MUNROE Genealogy

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Lynn's maiden name is MUNROE. Her father, Richard Griggs MUNROE, was born 1 Mar 1917 in Brownville Junction, Maine (or so we thought - more on that later), married Marguerite Hannum TAYLOR on 5 Apr 1941. They had four children (Lynn is the youngest). Richard's father, Albert H. MUNROE Jr was born on 22 Oct 1895 in Malden, MA. He married Ruby Emily GRIGGS on 6 May 1916. They had two children.

More detail about Lynn's MUNROE family tree can be found on the MUNROE Ahnentafel page.

My research into the MUNROE family tree (or any of the other two family trees, for that matter) pales in comparison to the information on record for the TAYLOR family tree. What I've been able to find presents strong circumstantial evidence that Lynn's MUNROE ancestry connects to the MUNROEs of Lexington MA and minor Revolutionary War fame.

I have source-backed evidence that the MUNROE ancestry extends back from Albert H MUNROE Jr. (born 22 Oct 1895 in Malden MA) and Ruby Emily GRIGGS, to Albert H MUNROE Sr. (born 15 Mar 1871 in Melrose MA) and Harriett Greenough TUFTS, to William H MUNROE (born circa 1840 in Boston MA) and Mary PEARSALL. Beyond that, circumstantial evidence suggests that William's parents were Henry MUNROE Jr (born 6 Oct 1816 in Boston MA) and Sarah PROCTER, then to Henry MUNROE Sr. (born 4 Mar 1789 in Charlestown MA) and Nancy WEBSTER, then to Jedediah MUNROE Jr. (born circa 1749) and Sarah PARKER, then to Jedediah MUNROE Sr. (born 20 May 1721 in Lexington MA), who was killed April 19th, 1775 on the road to the battle of Lexington and Concord during the American Revolution, and Abigail LORING, then to Daniel MUNROE, then to William MUNROE (born 12 Aug 1673 in Lexington MA).

The connection between Henry MUNROE Jr., and his father and ancestors is by speculation, but this speculation is shared by "The Monroe Book, Being the History of the Munro Clan From Its Origins in Scotland To Settlement in New England And Migration to the West", 1993; by Joan S. Guilford, PhD. The missing link is the surname of his wife Sarah. The marriage record for son William H. MUNROE lists his father as Henry Jr, and mother as Sarah (no last name given). Guilford's book lists him as "probably" the son of Henry MUNROE and Nancy (WEBSTER) MUNROE, with references to the 1880 census and a further 1850 census that lists Henry, wife Sarah, and 5 of his eventual 11 children. If that "probable" connection is true, then the link to the Lexington MUNROEs is complete.

 

Now about that comment previously about Brownville Junction, Maine. It had been family "common knowledge" (confirmed in interviews with his wife Marguerite before she died) that Richard was born in Brownville Junction Maine. His father Albert worked on the railroad as a fitter, and Brownville Junction was - and is - a railroad town about 4 miles north of Brownville on Route 11. In August 2004, Lynn and I spent some time in Brownville Junction, and I spent one afternoon at the town hall getting certificates. I found Richard's sister Audrey's birth and death certificate (she died at 21 months of bronchial pneumonia), but no record of a birth for a Richard MUNROE could be found.

In October 2008, during a week's vacation on the Maine coast, I took a rainy day and drove to Augusta to the Maine State Archives. No luck. I looked through all three microfilm sets (1897-1907, 1908-1922, 1923-1936) for MUNROE and MUNRO, but could not find him. In discussing the dilemma with the archivist, he suggested that since he was the oldest (i.e., first) child born, and his dad was possibly away a lot working on the railroad, mom might have returned to her mom and dad and family for support during the birth, which would probably mean New Brunswick. Something to check, but Richard is found on the 1920 US Federal Census in Brownville Junction Maine with his family, and it lists his birthplace as Maine. A mystery.