Summary
Personal Information
Voyage
Transportation
Michael Harrington was transported on the Hougoumont, departing 10th Oct 1867 and arriving 9th Jan 1868 with 281 passengers.
875 ton ship was built at Moulmein in 1852. http://www.australiangeographic.com.au/journal/on-this-day-in-history-australias-last-convict-ship-docks.htm ---------------------------- Incorrect Image ....This is a four masted steel hulled Barque in the drawing , im surprised Australian Geo didn't do a bit more research on this .......The Hougoumont was a works ship on the Forth Bridge Project in 1885 ....the one potrayed as a drawing in Aust Geo is the later version of this ship.....the photograph i have attached is the correct and original convict vessel. --00-- 1867 "The hired convict ship Hougoumont, which has been taken up by the Government for the conveyance of a numerous party of convicts to Freemantle, Western Australia, left the Nore on October 1, and proceeded down Channel, after receiving on board 150 convicts from the establishments at Chatham and Millbank. The convicts from the Chatham establishment, at St. Mary's, embarked from the dockyard on board the paddle-wheel steamer Adder, Mr. W. J. Blakely, and were in charge of a numerous party of convict guards and wardens, all heavily armed. Among the convicts shipped were a party of fifteen Fenians, who were engaged in the late conspiracy in Ireland, together with the officers and crew convicted of scuttling the ship Severn, and some others who have achieved notoriety from their crimes. The Fenian convicts, like the remainder of the prisoners, were chained together in gangs, but it was observed that they were kept apart from the other convicts in a portion of the vessel by themselves. The steamer Petrel also took down a number of convicts from the establishment at Millbank for shipment on board the Hougoumont, in charge of a strong escort and convict guard. On Tuesday, October 8th, the Hougoumont arrived in Portland roads. Shortly before midday ninety convicts were marched down to the Government pier at Portland under a strong escort of the 12th Light Infantry. The party included twenty-three Fenian convicts, among whom it was said, was Moriarty. The Government steamer employed in the breakwater service was used for conveying the convicts on board the Hougoumont transport ship. The convicts were chained together on embarking, and on board the steamer a strong guard of marines from her Majesty's ship St. George was formed, and saw the convicts safely placed on board the Hougoumont. The Governor of the penal settlement at Freemantle, Captain Young, is on board the Hougoumont, and returns in that ship to his sphere of duty after paying a visit to his native land." Source: Sydney Morning Herald, Thu 19 Dec 1867, p4, English Shipping, available on Trove at https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/28608271?searchTerm=hougoumont.
HougoumontReferences
| Primary Source | Australian Joint Copying Project. Microfilm Roll 93, Class and Piece Number HO11/19, Page Number 264. Western Australia, Convict Records, Registers(128/40-43), Reel No.FCN42 and General Register, Ref.No. ACC1156/R16. |
| Source Description | This record is one of the entries in the British convict transportation registers 1787-1867 database compiled by State Library of Queensland from British Home Office (HO) records which are available on microfilm as part of the Australian Joint Copying Pro |
| Original Source | Great Britain. Home Office |
| Compiled By | State Library of Queensland |
| Database Source | British convict transportation registers 1787-1867 database |
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Convict Notes
GRAVESTONES UNVEILED!: 2022, 15 October: The final two of the grave markers for the "Catalpa Six" were unveiled at a commemoration ceremony in Calvary Cemetery. From the Fenian Memorial Committee of America at https://fenianmca.org/: "The work of the Fenian Memorial Committee of America is centered on remembering the Fenians and other Irish revolutionaries who are buried in the USA. On Saturday, October 15, 2022, a crowd of over 125 people gathered at the graves of Fenians Michael Harrington and Thomas Hassett in Calvary Cemetery, Queens, NY. Both were Catalpa escapees from the infamous Fremantle Gaol in Western Australia. Thanks to our supporters, we were able to raise the necessary funds to accomplish this, even though we had to endure a drought of donations during the pandemic. It took us a lot longer than we intended–almost three years–but we did it. Many organizations and individuals generously sent money and helped with logistics and publicity. We thank all of you who helped with this effort. We especially want to thank Joe Byrne and Ed Johnson, FMCA board members, for their tireless work on this project, as well as our matching fund donor, Peter Kissell of Washington, D.C. who remained anonymous until we reached our goal. We