Before you download the scroll documents, please take a moment to read the following:
The files have been digitized from paper scrolls that are 15-20' in length. Consequently, reading them can be challenging!
We've also struggled to put them up on the website in a format that is accessible. Please shoot me an email if you're having difficulties and I can try to sort it out.
We've also struggled to put them up on the website in a format that is accessible. Please shoot me an email if you're having difficulties and I can try to sort it out.
Scroll 1: John Dorrance
Born 1671 in Scotland. Later emegrated to Ulster, Ireland. In 1719 he sailed to the New World with his with wife, five children, and his brother George.
Scroll 2: George Dorrance
Scroll 2: George Dorrance
Born in 1675 or 1680 in Scotland. George Dorrance, his wife Margery, and four sons emigrated from Antrim County/Ulster (Northern Ireland) in 1719 to Voluntown, CT. Once in the Colonies, he operated a mill on the Quanduck River. He died 1754 and is buried at the Old Sterling Tp. Burial Ground at Oneco, Conn.
Scroll 3: Reverend Samuel Dorrance
Born in Scotland in 1685, Samuel was a Presbyterian minister in Coleraine, Londonderry County (Ireland). Samuel graduated from the University of Glascow in 1709 and was licensed to preach at Dumbarton (Sterling) Scotland in 1711. He was summoned by his brothers and crossed the Atlantic in 1723. He married Elizabeth Smith in 1723.
"Samuel’s appointment as minister in Voluntown (Conniticutt) came with controversy because local Congregationalists (the original settlers of New England) disapproved of so many Scotch Irish in their midst. Nonetheless Reverend Samuel preached at the Voluntown church for 50 years. On his death, however, the church reverted to congregationalism. He died in 1775 and is buried in Riverside." Source.
Thank you PDF is not legible at maximum zoom of 500%.
ReplyDeleteHi Perry, thanks for the comment and sorry that you had difficulties. We've struggled to get the files up (and downloadable) due to their size. I'll spend some time in the next few weeks to see if I can come up with a better solution. Thanks, Sonja
ReplyDeleteThere is a section on the John Dorrance scroll where it is written that Mary Wynne had records and letters in her possession - where are those records and letters today? I am doing research on the town of Sterling and am looking for information linking Samuel Dorrance/Anne Tully to the Sterling family of Providence. These scrolls are wonderful, thank you for putting them online!
ReplyDeleteHi Megan,
ReplyDeleteI so wish I could point you in the right direction in regards to the letter/records but I'm afraid I have no idea. There are so many descendants (and copies of the scrolls) at this point that I'd bet they'd be difficult to pin down. Unless you could find a direct descendent of Mary Wynne, perhaps?
All the best,
Sonja
Thank you so much for getting back to me quickly! The search continues... :)
ReplyDeleteI downloaded today and am searching for a Jane Dorrance, born 1808 in Oneida County NY, married Cyrus Adams, and died 1847 in Middlesex NY. Thank you for posting these scrolls.
ReplyDeleteThanks for this rich resource - it looks really fantastic! Is there something else I need to do to gain access to the downloadable scrolls, though? I get an error message when I click on the PDF or TIFF links. I'd really love to take a look at the scrolls if I can. I believe my family descends from the George Dorrance line. My father, Dr. Dorrance Kelly, is 83 and ill. What a gift it would be to get a copy of these scrolls to him.
ReplyDelete