Chapter IV: Part 4

When his mother returned to Ireland her son was a young man, and I suppose passed his time as other young Irishmen did who were in the front rank of society in the city of Limerick. At length a difference of opinion arose between Madam O’Sullivan and her son; he fell in love with a young woman, who probably could not tell who her grandmother was. This displeased his mother very much. Madam was very haughty and aristocratic; she was proud of her ancestry and of her son’s ancestry. She could not endure the thought of his marrying a girl of low ancestry; she opposed the match.

I suppose that made Master Sullivan’s love burn more fiercely. After the affair had drifted along quite a while Madam forbid her son, peremptorily, to have anything more to do with the girl, and gave him two weeks in which to break the engagement; if he did not do it inside of that time, she would disinherit him. Per contra, Master Sullivan told his mother he would give _her_ two weeks in which to consent to the marriage; if she did not consent inside of that time, he would leave Ireland forever, and neither she or the girl should ever hear more of him. They were both of the same grit; neither would yield, and the result was he sailed for America and in due time landed in York, Me. But the thought of that girl he had left behind him in Ireland haunted him for many years, and it was not till he was forty-four years old that he again entertained the thought of marriage. His mother afterwards repented of her stern act and made search for years for her runaway son, but she never found any trace of him.

Hamlet says in the great drama that bears his name:

“Rashly,
And praised be rashness for it, let us know
Our indiscretion sometimes serves us well,
When our deep plots do pall; and that should teach us
There’s a divinity that shapes our ends,
Rough hew them how we will.”

Suppose Master Sullivan had obeyed his mother’s wishes and remained in Ireland, or suppose Providence had not concealed him from his mother’s search after she repented of her rash act, and he had been found and induced to return to Ireland, what a difference there would have been in the management of affairs and the history of New Hampshire.

Margery Browne was born in Cork, Ireland, in 1714; she died in Berwick, Me., in 1801. Nothing is known of her ancestry, but the name is essentially English, hence we may conclude that her parents, or their ancestors, crossed over from England and settled in Ireland. She came to this country in the same ship with Master Sullivan; she was nine years old and he was thirty-two; they never had met before boarding the ship. Why a girl of nine years should start on such a voyage alone is a mystery that will never be solved.

Her parents may have started with her and died on the way, or she may have taken a freak and stowed herself away among the freight and kept concealed till the ship was well at sea. Whatever may have been the cause of departure, she had no money to pay her passage, so the captain had to sell her service at auction in Portsmouth to get his pay. The tradition is that she was so young and so small that nobody would bid for her services. At last Master Sullivan consented to raise the sum the captain wanted for her passage. It is said that he finally paid it in shingles, which he cut himself in the forest and carried to Portsmouth in a boat.

It is not known where she spent the twelve years from 1723 to 1735, but probably in York, as a house girl on some farm. Master Sullivan does not appear to have taken any interest in her till a short time previous to their marriage, when he heard that the young men of York were falling in love with her and one had gone so far as to propose. He went over from Somersworth to York to see about it. He found a keen-witted, handsome and attractive young woman; the thought of the girl he had left in Ireland twelve years ago began to fade from his mind. She was equally impressed with his fine appearance; the result was she told the other young men they need not call any more. Master Sullivan and Margery Browne were married soon after.

She is described by those who saw her in the prime of womanhood as short of stature, beautiful in form, face and manners. She was a great worker, quick tempered, and quick to repent of what she did wrong in her madness. Her tongue was equal to her temper. If tradition can be relied on, she could have given Xantippe several points to start with and then have won easily in a scolding match, although Socrates’ wife has the standard reputation of being the greatest scold the human race has yet produced. Margery Sullivan did not scold all the time; it happened occasionally, like volcanic eruption, when she could not hold in any longer.

Governor Samuel Wells of Maine wrote to a friend as follows about his great-grandmother:

Master Sullivan’s wife was as well known as he was, and when
reference was made to her distinguished sons _she_ was more
frequently alluded to. She has been uniformly represented as a woman
of considerable native strength of mind, yet entirely uncultivated,
having the strong passions common to her country women, of which
some are good and some are bad, wholly unsubdued by habit. These
marked traits of character show a wider contrast between her and her
two distinguished sons than between them and their father, and
furnish a theme for remark, with anecdotes not a few, brought up
whenever allusion was made to the family. That she was a masculine,
energetic woman, with the resolution of a man, there is no doubt.
That she performed out-door labor in the field, suitable only to
men, in order that her husband might not be diverted from his
occupation of teaching, was recently told me as coming from herself,
in the presence of my informant, one of the few who now (1855)
survive to remember her.

Attorney-General John Sullivan of Exeter gave the following description of his great-grandfather, Master Sullivan. He says:

I have been told he was a tall, spare man, very mild and gentle,
thoughtful and studious, an excellent scholar, but averse to bodily
exercise. He was exclusively a teacher.

An aged lady, who remembered seeing him when he was more than a
century old, told me her recollection of him, as she saw him at his
house one day, was that of a tall, venerable old man in a dressing
gown, seated at a table reading a Bible; he wore his hair long on
his shoulders.

From what his great-grandson says, and from what I gather from other sources, I draw the conclusion that Master Sullivan was a tall, fine-looking man, who had a lofty and fine spirit. He had an excellent education in his youth, which he enlarged and improved in his later years, making him one of the best scholars in New England in the eighteenth century. He evidently was not satisfied with his lot in life, but never complained. The magnificent success of his sons was the source of great pleasure to him in his old age. He probably was the teacher of more men who took a distinguished part in the Revolution than any other one teacher in New England, and in that way he exercised a powerful influence in shaping the turn of events in that great contest.

Master Sullivan died the first of June, 1796, aged 105 years; his remains were interred in a field on the hillside, about 50 rods from where his house stood in Berwick. His wife died in 1801, and was interred at the same spot. Soon after his death, Gov. James Sullivan had a stone, with suitable inscription, erected there; some years later their great-grandson, Governor Wells of Maine, had the spot enclosed with a substantial iron fence. Thus it remained till October, 1877, when Mr. Ricker, the present owner of the land, got permission to remove the remains to the Sullivan cemetery in Durham, as he wanted to run a new street through his land directly over the grave.

