Our immigrant ancestors -- Governor Thomas Mayhew

A few years ago, a wonderful fellow Mayflower descendant clued me into an incredible little book originally published in 1942 that lists alphabetically, with very brief biographical sketches, the names of 2,500 of the earliest immigrants to America. I periodically go through Immigrant Ancestors: a list of 2500 immigrants to America before 1750 when on one of my all too often research binges, and at last count, I have 26 direct ancestors listed in it.

Yes, these are immigrants to America, but as I've noted, I have many ancestral links to New England, including Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard, Connecticut and New Hampshire. In fact, at one point very early on, one of my ancestors, Governor Thomas Mayhew (1593-1682), held the land titles to Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket. He received the original land grants in the 1640s.

Thomas is my 9th great grandfather. He arrived at Plymouth Colony as part of the Great Migration of Puritans in 1631/32 from the Southampton area, where he was a merchant. He was born in Wiltshire. Read what is said about him in Immigrant Ancestors (l). Yes, there's a discrepancy in the dates given in that 1942 publication, but as more and more confirmed, sourced documentation has come to light, this is common.

The never ending story continues....

Unwrapping a puzzle 4: More about those Cincinnati Doughertys

Exciting finds last night in my often random genealogy research. I have trouble staying on topic, I admit it, but there are so many bright shiny objects that catch my eye. Just writing this post, I'm having to force myself to stay on topic. True!

Like last night. The 1842 Census of Lower Canada indicates that nine people lived in my 2nd great grandfather, Marcus Dougherty's household in Granby. That number now makes perfect sense since I discovered Thomas and Isabella, the two new children. All seven children and parents accounted for in February 1842. Yes, that's when the census was done. Can you imagine doing a census in the middle of a Quebec winter? That summer, my 2nd great grandmother Mary Ann died. I concluded that at some point after that is when first Thomas and James made their way to Cincinnati. Still not sure why, but did you know that Cincinnati had a population of 115,435 in 1850, including a sizable Irish population? I didn't either.

I went back to the Cincinnati city directories with fresh eyes and joined the Hamilton County Genealogical Society for access to records they have on their website.

The earliest I find a Thomas in Cincinnati is in 1849/50, James in 1850/51. There are only one of each, by the way.

1855 Cincinnati directory 

In this post I wondered if the 1853 directory showing Dougherty & Brother wines & liquor at 7 Water were James and Thomas. Last night I found the 1855 directory listing -- and look! Joseph M., brother of James and Thomas is a clerk at Dougherty & Bro and living with James. Yes, these are all my great great uncles. And yes, these were the earliest North American entrepreneurs of my line of Doughertys. Entrepreneurship has been a constant in my family history.

I also found a 13 Feb 1854 marriage between James and Mary McGough in Cincinnati listed on a Hamilton County Genealogical Society database. Previously, I had Gough as her maiden name, based on James' burial record (below) as completed by a French Canadian priest. Joseph was living with James and his sister in law according to the 1855 Cincinnati directory.

By 1857, Catharine has joined her brothers, as confirmed in that year's city directory, but the business is no more, as the occupations of James and Thomas show here:

1857 Cincinnati directory

Their sister Isabella Dougherty McHugh is living across the river in Kentucky with her young family at that point.

And yet the 1861 census of Canada lists James (posthumously), Catharine, Joseph and Louisa as living in Granby, when the previous year and following years they appear in Cincinnati records. Did they all go back, or did their father list them as living there for whatever reason?

The Granby burial record of James on 21 Mar 1860 says he died on the 18th. Did he die in Cincinnati and was his casket transferred by train to Granby? Or did he die in Granby? And what happened to his wife, Mary? Did they have any children in their six years together?

Notre Dame Parish, Granby, Quebec register

The never ending story continues ....

Rev James Dougherty, D.D. of Vermont

It's not clear when my second great grandfather Marcus' younger brother James (1796-1878) travelled to Vermont from Donegal, or whether he travelled with Marcus and Mary Ann and their young family, but arrive in Vermont he did. They were all first in South Hero, on Grand Isle, an island in Lake Champlain.

Luckily, there are many records about my 2nd great uncle, starting with this first fantastic find. In his 2002 book, Pre-famine Irish in Vermont, 1815-1844, Vermont historian Vincent Edward Feeney writes about James:

"Without priests, too many Catholics were being married by justices of the peace, and many drifted away from the Church. One had even became a prominent Protestant clergyman. This was James Daugherty. 50  From County Derry, Daugherty had been raised “a conscientous Catholic,” and emigrated with his two brothers at about age 20 in 1819 to South Hero, Vermont. There, under the instruction of a Congregational minister, the Reverend Asa Lyon, he prepared to enter college. Lyon must have been a profound influence on young Daugherty, for when the Irishman eventually graduated from the University of Vermont in 1830 he entered the ministry. He spent the next thirty-five years first as the Congregational pastor in Milton, and later in Johnson."

