.
!NOTES:
SQ 3264: He married had two children, Charles Jr. and James.

.
!NOTES:
SQ pg 3264: He married Clara Hall and they had three children: Raymond,
Melvin, and Paul.

.
!NOTES:
SQ pg 3264: She married a man named Lewman and they had two child ren,
Arlene and William.

.
!NOTES:
SQ pg 3264: He married Betty --- and they had two children, Brend aand
Pamela.

.
!NOTES:
SQ 3264: He married Barbara --- and they had at least one child, R oyJr.

Missouri Phillips and her husband, John Sparks were second cousins.

Dora, Delbert, their daughter Sarah and her husband Delbert, are allburied in the Linwood Cemetery, in Boone, Iowa.

.
!NOTES:
SQ pg 2618: On April 5, 1927, she was married to Perry M. Moore a tJoliet, Illinois. They have one child: Carol Ann Moore.

.
!NOTES:
SQ pg 2616: He married Ann W. Pauge on april 16, 1932. They liv e inMt. Olive, Illinois. They had no children.

.
!NOTES:
SQ pg 2517: He married Gladys Lafferty in 1925 and they had one child, Robert Pierce.

SQ p. 2617:

"Edgar C. Pierce was born on October 21, 1893, at Colfax, Iowa. Heserved in England during World War I. On October 15, 1925, he marriedMabel Evelyn Reynolds at Abingdon, Illinois. He died on September 1,1954, at Colorado Springs, Colorado. Mabel died on May 5, 1982. They hadno children."

SQ pg 2616:

"Edgar Charles ("Ed") Pierce, son of David and Sarah (Sparks) Pierce,was born on February 22, 1854, in Knoxville, Illinois. He was a talentedmusician and also a capable photographer. He played the clarinet andviolin as well as other instruments. He taught his brother, Harry, agreat deal about music and photography. In his later years, he became adruggist. He was a member of the Pickett Masonic Lodge in Bushnell. Hemarried Ada Crowl on March 28, 1888. She was born in 1865 and was adaughter of George and Jennie (Welch) Crowl. Ed died on September l,1913, and was buried in the Bushnell Cemetery. Ada died on June 5, 1949,and was buried at Mt. Olive, Illinois. They were the parents of onechild."

SQ p2616-17:

(See photograph on page 2616 and in scrapbook)

"Harry Clyde Pierce, son of David and Sarah (Sparks) Pierce, was bornon November 23, 1862, in Bushnell, Illinois. He was an excellent musicianand learned much about music and photography from his brother, Ed. He wasa band director in many towns throughout the Midwest, spending most ofhis life as a musician. He played the clarinet. He, like his brother, wasalso a capable photographer, and, according to a descendant, he met hiswife when she came to him to have her picture made. In later years, hebecame an interior decorator.

"Harry Pierce married Emma Caroline Spurgeon on November 3, 1888, atPalmyra, Missouri. She was born on February 2, 1868, at Butler, Missouri,and was a daughter of Jeremiah and Julia Catherine (Houston) Spurgeon.Harry died at Canton, Illinois, on October 17, 1828, and was buried inthe Bushnell Cemetery. Emma died on August 27, 1943, at Bloomington,Illinois, and was buried at El Paso, Illinois. She and Harry had ninechildren.

.
!NOTES:
SQ pg 2617: On October 20, 1928, she was married to R. Wayne Nort onat El Paso, Illinois, and they had two children: Jerry Norton an d LindaSue Norton. Wayne was a native of Bloomington, Illinois.

SQ p. 2617:

" Max S. Pierce was born on December 14, 1890, at Bushnell, Illinois.He died on February 22, 1919, aboard the ship The Mercury as he wasreturning from France after the close of World War I. He was buried inthe Bushnell Cemetery."

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, June 1984, Whole No. 126, p. 2617:

Minnie Mae Pierce was born on March 10, 1896, at Two Rivers, Wisconsin.She was married to Enos G. Huffer on December 20, 1930, in Chicago. Theyhad two children, both born in Springfield, Illinois: Bruce PierceHuffer, born August 31, 1932, and Nancy Huffer, born September 26, 1939.Bruce was married on August 15, 1964, to Lesley Jean Upham, at Jackson,Michigan, and they have three children, Gregory, Janet, and Deborah Sue.Nancy Huffer was married to Douglas H. Macomber on June 12, 1961, atGranville, Ohio. They have two children, Marcia Lynn and Scott, both bornin Evanston, Illinois. Mrs. Huffer has been most helpful in thepreparation of this article.

***********************************

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, June 1993, Whole No. 162, p. 4104:

A UNION SOLDIER RECALLS THE SIEGE OF VICKSBURG

"A number of years ago, Minnie Mae (Pierce) Huffer, who died in 1984,(see the QUARTERLY of September, 1984, Whole No. 127, p. 2673, for herobituary (see below) ) shared with us a letter that had been written byher grand-uncle, William M. Sparks (1838-1922) on January 14, 1914. Itis apparent from the contents of this letter, that William M. Sparks hadlearned that his brother, Thomas J. Sparks (1843-1936), a lawyer and aresident of Champaign, Illinois, was planning a trip to New Orleans,Louisiana, and also to Vicksburg, Mississippi. William wrote a hurriedletter to his brother, urging him to visit the sites in both cities thathe remembered from his service fifty years earlier in the Union Armyduring the Civil War.
He also drew a map to guide his brother in finding the area where hisregiment had camped and fought at Vicksburg. Although, after half acentury, William Sparks's memory of the landscape was probably a bitinaccurate, we believe that the reproduction of his drawing makes aninteresting cover design for this issue of the QUARTERLY."

(The remainder of this article is copied under notes for William M.Sparks.)

***************

See the SQ p. 2673:

DEATH TAKES MINNIE MAE (PIERCE) HUFFER

"It is with deep regret that we report the death on August 28, 1984,of Minnie Mae (Pierce) Huffer (Mrs. Enos G.) in Manitowoc, Wisconsin.Mrs. Huffer joined our association in 1953, the very year in which it wasfounded. A record of her branch of the Sparks family, for which she andher sister, Rita M. Pierce, contributed much of the information, appearedin the March and June, 1984, issues of the QUARTERLY.

"Mrs. Huffer was born on March 10, 1896, at Two Rivers, Wisconsin. Shewas a daughter of Harry Clyde and Emma Caroline (Spurgeon) Pierce. Herpaternal grandmother, Sarah (Sparks) Pierce (1834-1883) was a daughter ofJoseph and Sarah (DeFord) Sparks; she was a descendant of Joseph Sparkswho died in Frederick County, Maryland, in 1749.

"Mrs. Huffer was a graduate of Illinois State (Normal) University and,prior to her marriage in 1930, she taught school in Illinois and Ohio.She was a member of a number of patriotic and historical societies,including the D.A.R. Her husband, Enos G. Huffer, had been an invalidfor a number of years; his care had occupied most of Mrs. Huffer's timefor the past seven years. He died on September 5, 1984, just one weekfollowing Mrs. Huffer's passing. Mrs. and Mrs. Huffer were the parentsof two children, the Rev. Bruce P. Huffer and Nancy (Huffer) Macomber."

See the SPARKS QUARTERLY for September, 1988, Whole No. 143, p. 3285, forthe following article:

DEATH TAKES RITA M. PIERCE

by Paul E. Sparks

It is with a great deal of personal sadness that we record the death of alongtime member, Rita M. Pierce, who passed away on May 10, 1988, at herhome in El Paso, Illinois. We exchanged many letters with her over theyears which dealt with her branch of the Sparks family, and we frequentlyreminded each other that we had a common Sparks ancestor who died inFrederick County, Maryland, in 1749--thus we were "cousins."

Rita Maxine Pierce was born on February 26, 1909, in El Paso and was adaughter of Harry and Emma
(Spurgeon) Pierce and a granddaughter of David and Sarah (Sparks) Pierce.Her branch of the family left
Frederick County, Maryland, about 1773 and settled in Washington County,Pennsylvania. From there they went to Indiana and then to Fulton County,Illinois, about 1844. An obituary for Rita's sister, Minnie Mae (Pierce)Huffer, appeared on page 2673 of the QUARTERLY for September 1984, WholeNo. 127.

Rita taught junior high school history in the Springfield, Illinois, areaand had a special interest in American history. She was a capablegenealogist. She was a member of the First Baptist Church of El Paso, theDaughters of the American Revolution, and the Eastern Star. She issurvived by a sister, Besse (Pierce) Moore of Chicago.

We extend our sympathy to her sister and her other relatives. (Forfurther details of this branch of the Sparks family, see the March 1984and June 1984 issues of the QUARTERLY, Whole Nos. 125 and 126,respectively.)

SQ pg 2617:

"...He was married three times. His first marriage was t o Alice G.Woodruff on June 18, 1918. They had three children: rit a A. Pierce,Evelyn L. Pierce, and Ryland H. Pierce, Jr. After the d eath of hisfirst wife in 1926, Ryland married (2nd) Mary Anderson o n June 21,1928. They had two children: Phyllis J. Pierce and Albert a Pierce.Ryland married (3rd) Mrs. Olive Grey Swenson."

.

!NOTES:
According to Robert S. Pigott, Sr. letter 3 Mar 1991, Agnes is liv ingat the
present time. No address given nor details of marriage to Mr. Joines.

!VITAL RECORD:
Birth Record, Cherokee Co. IA., FHL #1O3529O: Birth Index, Boo k 2ofRecords, page 31O shows birth of Agnes Bernice Pigott on 1 Feb , 19O9.

.

!NOTES:
BIRTH: FHL 1,035,290 Book 2 Page 310, Cherokee County, Sherida n T/S
25 December, 1907.
Also listed in 1910 census of Sheridan T/S, FHL #1374409. For copy
see MRIN 9, Cornelius and Annie Pigott.

.

