Part 3

He married his cousin, Jane Lynch, a native of Dublin. Shortly after, Dominick and his wife went to reside at Bruges, in Flanders, where he established a commercial house, a branch of his father’s in Galway. He amassed a handsome fortune in Bruges and three of his children were born there. While engaged in business in Bruges he became acquainted with Don Thomas Stoughton, a merchant having commercial relations with France and Spain. Eventually, Lynch and Stoughton formed a co-partnership for the purpose of conducting business in America. The articles of co-partnership were dated March 10, 1783; the capital agreed upon was £7,500, of which amount Lynch furnished £5,000 and Stoughton, £2,500.

[Illustration:

HON. GEORGE F. O’NEIL,

Binghamton, N. Y.

A LIFE MEMBER OF THE SOCIETY. ]

Stoughton, in pursuance of the agreement, came to New York City and opened the business house of Lynch & Stoughton. Lynch visited London and Galway, and in 1785 sailed for America, reaching New York June 20 of that year. Stoughton was a bachelor, and Mr. and Mrs. Lynch, their three children and a number of servants, went to reside with him. Later, Stoughton was made Spanish consul at New York. Eventually, differences broke out between the partners, the firm was dissolved and each member sued the other. These two suits in chancery, Stoughton _vs._ Lynch and Lynch _vs._ Stoughton, were tried before Chancellor Kent and after pending for over twenty years, were finally decided adverse to Lynch.

The latter had to pay Stoughton, besides fines and costs, $25,076. After the dissolution of the firm, Lynch retired in affluent circumstances largely on account of the wealth he had amassed in Bruges. It was said of him in New York that “he dispensed a bountiful and refined hospitality.” He was an earnest Catholic, gave liberally of his means to forward church work and was one of the representative men who signed the “Catholic Address” to George Washington. It is said of Lynch that upon arriving in New York, in 1785, he brought a large amount of specie with him and the advent of a man with such extensive financial resources created quite a stir. He was at one time offered, for what would today be considered a ridiculously small sum, a farm of twenty acres near City Hall, New York.

He declined to buy the property, but with the same amount of money purchased 697 acres near Fort Stanwix on the Mohawk River. Before the year 1800 he had increased his holdings there to about 2,000 acres. As early as 1796, he laid this property out in village lots, and called the place Lynchville. Later, he changed the name to Rome, perhaps in honor of the Eternal City. Between the years 1800 and 1820, he built a woolen mill, a cotton factory and a saw-mill at Rome, which place he had founded. It is said that the southeast corner of Fort Stanwix was levelled to make room for a mansion erected by him. In 1797, Dominick purchased an estate in West Chester County, N. Y., bordering Long Island Sound. Here he built a magnificent stone residence after the style of chateaus he had seen in Flanders. This was his home for the remainder of his life. He continued to dispense “munificent hospitality, took a leading part in the social events of the metropolis, and manifested to the end a zealous and active zeal in the growth of the Catholic church in New York.”

He died in 1825 and his widow in 1849. At his death his children were thirteen in number, _i. e._—James, Anastasia, Anthony, Dominick, Alexander, Margaret, Jasper, Jane, Henry, Harriet, Louisa, Edward and William. By the marriage of these children, the family has become allied with many of the old families of New York and Pennsylvania, including the Tillotsons, Shippens, Leas, Laurences, Nortons, Luquers, Pringles, Maitlands, Harveys, Ridgways, etc. James Lynch, the oldest of Dominick’s thirteen children, resided in Rome, N. Y., represented Oneida County in the state legislature for several years, and was later a judge of the Court of Sessions, and of the Marine, now City, Court, of New York. Dominick Lynch, 2d, at the time of, and after, his father’s death became a prominent merchant in New York City. This second Dominick was spoken of as “the most fashionable man in New York.” He made quite a reputation as proprietor of Lynch’s Chateau Margeaux, Lynch’s Sauterne and Lynch’s Lucca Oil. It is said of him that he “coined money and spent it with the freedom of a prince,” and that he “went into the best society.” He resided on Greenwich Street “opposite the Battery.” He died in 1844. He “was a Roman Catholic as his father had been.”

