In search of my McCreary-Magee-McGee Codd/Code Ancestors
in Lanark County, Ontario, Canada
SURNAMES: ASTLEFORD BAILEY BENSON BLACKBURN BRADEN BOYD CHAMNEY COAD CODD CODE COOKE CRAMPTON DACK DAGG DALZELL DEZELL DOWDALL DOWLING DUNFIELD ELLIOT FERRILL FLINN FLYNN GILLTRAP (GILTRAP) GROVES HALPENNY (HALFPENNY) HAMILTON HAMMOND HARRIS HOPKINS HORRICKS HUGHES HUNT JACKSON JAMES JOHNSTON KINCH LEWIS LEYBOURNE LOWE MacFARLANE MAGEE McCALL McGEE McGHEE MCCREERY McCREARY McKAY MARTIN MITCHELL MOFFATT MORRIS PAUL PENNY PRICE PRYCE SHEPPARD SINGLETON SNEDDEN STEPHENSON STEVENSON TWAMLEY WARREN WATCHORN WILLOWS WILLIS WILTON WOOLSEY WRIGHT
SUMMARY: My name is Brian Bailey. I grew up in Lanark County, Ontario, Canada, where my Irish ancestors landed and took root in the 1820's. I am now 63 years old and counting. My search for my Irish roots began when I was seven years old, and came home from school asking my mother if there was anyone famous in our family. She too had been curious about this as a young person and had asked the same question to her mother - who told her that the McCreary side of our family were directly related to Thomas D'arcy McGee. My mother's aunt, Laura (McCreary) Ferrill who had grown up in rural Lanark in the 1880s was the self-appointed family record keeper. When I was growing up, the family held picnics at Boyd's Settlement where the family had landed and stayed on. This study adds to my Aunt Laura's collection of names in the 1940s. Like my mother, I am a story teller and was more interested in the story than the names and dates. This is the story (or rather part of the story) as I know it. To contact me with information or inquiries CLICK HERE.
My web site is not of the style set by software which generates family trees. My own quirk is the need to visualize whole family configurations at once to make sense of them, to know where people were located geographically and to use information which doesn't fit easily on a computer-generated family tree.
I don't think of myself as a genealogist. Still, I admire those who do genealogy that way - and have included other people's family trees - painstakingly created over time. Since visitors here have been kind enough to send me records and pictures, I include them, as well as family tree information wherever possible. The most intriguing piece of information I received is the unusual Nauvoo Baptimal File of 1843 (thank you Walter Brown). It gives researchers a rare multigenerational look at my CODD/CODE/COAD ancestors described lower on this page. If you're interested in this family, from Aghold Parish in Wicklow, or any of the families who came (like the Astlefords, above, who inhabitted "The Wood") from Aghold (there were many) access it at: CODD/CODE/COAD. There are other linked pages throughout for other Aghold families.
CODD RESEARCHERS PAGE Until now, I never thought to list all of the Codd families of Aghold Parish - but knowing that I am more interested in creating a definitive family tree, I have set up a "forensic genealogy" page where you can peruse every Codd family member known to have lived at Aghold between 1700 and 1850. More have been added by mid 2008. I invite you to add to my efforts. I'm sure there are more records out there. If you have them, I will add them. Visit that page HERE.
As I received more and more letters and assembled more and more information, it became evident that many families who ended up in the same geographic locations in Canada - particularly Beckwith/Lanark/Ramsay Townships in Lanark (Boyd's Settlement), Kitley township in what is now Leeds County - and others (latecomers in the 1850's many were placed in North Elmsley and Montague Townships in Lanark) - were families who were already linked in northwest Wicklow (then often called Carlow). As you will see by scrolling down below, many of them attended the same Church of Ireland - St. Michael's in Coolkenna - and many of them had been drawn to John Wesley's teachings when he preached in nearby Bunclody in the late 1700's. These families, whether they remained Church of Ireland (Anglican) or joined the new (1816) Wesleyan Methodist Church, tended to stick together in Canada - and thus there were many intermarriages - far far more than would have happened by chance.
Known Aghold (Wicklow) Families In Canada: Codd (largely Code and Coad in Canada), Halpenny, Kinch, Blackburn, Dowdall, Dowling, Jackson, Groves, Hawkins, Hopkins, Twamley, Poole, Chamney, James, Dack (Dagg), Swain (Swayne), Flinn, Price, Singleton, Astleford, Watchorn, Giltrap, Lewis, Harnett and Connor - and others yet to be discovered.
For an ever-expanding listing of families from northeast Wicklow (then called Carlow) who came to Ontario CLICK HERE.
I am not the only one to notice this "clumping" of famlies from northwest Wicklow. Author Carol Bennett McQuaig has also noticed this - and has two books in preparation stages which will deal with the Irish origins of settlers from Lanark County. Carol and I are in communication.
(Do you have names to add to this list? Send them to me!
Here are two clues if you are a genealogy buff and want to search this for yourself.
Clue #1 Many of these families sent members to Canada, starting in the1817-1820 time period. They were able to do so because the British government assisted families by paying their passage to Canada, and by setting them up with the essentials of homesteading when they reached Canada. To be considered for such assistance, aspiring emigrants were placed on a list about 1817. Persons on this list were volunteering to be transported to Canada. To see this list for Wicklow - go HERE. Is your family among them?
Clue #2 When one hears the stories of emigration to Canada, it was rare that an entire family emigrated at the same time. Family members with the same surname are often also seen in the Griffiths Valuation for that area of Wicklow in the early 1850's. Family members were still there. Most of the names above, but not all, are seen in the Griffiths Valuation for Aghowle (Aghold) - as seen HERE. There are additional surnames on this list - which may be a clue to the origins of other families not named above. Is your family among them?
Collected Information About My Wicklow/Carlow Families - and their confreres from Armagh County
Thinking of visiting Ireland in 2003 in search of my Irish roots, I set out first to find out the place in Ireland from which my McCreery (McCreary) ancestors emigrated to Boyd's Settlement, Ramsay Township, Lanark County in 1823. But this was just the beginning!
One of my gggg grandfathers - THOMAS CODD (later COAD) came from Wicklow - and Aghold. My other gggg grandfather, JAMES McCREERY was from Armagh. For more specific and up-to-date information about JAMES MCCREERY's family origins CLICK HERE.
From my great aunt - Laura Ferrill - I had gotten County Armagh as the place from which the McCreerys emigrated. Indications are now that they came from the area around - the villages of Keady or Markethill. As I searched, however, the trail also led in other directions as well - to the area called Aghowle (translation: field of apples) in Wicklow.
There was an emigration from Armagh in 1823 of the McCreery (now McCreary) family, the Dezell family, the Benson family - and perhaps others. But this had not been the beginning. Samuel and John Boyd (whose name Boyd's Settlement took on) had arrived in 1820 from Armagh at the same time as a number of families from Wicklow county, fleeing the ugly aftermath of the Rebellion of 1798 - and eager, in part but not all, to pin their new hopes on the fledgling Wesleyan Methodist Church.
