Part 46

Capt. James Connolly, Vice-President of the Society for California, and John Mulhern, Secretary of the Knights of St. Patrick, with earnest and most commendable effort discussed their plans with various individuals, and on February 17, 1910, sent the names of the following gentlemen to Treasurer-General Dooley, with checks for membership fees:

February 17th, 1910.

R. C. O’Connor, 1835 Scott St., San Francisco, Cal. Thomas V. O’Brien, Haywards Hotel, Haywards, Cal. Jeremiah Deasy, 808 Cole St., San Francisco, Cal. P. F. McGrath, 709 Castro St., San Francisco, Cal. J. S. McCormick, 1524 Masonic Ave., San Francisco, Cal. Thomas I. Dillon, 712 Market St., San Francisco, Cal. J. F. Gibbons, M. D., 1944 California St., San Francisco, Cal. Thomas F. McGrath, 215 Parnassus Avenue, San Francisco, Cal. Joseph Patrick O’Ryan, 4381 17th St., San Francisco, Cal. John H. McGinney, 766 McAllister St., San Francisco, Cal. Dr. R. B. Corcoran, Presidio, San Francisco, Cal. James D. Phelan, Phelan Building, San Francisco, Cal. John F. Seymour, 52 Pierce St., San Francisco, Cal. Eugene McCoy, 80 Liberty St., San Francisco, Cal. Neal Power, Mills Building, San Francisco, Cal. William F. Stafford, Grant Building, San Francisco, Cal. Rt. Rev. D. J. O’Connell, 1100 Franklin St., San Francisco, Cal. Joseph S. Tobin, Hibernia Bank, San Francisco, Cal. James H. Barry, 1122 Mission St., San Francisco, Cal. J. H. Dignan, 774 Cole St., San Francisco, Cal. Richard Bunton, 1148 O’Farrell St., San Francisco, Cal. Martin W. Fleming, 3821 Sacramento St., San Francisco, Cal. Dr. William B. Howard, 400 Stanyan St., San Francisco, Cal. Dr. J. H. O’Connor, 2572 California St., San Francisco, Cal. Robert P. Troy, Call Building, San Francisco, Cal. Peter O’Reilly, 835 Octavia St., San Francisco, Cal. Maurice J. McNellis, 115 Fell St., San Francisco, Cal. Judge Daniel C. Deasy, Mills Building, San Francisco, Cal.

LIFE MEMBERS.

James V. Coleman, 711 Balboa Building, San Francisco, Cal. John Mulhern, 140 Second St., San Francisco, Cal.

Immediately upon receipt of the applications for membership a copy of Volume VIII of the Journal of the Society, published in 1909, was sent to each of the new members, and a personal letter written apprising each member of the work and purposes of the Society and asking for biographical sketches.

At a meeting of the Executive Council held in New York March 12th last the efforts of Vice-President Connolly and Mr. Mulhern being called to its attention, a unanimous vote of appreciation and thanks was directed to be extended to these gentlemen. As the Knight of St. Patrick is a Life Member of the Society, it was also voted that the thanks and appreciation of the Society go forth to it as a body for the assistance it rendered in adding to our membership rolls this list of eminent men.

* * * * *

As an evidence of the appreciation of the work of our Society and the desire of gentlemen to join it, we cite the case of a gentleman high in banking and financial circles in one of the western states, who was so much impressed with what we are doing that he sent in his application for membership, accompanied by his membership fee, and in a few days later sent in an application, again accompanied by check.

[Illustration:

HON. EDWARD D. WHITE,

Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.

A Friend of the Society. ]

MISCELLANEOUS.

(COMPILED BY THE SECRETARY-GENERAL FROM MATERIALS FURNISHED DURING THE YEAR BY MEMBERS OF THE SOCIETY.)

For information concerning Irishmen in the Civil War, persons desirous of enlightenment may consult with profit any of the following publications:

“Journal of the American Irish Historical Society,” Volumes I to IX.

“American Irish Historical Miscellany,” by John D. Crimmins.

“The Irish Ninth of Massachusetts in Bivouac and War,” by MacNamara.

“The Gallant Sixty-Ninth,” by F. S. Root.

“Life of Thomas Francis Meagher,” by Cavanaugh.

“Irish Soldiers,” by Colonel McGee.

