I'm looking for the birthplace and parentage of my 4th great grandmother, Margaret Clayton Dinmore. I believe she was born around 1830 in Delaware, which is problematic because Delaware did not list the names of dependents in censuses until 1850. Margaret's age is also inconsistently reported in different documents.
Here's what I've found so far:
- Birth could have been between 1824-1830, but probably 1828-1830, in Delaware, probably Wilmington.
- Father may have been born in VA and mother may have been born in Delaware (per Margaret's 1880 Census)
- March 22,1845 (Record of Marriage from St Paul's Episcopal Church) marries William H. Dinmore. She is listed as being "of Wilmington, DE." No parents are listed. I haven't found a marriage certificate. This would have made her between 15 and 21 years old at the time of her marriage.
- 1850 (Federal Census) living in South Ward, Camden, NJ, listed as 26 years old, Married to William H. Dinmore and mother to Samuel C [Clayton] and Kate.
- 1860 (Federal Census) living in Philadelphia Ward 1 Precinct 6-9, 30 years old, married to William H. Dinmore, children Clayton, Catherine, Emma & Harry
- 1870 (Federal Census) listed as "Maggie Dinmore" and 36 years old, living in Philadelphia Ward 28, married to William H Dinmore and mother to [Samuel] Clayton, Kate, Emma, Harry, Walter, and Alice.
- 1880 (Federal Census) living in Philadelphia on 20th street, 52 years old (contradicting other Census), married to William H. Dinmore, living with daughters Emma & Alice as well as a boarder and a tenant.
- August 22, 1881 death due to "Apoplepsy" at Norristown State Hospital.
- 1881 (gravestone) her memorial marker at Woodlands Cemetery in Philadelphia lists her as being born in 1829 in Delaware
- I've also found death certificates for a couple of her children and notes from the undertaker about her husband's funeral.
1877-1881 saw the deaths of Margaret, her husband William, her daughter Katherine, Katherine's husband, and Margaret's son Samuel Clayton and daughter Alice. My great, great grandmother, Florence Dinmore Haines, was orphaned at age 5 (daughter of Katherine). I haven't found any records between 1880 when Katherine & Samuel Haines died, and 1900, when Florence got married so I don't know who took care of her.
Possible Leads:
- From Delaware censuses, and grave markers in DE and Philadelphia, I've compiled a list of possible relationships here. Some of these possible matches would have been very young parents.
- There are a lot of land indentures, sales, and wills from and to Claytons in Delaware in the late 1700s and into the 1800s. I haven't seen any wills that mention an adult Margaret Clayton Dinmore.
- I may try looking for marriages between male Claytons from VA and unknown brides from DE in the early 1800s.
- I haven't actually seen a photograph of her gravestone because Woodlands charges a $30 administrative fee for information and there is not one on findagrave.com.
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There is a baptism record for a Margaret Clayton at St. Paul's Episcopal in Philadelphia from 1837, which lists her as almost 13 years old. This would be a little old for my Margaret Clayton (later Dinmore). It would be a crazy coincidence for a Margaret Clayton to be baptized and then a different one married at the same church within 8 years. However there was at least one other Margaret Clayton who lived in Philadelphia.
Red Herrings:
There is at least one other Margaret Clayton who lived in Philadelphia at the same time.
I appreciate any tips!