!MARRIAGE:
See Cherokee County, Iowa, INDEX TO REGISTER OF MARRIAGES 1889-189 6,
Vol. 3, REGISTER OF MARRIAGES Book 3, p 448 which provides the follow ing:
License No.: 2041; License date: 4/12/93; Affidavit supplied by: Jame sDunn.
Groom: Name of Groom: John Everhart; Residence: Sheridan T/S; Occupation:
Farmer; Age: 32; Race: White; Citizenship: American; Marriage: 1st; B orn:
Maryland; Name of Father: Henry Everhart; Name of Mother: Elizabeth B aker
Bride: Name of Bride: Annie Pigott; Residence: Sheridan; Age: 21 ;Race:
White; Citizenship: American; Marriage: 1st; Name of Father, Corneliu sPig-
ott; Name of Mother: Annie Eagan; Date of Marriage: April 12, 1893; Witness:
James Dunn, Julia McCullagh. Performing ceremony: Father James T. Saunders.

!NOTES:
In a letter to James J. Sparks from Ardyth Dunn (Mrs. James Dunn of
Cherokee, Iowa) dated December 11, 1993, she states: "Also have the address
for Annie Pigott and John H. Everhart's granddaughter. Her father was
Henry Everhart and her sister was Mame----, married to Rudolph Bernat.
Vera Mae Curtis and husband Norbert (or Bert) Curtis; live at:
1816 Cherry, Caldwell, Idaho 83605 Tel: 1 (208) 454-2332. This is
Henry's daughter. They are retired and he has heart problems.
Rudolph and Mame Bernat's daughter is Bonetta Bernat, 2111 Colby # 1,
Everett, Washington 98202. Tel 1 (206) 252-7722."

!NOTES:
Letter of 3 March, 1991 from Robert S. Pigott, Sr. advises that Bernard is
living in poor health in LaPuente, California.

No proof that the following is our Catherine but is included for recordpurposes only:

Catherine Pigott
Arrival Date: 21 Oct 1867
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1835
Age: 32
Gender: Female
Port of Departure: Liverpool, England
Destination: United States of America
Place of Origin: Ireland
Ethnicity/Race­/Nationality: Irish
Ship Name: City of London
Search Ship Database: Search the City of London in the 'Passenger Shipsand Images' database
Port of Arrival: New York
Line: 49
Microfilm Serial: M237
Microfilm Roll: M237_287
List Number: 1095
Port Arrival State: New York
Port Arrival Country: United States

Name: Catharine Pigott
Arrival Date: 30 Oct 1856
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1836
Age: 20
Gender: Female
Port of Departure: Liverpool, England
Destination: New York
Place of Origin: Ireland
Ethnicity/Race­/Nationality: Irish
Ship Name: West Point
Search Ship Database: Search the West Point in the 'Passenger Ships andImages' database
Port of Arrival: New York
Line: 36
Microfilm Serial: M237
Microfilm Roll: M237_168
List Number: 1133
Port Arrival State: New York
Port Arrival Country: United States

.

!MARRIAGE:
Cherokee County, Marriage Records, Register of Marriages 1889-1911 ,:
License No.: 2952; Date of License: 29 Jan 1900; Name of Groom: Timot hy
O'Connell; Residence: Meriden, Cherokee County, Iowa; Occupation: Far mer;
Age: 33; Race: White; Citizenship: Ireland; Marriage: 1st; Born: Irel and;
Name of Father: Jeffrey O'Connell; Name of Mother: Honora Buckley;
Bride: Name: Katie Pigott; Residence: Cherokee, Iowa; Age: 20; Race :White;
Citizenship: American; Marriage: 1st; Born: Cherokee, Iowa; Name of Father:
Cornelius Pigott; Name of Mother: Anna (sic) Edgarr (sic); Place an d date
of Marriage: Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, Cherokee, Iowa, 2 9Jan
1900; Witnesses: Jeffrey O'Connell, Mary Pigott. Wedding performed b y Fr.
James T. Saunders.

.

!NOTES:
Apparently "Eddie" and Pearly Pigott named their fourth child after
two of the children of his brother John J. Pigott, namely, Cecelia Es ther
and Loretta May. See FHL 1508628 for 1/8/83 for obituary notice for Ed
Pigott, husband of Cecelia May Pigott.

BIRTH: Cecelia Esther Pigott was born on May 3, 1906 in CherokeeTownship, Cherokee County, Iowa. See Iowa Birth Certificate #189, StateBoard of Health, County of Cherokee Sheridan Township. (In possession ofJames J. Sparks, San Carlos, CA)

BAPTISM: Cecelia Pigott was baptized on May 4, 1906 in Cherokee ,Iowa by Father W. P. Desmond. Witnesses were Edward Joseph Pigott, heruncle, and Margaret Noonan, a family friend.

MARRIAGE: Cecelia was married to Joseph John Sparks on June 14, 1925,at St. Anthony's Catholic Church, Long Beach, California. See CaliforniaDept. of Health Services, Cert. of Marriage No. 25-0 15598; State IndexNo. 1236, local registered no. 6813 (In possession of James J. Sparks,San Carlos, CA)

The following article appeared in the Long Beach Sun Newspaper ca. June 17, 1925: "Miss Cecilia (sic) Pigott And Joseph Sparks Married atChurch"

"One of the pretty weddings of the week was that at which MissCecilia (sic) Catherine (sic) Pigott, daughter of Mr. and Mrs . J. J.Pigott, 227 Daisy Avenue, became the bride of Joseph Sparks of LongBeach Monday morning at 6:30 o'clock in St. Anthony's Church . FatherWilliam O'Donnell officiated in the presence of a group of friends andrelatives and a large number of parishioners who were assembling for the8 o'clock mass. The bride was attired in white as was also her sister,Mrs. Loretta Bass, who was matron of honor . The bridal bouquet was ofloveliest roses. The best man was Edwin Tyo, brother-in-law of thebride. After the ceremony a wedding breakfast was served at the Pigotthome for the bridal party, the relatives and a few intimate friends. Therooms were decked with a variety of June blossoms. A delicious lookingnuptial cake was placed before the bride. Mr. and Mrs. Sparks arespending their honeymoon in Portland, Seattle and Glacier National Park.They will return in two weeks to live in Long Beach where Mr. Sparks isproprietor of a tailoring establishment. Mrs. Sparks has attended theCalifornia College of Commerce for the past two years."

DEATH: Cecelia Esther (Pigott) Sparks died in Long Beach, Los AngelesCounty, California, on March 16, 1974. See California Death Cert. Dept.of Public Health (In possession of James J. Sparks, San Carlos, CA)

For additional information concerning Cecelia (Pigott) Sparks andher parents and family, see the Notes for Joseph J. Sparks.

CENSUS:
1870 U.A. Census, Negaunee, Marquette County, Michigan, 27 June, 1870,
1880 U.S. Census, Cherokee Co. IA; Sheridan T/S, SD4, ED50, Sheet 27(FHL #1254332)
1885 IA Census, Cherokee Co. IA; Sheridan T/S, Pg 389, Line 11(FHL#1021451);
1895 IA Census, Cherokee Co. IA; Sheridan T/S, Pg 20, Line 10 (FHL#1020342);
1900 U.S. Census, Cherokee Co. IA; Sheridan T/S, SD11, ED22, Sheet11Line 19

In the 1870 census for Negaunee it shows Cornelius Picket [sic], age 25,farmer, and Annie, age 25. She was actually 17 or 18.

BOOKS:
Thomas McCulla, HISTORY OF CHEROKEE COUNTY, Chicago, The S. J. ClarkePublishing Co., (1914), 977.717 H2m; see pgs 276-277 for reference to Mr. & Mrs. C. Pigott Sr.; see page 404 for reference to Dennis Henry Pigott.

INVENTORY OF THE COUNTY ARCHIVES OF IOWA, Historical RecordsSurvey,W.P.A., May 1939. Contains history of Cherokee, Iowa andBibliography.

COURT RECORDS:
NATURALIZATION:
DECLARATION OF INTENTION to become a United States Citizen filed inthe Circuit Court of the Upper Peninsula for the County of Marquette,State of Michigan, dated June 12, 1869; Book 2 of Records, page 692 (nearend), FHL 1845795.
ORDER OF ADMISSION TO CITIZENSHIP, signed in the District Court fortheCounty of Cherokee, State of Iowa, dated October 5, 1891,NaturalizationRecord, Book 2, Cherokee County, page 59, FHL 1428556, item5.

PROBATE RECORDS:
Probate Index No. 1 for Cherokee Co., IA Pg 216, #1500 (FHL1415960) lists Probate Records for Cornelius Pigott: Will Dated 5 Oct1915 (FHL #1428542 pg 486, will record Cherokee Co, IA); Petition ForProbate of Will filed 29 Oct 1915 (FHL #1428547, Book 22, pg 65); OrderAdmitting Will to Probate filed 31 Jan 1917 (FHL # 1428548, Book 20, pg76) miscellaneous orders relating to sale of property, distribution andfees (FHL # 142855 1 & 2) (Photocopies of records in possession of JamesJ. Sparks, San Carlos, CA)

PUBLIC RECORDS:
Deed Register, Cherokee County, IA, Book D, Pg 353, Apr 30, 1873 ,Cornelius Pigott, S 1/2 of NE 1/4 & SE 1/4 of NW 1/4, Sec 25, T 92 , R 41(120 acres) FHL #1415904 (Index of Deeds No. 2, Pg 210, FHL 14 15901)
Deed Register, Cherokee County, IA, Book P, Pg 513, Jun 7, 1888,Cornelius Pigott, W 1/2 of NE 1/4 and E 1/2 of NW Quar, Sec 23, T 92 , R41 (Index of Deeds, Bk 5, pg 212, FHL #1415902)

VITAL RECORDS:
Death Register, Cherokee County, IA, Bk 2, page 155, Cornelius Pigott,24 Oct., 1915; Item 62; Cause of death: arteriosclerosis; 76y 10m 20d.(FHL #1428671 Item 3)

CHURCH RECORD:
BIRTH: St. Martin's Roman Catholic Church, Diocese of Cloyne, Parishof Kilworth, County Cork, Ireland; Baptismal Certificate. (Certified copyin possession of James J. Sparks, San Carlos, California.)

MARRIAGE: 28th day of March, 187O, Saint Joseph Church, 221 West MarketStreet, Newark, Essex County, New Jersey, Reverend James F. Dalton,officiating. Witnesses were John Walsh and Birdgth (Bridget?) Eagan.Copy of certificate in possession of James J. Sparks, San Carlos, CA.Name of father: James Eagan; Name of mother: Margaret Walsh; Name ofsister: Bridget. (She would be 15 years of age) FHL 1378022 Item 6, pg257.

