Ballyjamesduff

Hi,

Thank you very much for your message. I hope that others with an interest in or information on these families make a connection with you and help you to further your research.

All the best,

Emma

Genealogy Support

My great-great-grandfather Peter Smith was born in Cavan on 24 Nov 1821 and emigrated to North America as a boy.  He was orphaned on the trip over, and we know no more of him until his marriage in 1846 in Gouverneur, St. Lawrence, New York, when he was recorded as a resident of Ontario.  Peter and his wife Almira (Dewey) moved to Wisconsin in the 1850s and remained until 1882 when they moved to Richmond, British Columbia.  At first, Peter was a weaver, later a farmer.  He died in 1885.  But here is where the Rothwell connection comes in.  On the back of Peter's tombstone is the name of William C. Rothwell, b. 16 Feb 1874 in Ontario, d. 26 Aug 1929.  

We don't know who William Rothwell was to Peter,  but there must have been some connection to have been buried with him.  I have pieced together that he may be the child of Andrew Rothwell and Ann Sheltfors of Wolfred, Grenville County, Ontario. Until I saw your post, I had no idea there might be a Cavan connection.  Can you help? 

Maybe helpful, maybe not:

* Naming clues in the family... Almira had a child, Ira, before her marriage to Peter, not sure of his father.  Then, their children were named: Joel Perrish, Adelpha, Azilpha Marion, Francis William, Agnes Edith, and Letitia Susan (males underlined). 

* Peter's daughter Letitia married Thomas Kidd of British Columbia, said to also be from Cavan ancestry.

Thanks,

Patti