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WILLIAM MUNRO (linked to Genealogies page)

William Munro was likely born between 1766 and 1775, as determined from census records (1, 2). He has been frequently reported as the son of Daniel and Mary of Albany, but I have not seen sources to support this connection, and it seems suspect.

William married Lydia Bolt, daughter of Sovering Bolt, according to William's great grandson (3). In July 1794, William and Lydia were on Long Island, New York, at the birth of their son Harvey Bolt Munro (4). Harvey's obituary tells us the family moved about 1804 to Montgomery County, NY. The family appears at Northampton in the 1810 Montgomery census as follows: 1 male 26-44 (William), 1 woman 26-44 (Lydia), 1 male 16-25 (son William Jr.), 1 male 10-15 (son Harvey), 3 boys under 10 (sons Orren, Abiram, Harry) (1). William and Lydia had six sons according to their grandson Wesley Munro (6), so five sons in the household prior to the birth of Cortland about 1811 is consistent.

Northampton is northwest of Albany in Adirondack Park, the most northeasterly township in what is now Fulton County. No property records have been located there for the family, but immediate census neighbours with property were all located in the land patent of Jeremiah Van Rensselaer on Lots 1 through 8. William is adjacent to Timothy Olmstead, who owned Lot 2 east of the river.

William and Lydia Munro located at the Van Rensselaer Patent in 1810. Source: Maps of the Past, "Montgomery County New York," (Online: Maps of the Past, <https://www.mapsofthepast.com/montgomery-county-new-york-landowner-map-1829.html>, (Originally published by the Surveyor General, David H Burr, 1829)William and Lydia Munro located at the Van Rensselaer Patent in 1810. Source: Maps of the Past, "Montgomery County New York," (Online: Maps of the Past, <https://www.mapsofthepast.com/montgomery-county-new-york-landowner-map-1829.html>, (Originally published by the Surveyor General, David H Burr, 1829)

The red X gives the supposed, approximate location of William and Lydia Munro from 1804 to 1811 based on land deed descriptions. Source: Campbell, Archibald. (1785 Dec). Map of Bergen's Purchase, on the Sakindaga branch of the Hudson's river. Map #88. NY State Archives.The red X gives the supposed, approximate location of William and Lydia Munro from 1804 to 1811 based on land deed descriptions. Source: Campbell, Archibald. (1785 Dec). Map of Bergen's Purchase, on the Sakindaga branch of the Hudson's river. Map #88. NY State Archives.

The Munros then moved to Brownville in Jefferson County, NY, about 1811.  The last record found for William and Lydia is the 1820 census of Lyme (2), which was formed from Brownville in 1818: 1 male over 45 (William); 1 female over 45 (Lydia); 1 male between 26 and 45 (William Jr.); 1 male under 16 (Cortland); 3 persons engaged in agriculture. Using this and other Lyme censuses, their location is determined to be probably on or near Lot 433, immediately south of Chaumont.

Locating William Munro using the Lyme censuses. Map Source: Jefferson County NYGenWeb, "The Town of Lyme -- 1864" in NYGenWeb (Internet site) <http://jefferson.nygenweb.net/lymemap.htm>.Locating William Munro using the Lyme censuses. Map Source: Jefferson County NYGenWeb, "The Town of Lyme -- 1864" in NYGenWeb (Internet site) <http://jefferson.nygenweb.net/lymemap.htm>.

Son William Jr. is found on Lot 443, about 2 km NW across Chaumont Bay, in 1824. Harvey was in a separate household in Brownville in 1820, and Orren was in Upper Canada. Abiram was in Upper Canada by 1821, so perhaps he was already with Orren at the time of the 1820 census as he is unaccounted for. There are no records for son Harry, which makes one wonder if Harry and Harvey B. were the same individual. Indeed, Chapman's History reports Harvey as Harry B. Munro (5), though this is the only case found and is likely an error. The report of Harvey's son Wesley that there were six sons, in which he named and included Harry (6), is taken to be correct at present. Harry may have died young or moved from the family.

William Munro Jr., 1824-25. Source: created from Google Maps. (2021). Chaumont, NY. Satellite image. Retrieved from https://www.google.ca/maps/@44.067899,-76.18783,2526m/data=!3m1!1e3 [Accessed October 2021].William Munro Jr., 1824-25. Source: created from Google Maps. (2021). Chaumont, NY. Satellite image. Retrieved from https://www.google.ca/maps/@44.067899,-76.18783,2526m/data=!3m1!1e3 [Accessed October 2021].

SOURCES

(1) Year: 1810; Census Place: Northampton, Montgomery, New York; Roll: 29; Page: 163; Image: 00091; Family History Library Film: 0181383

(2) 1820 U S Census; Census Place: Lyme, Jefferson, New York; Page: 447; NARA Roll: M33_72; Image: 244

(3) George W Munro, undated letter to James P Munroe, Lexington, Massachusetts, accessed at the Grand Rapids Library, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2009

(4) Harvey Munro obituary from unidentified newspaper, accessed at the Grand Rapids Library, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2009

(5) Chapman, Chas. C., “History of Kent County, Michigan ; together with sketches of its cities, villages and townships ... biographies of representative citizens. History of Michigan ...,” Michigan County Histories and Atlases (Online: University of Michigan, 2007) [Originally published as History of Kent County, Michigan; Together with sketches of its cities, villages and townships, educational, religious, civil, military, and political history; portraits of prominent persons, and biographies of representative citizens, 1881], p. 1401, <https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/micounty/BAD0958.0001.001/1400?rgn=full+text;view=image>.

(6) Munro, George W. (1910). “Verbal statement by Wesley Munro taken Aug 7th, 1910,” handwritten record, accessed at the Grand Rapids Library, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2009