sister of the late Peter S. Dooner. His second wife was Mary Heenan,
daughter of Colonel Heenan and sister of Dr. Thomas E. Heenan, now
United States Consul at Warsaw, Russia. The daughters of the deceased
are: Mrs. Ludwig E. Faber, Mrs. Joseph I. Comber, Miss Mary Mulholland,
Miss Genevieve Mulholland, Miss Claire Mulholland.
General Mulholland was a brother of the late Rev. James E. Mulholland,
rector of St. Patrick’s Church, who died suddenly in Alexandria, Egypt,
in 1886.
The following Sunday the general’s old comrades in arms and members of
the Loyal Legion, Grand Army of the Republic and delegations from other
organizations visited the residence and held memorial exercises. About
one hundred members of the parish Holy Name Society, of which the
deceased was a member, accompanied by the rector, Rev. M. J. Crane, and
the spiritual director, Rev. Thomas J. Hanney, recited the Office for
the Dead at the house, as did also the Alumni Sodality, which had forty
members present.
The funeral took place Monday morning, from the late residence of the
deceased, 4202 Chester Avenue. Solemn Requiem Mass was sung in St.
Francis de Sales’ Church by the rector, Rev. M. J. Crane. Rev. Joseph A.
Whittaker was deacon; Rev. Thomas J. Hanney, sub-deacon, and Rev. Alfred
C. Welsh, of Kennett Square, master of ceremonies.
The absolution of the body was performed by Right Rev. Monsignor William
Kieran, D. D., rector of St. Patrick’s. In compliance with the wishes of
the deceased, there was no sermon, but Monsignor Kieran, who read the
funeral service in English as well as in Latin, made a brief address,
alluding to the virtues and patriotism of this great man. The interment
was in Old Cathedral Cemetery.
One of the leading journals of Philadelphia states editorially:
“After seventy-three years of life’s battling, General St. Clair A.
Mulholland lies in a soldier’s grave. ‘After life’s fitful fever, he
sleeps well.’ Those who live well and die well surely sleep well. And
truly may it be said of the great and gallant Irishman who has laid
down his sword and gone to rest in his soldier’s cloak that he did all
a soldier could to live well and die well for the country of his
adoption, since he could not offer it for that of his nativity. It was
not his lot to fall on the field of his fame, but to rise from the
blood-soaked soil more than once to take up the task of the
soldier-saint, Louis of France, and reveal the tender heart of the
woman beating beneath the cuirass of the soldier. To visit the prisons
and to bear the message of solace to the despairing victims of a cruel
fate was the task which he marked out for himself, and carried out to
the very last healthful day of his official career. Many a stout and
steadfast heart has ‘the black North,’ as his native Ulster is
erroneously called, brought to the defense and glorification of the
American Union, but none surpassing in beautiful qualities that of the
quiet and unassuming soldier who now lies in a friendly grave in the
land he served, but far from the hills of his native Ulster, the land
of the O’Neills and the O’Donnells, and all the representatives of the
modern chivalry of ‘the Red Branch’—saints like Columbkille and
martyrs like Archbishop Plunkett.
“It is a unique glory that the flag of the American Union owns. She
has lured the bravest and the most unselfish from all lands to defend
her cause, and she lays the proud tribute of her gratitude and her
sorrow on their biers with a hand that knows no discrimination as to
nationality. The soldier from Antrim who gave his strong right arm, as
well as his unselfish heart, to her service was worthy of her, and she
of him. And so may it ever be as between America and Ireland. ‘_Quis
separabit?_’”
MGR. B. C. LENEHAN.
BY THE SECRETARY GENERAL.
Mgr. B. C. Lenehan, who died September 21 last at Fort Dodge, Ia., was
born February 3, 1843, in New York City, and was baptized in the old New
York cathedral. He settled in Dubuque with his parents when ten years of
age, and received his education in the Dubuque schools and took his
classical course at Vinentra college, Cape Girardeau, Mo., completing
his work at Milwaukee, Wis. He was ordained December 8, 1867, by
Archbishop Hennessey. He was stationed at Mount McGregor, Iowa, for some
time before going to Sioux City.
Nowhere was the deceased clergyman better known or more loved than in
Sioux City, where he spent fourteen of the most active years of his
ministry.
