Where they were born, raised and learned their skills-
I have not found the family in the 1861 census records but the 1871 Chatham census reflects the family all intact, with Patrick, 23 and James 22, both listed with the occupation of carpenter. Son John Jr., age 20, was already a schoolteacher, and son Arthur, 18, is listed as a laborer. Sarah and Hugh were still of school age.
All indications are that the carpentry skills brought to Florence in the 1890’s were a major factor in the eventual success of the farms of our ancestors. They came from New Brunswick and improved their skills over a ten or fifteen year period along the way to Washington State where some of them decided to pack it all in and become dairy farmers.
To create a working farm from scratch required facilities. Homes, barns and sheds had to be constructed and that they did either individually or as a cooperative endeavor, most likely the latter with all pitching in to help one another. Of course carpentry is a far cry from animal husbandry but again by combining all their skills, the women included, they eventually brought it all to fruition. It is certain the Donahue sisters contributed the knowledge they learned from their upbringing in Wisconsin, the small things that a young man from a small city in Canada was never aware of. All the small group of Irish pooled their resources and knowledge to help bring about the community success. They had every right to be very proud, these McGinnis brothers, Cousin Robert Ferguson and early Chatham friend, James Hall. A very tight knit group. Four farms, side by side all with the head of household born in Chatham, New Brunswick, three with wives of the same Wisconsin Donahue family.
It is not clear to me at the moment but the carpenters skills may have divided into two basic categories. One group would be trained as shipwrights or shipbuilders, those that constructed the hulls and placed the bulwarks and frames of the basic ship. Another group appears to have been more focused on what one might define as finish carpenters, general carpenters or even cabinet makers, those that would be used in various other endeavors of carpentry as well as the final stages of ship construction. Perhaps they built the ships cabins and finished off the holds of the ships, or were even employed in general construction of onshore shipyard buildings in the yards. They may have even been defined as facility or maintenance carpenters.
Chatham, New Brunswick In The 1890’sProbably Less Than Ten Years After The McGinnis Family Left The Small TownThe Main Street Is still a narrow passage Paralleling The Miramichi River and is very mindful of this scene even today.
Thus the probable reason so many of the men from Chatham were listed in their census entries of the years after their immigration to the States with the occupation of Carpenter, Shipbuilder or Shipwright. To me it is obvious that the skills were all acquired within the shipyards of New Brunswick, Canada. St. Johns, Bathurst and Chatham competed but I am of the understanding that the majority of the activity of building wooden ships occurred in Chatham with St. Johns and other scattered communities providing the rest. Regardless it was a huge industry for the early beginnings of the Province.
The McGinnis clan, their cousins the Ferguson’s (the uncle and grandfather of Mary and Charlie Mills) and James Hall, who eventually married into the clan, most likely were friends as they grew up in New Brunswick. Census data of all this cast of people indicates that James Hall was the first of all the players in this story to leave Canada in 1869. I have not found him in the 1870 census so just where he wandered along the way to eventually end up living on the banks of the Stillaguamish River in Snohomish County where he appears in 1880 US census can only be imagined. They were all good Canadians that carried their skills with them wherever they were needed.
The End of the Shipbuilding Industry in New Brunswick-
The McGinnis clan, their cousins the Ferguson’s (the uncle and grandfather of Mary and Charlie Mills) and James Hall, who eventually married into the clan, most likely were friends as they grew up in New Brunswick. Census data of all this cast of people indicates that James Hall was the first of all the players in this story to leave Canada in 1869. I have not found him in the 1870 census so just where he wandered along the way to eventually end up living on the banks of the Stillaguamish River in Snohomish County where he appears in 1880 US census can only be imagined. They were all good Canadians that carried their skills with them wherever they were needed.
