Part 5

Lewis was married to a Dutch wife, Geesje Barents, a member of a prominent and well-known family in this city. He had several children. One of them, Thomas Lodewicksen, Jr., married Frances, daughter of the famous Jacob Leisler, head of the colony, which is another indication of his father’s social prominence.

Lewis died here, on September 14, 1685, and his widow was named executrix of his will by Governor Dongan, April 1, 1686. There are many of his descendants among the various Lewis families scattered over this state, but few of them, perhaps, know that their ancestor was that “Thomas the Irishman” mentioned so frequently in the old Dutch records of Stuyvesant’s time.

AN INTERESTING PIONEER FAMILY.

James and Isaac Savage and their two sisters, came to America from Ireland. Afterward, about 1763, their father, James Savage, being then an aged man, came to this country to Newton, Mass., where the two daughters had settled. There he died and was buried.

His sons, James and Isaac, settled at Woolwich, Me., where James was early killed by the Indians. Isaac married and had a large family. His wife’s name is not known. Among their children was a son, who settled at Wiscasset, Me., another son who settled at Woolwich and another son, James, who also settled at Wiscasset. James (3) married Mary Hilton, who was born at Berwick, Me., in 1721, and lived to be 100 years old. James and Mary had seventeen children. Order of birth is not known.

They were as follows: Isaac, who married Deborah Soule; Abigail, married, June 13, 1765, Robert Lambert; Lydia, married, February 1, 1776, Daniel Ring; Hannah, born 1745, married Thomas McFadden; James, married Annah Young; Ebenezer, born 1753, married Sarah Chase; Abraham, married, in 1783, Patience Young; John, married, in 1783, Susannah Tinkham or Pinkham; Jacob, born in 1759, married, in 1781, Hannah Gray; Mary, married, in 1795, John Card; Charles, married, in 1784, Margaret Corillard, and married, second, about 1785, Margaret Rose Lovejoy; Catherine, died April 24, 1800, unmarried; Edward, born 1776, married, June 6, 1790, Sarah Smith; Andrew, born 1769, married Tamson Tibbetts; Christiana, Daniel, Ann.

EDWARD O’BRIEN’S SCHOOL DICTIONARY.

An interesting historical paragraph recently contributed, states that in 1798 Edward O’Brien printed in New Haven, Conn., his “School Dictionary: Being a compendium of the latest and most improved dictionaries,” which exists in two copies—the British Museum copy (perfect) and the Yale College Library copy (lacking ten pages). This was the first dictionary by an American author published in this country. It has no date, but is thought to have been issued towards the end of 1798. Its author, who taught school in Guilford, Conn., was born there March 10, 1757, and died there August 20, 1836. Soon after its publication its author and the Rev. John Elliott (1768–1824, great-great-grandson of John Elliott, the Indian apostle) prepared the second American dictionary, which was copyrighted in June, 1799, and published in January, 1800.

A PATRIOT OF THE REVOLUTION.

James Stevenson, a native of Ireland, was born in 1750 and was brought to this country when a child. During the Revolutionary War he served as a sergeant in Colonel Evans’ Pennsylvania regiment, was captured by the enemy and held for a year in the notorious British prison ships.

After the war he married Hannah Bull, a daughter of Col. John Bull, of Chester County, Pa., a soldier of the Revolution. They removed to Lawrence County, Pa., Mr. Stevenson dying in Poland, Ohio, in 1834. He left many descendants and a society has been formed among them. It holds annual reunions.

Among his descendants may be mentioned: John H. Stevenson, of Allegheny; Prof. William M. Stevenson, of Pittsburg; Rev. Frank B. Stevenson, of New Castle; Dr. Silas Stevenson; James A. Stevenson and E. S. Stevenson, of New Castle; T. D. Stevenson, of New Bedford, Pa.; Mrs. Rebecca Stevenson Neal, of Pulaski, Pa.; Capt. Thomas S. Calhoun, of Georgetown, Pa.; Thomas S. McCready, of Manchester, Kas.; Homer A. McCready, of Hancock County, W. Va.; Thomas W. Stevenson, of East Liverpool, O.; William E. Stevenson, of Hookstown, Pa., and W. H. Stevenson, of Hookstown.

