Bridget (Eustace) Carroll was born about 1802 probably in County Longford, Ireland. She appears to have been the first member of the Eustace family to emigrate to the United States. The 1850 US Census for the Town of Saratoga, Saratoga County, New York lists William Carle, age 46, a watchman born in Ireland and his wife Bridget, age 48, also born in Ireland. Besides William and Bridget Carle, Bridget Eustice age 22, and John Eustice age 17 plus ten others were living in the home including Elizabeth (16), Catherine (14) and Mary Carroll (4), apparently children of William and Bridget. Note that in Ireland the surname Carroll is interchanged with Carle and both are pronounced as Americans pronounce the name Carl.

No further record of this Bridget has been found and it appears that she died between 1854 and 1855 probably in the Schuylerville, New York area. No burial record or obituary has been found. Records for baptisms and marriages of Irish Catholics rarely exist prior to 1820 thus making it difficult to prove Bridget’s parentage from parochial records.

Bridget Eustace Carle (Carroll) was a sister to Patrick Eustace/Eustis ancestor of the Eustis family of Schuylerville/Victory Mills, New York, James Eustis/Eustace, who was killed by a falling tree on March 27, 1855 at Mapleton, Wisconsin and was the father of John Eustis/Eustice ancestor of the Eustice family of Janesville, Waseca County, Minnesota and John Eustace/Eustice who lived in Saratoga County from the 1840's until after 1880 when he died. Following is what I have learned.

Bridget’s husband William Carle/Carroll is listed on the 1850 US census as a 46 year old watchman, but on the 1855 New York state census he is listed as a grocer man. He appears to have gotten younger and gave his age as 40. At the time of the census, he has been married about one year to a second Bridget who was 25 years old and had lived in the U.S. six years. Life during this period was hard and unpredictable. A father suddenly left with small children often married quickly and the fact that the second wife was half his age did not matter. After all, marriages often occurred for economic security rather than for love.

Based on the U.S. census record, Bridget Carle (Carroll) was born about 1802. No further record of this Bridget has been found and it appears that she died between 1854 and 1855 probably in the Schuylerville area. No burial record or obituary has been found. Records for baptisms and marriages of Irish Catholics rarely exist prior to 1820 thus making it difficult to prove Bridget’s exact parentage from parochial records.