Brick Wall Busters (2013)
Our Fourth Annual "Brick Wall Busters" session was held on 26 November 2013.
Members were asked to submit their Brick Wall Queries; six of those queries, three from local / regional members and three from members outside of Nova Scotia, were selected for our President, Dr. Allan Marble, C.G.(C) and Virginia "Ginny" Clark, C.G.(C) to analyze and make some suggestions for how these members might be able to further their research and, hopefully, break down their Brick Wall.
Local Queries
- From Arthur Rowlings re John Rowlings and Frances McNAMARA of Halifax County (response: Ginny Clark)
- From Sandra Carr Dunphy re DUNPHY (response: Allan Marble)
- From Gloria Henderson re Albert MAILMAN (response: Ginny Clark)
Away Queries
- From Sylvia Alonso re Samuel FISHER (response: Allan Marble)
- From Martha Burns re Agnes MORRIS (response: Ginny Clark)
- From Richard Whitney re Donald McDONALD (response: Allan Marble)
Responders:
Virginia "Ginny" Clark, C.G.(C)Allan E. Marble, C.G.(C)
From Arthur Rowlings Jr. re: John Rowlings and Frances McNamara - Halifax County:
I respectfully request assistance in finding info on my great-great-great-grandfather "John Rowlings". All the info we have and been able to find cannot be confirmed. We started with a Rowlings info put forth by Robert Kim Stevens Collection (MG1 Vol 2864 #105). According to family consensus John came from England. However, The only fact we have is that he was hired to build St. James Anglican Church at Jeddore in 1843. Notes mention he donated lumber for the pews at the church. Mr. Stevens notes believe he was born in 1795 or before ( His son George was born in 1809) and most likely in Scotland. Don't know when he arrived in Nova Scotia can't find and immigration info on Ancestry.com or Canadian census or Immigration. His son George married Catherine McDougall who was born in NS abt 1817 d. 24 Sept 1891 age 74. Buried at Riverside Cemetery in Musquodoboit Harbour. John does not appear in extant NS census for 1827 or Jeddore census 1838. Stevens believed he was probably post-Napoleonic Scottish or Scots-Irish immigrant to NS. He either died or moved out of Halifax County by 1851 as his son (George) was in the census but he is not. Can't seem to confirm where he came from or where he died. Did he have other children and who was his wife and where is she.
The other area of our family tree on my mothers side also has some challenges. My grandmother had my mother in Halifax, NS in September 1907 record from the poor house in Halifax and Baptism at St. Mary's Halifax. Can't find marriage of my great grandmother (Elizabeth) to John MacNamara or birth of my grandmother. Grandmother may have been an illegitimate birth but still no record. Border crossing shows Mary Ann Sidney noted as my great-grandmother's sister on Falkland st. in Halifax. Mary Ann Sidney's maiden name was Curley. The Curley name comes from John Curley and Mary Ann Keenan married in Fredericton in February 1840. This makes some sense in that Curley is the maiden name for Ellen (Nellie) Curley who married John Joseph Haley father of "Jack Haley" the tin man in "The Wizard of Oz". We were always told we were related "Jack".
I have searched these two sides of the family for ten years but am obviously looking in the wrong place any help would be appreciated.
Mr. Rowlings also submitted an extensive Ahnentafel file with supplementary notes. The response to Mr. Rowlings included several document scans, as detailed in Ginny's Comments below.
John Rowlings of Musquodoboit
b. ca 1790s
Who was he and where did he come from?
Was he the father of George b. c1809?
Land papers should have been helpful
Scan 26 (click on image to enlarge)
Scan 24 (click on image to enlarge)
Scan 25 (click on image to enlarge)
Check out the deed to him from George Anderson 1848 bk 92 page 216 for any clues. There are no Rowlings in the earlier indices 1749-1836
John named his 1st son George after both his and her fathers; 2nd son is John — after the grandfather perhaps?
Heather Long's marriage index to 1841 has no John Rowlings. The 1838 census has John McDougall in Upper Musquodoboit. Follow this line hoping to learn about George's origins.
Church registers
The family appears to be mainly Presbyterian. For very early years in Nova Scotia, if there are no local church registers in existence, always try Halifax or the nearest large town. Ministers in Halifax often travelled to various parts of the province and then entered the information in Halifax's registers. I looked at the indexed records for St Matthews Presbyterian in Halifax and found no Rowlings.