The head of the old grave is now marked by a cherry tree, which stands by the sidewalk. When Mr. Ricker and Mr. Stillings, who lives near there, opened the grave, they found the skull perfect, also the hair and some of the large bones of Master Sullivan; over the forehead a root of the cherry tree had grown so that it half encircled the skull, and had to be cut before the bones could be removed. The skull was very large, with a high forehead, and the hair was long and perfect, being a dark brown mixed with slight sprinkle of gray. The remains had been interred there 81 years.

When Master Sullivan died, some one, presumably his pastor, Rev. Matthew Merriam, wrote an obituary of him, which was published in a Portsmouth paper, _The Oracle of the Day_. His death occurred on Saturday, June 3, 1796, and the article is in the publication of the week following.

The article is quite long, hence I will give only the substance of it here. The writer says he was extraordinary in his acquirements as a student, his brilliancy of mind, his power as a teacher, and in his influence over the community in which he lived. He taught school till he was 90 years old and then retired, lamenting he could no longer be useful to his fellow-men. He still continued his studies, reading his Bible, his Homer, and his Horace with as keen a relish as he did a half century before. He wrote a good hand till he was 102 years old; he continued his reading till he was 104, when his eyesight failed, but his mental powers remained perfect till seven days before his death, when his speech failed, but he seemed to understand what was said to him till the last hour; when he closed his eyes as in sleep, and his noble soul took its flight.

His health had been remarkably good throughout his long life of more than a century; he was a stranger to pain till a few months before death, when he became subject to cramps and nervous troubles which caused him great distress.

He was active in out-of-door exercise after he had passed the century mark; he would yoke and unyoke his oxen, drive them to the blacksmith shop and get them shod, and work them about the farm; he was able to cut wood for his household fires, and do _chores_ of various sort.

Thus Master Sullivan appeared to his pastor, who had known him for forty years and more. Thus I deposit in the archives of the New Hampshire Historical Society my pen picture of New Hampshire’s grandest old schoolmaster.

MARTIN MURPHY, SR., AN IRISH PIONEER OF CALIFORNIA.[13]

BY MISS MARCELLA A. FITZGERALD.

Pioneer! name that like a Conjurer summons
All the past before our eyes,
Toils, struggles, want and hardships,
Perils, dangers, sacrifice.

—_Annie Fitzgerald._

Martin Murphy, Sr., is held in loving reverence as an early pioneer of California. A native of Ireland, nurtured on Wexford’s historic soil, he imbibed a love for his native land which was as the breath of his life. Her joys, her sorrows, her glories, were his.

In his boyhood he witnessed the gallant struggle of “’98,” when kindred and friends perished in the vain effort to cast off the English yoke, and beheld the cruel persecution and bloodshed that followed the suppression of the Rebellion, scenes which left their impression indelibly impressed upon his heart. No distance could alienate him from, no pleasure cause him to forget, the “Niobe of Nations.”

Years afterwards, when a dweller on the Pacific Coast, at a time when intercourse with the outer world was difficult, and mails scarce more than semi-annual, a tourist who shared the hospitality of his home wrote thus:

Eager to hear news of Ireland, he listened as I told him the sad story of famine and death which had desolated his native land; tear-dimmed eyes and quivering lips told his deep emotion. When I ceased, the venerable patriarch bowed his head, murmuring, “O my unhappy Country! will your suffering and sorrow never end.”

But if he loved Ireland much, he loved freedom with the devotion of his race, and longed for a clime where right, not might, held sway. The Canadian colonies offered an opportunity to settlers of obtaining homes by purchase, homes free from the tyranny of a landlord’s whim, and thither Mr. Murphy resolved to emigrate. Disposing of his leasehold, whose tenure extended for the term of his life, he embarked for the New World, reaching Quebec in 1820.

He purchased land in the township of Frampton, 30 miles from the quaint old city which has since given its name to the province. “It was the forest primeval,” but he bravely set to work at the labor incidental to the building up of a home in the northern wilderness, the clearing of the land of its dense growth of timber before the plow could penetrate its rich virgin soil.

The long, cold winters with their mountainous snowdrifts and cutting blasts, and the countless inconveniences of frontier life to which he and his gentle wife were so unaccustomed, were borne with cheerful Christian patience. Soon many of his old friends and neighbors joined him, and a thriving Irish settlement grew up around him. His home was the center to which all new comers self-exiled from Erin turned while seeking a haven for themselves. There they found the whole-souled welcome of truly hospitable hearts, and kindly care when overtaken by sickness.

Prior to the erection of a church and the formation of a parish, zealous priests at his request visited the settlement to celebrate Mass, administer the sacraments and instruct the children, thus keeping aglow the light of Faith in the hearts of the exiles.

But the desire for more perfect freedom remained in Mr. Murphy’s heart, and although past the golden milestone of life he prepared to seek a new country. In 1840 he bade farewell to his friends, and taking with him his wife and his unmarried children, set out upon his westward journey to Missouri. He made his home in Holt County, then known as the Platte Purchase, since divided into Holt and Atchison counties.

There he was joined later by his sons Martin and James with their families, and his daughter Mary, Mrs. James Miller, with her husband and babes. His eldest daughter, Margaret, Mrs. Thomas Kell, with her husband and family, came subsequently from Upper Canada, whither they had emigrated in 1838.

Many of those who had cast their lot with him in Canada followed him to Missouri, and formed the prosperous settlement known as Irish Grove. Among these were the Sullivans, Enrights, Corcorans, Jordans, Walshes and Whites, names since familiar as pioneers of California.

The soil was fertile, the climate mild and pleasant, but unfortunately the malarial fevers common to the Mississippi and its tributaries prevailed, and the colonists suffered much from sickness. Mrs. Murphy succumbed to the dread disease, and on June 9, 1841, yielded her pure soul to the hands of her Creator. A model wife, a loving mother, a devoted friend, an ideal Christian woman, pious and charitable in word and deed, of her it may be truly said:

None knew her but to love her,
None named her but to praise.

