Chicago 1883- Marriage of James & Mary Ellen

July 3, 1883

Chicago

Old St. John's Church

Mary Ellen & James McGinnis

Chicago, circa 1883

Mary Ellen Donahue McGinnis

Also circa early 1880's

Father John Waldron

Pastor, Old St. Johns, Chicago,

18th & Clark Ave.

Father Waldron married James and Mary Ellen in 1883. There are indications but no documentation as yet that he also Baptized the first Child Maggie in 1884.

Father Waldron was apparently a rough and tough leader of his flock, at least for the young trouble makers. He carried a "Blackthorne", a club like cane, and used it freely in the rough neighborhoods of his parish.

The Land Bounty Warrant-

Obtaining the Land Warrant was a critical event in the last days Thomas and his new wife before leaving New York City. The right to obtain 160 acres as a reward of his time in service obviously was the central point in establishing their future.

But he did have a few hoops to jump through before he might hold the document in his hand. The marriage of Thomas and Mary on May 12th 1850 was the first event in those last days on the East Coast followed by the discharge that came on May 19.

May 20th 1850 found Thomas appearing before a New York State official in the city in order to swear to and file an Oath of Identity, a requirement of the U.S. regulations for granting Warrant Bounty’s.

The Identity Oath

A remarkable and compassionate system in actuality given the fact that Thomas could not read or write and left only his mark to validate his identity

On May 20 after having a copy of the Identity Oath sworn to that very day by Thomas Captain Winder submitted the following letter to the War Dept Pension Office most likely in Washington D.C.

The document was created and returned to Ft. Columbus to be given to Thomas. Apparently, for some reason the Identity Oath had to be sworn to prior to actually being handed the Warrant. It is somewhat ironic if not somewhat confusing why the oath was even required since Thomas had been in the presence of his Military Commanders for the past five years and surely they could attest to and swear a document to prove the man’s identity. Assumedly a copy of both documents was probably a requirement meant to accompany any future filing with the Land Officials at the time of presenting his actual land claim long after receiving the right to the 160 acres. Having only a few pieces of paper to help piece this together I am sure all the red-tape was complied with and all was completed in proper fashion and it only appears to be confusing in retrospect.

Based on these documents found in the Pension File for Thomas and Mary it appears that they did not leave New York until at least late May or early June of 1850 since the following document states the Warrant was properly assigned a number and officially forwarded back to Captain Winder on May 27. He then gave the document to Thomas sometime after the 27th.

Considering the year was 1850 it is remarkable just how rapid the communication between Ft. Columbus in New York City and Washington D.C. took place. Telegraph was in use by the time but not really available for this sort of communication. Railroads were coming into their own by then making that the only fastest means of such courier service between Military functions. It does point out that society was not all that handicapped in carrying out their communications as one might think when thought of in today’s terms. They completed the task in short order actually.

Donahue's Marry in New York City-

This copy of the marriage record for the Thomas and Mary was included in the Pension File of Thomas Donahue. His wife, after his death, had to prove the marriage did occur and through correspondence sometime in the late 1890’s with the church where she married in New York City she was able to obtain a copy of the record. This in turn was surrendered to the Government to be included in the file.

Company “G”, 1st U.S. Artillery, Assigned To New York Harbor-

Thomas arrived in New York from Mexico probably in 1848 or 1849. After Congressional ratification of the treaty with Mexico ending all hostilities between the two counties the US flag was lowered and replaced with the Mexican flag in Mexico City on June 12th 1848. Sometime during the next twenty three months, between June of 1848 and May of 1850 when Thomas and Mary married, the Artillery Division arrived in New York City. Thomas and Mary were married on May 12th, 1850. Thomas was discharged three days later on Wednesday, May 15th, 1850.

New York City-

The 1st US Artillery was assigned duty at Fort Columbus on Governor’s Island in New York Harbor at the completion of their mission in Mexico. New York of course was probably the largest point of immigration in the US at the time as it continued to be for many, many years. The predecessor to Ellis Island was Castle Garden, a site of an early Revolutionary War fortress on the southern tip of Manhattan Island, the location of New York City. The immigration records of the time are available on the Internet and the process of locating the actual arrival date and ship manifest for our great-grandmother Mary (McKeough) Donahue is still not determined. There are a few likely entries that very well could have been her record of arrival.

Duty On Governor’s Island New York- Very Near The Hub Of Irish Immigration-

Being posted to Governor’s Island gave any military man ready access to the community of new Irish immigrants congregating in the Five Points area of New York, near what is called the Battery at the southern tip of Manhattan Island. The Battery, where Castle Garden was located, the location of the Immigration processing center was an area of available housing affordable to new immigrants. It was the logical area for new immigrants to attempt to gather together amongst others from their same homeland. The majority of immigrants at the time of course were the Irish and the southern tip of Manhattan Island was where they gathered. The logical point of landing in New York for one leaving the military installations on nearby Governor’s Island by ferry was in the area of the Battery or the Five Points district where Irish culture was well established. It was a place to find mutual support among the newly arrived immigrants, many probably confused and frightened. To be able to mingle with those that shared many common dire experiences and speaking with the same Irish accent must have been comforting.

