Hi,
I am searching for information on JOHN DARDIS (1814-1887), his wife MARY
DARDIS (1815-1876), and their foster son THOMAS DONNELLY (1849-1928). They
appear in Spencer Township of Jennings County, Indiana as farmers in both
the 1860 census and 1870 census. Thomas' birth parents, MICHAEL DONNELLY
(1822-1850) and HONORA ("NORA") WINN (born about 1827) were both from
Ireland. Thomas was born in Newark, Essex County, New Jersey. Family lore
says that when Michael died, Nora re-married and moved to a farm in Indiana.
How did Thomas Donnelly end up the 10-year-old foster son of John and Mary
Dardis in the 1860 census? John and Mary Dardis were also Irish and Catholic
and had come to Indiana via New York. In the 1880 census widower John Dardis
and his foster son Thomas Donnelly are back in Madison County, New York near
the rest of the Dardis family. John and Mary Dardis and Thomas Donnelly are
all buried in Saint James Catholic Cemetery in Cazenovia, Madison County,
New York. What brought John and Mary Dardis to Jennings County, Indiana? How
did Thomas Donnelly end up in Indiana, too? How did Thomas end up the foster
son of John and Mary Dardis? What happened to Thomas' birth mother Nora
Winn? Where in Jennings County is Spencer Township?
Thanks,
Sharlotte Donnelly
donnelly(a)one.net
http://www.familytreemaker.com/users/d/o/n/Sharlotte--N-Donnelly