Chapter VI: Part 6

Matthew is said to have had fifteen children, ten of whom were living at the time of his decease.[53] The names of these ten were Abigail, Mary, Rachel, Mercy, Bethiah, Matthew, Lydia, William, John and Samuel. There were also many grandchildren and great grandchildren. In Arnold’s “Vital Record of Rhode Island” appears an entry under Barrington which states in substance that “Robert Watson and Mary Orr married at Londonderry, Ireland, 1695.” They were probably the parents of Matthew, the Barrington settler, who had the names recorded for purpose of reference; or they may have been so recorded by some other member of the family. The centenarian was twice married.[54] Bethia, his first wife, died in 1778, leaving ten children. One of Matthew’s descendants, John Watson, married Ann Waterman, daughter of Capt. Asa Waterman, of Rhode Island, who was assistant commissary-general during the Revolution. She was related to Governor Cooke of Rhode Island.

Among the centenarian’s descendants were the following: Robert S. W. Watson who wedded Patience Blygh. He was born in 1804; Annie Cooke Watson, born in 1831; Dr. S. T. Watson, born 1832; John W. Watson, 1835; Mary H. Watson, 1837; Henry H. Watson, 1839; Robert S. Watson, 1843; Emily F. Watson, 1845; Robert S. Watson, 1846; Charlotte A. Watson, 1850.

Nearly every generation of the family has had a Matthew in it. A second Matthew Watson was born in 1741.[55] A Matthew Watson of a later generation married Abby B. Wheaton, of Providence, in 1818. The Providence Directory for 1844 shows “Matthew Watson, manufacturer, rear Roger Williams Bank,” and gives his residence as Angell street. In February, 1892, the following interesting communication appeared in the Providence _Journal_. Its author is thought to have been Matthew Watson, of Providence, a recent representative of the name.

* * * * *

THE CUP THAT CHEERS. To the Editor of the _Journal_: The first time that tea was brought to Barrington, Rhode Island, is not known to the writer of this article, but the second time it was brought by Matthew Watson something over a hundred and fifty years ago, before the famous Boston tea party.

Matthew Watson sold brick which he manufactured from the clay on his own property, which was extensive, even for those days, in Newport. On one of his trips there he bought the teapot, a sketch of which appears with this article, and six teacups.

As tea had never been used, of course there was no tea-kettle, and water to make this was boiled in a dinner pot hanging from a crane over the wood fire. The teapot now is in possession of one of Matthew Watson’s descendants, and is a quaint little affair of some ancient style of crockery. It stands on three legs, which adds to its unique appearance.

Once it was broken into eight pieces, but was so cleverly mended that it is almost impossible to detect this as it stands, with other heirlooms, looking down on the china and glass of later dates.

FAIRLEIGH COTTAGE.

THE FIELD, SCOPE AND OPPORTUNITY OF THE AMERICAN-IRISH HISTORICAL
SOCIETY.

BY DENNIS HARVEY SHEAHAN,[56] PROVIDENCE, R. I.

The history of a country is dear to the heart of the lover of that country. By the aid of historical study we learn of the origin, growth and development of a race of people; their customs, religions, laws, governments; their accomplishments and what they have contributed to the economy of the world.

The historian points out the past to the present and future. He puts aside the veil that has gathered about the dim past, opens up to the gaze of the bright present the panorama of human achievement, and blazes the way for his successor in the rosy future.

What the clergyman learns from the theological disputations of the past, the poring monk has gathered together; what the physician now acquires with comparative ease is furnished him by the knowledge garnered from the experience of his brethren from the time when man learned that pain and aches affected his being; what the lawyer gains from precedents is a guiding light which sheds its rays upon problems of jurisprudence that the legal lore of the past generations has taken from the leaves of experience; what formulæ the scientist is able to demonstrate, he owes to the observations of men who, through the ages, have chronicled the phenomena of nature; the statesman is able to meet the crisis of the present by being informed as to other crises in governmental affairs.

The citizen of a republic who neglects to learn the fundamental principles upon which rest the laws of the land; who does not know how the country was developed and maintained is as a blind man and not able to bring to the exercise of his suffrage the amount of intelligence that the country has a right to require from him.

