Chapter I: Part 1

HON. THOMAS J. GARGAN, BOSTON, MASS.,

PRESIDENT-GENERAL OF THE SOCIETY.
]

THE JOURNAL

OF THE

AMERICAN-IRISH
HISTORICAL SOCIETY

BY

THOMAS HAMILTON MURRAY

_Secretary-General_

VOLUME II

BOSTON, MASS.
PUBLISHED BY THE SOCIETY
1899

------------------------------------------------------------------------

INTRODUCTORY NOTE TO SECOND VOLUME.

I take great pleasure in presenting the second volume of the JOURNAL to the Society. In so doing, I desire to acknowledge many courtesies received from various sources during its preparation. I have also been favored with ideas and suggestions regarding the work and, where practicable, have incorporated the same. The present volume, covering the year 1899, shows an increase in scope over the preceding one, a fact typifying the Society’s growth in the field of American historical organizations.

T. H. M.

BOSTON, MASS., Dec. 30, 1899.

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTORY NOTE TO SECOND VOLUME.
THE AMERICAN-IRISH HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
OFFICERS OF THE SOCIETY, 1899.
CHRONOLOGICAL RECORD OF THE SOCIETY.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY, 1899.
ADDRESSES MADE AND PAPERS READ.
A MEETING IN PROVIDENCE, R. I.
A MEETING IN NEWPORT, R. I.
A MEETING IN BOSTON, MASS.
PAPERS CONTRIBUTED TO THE SOCIETY
MEMBERSHIP ROLL, AMERICAN-IRISH HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
THE DEAD OF THE SOCIETY.
GENERAL INDEX.
ANALYTICAL INDEX.

THE AMERICAN-IRISH HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

WHEN AND WHERE FOUNDED.

The American-Irish Historical Society was founded on the evening of Jan. 20, 1897, at a meeting called for that purpose, and held in the Revere House, Boston, Mass. Over forty gentlemen were present. The Hon. Thomas J. Gargan of Boston presided. Thomas Hamilton Murray, then editor of the _Daily Sun_, Lawrence, Mass., was secretary of the meeting.

THE PRELIMINARY WORK.

The provisional committee that had attended to the preliminary work included Mr. Murray, just mentioned; James Jeffrey Roche, editor of the _Boston Pilot_; Joseph Smith, secretary of the police commission, Lowell, Mass.; Thomas B. Lawler of the publishing house, Ginn & Company, Boston, Mass., and Hon. John C. Linehan, state insurance commissioner, Concord, N. H.

OBJECTS AND PURPOSES.

The Society is organized for the special study of the Irish element in the composition of the American people; to investigate and record the influence of this element in the upbuilding of the nation, and to collect and publish facts relating to and illustrating that influence. The Society aims to correct erroneous, distorted and false views of history, where they are known, and to substitute therefor the truth of history, based on documentary evidence and the best and most reasonable tradition, in relation to the Irish in America.

SPEAKING MORE IN DETAIL.

Speaking more in detail, it may be stated that the objects and purposes of the Society are: The study of American history generally; to investigate, specially, the Irish immigration to this country, determine its numbers, examine the sources, learn the places of its settlement, and estimate its influence on contemporary events in war, legislation, religion, education, and other departments of activity; to place the result of its historical investigations and researches in acceptable literary form; to print, publish, and distribute its documents to libraries, educational institutions, and among its members, in order that the widest dissemination of historical truth may be obtained; to do its work without passion or prejudice, to view accomplished facts in the true scientific historical spirit, and having reached the truth to give it to the world.

MEMBERSHIP REQUIREMENTS.

Any male person of good moral character, who is interested in the special work of the Society, shall be deemed eligible for membership in the same. No tests other than that of character and devotion to the Society’s objects shall be applied to membership. Application blanks may be obtained of the secretary-general.

THE MODE OF ADMISSION.