Dominick Lynch, 3d, grandson of the first Dominick, was a man of great public spirit, an elegant conversationalist and the possessor of musical talents. He became a naval officer, served under Perry in the Mexican war, and was also in the Civil War. He died in 1884. Dominick Lynch, 4th, was a lieutenant in the Fourth U. S. Cavalry and died some years ago. Speaking of the Lynches and others, Barrett’s _Old Merchants of New York City_ says: “These Irish families are the cream of the cream of the old families here.”

A SHIP FROM IRELAND IS CAST AWAY.

The ship _Alknomac_ sailed from the river of Sligo, Ireland, in October, 1811, with 79 passengers. After a passage of 73 days she was cast away at Martha’s Vineyard, Mass. The passengers and crew were rescued and spent nine days there. Captain Hicks, who commanded the _Alknomac_, at length provided a sloop in which the passengers embarked for New York. Unfavorable weather continuing, the sloop was driven ashore at Newport, R. I., December 24, 1811, where passengers and crew were again landed. The New York _Shamrock_, describing the incident, says: “Commodore Rodgers was on the Newport station when 79 Irish passengers were landed from a wrecked vessel. He humanely tendered the hand of hospitality and liberally provided them with every necessary to enable them to proceed to New York, the port of their original destination. Eight of the passengers who have come by land were supplied with money, and the others who remained waiting for a passage by water, received money, provisions and every necessary aid from the American commander.”

INCIDENT OF AN EXPEDITION UNDER GEN. JOHN SULLIVAN.

BY G. FRANK RADWAY, UTICA, N. Y.

Otsego Lake, in central New York, possesses not only the charm of romance due to the pen of Fenimore Cooper, but also an historical interest. In the year 1779 an expedition was sent against the hostile Indians around Lake Cayuga. A brigade under the command of Gen. James Clinton, the brother of George Clinton and father of DeWitt Clinton (each of whom held the office of governor of New York at one time), went up the Mohawk and then cut across through the forest, to the head of the Otsego, finally encamping at the foot of the lake.

The Susquehanna at its source is a very narrow stream and did not permit the floating of the 220 boats brought along by the troops. An ingenious plan was devised to overcome this difficulty. The small gorge through which the river flows as it leaves the lake was dammed, thereby collecting the waters. When a sufficient amount had been collected, the troops embarked, the dam was knocked out, and the boats were carried by the flood to a point near Tioga, where the brigade joined the forces under General Sullivan. It is said that the Indians along the banks, beholding the overflow of the river in summer, without any apparent reason, thought that it was an interposition of the Great Spirit, and fled in terror. The site of the dam has been suitably marked by the Otsego Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.

IRISH BUILDERS OF THE WHITE HOUSE.

BY MARTIN I. J. GRIFFIN, PHILADELPHIA, PA.

Not only were Catholics—L’Enfant, the Frenchman, and Dermott, the Irishman—the planners of the Federal City, Washington, but a Catholic, James Hoban, a native of Ireland, was the architect and builder of the president’s palace, as it was first called, the president’s house as later designated, but better known as the White House.

Hoban was born in Kilkenny, Ireland, in 1758. When only twenty-two years old he won a medal from the Dublin Society for “drawings of brackets, stairs, roof, etc.” It is now in possession of his grandson, James Hoban, of Washington. He came to this country after the revolution and soon became known as an architect and builder.

When, in 1791, Washington visited South Carolina, writes Mr. Griffin, Colonel Laurens and others recommended to him the abilities as an architect and the executive worth of James Hoban, the Kilkenny Irishman, who had, since his arrival, added to the growth and adornment of the neighborhood by the exercise of that skill and ingenuity which the new country so much needed.

Mr. Hoban went to Washington city and submitted to the commissioners a plan for the president’s palace. His plan was accepted immediately and without hesitation after a view of the drawings which were submitted.

Hoban’s plan of the president’s palace being adopted, the selection of the site on which to erect it required the personal attention of Washington himself. So on August 2, 1792, the commissioners and President Washington “viewed the ground, particularly at the place for the palace. It has given him considerable trouble and difficulty to fix his mind,” wrote the commissioners.

