Between Family Legends and "Facts": Andrew Doyle - 52 Ancestors

There are family legends and lore, and there are "facts" as found in historical records.  In the case of my great-great-grandfather, I'm trying to discern which is which and what overlaps between the two.

The family legends/lore

• His name was Andrew Doyle.
• He was born in Wallsend, Northumberland, England, on April 13, 1836.
• His parents' names were William Doyle and Martha Ray
• His first wife died.
• He remarried the woman who became my great-great-grandmother, Elizabeth Jane Laws, against the wishes of her parents.  He was 9 years older than her.
• He was the father of 14 children.
• He immigrated to the United States on April 12, 1869.

The "facts" as found in documents

• Andrew Doyle married Elizabeth Laws in Morpeth, Northumberland, England, in December, 1863. (Free BMD)
• Andrew's first wife may have been Jane Barron.  A marriage between these two people occurred in 1857, at Saint Nicholas, Newcastle Upon Tyne, Northumberland, England.  (FamilySearch England Marriages 1799-1900)
• He immigrated to the United States on April 12, 1869. (N. Y. Passenger List)
• Andrew Doyle became a naturalized citizen in Mercer County, Pennsylvania, on October 5, 1872. (Mercer County, Pennsylvania)
• Andrew died on July 23, 1908.  (Pennsylvania death certificate)

The uncertainties

• Was his given name Andrew or James Andrew?  How did the discrepancy happen?
• Was his first wife really Jane Barron, or was that a different Andrew Doyle?  I'd like to learn more about that first marriage.  Were there children?  How did his first wife die?  Was she still alive in 1861?  If so, they would be on a census record.
• I'd like to find him in U. K. census records with his parents before his marriage. 

I haven't searched for this information recently and may find, when I look again soon, that much of it is available online.

This post is in response to Amy Johnson Crow's call to her readers to write about 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks. 

-–Nancy.

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