Irish Ancestors - Patrick and Margaret (Conlon) Doyle

I've broken down two brick walls over the last week. I found the death certificates for my greatgrandparents, Patrick and Margaret (Maggie) Doyle. Identifying their exact birth and death dates had been frustrating for me over the years, but now those records are digitized. Patrick Doyle was born 17 May 1858 in Ireland. He died 31 May 1924 at 1948 Cruger Avenue, Bronx, New York. I know this is "my" Patrick, because my grandparents, my father and his siblings lived at that address. It gives his occupation as a Street Cleaner, which I knew. What I didn't know was his parents names, John and Mary Doyle. Margaret (Conlon) Doyle was born abt 1867 (no exact date), and died 1 January 1928 at 1948 Cruger Street, Bronx, New York. What I didn't know were her parents Michael and Catherine Conlon. The executor is listed as Mary Nunn (incorrectly listed as Neenn), who is my grandmother. When I found these folks I jumped up and did a happy dance. But these documents did not tell me where they were from in Ireland. Information I want to learn before I attend the Irish SIG hosted by the Manatee Genealogical Society on December 12. This new SIG is being offered due to the generousity of Irish genealogy expert Donna Moughty. Through the census years I had documented the "cousins" who had lived with the Doyles. One set of "cousins" were the Gormley brothers. I had researched them at an earlier date and found they emigrated from Ballinclee, Ireland. Maggie Doyle had Conlon cousins that I knew about, in fact I met two of them when I was small, but so far have not been able to find documentation of the relationship to Maggie. Those cousins weren't helpful because they were all born in the U.S. I remembered I had noted a woman, Margaret Hoey, who lived with my grandparents in the 1930 census. I searched Margaret Hoey in the Ancestry database and Bam! She was really easy to find. The immigration database showed her birth date as 13 Sepetember 1908, her birthplace Ballinclee, Co, Longford, Cobh, Ireland. She arrived in New York on 29 March 1926. Then the cincher: Her parents were listed as Ernest Hoey and Catherine (Conlon) Hoey. Could Margaret's mother be Maggie's sister, named for their mother? I will have to make a trip over to the Godfrey Library and use their International Ancestry subscription to work on that angle. She listed the person in the U.S. as John Conlon, but she stayed with the Nunn family (my grandparents) at 1948 Cruger Avenue, Bronx, New York. Margaret Hoey married Michael Lennon, of County Monaghan, Ireland. They lived at 1807 Archer St. Bronx, New York. With this research, I'm pretty certain my Patrick and Maggie Doyle were from the Ballinclee area of Ireland.

Noah Agard, Jr.

I started working on the Agard family history twenty-four years ago and have taken the family up through the ninth generation. I am revisiting this monograph to flesh our all those ancestors a bit more. I will double check the citations (from when I was a baby genealogist), and edit the write-ups for a more narrative flow. Yesterday, when working on the the sixth generation I realized I hadn't done any research on the last child of Noah and Rebecca Ann (Fletcher) Agard. The only thing I had was his name, Noah Agard, Jr, his birth and death dates - 14 March 1866 - 15 Jan 1887. Poor Noah died just before his twenty-first birthday. Since the Agards are a long line of farmers, I assumed that Noah, Jr. was probably working on his father's farm at the time of his death. But I couldn't be certain. I checked the 1880 census and no occupation was listed for him. I went to the Fulton History website for newspaper articles. There I found that Noah died at his father's house. Still, no occupation. Further down the newspaper listings was an article from 1885. Bingo! The article pasted below is what I love about genealogy. I still would like to get his death certificate, and will work on that. The Watkins Democrat of June 24, 1885, told me what I really wanted to know about Noah, Jr.: “Noah Agard, Jr., a resident of Mecklenburgh, N. Y., who makes a business of coloring, retouching and throwing up with oil colors, photographs of almost every variety, is in town taking orders for work in his line. His prices are so much lower than the general average, for this kind of work, that his orders cannot fail of being numerous. He will call at your residence and receive your orders or they may be forwarded to his address as above, where they will receive prompt attention. We have seen some very fine specimens from his hands, which evince no little ability.”

Esther Agard's Journey - June 18, 2023 Update

Writing helps you make sense of things, so that's what I decided to do on this Sunday afternoon. With the help of a timeline, I've disproved previous assumptions of John and Esther Agard's journey to America. Previous researchers assumed that the child born on 16 July 1683 and listed by the Boston Vital Records as "Esther, daughter of John and Esther Agard" was a mistake and actually a son, John the Younger Agard, was born on that date. I don't think so. I found a baptism of "Esther, dau of John Agard" on 22 July 1683 in the Old South Church, Boston, MA digitized records. Today I found the baptism of John, son of Widow Agard baptized on 30 November 1684 in the Old South Church, Boston, MA. I'm assuming that baby Esther was born 16 July 1683 and died before 1685 when Esther married Samuel Storrs. Because the record stated her as "Widow," John the Elder Agard must have died between July 1683 and November 1684. That's all great information. But, I cannot find a birth record for John the Younger, or a death record for John the Elder Agard. There are no Findagrave entries for either. I learned John the Elder was a weaver and Seth Perry became surety for him. Maybe I should track down this Seth Perry. Any thoughts on where I should go next would be greatly appreciated.