You could also try Dartmouth's St James United [Presbyterian] , mfm 11418
Or Anglican registers:
Ship Harbour's St Stephens mfm 11874
Dartmouth's Christ Church mfm 11305
And Halifax St Pauls.
File cards under Jeddore indicate there is a muster roll for 1784 [ MG100 vol 169 #16a]
Also try Assembly petitions — one for Roads 1827 RG5P vol. 92 #10
These may have lists of local men who live there.
Frances McNamara of Halifax City
Frances McNamara b. 1889 Hfx
Where and when was she born or baptised?
Were her parents John and Mary married in NS?
John is a soldier born in Ireland and Elizabeth may have been born in NB. Where did he meet her, probably here in Halifax and thus a marriage should be here.
For this marriage of John & Eliz [Curley ] McNamara:
Try all Catholic and Anglican church registers for this family.
Try city directories in 1880s and 1890s for location of family. They could not be found in the census 1881 or 1891 or 1901. As for the 1901 census, there are pages, especially in wards 5-6 where the pages are just too dark to read and may not be indexed. Try the street lists at beginning of each division after looking McNamaras in the directory. John is a military man so maybe this is why he is not showing up, especially if they lived in married quarters. The marriage should be registered regardless, but perhaps it was in a military register or the records for Halifax's Garrison church [Anglican] which are not here but probably in London. I did a check of some years: he was not listed in 1885 but showed up in 1889-90 and 1890-91 but then not the next year, 1891-92. I found him living on Franklyn street, off Tower Road, as a Bombardier, Royal Artillery but in the 1891 census, this address has John & Sarah Curly living there! [a John Curly was in the directory as being at 126 Hollis Street, but perhaps this is his father.
[mfm 11527] St Patrick's has no baptism for Frances from 1887-1889. What I did find though was a baptism 1888 for Algernon Sydney an adult with John McNamara as sponsor.
His son Bernard Pius McNamara was baptised here in 1896 with Bella Curly as sponsor.
When he died in 1901, John's obituary shows he was very much a part of the military, and buried in Mt Olivet.
Scanned obits for John McNamara - click on an image to enlarge:
 |
 |
This certainly should be the parish for them so don't reply on the index, but search in depth, reading page after page looking for clues!
What happened to his family? Not in 1901 census
St Joseph's start 1869 bapt & marriages
*St Patrick's bapt start early enough check for gaps; marriages start 1887
Obit (1912) of William Cox, husband of Frances McNamara: (click on image to enlarge)
QUERY #2:
From Sandra Carr Dunphy re: William Dunphy - Cumberland County:
The following is my brick wall and I would so appreciate assistance on this. My husband, Ron Dunphy is a descendant of William Dunphy, b 3 Mar 1825 and Elizabeth Cook, they married 4 May 1846 in Maccan, Cumberland Co. Years ago I rec'd information from Al Murray of Halifax that a Professor Thomas Dunphy sailed from Ireland to take on the job of starting an orchestra in Hfx. With him was his wife and mother-in-law Medore. Daughter? Mary Ann Dunphy, b 1825 stated she was born in Nfld c 1825 as reported on her death 27 Dec 1912. Thomas was married to Elizabeth in Ireland. In Halifax the three adults died of the Black Cholera and the three children were placed in an orphanage. Parents likely buried in St Pauls. Mary Ann was taken by John Broderick of Five Islands, Colchester, and brothers by another family. One son is believed to be William Dunphy of Maccan. (I have another note that says Thomas Meader Dunphy, b 31 Oct 1829 Hfx, bapt St Mary's Cathedral, was raised by Silas Crane of Economy). He seems a possible son too!!
From the Truro Daily News: Died - At Londonderry, Acadia Mines, Aug 2nd, Thomas Meader Dunphy, Stipendiary Magistrate, aged 74 years.
I have a copy of the will of Edward A Dunphy, d 30 Nov 1911, giving his mother as Mrs Thos M Dunphy & his sisters Bessie A & Fannie A Dunphy, brother Clarence Dunphy. I would like to know if this is the beginning of our Dunphy line in Nova Scotia. There were other Dunphys in the Tatamagouche area but I haven't found a connection to them. I tried to condense this so if more information is needed, please let me know.
