Part 6

As early as 1636, Edward Brick, or Breck, and his son Robert, “of Galway in Ireland,” are heard from in Dorchester, now a part of Boston, Mass.

In 1659 “John Morrell an Irishman and Lysbell Morrell an Irishwoman were married 31st August by John Endecott,” Governor. (_Boston, Mass., Records_.)

John Casey, James Brannon, John Bryan and James Moore were among the field officers appointed by the Provincial Congress of North Carolina, in 1776.

Cornelius Conner witnessed a deed (conveyance of real estate), in 1665, by John Clough of Salisbury, Mass. (_The Essex Antiquarian_, Salem, Mass., Jan., 1902.)

Among the soldiers at Fort William and Mary, N. H., in 1708, were John Foy, Jeremiah Libby, John Neal, Samuel Neal, John Mead and Timothy Blake.

John Donaldson, an Irishman, commanded, during the Revolution, an armed brig of 10 guns and carrying 45 men. He was at one time a resident of Salem, Mass.

Stephen Decatur, Sr., married “a young lady named Pine, the daughter of an Irish gentleman.” Stephen Decatur, the distinguished naval officer, was their son.

Samuel Neale, Quaker, was born in Dublin, Ireland, 1729. He came to this country, and in 1772 preached at Newport, R. I. He died in Cork, Ireland, 1792.

John Moore, “formerly of Dublin,” is mentioned in Charlestown, Mass., about 1680. He was a shipwright. (Wyman’s _Genealogies and Estates of Charlestown_.)

The Massachusetts records show that in 1661 “John Reylean an Irishman & Margaret Brene an Irishwoman were married 15th March by John Endecott Governor.”

From the files of York County, Me., we learn that Thomas Crowley, and his wife Joanna, had a daughter Arpira Sayward who had a son Samuel, born about 1668.

Roger Kelley was representative from the Isles of Shoals at the first General Court of Massachusetts under the new charter, 1692. (Farmer’s _Genealogical Register_.)

Joseph McDowell and his wife, Margaret O’Neal, came from Ireland to Winchester, Va., about 1743. Two of their sons became distinguished in the Revolution.

Hon. Charles Jackson, Governor of Rhode Island, 1845–’46, was a descendant of Stephen Jackson, a native of Kilkenny, Ireland, who came to this country about 1724.

Col. James Moore, who commanded the First Regiment of North Carolina Continentals in the Revolution, was of the Irish Moores who had settled in that part of the country.

In Felt’s _Annals of Salem, Mass._, is found mention, 1789, of “John Brenon from Dublin,” who “performs on the slackwire, balances and gives specimens of legerdemain.”

Charles MacCarthy was one of the founders of the town of East Greenwich, R. I., 1677. He had previously resided in St. Kitts. He had a brother who went from Ireland to Spain.

The oldest Irish organization in this country is the Charitable Irish Society, Boston, Mass. It was founded in 1737, and is still enjoying a prosperous existence. Gen. Henry Knox was a member.

Thomas McDonoghue was a resident of Charlestown, Mass., in 1798. John Russell married Mary Malonie in 1772. Russell is heard of as early as 1769. (Wyman’s _Charlestown_.)

Kennedy O’Brien was one of the early residents of Augusta, Ga. He was a merchant. A deposition made by him in 1741 is mentioned. (_Collections of the Georgia Historical Society._)

According to Felt’s _Annals of Salem, Mass._, Butler Fogarty was a school teacher there in 1792. He gave up his school to become clerk of the Essex bank, but in 1794 went back to teaching.

St. Patrick’s Lodge of Masons was instituted at Johnstown, N. Y., in 1766. Another lodge bearing the same name was located at Portsmouth, N. H., and was chartered March 17, 1780.

Edward Jones, of Wilmington, N. C., a native of Ireland, was elected to the North Carolina House of Commons in 1788 and served until 1791, when he became Solicitor-General of the state.

