F ^ The Friendly Sons of St. Patrick' in Albany ] AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF SOME CELEBRATIONS OF ST. PATRICK:S DAY IN ALBANY, N. Y., IN THE EARLY PART OF THE XIXth CENTURY. a paper read by Hon. franklin M: DANAHER at the fifth annual banquet of the friendly sons of st. patrick in albany at the hotel ten eyck, march 17, 1905. I'« Class. V 1^3 Book__AAJlli [From The Argus, Albany, N. Y., March 26, 1905.] THE FRIENDLY SONS OF ST. PATRICK IN ALBANY Hon. Franklin M. Danaher, whose in- terest in the local history of our good old Dutch city is a deep and abiding one, read a paper of more than ordinary in- terest at the St. Patricli's day banquet of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick at the Hotel Ten Eyck on March 17, 1905. Judge Danaher' s paper, which gave great pleas- ure and satisfaction to all who were so fortunate as to be present on this occa- sion, was an account of some celebra- tions of St. Patrick's day in the early days of the nineteenth century. The paper shows careful, painstaliing research and a thorough knowledge of Irish history and the influence of Irish character in America. Judge Danaher's Paper. Tlae reading of a paper at a St. Patrick's day dinner about Ireland in America, with a request that the topic be treated seriously, even at the expense of the guest who comes to the banquet to be amused and not instructed, is not unusual in these days. It is an evidence of an advance in the significance of the cele- brations and makes more apparent that there is a new Ireland in the twentieth century America, composed of those who are three or four generations removed fiom tlie "Erin Mavourneen" of their fathers and grand sires, who have as- similated to everytMng that is good and progressive and patriotic in American life, to whom the Ireland acrtss the water and. the story of its wrongs becomes moie of a tradition as the years roll on, to which, however, they cling with a tenac- ity of affection that is characteristic and a soul-ins|>iring example of fatherland worship. This new Ireland, replete with the history of the old, asks with increas- ing pertinacity to know the story of what has been done by the Irish in America towards tlie upbuilding of this great re- public and in aid of liberty and consti- tutional government and of the equ:^lity of all before the law; for freedom of speech and of worship; for the right of each to work out his own salvation with- out let or hindrance; for a country where there are no classes or masses, and where the son of toil born in the hut has equal opportunity with the child of wealth to acquire all the emoluments and honor that can be bestowed upon good citizen- ship, and to resip the benefits of well- directed and persistent labor. Sons of Erin Interested. This growing inquiry by the American Irishman of to-day into the history of the past achievements of the Irish in America has physiological value as denoting the more complete blending of the Sons of St. Patrick in the composite mass which goes toward making up the true type of the American citizen, it is indicative of the lengthening of the ch^iin which binds the old and the new; an unconscious recognition of the process of amalgama- tion and an approval of its results, with no desire to retard the consummation, but with a determination that the true value of the pure Celtic metal that enters into the finished product of American citizen- ship shall be ascertained and the share Ireland's sons have had in laying the foundations of our great fabric of consti- tutional liberty shall be known and ap- preciated by the world, including among the latter the detractors of Ireland and all things Irish. For Historical Research. This trend to make patent that the Irish have given value in blood, treasure, labor good citizenship and patriotic de- votion to the cause of liberty and progress for the glorious? heritage wh-ch they en- joy in the United States, and have been no insignificant factors in their achieve- ment, has been given impetus by the or- ganization of a national society, known as the American Irish Historical society. That society is devoted to the exploita- tion of the causes for which it was or- ganized—to destroy the Scotch-Irish myth as a harmful and unjustifiable creation, and to make known the achievements of all Irish-Americans, without regard to the religious, social or territorial differences which may have separated them in Ire- land, and to write on tlie bright pages