ and _O’Brien_
and the torpedo-boat destroyers _Barry_ and
_Macdonough_.
1899. Oct. 2. J. F. Hayes, M. D., the Society’s state vice-president
for Connecticut, is reëlected to the Waterbury, Conn.,
board of education.
1899. October. Reitz, secretary of state for the Transvaal, announces
the appointment of Gen. James R. O’Beirne, New York
city, as commissioner extraordinary to represent the
Transvaal’s interests in the United States. General
O’Beirne is our Society’s state vice-president for New
York.
1899. Oct. 7. Fifteenth meeting of the Council of the Society is
held in Boston, Mass. President-General Gargan
occupies the chair. There are also present Messrs.
Linehan, Smith, Murray, and Roche. It is voted to
invite Sir Thomas Lipton, owner of the yacht
_Shamrock_, to be a guest of the Society on such date
as may suit his convenience. A letter is received from
Hon. John D. Crimmins, New York city, proposing Hon.
Thomas H. Carter, United States senator from Montana,
and Thomas J. Cummins, of New York city, for
membership in the Society. Both gentlemen are
admitted.
1899. Oct. 11. Sir Thomas Lipton, owner of the yacht _Shamrock_,
challenger for the America’s cup, writes to
Secretary-General Murray, cordially acknowledging the
invitation to be a guest of the Society. Sir Thomas’
letter is dated “Steam Yacht _Erin_, Sandy Hook.” He
says: “Nothing would give me greater pleasure than to
avail myself of their [the members’] hospitality but
under the present uncertain conditions of weather it
is doubtful when the contest will be finished, which
renders it impossible for me, meantime, to make any
arrangements of the nature you are good enough to
suggest.”
1899. Oct. 12. Letter received stating that James F. Brennan,
Peterborough, N. H., has recently been appointed by
the governor and council of New Hampshire to be a
member of the board of state library commissioners.
Mr. Brennan is our Society’s vice-president for New
Hampshire.
1899. Nov. 7. Hon. Patrick J. Boyle, of the Society, is elected
mayor of Newport, R. I., for the sixth consecutive
time.
1899. Nov. 15. Reception and banquet at the Bellevue, Beacon street,
Boston, Mass., under the auspices of the Society.
President-General Gargan presided. Among the guests
was William Ludwig, the Irish baritone. The paper of
the evening was by Michael E. Hennessy of the Boston
_Daily Globe_, his topic being, “Men of Irish Blood
Who Have Attained Distinction in American Journalism.”
1889. Nov. 17. Letter received from Col. James Armstrong, Charleston,
S. C. Colonel Armstrong is an editor on the Charleston
_News and Courier_; harbor master of the port. He
served on the staff of Governor Wade Hampton, and is
of Irish parentage.
1899. Nov. 20. Hon. Patrick A. Collins, a member of the Society, is
nominated for mayor of Boston, Mass., by the
Democratic convention. He is an ex-member of congress
and ex-United States consul-general to London,
England.
1899. Nov. 20. President-General Gargan delivered an address before
the Charitable Irish Society in Boston, Mass., this
evening. His subject was, “Naval Heroes of the
Revolutionary War.” In the course of his address he
paid a tribute to the patriotic O’Briens of Machias,
Me., who bravely figured in that struggle.
1899. Nov. 21. Letter received from Henry E. Reed, Portland, Ore.,
state vice-president of the Society for Oregon. He
regrets that he has not been able to give more
attention to the Society, but his duties for the past
two years having taken him up and down the Pacific
coast from Alaska to the Mexican boundary, he has been
pressed for time. However, he has interested a number
of Oregon people in the Society, and requests to be
supplied with membership application blanks.
1899. Nov. 26. Dr. Stephen J. Maher, of New Haven, Conn., a member of
the Society, presided at a public reception in the
Hyperion, that city, to Lord Mayor Tallon of Dublin,
and Hon. John E. Redmond, M. P. Col. John G. Healy,
another member of the Society, opened the exercises.
1899. Nov. 27. An official declaration in behalf of the Society is
issued in Boston to-night, endorsing the project to
bring the remains of John Paul Jones back to this
country from France, where he died in 1799.
1899. Nov. 28. The _News and Courier_, Charleston, S. C., contains an
editorial to-day, speaking highly of the Society and
its work.
1899. Nov. 29. Death of Edmund Phelan, a member of the Society, at
his home, 32 Adams street, Roxbury (Boston), Mass.
1899. Dec. 2. Col. James Gadsden Holmes, Charleston, S. C., presents
the Society a copy of the “History of the Calhoun
Monument” in that city. This monument was erected in
honor of Hon. John C. Calhoun, whose father was an
Irishman by birth, and was dedicated April 26, 1887.
1899. Dec. 7. Henry Stoddard Ruggles, of Wakefield, Mass., calls the
Society’s attention to a work recently published by
the Massachusetts chapter, Daughters of the American
Revolution. It is entitled, “Honor Roll of
Massachusetts Patriots, Heretofore Unknown; being a
List of Men and Women who Loaned Money to the Federal
Government, 1777‒1779.” Among the names in this list
are Daniel McCarthy, Dennis Tracy, Patrick Wade, and
Daniel Ryan.
1899. Dec. 12. Hon. Jeremiah Crowley, of the Society, is reëlected
mayor of Lowell, Mass.
1899. Dec. 13. Thomas Carroll of Peabody, Mass., a member of the
Society, delivers an historical address at the
twenty-fifth anniversary celebration of St. John’s
Catholic parish in Peabody.
1899. Dec. 19. Thomas F. O’Malley, Somerville, Mass., a member of the
Society, delivers an historical lecture on “The
Colonial Irish” before the St. Peter’s Catholic
Association, Cambridge, Mass.
1899. Dec. 30. The _Boston Pilot_ of this date contains an article
from Joseph Smith, Lowell, Mass., of the Society, on
“The Irish Brigade of Rochambeau’s Army,” giving an
account of its services in behalf of American
independence.
For continuation of this chronology, through the year 1900, see pages 8
to 18 of the present volume.