Vol. XXXiii — No. 1 — 2021

Irish wolfhounds among New England’s earliest settlers

n 1633, four Irish wolfhounds were cunning that seldom any are killed with I shipped across the Atlantic Ocean to guns or traps …” New England. They were sent to John Win- From an ecosystem point of view, the throp Jr., the son and namesake of the wolves were essential because they preyed founder and first governor of the Massa- on coyotes, deer, moose and other preda- chusetts Bay Colony. tors. But to the handful of Europeans strug- Born in England in 1605, Winthrop Jr. gling in the wilderness, the wolves were had been sent to Ireland at the age of 16 to deadly enemies constantly killing the sheep study at Trinity College in Dublin. While and other livestock essential for food. there, he boarded with an uncle, Emmanuel Shortly after arriving in Massachusetts, Downing, also a native of England. Winthrop in a diary entry wrote that when Winthrop Jr. immigrated to Massachu- he went for evening walks he carried a setts in 1631, a year after his father and musket in case he encountered the wolves other Puritans established the colony on who “came daily about the house and killed the seacoast near Boston. With 12 other swine and calves.” So great a threat were newcomers, Winthrop Jr. soon founded the they that one of the first laws passed by the town of Ipswich in Agawam harbor 28 Ipswich Puritans offered a bounty to any- miles north of Boston. one who killed a wolf. It was his uncle Downing who arranged When that law failed to decimate the to send the wolfhounds to America. Win- wolves, the English settlers looked to Ire- throp Jr. was notified of the arrangement land where they knew there was a potent by Edward Howes, who had been his class- weapon to deal with wolves: the Irish wolf- mate at Trinity College. In a letter to Massa- hounds, known in Gaelic as “Cu Faoil,” the chusetts in August 1633. Howes wrote: “Cu” meaning brave. “You shall receive in this ship 3 woolfe dogs The tallest of all dog breeds, the Irish & a bitch, with an Irish boy to tend them …” wolfhound is described by the American That ship was the James, which docked in Kennel Club, as “of great size and com- Salem, Mass., on Oct. 10 that year after an manding appearance … remarkable in com- eight-week voyage from England. Aboard bining power and swiftness with keen sight was a cargo of supplies, 80 new immi- This sketch of an Irish wolfhound was drawn … bred for long, solitary hunts based solely grants, 60 head of cattle, the wolfhounds by Louis A. Fuertes. It appeared in National on its ability to visualize its landscape … and their Irish lad tender. Geographic Magazine in 1919. Those who unlike hounds who rely on scent … The dogs were not just a frivolous gift of have had experience with Irish wolfhounds “A sturdy yet swift dog, it is capable of pets from back home. They and their Irish know the picture is not an exaggeration. running down and killing large animals. It keeper were sent in the hope they might has a general greyhound build only larger help solve a serious problem facing the grey wolves running wild throughout New and stockier. The legs are long, the body Puritans who were trying to make a go of it England. The wolves, wrote one historian, comparatively narrow … the chest deep in their small colony across the ocean. “are very numerous and go in companies, (Please turn to page 2) The problem was a huge population of sometimes, 10, 20, more or fewer, and so

Renew your CIAHS membership for 2021

If the Irish wolfhound above could talk, he or she probably would say, “Don’t forget to renew your member- ship in the Connecticut Irish-American Historical Society because it is one of only a few places that you will find a story abut my breed.” And if you had such a magnificent Irish creature staring at you up close and personal, you probably would do anything he or she wants. So to help you remember, we have enclosed an envelope with this issue of The Shanachie. And on page 4, we have explained how easy it is to renew.

