Executive Summary

1.Relating to Elisha Gilbert’s birth date and residence during the Revolutionary War.

Item #1, attached. Elisha Gilbert’s name on a 1781 tax list in Poultney VT, part of which later became Middletown.

Item #2, attached. Volume I, page 52 of the Middletown VT land records, which states that Elisha Gilbert recorded his marriage date and children’s birthdates in March 1785 in Middletown.

2. Relating to the link between generations 6 and 7, Harriet (Dickinson) Light and David and Anna (Gilbert) Dickinson.

Item #3, attached. Parallel deeds from David Dickinson to Harriet (Dickinson) Light and to Jane (Dickinson) Stephen, which along with similar deeds in the case argument following to six other Dickinsons in Clermont Co OH, demonstrate a clear parent-child pattern.

3. Relating to the link between generations 7 and 8, Anna (Gilbert) Dickinson and Elisha Gilbert.

Item #4, attached. Elisha Gilbert is named as the father of Rachel (Gilbert) Stephens in Plowdon Stevens, Stephens-Stevens Genealogy, page 105, included with title page on page 72 of supplemental application document.

Item #5, attached. Elisha Gilbert is named as the father of Chloe (Gilbert) Gillespie in History of Steuben Co NY, 1879, page 138, included with title page on page 75 of supplemental application document.

Item #7. Evidence of the relationship existing between Anna and David Dickinson, Chloe Gillespie and Ebenezer Gilbert is given in Section III of the attached document, pages 12-15.

Section I. Identifying the Parents and Family of Harriet (Dickinson) Light from New Richmond, Clermont County, Ohio

I have known since 1966 that the mother of my great-great-grandfather, Rev. Oliver Perry Light, was named Harriet Dickinson. Unfortunately, while Rev. Light left extensive notes about his paternal ancestry and both sides of his wife’s family, he said nothing more about his mother than the dates of her birth and death, and the places where the Light family lived.

On my first visit to the NSDAR library in 1970, I used the card catalog to locate an Edgar County, Illinois, history that further confirmed her identity and gave general clues to her origin.[1] These included the likelihood that she was married in Clermont County, Ohio.

Her 1850 census states that she was born in Wyoming, New York,[2] although her children had been born in Clermont County, Ohio. The connection between the Light and Dickinson families in New Richmond, Clermont County, Ohio, was important as I tried to identify her parents. With not much to go on back then, the townships in which various Dickinson families resided and the fact that the Lights and the Dickinsons were near neighbors in the town of New Richmond seemed a valid piece of evidence.

There have been many researchers studying the Light name and for some time I subscribed to the SearchLight, a family newsletter, concentrating my efforts on Clermont County. During this time I was able to obtain published lists of the Dickinson[3] and Light marriages from that county.[4]

The first breakthough in this family came when my aunt, Ramona Armstrong Duff (NSDAR Nat’l No. 661089, former Oklahoma State Registrar), copied my research in 1969 and became interested herself in our family’s history; on a trip to Salt Lake City she located transcripts of four deeds in Clermont County that named Harriet Light. I obtained copies of the four original deeds involving David Dickinson, whom I now believe to be Harriet’s father,[5] all included in the supplemental application.

The four deeds, all made by David Dickinson on 12 Dec 1832 and recorded on 22 and 23 Oct 1835, for $1.00, are as follows:

o      to David W. Dickinson, mentioning adjoining lands belonging to Nancy and Harriet.[6]

o      to William F. Dickinson, mentioning adjoining land of David W. Dickinson and Nancy and Harriet.

o      to Jane Dickinson, mentioning neighbors Jacob Light[7] and D. Light.[8]

o      to Elizabeth Dickinson, mentioning David and Francis, and in the next line, David W. Dickinson and Wm. F. Dickinson, plus Jane Dickinson.[9]

Since submitting the supplemental, I received copies of the relevant indices of the Clermont County Deed Book and more deeds have come to light, as follows, also for $1.00 made on 12 Dec 1832:[10]

o      to Caroline Boles, mentioning lands of C. G. Dickinson, D. W. Dickinson, and D. Light, recorded 26 Apr 1833, Clermont Co Deed Book E-29: 324, 325.

o      to Harriet Light, mentioning D. W. and Wm F. Dickinson, recorded 20 May 1833, Deed Book E-29: 404, 405. Her land was “an undivided half” of the same property deed to Nancy Ann Searl.

o      to Nancy A Searl, mentioning D. W. and Wm F. Dickinson, recorded 23 May 1833, Deed Book E-29: 412, 413. At one place David’s name is spelled Dickerson. Her land was “an undivided half” of the same property deed to Harriet Light.

o      to Charles G. Dickinson, mentioning Caroline Boles, Elizabeth Dickinson, and Jacob Light, recorded 5 December 1834, Deed Book H-32: 306, 307.

I would have been happy if this supplemental had been approved immediately, but needing more documentary evidence did lead me to a more complete set of deeds, which clearly name the eight individuals, including five women, to whom David Dickinson sold his land for $1.00 each. One of them is named in a Louisa County, Iowa, book as the daughter of David and Anna (Gilbert) Dickinson; the fact of these all being the children of David and Anna is reinforced in the census record, by David’s giving land to married women and not to their husbands, and by Nancy Ann Searl and Harriet Light each possessing “an undivided half” of one tract of land.

David Dickinson’s census record was included in the supplemental application:

o      1800: Ontario Co NY, David Dickinson, p 322: 10010-10100

o      1810, Steuben Co NY, David Dickerson, p 64:  21110-31010 [unknown man 16-26]

o      1820, Clermont Co OH David Dickeson, p 32: 110101-12201-03

o      1830, Clermont Co OH David Dickison, p 214: 00011…/00021001 [father not listed]

By comparing these censuses, it can be seen David’s family included one male and one female born 1794-1800, one male and one female born 1800-1810, a male and a female born around 1810 and a female born 1810-1815, for a total of 3 boys and 5 girls. There was possibly a hired man living in the household.

After this, I compared marriages in Clermont County to the names in the deeds.

Based on the deeds and residence, the following are the children of David and Anna (Gilbert) Dickinson:

• Charles G Dickenson to Jane Smith, 18 Apr 1819
• Harriet Dickinson to David Light, 7 Dec 1821
• Mary Ann Dickinson [sic, should be Nancy Ann] to Reuben S Searl, 30 Mar 1826
• Charles Dickinson, again, to Elizabeth Mitchel, 24 Jun 1828
• Caroline Dickinson to William Boals, 10 May 1832
• David Dickinson to Phebe Hance, 15 Oct 1833

Jane Dickinson was married in 1841 in Louisa County, Iowa; Elizabeth and William Francis Dickinson were not married.

Based on ages in several censuses, these fit the ages of the children in David Dickinson’s household, including the five as yet unmarried in 1830.

1.              Charles            ca 1800[11]            (1800: <10, 1810: 10-16, 1830: 20-30, 1830: 40-50)

2.              Nancy Ann            1799[12]             (1800: <10, 1810: 10-16; 1820: 16-26)

3.              Harriet            1802[13]            (1810: <10, 1820: 16-26; 1850: 48)

4.              David W            1805[14]            (1810: <10, 1820: 10-16; 1830: 20-25, 1850: 45)

5.              Elizabeth 1808-1810[15] (1810: <10, 1820: 10-16; 1830: 15-20, 1850: 40, 1856: 48, 1860: 52, 1880: 73)

6.              William Francis 1810-1813[16] (1810: <10, 1820: <10; 1830: 15-20; 1840: 20-30; 1856: 45; 1860: 47)

7.              Caroline say 1810[17] (1820: 10-16; 1830: 20-25)

8.              Jane 1815[18] (1820: <10; 1830: 15-20; 1850: 34; 1856: 41; 1860: 45; 1880: 65)

In addition to the new deeds, further connections between the children of David and Anna (Gilbert) Dickinson were discovered in 2012. These started with a contact I made through online family trees and a blog I had posted.

Insert 1: Correspondence with Sara Crystal (2012), that led to my locating Anna (Gilbert) Dickinson’s residence in 1850 and place of death, along with that of four of her children.

