A Letter and a Headstone Expand My Family Tree

 

Dorah Darragh's headstone included the Dillane surname.

Isn't it amazing when a single record explains so much about a family? Or how headstone inscription can lead to the trail of another family? I've had two discoveries like these recently which have been key in revealing new information about my current research subject, my second great-grandmother, Maria Jane Darragh (about 1851-1903).

John Darragh's Letter 

A letter in Edward Bristol's probate file was written by John Darragh, who identifies himself as Maria Jane's father. In it, he explained why "Jane" and her brother Daniel were the only known heirs of Edward Bristol, the pair's half-brother. John explains complex family relationships, revealing additional siblings for Maria Jane and more.¹ 

Letter transcription: 

Canada

Province of Ontario    On this seventeenth day of February A.D. 

1874 came and appeared before me

at the Town of Owen Sound in the

County of Grey and Province of Ontario,

Dominion of Canada John Darragh of the

said Town, Turner, who being duly sworn

maketh oath and saith as follows:

1. Twenty three years ago I intermaried with

Dorah Bristol, who was a widow, and by her

had six children, four of whom died during

their minority and within having become married.

and there is now living children of said marriage

Daniel Darragh, twenty two years of age,

and Jane Darragh, Eighteen years of age -

2. My said wife Dorah Bristol by her first

Marriage had a child named Edward Bristol

and so far as I am aware or ever heard

the said Edward Bristol was the only child

she had by her first marriage - and so far

as I ever heard and as I believe the said Edward

Bristol had no brother or sisters other

than his half brothers and Sisters issue of

the marriage of me and the said Dorah Bristol -

3. About fourteen years ago my said wife

Dorah departed this life -

4. The said Daniel Darragh and Jane Darrah

are the only half brothers and sisters now living

of the said Edward Bristol now deceased;

and are as I verily believe the only

persons entitled to the Estate and effects

of the said Edward Bristol deceased

Sworn before me at Owen Sound

aforesaid on the day and year

first above mentioned John Darragh

John Creass

A Commisioner in the Court of

Owen sound, Province Contario, Canada

John Darragh's 1874 letter helped me expand my family tree and understand some unfamiliar family connections.

Talk about a Holy Grail of information! With this one letter, I discovered three unnamed children of Dorah Bristol and John Darragh; that four children died "in their minority," meaning before they reached legal age; that Dorah had another surname when John married her; and that Dorah died "about fourteen years ago." Even if John's memory wasn't perfect—Dorah had died nearly 20 years prior in 1856, for example—this little treasure of a letter gave me many leads on other family members.²

Dillane Family Headstone

The second find was a headstone in St. Stanislaus Catholic Cemetery in Chatsworth, Grey County, Ontario, Canada, discovered while searching for Maria's mother Dorah's death information. A Find a Grave memorial included the photo of a headstone with the inscription "Dorah Darragh, wife of John Darragh." But the cemetery locale in Chatsworth and the others surname of "Dillane" on the headstone were unknown to me. I had a strong suspicion that the inscription for "Joanna Elliot, wife of Edward Elliot" above Dorah's was possibly for her mother and Maria Jane's grandmother—Maria's marriage record stated her mother's name was Dorah Elliot.³ But who were these Dillanes? Was Joanna a Dillane?

A small notice in the newspaper in nearby Owen Sound, Grey County, in 1902 provided another lead:

Here we have members of the "Delaine"  and White families attending the funeral of Maria Jane's brother Daniel Darragh in 1902.⁴ The plot thickens. What was their connection?

After looking into the Dillane family, I discovered that Charles Dillane was married to Mary Elliot, possibly Dorah's sister.⁵

Joanna Elliot, possibly Dorah's mother, died just three months before Dorah in 1856. Her marker notes her relationship as "wife of Edward Elliot."⁶ Edward Elliot shared numerous connections with the Dillane family and Edward Bristol, Dorah's eldest son: Edward lived with Charles and Mary Dillane's daughter Esther in 1851; with Edward Bristol in 1861; and with the Dillane family in 1871, suggesting a close relationship with the families.⁷

It also appears the Dillanes had a family plot at St. Stanislaus Cemetery in Chatsworth; photos on Find a Grave provide some context, showing a whole grouping of Dillane extended family members in one section right in front of the cemetery gate.⁸ 

Dorah Elliott Darragh's headstone (center) stands among an extended area of Dillane, Elliot, and Darragh graves at St. Stanislaus Cemetery in Chatsworth, Grey Co., Ontario.

