Andrew Carney (1794–1864) immigrated to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

in 1816. Carney partnered with Jacob Sleeper to form Carney & Sleeper, Clothiers. Carney was a wise investor and grew his fortune with investments in Boston's real estate market.Holloran, Peter. (Carney, Andrew (1794-1864)''Ireland and the Americas: Culture, Politics, and History Volume 1'', p. 155. ABC-CLIO, Inc., Santa Barbara. Carney's interests turned to finance and he assisted in founding the First National Bank of Boston and the John Hancock Insurance Company for which he worked as a director.Sammarco, Anthony. ''Andrew Carney of Carney Hospital'', Weblog Entry “The Forest Hills Educational Trust founded to preserve, enhance, interpret and celebrate historic Forest Hills Cemetery”.posted 2011-04-08, Retrieved 2012-06-05

/ref> Carney cared for the youth of Boston by founding the St. Vincent Home for Girls, and was a benefactor of the House of the Angel Guardian for Homeless Boys and the Home for Destitute Catholic Children. Carney worked with

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

leaders in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, and helped finance the Church of the Immaculate Conception and

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private university, private Catholic Jesuits, Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1863 by the Society of Jesus, a Catholic Religious order (Catholic), religious order, t ...

in 1863. Carney established Carney Hospital, the first Catholic hospital in New England in 1863.

Early years

Andrew Carney was born May 12, 1794, in Bellananagh,

County Cavan County Cavan ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is part of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Cavan and is based on the hi ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

.Dennis, Ryan. "Images of America, A Journey Through Boston Irish History". pp. 18, 20, 22. Arcadia Publishing, Charleston. As a young man he became an apprentice in the tailoring industry. He left Ireland and immigrated to

Boston, Massachusetts Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, in the

United States of America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguo ...

in 1816.

Business ventures

With tailoring skills in hand, Carney secured a job with Kelley and Hudson, tailors located on State Street in Boston. Carney left Kelly and Hudson to partner with a Methodist from Maine named Jacob Sleeper and established Carney & Sleeper, Clothiers on North Street in Boston's North End. In 1835, they received a contract to supply the U.S. Navy with uniforms. The Naval contract coupled with declining material and labor costs, caused by the

Panic of 1837 The Panic of 1837 was a financial crisis in the United States that began a major depression (economics), depression which lasted until the mid-1840s. Profits, prices, and wages dropped, westward expansion was stalled, unemployment rose, and pes ...

resulted in high profits.Holloran, Peter. "Boston’s Wayward Children: Social Services for Homeless Children, 1830-1930". pp. 72–73. Associated University Presses, Cranbury. The venture became one of the largest clothing houses of the times. However, in 1845 Carney & Sleeper Clothiers was dissolved leaving its two owners very wealthy.Treacy, Gerald. (Andrew Carney, Philanthropist) "Historical Records and Studies, Volume XIII". pp. 101–105. United States Catholic Historical Society, New York. Carney, then 50 years old, would initially devote his time to increasing his wealth by making prudent investments in Boston's real estate market. His interests in banking eventually lead him to assist in founding the First National Bank of Boston and the John Hancock Insurance Company for which he worked as a director.

Philanthropy

Andrew Carney had come to the United States a poor man with nothing but a tremendous work ethic. By 1850 he was one of the wealthiest Catholics in New England. He felt it was his God-given duty to help those in need and would use his wealth to do so. He would devote the rest of his life to providing the capital for purposes of public and catholic interests. In 1837 he was an organizer of the Montgomery Guards, an Irish-American militia company in Boston which was forced to disband due to nativist and

anti-Catholic Anti-Catholicism is hostility towards Catholics and opposition to the Catholic Church, its clergy, and its adherents. Scholars have identified four categories of anti-Catholicism: constitutional-national, theological, popular and socio-cul ...

sentiment. Bishop John Bernard Fitzpatrick was looking to provide a Church for the Catholic community in the Fort Hill neighborhood of Boston. Carney provided the capital to purchase a Unitarian Church on E and West Third Street. On May 14, 1848, the Church of St. Vincent de Paul was opened for Catholic services.Treacy, Gerald. "History of the Catholic Church in the New England States, Volume I". pp. 139, 183. The Hurd & Everts Co., Boston. Carney was a major supporter of Father Theobold Mathew’s temperance crusade in 1850. Carney was a benefactor of the House of the Angel Guardian for Homeless Boys. This institution, established by Father George Foxcroft Haskins in 1851, was set up to provide a temporary home for homeless, neglected, or unmanageable boys 10 to 16 years of ageHaskins, George. "House of the Angel Guardian, Report for the Year Ending May 31, 1852". p. 5. Patrick Donahoe, Boston. and run by the Brothers of Charity. In 1833, Sister Ann Alexis Shorb and the