But first - the McCreerys.
The 1823 Emigration
James McCreery (1788-1852), his wife Elizabeth (nee Magee) (1783-1871) brought their 6 children and Elizabeth's mother - also Elizabeth Magee age 67 (b. 1756), in 1823 from County Armagh. Logically - but not certainly - these Magees had come from the same area as the McCreerys. I also knew that Canadian Father of Confederation Thomas D'arcy McGee was Elizabeth Magee Sr.'s grandson.The trail became intriguing when, on the internet, I discovered among the Ramsay Township (Lanark County) neighbors of the McCreerys a Sarah Magee (1772-1823) and a Margaret Magee (1788-1868) as slightly earlier emigrants - both of whom were born and raised in County Carlow - a long way from County Armagh. Here's where the fun began!
Emigration to Lanark before 1823
An internet search revealed, to my surprise, that Sarah Magee (speculated by some to be a brother of William and James Magee/McGee) came to Ramsay Twp, Lanark County earlier - between 1820-1822 as the wife (or widow) of George Warren* with son John Warren (1791-1871), daughter, Elizabeth Warren (1793-1867) and son Thomas Warren (1802-1874) (again from County Carlow). Shortly after arriving (1825) Thomas Warren married a Margaret Magee ( again of Carlow)**.
The Warrens settled on Ramsay Con. II Lot 3, the McCreerys, one to two years later on adjacent Con. 3 Lot 3, and there is some evidence that a Magee (? Elizabeth Sr.) was granted Con. II Lot 3.
* I hear from members of almost all of the families mentioned here. Eleanor Aldus, for example, is from the Warren and the James families. She tells me that she has doubts about the name George Warren and continues to research.
** The marriage of Thomas Warren to Margaret Magee on April 18 1825 was officially winessed by James Magee and Andrew Carswell - suggesting that she was James' sister. (Ottawa Anglican Church Records) James later married Thomas' sister Elizabeth (see below).
Magees and McGees Together
With her mother a Magee and her brother marrying a Magee, Elizabeth Warren (1794-1861) in 1824 married James McGee (1799-1883)*. In 1820, he received nearby Con. XI Lot 1W in Lanark Township, adjacent to Con XI. Lot IE which was granted on the same day to William McGee (1795-1864) - apparently his brother (see letter below from William Magee to Captain MacMillan).
* James Magee and Elizabeth Warren had a daughter Margaret in 1845 - who married William Argue in 1864.
A third brother - John McGee received Lanark Township Con. XI Lot 7E in 1821. For some time I had no information about him, and it now seems that this was because his stay in Lanark Township was brief and that he moved his family to Grenville County briefly before the next generation's moving to Wisconsin in the 1840s. John McGee (or Magee) was the father of William Magee (1813-1853) who is buried in the McCreery- Magee plot at Boyd's Methodist Cemetery.
In 1827, Colonel Marshall, who had been in charge of the settlement of immigrants, began to survey them to see the likeihood of their abily to repay loans taken out to purchase land. William Magee wrote the following letter to Captain Alexander MacMillan:
Perth,July 7 1827I am indebted to Joan Hrdlichka of Eagan, Minnesota ( kenjohrd@comcast.net ) for sending me the family tree of John Magee's family which can be accessed and copied by clicking HERE . This family tree shows the strong pattern of Magee intermarriages with the Dezells - who came from Armagh around the same time (1823).
Sir:
In reply to your different questions I beg to state that I was located by Colonel Marshall in August 1819- I have at this moment under improvement at least Twenty acres and I have in addition Twelve Acres chopped which will be ready for Crops next year- I possess one Yoke of Oxen of the very best kind, Two excellent Cows, one Bull, 12 Hogs, one Potash Kettle which I paid Twenty three Pounds fifteen shillings for- My Brother and myself have provided provisions each one year for John McGee, wife and six children (my Brother) and James McCreary (Brother in Law). I hadn't five Cobs (translation: shillings) commencing and at this moment I do not owe one Shilling.
Wm. MageeThis letter establishes William Magee's relationship to James McCreary (brother -in-law), to John McGee (brother) and (apparently) to James McGee* (brother) - even though James is not actually named in the letter (and spelled his name McGee)
* The John Magee-James McGee relationship is not absolutely established - as John's parents are listed as George Magee and Elizabeth Totten - while James listed his parents as William Magee and Elizabeth? at the time of his second marriage to Mary Braden/Braiden/Bredin in1862. (Anglican Church Records, Ottawa)
William Magee was a pillar of the newly forming Methodist Church and a hard worker. He and his wfe, Sarah (? nee McCall) (see tombstone at Boyd's Methodist below), did not have children, and on his death in 1865 William Magee left the following will:
Last Will and Testament written by William Magee, April 8th, 1864.
Memorial No. 96
A Memorial to be registered pursuant to the statute in such case made and providence of an Instrument in writing in the words and figures following, that is to say, the last Will and Testament ofWilliam Magee of the Township of Lanarkin the County of Lanark and Province of Canada, yeoman. I, William Magee, considering the uncertainty of this mortal life and being of sound mind and memory, blessed be Almighty God for the same, do make and publish this my last Will and Testament in manner and form following, that is to say:
To my adopted son William Bailey, his heirs and assigns, the whole of the farmland and premises upon which I now reside, being composed of the front half of Lot Number 1 in the Eleventh Concession of the aforesaid Township of Lanark. And also the front half ofLot Number 20 in the Twelfth Concession of the Township of Drummond in the aforesaid County of Lanark containing by admeasurement 83 acres and one half of an acre, be the same more or less, to have and to hold the same unto him, the said William Bailey, his heirs and assigns forever.
Secondly, I will and bequeath to the aforesaid William Bailey all my personal property conjointlywith his wife Sarah Bailey, otherwise Dezell, subject to the following condition: that is to say, that he pay to the Trustees of the Wesleyan Methodist Church of the Second Lot of the Eighth Concession of the Township of Lanark for the purpose of assisting said Trustees to build a new church, the sum of £10, which sum I will and bequeath to them the same to be paid to them out of my personal property so soon as they begin to build said church.
Thirdly, I give and bequeath unto John Dezell, son to Margaret McCreary otherwise Dezell, and to his heirs and assigns all my right title and interest in the front half ofLot Number 8 in the Third Concession of the Township of Ramsayin the County of Lanark aforesaid to have and to hold the same to him, his heirs and assigns forever.
And lastly I hereby nominate and appoint Joseph McCreary, Township of Ramsay aforesaid, yeoman, and Alexander Tibbet of the Township of Lanark, yeoman, and William Bailey, my adopted son, yeoman, as Executors of this my last Will and Testament hereby revoking all former wills by me made. In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal this 8thday of April in the year of Our Lord 1864.
