A good deal of research has been indulged in during the past ten or
fifteen years, with a view to ascertaining for a certainty the name of
the Irishman who first visited the territorial limits of Waterbury,
Conn.
So far the question seems to be an open one, the preference having been
ascribed to various persons by different writers. Half a dozen or more
of the old Irish settlers of the town who came here over half a century
ago and who have resided here continuously since, tell conflicting
stories in relation to this subject, and as they were the only source
from which much information on this matter could be obtained, the
question has never been fully decided, each naming a different person as
being the first to lead the way for his countrymen into this section of
the state.
I recently conceived the idea of making some investigation on this point
from sources other than those which have heretofore been brought into
use, with the result that I have succeeded in obtaining information in
relation to this issue, which will be of interest to future historians,
of the first Irish residents of this town, and cannot but help settle
the much disputed question on this point.
As nearly as data can at present be collected, the first known Irishman
to see this part of the country was Joseph Rourke, a soldier who served
in one of the companies attached to a regiment in command of General
Putnam in the Revolutionary War. He was with Putnam through most of his
campaigns and took such a liking to that dashing soldier that he refused
to serve under the command of any other captain. It was this fascination
which led him to follow Putnam to his home in Brooklyn, this state, and
he was seriously wounded in the retreat of the Revolutionary troops from
Horseneck to Stamford, Conn., in 1779.
During his service in the Revolutionary army Rourke met and formed the
acquaintance of a son of Gideon Hotchkiss, the great-great-grandfather
of Judge George H. Cowell of this city, and in 1784 he accompanied young
Hotchkiss to the family residence, then situated about three miles
southeast of Prospect Centre. Remaining here for about twelve or
thirteen years, he learned of the intended uprising in his native
country, which culminated in the rebellion of 1798, and left on the old
stage line for Derby, Conn., thence by way of the Sound for New York,
with a view of reaching the scene of the conflict in time to render what
service he could to the cause of the Irish patriot party. Whether he
reached the scene of operations and met the fate of many of his
countrymen who had dared throw down the gauge of battle to the enemies
of Ireland will never be known, but sufficient information has been
obtained to satisfy me that the story of his visit to these parts is
founded on fact.
Judge Cowell can tell many reminiscences of the man’s characteristics
which he often heard related by his maternal grandmother. “There is
nothing strange about this,” said Judge Cowell, when asked about the
matter; “everybody knows that the Irish people had been fleeing to all
parts of the world to shun the persecution to which they were subjected
at home for centuries prior to that time, and it is the most reasonable
thing in the world to believe that some of them should show up in these
parts. It is a well-established fact that there were a large number of
Irishmen in the Revolutionary War, not only in the rank and file, but as
captains and generals. Were not several of the signers of the
Declaration of Independence Irishmen?
“Joseph Rourke was not the only one of his race who came along here
after the close of the Revolutionary War, but he is the only one I have
a good recollection of hearing talked of when I was a boy. What made the
old people remember him so well was the fact that in addition to being a
brave soldier he was an excellent shoemaker and earned his living during
his stay here by going among the farmers, repairing and making new
footwear, and the handsomest footwear ever worn in this state by the
forefathers of many of the old American families of this section was put
up by Joseph Rourke.
“He was in the place,” continued the judge, “for a good many years, and
made a practice of leaving every year a couple of months before the
winter season, telling his friends that he wanted to reach New York in
time to attend divine service on Christmas day. In those days Christmas
was not the great religious festival in New England that it is to-day,
and the people were practically ignorant of the real meaning of the
tenets of the Catholic faith. Rourke never tried to deny his religion,
and it was a common thing for the farmers for miles around to gather at
the house where he was making a pair of boots and hear him tell of the
inhuman cruelties perpetrated on his countrymen on account of their
faith, and in my opinion he was the first man that told the old settlers
of this town the Catholic meaning of the word ‘Mass.’ After an absence
of a few months he was sure to return and remain until the following
Christmas, when he was off again. Finally he expressed a determination
to revisit the scenes of his early boyhood and use his genius in defence
of his native country, and that was the last the townspeople ever heard
of him.”
[Illustration:
HON. FRANKLIN M. DANAHER,
ALBANY, N. Y.
]
[Illustration:
MR. THOMAS F. O’MALLEY,
SOMERVILLE, MASS.
]
[Illustration:
MR. JAMES P. BREE,
NEW HAVEN, CONN.
]
[Illustration:
MR. THOMAS J. LYNCH
AUGUSTA, ME.
]