Thomas V. O’Brien, Haywards Hotel, Haywards, Cal.
Jeremiah Deasy, 808 Cole St., San Francisco, Cal.
P. F. McGrath, 709 Castro St., San Francisco, Cal.
J. S. McCormick, 1524 Masonic Ave., San Francisco, Cal.
Thomas I. Dillon, 712 Market St., San Francisco, Cal.
J. F. Gibbons, M. D., 1944 California St., San Francisco, Cal.
Thomas F. McGrath, 215 Parnassus Avenue, San Francisco, Cal.
Joseph Patrick O’Ryan, 4381 17th St., San Francisco, Cal.
John H. McGinney, 766 McAllister St., San Francisco, Cal.
Dr. R. B. Corcoran, Presidio, San Francisco, Cal.
James D. Phelan, Phelan Building, San Francisco, Cal.
John F. Seymour, 52 Pierce St., San Francisco, Cal.
Eugene McCoy, 80 Liberty St., San Francisco, Cal.
Neal Power, Mills Building, San Francisco, Cal.
William F. Stafford, Grant Building, San Francisco, Cal.
Rt. Rev. D. J. O’Connell, 1100 Franklin St., San Francisco, Cal.
Joseph S. Tobin, Hibernia Bank, San Francisco, Cal.
James H. Barry, 1122 Mission St., San Francisco, Cal.
J. H. Dignan, 774 Cole St., San Francisco, Cal.
Richard Bunton, 1148 O’Farrell St., San Francisco, Cal.
Martin W. Fleming, 3821 Sacramento St., San Francisco, Cal.
Dr. William B. Howard, 400 Stanyan St., San Francisco, Cal.
Dr. J. H. O’Connor, 2572 California St., San Francisco, Cal.
Robert P. Troy, Call Building, San Francisco, Cal.
Peter O’Reilly, 835 Octavia St., San Francisco, Cal.
Maurice J. McNellis, 115 Fell St., San Francisco, Cal.
Judge Daniel C. Deasy, Mills Building, San Francisco, Cal.
LIFE MEMBERS.
James V. Coleman, 711 Balboa Building, San Francisco, Cal.
John Mulhern, 140 Second St., San Francisco, Cal.
Immediately upon receipt of the applications for membership a copy of
Volume VIII of the Journal of the Society, published in 1909, was sent
to each of the new members, and a personal letter written apprising each
member of the work and purposes of the Society and asking for
biographical sketches.
At a meeting of the Executive Council held in New York March 12th last
the efforts of Vice-President Connolly and Mr. Mulhern being called to
its attention, a unanimous vote of appreciation and thanks was directed
to be extended to these gentlemen. As the Knight of St. Patrick is a
Life Member of the Society, it was also voted that the thanks and
appreciation of the Society go forth to it as a body for the assistance
it rendered in adding to our membership rolls this list of eminent men.
* * * * *
As an evidence of the appreciation of the work of our Society and the
desire of gentlemen to join it, we cite the case of a gentleman high in
banking and financial circles in one of the western states, who was so
much impressed with what we are doing that he sent in his application
for membership, accompanied by his membership fee, and in a few days
later sent in an application, again accompanied by check.
[Illustration:
HON. EDWARD D. WHITE,
Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.
A Friend of the Society.
]
MISCELLANEOUS.
(COMPILED BY THE SECRETARY-GENERAL FROM MATERIALS FURNISHED DURING THE
YEAR BY MEMBERS OF THE SOCIETY.)
For information concerning Irishmen in the Civil War, persons desirous
of enlightenment may consult with profit any of the following
publications:
“Journal of the American Irish Historical Society,” Volumes I to IX.
“American Irish Historical Miscellany,” by John D. Crimmins.
“The Irish Ninth of Massachusetts in Bivouac and War,” by MacNamara.
“The Gallant Sixty-Ninth,” by F. S. Root.
“Life of Thomas Francis Meagher,” by Cavanaugh.