of American history the deeds of valor and the sacrifices and the toils, of Ireland's sons for its benefit, even to the great but una,ppreciated work of the humble men of pick and shovel, who, in years past, delved that their adopted country might grow great. It has among its mem.bers the President of the United States, who has given to the society proof of his pride in his undoubted heritage of Irish blood and of his interest in its mission. It has Catholic and Protestant 'men of mark in every walk of life, true and patriotic citi- zens, who glory in their Irish descent, and who are determined to spread upon the national record, so that all may read, indubitable proof that the Irish are not the least among the many peoples who have made our country great and wise and beneficent among the nations of the earth. Irishmen of Early Albany. We were moved by considerations of our membership in it to write, some time ago, of the Irish in old Albany; ti;e butch Albany of the Van Rensselaera and Schuylers, where they were aliens in blood, language and religion, and of the humble but not Inconspicuous part they had in its affairs for 200 years and more particularly of the undue proportion of brave and patriotic Irishmen of Al- bany 'Who, in the times that tried men's souls, bore arms on imany a battlefleld •which they hallowed with their blood, and -who died that the republic might live. To-night we will treat of the Friendly Sons of iSt. Patrick and of St. Patrick's day celebrations in Albany in the early part of the nineteenth century, when Irishmen were neither as powerful nor as numerous as they are in these later days, as fully as the meagre records of the times will permit us to do, as an ad- ditional chapter in the history of the Irish in Albany which we hope, eventual- ly, 'Will be 'written. In estimating Irish achievement in col- onial America it must always be held in memory that the emigration of Catholic Irishmen to this country was never en- couraged, and tnat when it was allowed, it wa^ only as Redemptioners or through hostile English channels where by parlia- mentary enactment they were denational- ized eiven to a compulsory change of their iCeltic names to those of English ter- minology. For Freedom of Conscience. The drastic penal laiws of England di- rected against the free exercise of lib- erty of conscience in Ireland, drove the Irish 'Catholic gentlemen across the seas as "'Wild geese" to fight the battles of continental Europe, but they were also inimicable to the Irish Industries, so much so that trade and manufactures there were almost totally annihilated. The subject is too comprehensive for con- sideration here, except to make the relev- ant statement that the trade laws oper- ated upon all Irishmen alike regardless of religion and produced a poverty and discontent which drove many of both re- ligions to America. Irish emigration dur- ing the early part of the eighteenth cen- tury, it is stated wa^ in the proportion of nine Irish emigrants to one of all other nations of Europe. While the bulk of this Immigration was Protestant no negligible proportion of it was Catholic, but the latter by forced "Contormation" and the lack of church facilities, soon lost their identity and became merged in the mass of citizens. It is now a conceded fact, however, that much of the character and brawn of the American colonist was Irish and that their influence and labor in the upbuild- ing of our country was great. This grows more apparent and better appreciated when through historical research the names of Erin's sons and of their chil- dren are recognized inscribed In letters of living light high upon the roll of honor of America's pioneers and patriots and among the greatest of its benefactors. St. Patrick's Lodges. In colonial days the Scotch-Irish, a non-existent breed which claims every Irishman of character or note, was not created, as the records of the time will show, and as is evidenced among 'many cognate examples by the existence to-day in Johnstown in this State of a Masonic lodge named after St. Patrick, which was organized in 1766 by Sir William Johnson, a native of the county Meath, who was its master, and by the now non-existent St. Patrick's Lodge No. 14, of Portsmouth, N. H., which was granted a charter by the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts on March 17, 1780. The New England troops of Irish descent in garrison at Fort Wil- liam Henry celebrated St. Patrick's day, 1757, and all