Surname Saturday Doohan/Dugan of Donegal

Another generation has been documented of the Doohan/Dugan family of Crossroads Donegal.

Mary Dugan Faunt and Rose Doohan Coyle, first cousins died young and left young children with no clear story of their origin.

A very small group of cousins have connected in this electronic age and are piecing together the family.

My Grandfather Ed Faunt who was 4 when his Mother died belonged to the "Sons of Donegal" and often sang a song about it. His cousin Jimmy Coyle has a memory of walking up Broad Street with his mother at 3 or 4 and no other recollection of her.

Norah Doohan McFadden of Crossroads sold Irish Sweepstake tickets to her cousins until her death after 1965. Her sister Catherine Doohan worked at Mt.Carmel Rectory 3rd and Snyder when she immigrated in 1928 and later moved to Norristown.

Rose Veronica Coyle granddaughter of Rose Doohan Coyle was Miss America in 1936. Everyone in our family has always been aware of this astonishing fact but not one of us could figure out how Rose Coyle is related to us. Now we do.

Patrick, Denis, Bryan(Bernard) and John Dugan/Doohan were brothers in Ireland. Just past Crossroads (now Falcarragh) is the 'Bridge of Sorrows' that took them out of the valley toward the port at Derry and left their families behind.John Dugan and his newly married wife emigrated to Philadelphia in 1865.They had no children and he prospered and one by one many of his nieces and nephews joined him there.

Search for my Grandfather

When I did the post on the search for 16 Great Greats it may have been obvious that there is a hole in my ancestry.Genetic Genealogy is pointing me to a place if not a name. That post indicated that a fair size chunk of my autosomal profile points a man who came from the Baltic region.

I was offered an opportunity to participate in the Beta test for 'Relative Finder' at 23andMe and jumped at the chance.I had wanted to test the full genome autosomal but balked at the price. Myself and hundreds and hundreds of the group of genealogists who believe that DNA is a short cut over big brick walls took the plunge.

Anecdotally I am convinced this unknown man was a merchant sailor who came into Baltimore.My teen aged Grandmother never gave up an identity as I understand it and Dad himself professed not to know who he was. We were told that his birth certificate was 'sealed' through his adoption by his grandmother.

Grandmother married a Norwegian sailor, Sigurd Boe, who many years later indicated he could be his father.He repeated this after Grandmom passed away but my father said " you're not my father, I don't know who my father was". Dad and Stepfather however, had many similarities; coloring,shoe size and both were very soft spoken.

I currently have 187 matches on 'Relative Finder' most of which are distant cousins.All of these persons have not yet made contact with me and none are closer than 3rd cousin.Most if not all of them seem to match my know Irish connections.

The genome wide autosomal allows for a more uniform look at who I inherited my DNA from.
Prior testing like mitoDNA and X markers and X strs pointed to my female to female lines.The X markers by their nature exclude anything of a paternal line and is sometimes referred to as the 'paternal grandmother test'.Dad as a male inherited a Y chromosome from his father and his other chromosome, the X, from his mother.

One of the advantages of a large testing group is the availability of population samples for geographic location. Dr. Doug McDonald is working with Scots and Irish populations and compared my genome with his model. He indicates that I am very very Irish in my ethnicity!

A small but clear subset of my genome looks different and from the region across the North Sea .

The conclusion falls right in line with what I have been told previously which is both Native and Baltic.The first look at my genome in 2006 was said to be a Northern Native American which fairly quickly resolved itself into Polish or Russian tribal.

He( McDonald) feels it points to somethings like Swedish or Finnish Saami or Lapps. That fits with everything else.I asked him if it was from the unknown grandfather or my known Swedish Swanson great grandfather and he feels it is likely both of them.

This makes absolute sense to me.Dad's birth certificate which I was able to acquire after his death notes a Louis Seybold as the father.The ethnicity there also points to the Baltic region perhaps.

Dad was quite blond and blue eyed and a great sailor also although his Carrow uncle was a ship captain and he grew up directly on the Delaware River banks.

Saami.Let me try it on for effect.

Destination - Chestertown Maryland

Destination Delmarva at Washington College in Chestertown Maryland was an event I am glad I attended this past Saturday. Sponsored by Colonial Roots, Delaware Genealogical Society and Maryland Genealogical and attended by at least 100 avid researchers, it was definitely not-to-be-missed.

My cousin and I traveled together and so thoroughly enjoyed driving past important markers in our ancestors lives.We are probably lucky it was cold and rainy or we would have stopped several times and been late both going and coming. Who knew that we would pass the Queen Anne Courthouse and St.Luke's Church? Someone did, of course but not these two from Salem County NJ and St.Georges Delaware who were enthralled at our proximity to our family history.We plan to drive up to the area on a non-rainy day and inspect "the road past where Henry Carrow lives" which has been memorialized in Queen Anne records.