“Irish Soldiers,” by Colonel McGee.
“Life of General Sweeny,” by William M. Sweeny.
“The Irish Brigade,” by D. P. Conyngham.
“The Irish in America,” by Maguire.
“The Irish Race in America,” by Condon.
HONOR FOR CAPT. G. S. ANTHONY.
Mr. Dennis H. Tierney, who was active in the collection of funds for
Capt. George S. Anthony, of New Bedford, received a very nice letter
from the Captain and in return sent him a letter of which the following
is a part:
“WATERBURY, CONN., December 8, 1909.
“_Captain George S. Anthony, New Bedford, Mass._:
“_My Dear Captain_—I received your kind letter of the 4th inst.
containing the endorsed checks which the contributors to your fund
desire to hold as souvenirs. A press of business prevented me from
replying at once. It is indeed a great pleasure for me to be among the
Irish gentlemen who have contributed towards the creation of a fund
which will release the mortgage from the home of a man who exposed
himself to the dangers incidental to the rescue of Irish political
prisoners who were confined in bondage in western Australia; ‘their
only crime being love of country,’ and for that brave and meritorious
service in their rescue which occurred April 17th, 1876; and in
reviewing the danger which you and your companions in a small boat
were exposed to on that stormy night of April 17th, 1876, it is an
incident worthy of the brush of Raphael and the pens of Moore and
Davis; even those great geniuses in their respective professions would
inadequately portray the thrilling incident, and therefore it is with
pride and pleasure that I, an Irishman, extend to you the right hand
of fellowship, and I believe my countrymen the world over are in
sympathy with me in it and do approve of my act.”
Previous to going to New Bedford on December 17, the delegation, headed
by Lawrence H. O’Brien and Mr. Tierney, paid a visit to headquarters in
Providence, where they met Hon. Jno. W. Cummings of Fall River and Hon.
Harry C. Curtis of Providence, and discussed the object of their visit
to New Bedford, where they made formal presentation to Capt. Anthony of
a check for $1,037.
THE FRENCH CAMP AT WATERBURY.
Mr. D. H. Tierney, vice-president of the Society for Connecticut, has
erected on the camp ground of the French army to commemorate its march
through Waterbury, Conn., enroute to Yorktown, June 27, 1781, a handsome
monument of rustic construction with a good foundation, securely
cemented and with a polished granite slab on top on which the following
words are cut: “Camp of the French Army enroute to Yorktown, June 27,
1781.” The date of the erection of the monument is cut on the lower
left-hand corner which is “1904.” Mr. Tierney writes:
“The erection of this monument brought out and emphasized the fact
that in the French army there were a large contingent of Irishmen. At
the unveiling exercises, the monument was draped with the American,
French and Irish flags. An American boy raised the American flag; a
French boy raised the French flag; and my son, Mark Tierney, raised
the Irish flag. At the unveiling of the monument, we had a large
gathering of representatives of patriotic societies and citizens, and
it was learned for the first time that in the French army there was a
large delegation of Irishmen who participated with the French in
helping the continentals to throw off the English yoke. It created
such a controversy that I was compelled many times to give authentic
proof concerning the fact that there were Irishmen in the French army
on that occasion.
“At the time of the erection of this monument, I entertained hopes
that others along the route of the French army would see fit to erect
monuments in the different states commemorating the march of the
French army while enroute to Yorktown.”
COUNTY NAMES OF IRISH ORIGIN.
Eight of the counties of North Carolina are called after plain Irishmen:
Burke, from Governor Thomas Burke, born in Galway; Harnett, from
Cornelius Harnett, a member of the Continental Congress, born in Dublin;
Dobbs, for Gov. Arthur Dobbs, born in Carrickfergus; Rowan, for Robert
Rowan, a Colonial President of the Council, also a native of
Carrickfergus; Montgomery, for Gen. Richard Montgomery of Donegal;
Moore, for Gov. Maurice Moore, a distinguished Colonial soldier;
Rutherford, for General Griffith Rutherford of the Revolution, and
Davidson, for William Davidson. The places of birth of the last three
are not given, but their biographers say they were natives of Ireland.
