The Manx DNA Project (Teare and Cross sides)

For my Manx family: an extensive DNA project is being conducted on the Isle of Man, giving new insight into the origins of several uniquely Manx surnames. "Teare" and "Cottier" are both on the list, though nothing conclusive has been published yet about these names. You can follow the project on this blog, "Manx Research": http://manxresearch.wordpress.com/ .

Our Saint Patrick Connection (Teare Side, Cross Side)

Happy Saint Patrick's Day, family! I have not been able to write in quite some time, and may not pick it up for awhile. However this project is still alive and I hope to be back to writing sooner rather than later!

For a quick break in my hiatus, here is our Manx connection to Saint Patrick, in honor of his saints day: 

Saint Patrick is credited with bringing Christianity to the Isle of Man in the 5th century. According to legend, he was returning to Ireland from Liverpool and stopped over in what is now Peel. He was so disgusted by the use of pagan magic on the Isle that he apparently remained for three years, converting many and establishing the Celtic Church at Peel (the ruins of this church are still visible at Peel Castle, which is situated on what is called Saint Patrick's Island). By the time he left, Christianity had taken over as the dominant religion on the Isle, which Saint Patrick had fully toured during his stay. 

Today there are two Parish churches that bear Saint Patrick's name: one at Patrick, and the other at Jurby, where our Teare relatives are buried. 

So wear your green with pride today- and not just for Michigan State's victory! 

The Stewarts of Scotland (Teare Side)

John Teare's paternal grandmother was Mary Elizabeth Stewart. It is her line that I will be discussing today.

Our Stewart line hails from Scotland, where our immigrant ancestor John Stewart was born in 1719. He arrived in Pennsylvania as a child, probably in the 1720s, where he continued to live, marry, and raise a family in York.

In 1751 John married a born and bred Pennsylvanian, Elizabeth Schneider. Land records show that John owned 50 acres of land in York County. John and Elizabeth had 8 children. Our line continues through his third son, Matthias (or Matthew) Stewart.

While John and Elizabeth lived out their lives in Pennsylvania, Matthias and his two older brothers, John and Jacob, felt drawn just west of the border. The three brothers and their families settled in Columbiana County, Ohio in the late 1700s. Matthias and his wife Eva had a son, Samuel. Samuel and his wife Elisabeth had a son, John Wesley Stewart. And finally, John and his wife Susannah had a daughter, Mary Elizabeth- John Teare's paternal grandmother. All of this happened in Columbiana County, Ohio.

Now John and Susannah also felt drawn further west, and probably moved several times before finally settling in Allen County, Indiana. This explains how their daughter, an Ohio girl, wound up with a Michigan Man (Robert Teare)! John and Susannah have an impressive resting spot in the Eel River Cemetery in Indiana (pictured below).

John Wesley and Susan Stewart. 

I have no further information about the Stewart family in Scotland, but here is a standard Stewart family crest. There are many varieties based on the various Stewart lines, but all contain the blue and white checkered pattern seen below:

FAMILY LINE @ A GLANCE: Teare-->Stewart

WHERE TO GO:
The Eel River Cemetery in Allen County, Indiana (click for more info)
The York County PA Historical Society and Museum: http://www.yorkheritage.org/

Every Man (Has) An Island. (Teare Side)

Okay, so maybe not every man has an island. But if you are a relation to John Teare, then you do!

I've been researching our ancestors who were early settlers of the Massachusetts colony. You may remember my recent post about the Aldrich family. Jacob Aldrich II is John Teare's 7th great grandfather. But it is his wife who we are focused on in this post.

Jacob was married to Margery Hayward, daughter of Samuel Heyward and Mehitable Thompson. At one point family legend had it that Mehitable Thompson was our key to being direct descendants of the pilgrims. While this proved to be false, I think I like the real story even better. The Thompson line predates the arrival of the pilgrims in Massachusetts!

You see, Mehitable's grandfather, David, was a pretty important guy. David Thompson (John Teare's 10th great grandfather) was an apothecary and an agent for Sir Ferdinando Gorges, and had received considerable education in London. In 1622 he agreed to sail from Plymouth, England with two other men to find a suitable location for a new settlement. On November 16, 1622, the Council for New England granted David Thompson six thousand acres of land and one island in New England- what is today known as Thompson's Island.

Thompson Island, Boston Harbor

Thompson's Island is located in the Boston Harbor, and is open to visitors on Summer Sundays.

David and his wife Amyes had a son, John. John and his wife had a daughter, Mehitable. And Mehitable is the start of our connection to the Thompson line!

