Among the counties named in honor of persons of Irish origin are: Callahan, Coleman, Collin, Cochran, Crockett, Donley, Foley, Grimes, Hayes, Karnes, Kinney, Linn, McLennand, McMullen, Montgomery, Moore, Martin, Mitchell, Nolan, Terry, and the two Irish colonies are remembered in two counties named San Patricio and Refugio.
Sam Houston, in a speech made in 1855, during the Know-Nothing period, is quoted by the New Hampshire Patriot of June 30, 1855, as saying: “Every drop of blood in my body comes from an Irish source.” It is also stated in the Quarterly of the Texas Historical Association for January, 1899, that when he first went to Texas he was baptized a Catholic, his godmother being Mrs. Eva Catherine Rosine Sterne, wife of Capt. Adolphus Sterne, and mother of Mrs. W. A. Ryan of Houston, Texas.
The Quarterly of the same association for October, 1898, contains an article on Rutersville college. It was founded in 1838 by the Methodist denomination, and the first teacher was Rev. D. N. V. Sullivan. The trustees and honorary trustees, or among them, were: Joseph, William, A. W., Lewis N., Quincy S. and Clarke D. Nail, E. L. and John C. Moore, Daniel Barrett, Jordan Sweeney and Mr. Sweeney, Martha Reagan, Miss Reagan and Elvira Nail. An article in the same Quarterly, written by A. M. Kenny, states that the first school in Austin’s colony was opened in 1835, and was taught by an Irishman named Cahill. Another, in 1836, had for a teacher a Miss McHenry, and a third was taught by a Mr. Dyas, “an old Irish gentleman.”
The Texas Historical Association is but two or three years old. One of its founders is Hon. John H. Reagan, ex-postmaster-general of the late Southern Confederacy. Its only life-member in January, 1899, was D. M. O’Connor of Victoria county. Associated with him as honorary life-members were Guy M. and Joel Bryan and John H. Reagan. The Texas Scrap-Book states that the father of David Crockett was an Irishman, and his mother a native of Maryland. He was born in Tennessee.
Most of the material for this paper was compiled from Ramsay’s History of Tennessee, Pickett’s History of Alabama, and Brown’s History of Texas.
The latter can well be considered one of the fairest historical works, so far as nationality and creed are concerned, of any published since Ramsay’s History of the United States. It is about the only work relating to the early history of a state in which the Irish, as a race, have had due credit given. The term “Scotch-Irish” is not found in either volume of the work.
No attempt has been made in this paper to give a history of the stirring events which brought about the separation of Texas from the Mexican republic. The only object was to place on record in proper form the names of those whose character denotes the origin of those who bore them, and at the same time to endeavor to arrange them, partially, in the shape of a narrative, in order, if possible, to make it interesting to the reader.
The part taken by the Irish in Texas is pleasant reading for those of that element. Three Texas members of the American-Irish Historical Society, all bearing distinguished Irish names, are: Gen. A. G. Malloy, Capt. Moses Dillon and Mr. Charles Mehan, of El Paso, Texas, and to them this paper is respectfully dedicated.
Note.—Since writing this paper on Texas I have received a communication from the Rev. T. K. Crowley, of Dennison, Texas. He writes that having seen mention of what I was preparing, he took the liberty of sending me a book entitled “Reminiscences of Fifty Years in Texas,” published in 1853 and written by Hon. John J. Linn, who is one of the Irish-American pioneers mentioned in this paper. Mr. Linn was born in the county of Antrim, Ireland, in the year 1798. His father was identified with the United Irishmen Association, and being one of those fortunate enough to escape death or imprisonment, came to this country with his family early in the nineteenth century. They were Catholics, true adherents of the old faith, and this fact evokes the thought that had the Linns been Presbyterians instead of Catholics, and had they immigrated to New Hampshire instead of to Texas, their descendants would, undoubtedly, in our day, have styled them Scotch-Irish, and as is the custom, claimed they were of pure Saxon blood.
Father Crowley wrote that he knew Mr. Linn very well, and that he served Mass for him in the cathedral in Galveston when he was eighty years of age. He was truly one of the original pioneers of the Lone Star state, going there as early as 1829. This is but a little over a quarter of a century after the death of the ill-fated Philip Nolan.