Grimshaw of Killingly, Connecticut

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Author's Note: When conducting family history research, it is inevitable that a variety of human situations will be encountered. It must always be remembered that it is not possible to know all the facts or have the complete picture from a historical perspective. Whereas it is essential to report historical facts insofar as they are known, it is also necessary to avoid "passing judgment" on any given situation in the absence of knowing all the facts, which (as noted) is impossible from a historical perspective. Such a situation apparently exists in the case of Duckworth Grimshaw.

Duckworth Grimshaw was born in Lancashire in 1822 and married and had a family there. Then, when his sisters sailed for America as Mormon emigrants, he secretly joined the sailing party. Sometime after arriving in America, Duckworth apparently married again, to Bridget Monahan, and had a second family. He also changed his name, adding "Francis" as his first name. Duckworth and Bridget were married in New Hampshire, but eventually settled in Killingly, Connecticut, where they lived out their lives and are buried.

Webpage Credits

Duckworth Grimshaw’s Origins and Family Line

Where Did the Unusual Name of Duckworth Come From?

The Circumstances of Duckworth’s Emigration to America

(Francis) Duckworth Grimshaw’s Life in the U.S.

Expanded Descendant Chart for Francis D. and Bridget Grimshaw

Duckworth's First Family in England

Description of the Town of Killingly, Windham County, Connecticut

Burial Records of Francis D. and Bridget Grimshaw

References

Thanks go to Pat Schwarm and Melaney McHale, who have posted information on the internet that has been very useful for preparing this webpage.

Duckworth was apparently the 6^th child of Lawrence and Mary (Duckworth) Grimshaw, whose family line is described on a companion webpage. His parents, at least two of his sisters, and several of his nieces and nephews also emigrated to America. One of his nephews, another Duckworth Grimshaw, is also described on a companion webpage. Duckworth’s family line is shown in summary form from an LDS Ancestral File² in Figure 1 below.

George Grimshaw (About 1739 - ) & Betty (About 1741 - )

|-----Thomas Grimshaw (About 1765 - ) & Susan Fielden (About 1769 - )

|-----|-----Lawrence Grimshaw (6 Oct 1782 - ) & Mary Duckworth (4 Apr 1786 - )

|-----|-----|-----John Grimshaw* (12 Jun 1811 - ) & Alice Whittaker (28 Dec 1809 - )

|-----|-----|-----|-----James Grimshaw (20 Feb 1837 - )

|-----|-----|-----|-----Mary Grimshaw (9 Mar 1838 - ) & William Atkinson (About 1834 - )

|-----|-----|-----|-----Duckworth Grimshaw* (3 Mar 1842 - ) & Mary Jane Moyes (6 Jun 1850 - )

|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----John Grimshaw (15 Mar 1868 - ) & Mary Elizabeth Bradfield (28 Apr 1872 - )

|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----Elizabeth Alice Grimshaw (7 May 1870 - ) & Archibald Wardrobe Fotheringham (6 Aug 1867 - )

|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----Mary Ann Grimshaw (19 Aug 1872 - ) & Josiah Rogerson (21 Sep 1867 - )

|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----Martha Jane Grimshaw (6 Jan 1875 - ) & William Thomas Rogerson (17 Mar 1866 - )

|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----Franklin Duckworth Grimshaw (18 Mar 1877 - )

|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----William Henry Grimshaw (12 May 1879 - ) & Mary May Hunter (20 Jul 1877 - )

|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----Ray Grimshaw (12 Jun 1881 - ) & Hannah Maria Farrow (18 Apr 1881 - )

|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----Ida Grimshaw (15 Jan 1884 - ) & Carl Herman Ehninger (About 1880 - )

|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----Lawrence Grimshaw* (19 Jan 1886 - ) & Mary Dell Parkinson (18 Oct 1889 - )

|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----Lawrence Grimshaw* (19 Jan 1886 - ) & Irene Groves (About 1890 - )

|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----May Grimshaw (1 May 1888 - ) & Willard Clausen Jensen (2 Jun 1868 - )

|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----Arnold Grimshaw (2 Sep 1890 - ) & Myrtle Hodges (30 Aug 1892 - )

|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----Randolph Grimshaw (28 Dec 1893 - ) & Estella Jones (29 Oct 1893 - )

|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----George Whittaker Grimshaw (22 Feb 1896 - ) & Leona Armstrong

|-----|-----|-----|-----Duckworth Grimshaw* (3 Mar 1842 - ) & Ellen Muir (About 1846 - )

