red paper boat

I keep repeating that it’s important to pay attention to addresses, when researching old records. I add them to the database, so they’re trackable. I use Family Tree Maker for my own family and track all the various Basquills in an old copy of Cumberland Family Tree, both of which allow global searching. Both programs also allow browsing all the people associated with a given location, which is invaluable for making connections.

Which brings me to Katie Basquill and 974 Locust Street, Fall River, Massachusetts.

The only Katie Basquill I’m aware of who was born in Fall River is Catherine, the daughter of John L. Basquill and Mary Critchley, and the address given on the baby’s death certificate is the same as John’s and Mary’s. Katie was born in 1896 and would have been just barely 13 years old when this baby was born. Obviously, that would have made her 12 years old when she became pregnant.

I can’t find any trace of Henry Sampson after 1908. Possibly for very good reason.

In my searching for Henry Sampson, though, I found four women who died in Fall River whose parents were Roger Reynolds and Mary Basquill. More stray Basquills? The Fall River strays were all born around 1830 in Ireland, and because they were Basquills, that meant County Mayo. Irish records from before mid-1800s are spotty at best, and even more so for women, so I wasn’t optimistic about fitting these women into the part of the puzzle I’ve already got pieced together. What I did know, just from the birth dates, was that these could not be part of Denis Basquill’s and Ellen Carney’s immediate family. Denis and Ellen were John L. Basquill’s parent’s (grandparents of young Katie), but they were both born in the 1840s, so I felt it was likely that they were cousins of the stray Basquill women. How to prove that, though?

I’m not sure there is any kind of proof, but I do think we can make a pretty good guess. A closer look at the death certificates of the strays showed that two of them had been living on Locust Street when they died. Hm. So they all–both groups of Basquills–were living in the same neighborhood. I’ve seen some strange coincidences, but that beggars belief.

I decided the next step was to take another trawl trawl through Pat Deese’s website. Maybe coming at it from the Mayo end would be helpful? BINGO! I found a Roger Reynolds and Mary Baskwell, living in Cloondacon, Aughagower Parish, County Mayo. I couldn’t find birth or baptism records for the girls who moved to Fall River, but I did find baptism records for three of their boys: Patrick, John, and Michael. AND, I found a record of Roger and Mary as the baptismal sponsors for Thomas and Bridget Baskwell’s daughter Judith/Julia. Thomas, who was the brother of my 3rd great grandfather, Michael. Mary Reynolds was also the baptismal sponsor of 3rd great grandfather Michael’s and wife Margaret’s son, John.

My best guess is that Mary Basquill who married Roger Reynolds is the sister of Michael and Thomas, which would make her my 3rd great grand aunt. I can’t prove it beyond a shadow of a doubt, but I think it’s a reasonable conclusion.

I don’t think I will ever be able to connect this Thomas Baskwell with my people. He was born in the right place (Westport, County Mayo), but there just aren’t enough records surviving from the time period to fit the puzzle together properly. He surely is one of my people, though. Born about 1769, he served for eighteen years in George III’s army, before he was discharged at age 48 for “being worn out.”