I've been reading the wonderful book about President Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin titled, A Team Of Rivals. Ms Goodwin is a Pulitzer prize winning author well known for her historical writing. This particular book looks closely at the cabinet members, (the rivals), during the Lincoln administration, one of whom was William H. Seward, a former governor of New York who lived in Auburn in that state, the place many of my Irish ancestors settled after arriving in America. While looking online at some articles about Mr. Seward I came across this description of a holding at the University of Rochester library--
Box 6 Jan 13, 1844, New York Weekly Tribune page 3, an address by the Irishmen of Auburn, New York, to Governor Seward with his reply.
"The Irishmen of Auburn", well that got my attention! I knew my McGarr ancestors were in Auburn by the early 1840's, well before my O'Horas arrived there during the famine, I needed to see this article and find out what those Irishmen were up to. I looked around the net and finally found the edition of January 13, but no article. I was getting a little discouraged but I did some wider searches and finally found it in the January 9 edition and also in the Auburn paper. I'm glad I persevered, it was a fascinating article. The so-called address to Governor Seward was actually a letter written to him dated December 19, 1843, the second signatory of which was John Magar.
In part, the letter mentioned, "patriotic zeal in and of a people long oppressed by tyranny, and who at this time loudly invoke the generous efforts of every man who has a heart to feel for the woes of others; for a country blighted by the withering hands of despotism which would otherwise compare with other nations of the earth...poor and lonely though she be, the time is at hand, we trust, when her spirited sons, aided by American liberality, and patriotism, will raise her to eminence... The letter closes with, "gratitude, respect, and esteem" from the signers as "Irishmen and Friends to Ireland".
It's not often I find such a personal connection to events, usually I find myself wondering what my ancestors thought of what was going on in their world but this pretty well spells it out. What, I wondered, had Governor Seward done to merit this appreciation? And who were these Irishmen, were they part of a political club? Auburn had an active branch of the Irish Republican Brotherhood in the late 1850's, so it was reasonable to think there may have been earlier political groups.
But first, what was going on in Ireland in 1843? Why did the Irishmen of Auburn believe the time was near when Ireland would be raised to eminence? Because, 1843 was the year of Daniel O'Connell's monster meetings and agitation for repeal, with a goal of abolishing the Act Of Union passed in 1800 that made Ireland a part of England. Further research in newspapers showed Auburn had it's own Repeal Association which assembled at the town hall on the 25th day of November in 1843, (three weeks before the letter of appreciation to Seward), to accept from Governor Seward's hand a letter he had written, at their request, to Daniel O'Connell ... and my relative was a member ... I just love this stuff. You can read Seward's letter here if you're interested.
Now the question became, who was John Magar who signed the letter to Governor Seward? There were two in Auburn at that time, one is the man I strongly suspect was the brother of my third great-grandfather Daniel McGarr, the other was Daniel's cousin. It's going to be hard if not impossible to figure out which John signed the letter, but in the end I guess it really doesn't matter. They were both relatives of mine and I'm proud of what they were doing. It also amazes me that John was familiar with William H. Seward, governor and later secretary of state to President Lincoln. Genealogy never stops surprising me.
Most of you will recall the title of this post as the utterance of the Cowardly Lion in the movie, The Wizard Of Oz. It could also have been the notion running through my mind a few nights ago as I participated in my first "ghost walk" in Palmyra, New York. After the passing of my husband last year I cast about for something to occupy the time I now had in plentiful supply, settling on joining a group called Historic Palmyra. Chosen not only because it was nearby and history is something I enjoy, but also because the building which houses one of the museums they operate was once a hotel/bar owned by the husband of my distant cousin Catherine Ryan Riffenburg, daughter of Thomas Ryan and Mary Power. Furthermore, Catherine's first cousin, my great-grandmother Maggie Power, was shown working there as a teenage domestic in the 1900 census.
Catherine and Maggie are far from the only ancestors of mine who once called Palmyra home. Cornelius Ryan, (a different family of Ryans than Catherine), lived there after arriving from Tipperary and the Hogans, Sheehans, and Slatterys all were there for a time in the mid to late nineteenth century. As easily imagined given the state of medical science at that time, there were more than a few tragedies associated with those families. Cornelius died at age 33 leaving a wife and young son Oliver; his widow Anna Hennessey died just six months later. Anna's sister Ellen Hennessey, who with her husband Edward Welch became Oliver's guardians, died a year after that, causing the grief-stricken Edward Welch to commit suicide on her grave.
Ten years earlier, Cornelius' sister Sarah Ryan had died in Palmyra at age 26 not long after her marriage to William Slattery, quite possibly in childbirth like her sister Ellen Ryan Maher who had passed a month before Cornelius in 1877. Though Ellen's demise was in Ohio, she was buried in Palmyra. William Slattery's wife before Sarah Ryan had been Catherine Hogan, a sister of Bridget Hogan who was married to Sarah, Ellen, and Cornelius' brother Andrew Ryan. Catherine is another likely candidate for death in childbirth. It's quite involved I know. But the point is, I felt like I had lots of material to work with here, vis a vis possible spirit activity.
First stop on the walk was the oldest cemetery in the village where a woman wielding two dowsing rods asked questions of several of the "residents". Which they appeared to answer! Then on to a marvelously preserved general store dating back to canal times, and lastly to the old hotel. Would Grandma Maggie stop by? I can't say I'm positive ghosts really do exist though I definitely lean that way. Over the years I've experienced what I consider unusual
events, like the time I set out alone to find Aurelius, NY, first home in
America of my great-great-grandfather James O'Hora from County Carlow.
Though my map said I was still miles away, at least the way I read the
map, suddenly I somehow knew I was already in his town. (I was in fact, one road over from the farm he had lived on.) And the time I
first saw French Cemetery in Victory, NY and was able to walk with no hesitation
directly to the grave of my 4th great-grandmother.
I did my best to remain open and approachable as we sat in the darkened former hotel listening for footsteps or knocks. Sad to say none were forthcoming. Disappointing, but given the large size of the crowd, due to a pirate festival being held the same night on Main Street, it didn't seem to me especially conducive to ghostly appearances. Were I them, I would have taken a walk until the intruders left my home.
Still, the idea of communicating with family members who have gone to their rewards is an intriguing one. So many questions could be answered! The night really wasn't a loss, it was great fun to suspend disbelief while wandering the darkened old buildings, and to wonder, "what if"... and I even met a pirate.