Early New Englanders found Irish wolfhounds to be valuable allies

(Continued from page 1) the cargo of wolfhounds overland to south- suspicious of any Catholics. The Catholics western Gaul which was known as an ideal were similarly narrow-minded in their view and the waist moderately small. Add to this location for hunting. A few years later, Pat- of all Protestants. The Puritans disdained a harsh, wiry coat and you have a dog that rick returned to Ireland as a missionary. the pomp, ceremony and hierarchy which can withstand cold, damp weather and run A thousand years later in 15th-century was the rule not only in the Catholic church, through thick brush without even getting Ireland, wolves were overrunning the coun- but also in the Church of England. Their scratched.” tryside. “The Irish wolfhounds, already preference in religious doctrine and prac- The wolfhounds also have class, accord- renowned big-game hunters, began to spe- tice was close personal relationship with ing to the Kennel Club: “… the best part cialize on wolves,” according to the Ameri- the Lord. about the coat is the distinctive long eye- can Kennel Club, and by the 1600s, wolves That explains why the letter from Howes brows and beard that impart a noble ex- and other big-game animals of Ireland had to Winthrop Jr. said little about the wolf- pression.” been hunted to extinction. hounds but went into detail about the boy The Irish wolfhound is also as old as the In the letter to Winthrop, Howes, know- and his faith. history of Ireland itself. In early The letter is written in Christian times, the Irish wolf- 17th century English and is hounds were known throughout sometimes puzzling in its Europe for beauty as well as meaning. “This is a very trac- hunting ability. Arrian, a Greek table fellow,” Howes wrote, historian in the second century “and yet of a hardie courage of the Christian era wrote, “The … I am persuaded he is very most highly bred of these Celtic honest …especially he makes dogs are a wonderful sight as to great conscience of his pro- eyes, body, hair and colour … mise and vowe … I could altogether the sight is delightful wish you would take him to to a hunting man …” be your servant, although he Arrian said wolfhounds were be bound to your father for frequently gifts that were be- five years.” stowed by provincial kings in That apparently means that Ireland to their princes, thus while the Irish lad could “seven hounds for the chase are easily be led, he did have a given by the king of Cashel to streak of independence. He one of his princes, to another he was honest and could be gives seven hounds to chase trusted to accept the terms The howl of the grey wolves was almost as frightening as their killing of down stags.” of his indenture. While the livestock in early Puritan settlements. The Rev. Joseph B. Felt, a descend- indenture formally bound In the year 391 A.D., a Roman ant of the Pilgrims, wrote, “It was a common thing to hear them com- the boy to John Winthrop Sr., statesman wrote a letter of mence their howl soon after sunset, when it was very dangerous to go it appears that the young thanks for such a gift of seven near the woods … (They) were so abundant and so near the meeting man was to actually live Irish wolfhounds with a com- house, that parents would not suffer their children to come and go from with John Winthrop Jr. ment that “all Rome viewed worship without some grown person.” (Picture: National Geographic, them in wonder.” 2012. Mexican Grey wolves at the Chicago Zoological Zoo.) Howes explained that the Wolfhounds even played a role Irish lad had a strong Catho- in the early life of the patron saint of Ire- lic faith, but with some ing the reputation of the hounds made no land. Born in Roman Britain about 380 A.D., nudging might be won over to Puritanism: explanation for sending them. However, St. Patrick was kidnapped at the age of 16 “At his first coming over,” — (which may their proven ability to clear a country of and sold into slavery to an Irish chieftain. mean when he was brought from Ireland to wolves certainly was the decisive factor in After six years tending sheep, Patrick es- England) —- Howes wrote that “he would shipping not only three males but a female caped, made his way to the eastern coast of not goe to church, nore come to prayers, so as to make fairly sure that their numbers Ireland and was taken aboard a ship about but first we got him up to prayers and then would increase in New England. to sail for Europe. The ship’s cargo included on the Lord’s Day to catachise and after- a number of the Irish wolfhounds to be sold What Howes did describe in detail in his wards very willingly he hath been at church on the continent. Some scholars think that letter was the Irish indentured servant’s 4 or 5 tymes …” Patrick may have been added to the ship’s religious beliefs and character. That focus But, even though the boy seemed to be crew because during his captivity he had undoubtedly was the result of the splitting gradually accepting Puritan ways, he still learned to manage wolfhounds. The voyage up of Christendom in that era into various clung to Catholic practices. “He as yet was of only three days and it is thought the faiths and denominations and the resulting makes conscience of Fridays fast from flesh destination was the west coast of France. distrust, anger and ill will among Christians. …,” said Howes regarding the Catholic cus- When the ship docked there, Patrick re- The ecumenical movement was several tom of not eating meat on Friday. The boy mained with the crew as they transported centuries in the future. The Puritans were also did not like “to hear the Romish reli-