• Posted 12 May 2012 at my blog, http://alvispat.wordpress.com/dickinson-david-of-ontario-and-steuben-cos-ny-and-clermont-co-oh/, punctuation and capitalization added:

Hello, My name is Sara Crystal, and I am a descendant of John Hale and also of Elisha Searl. Reading your blog, I noticed several familiar names. I believe there was a connection between these families several times. Our family is lucky to have the “Pioneer History,” about 12 pages written by John Hale, son of Asenaath Searl, daughter of Elisha Searl, and John Hale. John Jr. was born 1825 in Virginia, but a large family/friends group migrated to Ohio, then Putnam County, Illinois, then Henry [County, Illinois,] on the Illinois River.

Anyhow, they continued to New Boston, near Toolesboro[, Louisa County, Iowa]. John Hale, Sr., and John Jr’s uncle Peter DeWitt built a house for FRANK DICKINSON, “on what is now known as the Old Bromley Place” and John H, Jr., assisted. He was about 14 at the time. This would be 1839 or so. Since our families had connections, I greet you with friendship. From Oakland, California, Sara Crystal, scrapbasket@earthlink.net is the best way to contact me back.

• My reply, posted on the same site 13 May 2012, with some corrections, due to recent finds:

Sara, I can’t begin to tell you how thrilled I was with your information about our families. We may never find a blood link between us, but you have given me information to confirm one of my circumstantial cases.

If you have read my blog (which I now need to update), you know that I have been unable to trace what happened to several of the children of David and Anna Dickinson. The Frank Dickinson you mention is their youngest son, William Francis Dickinson.

But here’s the great thing. I went to the Louisa County, Iowa, genweb site, since you mentioned New Boston in that county. There I found an 1885 biography of Levi Stephen, whose wife was Jane Dickinson, “daughter of David and Anna (Gilbert) Dickinson.” The evidence was strong that David’s wife Anna was a daughter of Elisha Gilbert, but this was confirmation from an independent and contemporary source.[19]

Plus, I now know the full story about David’s daughter Jane. Since she was in Louisa County, that adds to the probability of identifying the Frank Dickinson you mention. I am also finding many of these people in census records.

You can tell how I spent much of yesterday. Harriet (Dickinson) Light’s son, Oliver Perry Light, i.e., Jane and Frank’s nephew, was in Louisa Co IA as a Methodist minister in 1870. I wonder if he knew and met any kin there. His youngest son was Francis Dickinson Spencer Light. One of his brothers also had a son named Francis Dickinson Light.

Do you have copies of the “Pioneer Stories” book? I would be glad to pay for you to take it to Kinko’s or Staples and have scans of the pages made and copied on a CD. That would be faster (and I hope easier) than scanning or Xeroxing each page. Please share this treasure.

I was also able, thanks to you, to correct the marriage of Elisha Searl’s brother Reuben S Searl[20]; he married a sister-in-law of Levi Stephen, not his sister. [21]

• Extracts from typescript “Pioneer History,” written by John Hale, Jr., date unknown:

            This is a brief history of the early days as told by Hon. John Hale a few years prior to his death and taken down in short hand by his daughter (Nellie).

            My exit from the unknown and appearance among the tangible things of this world occurred at half past two o’clock p. m., August 8, 1825, at a log cabin belonging to one William Kirkwood, but occupied by my father and mother and situated about 1 1/2 or two miles west of Fairfield, in Bath township, Greene County, Ohio, at a locality known as Hominy Ridge  – I suppose on account of being made up of good corn land. Not having paid very particular attention to this even myself, my memory is rather shaky on the subject, and I depend altogether on hearsay as to that occurrence and on the record made about that time in the family Bible.

            My father bore the same name as mine, and was a native of Bedford county, in Virginia, having been born August 17, 1793, and was the son of Overstreet and Judah Hale….

            As stated before, my father left Richmond and moved to Fairfield in Ohio some time from 1817 to 1820.  After removing to Fairfield his wife died, and in 1824 he married Asenath Searl, the daughter of Elisha Searl, one of the earliest settlers of that part of Ohio;[22] a woman whose only fault was that of becoming a mother of such a poor specimen as myself….

            Elisha Searl, and all his married children, the family of his brother, Timothy Searl, and all his children, most of whom were parents of good sized families, all relatives, started to follow the advice which Horace Greeley many years after gave, to go west and grow up with the country. This trip was made by most of us overland.  A few of the elders went south 60 miles by land conveyances to Cincinnati, then took boats to the mouth of the Ohio River, and up the Mississippi and Illinois River to our first stopping place, Hennepin, in Putnam county, Illinois….

            We found there was nothing in Henry to induce us to stay, so we started again on our westward journey, crossing the Mississippi river at New Boston on the 29th day of September, 1839 — that is myself, my father and my oldest sister.  We stopped at my grandfather’s, Elisha Searl’s, who had made the journey the preceding spring and settled on the bank of the Muscatine Lake at about the spot where the Winder residence now stands.  I went the next day to Harrison, or just south of the village of Harrison in the field, to Dr. Reuben S. Searls’ place.  He was a second cousin and knew that we were coming and had asked to have me come and stay with his wife[23] while he was pursuing his practice as a physician….

            I lived with them for probably two weeks, or thereabouts, and by that time father and Peter DeWitt, an uncle of mine, had taken a contract for building a house for Frank Dickinson, on what is now known as the old Bromley place, and I was drafted into the service.  Not being quite tall enough to work at the bench in preparing flooring for laying, some pins were placed on a pair of trestles and the two joined boards were placed between, and between these at the proper height was keyed up the board that was to be joined.  The foreplane was prepared by putting strips on the bottom, and when I had dressed the board down as far as the plane would work, I had that edge joined.

             I was then turned 14 years old….

• This lead enabled me to locate four of the children of David and Anna (Gilbert) Dickinson in Iowa. I found these census records:

• 1840 Louisa County, Iowa. In adjacent households were William Francis Dickinson (presumably with his mother and two unmarried sisters), Levi Stephen, who married Jane Dickinson in 1841, Nancy Ann (Dickinson) Searl and her husband, Dr. Reuben S. Searl, who died later that year. (Document #11)
• 1850 Wapello, Louisa County, Iowa. In adjacent households, although on separate census pages, were Levi and Jane “Stephens” and their children, and a household headed by Jacob Booher,[24] with Ann Dickinson, 74 NY, Elizabeth Dickinson, 40 NY, and Samuel[25] Dickinson, 22 NY [sic] (Document #7).
• 1856 Iowa State Census. Among those living in the household of Levi Stephen were his wife, Jane (Dickinson) Stephen, 41, his brother- and sister-in-law, W F Dickinson, 45, and Elizabeth Dickinson, 48, and a cousin, Franklin Gilbert, 25, a son of Anna’s brother Ebenezer Gilbert (Document #8).
• Jane (Dickinson) Stephen was listed in every census through 1900; her unmarried sister Elizabeth was with the Stephen family through 1880. The last known census record for William F Dickinson was 1860, when he was also in his sister Jane’s household; he has not been located in the 1850 census (Documents #7-10).
• In 1880, a John L Bromley, 29, ws a farm hand living with the Stephen family, recalling the “Old Bromley Place,” where William Francis Dickinson’s house had been built.
• The other daughter, Nancy Ann (Dickinson) Searl, was harder to trace. First, her published marriage record in Clermont County, Ohio, reads “Mary Ann.”[26] Next, her husband’s widow in Louisa County, Iowa, was mistakenly called Levi Stephen’s sister.[27] Many gedcoms on the Internet follow this mistaken identification, although Levi Stephen’s parents are known, they were not married until 1807 and had no daughter named Nancy.

Levi’s sister-in-law, Nancy Ann (Dickinson) (Searl) Nichols, was born in New York 1799, married in 1842 to her second husband, Samuel Nichols, and died 18 August 1869 in Muscatine Co IA. She was with the second husband in 1850 (age 50, born in New York) and 1860, with only children from her husband’s first marriage in her household (Document #13).