The Concentration Of Irish Immigrants Brings Opportunity To Socialize With Those From The Homeland-

With all the new Irish immigrants concentrated in New York the man certainly had the opportunity to socialize with those from his home country. During his weekend passes he had free time to journey by ferry into the city enabling him to make new friends and thus meet his new wife.

How did Thomas meet his new bride? One can only imagine how that came about but perhaps their shared Catholic faith had something to do with it.

Mary McKeough Donahue

Abt 1825- 1900

The Church Of The Transfiguration- It Still Exists-

The primary if not the only Catholic parish serving new immigrants during this period was the Church of the Transfiguration in the Battery area of New York where Thomas and Mary were married.

The Internet pages for the parish are easily found and a good history of the church can be found there. The pictures one finds of the church are of the current edifice, not the one that existed at the time of the Donahue marriage. The current building was purchased from another denomination in the mid-1850’s, five years following the Donahue's wedding, when the existing Protestant congregation decided to locate to a facility elsewhere in the city. Perhaps with all the Irish present in the area the need for Protestant religious services dwindled prompting the desire to relocate. Just where the original parish church was located I have been unable to find but most certainly it was in the same general area, somewhere within the Five Points district.

From: http://newyork.citysearch.com/profile/11640918#editorialreview

Citysearch Editorial Profile -- By Elaine Heinzman

New York's oldest house of worship for Catholics has a saint to its credit.
Editorial Rating: Recommended

Background-

In 1801 the English-speaking descendants of German Lutheran emigres spent $15,000 to build a substantial stone church, before it passed into the hands of the Protestant Episcopal Church. The church was purchased by the Roman Catholic Diocese of New York in 1853; Father Felix Varela, a Cuban-born pioneer of Catholic journalism, had founded the parish in 1827. Mother Frances Cabrini, named "Saint of All Immigrants" in the 1950s by Pope Pius XII, established a school at the Transfiguration Parish in 1899.

Features-
Though this Georgian-style building possesses simple stained-glass accents, its pitched windows are in the more elaborate Gothic Parish style of mid-1850s England. The country's largest Chinese-American congregation and others attend daily masses given in Cantonese and English, with Sunday services also conducted in Mandarin. The church offers everything from a competitive parochial curriculum and kindergarten program to bible study and English as a Second Language course work.

Two Jones Brothers-

Taken in Harrison, Arkansas, most likely in the 1870's-1880's-

A.H. Jones, 1847-1922 (left)

& Brother,

Samuel Tate Jones, 1830-1918

Not much in the way of data has been found on Samuel Tate Jones to date other than he did raise his family in Harrison, Arkansas up until his death in 1918. Samuel is found in the census of Harrison, Arkansas in July of 1870 and judging from the birth places of his children he may have had Southern sympathies for one child born in Tennessee just before the Civil War broke out with the next child born in Georgia two years after the war ended. Not really knowing the exact circumstances it is possible he returned home to Georgia right after the war to help care for his Father and his sister Elizabeth and her fatherless children. He and his family were in Georgia in 1867 for the birth of a daughter but moved on to Harrison sometime in the next three years.

His brother, Alfred Hines and his sister Elizabeth were still living with their father in Georgia for that same census year. Their Father Samuel died in the latter part of 1870 and it is assumed that the two Georgia siblings set out for Arkansas shortly after the death. Sister Elizabeth settled in Conway, Arkansas on land left to her by her dead husbands family. Alfred Hines settled in Harrison some hundred miles to the north where brother Samuel was already established as a farmer.

Family Outing, Deception Pass circa 1935

A family outing, probably a trip to the new Deception Pass Bridge. The bridge was completed in the summer of 1935 and it was a popular day trip for families around the time. It was considered a modern marvel for the people of Whidby Island and the surrounding main land communities.

This is the latest picture of Uncle Jim found to date.

From left, Jim McGinnis, Charles Jones Jr., John McGinnis, Joe Lyons, Juanta Jones, Bernie Jones & Charles Jones Sr..

Dad with his seemingly ever-present cigar.

Mom and Dad took turns behind the camera

An Internet Surprise-

Anderson Cemetery, East Stanwood, Washington

A surprise finding of photos of the Graves of John and brother James McGinnis on the Internet has provided pictures I never ever expected to see. I especially remember some of the feelings I experienced that day Uncle Jim was buried. My intent was to always return to East Stanwood and photograph the graves personally. Events have since made that near impossible for me and I have had deep regrets of late for never making the attempt.

An extremely valuable volunteer service has sprouted on the Internet in recent years though where kind individuals choose a cemetery and transcribe the inscriptions on the grave markers. That concept has now expanded with a few web-pages not only recording the data but posting pictures of the graves as well. The odds for ever finding a particular cemetery posting of interest is rather low for so few have been completed but fortunately, much to my surprise, the need to find and photograph the graves of our uncles, John and Jim is no longer necessary. Some kind soul has already done so.

The following were found on "Findagrave.com" in recent months. Access the web-site and search for Anderson Cemetery in Snohomish County and scan the list of the graves and you will find Uncle John and Uncle Jim.

John McGinnis

1891-1951

James McGinnis Jr.
1893- 1963

Denning Cemetery, Boone County, Harrison, Arkansas

Where our Grandmother lies at rest since 1894

Denning Cemetery at the left yellow pin, about two miles from the A.H. Jones farm, at the right

Denning Cemetery

Local residents, an elderly man and wife, visiting the same day as I, related that the property had been heavily overgrown for many, many years until recently when it was cleared and is now cared for by volunteers. The lady described the place as "wooly" for so long she was afraid to even step inside the grounds for many years. Wooly I assumed to mean wild, perhaps brambles, brush, snakes and other small creatures. The lady's husband walked the cemetery while his wife and I chatted and soon after but ten or fifteen minutes he signalled success. He had found all three of the graves for me. It seemed uncanny at the time to step so far back in family history and walk up to that grave and say some prayers of thanks. It was a nice long visit and very profound for me personally.

Three Jones Graves

The rusted Iron marker in the foreground is Martha Moulder Jones, next is her first-born, Thomas A. Jefferson Jones and the third headstone directly in the picture center, behind the iron marker in the picture is Elizabeth Johnson Jones, first wife of our Grandfather. Left alone and surely seldom visited since the Jones family left Arkansas in 1912.

Martha Moulder Jones

1850-1894

The internet provides a wealth of resources regarding old cemeteries and Denning cemetery was easily found long before making the trip to Harrison. The following was copied from a list grave transcriptions compiled by some kind soul sometime in the 1970's at this website:

 

  http://www.argenweb.net/boone/denning.html

Denning Cemetery

66. Jones, Elizabeth A. - d. 18 Mar. 1879 - 29 y. 5 m. 13 d. wife/ A. H.

67. Jones, Martha E. - 28 July 1850 -wife/ A. H., Metal mkr.glass front 12/1979

68. Jones, Thomas J. - 4 Dec. 1880 - 5 Sept. 1881 son/ A. H. & M.

The "12/1979"notation after Martha's marker entry, obviously the month and year the information was transcribed, is the only validation that this is truly our Grandmother's grave for since then the clear glass protective cover obviously placed to protect some written or printed text with the details of the grave was no longer installed on the face of the marker. It was easy to see where it had once been placed but the day I found the grave the glass had dislodged itself from the marker and had fallen to the ground still as a solid piece My last visit in 2006 found pieces of glass strewn around the marker perhaps as a result of vandalism. Had the glass not been present nothing would have given any proof of where Martha was laid to rest when Dad was thirteen years old. The foresight of the person documenting the cemetery has turned out to be extremely important. It could have taken many more years to really track down any other evidence if ever it could be found.

Thomas A. Jefferson Jones

December 4, 1880- September 5, 1881

Nine months old

Elizabeth Johnson Jones

1849-1879

First wife of A.H. Jones

Mother of Mary Lou, Esther Almira & Samuel Alfred Jones

The James McGinnis Family of Florence

The only photo of the entire James McGinnis family-

Probably taken when Mother, born June 1896, was just over a year old in late 1897 or early 1898. This was provided by Molly McGinnis Wright. Two copies of the picture were found in family photos left by her Grandmother Marie McGinnis in Newberg, Oregon.

From left in front, Mary Ellen, age 36

James Jr., age 4,

James Sr., age 50, holding Mary Agnes,

Standing in Back, Thomas, age 10, Maggie, age 13, and John, age 5

A Rare Photo

Out of all the old photos passed down to us, this is the only one found to date with both Uncle John and Uncle Jim in the same picture, other than the family photo taken when mother was about a year old.

Their ages, based on Mother being perhaps 19 meaning sometime in 1915, then Uncle John was 23 years old and Uncle Jim, 22 years old.

From the left,
John McGinnis, Mary Agnes, unknown & James McGinnis Jr.

The Last Picture

August 25, 1951

The last time together-

Uncle John on Left, Mom, Uncle Tom

Amazing Similarities-

It is rather obvious, but I am constantly amazed whenever I view these two photos. To see them side by side, something I had never done before, seems to prove the old adage, "Like Mother, Like Daughter". I have no doubt that they had like personalities as well.

Mary Agnes McGinnis Jones

Mother at age 59

Taken at our home in Sheridan Park, Bremerton, supposedly the day that Uncle John died, August 25, 1951. That was written by Aunt Marie on the back of her copy of the same group photo of Uncle John, Mom and Uncle Tom that is in Molly's possession. Nancy found the same photo in her Mother's saved family pictures.

Mary Ellen Donahue McGinnis

From a photo taken on the back porch of the Florence Home where the McGinnis Family was raised. Our Grandmother, Mary Ellen, probably taken at about the same age of her life as the photo of Mother shown above. An incredible likeness in my mind but you be the judge.

Just who the child is remains a mystery.

Mother's cousin, Alice McGinnis Koffel, in a letter late in her life to our Oregon cousin, Molly, described our Mother and Grandmother very kindly. The following is taken from an e-mail from Molly where she described some of her communication with Alice. It's a voice from the past that describes them very nicely-

"It's so interesting to hear you speak of Alice and I loved the photo! I remember her much the same way through her letters. I know she was fond of your mother, because she described her as "Very sweet and very much like her mother."