2 ended up in Connecticut either on occasion or permanently because the colonial leader they were sent to had a penchant for roam- ing and eventually lived 30 years in Con- necticut. “Winthrop enjoyed travelling through the countryside,” wrote historian Francis J. Bremer. “After 1633, he may often have been accompanied by one of the 4 wolfhounds shipped to him.” If he did, it is likely the wolfhounds became Connecticut visitors or residents as did Winthrop Jr. In the years after he founded the town of Ipswich in Massachusetts, Winthrop be- came primarily interested in Connecticut. He agreed in 1635 to become the governor for one year of a proposed new colony at the mouth of the Connecticut River. During 1636, he lived there and oversaw the con- struction of houses and a small fort at what became the town of Saybrook, Connecticut. Another bright Irish dog In 1640 Winthrop Jr. received a land grant Thanks to an Irish terrier named Jack, of Fishers Island, which lies just off the everyone and everything was safe in southeastern coast of Connecticut. In 1644, Connecticut’s capital city, according to he received another grant at the mouth of this article published in the Hartford the Thames River on the Connecticut main- Times of April 9, 1896. land near Fishers Island. There he founded John Winthrop Jr., to whom the Irish wolf- what became the busy seaport city of New “Special officer Ryan, the night guardi- hounds were sent, was one of the most London. By 1647, he and his family were an of the Blythe estate property in the important Puritans in the founding of living in New London. In 1650, he became a vicinity of Kearney and Market streets Connecticut. This picture shows his like- Connecticut citizen. He moved to New Ha- has a most valuable assistant in his dog ness within a map of Connecticut that ven in 1655 and was elected governor of Jack. Mr. Ryan has little to say about shows the three communities he founded: Connecticut in 1657. Then he moved to Jack’s pedigree, and possibly Jack has no Saybrook (Seabrook), New London and Hartford and was re-elected governor re- pedigree at all, although he looks more Fishers Island, bottom right. peatedly from 1659 until his death in 1676. like an Irish terrier than anything else. It is unfortunate, but it seems at the mo- “Jack, however, does not seem to act gion spoken against, but I hope with God’s ment there is no more information about what he looks like. He is too busy and grace he will become a good convert …” the wolfhounds and Irish boy. However, most of the time he appears as if his Howes encouraged Winthrop Jr. to do reams of data do exist about the Winthrops shaggy coat of dark-brown hair had been whatever he could to help quicken the con- and other Puritans. Tucked in some corner combed in a dozen different directions version. “Sir, I dare boldlie saye it is as much of it there may be awaiting a diligent re- with a currycomb. honor for you to winn this fellowes soule, searcher much more about these very early “When Jack was still very young, he out of the subtillest snare, Romes politick and interesting Irish New Englanders. showed strong talent for being a watch- the religion of Satan; as to winn an Indian man. Such a thing as sleeping at night soule out of the Devills clawes ….” Sources: Winthrop Papers, Massachusetts never entered his head so that Ryan at “As for his fittnesse to be a member of Historical Society, Vol. 3, 1943, p. 134, 491; last got into the habit of taking him with your church; its well if the Lord worke it in “The History of New England from 1630 to him when he went on his lonely rounds three or four yeare, yet he can doe it sooner 1649,” by John Winthrop, James Savage, Vol. in the darkness. if he please … The fellow can reede and 1, pp. 53, 68, 111, 115; online “John Winthrop “At first Jack only acted as a compan- write reasonable well which is somewhat Jr.” at Museum of Connecticut History; Way- ion, but when he had seen his master try rare for one of his condition; and makes me back Machine, “John Winthrop Jr., Governor certain doors, he thought it was his duty hope the more of him.” of the Colony of Connecticut;” Francis J. to do the same. As the salvation of the Irish boy contin- Bremer, “John Winthrop: America’s Forgot- “In less than a month he knew every ued, the Irish hounds apparently were able ten Founding Father,” page 149; Online: door on the route and would run ahead to reduce somewhat the threat of wolves “Historic Ipswich, Wolf Laws of the Town of and jump against them before Ryan because several years later the town of Ips- Ipswich;” Thomas Franklin Waters, “A Sketch reached the spot. wich adopted a law requiring that all home- of the Life of John Winthrop, the younger;” “The more he practiced, the more per- owners must keep a dog, preferably a mas- Thomas Olden, “History of the Church of Ire- fect he became in performing his duties, tiff like the hounds, so as to reduce the num- land;” John Davis Newport, “St. Patrick, His and it was not long before he would put ber of wolves. Writing and Life;” Richard Archdeacon, “The (Please turn to page 8) It is likely, too, that the Irish wolfhounds Life of St. Patrick.”

