THE I RI SH CATHOLI C GENESI S OF LOWELL

’ W By GEORGE F. O DWYER

Correspondmg Member of A me rican I rish His to rical Soaety

REV ISED EDITION

PRI NTED BY SULLI V AN BROTHERS

LOWELL, MASS. 1920

BO STON C OLLEGE

L HASS. C HESTNUT HIL .

FOREW OR D

Here , in the spac e of a few pages , is unfolded th e devel

o pmen t of the Irish pioneers of Lowell. In their humble ,

rude beginnings , they were b eset with ridicule and ignorant

intolerance . Through their physical fearless ness , native in

tuition, and trust in their ancient Faith , they surmounted this

and became , in the short space of twelve years , respected an d

worthy citizens . In the Irish schools of th e town , their child

r en were educated in Americanism and their Holy Faith , a h eritage which they have , in turn , handed down to successive h g enerations . Wit this heritage inspiring them , the Irish

race in Lowell has prosp ered .

And the seed of the Irish pioneers has lived and propa

gated a thousandfold . As a result, Lowell stands today among the largest Irish and Catholic cities of the country . So , he

who reads these few pages, let him ponder well , and marvel at the unexamp led progress of those who at first were ridi o d uled , later, respected , an today are lauded .

THE AUTHOR

THE IRISH CATHOLIC GENESIS

OF LOWELL.

s In the early years of the 1 9th century , Irish emigrant

arriving at the p orts of Boston , N ew York , and even Quebec , were largely attracted by th e building of the New England

manufacturing towns , esp ecially those along th e Merrimack

- r iver in north eastern Massachusetts . These emigrants t oiled side by side with the “native ” builders of the mills and

- canals and dug water ways which , later, turned the wheels

o f the big cotton factories and machine shops . As the new i - ndustries drew thousands of employes , boarding houses an d homes were erected and Irish laborers used their brain an d f brawn in their construction . O these towns , Lowell , ( then

known as E ast Chelmsford , ) was the most promising in future t p ossibili ies , and hundreds of emigrants of Celtic strain were

drawn to its confines . Among them were a certain p ercent a e of E g skilled Scotch , nglish and Irish textile workers . In the space of a few years , the new settlement became famous internationally, and the most distinguished travellers of world

prominence paid it a visit and marveled at its achievements . Irish Catholic labor and enterprise was a strong contrib n ting factor in the making of the settlement on the banks of 8 IRISH GENESIS OF LOWELL

-b ullders mand . Like the ancient habitations of the mound and the Indians , they are now a part of ancient history, and ’ “R ” only a few traces remain . In Niles egister of Baltimore 1 1 for Aug . 27 , 83 , there was copied from the Portsmouth descri ( N . H . ) Journal , another newspap er of that period , a p tive account of “New Dublin” ( which was another name for “ ” the Acre settlement . ) It gives one a good idea of how “ Acre ” looked in those days “ In the suburbs of Lowell , within a few rods of the

N e w D u blin canals, is a settlement, called by some , ,

which occupies rather more than an acre of ground .

It contains a p opulation of not far from 5 00 Irish ,

who dwell in about 1 00 cabins , from 7 to 1 0 feet in fire- height, built of slabs and rough boards ; a place

made of stone , in one end , topp ed out with two or

three flour barrels or lime casks . In a c entral sit t nation , is th e school house , built in the same s yle

- of the dwelling houses , turfed up to the eaves with a

window in one end , and small holes in two sides for

the admission of air and light . In this room are col ” 5 — lect ed together p erhaps 1 0 children . (Ports

mouth N . H . From these rude huts and cabins sprang the descendants

“ of the Irish canal builders and laborers ; in the humble pre at c in cts of these primal habit ions, was sown th e seed of the race which still vitalizes today th e flourishing towns and cit ies of this land . Out from the portals of these pioneer cabins s tepped the children who , later, became mayors , j udges, law rs ye , clergymen and prosperous tradesmen in Lowell and throughout th e country . t From the first set lement, the Catholic Irish of the differ ent camps ( and they were decidedly in th e maj ority) had in mind their Faith and their religious duties . In th e summer

1 822 R ev . of , Patrick Byrne , an Irish missionary priest, who of Cheveru s had been valuable help to Bishop , in ministering to the wants of the Irish in the diocese since his ordination in 1 820 , visited Chelmsford Neck ( now Lowell ) and Middlesex Village in the c ourse of an extensive missionary trip through

- the towns and villages in north eastern Massachusetts . On 2 0th 1 822 August , , Father Byrne baptized th e first Irish Cath olic children in this vicinity . THE FOR MATIVE PERIOD 9

The first baptism in what is now Lowell was given in the Irish camp which was pitched on the present site of ’ Wheeler s block , at the corner of Merrimack and Tilden

streets, and E llen , the child of Patrick and Ann Harrigan 22 the ( born in what is now Lowell , July 31 , 18 ) was recipient n o August 20th, The sponsors were Michael D oran ’ and Mary O Brien . On the same day, Father Byrne visited the little Irish settlement at the Chelmsford Glass Man ufac

t ory in Middlesex Village , where a number of Irish laborers

were employed . Here , the Irish missionary called at eight

humble shacks or cabins , erected out of the rude material pro

vide d, and baptized eight children and cheered the parents

in their ancient mother tongue . Once again , after long wait

ing , the men and women of the little Irish settlement heard th e missionary expound th e truths of the Faith in the language of

the motherland , heartening th em and exhorting them .to stay

“ true to the Faith of their forefathers . Father Byrne was undoubtedly the priest referred to by ’ “ Miss O Keefe and oth er historians who stated that tradition and reliable accounts mentioned that mass was celebrated for th 1 822 e first time , in Lowell in in what was known as the ‘ ’ ’ n ow Irish Camp on ground occupied by Wheeler s Block , t Tilden s reet, for the benefit of workmen employed on th e P ” awtucket canal under the direction of Hugh Cummiskey .

R ev . John Mahony, the first p ermanent priest, did not visit

Lowell until the fall of 1 827 . Bishop Benedict Fenwick in Boston watched over th e little settlement with p aternal solicitude . On the 2 4th of O 1 826 R ev ctober, , there arrived in Boston , . John Mahony, an Irish missionary priest from Maryland , who came with th e b est of credentials from Baltimore . Father Mahony had Un been seven years in the ited States , coming originally from

County Kerry, Ireland . As he could sp eak the Irish lan

, guage his advent into the diocese of Boston was a Godsend , for Bishop Fenwick had been looking and praying for a man of Father Mahoney ’ s calibre to tend the little Irish flocks in

Lowell , Salem and Newburyport . The successful work of Fath er Mahony among the Irish colonies in Maryland and V 1 820 1 2 irginia , from to 8 6 , naturally received the com “1 G M H . Es . of L w eorge arrigan , $ , o ell , is a direct descendant of Patrick Harri an g . 1 0 IRISH GENESIS OF LOW ELL

men dation fitting to th e zeal displayed by th e energetic Irish arr1ved re missionary, so when h e in Boston , Bishop Fenwick c eived him with op en arms and immediately appointed him to

serve the little church in Salem , acting also as a missionary

in the outlying settlements .

r Meanwhile , th e Catholic leade s of the Irish community at Lowell had written from time to time to Bishop Fenwick for an Irish priest to sustain them in the practices of their

Faith . These leaders were actuated , to a certain extent, by the tendency of some of th e more unruly spirits in the com

- munity, to indulge in week end brawls , fomented by drinking,

which led to faction fights and feuds , which did not tend to

edify the native population . Bishop Fenwick had received more than a few letters and even visits from th e self-resp ect

ing leaders of the community in Lowell , among whom was Hugh Cummiskey who led the vanguard into the town in

1 822 . As a result of the letters and visits , the Bish op decid

ed to take up the subj ect matter with Father Mahony . On

October 5th, 1827 , the missionary arrived in Boston from Sa lem for instructions . In the course of a long conversation , the Bishop informed him “ that he has received many applications ” from Lowell to have a priest at least occasionally ; “ an d oth er things touched upon in th e letters of th e l eaders of the Catholic community . The result of the confer “ enc e was that the Bishop request ed Father Mahony to visit them the following Sunday ; to preach to them and give them

Mass , and , at the same time , ascertain the real numb er of ” Catholics and the prospects of erecting a church there .

Accordingly, Father Mahony set out for Lowell the next da y, (Saturday, Octob er 6th) traveling on horseback or by

stage , as the pioneer priests usually did in those days . H e arrived late in the afternoon and put up overnight in th e

. home of a leading Catholic The next morning, Sunday, Oct . 7th , Mass was said in a little hall in the second story of a house $ which stood on the site of the present Green school . And one can imagine the delight of the Irish in the little com munity wh o heard th eir native tongue spoken with the im passioned fervor and zeal of an orator from the Moth erlan d.

$ ’ The M k C errimac ompany s schoolhouse . THE FOR MATIVE PERIOD 1 1

Father Mahony returned to Boston the next day with ” the most favorable accounts of his first visit to Lowell . H e “ stated to the Bishop that there were fifty-two men— twenty one of whom hav e families . On this statement, the Bishop “ requested him to continue his visits th ere monthly, until some ” further arrangement is made . So matters went until the latter p art of the fall of 1 828

when , in the course of an extended pastoral trip through New

E ngland , Bishop Fenwick , accompanied by his secretary and assistant, R ev . William Tyler , went to Lowell for the first time . The Bishop and his assistant set out from Boston at noonon 2 th 1 82 8 Saturday, October 5 , , and arrived at Lowell in the e vening . Shortly after their arrival Father Mahony ap peared and the Bishop arranged with him to have Mass the n ext morning . h 1 2 Sunday, October 2 6t , 8 8, was a momentous day in the

Catholic history of Lowell . For, on the morning of that day, t he first mass ever attended by a Catholic bishop in Lowell was solemnized in the little schoolhouse of the Merrimack

C ompany which stood on the site of the present Green school .

H ere , the Catholics of the little community, through the gen erosity of Kirk B oott , E s$ . , the agent of the Merrimack Manu facturin g Company, gath ered to hear Mass for several years

n prevmu s . O this particular m ornln g, the little schoolhouse was packed to the doors with Catholics from Lowell and sur

rounding towns, including Protestants , drawn by curiosity .

In the upp er apartment of the schoolhouse , an altar was erect

ed and dressed for the unusual occasion by the Bishop , assist e d by Father Tyler . In describing this event, the Bishop has “ some interesting notes in his Diary . He writes : At 1 0, a large concourse of p eople assembled— Catholics and Protest ants in upper p ortion of said building [the schoolhouse] so there is great difficulty in reaching altar— makes his way in ” finally . 12 IRISH GENESIS OF LOW ELL

On this momentous occasion , Father M ahony said the

M ass , with th e Bishop occupying a temporary throne on the - gosp el side of th e altar . Father Tyler was sub deacon and

master of ceremonies . At the gosp el , th e Bishop preached , and the little mixed congregation heard the primary princi

ples of the Catholic Faith expounded clearly and concisely . The Protestants present were duly awed and impressed by th e dress and dep ortment of the Bishop and the simple fer th vor of the Catholic congregation . In e afternoon , there ’ was Vesp ers and th e R ecitation of the R osary at 2 o clock , at

which service Fath er Mahony preached in Irish and English .

Protestants were also prominent in the congregation . As an evidence of the broad -minded character of Kirk

B eott , the agent of the Merrimack Company, he sent a sp ecial invitation for the Bishop to dine with him at his house which

then stood near what is now Monument Square . Th e Bishop

c omplied with this invitation and , as he states in his Diary, “ was received with uncommon attention by Mr . B oott . Both

men , between courses , discussed the prospects of the little

Irish community , and the advisability of erecting a church on

a lot of land of the Company was considered , not only for the S piritual benefit to the Catholics , but also for the indirect bene

e fit to the Company . In accepting the invitation of Boott to “ dine , the Bishop had in mind the hop e of obtaining from th e f ” Company a lot of land su ficient to build a church . It is evi dent that B oott and the Bishop took a liking to one another ; the former must have been impressed with the op en de meanor of the Bishop . As th e result of this unusual and agreeable conference , the Bishop obtained from B oott a prom

‘ ise of a lot of land for a church . As the Bishop states in his “ : Boott M emoranda Mr . is to choose situation [of the land] ” and give early notice . f O course , one c an imagine the happy feelings of the

- hard working Fenwick at this unexp ected turn of affairs . Nat urall y, he was desirous of conveying the good news to the little

- Catholic community in Lowell , but, with his far sightedness, ’ “ ( which was one of the Bishop s strong attributes, ) h e defers sp eaking to Catholics on the subj ect of a church until he has Boott regulated with the agent [ ] possession of ground . This , h e states in his Memoranda . With this important matter de c l ided upon , th e Bishop had in mind th e opening of a subscrip- THE FOR MATIVE PERIOD 13 tion for a church on his next visit to the infant settlement . The

next day, Oct . 27th, the Bishop , accompanied by Fathers Ma hony and Tyler left for Boston where they matured plans for the prosp ective church . ’ Whether B oott s promise to give land for a church was inspired by the demeanor of the Bishop or whether the idea was originally suggested as the result of a conversation with

. Mrs . Winters , his Irish nurse and housekeeper , is a question

Tradition says that B oott , for several years previous to the ’ Bishop s visit, had been sorely p erplexed at the reports of week - end spats and fights among his Irish employees who “ ” lived on the Acre . On e evening at supp er, according to tt : tradition , B oo asked his Irish housekeep er What is the matter with those Irish countrymen of yours up in the Camps,

Mrs . Winters $ Why are they always quarreling and raising ” disturbances $ And his housekeep er is said to have replied : t Well , Mr . B oot , those countrymen of mine will continue to fight and drink and be bothersome until they have a priest to steady them . What they want more than anything else is a ” priest and a church $ Some few weeks later, probably as the result of this conversation , B oott arranged with the direct ors of the Merrimack Company for th e loaning of th e Com ’ $ pany s schoolhouse to the Catholics wh enever they were vis it ed by a priest in the course of his missionary j ourneys . “ R ev . James Fitton , in his Establishment of the Church in E ” New ngland , says that Bishop Fenwick offered the Holy “ Sacrifice of the Mass in a temp orary building, which had been erected for the two -fold purpose for mass on Sundays and Holidays and for a day school where the children were taught catechism and the ordinary English branches by a schoolmaster whose time and talents had been previously de ” voted to the same employ in Ireland . $ T L his schoolhouse has become historic in the religious history of owell . Here it was ’

St . A E x M 1 2 that nne s ( piscopal) church began its e istence, arch 7, 8 4, and where it 2 h continued to hold religious services until M arch , 18 5, w en it took possession of its present site . The Baptists next occupied the house and continued to hold services u n oi of C N 15 1 2 til the dedication their house worship on hurch street , ovember , 8 6 . After the Baptists came the Congregationalists where they remained until the comple i 1827 . On O 1 2 t on of their new church in upon the adjoining lot [ ctober 7, 8 7, the C hall atholics , who had used the upper in the house at intervals, heard Mass for the fi z F M The rst time solemni ed by ather John ahony . ] schoolhouse was subse$ uently D W D C sold to eacon illiam avidson and removed to abot street upon the west side . S M k - (between alem and errimac ) and converted into a dwelling house . I t stands ” x k — ’ ne t south of a bric building upon the same street . (Editor Old Resident s Hist ori C cal Society ollections, 1 4 IRISH GENESIS OF LOW ELL

1 2 On e of the big events of the year , 8 9, was the establish ment of an Irish Catholic school by Bishop Fenwick . Whether this school was started at the corner of Jeff erson and Market

’ “ ” streets or in one of th e upp er stories of Barnes Folly , a

- four story brick b uilding , which still stands near the corner

of Merrimack and Suffolk streets , is a moot question . Miss

Sarah Smith , who is probably the oldest woman of Irish ex traction living in Lowell at the present time , as a child , attend ed school in a building which stood at th e corner of Jefferson

’ “ ” and Lowell streets , also in an upp er story of Barnes Folly .

Miss Smith was born in Lowell , May 6 , 1 830. She later at

’ tended , as a grown girl , school in the basement of St . Patrick s church .

