Many Toy family researchers, myself included, originally believed that Neil Toy arrived in the US along with the rest of his family in Sept of 1817, but there is a case to be made that Daniel and Rosanna arrived with their youngest child, James, while Neil was left behind in Ireland and arrived much later. I’ve discussed this with several family members and readers of this blog but thought it was time to write it down.
Passenger List for the Schooner Mary Ann
The case for arrival in 1817 is based on a misreading of the passenger manifest from 1817 for the Schooner Mary Ann, which reads “Danl Toy + Family Three”. 1 This could be interpreted as Daniel plus a family of three but, given the importance of accounting for and collecting fares, I believe this was identifying the total number of paid passengers as a total of three.
The total of three is further supported by an entry in the 1827 petit ledger of the du Pont company, which contains ‘A list of our men for whom we went security for passage money to be repaid if they came.’ Included on that list, shown below, is an entry for Daniel Toy, 2 adults and 1 child.
Missing from the Census
Further Support for Neil’s late arrival can be found in the census records for 1820 and 1830. The 1820 census shows only a family of three, which I interpret as: 1 Male under 10 (James); 1 Male 26-44 (Daniel); 1 Female 26-44 (Rosanna). 3 total.
Plans for Neil’s Passage to Delaware
There is correspondence in the Letterbook of EI du Pont for November 18, 1826 ordering the passage for “William and Bridget Boyle, together with Neil Toy eleven years old”. Was Neil left in the care of William and Bridget Boyle?
It takes some time, but in 1932 there is a document that ident!es passengers from Londonderry for Robert Taylor (du Pont agent), which includes passengers William Coyle and Neil Toy, to be charged to the account of Daniel Toy. “Coyle” this time instead of “Boyle”. Makes more sense that Neil would have been left in the care of Rosanne’s family.
Also in July 1932, there is a list of ticketed passengers from Robert Taylor, which again identi!es William Coyle and Daniel Toy. Their passage from Londonderry was $28 (about $750 today).
Passenger List for the Deveron
Given the clue of an arrival in July 1832, I was able to !nd a passenger list for the Ship Deveron, which arrived in Wilmington on 23 Jul 1832 with Neil on board, having departed from Londonderry. William Coyle is not listed as a passenger on this ship. My assumption is that he was quite young (about 13) when plans for his travel were !rst initiatied and his parents felt he needed to be accompanied. He !nally came when he was age 19 and able to travel alone.
Petit Ledgers for Neil
Not long after his arrival, Neil makes his !rst appearance in the petit ledgers and an employee of du Pont. The !rst entry was made on 29 September 1832 and he had worked for them for 12 days in an entry-level position. We also see from this entry that he was living with and paying board to his mother.
We don’t know the details of what happened between Neil’s arrival and the death of his father on 25 Aug 1832, but in the best case, he was only with his father 33 days after being separated from him for over 15 years.
Brandywine Banks 