Having died young without any children, Daniel Toy doesn’t get a lot of genealogical attention. But he has a place in Delaware history as one of the earliest commercial brewers in Delaware to set up operations outside of Wilmington.1
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Category: Toy
Brandywine Banks

To the uninitiated, the place names associated with the Toy family can be a bit confusing. The first few generations of the Toys following the arrival of Daniel Toy (1789 – 1832) are associated with the area that today ranges from the entrance to the Hagley Museum at Old Barley Mill Road along Brandywine Creek and up Brecks Lane, continuing along the creek and up Rising Sun Lane.
The Case for Neil Toy’s Late Arrival
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.
The Brandywine Manufacturers’ Sunday School
I’ve written several times about the richness of the records at the Hagley Museum and Library for family history research, assuming you’re fortunate enough to have a family member that was associated with the duPont Company during it’s early years in Delaware. If your family did work in the duPont powder mills during the early-to-mid 1800s, or in one of the neighboring textile mills, there was a good chance that the children received their early education at the Brandywine Manufacturer’s Sunday School.

Brandywine Manufacturers’ Sunday School – Courtesy of Hagley Museum and Library
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Naming Patterns in the Toy Family Tree
Ever notice how often given names repeat in the typical Irish family tree? Ever wonder if this phenomena could be used to corroborate or contradict a bit of family history information? I recently had the opportunity to give this a try.
The Schooner Mary Ann – 1817
It’s one thing to find information about your ancestor in an index, but it’s better to find the original document!