Best Regards, Sandra Carr Dunphy
William Dunphy of England and Cumberland County
QUERY #3:
From Gloria Henderson re: Albert Mailman - Lunenburg County:
I would like to submit my Brick Wall Query for your consideration.
My gg grandfather was Albert Mailman. Myself and an American cousin have tried for years to find the identity of Albert's parents. He didn't record that information on the registry of his marriage to Dena Baker on 27 June 1865. It alwo was not recorded on his death registry on 21 March 1919. He listed his dob as 25 December 1842 on the NS census of 1901. He is also listed in the census for 1911. He was born in Branch LaHave, Lunenburg County. Dena and Albert had ten children.
One interesting event gave us a unique insight into Albert's life. The infamous murder trial of Peter Mailman on 17 October 1873 mentioned Albert prominently. He was called to the witness stand and had to defend himself against Peter's accusations. Peter was subsequently hanged for the murder of his wife. Albert in his testimony mentioned a brother.
My quesion is 'Who were Albert's parents?'
We have researched census records and church records for Lunenburg county. We can't find a Mailman family matching Albert's dob. Possibly his dob was a fabrication and it is quite possible that he had a first name and Albert was a middle name. My cousin has also extensively interviewed many people in Lunenburg County and elsewhere including descendants of his children.
We would appreciate any advice you could give.
Gloria Henderson
Albert Mailman of Lunenburg County
Albert Mailman of Bridgewater b. ca 1842. Who were for his parents?
Gloria has tried census and marriage and death records... which had no parentage information Tried all Lunenburg county church registers
I started by looking at the transcription of the trial of Peter Mailman thinking that Albert might have been related to Peter. Unfortunately, there is no mention of any relationship. I think we can assume that they were NOT brothers, but I did not find Peter's parents either! There are references to relatives of Peter, but not of Albert. You could look at Halifax newspapers to see if they carried an account of the trial and if they gave any new details.
Like many others, Albert's birth year varies from 1836 to 1847, with the census of 1871 giving the latest, but I don't feel this is accurate even though it is the closest to his birth. I favour 1841 as it is stated 2-3 times! At any rate, you have to keep a very broad scope when searching church registers and allow the child to be several years old when baptised.
*Have you looked at the published cemetery indices for the county? Perhaps he was buried in the same cemetery as his parents.
*Check out all Mailmans in marriage records looking for some born in the Branch area of an age to be Albert's siblings and hopefully get parents. I found John Mailman [born c. 1842] marrying Sarah Meisner in 1865 in the same community but again no parents listed. Some possible couples who had children born in the 1840s are
| Michael & Catherine: | George, Louisa, James | |
| Frederick & Mary: | son Simeon [Albert had a son Simeon] | |
| Joseph & Sarah: | Cyrus, Drusilla, Asaiph | |
| John & Barbara: | Nathaniel |
Canon Harris Collection of Lunenburg families: This is a microfilmed scribbler of notes of various families sorted by parents and children. Considering that many used the same family names over and over, it can be very helpful. There was no connection for Peter and no Albert.
Canon Harris Notes: click on an image to enlarge:
There are Mailman families in other counties: in Queens, Annapolis, and Guysborough.
Queens county: The TB Smith collection does not have an Albert that fits.
Guysborough county: seems a long way away for a young man to have moved back to Bridgewater and quite a way up the river. So probably not a likely match.
Annapolis County: Peter Mailman had brothers in Graywood, which was 50 miles from Peter's house and 7 miles from Annapolis. George Mailman who lived there was old enough to be his father. There are several petitions to the Assembly from residents of this village dated in the 1840s that could be checked.
Probate and Land records were not helpful.
Further sources to look at: The archives biography cards for Mailman Families:
LV Shaw: a genealogy titled Qui Bono about Clements Township families
Micro: Biography Shaw mfm 10998
Elsie Thoresen's Lunenburg Families mfm 212-213
Lunenburg county School "Papers" has one file for 1839–40 that lists children and their ages for various communities including Sherbrook and Upper LaHave. Sometimes these have parents, although the finding aid didn't mention parents for this file. It is still worth a look. RG14 Vol. 43 file 1839–40 [mfm 21887]
QUERY #4:
From Sylvia Alonso re: Samuel Fisher - Halifax County:
Seeking info on parents of my maternal 3rd great-grandfather, Samuel FISHER, b. 2 June 1798 in Musquodoboit, Halifax, d. 12 April 1844, bur. in Elmsdale, Hants, who m. Jane PRATT, b. 2 September 1798 in Nova Scotia, d. 27 May 1872, bur. in Providence, Rhode Island, U.S.