3 Please join us for yet another year of Irish history and culture

he COVID pandemic may have us all Heart is that the university’s Digital Com- ceived over a period of years. The map, T pinned down here in Connecticut, mons has an excellent librarian, Beverly shown above, includes the period from Feb. but our journal/newsletter, The Shanachie, Lysobey, who makes sure that each issue 3, 2010, to Jan. 1, 2021. The number of continues to globetrot to the four corners of The Shanachie is fed into the Digital Com- downloads for the various nations are of the planet. mons collection and that we receive a shown in the small circles on the map. For The reason that The Shanachie has such a monthly map showing any places in the example in South Korea, in the far right of widespread distribution is because one of world where people have read or down- the map, there have been 44 hits. In the the ways our organization fulfills its mis- loaded our issues and articles. United States, on the left side, there are sion to research, tell and preserve the his- Recently at our request, Lysobey put to- three circles totaling 10,997 hits for various tory of people of Irish descent in Connecti- gether a map and data showing where and sections of the nation. The United States cut is to have a link with Digital Commons. how many “hits” our newsletter has re- (Please turn to page 8) Digital Commons is an online network that brings together free, scholarly articles from 732 academic institutions, public li- Use enclosed envelope for easy renewal braries and research centers throughout Our renewal memberships are due for the CTIAHS for 2021. Enclosed inside this issue the world. please find an envelope for your convenience. You can also renew online at CtIrishHis- A few years ago, Sacred Heart University tory.org. by just following the prompts for “join/renew.” in Fairfield agreed to maintain in its online Dues remain the same — $10 for a single, and $20 for a family membership. Digital Commons copies of each issue of The Shanachie as well as books that our One of the best features of renewal will be the continuation of your receipt four times organization has published. For us, that a year of The Shanachie, a premier publication. It is both informative of Irish history in means the research we have done about Connecticut and with articles of interest for all. Connecticut’s Irish is being preserved over Please continue your support of CTIAHS during this COVID pandemic. We hope by the the years and hopefully over the centuries. end of this year we will be able to continue our in-person activities, including bus trips One benefit of having materials in the and the annual dinner. Digital Commons is that our materials can For your information, construction is wrapping up at the Irish Arts Center at 726 Elev- be browsed and researched by anyone in enth Avenue in Hell’s Kitchen, Manhattan. The center will contain a 199-seat flexible the 732 member institutions. If, for exam- theater, a library classroom, exhibit area and a cafe . The center aims to present and ple, a researcher in Mongolia or Venezuela has an interest in Irish-American history or showcase live performances, exhibitions, films and visual art content celebrating Irish culture, he or she can read and download history and culture. It will be another attractive destination once the COVID pandemic any article from any issue of The Shanachie. becomes history. Another benefit of our link with Sacred Joan Murphy, membership chairwoman