Marriage record states: "Mar 28 (1870) Pigott Cornelius, 28, farmer,of William and Mary Bryan to Eagan Annie 18, of James and Margaret Walsh.Witnesses: John Walsh and Bridget Eagan. By James F. Dalton."

NOTE:
Cornelius Pigott is buried in the family plot of Mt. Calvary Cemetery,on North 11th St., Cherokee, Iowa. The plot is located about 50 feetsouth of the gate at the 11th street entrance approximately 10 feet eastof the road. To mark the Pigott burial area, there is a tall stoneoblisk topped by a cross. The sides of the oblisk bear inscriptions onthree sides which mention Annie (Eagan) Pigott, Ella C. (Ragan) Pigott,Edward Pigott (d.1881) and Joseph Pigott (d.1882). As of 1993 there wasno mention of Cornelius Sr. or Cornelius Jr. but the records of theImmaculate Conception Church show the burials to be as shown below. Twostones bear the word "Mother" and nothing else and other stones areunmarked.
___________________________________________________
|MOTHER | |Infant| | |MOTHER|
| Ella | |Female|_______|Corn. |Annie |
11th St. | C. |______|______| | Pigott | Eagan |
<----Gate |Ragan |Dennis| Cor. Sr. | MONUMENT | |Pigott| <----North
|Pigott |Pigott| Pigott | | | |
| | | Jr . |_________|_________| |
| | | | |Joseph|Edward| |
|_______|______|______|_____|______|______|_______|

See HISTORY OF CHEROKEE COUNTY (1914 op.cit.) for article stating thatMr. & Mrs. Cornelius Piggot (sic) each contributed a large stained glasswindow to St. Mary's Church, now the Church of the Immaculate Conception,721 West Cedar, Cherokee, Iowa. As seen in 1993 the windows were infront on the left or east side, nearest the pulpit. They catch themorning light and they bear the inscription "Gift of C. Pigott, Sr." and"Gift of Mrs. C. Pigott Sr."

SUMMARY:
The first Pigott that we believe emigrated from Ireland to the UnitedStates was Cornelius Pigott's older brother, John Pigott (b. 1831 ), whostated on his citizenship declaration that he had emigrated i n 1860 fromthe port of Queenstown (Cobh), the port near Cork City in County Cork,Ireland. It is likely that Cornelius Pigott followed his brother usingthe same route.

In completing his citizenship application on May 22, 1869, JohnPigott, in addition to swearing that he had come from Ireland in 1860,swore that he had lived in the United States, specifically MarquetteCounty, Michigan , for at least five years immediately before 1869. Thuswe know that John was already in Michigan when Cornelius arrived theresometime before 1869.

On June 12, 1869, Cornelius Pigott, some 20 days after his brotherreceived his United States citizenship, had signed his Declaration ofIntent to become a citizen. He had been in America for 3 years prior tothis time, arriving in 1866. The bride-to-be of Cornelius, Annie Eagan,lived in New Jersey, so he must have spent some time in that area. Heprobably landed in the New York area and met Annie before going toMarquette County, Michigan, to be with his brother or brothers.

On March 28, 1870, about ten months after signing his citizenshippapers in Marquette County, Michigan, Cornelius and Annie Eagan weremarried in Saint Joseph's Catholic Church, Newark, New Jersey by theReverend James F. Dalton. She was the daughter of James and Margaret(Walsh) Eagan. Her age was given as 18. Witnesses were John Walsh andBridget Eagan. Bridget was Annie's 15 year old sister and John wasprobably her uncle. The couple apparently proceeded immediately toNauganee, Marquette County, Michigan, for it was on July 20, 1870 thattheir first child, William, undoubtedly named after the father ofCornelius, was born. The occupation of Cornelius is shown on the birthrecord as a mine supervisor.

Cornelius and Annie (Eagan) Sparks had five children in Nauganee.After William came John James Pigott, born October 17, 1871; Annie Pigott, born in 1872; Cornelius Pigott, Jr., born January 13, 1875; and DennisHenry Pigott born May 2, 1876. All of the boys were named afterCornelius or his brothers and the girl was named after her mother.

After the birth of his third child, Cornelius Pigott travelled toCherokee County, Iowa where, in April, 1873, he homesteaded 120 acres inSheridan Township just west of the town of Cherokee, Iowa. The plot waspurchased from the Iowa Falls and Sioux City Railroad Company inconsideration of the sum of Eight Hundred Sixty-four Dollars. It was theSouth half of the Northeast quarter and the Southeast quarter of theNorthwest quarter of Section 25, Township 92, Range 41. Reference can befound to the deed in the General Index to Deeds, No. 2, Cherokee CountyRecords, p 210. It was dated April 15, 1873, and was recorded April 30,1873.

"The early settlement of Cherokee County was considerably retarded byreason of intermittent Indian scares which were centered principally inDickinson County, located in the second tier of counties to the northabou thirty miles from the north boundary line of Cherokee County.Though, through treaties made with the Sioux Indians in 1851, theirinterest in the area was purchased for $3,000,000, some of the Indianswere reluctant to leave the region around Spirit Lake, in DickinsonCounty, which had been their favorite hunting and camping ground, andsome of them continued to live in the neighborhood.

"In 1857, a band of braves came through Cherokee County taking fromthe settlers guns and food. No serious damage was done until theyreached Spirit Lake where they killed 41 settlers and captured 4 women.The news of this massacre and of continued threats of hostilities did notencourage settlement of Cherokee County. By 1859 only 85 persons hadsettled there. This number dwindled to 58 the next year and to 20 in1862 according to the state census. After the New Ulm, Minnesota,massacre, in the summer of 1862, it is recorded that there were only 6people left in the entire county.

"However, the trouble with the Indians was eventually adjusted, in oneway or another and settlers began to flock into Cherokee County. Thepopulation increased from sixty-four in 1865 to 1,916 in 1870. In thenext five years it increased to 4,245 and to more than 8,245 by 1880."INVENTORY OF THE COUNTY ARCHIVES OF IOWA, No. 18, CHEROKEE COUNTY,Genealogical Society of Utah, No. 22427.

Cornelius Pigott would qualify as a pioneer settler of CherokeeCounty. It is more striking to note that his original homestead of 120acres, plus an additional forty acres, has remained in the Pigott familyfor over 125 years and is owned by a grandson of Cornelius, William J.Pigott, son of Joseph Edward Pigott, and was being actively farmed byWilliam and his sons and grandsons in 1999.

Perhaps Cornelius was in the process of building housing for hisfamily and preparing the soil for planting or perhaps he was concernedabout the safety of his family. Whatever the reason, the family did notmove to Cherokee County, Iowa, to live on the homestead until sometimebetween May of 1876 (the birth of Dennis in Michigan) and April, 1878(the birth of Edward in Cherokee). We can only speculate that CorneliusPigott traveled back and forth between Michigan and Iowa during thatperiod of time.

The family continued to grow with the addition of Edward Pigott, bornApril 23, 1878; Catherine Pigott, born 1880; Joseph Pigott, born April 6,1881, Joseph Edward Pigott, born January 8, 1883; Maggie Pigott, bornApril 14, 1884; and Mary Josephine Pigott, born May 16, 1886. Edwarddied at the age of 3 on May 1, 1881, and Joseph died at age 1 on May 2,1881. The remaining 9 children survived into adulthood.

We do not have many details concerning the lives of Cornelius andAnnie (Eagan) Pigott. We do know that on May 28, 1887, Corneliuspurchased a farm 160 acres in size located in Section 23, which sectionwas immediately northwest of Section 25 where the family homestead waslocated. Cornelius paid Twenty-two hundred dollars to the widow MargaretClarey and her children for this farm. The deed was recorded in Book Pof the Cherokee County Deed Register at page 513 on June 7, 1888.

Just prior to recordation, on March 16, 1888, Annie died. This wasless than 2 years after the birth of their last child, Mary JosephinePigott, in May, 1886. Annie was buried in the family plot at Mt. CalvaryCemetary, Cherokee, Iowa. Without a census for 1890 we do not know howmany children remained at home with Cornelius but his oldest sons,William and John were 17 and 16 at the time of their mother's death.

In 1894, Cornelius was married to Ella (Ellen) C. Ragan. The 1895Iowa Census for Cherokee County, showed Cornelius at age 54, Ella 40,Cornelius Jr., 20, Dennis 18, Kate 15, Edward 14, Maggie 10, and Mary 8. Ella was shown as having been born in Jackson County, Iowa with herparents of foreign birth and with her as a catholic. A subsequent censusindicated that they were married in 1894 but a record of the marriage hasnot been found. A son, Leo Francis Pigott was born to the couple on June26, 1896. In the U. S. Census for 1900, remaining at home with Corneliusand Ella were Cornelius Jr., 25, Edward, 17, Maggie, 16, Mary 14, andLeo, 4. The census shows Ella's parent's place of birth as Ireland andshows her place of birth as Iowa. It incorrectly shows Leo's mother'splace of birth as Ireland. It states that Cornelius and Ella (Regan)Pigott had been married for six years and that Cornelius immigrated in1866.

An interesting deed dated July 17, 1897 has been found. The deed isfor a forty-acre parcel having a common boundary line with the 320 acreparcel in section 23 purchased by Cornelius Pigott on May 28, 1877.However, this deed is from the Administrator of the Estate of J. B.Ingels to Ella C. Pigott and Leo Francis Pigott, the latter being 11months old. The purchase price was Ten Hundred and Sixty Dollars. It isnot known if this acreage was paid for by Cornelius or by Ella C. (Ragan)Pigott or was inherited by Ella from the estate of her possible formerspouse, J. B. Ingels.

A sad episode involving Dennis Pigott occurred in November, 1909 . Itis apparent that Dennis was suffering from a mental illness in view ofthe events which occurred at that time. He was involved in the death ofa seventy-five year old man from suspicious causes. Dennis, 33 , wasfound responsible for the mans death and was ordered into the statemental hospital at Cherokee where he spent the remainder of his life. Hedied on April 2, 1927 in the hospital. See HISTORY OF CHEROKEE COUNTYIOWA by Thomas McCulla, 1914; p. 404.

