USA > Massachusetts > Suffolk County > Boston > The story of the Irish in Boston, together with biographical sketches of representative men and noted women > Part 15
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41
These are eloquent figures, and voice truths no reasonable mind can misunderstand, remembering how the seed of Catholicity was sowed on ungenial soil, in poverty and obscurity, and in the shadow of popular disfavor; how it sprouted and strengthened, withstanding many tempests, until now, deep-rooted, of towering height and giant girth, beautiful, indestructible, it gathers a vast multitude under its grateful shade, and, Tree of Life as it is, puts forth its leaves for the healing of the nations,
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES
DISTINGUISHED MEN OF EARLY TIMES. OF
5
SKETCHES OF DISTINGUISHED MEN OF EARLY TIMES.
JOHN HANCOCK.
TT is stated by reliable authorities that the ancestors of John Han- cock emigrated from near Downpatrick, Down County, Ireland, and settled in Boston 1 towards the close of the seventeenth century.2 The " Hancocks have been for centuries actively and largely engaged in the foreign and domestic trade of Newry," 3 and it was doubtless in a commercial capac- ity that the first of the name came to Boston. The family to which President Han- cock belonged is, it is said, now represented in Ireland by John Hancock, of Lurgan, Down County, and by Neilson Hancock, the founder of the Irish Statistical Society.
John Hancock was born at Braintree, Mass., JOHN HANCOCK. in 1737, and when quite young was left in the care of his father's brother, a wealthy merchant of Boston, who sent him soon after to Harvard College, where he was graduated in 1754. He then became a clerk in his uncle's office, and, going to England on business in 1761, made the acquaintance of several of the leading public men there.
1 Tyrone (Ireland) Constitution, quoted in " Irish World," Centennial number, 1876. The writer adds : " Those who are conversant with Reid's 'History of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland' are aware that multitudes of Protestants left Ulster for the plantations of North America, for causes sufficiently explained in that authority. John Hancock's ancestor was amongst that number."
2 Anthony Hancock was in Boston in 1681. He came from Ireland.
3 Article in Pittsburgh "Leader," quoted in " Irish World." The name appcars in the records of the Irish Parliament.
(167)
168
THE IRISH IN BOSTON.
His uncle died in 1763, and left him great wealth, - the largest for- tune in New England. He became prominently identified with, and a leader in, public affairs. In 1766 he represented Boston in the Massachusetts General Assembly. Incidentally his regard and gen- erosity were bestowed upon his kindred in Boston. An Irish Presby- terian congregation, whose first place of worship was a barn, had erected a church on the corner of Federal and Berry streets, Hancock gave them a bell and vane. The first pastor of this church, Rev. John Moorhead, entered the ministry in Ireland, and was installed in Boston in 1730,1 becoming a member of the Charitable Irish Society in 1739. It was to this church that the convention of which Hancock was president adjourned from the Old State-House, where it met to consider the adoption of the Federal Constitution in January, 1788.
He was from the first a sturdy opponent of the methods by which the London Parliament sought to injure and harass the colonists, and his example, efforts, and influence contributed materially to the ad- vancement of the national cause. One of the earliest " outrages," as the English called them, committed by the people upon the govern- ment officials, was caused by the seizure of Hancock's vessel, the "Liberty," on a charge of containing concealed contraband goods. "The people turned out, beat the officers, burned the government boat, and drove the officials to the fort in the harbor for safety."2 He delivered in 1774 the annual oration in commemoration of the " Massacre" of March 5, 1770, and was elected in the same year president of the Provincial Congress of Massachusetts, and also a delegate to the Continental Congress, which met in September, at Philadelphia. On June 12, 1775, he was declared an " outlaw " by a proclamation of General Gage. In this document, " martial law " was proclaimed. Those in arms, and their friends, were declared " rebels, parricides of the Constitution," and a free pardon was offered to all who would return to their allegiance, except John Hancock and Samuel Adams.
' Drake's " Landmarks of Boston," p. 263.
? Lossing's " Eminent Americans," p. 160.
169
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
Hancock was again a delegate to the Continental Congress, in 1775; and when Randolph, the first president, resigned through ill health fourteen days after it had met, the Massachusetts "outlaw" was chosen to fill his place. On July 4, 1776, Hancock, as president of Congress, and Charles Thomson, of Maghera, as secretary, signed the Declaration of Independence, when it was adopted, and with only their names attached to it "was sent forth to the world," the other signatures not being affixed to the document until August the second, following.