4 An Irish actor, his playwright son and a Connecticut landmark

ne of the many remarkable sites on O our Connecticut Irish Heritage Trail is the Monte Cristo cottage in New London. It is remarkable for several reasons. It is an Irish landmark with a French name; it is significant enough to have been designated a National Historic Landmark; and it was the home of two of American theater’s most talented figures: actor James O’Neill and his son, playwright Eugene O’Neill. The cottage was built in 1840 on Pequot Avenue on the bank of the Thames River in New London. In 1884, it was purchased by James O’Neill, who was born in Kilkenny, Ireland, in 1847, and brought to the United States when only five years old. His parents, Edward and Mary O’Neill, were among the hundreds of thousands of Irish who fled their homeland to avoid starvation during the Great Hunger of the late 1840s. In 1851, the O’Neills settled first in Buffalo, NY, and then in Cincinnati, Ohio. James O’Neill, star actor When he was 21, James made his debut on stage in a Cincinnati presentation of the drama, The Colleen Bawn, written by anoth- er Irishman, Dion Boucicault. A handsome, Born in Ireland during the Great Hunger, James O’Neill, left, became a famous actor in talented and industrious young man, O’Neill American theater. Much of the fame was based on his portrayal of Edmond Dantes in the joined a traveling stage company and soon play The Count of Monte Cristo. His son Eugene O’Neill, right, became equally or more earned a reputation as a box-office draw. By famous as a playwright. His works won four Pulitzer Prizes and he was honored with a age 25, he was performing coast-to-coast. Nobel Prize in Literature by the Swedish Academy. Below is the cottage in New London In 1877 in New York City, O’Neill married where the O’Neill family lived. It is a U.S. National Historic Landmark. Mary Ellen Quinlan, a daughter of other Irish immigrants. Their first child, James, was born in 1878 in San Francisco where his father was at work on stage. A second son, Edmund, was born in 1884, but died in infancy from measles. Eugene, the final son of the O’Neills, was born in New York City in October 1888. It was as a present for his wife on her 27th birthday that James O’Neill purchased the cottage, along with an adjacent plot, on the waterfront in New London. O’Neill had the cottage enlarged to a two-story home with a wide porch wrapped around the front and a tower with a pyramid roof. The O’Neill family spent much of every year on the road from city to city, and the cottage on the Connecticut coast became their summer home. It was given the name Monte Cristo Cottage because a large share of James O’Neill’s renown was earned by his performances in the role of Edmond Dantes in the The Count of Monte Cristo, a play that was based on the novel by French author Alexandre Dumas. (Please turn to page 6) 5 play, Bound East for Cardiff, in a room of a Monte Cristo Cottage shack on a wharf in that town. (Continued from page 5) In the following years, he wrote a stream of plays, often in a sea setting and telling O’Neill first appeared in the role in 1875 stories of down-and-out people: Moon of in a Chicago theater. In 1883 in New York the Caribbees, , which he filled the role after the star of the show opened in Greenwich Village and moved to died suddenly. With O’Neill as Dantes, the Broadway, Beyond the Horizon, which won play became a sensation, and he became him a Pulitzer Prize for Drama, Anna Chris- rich by buying the rights to it and playing tie, , , the count of Monte Cristo for the rest of his , Ah Wilderness, career — an estimated 6,000 times. , A Moon for the Misbe- What that theatrical role meant to James gotten, Long Days Journey into Night. O’Neill was evident in an incident on Oct. He was judged as the preeminent play- This statue of Eugene O’Neill commemorat- 16, 1893. On that day, he arrived in Meriden wright in the United States. He received ing his boyhood in New London was dedicat- on the 10:45 a.m. train from Waterbury four Pulitzer Prizes: in 1920 for Beyond the ed in 1988 during a yearlong centennial. where he had starred in a presentation of Horizon, in 1922 for , in 1928 that play and was scheduled to perform in for Strange Interlude and in 1957 for Long the same role at the Meriden Opera House Eugene O’Neill playwright Days Journey into Night. His plays were sell- on Oct. 17. A reporter from the Meriden James O’Neill’s youngest son, Eugene outs in Vienna, Calcutta, Budapest Stock- Daily Journal was waiting on the platform to Gladstone O’Neill, spent much of his child- holm and Buenos Aires as well as New York. interview the actor not so much about the hood at Monte Cristo Cottage. He followed