In addition Gaston, Jackson, McDowell and Wayne counties, N. C., were
named in honor of descendants of Irishmen.
In Maryland are Baltimore, Carroll, Garrett, Montgomery, and Talbot
counties. Baltimore got its name from an Englishman, of course, but he
got it from Baltimore, County Longford. Talbot was named after George
Talbot of Castle Rooney, County Roscommon, the founder (in 1680) of
extensive colonial estates in Maryland, called New Connaught, which with
New Munster and New Leinster were subdivisions of a larger territory
called New Ireland, and now embraced in Hartford and Cecil counties,
Maryland, and part of New Castle county, Delaware.
In Michigan are Antrim, Clare, Roscommon and Wexford, Barry, Calhoun,
Clinton, Emmet, Jackson, Macomb and Wayne counties.
Twelve states of the Union have embalmed the name of Carroll, eleven
that of Calhoun, eight that of Butler and six that of Sullivan in the
nomenclature of their counties. Carroll was the famous “Signer”; Calhoun
a Vice-President of the United States, the son of Patrick Calhoun of
Donegal; Butler, the distinguished Major-General, one of five officers
of the Revolutionary Army, all brothers, and all but one born in
Ireland, and Sullivan was the famous Major-General from New Hampshire,
son of John Sullivan, a County Kerry schoolmaster.
San Patricio County, Texas, was named by a Spanishized Irishman, and it
is not unlikely that Patrick County in Virginia was called after some
Irish “Paddy.”
There are counties in the United States named O’Brien, Conway, Ulster,
Kearny, Kane, McDonough, McKean, Fergus, Meagher, Harney, McHenry,
Taney, Shannon, Sheridan, Dunn, McCurtain, Sharkey, Walsh and many
others of similar origin. In Texas are Callahan, Nolan, Reagan, Donley,
McMullen, McLennon, Dawson, Calhoun, Cochran, Crockett, Fannin,
Gillespie, Hayes, Jackson, Jasper and Montgomery counties.
In Georgia, Burke, Bryan, Carroll, Coffee, Calhoun, Dawson, Dooly,
Dougherty, Earley, Fannin, Fulton, Glynn, Brady, Hart, Heard, Jackson,
Jasper, McDuffie, Montgomery, Pickens, Talbot and Wayne. Eleven of these
counties were called after native Irishmen who were prominent at one
time or another in the Cracker State. In Kentucky there are no less than
twenty-five counties, ten of which were named in honor of natives of the
Green Isle, and fifteen from descendants of Irish pioneers, while in
Kansas there are fourteen bearing Irish names.
Indian names are in the majority in the nomenclature of our counties.
HONOR FOR ENSIGN MONAGHAN.
One of the torpedo boat destroyers recently authorized by Congress will
be named Monaghan, in memory of Ensign John Robert Monaghan, U. S. N.,
who was killed on April 1, 1899, by hostile natives in Samoa while
engaged in a reconnaissance made by a combined force of British and
Americans.
Ensign Monaghan was at that time attached to the Philadelphia. The
expedition ashore was in charge of Lieutenant Lansdale. Ensign Monaghan
stood steadfast by his wounded superior and friend—one rifle against
many—one brave man against a score of savages. He knew he was doomed. He
could not yield. He died in heroic performance of duty.
Ensign Monaghan was appointed to the Naval Academy on September 7, 1891,
from the State of Washington. He was a son of Hon. James Monaghan, a
member of the Society, who kindly contributed to the Society’s library a
valuable and interesting work entitled “Life of John Robert Monaghan,
the Hero of Samoa.”
MICHAEL HOGAN NAMED “CLAREMONT.”
