(Illustration above: New York City in 1851)
“What place is this, to which the squalid street conducts us? A kind of square of leprous houses, some of which are attainable only by crazy wooden stairs without. What lies behind this tottering flight of steps?…This is the place; these narrow ways diverging to the right and left, and reeking everywhere with dirt and filth…See how the rotten beams are tumbling down, and how the patched and broken windows seem to scowl dimly, like eyes that have been hurt in drunken forays.”
—excerpt from Charles Dickens, “American Notes”, written about one of New York’s Irish neighborhoods in 1842
“Good Morning, Good Morning! Newspaper, Newspaper!”, J.J cried while waving at businessmen on their way to work. Every morning around 5 am J.J. and his brother, Tom, joined a small army of children (some as young as four) who purchased newspapers to resell. After the death of their parents, the boys had been taken in by an aunt who sent them out on the streets to earn extra income. Determined to rise above his life as a “street rat”, J.J. spent his nights in New York public schools and dodged the influence of newsie gangs who pickpocketed and fought over territory.
tragedy strikes a poor immigrant family
Michael and Julia (Dwyer) Carroll immigrated to New York during the Irish potato famine, in the late 1840’s with two daughters and a son. In 1849, Julia gave birth to John Joseph “J.J.” Carroll in New York City.
“These ‘Famine Irish’ were mostly Catholic, mostly desparately poor, undeducated and illiterate, many of them speaking only Gaelic; they were starving serfs, brutalized and demoralized by their English overlords back home, unskilled and terribly ill-equipped for life in the great metropolis. Few came willingly, and many were packed off by their landlords, who found it cheaper to get rid of the starving tenants than to keep them. The infamous “coffin ships” that hauled them were as dismal as any slave ship. In the city, unemployment among these immigrants was desperately high.” -excerpt from “City of Sedition: The History of New York City during the Civil War”
Michael and Julia Carroll died when the children were very young. After their death, their two daughters became nuns, while the young boys were taken in by an aunt who sent them onto the streets to earn money which she collected at the end of each day. At the age of 16 the elder brother, Tom, grew weary of selling newspapers for the aunt and ran away. J.J. followed suit, taking a steamboat to St. Louis at the age of 14. J.J. would never hear from his brother again.
a new life
During the five years he lived in St. Louis, J.J. took business courses and discovered his aptitude for bookkeeping. In 1868 he boarded a steamboat to Warrensburg, Missouri and then caught a carriage ride into the country, looking for farm work. The man who owned the carriage directed J.J. to speak to the owner of a large, nearby farm, who was looking for hands. When J.J. asked the man’s name to give the farmer, the man told him to “say Jesse James sent you”.
J.J. settled down in Warrensburg, Missouri and married Sarah Welborn in 1870. The couple had four children before moving to Quenemo, Kansas in 1880, where Sarah gave birth to three more children. J.J. took a job as manager of a grain business during a local economic boom, spawned when the AT&SF railroad was built through town.
While in Quenemo J.J. took an active political role in the People’s Party (Populist Party) who fought for the rights of poor farmers against the banks, railroads and the Eastern elites.
In 1896, J.J. moved his family to Neodesha, Kansas, where he would eventually work as the Neodesha City Clerk. After giving birth to their eighth child his wife, Sarah, died in In 1898. Four years later, J.J. remarried Louisa Woodring and the couple became an active part of the Neodesha social scene, hosting parties and joining several fraternal societies.
the golden era of fraternal societies
From the 1870’s to 1920’s fraternal societies were all the rage. J.J. embraced this trend as an active member of such organizations as the (KL of S) Knights and Ladies of Security, (AOUW) Ancient Order of United Workmen, (IOOF) Independent Order of Odd Fellows, The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, (MWA) Modern Woodmen of America, and the (AF&AM) Ancient Free & Accepted Masons.
J.J. held significant roles in his Freemason lodges, serving as a Junior Warden, Senior Deacon, and Secretary.
later years
J.J. spent his entire life working to defy the odds and rise above his childhood status as an orphan and “street rat”. His final years were spent enjoying life with his children and grandchildren. In 1940, John Joseph Carroll died in the home of his daughter Myrtle, at the age of 91. His obituary heralded him as a good and kindly man, with many friends, who was always willing to lend a hand for the good of the community.
sources and additional information
Street-rats and Gutter-snipes: Child Pickpockets and Street Culture in New York City, 1850-1900