In March, 1872, while a young priest, the monsignor was appointed pastor
of Sioux City and during his fourteen years there he saw many changes in
the city and the surrounding territory. The completion of new railroads
had opened northwestern Iowa to settlement, and new settlers were coming
in by thousands, many being Catholics. Sioux City was the nearest place
where there was a church or a priest, and Father Lenehan was called on
to attend to the spiritual wants of those settlers, scattered over an
immense territory, including all that portion of Iowa west of the Little
Sioux River and north to the Minnesota line, and consisting of about ten
counties.
After several months of strenuous missionary work Father Lenehan was
given an assistant in Sioux City in the person of Rev. John J. Cadden,
who remained nearly two years, doing good work in city and country,
wherever his services were needed. After leaving there he was sent to
southern Iowa, and died several years later in the Davenport diocese.
In 1874 it became apparent that the congregation had outgrown the old
frame church on West Seventh and Perry streets and that a larger and
better building was needed. Father Lenehan erected a handsome brick
church, which was dedicated under the patronage of St. Mary, Help of
Christians, on the Sunday within the octave of the Assumption, on
August, 1875, by Very Rev. John F. Brazil, of Des Moines, vicar general
of the diocese. Rev. T. M. Lenihan, of Fort Dodge, was celebrant of the
mass.
In February, 1886, after fourteen years of continuous and satisfactory
service, Father Lenehan resigned his charge in Sioux City to the great
regret of all, both Catholic and Protestant. He intended to become a
Jesuit and took preliminary steps, but, the confinement not agreeing
with his health, he returned to Iowa. A delegation was sent from Sioux
City to Dubuque to make an effort to secure his return to Sioux City,
but other arrangements had already been made for Sioux City, and Father
Lenehan had been assigned to Denison. Later he was transferred to Boone,
where he remained about sixteen years.
With the organization of the diocese of Sioux City and the appointment
of Rt. Rev. P. J. Garrigan as its first bishop, there were several
changes. At the close of the first diocesan retreat for the priests on
August 22, 1902, the first diocesan synod was held, and diocesan
officers were announced. Among the appointments was that of Father
Lenehan as vicar general. In November, 1903, he was transferred from
Boone to Corpus Christi Church, Fort Dodge, the oldest and one of the
best parishes in the diocese.
During Father Lenehan’s long residence in Sioux City he endeared himself
not only to his own flock, but to the people of every denomination and
those of none at all. All admired him for his eloquence and his
affability.
Honors only added to his natural and innate dignity of character. As Rt.
Rev. Mgr. Lenehan, domestic prelate to the pope and vicar general of the
diocese of Sioux City, he remained the same modest, unassuming priest,
the same “teacher of the silver tongue,” the same genial, companionable,
Christian gentleman, as when he was pastor of old St. Mary’s, and
missionary teacher of half a diocese thirty years ago.
Mgr. Lenehan was a great friend of the younger priests, and his death
will be sincerely mourned by many a clergyman who got much inspiration
through acquaintance with this exceptional man.
JAMES McGOVERN.
BY MR. JOHN G. O’KEEFFE OF NEW YORK.
James McGovern, a life member of this Society, was born of Irish parents
in Brooklyn, N. Y., on the 31st day of August, 1854. When but fourteen
years of age he began his business life in the employ of Coleman
Benedict, a stock broker. His progress was remarkable. In twelve years
he became a partner in the firm. He was elected a member of the New York
Stock Exchange in 1880 and during his long business career he was
universally regarded as one of the ablest and most honorable men on
’Change. He was honored time and again by election to its Board of
Governors, serving on its most important committees. Because of his high
character and broad knowledge of values his judgment on investments was
widely sought. For example, he was for years a prominent member of the
Finance Committee of the Emigrant Industrial Savings Bank and a director
in the Kings Co. Trust Company, the Corn Exchange National Bank and the
Home Life Insurance Company. He was also a member of the Chicago Stock
Exchange, the New York Chamber of Commerce, Metropolitan Museum of Art,
Museum of Natural History, the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick, the
Catholic and a number of other clubs in which he took an active and
prominent interest.
Mr. McGovern’s charities were most liberal and carried on quietly,
without ostentation. He was a benefactor of the Society of St. Vincent
de Paul (a member of its Finance Committee) the Ozanam Club for Working
Boys and many similar Societies. He was the President and best friend of
the Dominican Sisters of the sick poor, a charity that appealed directly
to his generous heart.
