In the summer of 1896, a newly ordained Priest said one of his first masses at St.  Peter’s in Haverstraw, Rockland County.  Though the young Cleric was born in Ontario Canada, he was the grandson of Irish immigrants who had fled the horrors of the Great Hunger.  During the mass, he was assisted by a young Irish American altar boy who was born and raised in … [Read more...] about A Meeting in Rockland, a Reunion in No Man’s Land

On a cold January morning in what was then the New Mexico Territory but today is known as Arizona, 12 year old Felix Ward was tending his father’s herd of sheep and cattle. Felix was the adopted son of John Ward who had immigrated to America from Ireland during the Great Hunger and had traveled west to seek his fortune in the gold fields of California. While not finding gold in … [Read more...] about Three Irishmen and the Earliest Medal of Honor

One of the great icons of American History will observe its 125th anniversary on January 1, 2017; Ellis Island. During its period of operation from 1892 till 1954, over 12 million immigrants entered through the immigration station that was to become synonymous with the “Golden Door” and the “American Dream”. It is estimated that today over forty percent of the United States … [Read more...] about Annie Moore, First Through the Golden Door

The often heard lament when people are faced with injustice or frustrated with the apparent state of affairs of society is “What can one person do?” Yet, if history teaches us anything it is that great events or movements rarely spring out of the ground fully formed; they can usually be trace back to one man or woman with a vision. Sadly and unjustly these great individuals are … [Read more...] about Thomas Osborne Davis and the birth of “The A Nation”

On a sweltering July night in 1834 Mr. and Mrs. Edward Cutter of Charlestown Massachusetts had just sat down to dinner when the family dog began barking incessantly at the front door.  Mr. Cutter opened the door to find a young woman, Sr. Mary John (before her vows Elizabeth Harrison) of the neighboring Ursuline Convent School on the front steps in her nightgown talking … [Read more...] about The Burning of the Ursuline Convent and the Power of Defaming Rumor