WILLIAM DAILEY (1800-1867)

William Dailey was born in Cork, Ireland about 1800 (some records say between 1794 & 1800). Data from his gravestone lists his death on 22 Aug 1867 (A Hudson Star Times article lists his death in 1868.) Calculating his birth from the data on his gravestone, 67 years, 2 months and 14 days, would put his birth at 8 Jun 1800. None of this data seems reliable and it does not appear that William was quite sure himself. No records have been found documenting his parents, siblings or life in Ireland. What we do know is William immigrated from the Port of Cove, County Cork, Ireland (also known as Cork or Cobh) in May, 1817. It is thought that he may have traveled with John Kelley (1794-1868). Both William Dailey and John Kelley were located in Cornwall, both married local women and both relocated to Hudson, WI about 1850.

Many of the people that left Ireland from Cork actually left from Cobh/Cove (Queenstown). William Dailey’s port of entry is unknown. My guess is he arrived at Quebec City or Montreal. At some point, he made his way down the St. Lawrence Seaway to Cornwall, Stormont, Ontario, Canada. We know William married Mercy Barnhart (daughter of Jacob Barnhart and Catherine Bedford) in Cornwall in 1820 and farmed in the Cornwall area for the next thirty years. Some of the areas they were known to have lived were Osnabruck and Dickinson’s Landing.

Little is known of his life in Canada except that he was a farmer and William and Mercy had ten children (five boys and five girls). However, his wife’s family (Barnhart) was well known and successful in that part of Ontario, Canada including owning and farming Barnhart Island, located in the St Lawrence River. Mercy Barnhart’s father, Jacob Barnhart was a United Empire Loyalist.

In October, 1849, William left Canada and traveled to the United States, entering at Ogdensburg, New York. In April, 1850, he submitted a Declaration of Intention to remain in the United States and become a U.S. citizen. He then traveled to Hudson, Wisconsin and received a land grant of 160 acres. It is not known why he decided after nearly thirty years of living and farming in Canada he would bring his family to the United States and start his life over in Wisconsin. It is possible that he was unable to obtain farmland in Canada. In 1851, his family, except for two of his daughters, Jane Elizabeth and Mary Ann, joined him in Hudson. Both daughters had married local farmers and remained in Canada. In addition to farming, he opened a cabinet shop and assisted in the building of a sawmill in Hudson. William purchased a house and lot in Hudson for his family and remained an active member of the community until his death in 1867.