THE HALEYS OF THE ISLES OF SHOALS.

Andrew Haley was of the Isles of Shoals. He was of Irish blood and had a son, Andrew, who married Elizabeth Scammon, of Kittery, Me., in 1697. Andrew Haley, Sr., early settled on the islands and eventually became styled “King of the Shoals.” He and his descendants seem to have long occupied that portion of the Shoals known as Haley’s Island. In the _Collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society_, for 1800, is a paper descriptive of the Shoals, from which paper we extract the following: “The only secure harbour in these islands is Haley’s, which opens to the S. W., having Haley’s island S. E., Malaga N. W., a wall built by Mr. Haley, between 70 and 80 paces in length, on the N. E.... At the close of the year 1800 there were on Haley’s island, three decent dwelling houses, occupied by Mr. Haley, an ingenious and respectable old gentleman of seventy-six, and his two sons, with their families. Mr. Haley has expended a handsome fortune in erecting the expensive wall before mentioned, wharves, and other useful works. Among these are a windmill, rope walk, 270 feet long; salt works erected before the war [Revolution], a bake house, brewery, distillery, built in 1783, and a blacksmith’s and cooper’s shop.”

THE IMPORTATION OF IRISH BUTTER.

Long before the Revolution, and long after that period, Irish pork and butter were imported to this country in great quantities. A Boston paper publishes the following letter, which was dated October 29, 1763, and sent from a leading firm in Boston to parties in Ireland: “This is to Desire you will as soon as possible & without Fail Ship us from Cork 250 Barrels Best Irish Pork & 100 Firkins of good Irish Butter, the weight of each Barrell of Pork to be mark’d on the head, to be well Pack’d. This Article will be very Scarce & Dear here, that we must Depend upon your shipping it with the 100 Firkins of Butter [all] to be here in March if possible & if no oppor’y to this place Ship it to Halifax to the care of Benj. Gerrish Esqr. and as soon as the next May Butter is fit to ship we Desire you will then ship us 100 Firkins more of the best Rose May Butter. We rely on your care to have these articles of the best kind & purchased at the best Rates, which charge to our accott. We beg your attention to this that we may not by any means be disappointed, as we shall be in great want of it. We are with Respect, Gent., Your most hum. Servts, Messrs. Jona. Barnard & Co.”—(From _The Recorder_ [A. I. H. S.], Boston, Mass., March, 1902.)

THE DISTRICT KNOWN AS IRISH TRACT.

A Moravian missionary who went from Pennsylvania to Georgia, in 1743–’44, writes that while in the lower valley of Virginia: “I asked him (Joist Hite) for the way to Carolina. He told me of one which runs for 150 miles through Irish settlements, the district being known as Irish tract.”—(_Virginia Magazine of History and Biography_, October, 1904.)

TWO INTERESTING HISTORICAL FRAGMENTS.

Barnabas Palmer, of Rochester, N. H., was born in Cork or Limerick, 1725, 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. Here is another fragment of history: Lieutenant-General Pepperrell, in 1745, ordered Maj. John Stover to organize a company at Wells, Me., for the Louisburg expedition. The order was promptly carried out. Among the volunteers were Edward Welch, John Conaway, James Gillpatrick, John McDaniel, James Read, Michael Wilson and John Burks (Burke?). They sailed March 24, 1745, for Cape Breton. Some of the company died there. In the fall of 1745 most of the survivors returned to Wells.

WORKMEN FIND AN INTERESTING COIN.

Workmen who were digging in Congress Street [Boston] the other day found an interesting old coin which is said by experts to link the records of Boston currency nearly two centuries ago with a mintage controversy that stirred even the phlegmatic George III, and elicited some of the most famous witticisms of Dean Swift and dignified declarations of Sir Isaac Newton. It is about one third larger than an American quarter and has on the obverse side an idealized head of George III, in the center, surrounded with the words “Georgius Deo Gratia Rex.” Perhaps the intrinsic interest is in the reverse side, which has in the center a symbolic figure of Ireland, bearing a harp, and on the border is stamped “Hibernia—1723.” The first anomaly in this is that, although it was on its face an Irish coin, it was neither coined nor circulated in that country, but, owing to indignant protests of Irish dealers, crystallized by the sarcasms of that witty divine, Dean Swift, it was shipped over to Boston, where it circulated as the “colonial half-penny.” In the old country it was called the “Woods half-penny,” on account of its coinage by a Londoner of that name. This was the chief element of grievance, as Ireland was then approaching the time when the aspiration of a Grattan were to find realization, and Swift argued in his famous Drapier letters that the country should not have these foreign and false coins passed upon it.—(_Boston Transcript_, October 12, 1895.)