A Catholic missionary who visited the colony told Mr. Murphy of California, a land of health, where almost endless summer reigned, under whose cloudless skies fertile valleys smiled unfurrowed by the plow, and thither he resolved to direct his course.

Disposing of his lands, he procured the outfit required for such a long and dangerous journey, and bearing with him a passport from Governor Reynolds of Missouri, assuring him and his the protection due American citizens, he once more turned his face toward the setting sun.

The party of devoted pilgrims started on their westward course May 6, 1844, reaching California in November of the same year. The names of the members of the company are given as follows:

Martin Murphy, Sr. Miss Helen Murphy. Bernard Murphy. John Marion Murphy. Daniel Murphy. Martin Murphy, Jr., wife and four children. James Murphy, wife and one child. James Miller, wife and four children. John Sullivan. Miss Mary Sullivan. Michael Sullivan. Robert Sullivan. Dr. Townsend and wife. Moses Shallenberger. Allen N. Montgomery and wife. Joseph Batton. John Luffumbo. Vincent Calvin. John R. Jackson. J. E. Foster. Edward Bray. David Strickien. William Bragg. Vincent Snelling. Daniel Snelling. John Thorp. Fielden M. Thorp. Elvan A. Thorp. David Johnson. William Case. Daniel R. Kinsey. Joshua Shaw. A. C. R. Shaw. Thomas M. Vance. Jacob Hammer. William Clemmons. John Eldridge. Ben. Q. Tucker. John Owen. Harmon Higgins. William Higgins. William Prattier. Theodore Prattier. Britain Greenwood. Caleb Greenwood. John Greenwood. William Martin. Patrick Martin. Dennis Martin. Matthias Harbin. Daniel Durbin. Mr. Hitchcock and family. Mrs. Patterson and family. Oliver Magnent. Francis Magnent, and Captain Stephens, who had command of the expedition.

“Captain Stephens was a native of North Carolina, reared in Georgia, a trapper for 28 years, and was accustomed to frontier life. He had no trail to guide him across the plains and started without even a pocket compass, but no train that traversed the continent to the Pacific was more blessed, freer from disaster, or so safe from savage attacks.”

The toils and dangers of the way have been told so often that it is needless to repeat them here. That they were many we know; deep rivers had to be forded, roads made through almost impassable mountain fastnesses, vigilant watch kept to protect the train and its belongings from prowling savages and predatory animals.

At Fort Hall, the train separated, those whose destination was the Northwest taking the Oregon trail; Mr. Murphy, his family and friends continuing to California. The difficulties of the route were augmented by the lateness of the season. Snow had fallen when they reached the Yuba, and further progress with wagons was impossible. Cabins for the accommodation of the families were erected, and there a number of the emigrants remained until March, 1845. Among those who wintered there were James Miller and family and Martin Murphy, Jr., and family.

Mr. Murphy, his daughter Helen, his sons Daniel, John M., Bernard D., James, the latter’s wife and child, Dr. Townsend and wife, with others of the party, proceeded on horseback to Sutter’s Fort, where they were hospitably received by that grand old pioneer, J. A. Sutter.

When Mr. Murphy reached California he found the country in a state of rebellion. “The native Californians had revolted against Mexican rule, seized the government arms and ammunition stored at the Mission of San Juan Bautista and marched upon the capital. The Mexican military force in the country was small and Governor Micheltorena, fearing defeat, called for aid upon John A. Sutter, who had been a foreign resident in the country since 1839. Sutter responded, and with one hundred mounted men, mostly foreigners, hastened to the rescue.”

Mr. Murphy and his sons were of the number who journeyed southward, “making haste slowly” ’neath winter’s sun and showers through the fairest land on which the light of Heaven shone. They reached Los Angeles late in January or early in February, 1845. After the battle of Chauvenga and the overthrow of the Mexican administration, Mr. Murphy and his sons returned to Santa Clara valley. Here he found the glorious realization of his hopes in a soil of rare fertility and a climate equable and healthy, and here he made his home.

He purchased the Rancho Ojo de Agua de la Coche, Rancho San Francisco de las Llagas, Rancho de las Uvas, that portion of the San Ysidro ranch now known as Ba Polka, and one-sixteenth of the Rancho de Las Animas, a stretch of country extending from mountain top to mountain top east and west, and from the vicinity of Madrone station in the North to the present town of Gilroy in the South.

His home at the Ojo de Agua de la Coche was well known by all who traveled the Camina Real from Monterey to San Francisco, and its generous hospitality was shared by the distinguished men of all nations which held the balance of power during the formative period of our state’s existence, and who with decisive energy moulded its chaotic elements into the perfect whole which has made California the wonder of an admiring world.

Clergymen, distinguished soldiers, grave statesmen, and authors whose names are honored, loved to linger there. Bayard Taylor describing a ride made in company with Mr. Murphy to the summit of El Toro, the lofty peak near his home, draws a vivid picture of the wondrous beauty of hill and valley in his exquisite word painting.

In 1850, Helen Murphy became the wife of Capt. Charles W. Weber of Stockton, John M. Murphy married Virginia E. Backenstoe Reed, and in 1851 Daniel wedded Mary C. Fisher. In this year also Bernard, having revisited Canada, there married Catherine O’Toole. On his return to California he was accompanied by his sister, Mrs. Johanna Fitzgerald, who with her children came at her father’s request to share his loving care, she being recently widowed. Mrs. Kell had reached the Pacific in 1846, and the family were again citizens of one land.

April 11, 1853, Bernard, while en route to San Francisco, was killed by the explosion of the boiler of the steamer _Jenny Lind_, plying between Alviso and the city. With him was his nephew, Thomas Kell, who shared his sad fate.

In 1854, Mr. Murphy erected a commodious chapel on the San Martin ranch, that the Catholic families settled in the neighborhood might enjoy the consolation of religious instruction. It was visited monthly by the pastor of St. Joseph’s Church, San José, until 1856, when it was placed in charge of the pastor of San Juan Bautista, the Rev. Francis Mora, who later became bishop of Monterey and Los Angeles. In 1864, a resident pastor, Rev. Thomas Hudson, was appointed and a church erected in the town of Gilroy. St. Martin’s chapel was destroyed by an incendiary fire April 2, 1879.