through those years, and es- pecially among the patriot forces during the Revolutionary war, St. Patrick's day was celebrated by banquets and toasts and distinguished by special counter- signs, parades and liberties for the Irish soldiers in camp. , All early Irish societies in America ap- pear to have been organized on a non- sectarian basis. Catholics and Protestants alike were eligible to membership, except in the case of the Charitable Irish Society which was organized in Boston on March 17, 1737, which was limited to Protestants. That society is stiu in existence, with the religious disqualification of membership abrogated. It had the first recorded cele- bration of the day in America on March 17, 1737, and to-day on the one hundredth and sixty-eighth anniversary of its foundation it is again honoring the day and the apostle of Ireland. Friendly Sons' History. The Society of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick of Philadelphia was instituted March 17, 1771. The Friendly Brothers of St. Patrick of Charleston, S. C, celebrated March 17, 1773. The Friendly Sons of St. Patrick in New York was founded on March 17, 1784. These early societies were composed ex- clusively of Irishmen or men of Irish descent who glorified in their American citizenship and were proud of their Irish blood. Their celebrations of the day were attended by the best and most distin- guished in the social, civil and military life of the nation, who paid tribute to the bravery and loyalty of the Irish in Amer- ica to the cause of liberty. Washington wrote to the Philadelphia society when he received its insig-nia and accepted an adoption therein, in 1781, as follows: "I accept with singular pleasure the ensign of so worthy a fraternity as the Sons of St. Patrick in this city— a so- ciety dl3tin&uiahed for the firm adherenca of its members to the glorious cause In which we are embarlced." Mr. John D. Crimmins, president of the Irish-American Historical Society, in his valuable work, "Early Celebrations of St. Patrick's Day," states that the St. Pat- rick's day banquets of the Philadelphia society were attended by George Wash- ington, G-eneral Steuben, General Howe, General Moultrie, General Knox, General Hand, General Mcintosh, Mr. Luzerne, Major Washington, Count Dillon, Count De L.a Touche, General Lincoln, General Dickinson, the president of Congress, Hon. Ellas Boudinot, Chief Justice Thomas McKean, General Cadwalader, General McDougall— we cannot give the names of all, for while they are an in- spiration and instructive, they are not germane to my task of Albany, to which I must now proceed. Albany's Irish Emigrants. After the war of the Revolution ceased and the Indians imade less hostile, there came a period oif national expansion which evidenced itself in the wild desire among .those east to emigrate to the distant west, to start life anew amid its dense forests and to till its virgin soil. Albany was then che frontier city o.f America, "the gateway," in the direction of this migratory trend, and one early Albany chronicler notes the manv Iiundreds of emigrant ■wagon.-g pass/ng through the city daily from fNew England seeking the great wilderne.ss of the west, which was then a little beyond Utica in this State. This condition brought to Albany trade and wealth and consequent increase in population, among whom, of course, was the ubiquitous Irishman. As early as 1796 they became strong enough to incorporate the present St. 'Mary's church. "VVhlle there is no I'ecord extant of a celebration of St. Patrick's day as early as 1796, in view of tne fact that the leading hotel in Albany, which 'was the meeting place of the Albany patriots during the Revolu- tion, and where Washington was a guest in 1782 and 17S3. was owned and kept by Hugh Denniston, a patriotic as Tvell as a loyal Irish American, it is not too remote to speculate that the few Irishmen in Al- bany met at dinner on that day at Den- niston's h6tel, on the corner of Beaver and Green streets, and drowned the shamrock in libations and toasts which "were redolent of sentiment for the dear old sod and not unimindful of the land of their adoption. "St. Patrick Crossing the Ice." In the Albany Register of March 17, 1802, we find a reference to St. Patrick's crossing the ice on March 17. That local- ism, upwards of a century old, whictJ measured the length and severity of O'ur winter by the alnlity o'f the river ice to bear a person crossing the same as late as iMarch 17, was in