This obligation comes to us in a twofold capacity. We, as citizens of this great republic, should study the history of our country from a patriotic standpoint, while as Irishmen, or descendants of Irishmen, it should be not only a duty, but a pleasure, to learn of the deeds of the Irish in America.

Therefore, an organization such as the American-Irish Historical Society, if it had no other _raison d’être_, would accomplish a patriotic purpose if it served only as an incentive to the study of the deeds of Irishmen and their descendants in America. It has become almost a maxim in historical matters, that the history of events cannot be accepted as facts until the generation which lived at the time said events occurred has passed away.

The passions, influences and conditions which generate, shape and control events, lend a coloring to their recital, which deep-hued or faint as painted by the writer at the time, are toned down or made stronger by the historian of a future generation, who, unmindful of passions, influences or conditions, and with an eye single to the preservation of history by means of the truth, makes past occurrences stand out in their true light.

Deeds that have received but a passing mention from writers whose minds were biased, are rescued from an unmerited insignificance, and placed high in the Temple of Fame; while highly extolled acts, given undue prominence by a partisan writer, are consigned to a merited oblivion by the historian of a later but more impartial epoch.

A member of the Society of Friends who desires to familiarize himself with the history of his sect in New England, would find but little of the truth in the writings which have come from such intellectual dyspeptics as Cotton Mather and his disciples. But, in the unwritten history of Quaker persecutions that have become legendary, by the purity of their lives, by their nobility of character and their Christianizing influences, the pioneers of that faith stand out in bold relief in the religious history of Puritan New England, with its dark background of scourging, mutilation, banishments and hangings.

By analogy, how can the Irish-American race expect that the history of Irishmen in New England can be presented in just proportion to the true merits of the case? As in New England, so throughout the colonies. The Virginia Cavalier was not less hostile to the Irish than the Massachusetts Puritan.

Should the American-Irish Historical Society go out of existence to-morrow, it would have already accomplished a grand mission in this: that it has brought forth from obscure records the deeds of Irishmen in America, and has laid the foundation for the erection of an historical monument to Irishmen, that, with its base laid in colonial times, and still being constructed, challenges the respect and admiration of all lovers of American history.

The work of this society has been thus far largely confined to research of New England records. This research has been fruitful of good results. Among other things we learn of the Irish as brickmakers at Rehobeth, Mass., and as settlers in Salem and Lynn in early colonial times.

Again, we learn that the Irish in the Granite state had become so numerous in colonial times that the general court of Massachusetts passed a law prohibiting the “wild Irishmen of New Hampshire” from coming across the state line, lest they should drive out the people of the older colony. As long as that state shall last the glory and the fame of the Sullivans and their contemporaries of the Irish race will remain illustrious.

This research has extracted from the records of Rhode Island the influence of the Irish schoolmaster, MacSparran, in moulding the intellectual development of that colony; it has called attention to the work of George Berkeley in the promotion of education here, and what is to me personally exceedingly pleasant information, that Brown University, my beloved alma mater, in its infancy was succored by the contributions of worthy people residing in Ireland.

The work of presenting to the world the achievements of the Irish in America, in its just proportion to the achievements of men of other races in the colonization, struggle for independence, and the creation of a republic, the development of that republic from a theory into a concrete nation, and the perpetuation of that nation, is a duty not only to the men whose deeds are to be chronicled, but also a debt which we owe to ourselves, which we should cheerfully assume. The labor involved in this from its very nature is such as can only be performed by an organization such as the American-Irish Historical Society.

The true status of the Irish in America, notwithstanding the fact that their brain and brawn have been interwoven in the woof and web of our nation’s fabric, has never been fully appreciated by reason of the prejudices which have been associated with anything that bore an Irish name. This prejudice, in no small part, arose from misconception and misunderstanding of the Irish nature, temperament, and characteristics. There is a brand of bigotry that is sometimes designated as inborn. In the case of a bigot whose bigotry is congenital, it is well to follow the Scriptural injunction to reason not with a fool lest he grow wise.