To the last, Mr. Murphy never faltered in the performance of life’s daily duties. He personally attended to business, and his real estate in city and country benefitted by his immediate supervision. He saw to the details of the wearying lawsuits entailed in the quieting of land titles, making long journeys to distant parts of the state, paying with scrupulous exactness every claim, lest the shadow of wrong might rest upon him.

Notwithstanding his advanced age he never failed to keep the fast of Lent, and his charity to the poor was bounded only by his ability to help them. Food and shelter were never refused an applicant. He was his own almoner and broke his bread with the needy and the orphan. He shrank from public applause and press notoriety, and loved the quiet of peaceful country surroundings. His life in word and deed inculcated strict obedience to the commands of God, and a faithful compliance with the laws of the land.

On March 16, 1865, Mr. Murphy laid down the burden of life. He went peacefully to rest, “like one who wraps the drapery of his couch about him and lies down to pleasant dreams.” Supported by the consolations of religion, surrounded by his children, the venerable pioneer passed away, sincerely mourned by all. I quote here a few lines taken from the tribute to his memory offered by F. B. Murdock, a pioneer editor of California:

We have known Mr. Murphy personally and well for the last twelve
years. He seemed to enjoy as good health, and look as young a few
weeks before his death as when we first saw him twelve years ago. He
was in many respects a remarkable man. He was always gentlemanly,
always kind and considerate, with a countenance singularly mixed
with an expression of gravity, gentleness and cheerfulness. We don’t
think he had an enemy, we never heard of one; we never heard any one
speak of him except in terms of high respect. Truthfulness,
conscientiousness and natural goodness, in its broad sense charity,
were prominent marks in his character. We never heard Martin Murphy,
Sr., say an unkind word of a single being, living or dead—we have
often heard him utter a word of excuse or apology, something to
extenuate when others were condemning. Certainly that was a most
beautiful Christian trait in his character, and it is not to be
wondered at that such a man should live beloved and respected and
die regretted.

These sentiments voiced the feelings of the immense concourse that attended the solemn funeral rites at St. Joseph’s church, San José, heard the eloquent eulogy of the deceased pronounced by Rev. Father Kenny, S. J., and followed Mr. Murphy’s remains to their last resting place in the Catholic graveyard in Santa Clara.

As a token of respect for Mr. Murphy, and that all who desired might attend the funeral, the County Court adjourned immediately upon opening on the 18th.

Realizing the wide influence of Mr. Murphy’s long years of gentle unostentatious virtue, it is not too much to say in closing this brief notice of his life, that “the world is better because he lived.”

Mr. Murphy married early in life. His wife was Mary Foley, daughter of Daniel Foley of Enniscorthy, Ireland. Of Mr. and Mrs. Murphy’s children, Martin, James, Margaret, Johanna, Mary and Bernard were born in Ireland, Helen, John M. and Daniel in Canada.

Martin married Mary Bulger; died Oct. 20, 1884.

James married Anne Martin; died Jan. 14, 1888.

Margaret married Thomas Kell; died Dec. 30, 1881.

Johanna married Patrick Fitzgerald; died Dec. 28, 1899.

Mary married James Miller; died Dec. 26, 1883.

Bernard married Catherine O’Toole; died April 11, 1853.

Helen married C. M. Weber; died April 11, 1895.

John M. married V. E. B. Reed; died Feb. 17, 1892.

Daniel married Mary C. Fisher; died Oct. 22, 1882.

HISTORICAL NOTES OF INTEREST.

BY THOMAS HAMILTON MURRAY.

James Bourk, “captain of the brig _Neptune_,” is mentioned at Newport, R. I., 1773.

William Welch, “from Ireland,” settled in Charlestown, R. I. He was born in 1700 and died in 1786.

Richard Field, “a native of Dublin, Ireland,” was long a resident of Newport, R. I., and died in 1769.

Thomas McCartee of Hartford, Conn., is mentioned in the “Lexington Alarm” list of that place, 1775.

An Irishman, John Fitton, settled in Providence, R. I., about 1750. He was a merchant. He died in 1810.

Daniel Byrn was lieutenant in a regiment (1759) raised by act of the General Assembly of Rhode Island.

The records of Nantucket, Mass., contain the following entry: “Betty y^e dau. of Denis Manning was born July y^e 10, 1679.”

James Dailey is mentioned in the Revolutionary records as of the corps of Sappers and Miners; was at the siege of Yorktown.

The Chevalier Theobald Dillon was “colonel en second” of the Irish-French regiment of Dillon during the American Revolution.

Stephen Brady was of Col. Obadiah Johnson’s Connecticut regiment, 1778. The regiment participated in the battle of Rhode Island.

Constant Maguire “of County Fermanagh,” Ireland, settled in Rhode Island prior to 1750, and became prominent in Warwick and East Greenwich.

In 1751–’52, Terence Donnelly was engaged by the town of Newport, R. I., as a schoolmaster. He later conducted a school of his own in that place.

The ship _Sally_ arrived at Boston, Mass., in 1763, having been fifty-nine days on the voyage from Ireland. She was quarantined at Boston for smallpox.

A privateer captain in the Revolution was William Malone. He is believed to have been of Newport, R. I. He commanded at one period _The Harbinger_.

John Conley of Stratford, Conn., served in the second troop of Sheldon’s Continental Light Dragoons during the Revolution and is mentioned as a trumpeter.

John Flynn of Woodstock, Conn., is mentioned in the Woodstock “Alarm List,” 1775. He is also mentioned as a trumpeter in Major Backus’ Light Horse, 1776.

Owen Neill of New London, Conn., sustained losses aggregating £91, 14s 6d by the ravages of the British at the time of the latter’s attack on New London, 1781.

Bridget Clifford came from Ireland, 1635, in the _Primrose_ bound for Virginia. She was accompanied by two of her brothers. She died at Suffield, Conn., in 1695.

