Tuke's Emigration Scheme - 1882-1885

Tuke’s Emigration Scheme

The following excerpts have been extracted from a memoir of James Hack Tuke (1819-1896) written by his friend, Sir Edward Fry, in 1909.

James Hack Tuke was born in York on September 13, 1819, the second son and seventh child of Quakers Samuel Tuke and Priscilla Hack. He was educated in York at a day school attended by North Country Quakers. When Tuke was nine years old, his mother died, and at the age of sixteen, he left school and joined his father at a counting-house, where his father was a senior partner in a firm of tea merchants.

“In August 1845, Tuke sailed for America. While on board the steamer, he met William Forster, the father of the future Chief Secretary of Ireland, William Edward ‘Buckshot’ Forster, a man who would have a major impact on Ireland during the years of the Land League.

“From New York, Tuke traveled by carriage to Philadelphia, Boston, Cincinnati, Louisville, and St. Louis. He crossed into Canada and visited Quebec, Montreal, and Toronto. During his travels, he made notes of all the people and places he had visited, including Louisville, and noted the evils of slavery.

“After his return to England, Tuke learned of the disaster that was taking place in Ireland. He traveled to Ireland with the elder William Forster for the purpose of providing famine relief. In Donegal, they contacted the local gentry and ministers of various denominations for the purpose of establishing soup kitchens and visited the cottages of those in greatest distress.”

“In 1847, the worst year of the Great Famine, James again returned to Ireland, travelling throughout Connaught where ‘we saw enough of misery and wretchedness to dispel all other visions. He entered homes where the inhabitants were dying from the ‘fever’ that claimed so many.’ He wrote of entire villages devoid of all human habitation because the people who once lived there had been evicted, their roofs pulled down about their heads. He also visited feeding stations where the Poor Law officers attempted to feed the starving. He counted 300 people at one such station, many of them in various stages of fever, starvation, and nakedness. He was so moved by what he saw that he published a pamphlet in England describing the plight of the Irish.

“Many Irish fled Ireland for England, some ending up living on the doorstep of Samuel Tuke, James’s father, in York, who offered a small field near his own home for the erection of a wooden building to serve as a fever hospital. It was there that James caught the fever—the effects of which stayed with him for the rest of his life. When the mini-famine of 1877-79 appeared to be a repeat of Black ’47, Tuke devised a plan that would save thousands from their wretched existence.”

In 1879, the second year of the mini-famine, Tuke returned to Ireland. Although there was hunger and want, there was not starvation. But it was on that visit that he became “strongly impressed with the necessity of assisting families to emigrate in order to lessen the fearful crowding of those who were attempting to live on small patches of land.”

Emigration was not a new idea. Hundreds of thousands of Irish had fled to America during the Famine and post-Famine years. Many landlords horrified by the scenes taking place on their estates had paid the passage money for their tenants. Other landlords, for less altruistic reasons, saw emigration as a way of clearing the land of impoverished tenants, thus reducing the amount of poor rates they had to remit to the Government to support local workhouses. The cleared land was almost always turned into pastureland.

Murder of Peter King, February 1902

The Scranton Republican – February 17, 1902

Horrible Tragedy in Minooka

Constable Michael Davis [of Moosic] Shoots Peter King

Upon his Refusal to Quarrel with Him

Murderer in County Jail

“Peter King, 22, of Minooka, was shot by Michael Davis, 33, in the speakeasy of Patrick Sullivan, in that place, soon after 1 o’clock yesterday, and died a few minutes afterwards.

“The murder was cold blooded and has aroused most bitter feelings in that section. But for the prompt action of special officers who arrived a few moments after the affray. Lynching, it is said, would undoubtedly have been resorted to. Davis is now in the county jail. Sullivan’s speakeasy is but one mile from the city line on Main street, Minooka. The barroom is on the ground floor and at the time of the murder 14 men were present. All evening King had been in the place playing cards, but had not, it is said, taken a drop of liquor.

“From stories told by many eyewitnesses, the murder was precipitated by Davis’ remarks, which revived a feud of long standing. Two months ago, Davis subpoenaed King to appear as a witness in a case wherein Charles Deimuth was arrested on information of George Fassold, charged with selling liquor without a license.

“Davis’s reputation in that locality is bad, and King was a reluctant witness, knowing that Davis had investigated the case indirectly against Deimuth. The hearing was held before Alderman O’Neill of Minooka, and when King finally appeared, he refused to testify against Deimuth. The case was dismissed and the matter dropped.

“Davis, however, boasted of the manner in which he had forced King to accompany him to the alderman’s office. The boast was one of which he was evidently proud, as King is a man of remarkable physique, being 6 feet 3 inches in height and weighing 200 pounds. His strength was something unusual and he could easily have overcome the constable. Hence the proud boast of the latter.

