1850 Connecticut – George and Alex

In trying to verify the birthdate and find the birthplace of George Angus Barclay I tracked him back in the U.S. Federal Census to 1850 in Connecticut.   All evidence for census and other documents were pointing to Connecticut as his birthplace not Scotland or New Jersey.  A census search of 1850 does not reveal a George Barclay of this age born in New Jersey. 

The census does reveal a George Barclay living in Enfield, Hartford Co., Connecticut at the age of six years old.  He is living with an entirely different family and not with his parents.

1850 Enfield Census

It looks like George is part of  two households.  The family he is living with starts with a notation on line 15 and begins with a Lucy William age 65 with $4000 real estate value. Under her is Lucy M. William age 27. Then we start another family on line 17 with an Edwin D. William listed as age 26. Under him is Margret P. William age 26, born in NJ.  We follow with George Barclay 6 years old born.  He attended school within the year.  All the people listed have been born in Connecticut except Margret.

Running a census search for members of this Williams family in 1860 reveals no Lucy, Edwin or Margret living in the Enfield area or in Hartford County.  

So who are these people? 

I am suspicious about Margret.  The name is the same as the one given for George’s mother.  It might be coincidence.  The fact that she is born in New Jersey is interesting. It has been suggested by Aunt Miriam that George was born in New Jersey.  It is possible that the parents divorced?  Her age is maybe a little to young for being a mother of 7 children.   Is she John Barclay’s sister.  If John was born in 1801 as indicated on documents I have collected, he would be 49 years old.  So he is probably a little too old to be a brother.  Things are not looking good for this Margret William as a candidate for George’s mother, but we will remain open to all possibilities at this time.

Nearby in East Windsor, Hartford County, Connecticut which is southeast of Enfield we find Alexander Barclay. He is living with yet another family and is about the right age for George’s brother.

The family we are interested in starts on line 20 with an [Alonso] Barber age 30 who is a farmer with $2500.  Next comes a Nancy Barber age 25.  We then have Alfred at 3 years of age, next is [Frederic] at 1 year of age.  [Lorain] Peas follows at age 17.  Last we find Alex Barclay at age 9 years.  All are born in Connecticut.  Alex has attended school in the last year. 

In running a census search for this Barber family in 1860, you can find them still living in Enfield.  They do not  have any children listed in their family group with a different family name.    These two families the Barbers and Williams have means and money. 

Where are John Barclay and Margaret? I have been unable to find any reference to John or Margaret in the U.S. census for 1850 or  in 1840 that fits.  All my Aunt Miriam knew about Margaret was that “she died before the Civil War.” 

With this information, I decided to write the Enfield City Hall to see if I could find a birth record for George.  They wrote back that they were unable to locate a birth record for a George A. Barclay. 

The Logsleds to Snowmobile book (history of Pine River, Minnesota) makes this statement on pg. 105.

“Sometime before the Civil War his mother died.  George and his brother Alexander were placed in different foster homes…”

In the next post we will dig further into the Connecticut census and discover the possibility of other Barclay children nearby and living with other families in Hartford Co., Connecticut.

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John Barclay’s Two Families

John Barclay, my great great grandfather, was introduced to me by my Aunt Miriam in her family history notes, so I knew about him.  I also had a copy of the book by the city of Pine River, celebrating their first 100 years, and he is mentioned in that book: 

  “…not far from Shakopee where George’s father chose to live “because it reminded him of his native Scotland.”  Apparently the father, John, remarried and had other children…”  

John Barclay had two families.  He was first married to Margaret.  When he married Margaret is not known and where she is buried is also unknown.  She probably died in Connecticut but so far a search of records reveal only one possibility of a Margaret Barclay dying in Enfield in 1848 of about the right age. 

continuing the quote above…” because at the time of Alexander’s death in 1906, there was quite a bit of difficulty in locating all the Barclay heirs from “both families.”" pg. 105 

In my Aunt Miriam’s notes she mentions Alexander’s probate: 

Alex's Probate

 

My great-uncle Alexander Barclay has been very good to me.  I secured his probate file at some expense from the Dakota County Courthouse in Minnesota and it opened up a very big genealogical door!  

From this first marriage came seven (7) siblings that were listed in Alexander’s estate file.  There wasn’t a will so some of the information is carefully taken from the probate file.  Other information such as census searches and indexes were also used.  I am slowly gathering the facts together on the siblings and will present more at a later time. 

1.  John Avery Barclay born abt 1836, died – unknown.  According to Alex’s estate file he disappeared and was presumed dead as stated in an affidavit of his sister Sarah Agnes. He appears in deeds, land records, and court documents in Silbey Co., Minnesota till about 1880.  He may have gone to California.  John Avery Barclay was probably born in Scotland per census information and other sources but that is not yet proven.  John married Minerva  Parks on 3 July 1865 in Henderson, Sibley Co., Minnesota.  Since John Avery Barclay was considered dead his two children where his heirs and they are mentioned in the estate file.  The couple actually had four children:  

1. John Avery Barclay II born 23 July 1867 in Sibley Co., Minnesota and died 8 March 1951 in Seattle, King Co., Washington.   

