Connecting Dales from TN/IL/MO
I've had some initial success at following my lineage of Dales backwards from the known (KS, MO, IL) into the unknown (TN, Ireland?).I am planning to post a more extensive summary of this clan at a future date, but here are the basics.(Sources available upon request)
Given names:Alexander, Joshua, Benjamin
Related Surnames:Shipley, Lindsey
I've traced my clan back to the 1820 Fed Census in Smith Co., Tenessee.I was lead back to that particular location because later censuses indicated my gg gf Joshua Dale was born in TN and then I used the assumption of patronymy to look for clusters of similar given names in earlier TN censuses.Anyway, there in Smith Co., a clan of Dales are nearby each other:Alexander, Adam, and William Dale.I'm not sure of their relationships but Alexander and Adam appear to be of the same generation.William may be of the same generation or younger.My first assumption would be that they were brothers.
William Dale is still present in the 1830 census of Smith Co., along with two much younger Dales (presumed offspring of the previous generation...maybe William), but neither Alexander nor Adam is found there then.I have not located Adam Dale anywhere else after 1820.
I next found Alexander Dale in Tazewell Co., IL, (a precurser to DeWitt and other cos.) in 1830.Living nearby is a younger James A. Dale (either a son or nephew of Alexander) and a Jesse Dale who may or may not be related.Also nearby is young Benjamin Shipley, who would later father my future gg gm Rachel Shipley.Without listings of family members in those censuses, I don't know which children are present in 1830.
Alexander Dale is present in (newly formed) DeWitt Co., IL, in 1840, living next to Joshua Dale, my gg gf.A first assumption would be that Alexander is father to Joshua (based on ages), but I haven't confirmed this.I'll explain later why there is one shred of evidence that suggests Alexander may be Joshua's uncle instead.Also present there in DeWitt Co. at the time was a George H. Dale (relation unknown at present), along with Benjamin Shipley (Joshua's father-in-law) and Ben Shipley's son, James Shipley and his family.
Alexander Dale does not appear in subsequent censuses and probably died between 1840-1850 (in his 60s or 70s).Joshua Dale and his family had moved to Logan Co. (or this may have been a rearrangement of county boundaries) by 1850.Seven children are in the household, at present all presumed to be his:Millington (age 15), Mary Ann (13), Benjamin [=Benjamin Shipley Dale], Alexander (9), William (6), James (3), and Sarah (6/12).James Shipley and his family are still in DeWitt Co., but his father Benjamin Shipley is not.
Some of these Dales and Shipleys migrated to Harrison Co., MO, in the mid-1850s.(James A. Dale and family got there by 1850 and is probably of this clan--The several "James Dales" are a complex problem.)Joshua, Rachel and their five youngest children are in Harrison Co. in 1860.Ben S. Dale and wife Mary Louisa (Lindsey) have settled nearby, as have other Dales (Thomas J. and Allen E., both sons of James A. Dale) and Shipleys (James H., probably a son of Benjamin Shipley).
These same Dale and Shipley families are still in Harrison Co. in 1870 (along with other Dale's which are not immediately related).Ben Dale's family is still there in 1880 but migrated to Great Bend (Barton Co.) KS by 1890.Joshua Dale is not found in the 1880 census and is presumed to have died (would be 70 yrs old).
Well, this summary wasn't so brief after all!I hope to really spell out more of this (along with twists and turns along the way) at a later date.Inquiries are welcome.
Chuck Sexton
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Re: Connecting Dales from TN/IL/MO
12/16/00