“Saturday night, Davis, accompanied by a fellow officer, Harvey Decker of Moosic, visited this city and made the rounds of the saloons. According to Decker, Davis was not drunk when they left on an 11:40 D&H train for Minooka. Leaving the train, they proceeded to Sullivan’s place after stopping in two speakeasies on the way.”

Looking for Trouble

“Arriving at Sullivan’s place, they stood and chatted with several men in the barroom. King sat to one side quietly playing cards with a few friends.

“That Davis was looking for trouble was soon evident. Spying King, he remarked: ‘There’s that son _ _ ______ I arrested.’ King heard the remark, but made no reply. Advancing nearer, he repeated the sentence, adding other vile epithets.

“I could arrest him again if I had to,” said Davis.

“You or any other man wouldn’t arrest me, Davis, if I didn’t want to be,” said King, provoked at his insolence.

“The men became angrier. King remained in his chair while Davis swung his fist, threatening to attack John Ruane, who was standing at the bar… Sullivan, who stood behind the bar, told Davis to be quiet or he would put him out. This, however, added to the constable’s wrath.

“King, you’re a brute. You son _ _ ______. I could kill you. I’d blow your brains out,” shouted Davis as he placed his hand on his hip pocket. His move was a signal for an advance by the other men who rushed at him. Leaping aside and pulling his gun in a wild-west fashion, he backed to a corner and covered the crowd.

Omey Island - 1879 - Catholics v. Protestants

The Riots at Connemara – The Times (London) – April 19, 1879

A row occurred in the schoolhouse at Omey Island between Mr. McNeice and the Reverend Mr. Rhatigan – The following is a summary of the appearance before the magistrates.

Constable Michael Murphy deposed that he was stationed at Cleggin on Sunday, the third of March with five men, and he went to Mass with three of them. The Rev. Mr. Rhatigan officiated, and before the service was concluded, he addressed the congregation: “I wish to give notice to anyone outside who wishes to take down my words and convey them to the magistrates, or whom they like—I mean the police. You are aware of what occurred at Omey Island on the 20^th of last month (March)—that I was near being murdered by six persons in the church at Omey Island.” He gave the names of McNeice and his wife, daughter, and son, and the teacher Davis, and a man named Coursey from Claddaghduff.

Mr. Rhatigan appeared somewhat agitated, and said that from the treatment he had received, he should not be surprised if the people tore down the church. He did not say what church; but he alluded to the church at Omey Island. He added that if such a thing occurred in Mayo or Tipperary, the people would not stand it, and that if the people were ever insulted by “jumpers” [Catholic converts to the Protestant faith] to resent it to the last. He then called on the people to attend to Clifden—if necessary, every man, woman, and child in the parish—and show that they were no cowards and loved their faith better than the world. He charged them [his parishioners] with being cowardly—so cowardly that one would imagine when they were talking to a magistrate or the police that they were actually standing on the Queen’s toes.

Letters From the West of Ireland - Maam to Cong

Letters from West Ireland, XI, (From our Special Correspondent)

The Times London, September 15, 1884

Cong, Mayo, Sept. 8

Connemara scenery can never have been in greater beauty than on the night when I drove back from Kylemore to Leenane. The full moon dimmed the twinkle of the stars…each summit stood clear as at noonday; and the black shadows of the opposite mountains fell across the silvery locks. So that it was little of a surprise…when I looked out next morning on a thick, gray drizzle. Such sharp transitions in the weather are the rule rather than the exception here. The rain came down heavier and more heavily; and towards afternoon it was tumbling in torrents… I ordered round the car that was to take me to Cong.

The heavy wet of Connaught, even when you have it in excess, is unlike any I have met with elsewhere… Driving towards Lough Corrib, the whole country was surging, foaming, and murmuring with the course of the river Maam through the bogs, always sweeping in a brown torrent round the corners and often flooding the intervening _____. It was fed from the hills by a thousand little tributaries, falling from shelf to shelf in cascades… The very ditches by the roadside had become lively brooks, running along under a green fringe of ferns and flowerless foxgloves.

After a short, sharp climb from Leenane, we have crossed the lofty watershed, and the Maam now helps to drain the vast watery basin of Lough Corrib. Sheep and cattle that have been driven down from the high grazings are standing huddled together in the valley bottom in piteous plight, often bogged half way up to the hocks in swamp. They have been collected for the fair on next Monday at Leenane, and in this part of the valley are two or three large hill farmers, one of them owning nearly 250 cattle. Cattle [prices] have fallen, as well as the fleeces of the sheep; but the sheep themselves fetch fair prices…

Prize Winning Essays - July 1924

Winners of American Legion Essay Contest

Are Announced – Scranton Republican – July 16, 1924

“Minooka Post Awards Gold Medals to Three Students

Who Submitted Best Compositions on Popular Subjects”

Patrick Diskin, of 2700 Birney avenue, age 13 years, a fifth grade high school student; Frances J. Powell, an eighth grade student of the Woodrow Wilson school, and Robert Coyne, age 11, a fifth grade student, of 2726 Birney avenue, were last night named as winners in the American Legion essay contest conducted in Minooka by Connolly post, No. 568.

