Thanks to my Find My Past subscription, I've spent the past several days perusing yet again 19th and early 20th century back copies Berwick-upon-Tweed newspapers, and have found lots more information there about my ancestors. Berwick was home to my ancestors for a just a couple of hundred years.
What strikes me -- and with great sadness -- are the number of reported deaths in the local workhouse in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Berwick was, and is still today in the 21st century, a small town. There were many families with large families. Many of those families were inter-connected through marriage.
As I've done my reading, many questions came to mind. If someone had to go to the workhouse, why was this the last resort? Why couldn't that person's debts be repaid and that person taken into one of his or many relatives' homes to live out there remaining days? In some cases, those relatives were workhouse inhabitants' own children or siblings.
Turning to Google, I learned lots about the Berwick Workhouse here and also about why people ended up in workhouses here. Reviewing the censuses of inmates also found on those pages, I found that many "inmates" were elderly, some were "feeble minded", "imbecile", blind. Other younger people were classified as vagrants or paupers rather than inmates. Regardless of those classifications, each person had an occupation included with their information.
The never ending story continues.....
© Margaret Dougherty 2016-2017 All rights reserved
Wednesday, 18 January 2017
Saturday, 14 January 2017
Immigrant Ancestors -- Samuel Eddy (1608-1687)
My 10th great grandfather was Samuel Eddy (1608-1687) was born in Cranbrook, Kent, to a vicar, William Eddye and his wife Mary Fosten. He is yet another of my many ancestors listed in my favourite little book.
Samuel likely arrived in Plymouth Colony on 29 Oct 1630 with his older brother John, on the Handmaiden, which set sail from London on 10 Aug 1630 as part of the Great Migration. Some sources note that two of Samuel's sisters also migrated to New England.Samuel was a tailor. He arrived in New England unmarried, but by 1636 had married Elizabeth Savory (abt 1607-1689), who had arrived from Wiltshire, England with her family in about 1633. Samuel and Elizabeth had at least four children who lived to adulthood, including my direct ancestor, their son, John Eddy (1637-1715). The Eddy family name joined with other immigrant families including my Daggett and Newcombe ancestors,
When I was a child, the Eddy Match Company was a well known Canadian company based in what was then called Hull, Quebec (now called Gatineau). I suspect that its founder, Ezra Butler Eddy, is one of my Eddy relatives.
More about Samuel Eddy's life and family is here. They and several other family members are buried in the Eddy Cemetery in Swansea, Massachusetts, which borders Rhode Island.
There are many Eddy descendants in North America today. In fact, there is an Eddy Family Association. Their website is something else for me to explore at some point -- it has lots of interesting items, to be sure.
The never ending story continues....
© Margaret Dougherty 2016-2017 All rights reserved
Tuesday, 10 January 2017
The Ancients -- Britain's Royal Families
Another favourite go-to resource for me is Alison Weir's magnificent book, Britain's Royal Families, the complete genealogy. I thumb through it from time to time, and my eyes always find a new entry that I haven't read before. First published in 1989, this is a very handy resource.
One of the many things on my genealogy to-do list is to go through this book and annotate my relationship to many of the people listed, next to their entry. That would take so much time. Sigh.
Alison Weir is one of the world's foremost British royal historian and authors, with many titles to her credit. Whenever I read one of her books, I'm reminded of my stated ambition in my high school graduation year book biography: to be a historian. You can read more about Alison here.
The never ending story continues....
© Margaret Dougherty 2016-2017 All rights reserved
One of the many things on my genealogy to-do list is to go through this book and annotate my relationship to many of the people listed, next to their entry. That would take so much time. Sigh.
Alison Weir is one of the world's foremost British royal historian and authors, with many titles to her credit. Whenever I read one of her books, I'm reminded of my stated ambition in my high school graduation year book biography: to be a historian. You can read more about Alison here.
The never ending story continues....
© Margaret Dougherty 2016-2017 All rights reserved
Thursday, 5 January 2017
Finding Aggie Pate and expanding my DNA pool
One of the stories I remember my mother and aunt telling was about their cousin Aggie Pate, who lived in California but visited Montreal, and by all accounts, was a ton of fun. But as usual, any specifics about her life were absent from those stories. I wondered often if she was my mother's auntie Aggie, but was assured decidedly not -- Aggie Pate was not at all like auntie Aggie.