That's right, he left the Catholic Church, became a Congregational minister, married (twice) and had children. One biographical sketch includes this passage about his decision to leave the Catholic faith:

'His parents were devoted Catholics and he was reared in a conscientious regard of that faith, but as he grew to years he felt a want un-supplied. Having heard from the Scotch Presbyterians the doctrine of salvation by faith, "That", said he is what I want that; I can do, I can believe. He was converted while yet in connection with the church of his parents, and did not change his relation till after removing to this country at the age of twenty three.'

Another reference to his faith appears in one of the eulogies given after his death:

'Reared in the Roman Catholic church, he very early became dissatisfied with that faith and at length deliberately and utterly repudiated it."

That's pretty definite. James' parents were both deceased in Donegal by 1830, so they didn't know about his change in faith. Imagine disclosing that in a letter home that would have taken months to arrive at its destination! James graduated from the University of Vermont in 1830, before then studying theology, during which time he also taught at the well-respected in its time Shefford Academy in Frost Village, now part of St-Hyancinthe in Shefford, Quebec. He ultimately received his doctorate in divinity, and was known around the towns of Johnson and Milton and beyond as Dr D.

James was a man of strong conviction. As the University of Vermont notes in its obituary, his home was a station on the underground railway as former slaves made their way to Canada. Incredible! I'm very proud to be related to such a very fine man. There are several items about James, searchable on Google Books.

James married twice, first to Celia Hall (1800-1836) a daughter of the longtime South Hero town clerk in 1832. James and Celia had two daughters, Sarah Curran (1834-1861) and Isabella Celia (1836-1894). Sadly, Celia died five days after Isabella's birth. Sarah was named after the great love of the Irish patriot, Robert Emmet. James married again, a year later, to a widow, Mary Hoxie Drake (1795-1881), and together they had one daughter, Mary Louisa (1838-1894). None of his daughters married or had children, so James left no descendants after their deaths.

At this point, I'll say that yes, the names James, Isabella and Mary Louisa appear over and over again among my Dougherty ancestors. Some readers may recognize these names from an earlier post. And you'll see these names crop up again, as my stories continue. In fact, the parents of Marcus and James and their siblings are--wait for it--James Dougherty and Isabella McLaughlin.  And yes, it does get confusing.

The border between Vermont and Quebec was transparent in the late 18th to mid 19th centuries. People crossed back and forth often and easily. One reason was that there were few Catholic priests in Vermont early on. There were many Irish Catholics who settled in Vermont.  So while we know that James taught at the Shefford Academy, it seems that he was also a travelling preacher at one point. A few years ago in Granby, my brother came across a plaque outside what had been a congregationalist church and is now a United Church on Main Street. Here is part of that plaque noting that James had preached at that church. James no doubt visited with brother Marcus and his family in Granby, as well as their nephew Marcus Doherty, who lived in Granby for a time.

Plaque, Granby United Church

At his funeral following his death from consumption on 10 Jun 1878, James was eulogized at length. Both his death and his funeral were reported in the local media. In its June 21, 1878 edition, The Burlington Weekly Free Press published a lengthy item. See the fourth column here. This mentions that James was born in Fairmount, County Down, Ireland. This is up for debate. Other sources report that he was born in Park, Banagher, Donegal, near which there is the town of Learmount. Then, in its June 28, 1878 edition, a second eulogy was published in the same newspaper. See the third column here. Aside from the many references to his life as a clergyman, there are also fascinating insights into who he was as a man.

Side of family grave marker

James was buried at the Whitting Hill Cemetery in Johnson, Lamoille, Vermont, with his daughters and both his wives.

The never ending story continues....

You say Doherty or Daugherty or O'Doherty, I say Dougherty

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 family name. Until I started to think outside the box. But even now, it is still hard to find records and link to distant ancestors.

Until the 20th century, most spelling was phonetic and based on how the listener heard or thought a word sounded, In my own family, close relatives and closest ancestors, we use the Dougherty spelling. But I've found confirmed ancestors who either themselves used, or are recorded by others in church or other records using any of the following spellings:

• Doherty
• Daugherty
• Dogherty
• O'Doherty
• Docherty

O'Dochartaigh crest

Perhaps there are other spelling variations that I've missed, but you get the idea. This made my research very headache-inducing at the least over the years.