Edward Rigg, an Irishman, died in New York city, 1786. He was for many years a school teacher there. Edward Fogarty, another school teacher, died in New York city about the same time.

Hon. Edward Kavanagh became governor of the state of Maine on the resignation of Governor Fairfield, 1843. Governor Kavanagh’s father was a native of New Ross, County Wexford, Ireland.

Savage’s _Genealogical Dictionary_ of New England states that in 1654 Edward Welch, “an Irish youth,” was sent over, by the ruling power in England, in the ship _Goodfellow_, “to be sold here.”

John Campbell, who was twice speaker of the North Carolina House of Assembly, was reared in Coleraine, Ireland. He was “a wise and thrifty man.” (Moore’s _History of North Carolina_.)

Among the members of Capt. Fullwood’s Company of volunteers, South Carolina, 1775, were William Martin, William McCoy, John Laferty, Patrick Fagan, Robert Reilly and Cornelius Donavan.

It is stated that in 1720 the Irish of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, were excused from rents “in consideration of their being a frontier people forming a kind of cordon of defence if needful.”

Allan Mullins, surgeon, son of Dr. Alexander Mullins of Galway, Ireland, was married to Abigail, daughter of John Butler, of New London, Conn., April 8, 1725. (_New London Marriage Records._)

In Pearson’s _Genealogies_, relating to the “Ancient County of Albany, N. Y.,” is mentioned Pieter Macarty of Half Moon who, in 1736, married Greefje Rhee. His second wife (1742) was Anna Abt.

Nicholas Rowe is mentioned at Portsmouth, N. H., in 1640, and Matthew Rowe at New Haven, Conn., in 1650. The latter had three sons,—John, Joseph and Stephen. (Farmer’s _Genealogical Register_.)

Arthur Dobbs, governor of North Carolina, took the oath at Newbern in 1754. “He was an Irishman and had been a member of the parliament of that country.” (Moore’s _History of North Carolina_.)

Daniel Neil was captain-lieutenant of Frelinghuysen’s Eastern Company of Artillery (New Jersey state troops), and subsequently commanded the same. He was killed at the battle of Princeton, 1777.

In 1674 there were nine Catholic religious confraternities in St. Augustine, Florida, one of them being under the patronage of St. Patrick. (John Gilmary Shea in _The Catholic Church in Colonial Days_.)

The Fellowship Club was organized at Newport, R. I., in Dec., 1752. The first meeting was held at the Black Horse Inn. John Murphy was admitted to membership in 1803, and William Callahan in 1817.

In Wyman’s _Genealogies and Estates of Charlestown, Mass._, is mentioned Edward Larkin, a wheel-maker. He was admitted an inhabitant in 1638. His wife was Joanna. A son was named John Larkin.

A return of the men enlisted by Lieut. Henry Piercy of the Second Pennsylvania Regiment, 1778, mentions Patrick McQuire, a native of Ireland, 42 years of age, and says that he “has the brogue on his tongue.”

The provincial congress of North Carolina, 1776, appointed James Hogan paymaster of the Third Regiment and also of the three companies of Light Horse. (Wheeler’s _Historical Sketches of North Carolina_.)

Thomas Burke was chosen governor of North Carolina in 1781. He was an Irishman by birth and had been educated for a physician. He came to America long prior to the Revolution and first settled at Norfolk, Va.

We learn from the published records of Providence, R. I., that, in 1682, Cornelius Higgins bought of Andrew Harris, of Pawtucket, R. I., 98¼ acres in Scituate, in the “precincts of y^e said Town^e of Providence.”

John Keeney and Thomas Roach of New London, Conn., were nominated for freemen at the General Court, opened in Connecticut on Oct. 14, 1669. Timothy Forde was nominated for freeman on May 14, 1668.

John, Daniel and Nancy O’Brien were residents of New London, Conn., in 1795. John Callahan and Henry McCabe were there in 1796. Patrick Mann and John Sweeney were residents of Hartford, Conn., in 1799.