As usual, the repeated use of the same names in my family often caused confusion in trying to keep it all straight. In the case of the name Agnes, this came from my 3rd great grandmother, Agnes Cowe Young (abt 1800-1866), who was called Nancy. None of her several grand daughters and daughters named Agnes had Nancy as a nickname. All were called Aggie. Confusion all around!
My most recent lost in genealogy research day--there can be many--came about inadvertently. Don't they all?
A few days ago, I was researching my Youngs in really old issues of the Berwick Advertiser on Find My Past when I came across the 1882 marriage notice of one of my grandmother's aunts, Elizabeth Young (1857-1930) to Matthew Cockburn (1856-1914).
After adding this information to my tree, I found so much more on Ancestry and Find My Past, that I soon had added their eight children born between 1883 and 1901, only two of whom died in early childhood. It's interesting that although Lizzie and Matthew were married at the local register office, they had all of their children baptized at the local Anglican church.
Matthew Cockburn died in 1914 in Berwick upon Tweed, but before he died, his eldest surviving daughter, Agnes or Aggie left for better opportunities in Canada, arriving in 1911 in Montreal, where my grandmother, her cousin, Dorothy was by then living. One brother followed in 1914, and the rest of the siblings, including their mother, arrived in 1920 and 1922, never again to return to live in Berwick upon Tweed.
I can well imagine that they saw my grandparents, mother and aunt often during the 1920s in Montreal. Five married in Montreal, in all cases to men and women from Scotland. One, Peter Young Cockburn (1892-1949), served in the Canadian Expeditionary Force, signing his attestation papers in Montreal just a few short months after he arrived from England in 1914. All but one of the Cockburn family, including great auntie Lizzie, moved on to California, settling and staying in the Los Angeles area for the rest of their lives.
Among those who married in Montreal was Lizzie and Matthew's daughter Agnes Young Cockburn (1884-1953), or Aggie, who married a man named Tom Pate in 1914. I had found Aggie Pate. It's one of those ah hah/sit back in your chair and push away from your keyboard to feel the enormous satisfaction of finding a lost relative. That feeling never gets old.
Here is Aggie's 1928 certification of naturalization signed in Los Angeles. American records like these are big finds, especially for women, who are so often overlooked. Aggie was petite, just 5'2".
Aggie and Tom Pate travelled to Los Angeles from Montreal with my grandmother's Auntie Lizzie in 1927. Sadly, Auntie Lizzie died less than three years after that move, in 1930. She was able to know her three small grandchildren though.
I've added all of these Cockburn cousins and their spouses to my tree. Several were childless though, including Aggie and Tom Pate. The two who had children? They had small families. All the Cockburns and their spouses are buried in the same Los Angeles-area cemetery. Still, in adding all of these new relatives to my tree, I'm hoping that my DNA matches will increase.
These discoveries reminded me--not for the first time--to remember to go through newspapers online for clues.
The never ending story continues....
© Margaret Dougherty 2016-2017 All rights reserved
As usual, the repeated use of the same names in my family often caused confusion in trying to keep it all straight. In the case of the name Agnes, this came from my 3rd great grandmother, Agnes Cowe Young (abt 1800-1866), who was called Nancy. None of her several grand daughters and daughters named Agnes had Nancy as a nickname. All were called Aggie. Confusion all around!
My most recent lost in genealogy research day--there can be many--came about inadvertently. Don't they all?
 |
| Berwick Advertiser 13 Jun 1882 |
After adding this information to my tree, I found so much more on Ancestry and Find My Past, that I soon had added their eight children born between 1883 and 1901, only two of whom died in early childhood. It's interesting that although Lizzie and Matthew were married at the local register office, they had all of their children baptized at the local Anglican church.
Matthew Cockburn died in 1914 in Berwick upon Tweed, but before he died, his eldest surviving daughter, Agnes or Aggie left for better opportunities in Canada, arriving in 1911 in Montreal, where my grandmother, her cousin, Dorothy was by then living. One brother followed in 1914, and the rest of the siblings, including their mother, arrived in 1920 and 1922, never again to return to live in Berwick upon Tweed.