“Life of General Sweeny,” by William M. Sweeny.

“The Irish Brigade,” by D. P. Conyngham.

“The Irish in America,” by Maguire.

“The Irish Race in America,” by Condon.

HONOR FOR CAPT. G. S. ANTHONY.

Mr. Dennis H. Tierney, who was active in the collection of funds for Capt. George S. Anthony, of New Bedford, received a very nice letter from the Captain and in return sent him a letter of which the following is a part:

“WATERBURY, CONN., December 8, 1909.

“_Captain George S. Anthony, New Bedford, Mass._:

“_My Dear Captain_—I received your kind letter of the 4th inst. containing the endorsed checks which the contributors to your fund desire to hold as souvenirs. A press of business prevented me from replying at once. It is indeed a great pleasure for me to be among the Irish gentlemen who have contributed towards the creation of a fund which will release the mortgage from the home of a man who exposed himself to the dangers incidental to the rescue of Irish political prisoners who were confined in bondage in western Australia; ‘their only crime being love of country,’ and for that brave and meritorious service in their rescue which occurred April 17th, 1876; and in reviewing the danger which you and your companions in a small boat were exposed to on that stormy night of April 17th, 1876, it is an incident worthy of the brush of Raphael and the pens of Moore and Davis; even those great geniuses in their respective professions would inadequately portray the thrilling incident, and therefore it is with pride and pleasure that I, an Irishman, extend to you the right hand of fellowship, and I believe my countrymen the world over are in sympathy with me in it and do approve of my act.”

Previous to going to New Bedford on December 17, the delegation, headed by Lawrence H. O’Brien and Mr. Tierney, paid a visit to headquarters in Providence, where they met Hon. Jno. W. Cummings of Fall River and Hon. Harry C. Curtis of Providence, and discussed the object of their visit to New Bedford, where they made formal presentation to Capt. Anthony of a check for $1,037.

THE FRENCH CAMP AT WATERBURY.

Mr. D. H. Tierney, vice-president of the Society for Connecticut, has erected on the camp ground of the French army to commemorate its march through Waterbury, Conn., enroute to Yorktown, June 27, 1781, a handsome monument of rustic construction with a good foundation, securely cemented and with a polished granite slab on top on which the following words are cut: “Camp of the French Army enroute to Yorktown, June 27, 1781.” The date of the erection of the monument is cut on the lower left-hand corner which is “1904.” Mr. Tierney writes:

“The erection of this monument brought out and emphasized the fact that in the French army there were a large contingent of Irishmen. At the unveiling exercises, the monument was draped with the American, French and Irish flags. An American boy raised the American flag; a French boy raised the French flag; and my son, Mark Tierney, raised the Irish flag. At the unveiling of the monument, we had a large gathering of representatives of patriotic societies and citizens, and it was learned for the first time that in the French army there was a large delegation of Irishmen who participated with the French in helping the continentals to throw off the English yoke. It created such a controversy that I was compelled many times to give authentic proof concerning the fact that there were Irishmen in the French army on that occasion.

“At the time of the erection of this monument, I entertained hopes that others along the route of the French army would see fit to erect monuments in the different states commemorating the march of the French army while enroute to Yorktown.”

COUNTY NAMES OF IRISH ORIGIN.

Eight of the counties of North Carolina are called after plain Irishmen: Burke, from Governor Thomas Burke, born in Galway; Harnett, from Cornelius Harnett, a member of the Continental Congress, born in Dublin; Dobbs, for Gov. Arthur Dobbs, born in Carrickfergus; Rowan, for Robert Rowan, a Colonial President of the Council, also a native of Carrickfergus; Montgomery, for Gen. Richard Montgomery of Donegal; Moore, for Gov. Maurice Moore, a distinguished Colonial soldier; Rutherford, for General Griffith Rutherford of the Revolution, and Davidson, for William Davidson. The places of birth of the last three are not given, but their biographers say they were natives of Ireland. In addition Gaston, Jackson, McDowell and Wayne counties, N. C., were named in honor of descendants of Irishmen.

In Maryland are Baltimore, Carroll, Garrett, Montgomery, and Talbot counties. Baltimore got its name from an Englishman, of course, but he got it from Baltimore, County Longford. Talbot was named after George Talbot of Castle Rooney, County Roscommon, the founder (in 1680) of extensive colonial estates in Maryland, called New Connaught, which with New Munster and New Leinster were subdivisions of a larger territory called New Ireland, and now embraced in Hartford and Cecil counties, Maryland, and part of New Castle county, Delaware.

