davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-09-26
M0rrissev Was Man of Action in MANY Fields

and Italian Is a gentleman Of culture
learning and exquisite polish.
When Timothy Morrissey, the IA
Their of John, brought his family
wife, seven girls and one boy-to the
United States in 1881, he settled in
Troy, N. Y. Timothy got a job as a
laborer at 81 a day. He took his ex-
ercise not with golf sticks, but with
a pick. I know it is scandalous to
write this narrative. 1 feel that ladies
and gentlemen who read the Declare.
ton of Independence every Fourth of
July and whose forbears came to the
colonies 900 years ago, for one reason
or another, are dripping tears on
this page because such common peo-
Pile get write-up. But the Rambler
wants to tell this story straight. even
though 1t Is unusual that a historian
tell the truth. 81,
1 know men who swing picks who
are proud - proud Of their strength
and courage, proud that they can bear
hot and cold, proud that they are more
Independent than many soft-muscled
men who stop to watch them work.
Did you ever think that these brawny,
sweating men might think patroniz-
ingly of you? That they take in your
narrow shoulders, fiat chest, too
~ 0AhAACnL okOlll0SAi anu oO1t
and think to themselves this of you:
Poor specimen of a man. A very
shrimp of fellow"
/ wonder if some of you, chained to
a desk, have not felt secret envy of
these big-muscled, strong-llmbed. fell
lows, who eat more calories at lunch
than you at dinner and breakfast, and
who, lying down at night, never hear
the neighbours radio"
** n II
John MORRISSEY went to a day
school for one year and learned
nothing that was in his book. He did
not learn to read or write till he was
about 10, and then. having a desire
for those arts he taught himself" I
would prefer to write "he learned him
self" for 1t has been my observation
that one man cannot teach another.
A man must learn. If a man could be
taught teachers would be priceless and
graduates of schools would be learned.
But hold that If a man will not him.
self learn the best teacher cannot help
him.
Timothy's dollar day did not sup.
port his family in style, and when
JOLAA was Ii years OAu A0 WCAAI "
work In Orr's wallpaper factory at
Troy for $1.25 a week. He worked
there two years, and then got a job in
Burdens Iron Works, where he had
to seize the red-hot bars with nippers
| as they came finished from the rolls
| and draw them away to the cooling
place. He worked at Burdens for
one year at $3.50 a week. John c..
Heenan, who became celebrated as a
| pugilist and especially because of the
Heenan-Sayers prize fight in England,
! worked in the same shop with John
Morrissey.
In 1S46 Morrissey went to the stove
foundry Of johnson. Cox - Co. Troy.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-09-26

before Black Friday panic. 1869. 1t
has been said that Morrissey lost half
a million dollars in the panic-his first
deposit as a margin and subsequent
deposits in efforts to protect his &C.
count. Later. and on advice of Com
modore Vanderbilt, Morrissey put a
large part of his fortune in Harlem
Railroad stock and lost his money. So
far as / know these were Morrissey's
only trials in stock speculation. The
record does not seem to justify the
epithet Wall Street f1nanc1er.' He
bought twice OH inside information"
from Commodore Vanderbilt and drop
ped his money. L think sucker"
would fit him better than "f1nancier. ="
What I am to tell you Of the youth
of John Morrissey is collected from
accounts printed a few hours after
his death. These accounts were writ
ten by men who knew Morrissey. and
the names, dates and incidents had. no
doubt. been told by Morrissey. I do
not detect in them a desire to make
Morrissey seem better or worse than
the records show.
Morrissey was born in TemplemOre
Irish Free State. Templemore is a
town, 1900 population now, about 25
miles north by east from the city Of
Tipperary population $4,000, and is
about the same distance east Of Lake
Derg, into and out of, which Shannon
River flows. Templen1ore Is in a hilly
region, through which the SUR River
winds. Towns near Templemore are
Nenach, Thurles. Kilkenny, Ballagh.
Ballinakill Carlow and Roscrea.
ITO please many readers I ought to
make it appear that the Morris
seys of Templemore were aristocrats
or at least descended from some high
placed person. But 1 cannot do it. 1t
may be so, but find no clue to It. A
large part of the people of our great
democracy insist that when a COM
mon man achieves distinction his an
cestry be traced to some princely crea-
ture who wore silk socks and had a
weak back and a soft head. 1t Is Of
fensive to learn that a fellow can
make history yet have an ancestry
that had the heart, lungs and muscle
to swing a pick. I have not seen a
play or picture for a month in which
the daughter of the rich soap maker
fell in love with the gardener that it
is not found in the last act that the
poor young chap was the son of an
earl anu Idu gwen HIS dLlSlOS1delC
family the air because his proud
mother wanted him to marry Mar
chioness Miralda, whom he did not
love because she had knock knees. An
American audience will not stand for
a show in which the radiant daughter
of the rich shopkeeper marries gar
dener whose grandpap helped dig the
Chesapeake and Ohio Canal or laid
rails on the B. & o. These Temple
more Morrisseys were plain Irish, and
/ have heard some Washingtonians
speak as though there is something
ordinary about man because he is
Irish. It has been my observation
that not every. Enghshman. German
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-09-26