|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----Thomas Duckworth Grimshaw (7 Jul 1891 - )

|-----|-----|-----|-----Susanna Grimshaw (18 Dec 1845 - )

|-----|-----|-----|-----? Grimshaw (5 Jan 1849 - )

|-----|-----|-----|-----Sarah Ann Grimshaw (5 Jan 1849 - ) & Joseph Hyrum (5 Mar 1845 - )

|-----|-----|-----|-----? Grimshaw (5 Jan 1849 - )

|-----|-----|-----|-----Elizabeth Grimshaw* (27 Feb 1849 - ) & Richard Greenhalgh (27 Jul 1838 - )

|-----|-----|-----|-----Elizabeth Grimshaw* (27 Feb 1849 - ) & David Davis Rees (19 Oct 1828 - )

|-----|-----|-----|-----Elizabeth Grimshaw* (27 Feb 1849 - ) & Richard Greenalch (About 1845 - )

|-----|-----|-----|-----Alice Grimshaw (7 Jan 1852 - ) & James William Atkin (10 Jul 1845 - )

|-----|-----|-----John Grimshaw* (12 Jun 1811 - ) & Mary Ann Orill (About 1813 - )

|-----|-----|-----John Grimshaw* (12 Jun 1811 - ) & Elizabeth Ranklin (About 1813 - )

|-----|-----|-----Elizabeth Grimshaw (11 Dec 1812 - )

|-----|-----|-----Faith Grimshaw (6 Oct 1813 - )

|-----|-----|-----Faith Grimshaw (20 Dec 1814 - )

|-----|-----|-----Faith Grimshaw (29 Mar 1817 - )

|-----|-----|-----Mary Grimshaw (24 Feb 1820 - ) & John Whittaker (About 1816 - )

|-----|-----|-----|-----Duckworth Whittaker (24 Feb 1822 - )

|-----|-----|-----|-----Isabel Whittaker (6 Apr 1824 - )

|-----|-----|-----Duckworth Grimshaw (24 Feb 1822 - )

|-----|-----|-----Isabel Grimshaw (6 Apr 1824 - )

|-----|-----|-----Susannah Grimshaw (14 Feb 1826 - ) & William Robinson (16 Sep 1831 - )

|-----|-----|-----|-----Mary Ann Robinson (25 Aug 1856 - )

|-----|-----|-----|-----Jesse Benjamin Robinson (12 Sep 1858 - ) & Francis Skinner (29 Jun 1860 - )

|-----|-----|-----|-----Joseph Robinson Robinson (1 Aug 1861 - )

|-----|-----|-----|-----Emma Robinson (1 Aug 1861 - )

|-----|-----|-----|-----? Robinson (About 1863 - )

|-----|-----|-----|-----? Robinson (About 1863 - )

|-----|-----|-----William Grimshaw (6 Nov 1828 - )

Duckworth’s emigration to the U.S. is described in an account by his nephew, Duckworth, in "The Records of Duckworth Grimshaw¹" as shown below.

As noted at the top of this webpage, it is essential to avoid "passing judgment" without having all the facts of a situation, which is impossible from a historical point of view.

Mary Duckworth, Duckworth Grimshaw's mother, apparently came from a long-established Lancashire family. Like Grimshaw, Duckworth is a Lancashire name of long standing. Duckworth Hall is located southeast of Blackburn within a few miles of the Grimshaw location. A photo of it is shown in Figure 2 below. The location is shown northeast of Grimshaw on a map on a companion webpage.

Sometime after arriving in the U.S., Duckworth apparently lived in New Hampshire. According to family bible records held by Melaney McHale, he was married by the Town Clerk in Manchester in 1857. He also changed his name by adding Francis (probably nicknamed "Frankie") as his first name. A daughter, Rosa, was born about 1860 in New Hampshire. The 1880 U.S. Census for Connecticut found the family living in Killingly with 6 children: 20-year-old Rosa; Michael, age 16; William, age 14; Mary, age 12; and John Gilman, age 5. This record may be found in a companion webpage and is shown in Figure 3 below. The three oldest children are shown working at a cotton mill.

Figure 3. 1800 U.S. Census Record for Connecticut showing Francis D. and Bridget Grimshaw living in Killingly with 6 children.

Melaney McHale posted on the internet the information shown below. The website location is as follows: http://genforum.genealogy.com/grimshaw/messages/250.html. 

