Category: Duke

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.

Continue reading “William Duke in the 1820s part 1”

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.

Continue reading “William Duke in the 1820s part 2”