Peter Welsh was adjutant during the Revolution of Col. Frederick Weissenfels’ New York regiment of levies. He is also mentioned as quartermaster of the regiment.

Thomas Fitzgerald was a midshipman during the Revolution on the Continental frigate _Trumbull_. The latter was built in Connecticut under the authority of Congress.

Patrick Canny, a soldier of the Revolution, was serving at Horseneck, Conn., in 1782–’83. He is mentioned in Stiles’ _History and Genealogies of Ancient Windsor, Conn._

Philip Mullen was fire master of Albany, N. Y., in 1755, and Philip Ryley was in charge of the town clock. (Hon. Franklin M. Danaher in _Early Irish in Old Albany, N. Y._)

John McGinnis was a New York soldier of the Revolution. He served at one period in Bradt’s Rangers. Also in this corps were Edward Early, Richard Kain and Barney Kelley.

Luke Burns, a cordwainer, resided in Providence, R. I., and died in 1788. Jonathan Green, “living near the Mill-Bridge in Providence,” was appointed administrator of the estate.

Bryant O’Dougherty was in Salem, Mass., in 1683. At that period there were many Irish in Salem. (Eben Putnam in “Historical and Genealogical Notes and Queries,” _Salem Observer_.)

James Kasson, with his father and six brothers, came from Ireland in 1722 and landed at Boston, Mass. He later settled in Voluntown, Conn., removing to Woodbury, Conn., in 1742.

Armand O’Connor was one of the “capitaines en second” of the Irish-French regiment of Walsh during the American Revolution. He is referred to as the Chevalier Armand O’Connor.

Henry Paget, “an Irish gentleman much respected,” was admitted a freeman of Rhode Island, 1742. He wedded a daughter of Rev. John Checkley, rector of a church in Providence, R. I.

Thomas Ryan is mentioned in the Connecticut Revolutionary records as a drummer in Captain Brewster’s company, Colonel Huntington’s regiment (Seventeenth Continental), 1776.

A Rhode Island merchantman, the _Abby_, Capt. John Donovan, was attacked in August, 1752, by a French warship. Captain Donovan met the attack in a spirited manner but was killed.

Maj. Matthew Donovan of the Ninth Virginia regiment during the Revolution died in the service, 1777. The state of Virginia allowed his heirs 6,893 acres. (See mention in Saffell.)

Abbe Dowd, “Irlandais,” was a chaplain of the French warship _Le Jason_ in the American Revolution. _Le Jason_ was of the fleet of Count De Ternay, which was assisting the American cause.

In the Massachusetts force that rendezvoused on “Dedham Plain,” for the Narragansett campaign, 1675, was a soldier named Jeremiah Neal. He is mentioned as a sergeant of the sixth company.

Lieut. Hugh McManus and Lieut. John Riley served in the Sixth Regiment, Albany County, N. Y., Militia, during the Revolution. The regiment was commanded by Col. Stephen John Schuyler.

The Connecticut Revolutionary records mention Michael McGee, a soldier who served in Colonel Burrall’s regiment of that state. McGee was taken prisoner in “the affair at the Cedars,” 1776.

Over fifteen members of Capt. John Giles’ company, 1723–’24, were natives of Ireland. The company was engaged operating against the Indians in Maine, and is mentioned in the Massachusetts records.

Tench Francis, son of an Irishman, was born in Maryland, 1732; became attorney-general of the province of Pennsylvania; was captain of the Quaker Blues; subscribed £5,500 in aid of the Patriot army.

David Dowd, soldier of the Revolution, served in a Connecticut light infantry company, under Lafayette, February-November, 1781. The company was commanded by Capt. Samuel Barker of Branford, Conn.

A settler at Sudbury, Mass., Richard Burke, came from Ireland prior to 1650. He married in 1670 and left many descendants. He was one of the earliest Burkes to settle in America of whom we have record.

An early resident of Newport, R. I., was Owen Higgins. His wife was born in 1640. In 1701, his son Richard is recorded as a freeman of Newport. (See Austin’s _Genealogical Dictionary of Rhode Island_.)

Five ships arrived in Boston Harbor, Aug. 4, 1718, with Irish immigrants aboard. Many of these subsequently settled in New Hampshire. These facts are referred to in Cullen’s _Story of the Irish in Boston_.

Daniel Sullivan, born in Ireland, 1717, died in Providence, R. I., 1814. In an obituary notice it is stated that “He had long resided in this town where his integrity and piety secured him confidence and esteem.”

Charles McAfferty, “an Irishman,” was a soldier of the Revolution and served in Col. Jeremiah Olney’s Rhode Island Continentals. He was one of the first to enter the enemy’s redoubts at the capture of Yorktown.

Patrick McSherry was an officer in the Irish-French regiment of Dillon during the American Revolution. He is mentioned in that recent work, _Les Combattants Francais De La Guerre Americaine_ (Paris, 1903).

James Buchanan, a native of County Donegal, Ireland, came to this country in the brig _Providence_, 1783. He was then in his twenty-second year. His son, James, became president of the United States.

Two members of the Commander-in-Chief’s Guard (Washington’s), in the Revolution, were James and Robert Blair, both natives of Ireland. Godfrey’s history of the guard furnishes a biographical sketch of each.

“In the discharge of his duty he has at all times proved himself an alert, brave and intelligent officer.” The foregoing tribute was paid by Gen. Henry Knox to Lieut. Florence Crowley, a soldier of the Revolution.

Jacques O’Driscoll was one of the “capitaines en second” in the Irish-French regiment of Walsh during the American Revolution. Others of the same rank in the command were Edouard Stack and Charles O’Croly.

Hon. James Sullivan was governor of Massachusetts in 1807 and 1808. He succeeded Hon. Caleb Strong and preceded Hon. Christopher Gore. Governor Sullivan was a brother of Gen. John Sullivan of the Revolution.

Ten ships, bringing nearly one thousand passengers, arrived at Boston, Mass., from Ireland, during the two years, 1736 and 1738. It was at this period, 1737, that the Charitable Irish Society of Boston was organized.

