Document · book

The story of the Irish in Boston, together with biographical sketches of representative men and noted women

Cullen, James Bernard, 1857- ed, 1889. A public-domain text about Boston, accessioned whole so the archive can quote it.

Document

Type

book

Author

Cullen, James Bernard, 1857- ed

Publisher

Boston, J. B. Cullen & co.

Published, as stated

1889

Language

en

Media type

text/plain; charset=utf-8

Size

1235226 bytes

Preservation

preserved

Digest (SHA-256)

eabcdde2c2ddd47d806f7deda8d7462c83736611366204fc875a131094602c81

Text

Extracted text, as held. Quoted without alteration.

Qass. Book. (IK. ^m-Jji (nz^d THE STORY OF THE Irish in Boston TOGETHER WITH BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF REPRESENTATIVE MEN AND NOTED WOMEN Edited and Ci.)mpiled by JAMES BERNARD GULDEN ILLUSTRATED BOSTON JAMES B. GULDEN & COMPANY 1889 Copyright, 1SS9, By JAMES B. CULLEN & COMPANY. TAis book h sold only by subscription by us and through our authorized agents. It can never be obtained in any other way, excepting fraudulently. All persons are zvarned not to buy this book from stores, as all zvho sell it unauthorized by us zvill be held responsible. ISotfttoill anfi Cl)uvctii([ BOSTON INTRODUCTION, THE purpose of this work is to give an account of the settlement, progress, and development of the Irish and their descendants in Boston, from the earliest times. The propriety, expediency, and necessity of presenting the subject was conceived by the author ten years ago, while engaged in preparing an article for the Boston " Pilot," relating to the Irishmen of Boston. The work then seemed to be impracticable, by reason of the complex character of unpublished historical data, the long period of time that would be required to unravel the skein and weave the story together. Within a few years the labor of examining various histories and collecting manuscripts of invaluable interest and worth was commenced. The researches in this direction revealed many sur- prising events in the colonial, as well as in the more recent history of Boston, wherein Irishmen were active participants ; and, strange to say, where the importance of their achievements is mentioned at all, or they themselves are written about, the most meagre information is given. By careful study and recourse to comparative references many facts, hitherto generally unknown, were brought to light. An examination of the table of comparative statistics shows an unequalled record of immigration to Boston, to the credit of the Irish nation. Nor were all the early Irish settlers here " hewers of wood and drawers of water." Amongst the dignified professional, mercantile,' ^ John Cogan, of the County Cork, Ireland, was the father of mercantile life in Boston. He was the first to open a store on the north-east corner of Washington and State streets. His house stood on the north-west corner of Tremont and Beacon streets. In 1635 Nathaniel Hancock came from Ireland, and settled in Newtown (now Cambridge, Mass.). He died in Cambridge, in 1652. See Holmes' Annals. (iiil IV INTR OD UC TION- and commercial * men of the time stood the self-reliant and brainy Irishman. In 1634 the General Court of Massachusetts granted lands to Irish and Scotch gentlemen on the Merrimac river, now Newbury- port.^ The successive communities from the old Puritan days have realized the good and useful deeds of the Irish in this city, whose unswerving fidelity and loyalty to Boston, old and new, remain unsurpassed. Their love of liberty, their hatred of oppression, their valor and heroism in the War for Independence, when remembered, should sink so deep In the hearts of their fellow-citizens as to fraternize them forever. When lovely Peace had spread her white pinions over the land. Irishmen wended their way to the farm, the workshop, and the mill. Their adaptability and loyal adherence at all times to the strange and newly constructed government

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Identity

Identifier

urn:lemay:boston:document:the-story-of-the-irish-in-boston-together-with-biographical-sketches-of-representative-men-and-2

Canonical URL

https://boston.fyi/document/the-story-of-the-irish-in-boston-together-with-biographical-sketches-of-representative-men-and-2

As JSON

https://boston.fyi/document/the-story-of-the-irish-in-boston-together-with-biographical-sketches-of-representative-men-and-2.json

Version

1 · last changed 5 September 2026