A Methodist-Anglican Community at Boyd's Settlement
The community to which the McCreerys emigrated had become known in 1820 as Boyd's Settlement after one Samuel Boyd from Armagh who had been granted land (Lanark Con. XII Lot 2W) in 1820 along with other families including the Codes - who will later be seen to be part of my family as well. The settlers were Wesleyan Methodists and in short order they had their own church, school and cemetery at Boyd's.
There were large incentives for moving to the barren reaches of Ramsay, Beckwith and Lanark Townships in the late teens and early 1820's. Passage was offered to many for free - with the rationale being that these settlers would also serve as a militia to strengthen Canadian defenses against American invasion. Ablebodied males were sought who had militia experience. Life had become intolerable for the victorious Protestant minority after the Rebellion of 1798 and the Wesleyan Methodist Church had gained root by 1816. The Methodists were a travelling ministry - and encouraged their adherents to move in groups to spread the gospel. Many of the settlers, however, remained true to their allegiance to the Anglican (Church of Ireland ) communion.
There is everything to suggest that James and William McGee (or Magee) in 1820 were part of an "advance Irish scouting party" - forerunners of the 1823 settlers. Certainly the McGee's and the McCreery's lives became intertwined. Since the Wesleyan Methodist sect was recently formed in Ireland at this time, it now certain that all the all these Magees were Irish - Methodist - and (closely) related.
A Visit to Boyd's Methodist Cemetery
The picture became clearer after a visit to Boyd's Methodist Cemetery in the summer of 2003. The James McGee referred to above is much later recorded in the (nearby) Carleton Place newspaper as dying at the home of James McCreery's son - Joseph Campbell McCreery (1819-1903) on October 6th 1883 when there were no Magees or McGees of record still in Lanark County - and was buried in the McCreery plot at Boyd's Methodist Cemetery. For more on JAMES McGEE click HERE.
Joseph Campbell McCreery's picture showed up in an unusual way. In the mid 1980's I caught wind of an auction sale at the McCreery homestead (Ramsay Twp. Con. 3 Lot 3) when it was being sold. This picture had been found in the barn, and it was clear that none of the bidders recognized the man in the picture who had dominated life in the neighborhood for many years. I bought the picture for $2.00 - there being no other bidders - convinced that it was my great great grandfather. My mother, who had spent many summers at the homestead as a guest of his son, Hiram McCreary, did not recognize the man in the picture, but contacts with other family members resulted in other pictures of Joseph (see below) making it clear that this was indeed whom I thought it might be.
While James McGee had married Elizabeth Warren, when he first arrived, the tombstone records James McGee's date of death as Oct. 6 1888 and his wife as Mary Braden. Tombstone engravers often got dates wrong, and it was very common practice to remarry after a spouse died, but the wife I had listed for James McGee was Elizabeth Warren - sending my search off in that direction.
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The Dezells of Ramsay
Presbyterian church records (Perth) show that John Magee's son (or perhaps more accurately "adopted son" (he seems, on closer scrutiny, to have been William Magee 1795-1865's son) - William Magee (1813-1853) married Elizabeth Dezell, daughter of one of the 1823 settlers (Ramsay Concession II, Lot 4W) in Perth in 1834. The Dezell name is seen in several spellings - Diziel, Dizell, Dizzell - but the likely "correct" spelling is Dalzell - originating in Scotland.
A part of the reason for multiple spellings for the surname DEZELL or DALZELL is that its Scottish pronounciation is D L (i.e dee - ell) which has resulted in the spelling being rendered many ways:
The Scottish surname Dalzell is of territorial origin, from the old barony of Dalziel, in Lanarkshire. It is the surname of the Earl of Carnwath, from County Lanark. The name has different spellings, like Dalyell, Dalyiel, Dalziel, Deill, and they all are pronounced as "Dee-Yell". or simply DL. Some bearers, however, call themselves Dal-Yell, Dalzell, and some Dal-zeel. The name is in fact an old Gaelic locative meaning "at the white dale" (Gaelic Dailghil).An alternate account of how this Scots name was derived:
During an 11th century battle, one of King Kenneth's favorite officers was captured by the Picts, and hanged as a warning.
The King called for a volunteer to recover the body. Many were reluctant, but one of his warriors stepped smartly forward, shouting, "I Dar, I Dar" (Dal Ziel, Dal Ziel). He carried out his mission, and as a reward was given land and elevated to an earldom.In Shetland Dalziel has been substituted for the native Yell (derived from the name of the island of that name). Other bearers of the name write it Deyell or De Yell. Thus, this surname suffered the following alterations through the years: Daleyhell and Daleyhelle - 1397; Daliel and Daliell - 1649; Dalliell - 1511; Dalyhell - 1392; Dalzelle - 1390; Dalzell - 1504. The first of the name appears written in 1259. when the Baron of Daliel served on an inquest. Thomas de Dalielle of the county of Lanark rendered homage in 1296, and safe conducts were granted to Sir William Dalyelle and William Dalyelle, his son, in 1415. In more recent times we have Sir John Graham Dalyell, author of the "Darker Superstitions of Scotland, 1835".
Reference: http://www.dalzell.org/page4.html
William Magee (1813-1853) is buried in the McCreery plot, and was certainly Elizabeth Magee Sr.'s grandson (they share a common tombstone). The older William Magee (McGee) (1795-1865 - partial tombstone found) and his wife Sarah (nee Harris or McCall )(1812-1861) are also buried there (see her tombstone on the right, above). William and Sarah Magee (by reports) had no children. Sarah's sister Mary Jane is said to have married a McCall (both the McCalls and the Harris's were located nearby.) How William Magee (1813-1853) was related to William McGee (1795-1861) became more obvious in various letters and documents. From their birth dates - some 18 years apart - they could haven be father and son rather than uncle and nephew - and this is how it appears in a 19th century family tree by Emma Magee presented below.
On the other hand, it has been shown above that William Magee (1813-1853) wh died young of rheumatoid arthritis - was the son of John Magee and the nephew of William Magee (1795-1865).
More on William Magee and Elizabeth Dizell/ Dezell's family below.
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Summary: The McCreerys of Armagh who came to Ramsay Township in 1823 with their Magee in-laws became intertwined with their next-door neighbors - the Warrens of Carlow, who in turn were married to Magees of Carlow, and with the Irish Wesleyan Methodist McGees (James, William and later John) who had come from Ireland to Canada with Samuel Boyd in the early 1820's.
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The McCreery-Dezell(Dalzell)-Benson-Magee-Mitchell Families from Armagh
Among the families who arrived at Boyd's Settlement with Samuel Boyd in 1823 from Armagh County in Northern Ireland were the Dezells (whose name has been spelled many different ways - but seems to have been Dalzell originally, and pronounced DL - as in dee - ell , the Bensons, the Magees and the Mitchells. The Mitchells appear to have settled between Boyd's and Perth at Drummond Township Con. VIII Lot 15. Starting in the 1840's and continuing into the 1860's, these families intermarried in great numbers and began another emigration which started in western Ontario, and continued later to High Bluff Manitoba. Included on a separate page is a partial genealogy and pictures of these early settlers. Click here to go to this page.
