McIntyre

MacIntyre in Gaelic is Mac an t-Saoir which means, son of the carpenter. When and how the MacIntyres originated as an independent clan can only be surmised from a number of stories handed down in the oral tradition and a few dates from contemporary history. The Scots came from Ireland around the sixth century A.D., first on the Western Islands and then in what is now called Argyll, which is also where the MacIntyre Chief settled.

I begin the McIntyre story with Roderick and Jane McIntyre. Roderick was born in 1800 and Jane was born in 1805 in Scotland. I do not have any information on how they met or when they were married. I know that they hopped on a ship in England and made their way to the port of Sydney. At first I thought this meant Sydney, Australia, but now I strongly suspect it was the port of Sydney, Nova Scotia. It is fairly easy to find convicts and passenger lists for deportation to Australia and so far I have not found any records of Jane and Roderick in that area. Plus the cost of transportation was very expensive and the living conditions were nearly unbearable for a trip of any length of time, so it does not make sense that they would travel from England to Australia to New York.

I was curious as to why Roderick and Jane would pack up everything and leave their family and friends for an uncertain life in the Colonies, so I did a little research and I discovered an insight to what life must have been like for them in the early 17th century. In the early 1800's, Scotland was still a repressed land after the battle at Colluden (1745) where the British annihilated the Scottish "Barbarians". Farmlands were taken away from clansmen and given to English settlers for sheep grazing. This period is known as the "Scottish Clearances". Wool was a huge export for England at the time. Also, new and improved methods in manufacturing left many people and craftsmen without employment, which in turn, led to a difficult life for many. This situation resulted in the mass exodus to Nova Scotia (New Scotland), Canada and the United States in order to make a new start.

In 1833, Roderick and Jane boarded the schooner "Argyle" at the port of Sydney bound for New York. The immigration records state that Roderick was a joiner by trade. I do not have much information on their lives from 1833 to 1844. I found a copy of the 1840 United States Census that states an R. McIntyre and J. McIntyre lived in Warren Township, Worcester County, Massachusetts. I do not have enough documentation at this time to prove these people are Roderick and Jane.

In 1844 Roderick and Jane settled in Monroe Township, Clark County Indiana where Roderick purchased land on August 1st. Clark County lies across the Ohio River from Louisville Kentucky. Farming must have been very difficult for the 44 year old Roderick. He would have had to clear the many trees that dotted the landscape at the time. Also, the terrain is very hilly which is not the ideal setting for planting and harvesting crops.

Clark County was established in 1783 when the State of Virginia rewarded George Rogers Clark and his wife with land.

Roderick and Jane could be found on the 1850 United States Census. The census shows that Roderick, now 50 yrs. old, is working as a wagon maker with his real estate valued at $400.00. Jane passed away on June 2, 1852 and is buried in the Mountian Grove Cemetery located on top of a hill in Borden (just outside of Henryville) in Clark County, Indiana. I have not found any evidence of any children born to Roderick and Jane.

Roderick, old and childless ends up marrying a long time neighbor and widower named Matilda (Perry) Bailey on November 15, 1858. This was Matilda's third marriage. Matilda had three children, Lewis, Cynthia, and Amy (Emma) from her previous marriage to Solomon Bailey. Sometime in March 1860, Roderick (60yrs. old) and Matilda (47yrs. old) became happy parents of a bouncing baby boy they named Daniel Jefferson McIntyre. Life expectancy was 45-50 years at this time.

In 1860, Roderick is still a wagon maker by trade with his real estate valued at $400.00. Sometime in this decade, Roderick passed away. I do not know exactly when he died or where he is buried. I could only speculate that he might have been buried on his property or in an unmarked grave at Mountain Grove Cemetery.

Matilda, having no way of maintaining the farm, sells the land an moved into Union Township near the town of Slate-Cut where she worked as a housekeeper for her brother and neighbor, Isaac Perry. Matilda's real estate value is $1000.00. Her children from her previous marriage to Solomon Bailey have taken the last name of McIntyre. Her oldest son, Lewis, is an adult and is living on his own. Emma (Amy) is 16 years old and is helping her mother with her chores and 10year old Daniel is attending school.

The late 1870's brought many changes to Matilda and Daniel's lives. Daniel moved out on his own in his late teens and is found working as a farm laborer. He marries Emma J. Justice on February 7, 1878 in Clark County. Matilda moved in with her bachelor brother, Isaac, where she remained until her death in 1902 and is buried next to Jane McIntyre (Roderick's first wife) in Mountain Grove Cemetery. Her large headstone has the inscription:

Matilda McIntyre
Born November 12, 1813
Died May 22, 1902
Gone but not forgotten.

Daniel has been a very busy young man according to the 1880 United States Census. He has been married to Emma for a couple of years and they have managed to produce two children: two-year old Albert and two month old William. Daniel is listed as a farm laborer for his occupation. His mother-in-law, Martha Justice, is living with them in Monroe Township, Clark County home.

