There are many Ancestry, FamilySearch and Geneanet Community trees that list William DALE – born between 1805 and 1807 as the son of Daniel DALE and Martha LOUGH.
It appears that this could be as a result of the ship’s passenger list of the Schooner William in 1816. In the Belfast Commercial Chronicle on 08 April 1816, there was a notice for the Schooner William (master William H. Brown) advertising for passengers in her cabin for a “low price” if immediate application was made.[1] The Schooner did not actually depart Belfast until 01 May[2] . According to the passenger list, the ship arrived in New York on 15 June 1816 and included in the passengers were Daniel DALE, Samuel DALE and William DALE, with an asterisk indicating that he was a child.[3]
However, I have been unable to locate any other documentation to support that this makes the William in in Cumberland Daniel’s son, and I was not convinced that there is a family connection. So, I decided to review the information available.
William’s marriage record
William’s marriage record to Mary LOUGH in 1833[4] indicates that his father’s name is William, not Daniel.
Family Bible / Earl’s Family Chronicles
The DALE family bible as reviewed in the Earl’s Family Chronicles[6] does not mention any William born as a son of Daniel DALE and Martha LOUGH. While Earl’s Family Chronicles is not solely focused on the DALEs, he does have a chapter, with Appendix on them and backs up all of his information with numerous sources. Mr. Brennen appears to have done thorough work to verify all of his information.
William’s birth date and place
All information on Ancestry and FamilySearch for William indicates he was born between 1805 and 1807. A biography on his son Daniel DALE born 1847 in Cumberland states that William was born in 1805 and raised in Belfast.[5]
Both Daniel DALE and Martha LOUGH were from the Carncastle / Milton Head area of Antrim, some 25 miles distance. Not a long way by today’s distance, but possibly a long way in those days. Martha would have been 17-19, so certainly within the childbearing years. This information does not make it impossible for William to be their son, but does make it more improbable.
Marriage of Daniel and Martha and timing of children
The marriage of Daniel and Martha took place, according to the Earl’s Family Chronicles, therefore probably supported by the family bible in 1810.[6] The normal pattern we see for children is one a year for the first couple of children and then every couple of years for the rest. Daniel and Martha had children following in a fairly regular pattern after their stated marriage year. Martha was born in 1811,[6] Esther in 1812.[7] Then there is an almost three-year gap to Samuel in 1815.[6] There is a six-year gap to Margaret in 1821,[6] which was during the family’s move to Canada in either 1816 or 1818. This is followed by a one-year gap to Ellen in 1822,[8] a two-year gap to Mary Jean,[9] and to Rose Mary[10] and a three-year gap to Elizabeth.[6]
The shortest amount of gap between William and the next child born would be five years, with a possible seven-year gap. This would indicate that it was unlikely that William would have been the child of both Daniel and Martha, but does not eliminate the possibility completely.
Naming of William’s children
William named his boys John, James Samuel, Daniel and Robert[11] [12]. If he was using the naming convention of Irish names and Daniel was his father, you would expect that Daniel would be the first or second son. However, he also did not name any of his boys William, which would have been expected as on the marriage record both William and Mary have fathers named William. So, the naming of the children does not assist us in either direction.
Religion
Daniel and Martha are listed on the 1831[13] and the 1842[14] census as being from the Church of Scotland and on the 1871 census as being Wesleyan Methodist. William is listed on the 1871 census as Presbyterian.[15] Church of Scotland is Presbyterian.
Daniel and Martha’s oldest daughter married Patrick McFaul and baptized their children Catholic.[16] Esther and Daniel Smith are listed as Church of Scotland on the 1871 census[17] as are Margaret and John Smith,[18] and also Elizabeth, although Elizabeth’s husband Ellisson is a Methodist.[19] Samuel is listed as a Baptist on the 1871 census[20] as is John McArthur (the widower of Ellen).[21] Rose Mary and John Young are listed as Presbyterian on the 1871 census.[22]
The many religions mentioned on the censuses means that we cannot rely on religion to guide us in making a decision.
