Chapter I: Front Matter

REAR-ADMIRAL RICHARD WORSAM MEADE

FIRST PRESIDENT-GENERAL
]

THE JOURNAL

OF THE

AMERICAN-IRISH
HISTORICAL SOCIETY

EDITED BY

THOMAS HAMILTON MURRAY
_Secretary-General_

AND

THOMAS BONAVENTURE LAWLER
_Librarian-Archivist_

VOLUME I

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS
MDCCCXCVIII

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AMERICAN-IRISH HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

The American-Irish Historical Society was founded, as its constitution declares, for “the study of American history generally; to investigate specially the immigration of the people of Ireland to this country, determine its numbers, examine the sources, learn the places of its settlement; to examine records of every character wherever found; to endeavor to correct erroneous, distorted, and false views of history in relation to the Irish race in America; to encourage and assist the formation of local societies; to promote and foster an honorable and national spirit of patriotism; to place the result of its historical investigations and researches in acceptable literary form; to print, publish, and distribute its documents; to sift and discriminate every paper, sketch, document bearing on the society’s line of work, before the same is accepted and given official sanction.” The work was inaugurated by the issuance of the following invitation to prominent men throughout the country:

A CALL FOR THE ORGANIZATION OF AN AMERICAN HISTORICAL SOCIETY WHOSE
SPECIAL LINE OF RESEARCH SHALL BE THE HISTORY OF THE IRISH ELEMENT
IN THE COMPOSITION OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE.

DEAR SIR,—A number of gentlemen, interested in the part taken in
American history by people of Irish birth or lineage, are about to
organize themselves into an historical society for the purpose of
investigating and recording the influence of that element in the
up-building of the nation.

People of Irish blood have been coming to this continent,
voluntarily and otherwise, since the date of its earliest
settlement. While they have been a valuable addition to colony and
republic in all departments of human activity, their work and
contributions have received but scant recognition from chroniclers
of American history.

Whether this omission springs from carelessness, ignorance,
indifference, or design, is now of little moment. The fact that such
a condition does exist makes it imperative that it should be
remedied not only in the interest of historical truth, but of racial
fair play. Certain elements in the make-up of the American people
have not hesitated on occasion to masquerade, at the expense of the
Irish, in borrowed plumes, and to pose under plundered laurels. It
is the duty of honest historians to look after the rights of the
lawful owners.

The history of Irish immigration to this country is of profound
interest. The motive that inspired this sturdy people in coming to
these shores was largely the one that animated and inspired all
immigration—discontent with the existing home conditions, civil,
religious, political, industrial, and the hope of living under
better and nobler conditions here.

The American of English stock has his historical society; the
descendants of the Dutch, Huguenot, and Spaniard have associations
which specialize the historical work of the bodies they represent;
and we feel that the story of the Irish element should be told
before the mass of legend and fiction now flooding the country under
misleading designations has completely submerged historic facts.

The work of our projected society will be influenced by no religious
or political divisions, for with us the race stands first, its
qualifying incidents afterwards. It matters little where the people
came from, whether from the north, the south, the east, or the west
of Ireland. It is of minor importance in what church they worshiped;
we wish merely to concern ourselves with the work done by them here;
to record the story of their settlement; to state the extent of
their participation in the civil, military, and political activities
of the land, and to try truthfully and fearlessly to record their
achievements.

The society now in process of formation must, we believe, be made up
of men who have the patience to search, the knowledge and wisdom to
sift and discriminate, and the ability to place the results in
acceptable literary form. Lastly, the character of the membership
must be such that it will command the respect and attention of the
community, so that its work will be accepted as having a definite
historical value which can be used in general works treating of the
growth of the republic by historians of a future date. This, in
brief, is the project; it is ambitious, but it is worthy; it is
absolutely necessary if the good name and influence of an essential,
but much neglected, chapter in American history shall be
perpetuated.

To place the Irish element in its true light in American history, to
secure its correct perspective in relation to historic events on
this soil, is the final aim of the new society. Its primal object
will be to ascertain the facts, weigh them in relation to
contemporary events, and estimate their historical value, avoiding
in this process the exaggeration and extravagance of poorly informed
writers on the one hand and the prejudice and misrepresentation of
hostile writers on the other.

The organization will be constructed on a broad and liberal plan. It
will be non-political, and no religious test will be required for
admission to membership or the holding of office. Being an American
organization in spirit and principle, the society will welcome to
its ranks Americans of whatever race descent who evince an interest
in the special line of research for which the society is organized.

Some of the projectors belong to other historical bodies, and it was
at first believed that the work for which this new society is to be
formed could better be done through the medium of those bodies and
without the necessity of a separate organization. Experience,
however, has led to the conclusion that this is not so. Hence the
resolve to form a distinct body, with its own special object,
program, and mode of procedure.

There is a place for such a society in the community; its purposes
are honorable and useful, and its work should begin while yet
documents, records, and historical material are available. We feel
that such a work will be valuable not only to the Irish race, but to
the American race also, to whose fiber this element has contributed
its share.

We will be glad to have your good wishes and coöperation in the
work.

The meeting for organizing the society will be held at the Revere
House in Boston, Mass., on Wednesday, Jan. 20, 1897, at 6.30 P.M.
Introductory to the proceedings, a dinner will be served.

Very respectfully,

JOHN C. LINEHAN,
State Insurance Commissioner, Concord, N. H.

JOSEPH SMITH,
Secretary, Board of Police, Lowell, Mass.

ROBERT ELLIS THOMPSON,
President, Central High School, Philadelphia, Pa.

JAMES JEFFREY ROCHE,
Editor, _The Pilot_, Boston, Mass.

THEODORE ROOSEVELT,
New York City.

THOMAS J. GARGAN,
Boston, Mass.

PATRICK WALSH,
Ex-U. S. Senator; publisher, _The Chronicle_, Augusta, Ga.

THOMAS HAMILTON MURRAY,
Editor, _Daily Sun_, Lawrence, Mass.

THOMAS A. E. WEADOCK,
Member of the LII.d and of the LIII.d Congress, Detroit, Mich.

JOHN J. PHELAN,
Late Secretary of State, Connecticut, Bridgeport, Ct.

EDWARD A. HALL,
Member, Connecticut Valley Historical Society, Springfield, Mass.

HUGH J. CARROLL,
Late a Member of the Rhode Island General Assembly; Ex-Mayor
of the city of Pawtucket, R. I.

J. D. O’CONNELL,
Bureau of Statistics, Treasury Department, Washington, D. C.

WALTER LECKY,
Redwood, Jefferson County, N. Y.

J. W. FOGARTY,
Assessors Department, City Hall, Boston, Mass.; Secretary,
Charitable Irish Society (instituted 1737).

THOMAS ADDIS EMMET,
New York City.

DENNIS HARVEY SHEAHAN,
Ex-Reading Clerk, Rhode Island House of Representatives,
Providence, R. I.