Pat Schwarm has posted the following information on Bridget Monahan on the internet at the following address: http://www.geocities.com/monaghan49/index2.html

I am looking for information on John Monahan who married Rosanna Cunniff. They had a daughter Bridget, my g-g-grandmother. I have 2 birthdates for her, Feb 1831 and 1835. On a 1900 census it says Bridget emigrated from Ireland in 1842. I assume she came with her parents. I also have information that John and Rosanna had a son Michael and a daughter Catherine. Catherine married John Curley and had 4 children. They were all in Southbridge, MA at one time. This is what I know about my Monahans, some of it was passed on, some confirmed:

My G-g-Grandmother was Bridget Monahan, born in Ireland. The 1900 Census (Connecticut-she was living with her daughter's family) said she was born Feb 1831 and immigrated to this country from Ireland in 1842. It also said she had 8 children, all born in the US, and 4 were living. She died Oct 16, 1917 in Killingly, CT. One of her daughters was my great-grandmother, Rosetta Monahan Grimshaw. The following is information that was passed down to me. I haven't found proof of most of it. Bridget married Francis Duckworth Grimshaw (also referred to as Duckworth Grimshaw). They were suppose to have been married in Southbridge, MA. Bridget's mother was supposed to have been Rose or Rosanna Cunniff and her father John Monahan (I have reference that he was from Dublin). John and Rosanna had 2 children other than my great-great-grandmother that I have heard of, Catherine Monahan who married a Curley. She died in Southbridge, MA 1918. Michael Monahan married Catherine Kelley and moved to Minneapolis, MN. Information handed down said he had seven children: Lizzie, Rose, Jack, Frank, Charles, Edward and Michael.

One might infer from this information that Francis and Bridget named their first two children after Bridget’s mother and brother.

Based on the information on this webpage, the descendant chart for Francis and Bridget can be expanded as shown in Figure 4.

Figure 4. Expanded descendant chart for Francis Duckworth and Bridget (Monahan) Grimshaw

George Grimshaw (About 1739 - ) & Betty (About 1741 - )

|-----Thomas Grimshaw (About 1765 - ) & Susan Fielden (About 1769 - )

|-----|-----Lawrence Grimshaw (6 Oct 1782 - ) & Mary Duckworth (4 Apr 1786 - )

|-----|-----|-----John Grimshaw* (12 Jun 1811 - ) & Alice Whittaker (28 Dec 1809 - )

|-----|-----|-----John Grimshaw* (12 Jun 1811 - ) & Mary Ann Orill (About 1813 - )

|-----|-----|-----John Grimshaw* (12 Jun 1811 - ) & Elizabeth Ranklin (About 1813 - )

|-----|-----|-----Elizabeth Grimshaw (11 Dec 1812 - )

|-----|-----|-----Faith Grimshaw (6 Oct 1813 - )

|-----|-----|-----Faith Grimshaw (20 Dec 1814 - )

|-----|-----|-----Faith Grimshaw (29 Mar 1817 - )

|-----|-----|-----Mary Grimshaw (24 Feb 1820 - ) & John Whittaker (About 1816 - )

|-----|-----|-----Duckworth Grimshaw (24 Feb 1822 – 15 Mar 1893) & Unknown

|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----Six Unknown Children

Note: It has now been determined that Duckworth's first wife was Elizabeth Townley. See below on this webpage.

|-----|-----|-----Duckworth Grimshaw (24 Feb 1822 – 15 Mar 1893) & Bridget Monahan (Feb 1831 or 1835 – 17 Oct 1917)

|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----Rosetta Grimshaw (ca 1860 - )

|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----Michael H. Grimshaw (1864 – 1918) & Mary Lambert (1 May 1862 - ) Married 20 Dec 1884.

|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----Frank Grimshaw (1 Nov 1885 - 18 May 1886)

|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----William Henry Grimshaw (9 Oct 1887 - )

|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----Michael Joseph Grimshaw (23 Dec 1889 - )

|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----John Henry Grimshaw (10 Jul 1894 - )

|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----William Grimshaw (ca 1866 - )

|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----Mary Grimshaw (ca 1868 - )

|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----John Gilman (ca 1875 - )

|-----|-----|-----Isabel Grimshaw (6 Apr 1824 - )

|-----|-----|-----Susannah Grimshaw (14 Feb 1826 - ) & William Robinson (16 Sep 1831 - )

|-----|-----|-----William Grimshaw (6 Nov 1828 - )

On April 1, 2006, Linda Smith posted the following message on Genforum, which adds additional detail on one of Duckworth and Bridget's descendants:

Source: http://genforum.genealogy.com/grimshaw/messages/449.html 

Dear Melaney,

My name is Linda (Grimshaw) Smith. You posted a message about (Francis) Duckworth Grimshaw. He had a son, Michael H. He married Mary S Lambert and they had a son Michael J. He married Josephine Paquin, and they had a son Francis L.D., who is my grandfather.

