Examining Possible Relationships From Church Records, Nelson and Chatham, Northumberland County, New Brunswick Canada / Marriages of Catherine and Mary McGinnis, Our Great-Grandaunts / Also the Ferguson Connection

It has proved impossible to date to find any data or method to really define where any of our Irish ancestors resided in the home country. Someday that may change but as of now the only records of any kind for either the Donahue’s or the McGinnis families can only be found in North American records beginning around the mid 19th century.  Finding even these records has proven out to be a significant find for me personally.  This is an attempt to present some sort of a lasting record regarding what we know so far.  Again this is an attempt to piece together a few facts and provide some sort of an explanation for others someday to expand on as other records are found about the family.  I do not consider this as proof of anything, only my assessment of the events.

With the McGinnis family, the earliest surviving documents to be found during my searches are to be found in the Catholic parish records of Eastern Canada.  These records are found on microfilm and published by the Drouin Genealogical Institute of Quebec.  This storehouse of information is priceless and it’s origin is as described from a posting here in June of 2009:

“The Drouin Genealogical Institute of Quebec took on the task of microfilming all the church records of the various Catholic parishes administered out of Quebec City which is a considerable amount of records. The area involved in the task essentially covered every parish in the provinces of Quebec, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, all under the auspices of the presiding Archbishop or Cardinal residing in Quebec City or Montreal. The effort begun in the 1940's was primarily meant to record French genealogy records but as is evident the task encompassed all parishes, French or English speaking. Since the Maritime Provinces, unlike Quebec of course, are primarily English speaking with many sizeable pockets of French culture it was determined that all records would be filmed in order to capture the data of all the French families”.

Searching through these records the possible existence of other early McGinnis family members to Canada began to surface, namely the names of two likely sisters of our McGinnis Patriarch, John McGinnis Sr.  John immigrated to Canada in 1836 and died in Chatham, New Brunswick in 1860 leaving behind his second wife Margaret McCarron and six children, one of which was James McGinnis Sr., our grandfather.  The two possible sisters can only be proven through making associations recorded in the parish records which is not a foolproof method but it the only process available due to the lack of civil records.

The two possible sisters are Mary and Catherine McGinnis.  Those two names combined as Mary Catherine were passed on to two succeeding generations of the family of Hugh and Catherine McGinnis.  Hugh of course was a brother of our grandfather James, both of the surviving six children of John Sr.  This is not a definite proof of the existence of the two possible sisters of John Sr. since these are both such common names in the Irish tradition of naming children.  But it is something to be considered when attempting to piece all this together.

The most direct proof that might apply then are in the parish records of two churches, St. Patrick’s in the small community of Nelson and St. Michael’s in Chatham, the two small towns being but ten miles apart.  St. Patrick’s was established about 1811 and St. Michael’s in 1839.  Keep in mind an extremely confusing issue comes to play here in that a McInnis and a McGinnis came together in marriage making the records somewhat mind boggling to read through at times.  Keeping the names straight while attempting to absorb the events and dates has proved out to be very challenging at times.

The following events have been found in the microfilm records but they are not all the entries regarding the family available. I only include those events that I feel tend to validate the existence of the two sisters of John McGinnis Sr.  The events and the witnesses are the key to this puzzle.  The names of Mary and a sister Catherine intertwine in important family events over a period of many years.  It may only be circumstantial on the surface but personally I do believe it is highly probable that the two sisters did exist.