McGinnis Timeline

McGinnis Dates of Importance- As of March 5, 2009

The Pied Piper of Chatham, Patrick McGinnis-

Patrick McGinnis, AKA, Patrick McInnis,
First Child of John McGinnis, of Monaghan, Ireland,
A Businessman and a Politician-
More Insight to the McGinnis Family-

Patrick McGinnis

1845-1922

Patrick’s Election Campaign Photo
Seattle Post IntelligencerNovember 1908

My emphasis on Patrick at the moment is based on the fact that he was somewhat the “Pied Piper” of the McGinnis clan and a character to single out and attempt to bring some sort of a logical story to mind. Hopefully some of this will lead into even a larger story. The entire scenario is certainly far from complete so bear with me as I engage my imagination to some degree.

At the moment it occurs to me that our current generation really needs to be introduced to a rather obscure but still very important person in the overall story of the McGinnis family and how they finally firmly planted their roots in Western Washington. That person is Patrick McGinnis, or as he preferred, McInnis. Being the eldest son of John McGinnis Sr., he was really the one individual that is most responsible for our current family to be primarily settled in the Puget Sound area. He really is the one person that most certainly inspired his siblings to leave Chicago and join him in Seattle. I cannot prove that statement but all evidence really leads to that conclusion. Be assured though that at the very least he had to have played a role in guiding the Irish of our beginnings to Washington State. Factual, not entirely, circumstantial, very much so, but regardless, very significant and extremely probable.

Interestingly though, contrary to all my early conclusions regarding both sides of our family history, I have come to find out that the McGinnis family was well established in Washington State some twenty years before any of the Jones family arrived from Arkansas. I was always impressed as I grew up knowing the fact that Dad came to Washington in 1909. It always seemed so long ago. I should have paid more attention to Mother. Her entire story would have really impressed me.

Patrick suggests a story that remains unproven, only speculated on. Forgive me if I allow my thoughts to focus on personalities based on few or even any facts, only several suspicions. Such a practice is really only valid in fiction but I have a picture in my mind that has developed and for my own sake I would like to attempt to bring some clarity to the images that have begun to appear. How valid this picture I have of the family is certainly questionable but here is what has formed in my own mind regarding Patrick. Without question it also involves Brother John, Sister Sarah and the rest of the Fitzpatricks. Sounds like the beginning of an Irish joke and maybe it is when one thinks about it. All that’s missing is a Priest and a Rabbi. I jest of course. Actually I am most respectful of the relationships these people had over many years.

Patrick was actually the step son of Margaret McCarron, the woman that raised him as her own and one can be certain that having a stepson to care for made no difference to Margaret McCarron. There is no doubt in my mind that Patrick always considered her his natural mother. Patrick was the first child born to John McGinnis and his first wife Mary Buchanan in New Brunswick. Mary may have died during childbirth or shortly after for John’s second child, James, our grandfather, was born two years later in 1847 after he married Margaret McCarron.

If you are able to read Patrick’s church baptism record, notice the Godmother, Mary McCarron. Assumedly this is a sister or more likely a cousin of Margaret’s, John’s second wife, our Great-Grandmother. Obviously the families were all friends at the time. Sometimes in the old parish records it was fairly common to abbreviate Margaret as “Marg”, looking very much like Mary in some cases. This originally made it appear that Margaret was both a Godmother and later married John McGinnis and became his stepmother as well. Looking closely at the entry now it is definitely Mary McCarron as the Godmother. In the 1871 census Mary McCarron, age 40, is living in the McGinnis home. This is more likely to be a sister for their Father, James McCarron, is also in the household. The span of years between the baptism and the census suggest that there was an earlier generation of McCarrons present in Chatham and most likely related to our Grandmother. One does have to also consider that the baptism record is incorrect and the Godmother, Mary, may have been Margaret after all.

Baptism Record, Patrick McGinnis, August 1845

St. Michael's Parish

Chatham, Northumberland County,

New Brunswick

After the death of John Sr. in 1861, at a relatively young age of 50, it is obvious the family John left behind in Chatham worked closely as a family unit to provide for themselves after the loss of the main provider. This closeness is very well what explains why and how the family maintained the family unit over the years from New Brunswick through Chicago and on to Seattle. Sarah married Patrick Fitzpatrick in Chatham in 1884 and based on the birth of her first two children, John and Marguerite (also sometimes found as Margaret) somewhere in New York State in 1886 and 1888, shows that the overall family was temporarily separated.

Patrick was 16 years old when his father died and he may have been forced by financial circumstances to begin work at this young age in order to help support the family. This path obviously led him into a Carpentry trade and by the time he left Chatham sometime after the 1871 census at the age of 23 he very well may have seen that the future need for carpenters in New Brunswick was diminishing quickly. Shipbuilding was beginning to phase out and he was young and as the young quite often are, rather adventurous. If he had been required to begin working around the time of his father’s death then by the time he left some seven to ten years later he would have had time to acquire a fair level of carpentry skills.

