http://www.tulliehouse.co.uk/pages.asp?type=M&url=153_The+Story+of+John+Peel&lvl=,50,162,165,153, Hi Janet - Are you referring to this old English hunting song? Maybe you can get your questions answered at the above website. JOHN PEEL D'ye ken John Peel with his coat so grey, D'ye ken John Peel at the break of day, D'ye ken John Peel when he's far away, With his hounds and his horn in the morning. Chorus: T'was the sound of his horn called me from my bed And the cry of his hounds has me oft-times led, Peel's 'view halloa' would awaken the dead Or the fox from his lair in the morning. D'ye ken that bitch whose tongue was death? D'ye ken her sons of peerless faith? D'ye ken that fox, with his last breath Curs'd them all as he died in the morning? Yes I ken John Peel and Ruby too Ranter and Royal and Bellman as true, >From the drag to the chase, from the chase to the view >From a view to the death in the morning And I've followed John Peel both often and far, O'er the rasper fence and the gate and the bar, >From low Denton Holme up to Scratchmere Scar, Where we view for the brush in the morning Then here's to John Peel with my heart and soul Come fill - fill to him another strong bowl, And we'll follow John Peel through fair and through foul While we're waked by his horn in the morning. Jean ----- Original Message ----- From: "Janet McCrosky" <mej@cfanet.com> To: <irelandgenweb@rootsweb.com> Sent: Thursday, February 26, 2009 7:20 AM Subject: Re: [Irish Genealogy] "An Irish Childhood in England: 1951"-Dublin-born Ms. Eavan BOLAND > That mention of "John Peel" brings back memories of junior high and a > music > teacher with a most remarkable bass-baritone and no trace of his UK > heritage > accent. > Question: Was John Peel an Irishman or an Englishman? Does anyone know > where > I can locate a CD with some famous baritone singing it? It would have to > be > in a collection of folk-songs (?). > Janet

That mention of "John Peel" brings back memories of junior high and a music teacher with a most remarkable bass-baritone and no trace of his UK heritage accent. Question: Was John Peel an Irishman or an Englishman? Does anyone know where I can locate a CD with some famous baritone singing it? It would have to be in a collection of folk-songs (?). Janet

AN IRISH CHILDHOOD IN ENGLAND: 1951 The bickering of vowels on the buses, the clicking thumbs and the big hips of the navy-skirted ticket collectors with their crooked seams brought it home to me: Exile. Ration-book pudding. Bowls of dripping and the fixed smile of the school pianist playing "Iolanthe," "Land of Hope and Glory" and "John Peel." I didn't know what to hold, to keep. At night, filled with some malaise of love for what I'd never known I had, I fell asleep and let the moment pass. The passing moment has become a night of clipped shadows, freshly painted houses, the garden eddying in dark and heat, my children half-awake, half-asleep. Airless, humid dark. Leaf-noise. The stirrings of a garden before rain. A hint of storm behind the risen moon. We are what we have chosen. Did I choose to? -- in a strange city, in another country, on nights in a north-facing bedroom, waiting for the sleep that never did restore me as I'd hoped to what I'd lost -- let the world I knew become the space between the words that I had by heart and all the other speech that always was becoming the language of the country that I came to in ninteen fifty-one: barely-gelled, a freckled six-year-old, overdressed and sick on the plane, when all of England to an Irish child was nothing more than what you'd lost and how: was the teacher in the London convent who, when I produced "I amn't" in the classroom turned and said -- "you're not in Ireland now." -- Eavan BOLAND

SNIPPET: Daniel O'CONNELL (1775-1847) - the Liberator - dominated Irish politics during the first half of the 19th century. One of the first Catholics to enter the legal profession in 1798, he became one of the most successful barristers and the most prominent politician/hero in Ireland, winning emancipation for the Catholics thereby giving dignity and self-respect back to the Irish people after centuries of repression. His campaign to repeal the union between Ireland and England failed, but stimulated the founding of the Young Ireland movement. The following is from his speech on the floor of the Commons, 1837: "If we were seven millions of mere, dull, uneducated, degraded serfs, a mere mass of helotism, to our seven millions little regard should be paid. Once, indeed, we were sunk by the Penal Code. But a marvellous change has taken place. Men often talk of the great improvement which has taken place in Ireland, and in doing so they refer merely to its external aspect. Its moral one has undergone a still greater alteration. Not only has the plough climbed to the top of the mountain and cultivation pierced the morass, but the mind of Ireland has been reclaimed. You educate our people, and with the education of our people, the continuance of unnatural and unjust institutions is incompatible. But if education has done much, agitation has done more. Public opinion, which before did not exist, has been created in Ireland. The minds of men of all classes have been inlaid with the great principles on which the rights of the majority depended. This salutary influence has ascend ed to the higher classes, spread among the middle, and descended among the lower. The humblest peasant has been nobly affected by it. Even in the most abject destitution he has begun to acquire a sentiment of self-respect. 'He venerates himself a man.' I remember the time when, if you struck an Irish peasant, he cowered beneath the blow. Strike him now, and the spirit of offended manhood starts up in a breast covered with rags... No sir, we are not what we were. We have caught the intonations of your rhymes. Englishmen, we are too like you to give you leave to keep us down. Nay, in some points we have surpassed you. We are an undecaying and imperishable people."

