James DOAK

1670 - Bef 1727  (< 57 years)

• Name	James DOAK
  Born	1670	Ulster, Ireland
  Gender	Male
  _UID	5FE039D2525241FBB2B810E7BB63C97DEF32
  Died	Bef 1727	Chester Co. PA
  Notes	The Doak Family migration history is murky and disputed. "The Mathews (Mathes) Family in America" by Ida Christabelle Van Deventer -- Alexander Printing Co., 1925. She writes that Alexander Mathews came with the Doak family in the Scotch-Irish immigration from Northern Ireland to Pennsylvania, with James Doak, his wife Elizibeth, and five children, Samuel, David, John, Robert and Thankful. They all emigrated from North of Ireland to America, landing in Newcastle, Delaware in 1708 and settled in Chester Co., PA. Ralph Doak, a modern historian, disputes this as only a few groups of Ulster Scots emigrated to America before 1718. He cites William Henry Foote, who in 1846 published a work entitled, for the sake of brevity "Sketches of North Carolina:" During the course of this work it is disclosed that Samuel, father of Rev Samuel Doak (1749 - 1840) emigrated "very young." The elder Samuel was born around 1716 in Antrim, Ulster Ireland. So the Doaks migrated after 1720 as James' youngest son, Robert, was born in 1720 in Ireland. The earliest record that may be James is in Lancaster Co. PA which until 1728 was part of Chester Co. The 1728 petition for the creation of Lancaster Co. was signed by Thomas Mitchell (Jane's father, who died in 1734) and a James Doke. ---------- Elaine M Doak Special Collections Librarian/Archivist Pickler Memorial Library Truman State University, Kirksville, MO has put a lot of time into research. "Here's what we've got on the 1st couple of Doak generations in America. There are basically 2 versions of the "transitional" generations. One is that Samuel Doak, who remained in Ireland, had a son James who came to PA w/ wife Elizabeth and several children almost any year between 1720 & 1740 (depending on which source you read). The other version is that Samuel himself was the immigrant, same time span. I have yet to see any PROOF of either version. The truth is that we have no idea who the father of the group I call the "immigrant generation" was. My brother & I went to Chester & Lancaster Cos PA summer before last & came up w/ a lot of nothing -- except more questions. Some records cited by earlier researchers do not exist. Those that do exist do not prove that the Doak family in that area during the 1720-40 time period was the same Doak family to later settle in Augusta Co VA. There are some similarities of given names which COULD indicate they are our Virginians, but they could also indicate they are the Doaks who are to be found a few years later further north in PA. We did find a James Doke who signed a 1729 petition to create Lancaster Co out of Chester Co. This was the only reference to James we found. It's curious that while Doaks seem to repeat given names over & over, there are no Jameses in the Augusta Co group. That's not proof of anything; it's just an observation. Some published sources cite a 1727 Chester Co Orphan's Roll which mentions Elizabeth Doak & son David. The County Archivist tells us that all records where were extant as late as about 1900 are still there but this particular entry could not be found. What was the REAL source of the original citation? Also, if Elizabeth's husband was James why would she & her son appear on an orphan's roll 2 years before he signed the 1729 petition? BTW, an orphan is a child whose father is deceased; the mother could still be living. We found a 1726 tax roll listing John Doak & Mother (again, no father?), but the name Elizabeth does not appear there or on any record we could find in either county. The "immigrant generation" of siblings was Samuel, John, David (the youngest, probably born here), Thankful, Mary, Ann, & Robert. I think there may be a couple more names added to various versions; I seem to have forgotten to bring the list w/ me today. Of that group, we found POSSIBLE mention of John & Samuel in PA. We were unable to find Thankful's marr to John Finley which is supposed to be there, but PA didn't require marr licenses or bonds till the 1850s, so if the record is there it's probably in some church's files. It would be impossible to cover all of these lines, so I'm going to stick to ours. It is highly unlikely that "Immigrant Sam", as we call him, and Jane Mitchell were married during the voyage from Ireland as is so often reported. If the Doaks in Lancaster Co were ours, they were there as early as 1726 when John & mother appeared on the tax roll. (We're assuming, of course, that this John and our Sam were brothers.) John also appears on 1733 & 1734 grand jury panels. The earliest record we found of Samuel was 1737, when he also was on the grand jury, so it's possible he immigrated as late as 1736 (even tho this was a lot later than mother & brother). Sam's wife was Jane (confirmed by his Will), supposedly the daughter of Thomas & Eleanor Mitchell of Lancaster Co (not proved). If Jane was, in fact, Thomas & Eleanor's dau, evidence exists to suggest she was unmarried & living in her father's home in Lancaster at the time of his death--still unmarried AFTER the voyage. Thomas's Will (Lancaster Co Will Book A, Vol 1, pg 17) does not say she is unmarried, but seems to imply such by naming part of the family's livestock as hers, not her husband's. It also does not list her w/ the Doak surname. All this is strictly circumstantial, of course. The Will written 14 May 1734 lists the following family members: "...son John Mitchell & my Wife Elloner Mitchell...Elldest Daughter Martha..Second Daughter Mary ...[to] third Daughter Jean one two year Old mear and one year old Heffer and all the sheep Called her own...Fourth Daughter Jenat...my brother John Mitchell..." 1736 has been reported as Sam & Jane's marriage date; that seems to be in the ball park (their first child was born ca 1738) but it would have been in PA, not aboard ship. This is likely an unprovable date, as are their dates of birth. The Sam on the grand jury in 1737 had to have been at least 21, therefore born no later than 1716. Sam & Jane moved to VA ca 1739; he sold his property in Lancaster no later than May of that year and began to appear in August Co records as early as 1740. His August Co property in Beverley Manor borders the west side of the present-day village of Greenville. Sam died there between 5 Nov 1771 and 19 May 1772, the dates his Will were written & proved in Court (Augusta Co Will Book 4, pg 497). The Will lists the following family members: "Jane my Dearly beloved Wife...Daughters viz Elinor, Mary & Isabel...son John...oldest son David...son Robert...daughters Jane and Elizabeth...son in law William Brown...brother in law John Finley..."You may read in the course of your research about a controversy over the wording of Sam's Will as copied to the Will Book, which reads "brothers in law John Finley and John Tate". While the word brother is plural, the "s" is in a different handwriting & different ink. Some say the plural proves the marriage of Sam's sister Mary to John Tate. When or why the "s" was added I don't know, but added it was. Since the original Will no longer exists, we don't know if the addition was an honest attempt to correct to record book to the actual wording of the Will or if it was added at a later date to prove the Doak-Tate marriage (as some suggest). Lyman Chalkley did not pick it up in his 1911 abstracts which gives one the idea it may have been added during the 20th Century." Another source for info http://sherrysharp.com/gentree/getperson.php?personID=I5719&tree=Roots
  Person ID	I5731	Master File
  Last Modified	30 Sep 2014