Mr. McGovern was especially proud of his Irish ancestry and never failed
to respond to any call for help from the land of his forefathers.
He died on November 6, 1909, and in his death the community at large
suffered a great loss.
REV. MICHAEL A. McMANUS.
BY JAMES L. O’NEILL OF ELIZABETH, N. J.
Rev. Michael A. McManus, D. D., rector of St. Aloysius Church, Newark,
N. J., died November 16, 1909. Deceased was the son of Lawrence A.
McManus of Paterson, N. J. It was in that city that he was born
September 29, 1849. When a boy he evinced his religious tendency and
determined to become a priest. After obtaining permission from his
parents, he went to Newark to consult with the late Archbishop Bayley,
then Bishop of Newark. Bishop Bayley noticing the slight figure before
him, at first did not appear inclined to give his consent but the
determined manner and speech of the young man soon won the Bishop over.
When he was quite young his father sent him to St. Charles College,
Ellicott City, Md., to begin his ecclesiastical training. He had
previously received a classical education at a private school in
Paterson. After four years at St Charles he entered Seton Hall College,
where he was graduated, and then entered the seminary of the Immaculate
Conception. He was ordained April 26, 1874, by the late Archbishop
Michael Austin Corrigan, who was then Bishop of the diocese of Newark,
which then comprised all of New Jersey. He was first sent to St.
Michael’s Church, Jersey City. While attached to that Parish he became
seriously ill and had to be sent to St. Francis Hospital. After
recovering he went to the Southern States and did missionary work for a
couple of years. On returning north he was sent as an assistant to the
Church of the Assumption, Morristown, N. J. Within a couple of years he
was made pastor of St. Patrick’s Church of Woodbury. He remained there
until 1881, when the single dioceses comprised in the entire state, was
divided by the establishment of the Trenton diocese.
In 1881 he was sent to St. Joseph’s, Newton, N. J., remaining there
until 1890, when Bishop Wiggar transferred him to Newark, and assigned
to him the task of establishing the parish of the Sacred Heart. Finally
he was transferred to St. Aloysius’ Church of the same city in June,
1906. Seton Hall College conferred on Father McManus the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy. His unostentatious charity was something the
extent of which was ever widening and often surprised those closest to
him. In public affairs he was always interested. He served on the grand
jury several years ago, being the first priest in the county who ever
officiated as a member of that body.
St. Aloysius School is his monument. He had been secretary of the Board
of Trustees of St. Michael’s Hospital for many years and was one of the
prime movers in the movement for a public park in the twelfth ward,
Newark, a movement which culminated in the establishment of Riverbank
Park, now in process of completion. He was known for his sturdy loyalty
to the cause of Ireland, and he never lost an opportunity to lend it his
aid. He was strong also in his liking for the German people, whose
language he spoke fluently.
The keynote of Father McManus’ character was a rugged honesty buttressed
by a courage that brooked no opposition. His convictions were clear cut
and what he thought, that he said, and that he fought for, even though
his words occasionally gave some offense and his intensity provoked his
opponents.
But it happened with him as it always happens with an honest man—it
became apparent that he meant not to offend but to convince. With Father
McManus the smile always beamed after a remark, before the frown had
scarcely time to gather. He was never bitter though always earnest and
sincere. With such a man there is always satisfaction in dealing, one
knows where he stands and what to expect; the entanglements of deceit
are absent. Father McManus was well-read and his scholarship won for him
the degree of Doctor of Laws, from his Alma Mater. His administrative
ability was great, as the numerous works and foundation of his parish
attest.
He was a pious priest, but his piety was of the manly kind that rejects
show or sentimentality. His faith was deep and earnest. He had a
wholesome contempt for the modern juggling with fundamental tenets of
Christianity.
He was an ardent American, and believed in accepting all the duties and
burdens, as well as the privileges of citizenship.
PHILIP C. WALSH.
BY PHILIP C. WALSH, JR.
Philip C. Walsh, a member of the American Irish Historical Society since
1897, died at his residence, 22 Grant Street, Newark, N. J., May 19,
1909, in the seventy-fifth year of his life. He was born in the City of
Kilkenny, in 1834, was educated at St. Keren’s in that city, and
emigrated to America in 1854, being associated with his uncle, Mathew
Nolan, a retired seaman of the United States navy, at New Brunswick, N.