Cornelius and Ella (Ragan) Pigott are mentioned in the History ofCherokee County for having donated two large stained glass windows to theImmaculate Conception Catholic Church in Cherokee, which windows beartheir names and were in place in 1993. HISTORY OF CHEROKEE COUNTY IOWA,op.cit., p p 276-7. On October 5, 1891, an order was entered in theUnited States District Court, Cherokee County, Iowa, granting U. S.Citizenship to Cornelius Pigott . He had lived in the U.S. fortwenty-five years.

On July 18, 1910, Ella (Ragan) Pigott died and was buried in thePigott Family Plot in the Mt. Calvary Cemetary in Cherokee. On October27 , 1915 she was joined in death by Cornelius Pigott who was also buriedin the family plot. The members of the family which were ultimatelyburied in the Pigott Family Plot were Cornelius Pigott, Annie (Eagan)Pigott, Ella C. (Ragan) Pigott, Cornelius Pigott, Jr., Joseph Pigott,Edward Pigott and an unidentified female infant. This may have beenRosella Pigott, daughter of John J. Pigott and twin sister of survivingCecelia E. Pigott.

According to the records which survive, the probate of the Last Willand Testament of Cornelius Pigott took several years. A copy of his willdated October 5, 1915, can be found in Will Record 4, Cherokee County, p.486. The will makes the following bequests: 1. To William Pigott, twothousand dollars; 2. To John Pigott, three thousand dollars; 3. To Annie(Pigott) Everhart, three thousand dollars; 4. To Maggie (Pigott) Myers,three thousand dollars; 5. To Kathryn (Pigott) O'Connell, two thousanddollars; 6. To Joseph Edward Pigott, six thousand dollars; 7. ToCornelius Pigott (Jr.), one thousand dollars; 8. To Mary Josephine(Pigott) Dunn, eight thousand dollars. 9. "Having heretofore madesuitable provisions for my beloved son Leo Francis Pigott out of myestate, it is therefore my will that he shall share no further in my saidestate." It is assumed that Cornelius Pigott is referring to the 40 acreparcel purchased in the name of Ella Pigott and Leo Francis Pigott in1897. 10. To William, John, Maggie, Annie, Kathryn, Joseph Edward,Cornelius and Mary Josephine, a remainder interest in the northeastern1/4 of the quarter section he had purchased in 1887, subject to alife-estate for the benefit of Dennis Pigott.

Dennis was to receive the benefits from that 40 acre parcel for theremainder of his life. Cornelius named William Dunn, husband of hisdaughter Mary Josephine (Pigott) Dunn, as trustee for Dennis Pigott .William was authorized to "lease out" the property and to lease it tohimself at an annual rental of four dollars per acre, not to exceed tenyears. Thereafter, if Dennis was still alive, the current going rate wasto be used. Total compensation to William Dunn was the reduced rentoffered to him. The residue of the estate was to be divided equallybetween the eight children named above (excluding Dennis Pigott and LeoFrancis Pigott).

Cornelius named his friend, Con Sullivan of Cherokee, Iowa, asexecutor of the will. The will was witnessed by John Scott and B. O.Cobb. The Petition for Probate of Will was filed October 29, 1915 butthe will was not admitted to probate until an order was filed January 31,1917, some fifteen months later. In the meantime, on October 16, 1915,Con Sullivan was appointed Special Administrator at the request of MaryJosephine Dunn who stated that there was a family dispute. On October11, 1917, the Executor filed a "List of Heirs and Real Estate" providingthe names and residences of the ten children of Cornelius Pigott. All ofthe children were in Cherokee, Iowa excepting John who was in Alexandria,South Dakota, Maggie Meyers who was in Seattle, Washington, and LeoFrancis Pigott who was in Wilmer, Minnesota. The real property consistedof 160 acres being the original homestead plus 40 additional acrespurchased subsequently, an additional 40 acres of the 160 in section 25and a residential lot in "New Cherokee, Iowa."

In the October, 1917 term of the District Court of Cherokee, Iowa ,the Executor filed a petition for an order to sell real estate describedas the 160 acres above referred to together with the residential lot. Thepetition alleges that there is insufficient cash to pay the specificbequests totaling $28,000 and that it is necessary to sell the referencedproperty in order to pay the bequests. No permission is requested tosell the 40 acre parcel in Section 25, left in trust for the benefit ofDennis Pigott for his life. A copy of the notice of filing the petitionwas served on George Donohoe, Superintendent of the Cherokee StateHospital on behalf of a patient , Dennis Pigott. Mr. Donohoe stated thathe accepted service of the notice for the reason "that personal serviceof the said notice upon the said Dennis Pigott would, in my opinion,injuriously affect such patient, and that personal service shall not bemade upon him." On May 6, 1918, an Order For Sale of Real Estate wasfiled with the clerk of the court. The appraisers appointed to appraisethe property filed their appraisal on June 10, 1918 and found the 160acre parcel to be worth $32,000 and the city lot to be worth $2,500.

In July, 1918, the Executor filed his Report of Sale of Real Estatestating that he had sold the 160 acre parcel to Joseph E. Pigott for thesum of $37,920 of which $3,000 was paid in cash and the balance of$34,920 was due on March 1, 1919. The Executor further advised the courtthat he had sold the city lot to John McTasney for $2,800 of which $500was paid down and the balance of $2,300 was due on receipt of a deed andan abstract of title.

On September 24, 1918, just three weeks prior to the end of World WarI, an Order Approving Sale of Real Estate was filed with the clerk of thecourt. On March 25, 1919, the court made an order awarding $1,000statutory and extraordinary fees to Cornelius Sullivan and $3,000 to hisattorneys . It is assumed that the Joseph E. Pigott had made payment ofthe balance of his purchase price which was due on March 1, 1919 and thatthe estate was ready for distribution. Since the real property sold for$40,720 and the fees totaled $4,000, there was $36,720 remaining, lesscosts, for the payment of bequests. It is assumed that there was somecash and some other assets so that the executor was able to pay thespecific bequests in full.

Since Dennis Pigott did not die until 1927, the heirs were forced towait until that time for the balance of their inheritance. The Dunnfamily and several descendants of Joseph E. Pigott remained in CherokeeCounty in 1993. Descendants of Cornelius Pigott, Jr., settled in theSioux City, Iowa area. Descendants of John Pigott live in California andin South Dakota and descentants of Maggie Meyers live in the State ofWashington. We have no information on descendants of the other childrenof Cornelius Pigott at this time.

MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION
The address of the Catholic Church in Meriden is Marryhill CatholicChurch, R.R. 3, Cherokee, IA.
The Cherokee County Genealogical Society is located care of PrairieManor, Cleghorn, IA 51014. Attn: Pat Behrens (712) 443-8343.
The telephone number of the Cherokee Historical Society is (712) 4362624.
Information on the age of Cornelius varies somewhat. His deathcertificate dated 24 October, 1915 gives his age as 76 years, 10 months,20 days which indicates a birth date of 4 December 1838. According tohis baptismal certificate he was baptised on July 7, 1839. This indicates that his parents waited 7 months after his birth to have him baptised.The 1851 census shows him as 14 years of age which is accurate if thecensus was taken after Dec 1851. His marriage record indicates his birthin 1838 . In the 1900 US Census he is shown as having been born inDecember 1838.

An interesting fact was discovered while browsing the SocialSecurity records. A Cornelius Pigott was born April 15, 1898, possiblyin New York, and died in October, 1983, in New Jersey. His last addresswas in zip code area 07834 which is for Denville, Morris County, NewJersey. This is immediately west of Essex County, where our Corneliuswas married years earlier. Under the theory that one of Corneliusbrothers had been an early settler in New Jersey and had introducedCornelius to Annie Eagan, this Cornelius could be a grandson of thatbrother and named after an uncle, or our Cornelius himself. It might beinteresting to check this fellow out. His SS# is 106-38-3646.

.

!VITAL RECORD:
Birth Records, Nauganee, Marquette Co., MI., 187O-8O, Index of Records at
FHL #1OO753O, Birth Records at FHL #1OO7531, Vol II, page 112, line 9,
Cornelius Pickett (sic) born January 13, 1875. Record Number 783.
For source see also library book 977.496V22i and microfische 6049161.

!MARRIAGE:
Cherokee County, Iowa, INDEX TO MARRIAGE RECORDS, 1896-1939, p 31 7 re-
fers to MARRIAGE RECORDS, Book 6, p 78 which provides the following:
License No.: 3853; Date of License: 7 May 1906; Name of Groom: Cor-
nelius Pigott; Residence: Cherokee, Iowa; Occupation: Farmer: Age: 3 0;
Race: White; Marriage: 1st; Born: Michigan; Name of Father: Cornelius
Pigott; Name of Mother: Annie Eagan.
Bride: Name: Mary Elsie Scurlock; Residence: Cherokee, Iowa; Age : 20;
Race: White; Born: Sheridan T/S, Cherokee County, Iowa; Name of Fathe r:
Scott Scurlock; Name of Mother: Elizabeth Head; Date and Place of Marriage:
May 8, 1906, Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, Cherokee, Iowa;
Witnesses: Edward Pigott, Mary Pigott. Performed by: Fr. William P. Desmond.

!NOTES:
Letter from Robert S. Pigott Sr. dated March 3, 1991, grandson of
Cornelius Pigott (1875) provides dates of birth and death of grandparents,
names of children of Cornelius including Cornelius III, father of Rob ert.

.

!NOTES:
Cornelius is the father of Robert S. Pigott, Sr. who wrote to me o n 3Feb
1991 with information on the Pigott family. Bob's brother is James F .Pigott.
In that letter he said his father was born on 21 Oct 191O. He wrot eagain on
3 March and told me his father was born on 21 Oct 1912. He said tha tCorne-
lius had a twin, Joseph E. born on 21, Oct 1912 so I'll use that dat e.

!SOCIAL SECURITY RECORDS
Cornelius Pigott was #48-07-5937 and, according to government records, he
was born on October 21, 1912 and died in December, 1983. His card wa sissued
in Iowa and the zip code of his last known residence was 50588 whic h isfor
Juniata or Lakeside, Buena Vista County, Ia.