It is said of Arthur Dobbs, an Irish governor of North Carolina (1754), that he brought over a few pieces of artillery, one thousand muskets “and a plentiful supply of his poor relations.” (Moore’s _North Carolina_.)

James Coleman, Maurice Murphey, Jr., Matthew Murphey, John Kenneday, and Francis Kenneday were among the organizers of a military company on the northeast side of the Pee Dee river, South Carolina, in 1775.

On Aug. 16, 1688, at Northfield, Mass., three men, two women and a girl were killed by the Indians. One of the victims was John Clary, father of the John Clary who was killed at Brookfield, Mass., in 1709. (_Temple._)

John Neil, from Ireland, was in Scituate, Mass., as early as 1730. He established a pottery thereabouts. Edward Humphries, from Ireland, was a resident of Scituate as far back as 1740. (Deane’s _History of Scituate_.)

Thomas Donohoe was major of the Sixth Regiment, North Carolina Foot, organized at Hillsborough, 1776. He became a member of the Society of the Cincinnati at the latter’s inception at Newburg, on the Hudson, 1783.

The records of the Church of Christ, Bristol, R. I., note the baptism, in 1712, of Bridget, daughter of James and Bridget Cary. In 1747, is noted the baptism of Michael and Bridget Phillips, children of Michael and Bridget.

Among the old New York families may be mentioned the Van Bergens of Catskill and Coxsackie. Elizabeth Van Bergen, born in 1781, married Richard McCarty. One of her children married a daughter of John McCarty.

John Casey of Muddy River (now Brookline, Mass.) was a participant in King Philip’s war, 1675–’76. He took part in the attack on the Indian fort in “the Great Swamp,” Rhode Island, and was wounded in that engagement.

A prominent regiment in the American Revolution was the First Pennsylvania line. The regimental rolls show over 200 typical Irish surnames, some of them being several times repeated, borne by different members of the command.

The 30th of 11th mo., 1642. “John Smith, Gent., his assessment of ——, unto the last county rate, is remitted unto him, upon consideration of the great losses that have of late befallen him in Ireland.” (_Boston Town Records._)

In 1767–’68, the British warship _Cygnet_ wintered at New London, Conn. The purser of the ship bore the name John Sullivan. Becoming enamored of civil life as well as of Elizabeth Chapman, he married and settled in New London.

James Stacpole, born in 1652, was probably a son of Philip, of Limerick, Ireland. James was living in Dover, N. H. (Rollinsford), in 1680. He died in 1736. The name is also spelled Stackpole. (Stackpole’s _History of Durham, Me._)

Alfred Moore, Sr., of North Carolina, was a son of Judge Maurice Moore and nephew of Col. James Moore who commanded the First Regiment, North Carolina Continentals, during the Revolution. Alfred was a captain in the regiment.

David Flanagan is buried at Bedford, Westchester County, N. Y. He was born in Dublin, Ireland, in 1759. During the Revolution he was clerk on board a vessel of the American navy. He subsequently became a bookseller, and died in 1805.

At a great Boston fire, 1760, Michael Carroll and Capt. Killeran are mentioned among those whose homes were consumed. Mr. Carroll resided “Towards Oliver’s dock,” while Capt. Killeran was located at “Milk Street and Battery-March.”

John Kelley, of Providence, R. I., died in 1701–’02. His widow, Grace Kelley, refused administration of the estate, and in her stead the Town Council appointed Pardon Tillinghast, Jonathan Sprague and James Browne. (_Records of the Town of Providence._)

In 1677, 61 families at Salem, Mass., representing 295 persons, who were in needy circumstances owing to King Philip’s war, were given £44 5s from contributions collected in Ireland. This was a portion of “The Irish Charity.” (Felt’s _Annals of Salem_.)

Gen. Thomas Proctor was born in Ireland, 1739, and settled in Philadelphia, Pa. He entered the Patriot army in the Revolution, and rendered distinguished service at the battle of Brandywine and elsewhere. He was an artillery officer. He died in 1806.

