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THE JOURNAL
OF THE
AMERICAN IRISH HISTORICAL SOCIETY

BY

THOMAS ZANSLAUR LEE

Secretary General

VOLUME IX

PROVIDENCE, R. I.

PUBLISHED BY THE SOCIETY

1910

FRANCIS J. QUINLAN, M. D., LL. D.,
President-General of the American Irish Historical Society, 1908–1910.

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

American Irish Historical Society.

INTRODUCTORY.

Volume IX of the Journal of the American Irish Historical Society, containing the proceedings of the Annual Meeting of 1910, essays and papers by learned members on timely subjects within the scope of our work, and a substantial quantity of material of interest to the Society, is now presented in the hope that it will serve the purposes of its predecessors in making better known the Irish chapter in American history and disseminating valuable information, not only to the increasing number of public and private libraries, where our volumes are always most welcome, but to the public in general. The Society is to be congratulated on the large number of additions to its membership roll of persons of high standing in the country’s affairs, as well as the completion of the most prosperous year in its history.

I acknowledge with deep appreciation the kind assistance rendered by the Executive Council, the several learned members who have contributed articles of great historic interest and deep research, the Chairman of the Membership Committee, and the members of the Society, through whose hearty coöperation and helpful suggestions this Volume has been made possible.

Thomas Zanslaur Lee,

Secretary-General.

OFFICERS OF THE AMERICAN-IRISH HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

President-General,

Francis J. Quinlan, M. D., LL. D.,

33 West 38th Street, New York City.

————

Vice-President-General,

Hon. Thomas B. Fitzpatrick,

Essex Street, Boston, Mass.

————

Secretary-General,

Thomas Zanslaur Lee, Esq.,

49 Westminster Street, Providence, R. I.

————

Treasurer-General,

Michael F. Dooley, Esq.,

President National Exchange Bank, Providence, R. I.

————

Librarian and Archivist,

Thomas B. Lawler, Esq.,

70 5th Avenue, New York City.

————

Historiographer,

Hon. James F. Brennan,

Peterborough, N. H.

EXECUTIVE COUNCIL.

The foregoing and

Hon. John D. Crimmins, 624 Madison Avenue, New York City.

Hon. William McAdoo, 30 Broad Street, New York City.

Patrick F. Magrath, Esq., Binghamton, N. Y.

Rev. John J. McCoy, LL. D., St. Ann’s Church, Worcester, Mass.

Thomas Addis Emmett, M. D., LL. D., 89 Madison Avenue, New York City.

Hon. Edward J. McGuire, 52 Wall Street, New York City.

Hon. John F. O’Connell, 377 Westminster Street, Providence, R. I.

James L. O’Neill, Esq., Elizabeth, N. J.

Stephen Farrelly, Esq., 39 Chambers Street, New York City.

Rev. Cyrus Townsend Brady, LL. D., Haddon Hall, Kansas City, Mo.

Hon. Thomas J. Lynch, Augusta, Me.

Gen. Phelps Montgomery, 48 Church Street, New Haven, Conn.

Patrick Carter, Esq., 32 Westminster Street, Providence, R. I.

Hon. Patrick Garvan, 236 Farmington Avenue, Hartford, Conn.

John J. Lenehan, Esq., 71 Nassau Street, New York City.

Col. John McManus, 87 Dorrance Street, Providence, R. I.

Hon. William Gorman, Stephen Girard Bldg., Philadelphia, Pa.

J. Lawton Hiers, M. D., Savannah, Ga.

John F. Doyle, Esq., 45 William Street, New York City.

STATE VICE-PRESIDENTS.

Arizona—Robert Dickson, Esq., Parker.

California—Capt. James Connolly, Coronado.

Colorado—Hon. Thomas F. Walsh, Denver.

Connecticut—Dennis H. Tierney, Esq., Waterbury.

Delaware—John J. Cassidy, Esq., Wilmington.

Florida—James McHugh, Esq., Pensacola.

Georgia—Capt. John Flannery, Savannah.

Illinois—Hon. Maurice T. Moloney, Ottawa.

Indiana—Very Rev. Andrew Morrissey, C. S. C., Notre Dame.

Iowa—Rt. Rev. Philip J. Garrigan, D.D., Sioux City.

Kansas—Patrick H. Coney, Esq., Topeka.

Kentucky—James Thompson, Esq., Louisville.