!NOTES:
Letter from Robert S. Pigott advises that his brother, Cornelius Phillip
Pigott, born 10/17/42 lives in Fresno, California.

.

!BIRTH:
Birth Records, Nauganee, Marquette Co. MI., 187O-8O, Index of Reco rdsFHL
#1OO753O, Birth Records FHL #1OO7531, Volume II, page 175, line 9; Dennis H.
Pickett (sic) born 2 May 1876. Record Number 575. Book 977.496V22i i nFamily
History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah. Microfische 6049161.

!DEATH:
DEATH REGISTER OF CHEROKEE COUNTY, IOWA, p 228: Dennis H. Pigott ,April
2, 1927, Age, 49, Laboror; Cause of death: Exhaustion, Dementia Preco x.
FHL 1428671.

!COURT RECORD:
CHEROKEE COUNTY PROBATE INDEX, pg 154, Item 2403, Docket Book 11 , pg275;
Probate Book 24 @@ pg 234, Book 1 @@ pg 61, Book 28 @@ pgs 153, 159.
!NOTE:
The following appeared in "History of Cherokee County" Iowa by Tho masMc
Culla, Chicago (1914) pg 404: "The next murder was that of Thoma sRaftery
who was found in a comatose condition verging on death on the morn ingof Nov.
19, 1909, at his farm in Sheridan Township. Mr. Raftery was a ma nseventy-
five years of age and lived alone in a hut on his farm. The nigh tprevious
to the poisoning, a young man by the name of Dennis Piggot staye dwith him,
but claimed that he had left early in the morning and that Rafter ywas all-
right at that time. Early in the morning Jack Shea had occasion t ovisit the
Raftery house and on entering found Mr. Raftery lying on the floo r ina dying
condition. The dishes had been thrown from the table and there we re
evidences of the shack having been ransacked. He gave the alarm a nd a
corners inquest was held and the contents of the stomach sent to t hestate
chemist for analysis and chloral hydrate was found in considerabl equan-
taties in the stomach. The inquest had been adjourned to await th is
report when Pigott confessed that he had administered the chloral
hydrate. He was later indicted and tried for this murder. The ju ry
found him guilty of the act as charged but that he was insane at
the time he committed the act.
The judge ordered him confined to a private institution at Coun cil
Bluffs, where he remained for a year or two and then returned to t his
city, when, on motion of the county attorney, W. P. McCulla, the c ourt
ordered him to be confined at the state hospital in this city, whe re
he has been ever since."
(Sidenote: During our trip to Ireland in 1991, on my birthday , 3OAug,
we were on an Insight Tour and our tour director, John Dempsey, arran geda
cake and bought me a drink of fine Irish whiskey. The locatation: Galway.
The name of the pub: Raftery's!

.

!BURIAL:
Edward Pigott died just after reaching 3 years of age. He is buri ed
in the Pigott family plot in the Mt. Calvary Cemetary in Cherokee, Io wa,
next to his parents and some siblings. The large monument bears th e in-
scription "EDWARD Died May 1, 1881 Age 3yrs 8 days."

.

!NOTES:
This child of Joseph Edward and Pearl Pigott died in infancy accor ding
to her brother, Paul Edward Pigott.

BAPTISM:
Hazel Agatha Pigott was baptised on December 13, 1896 in Cherokee ,Iowa by Father J. T. Saunders. Witnesses were Cornelius Pigott and LizSmith.

NOTES:
Information as to dates of death was taken from the Coyne Family Biblein the possession of Loretta Ann Pigott Sullivan, 320 East Third St.,Mitchell, S.D.

BIRTH:
Social Security records show that Ila Tyo was born on September 12,1897.

BAPTISM:
Ila Catherine Pigott was baptised September 13, 1897 in Cherokee ,Iowa by Father J. T. Saunders. Witnesses were Pat Donovan and Ann aDonovan.

DEATH:
Social Security records for Ila indicate that she died on November 21,1991. No place is given in the records but she is believed to have been aresident of San Raphel, California..

NOTES:
Notified of Ila's death by Loretta Ann Sullivan, daughter of Ila' ssister Hazel Pigott Coyne. Details of birth date, christening date anddate of death were taken from the William Coyne Family Bible in thepossession of Loretta Coyne Sullivan 320 Third Street, Mitchell , SD.

.
!NOTES:
His father advises that James had two children Mona and Mike. We
have no further information on them nor on their mother.

!NOTES:
Letter from Robert S. Pigott advises that his brother, James F. Pigott lives
in Storm Lake, Iowa.

COURT DOCUMENTS:
Index to Declaration of Intention to become citizen, (845796) Marquette Co., Michigan, Liber 3 Page 99.
Naturalization Documents of John Pigott dated May 22, 1869, Circui tCourt of the Upper Peninsula for the County of Marquette, State ofMichigan , Volume A, page 52; FHL 1845797; photocopy in possession ofJames J. Sparks , San Carlos, California.

On June 12, 1869, Cornelius Pigott, John's older brother, signed underoath, in the Circuit Court of the Upper Peninsula for the County ofMarquette, State of Michigan, his Declaration of Intention to become acitizen of the US and he renounced his British citizenship. The clerk ofthe court wrote in the name Cornelius Pickett but the signature below wasclearly "Cornelius Pigott." Three weeks earlier, on May 22, 1869, aJohn Picket executed the following documents:

State of Michigan ) Circuit Court of the Upper Peninsula forsaid County,
County of Marquette,)

John Picket, an alien, being of the age of abouttwenty five years, desirous of becoming a citizen of the United States ofAmerica, in conformity to the Laws of the United States, relative to theNaturalization of Aliens, comes into the Court aforesaid, now in sessionand makes t he following declaration, viz:

That he was born in the County of Cork in Ireland in allegiance to theQueen of Great Brittian and Ireland that he emigrated from Irelandsailing from the port of Queenstown in the year a.d. 1860 and arrived inthe United States in the same year; and that he arrived in the State ofMichigan in the year a.d. 1860 and that he intends to settle and remainin the County of Marquette in said State of Michigan.

Done at Marquette, this twenty second day of May A.D. 1869.

I, John Pickett above named, do solemnly swear that the facts setforth in the above declaration are true, and that it is bona fide myintentio n to become a citizen of the United States, and to renounceforever all allegiance
and fidelity to each and every foreign Prince, Potentate, State, orSovereignty whatever, and particularly the Queen of Great Brittan andIreland of whom I am a subject.

Sworn to and subscribed before me this 22d day of May, 1869.
Ariel N. Beressey, Deputy Clerk his

John X Picket

mark
.
STATE OF MICHIGAN ) Circuit Court of said County
COUNTY OF MARQUETTE, ) Of the May Term, 1869
WE, Timothy Curran and Daniel Laughlin, of Marquette County and St ateof Michigan, do swear that the Petitioner John Picket has resided withinthe limits and under the jurisdiction of the United States of Americafive years and within the State of Michigan one year; that is to say, he,the said John Picket, has resided in the County of Marquette, State ofMichigan.....all of which places are within and under the Constitution ofthe Unit ed States; and that during his residence within the UnitedStates, he had behaved as a man of good moral character, attached to theConstitution of the United States, and well disposed to good order andhappiness of the same.
Sworn and subscribed in open Court this 22nd day of May A.D. 1869

Timothy Curran

Ariel N. Beressey,
Daniel Laughlin
Deputy Clerk

I, John Pickett do swear that I will support the Constitution of theUnited States, and that I do absolutely and entirely renounce and abjurefor ever all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign Prince, Potentate,State, and
Sovereignty whatever, and particularly do absolutely and entirelyrenounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to Queen of Great Britianand Ireland whereof I was a subject.
Sworn and subscribed in open Court this 22nd Day of May A.D. 1869 his

John X Picket
Ariel N. Beressey, DeputyClerk mark

John Pigott was born in 1831 and, in 1869, would have been 38 yearsold, not 25 as stated in the application. It seems probable that thisJohn is in fact the brother of Cornelius Pigott since the latter executedhis intent
to become a U.S. Citizen just 20 days after John's declaration and beforethe same clerk in Marquette, Michigan. It is just as probable that Johnmisunderstood the question of his age and assumed it asked for his age atthe time he entered the United States in 1860. At that time he was 28 or29 years of age. He may not have known his precise age but this isunlikely.

.

!DEATH:
DEATH REGISTER OF CHEROKEE COUNTY, IOWA, pg 156 (?): John Howard
Pigott, October 24, 1919, age unknown, Acute Indigestion. FHL 1428671.

COURT RECORDS:
BIRTH: Birth Records, Nauganee, Marquette Co., MI., 187O-8O, Index ofRecords FHL #1OO753O, Birth Records FHL #1OO7531, Vol I, page 121, line8: John James Pigott, born 17 Oct 1871. Record number 306; Book977.496V22i. Certificate of Birth #0012568, Michigan Dept. of Health(Certified copy in possession of James J. Sparks, San Carlos, CA.)

RECORDER'S RECORD:
Agreement for the Sale of Real Estate for the purchase of 227 DaisyAvenue, Long Beach, CA., made on May 1, 1920, John James Pigott andCatherine Pigott purchasers, and Laura E. Thorton, seller, executed May8, 1920 and recorded in Volume 7227 of Records at Pages 11 and 12 on May10, 1920. (Photocopy in possession of James J. Sparks, San Carlos, CA.)

MARRIAGE
FHL #1035292 INDEX TO REGISTER OF MARRIAGES, Cherokee Co., Iowa 1889-1896 V3, p 129, REGISTER OF MARRIAGES, Book 3, p556: #2257 District CourtClerk, Cherokee County, dated 23 Feb, 1895 returned 30 April 1895,Registered May 1, 1895. (Cert. copy in possession of James J . Sparks,San Carlos, CA) Information on the register is as follows: MarriedFebruary 23, 1895; affidavit made by Mr. Hugh Dogherty; groom: John J.Piggott (sic); place of residence: Cherokee County, Iowa; occupation:farmer; age: 24; color: white; groom's place of birth : Michigan; groom'sfather's name: Cornelius Piggott (sic); groom's m other's maiden name:Annie Eagan; bride: Katie Smith; place of residence: Cherokee County,Iowa; age: 18; color: white; 1st marriage; bride's place of birth,Cherokee County, Iowa; bride's father's name: Christopher Smith; bride'smother's full maiden name: Esther Brennan; when and where married:Cherokee, Iowa February 25, 1895; witnesses, Hugh Dougherty, Agnes Smith;by whom married: James T. Saunders, Catholic Priest; date of return:April 30, 1895; when registered: May 1, 1895; signed: D. M. McNeal,Clerk, District Court.