E arly on the morning of the 1 3th of July , 1 830, Bishop “ Fenwick left Boston for Lowell , to establish a church there , as h e states in his interesting M emoranda . He arrived in the

’ pro gressive little town by the Merrimack at 1 0 o clock in the

morning, probably by stage coach . In his Diary, h e notes “ that it was raining hard , and I stay at a tavern . At 4

’ “ o clock , the rain stops , and I visit a Catholic school , estab ” lishe . d there the year before With fitting courtesy, the schoolmaster, Patrick Collins, receives him and puts the child ren through their paces in Catechism and the common English

lessons and , of course , the Bishop is appropriately impressed . t That afternoon , fifty children are in a tendance . Once more , he dines with Kirk Boott , E s$ . , and brings up the matter of th e promised lot for a church . According to the Diary of th e “ B . . ishop , Mr B asked me to select a lot which I would not do , ’ ”

B . s referring the matter to Mr . j udgment . Apparently the

matter was ironed out agreeable to both , for the next day the Bish op instructed Father Mahony “to tell Catholics of the gift of a lot of land , through th e generosity of Mr . B oott and to urge on them subscriptions for the erection of a church THE FOR MATIVE PERIOD 1 5

It is easy to imagine the j oy of th e little settlement of more than 400 Catholics wh en this long-sought news was spread amongst them . The lot given was a piece of land , “ containing 814 0 square feet , situated near a new canal , called the Western canal . The west side of this lot bordered on what is now Adams street, and the east side intersected

Fenwick street, at a p oint on a line with the monument in ’ On O 5th front of the present St . Patrick s church . ctober , the same year, the Bishop , accompanied by Father Mahony, examined the site of the new church and went back to Boston in the evening .

1 831 All that fall and winter, and up to July following, ( ) industrious bands of Irish laborers , swelled by a number of

English , Scotch and Yankee Catholics, toiled with might and main to erect the little wooden building which was to house the God of their Fathers . Hugh Cummiskey, foreman of his little gang of Irish pioneers— some of whom came in 1 822 competed with Michael Connolly and his workmen to lay the substant ial foundation , some of which still lays today, as solid as when it was p ut together . There were incidents in the erection of this first church which threatened , for a time , to make for naught th e hard work of the laborers . On e of “ ” these was th e Battle [so called] of th e Stone Bridge , in which the latent bigotry of certain “native ” malcontents “ ” found its vent in an ill - advised effort to wreck the Acre and “ ” the new church . This battle was fought on the night of

May 1 8, 1 831 , in front of the old stone bridge which spans the canal on Broadway near the old Mann school .

The traditionary account of the battle shows that the Irishmen and women of the camps protected th eir rude homes e with the means of defense which nature had ndowed them , aided with all available implements at hand . The Irish girls and women of the Camps had stacked the latter in convenient f piles and they were used , with telling e fect, in repelling the “ en t e n mob from r1 g the Acre . As will be seen from the o f llowing traditionary account, the Irish girls and women

r the -f t we e real heroines of this ill a ed . att empt to deprive th e Catholic community of the fruit of their hard labors 1 6 IRISH GENE SIS OF LOW ELL

The women of the settlem e nt had been warned in ad

vance of th e cont emplated raid an d, that afternoon , they gath ered u p every available stone and brickbat in the neighbor

h ood . They rallied , as did th e women of Limerick of old , aroused by t he I mp ending danger to their new church and t their soggarth . That night , when vigilant scou s gave warn

ing of the approach of th e bigots from the village , they has

tily gathered up the stones and bricks in their big , wide t i aprons , and , wi h this improv sed ammunition , they followed

their husbands , and their brothers , and their sons , to the

bushes along the present Suffolk can al and p osted themselves ,

- awaiting the coming of the rum fire d bigots . Finally the

horde appeared at the bend opposite the old Mann school .

At the sight of the crowd , the Irish girls and women stationed

themselves behind the men , who were hid in the darkness and

bushes . The horde of bigots suddenly made a rush for the stone

bridge . As suddenly, a volley of stones and bricks struck “ them from the shores of the Acre . Four men went down as

- a result of the well aimed Irish attack . Amazed at the sud

den checking of their plans , the native invaders of th e balli wicks of the Irish withdrew their forces to a point near what

is now the Vocational school , and debated a minute . They t decided to make ano her rush for the bridge . But th e Irish forces from Cork and D ublin streets were well-poised for the

attack . Just as soon as the vanguard reached the bridge , th e s econd volley of stones struck down the advance and the big

ots retired back again in disorder . At this , the Irish girls

and women , inspired by the success of their male defenders ,

rushed from their places of concealment and , with good aim , let fly the reserve ammunition in their aprons at the disc om fit e t d bigots in disarray on the S one bridge . This new source of attack completely disorganized the befuddled horde on

the bridge . First , one or two started to run back to the vil

‘ lage , and then the entire crowd fled incontinently , p ursued

by the angry Irish women and their escorts , in reserve . The infuriated women did not stop chasing the would-b e invaders until they reach ed Merrimack street when their breath and out an d ammunition gave h they were forced to return to the ‘ ’ Acre . Thus th e battle of the stone bridge leading to the Irish

1 8 IRISH GENESIS OF LOWELL

The above comment sums up conclusively the native sen tim ent as to the rights or wrongs of the native i nvaders of the Irish habitations at this period . And history has recorded that, from this trying time down to th e present, successive generations of th e first Irish have always had native defend n hin ers, who aroused themselves in the K own ot g period later during the Civil war ; in the reconstruction of the country in the seventies and eighties ; and were the first to extol] the deeds of boys and men of Irish blood who represented this city on the battlefields of France . I I

DEDIC ATION OF THE FI R ST C HURC H

’ The first St . Patrick s wooden church , which the bigots , described in preceding paragraphs , attempted to destroy , was

3d 1 831 . dedicated with unusual ceremonies on Sunday , July ,

Through the greatest good luck , the writer ran across a news of t paper item , describing the ceremonies dedica ion , in a “ b ound volume of the issues of the United States Catholic ” ws t Miscellany, a weekly Catholic ne pap er prin ed in Charles “ Mis c el t on , South Carolina , that year . In the issue of the lany for July was the following account C A THOLIC C HUR C H A T LOW ELL

This church , under th e patronage of St . Patrick ,

was dedicated on th e 3rd inst . by th e Right R everend

Bishop of Boston , [Fenwick] to the service of the Chris

tian God . The building is of wood ; its structure is of l Gothic . The tower supports a gui ded globe , surmount

e d by a large guilded cross . The ext ernal app earance

of the church arrests the eye of the b eholder , and imme i l d at e y produces a conviction of neatness and regularity . T t he in erior is in keeping with the exterior . As a build

i n g, it constitutes an ornament to the rapidly increasing

town of Lowell ; as a church , it will not b e deficient in its contribution to the formation of the moral and relig

i ou-s character of the p lace . The congregation , under t he pastoral charge of the R ev . J . Mahony, consists of

n e ar l a t ho u san d s o u ls . y The numb er of p ersons , how

ever, that were present at the D edication must have amounted to 2 and 3 thousand p ersons- among whom are included upwards of a 1 00 of the congregation of Boston who traveled 2 5 miles to be present on this occa ~

s ion . To the several members of the Boston Cathedral ffi choir, for their e cient exertions , much praise is due . R ev ( . . t . R e Mr Mahony celebra ed mass ) Very v . Dr .

’ ‘ O F laherty t his t ext 2 n d ook from Book of Chronicles , 7 th 1 2 chapter, th verse . The church was excessively

crowded ; the day was unusually warm . At the conclu s ion of the mass, the Bishop gave the Apostolic Benedic ’ t . s 4 ion Ve pers commenced at o clock and , owing to 2 0 IRISH GENESIS OF LOWELL

the length of th e service , and the extreme h eat of the

- foren oon , he conferred the Sacrament of Confirmation

on thirty-nine candidates in th e afternoon . Previous

and subsequent to its administration , he addressed them

in very paternal and impressive language . It is with p leasure we have to observe th e orderly de

p ortment of such of our dissenting brethren as witnessed the it D edic ation and attended both Mass and Vespers . May prove to b e a happy day to all who never b efore had an in

c lin ation or opp ortunity to b e present on a similar occasion $ May Lowell enroll it among the happiest days of her history $”

In the thirties and forties , and even in the early fifties , a ra Catholics from Nashua , L wrence , Billerica and within a s din s of more than twenty miles , attended mass and religiou ’ devotions in the first St . Patrick s . They came to Lowell in

-“ all manner of conveyances by foot, by stage , and on horse

back , showing th e sterling quality of their Faith . The sturdy

Irish pioneers of Nashua , notified in advance of the coming

‘ of the priest to Lowell , started out the day b efore and , after the usual round of visits on their arrival at the Irish

camps among relatives and friends from the ould sod , they

called on the priest , and were absolved , or married , or had t ff heir o spring baptized , as the case might b e , on the Sunday

following . The early missionaries , and even Father John Ma

- hony and his hard working curate , Father Peter Connolly, had their hands full attending to the spiritual wants of their ex

tended congregation . Mr . Philip Haggerty, probably th e old

est Irishman in Lowell at present writing, rememb ers Hugh M E c voy, the tailor, and his family, coming over the road from 1 839 s ’ Nashua in to attend mas at St . Patrick s . When a boy,

. twelve years old , Mr Haggerty sang in th e choir at old St . ’

. Patrick s Sinc e this p eriod he has sung in , instructed , and di rect ed Catholic choirs in Lowell with little interruption , up to the present time . No man in past years or at the present time , has been more energetic in bringing out th e beauties of

Catholic music in this vicinity . “ In the United States Catholic Intelligencer for May 1 1 , 1 832, was this notice DE DICATION OF FIRST CHUR CH 2 1

’ The Very R ev . Dr . O F laherty will celebrate Mass and

preach on Sunday next , God willing , in the Catholic church ” ’ lahert - at Lowell . . Dr . O F y was , at this time , th e vicar gen ‘ eral of th e diocese and rendered efiicien t aid to the Bishop

- v in answering the ill advised comments and criticisms of R e .

Lyman Beecher and other Know Nothing clergymen . His able oratory and c on trov ertive sermons attract ed all den omi t nations in Boston , so , when the dis inguished doctor went

- up to Lowell , his coming aroused great interest . Well mean

ing Protestants from all over the town , attended the Mass ‘ and vesper services in large numbers . In the issue of the I n lli ’ ’ t e gen c er for May 2 5 , 1 832 , was this account of the D octor s reception in Lowell “ It must have been , as it really was , a most gratifying

sight to the Catholic clergymen who ofii ciat ed in the R ev . Mr . Mahoney ’ s church to behold a number of our Protestant

brethren present . They manifested most resp e ctful atten tion to every word that had been uttered by the Clergymen 8 1 0 2 ’ at the , and o clock services of that day . Although it had been distinctly announced that a special meeting of the o 2 Cath lics was required at , yet, such , were the numbers of

Protestants who assembled on this occasion , that it was a pity

to send the good p eople away hungry . Several articles of our

Holy Faith and a rapid sketch and j ustification of our c erem o ” nies concluded the services .

’ . O F lahert The fame of Dr y had preceded him , which

accounts for the large number of Protestants , some of which w ere undoubtedly drawn by curiosity . At this time the fame

of the reverend doctor had spread all over New England . He 29 1 84 6 ’ died March , , and was interred 1n St . Augustine s cem et er y, South Boston .

On 23 1 833 Sunday June , , the Bishop came up to Lowell , “ arriving early, as he states in his M emoranda , and gave 6 Confirmation to 3 . His visit was prompted mainly at this c in t erv -l time by reports , whi h h e received at a s, of county —fi htin feuds and clan g g. In the afternoon , after the vesp er service , he called all th e males of the congregation togeth er “ and spoke at some length about quarrels and disputes with , f special reference to county euds , as he notes in his in struc 22 IRI SH GENE SIS OF LOW ELL

tive Memoranda . From an early p eriod , clan fights were aroused at unseemly intervals among the Irish camps by hot f the headed men , and they always had a bad e fect among

natives who , at the first manifestation of this typical Irish

weakness , were wont to call out the constables and distort an

- ordinary fist fight into the dimensions of a battle or a riot . The result was that the p eaceful members of the Irish community

complained to the Bishop . Hugh Cummiskey, the only Cath eac e mak t lic constable at this time , while trying to act as a p fisti en er, a few weeks before the visit of the Bishop , in a c

counter b etween the men of the different counties , received rough usage . In his talk to the men that afternoon in the church , the Bishop spoke strongly against th e futility of feuds and mentioned the two diV 1s1on s ln Ireland at that time caused by uncalled for hostility among them . Tradition says that t th e men heeded he advice and admonition of the Bishop .

On 1 Saturday, Septemb er 5th, 835 , Bishop Fenwick came to Lowell to arouse interest and to receive collections for the

’ building of additions to the original St . Patrick s church , and to 1ron out some minor differences b etween clergymen and laymen in the parish . After hearing and adj udicating the f dif erences, the bishop decided to take p ersonal charge of l church improvements , eaving the clergy to take charge of ”

. the spirituals The next morning, at the last mass , the bishop ascended the p ulpit , after Father Peter Connolly had

delivered an eloquent sermon , and asked the congregation to remain after vesp ers at which proj ects for making additions to the church were considered . At the clos e of an inspiring talk on the need of new wings to the church to take care of the fast increasing congregation , the bishop asked for offer

. w ings Those present resp onded in an inspiring ay, and the result of the collection was $209 . Encouraged at this mani festation t of interes in the new parish , the bishop went back to Boston the next day, formed plans , and engaged an expert carp enter to superintend the making of the alterations The .

l M c D on o h carpenter h e se ected in Boston was Patrick u g , who came to Lowell on the following Wednesday, ( Sept . 9) exam DEDICATION OF FIRST CHUR CH 23

, in ed th e site of the church , looked over the price of materials

:hecked up the prop osals of local masons and carp enters , and “ ma finally reported to the bishop that week , that most of th e t erial for the addition to th e church in Lowell can b e found ” there and is cheaper than in Boston .

Mr . M c D on ou gh afterwards evidently settled in Lowell , ’ 1 837 nu for his name occurs in the City Auditor s report of , “ der the head of disbursements for that year . For making ” r e repairs to the schoolroom under the Catholic church , he ’ c eived $ 1 5 5 of the city s money . At this particular p eriod , the city owned the stove and school books in the school rooms ’ under St . Patrick s , an arrangement which continued up to the merging of the Irish schools into the regular city schools

in the early fifties . Th e city had also an arrangement by

which the school authorities paid no rent for five years , from

March , 1 836 , for the use of one of the two school rooms under the church

From the first, Catholic music was a feature of old St . ’ Patrick s . The children of the Irish schools received fitting

instruction in bringing out the hymns of Hadyn , Mozart and Lambilott e , as well as the adult singers .

” ’ Miss Catharine O Callaghan was probably th e first or anist 1 g and director of the mus c ln the services of the thirties . D uring the weekdays she taught the Irish Catholic children

in a primary school . At the first dedicatory service in 1 831 ,

the music was played and directed by a Mr . Mallet from Bos ton who brought the entire Cathedral choir up to Lowell to t enhance the musical part of th e first mass in he new St . Pat ’ rick s . In a letter to Charles Cowley describing the early “ M E v . c o s . t Irish in the town , John F y, E $ , stated hat a Mr . E Hector, dward Kitts and Catharine Hogan [the schoolteach er in the Irish schools] assisted the singers from Boston at ” the de di at r c o 3 1 831 . E y mass , July , ight years later, in 1 839 , . . Mr Philip P Haggerty, who is still living, when a boy 12 ’ ll of , sang in the choir, under Miss O Ca aghan . Following ’ O C alla han Miss g , came a Mr . James Harrison , an English

Catholic , who took the first steps to form a p ermanent adult ’ choir and who remained at St . Patrick s for several years . ’ . Later, he accepted a position at St Anne s church . Miss Nel 24 IRISH GEN E SIS OF LOW ELL

’ r . lie O N eil, who ma ried Patrick S Gilmore , th e great band ’

. . O N eil leader , and who was a daughter of P A , the first Irish

Catholic in Lowell who designed on copp er, wood and stone , ’ r . sang in her younger days in old St . Pat ick s choir While

playing the organ later, sh e was admired by Gilmore , and a

romantic courtship ensued , which culminated in the great “ ” band leader comp osing the ballad Seeing Nellie Home ,

which had an international fame and which is still , today, on

th e rep ertoire of devoted lovers .

In the fall of 1 847 , a new organ was set up in old St . ’ Patrick s to take the p lace of th e small organ which had done “A d service since the dedication , July 3, 1 831 . The Lowell ” v ertiser for Sept . 2 1 , 1 847 , described it as follows

’ A new church organ has b een set up in St . Patrick s

Church , built by George Stevens , E ast Cambridge , Mass . It is 1 6 1 -2 feet high ; 1 1 1 -2 feet wide ; 9 feet deep ; has 22 reg ist ers or stops ; 1 octave of p edal bass ; case in imitation of

E nglish oak ; cost, $ 1 4 00 ; is a very rich and excellent toned ” instr ument as all instruments are from his factory .

’ ST . PETER S DEDIC ATED .