SNIPPET: Legion of Mary, an association of lay Catholics, founded in 1921 by Frank DUFF (1889-1980). Its members' practical Christian action is rooted in a theologically based spirituality, inspired by the writings of St. Louis Marie Grignion de MONTFORD (1673-1716). Organizationally influenced by the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, it consists of a network of local conferences, called praesidia, under regional concilia. Members attend weekly meetings and engage in practical mission work. Because it was lay run and theologically sophisticated, it was suspect, for a time, by Dublin archbishops Edward BYRNE and John Charles McQUAID. The movement has been extraordinarily successful abroad, per Thomas O'CONNOR, Lecturer in Modern History, National University of Ireland, Maynooth, Kildare.

GERANIUM LOVER You luxuriate in their musky scent, Rubbing thumb and first two fingers across a leaf you offer me your perfumed hand. The scarlet ones are best top-heavy with blowsy blooms. I grow other variations, delicate pink, shell-like peach, ivy-leaved and lemon-scented, but they're far too dainty genteel as Dresden ladies not like the harlots in my window, flouncy skirts seducing you their robust colour a buxom miracle of each year's cuttings shoved casually into an earthen pot. I stroke the silky petals and you kiss my proffered fingers burning scarlet, dangerous and ardent. -- Eithne CAVANAGH "Extended Wings 4, An Anthology of Poetry and Prose," Rathmines Writers, Swan Press/Dublin (1998).

Jean: Thank you very much for your kindness and assistance. Nancy ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jean R." <jeanrice@cet.com> To: <irelandgenweb@rootsweb.com> Sent: Monday, February 16, 2009 1:32 PM Subject: Re: [Irish Genealogy] Dergenagh, Ballygawley,Co. Tyrone -- Gen. Ulysses S. GRANT w. Dergenagh, Co. Tyrone roots > >From a website: DERGENAGH, BALLYGAWLEY. OFF A4, 13 MILES WEST OF > >DUNGANNON. > John Simpson who was born in County Tyrone, at Dergenagh, near Dungannon, > in > 1738. He emigrated to Ohio in the American colonies in 1760, and was the > maternal grandfather of Ulysses Simpson Grant. > >>From another: Grant's ancestral home: Dergenagh, Ballygawley, off the >>A4, > 13 miles west of Dungannon. > > Nancy - Perhaps Grant's memoirs and biographies in your library can clear > up > any discrepancies. Jean > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Nancy I. Baker" <nancy@nancybaker.org> > To: <irelandgenweb@rootsweb.com> > Sent: Monday, February 16, 2009 11:56 AM > Subject: Re: [Irish Genealogy] Gen. Ulysses S. GRANT w. Dergenagh,Co. > Tyrone > roots > > >> Jean: Thank you very much for your suggestions and attention to my >> question. According to our records, my ggrandfather, John Simpson (son >> of >> Samuel Simpson) was a first cousin of U.S. Grant (son of Hannah Simpson). >> Samuel and Hannah were children of John Simpson, Jr. and Rebecca Weir. >> John Simpson, Jr. was a son of John Simpson and Hannah Roberts. This >> John >> Simpson is said to have been born about 1738 in "Derbina Ballygawley, Co >> Tyrone, No. Ireland". The last mention John Simpson would be my >> 4ggrandfather. Which is the correct name of the town in County Tyrone, >> do >> you think? Any suggestions for finding the correct people and place? >> Thank you for your helpfulness. Nancy I. Baker > > Check out the Ireland GenWeb website at: http://www.irelandgenweb.com/ > It is a good place to get help with your family research. > Help wanted: County Coordinators > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > IRELANDGENWEB-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message >

Jean: Thank you very much for your suggestions and attention to my question. According to our records, my ggrandfather, John Simpson (son of Samuel Simpson) was a first cousin of U.S. Grant (son of Hannah Simpson). Samuel and Hannah were children of John Simpson, Jr. and Rebecca Weir. John Simpson, Jr. was a son of John Simpson and Hannah Roberts. This John Simpson is said to have been born about 1738 in "Derbina Ballygawley, Co Tyrone, No. Ireland". The last mention John Simpson would be my 4ggrandfather. Which is the correct name of the town in County Tyrone, do you think? Any suggestions for finding the correct people and place? Thank you for your helpfulness. Nancy I. Baker ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jean R." <jeanrice@cet.com> To: <irelandgenweb@rootsweb.com> Sent: Monday, February 16, 2009 11:42 AM Subject: Re: [Irish Genealogy] Gen. Ulysses S. GRANT w. Dergenagh,Co. Tyrone roots > Hi Nancy - As I recall, General GRANT wrote his extensive memoirs on his > front porch wrapped in scarves while suffering greatly from throat cancer, > in an effort to ensure his family would have monies on which to live after > he was deceased. Perhaps your library has these volumes. Apparently, his > mother (Hannah SIMPSON) was an Irish immigrant from Dergenagh, Co. Tyrone. > True, his given name was Hiram Ulysses Grant -- and his favorite breakfast > was said to be vinegar-soaked cucumbers. > I'll see if I can find out more, but in the meantime, check out > the interesting tidbits on GRANT (pgs. 6 & 7), and other American > presidents > at http://www.whitehouseinnbangor.com/PresidentialTrivia.pdf. > Jean > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Nancy I. Baker" <nancy@nancybaker.org> > To: <irelandgenweb@rootsweb.com>; <IrelandGenWeb-L@rootsweb.com> > Sent: Saturday, February 14, 2009 6:37 PM > Subject: Re: [Irish Genealogy] ACW Letter/1865 -- Walt WHITMAN > (1819-1892)tohis mother in Brooklyn, NY - Gen. GRANT/w Co. Tyrone SIMPSON > roots > > >> What is the best way to verify this birthplace of John Simpson? He is >> my >> gggg or ggggrandfather. My great grandfather, Gen John Simpson, of Ohio >> was >> a first cousin of Gen.(Hiram) Ulysses Grant. I would appreciate your >> assistance for though we have heard that (the first) John Simpson came to >> Bucks County in 1738 and that he was born in Tyrone county, we have not >> had >> any more specific information. Thank you for you help. Nancy I. >> Baker >> ----- Original Message ----- > > Check out the Ireland GenWeb website at: http://www.irelandgenweb.com/ > It is a good place to get help with your family research. > Help wanted: County Coordinators > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > IRELANDGENWEB-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message >