Patrick Mark is mentioned in Charlestown, Mass., in 1685. He was then 55 years of age. His wife was named Sarah. Their children were Sarah, Peter, Hannah and Mercie. A daughter was killed by the Indians in 1691. (Wyman’s _Genealogies and Estates_.)

Pittston, Me., was incorporated in 1779. Among the early settlers of the town were: Stephen Kenny, William Burke, Thomas Moore, Daniel Ring, Martin Hailey, Thomas Hailey, Joseph Hailey and William Hailey. (_Maine Historical and Genealogical Recorder._)

James Given, a native of Ireland, born in 1777, participated in the Irish rebellion of 1798. Subsequently he came to this country and located at Fishkill, N. Y. A “useful and prominent citizen for 60 years.” (_N. Y. Genealogical and Biographical Record_, Jan. 1893.)

James Boies, writing in 1749–’50, from Cork, Ireland, to Samuel Waldo of Boston, Mass., says: “My business here is to carry Passengers & Servants,” meaning, of course, to America. He requests that letters be sent him “to y^e care of m^r Winthrop, merch^t in Cork.”

Lieut.-Col. Goffe, an Irishman, was, in 1760, ordered by Gen. Amherst to take a regiment of 800 men, raised in New Hampshire, and cut a road through the wilderness from “No. 4” to Crown Point, or more properly to the Green Mountains. (_History of Springfield, Vt._)

Rev. Ezra Stiles, writing at Newport, R. I., Aug. 9, 1774, says: “Last month arrived at New Castle [Del.] the snow _Charlotte_, Capt. Gaffney, from Waterford, with 100 passengers, and the ship _Hope_, Capt. McClenachan, from Newry, with 200.” (_Diary of Ezra Stiles._)

Hon. Thomas Dongan, the Irish governor of the province of New York, 1683–’88, was a wise and just man. He founded representative government in New York, and the Charter of Liberties given the colonists at that time has greatly served to perpetuate his fame.

In a general return of Col. William Thomson’s regiment of Rangers, Sept. 20, 1775, occur the names Lieutenant Richard Brown, a native of Ireland, and Lieut. David Monaghan. Of the drummers, three were born in Ireland. The command was operating in the South.

A paragraph in the _Virginia Historical Magazine_ states that Davis Stockton came from Ireland, with Michael Woods, and lived for some time in Lancaster county, Pa. About 1734 Stockton went to Albermarle County, Va., where he patented large tracts of land. He died in 1760.

William Preston was born in Ireland, 1730. He was captain of a company of rangers in Virginia in 1755–’56, and was a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses in 1766, 1767, 1768 and 1769. During the Revolution he held important commands in southwest Virginia.

Sir William Johnson, an Irishman, “of Johnson Hall, in the County of Tryon, and Province of New York,” in his will, 1774, mentions bequests to William Byrne, of Kingsborough; Patrick Daly (“now living with me”); and Mary McGrah, daughter of Christopher McGrah.

In June, 1794, Capt. Harding arrived at Portland, Me., from Ireland, in the brig _Eliza_. He brought about 200 passengers, men, women, and children, “chiefly farmers and weavers,” an “honest and industrious set of people.” (_Maine Historical and Genealogical Recorder._)

Bryan Lefferty was attorney and private secretary to Sir William Johnson and became surrogate of Tryon county, N. Y. Johnson’s will is believed to have been drawn up by him. Sir William’s farm manager was an Irishman named Flood. (Simms’ _Frontiersmen of New York_.)

In August, 1795, the brig _Eliza_, Capt. Wm. Fairfield, arrived at Salem, Mass., from Belfast, Ireland, with 89 emigrants. Among them were Samuel Breed, James and Sarah Dalrymple, John and William Lemon, the Dunlap family, and others of note. (Felt’s _Annals of Salem_.)