Louisiana—John T. Gibbons, Esq., New Orleans.

Maine—James Cunningham, Esq., Portland.

Maryland—Michael P. Kehoe, Esq., Baltimore.

Massachusetts—Hon. Joseph F. O’Connell, Boston.

Michigan—Hon. Howard W. Cavanagh, Homer.

Minnesota—Hon. C. D. O’Brien, St. Paul.

Mississippi—Dr. R. A. Quin, Vicksburg.

Missouri—Hon. John Baptiste O’Meara, St. Louis.

Nebraska—Rev. M. A. Shine, Plattsburg.

New Hampshire—Hon. William E. Chandler, Concord.

New Jersey—Gen. Dennis F. Collins, Elizabeth, N. J.

New York—Joseph I. C. Clarke, Esq., New York City.

North Carolina—Michael J. Corbett, Esq., Wilmington.

Ohio—John Lavelle, Esq., Cleveland.

Oklahoma—Joseph F. Swords, Esq., Sulphur.

Oregon—J. P. O’Brien, Portland.

Pennsylvania—Hugh McCaffrey, Esq., Philadelphia.

Rhode Island—Hon. Charles Alexander, Providence.

South Carolina—William J. O’Hagan, Esq., Charleston.

South Dakota—Hon. Robert Jackson Gamble, Yankton.

Texas—James Moroney, Esq., Dallas.

Utah—Joseph Geoghegan, Esq., Salt Lake City.

Vermont—Capt. William Cronin, Rutland.

Virginia—Capt. James W. McCarrick, Norfolk.

Washington—Daniel Kelleher, Esq., Seattle.

West Virginia—John F. Healy, Esq., Thomas, Tucker County.

OTHER VICE-PRESIDENTS.

District of Columbia—Hon. Edward A. Moseley, Washington.

Ireland—Dr. Michael F. Cox, Dublin.

Germany—Hon. T. St. John Gaffney, Dresden.

Australia—Frank Coffey, Esq., Sydney.

Japan—Hon. Thomas J. O’Brien, Tokyo.

PREAMBLE, CONSTITUTION AND BY-LAWS OF THE AMERICAN IRISH HISTORICAL SOCIETY ADOPTED AT THE ORGANIZATION MEETING JANUARY 20, 1897.

Preamble.

Believing that the part taken in the settlement, foundation and upbuilding of these United States by the Irish race has never received proper recognition from historians, and inspired by love for the republic, a pride in our blood and forefathers and a desire for historic truth, this Society has met and organized.

Its mission is to give a plain recital of facts, to correct errors, to supply omissions, to allay passion, to shame prejudice and to labor for right and truth.

While we as loyal citizens of this republic are earnestly interested in all the various phases of its history, we feel that we should be false to its honor and greatness and recreant to our own blood if we did not make a serious effort to leave to those generations which will follow us a clearer and better knowledge of the important work done by men and women of the Irish race on this continent.

People of this race—men and women born on Irish soil—have been here from the first, prompted in their flight by the motives common to all immigration, dissatisfaction with the old order of things and the resolve to obtain a freer and better life in the new land under new conditions.

And so we have come together—natives of Ireland, American sons of Irish immigrants, and descendants of immigrants even unto the seventh, eighth and ninth American generations—to duly set forth and perpetuate a knowledge of these things.

In the days to come that lie in the womb of the future, when all the various elements that have gone and are going to make the republic great are united in the American—the man who in his person will represent the bravest elements of all the old races of the earth—we desire that the deeds and accomplishment of our element shall be written in the book of the new race, telling what we did and no more, giving us our rightful place by the side of the others.

To accomplish this is the purpose of this organization. It is a work worthy of the sympathy and aid of every American who can rise above the environment of today and look into the broad future. Fidelity, truth, honor are the watchwords of such a purpose, and under their noble influences should our work be done.

ARTICLE II.
Objects and Purposes.

The objects and purposes of this Society are:

(1) The study of American history generally.

(2) To investigate, especially, the immigration of the people of Ireland to this country, determine its numbers, examine the sources, learn the places of its settlement, and estimate its influence on contemporary events in war, legislation, religion, education and other departments of human activity.

(3) To examine records of every character, wherever found, calculated to throw light on the work of the Irish element in this broad land.

(4) To endeavor to correct erroneous, distorted and false views of history, where they are known, and to substitute therefor the truth of history, based on documentary evidence and the best and most reasonable tradition, in relation to the Irish race in America.