Hoban’s design of the president’s house contemplated a central building with wings. The central portion was executed according to his designs and under his supervision (we are told he received 300 guineas a year for his services)—both before and after the damage by the British in 1814. The north portico was not completed until 1820, and then according to Hoban’s plan. Its popular name of the White House is due to his thought of painting the brownstone fronting the exterior walls to conceal the discoloration by smoke and fire.

Cornelius McDermott Roe, Patrick McDermott Roe and John Delahunty had the contract for all the brick and stone work on the president’s house for one season, and John Kearney did all the plastering on the capitol.

Thus far in our investigations we have found that a Catholic was one of the commissioners; that two Catholics planned the city; that a Catholic designed and built the president’s house and also superintended the erection of the capitol, which three Catholics contracted to build, and another did the plastering, while Patrick Whalen dug the cellar. Surely Irish Catholics seem to have had a goodly share in the foundation of the Capital City.

Mr. Hoban died on December 9, 1831, and was buried in St. Patrick’s Cemetery. In May, 1863, his grandson and namesake, James Hoban, Esq., purchased a lot in Mount Olivet Cemetery, near Washington, and the remains of James Hoban and others of the family were removed thereto.

COL. FRANCIS BARBER, A SOLDIER OF THE REVOLUTION.

BY JAMES L. O’NEILL, ELIZABETH, N. J.

Patrick Barber was born in County Longford, Ireland, and was the father of Col. Francis Barber, who was a gallant soldier of the American Revolution. The colonel himself was born (1751) in Princeton, N. J., and long resided in Elizabethtown, N. J.

The father, Patrick, had come over in the same ship with Clinton. They are said to have been kinsmen. After a perilous voyage lasting some four months, they finally reached New York, where Clinton remained, Barber continuing on to Princeton, N. J.

Patrick Barber resided in Princeton for years and here were born four of his sons—Francis, John, William and Joseph. Col. Francis Barber graduated from Princeton College after securing for himself a distinguished reputation for his classical attainments. As we may infer from the character of Elizabethtown’s first settlers, much attention was paid to the subject of education by the people. And to this we may attribute the strong influence which for a long time it maintained in the province. We find in 1767, a Mr. Pemberton and a Mr. Reeves at the head of a school. In 1769, they left the institution and Francis Barber was appointed to fill the vacancy. He continued in the position until the commencement of the war, a period when teachers and many scholars left the quiet pursuits of science and rushed to arms for the defence of the country.

In 1776, Mr. Barber received from Congress a commission as major of the Third Battalion of New Jersey troops, and at the close of the year he was appointed lieutenant-colonel of the Third Jersey Regiment. Subsequently, he became assistant inspector-general under Baron Steuben, who expressed a high opinion of his ability and services. Colonel Barber was in constant service during the whole war. With his regiment he served under General Schuyler at the north. He was at the battles of Ticonderoga, Trenton, Princeton, Brandywine, Germantown and Monmouth, and came near losing his life in the latter.

He was at one time adjutant-general under Sullivan. He served with distinction in the Wyoming Valley and Indian troubles. He was actively engaged in the battle of Springfield. In 1781, he was at the capture of the British army at Yorktown. Colonel Barber, although not more than thirty years at his death, had twice married, one of his helpmates, being the daughter of Moses Ogden, whose residence was the old town home that still stands on the north side of Elizabeth Avenue below Reed Street.

So close was his friendship with Lafayette that they exchanged swords. The sword Lafayette gave Barber is now in the Washington headquarters at Newburgh, N. Y., while the one Barber gave in exchange is preserved in Paris. Speaking of men noted in the military world, a few years ago, General Stryker, president of the Society of the Cincinnati, at the meeting of that organization, which was attended by William P. Barber, said that he considered Colonel Barber an ideal soldier. W. P. Barber is a great great-grandson of Colonel Barber. Colonel Barber was the tutor of Alexander Hamilton.

[Illustration:

GEN. PHELPS MONTGOMERY.