But in the case of those persons who, by reason of misconception, or want of acquaintance with Irishmen, cannot properly estimate our race, yet whose minds are broad enough to cherish the worth of a man when demonstrated, and whose patriotism counts every man a friend who has contributed to the glory of his country, an impartial history of the deeds of Irishmen in America would effectively serve to displace any prejudice.

What lover of the human race, animated by that noble sentiment of Terrence, “I am a man, and I think nothing human foreign to me,” can fail to appreciate the sturdy virtues of the Irish people in America, their patient industry, their obedience to constituted authority, their domestic constancy, their desire to provide homes for their families, and education for their children.

What patriotic American can fail to be moved by emotions of gratitude when he learns among other facts that the Irish in Ireland assisted with food and provisions the struggling settlers of Boston in a time of dire distress; that Irishmen of Philadelphia contributed large sums of money to the famished Revolutionary heroes at Valley Forge; that George Washington considered himself honored in being elected a member of an Irish society; that nine of the signers of the Declaration of Independence were men of Irish blood; that on the field of war, and in the council chamber of the nation, as well as in the administration of national, state, and municipal affairs, from the time of our earliest history to the present time, men of that race have given their lives and property to the nation’s cause. The work of this society thus far in this direction gives promise of either destroying the prejudices that have hitherto existed against the Irish people, or removing the venom from the fangs of bigotry.

To my mind the most urgent need of a society of this nature is the means it affords of preserving Irish history in America. It would be a great misfortune if the history of the Irish people in America, at present fragmentary at best, yet gathered together under favorable conditions and after the most careful and painstaking labor, could not find some secure lodgment.

What more suitable abiding place than the cabinet of the American-Irish Historical Society, from whence it could find its way into the private and public libraries, not only of our own country, but of the civilized world?

This Society, in the short time it has been in existence, has accomplished so much in its chosen field as already to have demonstrated quite clearly its scope. From the publications issued by its members, notably the work of Secretary-General Murray in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, Commissioner Linehan in New Hampshire, Senator Walsh in Georgia, Hon. Joseph T. Lawless in Virginia, and others, our Society has already contributed a fund of rich historical value to the history of this country. It would suffice to cite this labor to show the scope.

The thought has occurred to me that it might be well, however, to suggest a specialization of this work, and to provide avenues for its dissemination. The Society should pursue the line of procedure already mapped out by extending its membership to every state in the country. Membership should be selected from men of scholarly attainments, devoted to historical research. This membership should be so catholic as to include men of all religious denominations and nationalities.

Apropos of this, I beg leave to call attention to the great work done and being done by German scholars in the study of Celtic, to illustrate the probable value of assistance that might be rendered to us by men of other nationalities. The Society should coöperate with the movements in the other states looking to the establishment of record commissions, and in states where such movements have not been set on foot, to labor to create such movements.

With such an inviting field of labor spread out before us, this Society not only supplies a long-felt want, but also a means of inspiration. Each member can contribute to the common fund of historical data, and the sum total of these contributions will go to make up a work of great value.

The need of such an organization as the American-Irish Historical Society being demonstrated, and its scope clearly defined, all that remains to be done to perpetuate its success is to continue in the work already so auspiciously undertaken.

THE UNITED STATES TORPEDO-BOAT O’BRIEN.

COMPILED FROM THE DAILY PAPERS.

The torpedo-boat _O’Brien_,[57] for the United States navy, was launched at Lewis Nixon’s “Crescent shipyard,” Elizabethport, N. J., Sept. 24, 1900. She is named the _O’Brien_, to perpetuate the memory of the five O’Brien brothers,—Jeremiah, Gideon, William, John, and Joseph,—sons of Maurice O’Brien of Cork, Ireland, who had settled at Machias, Me. The boys are believed to have all been born in the latter place.

After the news of the battle of Lexington reached Machias, the townspeople erected a liberty pole, and the fact having been communicated to the British authorities, the sloop-of-war _Margaretta_, under the command of Lieutenant Moore of the English navy, was directed to proceed from Boston to Machias to investigate the matter.