  
  

  Father	Samuel DOAK,   b. Abt 1648, Antrim, Ulster, Ireland ,   d. Abt 1681, Antrim, Ulster, Ireland  (Age ~ 33 years)
  Family ID	F4338	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Elizabeth,   b. 1674, Ulster, Ireland ,   d. Aft 1741, Augusta Co. VA  (Age 68 years)
  Married	Abt 1692
  Notes	Location for where they lived was Ballymena or Ballynure, which are villages located in Antrim County.
  Children	+ 1. John DOAK,   b. ca 1700, Antrim, Ulster, Ireland ,   d. Aft Dec 1769, Alamance Co. NC  (Age ~ 70 years) + 2. Thankful DOAK,   b. Abt 1707, Antrim, Ulster, Ireland ,   d. ca 1791, Augusta Co. VA  (Age ~ 84 years) + 3. David DOAK,   b. Abt 1710, Antrim, Ulster, Ireland + 4. Mary DOAK,   b. 1715, Antrim, Ulster, Ireland ,   d. Aft 1745, Augusta Co. VA  (Age 31 years) + 5. Samuel DOAK,   b. ca 1716, Antrim, Ulster, Ireland ,   d. 19 May 1772, Augusta Co. VA  (Age ~ 56 years) + 6. Ann DOAK,   b. ca 1719, Antrim, Ulster, Ireland + 7. Robert DOAK,   b. ca 1720, Ulster, Ireland ,   d. ca 1796, Rockingham Co. VA  (Age ~ 76 years)
  Last Modified	30 Jul 2014
  Family ID	F4337	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart