The Irish standard., 1898-04-02

OIL rome.
Here, too, among these people, were
the parents of Tom Hendricks, the
greatest man the Mississippi valley has
produced. And Mcpherson, whose life
| went out in a flame Of glory at Atlanta
Judge Groghan, than whom this coun-
| try produced no moro learned scholar
or distinguished iurist, kept tho pigs
out Of the unfenced potato patch when
| a youth, and the McKennas here tod
died barefoot to school, and wrestled
| with tho realities of life around and
| about the shanty of the Irish of half
century ago.
When the flag of war futtered from
out this settlement, the boys threw up
their hats. McGrorty took 500 brave
lads in the enlistment Of one day.
Seven boys from these Irish parents be-
came priests, one bishop, five of the
others, ministering as directed, as
sumpted saints from the pestilence-
| stricken South.
In glory as well as in good the Irish
who were planted on farms of their own
i'll central Ohio have had holding and
| show force that may we'll make us
proud. Everywhere, except in Ireland,
the Irish are In the front, in business,
IN law and literature, in battle, as we'll
as in prayer, knocking down tho out
law with hard fist or lifting up the
feeble with a tender hand. The boys
and girls, who came up from the wild
tribe which Father O'Brien colonizcd
| are impressng a good work upon the
country and helping in lofty ways TO
lift up the race and all the people to a
higher plane.
Does it occur to some Ilshmen OF to-
day who hang about the by-ways and
obscure resorts Of the cities that peo-
pie OF their kind, only fifty years ago,
took land? Become landlords, lords in
the highest sense Perry county, CEN
trail Ohio, became the nursery of gigan-
tic men of Irish stock, who have led the
armies, who have governed the states,
who have changed the map of Europe,
and who have added saints to heaven.
In his early life. Mc(illlan, Il fragile,
tender boy, taught school. The rude,
rugged big boys would cut the wood and
build tho fires and have the stove rcd
hot when tho delicate, bluc-eyed "mas-
ter" came. Judge ("Jem'O Grogan was
ms pupil, but was dismissed from
school because ho always had hard
sums for the teacher, which then or
never yet, havo been nswered. While
McGahan was teaching, OF trying TO
teach, in this semi-civi'izcd county, one
: Phil Sheridan, ragged, rollicking boy,
from Somerset, would he down visiting
his uncles and aunts and have things
his own way. 1t is told by one OF tho
Old men that once after Sheridan had
been to West Point and had IL years
discipline, and was home on Il visit, he
went ono day to tho school, which Nc
Gahan tried to teach, but couldn't; the
teacher, girl, had been barred out.
The young lascals wanted a holiday
and tho teacher refused They got up
early these entcrprising lads, got into
| tho schoolhouse, and barred the teacher
out. Phil camo up with his cousin,
John Minaugh, to spend the day The
door was closed. The house was occu-
pied and held by the boys The teacher
Mary --', stood crying on the
outside. Some OF the late coming pu-
pills, who couldn't get in, thought it
funny. Others were in for war; Little
Phil, so his cousin said spoke to
Mary, asking her quietly if sho wanted
to go In the house or go home. She
said all sho desired was to gct into the
schoolhousc, then she felt that she
would DO all right. The cadet went to
q near fence, shonldered II rail and
rammed it against the door, breaking it
| open. Then tho outside boys wanted
to fight all the boys who were on the i'll
side, and tho outsiders and the in
siders wero all fighters. Tho cadet
calmly remarked that the fight was over
when tho door was cpencd-the fort
captured SO to speak.
Tho boys Of that country often speak
of this incident when they read, with
thrill and throb, the wild fighting of
Phil Sheridan when he wouldn't let the
lads at Pigeon Roost schoolhouse have
a shindy, and there was such great PROV
Ocation.
But tho purpose OF this article is
mainly to show what is possible for the
Irish immigrant who takes up land and
becomes an owner of the land he
lives on. From these hills of Southern
Ohio, peoplcd by race of workers.
under the care of the priest, under the
protection Of our law. came forth a
race Of men who have put an imprint
on the republic. and who are on the
advance line in every state of this union
today.
Marquette and his missionaries did
noblo work with the Indian, but tho In
dian, like the flower Of the prairie, has
passed with the frost Of the season.
Father O'Brien took up the cOlonizing
Of the Irish. They have grown like
the monarch oak. They have planted
lighthouses, have established land.
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