Added to this was my father's explanation, okay, insistence, when I was growing up that Doughertys were Catholic and Dohertys were protestant. Now, while this can be true, in our case it turned out not to be the case, making my earliest research with those narrow parameters a hair-pulling exercise. Because, as it turned out, my 2nd great grandfather had a nephew, also a Marcus, but a Doherty (1815-1903), who also came to Vermont and then Quebec, was very Catholic, and eventually daughters, granddaughters and a grandson who became nuns and a priest respectively.

Someone, in my first experience of a random act of genealogical kindness, had to point out to me that for there to be both a Marcus Dougherty and a Marcus Doherty in Granby (population of a couple of thousand in the mid 1800s) and not be related was highly unlikely. Marcus is not that common an Irish name. That's when I started to cast an open-minded and wider net in my internet research,

So, what's the origin of my family name? It is one of up to 140 variations of the original Gaelic, O'Dochartaigh. The name has an illustrious history. Dochartaigh means the destroyer or obstructive or people of the oaks. Its many variations are the 15th most common surname in Ireland today. Here's a scholarly read of the name and its history.

The never ending story continues...

Our Immigrant Ancestors -- Stephen Hopkins

With thanks to Lorine McGuinnes Schulze of Olive Tree Genealogy for the idea, this post kicks off a weekly feature focusing on one of my many immigrant ancestors to North America. And who better to start with, than my first immigrant ancestor? I'm speaking of course of Mayflower passenger Stephen Hopkins (1581-1644), my 10th great grandfather.

It's true that the Mayflower reached what is now Plymouth on Cape Cod in 1620, but Stephen actually came earlier -- to Jamestown, the first and ill-fated settlement of the Virginia colony in 1610.

To say that Stephen led an interesting life is an understatement. Sailing to Jamestown aboard the Sea Venture in 1609 from England to Virginia, he was shipwrecked in a bad storm in Bermuda. You can more read about the Sea Venture here. Some say that Shakespeare's The Tempest is based on this event, but that may be a tall tale. He and his companions managed to make their way from Bermuda to Virginia almost a year later, finding the colony decimated by starvation. Some time after the 1613 death in England of his first wife, Stephen returned there, only to return in 1620 with his new wife and his blended family, including his son Giles, from whom I descend.

Noted Mayflower historian Caleb Johnson wrote a biography about my ancestor that's a fascinating read. Here's a bit of a synopsis of Here I Shall Die Ashore.

Stephen wasn't fleeing religious persecution when he signed on to the Mayflower. He was not a Puritan or a Separatist. He was on the Mayflower as a "stranger", someone interested in the potential economic opportunities that the New World might present. In other words, he was the first entrepreneur in my far-flung family. He was one of 41 men who signed the Mayflower Compact very soon after they reached shore. This was the first governing document in the New World. Read more.

Immigrant Ancestors, 1942 entry

Once settled in Plymouth, Stephen operated a tavern, but ran into problems with the authorities. Plymouth records indicate that he let "men drink in his house upon the Lords day".. "for suffering servants and others to sit drinking in his house" (contrary to Court orders) Also to play games "& such like misdemeanors, is therefore fined fourty shillings." And unscrupulous, with the Court having several charges against him "for selling wine, beere, strong waters, and nutmeggs at excessiue rates, is fyned." (source: Mayflower Quarterly, November 2011)

Last September, at the annual two-day meeting of the Nova Scotia Colony of Mayflower Descendants, I met "Stephen Hopkins", very convincingly interpreted in character, language and costume by professional colonial interpreter Chris Messier of Plimoth Plantation. It was a really wonderful experience.

The Nova Scotia Colony is a branch of the Canadian Society of Mayflower Descendants, which is a partner society of the General Society of Mayflower Descendants. It is thanks to yet another internet cousin that I learned of my descent from Stephen Hopkins, a discovery that opened the doors to many other finds over the years. And yes, I'm a member of the Society.

I was so excited last year when the National Geographic Channel produced Saints and Strangers, that aired the week of American Thanksgiving. It chronicled the Mayflower passengers' earliest days. But the National Geographic Channel we get in Canada is licensed to another broadcaster who isn't bound to broadcast all of the American channel's programming. The things you learn when you ask why. Instead, they air mindless looped pseudo reality programming with titles like Airport Security: Colombia, Science of Stupid, and Border Security. I'm still waiting to see Saints and Strangers. I'm sure that one day I will.

This is a very abbreviated history of my 10th great grandfather, Stephen Hopkins. Much has been written about my ancestor. 

The never ending story continues....

