James Withers Sloss
Industrialist and Birmingham Pioneer
On April 7, 1820, on a farm near Mooresville in Limestone County, Alabama, James Withers Sloss was born to Scottish-Irish parents. In his youth Sloss had little formal education, though he did serve a traditional seven-year apprenticeship for a local butcher, which ended when he was 22. He married Mary Bigger, the daughter of Irish immigrants from Belfast, and using his life’s savings, purchased a store in Athens, Alabama. By the time Sloss was in his 30s his career as a merchant and plantation owner made him one of the wealthiest men in the state. His interests in railroad and iron were instrumental in bringing both industries to the forefront of Birmingham's development. He was remembered after his death in May of 1890 for his "farseeing discernment, indomitable energy and modern ideas"
Company I, 8th Alabama
"The Emerald Guard"
In Company I, 8th Alabama,
the Emerald Guard, 104 of
the 109 men were Irish-born
The men wore dark
green uniforms; their banner
was a Confederate First
National flag ("Stars and Bars")
on one side with a full-length
figure of George Washington
in the center. The reverse was
green, with a harp surrounded
by a wreath of shamrocks, and the slogans, "ERIN GO BRAGH!" (Ireland Forever!) and "FAUGH A BALLAGH!" (Clear The Way!). The flag of the Emerald Guard based on the detailed description. This was the first Alabama command that enlisted "for the war." They departed in green unitorms but may have been issued gray/jean wool uniforms upon arrival in Richmond. The Emerald Guard were present at and accounted for at some of the most hotly contested battles of the Civil War. Company I had one of the highest casualty rates among the batallion of the 8th. It is speculated this is due to the fighting nature and fearlesness among the Irish
Samford University
The Casey Collection (Ireland)
What if someone told you that there exists an Irish resource with over 3,000,000 all indexed alphabetically? Weellllll, maybe, but only if your people lived within the area covered in the O'Kief, Coshe Mang, Slieve Lougher and the Upper Blackwater in Ireland series, a collection of 16 enormous volumes of primary and secondary genealogical and historical records of Ireland.
Albert E. Casey, an Alabama pathologist, created and compiled one of the United States most treasured Irish history and genealogical collection in the course of researching his own family history.
This collection is an extremely valuable resource for folks who are able to go way back in time with your pedigrees. It includes Roman Catholic (RC), Church of Ireland (CofI) and Quaker births, marriages and death records, Tombstone inscriptions, newspaper abstracts, Civil Documents, Court Records, All of Cork and Kerry before 1825, All of Munster before 1625, Ireland before 1182, maps and photographs, ancient writings and world pre-history. Copies of Tithe and Griffiths Valuations House-holder lists, Copies of some of the classic Irish histories, some with parallel translations from the Gaelic and Medieval Latin for the extremely serious genealogist. Also some really odd stuff on blood types and skull sizes (Casey was a pathologist, after all). Thanks to the family of Lorraine (Mickey) Huber who so very kindly donated funds in her memory for its purchase. There are not very many of these sets available and Alabama is very fortunate to be the home for such a rare Irish treasure.
Father James E. Coyle
Father Coyle served as Pastor of St. Paul's Catholic Church in downtown Birmingham Alabama from 1904 until his assassination on August 11, 1921 on the front porch of the old parish rectory. A native of Drum, Athlone in County Roscommon, Ireland, Father Coyle was ordained in Rome May 30, 1896 when only twenty-three years old. Later that same year, he came to spend his priestly life in Alabama. He was welcomed to Mobile by Bishop Edward Allen whom he served faithfully for 25 years. Father Coyle served eight years in the Mobile area, first in parish missions, then at McGill Institute for Boys, first as instructor and later as rector of the school. In 1904 Bishop Allen appointed Father Coyle as Pastor of St. Paul's to succeed Father Patrick O'Reilly who had died from injuries sustained in a fall from a horse in a military parade. Father Coyle served the large St. Paul's congregation for seventeen years until his tragic death in 1921 at the age of forty-eight. A thick ten-foot high Celtic cross marks his final resting place in Birmingham's Elmwood cemetery. During the last years Father Coyle served in Birmingham, there existed a regrettable atmosphere of public anti-Catholic economic and psychological persecution. Father Coyle was unwavering during this tense period in defending the Catholic Church and what Catholics believe. He was shot by an enraged minister whose daughter's marriage to a Puerto Rican Father Coyle had presided over less than two hours before he was mortally wounded. Father Coyle's steadfast faith and sacrifice have made his legacy strong in Birmingham.
(From www.FatherCoyle.org )
Do you have a Irish Story with Alabama connections? Do you have a biography of a Irish pioneer in Alabama?
Share it with us for publication on this page - send to pgsmith (at symbol) charter (dot) net or mail to:
Alabama Celtic Association
P.O. Box 724
Trussville AL 35173