Just when Patrick emigrated is very difficult to answer. There are conflicting dates. His 1900 census entry states he left Canada in 1875. That is somewhat confirmed since he is listed in the McGinnis household, living with his Stepmother and her children in the 1871 Chatham, New Brunswick census. Personally I believe he left home in the last part of 1871.

The conflicting date stems from his short 1908 election biography as published in the Seattle Post Intelligencer in November of 1908. He relates that he had spent 14 years in Chicago prior to coming to Seattle in 1882 to establish himself in the contracting business. This would have placed him in Chicago in 1868. There is also some vague proof of that for one Patrick McGinnis can be found in the Chicago 1870 census working as a laborer. If this is the case he would have been living in the city the year Mrs. O’Leary’s cow kicked over the lantern that set the city on fire. If this is our Patrick it cannot be verified currently since this fact would mean he was in two places in 1871, both Chatham and Chicago. Very, very unlikely. The 1882 date in the newspaper article is highly suspect and for my purposes he did not arrive in Chicago before 1871.

The family separation, when ever it began, though temporary, was not total separation for the family core remained in Chatham and Sarah was beginning her family some where in New York State. Chicago would have given Patrick opportunity to improve his skills and observe the workings of the construction trades in a large setting. His insight of the opportunities the city had to offer certainly influenced his younger brothers, James, Arthur and Hugh to eventually follow him there and certainly with the aid of their older brother, they also became involved in the construction trades and commenced their paths in life.

According to Patrick’s political biography he arrived in Seattle in 1882, after living in Chicago for 14 years. That would mean he arrived in Chicago in 1868 at the age of 23. This was but three years following the end of our Civil War. He would have been living in the city at the time Mrs. O’Leary’s cow supposedly kicked over the lantern in October of 1871 resulting in that city’s famous fire. Immediately following the fire would have placed him in the right time and place for possible employment as a young man

A possible trace of young Patrick does tend to coincide with the 1868 arrival in Chicago and that is the following entry in a Chicago city directory of 1870 found at http://www.chicagoancestors.org/downloads/1870m.pdf

Is this our Patrick? Very possible but unlikely after fitting all the facts together. The person is working as a laborer. What is more interesting is that the address is on Clark Street where his younger brother James was living after his marriage in 1883. There was something about that neighborhood and the eventual marriage of James and Mary Ellen that suggests Patrick was established there at one point and when James arrived in the city he may have shared Patrick’s quarters. As mentioned elsewhere, this is the very neighborhood that Mary Ellen’s older brother, Patrick Donahue owned a grocery store.

Another possible trace of Patrick McGinnis in Chicago is also from a Chicago city directory of 1880, two years before striking out for Seattle. This particular Patrick McGinnis is a partner in the business of “Boyle and McGinnis” located at 927 N. Halstad. All these directories can be found at http://www.chicagoancestors.org/#tab-tools. Probably not our Patrick for the firm is listed in the business section as “Ice Dealers” but that remains to be seen.

If his political bio from the Seattle newspapers of 1908 is correct, then he was in Chicago from 1868 to 1882. His 1900 Seattle census entry gives the emigration year as 1875, the 1900 census provides no date, the 1920 census states 1885. Solid evidence for dates just does not exist.

Regardless, Patrick eventually came to Seattle and probably immediately began his contracting business, using the business skills he must have learned during those 14 years in Chicago. It is rather frustrating not to find the man after 1871 in any record until 1900. We only know that he was in Chicago for fourteen years prior to heading west. Rail travel out of Chicago to the west coast during much of this time was really only available to San Francisco along the first Transcontinental Railroad although there were many projects in various stages of construction, some partially completed, attempting to reach the Northwest. All in all it was not a simple task to finally find your way to Seattle from Chicago until late in the 1880’s. But the man definitely made the journey and once again the “Pied Piper” eventually beckoned, this time from the west coast.

The question of when and where Patrick decided to change the spelling of his surname remains unresolved for now. Such an over worn statement in researching a families past but sadly it states the truth of the matter. I am confident that eventually the time will be established. The reason is also conjecture but due to his ethnicity it may have been the prudent thing to do for a young man attempting to establish himself in the business community.

The immigrant Irish bore an ethnic prejudicial stigma for many years just as any new immigrant group unfortunately will somehow have to endure. Its human nature and it will always exist in my opinion. The Italian’s in our history endured it as did the Chinese and the list goes on. Reading bits of history of our countries evolvement reveals that the Irish beginning in the early 1800’s and through much of the rest of the century at different times and in various places were treated as badly as the free Negro of the North. There was rampant discrimination for many years for both groups. The Irish and the free blacks actually competed for many of the same employment opportunities. The citizens of the day seemed to associate the traits of one group with the traits of the other. Chicago and Boston are a curiosity though for the early Irish of those cities really succeeded, certainly politically, but it took time and hard work for that to happen.