Gold medals were awarded the three winners. Diskin’s essay was entitled “The American Legion,” Coyne’s essay was “Personal Hygiene” and Miss Powell’s essay was on “Minooka.”

The three winning essays will be published in The Republican, the first of three: Master Diskin’s work, this morning and the other two on Thursday and Friday mornings, respectively.

Patrick Diskin’s essay, “The American Legion,” follows:

There are always arguments in the world by different people, and taking some of them into consideration, we find “The American Legion” the topic of the day.

The American Legion is the G.A.R. of the great war. It was not organized by any individual for a selfish purpose, nor was it conceived by any group of men. It sprang into being the result of a universal demand among the soldiers and sailors of the great war for an effective nationwide organization, which would enable them not only to perpetuate their relationship formed in service, but also to carry on in time of peace, the defense of America which they had so well begun in time of war.

World War II Honor Roll - Minooka and South Scranton

Honor Roll for Minooka and South Scranton

World War II

Killed in Action and those who died from their wounds

Bielski, Leo P. - 3rd Class United States Navy - 3210 Oak Street - Buried January 8, 1944

Buckley, John F. – Army – Cedar Avenue

Parents: Peter and Alice Buckley

Buckley, William – Private - Army

Burke, Leo – Staff Sergeant – Army – Battle of Bulge, Ardennes, Germany

Parents: Michael and Catherine Burke

Burke, William – Army Air Corps – North Africa and Italy

Carroll, Charles - Grandson of John Jings

Ceresko, Edward - "Navy dead: Marine PFC Edward F. Ceresko 3720 Laurel Avenue, Greenwood" - April 24, 1945  Scranton Tribune

Connolly, Gerald – Private - Sicily 

Parents: James Connolly and Esther Shea (raised by sister Esther Connolly Thomas)

Coyne, Thomas “Tommy” and "Tip" – Staff Sergeant – Army – Brittany

Parents: Martin and Bridget Coyne

Faherty, Patrick – Seaman – Navy – Ship sunk by German U-boat off Georgia Coast (12/16/43)

Parents: Patrick Faherty and Mary Golden

Haggerty, Francis J. "Joe" and "Rabbit"  – Marines – Okinawa - "Navy dead: Marine Pvt. Francis J. Haggerty, 229 Ash Street." - May 27, 1945 - Scrantonian

Jennings, Thomas P. – PFC – Army – Battle of Bulge (1/12/45) – Buried at Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery, Belgium

Joyce, Gerard- Private – Army

Keegan, Joseph J. – 2^nd Lt. U.S. Army Air Corps – 499^th Bomber Squadron (11/13/44)

Memorialized at Manila American Cemetery, Fort Bonifacio, Philippines

Parents: Joe and Beatrice Keegan

King, William, - PFC – Army – Died of wounds

Kobeski, Frank - Memorial Mass on June 17, 1945 - Son of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Kobeski, Greenwood Avenue

Kosokosky, Frank J. (29) - Tech. 5th Grade - 3201 Birney Avenue - Death announced May 14, 1945

Maxwell, Hubert T. – Private – Army - Killed in action in North Africa on July 11, 1943. - Parents: Timothy and Mary Maxwell - "Mr. and Mrs. Timothy Maxwell, 3200 Cedar Avenue, Minooka, were notified in a telegraph received from the War Dept. that their son, Pvt. Hubert Maxwell, was killed in action in Sicily, July 11. Several weeks go the parents were advised that their son was MIA. Pvt. Maxwell was the first Minooka young man recorded as having made the supreme sacrifice in WWII. He was inducted Aug. 29, 1941, and trained at Camp Lee, Va.; Camp Wolters and Camp Barkeley, Tx; Camp Devens, Mass.; Pine Camp, N.Y., and Camp Pickett, Va. Prior to his induction, he was employed by the Bethlehem Steel Company, Lackawanna, N.Y. - Sept. 1, 1942 - Tribune

O’Malley, James Joseph – Able Bodied Merchant Seaman (10/15/44)

O’Malley, James R. – Seaman, 2^nd Class – Navy – (9/12/44) - Memorialized at Sicily Rome American Cemetery, Nettuno, Italy

Polakanis, Frank

Polakanis, John

Pompey, Andrew – Parachutist and Italian Translator – Army – Anzio

Pompey, Durando – PFC - Army – Italy

Poplowski, Barth P.