DENNIS MACCARTY OF WARREN, R. I.

BY MISS VIRGINIA BAKER, OF WARREN.

Since I forwarded the data relating to Dennis and William Mackarty, I have again examined the probate records of this town, and have made the discovery that the will of Dennis Maccarty of Warren was probated November 7, 1757. As Dennis of Bristol did not die until 1760, it follows that there must have been living in Bristol County two men bearing the same name, both of whom served in the French wars.

I enclose a copy of the will of Dennis of Warren. In 1757, Warren, as you know, included Barrington. You will notice that the legatees mentioned in the will were all Barrington men; therefore, I conclude that that Dennis resided in the west section of the town. Again, the testator mentions no kindred, while Dennis of Bristol had a wife and son. Here is the will mentioned:

“In the Name of God Amen I Dennis Maccarty of Warren in the County of Bristol in the Colony of Rhode Island Labourer being engaged in the expedition against Crown Point; and not knowing what Shall befall me Being now of a Sound and Disposing mind; Thanks be to God; Do make this my last will and Testament in manner following; Principally and first of all I give my soul to the hands of God that gave it and my Body to the earth to be Decently Buried in a Christian manner hoping for a Blessed Resurrection thro the merits of Jesus our only Redeemer; and as to my worldly goods where with it hath Pleased God to Bless me I give the same in the following manner;

“Item. My Will is that my Just Debts and Funeral Charges be Duly and Seasonably Paid by my executor.

“Item. To my loving and well beloved Friend Peleg Richmond I give a Note of hand I have against him of one hundred and thirty-two pounds old tenor Rhode Island currency.

“Item. To my loving and beloved friend John Roger Richmond I give all my wearing apparel.

“Item. To my friend Mary Richmond Juner I give one hundred pounds. To her sister Elizabeth Richmond I give sixty pounds; and to Sarah Richmond I give forty pounds; all to be paid in old tenor Rhode Island.

“Item. To my beloved friend Benjamin Viall I give a note of hand I have against him of Forty Pounds three Shillings old tenor.

“Item. To my beloved friend Thomas Brown I give Thirty Pounds old tenor Rhode Island currency.

“To my Trusty and Beloved Friend Solomon Townsend of Warren, Clerk, whom I make executor of my last will and Testament I give and bequeath all the Remainder of my moneys, Bills, notes, Bonds, and wares that Shall Remain and become Due After the above Legacies are Paid. And I Do Ratify and confirm this to be my last will and testament. In Witness hereof I have Set my hand and Seal this Thirtieth Day of April in the Twenty ninth year of his majesties’ Reign Anno Domini Seventeen Hundred and Fifty Six.

“his “Dennis X Maccarty, “mark.

“Signed, Sealed, Published and delivered by sd. Dennis Maccarty to be his last Will and Testament.

“In presence of “Constant Viall. “David Allen, Jr. “Samuel Viall.” Probated November 7, 1757.”

THE VOYAGE OF THE SEAFLOWER.

From _The Recorder_ (I. A. H. S.), February, 1902.

The sloop _Seaflower_ left Belfast, Ireland, July 10, 1741, bound for Philadelphia, in the province of Pennsylvania. She had 106 persons aboard, mainly emigrants.

The _Seaflower_ was owned by Joseph Thompson of New Haven, Conn., and Capt. Ebenezer Clark, master of the sloop. Thompson owned three fourths and Clark the remainder. When about two weeks out, Captain Clark, the master, sickened and died and the mate was also taken ill.

Thus began a reign of suffering, wretchedness and misery that has seldom been surpassed in the annals of ocean voyages. Some time after the master’s death the sloop sprung her mast and to add to the horrors of the voyage the supply of water and provisions began to run low.