In the late 1800’s the conditions that the McGinnis clan faced in America may still have included a high level of prejudice. This was not the case in Eastern Canada however so it was a very new experience for all of them if it existed. The degree of the stigma remains questionable but still quite possible that it was present in their every day lives. The surname spelled as McInnis is a common Scotch variant spelling of McGinnis. McInnes is another variant as well and there are many more. Which is proper and correct I suppose might just depend on where one was located. But McInnis is and was accepted as a Scottish or an English name. Perhaps Patrick decided that for business purposes, in order to avoid possible stumbling blocks in his business dealings, in a new location and not knowing what his Irish roots might burden him with, that he would adapt the more English version when he began his new life in Seattle. He was out to find a new beginning and he did succeed to some degree and probably while using a different surname spelling.

Patrick left a mark on Seattle, a minor one perhaps, but enough so that he does appear at least twice in the local newspapers. Sadly one of those was his obituary. Rather obscure mentions perhaps but they add small facts that aid in expanding the overall story.

The following is copied from his political biography from the Seattle Post Intelligencer of November 1st, 1908. He was running for a seat in State House of Representatives for Seattle’s 43rd District, always an important legislative district in Seattle politics, then and now. The district today covers the central core of the city roughly from Lake Union east to Lake Washington and from the University District south to the Pioneer Square area. Two days later Patrick was elected, placing second in the polling which enabled him to take a seat in Olympia the following January 11th, 1909.

"P. McInnis, candidate from the Forty-third district, is a Canadian by birth and came to the United States when a young man. Chicago was his first home city in this country, and he lived there for fourteen years, following his trade of carpenter.
In 1882 Mr. McInnis arrived in Seattle and his since lived continuously in this city. The first few years were spent at the bench as carpenter, but when the city began to grow, Mr. McInnis shared in the general prosperity. He laid aside apron and tools and became a contractor.

Far sighted enough to foresee the future of Seattle when it was but a village of 5,000, Mr. McInnis invested his savings in Seattle real estate, and today he owns much valuable property.
As a large taxpayer he is opposed to extravagance in public affairs and will support all measures directed towards an economical administration of the business of the state."

The Washington State Archives has provided the following election results for the 43rd District for the November 1908 General Election.

Tuesday, February 9, 2009

The vote tally from the 1908 Election for the 43rd district is as follows:

Ole Hanson 1653

P. McInnis 1577

Harry T. Traynor 389

Frank B. Wilson

J. Willon 11

J. Solar 11

Homer Bull 5

O. St. Stone 1

Fred St. Pettys 1

I also checked the 1906 and 1910 election results but Mr. McInnis apparently didn't run in either of those years.If you have any other questions please feel free to contact us again.

Phil Stairs, Research Assistant

Puget Sound Regional Archives3000 Landerholm Circle S.E.,

MS-N100Bellevue, WA 98007-6484

(425) 564-3940

Official Record of the Opening Day Session, Washington State House of Representatives, January 11, 1909-

The conflicting emigration dates for Patrick as mentioned above that have surfaced leads into the rest of the story and it involves the possible influence of younger sister Sarah.

Sarah McGinnis Fitzpatrick

Circa 1889

The Year the Family Came to Seattle

One can conjure up the image that since Sarah was a homemaker all her life she very well may have been the only person ever involved in providing information to any U.S. census taker knocking at her door over the years. Strictly subjective of course, but surely possible, since the men of the house may have been at their place of business whenever any enumerator approached the Patrick Fitzpatrick residence. If this is the case, herein might be a hint of Sarah’s personality, a very faint hint though, but not an uncommon trait for anyone even today.

What has emerged while accessing the census data for the family over the years either from Canadian or U.S. sources it appears that Sarah especially had difficulty in remembering her actual age. One would have major difficulty determining her actual age based only on census entries. Tracing Sarah in all records the earliest record of her year of birth is 1855 as gleaned from the 1881 Canadian Census taken three years before her marriage in 1884 in Chatham, New Brunswick. The place where all the clan landed on North American soil. Sarah's actual baptismal record, assumedly in Chatham, has not been found.

One might suspect from all this that Sarah was somewhat vain a common trait to the psychic of the Human Species. Census data abounds with such instances. As one of the descendants from Florence, Alice McGinnis, daughter of Hugh and Catherine, related to Molly McGinnis regarding the McGinnis family, I paraphrase here, "the Canadians had trouble telling the truth about their ages".

Sarah had married a man nine years her junior and perhaps that was something she did not want revealed. Maybe that was the reason she changed her age at least every ten years. To sustain the possible charade the ages of her brother Patrick and her husband, Patrick Fitzpatrick also changed on occasion.

The Fitzpatrick Home

1603 E. Jefferson St., Seattle

Circa 1925

Today this is the very center of Seattle Central District, a section of town abandoned by the white population many years ago. At one time this home housed Sarah, her husband Patrick, two married daughters and their husbands, brothers Patrick and John, for a total of eight adults as accounted for in the 1920 census. The family moved to this home from a home on Marion Street on First Hill sometime between 1910 and 1920.

They really were close until the very end and they remain so today in Seattle’s Calvary Cemetery, side by side.

