Another brick wall gone: Isabella McKenzie Matheson

I wrote about my great grandfather Frank Matheson's three-volume bible here and the children, including my grandfather, that he had with my great grandmother Annie Ross, who were recorded in that bible here.

Frank was quite meticulous in recording all of the life events of his family members before he died in 1909. But information about the death of one child, my great aunt Isabella McKenzie Matheson (b 1882) wasn't recorded in the bible. I've always wondered why. All I knew from my mother and aunt was that Isabella "died young", that all purpose but very unhelpful category. That said, she does appear in the 1901 census, but because of her common name, and even more, the misspellings of Matheson (Mathieson, Mathewson, etc) and McKenzie (Mackenzie), finding out what happened to Isabella using the usual sources, including Scotland's People, had been an enduring brick wall for me.

As was then common in Scotland, Isabella was the second daughter that Frank named in memory of his first wife, Isabella McKenzie (1840-1871), who died from rheumatic fever in 1871, four days after giving birth to her wee namesake, Isabella McKenzie Matheson, who lived only five brief weeks. My grandfather, (Isabella's brother), for example, was the second son Frank named John, the first having died at only four months old in 1879.

But thanks to The Moray Council's Local Heritage Centre's record set being added to Ancestry, a new hint appeared by Isabella's name not long ago. It was one of those serendipitous genealogical ah ha! moments.

It turns out that Isabella died in Forres on 20 Dec 1903, aged 21. Her death was reported in two local newspapers, the Forres Gazette and the Courant, and that information was noted in the Centre's database.

Forres Gazette, 30 Dec 1903

Isabella's parents lived in Aviemore, about 40 miles from Forres, which is the birthplace of my great grandmother Annie Ross Matheson (1849-1922). Why was Isabella in Forres? Was she visiting family or friends? Did she die in service?

The life events of all of my great aunts and uncles Matheson are now fully accounted for, with Isabella's death details found.

The never ending story continues....


© Margaret Dougherty 2016-2017 All rights reserved

More Cincinnati mysteries: An unknown marriage and spouses buried in separate cemetery plots

I've just found my 2nd great uncle Thomas Dougherty's death registered in Cincinnati, and it contains new information: he was 56 years old when he died on 15 Dec 1886, and he was born in Vermont. I had surmised, based on other information after I discovered him last year, that he was my 2nd great grandparents' first born, in about 1820 (it's worth repeating how bad cursive handwriting could be in the 19th century) and that as such, that he'd been born in Ireland. This rejigs the order of birth as outlined in my post here.

The information also noted that he was married and died of kidney disease. Below is the extract from the burial register -- it's enlarged as much as possible. The information stretches across the page.

Now, through decades of city directory listings that I've found, if Thomas wasn't living first with his brother James (1826-1860), he was usually listed as living with his other siblings. Rarely, he lives separate from family, and when he does, there isn't a woman living at the same address. Thomas and his brother James lived in Cincinnati as early as 1849, I discovered last year. Who was Thomas' wife and what happened to her?

Continuing the theme of unsolved mysteries, Cincinnati cemetery records reveal that Thomas, his brother Joseph (1835-1886) and his sisters Catharine (abt 1824-1896) and Isabella Dougherty McHugh (abt 1832-1890), along with a niece, Mary McHugh, are buried in the same plot. But, also buried in the same plot is a woman named Diana Mylott, who died 4 Jun 1884.

Who could she be? More record checking indicates that in the 1880 census, Diana Mylott was a widow, a seamstress, with two young adult daughters. Oh, and they lived that year with my 2nd great aunts and uncles and Isabella's children at 138 Baum in Cincinnati.

1880 census, 138 Baum, Cincinnati

The Mylotts also lived at that address with my relatives in at least 1879 and 1881. City directories and censuses back to 1860 show Diana (living without a husband) with her daughters, both of whom died within a couple of years of their mother. Did her husband (whose name apparently was Edward, based on death records) die in the American Civil War? I've never found an Edward Mylott. It's not lost on me that the name Mylott may be an anglicized form of Mailhot or Maillot, French family names. Diana's daughters, Josie and Katie, are buried in the same plot as Isabella's husband James H. McHugh (1827-1905) and their son, Marcus Ambrose McHugh (abt 1856-1912). Then I saw that Katie Mylott (1860-1887), had a will, in which she left half of that burial plot to my 2nd great aunt, Isabella McHugh.

Did Katie sell part of her burial plot because my 2nd great aunts and uncles needed more space? Perhaps it was in lieu of room and board given to her, her mother and sister. We'll never know. Soon after Diana died in 1884, Katie and Josie left 138 Baum, because they then appear at another address in subsequent city directories until their deaths from consumption in 1887 and 1886 respectively.

I'd already decided that Isabella and James McHugh must have had an if not stormy, an unhappy marriage. More often than not, Cincinnati city directories have her living at the same address as her brothers and sisters, with some of her children, while James lives at another address, sometimes with one or two of their sons. It seems that Isabella definitely wanted to make sure that she and James didn't lay at rest together for eternity. But I can't help but wonder about Diana. By 1864, that year's city directory identifies her as a widow. Was she a friend to Isabella or another of my 2nd great aunts or uncles? Or was there a familial relationship between Diana and the Cincinnati Doughertys?

