The Quigley Family of Washington Township, Berks, PA
I have been doing genealogical research on the Quigley Family of Washington Township, Berks County for almost 20 years.Recently, while looking at information on websites such as Ancestry.com, I’ve noticed that there is some confusion about the origins of this family.
Below is what I know, based on my own research and documentation.I present this to help others who are researching possible connections to this line.
The Quigleys who lived in Hereford/Washington Township, Berks County in the 1800s were all descended from John Quigley (b. PA Jun, 2 1797; d. PA Jan 14, 1869), who was married to Mary Fort/Ford (1795-1858).They were also members of the Catholic church in that township (now Bally, PA).
The earliest definitively known Quigley was this John, husband of Mary Fort/Ford.
John is listed in all of the Federal censuses from 1820 until 1860:
1820: Richmond Township, Berks County, PA
1830: Richmond Township, Berks County, PA
1840: Marlboro Township, Montgomery County, PA
1850: Marlboro Township, Montgomery County, PA (birthplace: PA)
1860: Washington Township, Berks County, PA (birthplace: PA)
John was a “forgeman”, and all of these places contained ironworks.
On September 22, 1817, John married Mary Fort/Ford.The original marriage record reads as follows (a “censored” version was published in the Goshenhoppen Registers):
"Joined in marriage and before witnesses are John, illegitimate son of John Quicly and Catherine Covely, and Mary, illegitimate daughter of David Fort and Helen Bachman.
Witnesses: Joseph Rohr and Henry Dollhauer."
Catherine Covely’s parents were Daniel and Mary Anne Covely, who came to America from Rhaunen, Palatinate, Germany around 1767.They originally settled in Ringwood NJ, and then around 1781 they moved to Hereford, now Washington, township, Berks County, PA.Daniel Covely, like his grandson John Quigley, was a forgeman.
Tax, Church, employment, and Census records indicate that Daniel Covely was living in Hereford Township, Berks County when Catherine Covely became pregnant out-of-wedlock by John Quigley in 1796/1797.According to one account book from 1797, Daniel Covely was employed at the Mount Pleasant furnace in Hereford, now Washington Township, Berks, PA.
Church records DO NOT indicate that John Quigley was EVER married to anyone other than Mary Fort/Ford, to whom he was also related as a second cousin.Mary was born in NJ, and she may have been related to the Ford family that operated the Mount Hope Ironworks in Morris County, NJ, in the 1790s.Mary's father and brother are listed as employees of the Mount Hope Ironworks along with David Ford, the nephew of the owner.Mary's surname is written as "Ford" at least once in the records.
I have so far been unable to determine the identity of John Quigley's father (other than his name).I suspect that he may have been one of the various Quigleys who lived in Chester, Lancaster, Dauphin, and Cumberland Counties in PA at the time.But this is just a theory.
Please contact me if you would like more information, or if you have informationyou would like to share with me.
--James Quigley