1898. Feb. 7. Hon. Thomas M. Waller, ex-governor of Connecticut, qualifies as a member of the Society.
1898. Feb. 17. Eighth meeting of the Council, held at the Hotel San Remo, New York city, Thomas J. Gargan, of Boston, presiding.
1898. Feb. 17. Annual meeting of the Society at the San Remo, New York city, following the meeting of the Council. Gen. James R. O’Beirne, of New York, presides. Edward A. Moseley, Washington D. C., is reëlected president-general.
1898. Feb. 17. Annual banquet of the Society at the San Remo, immediately following the annual meeting. General O’Beirne also presided at the banquet. Resolutions of sorrow adopted on the loss of the U. S. battleship Maine, in Havana harbor, and copies of the resolutions ordered transmitted to the president of the United States, and to the secretary of the navy.
1898. Feb. 17. At this annual banquet, Joseph Smith, of Lowell, Mass., a member of the Council of the Society, contributed a paper on “Some Ways in which American History is falsified.” Addresses were delivered by Hon. Thomas Dunn English, of Newark, N. J.; Dr. Thomas Addis Emmet, New York city; Judge Wauhope Lynn, New York city, and other gentlemen.
1898. Feb. 18. Hon. John D. Crimmins, of New York city, gives a reception to the Society and entertains the latter at lunch at his residence, 40 East 68th street.
1898. Feb. 24. John Goodwin, New York city, forwards check for $50 in payment of life membership fee.
1898. Feb. 25. The navy department, Washington, D. C., acknowledges receipt of the resolutions of condolence on the loss of the battleship Maine, adopted by the Society on the 17th instant, and returns thanks “in the name of the officers and men of the navy.”
1898. March 3. Hon. Robert T. Davis, Fall River, Mass., ex-mayor of Fall River, and ex-member of congress, becomes a member of the Society.
1898. March 5. Andrew Athy, Worcester, Mass., joins the Society as a life member.
1898. March 13. Edward Fitzpatrick, Louisville, Ky., a member of the Society, contributes an article to the Louisville (Ky.) Courier-Journal, on “The Lost State of Clark.” He mentions Thomas Connolly, who was a fifer in Clark’s regiment.
1898. March 14. Hon. Patrick J. Boyle, mayor of Newport, R. I., admitted to the Society.
1898. March 17. Secretary-General Murray and Treasurer-General Linehan are guests at a banquet of the Irish Society of Lowell, Mass. Joseph Smith of that city presides.
1898. March 27. Thomas J. Gargan, of the Society’s Council, and Thomas Hamilton Murray, secretary-general of the Society, contribute to a symposium in the Boston Sunday Globe on the subject of an Anglo-American alliance. Both oppose the idea.
1898. April 18. President Andrews of Brown University writes, accepting invitation to attend the meeting in Providence, R. I., on the 21st instant.
1898. April 19. Letter written by Harvey Wheeler, chairman of the selectmen of historic Concord, Mass., sending hearty greetings to the participants in the meeting under the auspices of the Society on the 21st instant.
1898. April 20. Hon. John H. Stiness, a justice of the Rhode Island supreme court, sends regrets that he cannot attend the meeting on the 21st instant.
1898. April 21. Ninth meeting of the Society’s Council is held at the Narragansett Hotel, Providence, R. I. Letter read from Hon. Eli Thayer, Worcester, Mass.
1898. April 21. In the evening, following this Council meeting, a reception and banquet was given the Council by the Rhode Island members of the Society, at the Narragansett, Providence. Dennis Harvey Sheahan, of Providence, presided.
1898. April 21. The post-prandial exercises at this banquet included a paper by Thomas Hamilton Murray, the secretary-general, on “Matthew Watson, an Irish Settler of Barrington, R. I., 1722.” There were addresses by President Andrews of Brown University; Prof. Alonzo Williams of Brown; Hon. John C. Linehan, Concord, N. H.; Rev. Arthur J. Teeling, Lynn, Mass.; Joseph Smith, Lowell, Mass.; Capt. E. O’Meagher Condon, New York city; James Jeffrey Roche and Thomas J. Gargan, Boston, Mass., and other gentlemen.
1898. April 21. Prof. William M. Sloane of Columbia University, New York, admitted to membership.
1898. April 28. James G. Hickey, manager of the United States Hotel, Boston, Mass., becomes a life member of the Society.
1898. May 15. Death of Andrew Athy, Worcester, Mass., a life member.
1898. May 15. Secretary-General Murray addressed a meeting at Bangor, Me., in the interests of the Society. William F. Curran, of Bangor, presided.
