|
a.
|
Note: The Story Our Dockray history starts with the birth of James Dockray on July 22, 1832 somewhere in northern England. This date was taken from the family Bible, current owner unknown. The first official document on file is a "certified copy of an entry of marriage" obtained from the General Register Office in London, England. It records the marriage of James Dockray and Margaret Harrison on February 26, 1853 in the Register Office in the District of Carlisle, Cumberland County, England. The document further states that James was 21 years old and was a belt maker by trade. Margaret was 19 years old. Both are said to be living in Warwick Bridge at the time. The marriage was witnessed by Andrew Forsythe and Jane Harrison. Peter Dockray, James' father, is listed as deceased. He had been a butcher. The bride's father was Joseph Harrison, a dyer by trade. The relationship of Jane Harrison to Margaret is not given but it could be assumed that she was her mother. Of course, she could also have been an older sister. James Dockray signed the document with his own name. Both Margaret and Jane signed with an X.
The only political subdivision mentioned on the marriage certificate that can be located on modern maps that are available to the author is Carlisle. This is a town 10 miles or less from the Scottish border on the west coast of England. A family legend has it that Margaret Harrison was from Scotland. This is probably true but it cannot be documented from entries in various Federal Census reports wherein "country of origin" was given. As the years went by, and given the errors usually found in every census, the reports of place of birth became confused. Both James and Margaret are variously stated as being born in England and Scotland, depending on the particular census and the family member giving the report to the enumerator.
There is a village named Dockray in the Lake District of northern England, not far from Carlisle. However, it has been reported by an unrelated Dockray who personally visited the area that there is no evidence of Dockrays having lived in these villages; ie, no gravestones, etc.
From Federal Census reports it was evident that the Dockray family migrated to America in 1871. This is in conflict with an entry in the family Bible which states that they came to America in 1869. The exact phraseology used in this statement is not known to the author. The only plausible explanation for this discrepancy is that James may have come to America in 1869 to make arrangements for him and the family to emigrate at a later time. This is hardly likely in view of the high cost and the hardship associated with crossing the Atlantic two extra times. This conflict of information may never be explained. However, no evidence of any member of this Dockray family living in America has been found in the 1870 census reports.
In view of all of this, an intensive search was made of the 1871 Passenger Arrival Lists for the Port of New York. It was found that James and Margaret Dockray, with 7 children ranging in age, from 1 to 16 years of age arrived in New York on October 12, 1871. Two of the children were Joseph and Launcelot, known by the author to be ancestors of the Hart family on the Dockray line. They came to this country aboard the SS City of Washington, Thomas C. Jones, Master, out of Liverpool, England.
Another family legend stated that the Dockrays crossed the ocean on "a side wheeled steamer that sank on the return trip". The records on the SS City of Washington state that she was "an iron screw steamer" that sank on July 5, 1873. The differences between legend and fact are not great and are explainable in view of the passing of many years and a tendency on everyone's part to embellish a story with repeated telling.
The SS City of Washington was a combination sailing ship/steamer with 1 stack and three masts. A crude picture of the vessel is on file. She was built in Glasgow, Scotland by Tod and McGreg
|