these reasons and because 1t StirS up
the almost universal. latent love of
aquatic sport. the pastime has "takeE
not only in the National Capital, hut
all over the country as well. Inc
American Model Yacht Racing ASSo-
citation. nationwide organization,
with headquarters in New York City.
was recently formed. and the Wash
ington Club was one of the first to
affiliate with It,
WASHINGTON never before has had
a fleet Of model yachts. although only
a few years ago there was a number
of real sai1boats in the channel. Many
residents remember the time when
the local fleet. voyaging down the
Potomac to the Chesapeake, would
meet the fleets from other towns and
cities on the Bay and join in regattas
and cruises each year. But the more
dependable and faster motor boat has
now almost completely supplanted the
sailing craft, a condition which has
caused those who can't get over their
love for the graceful lines of a. sweep
ing sail to take to the model yacht
game"
~ 4
\ IT is believed that the postwar re-
vival of interest in model yacht
racing originated lover there" for
there is an even keener interest in
the sport in the Old World than on
this side of the Atlantic. Every city.
big and little. on the Continent Is said
to have it's club, and competition Is
fast and furious.
Naturally. several International con
tests have resulted. The first of these
was held several years ago between
England and the United States. At
the time there was no important in
formation yacht race in prospect, 50
the English Association of Model
Yacht Clubs challenged the Ameri
cans to a race. The invitation was
| accepted. an Englishman came across
| the Atlantic with his racing vessel
| almost literally under his arm, and
\ was decisively defeated. The follow
ing year. a return challenge was sent
| to England. A picked American rep
| resentative went over to the other
| side, chaperOning a. boat about six
| feet long, but was, in turn, rather
| badly beaten in the race. This year
| several countries participated in a
| regatta of miniature yachts. which
England again won, America placing
1t Is remarkable how much real in
| terest has been shown by landsmen
as we'll as yachtsmen in these small.
| craft races.
Canadian and United States model
yacht clubs have also held several
competitions, with varying success
There is at present dispute raging
between the shippers on the Atlantic
| coast and those on the Pacific as to
| which seaboard has the smartest
ships. The controversy will he settled
soon At San Diego.
This week end q party of severa
| members of the Washington club. in
| Guiding Commodore" Payne, "Vice
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-09-26

