Captain Milo, In Which I Learn Just Cause It's Published Doesn't Make It True

Erie Canal Tow Path

       I'm ready to say conclusively, I have exhausted the internet's supply of information concerning one Milo Galloway.  And there was only one in New York State in my opinion.  You will note I said opinion, not fact. That pesky Erastus has taught me a good lesson, I only found him by chance in a newspaper ad, he exists in no other records I've ever found, so you never know.  But neither the forename Milo or surname Galloway were very common to start with and I have searched three different census indexes, newspapers and books and still find only one Milo G.  

     I've long suspected the group of Galloways in East Palmyra and those in Arcadia/Wolcott were probably related in some way.  East Palmyra actually borders Arcadia, but I still haven't found the link. The Palmyra family descended from a James Galloway of Connecticut, and mine from George Galloway of Massachusetts, (assuming the 1850 census is correct on George's birthplace)--but I did find a very old deed giving Milo's address as Palmyra.  I also found, in the Lyons NY Wig, this ad placed in1829--

     The first sentence reads, "Left at the collector's office from on board the Boat Gen. Green, of Newark, [NY] Capt. Galloway, a lady's camlet mantle", and it is signed Milo Galloway.  Another reference to Milo being a captain appears in the book Palmyra and Vicinity, by Thomas L. Cook, an early resident of Palmyra.  In it he says Milo Galloway captained a boat called the Comptroller in the 1830's.  I always wondered where Milo came up with the capital to purchase the many properties he acquired over his lifetime, not to mention the mill and factory.  It would appear that early in his marriage he plied the Erie Canal and invested in real estate.

     I consulted another book about Palmyra where I found Milo's name.  This volume stated "Milo Galloway Sr. was Captain of the Comptroller, and was the father of Julia Emilia Galloway who married Milo Yeoman", but Milo didn't have a daughter named Julia.  Does that mean there was another Milo-- and my Milo wasn't the captain?  I don't think so. The part about the boat is probably true, but I found Julia E. Galloway in two censuses in the household of Rev. Edgar M. Galloway in nearby Marion, NY.  It seems reasonable to believe he was her father,not Milo, especially since Edgar's mother was Emilia Lewis (from actual photos of the Lewis family Bible posted on Ancestry.com--they call her Emily, her tombstone says Emilia).  

     But the clincher can be found in the edition of the Newark Union, published on Jan. 21, 1905. An article about the Marion Christian Church actually states that "Mrs. Julia Yeomans is the daughter of the late Rev. Edgar M. Galloway, former pastor of the church."  And by the way, her husband's surname was Yeomans, not Yeoman; nitpicky I know, but if you're going to write a book, it's not really hard to find the correct name and paternity, I did.  Does that sound snarky?  It does doesn't it, but it's my pet peeve.  If you're guessing at something say so, you can't publish guesses as facts, you just can't.

     I'm taking a road trip to Wolcott and Lyons tomorrow to check at the Wayne County Historian's office for NY State censuses that aren't online (why does no one have Wayne County online?) and whatever else may be in her office, then on to Wolcott Library for a newspaper I need to look at, also not available online.  After that I think I'm taking a break from Milo, mostly because I'm not sure where else to look.  This doesn't mean I'm giving up, I'm nothing if not tenacious, but other ancestors are clamoring for my attention.  Like Jeremiah Garner, a 3rd great grandfather on my Mother's side.  I just found a tree claiming he abandoned his wife Clarinda Wood and took off to Canada where he remarried!  This is obviously something I need to verify or disprove, and it looks like it just might be true, Clarinda is living with only her children in 1860 and 1870, but Jeremiah returned in time to be buried next to Clarinda in New York, so little time, so many ancestors...