I can well imagine that they saw my grandparents, mother and aunt often during the 1920s in Montreal. Five married in Montreal, in all cases to men and women from Scotland. One, Peter Young Cockburn (1892-1949), served in the Canadian Expeditionary Force, signing his attestation papers in Montreal just a few short months after he arrived from England in 1914. All but one of the Cockburn family, including great auntie Lizzie, moved on to California, settling and staying in the Los Angeles area for the rest of their lives.
Among those who married in Montreal was Lizzie and Matthew's daughter Agnes Young Cockburn (1884-1953), or Aggie, who married a man named Tom Pate in 1914. I had found Aggie Pate. It's one of those ah hah/sit back in your chair and push away from your keyboard to feel the enormous satisfaction of finding a lost relative. That feeling never gets old.
Here is Aggie's 1928 certification of naturalization signed in Los Angeles. American records like these are big finds, especially for women, who are so often overlooked. Aggie was petite, just 5'2".Aggie and Tom Pate travelled to Los Angeles from Montreal with my grandmother's Auntie Lizzie in 1927. Sadly, Auntie Lizzie died less than three years after that move, in 1930. She was able to know her three small grandchildren though.
I've added all of these Cockburn cousins and their spouses to my tree. Several were childless though, including Aggie and Tom Pate. The two who had children? They had small families. All the Cockburns and their spouses are buried in the same Los Angeles-area cemetery. Still, in adding all of these new relatives to my tree, I'm hoping that my DNA matches will increase.
These discoveries reminded me--not for the first time--to remember to go through newspapers online for clues.
The never ending story continues....
© Margaret Dougherty 2016-2017 All rights reserved
Tuesday, 3 January 2017
The Ancients -- John of Gaunt
Over the holidays, much of what you hear or read in the news tends to be less hard and sometimes much more interesting. On the weekend, a widely reported news item noted that Benedict Cumberbatch and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle are 16th cousins 1x removed and share a common ancestor, John of Gaunt, who is Cumberbatch's 17th great grandfather.
Well, hello cousin Benedict! John of Gaunt (1340-1399), first Duke of Lancaster, is my 18th great grandfather. As Duke of Lancaster, he led the Lancastrian forces against his Yorkist cousins in the Wars of the Roses. Yes, John is another of my Plantagenet ancestors, and today's royal family are also his direct descendants.
John fathered at least eight children by three different mothers, including my direct ancestor, John Beaufort (abt 1373-1410), whose mother was Katherine Swynford (abt 1350-1403). Katherine is another of my fascinations. She bore John four children. They married in 1396, and their children were later legitimized by Richard II and the Pope, but were barred from inheriting the English succession.
John of Gaunt was buried with his first wife, Blanche of Lancaster at Old St. Paul's Cathedral, which was destroyed in the 1666 Great Fire of London. Read more about Benedict Cumberbatch's and my great grandfather here.
The never ending story continues....
© Margaret Dougherty 2016-2017 All rights reserved
Well, hello cousin Benedict! John of Gaunt (1340-1399), first Duke of Lancaster, is my 18th great grandfather. As Duke of Lancaster, he led the Lancastrian forces against his Yorkist cousins in the Wars of the Roses. Yes, John is another of my Plantagenet ancestors, and today's royal family are also his direct descendants.
John fathered at least eight children by three different mothers, including my direct ancestor, John Beaufort (abt 1373-1410), whose mother was Katherine Swynford (abt 1350-1403). Katherine is another of my fascinations. She bore John four children. They married in 1396, and their children were later legitimized by Richard II and the Pope, but were barred from inheriting the English succession.
John of Gaunt was buried with his first wife, Blanche of Lancaster at Old St. Paul's Cathedral, which was destroyed in the 1666 Great Fire of London. Read more about Benedict Cumberbatch's and my great grandfather here.
The never ending story continues....
© Margaret Dougherty 2016-2017 All rights reserved
Sunday, 1 January 2017
Because it's 2017 and there are more DNA discoveries to come
As a bonus, my brother is my first male relative to test. His Y chromosome might lead to new discoveries. Are we Doughertys descended from Niall of the Nine Hostages? Will we learn more about our Scots DNA?
My first cousin will say that she knows that she is Irish through and through on both sides, but what will her DNA test reveal?
As I wrote here, last year, my sister did her DNA. I can hardly contain myself, waiting for my brother's and cousin's DNA results.
The never ending story continues....