Rosar, Joseph - 2^nd Lt. – Army Air Corps – Grenoble, France

Parents: Adolph Rosar and Honora (Anna) Lydon

Ryan, Robert P. – Private – Army - "Pvt. Robert Ryan, eighteen, son of Mrs. Elizabeth Ryan, 2819 Pittston avenue, Minooka, was killed in Luxembourg on Feb. 1--less than three weeks after his arrival overseas. Three brothers are in the army. He graduated from St. John's H.S., and was inducted into the army on August 13. He received basic training at Camp Wheeler, Ga., and went overseas the second week in January from Fort Meade, Md. with his infantry unit. He was a member of St. Joseph's Church, Minooka. Besides his mother, Private Ryan is survived by a sister Mary, at home, three brothers: Corporal Joseph, Spokane, Wash., Corporal Patrick, 109th Infantry in France, and Corporal John, attached to a tank destroyer battalion in Hawaii." February 17, 1945, Times Tribune

Salvin, Henry

Shanoski, Matthew

Stewart, Charles J. – Marines – South Pacific (buried at St. Joseph’s)

Parents: Thomas and Delia Stewart

John Francis Shea - Tech Sergeant Shea was wounded on January 16, 1945 at the Battle of the Bulge. He died three months later on April 7, 1945 in a hospital in Belgium. His remains were returned to Scranton in May 1949. John was the son of Daniel Shea, born in Ireland, and Mary Corbett, born in Wales. He grew up in Minooka before the family moved to Scranton.

Toole, John R. – 2^nd Lt. Army – Killed at Battle of Bulge - Mother Catherine Toole - 3607 Birney Avenue, Moosic

Vernal, Richard J. – Corporal – Technician 5^th Class – Army Air Corps – 15^th Cavalry Recon  Squadron – Holland (3/31/1945) – Buried at Netherlands American Cemetery, Margraten, Netherlands - "Cpl Richard Vernal, Jr., thirty, husband of the former Miss Ruth Rowan, 2826 Cear Avenue, Minooka, was killed in action in Germany on March 31, 1945." - April 22, 1945 - Scranton Times-Tribune 

Walsh, Francis J. “Buster – TEC5 – Army Killed by sniper - "Cpl. Francis J. Walsh, 2524 Birney Avenue, son of Mr. and Mrs. Michael Walsh, was killed in action in France July 3, 1944, a War Dept. telegram disclosed. He graduated from Technical H.S. and prior to his induction in Dec. 1942, was employed at the Scranton enginehouse of the Lackawanna R.R. He received basic training at Camp Barkeley, Texas. August 7, 1944 - Scranton Times-Tribune - Parents: Hannah and Michael Walsh

Walsh, John Francis "Tree" – Battle of the Bulge – 11^th Armored Division – Died of wounds after the war Parents: Michael Walsh and Sarah Connolly (Pittston Avenue)

Release of Mud Run Train Wreck - A Disaster in the Irish-American Community

The Mud Run Train Wreck - A Disaster in the Irish-American Community has been released in paperback on Amazon for $7.99. Below is a summary of the book:

On October 10, 1888, the worst train disaster in the history of Pennsylvania took place at the Mud Run station in Carbon County. The victims were excursionists, the vast number of whom were Irish or Irish-Americans, who had traveled from Scranton to Hazleton to celebrate the birth of Father Mathew Theobold, the Irish Apostle of Temperance, with a parade and picnic arranged by the Total Catholic Abstinence Union. In anticipation of moving as many as 10,000 passengers between Hazleton and Scranton on eight trains, consisting of eighty-seven cars, the Lehigh Valley Railroad had issued special orders to its crew, the most important of which was "to protect your rear." After the Father Mathew Men had marched and the Father Mathew Cadets had displayed their skill in precision drills, the disciples of temperance headed for the Hazleton train station and home. It was on their return that sixty-four people would meet their deaths on the Lehigh Valley road.

The primary source of information for this book was the newspapers. In addition to newspaper interviews with eyewitnesses to the disaster, additional information was gleaned from census schedules, city directories, ancestry message boards, death notices, obituaries, and correspondence with descendants of those killed at Mud Run. Together, they tell the story of what went wrong on that beautiful autumn day at a remote signal station in Carbon County.

I feel that this is an important story in the history of Minooka, Scranton, and Avoca that faded too quickly from the historical record. My purpose in writing the book was to tell the stories of those who were killed and injured. Because they were important to their families and their communities, I wanted them to have a voice. I hope you agree and that you will tell your friends about the book.

Available on Amazon.