| where he worked in the mOlding
room two years. In that foundry part
of his Job was making bombshe1ls for
use of American troops in Mexico.
In 1S4s John Morrissey appears as
leader of a Troy gang" The chron-
icles tell that Troy was afflicted with
two notorious gangs, one the up
town gang" the other the down
town." John was leader of the Down
town gang. The Rambler assures you
1t was a tough bunch. 1t Is related
that these gangs gave little trouble to
quiet citizens, but that the ambition
of each gang was to beat up the other.
There were street fights, barrOOm
fights and prearranged rough and.
tumble fights. John was matched
against John O'ROurke, leader of the
Uptown gang, mauled him into UNION
seriousness and took on" eight other
Uptown gladiators in eight pitched
fights, disposed of each man and was
acclaimed the boss brlliser of Troy.
Toward the close Of 1848 John Nor
rissey became deckhand on the
Albany-New York steamboat. Empire.
The CAPTAINS name was Smith, and /
have read that when John became
established as a prize fighter he was
married to the captains daughter.
There Ia a melOdrama tlnge in which
makes me look at 1t with Squint.
AS deckhand John got $15 a month
and tips from passengers for carrying
trunks on and off the boat. From
deckhand he became longshoreman.
A longshoreman Is WATERFRONT Ia
borer who works at loading and I'M
loading ships. have no record that
John found relaxation in prize nights
during this period, but I have heard
that. because Of his many fights on
the docks, and in saloons that fronted
West and South streets, he ADDED TO
the fame Of his fists. He tried his
hand as an immigrant runner, but
did not like the ethics Of the profess
sion and so battered several gentle
men engaged in It that they were sent
to the hospital.
In 1850 Morrissey slowed away on
Pacific mail liner bound for the
Isthmus. He was on his way to Call.
fornia. A stowaway with him was
Daniel Cunningham. a lower Manhat-
tan character" who had shot an.
other lower Manhattan character"
by name of Patric, alias "Paugean"
Mclaughlin. The captain of the
ship was Schenck, a brother of Gen.
Robert Schenck, once American Min
lister to England. The stowaways.
discovered. were put to work with the
understanding that they would be
kept in irons while the ship was at
the Isthmus-I assume that the port
was Aspinwall. later Colon-and
would be carried back to New York.
The ship anchored In Chagres Bay.
and that bay is today Limon Bay and
Colon Harbor at the Atlantic end of
the Canal with a famous breakwater.
In the garden Of the Hotel Washing
toN IN Cslgeahai. looking across the
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-09-26
BY GEORGE PORTER.

- F.NERAL Washington men have
found that they can derive
some If the thrill of plotting
~ n iatin: Sluao hy sailing model
yachts. The imh"inatIVe nav
igaturs have handed together into an
orGanizat on known rs the Washing
ton Model Yacht club. which uses
the Tidal Basin. in Potomac Park.
for it's ".ce&n." and holds races and
practice sails there every Sunday
morning.
The club started about two years
ago, when three Washington men.
with the call of the sea" in their
veins met informally and found that
they could obtain considerable enjoy
ment by building and racing model
Yachts The Lincoln Memorial Re
fiecting Pool WIS first used for the
maneuVerS of he miniature vessels.
Passing motorists. noting the toy
ships on The pool, often stopped to
watch them. Occasionally Il former
seafaiing man. or a naujiC'i archl-
tect, Ur a licensed pilot. "r some one
else whose work ~ in "reStS were
along similar lines. would no;ice the
fleet and get acquainted with some
Of its owners.
The membership rapidly grew f.. m
-.
club had already bulls Il fleet OF seven
yachts and was, fairly Itching for
q chance TO sail them
As coon as The orga MIA ION h"CA n
to eXpa nd. it's members st@rt'd bus +
ing larger boats. which the id"r' II
Pool was not lHr5a enough to q com
MEDIATE. The club then su"r"" 81 in
obtaining the priv age o. u jhe
Tidal Basin. Whiri. cover ri
III acres, and allows 3m.' 'inG
room for al the mode! -" in
Washington.
One of the original three members
Of the club. a. w. Payne. * IT. pres
ent official chieftain. an Office which
carries with it the designation OF
Commodore" The other Offices are:
"Vice commodore" Paul S,h if: sec
retary-trea surer. Neal L. Lear and
official measurer +. Z. Trapp.
Under the leader hip OF ~ n IN
the club holds its We ,l1lE pT'' rn
the Tidal Basin. This AWAY. i""''i'e.'
a race or two, and attrf'" 49,.
tention OF scorss as raSSer|-''. '"n%
the Speedway. Th' rar"- go run
over courses m2rkei ON = hU"FS
which the club has anchors in tn"
asin. Two of The buoys, jus. % III"
hoathouse float AT the Zoo "f sven
teenth street mark the line that is
always used rs = st3rtin" Do'0 for
these comppti:ions. 4 d'rc"t'!
across the wafer from no. - south,
Is sometime r''n. hut n""' "i e0 a
triangular ,.nttr O. to y: ''--.r :in"
back j. 1O''n"-eti.
However es."i,;u! tl;o~@ - ~ o. :; '}L<<
he TO tho u s''i ,ani-. Nv ~ - ''r"r
soothinc .pt.rt}.,'.,- Ia. - "'' -.
the ma jOrii' - N '.fi. 10
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-09-26

