Hi Frank,
The story of the watch doesn't ring any bells with me, I'm afraid. Nor does
the name John W. Carroll, but I know that a lot of Irish men and women
passed through Liverpool on their way out to America so, presumably, your
ancestor came that route. Have you tried looking at immigration records?
I'm in the same boat as you in trying to trace my family further back by
following non-conventional routes. My ggg grandfather, Edward Carroll, was
supposedly a lowly soldier who fled the famine in Ireland in 1847 and walked
straight into a job as a policeman in South Wales, and then three of his
children were, at various times, in service to quite prominent families
including the Dean of St. Davids, the Sheriff of Glamorgan, and the baroness
Lady Huntingtower. It makes me wonder whether there was some mysterious hand
at work behind the scenes, some wealthy distant relative who was putting in
a good word for them and giving them good references. Of course it could
just be that I don't understand the workings of Victorian society, but it's
about all I've got to go on at the moment. We shall see.
I hope you have some luck finding out about the watch.
Peter Carroll
----- Original Message -----
From: "Emmy and Frank Edwards" <frankedwards(a)frontiernet.net>
To: <carroll-dna(a)rootsweb.com>
Sent: Thursday, March 20, 2008 3:50 PM
Subject: Re: [CARROLL-DNA] Mutations
Dear Peter: This info will probably not be much help but I'll
pass it
along
anyway. I have an old watch that I think was passed down to my
g-g-g-grandfather, John W. Carroll (1789-1867). It has the following
inscriptions on it: M. J. Tobias & Co., Liverpool, Hands No. 34306,
Patent
Lever, 13 (or 15) jewels. I made a half-hearted effort to trace the
watch
but was unsuccessful.
John W. Carroll was supposedly born in Sampson County, NC so he was not
the
one who migrated to the U.S. I haven't been able to identify his
parents
yet, and his DNA does not match that of the other Carrolls who lived in
the
southern part of Sampson County around 1790. I know he married
Elizabeth
Joyner (Joiner) in the Newton Grove area which is in the NE corner of
Sampson County. I suspect that he came into Sampson from another county.
I
also wonder if he was either illegitimate or adopted since I
haven't been
able to find matching DNA.
Well, there you have it. If the watch could be traced, it might shed some
light on our mutual mystery.
Good Luck. Frank Edwards, Fairfield Glade, TN.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Peter Carroll" <peter.carroll4(a)tesco.net>
To: "Carroll DNA Mailing List" <carroll-dna(a)rootsweb.com>
Sent: Wednesday, March 19, 2008 2:49 PM
Subject: Re: [CARROLL-DNA] Mutations