I have to ask if anyone has considered whether the name Boak might be a variant of Poak/Poke/Pogue/Poague/Polk/Pollock. We all know that the spelling of names was very inconsistent until well into the 19th century and was based on phonetics or the perceived pronunciation of the name, which must have varied widely. It is not unreasonable to imagine P's sounding like B's in some Ulster dialects. There were Poaks and Pollock in the Abercorn estates from the earliest records. There may be no way to settle this from paper trail records but if any Boaks have taken DNA tests it would be a simple matter to compare theirs with Polk/Pollock/Pogue DNA. We have a fairly large database of y-chromosome DNA in WorldFamilies Polk/Pollock website. There are two principle lineage groups in the database - R1b1a2 and I2b1. John Polk Maryland USA -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of William Boag Sent: Saturday, November 23, 2013 2:29 PM To: Bernie Donaghey Gamble; [email protected]; [email protected] Subject: Re: [CoTyIre] Boak family Hello all, After some 5 or six years on the Tyrone list waiting for bits and pieces of information to come my way, suddenly everything falls right into the middle of my family research! I am a direct descendant of Robert BOAK, William Boak's brother. I am right in the middle of piecing together Aaron Boak's family at Peacockbank which included, I believe, at least 4 brothers: William, Robert, Aaron and Charles and probably one or more sisters (Anne). Their father, Aaron, married a "Miss CROCKETT, daughter of Wm Crockett, Esq. Edenmore" but I have no further on her. Robert came to the US in 1852, passed through Canada, I believe, and re-entered as a naturalized citizen, married with a wife and 2 children at Chicago in 1860. This is when his name first appears changed to Boag. The name-change and consequently, the connection to Boak in Tyrone was an interesting and somewhat convoluted process to work through in order to confirm. I have only one written "historical" document from the second-generation US family, and that is a photo-copy of a typed transcript of one original letter dated 1913 and an extract from another dated 1922. It was pretty much all I had to start my whole family history search, and one of only a couple of references to Tyrone. The first describes a visit to Peacockbank made by Robert's grandson in 1912 and the second further clarifies information about Robert's brother William, the farm and the family name of Boak. I would love to find out more about the farm at Peacockbank as I hope to be able to visit there in a few short years. And, I am thrilled at the "concentration" on Boak information appearing on Co Tyrone website. Thank you, Len for your compilation of the Boak Genealogical Notes; the 1777 Abercorn Estate, Manor of Strabane rental showing another Robert Boak just helped push my knowledge back at least another generation. There were additional Boaks in Tyrone during Aaron's time; William brought suit against the executors of James Boak's estate in March 1879 (Irish Law Times, Boak vs Moore and Others, March 12 1879) over a past debt he believed was owed to his father. I suspect James may have been Aaron's brother or cousin. I have not delved into that branch and would be thrilled to find someone researching those folks. Anyone with information on the Boaks or the farm at Peacockbank is very welcome to contact me direct by email, or by post to the CoTyrone list. Thank you, William Boag ________________________________ From: Bernie Donaghey Gamble <[email protected]> To: [email protected]; [email protected] Sent: Saturday, November 23, 2013 9:31 AM Subject: Re: [CoTyIre] Boak family Hello Marion, Len and others interested, I have the following headstone, from Urney, for Boak's of Peackock Bank. In Memory of Aaron BOAK, Peacock Bank Died 27th Feb 1857 Sarah wife of his son Aaron Died 19th Mar 1858 aged 24 years Anne Boak died 11th April 1863 Aaron Boak Died Oct 1905 aged 76 years William, eldest son of Aaron Boak, Peacock Bank Died 1st Dec 1912 aged 89 years Margaret wife of Wm Boak Died 20th Nov 1912 aged 82 years There also seems to be another headstone for Moore in the same surround, if it seems relevant Erected by James MOORE of Sion In Memory of his father John Moore Who died 14th August 1872 aged 87 years Also his beloved wife Catherine Who died 14th November 1883 aged 60 years Also the above named James Moore Who died 4th March 1902 Aged 82 years William John Moore Eldest son of James Moore Who died 13th September 1917 aged 68 years Also James Moore 2nd son of above James Moore Who died 15th Dec 1923 aged 65 years And also three plaques in the same grave In Loving Memory of Janey Fourth daughter of The late James MOORE, Montilly Died 3rd Oct 1924 ***** In Loving Memory of Mary Second daughter of James MOORE and beloved Wife of Nicholas FRENCH, Strabane Died 11th Sept 1910 aged 60 years ***** In Memory of John Frederick KENNEDY Only son of Martha and S.W. Kennedy And grandson of James MOORE Died at Salisbury Plain While in training with 1st Canadian Contingent 10th Jan 1916? Aged 27? Years (letters missing) Hope this may be of help. Bernie -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of [email protected] Sent: 23 November 2013 15:45 To: [email protected] Subject: [CoTyIre] Boak family Hello All Have been looking at Len’s notes on the Boak family. Was interested because the Boak farm at PeacockBank passed to my family at the end of nineteenth century. The tenancy passed from William Boak to my great, great uncle William McCay about 1896, who then purchased it about 1907. ( Valuation Revision Notes). He was the tenant of neigbouring farms in Rabstown. The 1901 census shows William Boak as a retired farmer, living in Ballyfatten, Urney with his wife Margaret and one domestic servant. The 1911 census shows he is still there with his wife of 52 years and that they had no living children. It is interesting to me that their domestic servant in 1911 is the 15 year old great niece of William McCay. In 2009 I visited Tyrone and had a wander round various cemeteries, including Urney, where I saw the family plot of the Boak family. Margaret died on 20th Nov 2012, aged 82, soon followed by William on 1st Dec 2012, aged 89. I have sent a photo to the Gravestone project but it is not a very clear image. The farm at Peacockbank passed to my grandfather John McCay about 1917 and my father was born and spent the first 18 years of his life there. The last of the farm was sold in 1947, although the house had already gone. I have visited Peacockbank and many of the old buildings are still there although the house my family lived in has been replaced by a modern one. Hope this is of interest to Len or anyone else. Regards Marion ------------- Our community web-site: http://cotyroneireland.com/ ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message ------------- Our community web-site: http://cotyroneireland.com/ ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message