Certainly one of the most interesting people whose life touched those of many McKevitts was a well known eccentric Protestant cleric, Frederic Augustus Hervey, Earl of Bristol, and Bishop of Derry from 1768 to 1803. Employed in his household was a woman whose name was McKevitt. Having residences both in Derry and in Bristol, England, the Bishop apparently spent the majority of his time in England. When he and the missus witnessed the miracle of childbirth, and brought forth a son, the good Bishop turned care of the little tad over to the Irish woman, as wet nurse. Since Bishop Hervey was taken up with other matters, the boy grew in the Irish woman's family. It was not until the lad was twelve years old that His Excellency the Bishop decided to retrieve his young son, only to learn that the boy was Catholic, had received the sacraments both of First Communion and Confirmation, and wished to have nothing to do with the likes of himself the Bishop. Cut sorely to the quick by the news, Frederic Augustus Hervey, Earl of Bristol and Bishop of Derry ordered that for their payment the entire lot of the McKevitts be killed, and the effort commenced. Or it would have commenced had not an Irish servant of the Bishop's less than Christian intention alerted the family, and it was off they fled, to the south. And thus it was that some McKevitts reached County Louth, and there it was that they settled in a place called Templetown.

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                                 Captain Henry McKavett, U.S. Army, The Hero of Monterrey

Monterrey, Mexico, 1846 — The date was September 21, and as a young Irish officer commanding the Army’s 8th Infantry Regiment was preparing his troops for the Battle of Monterrey, he was asked to report to 2nd Division Commanding General William Jenkins Worth. The question was put to him: In recognition of his meritorious service on May 9 at the battle of Resaca De La Palma, did Captain McKavett wish to retire from further combat? His reply was swift:

                                    “I have too much fighting Irish blood in me to withdraw!”

         Few references are made to him in military annals. A fort in Texas named for him spells his name as McKavett, but the main street of the neighboring townof Mason, Texas is rendered as McKevitt Avenue. Jerry M. Sullivan, author of the book, Fort McKavett: A Texas Frontier Post, concedes that Yes, the name is seen both ways. Tradition has it that Henry McKavett appears first in history as a fourteen year old orphaned lad on the streets of New York. There he surely must have impressed some influential person, who would have sponsored him for enrollment at West Point. Like Henry McKevitt, General Worth was a citizen of NewYork and was, for a time, Commandant of Cadets at West Point. Simple logic would suggest that his mentor must have been Gen. Worth, for whom Fort Worth was named. Although an orphan, he must have—as was said at the time—known his letters, since it is doubtful that he entered West Point as an illiterate person. Texas military historian M.L. Crimmins describes Henry McKavett as having “...a literary flare, and his spirited, stylistic verbal sketches of Mexico had wide circulation through the press of the country.” Henry McKavett graduated from West Point July 1, 1834, and ranked 24th in his class. Commissioned 2nd Lt., he was concurrently assigned to duty with the 7th Infantry Regiment, and promoted to 1st Lt. on December 25, 1837. On October 1, 1840, Henry McKavett was transferred to the 8th Infantry Regiment, and promoted to the rank of Captain. Whether Henry McKavett made the statement, "...too much fighting Irish blood...", or it was the work of a friendly redactor cannot be known. Such lofty rhetoric was not inconsistent with the mores, or accepted conventions, of educated society during that era. Nor was it inconsistent with a spirited and stylistic literary flare. In a September 24, 1846 letter to his wife, Lt. Napoleon Jackson Tecumseh Dana wrote of events of Monday, September 21: “Our killed and wounded cannot now be accurately estimated. Captains Lewis, Morris, Barbour, Field, and Lt. Irwin, 3rd Infantry, and Captain McKavett, 8th Infantry...are among the slain. At...dawn on the morning of the 21st we were again in motion. We marched for half an hour when we came within range of the guns on the heights in the rear of the Bishop’s Palace, and they commenced on us with both shot and shells. They fired on us until we began to get too far for much execution. Scarcely had the hill ceased firing when we came suddenly on a regiment of the enemy’s lancers formed...behind the point of a hill. The 8th Infantry had advanced upon the enemy, and before the line of battle was fully formed they were put to flight... Soon a piece of heavy artillery commenced playing upon us, and the first shot came right in our midst. We saw that that was no place for us, so after standing that close, shooting for near an hour, we drew off a little farther, just out of range, not, however, until Captain McKavett of the 8th had been killed dead.” Note: “The shot came out under his breast, and carried all his vitals with it.”

