Shirley,
I do hope we can put some pieces of this puzzle together. From what
you know about your Peter it would seem he could not be the same one I have
as Peter Jr., son of Peter. We know Peter Jr. to have left the state in
1792 and all evidence points to his moving to KY where his other siblings,
and probably his father, had already gone. Unfortunately, Peter is the least
documented of the brothers in KY so I do not know when or where he died.
In a Draper Manuscript, our John's daughter indicated that her
father was from the South Branch (of the Potomac?). She said that she was
four years old when she left the South Branch so that would indicate that
her parents had married there. The year would have been c.1766, because she
was born in 1767. Is there any indication where precisely Neil was located
in Augusta Co.?
A birthdate was given for our Ann Melissa Armstrong, wife of Peter
Sr., as 5 Aug 1728. So I have assumed Peter was born around the same time.
So say we have Peter born c.1725 and Neil born c.1702. Those dates could
appear to indicate father and son.... IF we could connect them at all! And
if Neil was born c.1702, he must surely have had children older than the
ones named in the Augusta Co. court records. But it is logical to think he
would have name two of his sons Peter? I know this is done often when a
child dies very young that a subsequent sibling is given the same name....
but if we were to believe Neil was Peter Sr.'s father that would mean he had
a son Peter born c.1725 and a son Peter born c.1753.. but they were both
lived to adulthood!
Now one person suggested to me that there could have been TWO Neils
and that the one said to be "of great age" in 1752 was the FATHER of the
Neil leaving the four orphaned sons in 1767. Has this been a consideration
of yours? If it COULD be proved that there were two Neils, then I could see
that perhaps the older Neil might have been the father of my Peter Sr. and
the younger Neil and that the two brothers would have likely given some of
their sons the same names and that at least some of these cousins would have
been close in age.
I am still open to the fact that there could be SOME connection
between the two families, but I don't see how Neil could be the father of my
Peter Sr. or even Peter Sr. himself under another name. It's possible that
Neil was an older brother or uncle of Peter Sr.'s... or then again he might
not be any relation at all. If I'm failing to consider something here
PLEASE point it out to me.
1. It is determined that from the Augusta Co. records that John, son of
Neil, is 16 years old in 1767. So I do not believe this can be John, son of
Peter Sr. because by that time John was already married and had a child
(documented to have been born 14 Jan 1767).
2. This Peter, son of Neil, obviously under 16 in 1767, could not be Peter
Sr. because Peter Sr.was already a grandfather by that time. And although
he could conceivably be the approximate age of Peter Jr., it is documented
in another record that Peter Jr.'s father was named PETER Sr. and Peter Sr.
did not die until after 1791. And likewise, because we know that Peter Sr.
was still alive in 1791 we know that he couldn't have been the same man as
Neil because Neil died in 1767.
3. It could also be revealing that among the descendants of Peter Sr. there
is not one Neil or Patrick, the less common of these names involved. You
could not make an argument that there ARE many descendants of Peter Sr.
named Peter or John, because those names are too common, there are however
several named James.... although this is likely because of the ARMSTRONGS.
4. Please keep in mind that Augusta Co. VA was formed 1738-45 and was MUCH
larger than the present boundaries. Several other counties were formed
later out of Old Augusta. So even though these people all appear in the
same county records they may have in actuality lived 100 miles apart
separated by a mountain range.
-----Original Message-----
From: Shirley A. Weber <saweb(a)halcyon.com>
To: pure_celtic(a)bigfoot.com <pure_celtic(a)bigfoot.com>
Date: Tuesday, February 24, 1998 3:12 AM
Subject: Neil Cassidy Clan
Linda,
You did contact me and we seem to be stirring up a Cassity stew. I
heard from a Lori, and I believe she has also written you, plus a David
Cassity is mixing the two lines up but good. Also heard from a Kathy,
but address had Tony Welder on it. She is looking for a Lewis and
trying to tie him to Augusta line.
All I can say for sure is date of Peter's marriage to Mary McClung, 26
Oct 1781 and he died in 1804. Inventory of his estate is dated 15
August 1804 in Rockbridge County, VA. I have copy from FHL film #33749.
I have gone thru Chalkley's three volumes and pulled out everything
related to name of Cassidy and all spellings. Abstracts of Rockbridge
Co. VA Deed Bk. A 1776-1788; 1787 census of Virginia with a search of
all spellings of name Cassidy and counties where found. It is a mixed
up stew of Cassidy's that maybe with all the imput coming in will help
put the families right.
You mention that Cassity researchers told you that it had been proven
that Neil was no relation to your Peter Cassity Sr. line.
May I ask what proof have they given?
In 1752 Neil was exempted from levy on account of great age & proverty.
Great age could mean anything but I take it he was at least 50 and yet
he did not die until Oct/Nov of 1767. This would make him in his late
60s; at that time that was old.
Only age that can be confirmed is John's and in 1767 he was listed as
being of age 16, making his birth about 1751 John could be the oldest.
Strange I have found no reference to early Cassidy girls, only those of
Michael and Peter's marriages.
For both families to carry on the name of Peter makes me think we
really need to do more digging to see if Neil and your Peter Sr. maybe
brothers/half brothers/cousins? I haven't really researched in PA for
the name but plan on checking. Lets stay in touch. Will keep you
advised to what I may find and hope you will do the same.
Shirley Jennings Weber