Croston Family History Newsletter

I arrived in the village at dusk. The roads were narrow and winding. I managed to find a place to park my beast of a rental car and because the sun was quickly setting, I immediately crossed the road to look at the iconic bridge and St Michael and All Angels Church. Then I went to the Wheatsheaf for a pint of cider. Although it was cold and misting rain I sat outside at a table to soak it all in.   I had not planned to visit Croston for another year or more. But my life is in transition now, I may be relocating 1,200 miles away to another state in a couple of months for my job. This is also the cause of my not posting here in a while. It's been a busy and stressful time. Starting a job in the new office also means I may have less opportunity to travel. So when the opportunity arose to go to England during the week of Thanksgiving I decided this was the right time to gather information for my research and clear my head, with the plan to return again in 2020. Af...

Bandon, County Cork is located along the River Bandon, to the west of Cork city. The town was founded in 1604 by English settlers and became one of the largest English settlements in the area. There was a saying: "Bandon Town where even the pigs are Protestant" The town was surrounded by a wall and only Protestants were allowed inside. The saying refers to the fact that pigs were allowed to walk the streets but not Catholics which caused a great deal of turmoil in the area. Several battles took place over the years and the restrictions were eventually loosened. But to some degree today Bandon is still thought of as a "Black" town. If an English settler arrived in County Cork through Cobh/ Queenstown harbor they would have traveled up the road from Cork city through Bandon to reach West Cork. Therefore this is a natural place to look for evidence of early Croston settlers.   During my last trip to Ireland I spoke with a Bandon historian who told me...

This week test results from J.Croston, a man with ancestral origins in Lancashire, England matched my father (tester R.Croston) with ancestral origins in Schull, Cork, Ireland. This is very exciting for those of us with Irish roots! The test is called the Big-Y DNA test. It is the highest level test that a male can take. It traces a mans father's father's father into ancient times and it is very detailed. Several Croston men have taken the 12, 25 or 37 marker test over the past few years. This has allowed us to confirm who is related through closer Croston lines. J. Croston had previously matched another man with Lancashire origins (tester A. Croston). These 2 men are more closely related to each other than to the Irish families. 2 other Croston families have been identified over the past year or so. Although the 3 families are not related through the same paternal Croston family, it is possible they may be related through a son that was born to a single woman who pass...

Dr. John Francis Croston was well known and loved in Haverhill and his name appeared many times in newspaper articles and books. I have been told there is a memorial plaque dedicated to him in the town of Haverhill but I've never seen in person. If you are going to Haverhill or live there, I would like to see a picture of it, if does exist. Mary Frances (nee Ferrell), Rose Elaine, George Henry (front), John Francis (back), Francis and Mary Genevieve Croston Dr. Croston was born on the 25th of September 1855 in Bradford. His parents had immigrated separately from County Cork Ireland to Bradford where his father George was a farmer. Despite John's humble beginning as a farmers son, he earned a medical degree from New York University and then returned to Haverhill in 1880 to set up his practice. In 1881, John married Mary Frances Ferrell, a blacksmiths daughter from Lawrence, MA. John and Mary had 4 children: Frank b.1882, Mary b.1884, and George and Elaine (who were t...

In Part 1 of this article I wrote about the origin of my family line that immigrated from County Cork, Ireland to Bradford, Massachusetts. My ancestor John W. Croston's younger siblings Thomas Croston and Sarah (nee Croston) Baker and their sons were the first to immigrate. They lived in a house on Summer Street in Bradford. Their sons worked in the Haverhill shoe factories. In 1850 when Thomas and Sarah settled in Bradford the population was just over 1,300 people. If you look at the map below you see the location of the house on Summer Street. You will also see an arrow pointing to the home of  F. Crostin, only a few blocks away on Main Street. No knowledge of the relationship of any other Croston family in the area to my family tree was passed down through the generations. This F. Crostin was Francis (Frank) Croston. Frank arrived in Boston before 1839. Frank married Susan Love in Boston 18 May 1839. In 1840 the couple had settled near 145 Purchase St. in Boston....