So let's take a look at the...

Family Line @ A Glance: Teare-->Gregory-->Easton-->Aldrich-->Heyward-->Thompson

WHERE TO GO:  Thompson's Island
For more information, see: http://www.bostonharborislands.org/

Tracing the Teare Name (Teare Side)

I grew up hearing many stories about the Teare name and its origin. However, once I began  my research, I found that much of what I had heard was inconsistent with what I was reading. So I dowloaded e-books onto my Kindle that discussed Manx surnames and started my detective work!

The Teare name was born on the Isle of Man, but is of celtic origin (as are 65% of Manx surnames, another 35% being of Scandio-Celtic origin). There are two main categories of surnames on the Isle of Man: those derived from the personal name of an ancestor (typically originating from early Christian tradition), and those derived from trades and occupations. It is not very common that Manx names be derived from place origin.

It is contracted from Mac-an-t’Saoir, “the carpenter’s son”. One of the oldest recordings of this name is in the year 990 A.D. (Ciaran Mac-an-tsair). Now it has been said that:

“By Mac and O

You’ll always know

True Irishmen, they say;

But if they lack

Both O and Mac

No Irishman are they.”

This poem seems to sum up the history of the Teare name, which despite its celtic origins has become distinctly Manx. According to A. W. Moore, “The geographical separation of the Isle of Man...caused the Manx dialect to become, in course of time, materially differentiated from the Irish speech with which it was originally identical. From the same cause, many of the originally Irish surnames of the Island have undergone a degree of phonetic corruption that covers them with a disguise which can only be penetrated by a recourse to early documents. The prefix Mac has, in many cases, fallen away altogether; in other cases it is represented only by its final consonant” (ex: MacAllister-->Callister). There also wasn’t much movement even within the Island, let alone outside of it. The Teare name stayed rooted firmly in one small area until the 19th century.

Moore’s connection of the celtic surnames with Ireland surprised me. I had grown up hearing that the name “Teare” came from the Scottish surname “MacIntyre”, and that there was a tendency on the Isle of Man to drop the “Mac” from names. That’s true, in a sense, but it cannot be assumed that we are linked to the Scots. Even so, can we really claim to be Irish?

Maybe. The relationship between the Irish and the Scottish MacIntyres, which remains unclear, is still based on the idea of one being the “son of a carpenter”. According to Dr. Edward MacLysaght, the late 20th century authority on Irish genealogy, the MacIntyres who are of native Irish descent are originally Macateers: “Macateer (Mac an t’saor, saor, craftsman), [is] an Ulster name for which the Scottish MacIntyre, of similar derivation, is widely substituted.” He adds that “Ballymacateer is a place-name in Co. Armagh, which is its homeland.” (*Hm, doesn’t Ballymacateer sound an awful lot like Ballateare, in the Isle of Man?! More on that later.). Ulster and the former church town of Ballymacateer are both located in Northern Ireland, along the Lough (lake) Neag. This is significant: In R. L Thomson's Manx Personal Names and General Vocaulary, he shows that many of the early celtic surnames on the Isle have ties to that region in Northern Ireland. So while we have somewhat of a connection to the name MacIntyre, it does not seem that our name is derived from the Scottish clan.

I had heard another legend that my surname was derived from the Old Norse god of law, Tyr. In my research, I could not find any evidence to back up this supposed Viking connection to the Teare name. I did come across some interesting facts, however. Manx genealogist A. W. Moore states that the Teare name is much commoner in the north of the Island than the south, being very common in Jurby and Ballaugh, common in Andreas, Bride, and Lezayre. He also states that the Vikings were most prevalent in Jurby, Ballaugh, and Bride- just like the Teare name. He explains that, thanks to the low sandy coastline in that area, it was easiest for the Vikings to run their flat-bottomed ships on shore. Thus, names of Scandinavian origin are more common in that area, though they only constitute 35% of Manx surnames.

However, reference books place the name unanimously under the “Celtic” grouping, thanks mostly to their ability to trace its development (Mac-an-t-saor→ Macateer→ MacIntyre/MacTyre→ McTeare/McTerre/MacTere→ Teare/Tear/Tere). Interestingly enough, a Viking burial boat was discovered in Ballateare (literally “Teare farm”), south of Jurby. Maybe an old Teare neighbor!

So where does that leave us? Given how small the Isle of Man is, we probably have in us some traces of all the island’s settlers and invaders. As for the surname? Since last names were not very common until the late 15th or 16th centuries, it is hard to say for sure. We may have more in common with our Irish brothers than I’d thought! The English took over for good in 1405, and many surnames were established and anglicized at the time. Also, Irish immigration to the island at that time increased. Parish records become common in the 16th century, and there is a "Teare" recorded at Ballaugh in 1599. The rest is history, I guess!  