The Society believes that for the present as little red tape as possible should prevail in the admission of applicants. A large membership is desired. Consequently, a request to be enrolled addressed to the secretary-general, to any of the members of the Executive Council, or to a member of the Society who is located in the neighborhood of the applicant, will generally be sufficient to effect the desired result. It is recommended, however, that persons desiring admission shall obtain the blanks provided by the Society, for applicants.

THE FEES OF MEMBERS.

Life members pay $50 in advance at one time; they are exempt from further membership dues. Annual members pay three dollars per year each. In the case of new members, of the annual class, their first payment should be made upon being officially notified of their admission.

NO LINES OF CREED OR POLITICS.

The Society is constructed on a broad and liberal basis. Being an American organization in spirit and principle, it greets and welcomes to its ranks Americans of whatever race descent, and of whatever creed, who take an interest in the special line of work for which the Society is organized. It at present includes Roman Catholics, Protestant Episcopalians, Methodists, Presbyterians, Unitarians, and members of other denominations. Catholic priests and Protestant ministers are on its roll. There are no creed lines and no politics in the policy of the organization.

OFFICERS OF THE SOCIETY.

The officers comprise a president-general, a vice-president-general, a secretary-general, a treasurer-general, a librarian and archivist, an historiographer (not yet elected), and an Executive Council. The constitution also provides for a vice-president for each state and territory and for the District of Columbia. It is proposed to eventually organize state and city chapters of the Society. A list of the present officers will be found contained herein.

THE FIRST PRESIDENT-GENERAL.

The first president-general of the Society was Richard Worsam Meade, 3d, rear-admiral, U. S. N. (retired). He was born in New York city, Oct. 9, 1837, at the home of his maternal grandfather, Judge Henry Meigs, which family has given many officers to the United States navy. He was the oldest son of the late Capt. Richard Worsam Meade, 2d, U. S. N., and was a nephew of the late Gen. George Gordon Meade, who for two years commanded the Army of the Potomac. President-General Meade died in Washington, D. C., May 4, 1897. His obsequies took place in that city. The Society contributed a floral harp. Among the mourners there were present from the Society Edward A. Moseley, secretary of the Interstate Commerce Commission; Paymaster John R. Carmody, U. S. N.; J. D. O’Connell of the U. S. Treasury Department, and Capt. John M. Tobin, all of Washington, D. C.

MEETINGS AND FIELD DAY.

Provision is made for quarterly meetings of the Society and monthly meetings of the Executive Council. As far as possible, each meeting, especially those of the Council, is held in a city or state different from the one where the preceding meeting was held. This prevents the Society from becoming merely local to any one state or city, and makes it what its founders intended it to be—a national body. A general field day of the organization is held annually in the summer or fall. The annual meeting for the election of officers is held in January.

DIPLOMA OF MEMBERSHIP.

Each member will be entitled to a diploma of membership, bearing the name of the Society, the date of his admission, and such other appropriate matter as may be decided upon. These certificates will be signed by the president-general, the secretary-general, the treasurer-general, and one or two other officers, and will be suitable for display in office, library, or study.

THE SOCIETY’S PUBLICATIONS.

The Society issues an annual volume, called the JOURNAL of the organization, handsomely printed and substantially bound in cloth. This volume is illustrated, contains a record of the Society’s proceedings, papers contributed by the members as the result of original research, extracts from old documents bearing upon the Irish in this country, and matter of similar interest, much of it, indeed, of almost priceless value. A copy of the JOURNAL is annually given free to each member in good standing. The Society also issues special publications from time to time for the members.

OFFICERS OF THE SOCIETY, 1899.

_President-General_,

HON. THOMAS J. GARGAN,
Of the Law Firm, Gargan & Keating, Boston, Mass.

_Vice-President-General_,

HON. JOHN D. CRIMMINS,
40 East 68th St., New York City.

_Secretary-General_,

THOMAS HAMILTON MURRAY,
Editor _Evening Call_, 77 Main St., Woonsocket, R. I.

_Treasurer-General_,

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

_Librarian and Archivist_,

THOMAS B. LAWLER,
New York City.
(With Ginn & Co., Publishers, Boston, New York, Chicago, London.)