>From a website: DERGENAGH, BALLYGAWLEY. OFF A4, 13 MILES WEST OF DUNGANNON. John Simpson who was born in County Tyrone, at Dergenagh, near Dungannon, in 1738. He emigrated to Ohio in the American colonies in 1760, and was the maternal grandfather of Ulysses Simpson Grant. >From another: Grant's ancestral home: Dergenagh, Ballygawley, off the A4, 13 miles west of Dungannon. Nancy - Perhaps Grant's memoirs and biographies in your library can clear up any discrepancies. Jean ----- Original Message ----- From: "Nancy I. Baker" <nancy@nancybaker.org> To: <irelandgenweb@rootsweb.com> Sent: Monday, February 16, 2009 11:56 AM Subject: Re: [Irish Genealogy] Gen. Ulysses S. GRANT w. Dergenagh,Co. Tyrone roots > Jean: Thank you very much for your suggestions and attention to my > question. According to our records, my ggrandfather, John Simpson (son of > Samuel Simpson) was a first cousin of U.S. Grant (son of Hannah Simpson). > Samuel and Hannah were children of John Simpson, Jr. and Rebecca Weir. > John Simpson, Jr. was a son of John Simpson and Hannah Roberts. This > John > Simpson is said to have been born about 1738 in "Derbina Ballygawley, Co > Tyrone, No. Ireland". The last mention John Simpson would be my > 4ggrandfather. Which is the correct name of the town in County Tyrone, > do > you think? Any suggestions for finding the correct people and place? > Thank you for your helpfulness. Nancy I. Baker

Nancy - Perhaps another lister can help you locate more on your family's SIMPSON line. Apparently, GRANT's great-grandfather, John SIMPSON, was born in 1738 near Dungannon, Co. Tyrone. ***You wrote >> What is the best way to verify this birthplace of John Simpson? He is my gggg or ggggrandfather. My great grandfather, Gen John Simpson, of Ohio was a first cousin of Gen.(Hiram) Ulysses Grant. I would appreciate your assistance for though we have heard that (the first) John Simpson came to Bucks County in 1738 and that he was born in Tyrone county, we have not had any more specific information. Thank you for you help. Nancy I. Baker *** Ulysses GRANT was born on April 27, 1822, in Point Pleasant, OH, a village on the Ohio River about 20 miles southeast of Cincinnati. He was the first child of Jesse and Hannah Simpson Grant. They named their son Hiram Ulysses Grant, but always called his Ulysses or 'Lyss. The year after he was born, the family moved to nearby Georgetown, OH, where his father owned a tannery and a farm. Grant's two brothers and three sisters were born in Georgetown. His father prospered in his tannery. The shy and retiring Ulysses disliked working in the tannery, but enjoyed farm work and managing horses and became an excellent horseman. Ulysses was honest and trustworthy, and his father often sent him on business trips. Ulysses attended school in Georgetown until he was 14. He then spent on e year at an academy in nearby Ripley, OH. Early in 1839, his father learned that a neighbor's son had been dismissed from the U. S. Military Academy. Jesse asked his Congressman to appoint Ulysses as a replacement. The Congressman made a mistake in Grant's name and made out the appointment to Ulysses Simpson Grant and Grant never corrected the mistake. Apparently, he thought his classmates might tease him about his real initials - "H.U.G." Briefly - GRANT graduated from West Point in 1843; married Julia DENT, Aug. 22, 1848; resigned from the army in 1854; was appointed a colonel of IL volunteers in 1861; led Union troops to victory at Vicksburg, MS; was named supreme commander of Union forces in 1864; accepted the surrender of Confederate forces under General Robert E. LEE, April 9, 1865; was elected President of the United States in 1868; was re-elected President in 1872; was defeated in bid for presidential nomination in 1880; died July 23, 1885, in Mount McGregor, NY. As stated, Grant commanded the victorious Union armies at the close of the Civil War in 1865. His success and fame as a general led to his election as president in 1868. During his military career, he had led his troops with energy and determination. He developed great confidence in his own judgment, and an ability to learn from experience. These traits also characterized Grant's political career. But the qualities which had brought him military glory were not enough to solve the nation's problems in the 1870's. Grant's enemies called him a poor President, and historians have generally agreed. His presidency was clouded by disgrace and dishonesty, partly because of his habit of trusting persons who pretended to be his friends. A severe financial panic in 1873 caused the people to react against Grant. It should be noted that Grant's presidency has recently been re-evaluated by historians with a much more favorable rating. Some background: Two months after Grant became President in 1869, the nation's first transcontinental railroad was completed. In October, 1871, the great Chicago fire killed about 300 persons and left more than 90,000 homeless. In 1872, Congress established Yellowstone National Park, the first national park in the United States. Alexander Graham BELL invented the telephone in 1876. That same year, in the Battle of the Little Bighorn, Sioux and Cheyenne warriors massacred about 225 men under General George A. CUSTER. .

