John Ralston (1833 - 1899)

Ancestors

Husband of Mary (Askin) Ralston — married 26 Jul 1861 in Newtownards, Down, Ireland

Died 30 May 1899 at about age 66 in Willow Island, Dawson, Nebraska, United States

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Biography

Marriage to Mary Askin: 26 Jul 1861, Newtownards, Down, Ireland daughter of John Askin

Immigration 1884: Arrived with family in New York City, New York, United States aboard ship named State of Alonda.

Research Notes

Tombstone provides date of death and age at death.

An old biography supposedly mentions that John Ralston stayed for a time in Australia, no dates given or whether his family was with him. Supposedly he had found gold there and later immigrated to the U.S. and went west to settle in Dawson County, Nebraska. (no citation available at this time, will post when/if original source is located.)

Mary and John had 13 children who survived to adulthood. Evidence of first child born dates December 9, 1861. The couple was married July 26, 1861 according to Irish Marriage record indicating that Mary would have been about 19 years old and 4-5 months pregnant at the time of the marriage. First child born was Elizabeth "Lizzie". Last child born died on the same day of its birth, an unnamed girl on October 4, 1884, in Dawson County, Nebraska, only evidence of this birth and death is an inscription on John and Mary's headstone in Gothenburg Cemetery, Mary would have been about 42 years old at the time of this last known birth. An article ran in "The Farnam Echo" Thursday, August 22, 1929, the story was picked up from an original run in the "Denver Post". The article features a photo of the family, that was taken about 1899, and a letter from a reader submitting the photograph for the "Largest Family I Know" award. Whoever the submitting individual was, they were clearly well acquainted with the Ralston family. The article goes on to say that there were 4 children who died young the other 13 survived to adulthood, with the first passing away being son Hugh Ralston in 1933, meaning that all 13 children were still living when the article was run by both newspapers in 1929. Only one of these 4 children is accounted for, being the last born in 1884. There are serious discrepancies in the dates of birth of son Hugh and daughter Isabella "Belle", it is believed that these two children were likely born after John and Mary lost a child and that they bore the same name as the child previously lost, which gives us 3 children named Isabella with 3 different dates of birth. Until Irish burial records, a headstone or memorial inscription is located for the other 3 suspected infants, there is likely to remain some confusion in some of the surviving children's dates of birth. John and Mary would have been parents to a total of 17 children, 13 surviving to adulthood and 4 dying as infants.

Sources

• Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/30814874/john-ralston: accessed 12 May 2023), memorial page for John Ralston (1833–30 May 1899), Find A Grave: Memorial #30814874, citing Gothenburg Cemetery, Gothenburg, Dawson County, Nebraska, USA; Maintained by Don (contributor 46558676).

• "BillionGraves Index," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QLWW-FP8C : 28 June 2017), John Ralston, died 30 May 1899; citing BillionGraves (http://www.billiongraves.com : 2012), Burial at Gothenburg Cemetery, Gothenburg, Dawson, Nebraska, United States.

• "Ireland Marriages, 1619-1898," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FGCC-1SY : 12 December 2014), John Ralston and Mary Askin, 26 Jul 1861; citing Newtownards, Down, Ireland, reference p42 ln93, index based upon data collected by the Genealogical Society of Utah, Salt Lake City; FHL microfilm 101,430.

• "Nebraska State Census, 1885," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X3X2-2VN : 24 August 2016), John Ralston, 1885; citing NARA microfilm publication M352 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.); FHL microfilm 499,540.

• "New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1891," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:27TP-74Y : 15 April 2015), John Ralston, 1884; citing NARA microfilm publication M237 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.); FHL microfilm .