In Michigan are Antrim, Clare, Roscommon and Wexford, Barry, Calhoun, Clinton, Emmet, Jackson, Macomb and Wayne counties.

Twelve states of the Union have embalmed the name of Carroll, eleven that of Calhoun, eight that of Butler and six that of Sullivan in the nomenclature of their counties. Carroll was the famous “Signer”; Calhoun a Vice-President of the United States, the son of Patrick Calhoun of Donegal; Butler, the distinguished Major-General, one of five officers of the Revolutionary Army, all brothers, and all but one born in Ireland, and Sullivan was the famous Major-General from New Hampshire, son of John Sullivan, a County Kerry schoolmaster.

San Patricio County, Texas, was named by a Spanishized Irishman, and it is not unlikely that Patrick County in Virginia was called after some Irish “Paddy.”

There are counties in the United States named O’Brien, Conway, Ulster, Kearny, Kane, McDonough, McKean, Fergus, Meagher, Harney, McHenry, Taney, Shannon, Sheridan, Dunn, McCurtain, Sharkey, Walsh and many others of similar origin. In Texas are Callahan, Nolan, Reagan, Donley, McMullen, McLennon, Dawson, Calhoun, Cochran, Crockett, Fannin, Gillespie, Hayes, Jackson, Jasper and Montgomery counties.

In Georgia, Burke, Bryan, Carroll, Coffee, Calhoun, Dawson, Dooly, Dougherty, Earley, Fannin, Fulton, Glynn, Brady, Hart, Heard, Jackson, Jasper, McDuffie, Montgomery, Pickens, Talbot and Wayne. Eleven of these counties were called after native Irishmen who were prominent at one time or another in the Cracker State. In Kentucky there are no less than twenty-five counties, ten of which were named in honor of natives of the Green Isle, and fifteen from descendants of Irish pioneers, while in Kansas there are fourteen bearing Irish names.

Indian names are in the majority in the nomenclature of our counties.

HONOR FOR ENSIGN MONAGHAN.

One of the torpedo boat destroyers recently authorized by Congress will be named Monaghan, in memory of Ensign John Robert Monaghan, U. S. N., who was killed on April 1, 1899, by hostile natives in Samoa while engaged in a reconnaissance made by a combined force of British and Americans.

Ensign Monaghan was at that time attached to the Philadelphia. The expedition ashore was in charge of Lieutenant Lansdale. Ensign Monaghan stood steadfast by his wounded superior and friend—one rifle against many—one brave man against a score of savages. He knew he was doomed. He could not yield. He died in heroic performance of duty.

Ensign Monaghan was appointed to the Naval Academy on September 7, 1891, from the State of Washington. He was a son of Hon. James Monaghan, a member of the Society, who kindly contributed to the Society’s library a valuable and interesting work entitled “Life of John Robert Monaghan, the Hero of Samoa.”

MICHAEL HOGAN NAMED “CLAREMONT.”

Reminiscence of early New York days, when all of the upper west side fronting the river was occupied by the summer homes of the wealthy downtown merchants, were revived by the announcement last December that the last plot of land owned by the Post estate had been sold. The historic Claremont house, which for over half a century has been noted as a public house where the good things of life have been dispensed to the elite of the town, was for many years the summer home of the Post family.

The Claremont House, although removed from its original site several years ago when Riverside Park was laid out in 1872, is now the only one of these old-fashioned residences that remains very much in its original appearance.

To go back to the eighteenth century, we find that Nicholas de Peyster was the owner of the vast estates, having purchased them from the Dutch farmer, Adrian Hooglandt, in 1784. In 1796 he sold the upper part, that which has been known as Claremont, to George Pollock. He was an importer of Irish linens, and it was his little son, St. Clair Pollock, to whom the simple tombstone below the house, and bearing the inscription, “To an amiable child,” was erected.

