Full Name Thomas J. Whall Name Thomas Whall | Known for Eliot School rebellion | |
Born March 31, 1848 ( 1848-03-31 ) Kilkenney, Ireland Died March 14, 1911(1911-03-14) (aged 62)
Reading, Massachusetts | ||
Thomas J. Whall (Kilkenny, Ireland, March 31, 1848 - Reading, Massachusetts, March 14, 1911) was a Catholic student in Boston's Eliot school, who was whipped for refusing to read aloud the Ten Commandments in the King James version, in an incident known as the Eliot School rebellion.
Whall's family attended St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church in Boston's North End, which held the city's densest concentration of Catholics, most living in the tenements near the wharf. On March 7, 1859 ten-year-old Thomas J. Whall refused to say the Ten Commandments as required by Massachusetts law for all public schools. Thomas stated that his father directed him not to recite the Protestant version. Whall's father was the school principal. Whall senior and members of the school committee attempted to reach a compromise. However, member Micah Dyer, a supporter of the Know Nothing Party insisted on strict adherence to state law.
Father Bernardine Wiget had fled Switzerland with other Jesuits in 1847, during the Swiss civil war. He encouraged the boys attending Sunday school at St. Mary's not to recite Protestant versions of prayers. The parishioners passed a resolution recommending that the children be taught not to be ashamed of their religion. Wiget also said he would "read out" from the pulpit the names of any boys who did recite the Protestant prayers at the Eliot School.
Upon Thomas' second refusal, a week later, assistant to the principal McLaurin F. Cooke, beat the boy's hands with a rattan stick until they were cut and bleeding. The principal then directed all boys who refused to recite the King James Version to leave, and 100 left. The next day 300 were similarly discharged. Whall and his father sued Cooke for use of excessive force. The court's ruling supported Cooke.
The case received widespread attention. Seven Catholic schools sent testimonials of admiration, including the cathedral school of Covington, Kentucky. The cathedral school of Cincinnati, Ohio sent him a gold hunting-watch case and later a gold-lined goblet. However, as an adult, he had some difficulty finding employment.