THE McCARTYS OF THE NORTHERN NECK
350 Years of a
Virginia Family
Published
2005 by Gateway Press. 600 pages
For more
information, contact William M. McCarty, MD at
"The McCartys
of the Northern Neck is a detailed and superbly documented account of the
lives, land dealings, and court battles of one of
"Northern Neck historians
and
Robert Young Clay - Retired Archivist, Library of
"In spite of the McCartys' intermarriages with such well-recorded families
as Fitzhugh,
"Now the cup runneth over. Dr. McCarty has presented the story of this
family not merely as a skeleton of names, dates, and relationships, but a
fascinating narrative underpinned by a
scrupulous concern for accuracy and detail. For over half a century, Dr.
McCarty has gleaned every scrap of a reference to the McCartys
that could be found in the county records of the region where the family
flourished. It is indeed rare to find such an entertaining and gripping series
of tales based on such meticulous research.
"This
book is a model of what ought to be done for every family that is struggling
along- not, as the McCartys have been, in almost
total neglect, but with perhaps only those quaint article in the early
quarterlies that are now in many cases over a hundred years old.
"An
outstanding achievement. "
John
Augustine
"Bravo! Reliable
documentation of
"Dennis McCarty (d. 1694) is
still the proven progenitor of this lot despite claims by others of ancestry to
Irish McCartys or Clencare
(or Clan Carthach) lines. The first evidence of
Dennis in public records of
"All too often
researchers in the Northern Neck have lined up with a Daniel or Dennis McCarty,
and should have cautiously stepped back and asked - well, which one? The
frequent use of genealogical charts is outstanding and assists users in family
connections by discouraging the perpetuation of errors in works of previous
compilers. Serious researchers will immediately spot McCarty and Much's copious source citations, records, transcripts, and
explanations of how evidence has been considered. More casual readers will
delight in the abundant illustrations, graphic examples, and sometimes perhaps
scandalous details.
"The authors' writing style
and frankness is easy to follow while they further the tale of their pursuits
for the last scrap of evidence. The various chapters of text are followed by
several appendices, details bibliography and an index of both personal and
place names. Of particular interest may be Chapter 23 that provides detail
about area plantations, followed by details of plantations, churches, and the
court house of
Wesley
E. Pippenger, The
"This volume is more than an
account of the descendants of Dennis McCarty who settled in
"This
will long stand as one of the most important studies of a prominent
John Frederick Dorman, The Virginia Genealogist , Vol.50, number 1, January-March 2006 .
"Reviewers
face the difficult task of critiquing without discouraging. Such balance is
difficult when reviewing the work of self-edited authors--who appear
particularly often in the genealogical world. Happily McCartys
of the Northern Neck presents no such dilemma.
This
family history documents a family in
The
authors use a numbering system described by Virginia Easley DeMarce
in "Heresy by the Numbers" (National
Genealogical Society Newsletter
19 May-June 1993) It closely resembles the Henry
system, which identifies individuals by a series of numbers representing their
ancestors' birth order in each generation. This system becomes unwieldy when
applied to more than a few generations. The authors circumvent this drawback by
sometimes omitting all but birth-order numbers of descendants in the generation
under discussion.They prefix identifying numbers of
collateral family members with their surname's initial letter.
The
authors intersperse charts, maps, and photographs throughout the text and
effectively identify historical objects, structures, sites, and geographical
areas associated with the McCartys. Genealogical
"trees" graphically depict relationships. Footnotes, used sparingly,
mainly provide explanatory notes and references to derivative sources.
Citations to original sources are abbreviated and embedded in the text. An
extensive bibliography lists derivative sources more fully.
The
authors do not claim to have an every-name index, but it does include both
personal and place names. Women are listed under their maiden names, when
known. The index employs a unique referencing system: bolded page numbers refer
to photographs or figures, and italicized items refer to diagrams or charts.
Bearing
all the marks of a typical family history, this volume is much more.
Interspersed among chapters of genealogical material--and often incorporated
within them--is historical background that is perhaps the work's real jewel.
Indeed, the first two chapters explain major economic, legal, and political
issues affecting colonial Virginia and the Northern Neck. Not until chapter
three, with the stage set for understanding the McCarty family in context, do
the readers find the opening narrative of Daniel McCarty the immigrant.
The
authors have produced a literate and readable family history--a notable
achievement. Their work is well conceived, well-written, well edited, and well
worth a place in the library of anyone researching
Donald
W. Moore, CG,
Copies can be ordered from William M.
McCarty,