Irish Roots

Since I was born in a town called Shamrock, I've always imagined Irish blood running strong through my veins. In actuality, my DNA only shows about 3% Irish, while my mothers boasts 37%. Nonetheless, when a seminar about Irish Genealogy popped up in a list of recommended events on Facebook, my ears (eyes?) perked up. Last Sunday, I spent the afternoon with members of the Troy Irish Genealogical Society (TIGS) learning about resources for researching your Irish ancestry.

Before I headed to the East Greenbush Library for the TIGS meeting, I searched my family tree for all of the surnames and dates related to Ireland in my family tree. There were numerous Gays, a couple of Fullertons, a McGill, Sharp, Giddens... a Flowers on my dad's side... and a few peripheral people (i.e. not my direct lineage). In general, all of these connections were born in Ireland in the 17th and 18th centuries (dates ranged from 1678 to 1791), and died in various places in the United States... thus identifying them as our first immigrant in that line.

I was optimistic that the presentation by Lisa Dougherty, genealogist-in-residence for the Irish American Heritage Museum in Albany, would give me some clues as to how to proceed next. In most cases, I had no idea where my Irish ancestor was actually born... just in Ireland. I also had no parent names for any of the first immigrants (unless you accept the word of un-sourced family trees, which I don't). What I learned was that most of the Irish records that exist are freely available online at a variety of sites like IrishGenealogy.ie and NationalArchives.ie. Unfortunately, the vast majority of these records only go back to the early 1800's. Before that, the only records were from the church. So far, I've had no luck with the church records.

This line of inquest got me started looking at some of the Fullertons. One of the un-sourced trees I found claims that James Alexander Fullerton immigrated to Pennsylvania in 1768. So, I started looking at immigration records. Although there are no ship manifests from Belfast to Philadelphia for that time period (that I've found anyway), I did find a reference to an escaped servant named Alexander Fullerton. I need to view the original record in the Pennsylvania Gazette (I think there is a holding at the New York State Library), but from Farley Grubb's abstract it appears that a 19 year old Alexander ran away from his master, listed as merchant Orr Glenholme, on Wednesday, August 10, 1768. A quick search for Orr Glenholme took me to a book called Irish-American Trade, 1660-1783 by Thomas M. Truxes. On page 120 of said book, I find reference to a company called Orr, Glenholme and Company, which traded between Ireland and Philadelphia. This reference is immediately preceded by a section about a merchant named George Fullerton of Boyd & Fullerton. Now, isn't that a coincidence?

I don't know whether our James Alexander Fullerton is the servant who ran away that summer of 1763. I don't know whether he has any connection to George Fullerton, mentioned in that book. But the whole thing does beg for a story to be told. What if James Alexander Fullerton paid for his passage to the United States by committing servitude to Orr, Glenholme, and Company (apparently these merchants were also very much in the "servant" business). Why wouldn't he have just secured passage on a Fullerton ship (if there was a relationship)? Maybe George Fullerton owed a debt to his fellow merchant and paid it by indenturing his son or nephew?

Well, who knows... I'm just making up stuff now.

What I do know for sure, though, is that I cannot even imagine the kind of gumption it would take for a teenager to get on board a ship in Belfast... leave behind everything he'd ever known... and come to a place so far away. I do know that he subsequently served in the Revolutionary War, which says a little something about his fortitude as well. I do know that his granddaughter married a Boyd... so there's another Fullerton-Boyd connection.

One story submitted in DAR (Daughters of the American Revolution) applications says that he was captured by the British. When the war was over and he was released, he was given bread to eat on his way. It was laced with glass and lime, which led to his death. Is that story true? I'll probably never know that either.

If you've made it this far in this blog post, you're probably my mother. If not, I commend you for sticking through to the end, hoping for an enlightening conclusion. Here it comes.

Genealogy is as much about the searching and wondering as it is about the knowing. People sometimes ask me what I plan to do with all of my research, since I don't have children to inherit it. Quite simply, it doesn't really matter. It's the journey that propels me forward.

Northern Ireland / photo credit: https://pixabay.com/en/users/darkworkx-1664300

Comments

Unknown said…
Melissa, the handwritten material I have says that James Fullerton (grandfather of John Sharp Fullerton) was from Belfast, that he came in 1769, and that he fought in the French & Indian War. This last is surely in error, as the French & Indian War was over in1763. Mama always said he fought in the Revolutionary War, and, as my material says he was captured at Ft. Washington Pa, that makes sense, as that's where George Washington and his troops were encamped after the defeat by the British at Germantown. The Battle of White Marsh was fought at Ft. Washington (we won that one). It's quite possible that James Fullerton was a British soldier, since he was ultimately released in Detroit. Anyway, he ended up going to Georgia, where Adam Fullerton was born. He is our great-great-grandfather who went on to Tennessee. We aren't Irish, Melissa. We're Scots-Irish, so we are descendants of the Church of Scotland (Presbyterian) folks from Northern Ireland, primarily County Ulster. H.T. and his family were Cumberland Presbyterians.
Melissia said…
Hi Gail... yes, Scotch-Irish on this line. My Irish roots are elsewhere also, but on this particular line some records show Irish birth and some show Scottish. I have yet to find anyone who has primary source documentation of any of it beyond stories passed down.