Thomas Quirk, “a brave and fine-looking Irishman,” served under Gen. George Rogers Clark in the latter’s western campaign. He had been a sergeant and is later mentioned as a major. He was alloted 4,312 acres.

Robert Beers, an Irishman, was slain “y^e 28 March 1676,” by the Indians. The tragedy occurred at “the ring of the town,” within the limits of what is now East Providence, R. I. Beers was a brickmaker by occupation.

A distinguished officer of the Revolution, Edward Hand, was born in Kings County, Ireland. He came to America in 1767; espoused the Patriot cause, and was successively lieutenant-colonel, colonel, and brigadier-general.

The first funds of Rhode Island College, now Brown University, were obtained in Ireland. The original subscription book is still carefully preserved. (Guild’s work on _The First Commencement of Rhode Island College_.)

In 1774 the Second Company, Governor’s Foot Guard, of New Haven, Conn., engaged Edward Burke as instructor “in the military exercise.” The company is one of the oldest existing military organizations in America.

Gov. Thomas Dongan of New York, an Irish Catholic, visited Milford, Conn., in 1685, to confer with Governor Treat regarding the boundary between the two colonies. Governor Treat terms Dongan “A noble gentleman.”

Stephen Decatur, a Genoese Catholic, arrived in Newport, R. I., about 1740–’46; married a woman of Irish lineage; became captain of a privateer. His son, also named Stephen, attained high rank in the United States navy.

Thomas Casey was born in Ireland about 1636. He became a resident of Newport, R. I. In 1692 he and his son Thomas witnessed a deed given by James Sweet of East Greenwich, R. I., to Thomas Weaver of Newport.

Jean Baptiste O’Meara was one of the “lieutenants en second” of the Irish-French regiment of Walsh in the American Revolution. Holding like rank in the regiment were Jacques O’Sheil, George Meighan and Eugene MacCarthy.

On the roster of the British garrison at Albany, N. Y., when the place was reconquered from the Dutch and held for a short time in 1673, appear the names Capt. John Manning, Patrick Dowdell, John Fitzgerald and Thomas Quinn.

Matthew O’Bryan was a Massachusetts soldier of the Revolution. He served in Col. John Crane’s regiment of artillery. In one return he is credited with service for 21 months and 25 days as bombardier and 12 months as matross.

Jane Brown was born in Providence, R. I., 1734. Her father, Rev. Arthur Brown, was a native of Drogheda, Ireland. She married Samuel Livermore, who became attorney-general of New Hampshire and United States senator.

Thomas Amory emigrated from Limerick, Ireland, to South Carolina. He removed from the latter place to Boston, Mass., in 1721. The late Thomas C. Amory of Boston, author of the _Transfer of Erin_, was one of his descendants.

Mrs. Grant in her _Memoirs of an American Lady_ mentions “A handsome, good-natured looking Irishman in a ragged provincial uniform,” named Patrick Coonie, with his wife and children, who settled near Albany, N. Y., in 1768.

Matthew Mease, who was born in Strabane, Ireland, became purser of the _Bonhomme Richard_ and served under John Paul Jones in the engagement with the British 44–gun ship _Serapis_. Mease was wounded in that engagement.

In 1768, Patrick Mackey, mentioned as from Philadelphia, Pa., opened in Providence, R. I., “a skinner’s shop near the Hay-ward, on the east side of the great bridge.” He dealt in deer leather, in wool, and in goat and sheep skins.

The New York Revolutionary records mention Thomas Quigley, first lieutenant of the privateer _General Putnam_, “formerly the _Betsey_.” She was commanded, successively, by Capt. Thomas Cregier and Capt. William Mercier.

A roll of Capt. John Givens’ company of militia, Augusta County, Va., 1777–’82, includes the names James Donohoe, Peter Carrol, John Morrison, Neil Hughes, John Craig, Andrew Mitchell and others indicative of Irish extraction.

Alexander Johnston came from near Londonderry, Ireland, about 1721, and settled in Pennsylvania. He was a magistrate, and at one time owned a farm in Pennsylvania of 900 acres. Col. Francis Johnston of the Revolution was his son.

Michael Wright, a native of Mountmellick, Queens County, Ireland, served during the Revolution in a Rhode Island regiment of the Line. He is mentioned in a return as 42 years of age and as having his residence in Seaconnet, R. I.

Gen. Stephen Moylan, of the Revolution, was a brother of the Roman Catholic bishop of Cork, Ireland. Two of his sisters became nuns. One of them was abbess of the Ursuline convent in Cork, and the other was a nun in the same convent.

Macarty de Marteigue was the commander, in 1782, of the French warship _Le Magnifique_, which formed part of the naval force sent over by France to aid the American Revolution. Du Fay de Carty is mentioned as an ensign on the same ship.

The Massachusetts Revolutionary records mention Patrick Burke, a soldier of Col. John Crane’s regiment of artillery. Burke enlisted for the town of Wrentham, Mass., was a sergeant, and is at one period referred to as “Orderly to the General.”

Hugh McLean, a native of Ireland, was born in 1724. He settled in Milton, Mass., and died in 1799. His son, John McLean, was a benefactor of Harvard College and of the Massachusetts General Hospital, the latter institution in Boston, Mass.

Among those serving during the Revolution, in the First Regiment, Virginia Light Dragoons, were James Casey, Thomas Hogan, John Carroll, William Hicks, John Powers and Niel McCaffry. They are mentioned in the Virginia records of that period.

Some years after the close of the Revolution, Christopher Fitzsimons, a wealthy Irishman of Charleston, S. C., passed away, leaving an estate worth $700,000. His daughter, Anne, married one of the Hamptons, receiving $100,000 as her dower.

Mention is made in the Massachusetts Revolutionary records of John McLaughlin, a marine who served aboard the _Alfred_, commanded by John Paul Jones. McLaughlin is referred to as entitled to prize shares in the ship _Mellish_ and the brig _Active_.

Before 1800, Masters Knox and Crocker, natives of Ireland, taught school at Bowen’s Hill (Coventry, R. I.), and the neighborhood. (Cole’s _History of Washington and Kent Counties, R. I._) The name Knox is found in the Coventry records as early as 1766.