1. According to the 1850 census of Chatham an entry states that John McGinnis Sr. entered Canada in 1836.  This is my beginning point for our McGinnis family.
2. An entry in the parish record of November 18, 1839 in St. Patrick's parish in nearby Nelson records the marriage of one Andrew McInnis and Catherine McGinnis.  At this point we might only assume this is a sister of John Sr. for one John McGinnis is a witness.  It is still not established that this is the same John McGinnis that entered Canada in 1836 nor that John and Catherine in the record are brother and sister.  This also begins the task of attempting to keep the two surnames, McInnis (sometimes spelled McInnes) and McGinnis straight in the mind to keep the spellings from confusing the issue.  McInnis and it’s variants are of Scotch descent and of course McGinnis is of Irish origin.
3. The next date of interest in December 27, 1840 when at St. Michael’s parish in Chatham, Andrew McInnis and Catherine McGinnis baptized their first child John McInnis.  Witnesses were John McGinnis and Mary McGinnis.  We still cannot say for sure that this is the same John McGinnis that entered Canada in 1836.  It is reasonable to assume though that the parents of the child are the same that married about a year earlier in Nelson.  What is worth considering here is that one John McGinnis was a witness at both events suggesting that it is the same person in both instances.  The record spells the parents name as McGinnis and I suggest that the priest was in a hurry and did not record the surname of McInnis correctly.  These records were sometimes put together days if not weeks after the actual events providing room for error as the priest might sometimes attempt to bring his records up to date from memory only.  Spelling of surnames was really rather haphazard at times regardless of when the record was entered which is easy to see when looking through many microfilm pages.
4. On January 30, 1845 a marriage record is entered in St. Michael’s parish in Chatham between John Ferguson and Mary McGinnis.  This marriage is what establishes the relationship of Mary Agnes McGinnis and Mary Mills as second cousins.  It was well known in our family that the two, our mother Mary Agnes and Mary Mills, were cousins and in order for this to be a fact this marriage establishes that John Ferguson married a McGinnis of our line, a sister of John McGinnis Sr. in all likelihood. It is well known that John Ferguson was the grandfather of Mary Mills and he was married to Mary McGinnis and for the cousin relationship to be established Mary McGinnis, the grandmother of Mary Mills, had to be of our McGinnis line.  This works out to establish that an unknown McGinnis in Ireland, the father of John McGinnis Sr.  and his sister Mary McGinnis Ferguson, was a great-grandfather to both of these cousins.  Note: this marriage was entered in the records as both January 30 and September 30, 1845.  I have accepted the earlier date for now due to date of birth of the first child of the marriage, Robert, in late December 1845.
5. Time goes by and the next date of interest in the church records is December 21, 1845 when Robert Ferguson the first child of John Ferguson and wife Mary McGinnis was baptized.  This child later becomes the uncle of Mary Mills and the man that established his farm in Florence next to James McGinnis.  The two were first cousins based on the unknown McGinnis patriarch in Ireland.  Both men settling next to one another to live out their lives adds to the credibility of the relationship of the two families.  Robert never did marry but his sister Catherine married Luke Mills and were the parents of Mary and Charlie Mills.
6. On September 15, 1847, our grandfather James McGinnis, first child of John McGinnis Sr.and Margaret McCarron, was baptized. The godparents were one John McCarron and Mary Ferguson. If the tradition of naming relatives as godparents holds true then assumedly Mary (McGinnis) Ferguson is a relative. John McCarron is a mystery but if tradition is followed here then he might be a brother or cousin of the mother, Margaret McCarron. John McCarron disappears from all records after this event.
7. John McGinnis Jr., the second child of John McGinnis Sr. and Margaret McCarron, was baptized on August 26, 1849.  The godparents were Andrew and Catherine McInnes.  Again, if tradition is followed then the godparents were relatives.  This adds substance to the relationship of Catherine as a probable sister of John McGinnis Sr.
8. On March 25, 1850 the fifth and last child of Andrew McInnis and wife Catherine McGinnis was baptized.  The godparents were John Ferguson and Margaret McCarron.  This brings family in as godparents as John Ferguson is married to Mary McGinnis and Margaret McCarron was the wife of John McGinnis Sr.

Personally I feel the intertwining of all these people within just these family events is more than telling, it is really rather substantial proof but based on circumstances only.  There are no definite records uncovered to date that really state factually that John McGinnis Sr., Catherine McGinnis McInnis and Mary McGinnis Ferguson were siblings.  The events and the names above tend to provide strong credence however and until more records are found someday this is what I consider my reasonable assessment of the relationships.

One issue remains to be examined and it may be very important and that is to examine the entry dates to Canada of the two sisters, Mary and Catherine, as well as their year of birth.  It very well may work out that the sisters immigrated before their brother John McGinnis and these facts might cast a different light on what I have presented here.

To summarize…………….