Only clue is that one of Samuel and Jane's children, Samuel A. FISHER, b. 9 June 1835 in Elmsdale, Hants, d. ca. 9 September 1899, bur. in Barnes County, North Dakota, U.S., was mentioned in the Bismarck Daily Tribune of 21 November 1889 as having "American and French ancestry".
Searched the Internet (GANS, NEHGS, Family Search, Nova Scotia genealogy websites) for American Fishers who lived in Nova Scotia and were married to people of French ancestry, and found a Samuel Fisher, b. ca. 1750 in Londonderry, New Hampshire, U.S., who m. 24 December 1778 in Truro, Colchester, Marie Magdalene Langille, b. 4 October 1758 in Lunenburg, Lunenburg. They apparently had eight children (five females and three males), but the only info I have found on them is that the first two (Sarah and Mary) were born in Truro, Colchester, and the third one (Rosanna) in Musquodoboit, Halifax, where the family had moved around 1784.
Best regards, Sylvia Alonso
1. Found Samuel's (and Jane's) full names and birth dates in a Family Search Ancestral File (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.2.1/MW64-1ZF), which includes amongst their 12 children my great-great-grandmother, Mary Fisher. The names and birth dates of the children on the file are the same as the ones in an old handwritten list I found many years ago in the attic of my grandparents' home in Massachusetts. Unfortunately, the list did not include Samuel's or Jane's birth dates... and there was no one left to ask about them. I did write, years ago, to the lady who submitted the file, but no reply.
2. Found Samuel's death date in "Elmsdale 1785-1914" (The Nova Scotia Historical Quarterly, vol.2, No.2, June 1972, page 120), where Barbara Grantmyre mentions an inscription on a very early graveyard on Fisher Road in Elmsdale (where I know some of my ancestors lived for a while): SAMUEL FISHER April 12, 1844 Aged 46 years (which corresponds to a 1798 birth date).
3. Samuel's (and Jane's) full names appear in Mary Fisher's "return of a death" (in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts), obtained through NEHGS (http://www.americanancestors.org/PageDetail.aspx?recordId=125368072 ). Not a clue, though, as to when or where they were married, but probably in Musquodoboit, where the first lot of their children were born (the later lot were born in Elmsdale, where a Samuel Fisher bought land in 1830).
The only other piece of information I can provide is that, in the Canadian Census records where I have found some of my Fisher ancestors, their ethnic origin appears as Scottish or Scotch-Irish, and their religion Presbyterian.
I am perfectly aware of the fact that it will not be easy to find Samuel's parents with such flimsy information, but will be crossing my fingers. Any suggestions will be most welcome... though I will understand if the experts give up (I had, after digging for years, until I heard about the Brick Wall Busters!).
Samuel Fisher of Halifax County
Sylvia: Some observations about your ancestor Samuel Fisher. Among the first settlers of Elmsdale was a Philip Fisher who was granted land there in 1786. On his land grant petition (Nova Scotia Archives, RG20 'A') he was described as a disbanded Hessian Soldier from Colonel DeSeitz's Regiment — and therefore of Germanic origin. Several Hessian soldiers were granted land at Elmsdale but only Philip Fisher remained there. His descendants established a business building carriages on what became known as the Fisher Road between Elmsdale and an adjoining village called Enfield. This is now highway 2 and near this road is the Fisher cemetery where Samuel is buried.
I have included a listing of the gravestones in the Fisher cemetery (click on image to enlarge):
I have also included part of a page from the brief history of Elmsdale written by a Barbara Grantmyre in 1972 and published in the Nova Scotia Historical Quarterly (click on image to enlarge):
It suggests that Philip had a number of sons including Samuel, William, David, and Isaac. I have not been able to find a will for Philip so I cannot confirm that these four men were, in fact, his sons but they quite likely are.