An interesting account of the dedication of the first St . ’ “ Peter s church was printed in th e Lowell Courier of Oct . 1 8,

1 842 . The report of the unusual event was headed with a “ E : quotation from c c . X 29 : A bird of the air shall carry th e ” voice ; that which has wings shall tell the matter . The D edication of this new Catholic Church took p lace l 6th on Sunday last, the inst . The Church , which is a large convenient edifice of brick , the interior of which is most ele an tl g y furnished , and capable of accommodating fifteen hun dred p ersons with ease , was crowded long before the com ’ m en c em en t - of the service at half past ten o clock . R R The ight everend Benedict Fenwick , Bishop of Bos in ontifi c at es on tific als ton , p [ p ] assisted hy the R ev . James , t Conway, Pas or of the Church , together with the R ev . Mr . ffi Hardy, who was the o ciating clergyman , all arrayed in their clerical robes , advanced from the Vestry R oom to the Sanc tu ar y, and from thence into the body of the Church and imme diatel y commenced the dedic ation .

2 6 IRISH GENESIS OF LOW ELL

In those days , the progress of the little Irish Catholic com munity on th e shores of the Merrimack was watched with a

lively interest by th e Catholics of Boston , and news of impor tant events was duly chronicled by the “United States Catholic ” ofii cial Intelligencer, which , at that time , was the newspaper “ ” fi of the diocese , j ust as today, the Pilot reports of cial hap “ ” penin gs of the archdiocese . The Intelligencer for June 1 ,

1832 , reported this interesting happening in Lowell We are glad to find that the Catholics of Lowell have purchased an acre and a half of land for a bur

ial ground , about one mile from that thriving town ,

— on the Boston road which will save them , in the fu

ture , the great inconvenience and expense of remov ing their dead either to South Boston or Bunker Hill

graveyard . “ We stated in our last number that they [the Cath oli os of Lowell] bought a piece of i and in Lowell for

the erection of a schoolhouse . That piece we have

been since informed , has been generously given to them by the Manufacturing Company [ M errimack Company] through the agency of the worthy Kirk B oott , E s$ . “ R ev The . Mr . Conolly will celebrate Mass at Lowell ” on Sunday next .

Here , indeed , are interesting fragments of history , never r before p inted in book form , which will give a sidelight on the

progress of the Irish in the new town . The burial ground re

ferred to above is now known as Yard 1 , ( the oldest part of ’ . . On e St Patrick s cemetery ) can see , from the date of the

i not ce , that the ground had b een used for interments sinc e 1 832 . Previous to this year, the remains of the pioneer Cath o ’ oli s were brought over th e road to either St . Augustine s cem et ery in South Boston or th e little yard in Charlestown under , w the shado of Bunker Hill monument . D enis Crowley the ,

. E s father of the late Hon Jeremiah Crowley, $ . , usually ac companied the r emaln s of the early pioneers to Boston The . school house land , referred to above , is now occupied by Notre

Dame academy . HI STOR Y OF THE IRI SH SC HOOLS

From an early period in the history of Lowell , even as a town , the children of th e Irish pioneers were considered in the appropriations of money for public schools . The great “ ” in progress of the little settlement on the Acre , and the crease of progeny in the camps , b estirred the school commit ’ th 20 s a tee of the town , in e late , and a room was opened in convenient place which the Irish children were invited to at in the tend . This improvised school was kept three months t year, but, at firs , received scant support and consideration on account of the natural prej udice of the fathers and moth t e ers of the children , who did not relish the idea of the lit l

- 1 4 ones being instructed by non Catholic teach ers . Up to 83 , the Irish children were instructed in the rudimentary princi n ples of reading, writing and arithmetic by comp etent layme and by the assigned regular priests who came t o Lowell

Fath ers J . J . Curlin , J . Mahony and P . Connolly . The littl e ’ scholars were taught the three R s and st ill a fourth R— R e ligion — in the basement of the Catholic church on Fenwick s treet and , with the natural aptitude of the Irish race , they learned quickly and well .

In the spring of 1 830, the welfare of th e children on the ” Acre was discussed at a town meeting . On the town war 1 rant, for May 3, 830, the report of the Committee to divid e the money for the support of the public schools in the town included this recommendation “ To accept the rep ort of the Committee to de vise a method of dividing the money for the support of the Schools among the several School Districts as also t o consider whether it is exp edient to appropri at e any part of th e money granted for the supp ort of schools exclusively to the Irish Children in said town Your Committee further recommend that the School Committee be authorized to expend

at their discretion , and in the way they shall deem t expedien any sum , not exceeding fifty dollars of the

money raised for the supp ort of schools for the in 2 8 IRISH GEN ESIS OF LOWELL

struction of th e Children of the Irish Families in this

. town . This provision to apply to this year only All

of which is resp ectfully submitted .

WARREN C OLBURN,

ELISHA FOR D , R HENRY C OBU N , P E OLIV ER A . W HIP L ,

I . A . BE ARD ,

ARTE MAS YOUNG .

l . 1 830. Lowell , May 3, Schoo Committee

The above-mentioned resolve was th e first definite at tempt to app ortion public money for th e instruction of th e

Irish Catholic children in the town . It shows conclusively

“ that the school committee and the town offi cials resp ected the worth of the Irish population , even though the amount ap propriat ed was small . At the town meeting in March th e next year, ( 1 831 ) whether it was b ecause of the influence of Mr . Kirk B oott , E s$ . , or the recommendation of Father Ma hony, who was working with might and main for the suc cess of the little Irish community at this p eriod , a school dis triet for the exclusive use of the Irish children was planned . The town clerk rep orted the resolve as follows

n e O motion of . [Eliphalet] Case , th e Town Voted to choose a Committee of five to determine whether it is exp edient to establish a School district for the Irish Children in Lowell ; to report thereon to

th e Town at the next Town meeting and R ev . Theo

E R ev . . . R e E dore dson , E M Freeman , v . . Case , E lisha

Bartlett, and Josiah Crosby were chosen by nomina

tion from the chair . At the April town meeting the Committee ’ s report was accepted on motion of James H . B . Ayer . It was as follows That a school for the Irish Children has been

kept ab out two years . Last year, th e Town voted f i the sum of fi ty dollars for ts support . According to the rule by which the School money is now divid ed , this, if made a District School , would receive fifty

dollars . The average number of Children attending

the school is about thirty . The Irish p op ulation is located conveniently to form a district by them selves Therefore your Committee recommend

That the Irish population , living on the Acre ,

- so called , b e formed into a district , to be called dis

trict No . 7 . “ That such Irish families not living within the

above limits , who , in the opinion of the superintend t ing Sch ool committee , are convenien ly situated to

send to the School in district No . 7 , b e considered

as belonging to that district .

THE OD ORE E DSON ,

On Behalf of the Committee .

The success of the Irish schools , and the liberal policy p ursued by the town officials of Lowell , naturally attracted

- well disposed Irishmen with families from nearby towns . On e H “ of these was Mr . Philip F . Scanlan of Dover, N . . , who had moved from D over to Lowell because there was a Catholic ” school here and none there , as Bishop Louis Walsh states in “ ” his pamphlet on the E arly Irish Schools of Lowell . From the same authority I quote an interesting letter written by

Bishop Fenwick to Mr . Scanlan in March , 1 831 , on the ques tion of the Catholics of Lowell receiving aid from the town school fund

Boston , March 2 6 , 1 831 . D ear Sir

I received , a few days ago , your kind communi

cation . I see no impropriety in th e Catholic schools

in your town receiving aid from the school fund , es pecially if the Catholics of Lowell have contributed

their portion by the payment of taxes , and otherwise ,

toward the support of said fund . C ommon j ustice

would entitle them to something out of it, for the a m ent of p y their Master . But I really do not um ‘ derstan d how , in this lib eral country, it can be made

a condition to their receiving anything, that they , 30 IRISH GEN ESIS OF LOW ELL

the Catholics shall b e in that case debarred from o having a Catholic teacher , learning out of Cath lic books and b eing taught the catechism of th e Catho

lic church . We can never accept such terms . I

have no partiality toward Mr . further than I

think him a conscientious , good , moral man . As to

his qualifications as a teacher, I have not much to

say . I am aware they are not very great, but are

they not sufficient, as yet, for those little children

h e has the care of $ However, if the good Catholics

of Lowell have an obj ection to him , I shall not wish

to retain him . But, it is all important that the indi

vidual whom they select to replace him , be one quali fied to instruct children in the principles of their re

ligion , for I would not give a straw for that sp ecies

of education , which is not accompanied with and

based on religion . I remain ,

Your ob edient servant , E B NE DICT , BISHOP OF B OSTON . Clearer words to put forth the Catholic p osition have ” never been p enned , states Bishop Walsh , in his little pam phlet on the Irish schools of that p eriod . The School Committee rep ort for 1 844 included a his tory of the Irish schools to that year . The report stated “ That the district school [for Irish children] appears to have been op ened and subsequently taught by Hannah Dyer,

Mercy Und erwood , Miss Hayward and possibly some others . Like most of the district schools it was kept only a part of th e year and was suspended sometimes , from the difficulty of

finding a suitable room for it. All the arrangements seemed 1 834 to have been very unsatisfactory, for, in the year , R ev .

Mr . Conolly app ears to be carrying on a private school under the Catholic church . This was the position of affairs up to 1 835 June , , whe n this gentleman made application to the

School Committee for aid , and was present at several of their

e . me tings After considerable deliberation , an arrangement was , about this time , entered into , which was p erfectly d e

fined and well understood on each side . It is thus detailed in the annual report of the School committee for the year end ing March , 1 836 ‘ I t is known to the citizens generally, that several fruitless attempts have been hitherto made , to extend t he benefits of our public schools more fully to the Chil dren of our Irish p opulation . These attempts have been misa hitherto frustrated , chiefly p erhaps , by a natural p prehension on the part of parents and pastors of placing t heir children under Protestant teachers and , in a meas e ure also , by the mutual prej udice and consequ nt disa gre em ents among the Protestant and Catholic children t h emselves . Your Committee have great pleasure in stat f ing that these dif iculties app ear to have b een overcome , an d the above most desirable obj ect to have b een finally acc omplished .

‘ As early as the month of June , last, [ 1835 ] the R ev .

Mr . Conolly of the Catholic Church applied to the Com m itt e e for such aid as they might b e able to give to his exertions for the cause of education and improvement of the children under his charge . The Committee entered

hls 1 readily and fully into y ews , and in this , and several subsequent interviews , a plan for establishing one or m ore separate schools for this purpose was matured and

1n has s c e been put into successful op eration . On the part of the Committee , the followm g conditions were in s isted on as indisp ensable

‘ 1 — That the instructors must be examined as to their qualifications by the Committee and receive their

appointments from them .

2— That the books , exercises , and studies, should be

all proscribed and regulated by the Committee , and

that no other should be taught or allowed .

‘ 3— That these schools should be placed , as regards

the examination , insp ection and general supervis ion of the Committee on precisely the same ground

as th e other schools of the town .

‘ On R ev the part of [ . ] Mr . Conolly, it was urged , to ff facilitate his e orts , and to render the scheme accepta IRISH GEN ESIS OF LOW ELL

h he in s tr u c to r s m u st b e o f the ble to his parishioners , t at t

R o m an C at ho lic faith an d that the b oo k s p re sc r ibe d , s ho u ld c o n t ain n o st at e m e n t s o f fac t s , n o t adm it te d by

fl t in in u r io u s l u on t hat fait h, n o r an y rem ar ks re e c g j y p t he ir s ys te m o f be lie f. ‘ These conditions were assented to by the Committee as reasonable and prop er ; and the bo oks in use in our other schools were submitted to his insp ection and were , e by him , fully approved . On these principles , there hav

ho ls been established within the past year, tw o [ s c o ] 1 u n de r the C at ho lic C hu r c h in June , [ 835 ] and one in the vicinity of Chapel Hill , in September last . These schools have now b een in op eration more than half a year and your Committee have th e satisfaction of b e lieving them to b e eminently successful and that they are doing much good to this hitherto neglected p ortion of the

- . t community Four hundred and six y nine children , have , during the year, b een brought under the in flu en c e of these public sch ools . The average number attached has 282 been , of which number, th e av e rage daily att e n dan c e has be e n 2 0 ho w i 8, s n g a p u n c t u alit y fu lly e $ ual t o that

o f o u r o t he r s c ho o ls .

‘ The Committee think that the advantages of this arrangement must have b een obvious to every observer in the improved condition of our streets , in their freedom from noisy, quarrelsome , and truant boys ; and , it 1s c on fi den tl y hop ed , that they will soon b e equally obvious in the improved condition and respectability of these child ren and in the ir redemption from intellectual and moral degradation .

‘ Under the above arrangement, the Committee pro 1 835 c eeded, on June 1 4th [ ] to assume the supervision of the private school , already existing under th e C atho lic Church and elected Patrick Collins its teacher, one of the public instructors . Mary J . Woodbury was next

. On 1 4 chosen in p lace of Miss Stevens Sept, , 1835 , ah in v1c1n it other Catholic school the y of Chap el Hill , taught M cI lro by Daniel y, under the auspices of Mr . Conolly R ev l [ . Father Conol y] was adopted as a town school ;

34 “ IRISH GENESIS OF LOWELL A “A general interest is manifested in th e pros

peron s condition of our Irish schools . They now con

sist of two Grammar and three Primary schools , kept

by four male and two female teachers . The whole number of pupils reported as having attended these is seven schools more or less , during the year , hun _ - dred and fifty two . Most of these probably attend ed three months at least ; th e average number of pu

pils connected with the schools at once , is 435 , and

the average daily attendance to 342 . There has b een an increase this year [ 1 838] of one hundred and

- twenty two in th e average numb er, and 83 in daily

att endance . It may b e seen , to a reference to the

t abular summary, that the at te n dan c e has b e e n $ u it e as go o d ( in p r op o rt io n t o the av e r age n u m be r )

as an y o f o u r p u blic s c ho o ls . Irish pupils are not ex

c luded from th e other public schools , to which con v en ien c e of location and requisite attainments may

entitle them to be admitted . They have access to the w High school on equal conditions ith others, and

more or less , will be found in the various schools of ” every rank in the city . The Irish Catholic teachers who taught th e children of the Irish pioneers , were men and women of ability . Accord in g to the school report for 1 838, these men and women of Irish birth or extraction were on th e city payroll $

Patrick Collins , master of No . 5 grammar school on

Lowell street .

r Peter M cD e mott , brother of Father James M cD er

mott, wh o taught the young Irish children in 1 1 No . primary school on Fenwick street, wh ere was he assisted by Miss Jane U . Danahy .

Jane U . Danahy, teacher of a primary school for

Irish Catholic children on Cross Street .

Richard Walsh , master of No . 1 9 grammar school

on Church street .

e M cI lro D ani l y, assistant to Patrick Collins at No . 5 m gram ar school on Fenwick street . He became

later, a distinguished lawyer in Boston . HISTORY OF THE IRISH SCH OOLS 35

Catharine Hogan , teacher of the school under the ” 1 839 n Catholic Church , in 1 838 and , know as

No . 1 1 primary school . The yearly salaries of the Catholic teach ers in the Irish schools were equivalent to a present day teacher ’ s incidental r expenses . Patrick Collins , a talented Irishman , eceived I lr His assistant , D aniel M c oy , was paid 1 1 Jane U . D anahy, principal of primary school No . , received ’ In the auditor s report for the year 1 837 , we find that Patrick M cD on ou gh , [he superintended the building of ’ the wings on the first St . Patrick s wooden church in 1 835 ] re “ ” c eived $ 1 5 5 for finishing schoolroom in Catholic church .

' 4 1 For th e year en din g M arch 1 8 , these salaries were paid t the Irish Catholic teachers : James E gan , mas er of the No . 5

0 M cD erm ott s r grammar school , $7 0 ; Peter , his as istant , e c eived Martin Fitzpatrick , Daniel M cI lroy ,

Jane D anahy pri ncipal of primary school No . 1 1 ,

R ichard Walsh , master of the primary school on

’ 2 alla han Church street , $ 00 ; Miss C atharine O C g , primary 20 school No . 2 1 , $ 0 .