EXECUTIVE COUNCIL.

The foregoing and

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

MAURICE FRANCIS EGAN, LL. D., J. U. D., Professor of English Language
and Literature, Catholic University, Washington, D. C.

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

THOMAS ADDIS EMMET, M. D., LL. D., grand nephew of Robert Emmet, the
Irish Patriot, New York City.

HON. THOMAS DUNN ENGLISH, the well known writer; ex-Member of
Congress, Newark, N. J.

FRANCIS C. TRAVERS, President of Travers Brothers Co., 107 Duane St.,
New York City.

STEPHEN J. GEOGHEGAN, of the firm Gillis & Geoghegan, 537–539 West
Broadway, New York City.

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

AUGUSTUS ST. GAUDENS, Member of the National Academy of Design, New
York City.

HON. MORGAN J. O’BRIEN, a Justice of the New York Supreme Court.

FRANCIS HIGGINS, 12 East 34th St., New York City.

JOHN CRANE, 307 West 103d St., New York City.

HON. JAMES S. COLEMAN, 38 East 69th St., New York City.

JOSEPH F. SWORDS, New York City; of the fourth American generation
from Francis Dawson Swords, who was exiled from Ireland, 1760, and
who served in the Patriot army throughout the American Revolution.

STATE VICE-PRESIDENTS.

Maine—JAMES CUNNINGHAM, Portland. New Hampshire—JAMES F. BRENNAN, Peterborough. Vermont—JOHN D. HANRAHAN, M. D., Rutland. Massachusetts—OSBORNE HOWES, Boston. Rhode Island—DENNIS H. SHEAHAN, Providence. Connecticut—JOHN F. HAYES, M. D., Waterbury. New York—GEN. JAMES R. O’BEIRNE, New York City. New Jersey—HON. WILLIAM A. M. MACK, Elizabeth. Pennsylvania—GEN. ST. CLAIR A. MULHOLLAND, Philadelphia. Delaware—COL. JOHN P. DONAHOE, WILMINGTON. Virginia—HON. JOSEPH T. LAWLESS, Richmond. West Virginia—COL. O’BRIEN MOORE, Charleston. South Carolina—HON. M. C. BUTLER, Edgefield. Georgia—HON. PATRICK WALSH, Augusta. (Died March 19, 1899.) Ohio—REV. GEORGE W. PEPPER, Cleveland. (Died August 6, 1899.) Indiana—VERY REV. ANDREW MORRISSEY, C. S. C., Notre Dame. Illinois—P. T. BARRY, Chicago. Iowa—REV. M. C. LENIHAN, Marshalltown. Minnesota—JOHN D. O’BRIEN, St. Paul. Michigan—HON. T. A. E. WEADOCK, Detroit. Missouri—JULIUS L. FOY, St. Louis. Tennessee—MICHAEL GAVIN, Memphis. Kentucky—EDWARD FITZPATRICK, Louisville. Kansas—PATRICK H. CONEY, Topeka. Colorado—J. E. LOWERY, M. D., Sopris. Nebraska—M. D. LONG, O’Neill. Utah—JOSEPH GEOGHEGAN, Salt Lake City. Texas—GEN. A. G. MALLOY, El Paso. Oregon—HENRY E. REED, Portland. California—JAMES CONNOLLY, Coronado.

District of Columbia—PATRICK O’FARRELL, Washington.

CHRONOLOGICAL RECORD OF THE SOCIETY.

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-General 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. L. 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 to 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, Boston, Mass. Present: Thomas J. Gargan,
Boston, Mass.; 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 Society (his
great-grandfather fought there 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 city.

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 a paper on “The Need of an
Organization Such as the A. I. H. S., and Its Scope.”

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 St.

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 strongly 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-General 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-General 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, P. R., 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-General 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 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-General
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 2. 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-general. 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-General 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. 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.

1898. December. Death of Capt. John M. Tobin at Knoxville, Tenn., 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.

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-granddaughter of Captain 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 committee is appointed
to further consider the matter.