In 1807, the man who gave the name Claremont to the place, and who was one of the most notable figures among the great merchants of his day, purchased the estate. This was Michael Hogan, a famous navigator, in his early life in all parts of the world and who came to New York early in the last century. He divided his property, calling the southern portion Monte Alta and the upper part Claremont. Hogan was a native of County Clare, Ireland, and the name was in honor of his birthplace, although the statement has been made that Hogan named it in honor of the royal residence in Surrey of Prince William, Duke of Clarence, afterward King William IV., and with whom the merchant had served as midshipman in the Royal Navy.

During Michael Hogan’s occupancy of Claremont, as a summer residence it was the scene of some of the most brilliant social festivities in the city. He was a vestryman of St. Michael’s Church, erected in 1805, on the east side of the old Bloomingdale Road and Ninety-ninth Street. Robert T. Kemble and William Rogers, both of whom were early owners of the famous Furniss house, were the wardens. It was from the Rogers estate that William P. Furniss purchased the house with twenty-six lots in 1843.

Hogan was practically ruined during the War of 1812 with England, and in 1821 Joel Post purchased the property from his trustees.

The name of Michael Hogan is almost forgotten today, and the high honor that Trinity Church paid to his memory after his death in Washington in 1833, where his son, William Hogan, was a Congressman, is remembered by few. A tablet was erected to his memory, but when old Trinity was torn down, the tablet was removed to Grace Church, where it may be seen today. The inscription says:

“In early manhood a bold and successful navigator and discoverer in seas almost unknown; in maturer life a prosperous merchant. The decline of life was not unmarked by vicissitudes of fortune. But prosperity did not elate nor could adversity subdue his firm and constant spirit. Each quarter of the globe bore witness to his enterprise and its success.”

ST. PATRICK’S HALF PENCE ONCE CURRENT IN NEW JERSEY.

The only specimen in gold known of the coin called in America the Mark Newby farthing was sold in London in June, 1909. These farthings have an interesting history. Many were struck in silver, copper, brass and even lead.

The obverse shows a crowned king kneeling and playing a harp. Above the harp is a crown, while around the border is the inscription “Floreat Rex.” On the reverse the principal device shows St. Patrick, with right hand outstretched, banishing the serpents from Ireland. In his left hand he carried a double or metropolitan cross and at the extreme right is a church. The inscription of the reverse reads “_Quiescat Plebs_.”

There are many varieties of these farthings, of widely differing weights but of nearly uniform size and with both plain and reeded edges. The silver pieces are very irregular in their weight, which ranges from ninety-eight to 176 grains, but all are about the size of an old fashioned copper cent. The coins struck in copper are more uniform, averaging about ninety-eight grains.

The coin is supposed to have had its origin in Ireland in the reign of Charles I., and it has been the subject of much discussion.

A party of immigrants from Dublin, among whom were Mark Newby (or Newbie) and his family, arrived in the Colony of New Jersey on November 19, 1681. Newby brought with him a quantity of the St. Patrick’s half pence, as they were termed in Ireland. At this period fractional currency was exceedingly scarce in the Colony and on May 8, 1682, the New Jersey authorities passed an act “for the more convenient payment of small sums,” which provided “that Mark Newbie’s half pence, called Patrick’s half pence, shall from and after the said 18th instant pass for half pence current pay of this province, provided he, the said Mark, his executors and administrators, shall and will change the said half pence for pay equivalent upon demand; and provided also that no person or persons be hereby obliged to take more than five shillings in one payment.” The full text is found in the “Grants, Concessions and Original constitutions of the Province of New Jersey.”

It is not known how many of the coins were brought over by Newby, but the quantity is supposed to have been large. Indeed, he is thought to have manufactured additional coins of similar design in this country. No repeal of the act making the St. Patrick’s half pence current appears on the New Jersey records.

There were also St. Patrick’s half pence of large size, some of them a third larger than those described. The larger pieces were struck in copper and weighed on an average 144 grains. The obverse design is similar to that of the farthings but the reverse is entirely different.

It showed St. Patrick with a trefoil in his right hand, a crozier in his left, surrounded by a crowd of people. On the left side is a shield with three castles. The inscription is “_Ecce Grex_.” These coins also occur with plain and reeded edges. The larger coins were called half pennies, while the smaller were termed farthings.

The coins must have passed current for many years after they were first made, both in Ireland and in this country.

The Mark Newby coins in copper are plentiful even at the present time and command premiums of from fifty cents to five dollars, according to condition and variety. Those of silver are scarcer.

