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Show j SOME IRISHMEN. j It was an Irishman from Maghera, Charles Thompson, who.was the guiding guid-ing spirit of the congress and convention conven-tion that adopted our Declaration of Independence and framed our constitution. constitu-tion. It was an Irishman's son from Wexford, John Nixon, that first read the Declaration of Independence in public to the people in Independence square; it was an Irishman from j Tyrone, John Dunlap, that first print-I print-I cd and published that declaration. It was an Irishman, this same John Dun-I Dun-I lap, that published the first daily j paper printed in the United States. It was an Irishman from Donegal, Genera! Gen-era! Richard Montgomery, that first fell while commanding an army fighting fight-ing for our independence. It was an Irishman from Wexford, John Barry, who was first commodore of the American Amer-ican navy. It was an Irishman's son, every battle in which Washington was enga.ged. and was first secretary of war. It .was an Irishman that wrote the first history of the United States. It was an Irishman's son, Robert Fulton, Ful-ton, that gave America the credit of Inventing steam navigation. It was an .Irishman's grandson, Samuel Fin-lay Fin-lay Breese Morse, that invented telegraphy. tele-graphy. It was the descendant of an Irishman, McCormick, that invented the reaping and mowing machine, and another descendant of an Irish emigrant, emi-grant, Horace Greeley, with a smashed down .hat and breeches no better than corduroy, that "founded the Tribune." It was Irishmen and their sons, in Philadelphia, merchants and soldiers, heroes and patriots, who, in the darkest dark-est hours of the revolution, when the English elements were rejoicing over the disasters of Washington and his army, gave their money and their swords to the cause which, without them might have been lost. They were mostly members '-of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick, a society then flourishing in Philadelphia, General Stephen Moylan of Cork, and his three broth- ers; George Meade, one of whose descendants des-cendants commanded and conquered at Gettysburg; Matthew Meade, who fought with Paul Jones on the Bon-:homme Bon-:homme Richard, and his brothers; Thomas Fitzsimmons, one of the fram-i ers of the constitution; John M. Nes-bitt, Nes-bitt, whose timely efforts in sending provisions saved Washington's army from starvation; Thomas Barclay, who gave 5,000 sterling for the relief of Washington's army; Blair McClen-aghan, McClen-aghan, who gave 10,000; John Bar-cla, Bar-cla, afterwards mayor of Philadelphia, Colonel Ephraim Blain, John Bleakly, a wealthy citizen and public benefactor; bene-factor; General Richard Butter and his four brothers; Robert Gray of Gray's Ferry, Captain John Green, who commanded com-manded the first American vessel sailing sail-ing to China; General Edward Hand, who was called "The right hand man of Washington;" General William Irvine, George Latimer, speaker of the Pennsylvania assembly; James Logan, son of the confidential friend and ad-I ad-I viser of W'llliam Penn; Colonel Francis Nichols, whom Washington appointed first marshal of the district of Pennsylvania; Penn-sylvania; Oliver Pollock, who secured a timely supply of gun powder to Washington; General Thomas Robison, General Walter Stewart, !'The . Boy Colonel." General William Thompson, General Anthony Wayne. All these and many more who - contributed con-tributed liberally in money and service serv-ice to the cause of Washington, were members of this same Irish society, the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick, composed com-posed exclusively of Irishmen and their sons, and of which Washington himself was a member, becoming a natural ized or adopted Irishman, to qualify him for membership. These Irishmen were among the most refined and elegant ele-gant gentlemen with whom Washington Washing-ton associated in Philadelphia, whose population even then was very largely Irish. As early at 1728 nine-tenths of the emigrants to that province were Irish. It -was much the same in. Virginia, Vir-ginia, in the Carolinas, in New York and New England. - r |