David O’Killia, a son of David, “the Irishman” of old Yarmouth, Mass., married Anna Bills in 1662. He had a brother named John who wedded in 1690. Another brother, Jeremiah, died in 1728. A sister, Elizabeth, became the wife of Silas Sears in 1707.

Timothy McKlewain’s name appears in a list of subscribers at a meeting in East Windsor, Conn., April 21, 1777. The meeting was “For ye Great & important Purpose of furnishing our Proportion of men for the Continental Army.” He subscribed £1 10s.

Alexander Bryan, from Armagh in Ireland, was a settler at Milford, Conn., as far back as 1639. In 1661 he bought of the Indians the last twenty acres they owned on Milford Neck. He paid them therefor six coats, three blankets and three pairs of breeches.

Among the ancient inscriptions in the old Granary Burial Ground, Boston, Mass., is the following: “Here Lyeth Interred y^e body of Charles Maccarty, son to Thadeus and Elizabeth Maccarty, aged 18 years, wanting 7 days. Deceased y^e 25 of October, 1683.”

Patrick Cavenaugh, a soldier of the Revolution, served in the Eighth Regiment of the Pennsylvania Line. On one occasion he saved General Lincoln from being captured by the British, in New Jersey. He was afterwards an express rider for General Greene.

A Massachusetts soldier of the Revolution was Daniel McCarty. He was born in Ireland, came to this country and enlisted in the Patriot ranks. He served in Greaton’s regiment and is credited in the records to Roxbury, Mass. He is reported as killed in 1777.

Charles O’Gorman was one of the “lieutenants en second” of the Irish-French regiment of Walsh during the American Revolution. His name is preserved in the French military archives and is mentioned in _Les Combattants De La Guerre Americaine_ (Paris, 1903).

About 1735, Richard Copley with his wife, Mary (Singleton) Copley, came to America from County Clare, Ireland. His health being poor, he went to the West Indies to recuperate. John Singleton Copley, the eminent artist, a native of Boston, Mass., was their son.

Matthew Hurley was one of the soldiers serving in the war against Philip, the Indian king, 1675–’76. He was at one period of the company of Captain Wadsworth, who was killed in the battle at Sudbury, Mass., and is mentioned in Bodge’s work on _King Philip’s War_.

Patrick McLaughlin, a soldier of the Revolution, served in the First Pennsylvania regiment, commanded by Col. John Philip De Haas; was taken prisoner by the British at Three Rivers, June 9, 1776. He is mentioned in the Revolutionary records of Pennsylvania.

Abbe Bartholomew O’Mahony was chaplain of the French warship _L’Ivelly_ during the American Revolution. _L’Ivelly_ was commanded by M. le Chevalier Durumain, and formed part of the fleet of Count De Grasse. (See _Les Combattants Francais De La Guerre Americaine_.)

In an old cemetery at Rutland, Mass., is a gravestone to the memory of Patrick Gregory, who was born in County Donegal, Ireland, about 1690. When he came to this country is unknown. He died July 5, 1756. On the gravestone just mentioned shamrocks are carved.

A native of County Armagh, Ireland, Thomas Robinson, was born in 1745 and died in Providence, R. I., 1809. He had been a resident of Providence for seventeen years; was described as “an ingenious and useful citizen” and “possessed the most enduring philanthropy.”

An influential man in Maryland, in 1647 and later, was Philip Conner. In the year named he was appointed a commissioner for Kent County. He is referred to as “The last commander of old Kent.” A descendant, James Conner, in 1705 wedded Elinor Flannagan.

Born at sea, of Irish parents, 1745, William Patterson died in 1806. He was a member of the first Constitutional Convention of New Jersey; attorney-general of the state; United States senator; governor of New Jersey; and judge of the Supreme Court of the United States.

At a military review near Trenton, N. J., in 1776, George Fullerton, a native of Ireland, was killed by the accidental discharge of a pistol. He was a merchant in Philadelphia, Pa., and a member of the First City Troop. In his will is mentioned John Fullerton, an uncle in Ireland.

Three Irish Rhode Islanders in the Revolution were James Bishop, William Parker and John Wilson. Bishop was born in Dublin; Parker in County Waterford, and Wilson in County Kilkenny. They served in Captain Topham’s company of Col. Thomas Church’s regiment.

Ensign Patrick Cronin was of Colonel Malcom’s New York regiment of levies in the Revolution. Also on the regimental rolls appear the names Cleary, Conner, Crane, Daley, Griffin, Jackson, McCarty, McCoy, McGee, McWilliams, Mead, Moore, Morrison, Murphy and the like.

Hon. Thomas McKean, a signer of the Declaration of Independence and president of Congress, was a founder, an incorporator, and the first president of the Hibernian Society of Philadelphia, Pa. His parents were both natives of Ireland. (Campbell’s _History of the Hibernian Society_.)

Michael Connolly was captain and paymaster, during the Revolution, in the Second New York Regiment of the Line. Philip Van Cortland was colonel of the regiment. There were many Irish in the command, as reference to _New York in the Revolution_, by James A. Roberts, will show.

An Irish trader at Fort Pitt (Pittsburg) before the Revolution was John Ormsby. He suffered depredations during Pontiac’s war, and was later granted a large tract of land at Fort Pitt. He was an active patriot during the Revolution and took a prominent part in the struggle for liberty.

Capt. Daniel Malcom, an Irishman, died in Boston, Mass., 1769. He “was a true son of Liberty, a friend to the Publick, an enemy to oppression and one of the foremost in opposing the Revenue Acts on America.” His remains rest in a brick tomb in the old Copp’s Hill graveyard, Boston.

Capt. Edward Connor was of Col. Marinus Willett’s New York regiment in the Revolution. Also in the regiment appear such names as Burk, Crowley, Downing, Garvey, Hicks, Kelly, Kenny, Lane, Lyons, McCoy, McGee, McGill, McVey, Molloy, Moore, Quin, Ryan and Welsh.

A Connecticut soldier of the Revolution, George McCarty, served in Bigelow’s artillery company, the first company of artillery raised in Connecticut during the war. It marched to the northern department and was stationed during the summer and fall of 1776 at Ticonderoga and vicinity.