(5) To encourage and assist the formation of local societies in American cities and towns for the work of the parent society.

(6) To promote and foster an honorable and national spirit of patriotism, which will know no lines of division, which will be based upon loyalty to the laws, institutions and spirit of the republic to whose upbuilding the Irish element has unselfishly contributed in blood and treasure, a patriotism whose simple watchwords will be true Americanism and human freedom and which has no concern for any man’s race, color or creed, measuring him only by his conduct, effort and achievement.

(7) To promote by union in a common high purpose a sincere fraternity, a greater emulation in well doing, a closer confidence and mutual respect among the various elements of the Irish race in America, that by putting behind them the asperities of the past they may unite in a common brotherhood with their fellow citizens for the honor of the race and the glory of the republic.

(8) To place the result of its historical investigations and researches in acceptable literary form; to print, publish and distribute its documents to libraries, institutions of learning, and among its members, in order that the widest dissemination of historical truth may be obtained and placed within the reach of historians and other writers and readers.

(9) To sift and discriminate every paper, sketch, document bearing on the Society’s line of work before the same is accepted and given official sanction in order that its publication may be a guarantee of historical accuracy; to do its work without passion or prejudice, to view accomplished facts in the true scientific historical spirit and having reached the truth to give it to the world.

ARTICLE III.
Membership.

Any person of good moral character who is interested in the special work of this Society shall be deemed eligible for membership in the same. No tests other than that of character and devotion to the Society’s objects shall be applied to membership.

Every applicant for membership shall be recommended by two members of the Society before his application shall be considered by the Secretary-General, and the application shall be accompanied by the dues in the amounts laid down in the by-laws.

Members will be elected as follows: Candidates may send their applications—for which blanks will be furnished—to the Secretary-General, accompanied by the fee as provided in the by-laws, and each application must be endorsed by two members of the Society. The Secretary-General shall submit the application to the executive council, and a three fourths vote of that body by ballot or otherwise will be necessary to elect the candidate.

ARTICLE IV.
Classes of Members.

The Society shall comprise life members and annual members, who shall pay dues as provided in the by-laws. The Society may also choose honorary and corresponding members, who shall be exempt from dues but shall not have the right to vote.

ARTICLE V.
Officers.

The officers of The Society shall consist of:

1. A President-General. 2. A Vice-President for each state and territory and for the District of Columbia. 3. A Secretary-General. 4. A Treasurer-General. 5. A Librarian and Archivist. 6. An Historiographer. 7. An Executive Council.

(The word “General” herein to be considered equivalent to National.)

The officers of the Society shall be elected annually.

ARTICLE VI.
The President-General.

The duties of the President-General shall be to open and preside over the Society during its deliberations, to see that the Constitution is observed and the by-laws enforced, to appoint committees, and to exercise a watchful care over the interests of the Society, that its work may be properly done and its purposes adhered to. In the absence of the President-General a presiding officer pro tem. may be chosen.

ARTICLE VII.
The Vice-Presidents.

It shall be the duty of the Vice-President of each state to represent the President-General at all meetings of state chapters of the Society and for the Vice-President of the state to which the President-General belongs, or in which the meeting is held, to represent him at all meetings of the parent Society when he cannot be present and in his absence to act as chairman pro tempore. In the absence of both the President-General and state Vice-President, a presiding officer pro tem. may be chosen from the assembled members of the Society.

ARTICLE VIII.
The Secretary-General.

The Secretary-General shall keep a record of all the proceedings of the Society and the executive council. He shall have charge of the seal and records. He shall issue and sign in conjunction with the President-General all charters granted to the subsidiary chapters, and shall with him certify to all acts of the Society. He shall, upon orders from the President-General, give due notice of time and place of all meetings of the body; give notice to the several officers of all votes, resolutions, orders and proceedings of the body affecting them or appertaining to their respective offices and perform such other duties as may be assigned him.

ARTICLE IX.
The Treasurer-General.

The Treasurer-General shall collect and receive all dues, funds and securities and deposit the same to the credit of the American-Irish Historical Society, in such banking institution as may be approved by the Executive Council. This money shall be drawn to the check of the Treasurer-General for the purposes of the Society and to pay such sums as may be ordered by the Executive Council of the Society in meeting, said orders to be countersigned by the President-General and Secretary-General. He must keep a full and accurate account of all receipts and disbursements and at each annual meeting shall render the same to the Society, when a committee shall be appointed by the President-General to audit his accounts. He shall present at annual or special meetings a list of members in arrears.