Origins in Irish Emigration - Discovering the Links....
Other 1820 settlers linked with Samuel Boyd (Lanark Con. XII Lot 2W) after whom the new community was informally named, and John Boyd (Lanark Con. X Lot 2E), include Edward Hopkins (Lanark Con. X. lot 2E), Lancelot Jackson (Lanark XII Lot IE - 1820) Thomas Jackson Lanark Con. XII lot. 2E, Benjamin Sheppard (Ramsay Con. 1 lot. 1W- 1822) and several others whom I have missed or not followed up completely.
While I knew something of the Codes, the Magees and the McCreerys, and knew that they lived within walking distance, I also had read that the families were located throughout the county by the luck of the draw, with the exception of family clusters who were given adjacent lots. As such, these other settlers were just unconnected names to me. I was in for a surprise.
More Carlow and Wicklow Connections ... enter the Halpennys
While looking to find the ship on which the McCreery-Magees arrived - (Aunt Laura had mentioned a man who arrived on the same ship,) I searched for a John Halpenny. As names are often repeated, the question was also - which John Halpenny.
A John Halpenny (b. 1791-94 d. 1867) from County Carlow emigrated with hs bother William D. Halpenny and sister Mary B. Halpenny. William Halpenny Jr., son of this John Halpenny and Abigail Jackson married Alice McCreery, the youngest daughter of James and Elizabeth (b. 1828) in 1849.
It seems that one of these Halpennys, likely John, was granted Ramsay Con. I Lot 5.
As well, another William Halpenny (1805-1879) in 1830 brought his widowed mother - Esther Gilltrap (b. 1780), younger brothers - also a John Halpenny, Richard Halpenny, and Jacob Halpenny and sisters Mary Halpenny (b. 1802) and Margaret Halpenny from the village of Coolkenno in County Wicklow. Mary married Robert Watchorn (b. 1799 from County Carlow.) All of these emmigrant Halpennys (also spelled Halfpenny) are buried at Boyd's.
While John Halpenny who arrived in 1823 and William Halpenny who arrived in 1830 were quite conceivably already related and from the same extended family in Ireland, their most immediate connection was that they married two sisters (Lewis). Surprise, surprise!
The Lights Go On
Following records back is often frustrating and tedious - but occasionally very rewarding. Just such a reward popped up while following the trail of John Halpenny, who, by family records, arrived in Lanark on the same boat in 1823 as the James McCreery- Elizabeth Magee family.
Up to this point, the location they came from in Ireland had eluded me - but suddenly in the Halpenny search I found that the Halpennys, the Chamneys, the James, the Hopkins, the Codds, the Twamleys, the Jacksons, the Dowdalls had all been members of a single (Church of Ireland i.e. Anglican) church in Ireland - St. Michael's Church in Aghowle (or Aghold) in Wicklow County near the villages of Shillelagh, Rathvilly and the town of Tullow just across the County Carlow border. The Carlow-Wicklow mystery was solved! As well, County Wexford was just next door.
To this day, St. Michael's church ministers to members of these same families - who at the turn of the nineteenth century were served by Rector - James McGhee. Yet, the family members who came between 1820 and 1823 had largely become Wesleyan Methodists. Records of St. Michael's, which are, unfortunately, partial, mention some of the above-named emigrants specifically - and while there are no apparent Boyds, McCreerys or McGees - who were said to have come from Armagh - clearly the Lanark County community had been built around these former members of St. Michael's.
To the right is a painting I did of St. Michael's Church as it might have looked when my ancestors attended here in the early 19th Century.
Below is one of several pages which list, among others, the families who emmigrated. On this fascinating (to me) page we see the marriage of Edward Chamney to Jane Twamley in 1762, the baptism of their son, John a year later and the baptism of Lancelot and Abigail Jackson's daughter Margaret. We also see a plethora of Codds , Chamneys, Twamleys and Halpennys, whose families had been caught up in the Irish Rebellion of 1798. Rector James McGhee had, in 1798, led a valiant defense of the embattled Protestant community, a Captain Chamney had lost his life alongside Halpennys, Codds and Twamleys - who had also died in the fighting. A one-page extract naming Codds and Twamleys appears below. Further records from this rather large collection can be perused at: http://www.halpenny.net/general/aghold.html
The Codd / Code Connection
Another family who had come out in 1820 at the same time as Samuel Boyd were the Codds (who later became Codes and Coads.) While detailed suggestions of a community's origins are often lost to "official" records, my great aunt, Laura (McCreary) Ferrill (who 's buried at Boyd's) as an amateur historian put together much of the ancient Codd family tree data before such practices were common. She records the histories of the Codds who also arrived in 1820 and who later married into the McCreery family. The Codd (or Code) family came to Wicklow County from the "Barony of Forth" County Wexford (17th century). Their origin was English - and ultimately Anglo-Norman - coming over from Normandy with William the Conqueror, and arriving in Ireland at Castletown in Wexford with Strongbow in 1190 as landed gentry.
There is reference to Lake of Lady's Island as "once in four or five years opened evacuating itself into the sea - a passage cut by Squire Codde of Castletown (on the east coast of Ireland in Wexford) ."Squire John Codde is mentioned in the parish register of Wexford. Anne Codde of Castletown married a Reverend Thomas Bunbury of Balesker in 1668. Jane Codde married Thos. Richards Esq. of "The Park" and later Rathaspec. Loftus Codde of Castletown deposited a will in 1696 at Emiscarthy (Enniscorthy). These Norman Coddes were Roman Catholic - and only later families became Protestant.
*Castletown, Balesker, Enniscorthy, Rathaspec, the Barony of Forth, and Lake of Lady's Island are all near each other in the area around Wexford - most of them being north of Wexford , near the borders of Carlow and Wicklow Counties. Unfortunately I was unable to locate Corwick Lowhelem** - but I imagine that by a different spelling it is in this area. Of course, this was the area where Thomas D'arcy McGee grew up as well.
Not One But (at least) Three (Related) Codd Families
In fact, there were (at least) three closely related Codd emigrant families who settled Lanark Twp, in Lanark and Kitley Twp. in Leeds County and two others who settled Drummond Township - and who were probably more distantly related. I will speak first of the one I know best - and to whom I am more closely related. The established facts are that - Thomas Codd (Coad) (1773-1852)** came to Canada in 1820 with his wife LADY Elizabeth (nee Twamley (1774 or 1778 -1839) from Corwick Lowhelem*. Their offspring - the 2nd generation Codes who came to Boyd's Settlement were George, Richard, Thomas, Abraham, Rachel and James. Abraham later moved to North Dakota and James to Saginaw, Michigan. The others remained in the Boyd's Settlement community and latterly at Kitley Twp. until the late 1840's to early 1850's when George and Richard moved their families to Trowbidge in Huron County and East Wawanosh in Western Ontario respectively. The elder Thomas Codd and his son Richard, changed their name to Coad in the late 1840s, and moved to Kitley Twp. to be with their Coad kin. The reason for the name change has remained a well-kept secret.