J., where he married Annie Walsh of Gowran, Ireland, in 1858, removing
to Newark, N. J., in 1865; while there he was engaged in the cattle
business until 1880, when he began the iron and steel business of Walsh
& Sons, of which he was the head, until his death.
From his youthful associations in Ireland, he imbibed a characteristic
Irish antipathy to the government which had wrought such a malign
influence upon his native land, and in America he promptly became a
member of the Irish organizations that were laboring for Ireland’s
cause, offering his time and his services as occasion demanded, to the
Hibernian, Clan-na-Gael, Irish Volunteers and the American Irish
Historical Society, the success of which he was very proud, as well of
the Society as an organization tending to the uplift of the Irish, as he
was of the distinguished eminence so many of its individual members had
achieved.
During his long life, Mr. Walsh steadily acquired every conceivable kind
of book relating to Ireland, the Irish people, and their just cause, for
which they had struggled so valiantly, gradually obtaining a very large
library of Irish works, some of them exceedingly rare and venerable, and
by constant reading, study, and discussion with those well qualified,
became a veritable encyclopedia upon Ireland and Irish history, being
known as one of New Jersey’s great Irishmen, a position which he proudly
enjoyed as one of the best distinctions he had.
Although not in good health, for the last two years, Mr. Walsh was about
during the pleasant weather, meeting old friends, discussing with them
Irish affairs, showing as devoted an interest as ever, and at the
mention of any proposition that would benefit Ireland his eye would
brighten and he would eagerly discuss every phase, from a position of
genuine interest actuated by a sincere, pure, high-minded desire, for
the progress and advancement of his native land which he always claimed
would equal any nation in the world if but given a fair opportunity, and
whose people, upon their native soil, would exhibit the same
intelligence, ability and capacity, that they have exhibited in every
walk of life elsewhere throughout the world.
Mr. Walsh’s personal traits were the admirable ones characteristic of
the true Irishman, gentleness, kindliness and affection, mingled courage
and tenacity. His family, to which he was most endeared, will ever
regret his demise, and the sweet, gentle ties of father and children
will ever remain with them, as long as life remains.
* * * * *
In a letter transmitting to the Secretary-General the above sketch “for
the record of the Society,” Philip C. Walsh, Jr., a member of the
municipal corporations committee of the New Jersey Senate, says:
Father had a very high regard for the Society, and was especially
proud of the older members, who like himself, had been transplanted
here, and never losing for a moment the great affection they bore
their native land. The progress and advancement of the Society and its
members always brightened his eye, and brought forth approving
sentiments.
He was a typical Irishman—gentle, kind, affectionate and indulgent as
a woman on one side and as fierce and courageous as a lion upon the
other, the fighting spirit of his race, dominant when necessary; a
curious combination of admirable characteristics, opposite in their
nature, characteristics that seem more peculiar to Irishmen than any
other people.
During his long life, he collected a great number of books dealing
with Ireland and Irish affairs, all of which the writer is happy to
state were given to me, and I earnestly hope that I may ever be as
Irish as my dear father.
MAJOR JOHN W. BOURLET.
BY THE SECRETARY GENERAL.
Major John W. Bourlet, secretary of the Rumford Printing Company of
Concord, N. H., and for several years an esteemed member of the
American-Irish Historical Society, died at Concord, January 19, 1910,
after a protracted illness. Mr. Bourlet was born in New York City, March
7, 1850, but in 1859 removed with his parents to Concord and resided in
or near that city until his death, more than half a century later.
At the age of seventeen, he entered the office of the Concord Monitor,
as an apprentice to learn the printer’s trade and quickly became a
proficient workman. He was advanced to the position of foreman of the
job room and acquired prominence in his profession in the State of New
Hampshire and beyond as the organizer of the first printers’ association
in the capital of New Hampshire. In 1893, Mr. Bourlet was nominated by
Governor John B. Smith as commissioner of the New Hampshire Bureau of
Labor. This position he occupied until 1896 when upon the reorganization
of the book and job printing department of the Monitor Company into a
separate corporation, Mr. Bourlet was made superintendent of the plant
and a director in and clerk of the corporation. These positions he held
until ill-health compelled him to retire from active work in the autumn
of 1909.
