~1720 - 1798
Ireland - Virginia
This is basically just a paraphrase (ripping off) of two online sites - the Rootsweb file of Helen Bennett Voorhees, updated 27 Sep 2003, and the FTM file of Cecil Connor.
Both these people refer to a document called "Genealogy of Meda Estelle Dodd Long" which apparently came from the "D.A.R. Book, State Library, Indianapolis, Ind." So it should be possible to trace back some of the information, if you want.
So - Terrance O'Connor was born in about 1720 (Cecil says ~1733) in Ireland and came to America sometime in the 1750s. Cecil enlarges on this, saying that Terrance (1) ran away from home, (2) ended up in London where he (3) was arrested and placed in prison and finally (4) deported to Virginia aboard the convict ship The Rose which arrived in 1755. Two of the emigrant books by Peter Coldham seem to bear this out - but of course, the Terrance mentioned in the books might not be the Terrance we’re talking about here.
Coldham, Peter Wilson. Bonded passengers to America. [Baltimore : Genealogical Pub. Co., 1983.]
Connor, Terence s Feb- Apr T May 1755 Rose
s=sentence - relevant sessions roll available from Greater London Record Office
County Hall
London SE1 7 PB
landing certificates avail from London Record Office, Guildhall, London EC2
but only between 1718-1736 - he hasn’t found any later
Coldham, Peter Wilson. The King's passengers to Maryland and Virginia. [Westminster, Md. : Family Line Publishers, c1997.]
Felons transported from London to Maryland by the Rose, captain Thomas Slade, in May 1755, arr. in June 1755 (PRO: T1 261 39) (T1= Treasury Board papers)
from Middlesex - Connor, Terrance
Also according to Cecil, Terrance worked as a ship's carpenter at the Mason Boat Works in Norfolk, VA. Robert Speakes, who was married to Lucretia Mason, also worked there, and he and Terrance were members of the same Masonic Lodge. This provided Terrance - and his children - with an introduction to a higher stratum of society than might otherwise have been possible. Terrance's son Terrance Connor would eventually marry the daughter of Robert Speakes. (Some researchers say she was disinherited for this, others say not.) It is also said that the younger Terrance was a playmate of George Washington, who called him "Towhead." Since Washington was at least 20 years older than young Terrance, it is unlikely they were playmates, but it is vaguely possible that George noticed him and gave him the nickname.
It is not known who he (the older Terrance) married, or if he married before he came to America. [If you follow Cecil's chronology, it is more likely that he married more or less as soon as he got here.] His first son Terrance may have been born in Ireland OR in Prince William / Fairfax County, Virginia - and the dates for his birth are given as either 1752 or 1757. He had two other sons besides Terrance - John, born ~1755 (so he may have been the eldest) and Samuel - known as "Blackhawk Sam" - born ~1768.
He should be on the 1790 census, except that that census for Virginia was destroyed (by the British, in the War of 1812). There is this substitute, which is not very informative - I don't know for sure if the older Terrance is him or not. Speake is the father-in-law of his son Terrance.
1782 - list of John Gibson - Fairfax Co - p. 18
Conner, Terrance 5 white, 0 black
Terrance, jr 3 white, 0 black
1782 - list of Martin Cockburn - Fairfax Co
Speake, Robert 8 white, 0 black
If the older Terrance is him, then there is an extra white person - Terrance, sons John and Sam, and his wife make four (if the wife was counted). In the list for 1785, the older Terrance has 4 white people in his household, and there is a new Connor name in the county, James.
1785 - list of John Gibson - Fairfax Co
Conner, Terrance 4 white, 0 dwellings, 0 other buildings
- list of Richard Chichester
Conner, Terrance 4 white, 0 dwellings, 0 other buildings
Conner, James 8 white, 0 dwellings, 0 other buildings
Speake, Robert 7 white, 1 dwelling, 0 other buildings
However, if James is the extra white person in Terrance's 1782 household, then he produced a LOT of children in three years!
Terrance died 1798 in Norfolk, Norfolk County, Virginia. And that's all the information I've found.
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Forward to sons of Terrance: Terrance, John, Sam (actually I have nothing on Sam)
Questions, comments, additions, corrections? Contact me at: lee@leesgenes.com
Page last updated 5 Nov 2007