George Code (b. 1800 at Croneleagh Hill, Wicklow - granted Lanark Con. XII- Lot 4E) married Pearl Boyd (daughter of Samuel Boyd - the original settler who was granted Con. XII Lot 2W.)
Thomas Sr. received Con. XII Lot 4W. Daughter Rachel Code married Thomas Jackson*** (Lanark Township Con XII Lot 2E) who came with Lancelot Jackson (Con. XII Lot 1E) in 1820.
Thomas Code b. 1807 stayed on the homestead Con. XII Lot. 4W (of which I painted a picture when I was 16) and married Mary Jane James and had 7 children by his first marriage - William, James, Rachel, Ann, Eliza Mary and Letitia.
After Mary Jane died, Thomas Code remarried Mary (Price or Pryce) with whom he had 10 more children - Harriet (m. an Agnew) Thomas (m. Mary Willows - the Willows owned the property to the south of Thomas' farm - Lanark XII Lot 3) Alicia (who married William James McCreery) John, Margaret ( who married John McCreery), Sarah, Albert and Abraham - 17 children in all. Margaret Code McCreary was my great grandmother.
** Thomas Code, b. 1773, Munahullen, Aghowle Parish, Shillelagh Barony, Co. Wicklow, Ireland, d. July 23, 1852, Lanark Twp, Lanark Co., Ontario, Canada, m. Elizabeth Twamley in Ireland before 1800.
<>*** Thomas Jackson, b. 1798, Tullow, Co. Carlow., Ireland, d. August 13, 1881 Lanark Twp., Lanark Co., Ontario, Canada, m. Rachel Code January 1, 1821 in St. James Church, Perth, Lanark Co., Ontario, Canada.? Children are: Elizabeth, Ellen (Eleanor), John, Abraham, Thomas, Leticia and Mary.
______________________________________________________________________________Codd Family Number Two - GEORGE and MARY CODD
Thomas Codd (Code) was not the only related Codd to arrive in Lanark at this time from the same small Irish neighborhood. George Codd (married to Mary Blackburn in Wicklow, Ireland) seems to have arrived from Aghold (Aghowle Parish) near the Carlow/Wicklow/Wexford border about 1832 and settled at Kitley Township near Smiths Falls. While there was an arrival of a George Codd* on the Brock in 1820 and while Henrietta Codd, said by some to be George and Mary Codd's daughter, married a man named John Flynn in 1823 - who was a single passenger on the same ship, evidence is that this George Codd was still in Ireland at the time. Census records and a birth record for son James Codd in 1826 at St. Michael's Church tend to suggest that George could not have arrived until 1832.
*The George Codd who arrived on the Brock in 1820 could have been (and likely was) the George Codd (m. Jane Morris in Canada) who settled Beckwith Twp. Con. 12 Lot 3 in December 1822. George Codd of Beckwith Twp. would become the ancestor of Canadian novelist Alice Munro, many of whose stories chronicle early life in Beckwith Twp. in the years after the settlements. See more on this family below.
Offspring of George Code and Mary Blackburn of Aghold, Wicklow include:
Henrietta (controversial)(? baptized at St. Michael's Church) b. 1803 m. John Flinn (of Carlow?)
George b. 1811 m. Ester Johnson
Catherine b. 1813 m. Wm. Singleton
Abraham b. 1818 m. Jane Willis
John Edward b.1820 m. 1.) Mary Ann Pepper 2. Jane Dagg (Dack)
Thomas b. 1824 m. Eliza Martin
James b. 1826 m. Esther Willis
There is, additionally, a baptism of a son, William Codd to George and Mary July 29th 1821
George Codd's origins in Aghold remain a matter of ongoing research.
William CODE b. 1813 (orphaned nephew) came to Kitley in 1820 (or later) with "an uncle" (candidates for this uncle's identity include William Dagg ( m. Jane Codd) and George Codd (m. Mary Blackburn) Joseph Codd and his wife Mary who emigrated in 1824 - or even William Codd - who also emigrated in 1824. He married Ann Wilton. Offspring: Amelia b:1835 Caroline b: 1835 Thomas b:1836 Margaret b:1838 William -1840 -1907 John : b 1843 Henrietta: 1845 - 1909 Solomon: 1847 -1891 Elias: 1851-1918 George: 1853-1916 James: 1856 - 1918 Levi: 1858 - 1886.
A separate page located HERE contains more details about WILLIAM CODE.
CODD Family Number Three - JOSEPH and MARY CODD
In 1822-4, another "Kitley Codd" - who would become a Coad later on - Joseph Codd, the 1843 creator of the Nauvoo Baptismal File, arrived and bought a piece of land from John Flinn in the Codd "neighborhood." He was possibly George Codd (Mary Blackburn)'s cousin. His descendants trace their roots to an Abraham Codd - Mary Twamley marriage - the third marriage between sisters and brothers in the Twamley & Codd families.
NOTE: Joseph and Mary (also thought to be a CODD, ? the sister of George (above) were joined in 1824 by a William Codd and his wife and five children under 12 - none of whom are seem in the Aghold baptismal records. Recent research (2008) by Annette Code has revealed the baptism at neaby (? 3 miles) Tullophelim C of I of a WILLIAM CODD, son of William and Mary Codd July 20th 1794. The William-Mary marriage and even the existance of an older William Codd had not previously been known - except for WILLIAM CODD b. 1765 to John Codd and Mary Singleton. William had married a Catherine ________ c. 1794 (daughter Mary 1795). The name Catherine had not been seen in the Codd family tree in Aghold since about 1700 - before this marriage, and is seen again in the 1st daughter of George Codd & Mary Blackburn (Catherine b. 1811). While more research is both indicated, and ongoing, it seems likely that William Codd who emigrated in 1824 with Joseph was likely the above- named Willam, son of William and Mary. This family "disappears" from the Kitley records after 1839.There was clearly a close family connection between the "Kitley Coads" and the Codds/Codes who settled in Lanark Township. The Lanark Township Codes all are recorded to have spent time in Kitley temporarily before settling north of Perth at Boyd's Settlement. Perhaps it was through Jane Code (b. 1765, married to William Dack), daughter of George Code (b. 1733) and Rachel Twamley (b. 1738) - who came across with her husband William Dagg (Dack) and ten children in 1817 on the ship Mary & Bell, settling near Toledo and running a public house (seen on the right).
___________________________________________________________________________Codd (Code) Family Number Four - JOHN AND GEORGE CODD
Another George Codd (Code) 1796-1890) and his wife Jane Morris (m. Canada 1826) settled at Beckwith Township Con. XII Lot 3, in 1820-22, just three lots away from Thomas Codd (b. 1773) who, by reports, was his uncle.