• The census records also led me to cemetery and death records, as follows:

Iowa Cemetery records[28] have

1.     on page 34, Anna C. [sic, should be G.] Dickinson, died 5 Mar 1851, buried in Harrison Cemetery, Port Louisa, Louisa County, Iowa;

2.     on the same page, Elizabeth Dickinson, 9 Nov 1899, same cemetery;

3.     on page 132, Jane Stephen, died 16 Jul 1905, buried in the same cemetery as her mother;

4.     and on page 511, Nancy A. Nichols, died 18 Aug 1869, age 71, buried in Nichols Cemetery, Pike Township, Muscatine County, Iowa.

A study of names used in this family shows that several of David Dickinson’s children and grandchildren used the name Charles for their own sons, recalling the oldest brother who died, probably back in Ohio. These include Harriet (Dickinson) Light, whose first son was Charles Dickinson Light; David W Dickinson, whose youngest son was Charles Thaddeus Dickinson; Harriet’s son, Reuben Spencer Light, who had a son Charles Dickinson Light; and Samuel Henry Light, whose son was Charles Kansas Light.

Others named sons Francis Dickinson, included David W Dickinson’s son Wellington, whose son was Frank L Dickinson; Harriet’s son, Oliver Perry Light, whose second son was named Francis Dickinson Spencer Light; and also Ebenezer Gilbert’s son Ebenezer Jr who had a son named Francis Wellington Gilbert.

As a final evidence of the relationship existing between Harriet (Dickinson) Light and her parents, David and Anna (Gilbert) Light, note that the only two of the 1832 deeds which did not give distinct land parcels to individuals were those which granted Nancy Ann Searl and Harriet Light “equal undivided halves” of their land.[29]

Harriet and Nancy Ann were clearly sisters; Nancy Ann traveled with her mother, two sisters, a brother and her husband to Louisa County, Iowa, in the mid to late 1830s; Nancy lived next door to these family members in 1840 and a county history called her the sister of Levi Stephen, although she was in fact his sister-in-law; and Levi Stephen’s wife said her parents were David and Anna (Gilbert) Dickinson.

Section II. Analyzing the Dickinson Families of Early Clermont County

            In the early 1990s, I prepared a study of the early Dickinson families (any spelling) in Clermont County, using censuses, cemetery records, marriages and a will.

The first available census for Ohio was 1820. In that year there were four Dickinson (any spellings) families. I believe these were three separate families in Clermont Co, who came at different times. I will discuss them here one family at a time.

Summary Abstract of Results

William Dickson’s family did not use the spelling Dickinson or Dickerson or any of the variants used by the David Dickinson family. Censuses indicate this family came to Ohio from Pennsylvania and New Jersey and were in Clermont County as early as 1806.

Morgan Dickinson’s family may be excluded from consideration based on the 1892 will of Morgan Dickinson, which lists his nieces and nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews, and states specifically that these are “all my next of kin.”

William Dickson/Dixon

William Dickson was in Clermont County at an early date. He purchased land in 1803, he sold land in 1804, 1808 and 1814,[30] and his name appears on Clermont County tax lists in 1806.[31] William Dickson[32] had this census record in Clermont County:

o      1820, Washington Township: William Dickson, p 27A: 000010-10051-02[33]

These early marriages in Clermont County[34] may be three daughters and three sons of William Dickson, in addition to a remarriage of William Dickson himself. I have not included censuses outside of Clermont County for this family or those later than 1820.

o      Stanley[35] Dickson to Phebe Dilany, 30 Mar 1817

o      Zephorah Dickson to Elisha Jordan[36], 23 Jul 1818

o      Joseph Dickson to Susannah Cameron, 10 Sep 1818

o      Thomas[37] Dickson to Margaret Barkley, 5 Jul 1821

o      Mary[38] Dickson to Isaac L. Moreton, 26 Apr 1829

o      William Dickson (wid) to Elizabeth Jones (wid), 7 Jun 1831

o      Elennorah Dixon to Erasmus Short[39], 7 Jul 1836

Mary Dickinson, who married Timothy Conner on 8 Apr 1802, may have been a daughter or a sister of William Dickson. Although the spelling here is Dickinson, William was the only other person with a similar name in the county at that time. Nothing further is known of her, and it is not clear who this Timothy Conner was, although he possibly remarried in 1804.

Joseph Dickson, son of William Dickson, who married Susannah Cameron two years earlier, had this record in Washington Township:

• 1820, Washington Township: Joseph Dickson, p 26:            100100/00100-01[40]
• 1830, Washington Township: Joseph Dickson, p 243:            121001…/310001…[41]
• 1840, Washington Township: Joseph Dickson, p 191:            0001001…/1022001…[42]

These Clermont County marriages are likely the children of Joseph and Susannah

Dickson:

o      Elizabeth[43] Dickson to Samuel L Gwynn, 7 May 1842

o      James[44] Dickson to Margretta S Gates, 14 Sep 1845

o      John Dickson to Perlina Ann Williams, 11 Dec 1845

o      A. Dixon to Matilda E Kelly, 16 Dec 1846

o      Susan/Susannah Dickson (Dixon), 18, to Horatio Airs, 21, on 1 Feb 1849

o      Angeline[45] Dickson, 20, to Calvin Dunbar, 23, on 6 Feb 1849

o      Sanford Dixon, 22, to Angeline Tewel, 19, on 11 Dec 1849

In 1850, this man was listed as Joseph Dixon, 54, born in New Jersey,[46] and in 1860 as Joseph Dixson, 65 New Jersey.[47]

In censuses and marriage records for this family, the spelling is always Dickson or Dixon. In 1850 one son Joseph stated that he was born ca 1796 in New Jersey, while daughter Mary/Elizabeth gave her birth as ca 1802 in Pennsylvania and son Thomas gave 1790 in Pennsylvania.

Morgan Dickinson

You stated in your letter that Morgan Dickinson, who was in the 1820 census, is the Dickinson most likely to have been Harriet’s father, if it was not David Dickinson.

Morgan Dickinson, Sr, was born in Pennsylvania, 1765-1770, and moved to Clermont County in the 1810s, with three sons and five daughters.

• 1800 Jefferson Township, Greene Co PA, Morgan Dickeson: 00010/10010[48]
• 1810 Jefferson Township, Greene Co PA, Morgan Dickerson: 10010/22010[49]
• 1820, Ohio Township, Clermont Co OH: Morgan Dickeson, p 32:[50]  110101-12201-03
• 1830, Monroe Township, Clermont Co OH: Morgan Dickeson, p 229: 010020001…/10002…

Morgan Dickinson Sr died in 1837, according to the Clermont County genweb site, which lists the burials at Mount Holly Christian Chapel Cemetery, in Hamlet, Batavia Township, including: “DICKISON, Morgan, died 19 May 1837, in the 63^rd year of his life.”[51]

By 1840, the census entry is for Morgan Dickinson, Jr., who continued in the county until his death in 1891.

• 1840, Monroe Township: Morgan Dickinson, p 203:            000001…/00001… [52]
• 1850, Monroe Township: Morgan Dickinson, 45 PA, with Mahala Dickinson, 41 PA, [nieces] Martha A Hair, 23 OH, and Mary E Fagin, 7 OH.[53]
• 1880, Monroe Township, in home of Thomas W Hare: Morgan Dickinson, uncle, 73 PA, married, and Mahala Dickinson, aunt, 71 OH, married.[54]

Morgan Dickinson, Jr., died in 1891,[55] leaving a will[56] that listed “all his heirs.” Of this family, only two of his sisters had children or grandchildren living at that date. Based on the will and Marriages of Clermont County, Ohio, these sisters of Morgan Dickinson were the only members of his family to leave surviving children:

o      Matilda, 23 Feb 1826, to Thomas Hair

o      Minerva, 28 Nov 1827, to Aaron Fagan

Harriet (Dickinson) Light could not have been a sister of Morgan Dickinson, as her children are not named in his will, nor were any other Dickinsons to whom David deeded land in 1832.

