THE IRISH BURGHERS OF NEW AMSTERDAM AND FREEMEN OF NEW YORK. COLLECTED BY MICHAEL J. O'BRIEN. In its volume for the year 1885, the New York Historical Soci ety published a list of residents of the City of New York who were admitted "Freemen" by the City Council at various times, and among these are included the following. The occupations of these people are also recorded, and among them I notice II merchants, 85 tradesmen and mechanics of various kinds, 30 laborers, 15 cartmen, 17 mariners, 2 physicians, 2 schoolmasters and 4 described as gentlemen. Boyle, Robert Dates of Names of Brawdy, John Dates of Names of Connor, William Mar. 25, 1784 Brandon, John Sept. 11, 1770 Corbett, Thomas Apr. 5, 1739 Brannon, Charles John Feb. 28, 1775 Cready, James Oct. 29, 1765 Burck, Joseph June 29, 1756 Daly, Benjamin July 23, 1745 Burk, Richard Burn, Robert Butler, Michael Butler, William Feb. I, 1709 Dennis, Patrick Mar. 8, 1773 Derry, Patrick May 4, 1757 Doolhagen, Dennis Aug. 23, 1715 Duane, Anthony July 30, 1716 Oct. Dugan, Alexander Mar. 25, 1784 Dunn, John Apr. 10, 1743 Eagan, Richard Mar. 11, 1734 Jan. 8, 1754 Carryl, Patrick Mar. 21, 1749 Carroll, Thomas May 26, 1699 Fagan, Daniel Cassady, John Mar. 30, 1784 FitzGerrald, Edward May 27, 1702 Cochran, Joseph Jan. 5, 1762 Fitzpatrick, John Sept. 11, 1770 Cochran, Philip Cochran, John 1747 Fitzpatrick, Stephen May 31, 1757 Connelley, John May 27, 1702 Connely, John Mar. 22, 1742 Connelly, James Sept. 5, 1769 Connelly, Peter June 30, 1752 Flannegan, Richard Foy, John Apr. 2, 1750 Aug. 15, 1758 Sept. 25, 1705 Jan. 27, 1756 Conner, Bryan Mar. 28, 1775 Foy, Martin Sept. 11, 1770 Gallispie, Joseph June 20, 1758 Gillespy, Joseph May 11, 1784 Mar. 11, 1727 Gelaspy, John Aug. 29, 1750 146 IRISH MARINERS IN NEW ENGLAND. BY MICHAEL J. O'BRIEN. Although much work has been done, some of it quite valuable as it is the result of original research, in relating the story of the early Irish settlers in New England, it is not a tithe of what is still hidden in the records. I have never seen, for example, any attempt to resurrect the story of the Irish mariners of Colonial times who settled in the seacoast towns of New England, and who served on merchant vessels trading from New England ports, nor of the many Irish captains of the privateers which preyed so successfully upon British commerce during the two wars for independence. This sketch does not pretend to be a complete account of the Irish mariners in New England. But, having picked up from time to time, in my examination of Colonial and Revolutionary records, old town books, town and county histories, newspapers, genealogies and other sources of information, some interesting data on the subject, I have thought it best to publish them in some permanent form, if only as an incentive to Irish Americans in New England to carry the work to a conclusion. Mainly for the reason that so little is known of this feature of "The Irish Chapter in American History," I believe even this meagre account will be found of unusual interest and I am in hopes of seeing some New England member of the American Irish Historical Society take up the subject in earnest. I know that there is a great deal more information available from Massachusetts records at the State House and the Boston Public Library, and for that matter, the same remarks apply to the many other Irish mariners who commanded vessels plying out of New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Charleston before and during the period of the Revolution. Although not searching particularly for such items, I have found in New York and Philadelphia newspapers references to Irish sea-captains who, for many years, trod the decks of American merchant vessels and some of whom rendered valuable services to the country in her hour of trial. While I have taken down the names of these sea-captains, I have made no effort to trace their records, but the list of names alone (appended hereto) suggests that a splendid story of Irish achievement in this line probably can be obtained from sources that are readily available. Much of the material for such a story can be gathered from various published records, genealogies and collections of historical societies. To point to but one example of many that I know of: In an historical and genealogical introduction to the fourth volume of the Memoirs of the Long Island Historical Society, Moncure D. Conway makes the following interesting references to a sea-captain of the Revolution named Bernard Gallagher and to the celebrated portrait of General Washington painted by Peale: Another name too little known to fame is Captain Bernard Gallagher, of maternal descent from Chancellor Nicholas Bacon. Disliking a parental plan for making him, an only son, a priest, he had escaped from Ballyshannon, Ireland, as a cabin boy, and when our Revolution began he had risen to the command of his vessel. Captured by an American cruiser, he adopted the cause of his captors. In 1781, Captain Gallagher, living at Dumfries, Prince William County, Virginia, loaded a vessel at Alexandria with corn to provision Yorktown, dropped down the river and was chased by a British cruiser, which signalled that the cargo would be paid for, if surrendered. But, while parleying, the captain and crew scuttled their own ship and while attempting to escape in the yawl, Captain Gallagher was captured, and was held in chains at Halifax two years in the prison ships, until the peace. Thereafter, Washington was sometimes a guest of the Gallaghers at Dumfries, and at the request of Mrs. Gallagher (née Strother), sat for his portrait. It is this portrait, painted by C. W. Peale, which the gallant Captain's grandson, Revd. Mason Gallagher of Brooklyn, enables me to present in this volume. It was painted when Washington was 55. It is an historic fact that, before the English connection blasted her trade, Ireland had a merchant marine of her own, that Irish vessels traded with American ports even as early as the third decade of the seventeenth century and that for many years prior to the War of the Revolution a continuous and substantial trade was maintained between Ireland and America. While no official statistics are now available which would indicate the extent of this trade, ample evidence in support of this assertion is found in the numerous advertisements of Irish-manufactured goods in the Colonial newspapers and in the announcements through the same channels of the arrival and departure of Irish vessels and of American vessels trading with Irish ports. Some few examples of this are given in the accompanying article on "Commerce between Irish and American Ports in the Eighteenth Century." |