John Rochford originally came from Ireland with his wife Ann. At this point of our research we have to approximate that they were born around 1835. John bought his property from Nelson Parker and Benjamin and Rebecca Irvine on January 12, 1864. Nelson Parker was an early land speculator who had purchased large tracts of land that had been owned by the Holland Land Company which dates back to colonial times. The purchase price was $150 for 50 acres. We have located a "statement of intent" for John, dated October 15, 1860 (See Figure 2 below). Census records from 1865 show us that this was the first marriage for John and Ann. From that census we also learned that John was illiterate and a farmer. This was a common trait of most Irish Catholic immigrants of the time. The harsh Penal Laws that England had enacted and enforced in Ireland prevented any Catholic from going to school or learning a trade or skill. They had a son that was born in Ireland; Patrick Rochford. Additionally, the Rochford's adopted a girl from a neighboring farm. This had become necessary when the girl's mother died in childbirth. The tragedy left the father with 3 young daughters to try to raise alone. As was also a custom of this period, "neighbor helping neighbor" the Rochford's agreed to raise the newborn child. We believe her name was Bridget Keough. She is shown living with the Rochford's at least until she was 19. It also showed that she worked in the area as a domestic. She married Charles Pierce from the town of Limestone. They moved in with John and Ann. However, Charles was killed in a sawmill accident. A "planer" he was using kicked a board back out and struck Charles. Bridget's tragic story continued when she became a young widow and slowly descended into an alcoholic state. We were able to determine this when one of our classmates researching the Keough family found a death certificate and autopsy report for Bridget. The death certificate noted that she was riding in her horse and carriage and was struck by a streetcar/train that ran through the center of Limestone. In finding the autopsy it listed the cause of death as acute alcoholism. When you stop to consider all of the tragedy that struck poor Bridget in her early life one can understand the later turn of events.
John had an older brother who was also born in Ireland, probably from the same place as John and his wife. His name was James Rochford and he too was a farmer. Furthermore, James was married to a woman named Anne. James bought another portion of the Parker's land on August 11, 1866. James died on September 21, 1898 at approximately 71 years of age. At that time he had in his possession about 50 acres of land, two cows, three calves, and three pigs. After James' death, John was named Executor of his property. However, there were some difficulties with a border on James' land. He had apparently killed one of the pigs and threatened to do more damage to the property. Because of the threats John took control as the protector of the estate. (See figure 1 below)
We were unable to locate records in the 1870's and the 1880's. However, in 1905, we discovered that they had a boarder. His name was Richard McLaughlin. At the time of our census, he was 51 years old, a US citizen and a laborer on John's farm. In 1915, the only people on the property were Anna Rochford, Bridget Rockwell, and a new boarder, George Smith. He was also listed as a 40-year-old laborer. The map that we currently have from 1869 shows three J. Rochford lands. We have yet to discover which belonged to John and which belonged to James.
The document above is a transfer of property to John Rochford after his brother's death. It lists his possessions at the time of his death. It also names John as the administrator of the property. Before giving total ownership to John, James' children had to be contacted in Ireland. That is why John was named the protector of the property and not the owner. No one was able to contact any other relative of James' still living in Ireland.
The statement of intent shown above is for John Rochford and it is dated 1860. Originally we had thought that the document was a naturalization paper making John a citizen. This is not the case. It is merely a statement declaring that it was John's intention to apply for American citizenship at a future date. In it, John states that he denounces any loyalties to the Queen of Great Britian. That was something most Irish citizens did not find difficult to do.