In the items for contingent expenses , Patrick Dailey r e “ ” c eiv e d for renting a house for primary school . Cath arine Hogan , who t aught the younger Irish children in the basement of the Catholic church in 1 838 and 1 839, h ad one hundred scholars , and her record for average attendance of t these li tle scholars was good , in comparison with other pri mary school teachers in the city . Miss Ann Cummiskey, the daughter of Hugh Cummiskey, first Irish pioneer , taught a primary school at the corner of Adams and Cross st reet .

s t h The fir t men ion of t is school by the Committee , was in

“ “ t 1 849 . I t two t the repor of was described as s ories high , t on and will accommoda e four schools , though only e is in op eration at the the present time . The cost of building , includ 3 ing land , is $ 300. The school now in op eration in this house Was established early in the year ( 1 84 9) and was temporarily kept in the basement of the Catholic church . The ” lower rooms have windows o n ly on one side . 36 IRISH GENESIS OF LOWELL im At about this period , th e city officials were duly

pressed with the great progress made by the Irish children , and steps were taken to put the more advanced pupils on a

b etter plane of advancement . The good work of Fathers

Peter Conolly and James M cD ermott were now bearing fruit . In the School report for 1 839 it was stated that In pursuance of a desire to elevate the character of our ’ Irish Grammar Schools the two , of last year s report ( Nos . 4

and 5 ) have been united into one , a large room secured for it, a principal and assistant master app ointed ( Peter M cD erm ott and Daniel M cI lroy) and the same division of time and rota tion of exercises introduced as in other schools of the same ’ ran kf

This school was located in Liberty Hall , at the corner of

Jeif erson and Lowell streets and is still standing today . It is

now occupied by a Greek grocer .

At the meeting of the Board of Aldermen October 5 ,

A communication from the School Committee relating to the Primary schools kept in the basement

story of the Catholic church , stated that the a ecom modation s are insufficient for the number of scholars and recommending the establishment of another pri t mary school in Fenwick s reet or the vicinity, was

read and referred to a j oint sp ecial committee . A l derman Whipple and Carleton were appointed ; so R was Messrs . andall , Mansur and Horn j oined , with instructions to report whether suitable land for a schoolhouse can b e found near the corner of Lowell

and Fenwick streets . The board concurred . In the Lowell School rep ort for 1 840 was this enlighten comment on the progress of the Irish schools “ From inquiries informally made , in respect to the bearing of the common school system upon the

Irish p opulation in other cities and large towns , the C ommittee have derived new evidence of the wisdom o f the plan adopted in this city, and which is b e lieved to be p eculiar to ourselves . No other p lace , HISTORY OF THE IRISH SCHOOLS 37

it is supp osed , can exhibit the same proportion of

this class of children in the public schools . Their general attendance at school can scarcely be too

highly appreciated , even as a matter of police and

protection against j uvenile delinquency . As these “ children are admitted to the high school , and te a

other schools , when their parents desire it , on the

same terms as other children , the system is charge

able , ou our part, with no prej udice or exclusive ness nor can any countervailing evils be apprehend ed from the concessions by which these b enefits are o secured , as long as th e course of study and instru

‘ tion is prescribed by the Committee , and is the same

as in other schools .

( R EV . ) AM OS BLANCHAR D , E E E ( REV . ) TH OD OR DSON ,

( RE V . ) HE NRY A . MILES ,

JOHN SMITH ,

H . G . F . C ORLISS ,

School Committee . 1 Lowell , March 24 , 840 .

In the School R eport , for the year ending D ecember , “ 1 847 it was stated that the schools kept for some years un

— der the Catholic church on Fenwick street numbers 1 5 , 22 2 and 3 , were removed , the latter part of the season , to the new house on Adams street [the school stood on the corner of

Adams and Cross str eets ] Of the No . 5 Grammar sch ool [th e Mann school] the rep ort stated that a very large num b er of scholars enter the mills . More than one seventh of the 5 whole number of scholars [ 0] connected with the school , t he past year, have received certificates for the mills by the

P rincipal [Shattuck . ] This has fallen heavily on the higher c lasses taking away , in many instances , the best and most ad ” van c e d scholars . In the Appendix to the School R eport for 1 85 1 , it was stated that from 1 838 to 1 85 1 , 6 69 certificates were issued by the masters of th e Mann school , alone , for en try into the mills . On e of the most flattering encomiums on the Irish schools o occurs on the records of the Scho l Committee for 1 85 1 . Among other things the regular report had this comment 38 IRISH GENESIS -OF LOWELL

Of the schools attended only by th e Irish , some

are deserving of the highest praise , in p oint of order,

vivacity, and pro ficiency in study . The quickness ,

intelligence , and spirit of the Celtic race , are easily

excited by a teacher, of an earnest, commanding , and enlightened character $” As an appendix to this report was th e following table

I R I SH SC HOOLS

No . Av . Daily

Years Gram . Sch . Prim . Sch . Belonging Att . 1 835 1 2 4 69 208 1 838 2 3 7 5 2 342 1 844 1 5 638 443

In 1 85 0, the city experimented with Intermediate schools

for the first time for children between eight and fifteen , and

the first organized was among the Irish children on the Acre .

It was taught by Miss Laura A . Legate and stood on Lewis

street . As to the success of this exp eriment, the School Com

’ mitt ee reported that Miss Legate s school of Irish children “ presented an example of order , maintained almost exclu

sivel y by moral means of animated and thorough teaching, in

which oral instr uction has had a large place . The evident

and rapid improvement [of the school] is not surpassed , p er $” haps , by any school in Lowell Of all the encomiums for

er1od teachers at this p , this was probably th e most expressive , and one can 1magine how flatt ered the young woman teacher

felt at this description of her school of Irish scholars . W heth

’ er Miss Legate s p ersonality inspired the adj ectives of the

impress ionable school committeemen is a question . At any

’ rate , at the examination of th e young lady s scholars that fall , one member of the committee reported that the exami

’ nation was impartial , and lasted from to 4 o clock in th e $ afternoon , without recess The order was p erfect . No

scholar violated even the strictest rule of propriety $ Reading was in full , clear tones , the sound of the letters glven with ac now— perhaps it had better b e left in a misty historical back ground , but a regular crusade was started to compel attend ance of all children at school , quite in contrast to the sleepy indifference that characterized so many of the town s and cit ies previous to that year . At this time , the Mann and th e Franklin schools were the Irish schools of Lowell and the

Public High school was , for a time , in the old brick church on ’ ’ Suffolk street ( now the St . Patrick s boys school . ) In

'

1 852 , the Sisters of Notre Dame were induced to teach a free ’ ’ for . R e school girls in St Patrick s parish by v. John O Brien , thus b eg mnm g, or better, reopening that great and grand movement that places Lowell today, [ 1901] with its four thousand , five hundred Catholic children , in its seven schools : a ” mong the very first cities of the land in Catholic education . EA RLY C A THOLI C SOC I ETI ES.

On e of the distinguishing features of the early Irish Cath olic emigrations to Lowell in the first half of the 1 9th cen

t . tury , was the social feeling among the se tlements and camps This led to the forming of benevolent societies among the peo p le from the different counties . The first and most prominent among them was the Hibernian Moralizing and R elief Society which was started in 1 833 by three or four energetic Irishmen “ ” from the Acre . These men were led to organize this socie ty from sympathetic motives in order to lend a helping hand to those Irish ' families in the community who were deserving of aid . From the first, the society actuated by such motives ,

' — was a success , and practical sympathy and h elp a natural characteristic of the Irish race— was bestowed on families and worthy individuals on the “ Acre ” and among other settle ments in the town . In June , 1 833, the officials of the town of

Lowell, showed their practical appreciation of the good work of the society by giving them the use of a room in a public

. On 28th building June , the same year, Henry J . Duff, secre “ tary of the society, inserted a card in the Lowell Weekly ” Compend , thanking the selectmen of Lowell for the use of the room , which they have generously given for holding their monthly meetings in future .

This society, afterwards known as the Lowell Irish B e n v len t t e o t Socie y , was defini ely organized under the laws of

1 836 . the state in It was, up to twenty years ago , the leading

Irish benevolent and social society of the city . On its books have been enrolled the most distinguished Irishmen of the community . Through the energy of its members , men of tal ent from Lowell and out of town were brought before the pub lic here , and great orators and literary men from th e land across the sea showed their abilities in the halls of the organi ti n za o .

The first gathering of Irishmen in Lowell to formally oh r se ve th e birthday of St . Patrick convened in the old Washing w t on on 1 House Saturday evening, March 6 , 1 833 . The spon

42 IRISH GENESIS OF LOWELL

street, responded to the Catholic press , and commented on ” the great work of the Truth Teller , a Catholic paper in New York city which was largely circulated among the Irish

R . Catholics of the country in the thirties . Plunkett spoke on “ General Montgomery, the Irish Catholic soldier of the Amer ” “ ican R evolution ; Patrick Power eulogized Unconquered

— r an d Erin like the faith of its patron , the Power of Ea th Hell ” ’ ‘ can never subdue $ James D evlin s toast was : May the ’ Paw of the British Lion , like Pliny s cane , b e pulverized by ” “ th : the Law of Liberty . James Mc Gra the principles of ’ O C on n ell. r t Jefferson , now acted upon by Pat ick Hasse t — f e The Lowell Railway [Boston and Lowell] free trade , re “ steam and free news ; T . Mahoney : Irish Liberty and Ameri ” can Freedom ; James Plunkett : The Sprig of Shillelah ; Henry D uff : Irishmen— dead or alive— right or wrong ; “ Michael Conlin : [dry goods dealer] May the blood -stained shores of Erin ere long be inundated by the blissful tid e of ” “ Liberty ; Francis M c C an n ey : May the Irish Emigr ant b e ” always found a firm prop for the American Constitution ; ‘ “ ” “ l hom as Connell : Our host ; R ichard Plant : May th e matchless humanity and aspiring intellects of the American ” “ glide on the four winds of Heaven ; Hugh Mongan : The ” “ American Press ; Morris Mongan : The Irish Harp ; John “ Prendergast : The health of th e virtuous and patriotic natur alize d Irish of the United States , who , on a late occasion , hav e shown their patriotism in electing our great and glorious ” Chief Magistrate , Andrew Jackson .

Another prominent Irish Catholic society, closely affil ’ iat ed with the social activities of St . Patrick s church in the ’ 3o s late , was the Catholic Temperance Society, which re claimed many men from the vice of immoderate drinking up 1849 to , when Father Theobald Mathew came to Lowell . This society was also prominent in town and city celebrations of a national and general character, including the celebrations in h onor of St . Patrick . The organization reached the zenith 4 of its fame between 1 847 and 1 8 9, when Father Mathew publicly praised their exertions in the city . Under R ev . ’ M D erm James c ott of old St . Mary s , its ranks were greatly e nlarged . In the early forties , Fath er M c D ermott waged um EARLY CATHOLIC SOCIETIES 43 e nding war against the ravages of the small saloons which d otted the city, and the men of the society , in recognition of f his e forts, gave the fighting pastor a purse of $200.

Shortly after his arrival in 1 837 Father McD ermott saw much misery and distress among his countrymen and imme diat el for y set about to relieve it . The necessity of a society the purp ose of relieving the suffering members of his congre ation ’ g prompted him to organize the St . Patrick s Charitable “ Society, from which aid to young and old was given indis ” c rimin at el y, as far as the funds would admit . A society of women , based on similar principles , was also formed , which “ assisted in clothing the naked , feeding th e hungry , and or ” ’ n am en tin g our church [St . Patrick s . ] To devise ways and means to look after the poor of the parish , a meeting , which 1 was largely attended , was held on Sunday, April 3th , 1 839 . ’ At this meeting, the St . Patrick s Charitable and Catholic T emperance Society were the inspiring forces .

In connection with charitable activities in the early ‘ thir

v . t ies , the work of R e . Peter Connolly, the first curate of St ’ Patrick s is deserving of mention . In 1835 , the Lowell Fuel

Society, an organization which was formed to help th e worthy

f . p oor of the town , enlisted his ef orts A fitting estimate on the work of Father Connolly among the Irish Catholic p oor is reflected in a communication written by William Austin , treasurer of the Society, which was printed in the Lowell “ ” Mercury for Feb . 2 0, 1 835 It app earing that an opinion prevails among various citizens of Lowell that the funds of the Low ell Fuel Society have been too liberally appropriated I to the rish part of our p opulation , I deem it but j ust

to apprize the public that, under the j udicious ar

rangements and salutory influence of the R ev. Peter

Connolly, the Catholic Society have contributed $82 ( being one-fourth part of the funds collected from every source the present year) in aid of the obj ects

of the Fuel Society . The indigent Catholics have had , therefore , strong claims for relief and those 44 IRISH GENESIS OF LOWELL

claims have been allowed . Last year, the Catholic the Society did not contribute , and it was through

beneficial influence of R ev. Mr . Connolly that the

above contribution was made . The R everend gen tleman has also done much to diminish the necas sary calls for fuel in the encouragement he has

given to industry, temperance , and economy among his people and which entitles him to the gratitude

of every Irishman , and the thanks of the citizens

of the town .

WILLIAM AUSTIN ,

Treasurer Lowell Fuel Society .

This was probably the first unsolicited encomium given t o the work of a Catholic priest in the formative period of the

- t . Irish Catholic settlements , from a non Ca holic It was through th e efforts of Father Connolly that the town school t the c ommittee , app or ioned a p art of th e town money for

support of the first Irish Catholic teachers in th e Irish schools ,

from 1 834 to 1 836 .

In th e line of literary endeavor and as readers of Catho

lic lit erature , one finds that the Irish pioneers were not lack “ ” ing . From the first, th e Boston Pilot was circulated ex 1 839 t en sively among them . In June , , the editor of th e “ ” Pilot editorially commended Hugh Cummiskey for his un tiring efforts to spread the paper in Lowell “from purely dis interested motives as he has not charged us a mill for his ” time or trouble . More than 7 5 subscribers were the result ’ of Mr . C ummisk ey s efforts in 1 839 . Poetic talent among the pioneers was probably first pub l ’ lic y exemplified on St . Patrick s night, March 1 7 , 1 835 , when

Nicholas W . Ryan , president of a gathering of Irishmen and women celebrating the patronal feast, at the old Merrimack

House , recited the following original poem

Oh E ’ rin Mavourneen , our heart s blood is glowing, th With thoughts of thy sorrows , y cares , and thy j oys ;

’ Tho wild , mounting billows , between us are flowing,

’ m em r The y of thee still each true heart employs . E ARLY CATHOLIC SOCIE TIES 45 ’ Yes , yes , tho in exile , forget, we shall never, The land of our birth— that dear land which we prize ; ’ , With O C on n ell, your champion , we declare you must sever

The chains of thy bondage , which reason denies .

Let sectional feeling, this day be extinguished ,

Let Irishmen j oin , and be brothers and friends ;

Let dissension and folly, at onc e be relinquished , And the demons of malice shall ne ’ er gain their ends $

’ ’ ’ Take O C on n ell s advice— Ireland s pilot and glory $

’ ’ Be united and firm , ne er let discord deform ;

Our champion and people shall t ell the proud story,

Dear Erin Mavourneen , must weather the storm $

In addition t o his original poem , Mr . Ryan gave some “ original remarks and mentioned the fact that a Dr . Sheridan , an Irishman . was selected to teach the German wife of George ” III, the English language $ This scored another hit with ’ the gathering . The company assembled at 8 o clock in the evening and the “ doors were thrown op en at according “ ” 1 to the report in the Lowell Patriot of April 8, 835 . This in part , was as follows

t ‘ ’ ’ An excellent band s ruck up Patrick s Day .