ARTICLE X.
The Librarian and Archivist.

The Librarian and Archivist shall be the custodian of all published books, pamphlets, files of newspapers and similar property of the Society. He shall have charge of all documents, manuscripts and other productions not assigned by this Constitution to other officers of the Society, and shall keep the same in a place or places easy of access and safe from loss by fire or other causes.

ARTICLE XI.
The Historiographer.

The Historiographer or official historian of the Society shall perform the duties usually pertaining to that office.

ARTICLE XII.
The Executive Council.

The Executive Council shall consist of the President-General, Secretary-General, Treasurer-General, Librarian and Archivist, Historiographer and ten members, all to be elected by the Society. The Executive Council shall be the judge of the qualifications of applicants for admission and if satisfactory shall elect the same. The Council shall recommend plans for promoting the objects of the Society, digest and prepare business, authorize the disbursement and expenditure of unappropriated money in the treasury for the current expenses of the Society; shall prepare and edit—or cause to be prepared and edited—contributions of an historical or literary character bearing on the special work of the Society for publication and distribution; may appropriate funds for the expenses of special branches of research for historical data and for the purchase of works to form a library for the Society whenever it shall have a permanent home or headquarters. The Council shall have power to fill vacancies in office until the annual meeting, exercise a supervisory care over the affairs of the Society and perform such other duties as may be entrusted to them. At a meeting of the Executive Council five members shall constitute a quorum.

ARTICLE XIII.
Meetings.

The annual meeting of this Society shall be held on the third Wednesday in January. A field day of the body shall be held during the summer of each year at such time and place as the Executive Council shall select, due regard being given to the convenience of the greatest number, and, as far as possible, the meeting place selected shall be one whose historical associations are of interest to American citizens.

The annual meeting shall be for the purpose of electing officers, hearing reports and transacting such other business as may come properly before it. Until otherwise ordered such meeting shall be held in the city of Boston, Mass. There shall be four stated meetings each year.

Special meetings may be called at any time by the Executive Council.

ARTICLE XIV.
Subsidiary Societies.

Chapters of the parent Society may be established in any city or town in the United States upon the petition of ten persons for a charter, and such charter shall be issued upon payment of the sum designated for such in the by-laws.

The President, Secretary, Treasurer, Librarian and Historiographer of all subsidiary societies shall be admitted to all meetings of the parent Society as members during their term of office, with all the privileges of membership except that of voting.

ARTICLE XV.
Amendments.

Amendments to the Constitution shall be submitted to the Executive Council through the Secretary-General at least thirty days before the meeting of the Society. A vote of two thirds of the members present at the meeting shall be necessary for the adoption of such amendments.

BY-LAWS.

(1) The initiation fee shall be three dollars. The annual membership fee shall be three dollars, payable not later than the first day of February in each year.[^[1]]

(2) Payment of fifty dollars in advance at one time shall constitute a life membership. Life members shall be exempt from further dues.

(3) The Executive Council shall provide for each regular meeting of the Society an address, essay or paper dealing with some topic in the Society’s line of work.

(4) A copy of all original productions read before the Society shall be requested for deposit in the Society’s archives.

(5) The annual field-day program shall include an oration, poem and dinner. Other features of an appropriate nature may be added.

(6) A fraternal spirit shall be cultivated with other American historical bodies. The Society shall also keep in touch with historical organizations in Ireland, France and other countries.

(7) Any person elected to membership in this Society who fails to pay his initiation fee within one year from the date of his election shall, having been duly notified by the Secretary-General, be considered as having forfeited his right to membership and his election shall be cancelled.

(8) A member neglecting for two years to pay his annual fee shall be notified of such omission by the Secretary-General. Still neglecting for three months to pay the dues such delinquent member shall be dropped as no longer belonging to the Society.

(9) The stated meetings of the Society shall be held in January, April, July and October. The President-General, upon receiving a request in writing, signed by ten members, asking for a special meeting, shall cause the said meeting to be convened forthwith.

(10) Ten members shall constitute a quorum at any meeting of the Society, except stated meetings, when fifteen members shall be necessary.