After making these connections, this line on my family tree has expanded to include members of the Darragh, Elliot, and Bristol families. 

The letter and headstone helped me discover or update information on the individuals highlighted in red.

Until next time...

© Nancy Gilbride Casey, 2025. All rights reserved. 

NOTES

¹ Marquette Co., Michigan, Probate Court, 1869-1873, No. 66, Estate of Edward Bristol, filed 10 April 1873, petition for letters of administration; imaged, "Michigan, Probate Records, 1797-1973," FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-99S1-99DB : accessed 29 June 2025).
² Find a Grave, database with images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/249195133/dorah-darragh : accessed 25 June 2025), "Dorah Darragh" (1820-1856) memorial created by A.W. Bauer with headstone photo by Marilyn Hamilton Irish; citing St. Stanislaus Roman Catholic Cemetery, Chatsworth, Grey, Ontario, Canada.
³ Ibid. Also, Ontario, Office of Registrar General, County of Lincoln, Division of St. Catharines, Marriage Registrations 1869-1911, Unit "D," 1884, p. 537 (stamped), #25 (inked)/#6676 (stamped), marriage of Charles Cassady and Maria Jane Darah, 20 June 1883; database & images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:9Q97-Y39T-XNJ : accessed 27 January 2022); citing Archives of Ontario, Toronto, Canada.
⁴ "Personal," The Owen Sound Sun, 10 April 1902, p. 4, col. 1, Chatsworth News; imaged, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/image/726586301/ : accessed 26 July 2025).
⁵ County of Grey, Ontario, Canada, death register, 1917, Div. of Holland, p. 130, Esther Dillane, 11 Sept. 1917; imaged, "Ontario deaths, 1869-1937 and overseas deaths, 1939-1947," FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-6XQ3-9FQ : accessed 14 August 2025); citing Archives of Ontario, Ottawa. Also, Province of Ontario, Canada, Registration of Death, Grey Co., Sydenham, 0161488 (stamped), Mary Doyle, 7 October 1932; imaged, "Ontario deaths, 1869-1937 and overseas deaths, 1939-1947," FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HY-6S36-QF : accessed 14 August 2025); citing Archives of Ontario, Ottawa. Both death records state Charles Dillane and Mary Elliott were the deceased parents.
⁶ Find a Grave, database with images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/249195718/joanna-elliot : accessed 25 June 2025), "Joanna Elliot" (1786-1856) memorial created by A.W. Bauer with headstone photo by Marilyn Hamilton Irish; citing St. Stanislaus Roman Catholic Cemetery, Chatsworth, Grey, Ontario, Canada.
⁷ 1851 Census of Canada East, Canada West, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia, p. 32, line 2, Edward Elliott; imaged, "1851 Census of Canada East, Canada West, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia," Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/1061/images/e095-e002350464 : accessed 14 August 2025).   Also, 1861 Canada Census, Grey Co., Canada West, Township of Sullivan, p. 12, line 31/32, Edward L. Bristol in Edward Elliot household; imaged, "1861 Census of Canada," Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/1570/images/4391552_00045 : accessed 14 August 2025). Also, 1871 Canada Census, Ontario, Grey North, Canada West, population schedule, Town of Sullivan, p. 16, dwelling 45, family 46 (from previous page), line 3, Edward Elliot in Charles Delane househould; imaged, "1871 Census of Canada," Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/1578/images/4396616_00102 : accessed 14 August 2025).

⁸ Find a Grave (https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/2318167/saint-stanislaus-roman-catholic-cemetery : accessed 13 August 2025), Saint Stanislaus Roman Catholic Cemetery, Chatsworth, Grey, Ontario, Canada, cemetery photo by "Marilyn Hamilton Irish."