Indenture - Peter Hastings - 1856

Over the years I've attempted to follow the family of Michael Hastings and Sarah Stewart from their beginnings in Ireland to their final resting place in Missouri. The exact location in County Mayo, Ireland hasn't been fully fleshed out yet, nor the full number and names of the children, but I've been fortunate to find a good family grouping in the 1851 census in Liverpool, England. Although I haven't been able to determine when the patriarch came over, Michael Hastings, I have traced several of the family to 1855 arrivals in the port of New Orleans, one being my ancestor, Sarah Hastings. She traveled with her mother, and sister Margaret and one brother James (at age 18, and shown with an occupation of tailor).

They left behind at least one of the sons, Edward in Liverpool. Following the other boys, Thomas, James and Peter has been a bit tougher.
Well maybe not Thomas, as he fought in the Civil War along side an Uncle and two cousins. He survived the war only to die after his wedding when his horse threw him and he was dragged.
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http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85033995/1867-11-09/ed-1/seq-3/

The weekly Caucasian., November 09, 1867, Image 3
HURT - We understand that Mr. Thomas Hastings was thrown from a Texas pony, a day or two since, in this city, and that after he was down the animal set upon him with its fore feet, but which he was severely injured. he is of Adamson's posse.
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a column over:
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DEAD - Tom Hastings, alluded to in another place as injured by a horse, died on Wednesday last.
_________________________________________________________

James disappears after his arrival at age 18 in NOLA. Peter was not found in an arrival, nor census, but did have a reference in the court proceedings of Lafayette County, Missouri for an indenture in 1856. Up to this week, I wasn't sure if this was referring to our family, or had his name mixed up for his brother, Thomas, but now I know it was him as I now have a copy of the indenture. Makes for fun reading!

Basically Peter Hastings, at age 15, is indentured to Mssrs. Smallwood and Julian to apprentice for a period of 5 years to learn the printing trade. Michael Hastings, his father agrees to this, and Peter is to carry out his duties until he is 20 years old at which time he will have a skill, and $50 for heading out in the world. Smallwood and Julian, in turn, are obligated to provide shelter, clothing and food, as well as schooling. This is an exciting find, but short lived as I have found no other records showing that Peter finished his indenture, which I believe is normally recorded with the courts. In this case there are no further Lafayette County records. In addition I have been unable to find Peter in the 1860 census, nor any census after that. He might have flew the coop and changed his name for all I know (Benjamin Franklin even bailed on his brother in Boston while indentured to him to learn the printing trade. I think I recall there was even a warrant out on Benjamin for running off to Philadelphia!)
I do find that Jacob Julian did stick around as I find him in the 1860 and 1870 census in Lexington as a printer, and one volume of the paper that is online, the Weekly Caucasian of April 25, 1866, clearly shows him as one of the paper's principals. This, and many more newspapers are available from the Library of Congress, as Chronicling America, a website not to be missed. (http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85033995/1866-04-25/ed-1/seq-1)

There might be more indentures recorded in the court proceedings of the time that might bear interesting tidbits of your own Irish immigrants, just need to search and find out!
Slainte'

Michael Hastings Naturalization

As anyone that has done research for early 19th century naturalization records, they can be a frustrating search. They are rare finds, and when you do find them, they can be very pro-forma that don't provide much in the way of details. It was a two step process, an "intent" to be naturalized and then after the statutory time, the naturalization. Michael Hastings' naturalization is shown above. Both of the documents could be found in any number of courts, at any given point of time along an immigrants travels. So even though I found his naturalization document, his "intent" document could be anywhere (any Missouri county that he lived in at the time, or State for that matter), or not survived. I had hoped to have found the initial document as I'm told it may contain more details, but so far in the locales that I've checked I haven't come up with anything. It is gratifying, however, to have seen him go through the formal process and become a U.S. Citizen! His sons would have had to go through the same process, but so far nothing has shown up for them. The one son I did track, Thomas, was in the Civil War, and his honorable service would have shortened the time to have been eligible for naturalization, but he did go through the process before his untimely and tragic death later that year. My paraphrase:

Lafayette County, Missouri Circuit Court Records (LDS film: 959821]
Vol 15, p 479 May Term 1859, 10th Day (June 2)
Thomas Hastings admitted as citizen (native of Ireland)....resided in the U.S. at least 5 years, and in Missouri for at least 1...& to the satisfaction of the court...good moral character...taken prepatory steps required by law....declaring his oath that he will support the constitution...Thomas Hastings admitted

and the notice on his accident, just after he married on November 4th:

Missouri Valley Register, Lexington, Missouri, November 7, 1867
Fatal Accident. - Last Tuesday evening as Mr. Thos. Hastings, was riding  towards home in the west end of this city, his horse became fractious and threw him and his foot being caught in the stirrup, he was dragged a distance of about 300 yards over the rough road. He was taken home in an insensible condition, and died the following morning. Mr. H.had just been married, the day before the accident occurred, and leaves a wife and an afflicted family to mourn his death. Mr. H. was a young man of good qualities, and had served in the 10th Mo. [sic.] Vol. during the late war.
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The weekly Caucasian., November 09, 1867, Image 3
HURT - We understand that Mr. Thomas Hastings was thrown from a Texas pony, a day or two since, in this city, and that after he was down the animal set upon him with its fore feet, but which he was severely injured. he is of Adamson's posse.
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a column over:
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DEAD - Tom Hastings, alluded to in another place as injured by a horse, died on Wednesday last.

Two other sons may also have naturalizations, but I've been unable to find them, or records of them besides some early references. James, who got off the ship in New Orleans with his Mom and two of his sisters, never shows up after that day in 1855. Peter is identified in the Liverpool Census, and one more record which I'm uncertain whether it is him, or a mis-identified Thomas:

Page 389 of Lafayette County, Missouri Probate Court Records. "In Vacation, February 27^th A.D. 1856; Now at this day comes Walter M. Smallwood and J.M. Julian and files indentures of Apprenticeship entered into between Peter Hastings and his Father Michael Hastings, the said Smallwood and Julian Masters which is approved and filed by me. Edward Stratton, Judge". 

Side note: W. M. Smallwood is shown as a Probate Judge in 1860 census (p565), Lexington, Lafayette, Missouri. I also note, from exactly where I don’t recall, that Julian Masters was an editor. Maybe they were going to apprentice to be newspaper men (printers?). Also it is possible that given middle (baptismal?) and first names could be mixed up. Either Peter was very young (11-13 years old) when he went in on an indenture with his father (not impossible, though), or Thomas' middle name was Peter, which would have been a better age fit (~17). This might not be very far off since, for instance, Michael Hastings obit has his name listed as "Thomas", and Bridget Hastings, his daughter, later on in life was referred to as Anna (Hastings) Wise/Mahany, presumably her middle name.

One of the reasons I point out these details on my own family, is to provide others with ideas of other records that they might not have considered researching. In this latter case of the indenture, it places the family in the county prior to the next record I have, the 1860 census. In that census, Michael is identified as a laborer, and later as a coal miner, so it appears that the indenture didn't develop into a trade. Finding a record of the release of the indenture might be my next order of business...

Happy Tuesday...

The Irish - To Lafayette County Missouri

A little historical background first: The Irish Potato Famine (was not really a "famine" in that there was plenty to eat in crops (grains in particular), but the subsistence crop, the potato, which sustained the poor tenant farmers failed in a massive blight that lasted from about 1845 to 1852), killed a million or more by starvation or disease (from malnourishment), and drove countless others to flee for their lives. The English used it as an opportunity to drive Irish from their farms. Even before this, and for many more years after a mass exodus was in the making that drove the Irish to all parts of the world, with a large proportion to the U.S..
So in terms of relocating to Lafayette County, Missouri, the movement could have been in direct result of the Potato Famine, or in later years by the opportunity seen through letters home by those that did make the trip earlier. As I've read in places that one draw is that certain groups from locations in Ireland would tend to move to areas of the U.S. that held earlier immigrants of their locale. Can't say that I've been able to establish that for Lafayette County, but then I'm just starting. Maybe that puzzle will come into place eventually.
Where I put my stake in the ground is an 1860 marriage:
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Immaculate Conception Catholic Church Records, Lexington, Missouri
married: Aug 1, 1860
James Hughes s/o James Hughes and Bridget Quigley
to: Sarah Hastings d/o Michael Hastings and Bridget Stuart
witness: John Hughes and Bridget Moran / Edward Hamill / 7.50
______________________________

So my first question... is John Hughes kin to my James Hughes, or is it a common name enough to just be a coincidence? And how is Bridget Moran related, possibly to Sarah? There my guess it that yes, she may be fellow County Mayo countryman, but to date I haven't figured that out. Other than I see quite a few references to common surnames to County Mayo as being Moran.

County Mayo is located in the West of Ireland. One of the very hardest hit by the famine.

So the next question is, who are these fellow Irish that are living near by my Michael Hastings, Bridget and Margaret? Kin, or from County Mayo, in this 1860 census?