The _Margaretta_ went, and was captured by the O’Briens, after a sharp fight, May 11, 1775. Lieutenant Moore’s sword was presented to Joseph O’Brien, he being the “baby” of the expedition. It has been handed down from father to son ever since. The sword was exhibited at the launching and attracted no little attention.

The young lady who “christened” the _O’Brien_, Miss Myra Lincoln O’Brien, is a descendant of Joseph O’Brien, the “baby” above mentioned. Her father, Albert H. O’Brien, is a lawyer in Philadelphia. He served in the Civil War, and subsequently in the United States marines, from which corps he resigned as a first lieutenant in 1875. Her grandfather was Dennis W. O’Brien of Philadelphia, who died in 1878, while filling the office of judge of the Orphans’ court of Philadelphia county, and her great-grandfather was Dennis O’Brien, a merchant of Reading, Pa.

The day was a pleasant one for the launching, and despite the early hour set for the ceremony, Miss O’Brien, several of her relatives and friends, Lewis Nixon, Superintendent Ackerman, and the heads of the various departments were on hand. When the christening party were placed on the vessel the workmen released the huge hull and the _O’Brien_ gracefully slid from the ways. The launching of the _O’Brien_ marks another step in the consummation of the government plan of perpetuating the names of the more prominent figures in the American Revolution. The O’Briens were a family who possessed indomitable courage and spirit and played a conspicuous part in this country’s battle for freedom.

It is stated that on the arrival of the _Margaretta_ off Machias, her commanding officer, Lieutenant Moore, notified the town officials that the Liberty pole must come down or the vessel would open fire on the town.

On Sunday morning, May 11, a lumber sloop commanded by Jeremiah O’Brien, with about fifty men armed with muskets and pitchforks, left the town and sailed down the bay in the direction of the _Margaretta_. There was a hand-to-hand fight on the decks, and though the English fought well with their small arms, the _Margaretta_ was a prize within twenty minutes. Lieutenant Moore and ten of his men were killed and others severely wounded, the attacking party losing six men killed, while five were wounded.

This capture was the first naval engagement of the American Revolution,[58] but Jeremiah O’Brien and his brothers, William and John, subsequently received provincial commissions and participated in other engagements as commanding officers.

The _O’Brien_ is a magnificent boat and looks the fighter, every inch of her. She is 175 feet long on her water line, 17 feet beam, and of 14 feet, 6 inches draught. Her displacement is about 165 tons. Steel has been used whenever possible, and when wood has been used it has been electrically treated so as to be fireproof. In every part unnecessary weight has been eliminated. The piston rods, shafts, connecting rods and working parts generally are of nickel steel.

There are four cylinder, triple expansion engines, one high power cylinder, 18 inches in diameter, one intermediate power cylinder, 27 inches in diameter, and two low power cylinders, 27½ inches in diameter, each with an 18‒inch stroke. The indicated horse power is 3,500, which will give 350 revolutions to the screws per minute. There are twin screws instead of a single screw. The propelling engines are located in a water-tight compartment.

On board, there is every appliance known to modern naval engineering. The two condensers each have a cooling surface of 1,500 feet. A distilling plant for distilling salt water into fresh water is also supplied in the boat, as well as an air compressing and an electric lighting plant. Three boilers of the Mosher water-tube design give the needed power. They are powerfully constructed and will give a working pressure of 250 pounds to the square inch, with a heating surface of 8,325 square feet. Each boiler is to be supplied with a smoke-pipe standing about ten feet above the deck.

The _O’Brien_ is low in the water and exceedingly hard to locate at night, even by the use of searchlights. She is a type of the advanced fighting machine, and her entire appearance denotes the fighter. Her armament is as follows: Three torpedo tubes, two forward, one aft, and three three-pound rapid-fire guns, located as are the torpedo tubes. When in commission she will carry a Whitehead torpedo in each tube, and additional ones on the racks near the tubes. The boat will carry sixty officers and men.