Credibility of Catherine McGinnis are found in items 2, 3, 7 & 8

Credibility of Mary McGinnis are found in items 3, 4, 5 & 6

I apologize if this really belabors the issue and only tends to present a confusing explanation of my take on all this.  To me it is all rather clear and that I suppose is because I have pored over these records so many times and as a result much of it is committed to memory.  Not everyone will see it as I do but do give it time.  It very well may eventually make sense, at least that is my hope.

The Cousins Next Door- Ferguson & Mills

Robert Ferguson, Mary Mills holding young Thomas Fountain McGinnis and Charlie Mills at the right,

circa early 1925

(The above photo, and the one of Charlie Mills that follows were provided by Molly McGinnis Wright, saved from her grandparents collection. This group photo serves to verify the identification of the elder gentleman on page 36 of the Album Mary Ellen McGinnis left behind that was never validated as being Robert Ferguson)

Mary Mills and her younger brother Charlie lived on the farm to the east of where Mother grew up in Florence. Neither of them ever married and I never, ever heard a word of anger come from either one of them. Politically or when discussing the ethics of other local citizens, Charlie could become very animated in his discussions, but Mary was always just the opposite. Soft spoken and with very gentle mannerisms. Some of my fondest memories are of these two. The one year we lived on the farm beginning in the summer of 1950 I believe through early fall of 1951 really is the time that my most warm and lasting memories of the two really are traced to.

They were friends, neighbors and relatives all in one. Mary was known to us as “Mamie”. Looking back I look on her almost as if she were my own Grandmother. Since she was 18 years older than Mother, looking back I can see how that came about. By the time I was born, all my grandparents had been long departed. Mamie seemed to fit the bill to me but I never ever expressed that openly. It was just an internal thing with me.

Actually Mother and Mamie were cousins and when tracing the family line, Mother, Mary and Charlie, can be traced back to a common great-grandfather. This patriarch of the McGinnis family has never been formally identified by name or place but it is assumed he was born and died in Ireland, probably in County Monaghan.

We grew up always knowing that Mother and Mary were cousins but just how they were related as second cousins was never explained and only in recent years due to interest in family history have I been able to define the relationship. Granted, perhaps there are other ways through marriage that created the relationship but all available evidence really traces the connection back to one unknown McGinnis great-grandfather of the two, a man whose given name we do not know, a man that most certainly lived his entire life in Ireland.

The following abbreviated family tree and table identifies the relationship of various family members to that one unknown man in Ireland. This connection is what establishes Mary Agnes McGinnis and Mary Mills as Second Cousins to one another. To my generation, the children of Mary Agnes and Charles Jones Sr., we are “Second Cousins Once Removed” to Mary and Charlie and to the unknown McGinnis ancestor from long ago Ireland, we are labeled as “Second Great-Grandchildren” to him.

The McInnis surname in the table is a branch of the McGinnis clan in New Brunswick. This branch comes from another child of the unknown ancestor, a daughter Catherine that married an Andrew McInnis, of Scotch descent, in Nelson, New Brunswick, in the vicinity of Chatham. A McGinnis marrying a McInnis makes looking through old church records a virtual nightmare when first coming across the marriage. No data tracing the McInnis descendants to current times has been found as yet. Another daughter, Mary, married into the Ferguson clan in Chatham which provides the relationship link to Mary and Charlie. In summary, the unknown ancestor had three children that we know of, son John, our great-great grandfather, as well as the two daughters described above. All the known descendants of these three siblings are included in the table.

Mary and Charlie lived on the ten acres of land inherited from their Uncle Robert Ferguson after he died in 1927. They continued tending their small herd of milking cows also left to them and through hard work on both their parts they managed to support themselves up until their deaths in the 1960’s. An album left behind by our grandmother Mary Ellen contains two photos on a page, side by side, of an older gentleman and another photo of Mary. This is what might be considered strong evidence that the gentleman is Robert. Our grandfather James McGinnis and his next door neighbor Robert Ferguson were first cousins. The two purchased the land for their farms, side by side, the very same day and began their life of farming in Florence together in 1891-1892.

