The Irish standard., 1900-07-28
PRESIDENT M'K1NLEY,s ANCESTRY.


OF the United States the pedigree of
William Mckinley has been often dis
cusscd in the newspapers. Some time
ago young lady from ireland visited
the White House with genealogical
family tree of the McKinleys of Ulster
and proved to the satisfaction of the
president that his granduncle was shot
by the British in market town in the
North Of Ireland in 1898 for attempting
to free his country from foreign domi-
nation.
Not long since something appeared
in the Western papers respecting the
conversion to Catholicity of a McKin-
ley who claimed close relationship with
the president and said that originally
the family he sprung from was Irish
and belonged to the ancient creed in
troduced into Ireland by St. Patrick in
the beginning of the fifth century. II
what he said is true the present chief
executive OF the nation must be tile off
spring or the paternal side of rencgades
from the Catholic faith, for he himself
is a follower OF John Wesley who found
cd .ietllodism in the latter part of tie
eighteenth century.
1t is matter OF no consequence to
the readers OF the Irish Standard
whether or not Mckinley is OF Irish de-
scent or what his religious belief is.
During his public career we have no
recollection that lie has manifested the
slightest interest in the cause If Ireland.
He has never affiliated with the Irish
people in any way, and apparently lie
does not like to have the Irish for his
ancestors He is member OF the
ScotchIrish society and not of the
lrish-American Historical society like
the Republican candidate for vice presi
dent, who is proud OF being half Ir,si.
as we'll as half Dutch" as he declared
al the New England dinner in Brooklyn
on Dec. 22. 1893.
We would not refer to Mckinley
ancestry at all were it not for the fast
that some correspondence has recently
appeared in the New York Sun on the
subject, That paper gave the fol
lowing pedigree of him: James Ne
K;rlcy, Pcrtllshirc Scotchman, went
to Ireland in 1901 as a soldier in Will
liam OF Oranges army. He fought at
the battle OF the Boyne and aiterward
settled on confiscated land. His son.
David Mckinley. was born in Ulster.
but at a comparatively early age he
came to America This David Mckin-
Icy was the great at-great- grand
father OF President Mckinley"
An Irish Republican named I. St.
John Gaffney. who halls from Limerick.
rushed to the Sun. which shines for all"
Republicans. and vehemcntIy denied the
foregoing allegations in the following
style:
Pathological authorities who have
made the presidents genealogy the sub
jcct OF some investigation have been
unable to discover any Scottish strain
in his pedigree The Mckinley ances-
tors were settled for many generations
in Ireland previous to their advent in
this country The Irishmen who came
here during the latter part OF the eight
zenith century called themselves Irish
men without any Scotch prefx-they
would have resented being called
Scotch-Irshmen. These emigrants
named their settlements after their Irish
birthplaces and they came to this con-
tinent as iugitives from English in
justice and misrule. The Scotch-Irish-
man. like the Anglo-Saxon American,
is one OF the ludicrous discoveries OF the
last quarter OF a century. 1t is fact
that large settlements OF Scotch, were
made in Ulster at various periods OF the
seventeenth and eighteenth centuries,
but it is also the fact (agrced upon by
all students of ethnology) that Scotland
was originally settled by Irishmen.
Therefore, those Scotchmen were but
returning to the mother country"
What the Limerick Republican says
in reference to "Scotch-Irishmen" is
quite true. 1t is only within the last