* * * * *

Speaking of the capture of the _Margaretta_, Capt. Edward O’Meagher Condon, a member of the American-Irish Historical Society, says in his excellent work:[59] “This was the _first naval fight_ of the Revolution, and Jeremiah O’Brien was the victorious commander. Two British cruisers, the _Diligence_ and _Tapnaguish_, were at once despatched to lay Machias in ashes, but they also were met and captured by O’Brien, his brothers and comrades. The young hero immediately sailed, with his prizes and prisoners, for Watertown, Mass., where the Provincial Congress was in session, and received the thanks of that body and a captain’s commission. But the British were not yet satisfied. They sent from Halifax a squadron, including a frigate, a twenty-gun corvette, a brig of sixteen guns, and several armed schooners, to crush the weak American fleet; but O’Brien, aided by Colonel Foster, was once more triumphant, and beat them off after a hard struggle.

“They then sent a strong body of land forces against Machias, but after the second day’s march from Passamaquoddy the British troops returned to Halifax, despairing of effecting a passage through the woods, or, perhaps, hopeless of accomplishing their purpose when confronted by those who had already conquered their fellow-mercenaries three times at sea. We are told that Maurice O’Brien, old as he was, could hardly be restrained from joining his gallant sons in their daring enterprise against the British.

“Three of the O’Briens, Jeremiah, John and William, continued in the naval service of the republic until the close of the war. Jeremiah was appointed to the command of _The Liberty_, and his brother William served under him as lieutenant. ‘For two years this vessel and another did good service on the northern coast, affording protection to American navigation, after which they were laid up.’ Jeremiah, with others, then fitted out a twenty-gun letter-of-marque, called the _Hannibal_, manned by one hundred and thirty men.

“She took several prizes; but at length falling in with two British frigates, she was overhauled after a chase of forty-eight hours and captured. O’Brien was first confined in the _Jersey_ prison-ship, otherwise known as the _Hell_, at the Wallabout, where the Brooklyn navy yard now is. At the end of about six months he was sent to Mill prison, England, whence he succeeded in effecting his escape about a year later. He retired after the war to Brunswick, Me., where, at the age of over fourscore, he furnished the details of his brave achievements to a generation which had shamefully forgotten him and them.

“John O’Brien was more fortunate than his gallant brother. From a journal kept by him the following extracts are taken: On June 9, 1779, he sailed in the armed schooner _Hibernia_. On June 21, he took an English brig and sent her in. On June 25, he had an engagement with a ship of seventeen guns, from three till five o’clock p. m., when a frigate came up and the _Hibernia_ was compelled to leave her anticipated prize and was pursued by the frigate till midnight. O’Brien had three men killed and several wounded in this fight. On July 7 he took a schooner, and sent her to Newburyport. On the day following, in company with Captain Leach of Salem, he took a ship carrying thirteen four-pounders; a few hours after, a brig; and then a schooner laden with molasses. On July 11, he took a brig in ballast, and then chased and captured another. He adds that if he and Captain Leach had not parted in a fog they could have taken the whole fleet. Capt. John O’Brien was never captured by the enemy. No trace is found after the capture of the _Hannibal_, of Lieut. William O’Brien. He was most probably among the 11,000 victims of British cruelty, whose corpses were buried, or flung on the shores of the Wallabout.”

JOHN BARRY.

Distinguished naval officer; born in Wexford County, Ireland, 1745. At
the outbreak of the Revolution he abandoned “the finest ship and the
finest employ in America” to enter the service of the republic; was
appointed by Congress, in 1776, to prepare for sea a fleet which
sailed from Philadelphia, Pa.; rendered brilliant service while
commanding successively the U. S. S. Lexington, the U. S. S.
Raleigh, and the U. S. S. Alliance; was publicly thanked by
Washington; became senior officer of the navy; died at Philadelphia,
1803.
]

THE SOCIETY’S FIELD IN CALIFORNIA.

BY JAMES CONNOLLY, CORONADO, CAL.

The American-Irish Historical Society is national, broad and comprehensive. To those familiar with the way in which our race has been misrepresented or omitted in some histories of California, nothing more is needed than the mere fact of the existence of such a society as ours as an inducement to their taking an interest in it. But there are the great majorities on the other hand who have little time to look into such matters in out of the way places, before whom I wish to place the more important purposes and scope of the Society.