Robert Ferguson (1845-1927) and Niece Mary C. Mills (1878- 1968)
Page 36 of the Photo Album Assembled by Mary Ellen McGinnis

Mary and Charlie were born in Chatham, New Brunswick, Canada where all the McGinnis family originated. Mary was born in 1878, Charlie in 1890. Their father Luke Mills married Catherine Ferguson, sister of Robert Ferguson. Catherine and Robert’s mother was Mary McGinnis and all evidence points to the fact that Mary McGinnis was a sister of our great-grandfather, John McGinnis. Difficult to put into words and thus a family tree is inserted here. Begin with the unknown McGinnis and the connection can easily be seen.

Mary and Charlie were but two of seven children with the birth years ranging from 1877 when William Mills was born to Charlie’s birth in 1890. Using census data it can be established that Mary left home in the early 1900’s and traveled to Boston to work as a domestic in homes in and around Boston. Her Boston destination was established through later anecdotal facts passed on to friends in Florence, namely from Ivy Hansen as related to her by her mother-in-law, Stella (sometimes spelled Estella) Hansen. Mary is not in the 1901 Canadian census nor has she been found in the 1900 U.S. census and the 1910 census states she immigrated in 1902. This establishes that she left New Brunswick at about age 24 or 25 when Brother Charlie was around 12 years old. As a rough estimate Mary was probably working in the Boston area as a servant of some sort beginning around 1900 or 1902 through about 1907 or 1908 when she came west to Florence to the farm of Robert Ferguson, her uncle.

Uncle Robert Ferguson had been farming about ten years when Mary left home and was probably well established. A single man, he rather than his sister Catherine Ferguson, now Catherine Mills, far away in Chatham, took on the responsibility for caring for their aging father, John Ferguson. John Ferguson is found in the 1900 Florence census living with his son Robert and his data states he immigrated in 1891 but had been in the States for 8 years meaning he immigrated in 1892. The latter is the most likely year he arrived in Florence for his son was still establishing his farm in 1891 and he probably would not have traveled all that far until some sort of a living accommodation was available.

John Ferguson died in March of 1908 in Florence, at the age of 88. His death certificate indicates a sudden but non-suffering end. From the document: “Cause of Death-Senility” followed with a statement: “He was not sick. Walked outside and came back and sat in a chair and died in a moment. Duration: 0 days.” No pictures of the senior Ferguson exist. His son Robert is buried beside him in the Florence Cemetery.

The facts tend to establish that Mary may have been asked to come west to Florence, assumedly from Boston, to help care for her grandfather whose health may have been failing. If not that reason, certainly the aging Uncle Robert was also soon to be in need of help around the farm and Mary in her late twenties in 1908, still single, may have been encouraged to come west and eventually fall heir to the farm since Robert had no other direct heirs. The exact year Mary arrived in Florence is not known but since she is in the 1910 Florence census the timing of her arrival to care for her grandfather is highly probable making the year she may have arrived in Florence as 1908, perhaps 1907.

Based on the 1930 Florence census data, brother Charlie Mills arrived from Chatham in 1925 to also help out on the farm. Their Uncle Robert died but two years after Charlie came on the scene and presumably the uncle’s health had begun to fail in the early 1920’s meaning more and more work was falling on Mary and she definitely needed help.

Charlie Mills, about 35 years old

Holding Young Thomas Fountain McGinnis (1923-1995)
Tommie probably about a year old (born November 20, 1923) making this photo date to be at least November 1924. Charlie’s 1930 census states he immigrated in 1925. If so then this might be very early 1925 making Tommie just about 14-16 months old. Regardless, this photo of Charlie had to have been taken just about the time he arrived from New Brunswick.

As stated both Charlie and Mary remained on the small farm of ten acres the rest of their lives managing a small dairy herd that I recall was always around ten cows. This was about three or four more than cousin John McGinnis next door always maintained alone.

Mary remained a devout Catholic all of her life and was active in maintenance of various church needs of St. Cecelia’s parish in East Stanwood that fell on the members of the Altar Society, a traditionally woman’s role in any Catholic parish. During our stays on the farm Mother did not always attend Mass on Sundays and many times Mary would take Don and me in tow and be off to Mass with us on foot to ensure that we completed our weekly obligation.