© Margaret Dougherty 2016-2017 All rights reserved
Saturday, 31 December 2016
Immigrant Ancestors -- Jane Gallion abt 1602-abt 1666
It is often said in genealogy research that finding information about our female ancestors is especially hard. It's as if women were non-persons when it came to record-keeping. You see vital and church records time and again where the male is listed but if the female is mentioned at all, it is by first name only.
Which brings me to my 9th great grandmother, Jane Gallion, who has fascinated me for reasons I can't explain since I first found her. The spelling of Jane's last name varies: Gallen, Gellyn, Gallin, Gellyn, Gallant, Gillon, and so on. Could she have been of French Huguenot origin? She may have been born in London (many references list that as her birthplace) in 1599, and baptized at the ancient church that still stands in the Strand, St Clement Danes, where the Gallin spelling is used. There is no record of the names of her parents.
Jane was married twice, first to Thomas Paine (abt 1608-abt 1635), described as a London merchant, who may have died either in England or in Massachusetts Colony. They had two children, Jane (abt 1625-1648 and Thomas (1632-abt 1657). Was Thomas Paine already in Massachusetts and did she join him? Or had they emigrated together as a family after the birth of their son? For a woman to undertake such a journey alone with two young children with no family to meet her would have been quite unusual at that time.
By 1635, Jane Gallion was married to Thomas Mayhew (1593-1682), and they had their first of four known daughters, Hannah (abt 1635-1723). It was a second marriage for both. I write about Thomas here -- my first immigrant ancestor profile. Their daughter, Martha (abt 1638-1717) is my 8th great grandmother.
Jane's daughter from her marriage to Thomas Paine, Jane Paine (abt 1625- abt 1648) went on to marry Thomas' son by his first marriage, Rev. Thomas Mayhew (abt 1616-1657).
While much is recorded about the life of Jane's husband Governor Thomas Mayhew, almost nothing can be found about Jane. I know that she is buried with her second husband Thomas Mayhew in Edgartown on Martha's Vineyard. Jane died about 1666, predeceasing her husband by about 22 years.
The never ending story continues.....
© Margaret Dougherty 2016 All rights reserved
Which brings me to my 9th great grandmother, Jane Gallion, who has fascinated me for reasons I can't explain since I first found her. The spelling of Jane's last name varies: Gallen, Gellyn, Gallin, Gellyn, Gallant, Gillon, and so on. Could she have been of French Huguenot origin? She may have been born in London (many references list that as her birthplace) in 1599, and baptized at the ancient church that still stands in the Strand, St Clement Danes, where the Gallin spelling is used. There is no record of the names of her parents.
Jane was married twice, first to Thomas Paine (abt 1608-abt 1635), described as a London merchant, who may have died either in England or in Massachusetts Colony. They had two children, Jane (abt 1625-1648 and Thomas (1632-abt 1657). Was Thomas Paine already in Massachusetts and did she join him? Or had they emigrated together as a family after the birth of their son? For a woman to undertake such a journey alone with two young children with no family to meet her would have been quite unusual at that time.
By 1635, Jane Gallion was married to Thomas Mayhew (1593-1682), and they had their first of four known daughters, Hannah (abt 1635-1723). It was a second marriage for both. I write about Thomas here -- my first immigrant ancestor profile. Their daughter, Martha (abt 1638-1717) is my 8th great grandmother.
Jane's daughter from her marriage to Thomas Paine, Jane Paine (abt 1625- abt 1648) went on to marry Thomas' son by his first marriage, Rev. Thomas Mayhew (abt 1616-1657).
While much is recorded about the life of Jane's husband Governor Thomas Mayhew, almost nothing can be found about Jane. I know that she is buried with her second husband Thomas Mayhew in Edgartown on Martha's Vineyard. Jane died about 1666, predeceasing her husband by about 22 years.
The never ending story continues.....
© Margaret Dougherty 2016 All rights reserved
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
About the Family of Robert Young and Isabella Knox
I wrote about my great grandfather, Robert Alexander Young , here . Now it's time to write about the family he and my great grandmother...
-
What's in a name? Or how you spell a name? An ongoing brick wall in my family history research was the many spelling variations of my fa... -
Newcomb is an old English family, possibly with Saxon origin, and with many early spelling variations. The earliest recorded mention in No...
-
I'm descended many times from different branches of the wealthy Nevill family, who were at one time the most powerful family in norther...