Isabella Smith Ross McLeod

My maternal 2nd great grandmother Isabella was born on 7 Sep 1817 in Abernethy & Kincardine, Moray, Scotland to Donald Smith and Margaret Davidson (FamilySearch has her baptismal record confirming this) and seems to have been their eldest and only surviving daughter.

Isabella had two brothers, Peter and Donald. I can find nothing on Donald after his 1823 baptism, but have researched Peter (1821-bef 1871) and his family through the 1851 and 1861 censuses.

I can't find anything confirming my third great grandparents' (Donald and Margaret) births, marriage or deaths -- discoveries yet to be made -- but Margaret appears in her son Peter's household in the 1861 census, in Edinburgh. Her occupation is listed as a retired midwife. Margaret was born in Kingussie & Insch in Inverness-shire about 1779. Kingussie is on the same rail line as Nethy Bridge, where my ancestors lived in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Nethy Bridge, Inverness-shire, Scotland,
c 21st century

As noted in my last post, I don't have the date that Isabella married Alexander Ross, but the births of their children are chronicled. You'll see in my last post that their last child, Alexandrina. was born on 13 Apr 1856.

But Alexander had died by this point. I know this because on 10 Jan 1856, Isabella married Angus McLeod (b abt 1813), a sawyer. This was four months before the birth of her daughter, Alexandrina Ross.

Isabella and Angus soon started a family, but again, Isabella lost a husband when Angus died on 18 Mar 1857, eight months before the posthumous birth of their son, John (1857-1880). What are the chances of such back-to-back life altering tragedies to strike in under two years?

It must have been extremely difficult for a woman with no husband and three daughters under ten years old and a baby on the way.

So there Isabella was at the end of 1856, with five children under ten, including two babies, to support and care for, without a husband. She never married again. Did Isabella have family nearby in Nethy Bridge?

• The 1861 census shows her living with her two youngest children. Her three older daughters were most likely all in service at young ages.  
• The 1871 census shows her living alone at Seafield Place, which appears in many Matheson records, in Nethy Bridge
• The 1881 census shows her living with a Ross sister in law and her grandson, and working as a general servant.
• The 1891 census shows her heading a household that included her daughter Margaret Ross Gillies (1847-1932) and four of her children

When Isabella died at Seafield Place on 23 Jan 1915, she was 97 years old. I think that Isabella was made of very strong stuff to have lived the life she lived. I'm proud be her descendant.

The never ending story continues...

Brick Wall: Alexander Ross

According to the 1851 Scotland census my maternal great grandfather, Alexander Ross was born Abernethy, Elgin in Scotland. The problem in narrowing this down is that there are eight different Alexander Rosses recorded as being born in Moray between 1812 and 1817, all to different parents, of course. It's a big brick that I've yet to smash.

Not that I haven't tried. By the mid-1840s (another record that remains missing), he and Isabella Smith were married. They had at least four daughters:

1. Marjory b 26 Jun 1846, Abernethy & Kincardine d aft 1874
2. Margaret Grace Darling b 15 Dec 1847, Nethy Bridge, Abernethy  & Kincardine d 20 Jan 1932, Nethy Bridge, Abernethy & Kincardine
3. Annie b 28 Nov 1849, Forres, Morayshire, d 24 Dec 1922, Nethy Bridge, Abernethy & Kincardine (my great grandmother)
4. Alexandrina b 13 Apr 1856, Edderton, Ross and Cromarty, d 7 Jul 1872, Nethy Bridge, Abernethy & Kincardine

Alexandrina was a popular name at that time, as Queen Victoria's given names were Alexandrina Victoria. It was only after her 1837 accession to the British throne that she announced that she would be known as Victoria. The above Alexandrina, my great great aunt, was named after her father, but perhaps also Victoria. She was clearly born posthumously though, as Isabella married for a second time on 10 Jan 1856 to Angus McLeod in Cromdale, Inverallan and Advie in Inverness-shire.

I've never been able to locate a death record for Alexander. That's right. I can't find his birth or death records.

Alexander was a farmer, living at the address of Ryduack in Abernethy and Kincardine, Inverness-shire when the 1851 census was done, listing him, Isabella and their three eldest daughters.

Naming traditions in Scotland and Ireland typically, but not always, followed a pattern. The names of Alexander's daughters (isn't Margaret Grace Darling a grand moniker!) offer no clues in narrowing down his own parents from the eight possible Alexander Rosses. 

Scottish records are very difficult to find. One reason is that parish names changed through the years. As just one example, read about the former civil parish of Abernethy and Kincardine, which is mentioned above, and is where several of my ancestors lived, here. 

The never ending story (and hunt!) continues....