are also grateful to Dennis McCarthy and officers of The County Cork PB&B of NY, James McGlashin of the FMCA Board and the many volunteers, especially members of the O’Donovan Rossa GAA Club form Astoria, Queens who helped organize and prepare on the day itself. Andrew Nagle, administrator of Calvary Cemetery was also a tremendous help. Annie and Tomas McLaughlin helped with photos and layout and design of the memorial booklet. Our thanks go out to the speakers, musicians and singers, color guard, attending priests and great-grandson of the Catalpa Captain, George Anthony. They all helped this be a day to remember and to renew our pride in our Fenian heritage. Read more about the voyage of the Catalpa and the effort to recognize Fenians Hassett and Harrington at Irish America" (see https://www.irishamerica.com/2021/02/the-catalpa/). --00----00--
Footnote 2: 2021, 19 August: George Thomas McLaughlin and his Fenian Memorial Committee of America were still campaigning to memorialise all of the “Catalpa six”. Writing in the The Gaelic American, he recapped their progress to date: “Our committee placed… headstones or markers at the graves of Catalpa escapees James McNally Wilson, Robert Cranston, Thomas Darragh and Martin Hogan previously. We are currently raising funds to erect gravestones for their comrades Michael Harrington and Thomas Hassett who lie in unmarked graves in Calvary Cemetery in Queens, N.Y. To contribute and stay up to date with our campaign, please visit fenianmca.org A graveside centenary commemoration of James McNally Wilson’s death followed by a fundraising social will be taking place at the Galway Pub in Pawtucket, RI, on Saturday, November 6, 2021. The Gaelic American will provide more details closer to the time.”
In 2020, the Irish Echo reported on plans by the New York Fenian Memorial Committee of America “to erect memorials to two of the Catalpa Six, Michael Harrington and Thomas Hassett... ‘If we are to accomplish the task of erecting memorials to the two Cork Fenians who escaped on the Catalpa we need participation and support in the New York metropolitan area,’ said organizer George McLaughlin in an email message to supporters. McLaughlin has been on a mission for some years working to memorialize Fenians who are interred around the United States. Along with his fellow committee members he has ensured the placing of markers and tombstones at the graves of four of the Catalpa Six as well as Father Patrick McCabe of Gowna, County Cavan… Harrington and Hassett are the two remaining Catalpa men in need of memorials. They rest in Calvary Cemetery, Queens.” (https://www.irishecho.com/2020/2/meeting-to-discuss-harrington-and-hassett-memorials)
FOOTNOTE: The Friendly Sons of St Patrick note that “Michael Harrington and Thomas Hassett passed away in the early 1890s, their health ruined in prison.” (https://friendlysonsofsaintpatrick.com/2010/09/catalpa-the-rescue/) At the start of a fundraising drive in 2017, a post on their site read: “None of the Catalpa Six ever returned to Ireland. All remained until their deaths, in America, including the two old comrades, James McNally Wilson who lived out his life in Central Falls and Pawtucket, Rhode Island, where he is buried, and Martin Hogan, who spent the remainder of his life in Chicago, Illinois. Through the efforts of Irish-Americans in Rhode Island and Chicago, a memorial stone and a grave marker have been erected for those two men. Two others are buried in Calvary Cemetery in New York—Thomas Hassett and Michael Harrington.” (https://friendlysonsofsaintpatrick.com/2017/10/remembering-the-fenians-thomas-darragh-robert-cranston-102817/)
Death and obituaries: 1886, 14 February – from the New York Times, p2: “Death of a well-known Fenian: Michael Harrington’s rescue from New South Wales [sic]. Michael Harrington, the eldest of the six Fenian prisoners who were rescued from New South Wales [sic] by the American whaler Catalpa in 1876, died on Friday night [12 February] of pneumonia at the residence of his brother-in-law, Edward Whelan, No. 111 East One Hundred and Eighth-street." --0-- 1886, 29 May – from the Goulburn Herald, p6: “MICHAEL HARRINGTON. – A recent issue of the New York Times records the death in that city of Michael Harrington, the eldest of the six Fenian prisoners who were rescued from Western Australia by the American whaler Catalpa in 1876. The Times also gives some particulars of the career of this adventurer, and of the interesting episode referred to, and in doing so falls into the curious error of representing the escape from Western Australia as having been made from ‘an isolated island at New South Wales.' ‘The fifty-four years of Harrington's life,’ it is remarked, ‘were full of romantic interest. He was born in Cork. While a young man he enlisted in her Majesty's 61st Regiment just in time to serve in the Sepoy rebellion and Indian mutiny. He fought in thirteen engagements, was