The illustrious " First Signer," on account of weakened health, resigned his seat in Congress in 1777. In the year following, how- ever, when Sullivan was preparing to attack the British on Rhode Island, Hancock hastened to his aid at the head of the militia of Massachusetts, and took part in the stirring events near Bristol Ferry in August, 1778.1 The year following, he was elected Governor of Massachusetts, a position which he continued to hold for five consecutive years, when he declined a reëlection. He was again chosen Governor in 1787, and reelected annually until his death, which took place Oct. 8, 1793.
MAJOR-GENERAL HENRY KNOX.
Major-General Henry Knox was born at Boston of Irish parents in 1750. When the Revolution commenced he was engaged in business as a bookseller in his native city, but he promptly sacrificed his personal in- terests in his zeal for the national cause.
" The man," says Peterson, "who, of all others, stood first in Washington's affec- tions was Henry Knox, commander of the artillery in the American army. The in- tellectual abilities of Knox were sound; but it was his moral ones that were preeminently GENERAL KNOX. deserving of esteem, and in consideration of which Washington
1 Lossing's " Eminent Americans."
170
THE IRISH IN BOSTON.
bestowed upon him the love and confidence of a brother. In every action where Washington appeared in person Knox attended him; in every council of war he bore a part. His services at the head of the ordnance were invaluable. He assumed command of that branch of the army in the first year of the war, and continued at its head until the close of the contest. At the battle of Monmouth, the manner in which he handled his guns awakened the admiration of the enemy, and, in fact, contributed more, perhaps, than anything else to repel the last desperate assault. Greene had so high an opinion of Knox, that when Washington offered to the former the command of the Southern army, he proposed Knox in his stead. His first connection with the artillery service occurred immediately after the battle of Lexington. Knox had not been engaged in that struggle; but, a few days subsequently, he made his escape from Boston, and, joining his countrymen in arms at Cambridge, offered to undertake the arduous task of transporting from Ticonderoga and Canada the heavy ordnance and military stores captured there by the Americans. The energetic spirit of the young man, and the handsome manner in which he executed a task abounding with what some would have considered impossibilities, attracted the special- notice of Washington, and Knox, in consequence, was rewarded with the command of this very artillery, most of which he employed with good service in the siege of Boston. Thus at the age of twenty-five he occupied one of the most responsible positions in the army. From this period Knox remained with Washington, tak- ing part in all the principal battles fought by the Commander- in-Chief."
When Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown, Knox was promoted to the rank of major-general. He was in command of the American troops when they marched into New York on its evacuation by the English, Nov. 25, 1783, halting for a few hours near where now stands the armory of the Sixty-ninth Regiment, and then moving forward to take possession of Fort George, " amid the acclamations of thousands of emancipated freemen and the roar of artillery upon the battery." When, on December 4, the principal officers of
171
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
the army assembled at Fraunce's Tavern to bid farewell to Wash- ington, the latter entered the room where they were all waiting, and, taking a glass of wine in his hand, expressed the wish that their " latter days might be as prosperous and happy as their former ones had been glorious and honorable." Then, having drunk, he said, "I cannot come to each of you to take my leave, but shall be obliged to you if each will come and take me by the hand." Knox, who stood next to him, grasped his hand, and then, "while the tears flowed down the cheeks of each," the Commander-in-Chief embraced and kissed him, as he did afterwards the other officers. Knox succeeded Lincoln as Secretary of War under the old con- federation, and in 1789, on the organization of the Federal Govern- ment, he was chosen by Washington to fill the same position in his cabinet. He resigned in 1794, and went to live at Thomaston, Me. In 1798, when a foreign war seemed imminent, he was appointed to an important command; but the trouble passed over, and he was not called on for active service.
At the age of twenty-two years, in 1772, Knox joined the Char- itable Irish Society, of Boston. His desire to mingle and be iden- tified with men of Irish origin was further shown in 1782, when he. became a member of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick, of Philadel- phia. The Society of the Cincinnati was formed at his suggestion .. He died in 1806, at Thomaston, Me.
He was affable and unassuming in private life, as a public offi- cer thorough and capable, and as a soldier of unsurpassed daring.
GOV. JAMES SULLIVAN.
