Joseph William Wilton Sr., AKA Jeremiah Moylan

According to family tradition, Pop, Robbie and Frances's dad was born with the name Jeremiah Moylan, and was adopted in early childhood by the Wiltons. His parents, who were traveling with a circus, had died in a train accident in England.

Pop knew a good deal about the Wilton family, including the names of numerous Wilton siblings (one of my unfinished tasks is tracking down that family) but we know little of JWW Sr.'s birth parents.

Throughout his adult life, JWW Sr. gave his birth date as Jan. 12, 1892:

• On his 1917 WWI draft card
• On his 1942 WWII draft card
• On his Social Security record

There's just one problem.  I find no Jeremiah Moylan born on or around Jan. 12, 1892 in New York. However, I have found a birth certificate for a Jeremiah Moylan born Jan. 11, 1893 at New York City Hospital to parents Jeremiah Moylan and Catherine Forman:

 It is understandable that the someone adopted in early childhood, both of whose parents had died, might have lost track of his exact birth date.  The date that JWW Sr. used is so similar to the date on the birth certificate, that I am reasonably certain this certificate is for Pop's dad.  Without more evidence I can't be completely sure, but until I find something that contradicts this connection, I am going to try to follow Jeremiah Moylan Sr., and Catherine Forman back to their families of origin.

What I have so far

Over the past ten years or so, I have made some effort to collect family stories, names and other data from my relatives. Pop and Grandma Dot relayed a wealth of information, in their typical style: Pop would start telling me about some event in their past, and grandma Dot would just start laughing. Pop would stop, and Grandma would give me the corrected version. Between the two of them, they gave me the starting point to begin following our roots back to Ireland and Germany, and also trace our cousins back down the lines.

In separate postings, I will outline what I have for:

• Joseph W. Wilton, Sr., AKA Jeremiah Moylan and Helen (Collins) Wilton (Pop, Robbie and Frances's parents)
  
• Frederick W. Vollmer and Mae (Nicolaus) Vollmer (Dot, Anna and John's parents)
  

Welcome

Hello Wallingford Wiltons and various extended relatives! On this page I will post interesting updates about my family history research. If you want access to all of my research, just email me let me know and I will invite you to access the full family tree on ancestry.com. It includes many vital documents and references for our family going back as far as I have been able to research.