The company march ed in first , led by the President

R ev . and P . Conolly , one of the invited guests . On

entering the hall , the company had to march under t the a mili ary flag displaying American E agle , after th passing which , e ancient Irish Banner app eared in the the the other end of hall ; Irish Harp , on a flag “ of green silk , underneath which , the motto : Erin go bragh ” was inscribed (the banner was painted for the occasion by Dr . [William] D usenbury , whose ln t o E ability attend as one of our nglish invited guests, t was much regret ed . ) Immediately behind the ’ President s chair was displayed a large tran spar

ency of St . Patrick . The company sat down to an

excellent entertainment . The company did not sep t arate un il a late hour . The celebration closed with the President taking down the banner of Erin and IRISH GENESIS OF LOWELL took the head [of an improvised procession] the

band playing Yankee D oodle , while the company followed the banner in the same regular order by which they had entered ; the toastmaster conducted

them to the door, when , holding the Banner over

their h eads , each one passed under it, shook hands , ” and returned to their homes . The toasts responded to at this p1on eer banquet were “ tt E s . well selected . Toast No . 4 was Kirk B oo , $ , and the oth er liberal and indep endent gentlemen of Lowell —true and generous friends to industrious Irishmen— remember the gratitude we owe them all . Th e president of the gathering,

Nicholas W . Ryan , gave the above original poem ; Michael

- Burrows vice president, spoke on Thomas Addis Emmett

And Thomas R ead , the toastmaster, followed . His sentiments were : Prosp erity to Gen . Andrew Jackson , the chivalrous son of Tennessee and the imp erishable motto : Will Protect th e

- Ladies ; and confusion to the vandal like , cowardly, blood thirsty, midnight incendiaries of Mt . Benedict , Charlestown learm n the persecutors of female virtue , g, religion and sancti ” “ ty . James Smith responded to th e toast : The memory of E Lord dward Fitzgerald , the friend of freedom , the foe of ” tyranny . He died a martyr for his country ; Lawrence Hill “ ’ t ” To Ireland s regenera ion and happiness , Patrck Byrnes ; ” Wellington , the p erj ured son of Erin ; Owen M c C osk er ” Ireland , the isle of saints and scholars ; Ambrose Keating o ” “ Civil and religi us liberty ; Thomas H . Fales : To the army ” “ of Hill ; R ichard Savage of Salem : The clergy of Ireland ; “ ” Thomas Bohan : The land of our choice ; R ichard K ean “ The glorious memories of our statesmen and soldiers ; Fran “ cis M c C an n in g : May the sons of Ireland supp ort the cause ” “ of civil and religious liberty ; D aniel McI lroy : To the mem ” ’ “ ory of the Irish bards ; Hugh O R ourke : Ireland the home “ ’ ” of our nativity ; Jeremiah Leonard : D aniel O C onn ell ; “ Mr . M c M un gan : The day that reminds us of our native coun ” try ; Mr . John Ryan : volunteer toast . The R epeal movement in Ireland in the early forties nat urall r y eflected itself in America , and patriotic Irishmen used their voices and pens in arousing enthusiasm in it . EARLY CATHOLIC SOCIETIES 47 44 In the Lowell Herald for March 1 9 1 8 , was the fol “ lowing communication signed R ockgrove, which it is said ,

’ was the pseudonym for Patrick Byrnes , one of Lowell s Irish

pioneers who , from time to time , in the early period , wrote to the local papers and aired his views on the Irish situation “ Citizens of Lowell— the glorious agitation in Ireland at the present day to rep eal that accursed Union with E ngland , f passed in 1800, and which has proved so atal , so disastrous , to the p eople of the Irish nation , is a cause which enlists the sympathies of all freemen , no matter upon what part of of the earth they dwell , whether basking under the sunshine -c prosperity in the south , or amid the ice lad turrets of th e

north . The cry of j ustice to Ireland should be heard from

every freeman , and a promise of aid and assistance to assist

her while battling against tyrants , by p eaceable and by con stit ution al means . It is thus with Ireland at the present p e riod of her existence . She is exercising the rights guaranteed by the laws of the land ; to repeal the act of Union that has b een wrested from her by corruption and fraud , by the Min i r st e s of a desp otic government, who are now laboring to rivet

the . chains firmer , and are binding her bold limbs to the car

of English despotism . What Irishman possessed of one drop

of Irish blood , that will not be aroused at the present condi tion of his fatherland $ What countryman of Washington that will not shrink back with horror at the recital of the countless deeds of barbarity practised by the hellhounds of E V the h ngland upon th e itals of Irish people , who ave too pa tiently borne th e inj ustice for years gone by $ Witness h er

very conduct at the present day, when the eye of the world $ - is upon her waiting anxiously the result .

Citiz ens of Lowell— are you prepared to welcome th e

‘ ’ glorious expression of th e j ury : Not guilty, and let the same be echoed throughout the length and breadth of the land $

‘ ’ $ — if Are you prepared to act upon the state trials not, arouse

yourselves at once . Ireland calls upon you for a return of

‘ ’ ’ favors conferred at a time that tried men s souls . The blood $ of M ontgomery is not yet avenged Be up and doing, be ao a tive ; b e vigil nt and determined , b e pledged to a fearless ac 48 IR ISH GENESIS OF LOWELL

tivity in case of an emergency . Violat e no law b ut speak out in trump et “ t ones to that despotic government by demanding

— th j u st ic e fo r I re lan d . Look around you e p eople of every

state in the Union have acted their part like men , like patriotic

t the — descendan s of heroes of the R evolution your nearest ,

dearest, and best loved sons are enlisted among the R epealers $ of America . Will Lowell be behind hand in th e good work

n t — No $ I trust o forbid it, spirits of Washington and Mont

gomery $ R ally , then , like the patriotic sons of Columbia in

every other city in the Union . Let us have another Mass

Meeting after the arrival of the next Mail Steamer , and let it b e one that will do immortal honor to the patriotic sons of this Manchester of New England $ R KGR O E OC V .

Ob edl en t to this app eal and others of a like nature , meet

ings were held in the City Hall at intervals . At the end of 1 844 one meeting in , Hon . J . A . Abbott , a leading Yankee law R yer of the city, was elected president . ichard Walsh , who opened the first Catholic bookstore in Lowell at the corner of t t ‘ Marke and Worthen s reets , and Michael Cassidy, one of the ’ 3o s - Irish pioneers of the , were chosen vice presidents . Martin

Fitzpatrick , who was a teacher in the early Irish schools of th e town , and Timothy M cLau hlin were elected secretaries g , . John M cN u lty of the Lowell Irish Benevolent society was chosen treasurer .

5 0 IRISH GENESIS OF LOWELL THE PA D D Y C A M P LA N D S

The sixteen acres of land owned by Samuel Frye , guar “ dian for the Frye children , lying on and near the little canal ” the and the New Factories, built and building , was known in e early thirties as the Paddy Camp Lands , because of the larg number of Irish laborers and mill employees who had their

huts and cabins in their precincts . The land was also known “ ” as the Acre from that time to the present, probably owing to the fact that th e original Irish squatters occupied an acre

of land . On two early plans in the R egistry of D eeds, drawn

in 1 832 and also in 1838, are outlined two streets , intersecting

this acre , called Cork and Dublin streets on the map . These

were named after County Cork and County Dublin in Ireland . Most of the Irish pioneers on the “ Acre ” came from the south ern counties of Ireland and the above -named were strongly

represented .

Among the natives in the town , the district was known

as the Paddy Camp Lands since 1 830 and , between 1 833 and 1 840 u , was the s bj ect of much litigation . The lands were the finally subj ect of a case brought before the U . S . Supreme Court in Boston at which the tangle of proprietors and liti

gants was ironed out . The lands were owned at the b eginning of the 1 9th c en tury, by Samuel and Polly Frye of Danville , Vt . On the l oth 1 823 of June , , the property was sold at public auction to Luth R of er ichardson Waltham , trader, for He was the highest bidder . The lands changed hands often after Rich ardson got hold of the property and finally in Octob er 1 , , , 833, one Henry Flagg who had some equity , sued Samuel M ann et al . and the case was brought to the United States Supreme

Court , for decision . e In a d p osition made by Francis Hilliard E s . in 1 8 , $ , 31 , regarding the occupants of the “Paddy Camp Lands , so called , he cited affidavits made by some of the Irish pioneers , who originally settled on the lands . Among th em were

Morris Fielding, Timothy Crowley D ennis Crowley George , ,

E . Cooley, D enis Leary, Michael Lee , Timothy Connelly Jame , s ’ B O rien , Patrick Barney, James Carney, Thomas Fitzpatrick ,

Henry Farrell , Thomas Driscoll , Solomon Trainer Michae , l

Murray, John Sullivan , John Sullivan 2 d D avid Whelton , . ADDENDA 5 1

On e of the first of the Irish pioneers to buy . a lot for a d welling on Cork street ( now Marion street) was Michael 1 831 D oyle , th e grocer, who , in , leased the property from “ J ohn R . Adams, one of the litigants in the Paddy Camp Land

. O case , as the U . S . Supreme court case was called ther

- e arly Irish prop erty holders were John and Jeremiah Sullivan ,

Michael Mc Carthy , Nicholas Fitzpatrick , Timothy Ford , J ames Barry, Hugh Cummiskey, Samuel Murray, D ennis Kelly , E James Marren , David Whelton , Patrick Powers , dward Far

M c Man us rell , Patrick M c Caffrey; Stephen M c Ken n a, Patrick and Owen M c Osker . Among some of th e unusual transactions recorded in the o ld days was an agreement entered into by James Barry , car

n r p e t e , and Michael Mccarthy , laborer, in which a tenement “ tr o n Lowell s eet, ( n ow Market) being the second from the ” M ain road of four tenements recently erected by said Barry,

r was concerned . The deed was dated , the 3 d of D ecemb er , “ 1 832 M ar h . c C t y was to hold [the tenement] for ten years , f 14 1 2 rom the th of May 83 , yielding and pay mg therefor, the rent of Thirty D o llars fo r t he ye ar— not to p ermit any riotous o r disorderly persons to occupy said tenement, or p ermit any

riot, tumult, or disorder to be made or committed therein . ” ( Signed ) James Barry and Michael Mc C arthy. 1 In April , 832 , John Sullivan leased a lot of land on

Fenwick street for a term of two years for $30 a year, from

‘ T . W . Churchill . Land for thesame terms and the same pe

u . M a rio was leased by Mr Churchill to Michael c C rthy, D avid

Whelton , James Campbell and Michael D oyle on Fenwick “ . 1 street In July, 831 , D enis Kelly leased land on the east ” side of Fenwick street ; so did James Marren .

9th 1 1 By a deed , dated th e of D ecember, 83 , land on ” the west side of Gorham street was transferred from E d

ward Farrell and Margaret, his wife , to Samuel Howard , bricklayer, for a consideration of $25 0. 52 IRISH GENESIS OF LOWELL MEMORA BLE HI STORI C A L D A TES OF I R I SH C A THOLIC PI ONEERS

1 822— April 6— Hugh Cummiskey leads first thirty Irish la borers into E ast Chelmsford to start work widening

and building the Pawtucket canal and its arteries .

— — 1 827 Oct . 7 Fr . John Mahony celebrates first mass in Mer ’ rimac k Company s school house . “ ” — 1 828 Acre settlement firmly established .

— - 1 828 Oct . 28 Bishop Fenwick visits Lowell for the first

time . R eligious services were held on the site of th e

present Green school . Four hundred Irish Catholics employed in the mills as laborers in the town at this

p eriod . 1 828-1830— Prominent Irishmen in town were Hugh C u mmis M c Man u s s key, Patrick Powers , Patrick , Nichola

Fitzpatrick , John Green . 1 829 -First Irish school started at the corner of Jefferson and

Lowell ( now Market) streets .

— — 1 830 July Frame wooden building , 7 ox4o feet proj ected

for a Catholic church .

1 — t 4th— 830 Sep . D eed , conveying lot of land for the building of the new church signed by Kirk B oott and directors

of the Locks and Canals Company . Land given free to Bishop Benedict Fenwick by B oott and the directors

of the company .

’ 1 831— 3— - July 7 First Catholic church ( St . Patrick s ) dedicated by Bishop Fenwick of Boston assisted by Vicar-Gener l ’ a s O F lahert . Thoma y, D D . of Boston , R ev . John Ma

hony, the first regular pastor , and 1 00 members of the

Cathedral congregation of Boston , who j ourneyed from

’ t - Bos on to b e present . Twenty five members of the

. Cathedral choir, Mr Mallet at the organ , also sang

selections from Haydn , Mozart and Lambilotte at the

’ . dedicatory mass Sermon preached by Fr . O F laher t y . Vesp ers celebrated by the bishop in th e afternoon at 4 and the bishop confirmed 39 candidates Bishop . ’ Fenwick and Father O F laherty j ourneyed over th e road from Boston the day before the dedication in a t carryall , and lodged tha night at the Stone house ( n ow th e Ayer Home ) at the head of Fletcher street on Paw ADDENDA

tucket street . the 1 831— Children of Irish parishioners attend school in

basement of the new wooden church on Adams street . ’ 1 832— Father Mahony builds a priest s house next to the C on nol church on Fenwick street . Here Father Peter

ly and R ev. Fr . Curlin lodged .

— — . 1 835 Aug . 1 4 Fr. James Conway visits Lowell for first time e 1 835— Father Curlin came to Lowell and stayed a short tim

assisting Father Mahony . He was succeeded by Father ’ ahon s Peter Connolly who , under Fr . M y direction ,

built two wings to the new wooden church .

— t . . 1837 Fr . J . T . M c D erm o t succeeds Fr Mahony as pastor ’ — M c D ermott s t 1 839 R ev . James Conway , Fr . assis ant, can vasses among the Irish Catholics who lived around Green street and Chapel Hill for funds for the erection

of a new church .

— — A 1841 Aug . Land secured on the corner of Gorham and p

plet on streets for the erection of a new church . ’ — — t R v 1 842 Oct . 1 6 St . Peter s church dedica ed . e . James

Conway , first p astor . 1 842— Prominent Irish Catholics at this period were Hugh x Cummiskey, Owen M . D onahue , who kept the E e change coffee house on Lowell street, John Quinn , th

tailor ; Hugh M cE voy , the tailor ; Charles M . Short , real t estate agent ; Pa rick Moran , dry goods dealer ; Peter M D erm ott c , Irish schoolmaster, brother of Fr . M eD er M D mott ; Michael c on ou gh, dealer in dry goods ; Nich

olas W . Ryan , dealer in crockery and glassware ; Ma ’ guire and Cassidy, dry goods ; John O C on n or, glazier

and painter ; James E gan , who taught in the Mann school lat er , _ a prominent lawyer in Boston ; D aniel Mc l I roy, another Irish schoolmaster who achieved fame a' as lawyer in Boston ; Stephen Castles , real state

dealer . 1 844 - 1 846 — Cornelius Nolan superintends the erection of a

p ortion of the new canal .

1 84 — R ev 7 . J . T . M c D ermott p urchases the Baptist meeting uf house on S folk street, near Market (now the site of ’ St . Patrick s school . ) ’ — — 1 847 . 7 St . Mar Mary s church dedicated .

A RY T Y L I BR F A C U L 5 4 IRISH GENESIS OF LOWELL

’ N OTES FR OM BI SHOP FENW I C K S D I A R Y.

— — 1 830 July 20 Peter Connolly, a young man of Irish origin , arrives in Boston from New York and offers himself ” as a candidate for th e priesthood . [Mr . Connolly ’ was first curate of St . Patrick s . ]

— — 1 830 Aug . 8 R ev . Peter Connolly is ordained to the priest

hood in Boston .

— - 1 831 Sept . 2 Mr . James M cD ermott , a young man who

has finished the course of philosophy at Montreal , of

fers himself as a candidate [for th e priesthood . ) 1 832— March 1 5 -Father Mah ony arrives in Boston from Lowell gives the Bishop a deed of the n ew lot pur chased by Catholics of Lowell opposite side of n ew church— house to be erected on it as a rectory as soon ” as funds can b e raised . 1 833- June 2 3— Bishop Fenwick arrives in Lowell and calls

on Kirk B oott .

— — 1 834 2 6 R ev . July Peter Connolly, having returned from a

mission in Providence , R . I . , starts for mission in

Lowell .

1 833— April 4— Bishop Fenwick s ets out for Lowell with “ Father Michael Healy— roads horrible— did not reach

— — Lowell until P . M . started at A . M . had

often to descend from chaise and walk . Inspects ’ premises of St . Patrick s with view of making addi

tions to church .

— — — 1 835 Aug . I O Bishop again in Lowell calls on Kirk B oott ,

Esq . , to thank him for land adj oining that already oh ” tain ed from Company . An interesting note in the ’ “ ’ Bishop s Diary for this date : His [Kirk Boott s] friendship for Catholics has always been very great $”

— — 1 835 Aug . 14 R ev . James Conway visits Lowell for the ’ first time . [He was , later , the first pastor of St . Peter s

church . ]

— - ff of 1 835 Sept . 5 Owing to di erence opinion between priests and laymen on building matters th e Bishop goes to Lowell — adj usts difficulties and takes active

charge of church improvements . ’ — — 1 835 Sept . 6 Bishop present at last Mass at St . Patrick s ADDENDA 55

— also ofii ciat es at Vespers— asks for subscriptions to ’ build new wings to St, Patrick s .

— - h 1 835 Sept . 9 Mr . M cD on oug , an expert Irish church car

— He penter from Boston , arrives examines site of

— — church compares price of material , etc . rep orts to Bishop that “most of the material for the addition to

th e church in Lowell can be found there , and is cheap ” er than in Boston .