James Sullivan was a most ardent and distinguished patriot of the American Revolution, and he was equally noted for his masterly ability as a lawyer, statesman, and orator. His father, John Sul- livan, was an Irish schoolmaster, who had emigrated from Kerry or, as some say, Limerick, Ireland, to the Colonies, and settled in Berwick, Me., in 1723, and lived to see his two sons, James - the Governor of Massachusetts - and John, become distinguished among
172
THE IRISH IN' BOSTON.
.
their fellow-countrymen, dying at the patriarchal age of one hun- dred and five years.
James was born in Maine, April 22, 1744, and was educated by his father, who taught school for many years in Berwick. The principles of self-government and the right of the colonists, as free- men, to resist the imposition of taxes other than those which were imposed by themselves and for their own benefit, were taught him, and deeply impressed on his young mind.
Nearly all the settlers in those days had farms, and James was wont to assist his father on his farm, which developed his muscular strength. One day, while felling a tree, he accidentally injured his leg, which left one limb shorter than the other.
The weakness of his leg precluded hard manual labor, and he commenced the study of law and was admitted to the bar. He quickly attracted attention and practice. He was an uncompro- mising opponent to taxation without representation, and made a firm stand against the claims of the home government.
He entered into the cause of American freedom heart and soul as the critical moment approached to strike a blow for liberty. In 1776 he was a member of the Provincial Congress, and held the leading position of a judge of the Superior Court of his State. He organized troops for State and national defence, but his lameness prevented him from assuming command, which his generous spirit would have gladly accepted were it not for that misfortune. He was a member of the Continental Congress in 1782, also a member of the Executive Council and Judge of Probate. When Maine was separated from Massachusetts he took up his residence in the latter.
He was elected to Congress from Massachusetts in 1788. He became Attorney-General of that State in 1790, and while in that position projected the Middlesex Canal, and wrote the " History of the District of Maine," which the Legislature ordered to be pub- lished. He was elected Governor of Massachusetts in 1807, and re- elected in 1808, in which year he died. His son, Hon. William Sullivan, was an eminent jurist and scholar, and wrote many valuable
173
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
works. He was a member of the Legislature of Massachusetts for nearly twenty-six years, and died in 1839.
The mother of General Sullivan was a woman of great energy and spirit. There is a story told of a visit which she paid to her distinguished son when he was Governor of New Hampshire, and had as a guest his brother John. The servant, not knowing her, replied that she could not see the Governor -he was engaged. " But I must see him," said the old lady. - " Then, madam, you will please to wait in the ante-room."-" Tell your master," said she, sweeping out of the hall, "that the mother of two of the greatest men in America will not wait in any one's ante-room." The Gov- ernor having called his servant, on hearing the report said to his brother, "James, let us run after her; it's my mother for cer- tain." Accordingly the two governors sallied out, and soon over- took and made their peace with the indignant but easily mollified lady.
As a lawyer, Gov. James Sullivan ranked among the very first, and he was retained in the most important cases which were within the jurisdiction of the courts of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts at that time. A proof of his ability is manifested in his success over his able opponents who were the legal luminaries of his day. They were such men as Dexter, Otis, Dana, and Parsons, to none of whom he was second. He had a commanding presence and dignity ; deep thought shone from his fine, expressive face. His distinguishing characteristics of mind were force, comprehensiveness, and repressed, but intense, ardor; nothing escaped the piercing intensity of his scrutiny. His arguments were clear, close, pointed, and forcible, and always directed towards pertinent results, -no verbosity or clap- trap for admiration, but aimed to secure conviction. Although he seldom summoned up his pathetic powers, he did not lack this char- acteristic of his race, for it is said that when he adopted pathos it proved as intense and irresistible as his other masterly qualities. Among the works which he left are " A History of the District of Maine," "A Dissertation on Banks" and on the "Durability of States," " History of Land Titles in Massachusetts," " The Consti-
174
THE IRISH IN BOSTON.
tutional Liberty of the Press," "History of the Penobscot Indians," etc. He was a man of solid and extensive acquirements, and was honored by one of the great seats of learning with the degree of LL.D. Some of his descendants are among living Bostonians.
ROBERT TREAT PAINE.
