Ancestor Quests

William Duke (1796-1847) is my 3^rd great grandfather. His life from approximately 1829/30 on can be documented in original records. It is not difficult to determine his residence and some of his movements. His early life in Derby can be documented through his parents’ locations and up to young adulthood his likely residences are not in question. The decade of the 1820s is different. William would have been in his mid-20s to mid-30s, and two unsourced US histories state he spent some or all that decade in New York.[1] However, there is no documentation for William in the US that decade. To discover if he instead spent the 1820s primarily in England, a search was made in English records for William.

W. Duke in 1829 Derby Mercury Article

Was William in an English college during the decade? The short answer is no. A 2 December 1829 Derby Mercury article stated a Bachelors of Arts was conferred on a W. Dod and W. Duke,  from Magdalen Hall.

The Derby Mercury newspaper listed a William Duke as the recipient of Gentleman’s Certificates (hunting licenses) in 1822-1823 (as a resident of Derby) and again in 1826-1828 (as a resident of Normanton).[1] No William Duke appeared in the newspaper in 1829 or the 1830s, an indication the man purchasing the certificates either migrated/immigrated, died, or stopped hunting after 1828. The locations given for his residences in the Derby Mercury are plausible for the immigrant, 1796 William Duke.[2] There were very few Dukes in Derby or Derbyshire at that time, (see William Duke in the 1820s part 1), so it is unlikely there were multiple men named William Duke in and near Derby in the 1820s. However, it is impossible to be certain the target William Duke was exclusively in Derbyshire up to 1829 when he immigrated. An effort was made to find him elsewhere.

Where else could William Duke have logically been?

William may have been in New York for at least part of the 1820s. Two histories, one of Allegany County and one about the building of the Erie Railroad, plus Duke and Norton family traditions mention William visited New York prior to his own statement he immigrated in 1829.[3] 

John Minard’s Allegany County and its People stated William came from England because the making of handmade lace, a profession handed down from his father, was in serious decline due to lace-making machines that caused the ruin of the hand-made industry by 1820.[4] While that statement is highly questionable, the book also mentioned William came to America not long after 1820 and between 1825 and 1830 he made his home in Binghamton before a return to England. Edward Harold Mott’s publication, Between the Ocean and the Lakes: The Story of Erie, stated William Duke arrived in “this country” from his native Derbyshire on April 26, 1820.[5] Duke and Norton family traditions both passed down the story that William made at least one trip to America before immigrating in 1829. William’s 1840 naturalization document backs up his immigration date of 1829.[6] There is no mention made of him arriving or visiting earlier, though that could have happened.

What jobs did 1762 William Duke have?

There is ample evidence 1762 William Duke (1762-1803, husband of Anne Barnes and father of 1796 William Duke) was associated with two occupations during his lifetime, as noted in various documents. The earliest evidence is his marriage bond.[1]

The marriage bond specifies, “William Duke of the City of Winchester in the County of Southampton Hair-Dresser…” This is documentation of an occupation in 1785. After marrying, William Duke and Ann (Barnes) Duke moved to the town of Derby. There were indications of William’s continuing his hair-dressing occupation in a newspaper article about a petition to prevent the selling of hats, gloves and perfumes without the stamp required by an Act of Parliament.[2] William’s name appeared on the 1792 petition because hairdressers were often perfumers as well.

In the Duke family, this is The $64,000 Question. That reference is to an old game show from the late 1950s, but it aptly describes both the mystery of William and Elizabeth’s marriage and the effort that has been expended to find it.

How do we know who William Duke married?

Elizabeth Cockayne’s name has come down to the present through family traditions in multiple branches of the Duke family. In addition, Minard’s History of Allegany County, N. Y. (published in 1896) stated the name of William’s wife was Elizabeth Cockayne.[1] Though the marriage itself has not been found, the multiple sources which agree on Elizabeth’s name make it very likely Cockayne was her surname.

Researching the question

The question of when and where William and Elizabeth married has been researched on both sides of the Atlantic for decades. With no marriage record or evidence held by any branch of the Duke family and no data from printed family histories, sources for marriages from 1820-1830 in the state of New York (including NYC) and England were searched. Those target years were chosen because William was with a female age 20-30 and a male under 5 in Broome County’s 1830 census.[2] Presumably that was Elizbeth and eldest son, William. That placed their marriage at latest in 1830 and depending on Elizabeth’s age in 1830 they married sometime in the 1820s.

In addition to her maiden name, the pieces of information for Elizabeth Cockayne which came down through multiple lines of her descendants include her birthdate (1 March 1808) and birthplace (England). While these statements are helpful, they need proof to support them and a more specific birthplace had to be determined before mounting a search for Elizabeth Cockayne in England.

Confirmation from Elizabeth’s US records

The earliest US record for the Elizabeth Duke known to be William’s wife is the 1830 Chenango Township, Broome County, New York census. That sighting of Elizabeth was followed by several subsequent federal and state census entries as noted in the table below.

Census year	Age	Official census date	Est. birthdate	Birthplace
1830[1]	20-30	1 June 1830	1 June 1800-1 June 1810	None given
1835[2]	Under 45[3]	None stated-state returns destroyed but some copies remained in counties	Any date in or after 1790	None given, but one person not naturalized had to be William. Women were not naturalized at that time but derived it from a husband or father.
1840[4]	30-40	1 June 1840	After 1 June 1800 bef. 31 May 1810	None given
1850[5]	The date was clearly overwritten	1 June 1850	1 June 1814 to 31 May 1815 is very unlikely because Elizabeth would have been 15 at the birth of her eldest child (born 1830).	England
1855[6]	37	1 June 1855	1 June 1817 to 31 May 1818 is unlikely because Elizabeth would have been 12 at the birth of her eldest (born 1830). If it was intended to be 47 it would be correct.	England
1860[7]	52	1 June 1860	1 June 1807-31 May 1808	England
1865[8]	57	1 June 1865	1 June 1807-31 May 1808	England (also listed as alien)
1870[9]	62	1 June 1870	1 June 1807-31 May 1808	England and parents of foreign birth
1875[10]	70	1 June 1875	1 June 1805-31 May 1806	England
1880[11]	72	1 June 1880	1 June 1807-31 May 1808	England, parents born in England

The Purchase

On the 20^th of May 1841 William Duke purchased land from Philander F. May and his wife, Laura, for $1500.[1] It included the north 100 acres of lot 36 in township two, range two in the Morris Reserve, in the township of Scio. The deed left out an undivided half of the sawmill, mill yard, water privilege and appurtenances which were conveyed to Alexander Black. The wording indicateed Philander held the land free and clear and that Laura agreed to the sale. It’s a simple and typical deed.

That same day, William Duke sold Philander May a parcel of land containing 100 acres of lot 36 in township two, range two of the Morris Reserve, again excluding the undivided half of the sawmill, mill yard, water privilege and appurtenances conveyed to Alexander Black.[2] It was the very same lot he had just purchased, but the price was $500. There was, however, a catch. The document also stated the land would not belong to Philander May unless William failed to pay Philander $167 on 1 June 1842, $166 on 1 June 1843, and $167 on 1 June 1844, plus interest. If William defaulted, then Philander was authorized to sell the land at public auction. Any proceeds received over the amount still owed to him went to William.