When he died in 1848 Cornelius Heeney, an Irish emigrant of the late 18th century to the USA, was among the wealthiest and most influential men in the country, yet his story goes far beyond wealth or influence.
Over the course of his life, Heeney contributed land and money to many churches and orphan asylums in New York and Brooklyn, including New York’s first Catholic Church, St Peters. [Read more…] about Cornelius Heeney: Irish Immigrant, Philanthropist