much more frequent use a few years ago than now. It is quite evident that in the early days many gibes and insults 'were offered to Irishmen on St. Patrick's Day. It was an almost universal custom, not limited to Alljany, early on the morning of March 17, to find on the streets or suspended in mid-air stuffed effigies of Irishmen and placards with scurrilous epithets which the iSons of Erin with much characteristic heat would proceed to remove. This at times was attended with some disorder. The practice did not die out in Albany until the early fifties, for at a dinner in celebration of the day held at the Man- sion house in this city on March 17, 1853, the fact that no effigies had been dis- played was noted and taken as an evi- dence of a better appreciation of the Irish people and of an era of good feeling. For Relief of the Emigrants. In 1807, the Irishmen of Albany were numerous enough to 'warrant the passing of an act of the legislature incorporating Daniel Campbell and his associates as a society to afford relief to indigent and distressed emigrants from the Kingdom of Ireland, which is Indicative of the ar- rival in Albany of Irishmen heyond the ability of the then trade and labor con- ditions CO care for. This society was known as the iSt. Patrick's Society in the city of Albany. iNeither the legislative act nor the journals of the Senate or As- sembly state ■who the associates were, and thus far we have been unable to find an account of the proceedings and attend- ance at the time the society was organ- ized. It -was composed of all the Irish- men in the city and evidentally without regard to religious convictions. It al'ways celebrated the day by observances which were formal, dignified and noteworthy, and which bear testimony that the status of the Irishman In Al'bany In those days was of the best, for the most distin- guished of the citizens of the State in social as well as political life attended these anniversary banquets and gave ex- pression to their sentiments of deep re- spect for the memory of St. Patrick, hope for Ireland's ultimate freedom from Eng- lish misrule, praise for the good qualities of their Irish-American fellow citizens and for the love of their adopted coun- try. This was the more rcTnarkable and the more to be appreciated, when we con- .=ider the times and the fact that there was then among us an aristocracy which was a recognized factor in puiblic life, and that there was then a distinct cleavage along those lines among the people of this State. First Celebration. The first celebration of the day In Al- bany, of record, was held by the St. Pat- rick's Society, at Its first annual meet- ing hel4 On (March 17, 1807, a few weeks after its incorporation. The accounts of the 'meeting are meagre and no names are given of those in attendance. The officers of the society were elected and a special dinner prepared for the occasion was partaken of, at which twenty formal, patriotic toasts were drank in honor of the day and the occasion. They were re- plete in their expression of unbounded de- votion to the principles and practices of our government and to its men in au- thority and of hostility to England and all things English. We can learn nothing concerning the celebration of March 17, 1S08. We as.S'ume from what was done in 1S07 and in the years thereafter that the society honored the day according to its custom by ban- quet, song and toast. In those days pub- lic dinners, given on special occasions or to commemorate some important event, were formal and ceremonious to a degree, and one much like unto another. As we cannot go into the details of all the cele- brations, we have selected the one of March 17, 1809, as typical of the times and of the men of Ireland in Albany in those ■days, and will relate the proceedings of the event to show its distinguished char- acter, the dignified procedure of the old time banquet, the patriotic toasts formal- ly presented with their appropriate music,, as well as the character and the quality of the non-Irish guests who participated and did honor to the glorious memory of Ireland's patron saint. The anniversary meeting of the Sons of St. Patrick was held on March 17, 1809. at Mr. George Hewson'.<5. in Court street, now 'South Broadway. The society elected the following officers: James Maher, president: Josiah Kerr, vice-president; Andrew iFagan, secretary; 'Samuel Edgar, treasurer, and John Kearney and Cor- nelius Dunn, ste'wards. 