DEATH:
State of California, Dept. of Health Services; death cert. 48-059921, Dist. 1903, Registrar's No. 1485 issued 13 Sep 1990 (Certified copyin possession of James J. Sparks, San Carlos, CA) Information on theDeath Certificate is as follows: Died August 31, 1948; Place of death:Long Beach, Los Angeles County, California; time in state : 29 years;age: 76 years, 10 months, 14 days; born: Negaunee, Michigan; usualoccupation: Longshoreman (retired); (includes names and birthplaces ofparents) informant: Cecelia E. Sparks, 834 Obispo Avenue , Long Beach,California; entombment: 2 September, 1948 at Calvary Mausoleum, LosAngeles, California; usual residence: 227 Daisy Avenue , Long Beach, LosAngeles County, California. Cause of death: cerebral hemorrage.

CENSUS:
1900 U.S. Census, Sheridan T/S, Cherokee Co., IA; Nat'l Arch., SanBruno, T ???, Roll 423; See form in file.
1910 U.S. Census, Sheridan T/S, Cherokee Co., IA; SD #11, ED #25 ,Sheet 7, Nat'l Arch., San Bruno, CA T ???, Roll ???; See form in file.
1920 U. S. Census, Alexandria, Hanson Co., SD; Enum. D. 86, Sheet 10,line 87. National Archives, San Bruno, Soundex for P230, Reel 3 3 SD;Census Reel 1719, Cherokee Co, Sheridan T/S; Jan, 1920. See form infile. Census records show that six lodgers were enumerated with thefamily; John Pigott worked on his "own account" in his "Pool Hall".According to Cecelia (Pigott) Sparks, this Pool Hall contained a bowlingalley with two lanes.

RESEARCH NOTES:
BIRTH: Birth of children, checked FHL #1035290, birth records forCherokee County, IA 1880-1907, found Celia, no others.

SUMMARY:
John James Pigott was born the second of eleven children on October17, 1871. His father Cornelius was born in Kilworth, a small villagenear Fermoy in the northern part of County Cork, Ireland. He migrated toAmerica in 1866. It is believed that Cornelius' older brother, John,after whom we believe John James Pigott was named, had arrived in Americain 1860. That same year he was living in Nauganee, Marquette County,Michigan, and had applied for U.S. citizenship. He was joined there byCornelius before 1869 and before hismarriage to Annie Eagan in 1870. Itis not known how Cornelius and Annie met. She was born in the UnitedStates about 1852 or 1853. Her parents, James Egan and Margaret WalshEagan were born in Ireland and, it is assumed, came to America during thefamine, and settled in New Jersey. It was there, on March 28, 1870, thatCornelius and Annie were married.

Cornelius immediately returned to Nauganee, Michigan where their firstchild, William, was born on July 20, 1870. It is assumed that Williamwas named after Cornelius' father. John James Pigott was born inNauganee, on October 17, 1871 as were his next four siblings. Forreasons yet unknown, Cornelius travelled to Cherokee County, Iowa, where,on April 30, 1873, he purchased 120 acres of farmland. From the deathrecord of Edward, who was the sixth child of Cornelius and Annie, and whodied May 1, 1881, we learn that the entire family of eight moved toCherokee County in June, 1878 when John was almost seven years of age.Five more children were born to Cornelius and Annie in Cherokee, Iowa.Cornelius prospered and, by June, 1888, he purchased another farmcomprising 320 acres.

Christopher Smith, the father of Catherine Smith and futurefather-in-law of John Pigott, was born in Ireland in 1819. He is firstfound in Iowa Township, Benton County, Iowa in the 1860 census, livingwith his wife Esther Brennan Smith. She was about 17 years of age andhad been born in Canada. The first Smith child, Bernard, was born inBenton County in 1861. Seven more children were born there prior to thefamily's move to Diamond Township, Cherokee County, in about 1875. Theypurchased a 120 acre farm there and, on April 16, 1878, Catherine, thefuture spouse
of John Pigott, was born.

According to his grave marker located in the Mt. Calvary Cemetary ,Cherokee, Iowa, Christopher Smith died 7 May, 1884 at the age of 65,leaving his wife and eight or nine children. Bernard, who was then about23 years of age, took over the management of the farm. By 1895, whenJohn was 23 years of age, he was found living on the Smith farm inDiamond Township, probably as a helper to Bernard, who was now 34, andhis brothers. He is shown on the Iowa State Census taken May 11 , 1895,as a single person as is Catherine, age 16. In fact, they had beenmarried
on February 25 of that year. Catherine was 17 on April 16th, 1895.

They had five children, all girls. The first one, Hazel, was born onJuly 12, 1896. Ila followed on September 13, 1897. In the 1900 censusof Sheridan Township, Cherokee County, Iowa, the family of four is foundwith John shown as a farmer. May Loretta, was born March 19, 1904 andthe twins, Cecelia and Rosella were born May 3, 1906, all in Cherokee,Iowa. Rosella did not survive and died the next day. She is belived tobe buried with her grandparents as the "Infant Female" shown on therecords of the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Cherokee, Iowa,in the Pigott family plot at the Mt. Carmel Catholic Cemetary inCherokee, Iowa.

The 1910 census of Sheridan Township finds the family of sixaccompanied by Catherine 's mother, Esther, aged 65. Esther advised thatboth of her parents were born in Ireland and that she was born in Canada,probably Quebec.

The following year, a photograph which has survived bearing the date1911, shows the family in front of a new farmhouse in Ethan, Davison Co.,South Dakota. Three years later, on October 7, 1914, the oldestdaughter, Hazel, married William J. Coyne in Ethan and they later movedto Mitchell, South Dakota where they lived for the rest of their lives.Hazel Pigott Coyne died after May 1974 in Mitchell. The three youngerPigott girls lived on the farm with their parents for several years.John's father, Cornelius Pigott died in Cherokee County, Iowa, on October24, 1915. His estate was in probate for several years. We learned fromhis probate records that, by October 11, 1917, the John J. Pigott familyhad moved to Alexandria, Hanson County, South Dakota, John apparently hadbecome tired of farming and desired a change.

According to the 1920 census, John Pigott was operating a pool hallwhich he had purchased in Alexandria. Six lodgers were enumerated athome with the family. Cecelia (Pigott) Sparks revealed years later thatthe pool hall also contained a bowling alley with two lanes and that itwas the girls' responsibility to assist in maintaining the bowling lanesby removing the small stones which had become imbedded in the wood.During a trip to Alexandria by James and Ellen Sparks in 1993, an elderlygentleman remembered the town's only bowling alley. He revealed that thebuilding which had housed the pool hall and bowling alley had been torndown to make way for the Chamber of Commerce Building on the main streetof Alexandria.

The estate of Cornelius Pigott was closed in 1919 and John receivedthe sum of $3,000 as his share. On May 8, 1920, John and Catherine hadsigned a mortgage to purchase a two-story residence in Long Beach,California at 227 Daisy Street, west of the downtown area. The home hadseveral bedrooms and a storm cellar similar to the type with which theywere familiar in Iowa. The two younger girls, May and Cecelia, wereenrolled in school at St . Anthonys Roman Catholic High School in LongBeach. Within the year, Ila was married to Edmund Tyo, a butcher in LongBeach.

John found employment as a longshoreman in the busy port area of SanPedro-Wilmington nearby. At age 49, he was not too old to change careers. The reason that the family chose Long Beach as their destination isnot known. However, it is probable that friends of the family hadearlier come to Long Beach with the thousands of Iowans who did so in thenineteen-tens and twenties, and who had written to their former neighborsof the beauty and wonders to behold in Southern California, especially,as compared with Iowa and the Dakotas, the climate.

Loretta Mae, the next to youngest daughter married Newton T. Bass wholater purchased undeveloped land in the desert and established the townof Apple Valley, California. They were divorced in the early 1930s . Notlong thereafter, Loretta contracted tuberculosis from which she died in1933 in the town of Azusa, California, where she had been taken in aneffort to effect a cure. She never had children.

Cecelia, the youngest, married Joseph J. Sparks, in Long Beach, in1925. John and Catherine had no use for the upstairs portion of theirlarge home, and, to supplement their income, they took in severalboarders whom they called "roomers", a practice which they had apparentlystarted during the few years they lived in Alexandria, South Dakota,before migrating to Southern California. John Pigott continued to workas a longshoreman during World II while in his seventies. He finallyretired at the war's end.

Both John and Catherine were devout Roman Catholics and theyregularly attended church services at St. Anthony's Church in Long Beach. John died of a cerebral hemorrage on August 21, 1948 at the age ofalmost 77 years. Catherine sold the home at 227 Daisy Avenue shortlythereafter. She moved into an apartment on Gladys Avenue near TempleStreet adjacent to St. Matthew's Catholic Church and near her daughterCecelia (Pigott) Sparks. Catherine died on May 29, 1957 at the age of 79years.

Both John and Catherine were interred at the Calvary CemetaryMausoleum, Los Angeles, California. Catherine held in her arms hergreat-grandson, James Terence Sparks, born November 10, 1956, prior toher death. He was the oldest grandchild of Catherine's youngestdaughter, Cecelia Pigott Sparks.

