Many of these exiles, of course, obeyed the law, as being along the lines of least resistance. The banished children did not even know their right names; and thus we see the names of Smith, Carpenter, Chester, Sterling, Kinsale, White, Butler, etc., borne by Irishmen. We shall also see that names distinctly Irish were found in Rhode Island at that period, demonstrating one of two things, or perhaps both: that many of the Irish were smuggled out of the country without touching at English ports, and that many others, on arriving in this country, resumed their original names.
The popular histories of England and the colonies make no note of these facts, but there is a more reliable source than the histories for confirmation of these assertions, and that is the records of England. It is one of the established customs of English law to sacredly preserve all papers of this character, and it is from these, even more authentic than histories, that we have discovered the facts.
Thomas Hamilton Murray, late Secretary-General of the American-Irish Historical Society, has compiled a list of Irish names in the records of Rhode Island, giving the years in which the men were known to have lived here. These are all strictly Irish names and exclude those of doubtful origin:
Larkin, Dunn, 1655; Casey, 1663; Kelly, Macoone, 1669; Heffeman, 1671; Martin, Macarthy, Long, 1677; Devett, 1685; Malavery, 1687; Dailey, 1689; Linniken, 1690; Cary, 1693; Dring, 1696; Doyle, 1698; Higgins, 1699; Moore, 1700; Walch, Mitchell, 1703; Coursey, 1713; Murphy, 1718; Lawless, 1720; Carty, 1721; MacKown, 1723; O’Harra, 1728; Phelon, 1730; Shay, Joyce, 1731; Connor, Cassidy, 1732; Gallagher, 1736; Lyon, Mackey, 1737; Hurley, McCane, Sullivan, 1740; Whelan, 1741; McGonegal, Delaney, Farrell, Mulholland, Rourk, 1742; Dempsey, Fitzgerald, 1743; Hanley, Egan, McDonald, 1745; Donnelly, Tally, Byrn, 1747; Lanahan, Maguire, 1750; O’Brien, Donovan, Barrett, 1751; Cavenaugh, Flynn, Murray, Hickey, 1752; Hartagan, 1753; McMullen, 1754; Burke, 1755; Dwyer, O’Neil, Ryan, 1756; Magee, Donohue, 1758; Sheehan, Hearn, McGrath, 1759; Mullen, 1760; Gorman, Lary, Dermott, Fitzpatrick, 1761; Dunphy, 1765; Carroll, 1768; Roach, 1773; Mahoney, Rohan, 1774.
These are all names of people who lived in Rhode Island prior to the American Revolution. When such a large number of names is found in the records it is but fair to assume that there were many others to us unknown and who lived and died without ever having their names recorded anywhere.
In the early history of New England there were of course no directories of names, few, if any, records of births, marriages or deaths, and practically the only time when men’s names were written was in time of war or public danger, and it is in war that we first find the names of any large number of Irishmen in Rhode Island.
THE IRISH IN KING PHILIP’S WAR.
King Philip’s War started in 1675 and was begun for the purpose of ending the rule of the white man in the colonies. Time will not admit of a detailed account of the part played by the Irish in that terrible conflict and only passing mention can be made.
Again taking the writings of Thomas Hamilton Murray (“Irish Soldiers in King Philip’s War”) we find the names of one hundred and fourteen men of undoubted Irish birth or descent. I have verified these names. The list excludes the names of doubtful origin. It is to be borne in mind that the men who wrote the names were, in many instances, guided largely by sound, owing to the inability of the bearer of the name to spell it correctly, or at all. The list follows:
Benjamin Barrett.