Robert Treat Paine, according to very reliable authorities, was of Irish descent. O'Hart tells us that "Henry O'Neill, of Dungannon, born in 1665, sixth in descent from Shane the Proud, Prince of Ulster, and cousin of Sir Neal O'Neill, who was killed at the battle of the Boyne, changed his name to Paine, which was that of a maternal ancestor, after the surrender of Limerick, in order to preserve a portion of his estates. He entered the British army, obtained grants of land in Cork County and other parts of Ireland, and was killed in 1698 at Foxford, in Mayo. His youngest brother, Robert, who also took the name of Paine, emigrated to America a little before the occurrence alluded to. He was the grandfather of Robert Treat, Paine," the signer of the Declaration, who was born at Boston, March II, 1731. He graduated at Har- vard, where he studied theology in 1749, and acted as chaplain, in 1755, of the Provincial troops on the northern frontier. A little later he visited Europe, and on his return studied law, settling, in 1759, at Taunton, Mass., where he remained for several years. He was one of the delegates in 1768 to the convention called by prom- inent men in Boston, when Governor Bernard dissolved the General Court for refusing to rescind the circular letter sent to the other colonies.
He conducted the prosecution of the English captain, Preston, and eight of his soldiers, when they were tried for their murderous work in the "Boston Massacre " of March 5, 1770. In 1773 and the year following, he was elected to the General Assembly of Mas- sachusetts, and was sent as a delegate to the Continental Congress from 1774 to 1778, voting for, and signing, the Declaration of Inde- pendence. When, in 1780, the State Constitution of Massachusetts
175
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
was adopted, he was made Attorney-General, which office he held until 1790, when he became a judge of the Supreme Court. In 1804 he resigned his position, on account of deafness and other infirmities of age, and died in 1814, at the age of eighty-three. O'Hart says that beside Henry and Robert O'Neill, - Paine's ances- tors, - there were two other brothers, Brian and John, who went to France after Sarsfield's surrender, and finally settled in Portugal. Eight of their descendants, in 1807, when the French invaded the last-named country, went with the royal family of Braganza to Brazil, where many of their offspring are now to be found.
THE CREHORE FAMILY.
Teague Crehore -according to Savage's "Genealogical Diction- ary" - was the earliest known person who bore this name, and he resided in Milton or Dorchester some time during the decade of 1640-50.
He is said to have been stolen from his parents in Ireland, and he was " a mere child at the time." His name does not correspond orthographically with any Irish name, but, phonetically, the old- fashioned pronunciation, aspirating the "h" and accenting the last syllable, corresponds with that of the Irish surname Krehan or Krahan. The more modern pronunciation is the reverse of the old, and corresponds with Creogh.
The earliest written evidence of Teague Crehore is an unre- corded deed from John Gill to him of a parcel of salt-marsh, December, 1660. In 1670 he sold to Robert Bodcock a piece of land near Paul's Bridge, described as purchased by him from John Smith. His deed to Bodcock is upon record, Suffolk Records, lib. 7, fol. 281. This land was near Paul's Bridge. He married, proba- bly about 1665, Mary, said to have been the daughter of Robert Spurr, of Dorchester. His death is recorded in Milton Records, Jan. 3, 1695, aged fifty-five years. His widow administered, and the inventory, etc., are found in Suffolk Probate Records, lib.
176
THE IRISH IN BOSTON.
IO, fol. 723. She married Matthias Puffer, of Stoughton, May 14, 1697.
Teague left five living children. Timothy, the ancestor, proba- bly, of those bearing the name of Crehore, born Oct. 18, 1666, who married, Feb. 10, 1688, Ruth Riol (Ryall), of Dorchester. He died Aug. 15, 1739, and his headstone is in the Crehore lot, Milton cemetery. Another son, Benjamin, also survived Teague, but no record appears of his having married. Three daughters, Ann, Rebecca, and Mary, married, respectively, Ebenezer Maxwell, of Bristol, Robert Pelton, of Dorchester, and Henry Glover, of Bristol. In 1714, the four last named united in conveyance of their share of the paternal estate to their brother Timothy (Suffolk Rec- ords, lib. 29, fol. 186).
-
The records show that Timothy added considerably to the paternal estate. He had a numerous family, ten in all, only two of whom seemed to have continued the name, - Timothy, 3d, and John. The latter, who bore the title of " captain," was the head of a single line of males, all bearing the same name, who lived upon a part of the paternal estate, terminating, in the sixth generation (from Teague), with the death of John Arnold Crehore, who died Jan. 21, 1677, leaving no issue.
Timothy, 3d, like his father, was the progenitor of all now bearing the name of Crehore. He was born Dec. 3, 1689, married Mary Driscoll, of Dorchester, Dec. 24, 1712, and died Dec. 26, 1755. He was a farmer, and lived upon a portion of his father's farm, bordering the river, near Paul's Bridge, and is buried in Milton cemetery. He had three daughters, two of whom died young; the other, Hepsibah, with his sons, Jedediah and William, inherited his property, and the deed of partition, tri-partite, is now in possession of the family.