Hi Nancy - As I recall, General GRANT wrote his extensive memoirs on his front porch wrapped in scarves while suffering greatly from throat cancer, in an effort to ensure his family would have monies on which to live after he was deceased. Perhaps your library has these volumes. Apparently, his mother (Hannah SIMPSON) was an Irish immigrant from Dergenagh, Co. Tyrone. True, his given name was Hiram Ulysses Grant -- and his favorite breakfast was said to be vinegar-soaked cucumbers. I'll see if I can find out more, but in the meantime, check out the interesting tidbits on GRANT (pgs. 6 & 7), and other American presidents at http://www.whitehouseinnbangor.com/PresidentialTrivia.pdf. Jean ----- Original Message ----- From: "Nancy I. Baker" <nancy@nancybaker.org> To: <irelandgenweb@rootsweb.com>; <IrelandGenWeb-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Saturday, February 14, 2009 6:37 PM Subject: Re: [Irish Genealogy] ACW Letter/1865 -- Walt WHITMAN (1819-1892)tohis mother in Brooklyn, NY - Gen. GRANT/w Co. Tyrone SIMPSON roots > What is the best way to verify this birthplace of John Simpson? He is my > gggg or ggggrandfather. My great grandfather, Gen John Simpson, of Ohio > was > a first cousin of Gen.(Hiram) Ulysses Grant. I would appreciate your > assistance for though we have heard that (the first) John Simpson came to > Bucks County in 1738 and that he was born in Tyrone county, we have not > had > any more specific information. Thank you for you help. Nancy I. Baker > ----- Original Message -----

