Need resource ideas for Pennsylvania

Question

I've tried everything I can think of - military records, Ancestry, Newspapers, but I'm not finding who this guy's parents were. William Duncan, born about 1840 in England. Immigrated to US, lived in Montgomery County, PA. Served in the Civil War. Married (1) Martha ? and (2) Mary McVaugh. Died in 1923. I'm at a loss. Other than an estimated birth date and born somewhere in England, I've got nothing on his origins. I've requested his obit from Montgomery County Historical Society, but I'm not hopeful.  TIA!

Answer 1

Jackie, could this be the right man?

Name: William Duncan
Event Type: Census
Event Date: 1920
Event Place: Hatboro, Montgomery, Pennsylvania, United States
Event Place (Original): Hatboro, Montgomery, Pennsylvania, United States
Gender: Male
Age: 77
Marital Status: Widowed
Race: White
Race (Original): White
Can Read: Yes
Can Write: Yes
Own or Rent: Rent
Birth Year (Estimated): 1843
Birthplace: England
Immigration Year: 1855
Father's Birthplace: Scotland
Mother's Birthplace: Ireland
Relationship to Head of Household: Head
Relationship to Head of Household (Original): Head
Sheet Letter: A
Sheet Number: 10

 

Household	Role	Sex	Age	Birthplace
William Duncan	Head	M	77	England
Charles Duncan	Son	M	21	Pennsylvania
William Duncan	Son	M	16	Pennsylvania
Florence Duncan	Daughter	F	12	Pennsylvania
Mary D Carver	Boarder	F	72	Pennsylvania

District: ED 98
Sheet Number and Letter: 10A
Household ID: 238
Line Number: 13
Affiliate Name: The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA)
Affiliate Publication Number: T625
Affiliate Film Number: 1607
GS Film Number: 1821607
Digital Folder Number: 004968649
Image Number: 00056
Indexing Project (Batch) Number: N03080-0
Record Number: 2519
 

Citing this Record
"United States Census, 1920," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MF19-TXV : accessed 5 August 2020), Mary D Carver in household of William Duncan, Hatboro, Montgomery, Pennsylvania, United States; citing ED 98, sheet 10A, line 17, family 238, NARA microfilm publication T625 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1992), roll 1607; FHL microfilm 1,821,607.

Comments

Thank you Rodney. Yes, that is him. On several different censuses, his parents are listed as born in several different countries.

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now that I know it is the right man, I will look around further, thanks

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Thank you!

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Jackie, take a look at this if you have not seen it before. It gives a little bio for this mans Civil War service. You can click on the death certificate and read it. Parents are unknown, but he had a wife named Martha. Birth place says Staffordshire, England. This may provide more clues for further research.

[https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/60510035/william-duncan]

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I contacted the original poster of the bio to ask where I could find the info, but he never got back to me.  Great reminder for me though, thank you. I'm trying to figure out now how to get his GAR records.  Thanks a bunch Rodney!

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Thank-you Susie, be safe.

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Good morning Jackie, two things.

He belonged to GAR Post 63. If you go down to Post 63 in this table, you will see contact information there for them. They would be able to help you with records.

[www.suvcw.org/garrecords/garcat/garcat-pa.htm]

Second, if you use the clue of Staffordshire England as his birth place, there are a group of folks here on WikiTree that are knowledgeable of all things England. They might be able to help you as far as his parents are concerned. There may be Staffordshire records you could look at. He would have been old enough to be recorded before he came to the US.

[https://www.wikitree.com/g2g/997231/do-you-want-to-become-an-england-project-member-in-2020?show=997231#q997231]

Stay safe my friend.

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Fantastic! Thank you Rodney!