Kentucky Irish American. (Louisville, Ky.) 1898-1968, 1908-03-14
Little Attention Paid to Erin's
Sons of Pre-RevOlutiOn-
airy Times.
of the Irish Sought
Homes in America i'm
1649.
LOVED BOTH GOD and LIBERTY

Hon. John Finarty, of Chicago,
soldier, politician, statesman AMI
journalist, is himself again after
long illness. In one of his latest
articles he says;
American immigration in large
numbers is of q more recent date,
an outgrowth of the nineteenth CEN
tury. In earlier periods immigrants
found their way TO other European
possessions in the New World, but
their number was comparatively
small. Certain American "histor-
ians' have paid little attention to the
Irish element of pre-Revolutionary
times. This is mainly due to the
anti-Irish and anti-Catholic prejudice
of New England "historians." Yet the
Irish element has been here from
the beginning and has been among
The most important in establishing,
defending and perpetuating the re-
public. There were Irish at Ply
mouth with the Pilgrims" says John
ID. Crimmins in his lrish-Ameuia in
Miscellany, "at Salem and Boston
with the Puritans, at New York with
the Dutch colonists, and so on down
into Pennsylvania, Maryland, Vir-
ginia, the Carolinas and other parts"
Yet owing 10 the preiudices above
mentioned is due the obscurity that
now envelopes the history of the
Irish settlers here in early times.
Many of these Irish had in their
veins some of the best and most
ancient blood of Ireland. But better
still, early Irish corners were strong
of limb, stout of heart and cheerf III
in spirit. They loved God and liberty,
loved virtue and freedom. Since
their day millions of their race, pos
sessing the same admirable traits,
have come to the United States and
contributed to its upbulding.
In 1649 some $4,000 Irish came to
the colonies, driven out of Ireland
by the Cromwellian prosecutors. In
1859 an Irish colony came to Mary
land, and during the same year they
colonized North Carolina. In 1899
large Irish emigration came to Penn
sylvania, which gave to America
many of the leaders in the movement
of independence. In 1710 witnessed
the beginning of a large Irish immi-
grafton in Virginia. The new Corners
settled principally along the Blue
Ridge, where are now the counties of
Rockbridge and Patrick. In 1929 the
records show that 5000 Irish arrived
at the port of Philadelphia, as
against 267 English and forty-three
Scotch. In 1887 the Irish colonized
South Carolina. One of the histor-
ians of South Carolina said: "Of all
other countries none has furnished
the province with so many inhab-
itants as Ireland" In 1745 the Irish
went in great numbers to Kentucky.
From the earliest days the Irish
had been settling in all the other
States. Victims of English injustic, +,
they were foremost and loudest in
the call for American independence.
1t is admitted that John Rutledge
twas the first man whose eloquence
reused South Carolina to the level
of resistance" When the stamp act
was passed benjamin Franklin, writ
ing from London to Charles Thomp-
son, one of the Irish settlers of Penn
sylvania, afterward Secretary of the
Continental Congress, said: 1.-THE sun
of liberty is set. The Americans
must light now the lamps of industry
and economy" But Thompson, like
u genuine CeIt, sent back the ringing
answer: 'Be assured we shall light
torches of quite different sort"