Re: MacFarlanes of Hillsborough and Hopewell
You were correct about the Mary Anne's death record. It confirmed that she was the daughter of Alonzo and Alfretta, and thus the sister of my Great-Grand Father John Marven McFarlane. If you are still interested in sharing info, let me know, OK?
Scott Jack London, ON
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Re: MacFarlanes of Hillsborough and Hopewell
I am wondering if you ever resolved who were the parents of James McFarlane who married Catherine Fagan? I vote for the son of Charles Mcfarlane and Mary Ann Easter, born abt 1828 and recorded in the 1851 census for Dorchester, age 24. Here are some reasons. 1) this James was not recorded in Dorchester in 1861 - he was elsewhere - perhaps in Coverdale married to Catherine . I believe the census for that area is missing. Perhaps he was at sea?
2) His daughter Margaret's late birth reg. states he was a seaman. Interestingly his son Alonzo also worked as a sailor ( 1877 - a seafarers of the Atlantic provinces source is on Ancestry) and James brother Millidge McFarlane was also a sailor (he died in Dec 1869 in an accident on a ship in Saint John harbour (Daniel Johnson Vital Statistics) So being a sailor was a tradition in the family.
3) although it gives his nationality as English, that could be because the census recorder (who could not spell McFarlane) was possibly French speaking and so wrote English because they spoke English - there were also French speaking families in the area . Just a thought
4) Catherine Fagan's mother was Olive Jonah, who was a daughter of Sophia Lutz, sister of Rosanna Lutz (2nd wife of Robert McFarlane SR - head of all the McFarlane clan in Dorchester) several other McFarlane's married wives from that family - John McFarlane married Rosanna Jonah, sister of Olive - Ralph McFarlane married Mary Fagan, sister of Catherine
5) the other James , son of Michael and Hannah (Rogers) who lived in Moncton in 1851 - I have seen other records that show him married to wife named Mary and living in Moncton in 1871 when Catherine was a widow so that would eliminate him.
I would be interested in your comments. Donna GS
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Re: MacFarlanes of Hillsborough and Hopewell
I hope this might help a bit.. My mom Iris Soady was Fanny MacFarlane's daughter (daughter of Alonzo & Lorretta). My mom talked about her grandparents and from what she said I got the impression Alonzo was Scottish or first generation Canadian. It was a huge deal in our house to wear MacFarlane plaid. My mom also said her grandparents had possibly 20 children and that at least two sets of twins and several babies/children that died either at birth or shorty after. Your thoughts? Gail O'Neill gailoneill6@gmail.com
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Re: MacFarlanes of Hillsborough and Hopewell
Hi Gail, this is your cousin Kathy. We have now figured out who Alonzo's parents are and we found a census with his sisters names on it as well. His father was James MacFarlane, mother was Catherine Fagan, sisters were Catherine, Mary and Mariah. Scott and I have been reconfirming and redefining all the details to make sure we have no mistakes.
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Re: MacFarlanes of Hillsborough and Hopewell
Hi Donna. I have been staring at the collection of circumstantial evidence for Alonzo's parents being Catherine Fagan and James McFarlane, i.e., what Margaret MacFarlane declares in her 1927 birth registration. It comes down to a series of "if" - "then" statements:
1 - IF the Margaret MacFarlane in the 1927 birth record is the "Maggie" from the 1881 Census, i.e.:
Catherine McFarlane age 49 Mariah age 12 Maggie age 22 Cassie age 20
and
2 - IF the Catherine and Mariah from the above 1881 Census are the same Catherine and Mariah from the 1871 Census, i.e.:
Catherine McForling age 45 Catherine McForling age 14 Olonzo McForling age 12 Mary M. McForling age 10 Mary A, McForling age 8
3 - THEN I think that we can say that Margaret MacFarlane is the sister of Mariah McFarlane/McForling and thus the sister of Alonzo/Olonzo, making Catherine and James Alonzo's parents, given the trail of bread crumbs that lead back to Margaret's 1927 birth registration.
If you consider this convincing enough, then you should add James and Catherine to your tree. If you want to see something that requires less circumstantial evidence, like a birth document for Alonzo that shows his parents, then they should not be added. I am leaning toward the former.
I have been discussing this with Kathy (and my mother, Marilyn McFarlane) for quite a while now. I haven't been willing to take the plunge, but the above evidence, although circumstantial, is quite compelling.
One thing that does bother me: I can't find any record that shows Catherine Fagan as a child of Patrick Fagan and Olive Jonah. This is important, in my mind, since it will inform her line going backward. Do you have anything Domna?
Regards,
Scott Jack London, ON
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Re: MacFarlanes of Hillsborough and Hopewell
...... and for completeness, I have also attached Margaret MacFarlane's birth registration.
Scott
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Re: MacFarlanes of Hillsborough and Hopewell
Just noticed that, for point 2 above, I mis-spelled Maria A's name in the list for the 1871 family as Mary A. Sorry about that.