QUERY #5:
From Martha Burns re: Agnes & Dennis Morris - Inverness County:
I am researching an Agnes Morris, who was born 29 mar 1901 at West Mabou Harbour, Inverness, Canada. I found this information on www.novascotiagenealogy,com. Registration year 1904 page number 69101718, which lists her father as Dennis J Morris and her mother as Christiana McFarlane. I found Agnes on the 1911 census living with Thomas and Catherine Burke and their children in Little Mabou. The next column 'relationship to head of household' is blank. I found her next on the 1920 US census in Brookline, Mass listed as a servant. She married Ronald Archibald Beaton in Somerville, Mass on 30 May 1932. Mass vital records Volume 51 page 524.
My brickwall is that I have been unable to find any reference to her father. Agnes' birth record shows Dennis was born in Port Hood, Inverness. I have not been able to find a marriage record for Dennis and Christiana, although Agnes's son Morris has told me they may not have married. I have been unable to find Dennis on any Canadian census records and I have browsed through the 1901/1911 census records on Ancestry looking for any Morris families to no avail. There is a comment on Agnes's birth record that Dennis was presumed to be dead! I have not been able to find any death record. The attestor to Agnes's birth was her godfather, but I am unable to read his handwriting to determine his surname.
I am hoping that you may be able to assist me in finding more info on Agnes's Morris family.
Thank you for your consideration,
Martha Burns
Agnes & Dennis Morris of Inverness County
Agnes Morris
Wants information about her father Dennis
First of all, there are several discrepancies in this request:
*Says her NS birth record has her father is Dennis J but the registration only gives Dennis, no initial.
*She says the mother's name was Christiana McFarlane but the record says Christiana McDonald.
* she says birth record has Dennis born in Port Hood. There is no mention of Port Hood on this certificate at all. It says father was living in Mabou at the time of her birth and his birthplace was HALIFAX!
* It says he was "presumed dead" which I think is just that no one knows where he was so he must be dead, but I don't think one can read anything into this statement made in 1927, by someone probably not related.
*the informant was her god-father Allan Mullens who shows up in Port Hood records and census with no problem, but I do not find the baptismal item in either the Port Hood or Mabou church registers for 1900-1902.
This seems like something one should be able to solve, lots of sources to search:
My first suggestion was to search the 1901 census as she was said born a day or two before the census was taken.
Click image to enlarge.
Not finding her or her parents, I did find two little Morris boys living with their grandparents Donald & Bessie McDonald and with a married Mary McDonald in the household. Now if Agnes' birth date is slightly out by a day or two, Mary could be with her parents for the impending birth of her baby.I am not sold on her mother's name being Christiana but this could be a middle name or just plain wrong.
The Antigonish Catholic Registers turn up 2 Dennis Morris entries.
I am pretty sure this second little fellow is the one in the 1901 census as the birth date Oct. 10 matches exactly.
If you can't find your ancestor, I always suggest you try looking for a sibling:
Follow these fellows to see if they can shed light on Dennis:
I do not find either in 1911. Patrick marries in 1922 and states his parents are the same as above but Dennis' birthplace is unknown. Inverness deeds have 2 references to Patrick in 1918 and 1919 involving widow Mary McDonald and Alexina McDonald, "spinster" about a will. Unfortunately, these deeds have not survived as there was a fire in the Inverness registry that leaves gaps both in wills and deed from about 1906-1930.
I found references for this Patrick Morris' death in 1965 both from a cemetery index for Port Hood and the index to the Antigonish Casket.
Unfortunately, I could not locate the actual obituary so you will have to read the paper closely to see if it mentioned any siblings. His obituary was not in the Chronicle Herald index. If we had the month, we could try the CB Post as well.
Willie: born 1895: Lost him completely, but interestingly found a birth registration for William Anthony Morris, son of Dennis Morris & Mary McDonald, born same year in Saint John, NB! This item is not visible so one could request this in hopes it might shed some light and maybe find this is the same family. I did not find them in the 1891 or 1901 census in New Brunswick.
Things to try:
There are no death records before 1908: so try cemeteries, Casket obituaries
There are very few Catholic marriages registered with the province for the Antigonish diocese, so it is not surprising that you can not find this marriage. You should try various parishes that are on-line.
