Unearthing Jane Doritty's Hidden Past: A Genealogical Journey

As I have been researching the Doritty family of Niagara, one particular family member, Jane Doritty, had eluded my grasp for quite some time. Despite my best efforts, I had only managed to uncover that she was born around 1835 in Upper Canada, as indicated by the 1851 and 1861 census records. Her confirmation record from St. Mark’s Anglican Church further corroborated this approximate year of birth. However, beyond 1861, Jane seemed to vanish from the historical records.

I had nearly resigned myself to the possibility that Jane’s story might remain incomplete when, serendipitously, I stumbled upon the County Marriage Registers for Lincoln & Welland Counties, spanning the years 1858 to 1869. There, among the entries, I found a glimmer of hope: “Lowe John, 28, Port Huron MI, Canada, s/o John and Ann, married 27 July 1862 Jane Dority, 26, Niagara, Canada, d/o Thomas & Ann.” The details were a perfect match—Jane’s age, location, and her parents’ names aligned with what I already knew. This revelation opened a floodgate of information. Armed with the knowledge that she had married a man with the surname Lowe, I was able to delve deeper into her life.

As I continued my research, knowing that her married name was "Lowe", I unearthed records of her children and traced her presence in various census records. The final piece of the puzzle came when I discovered her listing on Find a Grave, which noted her date of death as 16 October 1903 in Detroit, Michigan.

Jane Doritty’s story had been hidden in the shadows of history, but through persistent research and a stroke of luck, I was able to bring her life back into the light. There is always more to discover, and as I continue to uncover the stories of my ancestors, I am reminded of the importance of perseverance and curiosity in the pursuit of genealogical research.

Stay tuned for more updates as I continue to unravel the intricate tapestry of my family's history. Each new finding is a step closer to understanding the lives of those who came before us.

X00277 Unraveling Historical Mysteries: The Case of Ann Doritty

Historical research often uncovers intriguing questions and unexpected connections. One such case involves the confirmation record of Ann Doritty on May 24, 1841. The confirmation record took place at St. Mark’s Church in what is now Niagara-On-The-Lake, Ontario.

At the time of her confirmation, Ann was recorded as being 15 years old, suggesting a birth year of either 1826 or 1827.

The location of Niagara-On-The-Lake and the timing does fit with my Dorrity family. And I’m not aware of any other Dorrity families in the area around that time. But I don’t have any records of an Ann Dorrity born in those years. Thomas and Ann Doritty were marred later in 1831.

A question arises: Could this confirmation actually pertain to Henriette Elizabeth Mundy instead? She would have been born 16 December 1827, which is close to the time. Since her mother remarried, she could have been going under the surname of Dorrity. It’s a long shot, but it's worth exploring if the confirmation meant for Ann Doritty might have been hers. The details align closely, raising the possibility of a clerical error or a mistaken identity over time.

Investigating further into church and community records from that period, as well as cross-referencing family histories, could shed more light on this mystery. There are other possibilities as well – perhaps Thomas Doritty had a sibling or other relative who also lived in Niagara at the time.

This case highlights the complexities and the detective-like work often involved in historical research. Each piece of information adds depth to our understanding of the past, helping us to build a more accurate and rich tapestry of history.

X00364 Maggie Doritty Timeline - Solved!

A number of years ago, when I was searching for records with the Doritty surname, I came across this gravestone record for a Margaret Doritty Taylor (1867-1936):

The location is St. Mark's Cemetery in Niagara and since the Doritty family lived in Niagara and a few of them are buried in St. Mark's cemetery, I figured that it is very likely that she is connected. But I was not able to find a record between a Margaret Doritty and a Charles Taylor.

I had a look at the Doritty names in my tree and and the only potential candidate was a Maggie Doritty born about 1868, Daughter of James Doritty and Mary Grace Gouland. But I had her marrying an Arthur J. Peppiatt in 1888, so I wasn't sure if this was the same one or not.

I found Dr. Charles Taylor and Maggie Taylor in the 1931 and 1921 Canadian Censuses, living in Toronto and him working as a physician. I did eventually manage to come across this news item from 1936:

Which not only links her to Dr. Charles J. Taylor, but also to the rest of the Doritty family. So it's definitely the same one. So, that mystery is solved although I still don't know what happened to Arthur J. Peppiatt or when Maggie Doritty married Dr. Charles J. Taylor. I found a border crossing record from 1918 where she is listed as Maggie Peppiatt, and she appears to be married to Charles Taylor in the 1921 census, so it was between 1918 and 1921 when she remarried. But that is a mystery for another day.

A String of Accidents (More)

It was over four years ago that I posted about A String of Accidents.

Not much progress to report on solving this mystery, but I have managed to find the original article. I wasn't able to find it in the Hamilton Free Press (from where the transcription was taken), but instead, I found that the Montreal Gazette picked up the story and published it on Tuesday, 2 August, 1831:

An interesting additional notes (which was not included in the transcription) was that the person who caused the accident had his leg broken by a kick from a horse a few days later.

Henry Mundy and the Wood Duck

Henry Mundy who died in 1827 is one of my end-of-line ancestors (see X00239). I don't know a whole lot about him at this point. Most of what I do know comes from a few individual news articles.

The first one is from July of 1827 and describes a narrow escape as well as establishing Henry Mundy as the captain of the Wood Duck, a two-masted schooner.

Another article, from a few months later, on October 15, 1827 describes his death (as well as a man named Monroe) in the Niagara River due to the upsetting of the Wood Duck.