Where they settled
Daniel settled on the Quebec side of the river, and William is known to have settled on the Ontario side.
Quebec and Ontario are quite close and it is possible that William would have moved to Ontario after growing up if he moved to Quebec with Daniel and Martha. It is also possible Daniel first stopped in Ontario before moving to Quebec. Daniel’s sisters Mary, Elizabeth and Nancy were all buried in Cumberland, Ontario.[23] So, it would be reasonable for a son of Daniel to move to Cumberland to join that side of the family. We can see by this 1825 map of Upper and Lower Canada that Cumberland, in Upper Canada (Ontario) is right across the river from Buckingham, Lower Canada (Quebec) where Daniel first bought property. Most of Daniel and Martha’s children remained in the Chatham area of Quebec, where Daniel resided after 1830, but some moved to Ontario.
The biography mentioned above[5] indicates that William came to Canada as an adult and settled in Cumberland. Whereas if he was the William listed in the passenger list at the beginning of this post he would have been at the most 11 years old, not an adult.
This information might lean towards William not being the child of Daniel and Martha, but it could go either way.
DNA
Using DNA of two great-great grandchildren of Daniel and Martha, a search was done on Ancestry to find a match for any descendants of William DALE.
A third cousin would be expected to have between 0 and 234 cM matching with the most likely amount to be around 73. This amount would decrease through subsequent generation. So, if the link was to a 3x g.grandchild it would be expected to be 48 cM and continuing to decrease.
However, William DALE married Mary LOUGH. According to other trees, Mary was the daughter of William LOUGH and Mary DALE. Information connecting Mary DALE married to William LOUGH as the sister of Daniel agrees with the date of birth and name of her husband in the Earl Family Chronicles as well as information connecting the pair with Daniel’s other sisters.
This means that if William is the son of Daniel, he married his cousin. Any DNA match to someone in that family should be much higher as they will be receiving DNA from both sides.
I searched using the Ancestry DNA Database. I did not verify other trees, but simply looked for matches. Matches were easily found for all of Daniel and Martha’s known children. There were a few connections on William’s line that were of a much smaller cM match. The results from William’s line would indicate a further relation, more in line with connecting through Daniel’s sister, than a double relation from both a child of Daniel and a child of his sister.
As mentioned, DNA for third cousins could be as low as zero, so not have a high cM match does not necessarily prove that there is a lower level relationship.
Conclusion
Although there is nothing that is totally conclusive, I believe that based on the documents and DNA reviewed, William is not the son of Daniel.
However, I believe his children are still related through his wife Mary LOUGH. Therefore, he still remains in my tree, albeit with a slightly different link.
Update 30 December 2023
Since my original post, I was able to locate information in The Families, a book that includes the genealogy of Samuel Dale (Daniel’s brother) and *his* son William who sailed over on the Schooner William in 1816.[24] That William settled in the United States, first in Little Falls, New York and then in New Jersey. This confirms that the William in Cumberland is not the William that sailed with Daniel and Samuel in 1816.
[1] Belfast Commercial Chronicle. (1816) For Amboy and New York. 08 April. http://www.findmypast.co.uk : accessed 30 October 2023.
[2] The Evening Post. (1816) Vessels advertised in Taggart’s (Belfast) Mercantile Journal May 2. 12 June. http://www.findmypast.co.uk : accessed 30 October 2023.
[3] Filby, P. William, ed. Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s. Farmington Hills, MI, USA: Gale Research 2012. http://www.ancestry.ca : accessed February 2019.
[4] Marriages. Canada, Bytown, Nepean, Carleton, Canada West, British Colonial America. 01 November 1833. DALE William and LOUGH Mary. https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q2C1-2KG3 : accessed 29 November 2023.
[5] Richard, William (1916). Encyclopedia of Massachusetts, biographical – genealogical. p 266. New York, Boston [etc] : The American historical society (inc.). https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofma08amer/page/266/mode/2up?q=dale : accessed 28 November 2023.