Try different spellings: Morse, Morrice, etc
Read the History of Antigonish County by Rankin for McDonalds [there are over 100 pages of them, really!]
Try other counties: [too many!] Inverness, Antigonish, Guysborough and Halifax but also mining communities, though it never indicates Dennis is a miner. The only occupation we have is as labourer.
Dig in all the census, page by page
Is there a connection to Allan Mullins?
There are Catholic Morris' who are native, Stephen in Whycocomagh and some in Eskasoni near Sydney, but no Dennis.
Try NS Provincial directory of 1896 for all counties
Halifax Catholic church registers for Dennis and Margaret
Inverness County Deeds: only Morris reference to 1900 was for a trustee of Catherine M Morris, Halifax from FD Laurie, Port Hastings about a mortgage
There is a Catherine Morris, married, age 51 in the NS Hospital, Dartmouth in 1891. Her age makes her too old to be Patrick's mother and she is also listed as being Methodist.
Items searched:
Antigonish Catholic Diocese: familysearch.org
St Peters Port Hood:
p.74 scan image 175:
Agnes McDonald b.29 Sept 1902 bapt.2 Oct 1902
parents: John McDonald and Ann McEachern
sponsors: Angus McDonald & Flora Ann McDonald
p22 scan image 123:
Patrick Morris b. 28 May 1891 bapt. 21 June 1891
parents: Dennis Morris & Catherine McDonald
sponsors: Mary McDonald scanned
St Marys Mabou:
p.86 scan image 43: #2104
Donald James Morris b. 10 Oct. 1900 bapt. 18 Oct. 1900
Parents: Dennis R. Morris & Mary McDonald
Sponsors: John McDonald & Mary Campbell scanned
[poor quality scan Donald is just above the scratched out one, 4th from top]
St Andrews Judique:
Image 214 #199:
Mary Margaret McDonald b. 20 March 1901 bapt. 23 March 1901
Parents: Christy Belle McDonald & ---
[reported/reputed] or sworn the father was John [Dunford?]
Godmother: Catherine McDonald
Deeds: Inverness county:
1825-1870: no Morris
Mfm 18186: index 1881-1900: only one Morris
Catherine M Morris, Halifax, trustee from Francis Duke Laurie, Port hastings: mtg Bk 4 page 249 trustee is Benjamin Gray of Hfx re mortgage.
Mfm 18188: 1911-1930:
Morris, Patrick, farmer of Little Mabou to Angus McPhee of Little Mabou
Bk 31 p.323 1922 mortgage, release
Morris Patrick of Little Mabou: Mary McDonald of Little Mabou, widow bk 28 p713 1918 deed
Morris Patrick of Little Mabou & all: Alexina McDonald of Little Mabou, spinster bk28 p793 1919 will
[NS Archives records microfilm stop 1906. Note says fire in courthouse so missing 1908-1930. No will or deeds available. [try local county registry just in case.]
1891 NS Census Halifax county: Dartmouth
p.13 Morris, Catherine female, 51y md lodger, born NS Methodist "of unsound mind" [this appears to be the NS Hospital]
NS Vital Statistics: Marriages
1922 Bk31 p801
Patrick Morris 31y farmer, bachelor RC of Little Mabou, b. West Mabou
& Florence Ann McDonald 22y, spinster RC of Upper SW NS b. James River
Parents: Dennis Morris, birthplace ---- & Catherine McDonald
Angus McDonald b. Glencoe & Annie McIsaac
Antigonish Casket [newspaper]
Index : no Dennis Morris
No Morris' Port Hood/Mabou
Patrick Morris, Port Hood 73y 1965: Vol.112, issue 50 p.3 mfm 1212
Could not locate obit with this reference. scanned
Halifax Chronicle Herald: obit index 1961-2002:
No Patrick Morris
Florence Morris 6 Oct. 1986 Port Hood mfm 6277 [wife of Patrick]
Sydney Post Record index 1900-1956: no Patrick or Dennis Morris
Cemeteries:
Mfm 12063 Inverness Cemeteries: Mabou RC [old]:
#81a Mullins Allan 1854-1946
81b wife Mary 1960
80 Margaret 1907-1933 d/o Mr & Mrs Allan Mullin
Port Hood RC [new]
34. "father" Patrick Morris 1891-1965 [only one]
Port Hood RC [old]
#34 McDonald Donald J d. 10 June 1916 88yr
#35 Mary A wife of donald J d. 12 July 1906 69y
No other Morris, no Donald or Bessie McDonald 1836-1901---
Census indices:
Guysborough 1881, 1891 no Dennis Morris
Cape Breton Co. 1871 no Dennis
Antigonish 1891 no Dennis