When he died on Nov. 27, 1953, at the age play he was to star in, but as what a rich his father’s footsteps into a career in the of 65, the New York Times theater critic man like O’Neill had to say about the finan- theater arts. He did so as a playwright ra- wrote “Mr. O’Neill broke a number of old cial disaster the country was experiencing. ther than an actor, but like his father, he molds, shook up the drama as well as audi- It was a time similar to 2020-2021. There excelled at what he did. ences and helped to transform the theatre was no coronavirus involved but when sev- Even with an abundance of talent, howev- into an art seriously related to life. The ge- eral Wall Street brokerage houses collapsed er, it was a difficult road for Eugene. With nius of Mr. O’Neill lay in raw boldness, in in early 1893, 600 U.S. banks and 16,000 the family living in hotels much of the time, the elemental strength of his attack upon businesses followed. Unemployment soared he was a lonely and restless young man. outworn concepts of destiny.” to 20 percent of the workforce and at that Neither a year studying at Princeton Uni- On Oct. 17, 1988, New London celebrated time there was neither municipal, nor state versity nor a stint as assistant treasurer of the centennial of O’Neill’s birth by unveiling nor federal assistance for workers and their his father’s theater company settled his on the city waterfront a bronze statue of families. It was the worst economic depres- wanderlust. He got married and then fled him. The statue depicts a boy sitting on the sion since the beginning of the nation, and it off to sea joining the crew of a mining engi- grass with his legs stretched out in front of dragged on until about 1897. neer who was sailing to Honduras to pro- him, writing pad in his lap and an intent As they walked from the railroad station spect for gold. Then he went to Buenos look on his face. to the hotel, the reporter asked O’Neill what Aires where he became an alcoholic vaga- More than 500 people attended the un- lay ahead for the U.S. economy. O’Neill was bond sleeping on street benches. He re- veiling which culminated a year of obser- optimistic. “I have been traveling through a turned to the United States in 1911, spent vances celebrating O’Neill’s life and works. large portion of New England this season several months in New York City in saloons One highlight of the unveiling was the read- having visited many of the factory towns and flophouses, attempted suicide and then ing of a letter from President Ronald which feel the depression most keenly,” he returned to his family in New London. Reagan, himself of Irish descent and a mov- replied, “and I must say that my experience His father got him a job as a reporter and ie star. In one sentence, Reagan captured has led me to believe that times are show- a contributor to the poetry feature of the the significance of the occasion: “All of New ing great improvement. Factories that were New London Telegraph. His journalism ca- London can take great pride in the role your shut down for weeks and months have re- reer soon ended when at the age of 24 he city played in the formative years of one sumed work and business has taken a cor- came down with tuberculosis. He was treat- who many consider to be America’s great- responding boom … It is my candid opinion ed at the Gaylord Farm Sanitarium in Wall- est playwright.” that if Congress would get to work and set- ingford for six months in 1912 and 1913. Sources: Wikipedia, James O’Neill, Eugene tle the revision of the tariff, confidence That period proved to be a new start for O’Neill; Online: “The Life & Times of Joseph would be restored and an era of prosperity O’Neill. He swore off alcohol and decided to Haworth — James O’Neill, 1849-1920; New never before known in this country would devote himself entirely to writing plays. He York Times, O’Neill obituary, Oct 28, 1953; spring up in no short order ….” later called the recovery of health his and Oct. 17, 1988, “Statue of Eugene O’Neill .” The nation recovered, but not until 1897. “rebirth.” “Great Playwrights,” publisher, Kahle Austin The O’Neill family kept its cottage and fi- From that point on, his playwriting career Foundation: Maria Milora, “Eugene O’Neill, p. nancial standing. James O’Neill died in blossomed. In 1916, he joined a group of 150ff; Online: The Nobel Prize: “Eugene 1920, his wife Ella, 1922. They, along with avant-garde writers and artists on Cape O’Neill, Biographical;” Online: Eugene O’Neill their sons, Edmund and James are buried in Cod. The Provincetown Players, as they Foundation, Tao House: “Eugene Gladstone St. Mary’s Cemetery in New London. were known, presented O’Neill’s one-act O’Neill 1888-1953.”