One of the first military organizations in Albany, N. Y., enlisted in the Revolution, included David MCCarthy, James MCCarthy, John McEnry, David Sullivan, William Magie (Magee), Morris Welch, and other men whose names indicate Irish extraction. They signed the roll in June, 1775.

William McMahon was a taxpayer in Falmouth, Me., in 1777. Mention of him is made in the _Maine Genealogist and Recorder_. The same publication speaks of Edward Clarey and Patrick Manan as having belonged to Capt. John Hill’s military company of Berwick, Me., in October, 1740.

The intentions of marriage between Benjamin Blanchard of Canterbury, N. H., and Bridget Fitzgerald of Contoocook, were posted up “at the Meeting House Door” in Rumford, N. H., March 26, 1739. (John C. Ordway in _Salem [Mass.] Press Historical and Genealogical Record, Vol. 2_.)

Thomas McLaughlin, of Bedford, N. H., was lieutenant in Capt. John Moore’s company, Col. Stark’s regiment, at the battle of Bunker Hill, June 17, 1775. McLaughlin was made captain of the company the morning after the battle, in place of Moore, promoted. (_Military Records of New Hampshire._)

A Mrs. Hall and Mr. Keating arrived at New London, Conn., in August, 1770, from Dublin, in the brig _Patty_. Captain Forbes in the 58th year of his age died at Cork, Ireland, on March 5, 1791. He was a native of Hartford, Conn., and had resided in Ireland for many years prior to his death.

In 1790, Norwich, Conn., had a printer named Major John Byrne. About this time he went to Windham, Conn., where he published the _Phœnix_ or _Windham Herald_. In 1795 he was the postmaster of Woodstock, Conn., and in 1807 a member of the Aqueduct Company of Windham.

The British evacuated Boston, Mass., March 17, 1776, and the Americans marched in and took possession. Washington, from his headquarters at Cambridge, authorized as the parole for the day: “Boston;” and the countersign: “St. Patrick.” Gen. John Sullivan was brigadier of the day.

Keeney’s Ferry, operated over the Connecticut River at Hartford, Conn., took its name from Richard Keeney, who was granted the privilege in Oct., 1712, by the Assembly. The ferry was discontinued by act of the Assembly in May, 1753. (_Rev. James H. O’Donnell, Norwalk, Conn._)

Florence Maccarty bought land in Roxbury, Mass., in 1693. He was a provision dealer and contractor in Boston. He subsequently added to his Roxbury purchase, the property becoming known as the “Maccarty farm.” The tract at one time comprised 60 acres. (Drake’s _Town of Roxbury_.)

John O’Kane came to this country from Ireland in 1752. He was then 18 years of age. He located in or near Albany, N. Y., and married a daughter of Rev. Elisha Kent. On his marriage he is said to have dropped the “O” from his surname. (_N. Y. Genealogical and Biographical Record_, July, 1878.)

Michael Magee was a member of Capt. Marsh’s Troop of Light Horse, of Essex, N. J., in the Revolution, and was wounded. Thomas Magee was a matross in Capt. Hugg’s Western Company of Artillery, New Jersey. (_Official Register of the Officers and Men of New Jersey in the Revolutionary War._)

William Henry came from Coleraine, Ireland, and established a manufactory of arms in Pennsylvania before the Revolution. In 1777 he was deputy commissary general and was active in sending supplies to the Patriot army at Valley Forge. He was elected to Congress in 1784, and died in 1786.

Matthew, John and Thomas Kilpatrick (also written Gillpatrick) came from Ireland in the early part of the 18th century and settled in Warren and Ware, Mass. In time the name was condensed to Patrick. John Patrick, of the family, was commissioned a lieutenant in the Patriot forces, Feb. 5, 1776.

Among the sufferers in the French and Indian war, sometimes called Gov. Shirley’s war (1744–’49), was Michael Dogan, an Irishman. “He listed at Philadelphia, a soldier for Louisbourg, and was taken in his passage by a French” warship. He sickened, recovered, but had a fatal relapse. (_Drake._)

James Devereaux was born at Wexford, Ireland, in 1766. He came to Salem, Mass., in 1780, with his uncle, John Murphy. In 1792 Devereaux married Sally Crowninshield of Salem. Later, he commanded the ship _Franklin_, said to have been the first merchant vessel from the United States to visit Japan.