Peter Dickinson

o      1840: Peter Dickinson, p 117[57]            one black male, living alone in Ohio township

David Dickinson and sons in Clermont County

• 1820, Ohio Township, David Dickeson, p 32:                        110101-12201-03[58]

Although no one the father’s age is listed in David Dickinson’s 1830 census, he was living as late as 12 December 1832, as has been seen in the deeds he made out to each of his children, and was probably deceased by the time his wife/widow and daughter Caroline Boles sold land in 1837. This family is always listed in Ohio Township.

In 1830 Charles G Dickinson is listed in his own household, with two daughters aged 5-10 and a son under 5. In 1840, sons Charles G and David W have their own households, and William Francis has his own home in Louisa County, Iowa, next door to Nancy’s husband, Reuben S Searl and to Jane’s future husband, Levi Stephen.

1830, Clermont Co OH

• David Dickison, p 214: 00011…/00021001
• Charles Dickinson, p 212:            10001…/02001… [59]

1840, Clermont Co OH

o      Charles Dickinson, p 117:      001[60]0001…/00111…[61]

o      David Dickinson, p 221:      0001001…/20001…[62]

Based on his 1830 and 1840 censuses, it is likely that Charles’s two daughters were the brides in Marriages of Clermont County, Ohio, as follows:

• Nancy Dickenson,[63] 16 Apr 1840, to David Kirgan
• Hannah J Dickinson, 21, on 25 Oct 1849, to Samuel H Peoples, 21.

David W Dickinson’s family remained in Clermont County[64] and has been studied by his descendants. Six of his children were still living in 1891, two of them dying in Clermont County in 1916[65] and one dying in 1919 in Cincinnati, negating the possibility of his having been a sibling of Morgan Dickinson Jr.

Section III. Tracing David Dickinson and wife Anna from Clermont County, Ohio, to Steuben County, New York; then Identifying Elisha Gilbert, the Father of Anna (Gilbert) Dickinson

            After identifying Harriet Dickinson’s father as David Dickinson, it was easy to trace him back to Steuben County, New York, since Clermont County deeds state he was of that place. Note in particular, pages 24-25 of my previous documentation, where David, now of Clermont County, Ohio, sold land in Steuben County, New York, in 1816.

As in Clermont County, David left a record of land dealings in Steuben County.

I have shown that David Dickinson’s wife was named Anna Gilbert, according specifically to the Louisa County, Iowa history.[66] A cemetery record made by the Works Project Administration (WPA), probably in the 1930s, gives her date of death and her birth date as 1776.[67]

Although I lived many years in Latin America, I continued to pursue family history through correspondence by mail and with the help of my aunt, and I had all of this detail by 1993, through county histories, deeds and census records, when I moved back to the United States. Deeds, enclosed with the supplemental application on pages 52-55 and 89-119, demonstrate that David Dickinson’s wife, known from Clermont County deeds to have been named Anna, was a daughter of Elisha Gilbert and that she had sisters named Chloe Gillespie and Rachel Stephens and a brother named Ebenezer Gilbert. Elisha had a wife named Hepzibah.

Summary Abstract of Results

Direct evidence shows Anna to be named Anna Gilbert, to have been born in 1776, to have a close relationship (her husband’s name appears on the deeds) with Rachel and Chloe Gilbert, who were specifically named as children of Elisha and Hepzibah Gilbert,[68] and with Ebenezer Gilbert, who will be shown later to have named his second son Elisha. In the early 1990s, I first approached the identity of Anna’s father and mother from the evidence of the deeds made out to her and her husband or by them in Steuben County, New York.

It was, therefore, confirmation, when I visited the New England Historical and Genealogical Society library in Boston in 1994 and discovered a book with an identical family. The reputation of the co-authors was impressive: H. W. Brainard, H. S. Gilbert, and C.A. Torrey. The Gilbert Family: Descendants of Thomas Gilbert. 1582 (?)-1659, New Haven, 1953.[69] I see now that my documentation attached to the supplemental application placed this source first. Your letter stated there are errors in this book, as I believe there must be in any genealogy; however, this book gives sources, and I obtained copies of the same sources to verify Elisha Gilbert’s children. I see no room for error there, as the children match what I found in the published county histories and in the deeds. There was a daughter Ruth who was not involved in the deeds or the move to Ohio; she might have died young or unmarried in Steuben County.

Whether or not “my” Elisha Gilbert is the son of Henry and Sarah (Domer) Gilbert, as described in Brainard et al, his wife, children and Vermont residence are documented elsewhere as belonging to the Patriot Ancestor being discussed and presented here. I am attaching a new page 2 of the supplemental application form omitting the birth data from Brainard et al, since there is no need to prove this ancestry to connect my line to Elisha Gilbert of Middletown, Vermont, and Steuben County, New York.[70]

I was able to locate the marriage and birth records from a series of index cards at the Vermont Secretary of State’s office, exactly as given in The Gilbert Family.[71] I then located the original Middletown vital records. As you noted, the town was organized in 1784 from portions of four other towns and its vital records do not apparently start until 1800.[72]

Brainard and his co-authors, compiling Gilbert data before the 1953 publication of their book, would have had access to the same index cards and vital records of the family, and that other than using a Stephens family history,[73] went no further in researching Elisha Gilbert. Here I am 60 years later, using the same sources, plus deeds and a complete census record for all members of the family.

On 10 February 2013, I was able to obtain page 52 of volume I of the land records of Middletown [now Middletown Springs], Vermont. The land records, which started before the town kept a separate volume of vital records, have marriages and children’s births, along with the dates the family data was recorded, as follows for my ancestors:

“Elisha Gilbert married to Hepsabe his wife January the 14 day 1776 Anna Gilbert Born August the 11 day 1776 Cloe Gilbert Born Feb. the the [sic] day 1778 Ebeneser Gilbirt Born September the 15 1780 Rachel Gilbirt Born November the 19 1782 the above Children P[?] Gilbert had by his wife hepsabe and put on Record March the 21 [1785] by me

                                                                                    Joseph Rockwell, Register”[74]

Summary of reasons to identify Mrs. David Dickinson as Anna, the sister of Chloe, Rachel, and Ebenezer Gilbert, children of Elisha and Hepzibah Gilbert

1. The deed record, summarized in the original supplemental application showed that:

a.               David Dickinson’s wife was named Anna.

b.              Elisha Gilbert’s oldest daughter was named Anna.

c.               Elisha Gilbert deeded land to David and Anna Dickinson, naming the wife as a grantee, when the wife’s name did not usually appear in such records.

d.              On the same day, Elisha Gilbert had recorded deeds of land sales to David and Anna Dickinson, and to Jedidiah Stephens (land that was re-sold to Ebenezer Gilbert and witnessed by Nathan Stephens, Rachel Gilbert’s husband).

e.               David Dickinson was in western New York, Ontario Co NY [later Steuben County], as was Elisha Gilbert’s family, at the time he met and married Anna.

f.               Approximately 40 years after their marriage, in 1832, Anna Gilbert’s nieces and nephews, that is, the heirs of Brown Gillespie referred to land owned by “David and Anna Dickinson.”

g.              David was involved in land purchases and sales with three of Anna Gilbert’s siblings. He bought and sold land with Ebenezer Gilbert. He bought land from Nathan and Rachel Stephens. He witnessed the sale of land by the heirs of Brown and Chloe (Gilbert) Gillespie and traveled to assist them in the sale.

2. Family moves: Four of Elisha’s adult children were married in Steuben Co NY, although exact dates are not known. Based on the births of the first known children for each couple, we can assume a marriage at approximately these dates: Anna and David Dickinson, ca 1795; Chloe and Brown Gillespie, about the same time; and Ebenezer and Mehitable (Seeley), ca 1804. The date of the marriage of Rachel and Nathan Stephens is known from the Stephens family history to have taken place 14 May 1804.

Three of these adult children and their families moved to Clermont County, Ohio, in approximately 1816. Rachel (Gilbert) Stephens and her family stayed in Steuben County, New York, and no further contact with her siblings or their families is known at this writing. The Dickinsons, the Gilberts and the Gillespies were all in Clermont County, Ohio, by the 1820 census. Brown Gillespie died in 1819; his widow Chloe, David Dickinson, and Ebenezer Gilbert were in Ohio Township.

