Extended Family of the Famous

Ornithologist of Philadelphia

Alexander Wilson

 

Announcing the online availability of the genealogical and historical book titled Great-Great-Grandfather Duncan Married…a Sister of Alexander Wilson the Ornithologist of Philadelphia, formerly titled The True Story of a Family in History, expanding the Hood family portion of my 1976 publication the Barnes and Related Families Abridged Genealogical RECORD.[1] The first four chapters begin with excerpts from Grandfather William Hood Barnes’ family history memoirs

 

My original intention was to research only my line from John and Isabella (Duncan) McNelly down to at least my generation, which was Generation #8 from Alexander and Mary (McNab) Wilson—Isabella’s maternal grandparents. Reasoning:  I had clues to that information thanks to Grandfather Barnes. During thirty years of research, however, things changed. As the decades passed I uncovered/discovered bits and pieces about Isabel's parents, grandparents, and some of her siblings, and these fragments accumulated to create an increasingly coherent picture of the world in which Isabella and John lived. Connecting with some Duncan cousins in southeastern Michigan back in 2001 filled-in much information on Isabella’s youngest brother James Duncan's line. This year, email correspondence with two Sturdevant cousins suddenly made the connection with Isabella’s youngest sister Anna (Duncan) Sturdevant's line. These were all very important steps forward in unraveling and unveiling the Wilson/Duncan world. It finally became evident that a broader base of cousins as well as Alexander Wilson enthusiasts might be interested in and benefit from what had been gathered. (For those who may not be familiar with Alexander Wilson, one of his cognomens is “father of American ornithology,” since his ornithological publications preceded those of Audubon by more than a decade.)

 

The length of this book is 136 pages. It includes a foreword, introduction, book text, some pictures and poems, bibliography, extensive index, appendix, and family event location maps. To protect privacy no vital statistics are included for living individuals. The entire book can be accessed here. Its size is a little over 4 MB.

 

Since the book’s 2007 publication a number of discoveries were made that added significantly to the overall project.

 

Book correction notes:

• Mary W. (Hood) Barnes’ date of death was 8 July 1911 not 7 July. (Found on pages 41, 44, 74)
• William N. Marks should be William H. Marks for William Henry Marks (Found on pages 43, 74)

Alexander Wilson's Find A Grave burial location at Gloria Dei Church Burial Ground AKA Old Swedes Cemetery in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania:

• Alexander "Sandy" Wilson's gravesite, with biographical information and pictures.

Additional 60 pages, or addenda, that supplement the book’s scope:

1—Descendants  of Alex Wilson's Half Sister Janet and Her Husband Duncan Wright
(11 pp, 131 KB). This is a genealogical report of Janet (Wilson) and Duncan Wright’s known descendants and some of their history.

2—Mary (Wilson) Duncan’s Half-Sister Janet Immigrates to America (11 pp, 227 KB). This is a timeline of the Wright family’s immigration to and movements in America, including their diverted fate by a privateer during the War of 1812 and their value to the early American weaving, bleaching and carpet-making industries.

3—Transcription and copy of 1822 letter from William Duncan, Jr. to Miss Ann Duncan
of Ovid (5 pp, 438 KB). This includes the scan of an ancient letter handed down to and preserved by a cousin in the Ann (Duncan) and James Sturdevant line, including its transcription by this author.

4—Descendants of William McNelly (2 pp, 89 KB). This expands on an insert included with the original book, verifying that the William McNelly discussed in the insert was indeed a son of John and Isabella (Duncan) McNelly and gives some information about his descendants.

5—Andrew D. Waddell’s Presentation Civil War Infantry Officer's Sword (3 pp, 203 KB). In May, 2008, Andrew’s sword was sold on eBay for $3,000. This includes pictures of the sword, including its engravings, and some of its Civil War history.

6—Eight Generations of Alexander Wilson, Sr. (24 pp, 131 KB). Chapter Five of the original book had ten pages of Alexander, Sr.’s known descendants through his eighth generation as of the book's publication. This supplement has fourteen pages of descendants as of January 2011, including much new information. It has its own eight-page index of individuals.

7—New in March 2015 Biography with ancestral information for Mrs. Margaret (Waddell) Bagley (4 pp, 188 KB). This published biography plus the picture of a coverlet woven by James Duncan (45 KB, shown below) were contributed by Melinda Shackelford, a descendant of Nancy Waddell, a younger sister of James' wife Jane and Mary McNelly's husband Samuel. The biography provides additional information into the Duncan, McNelly and Waddell families, including new insight into James Duncan's sister Isabel's immigration to America. As to the coverlet, Melinda wrote, "I just discovered your article when doing research on James Duncan who married Jane Waddell. Jane had a little sister named Nancy, who is my great-great grandmother. When Nancy was around 5, she spent the winter with Jane & James. In 1815, James wove her a blue & cream counterpane made from flax & wool from farm. I had been told it was when he was recovering from injuries from War of 1812. It was given to Rosa Lee Allen & then to my grandfather William B. Allen. I now own the coverlet which is in practically perfect condition....one small hole & one small frayed edge on top...."

Charles W. Paige