John Gallagher

Immigrant "late 18th or early 19th century", expect between 1783 & 1794

JOHN GALLAGHER The Gallagher name is Irish, and is also found spelled Gallaher and Gallager. John Gallagher, was born in the early 1760’s in Ireland, and was a native of County Down. Toward the end of the 18th century he came to America with his wife Margaret and six children: James, John Jr., William, Mary, Margaret, and Jane. There is an eleven year gap in their birth years between John Jr., born in 1783, and William, born in 1794, and another gap between William and Mary, born in 1801. It is possible that John came first to America without his family, perhaps looking for and acquiring land. The family arrived in Butler County, Pennsylvania, in 1797, and settled in Muddy Creek Township. He eventually farmed a tract of 400 acres. On this land he built a log house in which they lived the remainder of their lives. John Gallagher is listed among the Taxables of Connoquenessing township in 1803, having 400 acres, 3 cows, 1 horse or ox, valuation $250, and tax $.75 (Muddy Creek township was created in 1804, from a portion of Connoquenessing township) The oldest son, James Gallagher, was born in Ireland, County Donegal, in 1780 or 1781. One of his daughters was named Amelia Cratin Gallagher, and this name, sometimes as Crayton or Craighton, is carried by some of his descendants. It is therefore speculated that his mother’s maiden name, or his grandmother’s, may have been Craighton. It is a common name in County Down, Ireland.

John Gallagher may have had a brother, William, who also settled in Muddy Creek township. Wording is ambiguous in the biography found in the 1895 History of Butler County: “He died in Muddy Creek township, as did also his brother William”. This appears at the end of a biography of John Gallagher, but following lines about his son James (who did have a brother William). However, a biography of James Gallagher follows, and seems to indicate that James died in Franklin township.

The death dates for John and Margaret Gallagher are not established, and their graves have not been located.

	Date	Location	Notes	Sources
Birth	early 1760s	County Down, Ireland
Marriage			To Margaret [unknown]
Death	1830s	in Muddy Creek Twp., Butler Co., PA

Ancestry chart segment

 Generation 6             Generation 7       Generation 8
 
                                        +-- [unknown]
                                        |   (????-????)
                   +-- John Gallagher --+
                   |   (176?-183?)      |
 James Gallagher --+                    +-- [unknown]
 (1781-1863)       |                        (????-????)
                   +-- Margaret [unknown]
                       (????-????)
                                   
                                   
 Sources: 

Children

(children with Margaret [unknown])

Name	Gender	Date of Birth	Birthplace	Spouse	Notes	Sources
James Gallagher	M	1781	County Donegal, Ireland	1) Sarah Forrester 2) Mary Albright	Direct line
John Gallagher, Jr.	M	1783	Ireland	Frances Mains
William Gallagher	M	1794	PA	expect Mary unknown
Mary Gallagher	F	1801	PA	1) James English 2) J. Milton White
Margaret Gallagher	F	1803[?]
Jane Gallagher	F	1804[?]

Places of Residence

Location	Dates	Notes	Sources
County Down, Ireland	born early 1760's; -1780's or 90's
immigrated to U.S.	after 1783
Muddy Creek Twp., Butler Co. PA	1797 - died 1830's

Sources

Ref. Num.	Description	Image of original
1	History of Butler County Pennsylvania 1895, page 48, in the section entitled "Taxables of 1803 for Buffalo Twp.," indicates that John Gallagher owned 400 acres of land, one cow, and one horse or ox, for a total value of $283 and paid tax on that property of $85. There is also a John Gallagher listed on page 51, in Connoquenessing Twp., who owns 400 acres, 3 cows, and 1 horse or ox, for a total value of $250 and a tax of $75.	transcript
2	History of Butler County Pennsylvania 1895, p. 1262 John Gallagher biographical sketch: "John Gallagher, Sr., one of the pioneers of Butler county, was a native of Down county, Ireland, and settled in Muddy Creek township, late in the Eighteenth or early in the present century. ...The eldest son, James, was twice married, his first wife being Sarah Forrester , and his second, Mary Albright. He died in Muddy Creek township, as did also his brother William ."	(Complete text)
3	Personal correspondence from Elizabeth Wilson Williams.	N/A
4	Elsie Crayton Segura Research, a Gallagher and Hockenberry descendant, correspondence ongoing. Elsie indicated that the middle C. of James Gallagher's name was Creighton. The following biography of John Gallagher was received from Elsie (27 Oct 2010) without specific source notation. She recalled it being from "a history of Butler County"; however it is not found in the 1883 or the 1895 histories. There is also some wording ambiguity re. the land transfer (i.e. reverting from John and Peggy to John Gallagher, Sr.). Verification search is underway. Please see Source Notes section. " [John Gallagher] arrived in Butler Co., Pa. about 1797 with his wife and seven children. In 1818 John Gallagher and wife Peggy sold 200 acres of land to their son William. It was a tract of land called "Raphoe" taken of the east end of said tract beginning at a line by David Kerr. This land was surveyed in pursuance of a warrant dated the 29th of January 1805 granted to the said John Gallagher Sr. The deed dated June 6, 1805 enrolled in Roll Office of Butler Co., in book A, page 139. It was stated that if John Gallagher wishes to leave the said land before the death of the aforesaid John Gallagher and Peggy that the land revert back to John Gallagher. He was one of the pioneers of Butler county. He was native Down County, Ireland and settled in Muddy Creek township late in the eighteenth or early in the nineteenth century. He purchased a tract of 400 acres of land ,erected upon it a log house ad resided there the remainder of his life. "
5	1850 United States Federal Census, Franklin Township, Butler County, PA, Page 243, lines 17-26 lists James Gallaher, 70, married to Mary Gallagher, 40. They are listed as living with eight children: daughter Nancy Gallagher, 22; son James Gallagher, 18; daughter Mahala Gallagher, 16; daughter Amelia C.[L?] Gallagher, 15; daughter Matilda Gallagher, 12; son Robert S. Gallagher, 10; son Washington Gallagher, 8; and son Henry Gallagher, 6. The elder James is listed as a farmer and as having been born in Ireland. The remainder of the family is listed as born in PA. James is listed as unable to read or write. All of the children except Nancy are listed as having been in school that year.
6	1850 United States Federal Census, Franklin Township, Butler County, PA, Page 243, lists John Gallaher, 67, married to Francis, 69. They are listed as living with three daughters: Margaret Gallagher, 28; Mary Gallagher, 26; and Catherine Gallagher, 24. John is listed as a farmer , real estate valued at $1,000, and as having been born in Ireland. The remainder of the family is listed as born in PA. John is listed as unable to read or write.
7	1850 United States Federal Census,Muddy Creek Twp., Butler Co. PA p. 258. Date of census 23 Aug 1850 Lines 16-25: James English, age 66, farmer; Mary, age 50; Jane, 22; Elizabeth, 19; James, 17 no occupation; William, 15; Isaiah, 13; Mary Ann, 11; David, 9; Andrew English, 77, pauper. All born PA. Lines 26-27 (Next dwelling): John English, age 25, farmer; Elizabeth, age 24. Note: Four dwellings away (next census page): William Galigher, age 56, farmer; Mary, age 50; Elizabeth, 20; Samuel, 18; Alexander, 16. This is probably William Gallagher b.1794, brother of Mary Gallagher English.
8	1850 US Federal Census, Muddy Creek Twp, Butler Co. PA, ancestry p.8. Date of census 23 Aug 1850 Lines 8-13: Wm. Gallagher age 56, Farmer; Mary age 56; Elizabeth 20; Samuel, no occupation, 18; Alexander, no occupation, 16; Thomas Hunter 46 no occupation. All born in PA. Four houses earlier (p.7) is the family of John English and wife Mary (Gallagher) English.