(11) The general order of business at meetings of the Society shall be as follows:

(a) Minutes of previous meeting. (b) Report of Executive Council on candidates for membership. (c) Balloting on candidates for membership. (d) Reports of officers and committees. (e) Unfinished business. (f) New business. (g) Adjournment.

(12) When not otherwise provided, Cushing’s Manual shall be the authority on points of procedure at meetings of the Society.

(13) No part of these by-laws shall be amended, altered or repealed unless proposition is submitted in writing covering the proposed amendment at least thirty days before the meeting when it is to be acted upon, when, if two thirds of the members present and voting express themselves in favor of the change, the same shall be made.

Note.

A committee consisting of Michael J. Jordan, Esq., Hon. Patrick J. McCarthy, Joseph T. Ryan, Esq., John E. O’Brien, Esq., and the Secretary-General, has been appointed by the President-General to revise the Constitution. As the report of this committee has not yet been adopted, the foregoing Constitution is still in force.

GENERAL INFORMATION REGARDING THE AMERICAN IRISH HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

The Society was organized on January 20, 1897, in Boston, Mass., and now has members in nearly all the states, the District of Columbia, one territory and four foreign countries.

The object of the organization is to make better known the Irish chapter in American history.

There are two classes of members—Life and Annual. The life membership fee is $50 (paid once). The fee for annual members is $5, paid yearly. In the case of new annual members, the initiation fee, $5, also pays the membership dues for the first year.

The government comprises a President-General, a Vice-President-General, a Secretary-General, a Treasurer-General, a Librarian and Archivist, a Historiographer and an Executive Council. There are also State Vice-Presidents.

The Society has already issued several bound volumes and a number of other publications. These have been distributed to members, public libraries, historical organizations and universities. Each member of the Society is entitled, free of charge, to a copy of every publication issued from the time of his admittance. These publications are of great interest and value, and are more than an equivalent for the membership fee.

The Society draws no lines of creed or politics. Being an American organization in spirit and principle, it welcomes to its ranks Americans of whatever race or descent, and of whatever creed, who take an interest in the objects for which the Society is organized. Membership application blanks will be furnished on request to the Secretary-General at his office, 49 Westminster Street, Providence, R. I., or to John J. Lenehan, Chairman of the Committee on Membership, 71 Nassau Street, New York City. Blank applications found at the end of this volume.

The membership includes many people of prominence and occupies a position in the front rank of American historical organizations.

The Society is a corporation duly organized under the laws of the State of Rhode Island and is authorized to take, hold and convey real and personal estate to the amount of $100,000.

Gifts or bequests of money for the uses of the Society are solicited. We depend entirely on our membership fees and dues, and if we had a suitable fund on hand its income would be most advantageously used for historical research, printing and issuing historical works and papers and adding to our library. The following is a form of bequest good in any state or territory:

“I give and bequeath to the American Irish Historical Society —— dollars.”

If desired, a donor or testator may direct the application of principal or interest of his gift or bequest.

A FEW OF THE INTERESTING PAPERS READ BEFORE OR REPRINTED BY THE SOCIETY.

“Irish Settlers in Pennsylvania.”

“Early Irish in St. Louis, Missouri.”

“Patriots Bearing Irish Names Who Were Confined Aboard the Jersey Prison Ship.”

“Commerce Between Ireland and Rhode Island.”

“Some Irish-French Officers in the American Revolution.”

“The Voyage of the Seaflower.”

“The Defense of Fort Stephenson on the Sandusky.”

“Irish Settlers on the Opequan.”

“Irish Pioneers in Boston and Vicinity.”

“The Irish in America.”

“Goody Glover, an Irish Victim of the Witch Craze, Boston, Mass., 1688.”

“Capt. Daniel Neill, an Artillery Officer of the Revolution.”

“Richard Dexter, One of Boston’s Irish Pioneers.”

“The New Hampshire Kellys.”

“Some Early Celebrations of St. Patrick’s Day in New York City, 1762–1788.”

“Master John Sullivan of Somersworth and Berwick and His Family.”

“Martin Murphy, Sr., an Irish Pioneer of California.”

“Historical Notes of Interest.”

“Irish Ability in United States.”

“The Affair at Fort William and Mary.”

“Incident of an Expedition under Gen. John Sullivan.”

“Irish Builders of White House.”

“Col. Francis Barber, a Soldier of the Revolution.”

“A Glance at Some Pioneer Irish in the South.”