HUGH C UMM I SKEY : FIR ST D ISTINGUISHED IRISHMA N

l k Hugh C u mm s ey, after a long life of usefulness , died in 2 e Lowell on the 1 2th of D ecember, 1 87 1 , aged 8 , at his hom on Adams street on the same land , where , nearly fifty years before , the first Irish pitched their camp when they came , un der his leadership to build and repair the canals . The Lowell ” Courier of D ec . 1 4 , 1 87 1 , had the following account of his life and death “ r Mr . Cummiskey was bo n in Dromore , county Ty

rone , Ireland . He came to this country in 1817 . A t th e founding of Lowell , he was employed to enlarge t the old Pawtucket canal which , up to hat time , had been used only for passing rafts of lumber around the H e falls . took the first contract and walked up m t o - fro Charlestown Chelmsford , now Lowell , in 1822 April , , with thirty men to commence the work . ob His j being finished that fall , he returned to Charlestown where he remained until 1 82 8 when he

came back to Lowell , and resumed contracting for j obs of excavating about the canals and mills which he carried on extensively until prevented by the in fi mi r ties . t o the of age In addition Lowell contracts ,

he also took contracts at Manchester ( N . H . ) and

Lawrence . Mr . Cummiskey has always borne an excellent character and been highly esteemed both nt by his own cou rymen and others . H e leaves a

widow, to whom he was married in 1 82 1 and five

daughters , two of whom are nuns ; two others have e 1n be n teachers our public schools . 5 6 IRISH GENESIS OF LOWELL P A TRIC K TR A C Y J A C KSON This history would be incomplete without a mention of

Patrick Tracy Jackson , who was of Irish extraction , and who

was one of th e active founders of Lowell . His maternal grandfather was Patrick Tracy of Newburyport who was born 1 1 1 in County Wexford , Ireland , in 7 and who , when but a , t m ere lad , came to Newburyport . He became , la er , one of R the substantial men of the town , and during the evolution

t . ary war , was an active s upporter of the Colonial governmen ’ “ Mr . Michael J . O Brien , in his article Irish Mariners in New ” E ngland in the Journal of th e American Irish Historical So “ ’ 1 2 t : n e c iety, (vol . XVII , page 6 ) s ates O of Patrick Tracy s

grandsons , Patrick Tracy Jackson , of Newburyport, was one

o f the leading merchants and shipowners of the time , and for many years he carried on an immense trade with the West I n

dies . He was at the head of numerous enterprises in New E ngland and imp ort ed much machinery from E urop e , and

built several cotton mills in New E ngland towns . Patrick

- - Tracy Jackson , with his brother in law, Francis C . Lowell , and Paul Moody are credited in New England history as the

founders of the flourishing city of Lowell , Mass .

Mr . Jackson was one of the men who financed th e Boston

and Lowell railroad , which started running in 1 835 ( one of t he first four roads in the country) and the first engine to draw “ ” c t ars was the Patrick , named af er Mr . Jackson . He died in Beverly, Mass , Sept . 1 2 , 1 847 .

2 1 In the Lowell Courier for Sept . 8, 84 1 , was a lengthy

2 00 R ev . . M cD er account of a presentation of $ to James T mott , ’ pastor of St . Patrick s , by a committee representing the R Lowell oman Catholic Temp erance society . The commit

. R M cLau li tee were Nicholas W yan , John gh n , James Fitz “ ” patrick , Isaac B . Lovej oy, Michael M c Gu ire . The Courier

reported the resolutions of the society fully in this issue . An announcement of a concert of Catholic music at the new ’ ” St . Catholic church [ Peter s] on Sunday evening, the 24th of 1 842 “ April , was also reported in the Courier . It stated Mr . H errwi , g, that the celebrated violinist is engaged , and will p erform several solos on the violin and organ , assisted by ” o ther talent from Boston .

5 8 I RI H GENE SIS OF LOWELL I RI SH TOW N OFFIC IA LS 8 At the town meeting in March , 1 33, Samuel Murray and n Hugh Cummiskey, both Irishmen and Catholics , were chose

constables , by ballot . At the same meeting Hugh Cummiskey was elected to the board of health ; and was also chosen one

of the tythin gmen of th e town . John Murray was appointed

a surveyor of lumber and Samuel Murray a hog reeve .

Kirk Boott, E lisha Ford , Oliver M . Whipple , John Avery,

Sidney Spaulding, James Cook and Hugh Cummiskey were

constituted a Committee , to ascertain as nearly as possible , what amount of money the town will b e required to grant, to meet the expenses of the town the ensuing year , and report ” thereon at the adj ourned meeting . In March , 1 834 , among the constables elected were Hugh Cummiskey and Samuel

Murray, traders in real estate , and both leading men in the _

Irish settlement in the town . On Sept . 1 2 , 1 834 , James Camp b ell was sworn in as a constable by Joseph Locke , the first j udge of the Lowell police court . Campbell w as an Irishman .

1 In the Lowell M ercury for Jan . 7 1834 , app eared this interesting notice

ORA TOR IO . The public of Lowell are resp ectfully informed that the Oratorio given by a Choir of the Catholic Church

from Boston , will be repeated on Sunday evening , January 1 9th if a suffi cient number of tickets are sold to defray the exp enses— Tickets to b e had at th e ” several Book stores . The first concert was given in the Town Hall on Sunday “ evening, Jan . 5th, and , as a correspondent of the Mercury “ stated , had music , mostly of the Catholic order, performed by a Catholic choir from Boston . Among the selections most

‘ ’ ‘ ’ San ctissim appreciated was the Pilgrim Fath ers , Ave a, and ‘ ’ Hail , Glorious Apostle , [which was evidently for the delec tation of the Irish Catholics present ] There was one cause ” for regret and that was so few attended . The correspond ent of the “ Mercury” hop ed “that th e Catholic choir will b e generously remunerated for their long ride [from Boston] ” and kind exertions to please us . IRISH PIONEERS 59

— R PA STOR REV . J OH N MA HONY FI RST REGULA The first regular priest assigned to cover Lowell and vi cinity was R ev . John Mahony, who came to Lowell in Octob er,

1 827 , after effective missionary work in Maryland , Virginia ,

Massachusetts and New Hampshire . Father Mahony was born 1 81 w in County Kerry, Ireland , in 7 , and came to America hen a young man . He reported to Archbishop Marechal at Bal timore for missionary duty and was assigned to th e new dio cese of Richmond in 1 820, under Bishop Kelly , the first bishop .

Here , he proved his worth as a hard , willing worker in the ex tensive diocese and founded new parishes in several towns . 1 Later he extended his good work to Maryland . In 826 , Bish

op Benedict Fenwick of Boston , b eing greatly in n eed of Irish w priests for the new settlements in Lo ell and other points , th e Archbishop at Baltimore assigned Fath er Mahony to the Mas sachusetts field . At first he assisted Bishop Fenwick at the Cathedral in Boston wh ere there was an extensive Irish pop

~ ‘ ulation , many of whom c ould only speak the Irish language .

In October, 1 826 , Father Mahony was assigned to Salem and

outlying points . In the summer of 1 831 , the Bishop appoint ed th e hard -working Irish priest to a regular pastorate in

Lowell , and , from the start, his work met with success , not only from his countrymen , but also with the native p opu lation . Probably his most noteworthy accomplishment in Lowell was his success in making the town school committee appreciate the imp ortance of the Irish children in receiving

town money for the sup port of schools for their instruction . 1 836 In , Father Mahony was transferred to St . Augus

’ tine s church in South Boston , where he continued his good work . After thirteen years continuous work in the diocese

of Boston and twenty years in America , Father Mahony died 2 9th 1 in Boston on the of D ecemb er, 839, aged 5 8 years . His

remains were interred in the southwest corner of St . Augus ’ tine s chap el , South Boston . 6 0 IRISH GENESIS OF LOWELL

INTER M ENTS FR OM LOW ELL A N D C HELMSFOR D I N ST . ’ B T N A UGUSTI NE S C EM ETERY, SOUTH OS O

1823 TO 184 7 .

2 1 824 act 35 . Burk , Patrick , ( C) J une 7 , ,

8 1 831 4 . Burn , Augustine , (L) July , , aet

9 1 832 act 2 . Burn , Thomas , (L) Feb . , , m 1 1829 act 1 . Campbell , Ann , (L) Jan . 7 , , 5 Crowley , Jeremiah , (L) D ec . 27 , 1829, aet 1 .

l . 12 1 29 act 2 3 . Can fie d, Ann , (L) Sept , 8 ,

4 1 84 s . Dougherty, James , J r. , (L) Aug . , 7 , aet l , James and

Bridget . 1 Ford , Timothy, J r . , (L) Mar . 9, 1830, act . 2 Gorman , Catherine , (L) Oct . 5 , 1 847 , act 7 .

Lan digan , John ( C ) July 26 , aet 30 .

Lan digan wf, John , (L) Sept . 2 9, 1 830, aet 32 .

Mahony, Thomas , ( L) Oct . 30, 1 82 9, aet 30 .

Madden , Mary, (L) Apr . 5 , 1 830, act 22 .

Murray, Margaret, (L) Mar . 2 6 , 1 829, act 28.

D r t M c e mott , R ose , (L) Oc . 30, 1 84 5 , act 86 . M c Q u ade, Andrew , ( L) Oct . 23, 1 829, aet 4 1 . ’ ri O B en , James, (L) May 8, 1 830, died in infancy . ’ Bri n 4 1 2 O e , John , ( C ) May , 8 3, died in infancy . ’ Bri n 2 O e Thomas, (L) Sept . 3, 1 829, act 30 . ’ il O N e , Patrick , (L) June 3, 1 844 , aet 2 9 . R 1 1 2 edman , John , ( C ) July 9, 8 4 , act 40.

R edman , John , ( C ) July 1 9, 1 824 , aet 40 . R 20 1 830 Timmins, ebecca , ( L) May , , died in infancy . I RI SH PI ONEERS OF LOWELL - C OM PILED FR OM LOW ELL D IR ECTOR I ES 1833 5 . V

Allen , Mary , h Fenwick street . ’ A llen , John , machinist, bds Kelley s Carp et blocks .

Allen , Thomas, h Fenwick street . ,

a . Banigan , Peter, dyer, h Lowell street ( M rket street )

B . arry, Bridget, widow, h Fenwick street

Barry, James , housewright, h Lowell street .

Barney, Patrick , stone blaster, h South street .

Barrett, James . housewright, h Lowell street . ’ t . B arry , P . R . , machinist , bds at Mrs . Turner s Jefferson stree t Barron , Christopher, blue dyer , h Lowell s reet .

Blake , Catharine , tailoress , h Gorham street .

B odge , James , laborer , h Fenwick street .

B owers , John , housewright, h Fenwick street . w Br aidy, John , laborer , h Lo ell street .

B reed , Hannah , rear Suffolk street ( boarding house . ) ’ Erilay, John , laborer, bds J . Gannon s Merrimack Square . ’ Brown , John , machinist, bds Mrs . Turner s , Jefferson street.

Burk , John , at Middlesex factory, h Merrimack street . ’ Burns , schoolmaster , bds E phraim Andrew s . M Burrows , ichael , at factory , h Tyler street .

Butler, James , laborer, h near Catholic church . B yrnes, Martin , laborer, h Lowell street .

Bolton , John , laborer, h Lawrence street near Massic Falls .

’ B ou hen ’ g , Thomas , clerk , at D ean and Short s .

Boyes , D aniel , at Carp et factory, b Jefferson street . Braid y, James , at Carp et factory , h Middle street . B R urk , ichard , at flannel factory, h Washington street . E Burns , dward , laborer, Fenwick street . E Burns , dward , wine cellar, Merrimac street .

Burns , Michael , cordwainer, Green street . ’ Burns , Patrick , dye house , bds M . Burns

Burns , Patrick , blacksmith , Middle street .

Burns , Thomas , carp et weaver, 22 Carpet .

Butler, James , laborer, Lowell street . ’ B M err k t — yrns , John J merchant tailor, stree bds at Mrs . ’ Smith s . ’ Cadden , John , bds at J . Campb ell s . ’ Cahalane , P . , bds Connell s , D Lawrence street .

Cahill , James , laborer, h near Catholic church .

Cain , Michael , laborer, h Fenwick street .

Callahan , Thomas , laborer, h Boston road .

Campb ell , James , constable , Fenwick street ; also boarding

house .

Campbell , James , overseer Ham . Corp .

Campbell , John , at Carp et factory, h Lowell street . ’ Campbell , John , merchant tailor, bds at Michael Magoon s . ’ Campbell , Philip , laborer, at John B . R ay s .

Campbell , Michael , laborer, h Fenwick street .

Campb ell , Michael , laborer, near 2n d Baptist church . ’ Cannon , James, tailor, b ds Miss Putnam s , Appleton street .

Carey, Michael , laborer , rear Lawrence street .

Carey, Mary , widow, 25 App leton Corp .

Carley, Peter, watchman Ham . Corp . , bds 20 Ham . Corp .

Carney , James , laborer, Chap el Hill . ’ err k Carney, John , M Corp . , b ds Merrimack street . b Carney , Joseph , la orer, near Lawrence street .

Carney, Mary , h M errimack Square .

Carpenter, John , blue dyer h Lowell street .

Carr , Jeremiah , bds 9 Law . Corp .

Carr, John , boarding house , 9 Law . Corp .

Carr, John , laborer, h Lowell street .

Carr , Joseph , tailor, h Gorham street .

Case , Patrick , h Lowell street . h Case , Jo n , laborer, Lowell street .

Cassidy, Bernard , h Fenwick street . ’ R t M err k Cassidy, ober , bleachery ; h Fenwick street .

Cassidy, Michael , laborer, h Lowell str eet .

Cassy, James , h Fenwick street .

Cater, D enis , grocer, Gorham street ; h Gorham street .

Caughlin , James , laborer, Fenwick street . C aven ou h g , James, h Lowell street . ’ Chamb ers, John , laborer, bds Mrs . Allen s , Fenwick street

Clark Mathew, cordwainer , h Lowell street .

Clark , Michael , housewright, h near Massie Falls . o E 1 6 C chran , dward , mason , bds Carp et blocks. ’ Collins, John , laborer, bds at Fitzpatrick s . IRI SH PIONEERS 63

2 . C ollins , Michael , watchman , h Appleton Corp ' ’ C orcoran , John , Lowell Bleachery , bds Mrs . Corless . ’ L re well . Corcoran , Michael , bds Mrs . epe s, W o street ’ Conley, James , tailor, bds at Gibby s . ’ C onley, John , laborer, bds at Mrs . Murray s . ’ t . C onnell , D enis , blue dyer , bds a Mrs . Sharple s , Prince street ’ Cochran , John , h Boston R oad near Hale s Mills .

Cochran , Michael , h Fenwick street .

Cokely, John , boarding hoUse, Fenwick street .

C ollins, Joseph , h 43 Merrimack street . ’ C omerford , Garret, clerk at C ummisk ey s, Merrimack street . ‘ '

C on den , Patrick , h Green street .

C on den , William , h Lowell street . ’ C onner, Caroline , widow, boardinghouse ; 1 0 M err k Corp .

C onner, E dward , laborer, h Green street . ’ C on n if r t — at , Martin , laborer, h Lowell st ee C ummiskey s .

Conely, Michael , h Lowell street . ’ C onley, E dward , tailor, at Philip T . White s .

Conley, Mary, widow , h rear M errimack street . 'h ’ Conley, Peter, Lowell street, Hilliard s block . C 44 onlin Michael , dry goods , Merrimack street ; bds at Amer

ican House . C onnell , D aniel , W . I . goods, Lowell street ; h same . C w onnell , Matthe , machine shop , h Lowell . C t onnell , Timo hy, laborer, h rear Lowell .

C onnell , Mrs . , h Fenwick street . '

C O . onnell , Thomas , at factory, h Fenwick street . C ’ onner, Perkins , painter, bds at C . Connor s .

‘ ’ Connary, Peter, laborer , b ds J . Campbell s . C onn il O y, tis, laborer, h Lowell street . C ooley, George , tailor, h Fenwick str eet . C oolian , Patrick , laborer, h Fenwick street . ’ Merr k ’ Corbin , William , Corp . , h Clark s, Lowell street . C orc klan d , James, laborer, h Fenwick street . C e orr n , Thomas , laborer, h Winter street . E ’ Corrigan , Mathew , bds at gan s, Lowell str eet .

h Fenwick street . ohn ox, J ; machinist, h Suffolk street .

Crane , John , laborer, h Fenwick str eet ’ clerk at D ean Short s. 64 IRISH GENESIS OF LOWELL

. Crowden , Patrick , mason , h Chelmsford old road

. Crowley, Bartholomew , h Fenwick street ’ Crowley Cornelius , bds at T . Ford s . ’ Mahon s . v R ev. . Connolly, R e . Peter, at Mr y

. Connell , Patrick , laborer, near Catholic church

Connell , Joseph , h Fenwick street . ’ . Conner, R ob ert , laborer, bds Connell s , Lowell street ’ Conner, Thomas , bds at Sullivan s .

r . Corey, Michael , at factory, h Lowell st eet

Crane , John , laborer, h Fenwick street . ’ Croney, Bart . , laborer, bds Peter Harris . ’ Crowley, D enis , laborer, h rear D . Connel s . ’ Crowley, John , laborer, bds T . Crowley s . ’ Crowley , James , laborer, bds T . Crowley s .

Crowley, Timothy , laborer, h Gorham street . ’ r . Crowley, Patrick , h Lowell street near Fitzp at ick s m C ummin gs , Tho as housewright, h Fenwick street . t Cummings, Thomas , housewrigh , h Gorham street .

Cummiskey, E ugene , h Merrimack street .