Mary and Charlie both would often relate stories to Don and me as we sat in the dining room of the Mills home as they told of the cold winters of their upbringing in New Brunswick. Of course these sessions were usually accompanied with milk from the mornings milking and fresh baked bread rolls or cake. Their stories always fascinated me as they acquainted us with a land so near yet so far away with a climate that seemed unimaginable. Obviously they were both pleased to have found sustenance for themselves in a much milder climate in North America. These early stories remained with me always and served to help arouse my curiosity in later years to pursue early family history in the Chatham area of New Brunswick where all these first generation Irish were raised.

Charlie preceded Mary in death by two years when he died on February 24, 1966 at the age of 76. Mary lived to the age of 90 when she passed away January 2, 1968. Just who the heirs were is unknown but perhaps their property passed to some distant Seattle cousins of the Gagner or Bagnall families. It is felt that these families maintained contact with Mary and Charlie over the years. The graves of Mary and Charlie are yet to be found and photographed but all indications are that they were both laid to rest in Anderson Cemetery in Stanwood, the same resting place for cousins John and Jim McGinnis.

The memory of Mary and Charlie Mills by Ivy Hansen, a long time friend and neighbor, as recently related to Molly McGinnis in a letter reveals Ivy’s memory and opinion.

"They did not inherit the McGinnis good looks, but were so jolly and smiling. Mary was a long time friend of my mother-in-law. She told me that before she came west she worked in wealthy homes in Boston, which was a train ride south of her home town. I can't remember whether she lived in the U.S. or Canada. She made strong tea. They had no car and on Memorial Day I would take her to the Florence cemetery where she tended the graves of her uncle Bob Ferguson and his father (her grandpa)."

Grave, Luke (1848-1919) and Catherine Ferguson Mills (1850-1915)
Parents of Mary and Charlie Mills

St. Michaels Cemetery, Chatham, New Brunswick




Mary Agnes McGinnis and Mary Mills
On the McGinnis Back PorchCirca 1911-1912, Mom about 15 years old, making Mary about 33 or 34. The earliest picture found of Mary.



Mary Mills and a Seattle Fitzpatrick Cousin
Feeding Chickens on the Mills Farm




Mary Mills and Marie McAteer
At The McGinnis Front Gate
Marie Was a Long Time Family Friend of all the Florence Families, From Seattle




Mary Ellen McGinnis, Mary Mills and one of the Seattle Fitzpartick Cousins
Oat Harvest in Progress





Mary Ellen McGinnis Standing on the Right, Next to Mary Mills, Sitting Second From Right
Even Mary liked her hats





Mary Agnes and Mary Mills
Circa late 1920’s to early 1930’s, Mary about 50 years old perhaps. No pictures of Mary later in life than this photo have been found.




At the Roadside in Front of the House

Mary Mills on the left next to James McGinnis Jr. Molly McGinnis has identified the two people on the left as Cecil and Clarence James brother of Aunt Marie and his wife. Joe Lyons is in the car and the little boy to the left is Clarence and Cecil's eldest son, Alva

The Carpenters From Chatham

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’s

Probably 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-

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.

Florence Community Cemetery

All the following photos as well as the cemetery survey pages are all courtesy of Mike Jones.


I do believe that Mike and his Father had a difficult time finding the cemetery a few years ago. Looking at the access photos it is surprising that the actual site appears to be well kept.

The following aerial view found on Microsoft Earth shows the cemetery now squeezed in between modern homes. Development has eventually surrounded a location that was once very remote in a heavily timbered area.

Mike photographed what McGinnis graves he could find. I was pleasantly surprised to find that a monument had been placed over the graves of our grandparents, James and Mary Ellen. My early memories of visiting the cemetery are that the monument was not in place in the early 1950's. Perhaps Mom and Dad had it placed around the time the farm was sold.

You will certainly notice a difference in the spelling of the McGinnis surname. Hugh at some point in his life adapted the McGinnes spelling and his oldest son Tommie always adamantly argued that his was the correct spelling. Alas Tommie, even with your brilliant intellect, and I mean that sincerely, you were finally wrong about something for all early New Brunswick church records prove otherwise.