6 Civil rights champion for Cape Cod Indians

Editor’s note: With its last issue, the for the Wampanoag tribe. The Indians were as good as their word Shanachie resumed its practice begun When he mounted the pulpit at the old for early in July they prevented several 30 years ago of including in each issue church, he found there not a single Indian in white men from hauling a load of wood off one article about other racial and the congregation and only one or two Indi- the reservation. No force was involved in ethnic groups. The purpose is to em- an youngsters in the Sunday school. this action, but word spread quickly to phasize that along with being proud When he inquired why this was so, he nearby communities that there had been a to be Irish-Americans we are no less was told the Wampanoags wanted nothing riot on the reservation. proud of the contributions to our na- to do with the minister who was appointed Newspapers in nearby communities be- tion of people of all races and ethnici- to serve them. The minister was the Rev. gan to pillory Apes as an outside agitator ties. The article on this page tells the Phineas Fish, a Harvard educated clergy- who had come to Cape Cod to stir up trou- story of one such American, a Pequot man who held 500 acres of land in Mashpee ble. The governor appointed a commission- Indian who reached out to help the er to look into the situation and the com- Wampanoag Indians of Mashpee on missioner had Apes arrested at a meeting Cape Cod in Massachusetts. called to air the Indians grievances. The arrest failed to muzzle Apes who was n the spring of 1833, William Apes, an able to press the Wampanoags case through I itinerant Methodist minister from Con- several liberal newspapers in Boston. Final- necticut heard rumors about ill treatment ly, in January 1834, the Massachusetts legis- of the Wampanoag Indians in Mashpee on lature agreed to listen to the Indians griev- the southwestern end of Cape Cod. ances. Apes urged lawmakers to abolish the Apes himself was of mixed descent, his overseer system and allow the Indians to mother and father both being of Pequot govern themselves like every other commu- Indian and European stock. Apes was born nity in the state. Several months later, the in Colrain, Massachusetts, in January 1789. legislature passed an act allowing the Indi- When he was an infant, his parents moved ans of Mashpee to elect selectmen and man- to Colchester, Connecticut, and after three age their own affairs. years there they separated. Apes then lived Gradually, the Wampanoags took more briefly with his grandparents, and as an responsibility. They forced the Rev. Fish to indentured servant with several families in leave the reservation and they appointed a New London County. minister of their own choosing. In 1870, the He eventually ran away and joined a mili- William Apes Wampanoag reservations at Mashpee and tia outfit in New York as a drummer. During at Gay Head were incorporated as town- the War of 1812, Apes saw action against but who devoted little time ministering to ships and the Indians were given the full the British in northern New York, including the needs of the Indians. privileges of citizenship. Over the years the Lake Champlain land and water Battle The pastor was only the tip of the iceberg even to this every day, the Mashpee Reser- of Plattsburg in September 1814, the last of the grievances. The Indians had virtually vation and the rights of the Wampanoags British invasion of the northern states. no say in the government of Mashpee. That are disputed. When the war ended, Apes went to Cana- was handled by a board of three white Apes remained at Mashpee for some time, da working as a day laborer before return- overseers who did not live in the communi- but did not play a significant role in the ing to Connecticut in 1817. In 1821, he mar- ty and seem to have little real interest in the affairs of the community after the success- ried Mary Wood of Salem, Connecticut, and welfare of its inhabitants. ful effort to overthrow the overseers. He they began a family of four children. The overseers not only appointed clergy- died prematurely on April 13, 1839, at the In 1829, Apes was ordained a Protestant men like the Rev. Fish, but failed to provide age of only 50. Methodist minister. He preached at camp basic services such as police protection to His legacy was that during a century all meetings and revivals and in houses of wor- the Indians residences, forced the Indians too often marked by broken treaties and ship in New York City, Albany and Utica in to cut timber on their own lands and gave forced migrations, he had played an im- central New York, and throughout New white entrepreneurs lucrative contracts to portant role in gaining one civil rights victo- England. Because of his Indian ancestry he cut and haul away the timber that was the ry for Native Americans. took a special interest in human rights and reservation’s main resource. Sources: William Apes autobiography, A emphasized in his preaching the equality of Apes decided to remain at Mashpee and Son of the Forest; online Wikipedia: William all men before God take up the cause of the Wampanoags. He Apes; online, Your Dictionary: William Apes In May 1833, he visited Mashpee to met with the tribal elders and together they Nullification of the Unconstitutional Laws of preach at the venerable Old Meeting House drew up an appeal to the Massachusetts Massachusetts, relative to the Mashpee tribe; built there in 1684. Mashpee was of inter- legislature declaring that the United States Paul Brodeur, Restitution, the land claims of ested not only because of the rumors of Constitution gave the Indians the right to the Mashpee, Passamaquoddy and Penobscot prejudice there, but also because it had govern themselves and that as of July 1 that Indians by New England been established in 1660 as a reservation year they intended to exercise that right.