'After the election the society partook of an elegant entertainment prepared by Mr. 'Hewson, at which toasts were drank, excellent and appropriate songs sung, and in the language of the chronicler "the evening passed away -with harmony, pro- priety and social glee and good humor, for 'Which the iSons of St. Patrick have even been distinguished." Distinguished Guests. The banquet 'was honored by the pres- ence of a most distinguished company of guests; the best in the State then were none too good to do honor to St. Patrick, as a hurried consideration of some of the men present thereat will make evi- dent. Among them were iHis Excellency Hon. Daniel D. Tompkins, jurist, statesiman. Governor of the State and subsequently vice-president of the United States; 'Hon. DesWitt Clinton, the grand.son of a County Ijongford Irishman, statesman. Governor, senator and builder of the Erie canal; Thomas Addis E.mmet, of iNew York, a distinguished Iri.sh patriot, a refugee of '98, brother of the immortal Robert Em- met, a great lawyer and subsequently at- torney-general; Judge Tayler, one of Albany's leading citizens; Mr. Cooper, Albany's representative in the Legisla- ture; Mr. Denniston, the foremost Irish- AmericanJiin the city and man of prop- erty; fWillia.m James, a bu?^iness man of .'Albany, after whom James street is nan^ed, one of the dozen millionaires then in America, and ancestor of Henry James, the novelist; Mr. Solo'mon Southwick, edi- tor, political writer, state politician, friend of Aaron Burr, and ancestor of our present congressman; Major Vernor, of the army of the Revolution, and others of local fa.me, whom the following toast list of the occasion "will disclose. Toasts. 1. The Day— May th( next return of it witness our oppressed and insulted coun- trymen on the other side of the Atlantic celebrating it under their own vines and fig trees, unawed by hirelings or persecu- tors. "Patrick's Day." 2. The Land We Left— Too long have its green fields been clotted with the blood of its best children; as the -most noxious weeds produce the best manure — may the destruction of its oppressors enrich the soil which they have despoiled and desolated. "Poor Ireland's Cup of Misery Flows." 3. The Lahd We Live In— The only bril- liant gem in the zone of liberty — may the internal traitors and hypocrites who would deface its lustre, be stripped of their masks and exposed to the indigna- tion and scorn of a free and insulted peo- ple. "Yankee Doodle." 4. Irish Martyrs from the Robbery of Henry the 11, to the Present Hour— Peace to your manes, ye departed heroes, may your memory warm the breast of every honest Irishman and. be his incentive to rescue his country from the iron grip of the barbarian who oppresses it. "How Sleep the Brave." 5. The American Heroes and Sages of 1776 — May their glorious example be imi- tated by their successors, that they may transmit to their iposterity the rich in- heritance, purchased with the blood of their fathers, pure and unsullied. "Gen. Warren's Death." 6. Thomas Jefferson, the Enlightened Statesman and Firm Patriot — May his re- tirement from the busy scenes of public life be solaced by the reflections that his virtuous conduct has ensured him the ap- probation of his own conscience and the esteem and affection of his fellow citi- zens. "Jefferson's March." 7. The Triumph of Principle; the Elec- tion of the 4th of March— America on this day presents a proud spectacle to an ad- miring world, a citizen chosen by the united suffrage of a free people — to fill the highest post in their power to bestow — may James Madison continue to enjoy as he has hitherto deserved, the confidence of his fellow citizens. "(Madison's March." 8. George Clinton— The veteran defender of his country's liberties— the gratitude and affection of his fellow citizens, his rich reward. "President's March." 9. The Memory of Washington— May his na.me be no longer prostituted to base purposes by the domestic enemies of the country, of which it may be truly said he was the political father. 10. National Prejudice— The bane of na- tional liberty. 11. War — M'^hen our comimon country is assailed may we forget the bickerings of party, and be all Americans. "Hail Columbia." 12. The Patriotic Charitable Societies of the United States — May their funds never fail, their judgment in dispensing charity never be erroneous and their emulation which shall best promote the interests of humanity. 13. The Memories of the Benevolent Howard — ^The man who devoted his life to ameliorate the condition of the incar- cerated, unfortunate. 