Thank you, Leonard Bond Chapman
for setting me off on a genealogical detective adventure. Your article about Master Galvin made me curious, and sent me off on a journey to search for more clues about Timothy and his children. I am pleased to share what I've uncovered, and hope that other searchers may find this useful and will share whatever bits of information to add to the story of his life.
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From "Grampa's Scrapebook" |
George Ilsley Galvin was probably the eldest child born to Timothy and Joanna Ilsley Galvin, born about 1797, and died in Calais, Maine on July 29, 1841. I found a military record for George indicating he served in the Militia during the War of 1812 in the Hobb's Regiment.
Sometime after the War of 1812, he moved to Boston where he married Mrs. Mary Gardner on November 25, 1818.
Unfortunately, there is no other information about their marriage. Did Mary follow George back to Maine and, sometime around 1830, locate in Calais? I've learned that George lived in Calais until his death in 1841, where he was employed as a lumber merchant.
We do know that in 1822, Timothy Galvin sold "his house and shop standing on (the) land of Jane and Peter Lunt to his son, George Ilsley Galvin of Boston, Mass." Grampa's Scrapebook. Later, in 1837, George sold that property to his brother Thomas P. Galvin of Calais, Maine.
I want to acknowledge three great resources that have been vital to what I've been able to discover about the Galvin children. First: Vital Statistics of Calais before 1892, vol. 2, by Susan Howland, second: "Annals of Calais, Maine and St. Stephen, New Brunswick, including the village of Milltown, Me., and the present town of Milltown, N.B.", and third: http://www.uuholton.org/newslett/nl-04-11.htm.
In the winter of 1832 -33, a request was sent to the State Legislature requesting the building of a church, to be established in Calais for the first Unitarian Society.
George Ilsley Galvin served as a committee member and was later voted an officer of the church. Apparently, he was regarded as a successful and influential businessman of the time. Apparently he owned and operated a lumber mill in Calais.
The church records, most of which were lost in a fire during the late 1800's, reveal some valuable information about George's sister, Eliza Galvin and her two husbands, Otis Patterson and Rev.William Augustus Whitwell, and her brother, Thomas P. Galvin and his wife, Martha Ann Goodhue (Jones) Galvin. It is clear that Eliza and Thomas followed George and located in Calais sometime around 1830.
As to George's other involvements, I found an article about the Whig Party Convention in 1834 that took place in Augusta. Three thousand people attended from all over the state to take up the issue of naming a candidate for Governor. Peleg Sprague was chosen; " a tried public servant, and one well able to discharge the duties of that important station, and that we will use our best efforts to effect his election, and insure the political regeneration of this State."
George Ilsley Galvin was one of the representatives from Washington and Hancock Counties. The convention also took up the matter of President Andrew Jackson and created and approved resolutions to express their dissatisfaction and abhorrence to his administration. The resolutions were read by William Pitt Fessenden of Portland. Articles about the convention were published in the Portland Advertiser, vol. XXXVI , dated August 5, 1834 and Maine Working Men's Advocate on Thursday, April 7, 1834.
LB Chapman described Eliza Galvin as "rather above the average of 'the outside world' in personal charms, and is said to have married a Unitarian Minister."
Indeed she did! Eliza actually was married twice. Her first marriage on January 24, 1836, to Otis Patterson, a lawyer originally from Waldo, ended with his death, barely a few months after their wedding. According to a piece in the Annals of Calais:
Otis Patterson, Esq., came from Waldo county and settled in Calais about 1832, and opened an office. He died four years afterward; but his brief career proved him a man of fair ability and sterling integrity. His widow, whose maiden name was Galvin, married Rev. William A. Whitwell, the first pastor of the Unitarian Church of Calais.
Eliza Galvin was born about 1802. ( I have not found any birth records s for any of the Galvin children in existing resources.) She died at the age of 81 years old on November 25, 1883, in Germantown, PA, where she lived with her brother Thomas P. Galvin and his family for many years, after the death of her second husband, the Reverend William Augustus Whitwell. William and Eliza were married about a year after the death of Otis Patterson, on May 21, 1837.
The couple met in Calais where William was the first Pastor of the newly formed Unitarian Society. Shortly after their marriage, he took the pulpit in Houlton, Maine, where they lived for about three years. Apparently, the Rev. Whitwell was loved and esteemed as is indicated in the following newsletter. I enjoyed reading it so much that I want to share it in its entirety; well worth reading!
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Restored Portrait of Rev. William A. Whitwellgiven to the Unitarian Society by Miss Charlotte Galvinfrom the estate of Eliza Galvin Whitwell |
After William's death on February 10, 1865 in Chestnut Hill, Newton, MA, Eliza moved to the Philadelphia area to live with her brother Thomas Galvin and his family. Here are a few records for Eliza that might be beneficial to other Galvin family researchers.
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Eliza was living with her brother in 1870 about five years after William's death.
Thomas P. Galvin was born about 1811 or 12, depending on which records you look at. He may have been the youngest of the Galvin children. Unfortunately, I was not able to find any information about his brother, Edward Galvin, but I assume he may have died young and it's very evident that he was regarded very highly, as Thomas Galvin's oldest son was named for him.There appears to be one grandson who also carries the name Edward IIsley Galvin. Ilsley was of course, Joanna Galvin's maiden name.
Thomas Galvin probably moved to Calais with his brother and sister in or about 1830. He was also in the lumber business, perhaps with George. On June 19, 1837, he married the widow, Martha Ann Goodhue Jones. Martha was a communicant of the First Unitarian Church as well, and mention of her is recorded in Annals of Calais in the history of the church.
Martha who was born in Newburyport, MA, married Benjamin F. Jones on October 11, 1830 in Portsmouth, NH. The couple had three children:Frank Shannon Jones who died in infancy, Elizabeth C. Jones, 1832 - 1845 and Charles Hayden Jones, 1833 - 1920. It appears that Charles was born in Maine where the couple had moved. I believe Benjamin Jones died sometime in 1834.
On June 19, 1837, the widow, Martha Ann Goodhue Jones married Thomas P. Galvin in Calais. Their union would produce five children: Edward Ilsley, b. April 3, 1838, Charlotte Whitnell, b. September 17, 1840, Laura Wood, 1843 - 1866, Mary Shannon, b. April 19, 1845, and George William, 1848 - 1849. Sometime after Charlotte's birth, records show that the family located in Philadelphia, settling in Germantown, PA until their deaths.
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1840 Census in Calais, MaineNote there is a female listed between the age of 60 and 69. Could that be Joanna Galvin? |
The following are records indicating that the Galvin's were citizens of Philadelphia, PA There is also a reference to Thomas's employment in the lumber industry and Eliza Galvin's residency in the family's home until her death in 1883.
Martha A. Galvin died on May 11, 1889 at the age of 81. Her husband, Thomas P. Galvin died in April 1892 at the age of 80. At the time, the family home was located at 41 West Walnut Lane in Germantown, PA. Eliza Galvin Whitwell was interred on November 27, 1883 at the in Philadelphia,PA.
I have a few more interesting pieces to add the Galvin story, but they will have to wait for another day. Again, I love the path set by our friend, LB Chapman and his story of Master Timothy Galvin. Part three to follow.
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