1898. May 21. Secretary Murray visits Springfield, Mass., to enlarge the Society’s membership, and receives valuable assistance from Edward A. Hall and Dr. Philip Kilroy, both of that city.
1898. June. Secretary Murray this month visited Portsmouth and Dover, N. H.; New Haven, Conn.; New Bedford and Holyoke, Mass. Special courtesies were shown him at Portsmouth by John Griffin; at Dover, by John A. Hoye; and at New Bedford by Edmund O’Keefe and Rev. James F. Clark.
1898. June 3. Edward Fitzpatrick, Louisville, Ky., contributes an article to The Times of that city on “Early Irish Settlers in Kentucky.”
1898. June 21. Death of John R. Alley, Boston, Mass., a life member of the Society.
1898. June 22. The secretary-general addresses a meeting at Chicopee, Mass., Rev. John J. McCoy, of Chicopee, presiding.
1898. June 25. Death of Joseph H. Fay, M. D., Fall River, Mass., a member of the Society and graduate of the University of Vermont.
1898. June 30. First field day of the Society. Held at Newcastle, N. H., with headquarters at the Hotel Wentworth. The exercises in the evening were presided over by Hon. John C. Linehan, Concord, N. H. Bernard Corr, of Boston, Mass., read a paper on “The Ancestors of Gen. John Sullivan.” Addresses were delivered by Mayor Tilton, of Portsmouth, N. H.; Dr. William D. Collins, Haverhill, Mass.; John F. Doyle, New York city; James F. Brennan, Peterborough, N. H.; William J. Kelly, Kittery, Me.; Dr. W. H. A. Lyons, Portsmouth, N. H.; Joseph Smith, Lowell, Mass.; Capt. E. O’Meagher Condon, New York city; James Jeffrey Roche, Boston, Mass.; Charles H. Clary, Hallowell, Me.; John Griffin, Portsmouth, N. H.; James H. McGlinchy, Portland, Me.; Secretary Murray and other gentlemen.
1898. June 30. Charles H. Clary, of Hallowell, Me., who is here mentioned as making an address this evening, is a descendant of “John Clary of Newcastle, province of New Hampshire, who was published to Jane Mahoney of Georgetown, Me., 1750.” John settled in Georgetown presumably about the time of his marriage. Four children were born before 1760.
1898. June 30. A communication from President-General Moseley was read at the exercises this evening by the secretary-general. Mr. Moseley called attention to the fact that Hon. John D. Long, secretary of the navy, had consented to name one of the new torpedo-boats, soon to be constructed, the O’Brien, and to name two of the new torpedo-boat destroyers, respectively, Barry and Macdonough, these names to perpetuate the fame of three American patriots of Irish blood. The meeting adopted a vote of thanks to Secretary Long.
1898. June 30. Secretary-General Murray, this evening, called attention to the fact that on Sept. 10 would occur the anniversary of the battle of Lake Erie when Commodore Perry, the son of an Irish mother, administered such a thorough defeat to the British. It was suggested that the anniversary be duly observed by the Society. Referred to the Council. The secretary-general also suggested that the anniversary of the surrender of the British General, Burgoyne, Oct. 17, and that of the surrender of Lord Cornwallis, Oct. 19, be celebrated by a public meeting in Boston or New York. Referred to the Council.
1898. July. During this month Mr. Murray, the secretary-general, visited Lewiston, Augusta, Hallowell, and Gardiner, Me., in the interests of the Society, being greatly assisted in the three latter places by Thomas J. Lynch, a prominent lawyer of Augusta. Mr. Murray also visited Biddeford, Me., where he addressed a meeting, specially called, and presided over by Cornelius Horigan, of that city. He was also materially assisted by Rev. T. P. Linehan, of Biddeford. Secretary Murray likewise visited, this month, Manchester, N. H., and was introduced to prominent people there by Michael O’Dowd, of Manchester. The object of the secretary-general’s visit to these places was to explain the purposes of the organization and to obtain additional members for the latter.
1898. July 1. Capt. John Drum, Tenth United States Infantry, a member of the Society, killed in battle before Santiago de Cuba.
1898. July 25–26. Secretary-General Murray visits Nashua, N. H., and while there addresses a gathering of several gentlemen invited to meet him. Dr. T. A. McCarthy, of Nashua, presides.
1898. August. The Society issued this month a pamphlet entitled: “Irish Schoolmasters in the American Colonies, 1640–1775, with a Continuation of the Subject During and After the War of the Revolution.” The authors are Hon. John C. Linehan, the Society’s treasurer-general, and Thomas Hamilton Murray, the secretary. An edition of 2,000 copies was printed.