In the right hand map which listed settlers, we see JOHN CODD at Lot 4 and George Codd (Code) and John Jr. sharing Lot 3. This is the first (and clouded) reference so far to John Code from Aghold Parish, inWicklow being in Canada. More work will be required to ascertain exactly who he was.
I think that George Code/Codd's brother, John Codd and his spouse Mary Ann Nugent were granted Beckwith Con XII Lot 4, but moved to Lanark Township, Con. XII Lot 3 with his brother Thomas Codd, eventually selling the property to Lancelot Jackson and moving to Innisville. John Codd was the forebear of the Codes who later populated both Innisville and Perth as recorded in David Code's The Codes of Perth. Their relocation in Lanark Township has caused a little confusion of identities, as they were situated right next to (i.e. south of) Thomas Code (seemingly John's uncle) and Thomas's son George.
In time, George Code and Jane Morris' son, Joseph Code (b. 1827) would marry Thomas Code's daughter Ann Code (b. 1839) and another son, George Code Jr. would marry Thomas' daughter Rachel Code (b. 1840) - indicating that their spouses were their their second cousins.
How The Three Emigrant Codd Families Were Related!
The Codd families arriving after 1820 mostly passed through Kitley Township, staying as much as year before finally settling. This made sense. William Dagg (Dack) and his wife Jane Codd were from one of three marriages between three pairs of brothers and sisters (George Codd m. Rachel Twamley at St. Michael's Church in 1764) - and they arrived first on the Mary and Bell in 1817. John Codd's family of four brothers - John, Thomas, George and Abraham - arrived later, John spending a year in Montreal before spending time in Kitley before settling - first in Beckwith beside his brother George - and then in Lanark Twp. with his brother Thomas - adjacent to their uncle Thomas - and finally moving on to Innisville. Thomas also spent time in Kitley on his way to his lots at Lanark Con. 11 Lots 4 and 5 in 1820.
The weakest link in the above Tree is the connection of George Codd b. 1784 (Mary Backburn) to George Codd b. 1767. There is no hard evidence for this connection and much to suggest (see Note above) that George may have had a father named William. Indeed, one record in Aghold seems to name him George William Codd. This is explored further on another page.
The family tree above is still "conjectural" - but it makes sense. There are some details which do not quite fit together - and my thinking changes as I receive new pieces of information. These Codds had all grown up close by each other. Many were at least cousins twice over - each and every one having both Codd and Twamley ancestors. More time and more research will "tweak" the final structure - or may fill in missing family members. If you want to know the logic behind my putting forward this tree CLICK HERE.
TWO EARLIER EMIGRANT CODD FAMILIES (arriving before 1820)
Adding complexity to the mystery of the Irish CODDs connection, there were at least two other Codd families who arrived in the same time frame. These were the first Codd settlers in Lanark County.
John Codd (1792 - 1848) Arrived 1816
The first Irish CODD family to settle Lanark County, John Codd and Elizabeth Powers were not from Aghold - but from a relatively nearby parish at Knockadawk in Wexford, arriving in 1816, on the ship - the John - which also brought, it would now seem, some early settler families with surnames common to the Aghowle/Aghold neighborhood. From the Passenger List of the John, at least six families located in Drummond Township, in 1816, near the farm of the Codds.
How were they connected? Perhaps not at all. Was the Warren family from which Ann Warren came the same Warren family which settled at Boyd's Settlement in 1822 and who married into the Beckwith Twp. Code families who came from Aghold Parish in the 1850 era? There do not appear to have been direct intermarriages between this Codd family and the Codd families of nearby Boyd's Settlement. Perhaps time will tell. This Codd/Code family largely moved on to Renfrew County in 1859/1860.
Their detailed genealogical record appears HERE.
Ship JOHN (Passenger List) 1816
Rathwell, Benjamin
Connor, John
Kelly, Thomas
Leach, Richard
Codd, JohnWatkins, Henry
Tattlock, John
Deacon, James Jr.
Gibbons, John
Thomas Codd (1773-1844) Drummond Twp. near Perth Arrived 1818
Thomas Codd and his wife Elizabeth Bailey/Baley/Bayley (m. April 18 1808 in Bunclody - about ten miles from Aghold/Coolkenna) arrived in 1818 on the ship Maria -and were settled in Drummond Twp. - midway between Kitley and Lanark Townships. It appears at this time that while they lived about ten miles from the Aghold CODDs in Ireland, that the families were not interconnected in Canada - again living tem miles or less from each other. An extensive genealogy of this family exists HERE.
The two Codd families listed here lived a short distance from each other ( a few farms away) but whether they were connected to each other, either in Ireland or after emigrating, is not known.
For some years I felt that there were no links between the earliest arriving Codds and the later arriving ones. But this was because I had no way to investigate beyond establishing that there were no intermarriages. Now, I feel that there were definite links. To see what they may have been CLICK HERE. To look at the Irish origins of the Bayley family of Drummond CLICK HERE._____________________________________________________________
The "Second Wave"
The CODEs of North Elmsley
After the wave of emigration in the 1820's, settlers from Wicklow slowed down to a trickle until the next generation was ready to send out settlers. In 1849 a new wave of emigration ensued, bringing a whole new group of Codes to the area. Most of these Codds chose the spelling Code. A special page is dedicated to these Codds - who were related to be sure. Access the Codes of North Elmsley Page HERE.
Why did some of these CODD families become CODE and some COAD? And why didn't they just remain CODD? Speculation is rife. Was it because the pronunciation of CODD sounded like CODE or COAD and recording officials spelled their names phonetically? This was undoubtedly the case for some. Was it because the CODDs got teased for their name - which was derived from a generic word for the male member - or was it because they developed religious schisms over the years. Surely someone has written down the story - something that happened around 1850 - spreading from family to family.
The CODE-CHAMNEY-TWAMLEY Connection
Next to George Code at Beckwith Con. XI, Lot 3 was (perhaps some time later) Edward Chamney Jr. , whose father was Edward Chamney of Munahullen and whose grandparents were Edward Chamney Sr. and Jane Twamley (married at St. Michael's Church in 1762 - see church records below).
Edward Chamney Sr.'s family did not all emigrate (son James Chamney and daughter Rebecca Chamney stayed behind) and, by reports, the Chamney family still operate the same farm in Munahullen today.
The large James family - John, William Jr., Thomas H., Mary Jane, Elizabeth, Leticia, Anne, Nathaniel, Rebecca, Sarah, Benjamin and Edward, intermarried with the Codes (Leticia James married Abraham Code b.1839) Mary Jane James (as indicated above) married Thomas Code Jr. and the Chamneys (Thomas James married Mary Chamney in 1838.)
Summary: Two or more Code families, a Hopkins family, two Jackson families, two Chamney families, a number of Halpenny families, the Dowdall family and several James families, and possibly several more not listed here - arrived at or near Boyd's Settlement around the same time, from the same small Aghold neighborhood in Wicklow - and had a rather high rate of intermarriage. But this was hardly uncommon among the Irish - and particularly among Irish Methodists. Yet many of the families remained Church of Ireland (Anglican) on coming to Canada.