Definitely some interesting stories and it does give some details on how and when he died. But there's not much else to find about him. He married Ann Sidney Taylor on 12 March 1827, and she would have been pregnant with her first child when Henry died in October of 1827. Unfortunately I don't know a whole lot else about him at this point.

X00245: Solved!

So, it would seem that I have received an early Christmas present this year. A while back in a previous post I mentioned that I had found a marriage between Henry Mundy and Ann Sidney Taylor in an index [D02737].



Since then, I have been trying to obtain the original marriage record and it has proved to be difficult. For one thing, because the marriage was performed by an acting chaplin, it wasn't kept with the rest of the records for Fort George marriages. It also appears that it was never microfilmed. So the question is: who had the original record? The Anglican Church archives said that they didn't have it, and that the Archives of Ontario should have it instead. Then when I talked to the Archives of Ontario, they said that the Anglican Church archives should have it.

Recently I attended a genealogy fair where both the Archives of Ontario and the Anglican Church archives both had booths. So, I figured that I could sort it out once and for all. I gave the information to someone and the Anglican Church archives who ultimately was able to find the original record and send me a copy:

Some preacher of heresy....

I have a new X-file to investigate for the surname Doritty. The records of St. Vincent de Paul Roman Catholic Church in Niagara lists this baptism in either 1890 or 1891 for a male child with the surname "Doritty" (see below). No first name is given.

The record has a note below the entry stating that

"This was conditional, the boy having been 'baptized' by some preacher of heresy, when a babe."

This appears to be a child of John V. Dorrity and Cecelia Fellows, although the 1891 census does not show them having a child born in 1890 or 1891. Nor can I find anything in the Ontario Birth Indexes. So, perhaps it was one of their sons born earlier and they were only recording the entry later.



Definitely worth investigating though. I'm wondering what constituted a "preacher of heresy" back in the 1890s?

A String of Accidents

Continuing the search for the Mundy/Dority relationship I came across this obituary for a Francis Moore that provides a great deal of information:



Unfortunately for Mrs. Moore (I have since found out that her first name is Sarah), it seems that she has faced a great deal of tragedy in her life. But it certainly gives a great deal of information for me to follow up on.

For one thing, it references her brother in law Henry Monday drowning in the Niagara River in 1827 referencing the findings I posted last time. So she is likely the sister of Anne Sidney Taylor. It also mentions that her father was a Sergeant Taylor and that her mother remarried a man named Oakes.

So, here are the new X-Files to investigate:

• Investigate a Sergeant Taylor (likely father of Anne Sidney Taylor) who died at the siege of Badajoz, Spain in 1812 [X00200]
• Investigate a Mrs Oakes (likely mother of Anne Sidney Taylor) who died in St. Catherines in 1828 [X00201]
• Investigate a Sergeant Oakes (likely step-father of Anne Sidney Taylor) who drowned in the Niagara River around 1821 [X00202]
• Investigate a Francis Moore (likely brother-in-law of Anne Sidney Taylor) who died in Hamilton in 1831 [X00203]
• Investigate a Sarah Taylor-Oakes-Moore (likely sister of Anne Sidney Taylor) [X00204]

More on the McLeod-Mundy-Dorrity Saga

Continuing on from Part 1 and Part 2 of the story, I discovered some more records.

First, I found a marriage between a Thomas Dority and an Ann Mundy in 1831. Ann Mundy was listed as as a widow:



Next, I found a obituary for a Henry Mundy in 1827:



And finally I found a marriage between a Henry Mundy and an Ann Sidney Taylor:





So, here's the timeline of what I have pieced together so far:
* March 1827 - Henry Mundy marries Ann Sidney Taylor
* October 1827 - Henry Mundy dies in a boating accident
* About February 1828 - Ann Sidney Taylor Mundy gives birth to Henrietta Elizabeth Mundy
* May 1831 - Thomas Dority marries Ann Sidney Taylor Mundy
* March 1832 - Thomas and Ann Dority have a daughter Margaret
* August 1848 - Henrietta Elizabeth Mundy marries John McLeod
* December 1850 - John and Henrietta McLeod have a daughter Annie Agnes McLeod

So, it explains why the Dority name appears so much with the McLeod family and likely why Annie Agnes McLeod's mother was errantly listed as Anne Doherty

I still have some more investigating to do and some of the links to prove (most notably the births of Henrietta Elizabeth Mundy and Annie Agnes McLeod) but the pieces are coming together.

Investigating the McLeod-Dority Connection

Since I discovered the name Anne Doherty in Annie Agnes McLeod's Death Registration (see previous post) which has thrown up the question of whether Annie Agnes's mother is Anne Doherty or Henriette Mundy, I've been reviewing some of the family records. While I haven't found any definite proof either way, I've found the surname Doherty (or more accurately, Dority) staring me in the face in a number of records.

First, in the marriage record between John McLeod and Henriette Mundy, there is a Margaret Dority as a witness:



Next, in the 1861 census there appears to be an M.A. Dority either living with the family or next to the family



Same with in the 1871 census, when the family had moved to Hamilton:



I've also discovered that one of John & Henriette's daughters as named Amy Dorrity McLeod:



And finally, we find a marriage record for Margaret Dority, and both John McLeod and Annie Agnes McLeod are witnesses. Worth noting: the groom comes from Cobourg.



So what this all means, I'm not sure of yet. But there's definitely some connection between the McLeod family and the Dority surname.