CAIN's
Here is a four generation descendant report for the David A. Cain family, originally immigrating from Belfast Ireland, (note: current information lists David as being born in England) via Maine, to Ogdensburg, St. Lawrence Township, Waupaca County Wisconsin.
It only took 16 years to find David! I had his wife's information on file for years, but couldn't make the final connection to the Mary listed in Census records. Finally found a reference as "Mother" and her death certificate to make the tie to David. My assumption is David died before the arrival of the William, his mother Mary, and his family to Wisconsin. As no record exists of David here other than Mary's death certificate. In all official records and history books, every reference is made to William as the primary settler in Ogdensburg, Waupaca Co.
Like every other branch of my family, this group were farmers also. In Wisconsin, just about every farm family did some sort of logging at one time or another too.
This group is tied into the The Society of Genealogy of Durkee via Mary Elizabeth Durkee, wife of James Anthony Cain. Jame's brother, Augustus M Cain also married a "Nellie Durkee", whose true Christian name is unknown at this time. She was born in Vermont and I have not been able to tie her in to the Durkee Database yet. She is a member of that family but, it has not been discovered how yet. I have included the Durkee reference numbers in this report. The Society has been kind enough to provide me with documentation on the Durkee Ancestors of Mary E. Durkee Cain. The photos that are posted in the Photo Gallery section are reprinted with their permission.
For researchers, there are three possible Cain groups in Waupaca County, WI. that I know of. There is a reference in the 1900 Federal Census to a "William", born in IL. There is another group that held land patents just to the North of the family homestead in Helvetia Township. I have never made any connection to either group. There is also no connection to the Canadian CAIN's of Oconto County, WI. I have other family groups there and have been asked many times about that group.
This group slowly left Waupaca County about 1900-1910 and spread through out Wisconsin and the US. I have traced members to Arizona, California, Illinois, and Michigan. There is a family reunion of the descendants of James Anthony scheduled this fall in central Wisconsin that I will be attending.
Census enumerators have listed this family several times with the surname "KANE". It shows on no official family documents anywhere.
For my mother Nancy Lee Cain, who started it all by asking me to find information on her Father.
update 15 July, 2001
UPDATE: I have just found Nellie J Durkee's parents. She is from another branch of Durkee's than Elizabeth. Nellie does get remarried it looks like, as I surmised. Saloma Cain does finally appear as "Wife" in an 1880 Census of Waupaca Township in Waupaca Co. with William. I will not update this report until I finish sourcing and verifying. Contact me directly for current information.
Of course, good things come in three's. 7/18/01, as I was working on this material I recieved two more emails. One from a descendant of Willis Cain, living in TN. And a second out of Park Falls, WI. It will take a while to update this report as I file, verify and input this material.