14. Agriculture and Manufactures. The Butments of Our Prosperitj' — May the tyrant of faction never sap their f ound i- tion nor the storms of foi'eign influence destroy their beneficial effects. "Speed the Plow." 15. The Volunteer Defenders of Our Country's Rights— May they never desert their posts, and may they prove to the surrounding vultures who seem waiting- to devour us, that the front of a band of freemen is impenetrable to the Myrmid- ons of a despot. 16. The Native and Adopted Citizens of America— May the former cherish the lat- ter, and justly appreciate their value; and may the latter cultivate and deserve the esteem of their hospitable patrons. "True Hospitality." 17. The Fair Sex— May their frowns pun- ish the enemies of Liberty and their smiles reward its advocates and de- fenders. Volunteers. By His Excellency the Governor: The Sacred Principles of Liberty and Patriot- ism; may those who have suffered in their support ever enjoy the esteem of freemen. By Hon. DeWitt Clinton: The Perse- cuted Patriots of Ireland Who Have Emi- grated to the United States; may they enjoy that liberty and happiness in their adopted, which was unjustly denied them in their native, country. By Mr. Taylor: May the Sons of Erin in every part of the globe receive that friendship and hospitality that the Repub- licans of America would cheerfully offer them. By Mr. Cooper: Humanit.v and Patriot- ism, permanent attributes of the Society of the Sons of St. Patrick. By Mr. Thomas Addis Emmet: The Land of Saints purged from sinners. By. iMr. Dennijston: May the oppres.=ed patriots of Ireland never be deprived of an asylum in America. By Mr. James: Hibernian Americans; to the virtues of their native country, gen- erosity, bene'volence and hospitality, may thejr unite the peculiar characteristics of their adopted country, temperance knowledge and enterprise. iMr. Southwick: To the memory of OVIr. Edward Fitzgerald and his fellow mar- tyrs in the cause of Irish union, inde- pendence and liberty. By iMr. Thomas: The true sons of Erin, whose errors, if they commit any, spring from an excess of the noblest of human virtues, bravery and generosity. By Captain Noon: The American eagle, ■with a sprig of "'shillalagh" in his talons to punish foreign aggression or domestic treason. By Mr. Ennis: The green fields of Ire- land; may their verdure soon cease to be tinted with the orange hue. By Mr. Kerr: The repoiblicans of the ■world, and God our only King. By 'Mr. James Maher: The shamrock; may the frost of aristrocracy, which h;is so long retarded its growth, be speedily dispelled by the cheering and enlivening sunbeams of freedom. By Mr. Duffey: His Britannic majesty's disease to the enemies of humanity all over the glotoe. By. Mr. McKiernan: An eternal oblivion to all past animosities in the breasts of freemen. By. Mr. John 'Maher: Our political hori- zon, gilded by the rising sun; may his beams occasion republicanism to flourish with renewed vigor. By IMr. MciCabe: Union among republi- cans. By Mr. Dawson: iMay the enemies of St. Patrick be, in reality, what they repre- sented hinn in the morning— a bundle ot rags. By Mr. Glen: The Englishmen of the city of Albany; may they imitate their re- publican countrymen. By Mr. Patterson: 'May the people or the United States preserve their liberties unmarred to the end of time. By Major Vernor: May the sons of Erin never permit the grasp'ng hand of a tyrant to Qppress them, without spirit to resist it. After the Governor had retired: iHis Ex- cellency Daniel D. To.mpkins, the farm- er's son; may his public and social vir- tues long continue to adorn the chair of this 'State. After Mr. Clinton had retired: The Hon. DeWitt Clinton, the distinguished and undaunted patriot; may the envenomed shafts of envj' and malevolence which are directed against him, serve no other pm pose than to endear him the more to a grateful people. After Judge Tayler had ret-red: Judge Tayler, the friend of freedom, grown gray in his country's service; may his lamp burn bright until it expires, and the ap- probation of his fellO'W citizens cheer him to the close of an honorable career. After Mr. Emmet had retired: Thomas A. Emmet, Esq., the persecuted patriot, may he long- continue to enjoy the pat- ronage and esteem of an enlightened com- munity, to 'Which his transcendant talents and virtues eminently entitle him. After Mr. Cooper had retired: Francis Cooper, Esq., and