Probably no great incentive to the study of the latter phases of this Society is needed than the fact that during its short existence it has been extended to over thirty states of the Union and to the District of Columbia. Most or all of the men who first conceived the need and then issued the call for its organization are of national reputation in the several walks of life. The first meeting was held at the Revere House, Boston, Jan. 20, 1897. Rear Admiral Richard Worsam Meade was then elected the first president-general. With seven generations of American ancestry back of him, and brother of the hero of Gettysburg, it would have been hard to find a more representative man of the race for that office than he.

In thus honoring him the Society was doubly honoring itself. The race that gave the new United States navy Commodore Jack Barry, might as well supply a rear admiral for president of this Society in 1897. The strides forward during the intervening century have been certainly great. And to-day the race stands as firmly and fearlessly as it did then, for freedom. Theodore Roosevelt, governor of the Empire state, who is so distinguished in literature, war and statecraft that it would be hard to tell in which he most excels, is among the members.

The mere mention of these names that have come so conspicuously before the world is not calculated to signify that there are not many others of almost or quite equal note. Scholars, statesmen and soldiers are numerous among the Society’s officers and members. But in such a brotherhood as ours there are no caste barriers. In the common endeavor for the common good of seeing that American history is truly written, we meet and act upon common ground.

“Fidelity, truth, honor, are the watchwords,” says the preamble to the constitution, “and under their noble influence should our work be done.” Of the nine distinct objects and purposes set forth in Article II of the constitution, two may be quoted as embodying the more essential features of our work:

“(2) 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, and estimate its influence on contemporary events in war, legislation, religion, education and other departments of human activity.”

“(7) To promote by union in a common high purpose a sincere fraternity, a greater emulation in well doing, a closer confidence and mutual respect among the various elements of the Irish race in America, that, by putting behind them the asperities of the past, they may unite in a common brotherhood with their fellow-citizens for the honor of the race and the glory of the Republic.”

Nor are the seven other articles of any less importance, that of the fourth pertaining to the correction of “erroneous, distorted and false views of history,” and the substitution of truth based upon documentary evidence, therefor, being amongst the most essential work to be done. Had we only to deal with our national history, voluminous as it is, the work before us would seem quite easy.

But there are the almost innumerable state, county, city and town histories, each of which needs as thorough sifting as does the national. This fact was indelibly impressed upon my mind three years ago when I was wading through California state and city histories for kernels of truth pertaining to “The Precursors of the Pioneers,” and other matter which I was then writing for publication. Never was the need more palpably illustrated of keeping well informed on the substance of all these histories than by a combination of self-constituted “protectors” of everything American, when they confronted us with accusations of disloyalty to the Republic and openly sought to insult us with taunts of being “the Pope’s Irish.” But brief as has been the interval, time has already doubly vindicated us. When there were Spanish guns to be faced our accusers stayed bravely at home.

There are no sectarian or religious differences in our Society. Priests and ministers here unite in bands of blood and brotherhood. We now mourn the quite recent death of Rev. George W. Pepper, a Methodist minister of Ohio, one of our ablest workers. Very Rev. Andrew Morrissey, president of the Catholic University of Notre Dame, is also in our ranks.

I heartily wish that the duty of endeavoring to enlist the interest of men of Irish blood in California in the organization of a State Chapter of this Society devolved upon some of the many abler and better equipped men in the state. But even the keenest sense of one’s own shortcomings will not justify the shirking of such a duty. Here on the fag end of things [Coronado] we are few in numbers. In the hot press of the main chance there seem to be few having time or interest enough to spare to such a brotherhood. But I am quite sure that in the larger cities of San Francisco, Sacramento, Stockton and Los Angeles, there are many patriotic, true men and well-wishers of our race who will cheerfully join us in organizing a State Chapter, and to these I now appeal for coöperation to that end.

“Any person of good moral character, who is interested in the special work of the society, shall be deemed eligible to membership in the same. No tests other than that of character and devotion to the Society’s objects shall be applied to membership.” The only charge is an annual due of three dollars. Persons wishing to become members may send me their names with addresses and I will send them blanks of application for membership. These they will fill out and send to me and I will forward them to the Secretary-General, or they may write directly to him, addressing Thomas Hamilton Murray, Woonsocket, R. I.