2. Sarah Ellen born 29 March 1869 in Sibley Co., Minnesota.   

3 and 4. There were two other children twins: Albert and Alice born 1870 Silbey Co.,  Minnesota but it is looking like they didn’t survive.  Some of this information was supplied by another cousin.  

2.  James A. Barclay born about 1838 in Connecticut, he died about 1906 in Bridgeport, Fairfield Co., Connecticut during the probate process of Alexander’s estate.  He married a Maryanne Stewart and had children.  

3.  Sarah Agnes Barclay born about 1840 in Connecticut.  She married Porter Blinn about 1860 in Connecticut.  He was born about 1842 in Connecticut.  They had 6 children and it looks like they stayed in Newington, Hartford Co. , Connecticut. 

Update:  May 26, 2010 – I was at the Family History Library researching when I discovered that the Sarah that I thought was Sarah Agnes Barclay in the census married to Porter Blinn was the Sarah I should be studying for the Barclay’s.  Turns out she is a Griswold and her father is Henry Griswold.  So back to the drawing board on #3.  This is why it is so important to check other sources like marriages and birth records and not totally trust the census. 

4.  Mary J. Barclay born about 1841 in Connecticut and died 28 March 1917 in Bristol, Hartford Co., Connecticut.  I have her estate file.  She married a Jerome B. Ford and had 3 daughters.  Jerome was born about 1846 in Connecticut. 

5. Alexander A. Barclay was born September 1842 in Hartford, Connecticut and died on 9 December 1905 at the Rochester Hospital for the Insane in Olmsted Co., Minnesota.  He apparently suffered in the end with dementia.  He was only in the hospital about 6 days before he died.  He was buried 17 December 1905 in the Corinithian Cemetery in Farmington, Dakota Co., Minnesota. 

6.  Martha M. Barclay born about 1843 in Connecticut and died around 1920 or later in California.  She married a Jeremiah Ford in about 1859 in Connecticut.  I do not know if Jeremiah and Jerome were brothers.  Martha and Jeremiah had two daughters.  

7.  George Angus Barclay was born 18 August 1844 probably in Connecticut and died on the 28th of October 1898 in Pine River, Cass Co., Minnesota.  George is the subject of our blog and more information will be forthcoming on his life. He married Amarilla Spracklin in 1878 and they had 2 children. 

The second marriage of John Barclay was to Helen in Scott Co., Minnesota.  I have not been able to find their marriage in Minnesota records but it happened prior to 1860 per the census and from this marriage their were four (4) children born. 

8.  Charles Barclay was born about January 1860 in Eagle Creek (Shakopee), Scott Co., Minnesota.  After the death of his mother in 1907 he seems to have moved from Shakopee and might have gone to Minneapolis and died about 1938.  Charles didn’t marry as far as I can determine from census and other documents. 

9.  William Barclay was born about 1863 in Eagle Creek (Shakopee), Scott Co., Minnesota and died 7 Dec 1937 in Gallatin Co., Montana.  He married a Clara E, probably in Minnesota.  She was born about 1859 in Wisconsin and died about 21 March 1919 in Madison Co., Montana.  They had one child name Foster born 1891 and probably died by 1907.  

10.  Mary E. Barclay was born about 1864 in Eagle Creek (Shakopee), Scott Co., Minnesota and died 19 February 1930 in Cascade Co., Montana.  She married Charles B. Clark probably in Minnesota for he was born there about 1856.  He died 28 February 1932 in Deer Lodge Co., Montana.  They had at least one child named Ruth Clark who was born about 1895.   It is interesting that there are two Mary’s named in John’s family a good 20+ years apart. 

11.  Anna Elizabeth Barclay was born 15 April 1870 in Shakopee, Scott Co., Minnesota and died 4 August 1955 in Menominee, Menominee Co., Michigan.  She married David Maurice Carter on 9 July 1885 in Eagle Creek (Shakopee), Scott Co., Minnesota.  David was born 9 January 1860, Marinette, Marinette Co., Wisconsin.  The information for this family was supplied by a cousin and has not been verified.  Anna had 4 children. 

The person that initiated the probate process for Alexander was his niece, my grandmother Grace A. Barclay McDonald.  She was pregnant at the time and lived in International Falls.  She was unable to attend the court sessions because she had the baby and was “indisposed.”  The baby was my Aunt Miriam. 

Book: Logsleds to Snowmobile’s, Pine River Centennial Celebration, 1873-1973, Written by the Citizens of Pine River and edited by Norman F. Clarke, Pine River Centennial Committee, 1979.  A copy is available at the Family History Library.

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