The accident to the mast, the sickness and other troubles greatly extended the voyage so that long before the American coast was sighted many of the ship’s company and passengers had perished of hunger.

In order to sustain life the living were driven to feed on the dead. Six bodies had been thus consumed and the seventh was being cut up when the _Success_, man-of-war, came alongside and her captain supplied the well-nigh crazed survivors of the _Seaflower_ with provisions sufficient to bring them into port.

Now to account for this fearful voyage: It is possible that the sloop was overcrowded on leaving Belfast; also that a miscalculation had been made as to the probable length of time that would be required for the voyage, this leading to an inadequate supply of water and provisions. The death of the master and the illness of the mate likewise had a decided tendency to complicate matters. When the food supply was at length exhausted, and the last drop of water gone, thirst was added to the horrors of hunger. With the vessel still many leagues from land, the awful sufferings of passengers and crew can be imagined, not described.

Forty-six died on the passage.

The _Seaflower_ cast anchor in Boston Harbor, October 31, sixteen weeks having elapsed since she sailed from Ireland. On the date mentioned, October 31, 1741, the selectmen of Boston convened in session, there being present: Captain Forsyth, Caleb Lyman, Jonas Clark, Mr. Hancock, Mr. Cook and Captain Steel. At this meeting was considered “The sloop _Seaflower_ this day arrived from Belfast, Ebenezer Clark, late master, with 65 passengrs on board....” The following minute was recorded, viz., that

“Whereas a Sloop from Ireland with a number of Passengers on board being arrived in this Harbour & apprehending danger may acrue to the Inhabitants by reason of the Hardships the People have Suffered in their Passage being obliged to eat some of their People to Sustain Life, Voted That the Select Men View the State of the Persons on board with Doct^r Clark & Report what Circumstances they are in....”

The selectmen accordingly visited the afflicted survivors of the _Seaflower_ and found the facts as here outlined. So serious was the case, that the Selectmen again met on November 2 and decided to wait on the governor and council to acquaint them with the conditions and see what could be done. The same day, November 2, a meeting of the governor and council was held in the council chamber in Boston, the selectmen appeared, stated their case and sought advice.

They declared that about thirty of the passengers were in “very low circumstances & not able of taking care of themselves, but require the speediest care to preserve life.” The selectmen prayed “that suitable provision may be made for them or else they must perish.” The governor and council accordingly

Ordered that the selectmen secure the papers belonging to the owners and last master, with the goods aboard and dispose of the servants and passengers in hospital on Rainsford’s island, where they were to be supported and nursed. It was also ordered that the “owners of the said Sloop” be speedily advised of existing conditions and requested to come to Boston, “pay the Charges herein expended & take all further Care in the Premisses as shall be necessary.”

The selectmen thereupon sent an express to Joseph Thompson, of New Haven, asking him to repair to Boston and take charge of the _Seaflower_ and servants. They likewise directed the town clerk of Boston to write to Mr. Thompson. The selectmen also voted that Captain Forsyth and Captain Steel of their number be a committee to go aboard the sloop and take an account of the papers, etc., and secure them, Mr. Savell to see that the unfortunate people were supplied with all things necessary to their comfort until the vessel was taken to Rainsford’s island. Mr. Ball was directed to take the sloop there as soon as possible.

On Tuesday morning, the vessel and passengers were taken over to the island “with the help of Capt. Tyng & his People who came in the long boat & other persons.” The passengers were all carried ashore and lodged in the hospital. Doctor Clark gave directions for the treatment of the patients, and men were put in charge of the vessel and the goods aboard.

The selectmen met again on November 16. Mr. Thompson of New Haven appeared and stated that he owned three fourths of the sloop and that Ebenezer Clark, the deceased master, owned the rest. He asked that the vessel’s papers he delivered to him and this was done. Thompson and Captain Steel, the latter one of the selectmen, assumed all the charges incurred.

The facts briefly stated herein have been obtained from the minutes of the selectmen of Boston as reproduced in printed form by the record commissioners of that city.

THE STORY OF MISS FITZGERALD.

From _The Recorder_ (A. I. H. S.), Boston, Mass., December, 1901.

