The Irish standard., 1915-10-09
IRISH WOMEN IN AMERICA
THEIR POSITION AND INFLUENCE
Read before Irish History Club of L. A. A. O. H.
of Hennepin County by Margaret
Genevieve May

, Irish history are aware of tae fact
that many persons discredit what
creditably relates to the Irish as a
race. This is shown by the following
extract from the American Irish His
torical Society Journal:
Elizabeth Emmett was an artist of
considerable ability, having studied
under Robert Fulton, who had taken
instructions from Benjamin West in
London. Her father and r. Fulton
were great friends and one evening
while at the Emmett home and debat-
ing some question under important
consideration she made sketch of
Fulton unknown to him. When he
saw it he was very much surprised
and pleased and insisted that she
paint it just as she had sketched it.
| After Fulton's death the N. Y. Liter
airy and Philosophic Society asked Mr..
Cadwalleder D. Golden to write pa
per on the life and works of Robert
Fulton. 1t was deemed so good they
asked him to put it in book form
which he did, and Miss Emmet's Dor
trait of him was used as frontispiece
for the book with her name in the
corner Of the plate. He had many
others to choose from, but, after con-
sulting with the family and the so.
ciety, they decided on hers as being
the best.
Miss Emmett, who was married to
VIM. H. Leroy, had a copy of this por.
trait in her home and loaned it to a
friend to be used at Fulton dinner.
Delaplaine, a magazine writer, was
given permission to copy the portrait
but instead of copying actually erased
the name Of Eliz. Emmett from the
plate and substituted that of Benz.
West. The portrait has often been
copied but invariably the credit of 1t
is given to West.
miss Emmett was very popular as
a young lady and later, as Mrs. VIM.
H. Leroy, she continued portrait
painting, though only for pastime. She
was very active in connection with
nursery work, children's hospitals and
other charities and was. kept in the
minds of others as we'll as those in.
terested in art"
A little sketch that interested me
very much was that of Margaret
Haughery, better known perhaps as
just Margaret" of New Orleans. She
was the first woman in this country
to have a statue erected to her men,
| ory. She is represented sitting in q
rustic chair, dressed in her usual cos
tune, plain skirt and loose sack, a
plain shawl thrown over her shoulders
and her arm encircling an orphan
child. This statue was erected by the
city of New Orleans out of gratitude
for beautiful, unselfish life lived in
its midst
Her parents both died of yellow
fever when she was very young, leav-
ing her to be cared for by a very dear
friend. In time she was married to
Charles Haughery, but grief soon came
to the little home for Charles health
failed and they moved from Baltimore
to New Orleans thinking the change
might prove beneficial. He lived but
a short time and Margaret was left
alone again, and with no means of sup
port. She who was an orphan herself
wished she might work for orphans
and entered an orphans asylum for
girls. Here she worked early and
late, sometimes doing house work and
sometimes going out to collect food
and money. Whether she had the ordi-
nary comforts of life seemed to her
not to matter-she gave all to the
children. The three largest homes for
children in New Orleans are almost
entirely the work of Margaret as we'll
as the home for the aged and infirm.
Being asked once why she did not buy
a fine dress, she replied. There is too