The End of the Shipbuilding Industry in New Brunswick-
A Chatham Ship
The photo was found on the web-page of the New Brunswick Archives
and is labeled as a ship built in Chatham
The need to leave Canada developed as wooden ships, beginning in the 1860’s and 1870’s were being rapidly replaced by iron and eventually steel vessels in the latter part of the 19th century. It began slowly as cast iron components, such as portions of frames difficult to construct from wood, gradually began to work their way into acceptance as cast iron parts in the shipyards of the world. It was then a short step to steel construction. Eastern Canada was not close to large manufacturing centers where the iron and steel were being produced. Just as the early availability of wood promoted and aided the ship building of the Maritimes to become a major industry the same reverse process saw the industry leave in search of the materials and labor required for modern vessels. Thus the shipbuilding industry shifted back to Europe, with much of it eventually being centered in Northern Ireland, in the vicinity of Belfast, which remains a large shipbuilding center even today.
Just which of these early Canadians from our past were trained shipwrights and carpenters is really difficult to define except for probably Robert Ferguson. Some of his early census entries definitely indicate he was a shipwright. My early recollection of the many shiny steel tools he left behind that I viewed while watching Charlie Mills in the 1950’s browse through the huge tool chests in search of a certain tool to complete a task tends to validate his early career to me personally at least. Recall tells me that many were very large woodworking tools as might be required while working on huge ship timbers. Another indication of his skills is hinted at on his original land deed that indicates he was living in Port Blakely on Bainbridge Island at the time he purchased his property in 1891. Port Blakely was home to a thriving sawmill industry. Being near the source of wood, as usual, the shipyards eventually move in and they began to thrive. This provides some validation that Robert Ferguson probably followed his trade up until 1891 when at the age of 45 when he and his cousin, James McGinnis, about age 43, give up their carpentry skills and become farmers.
Just how James, Arthur and Hugh as well as older brother Patrick acquired their skills as carpenters we can’t be certain but it is quite likely they learned basic skills in Chatham. There were several shipyards in Chatham and many skills were required to launch a ship. Surely some of the McGinnis clan acquired their skills in this manner for as they moved on to Chicago and then to Seattle their census entries tend to always indicate “carpenter” as an occupation.
Of all the men involved in this story, the older son Patrick was the first McGinnis to immigrate south in 1875 where he first settled in Chicago. Here Patrick began his lifetime career in the construction trades as a carpenter. He must have met with success for soon after his brothers followed probably persuaded by their older brother, something they were to do once again in their lifetime.
Just which of these early Canadians from our past were trained shipwrights and carpenters is really difficult to define except for probably Robert Ferguson. Some of his early census entries definitely indicate he was a shipwright. My early recollection of the many shiny steel tools he left behind that I viewed while watching Charlie Mills in the 1950’s browse through the huge tool chests in search of a certain tool to complete a task tends to validate his early career to me personally at least. Recall tells me that many were very large woodworking tools as might be required while working on huge ship timbers. Another indication of his skills is hinted at on his original land deed that indicates he was living in Port Blakely on Bainbridge Island at the time he purchased his property in 1891. Port Blakely was home to a thriving sawmill industry. Being near the source of wood, as usual, the shipyards eventually move in and they began to thrive. This provides some validation that Robert Ferguson probably followed his trade up until 1891 when at the age of 45 when he and his cousin, James McGinnis, about age 43, give up their carpentry skills and become farmers.
Just how James, Arthur and Hugh as well as older brother Patrick acquired their skills as carpenters we can’t be certain but it is quite likely they learned basic skills in Chatham. There were several shipyards in Chatham and many skills were required to launch a ship. Surely some of the McGinnis clan acquired their skills in this manner for as they moved on to Chicago and then to Seattle their census entries tend to always indicate “carpenter” as an occupation.
Of all the men involved in this story, the older son Patrick was the first McGinnis to immigrate south in 1875 where he first settled in Chicago. Here Patrick began his lifetime career in the construction trades as a carpenter. He must have met with success for soon after his brothers followed probably persuaded by their older brother, something they were to do once again in their lifetime.
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