I've attempted to go back to the Parish records on the hunch that those that are listed as sponsors or witnesses may be either kin or from similar areas in Ireland. So far other than the direct relationships I can see between the three families, nothing pops up. Even made a little spreadsheet of it:

I've tried to trace as many of these people as I could, but haven't had much luck there. Also have got as many of the death certificates as possible to see if the informant provided more than just "Ireland" for a birth location. No luck either. But I keep trying....

While it is not practical to enumerate all Irish in the various census, hopefully if you have "traveled back" to this time and place we can talk about what we've collectively done to get ourselves "across the pond" and see what common ties we might be able to find.

Michael

Emigration/Immigration - the O'Histon/Heston/Hastings/Esthan

Anyone that has done a bit of Irish research know how frustrating it can be if it's pre extant (currently existing) census, and if your kin was Catholic prior to the 1870s. That's because the census that were taken were burnt up in the civil war fire in Ireland, and you weren't counted for civil records prior to 1870 if you were Catholic. Actual Parish Records do exist but they can be spotty at best.
A couple of things that might be helpful for stitching together kin is DNA, which I noted in my last post, and for various families, the Irish had a pretty good chance that if you have the same surname, and were from the same area, you have a good likelihood that you are related. That is a strong patronymic tradition, unlike other places in the world.
So how do I know my kin came from County Mayo? Luck
was on my side in a smattering of records that existed. That is at least for the Hastings (I'll use their anglicized name here). As noted in the previous blog post, there was an Uncle, two sons and a nephew that were in the Civil War. Three of them in a Kansas Regiment, then one very young son (as a musician) and his cousin in a Missouri Regiment. In those regimental records there were several record references to County Mayo, Ireland as their birth location.

Even my own Sarah (Hastings) Hughes, provided additional reference in one of her census to Ireland and "Co Mayo".

One cousin also found a picture of her great grandmother with a reference to "Westport" on the back of the picture. So when I (may) jump to the conclusion that I found a Parish record of the marriage for Michael Hestin and Bridget Stuart in the Westport area, I'll assume that's correct until I find out differently.
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Ireland, Mayo, Oughaval, Westport 1823-1904 LDS Film: 979,697
Westport Marriages, Diocese Tuam, Parish: Aughaval (Westport)
Sept 8th, 1826
Mich'l Hestin to Bridget Stuart
sp: Daniel Hestn and Anne Lydon 1.0.0
__________________________________________________________

I actually visited the area in 2010 and believe they are from an area south of Westport in Drummin.

Westport sits on Clew Bay on the upper end of Oughaval parish

As I mentioned, parish records are spotty, and with the exception of the marriage, I was unable to find any of the children's baptisms. Given the number of children they had in the 1820-1845 time frame that is a big disappointment, but then, is in my opening statement, that isn't uncommon.
My big breakthrough was finding one of the children was born in Liverpool which I was able to find the civil birth record, and by some exceptionally creative searching find the family in the 1851 census (identified as "Esthan", try garbling "Heston" and you can see it). The way I found this record is not by looking for the surname I expected, but just looking for "Margaret" of the right age (leaving surname blank), in Liverpool, with the birthplace of Liverpool... bingo... all the given names lined up with what I expected! So don't give up if you've tried the "expected" approach, you may need to get creative.

OK, from there the family apparently took two different routes. The men (except for young James) left for America and the others (except for Edward who stayed behind) left in 1855 from Liverpool

An image from a paper near that time for those emigrants crowding the docks with their meager possessions and the frightening prospects of being stuffed below decks for weeks on end, and to untold hardships to their new home in far flung places.

They then went through New Orleans up the Mississippi and Missouri river before reuniting in Lexington, Missouri.
Wait a minute... say that again? New Orleans? You mean Boston, or New York, or somewhere on the East Coast, right? Well that was another surprise. When searching for the ship that these ancestors came over on, I decided to broaden my expectations to other ports not usually associated with Irish immigration. That lead to finding at least this set of kin landing in America in New Orleans. Lesson learned: don't constrain yourself to what is "usually" or "standard" set of assumptions, if you can't find your kin, start broadening for those "less likely". It may just pay off.

What was fun about that is that I actually located a picture of the ship that brought my ancestor, her Mom, and a sister and brother to America.

The Screamer - Sailed from Liverpool to New Orleans. Found a painting in a Maine Museum. The name was supposedly from the sound created as the storms battered the sails.

This is the record of the Screamer Sailing from Liverpool. What is funny is that the original announcement said it was going to sail on March 17th, (St. Patty's day), I always imagined that the crew was partying too much to leave on time!