Sarah and Husband Patricks Grave is the Only Marker on the McGinnis Plot-

Going Away From the Marker lie Margaret McCarron McGinnis, and her sons Patrick and John. The first Child of Sarah and Patrick, John Fitzpatrick, That Died in 1895 at the Age of Nine Years lies to the Near Side of His Parents Graves.

A Trip Through Harrison Arkansas- Where Charles F. Jones Sr. Was Born and Raised

Where the Jones's Grew Up

On a Straight Line, Three and Half Miles From

The Town Square

The rectangle is estimated to be about 2000 x 2600 ft. covering approximately 120 acres.

"She said that from Rock Springs Rd. you should turn right on Crow Lane and it is all the property to the south along the hedge row which is the original land."

The above statement is taken from an e-mail received from the Genealogy room of the Harrison, Arkansas Library. It helped to finally confirm what had been suspected during an earlier visit to Harrison in 2006.

The following picture copied from Google Earth shows the Jones property as best as can be determined from applying clues that are presented here. It's really a description of a process that results in a near positive conclusion that I truly had literally "stumbled" across the farm where Dad grew up while on a return trip home to Savannah from a visit with Nancy and her husband in Tulsa in November of 2006.




Several years ago after bringing home the old suitcase full of family photos I found a small clue to Dad's Arkansas home where he was born and raised. In a small box in the suitcase there were some mementos and a few newspaper clippings. One clipping aroused my curiosity for it gives the only hint I have ever found or recall hearing about the place where Dad was raised in Harrison, Arkansas.

The clipped article was obviously from a Harrison Newspaper probably sometime in the 1950’s or 1960’s during the construction of the Boone County Airport in Harrison and it mentions our grandfather specifically.

What follows is my transcription of the newspaper article:

"Gone is an old familiar sight along the Rock Springs road. An old hedge fence which almost surrounded the old Hines Jones farm of 120 acres and planted there some 75 or more years ago. The airport construction company has bulldozed it away. It was the only hedge fence in the county or anywhere in the country as far as we know. The origin of the hedge or Bois’darc is very interesting. It is native of Arkansas. Some Frenchmen found it here and gave it the name of Bois'darc. Indians used it to make bows. It is a valuable wood and is a hard yellow. It’s also used to make aniline dye. It is grown now over the U.S. The passing of these landmarks remind those who remember of the earliest settlers of this community. To name a few: Pat Mitchell, Hines Jones, Newt Jones, Heaton, Payne, Raynor, Mysinger, Hawkins, Forney, Tye, Rush, Boone, Brown, Denning, McCormack and others. Some of their descendants live here, others are scattered in many states. A history of these early settlers, their habits and struggles and -----(?) spirit would be ? ? ? ?"


From that small clipping came the questions I wonder if any trace of this special sort of hedge and tree might still survive? Also coming to mind was did the hedge line the entire property of A.H. Jones? If all were removed might they have re-grown from old seeds or roots? If they might be found they just might help to locate the farm that Dad grew up on? As has happened before, just following small hints has led to surprising discoveries. Just wondering about it and knowing someday I would be going through Harrison I started making small inquiries and putting a small plan together for my next visit to the small town.

Rock Spring Road would be the place to begin. The road meanders through the countryside to the west of Harrison and eventually leads to the Denning Cemetery where our grandmother, Martha Moulder, is buried. Having located the cemetery on maps and it’s proximity to Rock Springs it all began to make sense and that just maybe something else of interest might surface while wandering around the area.

A mile or so after leaving the cemetery I turned a sharp right turn on Rock Springs Road and then continued south up a small rise. Immediately on my left I noticed the strangest sort of tree, many of them aligned in a straight line parallel to the road. They had already lost their leaves and presented an odd array of bare branches. A sort of tree I had never seen before. Immediately the mention of a hedge formed with a special sort of tree as mentioned in the news clipping came to mind.

There were no other such trees like them in the area. They were really unusual to my eye. They seemed purposely placed in a straight line, and they were old, but somewhat stunted in growth. Just the presence of the trees was not enough to prove anything at all. But I felt I was on to something so I stopped and took pictures as a reference for future use.

Later Internet searches revealed what this special Bois-d Arc tree looked like and in my mind, this is the very tree that makes up the fence line row that I photographed in 2006.

My First Views of the Bois'darc Trees

The Trees Have an Almost Helter-Skelter Branch Pattern

Searching the web to see what a Bodoc tree might look like took me to a knowledgeable web site, http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/98151

The following picture was taken from that web page and it and others on the site confirms that I had found a property line for the Jones farm. The newspaper clipping implied that all the hedges had been removed but obviously the article may have been referring to what might have been the property line along the old route into Harrison past the front or northern edge of the original property.

Osage Orange, Bois d'arc, Bodock Tree, Horse Apple, Hedge Apple Maclura omifera

You can see the trees along the very road I visited by using Google Earth and search for 4638 Rock Springs Road, Harrison, Boone County, Arkansas. It should provide the following view. The direction of the view is opposite of what is shown above.