wounded, and returned to England, where he continued his military service until he lacked but one year of the time to retire on a pension. This was in 1866, when the mine of Fenianism was about to be fired in Ireland. Harrington deserted his regiment, and hastened to Ireland to join the uprising, but was arrested at Dublin, and was brought before a court martial, charged with desertion and high treason. He was sentenced to be shot; but the penalty was commuted to penal servitude for life, and he was transported, with a number of others, to the isolated island at New South Wales. In 1875 the Clan-na-Gael Society in New York secretly discussed a plan for the rescue of the prisoners. The result was that the whaler Catalpa was purchased at New Bedford, and put in readiness for a whaling trip. Meanwhile John J. Breslin reached Australia and began to pose as an American millionaire. He sought the convict island, and was quickly in communication with the Fenian prisoners without any suspicion on the part of the guards. The Catalpa had left San Francisco with a crew totally ignorant of the real object of the expedition, the captain alone knowing that Dennis Duggin, the agent of the Clan-na-Gael Society, who had shipped as carpenter, had fixed New South Wales as the destination of the vessel. The blind was successful. In April 1876 Breslin and Duggin completed their communications and on the day of the English Easter festival, the six convicts began their perilous journey of twenty miles to the distant whaler. The vessel was hardly under sail before the British corvette Georgietta [sic] was discovered in chase. The escaping Fenians were heavily armed and desperate to the last degree. The American flag was run up, and when the corvette overhauled them Smith*** proclaimed the neutrality of the waters, and dared the Englishmen to fire on the American flag. The Catalpa pressed on, and landed the Fenians in New York city in August 1876. Harrington was married two months later, and subsequently served on the Park police. The other five rescued ones are still living. Hassett keeps a saloon on Sullivan-street, Hogan is in Chicago, and Wilson, Darrel [sic], and Cranston are in Philadelphia.’” (https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/99904456) Note: *** It was Captain George Anthony who said the Catalpa was sailing under the American flag and she was on the high seas. “If you fire on me,” Anthony told Colonel Harvest on the Georgette, “I warn you that you are firing on the American flag.” (Pease, p159) --0--
1876, 9 September: From The Pilot, Boston: “The rescued prisoners’ grand reception in Boston On the 1st inst., a grand entertainment was given in Music Hall for the benefit of the released prisoners, who were present. The immense hall was crowded; nearly every seat on floor and galleries was filled. The stage was fitted up with a handsome proscenium, the Sheil Literary Institute playing the patriotic drama of Robert Emmet. The greatest credit is due to the management committee. Polite ushers were in attendance, and not the least hitch occurred in the whole evening's entertainment. The address was delivered by John E. Fitzgerald, Esq., who was greeted with thundering applause. He pictured in graphic words the condition of Ireland for centuries; while Poland and other struggling nationalities had been wiped from the map, the intense individualism of the Irish as a nation had preserved them. The movement for which these gallant fellows had suffered was the embodiment of the national idea. (Applause.) ... the demand for the appearance of the rescued prisoners was imperious, and had to be gratified, though it was intended by the committee that the men should not be paraded. But the call was so strong and kindly that the bronzed men appeared on the stage, and were introduced by Mr. Fitzgerald. The greeting they received will never be forgotten. It was plain how deep a chord their suffering and escape has struck in the Irish heart. They numbered six, though Mr. Wilson, one of the rescued men, was not present; his place was filled by Mr. William Foley, the ex-prisoner who arrived in this country about two months ago. The entertainment was a complete success; and, besides its value as a patriotic safety-valve, it will add a considerable sum to the testimonial to be presented to the ex-prisoners, to enable them to begin life in this new country under fair circumstances." --0--
1876, 17 April: The whaler Catalpa with the six military Fenians aboard sailed for America. At two o'clock on the morning of 19 August, 1876, the Catalpa anchored off Castle Garden, New York. --0-- 1867, 14 June: From the NSW Police Gazette, p189: “Extracts from the Western Australia Police Gazette… 10th May 1876 Absconders... Michael Harrington, Imperial Convict, Reg. No. 9757; arrived in the Colony per convict ship ‘Hougoumont’, 1868; received life sentence 7th July, 1866. Description: Middling stout, age 36 years, height 5 feet 8 inches, brown hair, light gray eyes, long visage, fresh complexion. Marks: D left side, pockmarked. Fenian. Absconded 8.30a.m. from Fremantle, on 17th April. Escaped from the Colony in the American whaler ‘Catalpa’, G. Anthony, Master.” --0--