“Walsh’s Irish Regiment of Marine Artillery, French Army.”

“Irish Influence in the Life of Baltimore.”

“A Bit of New York History.”

“The Kelts of Colonial Boston.”

“The Battle of New Orleans.”

“Battles of Lexington, Concord and Cambridge.”

“Matthew Watson, an Irish Settler of Barrington, R. I., 1722.”

“Irish Emigration During the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries.”

“Some Pre-Revolutionary Irishmen.”

“Some Irish Settlers in Virginia.”

“The ‘Scotch-Irish’ and ‘Anglo-Saxon’ Fallacies.”

“Early Irish Settlers in Kentucky.”

“The Irish in South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana and Tennessee.”

“Hugh Cargill, a Friend of Liberty.”

“The Irish Settlers of Pelham, Mass.”

“Thomas Fawcett, Irish Quaker, American Pioneer.”

“Early New Hampshire Irish; Some Pre-Revolutionary Dennises, Corneliuses, Patricks and Michaels.”

“The United States Torpedo Boat O’Brien.”

“Daniel Morgan and the Battle of Cowpens.”

“Irish Schoolmasters in the American Colonies, 1640–1775.”

“The Irish at Bunker Hill.”

“David Hamilton, a Soldier of the American Revolution.”

“Irish Pioneers in Texas.”

“The Irish Chapter in the History of Brown University.”

“Men of Irish Blood Who Have Attained Eminence in American Journalism.”

“William Prendergast, a Pioneer of Chautauqua County, N. Y.”

“The Battle of Rhode Island.”

“Rev. James MacSparran, Irishman, Scholar, Preacher and Philosopher, 1680–1757.”

“Irish Pioneers and Builders of Kentucky.”

“Rev. James Caldwell, a Patriot of the American Revolution.”

“Great Irishmen in New York’s History.”

“Life and Deeds of Major-General John Sullivan.”

“Irish Pioneers in New York.”

“Irish Pioneers of the West and Their Descendants.”

“Advantages of Historical Research to Irish Americans.”

“Proceedings and Addresses at Dedication of Sullivan Memorial.”

“Civic Value of Memorials.”

“Joseph O’Connor, Editor, Author and Poet.”

“History of the Society of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick in the city of New York.”

“Early Marine Wireless.”

“Sketches of William Dunlap, Thomas P. Johnson and Thomas Sharp.”

“Distinguished Irish Americans in Revolutionary Times.”

“The First Census of the United States with Pointed Comments on Taking Same and Results Thereof.”

“Memorial to Jersey Prison Ship Heroes.”

“The Irish in the Revolutionary War.”

“Hon. Eli Thayer, One of the Early Members of the American Irish Historical Society.”

PRESIDENTS-GENERAL OF THE SOCIETY.

1897. Rear-Admiral Richard W. Meade, U. S. N. 1897–1898. Hon. Edward A. Moseley, Washington, D. C. 1899–1900. Hon. Thomas J. Gargan, Boston, Mass. 1901–1902. Hon. John D. Crimmins, New York City. 1903–1904. Hon. William McAdoo, New York City. 1905. Hon. John D. Crimmins, New York City. 1906–1907. Rear-Admiral John McGowan, U. S. N. (retired), Washington, D. C. 1908–1910. Francis J. Quinlan, M. D., LL. D., New York City.

RECORDS OF THE TWELFTH ANNUAL MEETING AND BANQUET OF THE AMERICAN IRISH HISTORICAL SOCIETY AT THE HOTEL PLAZA, NEW YORK CITY, JANUARY 8, 1910.

It having been voted at the Eleventh Annual Meeting in Washington to hold the next annual meeting in New York, the Executive Council considered the necessary arrangements and resolved to make the Twelfth Annual Meeting and Banquet the most notable in the Society’s history.

Heretofore it had been the custom to hold the meeting and banquet of the Society the same evening, commencing at six o’clock and ending toward midnight. This gave little opportunity for a discussion of the papers presented, and many members who had been invited at these previous meetings to prepare papers were obliged to submit them to the Secretary-General without reading, with the result that the other members obtained information as to the contents of these only after they were printed in the volume of the Journal issued next succeeding the meeting.

The President-General appointed the following gentlemen a Dinner Committee, to arrange the details of the meeting and dinner:

Mr. Stephen J. Farrelly, Chairman; and Messrs. Joseph I. C. Clarke, John D. Crimmins, Edmond J. Curry, Victor Herbert, John J. Lenehan and Joseph T. Ryan.

