The journal of the American-Irish Historical Society, Vol. VII, 1907Various
History
The journal of the American-Irish Historical Society, Vol. VII, 1907
Various
American-Irish Historical Society -- Periodicals; Ethnology -- United States -- Periodicals; Irish Americans -- Periodicals
Among his benefactions was a gift of 70 acres to Harvard College. I
might state in passing that Cogan was one of the settlers of Dorchester,
which colony was founded in the same year as was Boston, 1630, and lived
there until his removal here in 1632.
Some few weeks ago the daily papers chronicled the death of the oldest
alumnus of Harvard College and Boston’s oldest attorney. This was
Charles A. Welch of Cohasset, Mass. Welch was the descendant of John
Welch, who was recorded in Boston as a tax-payer as early as 1682, and
who wedded Elizabeth White. The distinguished lawyer had as his great
grandfather John Welch, who served as commander of the Ancient and
Honorable Artillery Company, while the father of the lawyer was a noted
wood carver and made the famous codfish which adorns the State House and
also the great figure-head of Andrew Jackson which ornamented the bow of
the American frigate _Constitution_.
Another descendant of this John Welch of colonial Boston, and brother of
the lawyer, was Edward H. Welch, who had the happiness not only of
returning to the church of his ancestors, but also of becoming a member
of the Society of Jesus. The lawyer and priest numbered among their
cousins the present Episcopalian Bishop of Fond du Lac, the Right
Reverend Charles C. Grafton; and Mrs. Abbott, wife of the late Judge
Abbott. In a word, John Welch of colonial Boston was the progenitor of a
distinguished family.
How many of you could tell me who made the first piano-forte in America?
And the first bass-viol? And the artificial leg with joints? And the
first pack of playing cards? If you don’t know, it is not a matter of
surprise, for those achievements are not chronicled in our histories.
Well, I’ll tell you. There lived in Dorchester or Milton between the
years 1640 and 1650 a lad named Teague Crehore, who, it is said, had
been stolen from his parents in Ireland.
One of his descendants was Benjamin Crehore, who was born in Milton. He
was a remarkable genius. He it was who made the first piano-forte in
America, manufactured the first bass-viols and invented the artificial
leg with joints.
And it was Thomas Crehore, a nephew of Benjamin Crehore and the son of
William Crehore, a chair maker, and of the fifth generation of Teague
Crehore, who manufactured the first playing cards in America.
Thomas Crehore was a native of Dorchester and born in 1769. At the age
of thirty-two he bought the land on which he built his factory and
house. The industry continued there (in Milton Lower Mills, on the
Neponset River, I believe) until 1846, when the factory was burned down.
Mr. Crehore died in the same year, leaving a large estate.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account