He was widely known as one of the most prominent Odd Fellows in the
State and long published a magazine devoted to this order. There were
indeed few members of the fraternity who were not acquainted with this
devoted member and worker. The highest honors of the subordinate and
grand orders were conferred upon him. He was Grand Master in 1891–2, and
Grand Representative to the Sovereign Grand Lodge in 1892–3. He was also
secretary of the Merrimack County Odd Fellows Relief Association. Mr.
Bourlet was a member of the New Hampshire Press Association also for
many years and a member of the Universalist Church of Concord. In 1871
Mr. Bourlet married Abbie A. Webster, who survives him. One son, John W.
Bourlet, Jr., and two grandchildren survive.
In the course of his long and highly respected residence in Concord, Mr.
Bourlet was honored by his fellow citizens with various positions of
responsibility. In 1887 he was elected a member of the Legislature from
the city of Concord and served as chairman of the Committee on Printers’
Accounts and as clerk of the Committee on Labor. He was clerk of the
Merrimack County Convention and for two years was auditor of Merrimack
County. His exemplary life, his agreeable personality, his extensive
knowledge of his calling and widespread acquaintance made Mr. Bourlet
one of the representative citizens of his city and state. The
expressions of sorrow from a large number of persons in his own city and
elsewhere in the state and beyond its borders brought forth by the
announcement of his death were tributes of those who have known and
appreciated his strong qualities as a citizen and a friend.
Every volume of the Journal of the Society was printed and published
under Major Bourlet’s supervision, and most of its pamphlets and other
publications passed through his hands.
MAURICE O’MEARA.
Mr. Maurice O’Meara, who died of heart failure Friday, January 14, 1910,
in his seventy-sixth year, at his home, No. 83 Eighth Avenue, Brooklyn,
was born in New Street, New York City, and early became an expert in the
various kinds and grades of paper and paper stock. He built up an
immense trade, and in 1890 organized the O’Meara Paper Company of which
he became president, with his three sons, Maurice, Jr., William and
David, respectively, vice-president, treasurer and secretary. A year ago
Mr. O’Meara celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of his business career,
and a little later, on March 6, his golden wedding was an event that
brought him congratulations from friends far and near. He left three
sons and seven daughters. He was an earnest member of the American-Irish
Historical Society; vice president of the New York Paper Dealers’
Association; a trustee of the Brooklyn Catholic Orphan Asylum, also a
trustee of St. Francis Xavier’s Church, a member of the Montauk Club and
many benevolent organizations.
GEORGE J. S. MURPHY.
George J. S. Murphy, secretary to the Elizabeth (N. J.) Board of Fire
Commissioners and a valued member of this Society, died suddenly of
heart disease September 2, 1909, in his thirty-ninth year, in a New York
restaurant, as he was ordering dinner.
Mr. Murphy was a son of the late Walter and Margaret M. Murphy, who were
well-known residents of the old Eighth ward, Elizabeth, where he was
born, his parents then residing at 726 Eugenia Place. His father was a
carpenter and builder and for twenty years or more was an election
officer in the Eighth ward.
As a boy, Mr. Murphy attended St. Mary’s parochial school and later on
the Morrel street school, from which he was graduated high in his class.
He next attended St. Peter’s College, in Jersey City, from which he also
was graduated with honors.
Mr. Murphy entered upon his duties as secretary to the Board of Fire
Commissioners when it was organized in 1901, and during all the years he
served he never missed a single meeting, a record of which he felt
justly proud. Mr. Murphy was a young man who believed in method, and the
affairs of his office were conducted in a thorough, businesslike manner.
He kept a record of everything of importance connected with his office
and was able at an instant’s notice to place his hands on whatever
record might be desired. He was of a genial, pleasant disposition and as
one of the commissioners said: “He was the right man in the right
place.” There were few men better known in Elizabeth than was Mr.
Murphy.
He was a communicant of St. Mary’s Church and a member of the Holy Name
Society connected with that parish. He was also a member of the Young
Men’s Catholic Literary Association of St. Mary’s parish, and at one
time a member of the board of directors connected with that association.
He was also a member of and, at the time of his death, secretary of
Elizabeth Council, No. 253, Knights of Columbus, and also a member and
secretary of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick, an organization in which
he took a very deep interest. He was interested in the Elizabethport
Building and Loan Association and served as one of its auditors.