County Armagh in Northern Ireland

WHERE TO GO:

Ballateare, Isle of Man: Click here for a map.

Ballymacateer and Ulster, Northern Ireland: Click here for the google maps view.

The Aldrich Family: A Story of War, Peace, and Politics (Teare Side)

John Teare is a direct descendant of George Aldrich, his 9th great grandfather. George was one of our immigrant ancestors, who came to the Massachusetts colony in 1631 along with his wife Katherine. George and Katherine live and were married in Derbyshire, England (the home of the fictional heartthrob, Mr. Darcy- for all you Jane Austen fans). After immigrating, the Aldrich family came to be somewhat of a political powerhouse family in colonial and early America (the Kennedys of the time, if you will). From George came many political superstars, including former US President Taft.

George and Katherine came to Dorchester (Suffolk) Massachusetts in 1631, moved to Braintree, MA in 1640, and became two of the first seven settlers in Mendon, MA. in 1663 . They were members of the Dorchester Congregational church. George was a tailor by trade. In his will, he left 12 pence to each of his daughters; his clothes to his son Joseph; and the rest of his estate to his wife. As he was a tailor, “clothes” possibly means the whole business, not just his own clothes. (Thanks to Bill Stupak for this information.)

Our line is traced through George’s fourth son, Jacob, who had a particularly interesting “elopement” with Huldah Thayer. The couple was living in Mendon at the time of their marriage, but the ceremony was performed by a Justice of the Peace in Milford. It seems as though they were evacuating at the time of this marriage, as the town as burned by Indians a few days later during the King Phillip’s War. According to Stupak, the first three children were born in “exile” in Braintree, though the couple returned to Mendon by 1680.

Information on George Aldrich is extremely well documented. I could write a book! Instead, this article will have to suffice!

WHERE TO GO:

The George Aldrich Grave Site, Mendon

Historic Mendon, Massachusetts (Click here for the guided walking tour)

FAMILY LINE @ A GLANCE: Teare-->Gregory-->Easton-->Aldrich

The Elder Teares (Teare Side)

Our immigrant ancestor was Thomas Teare (John Teare's Great Grandfather), born about 1791 in Jurby, Isle of Man. I found his baptismal record at the Manx Museum, dated July 3rd, 1791. Since baptisms did not occur until they were convenient, I do not have his actual date of birth. His parents, as stated on the record, were Thomas Teare Sr. and Elizabeth Garrett Teare. As the parents were older at the time of his birth, I suspect that this may have been a second marriage. Another possibility is that Thomas Jr. had been preceded by sisters, since the first boy is typically named after the father. Thomas Jr., after coming to the US, lived in Clinton County, MI where he was buried in 1866. 

Most of the following information was taken from the recorded inscription on Thomas Sr. and Elizabeth's gravestone. At the time that this was recorded, some of the inscription was already unreadable, but what did remain looks like this: 

THOMAS TEARE of --/ December the 22nd 18--/ a faithful--/ a loving husband --/ ---/---/but hope in Heaven to meet again. Also ELIZABETH TEARE alias Garrett who died June 1st 18(10) aged (69).  

The next couple buried at this spot is John and Ann Teare, Thomas Sr.'s parents, who died respectively in 1788 and 1804. I have a baptismal record for this John (who I'll call John III), baptized May 19th 1706, parents listed as John Teare (II). and Grace Radcliffe Teare. John Teare II died rather young, in 1716, and is also buried at this spot.I have no death record for Grace. 

John Teare I,  the father, is also buried at this spot. and died in 1700. 

I believe, based on baptismal records, that his father may have been William Teare. However, this is simply my best guess based on date estimates and parish records. 

I also suspect that there is some wrong information on the typed tombstone inscription. Remember, this was being done by someone at a time when the inscription was already becoming illegible (which it almost totally is today). I'm not sure about our Thomas being born to a 50 year old mother (though of course it is possible, it seems to be pushing it to me). The woman at the museum seemed less shocked by it than I was. Either way, it is confirmed by Parish baptismal records to be the same couple who gave birth to our immigrant ancestor, Thomas Teare Jr!

WHERE TO GO: 

Duplain Cemetery in Clinton Township, MI is home to our immigrant ancestor, Thomas Teare. 

The family burial spot on the Isle of Man is located at St. Patrick's Jurby Church, #63.