Richmond 1871 no Morris
1901 & 1911 Census: automatedgenealogy.com :
Inverness: Port Hood:
Allan & Mary Mullens /Mullans
1901 Poplar Grove:["part of Mabou Village"
Donald [65y, carpenter RC] & Bessie [65y]McDonald son Alex 29 single; dau Mary 31y 'md' and grandsons : Willie 5y b. 30 Sept 1895 & Dan b. 10 Oct. 1900 [Daniel/Donald often interchanged]
***note same birthdate as baptism for son of Dennis & Mary 1900. scanned
New Brunswick Vital Records:
Public Archives of NB: searched for Dennis Morris
Found an interesting item: births: Saint John county:
William Anthony Morris born June 28, 1895 at Saint John, NB
Parents: Dennis Morris and Mary McDonald
[image not available]
* note this is same birth year as young Willie in 1901 census
QUERY #6:
From Richard Whitney re: Donald & Hugh McDonald - Antigonish County:
I am looking for the ancestry of brothers Donald and Hugh McDonald, specifically for their parents' names, birth, marriage, and death dates
Donald McDonald was born about 1825 in Antigonish, Nova Scotia. He immigrated to Thomaston Maine in 1847 and married Mary B. Cullen about 1852 in Thomaston. They had five surviving children. Donald died on 8 December 1901 and was buried in Thomaston. On the side of Donald's headstone in the St. James cemetery, is the inscription: 'DONALD McDONALD 1793-1876'.
His brother Hugh was born about 1830 in Antigonish, Nova Scotia and came to Thomaston, Maine, USA, in 1847. He married Hannah Cullen on 23 Sept. 1854 in Thomaston. They had seven surviving children. Hugh died in 12 January 1874 and was buried in Thomaston.
The 1870 Thomaston census listed Alexander McDonald age 33, living with Hugh. I'm assuming that Alexander was a brother or at least a close relative. Based on data from "Nova Scotia Antigonish Catholic Diocese 1823-1905" on familysearch.org, there was an Alexander McDonald born on 24 Feb. 1837 and baptized in St. Ninian's Cathedral, Antigonish, Antigonish, Nova Scotia on 16 Apr. 1837. His Father was listed as Donald McDonald and his mother, Catherine.
I have found brothers Donald and Hugh in Thomaston census records. I have found their immigration documents. I have found their marriage and death dates as well as their children's birth dates in the Thomaston, Maine vital records. I also have land records.
I'm assuming that based on the inscription on Donald's headstone, his father was named Donald. I have no indications that the senior Donald was actually buried in Thomaston, but believe the inscription may have been as a memorial. If Alexander was in fact a brother, then the mother's name would have been Catherine, but this is conjecture.
I would greatly appreciate any further information or advice.
Richard (Dick) WhitneyDonald & Hugh McDonald of Antigonish County
Dick: The first search I did was in the Antigonish Casket newspaper which has been indexed for deaths and obituaries, Although there are many Donald McDonalds listed there is only one who died in 1876. He died at Fraser's Grant, Antigonish County, on 4 May 1876, aged 84, a native of Arisaig, Scotland. The death notice gives no other information. This Donald has no obituary and no Will and no Estate Papers. The brothers Donald and Hugh and the Alexander who you mention are not listed in the index to the Casket. My first suggestion to you is to locate a copy of Rankin's book on the History of Antigonish County published in 1929. In his book Rankin spend 100 pages on identifying the first McDonald families to settle in Antigonish County. If you went through the 100 pages you may find a McDonald, possibly a Donald McDonald, who had sons Donald and Hugh who moved to Maine. My second suggestion is for you to locate a copy of Ray MacLean's book on the History of Antigonish published in 1976. He also describes all of the McDonald settlers in the County. In these two books you may find the names of the parents of Donald and Hugh.