It is now necessary to turn to the history of England for an explanation of why so many Irish came to this country, beginning in 1641, and why some of them did not bear Irish names.
In the reign of Charles First there occurred what is known as “The Revolution of 1641.” At that time many of the gentry of the west of Ireland held their lands under what parliament claimed a defective title. Charles, after promising the Irish that we would remove the cloud on their title, immediately went back on his word, and, in order to give his conduct some show of justification, had thousands of Irish men and women tried on an absurd charge of treason and their lands and goods confiscated. The history of England, gleaned from the records of the House of Commons, tells us that in two days over two thousand Irish were indicted, “tried,” convicted and sentenced for treason, or one for each one and one-half minutes in a working day of twelve hours; a fair sample of English “justice” in Ireland. The English army overran Ireland, slaughtered a very large number of men, women and children, besides shipping many thousands to New England as slaves. These exiles were obliged to change their names and adopt English names.
After the fall of Charles First, Cromwell started a similar crusade in Ireland. He also caused to be sent to the colonies many thousands of Irish boys and girls who were given names different from those of their fathers. Cromwell also shipped large numbers of adults to the colonies from Ireland where they were sold as slaves. In 1652, the Cromwell Commission recommended that “Irish women as being too numerous now be sold to merchants and transported to ... New England.” In 1653 Captain John Vernon contracted with Messrs. Selleck and Leader for 250 women of the Irish nation and 300 men “to transport them into New England”; these to be secured in the country within twenty miles of Cork, Youghal, Kinsale, Waterford and Wicklow.
The women thus sold into slavery were to be given in marriage to the colonists, as it was impossible to get English women to emigrate to the colonies willingly. Sales were conducted and each man paid for his wife as he did for his chattels at public auction. An interesting account of the manner of conducting these sales may be found in the histories of Virginia and in a popular book of fiction of a few years ago: “To Have and To Hold.”
So brisk was this trade for a time that finally the ship owners, in their greed, forcibly abducted some English women and children, and this led to the stopping of the traffic.
We see, therefore, some reason for the fact that many people of undoubted Irish origin did not bear Irish names, some of them taking the names of their owners, and others dropping their Irish names to save themselves from persecution. In addition to this, no ship could clear for the colonies from an Irish port. She must first proceed to an English port and thence outward. When she did clear all her passengers were required by law to adopt some name other than an Irish one. Lest I be accused of romancing I will quote the law of England of the time:
JAMES THOMPSON, ESQ.,
Of Louisville, Ky.
Vice-President of the Society for Kentucky.
“An Act that Irishmen dwelling in the counties of ... go appareled like Englishmen, and wear their beards after the English manner, swear allegiance, and take English sirnames; which sirnames shall be of one town, as Sutton, Chester, Trim, Skyrne, Corke, Kinsale; or colors, as white, black, brown; or arts or sciences, as smith, carpenter; or office, as cook, butler, etc., and it is enacted that he and his issue shall use this name under pain of forfeyting his goods yearly.” (Paternalism with a vengeance. If the law had required him to wear a monocle in his left eye the picture would have been complete, and instead of building railroads he could have married an American heiress.)
We can from this easily perceive the policy of England: to wipe out from the minds of the Irish all thoughts of nationality, and to exterminate the race.