From his Fremantle jail record: HARRINGTON, Michael; prisoner #9757; arrived 10 Jan 1868 per Hougoumont Date of Birth: 1826 Place of Birth: Goleen, County Cork Marital Status: Unmarried Occupation: Labourer Literacy: Literate Sentence Place: Dublin Crime: Mutinous conduct & deserting Sentence Period: Life Previous Convictions: Yes Comments: One of 62 Fenians transported on the Hougoumont, the last convict ship sent to Australia. Its arrival at Fremantle on 9 Jan 1868 signalled the end of transportation to this country. One of six Fenians, Robert CRANSTON (9702), Thomas DARRAGH (9707), Michael HARRINGTON (9757), Martin HOGAN (9767), Thomas HASSETT (9758) & James WILSON (9915) who escaped from Fremantle Prison on the US whaler Catalpa, 17 Apr 1876. Ex 61st Regiment. Held at Mountjoy, Dublin & Pentonville, England (https://fremantleprison.com.au/). --00--
1868, 10 January: On arrival in WA, Michael Harrington was listed as #9757, 40 years old, single and a labourer (Western Australia, Australia, Convict Records, 1846-1930; Convict Department Registers (128/40 - 43)). This record also contains his physical description. On the General Register, there are no details about his next of kin. He was able to read and write and was a Roman Catholic. His character prior to arrival at Fremantle was “exemplary” and five previous jail terms were noted. The same document also records that in the normal course of events Michael Harrington would have been eligible for a Ticket of Leave in May 1879 (see Western Australia, Australia, Convict Records, 1846-1930; Convict Department, Registers; General Register for Nos 9059 - 9598 cont., 9599 - 10128 (R15 - R16)). --0-- 1869, 5 February: Thirty-five Fenians who had been transported to Western Australia (as well as others imprisoned in Great Britain) were given Free Pardons / “unconditionally discharged” by the House of Commons. Michael Harrington was not among them. He and the other 16 military Fenians at Fremantle were consigned to serve out their life sentences, or lesser terms up to 15 years, in WA. For a full list of those who received pardons, see the Melbourne Advocate, 22 May 1869, p4 (https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/169267360?). --0--
1866, 26 September: Michael Harrington was admitted to Millbank prison at Westminster in London, which served as a holding facility for convicted prisoners before they were transported to Australia. At Millbank, he was listed as a labourer and Private in the 61st Regt, No.2425. He was 39, a Roman Catholic, single, able to read and write imperfectly, charged with “treason (felony) mutinous conduct and desertion” and sentenced to penal servitude for life. His previous convictions were listed as “4 times by Regt Tribunal and once by Dist C’M” and his behaviour was described as “good”. During his previous confinements at Mountjoy and Pentonville he had undergone a total of 22 days in separate confinement. Next of Kin was his mother, Margaret Harrington, of Macroom, County Cork, Ireland (UK, Prison Commission Records, 1770-1951; Millbank Prison; Register of Prisoners 1866). Note: By the 1850s, Pentonville and Millbank were places for all male convicts to serve “their probationary term (now reduced to 9 months), after which they would be transported or sent to a public works prison. This function continued more or less (notable exceptions including the reception of military prisoners in the 1860s…) until the decision to remove it from the convict prison system in 1885” (https://www.prisonhistory.org). --0-- 1867, 16 April: After almost 7 months at Millbank, he was transferred to Chatham prison, east of London at St Mary’s Island in Kent. Chatham, a public works prison for male convicts, was notorious for riots in the 1860s (https://www.prisonhistory.org). --0-- 1867, 23 May: Five weeks later, Michael Harrington was sent south to Portsmouth, a convict public works prison, in Hampshire, where he was listed as prisoner #950. The record for his incarceration merely gives his name and dates of admission and departure. He remained at Portsmouth for just short of a fortnight (UK, Prison Commission Records, 1770-1951). --0-- 1867, 6 June: He was admitted to Dartmoor prison, at Princetown in Devon – along with Robert Cranston and James Kiely (see their pages on the Hougoumont roster). Dartmoor became a male convict public works prison in 1850 and within five years it was reserved for less able-bodied convicts (https://www.prisonhistory.org). There are no easily accessed inmate records for this time but Michael Harrington’s WA Convict Record shows he was received aboard the Hougoumont from Dartmoor prison. --00--