New Haven, Conn.

A MEMBER OF THE SOCIETY. ]

After having escaped the dangers of the many military campaigns, Colonel Barber was finally killed, 1783, by a most peculiar accident. Just after peace had been declared, General Washington summoned all his officers to meet him at his headquarters in Newburgh. Colonel Barber was on his way there, and but a few miles distant, when he came upon a gang of men chopping down trees in a piece of woods. One of the men called to him in a warning tone to stop his horse, just as a tree had started to topple over in his path. The chopper thought the tree was going to fall another way, but it struck and killed the unsuspecting officer, who realized his danger too late to save himself. Had he been allowed to go on without stopping, a life of such inestimable value to his country would without doubt have been saved. He was a fine scholar, a skillful and brave officer and rendered great and important services to his country.

CONCERNING THE IRISH MONTGOMERYS.

In the _New York Herald_, September 10, 1905, is a statement by “L. W., London, England,” giving many details of interest concerning the ancestry and family of Gen. Richard Montgomery. The statement appears in the genealogical department of the _Herald_, of that date, which department is conducted by Mrs. Clara H. Manning. The statement is in answer to a correspondent and is as follows:

“H. W. N.’s family tradition is at fault. Gen. Richard Montgomery had no sister Elizabeth. His only sister was Sarah, wife of Charles Jones, fourth Viscount Planelagh, and mother of thirteen children. General Montgomery had brothers, John and Alexander. John died unmarried in Lisbon, 1786. His administration is in the Prerogative Court of Ireland. Alexander, the brother, was captain in the Forty-third Regiment and member of the Irish Parliament for County Donegal; died unmarried September 29, 1800. His will is in the Prerogative Court of Ireland. Lady Planelagh and her three brothers were the children of Thomas Montgomery, of Swords, near Dublin, eldest son of Alexander Montgomery, of Ballyleek, who married Mary Francklyn.

“Thomas Montgomery had several brothers and sisters. His brother, Robert, of Brandram, County Monaghan, married Sarah Maxwell. This is the nearest Maxwell connection. Thomas had many cousins. Ulster has many Montgomerys of other lines. It is said the Earl of Mount Alexander could ride at the head of a regiment all Montgomerys. At one time in the Irish Parliament were six Montgomerys all over six feet in height and the handsomest men in Dublin.... By far [one of] the most noted family of modern times is that of the Montgomerys of Grey Abbey, County Down, a famous military stock.

“For all this they have a pedigree made in the eighteenth century to take them on to the famous old Grey Abbey stock of the early Ulster settlement. As a fact, they are descended from a thrifty yeoman who purchased Grey Abbey after the old stock had died out. No American Montgomerys can prove any near connection with either the Montgomerys of Ballyleek or the Earls of Mount Alexander. The nearest probable American connection is not of the Montgomery name, being that of the descendants of Thomas Patterson, who emigrated from County Donegal to Philadelphia at the time of the Irish rebellion. Thomas Patterson was grandson of Alleriah Montgomery, said by tradition to be a cousin of the general. Her marriage certificate in the diocese of Raphoe indicates her as coming from the vicinity of the general’s family, being about his age and not belonging to any other of the Montgomery families in that part of Ireland.”

HEROES OF MONTGOMERY’S ARMY.

In the city of Quebec, Canada, is a tablet on which is inscribed the following:

Within this building and directly Beneath this tablet repose The remains of thirteen soldiers of General Montgomery’s army, Who were killed in the assault on Quebec Dec. 31st, 1775. Placed to their memory by several American children.

A GLANCE AT SOME PIONEER IRISH IN THE SOUTH.

BY MICHAEL J. O’BRIEN, NEW YORK CITY.

No section of the Union presents a wider or more diversified field for historical inquiry than the Carolinas and Virginia.

All the territory from the Delaware River south to Cape Fear was named “Virginia” by the English, and it is generally supposed that it was in the present state of Virginia the earliest colonists landed. It was, however, the Indians of North Carolina who were the first to set eyes on the white men who came to America with the famous navigator, Sir Walter Raleigh, in the year 1584.

