{"id":98273,"date":"2024-03-14T11:22:33","date_gmt":"2024-03-14T15:22:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.genealogybank.com\/?p=98273"},"modified":"2024-03-14T11:22:55","modified_gmt":"2024-03-14T15:22:55","slug":"looking-back-on-bostons-st-patricks-day-evacuation-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/looking-back-on-bostons-st-patricks-day-evacuation-day.html","title":{"rendered":"Looking Back on Boston\u2019s St. Patrick\u2019s Day\/Evacuation Day"},"content":{"rendered":"

Introduction:<\/em><\/strong> In this article \u2013 to help celebrate St. Patrick\u2019s Day this Sunday \u2013 Melissa Davenport Berry shares photos and articles about the March 17 parade in Boston, when the city celebrates both St. Patrick\u2019s Day and Evacuation Day. Melissa is a genealogist who has a blog, AnceStory Archives<\/a>, and a Facebook group, New England Family Genealogy and History<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Here is a look back at St. Patrick\u2019s Day celebrations in Boston, Massachusetts. Some of the photos come from GenealogyBank\u2019s Historical Newspaper Archives<\/a> and others from the Boston Public Library Archives and Special Collections<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Boston holds a dual celebration on March 17 every year known as the St. Patrick\u2019s Day\/Evacuation Day Parade.<\/p>\n

It is an opportunity to pay homage to Saint Patrick, the patron saint or \u201cApostle of Ireland,\u201d and also to celebrate American liberty \u2013 which the Irish played a large hand in. Read more: Boston Tradition: The St. Patrick\u2019s\/Evacuation Day Parade<\/a>.<\/p>\n

1901: First Double Header<\/strong><\/p>\n

In 1901 Boston celebrated St. Patrick\u2019s Day along with the 125th anniversary of the evacuation of Boston by the British Army during the Revolutionary War. This was the first dual celebration and has remained a tradition ever since.<\/p>\n

This photo shows that 1901 parade as it was ready to move through South Boston, a neighborhood that was not only home to a robust Irish community, but was the site of Dorchester Heights, where the evacuation of British troops from Boston on 17 March 1776 was made possible.<\/p>\n

\"Photo:<\/a>
Photo: Boston\u2019s 1901 St. Patrick\u2019s Day\/Evacuation Day Parade. Credit: Boston Public Library Archives.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This photo below, from the Boston Herald<\/em>, features the South Boston Citizens Committee, one of the many organizations who oversaw the celebration activities in 1901. Read more on how Boston prepared at: American-Archives<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>
Boston Herald (Boston, Massachusetts), 16 March 1901, page 12<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

1908: Open House \u2013 Lasses Entertain Lavishly<\/strong><\/p>\n

In 1908 the Boston Journal<\/em> featured South Boston women who were keeping \u201cOpen House\u201d to observe St. Patrick\u2019s Day and Evacuation Day by entertaining visiting dignitaries and officials, including Maj. Gen. William P. Duvall.<\/p>\n

The newspaper published photos of four women keeping open house: (on the left) Miss Bertha Clarke; (on the right, from top to bottom) Mrs. John H. Means; Miss Gertrude Murphy; and Mrs. Daniel V. McIsaac.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>
Boston Journal (Boston, Massachusetts), 16 March 1908, page 5<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

1916: A \u201cBattle Royal\u201d between Mayor Curley and Winter Weather \u2013 Curley Won!<\/strong><\/p>\n

In 1916 Mayor James Michael Curley, determined to clear the streets for the parade, contracted over 500 men to dispose of the snow.<\/p>\n

\"Photos:<\/a>
Photos: men clearing snow for the parade. Credit: from the James M. Curley Scrapbook Collection, Boston Public Archives.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The snow was successfully removed but Jack Frost blew in some mighty cold air! The Boston Journal<\/em> reported that, despite that arctic chill, 6,000 men marched in the parade fueled by patriotism and love for all things Irish. More than 100,000 attended the parade: \u201cBiggest Ever Held.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>
Boston Journal (Boston, Massachusetts), 18 March 1916, page 1<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

1930: Snow Not a Problem This Year<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Photo:<\/a>
Photo: St. Patrick\u2019s Day\/Evacuation Day Parade, East Broadway, South Boston, 17 March 1930. Credit: Boston Public Library Archives.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

1949: Baby, Here I Come!<\/strong><\/p>\n

And I could not resist this babe featured in the Boston Traveler<\/em>. Seven-month-old Michael Melvin Shotwell sporting his lucky hat!<\/p>\n

\"Boston<\/a>
Boston Traveler (Boston, Massachusetts), 17 March 1949, page 22<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

1952: Southie Jammed for Double Celebration<\/strong><\/p>\n

Southie (South Boston) was crowded with \u201cmore than 150,000 admirers\u201d for the celebration in 1952.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>
Boston American (Boston, Massachusetts), 17 March 1952, page 5<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This article reports:<\/p>\n

Irish eyes smiled brighter today as more than 150,000 admirers of the Old Sod crowded into Southie to pay homage to St. Patrick and celebrate the 176th anniversary of the British evacuation of Boston.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

1965: Pre-Parade Dining at Dorgan\u2019s<\/strong><\/p>\n

In 1965 politicians feasted together on traditional Irish corned beef and cabbage at Dorgan\u2019s Restaurant in South Boston before the big parade. Dorgan\u2019s opened their doors in 1936 and is known as the location of the first St. Patrick’s Day breakfast for Boston politicians.<\/p>\n

\"Photo:<\/a>
Photo: Dorgan\u2019s Restaurant, South Boston. Credit: Boston Public Library Archives.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Happy St. Patrick\u2019s Day! Enjoy celebrating this Sunday \u2013 and may the Luck of the Irish be with you!<\/p>\n

Explore over 330 years of newspapers and historical records in GenealogyBank. Discover your family story! Start a 7-Day Free Trial<\/a><\/p>\n

Note on the header image:<\/em><\/strong> \u201cHappy St. Patrick\u2019s Day.\u201d Illustration credit: https:\/\/depositphotos.com\/home.html<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Melissa Davenport Berry shares photos and articles about the annual March 17 parade in Boston to celebrate both St. Patrick\u2019s Day and Evacuation Day.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":31,"featured_media":98301,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12703],"tags":[1059,58789,58785,49],"class_list":["post-98273","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-holidays","tag-boston","tag-evacuation-day","tag-saint-patricks-day","tag-st-patricks-day"],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/illustration-0314-2024-featured-graphic-st.-patricks-day.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98273","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/31"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=98273"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98273\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":98299,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98273\/revisions\/98299"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/98301"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=98273"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=98273"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=98273"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}