Scott
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Re: MacFarlanes of Hillsborough and Hopewell
Hi Scott, I think Catherine Fagan is a daughter of Patrick Fagan and Olive Jonah , and also there was a son William Fagan - for the following reasons
1) When you look at the 1851 census, in all of New Brunswick there are only 5 families with the surname Fagan. (I use the Automate Genealogy Web site) 3 of those families have a correction beside the name that says the name was misspelled and is actually Finnegan , and they are all French. The 4th is a couple in Saint John and they "arrived" in NB in 1851. That leaves only the family of Patrick and Olive in Coverdale , William in Coverdale and Catherine in Moncton
Fagan William 21 NB Albert County Coverdale Parish 1 10 25 (boarder with Smith family)
Fagan Patrick 61 NB Albert County Coverdale Parish 1 16 26 (arr 1817 - Irish) Fagan Olive 55 NB Albert County Coverdale Parish 1 16 27 Fagan Mary O 18 NB Albert County Coverdale Parish 1 16 28 Fagan Rebecca 13 NB Albert County Coverdale Parish 1 16 29 Fagan Eliza A 3 NB Albert County Coverdale Parish 1 16 30 (granddaughter)
Fagan Catherine 22 NB Westmorland County Moncton Parish 85 39 8 (servant with Robertson family)
There was also another possible daughter - Mariah Fagan (b 1823) who married Joshua Jonah They also lived in Hillsborough in 1851
I think William and Catherine were old enough to work elsewhere, and Mariah was already married.
2) On Roots Web - ONE BIG CIRCLE I found an entry for Olive Jonah and Patrick Fagan that lists their children - I have added the spouses as I know them
1. Mariah Fagan - b. 1823 ..... Joshua Jonah 2 William Fagan - b. abt 1831 ..... Ruth Kinnie 3 Mary O Fagan - b. 15 Feb 1832 ..... Ralph McFarlane 4 Catherine Fagan -b. abt 1833 ..... James McFarlane 5 Rebecca Fagan - b. 1841 .... 6 unknown .......................daughter Eliza Jane Fagan (b. 1848) 7 John Fagan - ........ Rebecca (maiden name unknown)
3) In the 1871 census ( the one you copied) Catherine (family #5) was recorded next to the entry for her father Patrick.(family # 4) That census showed Patrick Fagan (widowed) at Coverdale with Rebecca (no relation or marital status given ) and her two daughters, Ruth and Annie. The marriage record of Annie names her parents as John and Rebecca Fagan. This Rebecca later married John Nelson Chapman Briggs - whose first wife was Rachel Fagan , daughter of Albert Fagan - (no records of him anywhere) His name comes from the newspaper announcement of their marriage - IF that was an error, then Rachel could have been another daughter - JUST SPECULATING
Do you have the death record of Catherine Fagan McFarlane? I have found one that I think is her . - This is what I have written in my notes- (found on Ancestry search) Catherine Fagan (b. 1829 NB) widowed wife of Jas McFarlane, age 73 - death 12 mar 1902 at Arlington Mass. burial Cambridge - father Patrick Fagan , mother Mary Jonah (mother's 1st name in incorrect) Don't know why she was in Mass - perhaps one of her children was there too
Well enough for now - My scribble notes are a mess, but I may have a few more bits to add to this. I welcome your comments, Donna
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Re: MacFarlanes of Hillsborough and Hopewell
Just thought I would add this document since it seems to be the best documentation for Catherine Fagan McFarlane. It doesn't show on the printed version that I have cut and pasted but on the original page it says she is "wife of Jas McFarlane"
Catherine Fagan in the Massachusetts, Death Records, 1841-1915 Name: Catherine Fagan Gender: Female Birth Date: abt 1829 Birth Place: New Brunswick, N J Death Date:12 Mar 1902 Death Place: Arlington, Massachusetts, USA Age at Death: 73 Father: Patrick Fagan Mother: Mary Jonah
I also found a marriage record for a Maria McFarlane in Boston who I think is her daughter Mariah. This might explain why she died in Mass. Note that Mariah's informant did not know the name of her long ago deceased father or her actual birthplace. I have looked but not yet found any more records for Mariah and John McLeod - a future project.
Maria McFarlane in the Massachusetts, Marriage Records, 1840-1915 Name: Maria McFarlane Birth Year: abt 1872 Birth Place: St John, New Brunswick Marriage Date: 25 Jul 1894 Marriage Place: Boston, Massachusetts, USA Age at Marriage: 22 Father: John Mother: Catharine Spouse: John J McLeod Spouse Birth Place: PR Edw Isl'D Spouse Age at Marriage: 28 Spouse Father: John Spouse Mother: Belle
More food for thought, Donna
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Re: MacFarlanes of Hillsborough and Hopewell
Hi Donna,
Thanks for the pointer to Catherine's death registration in Massachusetts. Wow. I was stumped for a long while on where she went after the 1901 Canadian Census, but now it all makes sense. I imply a couple of things from the death record (attached for reference):
1 - This is indeed the same Catherine McFarlane from Margaret MacFarlane's late NB birth registration, and thus the same Catherine McForling from the 1871 Canadian Census (the trail of breadcrumbs of which can be followed above in our earlier posts in this thread), and
2 - Catherine was visiting someone she knew well-enough that they were able to, acting as informants in Massachusetts, provide accurately Catherine's parents' names (Patrick Fagan and Olive Jonah). Was it the other family you mention? I wonder....... and the plot continues to thicken.
Were you able to find the cemetery that Catherine was buried in Donna? It's quite possible that she was cremated and her ashes strewn in a common/pauper's grave (not uncommon).
Scott
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