What is the best way to verify this birthplace of John Simpson? He is my gggg or ggggrandfather. My great grandfather, Gen John Simpson, of Ohio was a first cousin of Gen.(Hiram) Ulysses Grant. I would appreciate your assistance for though we have heard that (the first) John Simpson came to Bucks County in 1738 and that he was born in Tyrone county, we have not had any more specific information. Thank you for you help. Nancy I. Baker ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jean R." <jeanrice@cet.com> To: <IrelandGenWeb-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Friday, February 13, 2009 2:07 PM Subject: [Irish Genealogy] ACW Letter/1865 -- Walt WHITMAN (1819-1892) tohis mother in Brooklyn, NY - Gen. GRANT/w Co. Tyrone SIMPSON roots > SNIPPET: Thousands of Irish fought in the American Civil War for both > the > Union and the Confederacy. Walt WHITMAN (1819-1892) was nearly 42 years > old > when the ACW began. (See his letter below). Living in Brooklyn (NY) at the > time with his mother Louisa, Walt contributed to the Brooklyn weekly > "Standard" and was trying to find a publisher for his "Leaves of Grass" > (poetry) which had been through three editions since its first publication > in 1855. His brother George, ten years younger, had immediately enlisted > in > the 51st NY Volunteers. In Dec 1862, the WHITMAN family received notice > that > George had been wounded at the first battle of Fredericksburg in VA. > WHITMAN > immediately traveled south to find him, first stopping in Washington (DC). > There WHITMAN searched the makeshift army hospitals that were being set up > in churches, private mansions and government offices to accommodate the > overwhelming influx of wounded soldiers. Though he did not find his > brother - he saw for the first time the true cost of the War. He > subsequently found George, whose wound had not been serious, at the front > in > VA. Here, too, he was surrounded by the wounded and the dying. > > WHITMAN's patriotism - no less fervent than his brother's - exhibited > itself > in his passionate writings. WHITMAN stayed in Washington (DC) throughout > most of the War, working as a government clerk and writing articles and > essays for the NY newspapers, but he considered his real work tending the > sick and wounded soldiers - Union and Confederate, alike - that came > through > the overworked and understaffed hospitals. He became a familiar sight on > the > wards, making his rounds, comforting soldiers, writing letters for them, > reading to them or simply sitting by their sides. His own impressions he > recorded in small notebooks he carried and which were later published as > "Memoranda during the War (1875-76)." WHITMAN was profoundly moved by the > realities of war and his hospital experiences. A staunch Unionist, he > worked > in close proximity to the White House and Capitol and WHITMAN remarked > that > President Abraham LINCOLN, shortly before his death - "look'd very much > worn > and tired; the lines, indeed, of vast responsibilities, intricate > questions, > and demands of life and death, cut deeper than ever upon his dark brown > face; yet all the old goodness, tenderness, sadness, and canny shrewdness, > underneath the furrows." Some of WHITMAN's letters refer to individual > soldiers. Many of his poems were published circa 1865 in his "Drum-Taps" > or > "Sequel to DrumTaps" and later editions of "Leaves of Grass." > > At the end of war he wrote this letter from Washington (May 25, 1865) to > his > mother, Mrs. Louisa WHITMAN, in Brooklyn, NY: > > "Dear Mother, I received your letter of the 22d -- I feel uneasy about you > all the time, and hope I shall get a letter to-day, and find you have > recovered. Well, the Review is over, and it was very grand - it was too > much > and to impressive, to be described - but you can see with a great white > building half as big as Fort Greene on a hill at the commencement of the > avenue, and then through this avenue marching solid ranks of soldiers, 20 > or > 25 abreast, just marching steady all day long for two hours without > intermission, one regiment after another, real war-torn soldiers, that > have > been marching and fighting for years - sometimes for an hour nothing but > cavalry, just solid ranks, on good horses, with sabres glistening and > carbines hanging by their saddles, and their clothes showing hard service, > but they mostly all good-looking hardy young men - then great masses of > guns, batteries of cannon, four or six abreast, each drawn by six horses, > with the gunners seated on the ammunition! wagons - and these perhaps a > long > while in passing, nothing but batteries, (it seemed as if all the cannon > in > the world were here) - then great battalions of blacks, with axes and > shovels and pick axes, (real Southern Darkies, black as tar) - then again > hour after hour the old infantry, regiments, the men all sunburnt - nearly > every one with some old tatter all in shreds, (that had been a costly and > beautiful flag) - the great drum corps of sixty or eighty drummers massed > at > the heads of the brigades, playing away - now and then a fine brass band - > but oftener nothing but the drums and whistling fifes - but they sounded > very lively - (perhaps a band of sixty drums and fifteen or twenty fifes > playing "Lannigan's ball") - the different corps banners, the generals > with > their staffs and c. - the Western Army, led by Gen. SHERMAN, (old Bill, > the > soldiers all called him) -- well, dear mother, that is a brief sketch, > give > you some idea of the great panorama of the Armies that have been passing > through here for the last two days. I saw the President several times, > stood > close by him, and took a good look at him - and like his expression much - > he is very plain and substantial - it seemed wonderful that just that > plain > middling-size ordinary man, dressed in black, without the least badge or > ornament, should be the master of all these myriads of soldiers, the best > that ever trod the earth, with forty or fifty Major-Generals, around him > or > riding by with their broad yellow-satin belts around their waists, - and > of > all the artillery and cavalry -- to say nothing of all the Forts and > ships... I saw Gen. GRANT* too several times. He is the noblest Roman of > them all - none of the pictures do justice to him - about sundown I saw > him > again riding on a large fine horse, with his hat off in answer to the > hurrahs - he rode by where I stood, and I saw him well, and he rode by on > a > slow canter, with nothing but a single orderly after him - He looks like > good man - (and I believe there is much in > looks) - I saw Gen. MEADE, Gen. THOMAS, Secretary STANTON, and lots of > other > celebrated government officers and generals - but the rank and file was > the > greatest sight of all. The 51st in the line Tuesday with 9th Corps. I saw > George but did not get a chance to speak to him. He is well. George is now > Major George W. WHITMAN, - had been commissioned and mustered in.. (Col. > WRIGHT and Col. SHEPHARD) have done it, I think.) The 51st is over to the > Old Convalescent camp, between here and Alexandria, doing provost duty. > It, > the old camp is now called Amgur General Hospital.... it is thought that > the > 51st will not be mustered out for the present - It is thought the > Government > will retain the reenlisted veteran regiments, such as the 51st -- If that > is > so George will remain as he is for the summer, or most of it -- The reason > I > haven't seen him is, I knew they had left provost duty in the Prince st. > prison, but didn't know where they had gone till Tuesday - I saw Capt. > CALDWELL Tuesday, also Col. WRIGHT Tuesday night - they said they all have > pleasant quarters over there. Dear brother Jeff, I was very sorry you > wasn't able to come on to see the Review - we had perfect weather and > everything just as it should be - the streets now are full of soldiers > scattered around loose, as the armies are in camp near here getting ready > to > be mustered out. -- I am quite well and visited the Hospitals the same. -- > Mother you didn't write whether you got the package of 5 Drum-Taps - I > keep > thinking about you every few minutes all day - I wish I was home a couple > of > days - Jeff, you will take this acc't of > the Review, same as if it were written to you." Walt. > > *It should be noted that General Ulysses Simpson GRANT's Irish connection > is > through his paternal great-grandfather John SIMPSON who was born near > Dungannon (Co. Tyrone) in 1738 and emigrated to Bucks Co. PA in 1763. > > Check out the Ireland GenWeb website at: http://www.irelandgenweb.com/ > It is a good place to get help with your family research. > Help wanted: County Coordinators > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > IRELANDGENWEB-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message >