The application must be accompanied by the annual fee. A handsome and comprehensive volume of the Society’s work is issued each year. The annual meeting and banquet was held in New York this year, and was a splendid affair. Let us have a California Chapter of this Society that will be a fit representative of our state and race.

THE HISTORICAL PLACE OF IRISHMEN IN CALIFORNIA.

A CIRCULAR ISSUED BY THE KNIGHTS OF ST. PATRICK, SAN FRANCISCO.

The Knights of St. Patrick of San Francisco, an organization of gentlemen of Irish birth or descent, has recently affiliated with the American-Irish Historical Society, whose purpose is the investigation, recording and presentation in appropriate literary form of the influence of the Irish element in the upbuilding of the Republic.

The Knights undertake, as their special share of a large and commendable work, an investigation of the historical place of the Irishman in California.

Each of the races claiming to form part of the primal stock of the Republic has its own historical association and has traced the movements of its own blood by special historical investigation. We have the story of the English, the Dutch, the Huguenot, the Spaniard. The story of one of the largest fractions of the parent people of the Republic, the Irish, is being written.

These special researches are admittedly of the highest value to general history. They can be prosecuted with the greatest success by particular work in each state. To this end, the Knights of St. Patrick desire to initiate a thorough, solid, sober investigation of the Irishman’s part in the life of California. Not to satisfy a prejudice or mere pride of race, but laboring for right and truth to impartially set forth the facts of its racial life, that they may “supply omissions, correct errors, allay passions and shame prejudice.”

The pioneers of this state, the men who made history, are rapidly disappearing. With them go the original sources of the most valuable information. If the work above described be not undertaken now, our posterity will face the same difficulties that confront our Eastern brethren in their present search for authentic information.

The Society, therefore, desires to begin its investigations at once and to extend them to every part of the community, placing them under the conduct of names that, assuring painstaking research and impartial and discriminating judgment, will certainly present the results of their labor in attractive literary form; so that the work, commanding the respect and attention of the community, may have a definite and permanent historical value.

The work of investigation is to be influenced neither by political nor religious divisions. The race is paramount. Whether it came from this part of Ireland or that; whether it worshiped at this shrine or that, is but a qualifying incident. We seek the life and labors of the race; to record its arrival, its participation in the civil, political, and military activities of the state, “to try truthfully and fearlessly to record its achievements.”

To this end, we invite and request your coöperation in procuring facts bearing upon our subject. You may possess original information or know from whom or where it may be obtained, the location or character of relics that would be of interest or value. You may be able to suggest a line of inquiry that would aid our purpose. Historical information flows from a thousand sources. A reminiscence, a relic, an old newspaper clipping, a letter, a bit of unwritten biography, may be a clew to important evidence or the prolific source of many unsuspected facts.

In a word, we ask for any light, however small, that may assist in illuminating an important subject.

Above all, we ask you not to carelessly cast aside these words. It is the earnest request of earnest men, seeking truth for its own sake and wisely providing for the historic vindication of their race and name from the possible aspersions of future ignorance and prejudice.

The Society will, of course, bear any expense that may be entailed in the collection, transmission or publication of information proper to our purpose.

Address all correspondence and any requests for further information, which we will be pleased to give, to

R. C. O’CONNOR,
President, Knights of St. Patrick,
Hibernia Bank,
San Francisco.

JAMES A. EMERY,
Secretary, Historical Committee,
1101 Pine Street,
San Francisco.

_San Francisco, Cal., 1900._

PUBLICATIONS OF THE SOCIETY.

The following is a list of publications thus far issued by the Society:

(1.) THE AMERICAN-IRISH HISTORICAL SOCIETY: WHAT IT IS AND WHAT ITS
PURPOSES ARE. Boston, Mass., 1897.

This was issued at Boston, some time after the founding of the Society. It was a small booklet of twelve pages containing a statement of the Society’s objects, a list of the officers, and other matter bearing upon the work of the organization. So much interest was displayed, that the edition was soon exhausted.