Please help. There are stories that my g-father has told, but there are too many missing pieces. I need to know about so many other children from Francis & Bridget, Michael & Mary. I can go back 9 generations but too many missing pieces. Hope you can help?

|-----|-----|-----Duckworth Grimshaw (24 Feb 1822 – 15 Mar 1893) & Bridget Monahan (Feb 1831 or 1835 – 17 Oct 1917)

|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----Michael H. Grimshaw (1864 – 1918) & Mary Lambert (1 May 1862 - ) Married 20 Dec 1884.

|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----Michael Joseph Grimshaw (23 Dec 1889 - ) & Josephine Paquin

|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----Francis L.D. Grimshaw

Research by Marjorie and Doug Williams has provided information on Duckworth's family before he left England for America. He was married to Elizabeth Townley, daughter of James and Alice Townley. The 1851 Census found them living at 5 Hilnhillock, Tottington Lower End, Lancashire with three children, Townley (b ca 1844), Mary Ann (b ca 1846), Sarah (b ca 1848), and Mary Alice (b ca 1851). 

Duckworth Grimshaw ( 24 Feb 1822 - ) & Elizabeth Townley ( 2 Jan 1820 - )

|---Townley Grimshaw (About 1844 - )

|---Mary Ann Grimshaw (About 1846 - )

|---Sarah Grimshaw (About 1848 - )

|---Mary Alice Grimshaw (Mar 1851 - )

 

Source: http://www.penllyn.f2s.com/genealogy/index.php 

Duckworth and Bridget eventually settled in Killingly and lived out their lives there. Killingly is located in northeast Connecticut, near the borders with Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Two maps from the Mapquest website ( www.mapquest.com ) are shown in Figure 5.

Figure 5. Maps showing location of Killingly Center in northeast Connecticut.

The following information is taken from the Town of Killingly’s webpage, at the following location:

http://www.munic.state.ct.us/KILLINGLY/killingly.htm 

Killingly, incorporated May 1708, encompasses the villages of Attawaugan, Ballouville, Dayville, East Killingly, Rogers, South Killingly, and the Borough of Danielson.

Settled in 1700 and incorporated in 1708, Killingly was the forty-second town established in Connecticut. In 1653, the second John Winthrop obtained a grant of a large tract of land formerly held by the Quinebaug Indian tribe and know as the Quinebaug (long pond) Country. In May, 1708 the General Assembly granted the privileges of a town and defined its boundries. The selection of a name for the town was referred to Governor Saltonstall, whose ancestral manorial possessions lay in Killanslie and Pontefract, Yorkshire. Hence "Killingly", formerly spelled Kellingly, was taken from this part of England. The early name of Killingly was Aspinock, even after the authorization of the town by the Connecticut General Assembly, and may have been taken from the Indian word "aucks" or "ock" (the place where) and the name of an early English settler, Lieutenant Aspinwell. The home of Mary Kies, first woman to receive a patent from the United States Patent Office, Killingly is also the birthplace of William Torrey Harris and Sidney Percy Marland, Jr., the fourth and nineteenth United States Commissioners of Education. Charles Lewis Tiffany was born and lived here before removing to New York City where, in 1837, in partnership with John B. Young, also of Killingly, he opened a stationer's store on Broadway. That enterprise later became the noted jewelry firm Tiffany & Company. During the 1830s, Killingly was the largest producer of cotton goods in Connecticut and a century later was the curtain capital of the world. Today, Killingly is a community of diversified industries and is the second largest town in both area and population in Windham County.

The logo characterizing Killingly consists of two concentric circles forming a border around a stylized representation of a textile mill. Pine trees penetrate the inner circle border on either side of the mill, and at the lower right in front of t he mill a river flows. The date of incorporation of the town, 1708, is at the top and the words "Killingly Connecticut" occupy the lower half of the circle bordering the mill.

The following historical information on the Town is from the Killingly Historical Society webpage at the following address:

http://www.qvcc.commnet.edu/brian/KHS/brfhst1.html 

Killingly, CT is located in the northeastern corner of the state, bordering to the east on the state of Rhode Island. Its region is known as the "quiet corner," because of its largely rural nature.) [Note added by B. D-L.]