                                                       A POST SCRIPT

“November 16: Whiting has progressed a good way with another picture, which will be a very beautiful one. The view is taken from where our column stood in the road under the cannonade of the two hills where Captain McKevitt was killed. The column will be represented in the picture and will of course make it more interesting.”    —Lt. N. J. T. Dana, U.S. Army

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Author's Note: Paulina Agnes McKevitt died August 14, 1996, a victim of early onset Altzeimer's Disease. Paulina won beauty competitions in and around Boston, MA, now too numerous to count. She was Miss Boston of 1944, and First Runner-Up to Miss America, that year Venus Ramey of Washington, D.C. Declining countless movie contract offers, Paulina remained as Boston's top model for many years.

      Hugh Francis McDavitt, whose name would, in his son's lifetime, change to McKevitt, was born in 1741, somewhere along the Derry/Tyrone border. Hugh's mother's maiden name was Mary O'Cahan. According to tradition, her grandfather, Turlough O'Doherty, was killed in the Rebellion of 1641. Around 1768, Hugh Francis, now nicknamed "Hugh the Hare," ran afoul of legal authorities, and fled over the Sperrin Mountains, travelling south through County Tyrone, in the shelter of hedges and bushes, until he arrived in Newry, County Armagh. From there he drifted along the shores of Carlingford Lough, and finally settled in the vicinity of Carlingford.
      Around 1769 or 1770, "Hugh the Hare" married a local Cooley [Peninsula] girl, and they had two children, both boys. They reportedly had daughters, but nothing is known of them. The boys were named James, who was the first-born, and Hugh (Junior), nicknamed "Jemmy." Hugh Francis McDavitt Jr., by now known as Hugh McKevitt, and his wife Nancy had a four children: Mary, Ann, Arthur, and James. Hugh McKevitt and his sons followed the building trade, as stone masons. Mary left at an early age for the United States, where she married a man surnamed Nicholl. Ann McKevitt married James Holt, grandson of General Joe Holt, and the couple had four sons and a daughter: Hugh Holt, James, Arthur, a fourth, unnamed, who died at age 20, and a girl, Mary. The identity of the person who passed along this story is presently unknown to the web author, but he was known to mention that a few years ago (???) while he was doing a building repair in Carlingford, he discovered a stone slab, inside the covering plaster, that had enscribed on it, "Hugh McKevitt and his son Arthur worked here in 1888." Hugh McKevitt Jr. lived out his life in a house on Tolsel Street, in Carlingford, until he died at age 96.
      Hugh Jr.'s brother James drifted to Dublin or Wicklow at an early age. An expert marksman, James was said to be able to shoot an apple 5 times out of 6, at a distance of 30 yards, and was, understandably, called "Jemmy Dead," an Irish version of what Americans would have called "Dead Eye Jimmy." James "Jemmy Dead" McKevitt had throughout his formative years heard repeatedly from his father Hugh stories of British oppression. Once on the road and drifting, "Jemmy Dead" was not long in reaching the great rebel leader General Joe Holt, under whom he fought both at Ballyellis and at the Battle of Tara.       Apparently, there was some disaffection in the ranks of General Holt's small army, and a number of the youthful rebels complained loudly his battle tactics. Evidently, the real problem was more likely that he was a stern task master, but one whose military skills produced stunning results. In the memoirs of a Myles Byrne, who fought under General Holt, he said, "I have marched with him. On setting out, we could hardly muster a hundred men. Holt would have his plans set for some great undertaking, as if he were at the head of thousands of men. In short, he possessed the qualities that fitted him for the kind of warfare we were obliged to make. His ability was best shown at Ballyellis Hill, where only one man of the enemy remained.
      The Battle of Tara might not have gone as well for General Holt as earlier at Ballyellis Hill. General Joe Holt was captured, and sent to prisonat Norfolk Island, arriving there in 1799 or 1800. Released in 1806, the General took up residence in Carlingford, where he wrote his memoirs.
      For his part, "Jemmy Dead" McKevitt escaped detention at the end of the 1798 Battle of Tara, and headed straightaway for Carlingford. As he enter the town he was pulled up by an officer, who was on horseback. At that time, an open stream flowed directly threw the Square, at the tiny town's center. There was, evidently, a physical altercation. The officer's mount shied, throwing his rider, who landed in the stream, with two broken legs. "Jemmy Dead" McKevitt fled the scene, and all further that is known of him is that he died at a great age somewhere in the American west.