Reminiscence of early New York days, when all of the upper west side
fronting the river was occupied by the summer homes of the wealthy
downtown merchants, were revived by the announcement last December that
the last plot of land owned by the Post estate had been sold. The
historic Claremont house, which for over half a century has been noted
as a public house where the good things of life have been dispensed to
the elite of the town, was for many years the summer home of the Post
family.
The Claremont House, although removed from its original site several
years ago when Riverside Park was laid out in 1872, is now the only one
of these old-fashioned residences that remains very much in its original
appearance.
To go back to the eighteenth century, we find that Nicholas de Peyster
was the owner of the vast estates, having purchased them from the Dutch
farmer, Adrian Hooglandt, in 1784. In 1796 he sold the upper part, that
which has been known as Claremont, to George Pollock. He was an importer
of Irish linens, and it was his little son, St. Clair Pollock, to whom
the simple tombstone below the house, and bearing the inscription, “To
an amiable child,” was erected.
In 1807, the man who gave the name Claremont to the place, and who was
one of the most notable figures among the great merchants of his day,
purchased the estate. This was Michael Hogan, a famous navigator, in his
early life in all parts of the world and who came to New York early in
the last century. He divided his property, calling the southern portion
Monte Alta and the upper part Claremont. Hogan was a native of County
Clare, Ireland, and the name was in honor of his birthplace, although
the statement has been made that Hogan named it in honor of the royal
residence in Surrey of Prince William, Duke of Clarence, afterward King
William IV., and with whom the merchant had served as midshipman in the
Royal Navy.
During Michael Hogan’s occupancy of Claremont, as a summer residence it
was the scene of some of the most brilliant social festivities in the
city. He was a vestryman of St. Michael’s Church, erected in 1805, on
the east side of the old Bloomingdale Road and Ninety-ninth Street.
Robert T. Kemble and William Rogers, both of whom were early owners of
the famous Furniss house, were the wardens. It was from the Rogers
estate that William P. Furniss purchased the house with twenty-six lots
in 1843.
Hogan was practically ruined during the War of 1812 with England, and in
1821 Joel Post purchased the property from his trustees.
The name of Michael Hogan is almost forgotten today, and the high honor
that Trinity Church paid to his memory after his death in Washington in
1833, where his son, William Hogan, was a Congressman, is remembered by
few. A tablet was erected to his memory, but when old Trinity was torn
down, the tablet was removed to Grace Church, where it may be seen
today. The inscription says:
“In early manhood a bold and successful navigator and discoverer in seas
almost unknown; in maturer life a prosperous merchant. The decline of
life was not unmarked by vicissitudes of fortune. But prosperity did not
elate nor could adversity subdue his firm and constant spirit. Each
quarter of the globe bore witness to his enterprise and its success.”
ST. PATRICK’S HALF PENCE ONCE CURRENT IN NEW JERSEY.
The only specimen in gold known of the coin called in America the Mark
Newby farthing was sold in London in June, 1909. These farthings have an
interesting history. Many were struck in silver, copper, brass and even
lead.
The obverse shows a crowned king kneeling and playing a harp. Above the
harp is a crown, while around the border is the inscription “Floreat
Rex.” On the reverse the principal device shows St. Patrick, with right
hand outstretched, banishing the serpents from Ireland. In his left hand
he carried a double or metropolitan cross and at the extreme right is a
church. The inscription of the reverse reads “_Quiescat Plebs_.”
There are many varieties of these farthings, of widely differing weights
but of nearly uniform size and with both plain and reeded edges. The
silver pieces are very irregular in their weight, which ranges from
ninety-eight to 176 grains, but all are about the size of an old
fashioned copper cent. The coins struck in copper are more uniform,
averaging about ninety-eight grains.
The coin is supposed to have had its origin in Ireland in the reign of
Charles I., and it has been the subject of much discussion.