My husband's great-grandfather, Patrick Skiffington, served for just over ten months in Company E of the Fourth Maryland Volunteer Infantry in the Civil War. Unlike Walt Whitman's record of his experiences, Patrick Skiffington left none as we believe he and his wife Bridget Kelly (Ireland) were illiterate, but, nevertheless, he had decided to support his new country in its fight on the Union side. The record on the widow's application for a pension indicates that the recruiting sergeant lied about Patrick's age, and he'd be "old" at 47 to go off to fight. It's likely so because at a retreat from either Williamsport or Antietam (both places mentioned in the army record), he fell on his bayonet and sustained injuries from which he died six months later in Baltimore, where the family lived. There is no paper trail, not even documentation to confirm that Patrick Skiffington might have been born in Donaghmore, Co. Tyrone in 1815 or when he came to America. He needed a Walt Whitman to record his life as he now lies "a-mouldering in his grave" in New Cathedral Cemetery, Baltimore, Maryland, unknown and unsung, remembered only among the very few of his descendants who are trying to place him with honour on the family tree. Maisie ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jean R." <jeanrice@cet.com> To: <IrelandGenWeb-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: 2009-02-13 13:07 Subject: [Irish Genealogy] ACW Letter/1865 -- Walt WHITMAN (1819-1892) tohis mother in Brooklyn, NY - Gen. GRANT/w Co. Tyrone SIMPSON roots > SNIPPET: Thousands of Irish fought in the American Civil War for both > the > Union and the Confederacy. Walt WHITMAN (1819-1892) was nearly 42 years > old > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > IRELANDGENWEB-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message

SNIPPET: Thousands of Irish fought in the American Civil War for both the Union and the Confederacy. Walt WHITMAN (1819-1892) was nearly 42 years old when the ACW began. (See his letter below). Living in Brooklyn (NY) at the time with his mother Louisa, Walt contributed to the Brooklyn weekly "Standard" and was trying to find a publisher for his "Leaves of Grass" (poetry) which had been through three editions since its first publication in 1855. His brother George, ten years younger, had immediately enlisted in the 51st NY Volunteers. In Dec 1862, the WHITMAN family received notice that George had been wounded at the first battle of Fredericksburg in VA. WHITMAN immediately traveled south to find him, first stopping in Washington (DC). There WHITMAN searched the makeshift army hospitals that were being set up in churches, private mansions and government offices to accommodate the overwhelming influx of wounded soldiers. Though he did not find his brother - he saw for the first time the true cost of the War. He subsequently found George, whose wound had not been serious, at the front in VA. Here, too, he was surrounded by the wounded and the dying. WHITMAN's patriotism - no less fervent than his brother's - exhibited itself in his passionate writings. WHITMAN stayed in Washington (DC) throughout most of the War, working as a government clerk and writing articles and essays for the NY newspapers, but he considered his real work tending the sick and wounded soldiers - Union and Confederate, alike - that came through the overworked and understaffed hospitals. He became a familiar sight on the wards, making his rounds, comforting soldiers, writing letters for them, reading to them or simply sitting by their sides. His own impressions he recorded in small notebooks he carried and which were later published as "Memoranda during the War (1875-76)." WHITMAN was profoundly moved by the realities of war and his hospital experiences. A staunch Unionist, he worked in close proximity to the White House and Capitol and WHITMAN remarked that President Abraham LINCOLN, shortly before his death - "look'd very much worn and tired; the lines, indeed, of vast responsibilities, intricate questions, and demands of life and death, cut deeper than ever upon his dark brown face; yet all the old goodness, tenderness, sadness, and canny shrewdness, underneath the furrows." Some of WHITMAN's letters refer to individual soldiers. Many of his poems were published circa 1865 in his "Drum-Taps" or "Sequel to DrumTaps" and later editions of "Leaves of Grass." At the end of war he wrote this letter from Washington (May 25, 1865) to his mother, Mrs. Louisa WHITMAN, in Brooklyn, NY: "Dear Mother, I received your letter of the 22d -- I feel uneasy about you all the time, and hope I shall get a letter to-day, and find you have recovered. Well, the Review is over, and it was very grand - it was too much and to impressive, to be described - but you can see with a great white building half as big as Fort Greene on a hill at the commencement of the avenue, and then through this avenue marching solid ranks of soldiers, 20 or 25 abreast, just marching steady all day long for two hours without intermission, one regiment after another, real war-torn soldiers, that have been marching and fighting for years - sometimes for an hour nothing but cavalry, just solid ranks, on good horses, with sabres glistening and carbines hanging by their saddles, and their clothes showing hard service, but they mostly all good-looking hardy young men - then great masses of guns, batteries of cannon, four or six abreast, each drawn by six horses, with the gunners seated on the ammunition! wagons - and these perhaps a long while in passing, nothing but batteries, (it seemed as if all the cannon in the world were here) - then great battalions of blacks, with axes and shovels and pick axes, (real Southern Darkies, black as tar) - then again hour after hour the old infantry, regiments, the men all sunburnt - nearly every one with some old tatter all in shreds, (that had been a costly and beautiful flag) - the great drum corps of sixty or eighty drummers massed at the heads of the brigades, playing away - now and then a fine brass band - but oftener nothing but the drums and whistling fifes - but they sounded very lively - (perhaps a band of sixty drums and fifteen or twenty fifes playing "Lannigan's ball") - the different corps banners, the generals with their staffs and c. - the Western Army, led by Gen. SHERMAN, (old Bill, the soldiers all called him) -- well, dear mother, that is a brief sketch, give you some idea of the great panorama of the Armies that have been passing through here for the last two days. I saw the President several times, stood close by him, and took a good look at him - and like his expression much - he is very plain and substantial - it seemed wonderful that just that plain middling-size ordinary man, dressed in black, without the least badge or ornament, should be the master of all these myriads of soldiers, the best that ever trod the earth, with forty or fifty Major-Generals, around him or riding by with their broad yellow-satin belts around their waists, - and of all the artillery and cavalry -- to say nothing of all the Forts and ships... I saw Gen. GRANT* too several times. He is the noblest Roman of them all - none of the pictures do justice to him - about sundown I saw him again riding on a large fine horse, with his hat off in answer to the hurrahs - he rode by where I stood, and I saw him well, and he rode by on a slow canter, with nothing but a single orderly after him - He looks like good man - (and I believe there is much in looks) - I saw Gen. MEADE, Gen. THOMAS, Secretary STANTON, and lots of other celebrated government officers and generals - but the rank and file was the greatest sight of all. The 51st in the line Tuesday with 9th Corps. I saw George but did not get a chance to speak to him. He is well. George is now Major George W. WHITMAN, - had been commissioned and mustered in.. (Col. WRIGHT and Col. SHEPHARD) have done it, I think.) The 51st is over to the Old Convalescent camp, between here and Alexandria, doing provost duty. It, the old camp is now called Amgur General Hospital.... it is thought that the 51st will not be mustered out for the present - It is thought the Government will retain the reenlisted veteran regiments, such as the 51st -- If that is so George will remain as he is for the summer, or most of it -- The reason I haven't seen him is, I knew they had left provost duty in the Prince st. prison, but didn't know where they had gone till Tuesday - I saw Capt. CALDWELL Tuesday, also Col. WRIGHT Tuesday night - they said they all have pleasant quarters over there. Dear brother Jeff, I was very sorry you wasn't able to come on to see the Review - we had perfect weather and everything just as it should be - the streets now are full of soldiers scattered around loose, as the armies are in camp near here getting ready to be mustered out. -- I am quite well and visited the Hospitals the same. -- Mother you didn't write whether you got the package of 5 Drum-Taps - I keep thinking about you every few minutes all day - I wish I was home a couple of days - Jeff, you will take this acc't of the Review, same as if it were written to you." Walt. *It should be noted that General Ulysses Simpson GRANT's Irish connection is through his paternal great-grandfather John SIMPSON who was born near Dungannon (Co. Tyrone) in 1738 and emigrated to Bucks Co. PA in 1763.