One grave that was not photographed and is supposed to be on the property is that of Cousin Margurite McGinnis, daughter of Hugh and Catherine. Margurite is found in many old family photos. Her and her sister Alice grew up with Mother and from all appearances they were nearly inseparable and more like sisters than cousins.

James McGinnis Sr. and Mary Ellen Donahue McGinnis

Catherine Donahue McGinnes and Hugh Patrick McGinnis Sr.

Cousin Tommie

He was a Gem of a man

Mary C. McGinnis

1895-1902

(But seven years of age)

Her death occurred the same year that Mother's older sister,Maggie also died. Maggie was about 18-19 years old. It is likely that an epidemic of some kind was the reason of these sudden deaths.

Arthur McGinnis

The youngest of Hugh and Catherine

Another delightful man in my memory. One of his daughters,was named Mary Catherine, assumed to be in honor of his older sister as shown above.

The following pages are part of a survey made during a Boy Scout cemetery restoration project. Mike obtained copies of the survey with the aid of his sister-in-law as found in Snohomish County records.

One page lists the names and grave locations which are coded on the following map page of the cemetery. This obviously was a very formal and well researched project. In reading through some of the notes it is implied that even early church records were consulted. One such location apparently was Marysville records. Contrary to my old assumptions the early church in Stanwood was administered as a Mission church of the Marysville parish and not a branch of the Arlington church.

Unfortunately Maggie's grave is not accounted for. There is some discrepancy between the descriptions for locations 36 and 45, almost a duplication of our grandparents James and Mary Ellen. The 45 location is the only hint of Maggie's possible burial. Interestingly this is adjacent to the Hugh McGinnis family burials, locations 40-44.

I have a distinct recall that Maggie was not buried next to her parents, James and Mary Ellen, which is a memory of one Memorial Day as Dad was cleaning the grave sites of debris and undergrowth. The memory is that when he was finished with our grandparent's grave he moved off to another location and cleared another grave that he said was Maggie's resting place. Perhaps the 45 location is but one grave, Maggie's location, and not really as confusing as the survey description conveys.

I have long wondered about whether to make this conclusion but remain reluctant to do so without some further evidence. It very well may be so for my memory was that Dad moved to his right to find the grave and when examining the map that is where location 45 can be found. Can one trust a memory from so long ago? You be the judge.

Florence Property Deeds- 1891 & 1899

Courtesy of the Washington State Archives, Northwest Holdings, Bellingham-


The dates on the deeds give more clarification of just when the James McGinnis family left Seattle city life for a farm life in Florence. It does not really reveal if the family moved north while the house was being built or if Mary Ellen and the children remained in Seattle until a home was available. This is about the time of the marriage of Sarah Donahue and James Hall so perhaps there was some temporary living accomodations next door as the construction went on.

Since Uncle John was born in Seattle in 1892 it is quite possible that James might have preceded the family to Florence in order to have a home ready. Another possibility is since Mary Ellen's sister, Catherine, based on the deed for the Hugh McGinnis property, was still living in Seattle meaning that perhaps Mary Ellen returned to stay with her sister and her husband during the final stages of the pregnancy.

Forgive my nit-picking but I really do become wrapped up in details sometimes. Sometimes it pays off when one small question opens up another even larger question with more information eventually being found.

Overall 1911 Plat Map for Northwest Snohomish County

An Enlargement of the Locations of the Florence Farms

There is no indication of the owner of the small lot in Florence where the Hevly family maintained a store for so many years.

Original Deed for the James McGinnis Land,

a Farm of Seven Acres

Robert Ferguson's Deed,

Ten Acres

The deeds for Robert Ferguson and James McGinnis, although originally transacted about a month apart, were filed with the county on the very same day in March of 1891. All three of these parcels were purchased from the same owner.

As stated on the Ferguson deed, Robert was residing in Port Blakely on Bainbridge Island at the time of his land purchase. It is interesting how this small mill town enters into other future family details. That's another subject for another time though.

Approximately Eight Years Later,

in 1899, Hugh McGinnis Filed His Deed,

A Five Acre Tract