Sisters of Charity Many religious communities have the term Sisters of Charity in their name. Some ''Sisters of Charity'' communities refer to the Vincentian tradition alone, or in America to the tradition of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton (whose sisters are also of ...

founded the St. Vincent's Female Orphan Asylum (a.k.a. St. Vincent's Home for Girls)Handlin, Oscar. "Boston’s Immigrants, 1790-1880: A Study in Acculturation". p. 162. Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, Boston. where Carney served as a trustee. In April 1858 he donated $12,000 for the construction of new quarters located at the corner of Camden Street and Shawmut Avenue. The new brick structure was 4 stories tall and could house 20 sisters and 400 girls. Carney purchased land in Boston's South End and donated it to the church. The plot was used for the construction of the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in 1860. In 1863, Carney gifted Howe Mansion in South Boston, a $13,500 estate, to the

for the establishment of a Catholic hospital in Boston to care for the sick and poor, irrespective of race, color or creed. The Carney Hospital, under the direction of Sister Ann Alexis Shorb, opened its doors to its first patient on June 9, 1863. Carney Hospital was the first Catholic hospital in New England. Carney donated $45,295 during his life to the hospital, plus he would bequest an additional $20,000, for a total of $75,295. OldBClithograph

Carney played a major role in the founding of

and the Church of the Immaculate Conception. He donated $5000 plus all of the construction expensesO’Tool James (Summer 2007). ''The old man, A life in the fray prepared John McElroy for the start-up of Boston College'', Boston College Magazine. to John McElroy, S.J the person responsible for the planning and creation of the college and church, who would oversee the use of the gift to complete the projects. In 1858, Bishop Fitzpatrick and Father McElroy broke ground for

, and The Church of the Immaculate Conception. Classes began in the fall of 1864. In 1963, Carney Hall was erected on the grounds of the

campus in Chestnut Hill, in the memory of Andrew Carney."Campus Guide, Carney Hall=The Boston College Website".

'. Retrieved 2012-06-07. Carney was a benefactor of the Home for Destitute Catholic Children. This institution, established by Bishop

John Joseph Williams John Joseph Williams was an American bishop of the Roman Catholic Church. He was the fourth Bishop and first Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Boston, serving between 1866 and his death in 1907. Early life and education Williams was born in Bosto ...

in 1851, was set up to provide a temporary home for children 3 to 12 years old until they are placed in houses in the community. The children were cared for by the

Death

Andrew Carney died on Sunday, April 3, 1864. Over his life it is estimated that Carney gave $300,000 to support an unknown number of charities. His funeral was held at the Church of the Immaculate Conception and the services were attended by many prominent Bostonians including the

Governor of Massachusetts The governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is the head of government of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The governor is the chief executive, head of the state cabinet and the commander-in-chief of the commonw ...

, John Albion Andrew and members of his cabinet. Many Catholic business owners closed their businesses during the time of the Mass of Requiem out of respect for Carney. John McElroy, S.J., who had worked closely with Carney during the creation of Boston College gave the eulogy, part of which is recounted below: Carney was originally buried in the chapel located in Carney Hospital. His wife Pamelia, had the body exhumed and reinterred at the

Forest Hills Cemetery Forest Hills Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery, greenspace, arboretum, and sculpture garden in the Forest Hills section of Jamaica Plain, a neighborhood in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. The cemetery was established in 1848 as a pu ...

in the

Jamaica Plain Jamaica Plain is a Neighborhoods in Boston, neighborhood of in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Settled by Puritans seeking farmland to the south, it was originally part of Roxbury, Massachusetts, Roxbury. The community seceded from Roxbur ...

neighborhood of

.Dennis, Ryan. "Images of America, Forest Hills Cemetery". p. 88. Arcadia Publishing, Charleston.

References

External links

Carney HospitalBoston CollegeBoston College High SchoolForest Hills Cemetery
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carney, Andrew American financial businesspeople Philanthropists from Massachusetts Boston College people Irish emigrants to the United States 1794 births 1864 deaths Businesspeople from Boston 19th-century American philanthropists 19th-century American businesspeople