1898. Aug. 4. Secretary Murray addressed a meeting at Rutland, Vt., T. W. Maloney, a leading lawyer of that city, presiding. During his stay in Rutland, Mr. Murray also received valuable assistance from John D. Hanrahan, M. D., of that city.
1898. Aug. 18. Tenth meeting of the Council of the Society. It was held in the Parker House, Boston, Mass. President-General Moseley occupied the chair. A minute was adopted on the death of Capt. John Drum, Tenth United States Infantry. Capt. Drum’s son, John D., of Boston, was elected to membership in the Society.
1898. Aug. 25. Death of City Marshal John E. Conner, of Chicopee, Mass., a member of the Society.
1898. Aug. 30, 31; Sept. 1. Secretary Murray visits Waterbury, Conn., and obtains several new members for the Society. He receives courtesies from Dr. J. F. Hayes and other gentlemen of that city.
1898. September. The Society issued this month a pamphlet on “The ‘Scotch-Irish’ Shibboleth Analyzed and Rejected; with Some Reference to the Present ‘Anglo-Saxon’ Comedy.” The author is Joseph Smith, Lowell, Mass. An edition of 1,500 copies was printed.
1898. Sept. 3. Obsequies in Boston, Mass., of Capt. John Drum, Tenth U. S. Infantry, his body having been brought home from Cuba. James Jeffrey Roche, of Boston, represented the Society as a pall bearer. The organization contributed a floral offering.
1898. Sept. 23. Death at Newport, R. I., of Rev. Philip Grace, D. D., a member of the Society.
1898. October. Secretary-General Murray visited this month, among other places, Philadelphia, Pa., and was assisted in his work there by Hugh McCaffrey of that city, a life member of the Society.
1898. Oct. 21. Henry Collins Walsh, a descendant of Gen. Stephen Moylan of the Revolution, becomes a member of the Society.
1898. Nov. 11. James Whitcomb Riley, the “Hoosier Poet,” Indianapolis, Ind., admitted to membership.
1898. Nov. 14, 15, 16. Secretary-General Murray visits Albany, N. Y., in the interests of the organization.
1898. December. Death of Capt. John M. Tobin at Knoxville, Penn., a member of the Society. He was a veteran of the Civil War, and in the war with Spain had been a quartermaster in the First Brigade, Second Division, First Army Corps.
1898. Dec. 3. Eleventh meeting of the Council. Held in the Parker House, Boston, Mass., Thomas J. Gargan, of Boston, presiding. Committees were appointed to take appropriate action on the death of City Marshal John E. Conner, of Chicopee, Mass., and on that of Rev. Philip Grace, D. D., Newport, R. I.
1899. Jan. 14. Gen. George Bell, U. S. A. (retired), Washington, D. C., is admitted to membership.
1899. Jan. 19. Twelfth meeting of the Council of the Society. Held at Sherry’s, 44th street and Fifth avenue, New York city. Thomas J. Gargan, of Boston, Mass., presided. Among the members of the Council present were Hon. John D. Crimmins, New York; Joseph Smith, Lowell, Mass.; James Jeffrey Roche, Boston, Mass.; Francis C. Travers, New York; Hon. John C. Linehan, Concord, N. H.; Thomas B. Lawler, New York, and Thomas Hamilton Murray, Woonsocket, R. I.
1899. Jan. 19. Annual meeting of the Society held at Sherry’s, New York city, immediately following the meeting of the Council. Gen. James R. O’Beirne, New York, in the absence of the president-general, presided. Thomas J. Gargan of Boston was chosen president-general of the Society for the ensuing year; Hon. John D. Crimmins, New York, was chosen vice-president-general; Thomas Hamilton Murray, Woonsocket, R. I., was reëlected secretary-general; Hon. John C. Linehan, Concord, N. H., was reëlected treasurer-general; Thomas B. Lawler, New York, was reëlected librarian and archivist.
1899. Jan. 19. The annual banquet of the Society was held at Sherry’s, New York, immediately after the annual meeting. Gen. James R. O’Beirne, New York, presided. The attendance numbered about 175 gentlemen, many cities and states being represented. The post-prandial exercises included the reading of four original papers, viz.: By Dr. Thomas Addis Emmet, New York, a paper on “Irish Emigration During the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries”; by Hon. John C. Linehan, Concord, N. H., a paper on “Some Pre-Revolutionary Irishmen”; by Rev. John J. McCoy, P. R., Chicopee, Mass., a paper on “The Irish Element in the Second Massachusetts Volunteers in the Recent War” (with Spain); by James Jeffrey Roche, Boston, Mass., a paper on the general lines of the Society’s work. There were also several addresses.