Equally exciting for me was spending the day in the company of Mary Beaulieu my fellow blogger and compatriot in uncovering elusive Delmarva ancestors. The entire assemblage was so like minded as we scooped up newer publications like "Dorchester County Marriages" like they were gold nuggets and excitedly met others researching the same folks.

Russ McCabe is to be thanked for requesting as his "gold watch" at his recent retirement 100 copies of "East of the Mason-Dixon Line" and giving one to each attendee. I was awestruck when he told us how our ancestors traveled up from Accomac VA via the waterways which illustrated why they settled where they did. Russ told us of narratives like " my parents and I left Accomac in 1683 " which I must now go and find. His talk was absolutely one of the most exciting I have heard.

Sally Deakyne Burke and Peggy Deakyne Mealy, wonderful researchers and authors most impressed me with their interest in a common tie between my Carrow ancestors and their Deakynes. We mutually agreed to explore that tie in detail and I personally vowed to make sure my research is as accurate as it can be.

Ed Wright's Church records are always enlightening but he has shared much of that with me on other occasions. Rebecca Kolford gave a breathtaking talk on our female ancestors and how to illuminate their lives through their vital statistics and those of their family members. I won't soon forget her Whitman forebears.

Besides the rain and chill the only downside was that we had to make choices on which presentation we would attend. My gratitude to all those at the Delaware and Maryland societies who underwrote the workshops and provided the delectable bakery items that were ever available and were always ready to chat.

How They Came

Ellen Lynch Faunt and infant son William came to America in June 1969 on the ship City of Paris ahead of husband and older son Patrick. Ellen presumably had relatives to live with near New Jersey where we find the family in early 1870. but they have proved elusive.

A couple named Michael and Ellen Lynch are in Pennsylvania around the same time and the occupation, Greengrocer, fits with what I know of Ellen and William in Beverly NJ around 1880.
A big question mark for me is did the family "split up" or safety reasons or was it purely economics? Many Irish couples worked and saved and came one at a time but I am not sure this is the case.

William Faunt has a British Army pension and did not fit into a more typical profile of 19th century immigrants. The couple lived in Belfast after William was medically discharged from duty and he could do little heavy lifting so I am not sure he stayed behind to work his passage.
A second son also named William is born , and presumably dies in Belfast.Possibly Ellen is fleeing Ireland or the smoke of Belfast with her second William,her third son.

William Senior first is found as caretaker of Wall Rope Company in Beverly NJ and soon enough he and Ellen are listed as greengrocers.The family lived in rooms above the rope factory. Their oldest child, my great grandfather Patrick was not five when they came.Eventually he works in the rope factory and possibly helps his mother with the family greengrocer endeavor.Family lore indicates that Patrick's wife Mary Dugan is also a greengrocer.

Mary Dugan's uncle John Dugan comes to America first with his wife Rose Coyle.They are thought to have been childless and brought Mary and her brother Bernard to America one at a time.He seems to have been an entrepreneur although it is a little unclear in what capacity.A livery stable is a strong possibility. Possibly this is how the couple met as Patrick surely took the ferry to Philadelphia from the New Jersey side for his mother's produce.

The ship Alsatia when it sails in 1878 has a Sarah Coyle, possibly a cousin from Donegal on it so Mary does not come alone. Her brother Bernard comes several years later.Our speculation and that of an Irish researcher is that father Patrick Dugan is deceased by this time. Catherine McClafferty Dugan and the couple's last child James as well as other unknown siblings of Mary and Barney are still alive in the 1911 census.

William Faunt and his son Patrick do not live to grow old in America, victims of early heart attacks in 1889 and 1921. Ellen Faunt marries Charles Schneider, baker, in Beverly in 1890 and disappears from records after her American born daughters marry well.

Mary Dugan Faunt dies in 1902 of what sounds like a strangulated hernia possibly for the heavy lifting entailed in the produce business. Patrick raises six young children although tales abound of almost monthly evictions.The older siblings delay marrying until the two youngest boys have left home. Patrick fathers a son from a second marriage in 1918 but is dead in 1921.His son from that marriage George Patrick dies in Italy in WWII.

Don't we all think our family's emigration narratives unique and their struggles in America poignantly difficult? I surely do, but I am very grateful for their journeys.They did it for me and mine.

Tombstone Tuesday

These actually came to my attention last night which was Tuesday. My Great Grandfather Patrick Faunt was born in Limerick Ireland and is last found in records in the 1920 census with wife Florence and children Helen and George.

I failed to find a death for him after numerous tries.I believe this to be him and have records being searched this week. There is another Patrick living in the area but they spell their last name differently..Font.They are not sure they are related.I am sure they are as I have pulled about 50 Irish records including their Patrick.

Patrick's father William (1840-1889) is also buried in this cemetery St. Peter's in Riverside New Jersey as well as some infants born in America. William Faunt and Ellen his wife brought their two little boys to Beverly New Jersey in 1869, William had a military pension from the British Army.Pat's sisters Jennie Faunt Cooper and Nellie Faunt Hutchins who were born in America lived nearby in Burlington City.