the advocates of Our country s liberties in our State Legisla- ture. After the Sheriff had retired: The Re- publican editors of the United States; may the support and approbation of tlieir fellow citizens be their recompense. Other St. Patrick's Days. In 1810, Gawin Patterson was elected president of the .society; Josiah Kerr, first vice-president; Patrick Matthews, second vice-president ;and Andrew Fagan, secretary. They had an elegant entertainment pre- pared by Mr. George Hewson on Court street. Seventeen toasts were drank, similar to those of the 1809 celebration, full of patriotism and so interesting in character, it is to be regretted that our limited time will not per- mit us to set them forth in full, after which volunteer toasts were responded to by DeWiti Clinton, Judge Tayler, Thomas Addis Emmet, of New York; EUsha Dorr, Mr. Bryan, Elijah Thomas, Captain Mills, a distinguished soldier, whose re- mains were recently given State burial; Tho'mas Trenor, Major Vernor, Philip S. Van Rensselaer, the mayor of the city of Albany, and General Jonas Piatt, a brilliant and distinguished company re- flecting credit and honor upon the day and the Irish in Albany. In 1811, the celebration was held at Mr. Skinner's on Beaver street, which was attended not only by the Governor but by the mayor of the city of New York, and Thomas Addis Emmet, Judge Tayler and many other distinguished citizens. Mayor of New York Came. In those days the mayor of the city of New York, next to the President, was the most important and influential public ofl^cer in the United States, so much so, that DeWitt Clinton in 1804, resigned as United States senator to accept office as mayor of the city of New York, and in view of the discomforts of a three hun- dred mile stage coach journey from New York to Albany and return, in March, 1810, which his attendance required, the Irishmen of the then Albany, must have been worthy as well as forceful enough to warrant him coming to their Patrick day celebration at so great a sacrifice of time and comfort. In 1812, the celebration was had at Mr. Ladd's in Beaver street. It was attended by the Governor, Mr. Hugh Denniston, Mr. Townsend, Mr. Do?:, James H. F. Yates, Hugh Flyn, Cornelius Dunn, John Maher, Judge Tayler, Mr. William James, John D. Byrne and Major Noon, all of whom responded to toasts. In 1813, the celebration was had at Mr. Ladd's Albany Coffee House. At this meeting Mr. John Cassidy, the ancestor of the oldest Irish family in Albany and who came here in 1780, was elected vice- president of the society. In 1814, the cele- bration w^s liad at Ladd's Coffee House again. We cannot give, for want of time and space, the names of those who after this time attended the celebrations, except in special instances, nor the toasts nor responses. During War of 1812. The war of 1812 was then on and Irish devotion to the cause for which their adopted coumtry was fighting and their hatred of England was plainly indicated in the sentiments of the toasts, both formal and volunteer, offered upon the oc- casion. One toast proposed by Mr. L. Keenan, "The Officers and Soldiers of the Albany Republican Greens— They Did Their Duty, No Holiday Soldiers," was to the first distinctive Irish militarj' com- pany in Albany which was organized for active military service in the war of 1812. It had a distinguished record and was the forerunner of many similar com- panies. In 1815, the day was celebrated at Ladd's tavern, John Cassidy being elected pi-esi- dent of the society. In ISlfi, the anni- versary dinner was had at Mr. Bement's Albany Coffee House. In 1817, the banquet was held at Benjamin's Hotel, on Wash- ington street. The chroniclers of the time state that the repast was elegant, the attendance large, the guests numer- ous and distinguished and from all parts of the State. Another Notable Celebration, Toasts were responded to by DeWitt Clinton, the Governor of the State, hi.s Honor Elisha Jenkins, the mayor and Philip S. Parker, recorder of the city of Albany; Hon. Cornelius lleeney, of New York, who was John Jacob Astor's part- ner in the fur trade, and the then richest Catholic Irishman in America; Sheriff Hem'psted, Dr. fM'CNevin, the Irish pa- triot whose tomb erected as a public tribute is in St. Paul's churchyard in the city of New York; the Rev. Dr. Gorman. Isaac Denniston, Esq., William James, Esq., Solomon Southwick, Esq., Col. Vis- i'cher, a veteran of the Revolution; Jesse Buel, Esq., the founder and first editor