1899. Jan. 20. Hon. Theodore Roosevelt, governor of New York state, gives a reception to the members of the Society at the residence of his sister, Mrs. Cowles, Madison avenue, New York city. He is assisted in receiving by Mrs. Cowles, and the members are presented by Gen. James R. O’Beirne, state vice-president of the Society for New York. Governor Roosevelt delivers an address. Following the reception, lunch is served.
1899. Jan. 20. Subsequent to the reception by Governor Roosevelt, the members are received by Hon. John D. Crimmins, vice-president-general of the Society, at his New York residence, 40 East 68th street.
1899. Feb. 9. Rev. Richard Henebry, Ph. D., professor of Keltic languages and literature, Catholic University, Washington, D. C., admitted to the Society.
1899. Feb. 15. James McGovern, New York city, admitted to life membership.
1899. Feb. 19. John J. Lenehan, New York city, admitted to life membership.
1899. March. A work is issued this month on “The Irish Washingtons at Home and Abroad, Together with some mention of the Ancestry of the American Pater Patriæ.” The authors are Thomas Hamilton Murray, secretary-general of the Society, and George Washington, of Dublin, Ireland. The work is dedicated to the Society.
1899. March 9. Myles Tierney, New York city, enrolled as a life member of the organization.
1899. March 16. Communication written by Rev. William L. Ledwith, D. D., librarian of the Presbyterian Historical Society, Philadelphia, Pa., asking for information relative to the American-Irish Historical Society. He concludes: “The lines on which your Society and ours are working must often meet.”
1899. March 19. Death of Hon. Patrick Walsh, mayor of Augusta, Ga., ex-United States senator, and member of the Society.
1899. March 30. Maj. William H. Donovan of the Ninth Massachusetts is commissioned colonel of the regiment. He was one of the majors of the command in the war with Spain, and participated in the gallant work of the regiment on Cuban soil. Colonel Donovan is one of our members in Lawrence, Mass.
1899. March 31. Death at Boston, Mass., of Col. Patrick T. Hanley, a veteran of the Civil War, and member of the Society.
1899. April 9. Death of Hon. John H. Sullivan, East Boston, Mass., a member of the Society.
1899. April 11. The selectmen and town clerk of Lexington, Mass., express regrets that they will not be able to attend the meeting at Providence, R. I., on the 19th inst. Their letter bears the official seal of the town.
1899. April 13. E. Benjamin Andrews, superintendent of public schools, Chicago, Ill., writes expressing his regret that he cannot attend the meeting on the 19th inst.
1899. April 15. Death of Hon. Eli Thayer, Worcester, Mass., a member of the organization.
1899. April 16. Death of William F. Cummings, M. D., Rutland, Vt., a graduate of the University of Vermont, and member of the Society.
1899. April 19. The thirteenth meeting of the Society’s Council is held in the Narragansett Hotel, Providence, R. I., on this, the anniversary of the battle of Lexington (1775). Thomas J. Gargan, president-general of the Society, occupies the chair. Stephen J. Richardson, New York city, is introduced, and explains the plan and scope of a projected “Encyclopædia Hibernica.” The Council approves the work. It is voted that the annual field day of the Society, this year, be held at Elizabeth, N. J., on the occasion of the launching of the U. S. torpedo-boat O’Brien.
1899. April 19. Hon. John D. Crimmins, New York city, vice-president-general of the Society, at this meeting of the Council personally subscribes five hundred dollars for the general purposes of the organization. This is the largest individual gift the Society has thus far received.
1899. April 19. Lieut. Martin L. Crimmins, 18th U. S. Infantry, is admitted to membership. Lieutenant Crimmins is at this date with his regiment in the Philippines. He is a son of Hon. John D. Crimmins, New York city.
1899. April 19. Thomas J. Gargan, Boston, Mass., and Stephen J. Geoghegan, New York city, request to be recorded as life members.
1899. April 19. Following the meeting of the Council the members thereof are received and banqueted at the Narragansett, in Providence, by the Rhode Island members of the Society. M. J. Harson, of Providence, presides. Addresses are made by President-General Gargan, Vice-President-General Crimmins, Treasurer-General Linehan; Thomas F. O’Malley, Somerville, Mass.; Rev. S. Banks Nelson (Presbyterian), Woonsocket, R. I.; Rev. Frank L. Phalen (Unitarian), Concord, N. H.; Capt. E. O’Meagher Condon, New York city, and Joseph Smith, Lowell, Mass.