votes against 4.494 for Mccain and
2.5s2 for Train" His successor in the
Forty second Congress was William
r. Roberts, who was born in Ireland
in 1880.
The Train" who got 1852 votes
recalls something to me. | believe 1t
was George Francis Train, a remark
able man. He called himself Citizen
Train" and told crowds in Union
Square that he was citizen of the
world" You must remember hearing
of him. and the Rambler will give to
him a story, some time.
The day after Morrissey's death
he died May l, l87S-the New York
papers treated the fact as important
news. and some of them printed long
articles on Morrissey. From story
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-09-26

slowed away on the ship Panama
and landed at San Francisco. The
name of the ship Panama" brings
recollections. Years after Morrissey
crossed the Isthmus there was an
other ship of the same line on the
same run named Panama" The
Rambler Travelled once in the steer
age Of that ship from San Francisco
to Panama. and on the City of Para
from Colon to New York. Both ships
have passed. It is my memory that
the Panama was burned off the west
coast of Mexico. and that the City
of Para was lost on Roncador reef. in
the Caribbean. as I remember, about
300 miles north of Colon.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-09-26

which the New York Herald published
May ., 1878. take what follows:
The excitement and fatigue at
tending the election of 1877 so ex-
hausted the iron frame of Mr.. Nor
rissey that he succumbed to a cold
caught during the progress of that
memorable struggle against Augustus
Schell. the Tammany candidate in the
seventh senatorial district. Despite
the care of his physicians their pa
tents lungs became seriously affected,
and he was ordered to the coast Of
Florida to pass the Winter. soon
after arriving at Jacksonville Mr.
Morrissey experienced considerable re-
lief but this favorable change was of
brief duration. and he again was
seized with pulmonary attack which
brought him so low that his death was
hourly looked for. BY careful nurs-
ing. however. the danger was tempo
rarily averted. and he improved so
rapidly that in the end of March Mr..
Morrissey was able to return home,
and expressed the belief that he would
soon recover strength sufficient to en-
able him to take his seat in the State
Senate This hope, however, was
vain one, for soon after reaching Sar-
atoga he. for the sixth time, suf-
fered a relapse. followed by a stroke
of paralysis. which ended in his
death. Never did a man make a more
desperate effort to resist the ravages
of disease than did John Morrissey
during the six months he was a suf-
ferer.'
T TAKE the following from another
article published the day after Nor
rissey's death: Born of the poorest.
bred among the toughest and rougher
than any of them. with herculean
frame to which muscular strain was
play. and with an animal courage
which made fighting a pastime. to
drift into the popular pugilist was
natural transition.
ITO find him seeking fortune and
adventure in California during the
gold.fever days. to see him at the head
of an expedition little short of pratt
cal. to find him the hero of head ham,
merings in the prize ring and out OF
it, and to know that he turned from
pugilism to gambling and selling liq-
uor are not unnatural sequences.
But there the we'll held line of con-
tinuity breaks off. He became Wall
Street financier, a member of Con-
gress twice elected, a leader in politics
and twice a State Senator. always a
power, always fighting and seldom
losing point, as in the old life he had
never lost a battle
/ have no record of the expedition
| that was little short of piratical,"
and the statement that he was a
wall Street financier" does not fit
with my notes. When Morrissey had
saved a fortune-said to be a million
by conducting one gambling house
after another. he bought New York
Central stock on advice of Commo-
dore Vanderbilt. That was not long
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-09-26

without the clockwork many think is
there. hut one which is largely re-
sponsjble for the crafts success.
X X
WHILE the actual work of sailing
w the small vessels into which one
cannot climb is said to be a more diff
rlllt job than that of directing a life
size" one. members of the Washing
:on Model Yacht Club aver they get
half their fun" out of the painstak-
ing task of building the boats. This
operation makes their hobby an all
year-round sport. for during the Win
tor months they keep busy making
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-09-26

bay. Is a statue of Aspinwall-William
III. Aspinwall. builder of the Panama
Railroad in 1850, and a. founder of the
Pacific Mail Steamship Co.
In Chagres Bay Morrissey and Cum
ningham went over the side of the
ship into q native boat. and trained
over the Isthmus That is. 1 assume
they went by train. though in those
days the fare was $40 gold from AS
Seven thousand people were at Pan
ANA waiting transportation to San
Francisco, and the fare was from
$1,000 to 81 500. Morrissey and Gun
ningham won 500 at Spanish monte
and dropped It at a faro table. They
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-09-26

new and improved models for the
open season. Precision is their
watchword during this undertaking
for if the ship is to sail successfully
it must lie Just right" If it is a
little "out," it won't sail at all. The
hull must be correctly designed and
constructed. the sails carefully pro
portioned, and the whole properly
balanced" Rigid formulate and rules
must be cOnscientiously applied AT
every stage of the patience taking
task.
Not only do the club members make
their own vessels. but they also con
slider that one of the most important
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-09-26