A party of immigrants from Dublin, among whom were Mark Newby (or
Newbie) and his family, arrived in the Colony of New Jersey on November
19, 1681. Newby brought with him a quantity of the St. Patrick’s half
pence, as they were termed in Ireland. At this period fractional
currency was exceedingly scarce in the Colony and on May 8, 1682, the
New Jersey authorities passed an act “for the more convenient payment of
small sums,” which provided “that Mark Newbie’s half pence, called
Patrick’s half pence, shall from and after the said 18th instant pass
for half pence current pay of this province, provided he, the said Mark,
his executors and administrators, shall and will change the said half
pence for pay equivalent upon demand; and provided also that no person
or persons be hereby obliged to take more than five shillings in one
payment.” The full text is found in the “Grants, Concessions and
Original constitutions of the Province of New Jersey.”
It is not known how many of the coins were brought over by Newby, but
the quantity is supposed to have been large. Indeed, he is thought to
have manufactured additional coins of similar design in this country. No
repeal of the act making the St. Patrick’s half pence current appears on
the New Jersey records.
There were also St. Patrick’s half pence of large size, some of them a
third larger than those described. The larger pieces were struck in
copper and weighed on an average 144 grains. The obverse design is
similar to that of the farthings but the reverse is entirely different.
It showed St. Patrick with a trefoil in his right hand, a crozier in his
left, surrounded by a crowd of people. On the left side is a shield with
three castles. The inscription is “_Ecce Grex_.” These coins also occur
with plain and reeded edges. The larger coins were called half pennies,
while the smaller were termed farthings.
The coins must have passed current for many years after they were first
made, both in Ireland and in this country.
The Mark Newby coins in copper are plentiful even at the present time
and command premiums of from fifty cents to five dollars, according to
condition and variety. Those of silver are scarcer.
CHAMPLAIN TER-CENTENARY CELEBRATION.
The pretentious ter-centenary celebration of the discovery of Lake
Champlain was opened at Plattsburgh, New York, on July 4, 1909, with
religious services in all the churches. Pontifical high mass was
celebrated at Cliff Haven, the home of the Catholic Summer School of
America, by the Right Reverend Charles Henry Colton, D. D., Roman
Catholic Bishop of Buffalo, New York, a member of our Society. The
deacon was Rev. John T. Driscoll of Fonda, New York, a member of our
Society, and among the attending prelates to Cardinal Gibbons was the
Rev. John Grimes, coadjutor of Syracuse, also a member of our Society.
THREE “MOLL PITCHERS.” ONE WAS SURELY IRISH.
Professor Faust and other correspondents leave the reading public in a
quandary regarding “the heroine of Monmouth.” One claims that she was
German, another that she was American, and another, on the authority of
the historian Lossing, declares that she was “a stout, red-haired,
freckle faced young Irish woman.” One says she was “Moll Pitcher,” the
wife of John Hays, a Pennsylvania artillery-man, and another that she
was “Captain Molly,” the wife of a cannoneer from the banks of the
Hudson in the State of New York.
[Illustration:
HON. WILLIAM E. CHANDLER.
Formerly Secretary of the Navy and U. S. Senator from New Hampshire.
A New Member of the Society.
]
It probably has not occurred to these writers that three different women
representing three different sections of the country and three different
nationalities help to make dubious this perplexing old story. In 1738
there was born at Lynn, Mass., a Mary Diamond, who married a man named
Robert Pitcher and became a famous fortune teller. She died in 1813 and
was buried in the Western Burial Ground, West Lynn, where Lynn people
take pride in pointing out her grave, for barring the fact that she was
a fortune teller she was a reputable woman and her memory is respected.
Her fame lived after her and in 1832 Whittier wrote a poem about her
which renewed and increased the interest in her. Then a Boston
playwright named Jones wrote a drama called “Moll Pitcher, or the
Fortune Teller of Lynn,” which for more than thirty years was a popular
favorite on the New England stage. It was also played in other parts of
the country and was everywhere well received. The Lynn woman is the only
Moll Pitcher that figured in history; with her the name originated, and
others who wear it are simply fakes and frauds.