By the 1830s, the next generation of the Gilbert and Dickinson families was moving further west. Most of Chloe Gillespie’s children lived and died in Clermont County, although Augustus Gillespie moved after 1840 to Coles Co IL, where some of his Gilbert cousins were living, and Brown Gillespie Jr moved to Campbell County, Kentucky, between 1848 and 1850, just across the Ohio River from Clermont County, and later to Kenton County, Kentucky.

David Dickinson’s widow, Anna Gilbert, moved to Louisa County, Iowa, in the 1830s, along with half of her children, one married daughter and three unmarried children, i.e., Nancy Ann Searl, and Elizabeth, William Francis, and Jane Dickinson. Charles G Dickinson probably died in Clermont County after 1834, nothing further has been traced of Caroline Boles, Harriet Light moved to Edgar County, Illinois, and David W Dickinson stayed with his family in Clermont County.

Charles G Dickinson’s daughters lived and died in Clermont County, but his probable son, Samuel Dickinson, went to Iowa and is in an aunt’s household in 1850.

Ebenezer Gilbert, Anna Dickinson’s brother, lived in Clermont County until after the 1830 census, when he moved with his family to Clay County, Indiana, near Edgar County, Illinois, where his cousin Harriet Light was living. Of Ebenezer’s seven children, three lived and died in Clay County, Indiana, one crossed the state line and lived in Edgar County, Illinois, another moved nearby Douglas County, Illinois, the next youngest went to Kansas, and the youngest was in Louisa County, Iowa, in 1856, residing in his cousin, Jane (Dickinson) Stephen’s household. Ebenezer Gilbert, Jr., is the one who moved to Edgar County, Illinois; he and first cousin Harriet Light are buried in the same cemetery, Mt. Carmel in Edgar County.

Family contacts after moving west are not known, but two of Jane (Dickinson) Stephen’s relatives, a nephew, Samuel Dickinson, and Franklin Gilbert, the son of her uncle, resided with her family in Louisa County, Iowa, during a census year. In 1870, one of Harriet Light’s sons, Oliver Perry Light, and his family were living in Louisa County, Iowa, and in 1885 Oliver’s daughter, Laurie Matilda Light, was teaching school in Wapello in Louisa County,[75] where two of her father’s aunts were living.

Section IV. Looking for the Year when Elisha Gilbert Moved to Vermont, with

A Chronology of the Life of Elisha Gilbert, with Military service and probable Military Service

Four of Elisha and Hepzibah Gilbert’s children were living in 1850.[76] Anna Dickinson was in Louisa County, Iowa, where her 1850 census shows she was 74 years old, born in New York.[77] Chloe Gillespie was in Clermont County, Ohio, aged 72, born in Vermont. Ebenezer Gilbert was in Clay County, Indiana, aged 70, born in Vermont. Rachel Stephens died in February 1850 and is found in the Mortality Schedule, not the federal census, listed as 76,[78] born in Vermont. Daughter Ruth has not been identified after her birth was recorded in Middletown, Vermont. Death certificates have not been found for any of them.

The dates of all the children’s births were recorded in 1785 in Middletown, Vermont, but it is possible the eldest, Anna, was born in New York.[79] The family was in Vermont by February of 1778, when the second child was born.

At the time I prepared the supplemental application for Elisha Gilbert, my concern was to demonstrate that he was a soldier in the same unit as his neighbors, both in Middletown and later in Steuben County, New York. Your correspondence of 17 August 2012 stated that I need to show that Elisha and his family were in Vermont before that. Other war records that I did not submit (for clarity’s sake, I thought) demonstrate continued residence in that specific area from either 1777, 1778, or possibly about the time of the Battle of Ticonderoga, 10 May 1775.

A history of Rutland County, Vermont, gives evidence that Elisha Gilbert was “among the first members of a church,” later known as the Middletown Congregational Church, whose “first records bearing date of May, 1782,” when the church was located in the part of Wells which was organized as Middletown in 1784.[80] Settlers were there and had a church building at least two years before the organization of Middletown. One source states that Middletown was organized because it was difficult for settlers to get over the mountains to the other town centers.

I will now show starting with the latest dates that my Elisha Gilbert can be traced from his residence in Middletown, Vermont, in 1785, 1784, 1782, and militia service and a taxpayer list in 1781 in Poultney, all the way to his family’s location of Berkshire County, Massachusetts.

o               1785, 21 March, Elisha Gilbert has his marriage date and first four children’s births recorded in Middleton VT.[81] A fifth child was recorded after June 7^th of that year in the same land record volume.

o               1784, at a town meeting, Elisha Gilbert was selected hayward for Middletown, Vermont.[82]

o               1782, Elisha Gilbert participated in the founding of a church in the part of Rutland County that later became Middletown.[83]

o               1781, Oct, “Poles and Rateables List” of Poultney, Vermont.[84]

o               1781, 10 Jun, Capt. Jacob Wood’s Co., Col. Thomas Lee.[85]

“Elisha Gilbert’s Neighbors”[86] links Elisha with other men in both Middletown, Vermont, and Steuben County, New York. In this unit, were these 1784 Middletown town officers: Ephraim Wood, Reuben Searl, Silas Mallary, Elisha Gilbert, Increase Rudd, Benjamin Haskins, James McClure, Luther Filmore, Thomas Morgan, William Frisbie, and Gamaliel Waldo.

As stated in your August 2012 letter, it needs to be shown that Elisha Gilbert was in Vermont that early. There was a man of this name in the area even earlier.

o      1780, October, Capt. Zebediah Dewey’s Co of Militia, Vermont.[87]

The men on this list were from Poultney, Vermont; many of them were from founding families of the town in 1761, and others were intermarried with sisters and sisters-in-law of other soldiers. Names common to both the payroll (note 74, above) and the tax list in addition to Elisha Gilbert include Elisha Allen, Samuel Allen, Enoch Ashley, William Ashley, Jeremiah Adams, Ithamas Brookins, Ebenezer Canfield, Joseph Crow, Zebediah Dewey, Stephen de Maranville, Samuel Fletcher, John Grant, and many others.

o      1778, 6-11 Nov. Capt Parmalee Allen, Col Gideon Warren, “for the State of Vermont.”[88]

Obadiah Winter(s), Samuel Allen and Elisha “Gilburd” are the only names on both this payroll and Capt. Dewey’s two years later, although members of Ethan Allen’s extensive family appear everywhere. Capt. Parmalee Allen was a cousin of the Vermont patriot and hero. The men on this list were largely from Pawlet, another town in the same area of Vermont. There also is a James Haskins listed next to Elisha Gilbert in this unit and a Benjamin Haskins in 1781 in the Jacob Wood company.

I have no confirming evidence that this is my ancestor, except that in February of 1778, Elisha and Hepzibah Gilbert’s second daughter was born, according to her 1850 census, in Vermont. Mine was the only known Elisha in Vermont at that date.

o      1777, 15 Jun, signed receipt for payment from Capt. Ezekiel Blair for service as a carter.[89]

Capt. Blair’s pension file,[90] online at Fold3.com, includes details if his service, including relevant facts such as his wartime home in Williamstown, Berkshire County, Massachusetts (more about that later), his enlistment in April, 1775, his participation in the taking of Ticonderoga, his accompanying Benedict Arnold to Canada later that year, the taking of Fort St Johns and Montreal, returning “home” in December, 1775,[91] and his appointment as “Captain of Teams” for Albany, Saratoga, and Fort Edward in the spring of 1777. In that capacity, Blair obtained several signed receipts, which his widow later used as evidence in a pension application. Elisha Gilbert’s signature appears in the Fold3.com image.