.
!NOTES:
There is a good deal of confusion concerning the date of the birt h ofJoseph Pigott because of many inconsistant records. There seem s to beno question that he died quite young on May 1, 1881.
In the US census of Cherokee County, Iowa, dated June 24, 1880 , aJoseph Pigott is enumerated in the Cornelius Pigott family as a c hild of2 years of age indicating birth in 1877 or 1878 in the stat e ofMichigan. Consistant with this is an entry in the Records of Ch erokeeCo., Register of Deaths, 1880-91, pg 4, entry 47 (FHL 1,035,29 4[2])which records his death as May 1, 1881 and his age as 3 years , 8 days(indicating a birth date of April 23, 1878). It further sta tes that helived in Iowa for 2 years, 11 months and that he was bor n in Michigan.
A mystery is created by a record in the Cherokee County birth reco rdsshowing a "male" Pigott born 6 April, 1881 in Sheridan Township . Thisis further complicated by the tombstone in the Pigott Famil y Plot in theMt. Calvary Cemetery which reads "JOSEPH, Died April 26 , 1882, Age 1year." My notes also refer to a birth record in Cherok ee County showinghis age at death as 1 year, 20 days. Though I di d not substantiate thisrecord, the dates are precisely accurate fo r the Joseph referred to inthis paragraph.
Is it possible that a child was born to the Pigotts on April 6, 18 81,and, before he was named, his older brother, Joseph, died three w eekslater on May 1, 1881; to alleviate their pain they named the new bornJoseph but, tragically, he died one year and twenty-one days lat er? Wedo know that their next son was born on January 1, 1883 and w as namedJoseph Edward Pigott. He was called Eddie rather than Josep h, howeveras I recall my mother referring to her Uncle Eddie befor e his death in1968.
If the speculation is true, the question remains, where was the fi rstJoseph buried? And why is there no record of the death of the se condJoseph on April 26, 1882 in the Cherokee County records?

[Brøderbund Family Archive #110, Vol. 2, Ed. 3, Social Security Records:U.S., SS Death Benefit Records, Surnames Beginning with P, Date ofImport: Mar 24, 1999, Internal Ref. #1.112.3.40006.20]

Individual: Pigott, Joseph
Birth date: Oct 21, 1912
Death date: Mar 8, 1988
Social Security #: 481-03-2734
Last residence: 78572
State of issue: IA

.

!MARRIAGE:
Cherokee County, Iowa, Register of Marriages 1910-1917, Vol. 3 , p 19:
Number of License: 4707; Date of License: 16 Sep 1912; Name of Groom:
Joseph Edward Pigott; Resident: Cherokee, Iowa; Occupation: Farmer; A ge:30;
Born: Michigan; Name of Father: Cornelius Pigott; Name of Mother: Ann ieEagan; Bride: Name: Pearl Mary Alexander; Residence: Cherokee, Io wa;Age: 21; Born: Nebraska; Name of Father: Henry Alexander; Name o fMother: Ella Hauser; Place of Marriage: Immaculate Conception Catho licChurch, Cherokee, Iowa; Date of Marriage: 18 Sep 1912; Witnesses :Charlie Jenkins, May Mansfield. Performed by Fr. William P. Desmond.

!NOTES:
Joseph Edward Pigott appears in the 1900 Census as a boy of 7 year sold. He also appears in the 1920 Census for Sheridan T/S Cherokee C o.,as a single man living with or next to the John J. Pigott family . Wehave some photos of "Eddie" and Pearl.
FHL 1508628, Obituary of Ed Pigott, spouse of Pearl Alexander provides his birth date of January 8, 1883. The Social Security record sfor Joseph Edward Pigott, # 480-44-7766, show that his card was iss uedin Iowa, it verifies the birthdate and death dates given above an d thathis last address was in zip code 51012, Cherokee, IA.

.

!DEED:
Leo Francis Pigott and Ella C. Pigott, Administrator's Deed dated
July 17, 1897, Book 2 of Deeds, Page 179, being the SE 1/4 of the
NE 1/4 of Sec 23, TS 92, R 41, FHL 1415902 Deed Index book pg 220;
FHL 1415955 includes deed itself.

!COURT RECORDS:
Incumbrance Book 3, Cherokee County, Iowa, (1428604), Leo F. Pigot t;
Annice E. D. Geckler vs Leo F. Pigott, Writ of Attachment September 2 7,
1917, 10:30 A.M.. The S 1/2 of NE 1/4 of Sec 23 TS 92, Range 41, Cherokee,
Ia.

!NOTE:
Based on the information at hand, we can only speculate about the
nature of the above deed to Leo Francis Pigott and Ella C. Pigott. T he
property is a 40-acre plot adjacent to the plot which had been purcha sed
by Cornelius in 1887 or 1888. It is possible that Cornelius had earl ier
agreed with Ella that, in consideration for her taking on the raisin g of
his large family, Cornelius purchased that parcel and placed it in her
name for her protection and that of their son. Leo was only 3 year s of
age when the deed was recorded.
Leo F. Pigott is reported in the probate index for Cherokee County
Iowa on the same page as his father Cornelius; i.e. Probate Index No.
1, page 216, line 1, item no. 1446. FHL # 1415960. It is likely in refer-
ence to the establishment of a Guardianship for him since he was th e only
child of Cornelius who was a minor at the time of the death of Cornel ius.
He died in 1987 in Garden Grove, Iowa.
The following was taken from a letter from Ardyth Dunn, daughter-i n-
law of Mary Josephine Pigott (40) (mother of her spouse James Dunn) t oJames
J. Sparks dated 11 Dec, 1993: "(Concerning Leo Francis Pigott) We visited them
several times when they lived in Garden Grove, Iowa and they were dea rpeople.
Uncle Leo and son stayed with us when Jim's (Dunn) mother died and th eydrove
up for the funeral. I have this much information: Leo Francis Pigot t -Born
6/26/1896; Died 8/25/1987. Married on 8/3/1917 to Anne --- who was bo rn5/4/??;
Died 10/16/1990. Both buried in Garden Grove, Iowa Cemetary. Had one
son, John and wife Marjorie, 5849 Ridgeview Dr., SW, Apt 827. Cedar Rapids,
IA 52404. Tel (319) 396-3519."
Social Security Records reveal his # 482-10-5194, verify his date s ofbirth
and death and his residence at death in Iowa, Zip 50103.

.
!NOTES:
Information on this family was provided by Leo's brother Paul Pigo tt.

.
!BAPTISM:
Margaret Pigott was baptised in St. Martin's Roman Catholic Church,
Kilworth, County Cork, Ireland on May 3, 1834. Sponsoring her were
Cornelius Pigott, presumed to be a brother of her father William, and
Catherine O'Brien, probably a sister of her mother, Margaret.

.

!NOTES:
Letter from Robert S. Pigott, Sr. gives Mary's married name as Sim mons
without other details.

.

!MARRIAGE:
Cherokee County, Iowa, INDEX TO REGISTER OF MARRIAGES, 1896-1939 , V.5,
p 319, REGISTER OF MARRIAGES 1889-1911, V. 2, p 214:
Number of License: 4214; Date of License: 13 Feb, 1909; Declarant : Ed
Pigott; Name of Groom: William Aloysius Dunn; Residence: Meriden; Occupation:
Farmer; Age 28; Birth: "Sorda Iriquois" (??); Name of Father: Michae lDunn;
Name of Mother: Sara Tierney;
Bride: Name: Mary Josephine Pigott; Residence: Cherokee; Age: 23, Marriage:
1st; Name of Father: Cornelius Pigott; Name of Mother: Annie Eagan; P lace
and date of Marriage: Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, Cherokee ,Iowa,
Feb 15, 1909. Witnesses: Edward Pigott, Maggie Dunn; Performed by Fr.
William P. Desmond.

!NOTES:
The baptism record for May Loretta Pigott on 30 March, 1904 in Cherokee
shows that the witnesses were William Dunn and Mary Pigott. This was
almost five years prior to their marriage.
This Mary Dunn filed a petition in the Estate of Cornelius Pigot t on
November 18, 1915 alleging a dispute in the family and requesting that
Cornelius Sullivan be appointed a Special Administrator of the Estate.
He was so appointed on Nov 16, 1915 and was finally discharged on Jun e4, 1917.
The Order Admitting Will to Probate (and Order Appointing Executor) w asnot
filed until January 31, 1917.
On March 25, 1919 Cornelius Sullivan received $1,000 for his statutory
and extraordinary fees.

.

!DEATH:
DEATH REGISTER OF CHEROKEE COUNTY, IOWA, pg 156, Maxine Lucille Pi gott
died February 8, 1918 of "malnutrition" at age 4. FHL 1428671.

!NOTES:
This child of Joseph Edward and Pearl Pigott died in infancy accor ding
to her brother Paul Edward Pigott.

BAPTISM:
May Loretta Pigott was baptised on 30 March, 1904 in Cherokee, Iowa byFather J. P. Barron. Witnesses were William Dunn and Mary Pigott.

NOTES:
May Loretta was known as Loretta Pigott. Sometime in the mid-1920 's,she was married to Newton T. Bass who later created Apple Valley ,California, from undeveloped desert land. They were divorced in theearly 1930's and Loretta died of tuberculosis in 1933 in Azusa,California where she had been moved from Long Beach for her health. Dateof death was recorded in the William Coyne Family Bible now in thepossession of Loretta Sullivan, 320 Third St., Mitchell, SD.

.

!NOTES:
All information on this family was provided in 1993 by Paul Pigott ,father
of Monica Pigott.

.

!BIRTH:
Record of Births, Cherokee County, Iowa, Vol. 2, p 320:
PAUL E. PIGOTT, Mar 3, 1914, father Ed Pigott, born Sheridan T/S,
Age 32, farmer; mother Pearl Mary Alexander, 22, born Nebraska, 1st Child.

!MISC:
The address of Paul and Vera Pigott in 1993 was 8153 S. Avenue, Cherokee,
IA 51012-7094.

.
!NOTES:
Ronnie Pigott's father advised that Ronnie had two sons, Dave born
about 1956 and Dean born about 1960. We have no information about his
spouse.

Information on Rosella was taken from the William Coyne Family Bible inthe possession of Loretta Coyne Sullivan, 320 Third St., Mitchell, SD,and from Cecelia E. Pigott Sparks during her life. This twin sister ofCecelia survived only for several hours. While, at this time, we have noinformation on the survival of Maggie Pigott, daughter of Cornelius andAnnie Eagan Pigott, it is possible that Rosella was buried in the Pigottfamily plot in Mt. Calvary Cemetary in Cherokee, Iowa, in the small spacemarked in the church records, "Infant Female." There is no record of thedeath of Maggie Pigott in the C herokee County Death Records, nor ofRosella.

This family remained in Negaunee, Michigan for many years. Annie Pigottis shown as living by herself in ward 4 in the 1920 census age 61 years.While earlier records show her birthplace as Ireland, the 1920 censusshows her born in England. It provides the year of her immigration as1883.