The honors of the alleged incident at Monmouth are shared by two
different women, one of whom was from the Highlands of the Hudson and
was undoubtedly Irish, and the other was from Pennsylvania and
undoubtedly German. Both, without any reason, are now frequently
referred to as Moll Pitcher. The real name of the Hudson River woman is
not known. Lossing calls her Captain Molly and E. P. Roe calls her Molly
O’Flaharty. She was the wife of a gunner in Colonel Lamb’s artillery,
whose name does not appear upon the records as O’Flaharty but in fiction
as Larry O’Flaharty.
In May, 1876, a communication appeared in a Carlisle newspaper claiming
that the Monmouth act had been performed by Molly McCauley, a woman who
had lived, died and was buried at Carlisle, and that Molly McCauley was
Molly Pitcher. A man who knew her in his early boyhood canvassed the
town and raised a fund with which he erected and formally unveiled at
her grave a handsome marker on which is inscribed: “Molly McCauley,
Renowned in History as Molly Pitcher,” etc.
As a matter of fact Molly McCauley never had any renown as Molly
Pitcher, but because it is so stated on a tombstone many people who read
no other history believe it and quote it as conclusive proof that she
was the real Molly Pitcher.
THE IRISH ORIGIN OF “YANKEE DOODLE” AND “DIXIE.”
Apropos of the recent query relative to the origin of “Dixie,” the
following letter of W. H. Grattan Flood, author of the “History of Irish
Music” and “History of the Harp,” may throw further light on this famous
melody. Mr. Flood is a responsible authority and is not given to
unqualified statements, so his claim for Irish origin deserves
consideration.
“My publishers duly forwarded me your letter, and I have much pleasure
in answering it, if only to vindicate the Irish origin of ‘Yankee
Doodle.’ ... Marion Harland merely repeats the exploded myth as told for
the past century in all published accounts of the origin of ‘Yankee
Doodle’ until Charles I. and Cromwell Association was shown to be
utterly absurd by Bartley Squire of the British Museum. The verses to
Lucy Lockett cannot possibly have been written before the year 1728,
whilst Kitty Fisher did not die until 1771.
“I state now definitely that the tune of ‘Yankee Doodle’ is Irish and
was known before the year 1750 as ‘All the Way to Galway.’ The song of
‘Yankee Doodle’ was adapted to this Irish air in 1755 (1756?) and the
earliest reference to it is in April, 1767, when it was included as the
fourth air in the comic opera of ‘The Disappointment.’ Oliver Wendell
Holmes rightly calls the air ‘a country dance,’ and a manuscript copy of
the Irish dance tune dated 1750 is still preserved. It was first printed
by Aird of Glasgow in 1782.
“‘Dixie’ is also an Irish air, merely arranged by Dan Emmett for
Bryant’s minstrels. By the way, Bryant himself, who ran the Christy
minstrel business in New York in 1850, was an Irishman. His real name
was Cornelius O’Brien and he died in Brooklyn in 1902. There were three
brothers in the family, Cornelius (Neill), Daniel and Jerry. Neill gave
the Irish air to Dan Emmet, who sang it in New York in February, 1859.”
ARCHBISHOP McFAUL FIGHTING TUBERCULOSIS.
Archbishop James A. McFaul, of Trenton, N. J., has announced that he has
purchased a farm of 131 acres near Bennington, which will be opened soon
as a refuge for the consumptive people of that section of New Jersey.
They will have the run of the farm, upon which cottages will be erected,
without expense and will be cared for without regard to race or creed.
Sisters of Charity will serve as nurses. It is the plan of the
archbishop to secure additional lands as they may be needed.
Archbishop McFaul was chairman of the commission appointed by Governor
Fort to lead the fight against tuberculosis in New Jersey.
GOOD MEMBERSHIP SPIRIT.