[6] Brennan, Christopher Earls, (n.d.) Earls Family Chronicles (2nd Edition) ISBN 0-9667409-3-0. Dankat Publishing. https://www.familysearch.org/library/books/viewer/532424/download?file=FL4567146_2390167.pdf&type=pdf : accessed 23 November 2023.
[7] Monumental Inscriptions, Canada. Saint Mungos United Church Cemetery, Cushing, Laurentides Region, Quebec. 16 December 1884. DALE, Esther.
[8] Baptisms. Canada, St Andrews Christ Church Cathedral. Chatham, Argenteuil, Quebec. 13 July 1823. DALE, Ellen. https://numerique.banq.qc.ca/patrimoine/details/52327/4439202?docref=FLAJyQGOG1RWyaTfTmKdIg : accessed 31 October 2023.
[9] Brennan, Christopher Earls, (n.d.) Earls Family Chronicles (2nd Edition) IS
BN 0-9667409-3-0. Dankat Publishing. [Birth information only – no year – year is based on family trees on Ancestry] https://www.familysearch.org/library/books/viewer/532424/download?file=FL4567146_2390167.pdf&type=pdf : accessed 23 November 2023.
[10] Monumental Inscriptions. Canada. Burns United Church Cemetery, Huron County, Ontario. 3 April 1901. DALE, Rose Mary. http://geneofun.on.ca/names/photo/896198 : accessed January 2019.
[11] Census Records, 1871. Canada. Cumberland, Russell, Ontario. D76, SD C, D2, p 37. [all sons except John listed on census] https://www.ancestry.ca : accessed : 7 February 2021.
[12] DALE, Elizabeth Ida. 1932. List of children of William DALE and Marth LOUGH.
[13] Census Records, 1831. Canada, Chatham, Deux Montagnes, Lower Canada. https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:939D-VDZ4-N?i=14&cc=1834329 : accessed 12 February 2019.
[14] Census Records, 1842. Canada. Chatham, Deux-Montagnes, Lower Canada. https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:939D-VD4G-Y?cc=1834340 : accessed 28 March 2019.
[15] Census Records, 1871. Canada. Cumberland, Russell, Ontario. D76, SD C, D2, p 37. https://www.ancestry.ca : accessed : 7 February 2021.
[16] Births. Canada, Buckingham, Quebec. 19 February 1837. MCFAUL, Robert. Collection: Ontario, Canada, Roman Catholic Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials, 1760-1923. https://www.ancestry.ca : accessed 28 November 2023.
[17] Census Records, 1871. Canada. Chatham, Argenteuill, Quebec. SMITH, Daniel (head). https://www.ancestry.ca : accessed : accessed 28 November 2023.
[18] Census Records, 1871. Canada. Chatham, Argenteuill, Quebec. 02 April 1871. SMITH, John [head]. https://www.ancestry.ca : accessed 28 November 2023.
[19] Census Records, 1871. Canada. Chatham, Argenteuill, Quebec. 02 April 1871. SMITH, Elisson. https://www.ancestry.ca : accessed 28 November 2023.
[20] Census Records, 1871. Canada. St. Andrews, Argenteuil, Quebec. District 96, subdistrict e. https://www.ancestry.ca : accessed 2 February 2019.
[21] Census Records, 1871. Canada. Cumberland Russell, Ontario. 02 April 1871. MCARTHUR, John [head]. https://www.ancestry.ca : accessed 28 November 2023.
[22] Census. 1871. Canada. Hullett, North Huron, Ontario. http://www.ancestry.ca : accessed January 2019.
[23] Brennan, Christopher Earls, (n.d.) Earls Family Chronicles (2nd Edition) ISBN 0-9667409-3-0. Dankat Publishing. Also confirmed at FindAGrave for each of them.
[24] Schuman, Bernard K. and Schuman Dale Hood, (1986). The Families : a genealogical study of the families Abbott, Jenks, Estes, Klock, Wilcox, Weber, Schuman, Dale, Brown, White. Publisher unknown.
