Evening star., 1929-11-15

CIOlOBy ana elI1IlOlOBy WHICH OJLleTWSe
would remain unknown, tends to over
come national prejudices and shows
often that things are not what they
SEEM"
Cross Section Of History.
Irish genealogy alone, she points out,
gives an extremely intimate cross sec
ton of the history of the race, espe-
cially through such obstacles as peculiar
marriage customs and laws affecting
blood relationships in early days.
In connection with the change of the
name Mullen to Mellon, she points out
that later in the century there was a
heavy Mulvahill immigration to Aus
tralia, where, due to local environment,
the name became Melville. On the other
hand, translated into the strongly Irish
environment of New York City 1t re-
tanned its original form.
Both Secretary Mellon and Mr. Smith,
she points out, almost certainly have
strains of Morse blood in their veins.
West Meath is about so miles west OF
Dublin. Dublin was established as
Morse port on an Irish grant, and its
early population was Morse, which grad
ually spread out through the surround
ing country,
Certain physical characteristics Of the
Secretary of the Treasury, such as his
high forehead, have been pointed TO as
evidence of a Scotch ancestry, whereas
1t was much more characteristic OF the
Norsemen, from whom he is more likely
to have inherited it, she says. Although
this evidence does not appear prom
inently in the case OF Mr.. Smith, he
most probably shares all the blood
strains which have entered into the
makeup of Secretary Mellon.
HOOver's GeneaIogy.
The genealogy of Mr. Hoover. she
saws, not only sheds much light on his
own origins, but on the profound change
which has taken place in the character
of the American population.
The Hoover genealogy, she points out,
long presented a peculiar dimculty 10
research workers, and finally was traced
enormously to a German family line In
Baden Baden. The trouble was that no
emigration from Baden-Baden could be
found at the time his ancestors came
to America.
Last Summer it was established con-
clusively that his ancestors were Swiss.
They remained Swiss and German ex-
clusively until the time of his grand
father, who married Welsh girl.
The genealogy of American Presidents
shows them divided into two classes.
Before the Civil War, with few excep-
tions, they were of Norman, English and
Irish descent-or Scotch Irish although
she holds the term has little meaning so
far as blood is concerned. Then came
the period of the Presidents from the
Middle West, predominantly of New
England Puritan and hence Of English
ancestry.
This strain continued up to the elec-
ton of Mr.. Hoover, whose ancestry is
almost entirely continental.
The term Scotch-Irish, she says, was
applied in ireland to designate a re-
ligious rather than a blood difference.
There were three religious groups. The
Irish Presbyterians were designated
Scotch-Irish, the Episcopalians. Eng
lish-Irish. and the Quakers, BaptistS
and Catholics, Irish. But one group
was about as Irish" as the other.
Irish genealogy. she points out, be-
comes extremely interesting as one goes
further and further back because for
centuries the island was a melting pot
of races, much as the United States
has been during the past half century,
and every Irishman has the blood of
all these races in his veins.