Hello Jack...did you ever think about trying to "follow the money"? Our ancestor Miles (Myles) Cardiff had 3 bank accounts in New York. Besides his personal one, he and others were co-signers for the "Ire. Benefit Society" and for the "Fenalon Society". It could have been that they were raising money for Irish social welfare reasons, but that Fen prefix has me wondering about revolutionary motives. I found 3 bank entries of deposits in 1854, 1855 and 1859 on an LDS microfilm (I am scrambling to find the # for you) for the New York Emigrant Savings Bank.The bank ledger sheets were a goldmine (for me) of personal info?as the depositor also recorded his occupation, maybe what ship he came in on, family names, present address etc;?Miles even recorded what street he lived on back in Wexford Ireland!?There is a book made of this ledger material called Irish Immigrants Emigrant Industrial Savings Bank by Kevin J Rich, but that just shows the years 1850-1853. ?Maybe that could help ! trace an account? By the way the other 3 co-signers with Miles were Jno (John) Brady, Philip Clancy and Jas. (James) Wilkins. Now you've got me wondering what our Miles was up to!? Alice -----Original Message----- From: Jean R. <jeanrice@cet.com> To: irelandgenweb@rootsweb.com Sent: Sun, 17 May 2009 6:47 am Subject: Re: [Irish Genealogy] Fenian Activities - Mid 1800s in Ireland Hi Jack - The Young Ireland nationalist group was active in Ireland 1842-8, the group comprised mainly of middle-class graduates from both Catholic and Protestant backgrounds, of Trinity College, Dublin. Young Ireland had little popular support outside Dublin or amongst the Catholic clergy, and was divided over its political strategy. Their legacy lay not in the insurrectionary fiasco of 1848, but with their success in infusing a romantic sense of nationality into subsequent generations of Irish nationalists. No expert here, and doesn't answer your particular queries, but the end of the American Civil War released thousands of Irish-American officers for possible Fenian activities in Ireland. Difficulties of integration and prejudice experienced by Irish immigrants in America kept attention focused on Ireland and her problems while in New York revolutionary groups, which continued to exist after those in Ireland had collapsed, produced men ready to continue the independence struggle - a Fenian organization in America that paralleled that in Ireland. There were also successful recruitments of some individuals in Britain's Irish community and the British army. While Fenian revolutionary activities in 1866 and 1867 were short-lived, defeated by informers, bad weather, a well-prepared government, and a disciplined army --agitation for an amnesty for Fenian prisoners and outrage at the execution of the Manchester martyrs mobilized nationalist opinion on a scale the Fenians themselves had never achieved, and provided the basis for the launching of the home rule movement. On 18 September 1867 Thomas KELLY and Timothy DEASY, two leading Fenians, were being transported from the courthouse in Manchester to the county jail when the police van containing them was attacked. The prisoners escaped, but an unarmed police sergeant was shot dead. Twenty-nine arrests followed, and in November five men were convicted of murder. One was subsequently pardoned and another's sentence was commuted, but three men, William O'Meara ALLEN, Michael LARKIN, and William O'BRIEN were hanged. The deaths of these 'Manchester martyrs' prompted a partial reconciliation between the Catholic church and Fenianism, and a groundswell of popular sympathy for the Fenian movement in Ireland. In addition the rising moved GLADSTONE to initiate reforms that would culminate in his conversion to home rule. A complex personality, William Ewart GLADSTONE (1809-98), British prime minister and Liberal Party leader, son of a Liverpool merchant, educated at Eton and Oxford, his ultimate commitment to Ireland was based on a variety of motives: a profound moral sense; an acceptance, born of the Fenian rising of 1867, that Ireland was a separate nationality requiring distinctive treatment; and, relatedly, the realization that constitutional reorganization was necessary if the essential integrity of the United Kingdom and its interests were to be safeguarded. Save your microfilm-strained eyes! Check out one or more of these transcribed old newspaper resources on the Internet to get a feel of what was going on during a particular time period. If you are interested in a particular location (Charleston, etc.) or an organization, you could try using those keywords there and also conduct some "Google" searches, in general, to locate informative websites highlighting Ireland's past revolutionary organizations and secret societies. . Cathy Joynt Labath Ireland Newspaper Abstracts http://www.newspaperabstracts.com/Ireland/index.htm Irish in Iowa http://www.celticcousins.net/irishiniowa/index.htm Ireland Old News http://www.IrelandOldNews.com/ Jean ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jack Connors" <jjc@nf.sympatico.ca> To: <irelandgenweb@rootsweb.com> Sent: Saturday, May 16, 2009 4:18 PM Subject: [Irish Genealogy] Mid 1800s in Ireland > I'm looking for some help and advise, if an ancestor was getting guns and > bringing them to Ireland, say in the 1850s to 1870s time frame and > probably > because of that activity there wa s a ransom place on his head from England > which stated in part, "if the person was caught that he would be hung from > the nearest ship" . One scenario about how the guns were aquired went some > like the following; > > a) Pick up Cod, other fish in St.John's and sail to Charleston. > b) Sell for the fish money, provision the ship and then on to Kingston, > Jamaica > c) Buy fresh fruit, molasses there and sail back to Charleston. > d) Exchange the molasses and fruit for guns, > e) Provision the ship, then sail on to Ireland with weapons. As ransom was > on his head would he stay away from Ulster? > perhaps operating out of Cork or Waterford/ Wexford? > > Does any of this sound legit to any of your researchers. While some of > these > facts may have been altered over time, there appears to be some > consistency > with respect to his either being hung or the ransom to be hung. If this > was > going on, who might be be working with in Ireland. The Young Irelanders, > Fenians, or some other group at the time whose objective was the free > Ireland. > > Any advise would be welcome, my eyes are burning trying to read old > newspapers from micro-film! > > Regards > Jack Connors Check out the Ireland GenWeb website at: http://www.irelandgenweb.com/ Great place to get help with your family research. County Clare has been adopted! 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