Curlin , R ev . J . J h Fenwick street . ’ ’ D ean , John , ( D ean Short s ) dry goods , bds Mrs . Murray s

D ean , John , broadin g house , Gorham street . ’ D avelin , John , bds J . Campbell s . w D empsey, Mary, wido , h Merrimack Square . ’ D elaney , Mathew, at dye house , bds J . Lavey s . ’ D elaney, Lawrence , at dye house , bds J . Lavey s . at t ’ D evine , John , prin works, bds J . Sullivan s . ’ Donley, E dward , dyer, bds John M c Man us B u c o ly, Daniel , laborer, h between Fenwick and Suffolk sts . ’ D onley , James , bds Patrick Timmins . D on n ahu , Jeremiah , stone layer, h Fenwick street . D on n ahu , Thomas , tailor, Lowell street , h Hurd street . ’ Donnell , Francis , cordwainer, bds Mrs . D urant s .

Donovan , John , laborer, h Lowell street .

e ’ Doh rty, Patrick , mason , bds Quimby s , South street .

, , D owling Michael housewright, h near soap works , Chap el

Hill . ’ f Driscoll , Cornelius, bds Ford s, Su folk street .

Driscoll , Thomas, laborer h Fenwick street .

6 6 IRISH GENESIS OF LOWELL

Earley, Michael , h Fenwick street .

Enright, Michael , laborer, h Lowell street . ’ ’ Ewing, Samuel , bds Mrs . Croth s ( Mc Grath s ) Fenwick street. ’ Fay, Michael , bds Sullivan s , Fenwick street . ’ Falvey, John , bds P . Timmons . ’ Farrell , Henry, laborer, h M err k street, Cottage buildings .

Farrell , John , laborer, h Suffolk street .

Farrell , R ob ert, laborer, h Fenwick street . ’ Fitzgerald , Patrick , laborer, bds Geo . Barnes . ’ Fitzgerald , Garrett, bds H . Reed s .

Fling, Timothy, laborer, h School street .

Ford , Timothy, laborer, h Fenwick str eet

Fraley, Patrick , h opp . new Methodist meeting house ( Chapel

Hill . )

F aray, Andrew , laborer, Fenwick street .

Farley, Andrew, laborer, Fenwick street .

Farrill , John , h Gorham street .

Farrell , E dward , laborer, h Gorham street .

Fay, D enis, confectioner, east end Town House .

Fitzgerald , Richard , h rear Suffolk Square .

Fitzpatrick , Nicholas , h Lowell str eet .

Fitzpatrick , Thomas, h back soap works Lawrence street. ’ Fitzsimmons , Bryan , laborer, Lowell street, Ray s .

Flanagan , Timothy, h Fenwick street . 22 F lud , Patrick , carpet weaver, bds Carpet .

F lynn , Michael , h Fenwick street .

F lyn n , , J ohn , c ordwainer, Lowell street . ’ M err k . 1 6 . Ford , P ., watchman , Corp , bds f F ord , Timothy, laborer, h Suf olk street near Baptist meeting

house . ’ . Lave s Furlong, John , dyehouse , bds J y . ’ Gallahur Gallagher, James , tailor, bds B . s . ’ dar s . Galivan , Bart b ds at Su ’ Galvin , John , bds . D . Connell s .

Gaffney, Patrick , laborer, h old Chelmsford road .

Garrway, John , laborer, h Fenwick street .

ff . Gormley, Patrick , h lane o Lawrence street ‘ Grifiln , Michael , h Merrimack Square . ‘ ’ Grifiin , Patrick , at Lowell Bleachery, bds Mrs . Murray s .

Green , Peggy, h Lowell street . IRISH PIONEERS 67

’ Bo Green , John , gardner at K . ott s, M errimack S$uare . ’ ’ Green , Patrick , laborer, h M err k street, Fisk s building.

Green , James, laborer, h rear M errimack street . ll h ' Ga a ur, B ernard, h Lowell street . Gallahur ( Gallagher) , Owen , at Ham . Corp . , h Lowell street .

Gallagher , h Middle street . ’ Gannon , Hugh , bds Young s Fenwick street .

Gannon , John , barroom , Merrimack S$ uare . ’ r Ga dman , Anthony, bds Egan s , Lowell street . ’ Garretty, Michael , bds P . Banican s .

Garthy ( Garrity) , Bartholomew, at dye house near Lawrence

street .

G arthy, James , Ham . Corp ., h North street . ’ Garvey, Marcus, laborer, bds D . Connell s Lowell street .

Gary, John , cordwainer, h Fenwick street .

Gary, Thomas , h Fenwick street .

Garthy, Patrick , h North street near Lawrence .

Gately, John , h Lowell street.

Gill , John , overseer Ham . Corp . , bds 30. ’ Gilday, Patrick , mason, bds Ray s , Appleton street .

Givings, John, h Fenwick street .

Gleason , D aniel , boarding house Jefferson street . ’ Gleason , William , cordwainer, bds Marden s .

Gormeley, Mark laborer, h Lowell street .

Gormley, Martin , laborer, h Lowell street .

Goodwin , Bryan , bds 5 Tremont Corp .

Gorman , John , laborer, h Lowell street .

Griffin , John , at cotton batting factory, h Washington street .

Griffi n , John stonelayer , h near guard locks .

Grimes , E lizabeth , h Lowell street . ’ Grimes, John , at M err k dye house , h 12 Prince street . ’ Haines, Mary , widow, boarding house 4 Merr k Corp . cor .

D utton street . ’ Haley, Patrick , laborer, b ds John Tool s . ’ arth s Hand , Thomas, Ham . Corp . , bds J . Mc C y , Green street . ’ Harris, Peter , b oarding house Merr k cor . Suffolk square . E l e Hart, lizabeth , tai oress,Fayett street .

Hassett, Patrick , Ham . Corp ., bds 47 . ’ Haviland , Patrick , clerk , Fitzpatrick s , Lowell street . ’ H ealand, Richard , blacksmith , h Lowell , Fitzpatrick s bldg. 68 IRISH GENESIS OF LOWELL

. Hart, John , musician , h High street

. Henry, Michael , laborer, Lowell street

. Hessett, E dward , W . I . goods, Merrimack Square ’ . Hiland , Thomas, at factory, bds Mongan s Green street ’ 6 M err k . . Hines , Thomas , hat and cap store , , bds Am House

Hogan , E dward , laborer, h Lowell . ’ . Hughes , John , Ham . Corp . , b ds Mongan s

H ughes , John R . , machinist, Fenwick street .

Hughes , Owen , laborer, h rear Lowell street .

Hughes , Peter, laborer, h Green street .

Jorry, John , h Fenwick street .

Judge , James, laborer, h avenue between Hurd and Green . ’ ’ rr k k Kalahan , Thomas, at M e Corp ., bds Ducker s Merrimac

Square . ’ Kean , Philip , tailor, at Joel Davis Central street .

Keating, James, dry goods , Merrimack Square . ’ Keating, Patrick , clerk , D ean Short s .

Kelley , Andrew, carpet weaver, h 1 9 Carpet blocks .

Kelley, John , stone mason , h Chapel street .

Kelley, D enis , laborer, h Fenwick street .

Kelley, John A . , stageman , h Chapel street .

Kelley, Morris, cordwainer, h Middle street . ’ Kelley, William A . boots and shoes M err k street, Suffolk

Square . ’ Kenedy, James , lab orer, bds D . Connell s . ’ Kenedy, Timothy, bds Doyle s . I

Kenney, Lawrence , h Church street .

King, D aniel , trader, h Merrimack street, Merrimack Square .

Keene , Michael , laborer, h near Catholic church .

Kerlin , John , laborer, h Suffolk street .

Kelley, Francis , laborer, h Fenwick street .

Kelley, Mary, h Fenwick street .

Kelley, Mathew, gardner, h Fenwick street .

. . Kelley, D aniel , overseer, Ham Corp , bds 48 Hamilton Corp . R King, obert, laborer, h Fenwick street . 1 Lanagan , Stephen , carpet weaver, h 9 Carpet.

Lee , Michael , laborer, h Fenwick street .

Loughran , William , laborer, h Central street . ’ Lynch , Joseph , clerk , D ean and Sh ort s . IRISH PIONEERS 69

. Lynch , Patrick , laborer, factory yard , h Gorham street ’ L ynch , laborer at Josua Swan s .

Lynes, Daniel , h Fenwick street .

Largan , James, h Fenwick street . ’ . Larkin , Arthur, at Lowell Bleach ery, bds Mrs . Murray s e L awn ell, D enis , housewright, rear Appleton street ; near Ston

- meeting house . ’ acA vo s . L eonard Jeremiah , blacksmith , bds M y , Lowell street ’ Leonard , Thomas, bds Mrs . P . Leonard s .

Locklin , John , at factory, h Merrimack street .

Long, James , at factory, h Lowell street .

L ord , Jeremiah , at factory, h Fenwick street .

Loughran , John , laborer, h Church street ’ Loughran , Luke , bds Wm . P . Sawyer s .

Loughran , Moses, stonelayer, h Church s treet .

Long, James , laborer, h Lowell street .

Lordan , Jeremiah , laborer, h Fenwick street . ’ Lovery, James , laborer, b ds Hugh Young s , Fenwick street . L yn ch , Michael , h rear Lowell street . n Ly ch , Patrick , at factory, h Gorham street .

Mahan , James , h Lowell street near Central street . ’ Mahan , Francis, laborer at Capt . J . Tapley s . M ahan , Owen , h Fenwick street .

Mahan , Patrick , laborer, h Lowell street . ’ Mahan , Patrick , bds at C on n if s . M H ’ ahar, Patrick , laborer, bds odgman s Gorham street . ’ Mahar, James, bds J . Campbell s . ’ Manahan , Cornelius , bds Ford s Fenwick street . i ’ Martin , Mary, w dow, h Lowell , street, Hilliard s block .

Martin , John , laborer, h Fenwick street . M artin , Moses , housewright, h Jefferson street . M r aginley, F ancis , laborer, h Fenwick street.

Magan , John , dyer , h Cross near Lowell street . M a oran g , John , dyer, h rear South street . O ’ Mahoney, wen , laborer, bds P . Timmins .

Marren , Luke , laborer, h Fenwick street .

Moran , James, laborer, h between Suffolk and Fenwick street s . r Monahan , Pat ick , at factory, h 48 Bowditch street:

Marren , Francis , h Lowell street . M arren , John , laborer, h Fenwick street . 7 0 IRISH GENESIS OF LOWELL

M ahony, Rv . John , h Fenwick street . ’ s Maloy , John , tailor and draper , Lewis street, bds Murray

building .

Mallon , John , h High street . ’ arth s Man n ic e, John , at factory , bds Mc C y , Green street .

Mannice, Patrick , laborer and fisherman , h Middle street . ’ M ansfield , James, Merr k print works , h Merrimack street .

M artin , John , laborer , rear soap works, near Lawrence street .

M artin , John , laborer , h Fenwick street .

Marren, Francis , h Lowell street .

M ellen , John , overseer of watchmen at Tremont, b ds 3 Tre

mont street .

M enn eugh, Mathew , h Fenwick street .

‘ ’ Miles, Michael , at Merr k Corp ., h Lowell street .

Mitchell , James, machinist, rear Lawrence street ; near Massie

Falls .

M ongan , Francis, Lowell Bleachery, h near Bleachery .

’

M ongan , Mary, widow, h Green street .

Mongan , Michael , reedmaker, h Green street .

M ongan , M orris , Ham . Corp . , h Green street .

M orris , John , h Fenwick street .

M orey, Patrick , h Fenwick street .

Monagan , Patrick , h Fenwick street . ’ Morrison , Stephen , at Whipple s powder mills .

Morrison , Mark S. , at Tremont Corp .

M oar, Francis , laborer, h Fenwick street .

M oran , James , laborer, h between Suffolk and Fenwick streets. ’ Moran , James , bds Mc Man us . ’ Morn ley, Bart . , bds at Sullivan s . ’ Murphy, Patrick , laborer, bds P . Barnahan s .

M urray, John, blue dyer, h Lowell street .

Murphy, John , blue dyer, h Lowell street .

Murphy, John , laborer, h Fenwick street .

Murphy, John , laborer, h Fenwick street . ’ Murphy, Cornelius , carpet weaver, bds Mrs . Grime s . ’ Murphy, James , laborer, h rear Col . Fletcher s . ’ Mullin , John ( Bailey M ) , bds Capt . Bailey s .

M ullin , Peter, h Lowell street .

Murphy, Bernard , boarding house , Lowell street . R ’ M urphy, Eugene , laborer, bds ay s , Appleton street . IRISH PIONEERS 7 1

l M c A oon , Edward , laborer, h Cross street . A l Mc oon , James , laborer , h Merrimack street . ’ A l on T Mc o , homas , laborer , bds Mrs . Murray s . A vo M c y, James , rug finisher , 21 Carpet blocks . n Mc A n una, Owen , h Lewis street. ’ McA n uly, Michael , blue dyer, bds Mrs . Mongan s .

Mc A n ulty, Owen , at factory , h Middle street .

McA voy, John , h Fenwick street .

Mc Caffrey, Patrick , W . I . goods, Hurd street, h near Catholic

church . r Mc Caffrey, Peter, at factory, h Fenwick st eet . ’ Mc C anelly, John , bds Wm . Davies .

Mc Can n , Peter , at factory , h Fenwick street .

Mc Can n , Thomas , at factory, h Hurd street .

Mc C an n an , P . , h Fenwick street . ’ ’ rr Mc Can n ey, Francis , at Me k print works, bds McA voy s .

M c Can ney, Mathew, h Fenwick street.

Mc Carn ey, Thomas , Ham . Corp , h Washingt on street .

M ccarty, D enis , laborer, h Fenwick street .

Mc Carty, John , cordwainer, h Green street .

McC arty, Michael , mason , h Fenwick street .

Mc Carthy, D enis, laborer, h Lowell street . ’ Mc Carthy, Daniel , bds Gleason s , Jefferson street .

Mc Carthy, h Fenwick street .

M c Cab e, Owen , cordwainer, h Lowell street .

M c C an ary, Owen , laborer, h Fenwick street .

Mc Can n , Barney, h near soap works , Lawrence street .

Mc Caffrey, Patrick , h Green street . ’ Mc Cardy, Rob ert, blacksmith, at J . G . Kittredge s . r M c C ormic , Hugh , at factory, h Fenwick st eet .

Mc C ormic , Mary, widow , h Fenwick street . 2 Mc Clan in g, John , carpet weaver, bds 2 Capt .

Mc Cleary, D enis , laborer, h Fenwick street .

M c Cleary, Wm . T . , millwright , bds 5 Tremont street . ’ l E Ho man Mc C ure , Patrick , at Bleachery house , bds . dg s .

Mc C onn a McKenn a . ( ) , Patrick , h rear Merrimack street ’ on ih 24 Mc C e, William, at M err k Corp . , bds . n n ll McC o e , Nicholas , h rear Lawrence street . rmi Mc C o c , Bartholomew, at factory, bds Wm . D ams

M ellon , John , stonelayer, h Middle street . 72 IRISH GENESIS OF LOWELL

’ E . M cD an iel, Alex . , b ds gan s , Lowell street

. McD ermott , Thomas , at Lowell Bleachery, h near Bleachery ’

l . . M c D an ie , James , laborer, bds Mrs Lepere s , Lowell street

M c D ermott , Patrick , laborer, h rear Merrimack street . ’ M c D ermott , Torney ( Anthony $ ) bds Campbell s . ’

mott s . bds . McD er M cD ermott , Michael , laborer, P

M c Garrah, James , h Fenwick street .

M c Gary, Jane , widow , h near soap works .

M c Gary, John , laborer , h near Lawrence street .

M c Gin ley, Francis , at Middlesex Corp , h Green street . 2 1 M cGin ly, D aniel , carp et weaver, bds Carpet . ’

M c Govern , Barney, bds Everett s, Lowell . street .

M c Gowin , Hugh , at Lowell Bleachery . i M c Gu re, Charles , at factory, h Middle street . ’ rr M c Ga ah, James , bds Griffin s , Merrimack Square .

