Biography

Dowling was born in Listowel, County Kerry. While he was still a child, his parents emigrated to Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

, where they remained for some years, and where Dowling received a part of his education. Returning to Ireland, after the death of the father, the family settled in Limerick

Limerick

Limerick is the third largest city in the Republic of Ireland, and the principal city of County Limerick and Ireland's Mid-West Region. It is the fifth most populous city in all of Ireland. When taking the extra-municipal suburbs into account, Limerick is the third largest conurbation in the...

, and older biographies misidentify Limerick as the city of Dowling's birth.

Burdened with the task of caring for his mother and younger brothers and sisters, Dowling did not follow literature as a profession. He published short pieces, mostly anonymously, while working in the mercantile trades for support. He traveled to California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

 in the summer of 1852 and engaged in mining in the northern counties

Northern California

Northern California is the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. The San Francisco Bay Area , and Sacramento as well as its metropolitan area are the main population centers...

. Not finding this work congenial, he took to farming in Contra Costa

Contra Costa

Contra Costa can refer to:*Contra Costa County, California* Contra Costa...

, where he built himself a home and entertained John Mitchel

John Mitchel

John Mitchel was an Irish nationalist activist, solicitor and political journalist. Born in Camnish, near Dungiven, County Londonderry, Ireland he became a leading member of both Young Ireland and the Irish Confederation...

, General James Shields

James Shields

James Shields was an American politician and United States Army officer who was born in Altmore, County Tyrone, Ireland. Shields, a Democrat, is the only person in United States history to serve as a U.S. Senator for three different states...

, and Terence MacManus

Terence MacManus

Terence Bellew MacManus was a radical Irish rebel who participated in the Young Irelander Rebellion of 1848. Sentenced to death for treason, he and several other participants were given commuted sentences in 1849 and transported for life to Van Diemen's Land in Australia...

, as visitors.

In a lengthy poem entitled "Reminiscences of the Mines", published in the Pioneer magazine for November, 1855, Dowling wrote of life in the mining camp. Sometimes he wrote under the pen-name of "Southern"; at other times over the initial letter of his surname; but his favorite signature was "Masque". In Edward Hayes's Ballad Poetry of Ireland, two of Dowling's works are printed anonymously, and only one bears his name.

In March 1858, P. J. Thomas

P. J. Thomas

Parackanal Joseph Thomas was an Indian pastor. He played an important role in the development of the Indian Pentecostal Church.-See also :* * * - External links :* * *...

, an enterprising publisher and one of the founders of the San Francisco Monitor, induced Dowling to quit the seclusion of Crucita Valley in Contra Costa County and move to San Francisco and work on that newspaper. Dowling became editor of the San Francisco Monitor, at a time when he was in poor health. However, he continued his writing, which "displayed a vigor and versatility that gave evidence of what he was capable of accomplishing under more favorable circumstances".

Dowling's death on November 20, 1863 resulted from his being thrown from a buggy and having his leg broken. His health previous to this shock had been declining, and he died in St. Mary's Hospital of San Francisco.

Sources

• "Bartholomew Dowling" in Denis Oliver Crowley, Irish Poets and Novelists (1892) pp. 31–77.

External links