American Postmaster General's parents came from Meath

(James Farley should always have read James Farrelly)

American Postmaster General James Farley had Castletown, Co. Meath roots. Over 150 years ago, Castletown Kilpatrick, like the whole of Ireland was in the grip of famine. The fight for survival superseded any ambitions or hopes for the future. Confidence and morale were at an all-time low. Many Castletown people were forced to make the long one-way journey to America, the land of opportunity, writes Máire O Donoghue.

It was in the year 1850 that John Farrelly and his young wife Margaret, nee Gogarty of the Kingscourt parish left for Drogheda. Although fares were relatively cheap, the young couple had to walk from their little home in the parish of Castletown Kilpatrick, in the townland of Ballinaskerry, to the port some fifteen miles away. Despite their years of hard work, they had little more than the fare to spare because the landlord had the rest. That hard-earned money became “part of the big ranch destined for 70 years to be a unit in the economy policy that defined the bullock and dammed the forgotten man.” They crossed to Liverpool and from there, holed in the steerage section of the ship travelling to New York. They were among the lucky ones who survived the journey and the terrible conditions of these ships. On arrival at Ellis Island, New York, the immigration officials told them that from then on their name would be changed from Farrelly to Farley.

John Farrelly or Farley was 30 years of age when he disembarked on Ellis Island, a strong man in his prime, while Margaret was 8 years younger. They settled in Verplank’s Point, Westchester, New York State where both worked very hard to make a living so as to secure some favourable future for their children.

Their dedication was rewarded. One of their grandchildren James Aloysius Farley became Post-Master General of the US and National Chairman of the Democratic Party. The son of a brick-maker he was born in Grassy Point, Rockland County, New York on May 30th 1888. His father, very interested in politics, was a strong supporter of the Democratic Party. He died in 1897. James helped his mother run her grocery shop before moving to New York where he attended the Packard Commercial School. From 1911 to 1926 he was employed as bookkeeper and sales manager for the Universal Gysum Company. In 1924, he was appointed a member of the New York State Boxing Assembly. James Farley acquired a keen business mind and in 1926 he established his own business, which later merged with other firms to form the General Building Supply Company, of which he was President until 1933 and again in 1949.

Following his late father’s example, Farley took a keen interest in politics. As a young man, he became active in the Democratic Party and rose steadily up the political ladder. In 1918, he helped fellow Roman Catholic Alfred Smith become governor of New York. After Smith’s victory, he rewarded Farley with the post of New York Port warden. Eventually Farley became chairman of the party in New York.

His first political post was as town clerk for Stormy Point, New York. He was chairman of the Rockland County Democratic Committee from 1920 to 1929 and in 1923 was elected to the New York State Assembly. James was defeated for re-election the following year. As chairman of the New York State Assembly Committee in 1930, he launched the pre-nomination campaign for Franklin D. Roosevelt and was largely responsible for his nomination at the 1932 Democratic Convention.

He subsequently became chairman of the Democratic National Committee and in 1933 was appointed Postmaster General by President Roosevelt. He managed the Roosevelt campaign in 1936 with great success but in 1940 a split developed between Farley and the President when Farley opposed Roosevelt’s third term of Presidency. In 1939, James Farley was mentioned as a possible nominee for the Presidency, although a Catholic was never President before. In July 1940, he actually received the 2nd largest vote in the preliminary elections but unfortunately was unsuccessful in his bid for the candidacy. That year he decided to retire from national politics and resigned his cabinet post and his national party chairmanship. Farley then returned to the business world and was appointed Chairman of a Coco-Cola division. He remained powerful though in New York State politics until 1944, when he resigned as chairman of the State Democratic Committee.

He wrote two volumes of his autobiography, “Behind the Ballots in 1938” and published his memoirs in 1948 as “Jim Farley’s story, the Roosevelt years.”

James Farley did not forget his Irish roots. In 1936, this distinguished American statesman visited his ancestral home at Ballinaskerry, which is situated half a mile from the village of Castletown. He was accompanied by his confidential secretary, Ambrose O’Connell, also of Irish stock with Kerry-Cork affiliations and E. Rodden, a New York journalist of Irish extraction too. All that remained of the old homestead was a mound surrounded by a sunken terrain. He met his cousins, Mr and Mrs Peter McDonnell, Ladyrath and the Farrelly family, Leggagh. On the same occasion he met the local school children and was photographed accepting a copy of the Meath Chronicle from one of the pupils.

In April 1946, the former Post-Master General of USA once more visited his ancestral home. This time the UDC presented a special address to him on behalf of the people of Navan on the occasion of his visit.

James was entertained by the Meath GAA in Navan when he visited Meath in May 1952. The function was held in return for the kindness of Mr. Farley who looked after the interests of the Meath team and officials when they visited New York in 1951.

James had many uncanny gifts, but it was acknowledged that his photographic memory was the secret of his success. It was said that the number of people that Farley could call by their names ran into tens of thousands. His secretary told the story of a man in a small western city who was on a reception committee to welcome Farley and who 3 years later appeared in Washington, offering to bet that James Farley could not remember him. Always welcoming a challenge, Farley greeted the man by his first name, gave the names of the other members of the reception committee, recalled the hotel where they had lunch and described the menu. He then recalled the names of the speakers at the lunch and gave a synopsis of what they had said and finished by asking the astonished visitor about the health of his children, naming each one of them. A truly astonishing man!

In the summer of 1971 his grand-daughters and himself had a very interesting trip through Europe which culminated in an audience with Pope Paul V1, and a visit to ex-King Umberto who lived in Estoril Portugal. He had first met Umberto in Italy in 1946 when Umberto was King of Italy.
After a full and exciting life both politically and commercially, James Aloysius Farley died in New York on 9th June 1976 at the ripe old age of 88.