Esther's Journey

I attended the New England Regional Genealogical Conference this past week with a specific goal in mind. That goal was to discover Esther Agard's journey. Esther is the wife of John the Elder Agard, purported to be the founding father of the Agards in America. The only information we have of John in America is that he either died on the ship or upon arrival in Boston. Is that true? And if so, then it is actually Esther that is the founding member of the Agards in America. The research so far has them landing in Boston in April 1683 with the birth of their son, John the Younger in July 1683. Two years later we find Esther in Barnstable, MA marrying Samuel Storrs. The couple had three childre, Thomas Storrs b: 1686, Esther Storrs b: 1688, and Cordial Storrs b: 1692. That information isn't enough. I want to know if John made it onto America soil before he died. I want to know how Esther got to Barnstable, and why. I want to connect with her and learn about what her life was like. I realized through the conference that to get these answers, I'll need to read about the early history of Boston, try to find a death record for John, and trace Samuel Storrs. Finding out when and why he settled in Barnstable might give me a hint as to that migration pattern. The Massachuetts Genealogy Society staff were helpful and gave me some ideas. They also said Barnstable has great records. That historical society will be opening mid-May. The Fall River Historical Society will have information. I will have to bone up on Massachusetts laws at that time. A lot of work ahead of me, but at least I can now design a new research plan. The Mormons believe your ancestors want you to find them. I've learned that is true. You just have to work at it.

Winnie Doyle and James Farley

My father's side, the Nunns and Doyles, have been difficult to research, and my grandmother's sister, Winifred Doyle has been lost to me. My recent 23 and Me DNA test put me in touch with one of Winifred's descendants. Yay!!! Winnie Doyle married James Farley, and with this information I still had trouble placing them until their descendant told me they went back to Ireland for a time. I've sent my second cousin photos of Patrick and Maggie Doyle and a photo I hope has her great-grandparents, Winnie and James. It is a great photo (showned above) as it also shows my grandparents, Mary Agnes (Doyle) Nunn, Harry Nunn and Maggie Doyle. I'm waiting for confirmation that the couple on the right is Winnie and James. I have messages out to some other "cousins," though none are a very close match. And I also have more names to work on. Genealogy is never-ending, and that's what we love about it.

Joseph Agard b: 1746

I am back working on my Agard family line. I started this research in the early 2000s and recently organized the write-ups on each generation into a 3-ring binder.

I chose to work on the third generation, the family of John and Mary (Mason) Horsford Agard. I started with their first son, Joseph, born 17 Aug 1746 who married Tabitha Leach bef 1775. Delving into this line, I learned that Joseph and Tabitha moved west to New York. I learned this line of the Agards moved to Smithville Flats, New York. With help from the local historical society I was able to put together information on the family and surprised to see how many Agards are buried in the local cemetery there. Here is the write-up so far on the Joseph and Tabitha Agard: Joseph married Tabitha Leach (b: 20 Nov 1750- d: 8 September 1818 age 67) bef 1775. Tabitha was the daughter of Richard and Amity Rebecca (Bugbee) Leach. In 1776, Joseph was a new-comer into the Winchester Society. “The town of Winchester lies in the northeast corner of the county. It is situated in the ‘Evergreen district of the state,’ and is hilly and mountainous. The soil a coarse gravelly loam and well adapted to graving. Winchester was granted by the Colonial Legislature in January 1686, to the towns of Hartford and Windsor. By dissolution of the partnership between the two towns, Winchester came under the sole proprietorship of Hartford.” Joseph and Tabitha moved to Pawlings, New York in 1803, where he claimed he owned a house and lot with real estate of 334 acres. The couple had six children. In 1798 the first settler of Smithville, New York, Robert Lytle, sold land to Joseph Agard and Epaphas Sheldon, and families. Smithville was founded in 1808 from part of the Town of Greene. I surmise Joseph moved his family to Smithville because of the land that became available following the Revolutionary War and subsequent treaties with the Indians. The quantity of land purchase is not known. “Joseph Agard built first frame house “which stood in front of Robert Hetrick residence” in hamlet of Smithville. (Smith’s History) “In front of” is not clearly defined but believed to be across street from current location, next to Seebers. Later deeded (1811) to his son Erastus. Joseph and Tabitha are buried in Smithville Flats Cemetery, Chenango County, New York, Plot 169. The epitaph on the grave of Tabitha: "She was the wife of Joseph, Esq., one of the 1st settlers in this town (1798), who after many years of the greatest toil in this howling wild, in which she with her family suffered much by hunger and nakedness, was taken with a lingering illness which lasted several years. She suffered great pain of body and depression of spirit. She knew in whom she believed, and waited with patience the coming of the Lord. She was an obedient wife, a loving mother, and keeper at home. She was a succorer of many in the settling of this country, both Indians and white men, who often received food from her hand. She instructed her children to be always obedient to their father and to fear God. Every day she was attentive to prayer, bowing the knee to the Lord, Jesus, thus leaving a glorious example to all her sex to be obedient to their own husband and teachers of good things and chaste keepers at home. She had 4 sons who cleared this ground where she and all this great family lie." There Agards buried in the Smithville Flats Cemetery: Clarissa Agard (1788-21 Feb 1869) Lot 4; Erastus Agard (11 Feb 1787-1 Oct 1863) Lot 169; Erastus Jordan Agard (1828-17 May 1860 Lot 169; John Agard (1838-Unknown) Lot 169; Latiums Agard (1830-1 Apr 1848) Lot 169; Sally Carpenter Agard (1797-5 Jun 1863) Lot 169; Tabitha Leach Agard (20 Nov 1750-8 Sept 1818) Lot 169; Joseph Agard (17 Aug 1746-25 Aug 1836) Lot 169; Ulisia Agard (1825-18 Sept 1836) Lot 169; Tabitha “Roxy” Agard (17 May 1779-4 Oct 1814) Lot 165; Marianne Agard Grant (1820-1905) Pharsalia Agard Scott (1823-3 Jan 1866) Lot 169. This research opened up a whole new avenue of research and making sure I have the right Joseph.