M c Guire , John , h Green street . ’ uire Mc G , Francis , bds Mrs . Barry s , Lowell street . i Mc Gu re , James , dye house , h 47 Ham . Corp . un e McH , Bernard , h ousewright, h Fenwick street . M cH u h g , Hugh , h Lowell street , d July 1 0, 1 845 , aet 82 . M cI lro M err1ma k y, James , confectioner, c street, M errimack

Square . M I lr n c oy, Peter, h Fe wick street . ’ Malar h c y, Arthur, bds J . Campb ell s . ’ M I n ir c t e , William , bds D oyle s . M cLen ch 27 e , John , blacksmith , bds Lawr nce Corp . M cLau hlin ’ g , Philip , dyer, bds at M c Man us . M c Mahon , Owen , h rear Catholic church . M c M a u n s, John , h M errimack street . ’ M c Man u s , Owen , b ds J . Campbell s . M c Man us ’ , Thomas , at Lowell Bleachery, bds Mrs . Murray s . ’ M c Mahon , tailor at Ager s , Central street . M c Mann lab or r h , Patrick , e , Lowell street . ’ M c Man n , Thomas , bds Davies . M c Morr w o d . . , Charles, Corp , h rear Appleton street . M c M ur h p y, Timothy, hatter, h Washington street . M c M ullin , Andrew, bds 4 Tremont Corp . M cN ult y, John , h Hurd street . M cN all k y, Patric , tailor, h Green street . Mc Osker O , wen , W . I . goods , Lowell street h Lowell street , .

7 4 IRISH GENESIS OF LOWELL

. R ailley (R iley) , Bernard , W . I . goods , h Lowell street

. Ray, John T . teamster , h Lowell near Adams street

R . R ayan ( Ryan) , ichard , h Fenwick street

wren c e d er t . R aydon , La , y , h Cross s reet ’ . Redmond , Michael , laborer, bds at Gibby s ’ . Lav s . R eynolds , Thomas , overseer dye h ouse , bds at J y ’ r . R eynolds , William , slater , b ds J . Page s , Lowell st eet ’ . Roach , tailor, bds M . Parker s ’ . Rossiter, Patr ick , tailor , bds M . Parker s

20 . R ogers , William , dyer, bds Carp et Blocks

r . Ryan , Bridget, h Lowell st eet

Ryan , Bridget, h Lowell street .

t . Ryley, Ann , widow , h Lowell stree

. R iley, Bernard , slater , h rear Lawrence near soap works

Rily, William , at Bleachery .

1 1 3 . Riley, James , laborer, h Lowell ( Market ) r R iley, Peter , laborer, h Fenwick st eet .

R oberts on , John , h Fenwick street .

R obinson , William , h Fenwick street . e Ryan , Nicholas , crockery and glassware , Merrimack Squar .

22 . Ryan , R oger, mason , h High street , bds Ham Corp . ’ r Ryan , bds Mrs . Sparks , Fenwick st eet . ’ Shanley, Michael , h Lowell street (rear 1 17 Merr k . )

Shehan , Martin , h Lowell street . ’ Sherden , Hugh , at factory, bds Ban ic an s .

Sherden , Patrick , at Carpet factory, h Green street .

Shields , Michael , laborer, h Fenwick ( lived 23 Hanover,

Short , James , at Ham . Corp . , h 48. ’ Short, Edward , factory, bds J . Campbell s . ’ ’ Short , Charles M (D ean Short s) dry goods, Merr k street. ’ Shay, Patrick , laborer , bds M . D oyle s .

Shelly, Luke , dye house , h Carp et blocks . ’ Short , Patrick , bds James Short s .

Short, James , at Hamilton , h rear Appleton street . bds W ’ Short, machinist, inn s , Lowell street . ’ Slattery , Maurice , foreman railroad , bds Hartley s; le en S v , Patrick , servant at M errimack House .

Slaven , Lawrence , at Lowell Bleachery .

Slaven , Michael , h Lowell street . ’ Smith , Andrew, h Water street, Evan s building . IRISH PIONEERS 7 5

id t Sm y, Margaret, h Fenwick s reet .

Smith , D aniel , bds 23 Carp et .

' wi k r et E en c st e . Smith , llen , widow , h F

i . Smith , Franc s , carpenter , h Lowell street ’ err . ff . Smith , John , dry goods M k street opp Su olk , bds Mrs ’ Smith s , Lowell , street.

Smith , John , at Bleachery house , h Lowell street . ’ r . Smith , Owen , at M er k Corp . , h Lowell street ’ Smith , Patrick , bds at Francis Smith s . t Smith , Richard , laborer, h Lowell near Fenwick s reet .

t . Smith , Sally, widow , nurse , Lowell near Fenwick s reet

Smith , Thomas , at factory, h Lowell street . t Smiddic k , Patrick , cordwainer, h Merrimack stree .

Smith , Owen , at fact ory, h Lowell street .

i . Sull van , Daniel , h Fenwick street ’ Sullivan , James , bds Connell s . w Sullivan , Jeremiah , laborer, h Fen ick street .

Sullivan , John , h Suffolk Square .

Sullivan , John , laborer, h Fenwick street .

Sullivan , John , laborer , h Fenwick street .

Sull ivan , Patrick , h Fenwick street . t Sullivan , John , laborer, h between Suffolk and Fenwick stree s ’ r Sullivan , Thomas , labo er, bds P . Timmon s .

Sullivan , John , laborer, h Fenwick street . ’

. . Sweeney , John , laborer, bds, D Connell s

Symons , Mary, boarding house , 8 Appleton Corp .

Tempany, Rose , widow, h Cross street near Lowell . ’ Tenney, Patrick , bds Everett s , Lawrence street .

Timmins , Patrick , dyer Ham . Corp . , h 47 ’ Tool , John , laborer, h Hurd treet near J . Lawrence s . ’ T rrill 4 t o , at M err k Corp . , bds 2 D utton stree .

Towle , Jeremiah , laborer, Chapel Hill . r T ainer, Catharine , widow , h Fenwick street . ’ Trainer, bds James Campbell s . t Trainer, Patrick , h Fenwick stree .

’ Tomolt y, Charles , at Lowell Bleachery, bds McD ermott s .

Tyning , Patrick , wool sorter, h Washington street .

Timmons, Patrick , dyer Ham . Corp . , h 42 Bowditch street

Towle , Jeremiah , laborer, h Green street . ’ r F ran com s Trainer, Catharine , widow, near Lawrence st eet,

building . ’ L v s . V ale , Michael , at factory, bds J . a y ’ Wallace , John , laborer, bds, R ay s , Appleton street . ’ Ward , James , baker, bds T . Smith s , Lowell street .

Welton , D avid , slater , h Fenwick street .

W ayland , John , laborer, h rear Lawrence street .

Welch , John , laborer, h Fenwick street . ’ Welch , Mathew , at Middlesex Corp . , b ds Burrow s .

Welch , Thomas , h Lowell street ( long block . )

White , James , h Fenwick .

W hite , Mary, widow, h Fenwick street .

White , John , at Ham . Corp . , h North street . W hite , Thomas , h Fenwick street .

White , Michael , h Fenwick street . W ’ ise , Mary Ann , h Lowell , Hilliard s block .

Woods , John , h Fenwick street .

Young, Hugh , h Fenwick street .

Young, Mary Ann , boarding house , South street .

Young, Michael , h Fenwick street . ’ Young, Patrick , laborer, bds M c Man us .

’ Young, Sarah , b oarding house, Lowell street Hilliard s blo k , c . IRISH PIONEERS 77

— 1 4 . IRISH MA RRIA GE I NTENTI ONS, 1827 8 0 1 2 Barry , Patrick and Miss Bridget Driscoll , July 2 0, 8 9.

Brenley, Patrick , and Catherine Len n ey, May 13, 1832 .

Boyle , Michael , and Bridget Monahan , June 14 , 1835 .

Burk , John , and E liza McPadden , Sept . 1 5 , 1 833. 5 Crowley, D enis , and Mary Connelly, Oct . 22 , 1 827 ; m . Oct . 2 ,

1827 by R ev . P . Byrne . 1 1 2 Crowley, John , and Mary Driscoll , D ec . , 8 8.

Crowley, John , and Joanna Donovan , Sept . 26 , 1 831 .

Crowley, Bartholomew , and Catharine D esmond , July 8, 1 832 .

Collins , D enis , and Catharine Bohan , May 3, 1 829 .

Connelly, Michael , and Miss Nora de Never n , July 13, 1 830. t 1 1 1 2 Carney, Thomas , and Catharine M c Cu e, Oc . , 8 9 . 1 1 0 Crudden , John , and Miss Ann Curry, Jan . 7 83 .

Costello , James, of Chelmsford , and Mary Welch , Nov . 6 , 1 831 .

Callahan , Thomas , and Mary M c Cartin , Nov . 2 0, 1831 .

Cummiskey, E ugene , and Mary Loughran , Nov . 1 1 , 1832 .

Connolly, Mathew, and Margaret Fennell , Nov . 25 , 1 832 .

Curry, John , and Bridget McD ermott , Dec . 29, 1 833.

Davitt, Patrick , and Catharine White , June 1 1 , 1837 .

D elaney, Thomas , and Ann Toulen , May 2 , 1830.

D elaney, Matthias , and Mary Mc Quade, Nov . 20, 1836 .

D inn ey, John and Mary D esmond , July 2 , 1 837 .

Dolan , Thomas , and R ose Mahon , Feb . 2 , 1834 .

D esmond , Timothy, and Sarah Leavitt, Jan . 14 , 1838.

D onovan , Timothy, and Nora Courtney, Aug . 12 , 1 832 .

Donovan , William , and Honora Scully, Sept . 9, 1838.

D onovan , Timothy, and Margaret D onovan , Jan . 31 , 1 838. 1 D onnelly, Neil , and Mary M cI lroy, June 1 8, 837 .

D oyle , Michael , and Elizabeth Nicholson , June 3, 1 832 .

D owling, Thomas , and Catharine Kennedy , Apr . 29, 1838. 1 D oyle , Patrick , and Ann Flanagan , July 9, 837 . D u l 1 ea, John , and Catharine Caddigan , July 3 , 1 836 .

D owling, James , and Ann Kearney, Jan . 2 0, 1 833.

Enright, Michael , and Margaret Kirk . ( N0 date . ) 1 4 1 Farrell , John and Ann Duffy, Nov . , 830.

Fielding, Maurice , and Catharine Donovan , July 18, 1830. v Finn , Michael of Boston , and Bridget Sulli an , Sept . 4 , 1836 .

Finn , James , ( of E . Cambridge) and Catharine Quigley, Feb .

5 , 1 837 7 8 IRISH GENESIS OF LOWELL

2 1838. Flynn , William , and Ellen Farrell , Sept . , 1 Flood Patrick , and Ellen Duffy, June 5 , 837

l 0 1836 . Flynn , Thomas , and Mary McD oy e, Nov . 2 ,

Frawley, William , and Honora Scully, Sept . 9, 1838.

a 1 1 38. Ford , D enis , and Sarah Whitehead , of Andover, M y, 3, 8

9 1 2 . Ford , Philip , and Bridget Burns , Nov . 2 , 83 1 1 F ord , Timothy, and Miss Ellen Toomey, Nov . 28, 83 .

Ford , Timothy, and Mary Murray, Sept . 29, 1833.

1 5 1 . Garvey, Marcus , and Ellen Sullivan , Jan . , 837 25 1 Garrity, Michael , and Rosanna D olan , Feb . , 838.

Garity, Patrick , and Ann Timmons , July 20, 1 834 .

Gallivan , Edward , and Mary Scanlan , Apr . 30, 1 837

Hill , John , and Mary Connelly, A ug. 17 , 1 832 .

Haviland , Patrick , and Catharine Fitzpatrick , Feb . 9, 1834.

Hughes , Edward , and Rose Duffy, Jan . 3, 1836 .

Kelly, John , and Sarah Fitzwilliams, May 1 5 , 1836 .

Keely, Lawrence , and Margaret Creighton , Apr . 29, 1838.

Keefe , Nicholas , and Eleanor Burns , Oct . 8, 1837

Keyes , Patrick , and Ann Daily, A ug. 20, 1837

Kennedy, John , and Mary Sullivan , Aug . 12 , 1 832 .

Keegan , Michael , and Alice Early, Oct . 20, 1 833.

Kilfoyle , Thomas , and Mary Connolly, Jan . 3, 1836 .

Kenny, John , and Ann Bradley, Feb . 17 1 839.

Lynch , John and Margaret Timmons, Feb . 1 7 , 1839.

Leary, Mathew , and Catharine Lary , May 28, 1831 .

Lynch , Patrick , and Miss Mary Mullins , Feb . 1 9, 1832 .

Lacey, Daniel , and Bridget Madden , Apr . 28, 1 833.

traiford . H . Leonard , John of S , N , and Susan M cV ey, Apr . 28,

1 833.

Mansfield , James , and Johana D empsey, Jan . 20, 1833.

Mahon , Patrick , and Margaret Cummiskey, July 29, 1 833 .

Mangan , Michael , and Harriet Jameson , Oct . 13, 1833.

Mahon , James, and Bridget Murray, Apr . 2 0, 1 834 .

M eehan , Patrick , and Mary D onahoe , May 4 , 1834 . D idiat Mongan , Hugh , and Caroline ( b . Germany) July 13,

1834 .

Morrison , John , and Margaret Butler, June 14 , 1835 . Mon han e , Patrick , and Ann Powers , July 19, 1835 . M e inis Muldoon , James and Margaret g , May 4 , 1829.

Mooney, James, and Miss Sara Quinn , Sept . 2 , 1832 . IRISH PIONEERS 7 9

9 1 833. M oran , Patrick and Honora Fitzgerald , June ,

B . 17 1 830 . Murray , Jeremiah , and Catherine eardy , Jan

12 1 832 . Murray , Michael , and Mary D onovan , Feb . ,

6 1 833. M urray , Samuel , and M argaret Holland , Jan . ,

arve . 29 1 832 . Murray, John , and Jane M cG y, Nov ,

M c A vo 2 1 831 . Murphy , Peter, and R osanna y, May ,

17 1 831 . M urphy , John , and Peggy Sullivan , Sept . ,

27 1 832 . M urphy , Timothy , and J erusha Shattuck , May

2 1 33. Murphy, James , and M ary Burns , Jan . 7 , 8

26 1 34 . M ullen , D enis , and Ann Carroll , Jan . , 8

2 6 1 834 . M ullin , Thomas , and E llen Donahoe , Jan . ,

2 1 1 83 . Mc Carty, John , and Margaret Fielding , Nov . , 0

art 14 1 835 . M c C arty, Daniel , and Margaret Mc C y, June , h 25 1 8 2 M c Carthy, Daniel , and E llen Mc C art y, Nov . , 3 .

Mc carthy, D aniel , and Miss Nancy McLen n ey, Apr . 7 , 1833.

M c Caffrey, Charles ( of Poultney, N . H . ) and Hannah Mcvey,

M c C ormick , John , and M argaret Tarbox, Feb . 21 , 1 831 .

Mc C ormick , Bart . , and Mary White , Nov . 8, 1835

Oct . 27 , 1 833 .

M c Cluskey, D enis , and Catharine Farrell , Feb . 2 , 1 834 .

M cD ermott , Thomas , and Margaret Leacy, Nov . 1 0, 1833 .

M c Gin ley, D aniel , and Ann Sheridan , July 14 , 1 833. ’ M c Garvey, Patrick , and Bridget O Brien , July 5 , 1 835 .

M cHugh, Hugh , and Margaret King , Oct . 13, 1 833. h M cH ug , Hugh , and Bridget Can field, July 5 , 1 835 .

M cN ulty, John , and Isabella M c Caffrey, Oct . 27 1 833. li McLau gh n , Terence , and Miss Catharine Brennan , Oct . 17 ,

1830.

n us 1 2 M c Ma , Patrick , and Sally Slaven , Nov . 0, 1 8 9 ; m . Nov . v 20, 1 829, by Re . J . Fitton .

M cN ulty, John , and Bridget Fagan , July 5 , 1 835 . 2 1 1 Naylor, James , and Nancy Power, Oct . 3, 83 . ’ O C on n or, John , and Ann Lockwood , 1 834 . ’ O Brien , James , and Mary Murray, Oct . 1 9, 1828. ’ O Brien , Patrick , and Mary John ston , Aug . 1 2 , 1 832 . ’ ’ 1 O Sullivan , D aniel , and Julia O N eil, July 5 , 835 .

Prendergast, John , and Miss Nancy D . Appleton , Apr . 1 5 ,

2 . 1 2 . 1 83 ; m by Fr . Mahony, July 83 1 Phalan , James , and Miss Margaret Connelly , May 3 , 1 829 . R Ryan , ogers , and Hannah White , of Westford , Mar . 31 , 1 833.

b wrf e

B O ST O N C OL L E G E L I B R A R Y

U N I V E R SI T Y H E I G H T S

C HESTN UT HI LL . M A SS .

Book s may be k e pt for two week s and may b the i l re e ren ewed for sam e per od , un ess served .

‘ Two ce n t s a day is charged for each book k i ept overt m e .

I f ou fi n d h a ask th e y can not w at you w nt ,

i i who i h ou L brar an w l l be glad to el p y .

The borrower is respon sible for book s drawn on his card and for all fines accr u ing on th e sam e .