Born in Tipperary, Ireland, Edward Fitzgerald came to this country and became a soldier of the Revolution. He was a resident of Newport, R. I. He is mentioned as of the Rhode Island Continental Line when he was but 19 years of age. He saw much service at Ticonderoga and elsewhere.

A native of Dublin, Ireland, John Read was born in 1688. He came to this country, purchased an estate in Maryland, and was one of the founders of Charlestown on the headwaters of Chesapeake Bay. He was appointed by the Colonial Legislature a commissioner to lay out and govern the town.

Paul Cox, an Irishman, was of Philadelphia, Pa., as early as 1773. He became a member of the Pennsylvania State Navy Board, 1777, and was otherwise prominent. The inscription on his tombstone in Philadelphia states that he was “Thrice an elector of the president of the United States.”

Christopher Marshall, a native of Dublin, Ireland, was born in 1709. He settled in Philadelphia, Pa., and was a druggist. During the Revolution his firm furnished drugs and medicines to the Continental army. He was a member of the Committee of Safety throughout the whole period of the war.

Maj. John Gillespy is mentioned as serving during the Revolution in the Fourth Regiment, Ulster County (N. Y.) Militia, commanded by Colonel Hardenburgh. Also of the same regiment was Lieut. Samuel Gillespy. (Vide _New York in the Revolution_, by Comptroller James A. Roberts, Albany, 1898.)

In the old graveyard attached to the stone church built on the site of Fort Herkimer in the Mohawk valley, N. Y., is buried John Ring “of the Kingdom of Ireland, captain of one of His Majesty’s companies of this Province, who departed this life 20th day of Sept., 1755, in the 30th year of his age.”

Thomas McCarthy, a soldier of the Revolution, enlisted from Newtown, Pa., Jan. 14, 1776, for three years, in Capt. George Lewis’ troop, Third Regiment, Continental Dragoons, commanded by Col. George Baylor. On May 1, 1777, he was assigned to the cavalry of the Commander-in-Chief’s Guard.

John M. O’Brien is mentioned in the Rhode Island records as a soldier of the Revolution. He served in Captain Dexter’s company, of the “Late Col. Greene’s regiment,” and died in 1781. He is believed to have been the soldier elsewhere mentioned in the Rhode Island records as John Morris O’Brien.

Andrew Caldwell, born in Ireland, became a prominent merchant in Philadelphia, Pa. He was a patriot of the Revolution; member of the Council of Safety; member of the First City Troop, Philadelphia; member of the Navy Board; port warden of Philadelphia; a director of the Bank of North America.

George Bryan, an Irishman, became a resident of Philadelphia, Pa.; was a member of the Assembly; a delegate, in 1765, to the Stamp Act Congress; a patriot of the Revolution; vice-president of the Supreme Executive Council of Pennsylvania: president of the same; a judge of the Supreme Court of the state.

In Mason’s _Reminiscences of Newport_ (R. I.) is an interesting reference to Henry Goldsmith, a native of Westmeath, Ireland. He settled in Newport when he was 24 years of age, married there in 1779, and had 14 children. At the close of the Revolution, Mr. and Mrs. Goldsmith removed from Newport.

James Calhoun, grandfather of John C. Calhoun, came from Donegal, Ireland, in 1733, with his family, and settled in Pennsylvania, later removing to western Virginia, and at a later period, further south. In 1765 they established the “Calhoun settlement” in South Carolina, near the Cherokee Indian frontier.

James Blaine came from Ireland with his family prior to 1745. He settled in Toboyne township, Cumberland County, Pa., where he died in 1792. He left a widow and nine children. Col. Ephraim Blaine of the Revolution was one of these children. The late Hon. James G. Blaine of Maine was a descendant.

One of the officers in the Irish-French regiment of Dillon, during the American Revolution, was Patrick Murphy. His name is preserved in the military archives of France, and by its publication in _Les Combattants Francais De La Guerre Americaine_, is recalled and forever made known to the American people.

Mary Peisley was a native of Kildare, Ireland, and was born in 1717. She entered the Quaker ministry about 1744, came to America with Ann Payton, and perhaps other Quakers, about 1753, labored in New York, the Carolinas, Maryland and Rhode Island; returned to Ireland and married Samuel Neale of Dublin.

James Moore, who was chosen governor of South Carolina, was born in Ireland about 1640. He came to this country in 1655, settled in Charleston, S. C., wedded a daughter of Sir John Yeamans and had 10 children. One of his sons, also named James Moore, was likewise chosen governor of South Carolina.

Born in Ireland in 1705, Jeremiah Smith came to Boston, Mass., with his wife, in 1726, and finally settled in Milton, Mass., 1737. He was an intimate friend of Governor Hutchinson, Governor Hancock and other leading men. He engaged in the manufacture of paper, and carried on the business until 1775 when he retired.

The Virginia records show that Symon Tuchin was in that colony in 1625. He was master of the _Due Return_, and “having been banished out of Ireland was reported as strongly affected to popery.” Accordingly, “The Governor and Council of Virginia sent him as a prisoner, in January, 1625, to the Company in England.”

Mary Mallins, “from Bandon in Ireland,” was among those arrested in Boston, Mass., at the time of the prosecution of the Quakers, she being one of the latter. She and twenty-seven other Quakers were finally liberated by Endicott and were ordered to leave the jurisdiction at once, nor to return at their peril.

Morison’s _Life of Judge Jeremiah Smith_, who was a native of Peterborough, N. H., states that “He began to study Latin when about twelve years old, with Rudolphus Greene, an Irishman employed by the town to keep school a quarter of the year in each of the four quarters of the town.” Judge Smith was born about 1771.

John Mitchell, a native of Ireland, was muster-master-general of the Pennsylvania State navy, 1775–’76; acting commissary, 1776–’77; lieutenant on the _Chatham_, 1775; captain of the _Ranger_, 1776; a merchant in France after the Revolution; United States consul at Santiago de Cuba; admiralty surveyor of Philadelphia, Pa.