Another page in the pension file shows Ezekiel Blair reporting to Samuel Sloan, in whose unit one Elisha Gilbert enlisted 22 April 1775 and served until 5 May of that year.[92]

Ezekiel Blair’s other interests during the Revolutionary War included co-founding the town of Benson in Rutland County, Vermont, in 1780.[93] Benson is two townships to the northwest of Poultney, where Elisha Gilbert lived in 1781. This is probably the same Elisha, although not necessarily the same one who went to Quebec with Ethan Allen, Benedict Arnold, David Pixley and Ezekiel Blair.[94]

o      22 April 1775-5 May 1775. Capt. Samuel Sloane’s co. of Minutemen[95]

Elisha “Gilbort” enlisted, as did at least two other Elisha Gilberts in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, immediately upon hearing of the Battles of Lexington and Concord. His residence was given as Williamstown, the most northwestern part of Massachusetts. This is not proven to be my Elisha Gilbert, but does allow the following scenario:

a.              22 April 1775, enlisted from Williamstown, Massachusetts, discharged May 5, 1775; service, 14 days. Under Capt. Samuel Sloan.

b.              14 Jan. 1776, married Hepzibah, location unknown, but possibly Ticonderoga, since first child was born later that year, probably in New York, or back in Berkshire County.

c.              15 Jun 1777, Signed receipt as a civilian working as a carter for the military from Ezekiel Blair, probably resident in Vermont, near Lake Champlain and Ft Ticonderoga.

d.              By February of 1778, his family was residing in Vermont, where his second daughter was born.

e.              6-11 Nov 1778, private, went with Capt. Parmalee Allen and men from Pawlet “in defence of the United States to the Northward frontiers.”

f.               October 1780, private, went with Capt. Zebediah Dewey “in defence of the State.” Other members of the unit were from Poultney.

g.              June 1781, marched with Capt. Jacob Wood and Middletown men to Castleton, Vermont.

h.              1781, Oct, appeared on a tax list in Poultney.

i.               1782, in the part of Rutland County, Vermont, at that time Wells, but later Middletown, to organize a church.

j.               1784, participated in town meeting to organize Middletown, named hayward.

Conclusion: there is evidence that Elisha Gilbert was in Vermont several years before his 1781 service and that the man in that service (and possibly other, earlier units) was the same man who within a few years moved to western New York, along with several of his neighbors.

Documents

Section I

1.              David Dickinson, 12 December 1832, to Caroline Boles, mentioning lands of C. G. Dickinson, D. W. Dickinson, and D. Light, recorded 26 Apr 1833, Clermont Co Deed Book E-29: 324, 325, with transcript.

2.              David Dickinson, 12 December 1832, to Harriet Light, mentioning D. W. and Wm F. Dickinson, recorded 20 May 1833, Deed Book E-29: 404, 405, with transcript.

3.              David Dickinson, 12 December 1832, to Nancy A Searl, mentioning D. W. and Wm F. Dickinson, recorded 23 May 1833, Deed Book E-29: 412, 413. At one place David’s name is spelled Dickerson, with transcript.

4.              David Dickinson, 12 December 1832, to Charles G. Dickinson, mentioning Caroline Boles, Elizabeth Dickinson, and Jacob Light, recorded 5 December 1834, Deed Book H-32: 306, 307, with transcript.

5.              Photo of grave stone of Nancy Ann (Dickinson) (Searl) Nichols, at Nichols cemetery, Pike Township, Muscatiine Co IA. Image taken from Ancestry.com.

6.              Cemetery Records [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2000. Original data: Works Project Administration. Graves Registration Project. Washington, D.C.: n.p., n.d.). Also, http://iowawpagraves.org/view.php?id=417127.

7.              1850 US census, Wapello Township, Louisa Co Iowa; Roll: M432_187;  Page: 130A; Image 130: Ann Dickinson, 74, Elizabeth Dickinson, 45, Samuel Dickinson, 22. Previous page includes the Levi “Stevens” family, also attached here: Levi Stevens, 35, Jane, 34, Caroline M Stevens, 7, Ann L, 5, Josephine, 2.

8.  1856 Iowa census, Port Louisa, Louisa Co Iowa: Levi Stephen, 42, Jane Stephen, 41, Caroline M Stephen, 12, Ann L Stephen, 10, Josephine Stephen, 8, John Francis Stephen, 6, Nancy Jane Stephen, 3, Franklin Gilbert, 23, Elizabeth Dickinson, 48, W F Dickinson, 45.

9.              1860 US census, Port Louisa township, Louisa Co Iowa: Levi Stevens, 48, Jane D, 45, Caroline M, 17, Ann L, 14, Josephine, 12, John F, 8, Nancy J, 7, Jesa F, 3, W F Dickinson, 47, Charles Foth, 32, Elizabeth Dickinson, 52.

10.           1880 US census, Port Louisa, Louisa Co Iowa: Stephen, Levi, 64, Jane, 63, Josephine, 31, John F, 28, Nannie J, 26, Jessie F, 22, Hubbard, William M, 14, Dickinson, Elizabeth, 73, John L Bromley, 29.

11.           1840 US census, Louisa County Iowa: Wm Dickinson, Levi Stevens, R S Searl.

12.           Arthur Springer, History of Louisa County, Iowa, 1911, page 257.

13.           1850 US census, Pike township, Muscatine Co IA: Samuel Nichols, 56, Nancy A, 58 NY, four children, all born before Nancy’s marriage to Samuel, and two single men.

Section II

14.           Alma Aicholtz Smith, Clermont County, Ohio, Deeds and Mortgages, 1791-1830: an Index, 1991, pages 80-81.

15.           William “Dixon” on 1806 tax list, Clermont County, Ohio.

16.           1820 Washington Twp, Clermont County, Ohio: William Dickson.

17.           1820 Washington Twp,  Clermont County, Ohio: Joseph Dickson.

18.           1820 Monroe Twp, Clermont County, Ohio: Morgan Dickison.

19.           Cemetery record of Morgan Dickinson, Sr., Mount Holly Christian Chapel Cemetery listing at OHGenweb Clermont County, accessed 2 Dec 2012; more photos of available at http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~ohclecgs/cemeteries/mtholly/index.html.

20.           Grave stone of Morgan Dickinson, Christian Cemetery, Hamlet, Clermont County, Ohio, photo from Findagrave.com.

21.           Morgan Dickinson will, Clermont County, Ohio, 1897. Transcript.

22.           Grave stone of David W. Dickinson, Green Mound Cemetery, New Richmond, Clermont County, Ohio, photo from Findagrave.com.

23.           Death certificate of Emily (Dickinson) Towner, died 1916, daughter of David W. Dickinson.

24.           1820 Franklin Twp, Clermont County, Ohio: Abner Dickinson. Compare with Clermont Sun, 17 Dec 1890, abstracts from Clermont County genweb site.

Section III

25.           Ancestry.com. Iowa Cemetery Records [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2000. Original data: Works Project Administration. Graves Registration Project. Washington, D.C.: n.p., n.d.

26.           Marriage record of Elisha and “Hepsaby” Gilbert, 14 January 1776.

27.           Birth record of Anna Gilbert, 11 August 1776, father, Elisha Gilbert.

28.           Birth record of Cloe Gilbert, 12 February 1778, father, Elisha Gilbert.

29.           Birth record of Ebenezer Gilbert, 15 September 1780, father, Elisha Gilbert.

30.           Birth record of Rachel Gilbert, 17 November 1782, father, Elisha Gilbert.

31.           Birth record of Ruth Gilbert, 7 June 1785, father, Elisha Gilbert.

32.           Correspondence, Mariessa Dobrick, Archivist, Vermont State Archives and Records Administration, 31 December 2012. Card catalog entry from Middletown Springs, Rutland County, Vermont, Vital Records, 1800-1867.

33.           Middletown [Springs], Vermont Land Records Vol. 1, page 52.

34.           Ancestry.com. Iowa, State Census Collection, 1836-1925 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2007: “Laura” Light, 25 Minnesota.

Section IV

35.           1850 US census, Wapello Township, Louisa Co Iowa; Roll: M432_187;  Page: 130A; Image 130: Ann Dickinson, 74, Elizabeth Dickinson, 45 NY, Samuel Dickinson, 22.