Source notes

• Have been unsuccessful in locating census data for John Gallagher. John Gallaghers found in census do not match well with other known data.
  
• The 1895 History of Butler County p. 1262 biography of John Gallagher says he settled and remained on a site that was at the time of writing (1895) owned by Henderson Wilson. The 1900 census shows Henderson Wilson residing in Franklin Twp. Butler Co. This township was created from the eastern half of Muddy Creek Twp., so it reasonable to believe that the original Gallagher homestead was indeed in present day Franklin Twp. John Gallagher's sons James Gallagher and John Gallgher, Jr. both owned farms in Franklin Twp.
• 1850 Census Wm Gallagher, p.8 and 1850 Census John English & wife Mary (Gallagher) English, p.7: These two families are four dwellings apart. Mary Gallagher English is a daughter of John Gallagher, and William Gallagher, age 56, is the correct age for William b. 1794, the son of John Gallagher. Expect William and Mary to be siblings.

• Raphoe, town and parish in County Donegal, Ireland. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raphoe
  The source for the John Gallagher biography (from Elsie Segura) is being sought. The significance of this biography is unclear. If John Gallagher gave the plot of land the name "Raphoe", that would seem to link the Gallagher family to Raphoe, County Donegal, Ireland, a more specific location than is presently known. It also would almost certainly establish their having been Catholic. The name "Raphoe" means "ring fort of the huts", and evidence remains of a ring of stones on a rise, possibly originally fortifying a cluster of huts. The parish covered most of County Donegal, and therein was located the town of Raphoe.
  However, the wording of the history is ambiguous; the plot may have been already named "Raphoe" when John Gallagher bought it.

Conjecture

• In the 1895 History of Butler County p. 1262 biography of John Gallagher,the writer briefly discussed John Gallagher, then his son James C. Gallagher, then ends with a final line that is quite unclear as to which Gallagher it refers. "He died in Muddy Creek township, as did also his brother William." The younger James C. Gallagher did indeed have a brother William, but by 1850 the eastern half of Muddy Creek Twp. was re-designated as Franklin Twp. The Gallagher farms lay in Franklin Twp., and James C. Gallagher's family is enumerated there in the 1850 census. However, his father, John Gallagher, did indeed die on the homestead while it was still in Muddy Creek Township. This leads to the conclusion that John must have had a brother William who also immigrated from Ireland to this area.
• John Gallagher was still in Ireland at the time of the American Revolution. His son James C. Gallagher was born there in 1780. Nevertheless, the book Early Settlers of Butler County, PA. 1800-1806 ed. John F. Galll & David K. Webb, 1934, Chillicothe, OH, on pg 15 provides a list of Revolutionary Soldiers Who Resided & Owned Land in Butler County Previous to the Year 1804. Included in this list is a James Gallaher. The veteran James could possibly be an older brother of John Gallagher, or an uncle, or he could be completely unrelated. No relationship is established. The book Revolutionary War Veterans Who Settled in Butler Co. PA by Paul W. Myers, Closson Press 1985, does not mention any Gallagher or Gallaher.

Research Wishlist

• Enter the dates for origins of the townships. Was Connoquenessing Twp. created from old Muddy Creek (& so would that Gallagher in the taxables of 1803 be our ancestor?
• Locate additional tax records; a will?

Research

• Index to wills, Diocese of Raphoe, Ireland:

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~donegal/wills.htm

• Catholic diocese records, Raphoe, Ireland:

http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/diocese/draph.html
http://www.gcatholic.com/dioceses/diocese/raph0.htm