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Origins in Irish Emigration - Discovering the Links....
<>Other 1820 settlers linked with Samuel Boyd (Lanark Con. XII Lot 2W) after whom the new community was informally named, and John Boyd (Lanark Con. X Lot 2E), include Edward Hopkins (Lanark Con. X. lot 2E), Lancelot Jackson (Lanark XII Lot IE - 1820) Thomas Jackson Lanark Con. XII lot. 2E, Benjamin Sheppard (Ramsay Con. 1 lot. 1W- 1822) and several others whom I have missed or not followed up completely, but these will gradually be explored and factored into the story.
Arrival at Boyd's Settlement of the McCreery and Magee Family 1823
What we know so far is that a cadre of Irish Methodists, led it would appear, by Sunday school teacher Samuel Boyd from Armagh and Thomas and Lancelot Jackson from Aghowle had congealed around the previously unsettled XIIth line of Lanark and the adjacent Ist Line of Ramsay in 1820. By 1821 or so they were building a school at the corner of the burying ground which became Boydí' Methodist Cemetery. In 1822 the Warrens of Carlow (John Warren (Ramsay Con. II Lot 2) Benjamin Sheppard ( Ramsay Con. 1 Lot 2) and others who perhaps moved on shortly after arriving, had joined them.
In an article from the Carleton Place paper in 1944 (see below), it is suggested that the settlers who arrived together in 1823 included McCreary's, Kinch's, Dowdall's, Warren's and Sheppard's. All of these families stayed, and became an extended family.
What interested me was the arrival in this small community of several McGees or Magees - William McGee (1820) James McGee 1820, John McGee 1821 Elizabeth Magee (1756-1843 with the McCreerys), Sarah Magee (1772-1823) wife of George Warren and Margaret Magee (1788-1868) - who married Thomas Warren.)
The ambivalence towards the spelling of McGee/Magee even carried over to the stonecutter who fashioned Elizabeth Magee's tombstone. If one looks carefully, the A in MAGEE was originally a small C. The confusion between the McGee and Magee names has caused many a head scratching over the intervening years - but there is no doubt that Thomas D'arcy McGee was Elizabeth McGee McCreery's nephew.
Thomas D'Arcy McGee
My lively interest in the Magees was prompted by the certainty that Elizabeth Magee (senior 1756-1843) whose tombstone is pictured, was the grandmother of Thomas D'arcy McGee, a Father of Canada's Confederation, and that the descendants of William Magee (1813-1853), her grandson are (quite likely among others) carriers of the Magee/McGee line and name throughout Canada and the United States.
There were two William Magee's - nephew and uncle. The elder WIlliam Magee (1795-1860) married Sarah Harris (or McCall). The younger William Magee (1813-1853) - married Elizabeth Dezell in 1834 and they had six daughters (between 1835-1849) Alice, Margaret, Anne Jane, Mary, Elizabeth and Sarah - and one son - John Magee. Elizabeth Dezell Magee is buried in the family plot in Chesley, Ontario, where she lived with her son John Magee in the 1870's.
From this generation, John Lowe Magee (see below) and Alice Magee from Ramsay Township were the parents of William (1858) and Elizabeth (1863) while in Lanark. They had several other children later (see full family tree), moving first to Ottawa, and later to the United States. Alice was the daughter of William and Elizabeth (Dezell) Magee who married in 1834 - naming their children after John's father and grandmother (who was still alive until 1843). It also seems likely William and Elizabeth Magee's family - including John Magee lived at Ramsay Con. II Lot 3 (as suggested by the Carleton Place newspaper article.)
Descendants of the Magees
We now have pictures of four (see Alice below) of the seven descendants of William and Elizabeth Magee - John, Margaret and Elizabeth, dating from as early as 1863 or 4, thanks to the participation of Mrs. Barbara Mitchell, who has been also able to supply a fuller family tree of this branch of the family. If you have a specific interest in it, you may choose to access this lineage, including pictures of these family members by clicking here.It is interesting that the period between 1845 and 1870 saw the movement of several of the second generation settlers to better farming land further west in the Bruce Peninsula and onwards to the United States. This migration was such that by the time of the 1881 census, there were no Magees or McGees living in Lanark County.
John Lowe Magee who married Alice Magee from the family of William and Elizabeth Magee as not a Magee by birth but (it would seem likely) - a Lowe. Rather he was the adopted son of one of the Magee families (seemingly James McGee) and took on their name, and also married Alice Magee. Thus the Magee name continued in this family - but the lineage was through the mother - not the father. This family moved to Ottawa in the 1860's and eventually to the United States.
<>John Magee, Alice's brother, and son of William and Elizabeth (Dezell), married Nancy Dunfield, moved in the 1870's to Scone in Bruce County and later to Chesley. Margaret Magee married William Mitchell and they had two children Elizabeth and William. Sadly, both parents died when their children were quite young and their children were split up, with William being taken in by John and Nancy (Dunfield) Magee and Elizabeth by another as yet unidentified related family.These siblings were reunited around the time William was 18-20 and eventually married a brother and sister - the Penny's.
Alice Magee ("the real Magee") was born in 1835 and died in 1911 at Superior, Wisconsin, and carried the Magee genes as the daughter of Willam Magee and Elizabeth Dezell. She is pictured on the left. Alice and John Lowe Magee lived remarkably long lives (John to 102) and had many children, who are recorded elsewhere on this site.
<>One can imagine the difficulty she went to to gather thousands of bits of information before the beginning of the 20th century. Genealogy data was not always as accessible as it is now, and was undoubtedly a labour of love. While it has many inaccuracies which can be attributed to the time during which the information was collected and the spread of the family to far flung locations, a full copy in pdf format of Emma Magee's extensive and interesting JOHN MAGEE - NANCY DUNFIELD family tree can be accessed here.
John (1831-1901) and Nancy (1846-1933) Magee, who eventually emigrated from Ramsay Township to the United States had ten children, one of whom - Emma Magee developed an interest in genealogy and became the unofficial keeper of the family tree while pursuing a long career with the Salvation Army. Emma was born in 1877. She functioned as the family record-keeper - and people sent news of events in their family to her. One interesting story she related was of her grandfather William Magee (1813-1853) being so crippled with arthritis that undertakers has to build a special coffin in which to bury him (at Boyd's Methodist Cemetery).
<><>The Second Generation James McCreery Family
With this, we will now pass to the generation who were D'arcy McGee's first cousins - the children of James McCreery and Elizabeth Magee (junior) - John (1810-1888), William (1812-1892) Mary (b. 1818), James (1816-1881) Joseph Campbell McCreary (1819-1903) Elizabeth (1821-54) Margaret (1823-1915) Anne (b. 1826) and Alice (who is linked to the Halpenny family by marrying William Halpenny, son of John - whose father was killed in the Irish Rebellion of 1798.)