~ kETCHES of John NorrisseN
in the directory OF the For
tieth and tort%-trSt Con
crosses tell little % the man.
The directory of the first ses-
sion Fortieth Congress. 1867. says:
John AtorrisSeE. seventh, TENN.
thirteenth and fourteenth districts in
the CITY OF New York" He succeed
ed Representative Nelson Taylor.
The directory of the first session.
Forty first Congress. 1869. had this:
John Morrissey of New York. was
born in Tipperary. Ireland. February
10 1891: came to this country IN
1898: received public school educa-
tion: worked AS molder: was
elected To the Fortieth Congress and
was reelected 10 the Forty-tirst Con-
Rress as a Democrat. receiving 1864
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1926-06-21
Births, Deaths and Marriages
LAWRENCE HUFTY

Funeral services for Lawrence
Hufty, as years old, an attorney
with the Department of Justice,
who died yesterday of a heart at
tack while repairing a screen door
in his home, 1925 Morrison st. N.
W., will be held at his late resi-
dence tomorrow afternoon at z
o'clock. Interment will be in Oak
Hill Cemetery.
Born in Alexandria, Va, Mr..
Hufty received his early education
there, coming to Washington to
attend high school and finish his
grade school work Upon gradua-
ton from high school he entered
the old columbia University. now
George Washington University, and
graduated from the law school in
1897. AT his death he was attorney
for special matters in the Justice
Department legal department.
He is survived by his wife. Mrs.
Mary Hufty, two sons. Lawrence
Hufty, jr.. and Richard Hufty. and
four brothers, Malcolm Hufty an
attorney here: French S. Hufty,
also of this city; Frank, of Eliza
beth City. N c.. and Louis fluffy,
of Cincinnati, Ohio.
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1926-06-21
DANCE IN BOAT
BROWNS SIX

SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich,
June 21.-The st. Mary's River was
being dragged today for the bodies
Of three youths and three girls.
drowned when two members of the
party struck up Charleston dance
aboard a 12-foot launch in which
they were riding.
All were residents Of the Cana.
dian 500. A seventh member OF
the party escaped death by swim
ming back to the capsized craft and
clinging to its keel until he was
rescued.
The dead are Arthur Teseier. 16;
Clement Cormier, 10; John Parsons,
10; Peggy and Anne Mcintyre. IL
and IA, respectively, and Emily
Terry, IA. The survivor is Isaac
Jolicoeur, Is.
Scores of persons on. shore saw
the accident. The launch had
picked up Jolicoeur at the ship
canal pier only a few moments
before, and it's occupants were
warned by officials there not to go
out into the stream, which was
rough.
The launch nosed out into the
stream, however. its occupants
laughing and making merry. Tes-
sier recently had won a Charleston
contest, and he and one of the
girls volunteered, Jolicoeur said, to
do a few steps.
The heayily-overloaded launch
capsized in a trough of waves al
most at the first step.
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1926-06-21
WOMAN SHOT Z
. men. STABBED

Two persons are near death aud
another is less seriously injured as
result Of alterations during the
night and early hours of the morn
ing.A
Pearl Wanzer, colored, S3, of 629
Pickford Pl. N. e., is said to be
diving in Casualty Hospital, having
been shot through the abdomen
cary today. The shooting occurred
in the bedroom of her home, and the
woman was removed TO the hospital
in i taxicab. operated by John Court,
735 Fourth ST. N. w.
In an attempt to identity her as-
sailant, police of the Ninth precinct
have arrested five men and arc
holding them to await the outcome
of the woman's injuries.
During an alteration in their
home last night Raymond, Freeman.
25, and Clifton Freeman, %, both
colored, were stabbed by their
father, Daniel Freeman, 40. the
police claim.
Raymond was stabbed just below
the heart and is near death in
GalIinger Hospital Clifton was
stabbed in the abdomen. The
father was arrested by police OF
the Fifth precinct and is being held
to await the outcome of his sons
injuries,