of the Albany Argus; Justice Rudes, Justice Vernor. William Kearney, Major Noon, Captain 'Maher, a gallant Irish sol- dier in the 'wav of 1812 and commandant of the "Republican Greens:" John I. Vanderpool, William Cahill, Lieutenant •Cole, Thomas Donnelly, Mr. Moakler, J. Duffie, H. Cagger, Thomas Lyons, Mr. Skaats, Mr. Rosier, Simon Toole, Horatio 'Merchant, Thomas Doyle, Mr. O'Shaugr- nessy, Bernard O'Connor and R. Duncan. National airs were sung by the gruests accompanied with appropriate music by the Albany band under the direction of .Mr. Moore, and at the announcement of each toast brilliant fireworks and rockets were set off by Mr. Buckminister in honor of the "national jubilee." The names of those who were present at that celebration in honor of St, Pat- rick are impressive to a degree. To those who know of the men and the times it is proof conclusive that the Irish people then in Albany -were worthy socially and morally; that they 'were influential and had a general standing much beyond that which their numbers and wealth would warrant if they were other than what they were. The Erie Canal Opening Parade. In this blaze of glory 'we will for the present leave these Sons of St. Patrick of the past century and the Society of St. Patrick in Albany except to state that the society in 1825 was in the parade in celebration of the completion of the Erie canal. It is not within the purview of our pa- per to write further on the subject, ex- cept that to say that the Hibernian Pro- vident Society organized in 1833, took up the pleasurable duty of honoring the day in 1834, as did a society known as the •'Friends of Ireland in Albany"— the city wltnessinj that year a double celebra- tion. From th. time on, 'March 17th, was cel- ebrated in each year by the loyal Sons of St. Patrick in Atbany with increasing enthusiasm, by parades, banquets, speech- making and religious observances, when the story of Ireland's wrongs was re- hearsed, acknowledgment made of the gladso'me light of liberty and freedom of conscience in America, and due tribute paid to the great saint in whose honor they met The early celebrations of the day were more pronounced in their ex- pression of hatred of England than those of our time. That arose out of national conditions. The American people, which then included njany of the survivors of the Revolutionary war, were as intense in their dislike o.f England as were th«! majority of the then Irish American citi- zens. The sufferings of the patriots of 1776, the incited Indian massacres, the de- struction of property and the bloody rec- ord of those dark days, were intensified by the war of 1812, and the Ainer.can soil pregnant with this feeling, welcomed the Irish refugees of 1798 and joined with them in denunciation of England and in their hope for the ultimate freedom of Erin fr»m British misrule and tyranny. Cause for Pride. 'We have reason to be proud of our brethren of Albany in the early part of the nineteenth century, and our present society snould endeavor to emulate their example and broaden our horizon as well as our influence, by welcoming all Irish- men who love Ireland and hope for its freedom, and all lovers of liberty re- gardless of race or creed, to our festive board to do honor to the patron saint of a land which has fought th2 good fight and kept ablaze the sacred fires of liberty tor over seven centuries. 'We must not underrate the powerful in- fluence of St. Patrick's day celebrations in that result and in keeping alive senti- ment in America for Ireland, for the re- dress of its wrongs and in bringing about changed and better conditions in that un- fortunate country. Whether England will grant Ireland home rule or not, whether it will, in the near future, take its place among the nations of the earth, when the epitaph of the immortal E'mmet can 00 written, whether under the beneficent folds of its green flag, inscribed with the golden words "Liberty and Independ- ence," the people of a united Ireland as their awn masters will grow stronger, better and richer, time alone can tell. But when these things do happen, as under God's providence they surely will, it will have been made possible onlj' by the teachings and examples of Ireland's patron saint, and by the devotion of his sons, who, in whatsoever clime they may be, keep his memory green and the rec- ollection of Ireland's wrongs in mind, by the universal celebration of March 17, St. Patrick's day, the day of days for all true Irishmen.