Briefly, John McCreary and his brother William moved to Montague Township along the Rideau River (and Canal) between Smiths Falls and Merrickville, marrying Mary Livingston ad Margaret Hamilton respectively. Mary, who accompanied them married a Cotnam. James moved to the Arnprior area and married Elizabeth Wallace. Joseph inheritted the family homestead in Ramsay and married Harriet Bailey. Elizabeth remained in Ramsay and married a Hamblin. Margaret remained in Ramsay and married James Dezell. Ann married George Argue and Alice married William Halpenny (see above).
The Second and Third Generation McCreerysThe connection between the McCreery and the Dezell families is especially notable. The1837 Cess Roll for Ramsay Twp. places James McCreary at Con. III Lot 3W and Thomas Dalzell at Con III Lot 3E , while James Dalzell is at Con. II Lot 4 E. In the 1840's James Dezell, who was said to be the McCreery's "hired man" married Margaret McCreery and moved to a piece of land he had bought in nearby Kitley Twp.and later to Bruce County. James Dezell (1823-1859) was killed in a farming accident, and Margaret brought their five remaining children (one had died to this time) back to Ramsay to live (at Ramsay Con. I Lot 1). We have a picture of the three Dezell brothers from this family - L to R John Dezell (1854-1930) William Dezell (1851-1942) and James Dezell (1849-1940). There was aslo Elizabeth Dezell (1859-1952) who married Edward (Ned) Cooke and later William Nassau Crampton.
Here I will stick to the line of Joseph Campbell McCreary who became the family patriarch when his older brothers moved to Montague Township and who farmed the McCreery homestead for most of the nineteenth century. Joseph married Harriet Bailey, whose father had come to Ramsay (Con. II Lot 4E) to be the schoolteacher - and died shortly after arriving. Joseph donated land for a new school on Con. II Lot 3 in 1861 - a log building which is long since demolished.
Joseph and Harriet also had a large family. William James (1849-1922) married Alicia Code, daughter of Thomas Codd, while his brother John McCreery married Aliciaís sister Margaret Code (1859-1945). Elizabeth died as an infant (1853-55) and Elizabeth (II) married James Moffatt. Samuel, born in 1857 disappeared, seemingly after a competition for the hand of a young lady who married one of his younger brothers. Joseph (1859-63 died young, and Joseph (II) (b. 1861) marred Alice Paul. Hiram, who would inherit the farm married Catherine McKay. George Wellington McCreery (1865-1930 married Christina Snedden, and Robert Nelson McCreery (1867-1949) married Edna Elliot. All surviving siblings but Samuel appear in a 1890ís family photograph (below.)
In the centre are Harriet (holding a picture of the disappeared Samuel) and Joseph Campbell McCreery. On either side of them are Joseph and Alice (Paul). On the far right of the back row are my great-grandparents John and Margaret (Code). Next to them are William and Alicia (Code). The single man next to Alicia is Robert, who is yet unmarried. Margaret (between her parents has her hand on her fatherís shoulder. James Moffatt her husband is to the right of Joseph. The remaining two couples (back right) and middle right) are Hiram and Catherine (McKay) and George and Christina (Snedden). The last members of this family cluster died in the mid 1940ís. Hiram passed the farm on to his son William Harwood McCreary, who passed it on to his son Daniel McCreary whose daughters are in their 40ís. The farm has passed to other hands.Post Script
No Magees remained in Ramsay by the 1881 census. John Magee's family was gone - as suggested by a 1944 article in the Carleton Place paper. They have since been traced to Chesley in western Ontario. In any case, the densely-treed unfarmable 100 acres in question (Concession II Lot 3, Ramsay Township, Lanark County), crossed in the southeast corner by present day Highway 7) which seems at various times to have been owned by James McCreary, Joseph Campbell McCreary, William Magee, John Magee/McGee - was owned by a Robert Cornett by 1881. Just north of Con. II Lot 3 lay Con. 3 Lot 4 whose west half was owned by the Dezells (Margaret McCreery - Joseph's sister Margaret was married to James Dezell) while the East half of Lot 4 was owned by the Baileys (William and Mary (nee Hillman) of Essex, England, whose daughter Harriet was my great, great grandmother.
I spent extra effort on this continuing mystery because it is this branch of my family which would have kept the McGee/Magee surname related to Thomas D'arcy McGee alive in Canada. Not that there weren't other branches of McGee's family. Thomas D'arcy McGee is linked to at least one half-brother who came to Canada as well - a John McGee, variously named John M. McGee and John J. McGee, Fourth Clerk of the Privy Council. But, that's another story. And there undoubtedly will be yet others.
I remain interested in the research of others, especially in the generations which precede the emigration from Ireland. I remain interested in the Magee/McGee connection and its further ramifications. As I receive the inevitable corrections, I will update the site accordingly. My research has carried me as far as it could, and father than I expected, and it ends here. Who will take it further?
Brian C. Bailey, husband of Nancy
Son of Irene Margaret Ross (Bailey)
Grandson of Mary Zena McCreary (Ross)
Great grandson of John McCreary and Margaret Code
Great great grandson of Joseph Campbell McCreary and Harriet Bailey
Great great great grandson of James McCreary and Elizabeth Magee
Great great great great grandson of Elizabeth Magee
Brian Bailey can be reached at 819-827-0561
You can reach me by e-mail at brian@yclc.ca
Brian also manages the YCLC Canada Inc. Web Site which hosts his work with youth -which can be reached by clicking here.
Afterthought
<>
Two overarching realizations struck me as a result of my hours of research. The first was that the people I located were a hardy lot who lived long lives. Among those in the direct line which stretches back six Irish generations, these people - largely without the benefit of hospitals and medical care as we now understand it - to a person, they lived on into their late 80's and 90's. At the same time, by 1880, only the most hardy, stubborn, persistent of the early settlers remained in Ramsay and Lanark Townships. This was an inhospitable piece of dense forest, quite different from the hospitable farmlands of Armagh, Carlow, Wexford and Wicklow. Farmland was gained by painstaking dawn to dusk labour, with only their deep faith to keep them working together. As one drives from Carleton Place to Perth along Hwy. 7 one passes the site of Boyd's Settlement which is largely gone - but which has sent out a hardy stock into the world - well prepared for long productive lives.
One of the little-known offshoots of the rocky Ramsay soil - which sent the next generation looking for better farming land in Western Ontario - was the invention of the game of basketball. James Naismith, a Scottish settler's son from the same period, lived a little further to the north, close to present day Almonte. The settlers' children joined in the labour to clear farmland of endless hand-sized rocks - still seen in the piles in the middle of Ramsay farm fields. The children endlessly threw rocks on the pile - and invented a pastime called "duck on a rock" - by which they aimed their missiles at a particular rock atop the pile, seeing who could come the closest. Remembering this childhood family duty in Ramsay Township, Naismith developed the idea for basketball. While basketball was developed in the United States - we know its origins.
