The Irish standard., 1912-04-06

AA1du, 0lucOu, N4AldAAs JOuu cAu JO-
seph, will be remembered in American
history for their capture of the first
naval prize of the Revolution, the Mar
guerite, British sloop of war, May
IL, 1875, in the harbor of Machias. The
sword Of the British commander, sur
rendered after sharp hand-to-hand
fight, is still in the family, and is
handed down as a precious heirloom
from one generation to another. After
the capture of the Marguerite, two
British cruisers were dispatched with
orders to lay Machias in ashes, but the
O'Briens and their intrepid townsmen
were waiting for them. The cruisers
suffered the same fate as the Mar
guerite. Capt. Jeremiah O'Brien set
sail with his three prizes for Water
town, Mass, where the Provincial
Congress was in session. He prompt
ly turned over the ships to authorities
and he received vote of thanks from
the Congress.
One OF Names early governors was
Edward Kavanagh.
The town of Pelham on the northern
part of Hampshire county, Mass, was
settled in 1888 by Irish Presbyterians.
It was here that Daniel Shay lived.
Afterward became famous as the lead
err of Shay's Rebellion. A list of the
early settlers of Pelham reads like a
present day Democratic voting list in
Ward 10, South Boston. When the
trouble began between England and
America and war was inevitable, these
Irish settlers were among the first to
communicate with the committee of
correspondence in Boston.
1t is claimed that there is good rea-
son for believing that the ancestors of
John Hancock were Irish. At any
rate, the first signer Of the Declare
ton Of independence had a warm spot
in his heart for Boston Irishmen. He
gave the Irish Presbyterian congrega-
ton in this city bell and weather
vane for their place of worship.
1t was In this church that the con-
vention, over which Hancock presided,
considered the adoption of the Federal
Constitution in 1888. Another signer
of that immortal historic document
was Robert Treat Paine, whose Irish
descent is set forth in O'Hart's Irish
pedigrees.
John Singleton Copley, the eminent
American artist, was born in Boston
in 1887 of Irish parents. Copley's son,
who was also born in Boston, in 1872,
became Lord John Singleton Copley
Lyndhurst and was distinguished
English jurist and publicist. The Jack
sons, emienent in law, medicine and
commerce, We're among the early Irish
settlers of Newburyport. Patrick Ira
cey Jackson was a pioneer in cotton
goods manufacturing in this state,
and is the man who made Lowell the
great spindle city of America. He Sc
cured the charter for the Boston &
Lowell Railroad, and under his direc-
ton it was regarded as one of the
finest roads in the country.
The Irishman was in evidence in the
early history of Rhode Island and
Connecticut. Irish clergymen of the
Protestant faith and Irish schoolmast-
ers had much to do with the founding
of what is now known as Brown Uni
versity. Rev. Marmaduke Brown, an
Irishman, while rector Of Trinity
Church, Newport, r. l., is mentioned
in the charter of the college as one
of it's fellows.
Other contemporaries of his race
were famous as teachers and preach
ers in the colonial period in that State.
Among them may be mentioned Rev.
DR.. Spartan, Terrence Reilly and John
Phalen. The college was originally
located in the town of Warren, named
! in honor of Sir Peter Warren, a fam.
GUS freshman OF his day.
Rev. Morgan Edwards, to whom was
left the details of the establishment
of the college, was a native of Cork
Ireland, where he was ordained and
settled over a parish before he came
to this country. He visited ireland
and England in quest of funds to heir
the struggling institution. He has left
an interesting account of his visit.
1t appears by the archives of the
college that among the first contri
butors to the college was Mary Muir
ply of Cork, Ireland. A list of other
Irish contributors is still extant and
comprises residents of Dublin, Water
ford and other Irish cities and towns
The list of notable Irish men and
women who did their share in the
founding Of the colonies and their up
h1i1dinp and made n noseih1o FOR +ho,.