Both of the photos above were copied from Google Earth on the Internet. The Rock Springs Road runs between the two yellow push-pins inserted in the above Google Earth view. The pin at the left is where I believe the Denning Cemetery is and the pin to the right is on current airport property and is the area of the farm. The town of Harrison is immediately to the right of the airport runway. By looking over current city maps it’s easy to see that the original road continued directly east into Harrison. Now it turns south at the hedge line continuing past the end of the runway and then continues into the town. This north-south road had to have been made at the time of the airport construction and it follows the west boundary of the Jones place.

The following picture depicts what is behind the hedge row of Bodoc Trees. You might want to mentally add maybe ten feet of earth to the right of the tree row though. That might then begin to give an idea of the landscape. The hedge row is to the left, and the airport landing strip is to the right of the view. Just what the actual boundaries were is not known but it was certainly larger than just the patch of ground in the picture. The Northwest corner of the property is where the two tree lines meet.

Southwest Corner of the Boone County Airport

Site of the Jones family farm in Harrison

I was directed to the genealogy room of the local library to talk to a lady that was the local expert. She was busy and it was but a brief visit so we agreed to discuss the Jones family further by e-mail. When finally home I made contact with the lady and received the following immediate response-

----- Original Message -----
From: Kathleen@Boone County Library
To: ALLISON JONES
Sent: Tuesday, January 23, 2007 4:12 PM
Subject: Re: ATTENTION KATHLEEN, GENEALOGY ROOM

Good afternoon, Allison,

I think that I have found some further information that you can use. Just after reading your message a lady came into my room that was raised on Rock springs Rd. She knew about the old Jones homestead and said that there is a map of it online. I have been able to find this map and it is located at: http://www.thecolefamily.com/hobby/rocksprings1900.htm

When you look at it you will find your family's farm marked on it. She said that if it is the same one that she remembers there has been a log cabin on it, but it now has a flower nursery on it. She thinks that the current owners also own Wright Steel, a manufacturing plant here in town.

To get to the property today you would be on highway 397 and turn off of it behind the Wright Steel Manufacturing plant. This road would take you around behind the plant and then on the west side of the airport.

If you would like to contact this lady her name and address is:

LaMayne Moore
5583 Rock Springs, Rd.
Harrison, AR 727601
phone: 870-741-7819

Have a good afternoon. Kathleen

The web-page mentioned in the e-mail produced the following map. The actual creator is not known but just the detail of all the families of the area certainly establishes a decent level of credibility. A local family maintains the web-page and they have done an amazing job of collecting and disseminating their family information. Their level of thoroughness and obvious passion for history of the Harrison area indicates a high level of credibility is due their input.

The Map as copied from the web page- http://www.thecolefamily.com/hobby/rocksprings1900.htm

Comparing this hand drawn map with the Google aerial view you can match the shape of the road. Notice that it did continue directly east into Harrison at one time. The right to left distance is about two miles and the Jones place is near the right edge of the map. Dad’s sister Pearl married Samuel Fillingham and most likely one of the sons of the Fillingham family at the far right of the sketch.

Two days later the following exchange with the library occurred-

----- Original Message -----
From: ALLISON JONES
To: Kathleen@Boone County Library
Sent: Thursday, January 25, 2007 10:45 AM
Subject: Re: ATTENTION KATHLEEN, GENEALOGY ROOM

Thank you again Kathleen,

I have been able to locate the property on a good topographical map I have of the area. Based on some logic and assumptions I can almost draw the property line based on the fact that the farm covered 120 acres. The map, USGS Batavia, Ark, is a 1967 edition and it reflects an outbuilding on the property that you have described for me. In all likelihood this is the barn as described by Mrs. Moore. This is far more than I had known previously, although I still hold out hope to find the legal description someday.

Your attention to my request has been most kind. I also thank LaMayne Moore once again. Please do keep me in mind if anything else might surface regarding my interest.

Have a wonderful day,

Allison Jones

Richmond Hill, Georgia
----- Original Message -----
From: Kathleen@Boone County Library
To: ALLISON JONES
Sent: Wednesday, January 24, 2007 2:18 PM
Subject: Re: ATTENTION KATHLEEN, GENEALOGY ROOM

Good afternoon, Allison,

I have heard from Mrs. Moore again today and she has located the property from the map that we found. She said that from Rock Springs Rd. you should turn right on Crow Lane and it all property to south along hedge row which is the original land. At this time it is airport property. The house has been gone many years, but the barn fell down about 3 years ago.

Maybe you can make another trip up here and see it sometime.

Have a good afternoon. Kathleen

The above map was taken from a topographical map of the area, dated 1967. It shows two buildings on what was the Jones property, the house being the dark square, the open square to the left of the house is probably the barn. Without visiting the location it is impossible to determine if these are old or new structures but based on the e-mail describing the farm and some of its history I suspect that they are the original structures. The small blue circle is a pond or a spring. This map was verified and compared against aerial photos taken specifically for mapping purposes in 1967 indicating they were both in place after the construction of the airport and had not been removed.

The school location that obviously was attended by all the Jones children was less than a half mile away and it is very doubtful that it still stands.


I cannot thank the genealogy librarian, Kathleen, enough. She and her contact have provided enough proof that makes all the above assumptions correct. In this hobby of family history, it’s amazing what can be found when one applies time and patience.