Back in time--1820

So, when last heard from, I was trying to organize all the data I’ve collected on the Dehorty family in Delaware to try to identify the father of my brick wall, 3g-grandfather James M. Dehority (1819-1891).

I am most of the way through that, having sorted through census records, probate records, orphan’s court records, tax records, marriage listings in the Delaware Public Archives’ card files, land records, and various mentions in books and journals on the period. I’ll chronicle my thoughts here in hopes that if someone reads this and notices things I have overlooked or errors of any sort, they will be so kind as to leave me a note.

I’ve decided to focus on the time around the 1820 census, as James was born in 1819 (or, by one count, 1816). Either way, he would be under age 5 in 1820. If I count the number of Dehorty men on the census who are of an age to father a child in 1820, I have 15 candidates. If I use information from James’ obituary, that he was orphaned by age 8, then I am looking for someone who has died by the 1830 census, both husband and wife (and the wife could have died prior to 1820). This is a little harder, but I can definitely eliminate 5, so I am down to 10.

Of the 10, there are 2 definite candidates. One Benjamin Doroty of Little Creek Hundred, Kent County, is enumerated in 1820 with 9 people in his household, of which 2 are males under the age of 9 and 2 males of “fathering” age (16-25). Benjamin dies intestate in 1823. The problem with Benjamin is that his wife is listed a s Louvania, and the will to Thomas Dehorty previously mentioned references a James, son of Sarah Silivan (Paternity Search in Delaware).

Research that I just received also finds a John Dehorty in the tax lists of Kent County who is a head of household in 1820, but dies insolvent by 1823 (must be a bad year for Dehortys). Here is where I run headlong into what I don’t know about the 1820 census.
I think that everyone counted in the household was a member of the family, excepting the slave listings. But, could they be related as siblings of the head and his wife, grandchildren, cousins, or in other ways related? This is where my count of 10 could be high. There seem to be a lot of “blended” households on my list. There is a John Dorothy in Duck Creek Hundred, Kent, listed in 1820. Could this be the one from the tax list? Or, might he be listed as a tick mark under a different household? How do I resolve the unnamed gentlemen from the census?

This is going to require some thought.

Cruising the Choptank River

I am completely amazed that it has been almost 3 weeks since I posted anything here. So much for that resolution about advancing my research every week. Ah, well....I did learn how to knit socks.

Anyway, when last I worked on the research, I was trying to find out where the early Dehorty lands were after attending a wonderful workshop in Maryland. One of the earliest land records that I have for this family is for a George Dehorty who had a survey in 1715 for 100 acres of land called Venture "beginning at a white oak standing in the woods on the North side of Ingrams Creek that (?) out of the south side of Great Choptanks River" (my translation of a Maryland land record, liber FF7, page 121). My thought was to try to figure out where this might be....not that I expect that old white oak to still be there. Googling "Ingram's Creek Choptank River" leads me to a wonderful site called the Choptank River Heritage Center. Here I find that I can take a virtual tour of the entire length of the river. Apparently, Ingram's Creek is now called the Chapel Branch, and there is a historic site called Melville's Warehouse which was an early county seat for Caroline County in the late 1700's. I know I've seen the name Melville somewhere, and checking my notes, I see that George Dehorty's daughter Herodias, mentioned in probate records in 1754 for her brother Absalom, was married to a Melvill. Could there be a connection? I'll certainly have to research this! It certainly looks like they were at least neighbors.
It's the side trips in genealogy that make research so much fun. They are also why it takes me so long to get anywhere....

Surname meme

Craig on GeneaBlogie has a great suggestion for a blog. Of course, I just posted yesterday, but it is such a good idea, I really want to get this out there. The task is to list the surnames I'm researching, their localities and your "Most Wanted Ancestors". Here goes, through 2xgreat-grandparents:

• DeHority/Dehorty and variants: Indiana, Delaware, Ohio, Maryland, Idaho and (someday) Ireland;
• Mauzy: Indiana, Virginia, France;
• Hupp: Indiana, Virginia, Germany;
• Moore: Indiana, Virginia;
• Bobbitt: Indiana, Virginia;
• Huffman: Indiana, Tennessee;
• Carr: Indiana, Virginia;
• Douglas/Dobrovalskas: Virginia, Pennsylvania, Lithuania;
• Wychulis/Vaiculis: Pennsylvania, Illinois, Lithuania;
• Urnikas: Pennsylvania, Illinois, Lithuania;
• Bartkiewicz: Pennsylvania, Illinois, Lithuania;
• Beaulieu: Massachusetts, Quebec, France;
• Landry: Massachusetts, Quebec, France;
• Ducharme: Massachusetts, Quebec, France;
• Filion: Massachusetts, Quebec, France;

Most Wanted: No surprise here, the parents of James Madison DeHority, born 1819 in Delaware, probably Kent County, and died in 1891 in Elwood, Indiana. Second, the parents of Susanna Huffman, said to be born in Kingsport, Tennessee in 1817, died in 1899 in Elwood, Indiana.

Paternity search in Delaware

So, nothing seems to be shaking loose in Indiana. Maybe I should shift my focus to Delaware.

Here's what I know. A James M. Dehorty is mentioned in the will of Thomas Dehorty of Murderkill Hundred, Kent County, Delaware, dated December, 1846. Thomas calls this James the son of Sarah Silivan, but does not identify his relationship to Thomas. I know from records in the Delaware Archives that Thomas married Margaret Reed, daughter of John Reed, in about 1792. John Reed's will confirms that he had grandchildren Mary(Dehorty) Cahall, William B. Dehorty, Elizabeth (Dehorty) Cubbage and a great grandchild Margaret Clark, who would be the daughter of Amy (Dehorty) Clark. So, there is a William B. Dehorty, son of Thomas. James M. named his first son William B. Dehorty. Could this be James' father? I have yet to find a record in Delaware or Maryland of William B. marrying anyone. William dies in or before 1831, when my James would be about 11-12 years old. Unfortunately, there is a problem. There does exist an Orphan's Court record in the Delaware Archives dated about 1884 that appears to be an effort to settle land that William left. And, it begins

"William Dehorty late of then Murderkill Hundred in the County and State aforesaid deceased departed this life intestate and without issue on or about the year AD 1831...."

Rats! This is a great bit of evidence, detailing the descendants of William's siblings, their marriages and even a divorce, but, there it is, he died intestate and without issue. Another dead end!

Why did Thomas leave James $100 in his will? How are they related?

Where there's a will...

Taking a closer look at Thomas' will, there doesn't seem to be a mention of bequests left to children. He mentions grandchildren: George L. Dehorty, John Tilghman Cubbage, Andrew J. Griffith, George R Griffith, Martin V. Griffith, Alexane Griffith, Joshua M. Dehorty, Thomas D. Cubbage, Margaret Clark. He mentions also, without identifying a relationship: James R. Griffith (father of the above children surnamed Griffith) and Elizabeth Griffith (probably his daughter Elizabeth, but he doesn't name her as such). So, who were the children of Thomas? Why are they not mentioned? If James is to be related to Thomas, it would seem that I need to look into this further. Maybe by investigating these grandchildren, I will find a clue. And there is also the elusive Sarah Silivan....did she marry a son of Thomas? Did she marry Thomas? If she is my James' mother, this last does not seem likely if the obituary is correct in that James lost both his parents by age 8. I think I'll start with George L. Dehorty, since he's the one that ended up in Indiana.

Next: Looking for George L.

What's in a name?

So, I guess the first question is what family names am I following? Most important is my family's name, DeHority. Variants have appeared in documents dating to the 1700's: DeHority, Dehorty, Dougherty, Daugherty, Daggity, Dehortee, and even Dawoughtee. Other surnames include Mauzy, Hupp, Moore, Sillivan, Huffman, and Bobbitt. In researching these folks, I have picked up quite a bit of paper on collateral lines...my stacks are pretty big. Along the way I've corresponded with many other wonderful researchers, each stalking their own ancestors, lurked on a lot of lists hoping for tips, spent hours on Google hoping to sight new contacts, tramped through cemeteries....pretty much the same thing everyone bitten by the genealogy bug does. As hobbies go, it is fascinating, frustrating, enlightening and non-fattening.

But enough philosophizing...next, working on a brick wall.