The never ending family story continues.....



© Margaret Dougherty 2016-2017 All rights reserved

The mystery of Mary Ann Dougherty, born about 1854

A few years ago, when I found my great grandfather John James Dougherty (1833-1893) in the 1871 Canada Census, his household included a mystery. At the time, he was married to his first wife, Mary Ann Gannon (1838-1871)  and living in Granby, where he gave his occupation as a farmer and butcher. Yes, Mary Ann died soon after the census was conducted.

But also listed was a child, Mary Ann Dougherty, whose age given was 13 and who was reported to have been born in the United States. Who was she? I decided at that time to attribute her to an earlier marriage of Mary Ann Gannon's or of my great grandfather (although I could find no record of an earlier marriage), but was unable to find any further information about Mary Ann.

1871 Canada census, Granby, Shefford, Quebec 

1877 Cincinnati city directory 

Then, last year, I found Mary Ann in the 1877 Cincinnati city directory living at the same address as my 2nd great uncle Joseph M. Dougherty (1835-1886), along with a Marcus Dougherty, who I concluded was yet another 2nd great uncle (he couldn't have been my 2nd great grandfather, also a Marcus Dougherty, as he died in 1864). At that time, Mary Ann would have been about 23 years old.

But while that that Marcus Dougherty appears in the 1878 Cincinnati directory, Mary Ann did not, and I couldn't find her anywhere.

 Then a few weeks ago, I happened upon a 7 year old "Mary Ann Docherty" in the 1861 census of Elgin Township in Huntingdon, Lower Canada, living with an elderly couple in a log house, who was also recorded as having been born in the United States. This was just far too coincidental.

1861 census, Elgin Township, Huntingdon, Lower Canada

Aside from the consistency in birthplace and age, another of my 2nd great aunt, Mary Louisa (1838-1913)  had been baptized in Ormstown, also in Huntingdon, in 1839. It's not too much of a stretch to think that there was a friendship between the Doughertys and McMenamins that endured for several years.

I've got a theory that Mary Ann was a child of the 2nd great uncle Marcus as I'll call him, and a daughter of the elderly couple, whose family name, after some research and consultation, I've settled on as McMenamin. Note that the census taker helpfully lists Edward McMenamin, but identifies his wife as Mrs Edward McMenamin.

Did Mary Ann's mother die in childbirth? Given that Edward McMenamin was 77 and his wife was 60 in 1861, they likely died before 1871, when Mary Ann is living with my great grandfather. But she's not living with him in the 1881 census, when she would have been 27 years old.

What a sad, nomadic life Mary Ann must have had, being shunted from one set of relatives to another as a child.

What happened to Mary Ann Dougherty after 1877? I suspect that one day, I'll find another piece of the puzzle that is Mary Ann and learn more about her life.

But don't get me started about that other Marcus, who could well be Mary Ann's father. I can find no mention of him before 1877 or after 1878.

The never ending story continues....



© Margaret Dougherty 2016-2017 All rights reserved

The treasure troves that are death notices

My summer has been filled with much genealogy research on multiple fronts with some discoveries.

The Derry Journal's 13 Feb 1914 detailed report on the life, death and funeral of my 1st cousin 3x removed, Paul Doherty (1826-1914), is filled with information, and some of it has new clues for me. It's such a lengthy obit that I had to save it in four segments.

Paul's death notice has many family's details that I already know, but it also notes that he, too, went to America, and then returned to Dungiven. I wonder if he lived in Kingston, New York where several of his siblings settled?

It notes that Paul returned home when he learned that "his maternal home was going to be sold". That was the home in Camnish. I've found that his eldest son was born and baptized in Dungiven in 1856, so he was back by then. His wife was Margaret Ann McKinney, a familiar Derry name. Did he marry her before going to "the land of the stranger", as the obit describes America, or did he marry her when he returned to Dungiven?

The obit mentions Paul's brother Marcus (1815-1903), who became a lawyer and a judge, but it also says that Marcus was a doctor. Allowing for the absence of fact checking in the early 1900s, I'm going to take a leap and decide this meant a Doctor of Laws, but perhaps there was another brother as yet unknown. There was also a brother "conspicuous in the mercantile world".

It also notes that two of his brothers were contractors who had a business and who helped to build the "York and Eyrie Railway", which is the New York Erie Railroad. Read about that here. These brothers could be Michael (abt 1810-1853) and Thomas abt 1823-1854). Or could one of them have been his brother John (1807-1872), who I only recently discovered? Or was there yet another brother who I've not yet found?

Paul's obit is helpful in noting that his sisters all married in America. I had wondered about that, with respect the the Kingston, New York cousin ancestors. This information will help to narrow my further research. There is no mention of his sister Sarah Doherty McCorkell (abt 1826-1861), but I put that down to the fact that she was a woman who married a farmer who settled in Canada and who died at a young age in 1861.


There is still so much to discover about all of my Dougherty/Doherty cousin ancestors. A new to-do list is in development.

The never ending story continues....




© Margaret Dougherty 2016-2017 All rights reserved