Killingly was inhabited by Native Americans for thousands of years. One of their trails, which followed sections of Route 101 and Bear Hill Road, became a major colonial path between Providence and Hartford.

Killingly’s first known settler was Richard Evans, who came from Rehoboth, Massachusetts in 1693. In the early 1700s other settlers came, mostly from the Boston area. Killingly was incorporated in 1708. At that time its borders extended from Plainfield to Massachusetts and included what is now Thompson and much of Putnam. The town’s earliest establishments included taverns, blacksmith shops, grist and saw mills. By 1770, William Danielson, later a Colonel in the militia, had established an iron works on the Five Mile River in present-day Danielson.

In the late 1700's, William Cundall established one of the earliest woolen works in Connecticut. Textile mills were built along the Quinebaug and Five Mile Rivers and Whetstone Brook in the early 1800s. In 1836, Killingly was considered the greatest cotton manufacturing town in Connecticut.

Railroad access in 1840 made the town a commercial center for the region. Immigrants from Quebec, and later eastern and southern Europe, came to work in the mills. In the early 1900s many textile manufacturers moved south, where labor and operating costs were lower.

In the 1920s, the firm of Powdrell and Alexander opened six curtain factories in town, and Killingly became known as "Curtaintown USA."

Residents of Killingly played an important role in advancing the lives of African-Americans. During the 1750s, Israel Proctor deeded and willed his former Negro servants approximately ninety acres in Killingly. According to the Connecticut Historical Commission, this was probably the earliest farm to be owned by free Negroes in Southern New England.

A century later, Henry Hammond, a prominent early abolitionist, moved to Killingly and quickly became an influential political personage. While a teen, he helped to organize the first anti-slavery society in Connecticut in Brooklyn. In 1847 he served as one of two State delegates to the first National Anti-Slavery Convention in Buffalo, N.Y. The Greek Revival residence on Furnace Street in Danielson, which he purchased in 1863, is still standing on a knoll adjacent to the railroad. An earlier home in Pomfret was used as a stop on the "underground railroad." Perhaps the one on Furnace Street was, too.

Prominent Killingly natives included Mary Kies, the first woman in the U.S. to receive a patent, and Charles Lewis Tiffany, founder of Tiffany’s in New York.

The town has sought to diversify its economic base and preserve its natural resources during the past fifty years. It has welcomed industries such as Frito-Lay, Staples, CEM Company, and Rogers Corporation.

Views of Killingly, with its prominent church (taken from the Killingly Historical Society website,) are shown in different seasons in Figures 6 and 7. The town hall is shown in Figure 8.

Figure 6. Spring or fall view of Killingly.

Figure 7. Winter view of south Killingly.

Figure 8. Killingly Town Hall

Francis and Bridget are buried in St. Joseph’s Cemetery in Killingly, Connecticut (apparently actually located in Dayville, west of Killingly, see Figure 5 above) according to a publication³ on headstone inscriptions for the town. The contents of the publication are shown on the internet at the following webpage:

http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Fields/4791/killinglystjosephscem.html 

The records appear on this webpage as shown below (with the entries before and after the Grimshaw records.)

Headstone Inscriptions for the Town of Killingly, Connecticut (1747-1934) (Microfiche)

by Charles R. Hale, pub. 1937.

This list of inscriptions, town of Killingly, was copied in 1934, under the auspices of the F.E.R.A. and the W.PA. sponsored by The Connecticut State Library, was compiled under the supervision of Charles R. Hale, State Military necrologist, assisted by Miss Mary H. Babbin, Secretary.

This copy was supplied courtesy of The Killingly Historical Society.

 

Contents:

43- Whitmore Cemetery (Attawagan)

44- St. Joseph's Cemetery

45- Cross Roads Cemetery

 

Grenier, Oliver, born 1846, died 1929

Grimshaw, Bridget, wife of Francis, born 1841, died 1916

Grimshaw, Francis D., born Feb. 24, 1832, died Mar. 15, 1893

Grimshaw, Frankie, son of Michael & Mary, died May 18, 1886, age 6 mos 18 days

Grimshaw, Michael H., born 1864, died 1918

Guertin, Exavier, born Oct. 17, 1860, died Sept. 15, 1932

Note that the record shows the birthdate of Francis Duckworth as 10 years later than it actually was. Apparently Michael, the oldest son (second child) of Francis D. and Bridget Grimshaw is also buried in St. Joseph’s Cemetery, as is his son, Frankie (probably named after his grandfather), age 6 months.