After negotiations with the various high-class hostelries in New York and exhibiting a desire to procure for the use of the Society the best accommodations to be found in New York, the Dinner Committee finally decided upon the Hotel Plaza as the place and arranged for the business meeting of the Society to commence at two o’clock in the afternoon and terminate at six, and the dinner to begin at seven o’clock.

The following circular was issued and sent to each member of the Society, containing the arrangements for the meeting:

THE AMERICAN IRISH HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

Announcement for the Annual Meeting and Twelfth Annual Dinner of the Society.

The Twelfth Annual Meeting of the American Irish Historical Society will take place at the Hotel Plaza, New York City, Saturday, January 8, 1910, commencing at two o’clock in the afternoon.

It has been the custom at previous meetings of the Society to assemble at six o’clock, hold a short business meeting, followed by a dinner commencing at seven o’clock, at the conclusion of which historical papers would be read.

It has been found difficult to properly appreciate the learning and research shown by the eminent authors of historical papers in the meagre time between the termination of a good dinner and the hour when the meeting should end, and this year the Executive Council has made a new departure in this regard, which it is earnestly hoped will meet with the approval of our members.

The meeting of the Society will be called to order at two o’clock in the afternoon in the New Banquet Room on the first floor of the Hotel Plaza by the President-General. The first business will be the presentation of reports of the President-General, Treasurer-General, and Secretary-General, followed by the election of General Officers, Executive Council and State Vice-Presidents for the ensuing year.

The Executive Council, at a meeting held in New York, November 12, 1909, nominated a board of officers to be voted upon at this meeting, the names of whom appear elsewhere in this circular.

The report of the Secretary-General will contain the statistics of the Society, the list of new members, names of those dropped for non-payment of dues, synopsis of the work the Society has done during the past year, and other interesting information.

It is expected that the business of the Society and the presentation of scientific papers will all be completed at an hour which will give members ample time to dress for dinner.

The Meeting Room will be open at 12.30 o’clock, and members on their arrival are requested to register themselves and their guests.

The annual dinner will take place in the Grand Ball Room promptly at seven o’clock, and the Dinner Committee are informed that the management of the hotel plan to give us a most enjoyable dinner and extend us every possible courtesy.

The Executive Council, following the departure inaugurated at the Eleventh Annual Meeting in Washington, D. C., January 16, 1909, have voted that members may invite ladies and gentlemen as guests.

The price of the dinner tickets is $5.00 each, and it is advisable to promptly send applications, accompanied by cheque to the Secretary-General, who is Secretary of the Dinner Committee; so that seats may be allotted. Allotments will be made in the order in which applications are received, and parties of six or more, desiring to be seated together, can be accommodated by making that fact known when the tickets are purchased.

Among those who will furnish scientific papers during the afternoon session will be Hon. Joseph F. O’Connell, Hon. Henry Groves Connor, John Louis Sheehan, LL. D., Hon. James Fitzgerald, M. X. Sullivan, Ph. D., Joseph I. C. Clarke, Esq., and Alfred J. Talley, Esq., Judge Joseph T. Lawless, and others.

The speakers at the dinner will be Hon. Michael F. Dooley, Hon. William McAdoo, Rev. J. Havergal Sheppard, D. D., Hon. William A. Prendergast, Hon. Joseph H. O’Neil, Hon. John W. Goff, Hon. Alexander C. Eustace and others.

Souvenirs of the occasion containing the seal of the Society, menu, list of speakers, officers and other detailed information, have been prepared, after competitive bidding, by the Gorham Manufacturing Company. These are very beautiful and artistic and will be distributed among members and guests at the dinner.

The committee of the Society having the dinner in charge is as follows:—Stephen Farrelly, Esq., Joseph T. Ryan, Esq., John J. Lenehan, Esq., Joseph I. C. Clarke, Esq., Hon. John D. Crimmins, Edmond J. Curry, Esq., Victor Herbert, Esq., and Hon. Edward J. McGuire, President-General Quinlan and the Secretary-General ex officio.

As the seating capacity of the Grand Ball Room of the Plaza is limited to 425, it is earnestly desired that members make applications for dinner tickets at once, in order that the Committee may complete arrangements as early as possible and bring about a pleasant reunion of our members and their guests.

Yours fraternally,