An Irish Serenade for President Cleveland

Continuing our celebration this week of both St. Patrick’s Day and the anniversary of President Grover Cleveland’s birth, we present this annotated report from the May 2, 1893, edition of the San Sabo (TX) News. The article describes how a group of Irish women from the Midway serenaded President Cleveland as he departed Chicago after the Opening Ceremony of the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition.

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OFF TO WASHINGTON

After leaving the exposition grounds the president went into the private car of Second Vice President Harrigan (1) of the Illinois Central road, which was in waiting. A parting reception was held in the car and for ten minutes the exposition officials shook hands and said pleasant things to the chief executive, while he in turn thanked them for the warm reception and assured them the exposition was a grand success.

While the reception was in progress a wagonette with six white-capped and white aproned young ladies drove up to the station. They alighted and hastened to President Cleveland’s car. Without ado the young women stood before the president and soon the sweet notes of “Let Her Remember the Days of Old” (2) floated out. The singers were three dairy maids and three sales girls from the Irish village in Midway plaisance. President Cleveland listened attentively to the music and when it was finished showed his appreciation by thanking each one of the singers.

Lord and Lady Aberdeen (3) presented the president and Secretary Gresham (4) each with a genuine black thorn cane and a little gilded Columbian badge and sent Mrs. Cleveland a delicate lace handkerchief made by the girls in the Irish village.

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FOOTNOTES

(1) This reference to “Harrigan” is almost certainly meant to be railroad executive Edward H. Harriman (1848–1909), who served a director of the Illinois Central RR from 1883 to 1909, and served as its vice president from 1887-1890.

(2) “Let Erin Remember the Days of Old” is a popular Irish song.

(3) In 1893, John Campbell Hamilton-Gordon (Lord Aberdeen) was appointed governor general of Canada and Ishbel Maria Hamilton-Gordon, Marchioness of Aberdeen and Temair, became viceregal consort of Canada. We previously reprinted an excerpt of Lady Aberdeen’s 1893 essay “Ireland at the World’s Fair.”

(4) Walter Q. Gresham served as Cleveland’s Secretary of State.