Archibald Dunlop - ARCHIBALD DUNLOP

One user has asked for evidence about a connection in the Dunlops that is problematic.

It is fair to ask for evidence.

And in providing evidence, it's best to give the link, or other pertinent information.

And it is not all right to attack other users.

Nor is it important what their lineage is, as long as they are working with evidence and logic.

We are all encouraged, on Geni, to start public discussions when we are working with vexed pieces of the tree.

It's a good way to make sure that various pieces of evidence that might be missed are given a chance to be pulled together, and it also makes sure that the evidence and the logic used in assertions are public.

It's a very useful tool.

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The research into the ancestry of Archibald Dunlop of Stratford, CT was published in the New England Historical and Genealogical Register 1998, vol. 152. in an article by John L. Scherer titled "Archibald Dunlop (1672-1713) of Stratford, Connecticut: His Descent from King Edward III of England and from King James II of Scotland" (page 186-196). It seems the Dunlops were a merchant family with dealings in the Americas. Archibald Dunlop was in New York in 1701 when he wrote a letter to his brother James in Scotland. Scherer argues that the signature from that 1701 letter is identical to the 1707/8 signature of Archibald Dunlop of Stratford, CT, who signed as a witness on "a document making Nathaniel Sherman a naval officer in the Port of Stratford on 30 January 1707/8" (195).

Here is the signature comparison.

I see that the transcription on Archibald Dunlop's graves reads "HERE LYES THE BODY OF Mr ARCHABLE DUNLAP WHO DECEASED SEP 24 1713 IN Y 33 YEAR OF HIS AGE." If I am not mistaken, the 33rd year of his age would mean that he died aged 32.

I don't see this discrepancy addressed in Scherer's 1998 article, or in his 2000 article, "Archibald Dunlop (1672-1713) of Stratford, Connecticut: His Maternal Descent from James II of Scotland," The New England Historical & Genealogical Register (NEHGS, Boston, Mass., 2000) Vol. 154.

But, early Colonial gravestones are not known for their accuracy, so I would not worry about it too much. Scherer's research seems solid to me.

PTID:6000000177756758842:6000000043153991501, Next time, if you were aware of Scherer's research, maybe start with that instead of attacking other Geni users.

I’m intrigued by similar questions and am searching American Ancestors for possible answers. Also hoping Ashley Odell & Tamás Flinn Caldwell-Gilbert jump in.

“Mr.” was a title of respect and social status, not of education.

Other way around actually.

I just chatted with a genealogist at American Ancestors, and she said the same thing Tamas did: “ It is still possible that Archibald Dunlop, or whoever created his tombstone, did not concretely know his birth year.”

This is the site - https://www.americanancestors.org/index.aspx

For those who don’t know, American Ancestors is the New England Historic Genealogical Society. Here’s their “about” page:

https://www.americanancestors.org/about

What’s really got me intrigued is what was he doing for a living in Connecticut! He doesn’t seem the type to suddenly turn farmer.

Maybe clues in the Beach Family.

This is a direct link to the Scherer article:

https://www.americanancestors.org/databases/vital-records-from-the-...

He speculates that there might have been an out of wedlock child before his marriage, in Scotland, with an Agnes Smith. And there seems to be no contact to Scotland in his Connecticut years, which is curious. On the other hand, records in Connecticut are sparse, so perhaps there’s something more from after 1701 in Dunlop papers in Scotland.

This about the Beach family:

History and Genealogy of the Families of Old Fairfield, Volume 1. edited by Donald Lines Jacobus. Search: https://books.google.com/books?id=5xYVpaBmRnEC&pg=PA41&lpg=PA41&dq=...

What do we know about Mary Beach’s 2nd family with Mr. John Smith? He also has the honorific.

Interesting, I’m going to read that next. Can you fill in the cemetery info and a link to the graveyard? Maybe we can find the gravestone cutter by style. I know the Cape Cod cemeteries and they used the same theme.

I was hoping for a URL to click on for the graveyard, and to fill in the profile info.

Glad I looked for Jacobus! I only find one child of John Smith & Mary Dunlap - John Smith, Jr.

He’s not listed in Stratford Vital Records that I can see.

Here’s the book link:

From Jacobus:

”He [John Smith] did not long survive; Widow Mary Smith d. 4 Oct 1725. Daniel Hubbell of Stratfield [husband of Hester Beach] was appointed guardian, 6 Jan 1726, to John, son of John and Mary Smith, dec’d. And the boy chose Benjamin Cogshall of Stratford for guardian, 14 Feb 1735/6.

• Hester Beach was his mother’s sister
• Benjamin COGESHALL was the husband of his half sister, Hannah Dunlap

References

• History and Genealogy of the Families of Old Fairfield, Volume 1. edited by Donald Lines Jacobus. Page 42, page 574. GoogleBooks

Yes, it’s always interesting to look at the cemetery, particularly one as old as this one, thank you.

From the description:

The Congregational Burying Ground was established on undivided town land in 1678 by a Town Meeting. Some additional land was added from time to time by gifts and purchases. It was known as the "Cemetery" for a number of years because the Congregational Church was the only church in the town. Anyone was buried there, regardless of color or religion.

Already we know that Stratford was a little lenient for a Puritan town.

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/20847055/archable-dunlap And I wonder who is buried near him.

Yes, everything in Scherer’s article checks out, and the NEHGR genealogist also vouched for it. I think we all know that the variant name spellings are insignificant. So we just have the “mystery” of death date discrepancy, why he died, and notice - his wife also died at a young-ish age (42).

I wonder if Mr. John Smith was also a merchant who traveled. That could explain the paucity of his records.

Yes, excellent strategy.

Also the minister thing where he got thrown in jail!

https://books.google.com/books?id=uvMLAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA1123#v=onepage&...

I was thinking the same thing. Smallpox outbreak?

I filled in his son Captain James Dunlop - looks like he died intestate. Do you have an Ancestry subscription? There’s a big inventory, trying to figure out what business he was in.

• Ancestry.com. Connecticut, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1609-1999 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015. AncestryImage Name James Dunlop Probate Date 1761 Probate Place Hartford, Connecticut, USA Inferred Death Year Abt 1761 Inferred Death Place Connecticut, USA Case Number 2050. Administration by Samuel Jones (husband of sister Hannah Dunlop). “Estate insufficient to pay debts.” “Bookkeeping badly kept.”

Look at all the slaves Shelton had!

Patriot in the family. It’s always exciting to find an American Revolutionary War soldier.

Benjamin Cutler Was the husband of Mary Cutler daughter of James, son of Archibald.

Study that probate record, I just looked at it quickly - it’s 38 pages. From his inventory it may become obvious what his trade, craft or business was.

I noticed the name John Smith in it and gave a little cheer that his younger half brother was living in 1760. And James Dunlop’s brother in law Samuel Jones was the administrator. Think I saw Beach names also. So, the Connecticut family was still close at that point. His mother died when he was just 19.

Keep at it. You have an interesting document there.