36.           1850 US Census: Ohio, Clermont, Ohio; Roll: M432_667; Page: 440A; Image: 319: Chloe Gillaspie, 72 Vermont; Rachel, 46 NY, Margaret Roland, 16 Ohio, Harriet Kirgan, 10, Augusta Mathy, 6/12, John B Gillaspie, 16. These are her 46-year-old unmarried daughter Rachel, granddaughters Margaret Roland and Harriet Kirgan, grandson John B Gillespie, and an unidentified baby.

37.           1850 US Census: Perry, Clay, Indiana; Roll: M432_138; Page: 272B; Image: 552: Ebenezer Gilbert, 70 Vermont.

38.           U.S. Census Mortality Schedules, New York, 1850-1880; Archive Roll Number: M2; Census Year: 1850; Census Location: Dansville, Steuben, New York; Line: 18.

39.           Smith, H. P., and W. S. Rann, History of Rutland County, Vermont, 1886, page 668.

40.           Joseph Joslin, Barnes Frisbie, Fredrick Ruggles, A History of the Town of Poultney, Vermont: From Its Settlement to the Year 1875, with Family and Biographical Sketches and Incidents, 1875, pages 41-42.

41.           The State of Vermont. Rolls of the Soldiers in the Revolutionary War 1775 to 1783. Rutland, VT, USA: Tuttle, 1904, page 381.

42.           Image of Capt. Jacob Wood’s Co., Col. Thomas Lee’s Regiment, company roster, 10 Jun 1781.

43.           Fold3.com image #21859859, Elisha Gilbert, pay roll.

44.           “Elisha Gilbert’s Neighbors.”

45.           The State of Vermont. Rolls of the Soldiers, op. cit., page 236.

46.           Fold3.com images #21806707 and 21806716, Elisha Gilbert, pay roll.

47.           The State of Vermont. Rolls of the Soldiers, op. cit., page 141.

48.           Fold3.com image #9962326, pay “role” of the company.

49.           Fold3.com image # 21806710, Elisha Gilbert’s pay roll.

50.           Fold3.com image #12219965, receipt with signature of civilian employee, Elisha Gilbert, carter.

51.           From the pension file of Ezekial Blair, Fold3.com images $12219844 and 12219848 (a two-page 1845 letter from Francis Blair with details of Ezekiel Blair’s service), 12219927 (receipts presented as evidence, including the 15 Jun 1777 receipt from “a carter,” seen on the actual document to be Elisha Gilbert), and 12219979 (a letter connecting Ezekiel Blair to Capt. Samuel Sloan) from the pension file of Ezekiel Blair.

© 2013, Kathy Alvis Patterson

Starting point for any genealogist: three generations

16 William Henry Harrison ALVIS. Born on 11 Jan 1832 in Missouri. Married 14 Dec 1856, Madison Co IL. Died 17 Apr 1874 at Brighton, Macoupin Co IL. Listed in census as a teamster, died of cerebrospinal meningitis.

17 Frances BROOKS. Born on 17 Jan 1837 in Fosterburg, Madison Co IL. Married #2 Martin Harkey (ca 1803-1893), 5 Jul 1883, Nokomis Twp, Montgomery Co IL. Died 13 Jan 1917, Irving, Montgomery Co IL. Frances and William’s third child—after earlier twins—and first son was Edward Amandus Alvis, who lived in Dickinson Co KS, Custer Co OK, and Howell Co MO.

18 George EYSTER. Born on 18 Apr 1815 in Adams Co  PA. Married 22 Nov 1855, Carlisle, Cumberland Co PA. Died 10 Apr 1893, Abilene, Dickinson Co KS. Elder in the Brethren in Christ Church.

19 Margaret RAMP. Born on 24 Feb 1834 in Cumberland Co  PA. Died 26 May 1904, Thomas, Custer Co OK. She became ill on a train trip to California; the train stopped in a town where several of her children lived so she could get off to be with them, and she died there. She was buried beside her husband in Abilene, Dickinson Co KS. Margaret’s second child and second daughter was Anna Margaret Eyster, who moved with her family to Custer Co OK at the same time her brothers and others of the community did.

20 Berry Rowlett PEDIGO. Born on 12 Mar 1842 in Hart Co KY. Married 27 Jul 1866, Hart Co KY. Died 5 Apr 1923, Bridgeport,Caddo Co OK. He was hit by an unscheduled train. Minister, farmer, flour miller, hotel keeper. Pastor of Missionary Baptist Church of Hinton OK. Civil War 21st KY Cavalry, GAR 1861-1866.

21 Martha Jane GOSSETT. Born on 4 Jan 1846 in Barren Co KY. Died 29 Aug 1837, Bridgeport, Caddo Co OK. She was her husband’s first cousin once removed. Martha’s seventh child of 13 and fourth son was Joshua Abraham Lincoln Pedigo, who followed his parents to Oklahoma about 12 years later. Two of the children older than Lincoln died early as did three who followed him, so growing up he had one older sister, three older brothers, one younger brother and two younger sisters. All of Berry and Martha’s surviving children were in Oklahoma at least for a time.

22 William Rush ATWELL. Born on 15 Apr 1854 in Metcalfe Co KY. Married Susan M “Sudie” Nunn, 15 Dec 1876, Metcalfe Co KY. Married #2 Jane C “Jinny” Huff, 24 Dec 1882, Metcalfe Co KY. He was a bee keeper. Censuses always listed him as a farmer and manual farm laborer.

23 Jane C HUFF. Born in 1866 in Hart Co KY, called Jinney. Died between 1891 and 1893 in Horse Cave, Hart Co KY. When she married Rush Atwell, she became stepmother to a two-year-old and to a two-month old, both boys. She gave birth to four children, two boys and two girls, Lucy being her third child and second girl. Lucy was very close to her sister Mary for her entire life, perhaps because they lost their mother at such a young age.

24 John ARMSTRONG Jr. Born on 31 Dec 1819 in Livingston Co NY. He married Susannah Moran, in 1842 in Illinois. He married #2 Nancy Ann Morris, 15 Dec 1852, in Mason Co IL. He was a farmer and a Republican. He died 22 Jan 1890, Bethany, Harrison Co MO. 

25 Nancy Ann MORRIS. Born on 21 Sep 1829 in Adams Co OH. She died 27 Aug 1891 in Bethany, Harrison Co MO. Nancy’s third child and second son (her husband’s sixth child) was John Franklin Armstrong, who moved to the frontier in Oklahoma and lived in Foss, Washita Co; he died at the age of 85. Other than their daughter Jennie, who died at age 22, all of Nancy’s twelve children lived long lives, from one who died at 65, then another at 68, several who lived into their 70s, more living into the 80s, and at least three into their 90s. The daughters of John’s first wife lived to be 54, 60, and 72. 

26 Reuben Webster TURNER. Born on 1 Feb 1829 in Fayette Co IN. Married Margaret Ellen Parker, 20 Dec 1861, Vigo Co IN, and divorced 25 Oct 1883, Worth Co MO. He died 10 Nov 1905 or 1915 in Foss, Washita Co OK. He was an oculist and a merchant. He served in the Civil War in Capt. Wesley Sanders Company, Indiana Volunteers, Co G, 78th IN Infantry. After Margaret’s second divorce, they apparently shared a home, although no second marriage record has been found. One granddaughter wrote that they lived 7 miles or so apart.

27 Margaret Ellen PARKER. Born on 7 Nov 1843 in Vigo Co IN. She married #2 Stewart Benjamin McCord, 11 Mar 1893, Worth Co MO, and divorced 24 Seo 1901, Grant City MO. She died 27 Apr 1926, at Foss, Washita Co OK, just a month before she would have met her new great-granddaughter, Evelynne Maurine Armstrong. Margaret had eight children with her first husband and none with the second. The fourth child and third girl—the first boy died young—was Anna Samantha. There were four later children. In all, six of the children grew up and married. It has been stated that she must have loved flowers since her daughters were named Florence, Lillian, Samantha, Roza, and Violet. And Mable means “loveable.” Samantha may be related to the Hebrew name Samuel, but it more likely from the Greek word “antha,” meaning flower.

