My Family Tree

Elizabeth Dymant, the youngest daughter of Humphrey Dyment, Lot 13 married Cornelius McArthur on February 12 1861. Witnesses at the marriage were James MacDougall (who was Sarah Dyment's first husband) and John and Sam Ramsay. The marriage bond, dated 7 February 1861, was taken out by Cornelius McArthur, Lot 7, and Humphrey Dymant, Lot 13. Cornelius was known to the Dyment family - he had been one of the witnesses at Humphrey Dyment Jr.'s marriage to Nancy McDougall in 1860.

On US census forms, Cornelius said he had emigrated to the States in 1865 or 1867, and Cornelius and Elizabeth sold some of their land in Lot 7 in 1866. As a result of a suit undertaken by James Yeo against Cornelius McArthur, Richard Hunt, the sheriff, seized 50 acres of property in Lot 7 in July 1867. The newspaper notice said that Cornelius' wife Elizabeth was living there, possibly while Cornelius was in Massachusetts. There is also a document that places the couple in in Brighton, Massachusetts around this time: Cornelius and Elizabeth Dyment from PEI registered the birth of a son, "Josephius McCartey", born in PEI on April 9 1867, the date of birth of their son Alvah. Both Cornelius and his brother Mathias were in a Massachusetts city directory in 1869 and 1870, in Cambridge.

Their son Alvah's obituary said that he had come to Massachusetts at the age of three, about 1870 or 1871, and their youngest son William sometimes gave his place of birth as Massachusetts. This was his place of birth in his obituary. However, it is possible that Cornelius had gone ahead to Massachusetts, leaving his family on the Island to follow later. I was unable to find Cornelius in the US 1870 census although his brother Mathias was living there. Cornelius does not seem to have used the nick-name Neil, so I have disregarded census entries for Neil McArthur.

None of Cornelius and Elizabeth's four children were in the PEI Baptismal Index. Phineas' parents were on his death record, and Cornelius and Elizabeth Dyment were listed as parents in the obituaries of Melvina, Alvah and William. The children later gave different places of birth on census forms, so it is difficult to state with certainty where Cornelius and Elizabeth were living at the time of their children's births.

Elizabeth died on the Island in 1870.

After Elizabeth's death, Cornelius married Katherine Jane Rogers in 1871 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Cornelius and Katy can be found in the 1880 US census with their blended family.

name: Cornelius Mcarthur
event: Death, event date: 22 May 1914
event place: Pittsfield,,Massachusetts
age: 81, marital status: Married
birth date: 26 Jun 1832
birthplace: Prince Edward Island
father: Hugh Mcarthur
mother: Nellie
spouse:
volume/page/certificate number: 392
film number: 2404458
frame number:
digital folder number: 4284202
image number: 00416
Citing this Record: "Massachusetts, Deaths, 1841-1915," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/N4HW-THJ : accessed 14 Dec 2012), Cornelius Mcarthur, 1914.

The photograph of Cornelius, his second wife Katie Rogers, and the children from his two marriages came from the Sexton family, descendants of Phineus and Lizzy (Lacey) McArthur.

Deacon MacArthur was born in 1833 in Prince Edward Island. As a boy and a young man he was reared on his father's farm near the sea. He learned and mastered the craft of the shipbuilder, working in yards in New Brunswick and Maine. He became a carpenter at Mr Auburn, and in 1870 assistant superintendant of Mt Auburn cemetery. for 19 years he held that position and in 1889 he came to Pittsfield to be superintendent of the cemetery. In 1898 he retired from that work. Berkshire Evening Eagle May 26 1914