Portsmouth, R. I., was settled in 1638. Nine years later it was the most populous town in the colony. Here Eleazar Slocum was born on the “25th day of the 10th month 1664.” He resided there until some twenty years of age when he removed to Dartmouth Township, now included in the city of New Bedford, Mass.

In Dartmouth he wedded an Irish girl named Elephell Fitzgerald. Concerning her there are two theories. The first is that she was the daughter of an Irish earl and came to this country with her sister, who was eloping with an English officer. The second theory is that favored by Charles E. Slocum, M. D. Ph. D. In his _History of the Slocums_ he inclines to the belief that Miss Fitzgerald was one of those Irish maidens who were shipped to New England in Cromwell’s time or at later periods.

There were doubtless large numbers of these Irish girls brought over. The majority of them were, without question, Roman Catholics. Frequently their fate was a hard and cruel one. Thebaud, in his _Irish Race in the Past and the Present_, writing on the subject says:

“Such of them as were sent North were to be distributed among the ‘saints’ of New England, to be esteemed by the said ‘saints’ as ‘idolaters,’ ‘vipers,’ ‘young reprobates,’ just objects of ‘the wrath of God’; or, if appearing to fall in with their new and hard task-masters, to be greeted with words of dubious praise as ‘brands snatched from the burning,’ ‘vessels of reprobation,’ destined, perhaps, by a due initiation of the ‘saints’ to become ‘vessels of election,’ in the meantime to be unmercifully scourged with the ‘besom of righteousness,’ at the slightest fault or mistake.”

Some, however, met a better fate. Their lines fell in more fortunate places. In many cases they were kindly treated and, in time, married into the families of their recent masters. Some of them, too, reared large families of manly sons and womanly daughters and lived to a happy old age. Many of their descendants must exist today in high places. Perhaps some are not aware of their maternal Irish descent, while a few may be reluctant to acknowledge it if they are. Yet, many of these Irish girls were descended from the old nobility and clansmen whose names and fames had ranked with the most illustrious in Europe.

Miss Fitzgerald’s marriage to Eleazar Slocum took place about 1687. Their children were Meribah, born in 1689; Mary, born 1691; Eleazar, born in 1693–’94; John, 1696–’97; Benjamin, 1699, and Joanna, 1702. There was also another child named Ebenezer. In 1699 the husband and father is recorded as giving £3 toward building a Quaker meeting house. His will was proved in 1727. It makes the following provisions concerning his wife:

“Item—I give and bequeath Elephell, my beloved wife, the sum of twenty pounds [per] annum of Good and Lawful money of New England, to be paid Yearly and Every Year By my Execut^{rs} During her Naturall life—

“Item—I give and bequeath to Elephell my beloved wife an Indian girl named Dorcas During the time she hath to Serve by Indenture—she fulfilling all articles on my behalf—

“Item—I give and Bequeath to Elephell my beloved wife, The great low room of my Dwelling house with the two bedrooms belonging together with the Chamber over it and the Bedrooms belonging thereto, and the Garrett and also what part of the N^w Addition she shall Choose and one half of the cellar, During her Naturall life.

“Item—I will that my executors procure and supply Elephell my wife with firewood sufficient During her Naturall life, And whatsoever Provisions and Corn shall be left after my Decease, I give to Elephell my wife for her support, and also the hay for Support of the Cattle. The above gifts and Bequests is all and what I intend for Elephell my wife instead of her thirds or Dowry.”

To his son Eleazar he bequeathed the northerly part of the homestead farm, 100 acres, with house, barns, orchard, etc.; to son Ebenezer, the southerly part of the homestead farm “on which my dwelling house stands.” To Eleazar and Ebenezer he also gives other lands, and to Ebenezer, in addition one pair of oxen, a pair of steers, eight cows, two heifers and £12. The remainder of the horses, cattle, etc., he gives to Eleazar and Ebenezer. The inventory shows £5,790 18s 11d personal estate.

His widow, Elephell (Fitzgerald) Slocum, made a will “the 19th day of the first month called March 1745–6.” It was proved October 4, 1748. Joanna, one of her daughters, married Daniel, son of John Weeden of Jamestown, R. I. A son of theirs was named Gideon Slocum Weeden.