Jedediah lived on the estate of which he had become possessed, and it passed into the hands of his third son, John Shepard, whose sons, Charles C. and Jeremiah, resided on it as late as 1844.
The house now owned by Mrs. Lyman Davenport, the one by Mrs. Green, and the next, adjoining the Bent property, are all of
177
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
them situated upon this estate. William also had a number of descendants, one of whom, Thomas Crehore, lived in Milton, and was a well-known citizen. None of the family now bearing the name are residents of the town.1
REV. JOHN LYFORD.
Earlier than the time when so much commotion was caused in England by the many Irish people who had come to this country, and still desired to emigrate, we have on record in Savage's " Gen- ealogical Dictionary " and Hubbard's "History " an account of the advent of John Lyford.
It may be said that " the Lords of the Committee for Foreign Plantations," as early as 1634, caused warrants to issue to stay the ships bearing Irish immigrants; but on petition of the ship captains, who stated the prospective wealth that would accrue to England by the settlement and development of the colonies in Newfoundland, the vessels were released.
John Lyford came from Ireland, and arrived in Plymouth in 1624. He landed there with Winslow on the ship "Charity." Lyford was hired by the "Adventurers" of London, approved of by them as an able minister who was willing to risk his life in a wilderness, and with his family, who came with him, to heroically endure many hardships in a strange land, that he might enjoy the liberty of his own judgment in matters of religion.
He discovered a great difference between religious Ireland and the religious tenets of Plymouth. The Pilgrims disliked his teach- ings, many of whom had been previously taught by Robinson. It is thought that Lyford travelled over much territory adjacent to Plymouth, and passed through Boston, preaching and exhorting persons to accept his instructions.
1 The History of Milton, Teele.
178
THE IRISH IN BOSTON.
WILLIAM HIBBINS.
He was one of the Irish pioneers of the New England colony. He emigrated from Ireland on board the " Mary and John," and arrived here in 1634. He married a widow named Mrs. Anne Moore, who "was a sister of Richard Bellingham, Governor of Massachusetts.1 .
William Hibbins was held in high esteem by the towns-people of Boston, and as a magistrate and an agent of the colony in England he was regarded by the colonists as an important man. He is re- puted to have been possessed of wealth, which doubtless added to his popularity here.
He died in 1654. Mrs. Hibbins died by hanging in 1656, by order of the General Court, to expiate her alleged crime of witchcraft.
No jury could be found to convict her, and she suffered death at the hands of the ignorant and prejudiced authorities. She be- queathed her property to her two sons in Ireland, - John and Joseph Moore, of Ballyhorick, in the county of Cork.2
BENJAMIN CREHORE.
Our subject was a descendant of old Teague Crehore, of Ireland. Benjamin Crehore was born in Milton, and always lived there; his many business transactions in Boston, as well as his constant inter- course with the Boston men of his day. made him notable.
Remarkable as it may appear, Benjamin Crehore manufactured the first bass-viols ever made in this country, and it came about in this way: In 1798 he was engaged by the proprietors of the old Federal-street Theatre to assist in constructing the mechanical stage appliances for the play of the " Forty Thieves," then in rehearsal.
He showed much inventiveness and skill in the nice adjustment
1 Bellingham (Richard), colonial deputy from 1635 to 1636; 1640 to 1641; 1653 to 1654; and 1655 to 1665 ; Governor of Massachusetts, 1641, 1654, 1665 ; born 1592; died 1672. He was a law- yer, and one of the original patentees of the colony.
See Suffolk Deeds, vol. viii., fol. 83, 84; also fol. 180-183.
179
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
and execution of the intricate details of stage machinery, which greatly pleased the managers, and later, his services were demanded frequently. The leader of the orchestra, whose name was Peter von Hagen, came to him one day with a broken bass-viol, which had been considered useless, no one being found to mend it, and the band needed it greatly.
Mr. Crehore's ingenuity received quite a test when he under- took to repair the instrument, for he was wholly unused to the work. He successfully repaired the viol, however, and it was pronounced by musicians to be improved in tone. This led to his commencing the manufacture of bass-viols in this country, and they rivalled those im- ported from other lands. Mr. John Preston, of Hyde Park, Mass., possessed one of these instruments.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.