The Ireland GenWeb, County Tipperary website has been updated. Moyaliff Civil Parish in the North Riding has been added, along with a townland map and a webpage for each townland. A townland map has now been added to the Aghacrew Civil Parish in the South Riding. This website now has webpages for 1400 townlands and 79 civil parishes. Many of the civil parishes also have townland maps, not to mention Family History Library film numbers and links. If you have records, pictures, surnames and/or links that you would like to add to this site, please contact me off the list. I often see questions on this list and others asking where a townland is located. This site is a good resource. While County Tipperary has over 3,000 townlands, this site has almost half of them online with good information for doing genealogical research. Since I have resigned from the County Coordinator position of Ireland GenWeb, I am hoping to add to this site more frequently. My goal is to have a page for each civil parish and townland. You can find the site at: http://www.irelandgenweb.com/~irltip/ -- Pat Connors, Sacramento CA http://www.connorsgenealogy.com

CROSSINGS xxxii Running water never disappointed. Crossing water always furthers something. Stepping stones were stations of the soul. A kesh could mean the track some called a causey Raised above the wetness of the bog, Or the causey where it bridged old drains and streams. It steadies me to tell these things. Also I cannot mention keshes or the ford Without my father's shade appearing to me On a path towards sunset, eyeing spades and clothes That turf-cutters stowed perhaps or souls cast off Before they crossed the log that spans the burn. -- Seamus Heaney

Hi Jacquie, The scale of the tragedy takes every Australian's breath away. My heart goes out to those people involved. Fortunately none of my family is affected. Yes, it is nice to think that others care. Jane Coleraine VIC -----Original Message----- From: irelandgenweb-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:irelandgenweb-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of Jacquie Liddiard Sent: Tuesday, 10 February 2009 1:54 AM To: irelandgenweb@rootsweb.com; irl-kerry@rootsweb.com; 'Rootsweb Cork'; IRL-WEXFORD@rootsweb.com Subject: Re: [Irish Genealogy] Dreadful Australian Fires Thank you Mary, it has been devastating and we are now close to the 150 mark of deaths and 750 houses/properties destroyed without the count for pets and wildlife. Victoria is having a dreadful time at the moment, Queensland with the horrific floods and SA and WA looking out this week as temperatures soar to the 40+ degrees Celsuis mark. It is nice to know that people throughout the world care. Regards Jacquie -----Original Message----- From: irelandgenweb-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:irelandgenweb-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of Mary Simpson Sent: Monday, 9 February 2009 10:36 PM To: irl-kerry@rootsweb.com; Rootsweb Cork; IRL-WEXFORD@rootsweb.com; irelandgenweb@rootsweb.com Subject: [Irish Genealogy] Dreadful Australian Fires Can I just say to all the Australians on the lists how very sorry we were about the tragedy of the bushfires, and that all our thoughts and payers are with those poor souls caught up in it. Let's hope that it is all over quickly - and that they catch those abominable arsonists. Mary Check out the Ireland GenWeb website at: http://www.irelandgenweb.com/ It is a good place to get help with your family research. Help wanted: County Coordinators ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to IRELANDGENWEB-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