CHURCH RECORDS:
Census of 1851, Townland of Graigue, Parish Kilworth, County Cork,Munster, Ireland; Pigott, William, 48, Laborer; Margaret, 41, wife;Denis, 20; John, 18; Margaret, 16; Catherine, 14; Cornelius, 14; Thomas,10; Johanna, 3. This was copied from the original records of the Churchof St. Martin's, Kilworth, County Cork, Ireland with the help of The VeryRev. Pierce Condon, PP.; on August 12, 1991 by James J. Sparks.

See also A COLLECTION OF 1851 CENSUS RECORDS, COUNTY CORK, IRELAND
by Josephine Masterson, Clearfield Company, publishers, p. 35 for theabove record. The family is listed as number 221, the townland isspelled Graig, parish Kilworth, page 28. Notice that both Cornelius andCatherine are shown as 14 in the latter source and Cornelius is shown as12 in the former source and Catherine as 14.

The birth records of the Pigott children were found in the originalrecords of the Church of St. Martin's, with the book and page followingthe names: John Pigott 11/16; Margaret Pigott 37/29; Catherine Pigott56/12; Cornelius Pigott 84/21; Thomas Pigott 112/19; William Pigott133/24 ; Johanna Pigott 154/1. The birth of Dennis predated the churchrecords which commenced in 1830. He is shown as 20 in the census of 1851indicating a birth date of 1831. However, John is shown as 18 in thecensus of 1851 and we know he was born July 3, 1831. Thus we concludethat Dennis was born ca 1830. The records also show that sponsors at thebaptism of Margaret Pigott on 3 May, 1834 were Cornelius Pigott, probablyWilliam's brother and Catherine O'Brien, probably Margaret (Sr.'s) sister.

!HISTORY OF KILWORTH:
Taken from Lewis's Topographical Directory of Ireland, 1937, at pg22O: KILWORTH, a market and post-town, and a parish, in the barony ofCONDONS and CLONGIBBONS, county of CORK, and province of MUNSTER, 20miles (N.N.E.) from Cork, and 1O6 (S.W.) from Dublin, on the mail coachroad from Cork to Dublin; containing 3O38 inhabitants, of which number,1963 are in the town. This place was the scene of some battles in thewar of 1641 and during the usurpation of Cromwell, by whom the manor wasgiven to Fleetwood, whose name it still bears. In July, 1642, the castleof Cloghlea, on the banks of the river Funcheon, near the town, said tohave been built by the family of the Condons, and at that time theproperty of Sir Richard Fleetwood was taken by Lord Barrymore and thecustody of it was entrusted to Sir Arthur Hyde, from whom it wasafterwards taken by a descendant of the original founder who surprisedthe garrison and either put them to death or detained them prisoners.The town is situated on the river Funcheon, over which is a neat stonebridge of six arches, about a mile above its confluence with theBlackwater (which runs through Fermoy); it consists principally of onelong irregular street, containing 343 houses, of which several are wellbuilt and of hansome appearance, and is sheltered by a low mountainridge, which rises immediately behind it. (Article continues; see copyin file).

NOTES:
England, following the fall of the Stuarts, passed laws which causedgreat hardship to the Roman Catholics in Ireland, which consitituted amajority of the population. This period of time was referred to as the"Penal Era." "Ostensibly the aim of the anti-catholic laws was toeradicate the catholic religion in Ireland, but, in fact, apart fromsporadic outbursts of persecution, the penal laws against religiousworship were largely allowed to fall into desuetude from about 1716.Indeed, in the conditions prevailing in the eighteenth century theirgeneral enforcement would have proved an impossible task. The penal lawswhich were enforced, however, or which were automatic in their operation,were those which debarred catholics from parliment, from holding anygovernment office - high or low - from entering the legal profession, andfrom holding commissions in the army and navy." THE COURSE OF
IRISH HISTORY, Edited by T. W. Moody & F. X. Martin, The Mercier Press,1967,
1990.

"..by 1778 catholic proprietors owned but 60,000 pounds a year of thetotal rental of Ireland, then calculated at 4,000,000 pounds." pp 218-19. "At the other end of the scale was the mass of the catholicpeasantry, whose general condition of poverty and wretchedness was notdue to the penal laws, and to whom it mattered little whether theirlandlords were catholic or protestant. As catholics, their main grevancewas the tithe payment to the established church (The Church of England);but in general the century witnessed a fall in their standard of livingdue largely to the rising population, which brought with it keencompetition for farms, and pushed up the already high rents." OpCit pp220-1.

"The American Revolution provided some impetus to the Britishparliment to ease the Irish condition somewhat in order to conciliatecatholics in case of invasion and for other reasons. "The Britishgovernment set the good example by passing a relief act for Englishcatholics early in 1778. Nevertheless, when LUKE GARDINER introduced abill in the Irish parliament permitting catholics to take leases for 999years, and restoring full testamentary rights to catholic landowners, itmet with a concerted and sustained opposition." Op.Cit. p231.

"However, this first relief bill passed. "Catholic leaders regardedthe act of 1778 as but a beginning, and the years from 1778 to 1829,. ."the country was embroiled in a struggle for restoration of rights to thepeople.

In 1829, the Duke of Wellington and Sir Robert Peel, the homesecretary, introduced to parliment a catholic emancipation bill and on 13April, 1829, the catholic emancipation act became law. Prior to thatdate, catholic parishes were not allowed to record such events as themarriages, births, baptisms or deaths of its members. The originalrecords of St. Martin's Roman Catholic Church in the Diocese of Cloyne inthe Parish of Kilworth were made available to James J. Sparks forinspection. The first entry relating to the family of William Pigott wasthe birth of their second child, John Pigott, on July 3,1831. Thebirthdates of their later children were faithfully recorded in thoserecords as follows: (3) Margaret Pigott, born May 3, 1834; (4 ) CatherinePigott, born June 19, 1836; Cornelius Pigott, born July 7, 1839, ThomasPig-
ott, born June 12, 1842; William Pigott, born November 24, 1844; JohannaPigott, born June 27, 1847. The census of 1851 of the Townland ofCraigue, Parish of Kilworth, County Cork, shows a son Dennis, 20 years ofage as the oldest child living in the family home. His brother John isshown as age 18. Since we know John's birth date, John would have been 19until July 1851 and 20 thereafter. If William was one or two years older,he would have been born 1829 or 1830. We do not know if there werechildren older than Dennis who had already left home by the census of1851. We are forced to assume that William and Margaret (O'Brien) Sparkswere married before 1829.

We find mention of William Pigott in the assessment rolls dated 23February, 1852 in the GENERAL VALUATION OF RATEABLE PROPERTY IN IRELANDfor the "County of Cork, Barony of Condons and Clangibbon ComprisingPortions of the Unions of Fermoy and Mitchelstown." In the Townland ofCRAIGUE, Map 15, parcel b, there is a William Pickett, whose immediatelandlord is Thomas Pea, described as consisting of a house and smallgarden valued at 5 shillings. The retired Catholic Priest bearing theillustrious name of Canon Pierce Condon , presumed to descend from theBarons of Condon, living in Kilworth in 1991, was familiar with thePigott family and the location of the original residence of the familydescribed above. The small stone cabin, originally supporting a thatchedroof, approximately 20 by 40 feet in size, contained a corrugated metalroof and was being used as a barn by the current owners, the Fosterfamily. It was located approximately 2 miles due north of Kilworth justeast of the road heading towards Kilsworth Camp and Mitchelstown.Kilworth, in turn, is on the river Funcheon, one mile north of itsconfluence with the Blackwater River. It is about two miles north ofFermoy just east of the main highway running north from Cork to Dublin.It is 20 miles north of Cork and 106 miles S.W . of Dublin.

Nothing further has been found in regard to this family excepting forJohn Pigott, born July 3, 1831, and Cornelius Pigott, born July 7, 1839.On May 22, 1869, John "Pickett" executed a declaration for citizenship inwhich he stated that his age was "about twenty-five years", that he wasborn in County Cork, Ireland and that he sailed from the Port ofQueensland (Cobh,Cork) in the year 1860 and arrived in the United Statesand the state of Michigan that same year. He planned to remain inMarquette County. There is some question that this John was the son ofWilliam Pigott who had been born in 1831 since the latter would have been37 years of age in May, 1869. Perhaps John understood the question torequire his age on arriving in the United States, which would have beenabout 28. However, just 20 days after John "Pickett " executed hisdeclaration, Cornelius "Pickett" executed his Declaration of Intention tobecome an American citizen. His declaration is dated June 12, 1869 andis also executed in Marquette County, Michigan. Though the clerk wrotePickett, the declaration bears a clear signature "Cornelius Pigott".John's was signed with an X.

!NOTE:
William is not shown in the census of 1851 and it is assumed tha t hedied
prior thereto.

.

!BIRTH:
Birth Record, Nauganee, Marquette Co., MI. 187O-8O; Records Inde x atFHL
#1OO753O; Birth Record at FHL #1OO7531, Vol. I, page 83, line 2, Will iamPicket (sic), born 2O July 187O. Record Number 422.

!MARRIAGE:
Cherokee County, IA, INDEX TO REGISTER OF MARRIAGES 1889-1896, Vol . 3,
p 129; REGISTER OF MARRIAGES Book 3, p 533, which record contains th efollowing: Lic. #2197 Oct. 3, 1894; Name: William Pigott; Occupat ion:Farmer; Residence: Meriden, Iowa; Age: unk; No. of Marriages: 1s t; Born:Mich.; Father: Cornelius Pigott; Mother: Annie Eagan. Bride : Name:Jeannie O'Boyle; Bride's place of birth: Meriden, IA.; Nam e of Father:Martin O'Boyle; Name of Mother: Ellen Stevens; Date an d Place ofMarriage: Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, Cherokee , Iowa, October3, 1894; Witness: Michael Hawley; Person Performing C eremony: FatherJames T.
Saunders.

.

!NOTE:
All information on the children and grandchildren of William Joseph
Pigott was personally provided by William and June (Nash) Pigott in 1 993.
Their address at the time was 5420 M. Ave., Cherokee, IA 51012-716 0.