I've not been able to locate the ship that brought Michael Hastings or his sons Thomas (and possibly Peter), and daughter Anna (who came separately, too), to America, but assume they did arrive earlier and send for the rest of the family.

Thomas died just after the Civil War and I've never been able to trace Peter and James.

As for Bridget, Sarah, James and Margaret, it must have been a frightening experience to be traveling on that long voyage across the ocean, and then up the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers.

My kin, Bridget, and her daughter Sarah, traveling with James (which is the last record I have of him) and Margaret (she was the one born in Liverpool)

This birds-eye-view panoramic is from just about the time that they arrived in bustling New Orleans!

You can imagine that this trip had to be by steamboat, which could actually be a very perilous way to travel. I visited a museum in Kansas City back in 2010 in a wonderful display of a steamboat that was excavated that would be from around that time frame. Listening to the dangers to getting snagged (impaled) in steaming upstream, the multiple boiler explosions, and other mishaps, it was NOT the Good Ship Lollipop! But what an exciting time for steamboat travel. I saw this in St. Louis and was in awe of the crowded dockside!

These pictorals were done for most major cities and towns and provide a glimpse into the past. Look for them in towns you are researching.

OK, now that I've done the set up to get to Lafayette County, Missouri, we can proceed to look at the families that congregated and what brought them through perilous waters and times to this land in the middle of the U.S.!

Hopefully this detail, although a bit much to trek through, provides a few ticklers for places you may have not looked for ideas on getting information on where your kin came from in Ireland. We'll explore more in future blogs.

Michael

The Gathering - Irish to Lafayette County Missouri - Post "an Gorta Mor" (The Great Hunger - aka Potato Famine)

This Blog is going to be centered around the Irish coming into Lafayette County Missouri around the time frame of 1840 to 1870. I chose that because I assume that groups of Irish from the same place in Ireland congregated where family had previously immigrated. I've seen a lot of Irish, like my kin, head up the Missouri to settle and work the Coal Mines and railroads and there's a great likelihood that they are kin, or at least familiar with each other from the "old country".
I've spent quite a bit of time trying to triangulate kinship through the Catholic Parish Records, but even though I know who were witnesses and sponsors by name, I have yet discovered what family relationships that may have existed. DNA might be a path to start, so invite anyone that has done their own autosomal DNA to compare among the Lafayette County Irish to see how they might be related.
My kin are a couple that met in Lafayette County and married in 1860 in the Catholic Church. I've not been able to determine his origins, James Hughes (~1836/Ireland-1912/KCMO), but have quite a bit on his wife, Sarah Hastings (~1843/CountyMayoIreland-1923/KCMO). She had both her parents living in Lexington, and the parish records establish her parents. Fortunately there were several records that establish County Mayo, and I believe I've discovered her parents marriage record that establishes their marriage near Westport in that county. I believe the family name was Irish as O'histon or Heston, but anglicized as Hastings. I find them all together in Liverpool before traveling to America, in the 1851 census.
Descendants of three sisters, mine and two others, have been tested by autosomal DNA and confirm what our assumptions on kinship are. Although the family was together in England, they all had three separate paths in America, so was good to confirm our records. I was also able to establish that an assumed brother that had been left behind in Liverpool appears to also be kin. A descendant from a tree that I put together from miscellaneous records appeared to all fit, and the autosomal DNA appears to bear out those assumptions.
My hope for this blog is to find others that tie back to Irish Kin that lived in Lafayette County Missouri in the 1840-1870 time frame and see if we can discover kinship, or at least from the same area in Ireland.
Slainte' !!!

The Townships of Lafayette County, 1870

From a Panoramic etching of the River and Town of Lexington

http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/map_item.pl?data=/service/gmd/gmd416/g4164/g4164l/pm004300.jp2&itemLink=D?gmd:14:./temp/~ammem_6hEU::&title=Bird%26%2339;s+eye+view+of+the+city+of+Lexington,+Lafayette+Co.,+Missouri+1869.+Drawn+by+A.+Ruger.&style=pmmap&legend=

The Old Catholic Cemetery in Lexington - It actually had been moved when putting in a new road so all headstones are not reliably placed, or even existing if they were not replaced in this "new" location.

My kin's kin - Patrick Stewart is most likely brother to my Bridget (Stewart) Hastings, mother of Sarah Hastings, Mark is his son, and Thomas Hastings is Bridget's son. Note they were all in the Civil War together. Missing is Patrick's son Charles Stewart who also served with this kin, he moved to Montana and on.

My kin - James & Sarah
(buried in KCMO)