CHAMPLAIN TER-CENTENARY CELEBRATION.

The pretentious ter-centenary celebration of the discovery of Lake Champlain was opened at Plattsburgh, New York, on July 4, 1909, with religious services in all the churches. Pontifical high mass was celebrated at Cliff Haven, the home of the Catholic Summer School of America, by the Right Reverend Charles Henry Colton, D. D., Roman Catholic Bishop of Buffalo, New York, a member of our Society. The deacon was Rev. John T. Driscoll of Fonda, New York, a member of our Society, and among the attending prelates to Cardinal Gibbons was the Rev. John Grimes, coadjutor of Syracuse, also a member of our Society.

THREE “MOLL PITCHERS.” ONE WAS SURELY IRISH.

Professor Faust and other correspondents leave the reading public in a quandary regarding “the heroine of Monmouth.” One claims that she was German, another that she was American, and another, on the authority of the historian Lossing, declares that she was “a stout, red-haired, freckle faced young Irish woman.” One says she was “Moll Pitcher,” the wife of John Hays, a Pennsylvania artillery-man, and another that she was “Captain Molly,” the wife of a cannoneer from the banks of the Hudson in the State of New York.

[Illustration:

HON. WILLIAM E. CHANDLER.

Formerly Secretary of the Navy and U. S. Senator from New Hampshire. A New Member of the Society. ]

It probably has not occurred to these writers that three different women representing three different sections of the country and three different nationalities help to make dubious this perplexing old story. In 1738 there was born at Lynn, Mass., a Mary Diamond, who married a man named Robert Pitcher and became a famous fortune teller. She died in 1813 and was buried in the Western Burial Ground, West Lynn, where Lynn people take pride in pointing out her grave, for barring the fact that she was a fortune teller she was a reputable woman and her memory is respected. Her fame lived after her and in 1832 Whittier wrote a poem about her which renewed and increased the interest in her. Then a Boston playwright named Jones wrote a drama called “Moll Pitcher, or the Fortune Teller of Lynn,” which for more than thirty years was a popular favorite on the New England stage. It was also played in other parts of the country and was everywhere well received. The Lynn woman is the only Moll Pitcher that figured in history; with her the name originated, and others who wear it are simply fakes and frauds.

The honors of the alleged incident at Monmouth are shared by two different women, one of whom was from the Highlands of the Hudson and was undoubtedly Irish, and the other was from Pennsylvania and undoubtedly German. Both, without any reason, are now frequently referred to as Moll Pitcher. The real name of the Hudson River woman is not known. Lossing calls her Captain Molly and E. P. Roe calls her Molly O’Flaharty. She was the wife of a gunner in Colonel Lamb’s artillery, whose name does not appear upon the records as O’Flaharty but in fiction as Larry O’Flaharty.

In May, 1876, a communication appeared in a Carlisle newspaper claiming that the Monmouth act had been performed by Molly McCauley, a woman who had lived, died and was buried at Carlisle, and that Molly McCauley was Molly Pitcher. A man who knew her in his early boyhood canvassed the town and raised a fund with which he erected and formally unveiled at her grave a handsome marker on which is inscribed: “Molly McCauley, Renowned in History as Molly Pitcher,” etc.

As a matter of fact Molly McCauley never had any renown as Molly Pitcher, but because it is so stated on a tombstone many people who read no other history believe it and quote it as conclusive proof that she was the real Molly Pitcher.

THE IRISH ORIGIN OF “YANKEE DOODLE” AND “DIXIE.”

Apropos of the recent query relative to the origin of “Dixie,” the following letter of W. H. Grattan Flood, author of the “History of Irish Music” and “History of the Harp,” may throw further light on this famous melody. Mr. Flood is a responsible authority and is not given to unqualified statements, so his claim for Irish origin deserves consideration.

“My publishers duly forwarded me your letter, and I have much pleasure in answering it, if only to vindicate the Irish origin of ‘Yankee Doodle.’ ... Marion Harland merely repeats the exploded myth as told for the past century in all published accounts of the origin of ‘Yankee Doodle’ until Charles I. and Cromwell Association was shown to be utterly absurd by Bartley Squire of the British Museum. The verses to Lucy Lockett cannot possibly have been written before the year 1728, whilst Kitty Fisher did not die until 1771.