Among these first-comers to the Carolinas Irishmen are found, and in the resistance to the authority and encroachments of the British organized in that section many years later, the sons of Erin and their descendants are recorded as having played an honorable and prominent part.

In Hakluyt’s _Voyages, Navigations, Traffiques and Discouveries of the English Nation_ are found some interesting facts relating to the first voyages of the English, under Raleigh and his lieutenants, to the western world. Richard Hakluyt was one of those who accompanied Raleigh on his first voyage of discovery in 1584. His _Voyages and Discouveries_, now a work of extreme rarity (it was published in London over 300 years ago), is by all odds the most celebrated book ever written on the subject, and forms the basis of all true history of the colonization of the Carolinas and Virginia. It is printed in the old English text of the sixteenth century, which renders its examination a task as laborious as it is interesting. The writer has examined the copy of this famous work in the Astor Library, and we are sure our readers will be interested in learning something of its contents at this stage.

The second voyage was undertaken by Sir Richard Greenville in the year 1585. The company comprised 107 persons. Hakluyt’s great work (page 254, volume 3) contains “an account of the particulars of the employments of the Englishmen left in Virginia by Sir Richard Greenville under the charge of Master Ralph Lane, general of the same, from August 17, 1585, to June 18, 1586.”

It will be observed that Greenville refers to “the Englishmen left in Virginia.” This would lead the ordinary reader to the conclusion that the expedition was comprised of Englishmen only, but such an assumption would be erroneous. In those days Ireland had a merchant marine of her own, and the ships which sailed from Irish ports, and indeed not a few of those whose home ports were in England, were manned by Irish seamen. (See Marmion’s _Maritime Ports of Ireland_.) What more natural, therefore, than to expect that Irish names should be found among the lists of these “Englishmen?” All of the early histories of the southern colonies refer to the first settlers as English. No suggestion is ever made, as far as the writer can find, that these first-comers may not all have been English, or that any Irish people were amongst them. Yet it is a fact that Irishmen came too in search of adventure, and no better testimony in support of that assertion can be adduced than the lists of the names of the persons who came on these colonizing expeditions.

Here are some of the names from Greenvilles’ list, as they were written down at the time: Edward Kelley, R. Courtney, Hugh Rogers, Thomas Fox, Darby “Glande,” Edward Nugent, John “Costigo” (Costigan), James Lafie, Francis Norris, Richard Moore, Richard Ireland, Matthew Lyne, Dennis Barnes, “Denice” Carroll, Robert Young, Thomas Hesket, Richard Humphrey and R. Griffin. Many of these, undoubtedly, were natives of Ireland. This is said to have been the first English colony that settled in America, the previous expedition having returned with its entire company.

They entered Pamlico Sound from the Atlantic by what is now known as New Inlet, and then landed at Roanoke Island, thence crossed over to the mainland to the eastern portion of North Carolina, just south of Norfolk, Va. They followed the course of the Chowan River for a short distance, and soon came in contact with the Indians. Hakluyt’s work contains an interesting narrative of the voyage and of the explorations of the party in Virginia, written by Ralph Lane, in which long accounts are given of their encounters with the savage Indians. In his account of one fight, on the first of June, 1586, he refers to the bravery of “one of my Irish boys,” who shot Pemisapan, the king of the Indians, “athwart the buttocks with my petronell.” The Irish boy’s shot did not, however, bring down the Indian king, and the wily redskin, with a number of his warriors, managed to escape into the dense forest.

But then, another Irishman, who was not afraid to face the Indian band singlehanded, was there to finish the work of the youthful adventurer from Erin, “for,” writes Lane, “in the end an Irishman serving me, one Nugent, and the deputy provost undertook him”—that is to say, volunteered to capture or kill the Indian king—“and I, in some doubt lest we had lost both the king and my man, by our own negligence to have been intercepted by the savages, we met him returning out of the woods with Pemisapan’s head in his hands.”

The place where the bold Irishman, Edward Nugent, and the nameless youth thus earned such prominent mention in early American history has been located as in Chowan County, near the present town of Edenton, N. C.