Mike McBride (third from left) and members of the McBride family honored their ancestor John Joseph (Exile) McBride during a public ceremony on October 9 to dedicate a new memorial stone for the human rights crusader at Mt. Olivet Cemetery in Brockport where records indicate he was buried in 1911. Exile arrived in Brockport as a teenager after fleeing Ireland. He dedicated his life fighting for the cause of Irish independece and freedom for all. While he was well-known in life, having been the subject of over 1,400 newspaper articles between 1870 and 1911, he was largely forgotten in death. Since discovering his great uncle while researching his ancestry, Mike McBride has made it his mission to learn about Exile’s life and share his story.
Photo by Joanne Michielsen
