Jane "Jenny" Mitchel ( – 31 December 1899) was an Irish

nationalist Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...

who joined her husband,

John Mitchel John Mitchel (; 3 November 1815 – 20 March 1875) was an Irish nationalism, Irish nationalist writer and journalist chiefly renowned for his indictment of British policy in Ireland during the years of the Great Famine (Ireland), Great Famin ...

, in exile in the United States where, with their sons, they sided on a pro-slavery platform with the secessionist South in the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

Early life and family

Jane Mitchel was born Jane Verner around 1820 near

Newry Newry (; ) is a City status in Ireland, city in Northern Ireland, standing on the Newry River, Clanrye river in counties County Down, Down and County Armagh, Armagh. It is near Republic of Ireland–United Kingdom border, the border with the ...

, County Down. At the time she, her brother and her mother Mary Ward were living with Captain James Verner (1777–1847). James Verner was from a prominent

Armagh Armagh ( ; , , " Macha's height") is a city and the county town of County Armagh, in Northern Ireland, as well as a civil parish. It is the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland – the seat of the Archbishops of Armagh, the Primates of All ...

family, and was involved in the

Orange Order The Loyal Orange Institution, commonly known as the Orange Order, is an international Protestant fraternal order based in Northern Ireland and primarily associated with Ulster Protestants. It also has lodges in England, Grand Orange Lodge of ...

, going on to become Orange deputy grandmaster of Ireland in 1824. Although James Verner raised Mitchel, she is not believed to be his child. Mitchel attended Miss Bryden's School for Young Ladies in Newry. Mitchel met her husband,

, when she was 15. The couple eloped in November 1836, but did not marry as James Verner pursued them to Chester and brought her home to Ireland. They eloped again in 1837, and were married at

Drumcree Church Drumcree Parish Church, officially The Church of the Ascension, is the Church of Ireland parish church of Drumcree in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It sits on a hill in the townland of Drumcree, outside Portadown. It is a site and structure o ...

, County Armagh on 3 February. At this point Mitchel was disowned by James Verner, and went to live with her in-laws at Dromalane, County Down. They then moved to

Banbridge Banbridge ( ) is a town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies on the River Bann and the A1 road and is named after a bridge built over the Bann in 1712. It is in the civil parish of Seapatrick and the historic barony of Iveagh Upper ...

in 1839 where her husband practised law. The couple went on to have six children, three daughters and three sons. The couple moved to Dublin in October 1845 when John Mitchel became the assistant editor of ''

The Nation ''The Nation'' is a progressive American monthly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper ...

''. They lived at 8 Ontario Terrace,

Rathmines Rathmines (; ) is an inner suburb on the Southside (Dublin), Southside of Dublin in Ireland. It begins at the southern side of the Grand Canal of Ireland, Grand Canal and stretches along the Rathmines Road as far as Rathgar to the south, Ranela ...

, where there were

Young Ireland Young Ireland (, ) was a political movement, political and cultural movement, cultural movement in the 1840s committed to an all-Ireland struggle for independence and democratic reform. Grouped around the Dublin weekly ''The Nation (Irish news ...

ers met. She was a full supporter of her husband's nationalism. She aided in his work with ''The Nation'', reading other newspapers, keeping and filing reference clippings, going on to become and editor and anonymous contributor to the '' United Irishman'' from February 1848. John Mitchel was convicted of

treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state (polity), state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to Coup d'état, overthrow its government, spy ...

for inciting insurrection in May 1848, and was sentenced to fourteen years' transportation. Mitchel urged his fellow Young Irelanders to fight his removal, and denounced them when they failed to come out in support of him.

Exile

Due to her standing in the nationalist community, £1,450 was raised to support her and her family. For three years, Mitchel lived in Newry and Dublin, before she joined her husband

Van Diemen's Land Van Diemen's Land was the colonial name of the island of Tasmania during the European exploration of Australia, European exploration and colonisation of Australia in the 19th century. The Aboriginal Tasmanians, Aboriginal-inhabited island wa ...

(Tasmania) in June 1851, where they settled in the village of Bothwell. Their youngest child, Isabel, was born there in 1853. The Mitchels travelled around the island with her husband, visiting fellow Irish exiles, becoming fond of

William Smith O'Brien William Smith O'Brien (; 17 October 1803 – 18 June 1864) was an Irish republicanism, Irish republican who, in the course of Ireland's Great Famine (Ireland), Great Famine, had been converted to the cause of Irish nationalism, national i ...

in particular. When John Mitchel escaped in July 1853, Mitchel travelled with her children to join him in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, from where they sailed to

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 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. They lived for a time in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, New York from 1853 to 1855, rekindling friendships with old friends who were fellow Young Ireland exiles. In May 1855, the family moved to a remote farm at Tucaleechee Cove in the Allegheny Mountains, Tennessee. Mitchel feared that the isolation and life in a primitive log cabin would be detrimental to their children's education, and at her behest the family moved to

Knoxville Knoxville is a city in Knox County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the Tennessee River and had a population of 190,740 at the 2020 United States census. It is the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division ...

, Tennessee in September 1856. From here John Mitchel ran a pro-

slavery Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

newspaper, the ''Southern Citizen''. The family moved again in December 1858 to

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

Mitchel supported her husband in the Southern cause, albeit with some reservation. Nothing, she said, would induce her "to become the mistress of a slave household". Her objection to slavery was "the injury it does to the white masters". Mitchel accompanied her husband to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

in September 1860, and in opposition to some of the family, she supported her daughter Henrietta's conversion to

Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

and entrance into a convent. She remained in Paris and Ireland with her daughters, while her husband and sons assisted the Confederacy during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

. Without letting her husband know, Mitchel resolved to return to America when she heard of her youngest son, William's, death at Gettysburg in July 1863. She sailed with her daughters, Mary and Isabel, as Henrietta had died earlier the same year. Whilst their ship ran a blockade by the Union, the ship was shelled, ran aground, and caught fire near the coast of

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

. Mitchel and her daughters were unhurt, but lost all of their possessions. By December 1863, Mitchel had joined her husband in

Richmond, Virginia Richmond ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. Incorporated in 1742, Richmond has been an independent city (United States), independent city since 1871. ...

, remaining their for the rest of the Civil War. Their eldest son, John, was killed in action in July 1864.

Later life

The family returned to New York after the war, and John Mitchel set up another paper, the Irish Citizen (1867–72). Due to lack of funding for the Irish-American press and her husband's ill health resulted in the family falling into poverty. This was alleviated by a testimonial raised by William and

John Dillon John Dillon (4 September 1851 – 4 August 1927) was an Irish politician from Dublin, who served as a Member of Parliament (MP) for over 35 years and was the last leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party. By political disposition, Dillon was a ...

in 1873. Mitchel was widowed in March 1875, going on to receive $30,000 from nationalist sympathisers. She invested this money in a

photolithographic Photolithography (also known as optical lithography) is a process used in the manufacturing of integrated circuits. It involves using light to transfer a pattern onto a substrate, typically a silicon wafer. The process begins with a photosensit ...

firm she and her son, James, ran. Mitchel died at home in Bedford Park, New York on 31 December 1899. She is buried in Woodlawn cemetery, New York, with her plot marked with a large Celtic cross. She was survived by two of her children, James (1840–1908) and Mary (1846–1910).

Early life and family

Exile

Later life

References

Further reading