Find A Grave has had both of these added since I last looked.George Patrick Faunt was killed in WWII and apparently was orphaned young. This was a fact of life for my Patrick as his first wife Mary Dugan died in 1902 leaving him with six young children to raise.Edward my grandfather had just turned four.

George Faunt's draft record indicates he supports his widowed mother.Poor dear.So many motherless and fatherless children in my immediate family.

Rest In Peace, Patrick and George and may perpetual light shine on you.

Early Delaware Edenfield family

The trusty and accomplished researcher who assists me with my Delaware and Maryland family lines has brought back an amazing amount of data.It is still a work in progress and maybe always will be but much of it is entrancing. In the Carrow family there are other lines and relatives, of course, including Edenfield, Maloney and Jones.


William F.Carrow who is a Civil War Veteran married Margaret Edenfield.Actually both he and Margaret married others during the war but were both widowed. They married in 1878 and she brought a child to the marriage.

I was hoping to find a way back to the first Edenfield, John who comes from Yorkshire and marries in Kent County Delaware by 1702 without hitting a minefield. The minefield comes in the person of Jonas Edenfield who has been called the"Pirate of Bombay Hook" for his enterprenurial efforts with the British warships during the Revolution and the sale of beef and rum.

However it seems at this point that the line goes from Thomas Edenfield who is father to my Margaret Carrow through another Thomas and then..guess what..Jonas and then another Jonas before the immigrant.

Good news here is that the first Jonas seemingly marries Tabitha Stedham who is of the "Old Swedes" Stidhams which is a plus. Another upbeat bit of news is that Jonas Sr.'s niece Lydia marries William Clayton which is the family of Caesar Rodney.

Jonas Stidham's partner in this endeavor on the marshes off Delaware was a Lucas Stedham who went on to "take the Oath" of allegiance to the new country and thus got off the hook.Jonas however may have only paid a minuscule fine which probably speaks to conflicted loyalties in the area.

There are a couple of decades of tax records to be scrutinized before my Thomas Edenfield who is orphaned quite young is officially in the Thomas, Thomas,Jonas, Jonas line but it is looking like a sure thing.The mists of time are being penetrated slightly for me to peek in.

More cousins in Beverly New Jersey ?

The daughters of Richard Swanson and Mary Agnes Rementer Swanson have by and large had happiness elude them.One notable exception was Bessie Katherine , youngest child,who married Dan Ulmer and seems to have fared very well.Of the six daughters three are dead at an early age leaving motherless children.

Margaret Swanson sister of my grandmother may have had another child before she passed away in 1923. Recently we found that Margaret had had a whirlwind courtship in 1906 which ended at some point in divorce.Her bridegroom was a Baseball player and local legend John Westley Reasnor and they eloped to the chagrin of his fans.

My cousin and I have been trying valiantly to unearth details.Margaret's son John Westley Reasnor, also a Baseball player of some renown goes by the name of John Westly. He and his two sisters are found in a children's home in 1920. Newspaper clippings of 1918 that reported that John Rasnor died in WWI in France were possibly inserted by him or a friend as he is found alive afterwards. Another news story in 1920 indicates his mother had a "Dream" that he was still alive and asked the local police to try to locate him. Is it possible she wants her grandchildren properly cared for and knows he is shirking his responsibilty?

Family stories are that the couple divorced and that Margaret is deceased by 1920. Imagine our surprise to find a cemetery record for Margaret Swanson Gorgand while other relatives interments were being searched. The spelling was very wrong but it seems that Margaret Swanson remarries by 1922 or at least by her death Feb. 7, 1923 to one Orest Gorgana or Gargana.She is buried in a Swanson family plot in Monument Cemetery in Beverly NJ .

The 1930 census shows Orest Gargana and a second wife Florence with Evelyn and Anthony.Evelyn does not seem to be a child of that new marriage as she is seven and they are married in 1925.

Our faithful Burlington County genealogy buddy researcher has found that Evelyn , if she is daughter to Margaret Swanson is raised in Beverly NJ as a daughter to Orest and Florence Gargana. Her obituary names them as parents and names Anthony,Rosemarie and Raymond as siblings.We await a birth record from NJ Archives to know for sure who Evelyn's mother was.

Questions that always linger for me is how in such a tiny town were such large secrets kept?
Why was life so hard for these girls in this family? Only one of the sisters lived to raise their children as one lost her only child and one lived with a man for many years without marriage or children. A last question would be poignant,did Margaret marry to try to provide a home for her children or did she place them in a home to try and salvage a life for herself?

UPDATE ~ Birth records show Evelyn Gargana is not the daughter of Margaret Swanson so this one time at least I can not be upset at the Swanson family lack of cohesiveness.