7 Hartford watchdog SHU Digital Commons 9; U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, 9; Lake Geauga Computer Association, (or- (Continued from page 3) (Continued from page 4) ganization), 9. totals also include Hawaii, 15 downloads his ear to the keyhole to listen for any The Shanachie issues are included in a at the very left edge of the map, and Alas- sound inside. segment designated “The Irish American ka, 8 downloads above. The total U.S. hits Community Collections.” That collection “Jack is so well trained now that he were 11,039. also includes several other substantial makes several rounds by himself every In a separate data sheet, Lysobey listed compilations, including: night and if anything is wrong it doesn’t some of the other nations and the num- take long for him to find it out. He never —Col. Thomas W. Cahill Civil War Let- ber of downloads from 2014 to 2020: misses a door, and never neglects to listen ters. This comprises numerous letters to China, 1,030; United Kingdom, 711; Ire- carefully before leaving. each other by Cahill, commander of the land, 608; Australia, 328; Canada, 263; state’s Irish regiment, and his wife during “The dog has already been the means of France, 217; India, 158; Russian Federa- the war. These were donated by Bob Lar- capturing several sneak thieves. The men tion, 154. kin of Cheshire, one of our members did not become alarmed at the sight of a She also listed a few of the 732 total whose ancestor fought and died with the dog as they would have been had an officer Digital Commons institutions at which Connecticut 9th Infantry. appeared on the scene, and continued their Shanachies have been downloaded. They work until the police arrival on the run. —Ancient Order of Hibernians papers, include: Sacred Heart University, 40; including Connecticut, the United States, “Mr. Ryan says he can form no idea of Connecticut State University System, 40; United States Ladies Auxiliary and what Jack will develop into as he keeps on. Yale University, 38; Fairfield University, worldwide groups, donated by Phil Gal- He is growing smarter and smarter every 31; Meteor, (commercial), 11; Connecti- lagher of Danbury. He is a longtime mem- day and there is a possibility that in the cut Education Network, 10; IVY Tech ber of the AOH and a state and national course of time he may become a first-class Community College of Indiana, 10; DoD historian and writer for the AOH. detective.” Network Information Center, (military),

The Shanachie

Published quarterly by the President George Waldron Connecticut Irish-American “We have kept faith Vice President Vincent McMahon Historical Society with the past; P.O. Box 185833 Secretary Patricia Heslin

Hamden, CT 06518 Treasurer Mary McMahon we have handed (203) 392-6126 Membership Chairperson Joan Murphy a tradition www.ctiahs.com Shanachie Editor Neil Hogan [email protected] Webmaster Finbarr Moynihan to the future.” https://www.facebook.com/CT Irish American Historical Society In Ireland, a Shanachie is a folklorist, Padraic Pearse historian and keeper of the traditions of the people.

Connecticut Irish-American Historical Society P.O. Box 185833 Hamden, CT 06518

8