By 1900, Daniel, Emma and their seven children moved back to Union Township in Clark County. Daniel is 40 years old at this time and is still working as a day laborer. Albert, 22 years old, and twenty year old William are working as farm laborers. Lydia B., and Nora J. are helping their mother with housework and watching the younger children. Logan (10) and Ammie E. (8) are in school. Mackie J. is only three years old. Seven months after Daniel's death, his daughter Nora passed away on March 21, 1901 at the age of sixteen in the town of Haussdale.

On August 4th, 1900, Daniel dies after several months combating tuberculosis leaving Emma a widow and a single mother at the age of forty.

For nine years Emma kept her family together with the help of her two oldest sons bringing home what little money they earned. The middle daughter, Ammie met and married Eli Driskell on January 20, 1909. On August 21, 1909, Emma married William H. Goar in Clark County. William and Emma packed up the family and relocated to the city of Elwood, in Madison County, Indiana shortly after the wedding.

William Goar worked as a real estate agent in Elwood in 1910, while Emma stayed home and took care of her new home and family. Albert worked odd jobs until his death at the age of thirty-three on November 27, 1910. William and Logan were able to obtain jobs at the tin mill. Lydia married John Sample and stayed in Sellersburg in Clark County. Mack was 14years old in 1910 and was attending school.

Eli and Ammie moved to Elwood as well as the rest of the family where Eli picked-up a job as a laborer at the tin mill along with Ammie's brothers, William and Logan. Ammie stayed at home and took care of her daughters Wilma Faye Driskell born in 1912 and Opal who was born in 1916. Tragedy struck on Monday, May 14, 1917 when Ammie suddenly died at the age of twenty-five.

The Citizen Newspaper ran an article on Thursday, May 17th page 7 that read:

"Mrs. Anna E. Driscoll, 25 years old, died unexpectedly at the home of her sister, Mrs. John Sample, Monday afternoon, with her husband, Eli Driscoll to whom she was married four or five years ago. Mrs. Driscoll returned from Elwood Indiana; to relocate at her old home and was stopping with her sister until other arrangements could be made. While out in the yard, Mrs. Driscoll fell down in a faint and died without gaining consciousness.

Besides her husband she is survived by two children, her mother, Mrs. Emma McIntyre and other relatives."

According to Annie's death certificate, she had been suffering from intestinal cancer for nearly a year. On May 14th, 1917, she started hemorraging profusely and suffered for hours before she succumbed to death.

Eli moved back to Elwood where he went back to his old job at the tin mill. His mother-in-law, Emma, toog care of the two little girls. Emma ended up living a long full life. She passed away on September 7, 1935 at the age of seventy-six from skin cancer on her face. She is buried at Mountain Grove Cemetery.

The year 1918 was a very scare one in which to live in. World War I was in full swing and the flu pandemic was well under way. Indiana was hit hard with the flu from September 1918 to February 1919. Eli came down with the flu at the end of November and died on December 5th, 1918 of complications resulting in pneumonia. He was 34 years old. Eli and Ammie were buried together at the Mountain Grove Cemetery along with Ammie's family.

A decision of what to do with little Wilma and Opal needed to be made and it was decided that the girls would be adopted and live with Ammie's older brother William and his wife Ruth (Frazier) McIntyre. William married Ruth Frazier on September 9, 1911 in Madison County, Indiana. William and Ruth could not have children of their own and were happy to take on the care of their two orphaned nieces. William continued to work in the tin mill in the first part of the 1920's. At this time a new mill was being built in Northwest Indiana just outside of Chicago. Along with the new mill, a small town was being formed to comfortably house the workers and their families that was within walking distance from their jobs. William and his new family moved to the now Historic Marktown on Prospect Street in East Chicago, Indiana where he started his new job as a laborer in the steel mill. William and Ruth lived in Marktown for the rest of their lives. William (Papaw) passed away in 1966 and Ruth (Mamaw) followed him in death in 1977. They were married for fifty-five years.

This is the part that I am still a little murky on Wilma Fae McIntyre. I do not know when she married William (Bill) Parker or when their children's birthdays are. I was told that Wilma met William at a bus stop on Dickey Road in Marktown where Wilma was waiting for the bus when Bill drove up on his motorcycle and asked her if she wanted a ride. I do not know when they married (if anyone knows please email me) but they had five children: William Jr., Robert Leroy, Barbara Ann, Mary Lou, and Marjorie Ann.

Wilma passed away on August 2, 1956 at the age of 44. Her obituary appears in the Hammond Times on August 3, 1956 and states the following:

"Mrs. Wilma Fae Parker

Mrs Wilma Fae Parker, 44, of 4901 East Dunes Highway, Gary, died Thursday morning at the home of her foster parents in East Chicago.

Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday at the Brady Chapel, 378 Central Avenue, East Gary, with the Rev. Richard E. Wilkins officiating. Burial will be at Calvary Cemetery, Gary. Friends may call after 7 p.m. this evening.

Survivors include her husband William, two sons, William Edward of Gary, Robert Leroy stationed at Ft. Campbell, KY., three daughters Mrs. Barbara of Gary, Mary Louise, and Marjorie Ann at home; one sister, Opal Shevel of East Chicago: foster parents, Mr. And Mrs. William McIntyre of East Chicago and five grandchildren."

Wilma's death certificate states she died of lung cancer.

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