Blog as "Cousin Bait"

Cousin Bait. That's one of the reasons I, and other genealogists, blog. In other words, we're hoping relatives will find our blog posts, recognize their own family members, and get in touch with us. When they get in touch with us, we hope they'll share information with us as we share with them, too.

I started blogging about a year and a half ago, though I was fairly sporadic at first. I have now completed 140 posts. And, I recently got my first 'nibble!'

Bob wrote me saying he'd read my post about George Correy of Chester County, Pennsylvania. The post was about George's 1781 will which had been decided upon by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.

I actually don't even know if George Correy is related to me, but I do have Correy family members in Chester County during that time period. This is a complicated family with many Correy's in the same area with the same name.

Bob wrote me to tell me he thought I'd made a mistake in my reasoning. And, I had! (I've since corrected the blog post.) But, while emailing back and forth, I was able to help correct one of his errors, too! (Another great reason to have cousins to work with!)

Through our discussions, we found out we are cousins through another Correy couple. David Correy (~1708-1787) and Susanna (~1717-1760) are my 6th great grandparents. Their daughter, Mary Correy, who married John Watson, is my direct line. Another of their daughters, Agnes Correy, who married David Mackey, is Bob's direct line.

We are now working together to try to untangle some of these Correy relationships.

Do you blog? If so, have you met other cousins because of your posts? Or have you found a cousin through someone else's post? If you're not blogging, you might consider it. It's a wonderful way to find more cousins!

Do we share common ancestors or do you know more about the Correy family? If so, I'd love to talk! Please leave a comment or email me at drleeds@sbcglobal.net

(Image from Wikipedia)

George Correy: Will Ruled Upon by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court

While trying to piece together the Correy family puzzle, I came across a book titled "Reports of Cases Decided by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania Which have Been Omitted from the Regular Reports, Volume 3" by Lewis B. Walker, Esq. A chapter titled "Boyd's Appeal" deals with the will of a George Correy. Robert Correy, William K Correy and Mary (Correy) Boyd are the three other names mentioned and I've come across them already as I've been researching the Correy's.

George Correy's will, dated June 13, 1781, made his wishes about a certain piece of property known as follows: "I leave and bequeath to my son, Robert Correy, the plantation I now live upon... with all the housings, goods and waters to be by him and his heirs enjoyed forever, after him his oldest son, if no, if no son his eldest daughter and their heirs."

The problem? Robert Correy, George's oldest son, died without issue. He actually died two years before his father, George!

So, who should inherit the property?

The lawsuit is between the oldest two remaining children: the eldest, Mary (Correy) Boyd, and her younger brother, William K. Correy. "Boyd's Appeal" is quite technical and goes on for several pages. I'm not sure I understand this correctly, but I believe the property was ruled to go to William, so Mary started the lawsuit because she believed it should go to her.

While the outcome of this lawsuit doesn't mean a lot to me at this time, it may eventually be more important if I discover these Correy's are definitely my family members.

What is important at this point is that I was able to put together the following:

George Correy of Chester County (died 1781) was the father of ...
          Robert Correy (died 1797) who was the father of...
                  George Correy (died 1795)
                  Mary Correy, who married a Boyd
                  and William K Correy

Source:

"Reports of Cases Decided by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania Which have Been Omitted from the Regular Reports, Volume 3" pages 473-477. Book accessed at www.books.google.com (24 June 2015) 

If you are related to or have more information regarding the Correy family of Philadelphia and Chester County, Pennsylvania, I'd love to talk! Email me at drleeds@sbcglobal.net. Thanks!

Jane McClenachan: "In the Land of the Living"

My newly discovered Correy family of Chester County and nearby Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is potentially the most interesting branch I've yet uncovered. I'm anxious to share these incredible stories. But, first I have to prove that all of these "Correy's" are my family!

I have a huge job ahead! Thankfully, there are lots of documents. I've found more than a dozen wills, over 50 other documents, and at least 50 names.

But I'm struggling to put these family members together. And, it is quite possible that all of these individuals do NOT belong to the same family: my family! So, until I am more certain, I will skip the amazing stories & try to prove the relationships.

While searching for a way to piece together this giant genealogical puzzle, I came across a letter that verified a small piece of what I'd uncovered.

The letter was written in 1846 by Samuel B McClenachan of Chester County, Pennsylvania, to his niece, Mrs. Jane McClenachan of Madison County, Illinois. Samuel hadn't been sure if Jane was alive the previous 27 years and was excited to learn from Jane's brother, Robert, that she was indeed "in the land of the living."

After discussing his immediate family, he then mentions Jane's "Uncle Armstrong" who died two years before at the age of 83. The next paragraph says the following: "George Correy's family [is] all dead but [the] two youngest; Mary Anne married a son of Mrs. McGraw's and lives at Harve de Grace in Maryland, and Jane lives with her."

This George Correy is probably the son of my 6x great grandfather, David Correy (1708-1787). I found a book about the Armstrong family that said Jane Armstrong married George Correy. It listed Jane & George's children, including the two youngest, Mary Anne (who married a McGraw) and Jane, who both died "near Baltimore, Maryland." It also showed both George Correy, his wife Jane, and their older 6 children were deceased by the time the letter was written.

This book also listed one of Jane Armstrong's sisters, Sarah, married to a John Finney McClenachan. This is the likley link between the 3 surnames: Armstrong, Correy & McClenachan: Jane Armstrong married George Correy and Sarah Armstrong married John Finney McClenachan.

The letter continued by discussing a handful of other residents of Chester County, though it doesn't mention any more as relatives.

I'm thankful to Robin L. W. Petersen for sharing this letter and hope people will continue to share letters and other documents they have inherited.

Sources:

• Letter from Samuel B McClenachan, dated August 8, 1846; USGenWeb Archives, Chester County, Pennsylvania; contributed by Robin L. W. Petersen; accessed 22 June 2015; (http://files.usgwarchives.net/pa/chester/history/family/mccl0001.txt)
• "Record of the Smith Family Descended from John Smith, Born 1655 in County Monaghan, Ireland" published 1906 in Philadelphia, pages 28, 47, & 53; (http://www.mocavo.com) accessed 22 June 2015