Thank you Mary, it has been devastating and we are now close to the 150 mark of deaths and 750 houses/properties destroyed without the count for pets and wildlife. Victoria is having a dreadful time at the moment, Queensland with the horrific floods and SA and WA looking out this week as temperatures soar to the 40+ degrees Celsuis mark. It is nice to know that people throughout the world care. Regards Jacquie -----Original Message----- From: irelandgenweb-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:irelandgenweb-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of Mary Simpson Sent: Monday, 9 February 2009 10:36 PM To: irl-kerry@rootsweb.com; Rootsweb Cork; IRL-WEXFORD@rootsweb.com; irelandgenweb@rootsweb.com Subject: [Irish Genealogy] Dreadful Australian Fires Can I just say to all the Australians on the lists how very sorry we were about the tragedy of the bushfires, and that all our thoughts and payers are with those poor souls caught up in it. Let's hope that it is all over quickly - and that they catch those abominable arsonists. Mary

SNIPPET: A charming story by Maureen CHARLTON appeared in the Dublin Swan Press poetry book, "Duet For Two Dubs" (1997). Ms. CHARLTON has written extensively for the stage, has been a frequent broadcaster, has written several books of poetry and is founder of "Martello Magazine." Perhaps her story will bring back memories .... "A long time ago in those faraway days before television and videos and discos and bowling alleys, when pocket money was doled out not in pounds but in dearly earned pennies, the chief amusement available for many a suburban child during that seemingly endless span of time between the end of June and the beginning of Autumn was to go to the seaside. Northsiders could sample the delights of Dollymount, Clontarf or the majestic grandeur of Howth. Geography is destiny as Dr. Freud might have said and as it would take a vodka and valium for a true Southsider to cross the Liffey, we Mt. Merrion kids had to content ourselves with the Blackrock Baths. We chose the Baths rather than the open sea as the vagaries of the tides were an annoyance and a mystery to us. Some days you would have to trudge two miles before even getting up to your waist in water. No walking to eternity along Sandymount Strand for us! Four old pennies got you into the Baths with its three spacious pools of varying depths. The highest diving board in the country was formidably poised over the deepest pool and we looked on with a mixture of terror and admiration when a virtuoso of diving skill made a descent. Splash! Awesome in its audacity and courage it was a circus turn. In that amazing flight through the air what would happen when that swallow like silhouette went under the water? Would it crash to the bottom never to turn? What a relief when after a few seconds a reassuring head bobbed to the surface. The ritual of going to the seaside was always the same. After dinner every day we retrieved our very often still damp bathing suits from the line in the garden, grabbed a bath towel from the bathroom rail, rolled them into a great sausage and away with us. The seldom sighted No. 17 bus which now ambles its eccentric way from outside Blackrock Railway Station to Rialto and Dolphin's Barn was then not even a twinkle in the eye of C.I.E. or whatever it was called at the time. And so we 'legged' it down leafy elegant Mt. Merrion Avenue past the spacious houses demurely set back from the road and the high stone walls with trails of Albertines and Victorian rambles peeking enticingly over them. Viewed through the long corridor of time those daily excursions blur into a happy monotony but there is one particular day that is forever locked in my memory. That morning I had been brought into town where in Bradley's, a children's clothes shop in Nassau St., my mother had bought me a new pair of shoes. Oh what shoes! What a pair of beauties! Glistening black patent leather, pristine, without a single crack. A T-strap on the instep with a black bean button fastening on the side and a blue bird stencilled on the toe cap. Even Imelda Marcos with her vast repertoire of shoes could never have possessed such an enchanting pair. We arrived at the Baths, paid our entrance fee and adjourned to the Ladies Changing Rooms which had in former times been presided over by the legendary Mrs. Byrne who had acted in the capacity of chaperone and security officer. In the soggy cabin with its damp slatted floor we undressed, leaving our belongings on the seat and went off to disport ourselves in the pool in which we felt safest and where our feet could always touch the bottom. On returning to my booth after about two hours, I found to my dismay that, although my clothes were still there, the wonderful shoes had gone. Oh if only Mrs. Byrne had still been there. There was no redress, nobody to whom I could report the crime. Gone too with the shoes was the money for ice cream which I had rolled up in a handkerchief and stuffed into one of the toes. Oh the misery of it! I would now have to face the walk home in barefooted dejection and without even the consolation of an ice cream cone or bag of jelly babies. But my best friend Marie proved herself to be a 'brick' (as a girl in one of the Swiss Chalet books would call another if she did something really generous) and decided to take off her shoes and give me more support. So together barefooted, we walked up that long Avenue home. Surely greater love than this no girl has than that she lay aside her shoes for her friend."

Can I just say to all the Australians on the lists how very sorry we were about the tragedy of the bushfires, and that all our thoughts and payers are with those poor souls caught up in it. Let's hope that it is all over quickly - and that they catch those abominable arsonists. Mary