* * * * *

(2.) THE AMERICAN-IRISH HISTORICAL SOCIETY: WHAT IT IS AND WHAT ITS
PURPOSES ARE, TOGETHER WITH THE NAMES OF THE OFFICERS AND A LIST OF
THE MEMBERS. Boston, Mass., 1898.

To a certain extent, this was a second edition of the previous publication, but larger and more comprehensive. It comprised 32 pages, and had a portrait of President-General Meade as a frontispiece. The work is now out of print.

* * * * *

(3.) THE “SCOTCH-IRISH” SHIBBOLETH ANALYZED AND REJECTED. WITH SOME
REFERENCE TO THE PRESENT “ANGLO-SAXON” COMEDY. Washington, D. C.,
1898.

This was a handsomely gotten up pamphlet of 29 pages, the author being a member of the Society, Joseph Smith, of Lowell, Mass. It was issued in September, 1898. An edition of 1,500 copies was brought out. A few copies remain on hand.

* * * * *

(4.) IRISH SCHOOLMASTERS IN THE AMERICAN COLONIES, 1640‒1775, WITH A
CONTINUATION OF THE SUBJECT DURING AND AFTER THE WAR OF THE
REVOLUTION. Washington, D. C., 1898.

This work was issued in August of the year mentioned, the authors being two members of the Society, Thomas Hamilton Murray, secretary-general, and Hon. John C. Linehan, treasurer-general. It was a very attractive pamphlet of 31 pages and contained mention of over forty Irish teachers. The Society issued an edition of 2,000 copies of the work. Some fifty are still on hand.

* * * * *

(5.) THE JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN-IRISH HISTORICAL SOCIETY. VOL. I.
Boston, Mass., 1898.

A volume comprising 136 pages, substantially bound in cloth, and having 28 illustrations. It contained the call for the meeting to organize the Society, the names of the signers, the agreement of association, the preamble and constitution and much other matter relating to the founding of the organization. An edition of about 1,000 copies was issued. All have been distributed. The work was electrotyped by Ginn & Company, the Boston publishers, so that a second edition can be brought out later at comparatively small expense.

* * * * *

(6.) THE JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN-IRISH HISTORICAL SOCIETY. VOL. II.
Boston, Mass., 1899.

A handsome volume of 258 pages, having 41 illustrations. It is finely bound in cloth, and contains a mass of interesting facts relating to the history of the Irish element in the United States. A leading feature in the work is the Chronology of the Society, giving in regular order the leading events thus far in the career of the organization. An edition of 1,000 bound, and 100 unbound, copies was issued. The bound copies have been distributed, with the exception of 25 still left over. The unbound copies are held, subject to the direction of the Society.

* * * * *

(7.) THE IRISH AT BUNKER HILL: A LIST OF AMERICAN PATRIOTS BEARING
IRISH NAMES WHO FOUGHT AGAINST THE BRITISH IN THE ACTION OF THE
SEVENTEENTH OF JUNE, 1775. Boston, Mass., 1900.

This was a leaflet prepared by Secretary Murray for the Society’s celebration of the 125th anniversary of the battle, June, 1900. The list comprised 189 names, including such as Burke, Callahan, Carroll, Cavenaugh, Connelly, Connor, Kelley, Leary, Lynch, Maguire, Mahoney, McCarthy, McCormack, McDonnell, McElroy, McGee, McGinnis, McGrath, McGuire, McLaughlin, McMahon, McMurphy, McNamara, Minihan, Mitchell, Moore, Murphy, Noonan, O’Brien, O’Connor, O’Neil, Roach, Rourke, Ryan, Scanlon, Shanahan, Shea, Sullivan, Tobin, Tracy, Welsh and the like. A few copies remain in the hands of the secretary.

* * * * *

(8.) THE JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN-IRISH HISTORICAL SOCIETY. VOL. III.
Boston, Mass., 1900.

The present work, of which 1,000 bound, and 100 unbound, copies are issued. Like Vols. I and II, a copy of this is sent to every member of the Society in good standing. Copies are also to be presented to public libraries, historical societies, college libraries and other educational institutions. The 100 unbound copies await the pleasure of the Society.

CHRONOLOGY 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 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. S. 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 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.”