Capt. James Neall of New Hampshire had a group of scouts, in 1775, and was engaged in guarding the frontiers of said province. The scouts included Sergt. Philip Johnson, Francis Orr, James Rowe, William Mack and John McMahon. (_Military History of New Hampshire, Adjutant-General’s Report, 1866._)

Here are two inscriptions from the Granary Burial Ground, Boston, Mass.: (1) “Here lyes ye body of Sarah Mahoney, Dau’r of Mr. Cain Mahoney, of Marblehead, aged 26 years, Died Nov. 29, 1734.” (2) “Here lies the Body of Mrs. Elizabeth Kelly, wife of Mr. Patrick Kelly, aged 28 years, Died Sept. 25, 1758.”

Andrew Brown was a native of Ireland, born about 1744. He was educated at Trinity College, Dublin, came to this country and fought in the patriot ranks at the battle of Bunker Hill. In 1777 he was made Muster-Master-General in the Patriot army. He died at Philadelphia, Pa., in 1793. (Drake’s _American Biography_.)

Hugh Williamson was a member of the North Carolina House of Commons in 1782 and 1785; he was also elected to the Continental Congress. He was a native of Pennsylvania. His father, an Irishman, had been a clothier in Dublin, and came to this country in 1730. (Wheeler’s _Historical Sketches of North Carolina_.)

George Conn emigrated from Ireland about 1720 and eventually settled in Harvard, Mass. His son, John, was born at Harvard, 1740, and located in Ashburnham, Mass., probably about 1761. John was lieutenant in a company of Minute Men and was with his command at Cambridge, Mass., 1775. He died in 1803.

Patrick Burn, of Wenham, Mass., participated in the Cape Breton expedition (Louisburg), 1744–’49. Later, he and others petitioned for an allowance on account of services and sufferings. The committee of war was ordered to pay the selectmen of Wenham £7 “for the use of said Burn.” (Drake’s _French and Indian War_.)

From the Town Records of Boston, Mass., Nov. 8, 1737: “Capt. James Finney Mess^{rs}. John Karr and William Hall Executed a Bond of the Penalty of Six Hundred Pounds to Indemnify the Town on Acco^t. of One Hundred and Sixty two Passengers Imported by the said Finney in the Snow _Charming Molly_ from Ireland * * *”

At a meeting in 1744 of the proprietors of the common and undivided lands belonging to the town of Kittery, Me., among those drawing tracts of land were: John Gowen, Nicholas Gowen, Andrew Haley, John More, Joseph Mitchell, James Troy, Andrew Neal, and Samuel Ford. (_Maine Historical and Genealogical Recorder._)

Thomas Butler settled in Kittery, Me., before 1695. He is grandiloquently described by a modern writer as “of the ancient English house of Ormonde.” Perhaps it would have been nearer the point to say that Butler was an Irishman “of the house of Ormonde.” He had a son, Thomas, born at Berwick, Me., 1698.

From the Town Records of Boston, Mass., Nov. 8, 1737: “Hugh Ramsey, John Weire, and William Moore, Executed a Bond of the Penalty of one Thousand Pounds to Indemnify the Town from Charge on acc^o. of Three Hundred and Eighty One Passengers Imported by Capt. Daniel Gibbs in the Ship Sagamore from Ireland.* * *”

“Daniel y^e Son of Darby and Elizabeth Mallonee” was baptized, in Barbadoes, 1679. The same year mention is made of Teag Conner, of the parish of St. Michael, Barbadoes. “Mary y^e Wife of Morgan Murphy” of the parish of St. James, Barbadoes, was buried in 1679, as was also “Cornelius y^e Son of Dearman Driskell.” (Hotten’s _Lists_.)