Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1876-1993 (Creation)
Level of description
Extent and medium
126pp
Context area
Archival history
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Content and structure area
Scope and content
Photocopies of temperance memoirs written by Irish emigrants to the United States, including:
-Jeremiah 'Jerry' McAuley (1876), Transformed; or, The History of a River Thief, Briefly Told (New York: self-published). McAuley immigrated to New York City at age 13 and joined gangs of ""river thieves"" who stole from ships and docks along the Fourth Ward and Water Street slums. At age 19, he was falsely accused of highway robbery and sentenced to over 15 years in Sing Sing prison. While imprisoned, he was influenced by the testimony of Orville 'Awful' Gardiner, a converted prizefighter and thief. McAuley began reading the Scriptures and experienced a religious conversion. He was pardoned and released in March 1864. After a brief struggle with his old habits, he fully committed to his faith and, alongside his wife Maria, founded the Water Street Mission in 1872, widely recognised as the first homeless shelter/resuce mission in the United States;
-Excerpt of Owen Kildare (1903), My Mamie Rose: The Story of My Regeneration (New York: Baker & Taylor). Kildare grew up in a tenement in the Bowery, New York. Kildare candidly shares his experiences of hardship and longing, establishing the foundation for his eventual awakening and desire to strive for a better life.
Also included is a copy of the Fall 1993 edition of Seaport magazine featuring multiple articles on alcoholism, prostitution, and McAuley's Bowery Mission.