28 Oliver Perry LIGHT. Born on 7 Apr 1828 in Clermont Co OH. He married Nancy Jane Prather, 6 Sep 1853, Shelbyville, Shelby Co IL. Died 28 Mar 1904, Wymore, Gage Co NE. He was a Methodist minister and served as chaplain during the Civil War, in the 7th Minnesota Regiment from 1862 to 1864 and probably participated in the Oklahoma Land Run of 1889. He preached the first sermon in El Reno, Canadian Co OK, after the town was settled.

29 Nancy Jane PRATHER. Born on 12 Sep 1833 in Clark Co IN. Died 4 Aug 1895, Wymore, Gage Co NE. Before her marriage, she was a schoolteacher. As a minister’s wife, she was active in the Women’s Christian Temperance Union. Her fourth child, the second to survive infancy, was her first boy, William Russell Light. Her children were educated by her at home, and William attended Northwestern University, receiving both a BA and later an MA degree.

30 Augustus DORSEY. Born on 30 Dec 1841 in Somerset Co PA. Died 2 Jul 1924, Conway Springs, Sumner Co KS. He served in the Civil War, particpating in the Battle of Gettysburg on Co K 18th Regiment of the PA Cavalry. He was a prisoner at Andersonville. After the War, he moved west, marrying in Illinois, settling first in Nebraska, and then moving with his second wife and family to Kansas. He married first, Frances Minerva Shultz, on 22 Oct 1868, Dixon, Lee Co IL, and second, Ersula Frye, 3 Aug 1879 in Lincoln, Lancester Co Co NE.

31 Frances Minerva SHULTZ. Born on 1 Apr 1849 in Somerset Co PA. Died 8 Jun 1878 in Lincoln, Lancester Co NE. Her third child and second daughter was Mary Ellen, called Dolly. She died a few days after the birth and death of her fourth child. Died 8 Jun 1878 in Lincoln, Lancester Co NE.

32 James Woodson (or Woodford) ALVIS was born in 1808 in TN. He died, probably in Missouri between 1844 and 1850. Son of Shadrach and Nancy (Hail) Alvis.

33 Leatha/Luvina Merrick PULLIAM. Born in 1808 in TN. Died ater 1880. Daughter of Alsey and Frances (McClendon) Pulliam.

34 Asa BROOKS. Born in 1792 in Buffalo, area outside Ft Niagara, NY. Died 6 Feb 1849 in Fosterburg, Madison Co IL. Almost certainly son of Michael and Elizabeth (Boughton) Brooks.

35 Anna JOY. Born in 1795 in Putney, Windham Co VT. Died between 1845 and 1848 in Fosterburg, Madison Co IL. Daughter of David and Mary (Dickinson) Joy.

36 Jacob EYSTER. Born on 28 Nov 1789 in Hanover, York Co PA. Died 22 Oct 1839, Bendersville, Adams Co PA. Son of Daniel and Elizabeth (Reiff) Eyster.

37 Catherine [WENTZ]. Born on 9 Feb 1794 in PA. Died on 4 Jan 1855, Bendersville, Adams Co PA. Probably daughter of John Frederick (Jr) and Anna Maria Magdalena (–?–) Wentz.

38 Samuel RAMP. Born on 20 Sep 1793 in Berks Co PA. Died on 20 Apr 1868, Mifflin Township, Cumberland Co PA. Son of Philip and Elizabeth (Albrecht) Ramp.

39 Elizabeth WORST. Born on 3 Dec 1794 in Cumberland Co PA. Died on 23 Mar 1868, Mifflin Township, Cumberland Co PA. Daughter of Jacob Worst.

40 Elijah PEDIGO. Born on 3 May 1809 in Patrick Co VA. Died possibly 1906, Polk Co MO. Son of Levi and Mary Blakey (Edens) Pedigo.

41 Frances HARPER. Born before 1810 in Hart Co KY. Died between 1848 and 1850 in Hart Co KY. Probably daughter of Hance (Jr) and Nancy (–?–) Harper. Nancy may also have been called Rhoda.

42 Henry GOSSETT. Born on 4 Dec 1818 in Martinsville, Henry Co VA. Died 2 Jun 1912, Hart Co KY. Son of Cavin and Mary (Phifer) Gossett.

43 Elizabeth PEDIGO. Born on 23 Nov 1824 in Barren Co KY. Died 2 Mar 1861, Hart Co KY. Daughter of William and Elizabeth (Cliff) Pedigo.

44 Benjamin ATWELL. Born on 24 Nov 1807 in NC. Died 3 Feb 1895, Horse Cave, Hart Co KY. Son of John Atwell Jr and his first wife, who was possibly Anne Lewis.

45 Susan ERWIN. Born on 24 Jan 1815 in Green Co KY. Died 4 Aug 1893, Horse Cave, Hart Co KY. Daughter of William (Jr) and Sarah (Forbis) Erwin.

46 Lorenzo Dow HUFF. Born on 12 Oct 1839 in Wayne Co KY. Died 17 Dec 1912, Crail Hope, Hart Co KY. Son of George Washington and Malinda (Denton) Huff.

47 Laura Frances GENTRY. Born on 25 May 1844 in Hart Co KY. Died 13 Feb 1911, Green Co KY. Daughter of Benjamin and Emily (Martin) Gentry.

48 John ARMSTRONG Sr. Born after Feb 1787 [prob ca 1789] in NJ. Died 1852, Grand River, Ontario. Son of John Armstrong and Bathsheba (Coleman) Moore.

49 Mary BARRON. Born in 1801 in NY. Died 1879, Clayton Co IA. Daughter of William and Margery (Wilkinson) Barron; they were the latest of my ancestral lines to come to America, ca 1800.

50 George MORRIS. Born in 1790 in Lexington, Fayette Co KY. Died 1 Jun 1861, Mason Co IL. Possibly son of Thomas Morris and his first wife, Betsy Stephenson.

51 Elizabeth HURD. Born in 1807 in Adams Co OH. Died ca 1859, Mason Co IL. Probably daughter of Caleb and Martha (Oursler) Hurd. If Martha was a second wife, maybe Elizabeth was her stepdaughter.

52 Greenville Person TURNER. Born on 15 May 1797 in Franklin Co VA. Died 8 Oct 1877, Putnam Co IN. Son of Wilson (Sr) and Elizabeth (Doss) Turner.

53 Deborah WEBSTER. Born on 11 Jun 1796 in Franklin Co VA. Died 22 Nov 1836, Putnam Co IN. Daughter of Samuel and Susannah (Bagby) Webster.

54 Greenberry PARKER. Born in 1810/1815 in SC. Died between 1844 and 1850, Vigo Co IN. Possibly son of Isaac Parker of Sullivan Co IN.

55 Elizabeth WILLOUGHBY. Born in 1813 in TN, prob Greene Co TN. Died 1900, Worth Co MO. daughter of Elijah and Susannah (Leachman) Willoughby.

56 David LIGHT. Born on 5 Sep 1800 in Clermont Co OH. Died 16 Sep 1888, Edgar Co IL. Son of Jacob and Catherine (Harmon) Light.

57 Harriet DICKINSON. Born on 20 Nov 1802 in Wyoming, Ontario Co NY. Died 26 Jan 1873, Edgar Co IL. Daughter of David and Anna (Gilbert) Dickinson.

58 James Russell PRATHER. Born on 17 Nov 1807 in Clark Co IN. Died 25 Jan 1850, Jefferson Co IA. Son of Lloyd Benton and Nancy (Redman) Prather.

59 Louvica Caroline VEACH. Born in 1806/1810 in KY. Died 15 Jul 1841, Harrison Co IN. Daughter of Jacob and Mary (Hilton) Veach.

60 Lloyd DORSEY. Born on 12 Mar 1813 in Somerset Co PA. Died 3 Jun 1873, Somerset Co PA. Son of William Cumming and Mary (Black) Dorsey.

61 Sarah Ann MOSER. Born on 27 Mar 1813 in Berks Co PA. Died 8 Dec 1870, Somerset Co PA. Daughter of Michael (Jr) and Maria Magdalena (–?–) Moser.

62 Joseph SHULTZ. Born on 30 May 1819 in Somerset Co PA. Died 22 Aug 1902, Dixon Lee Co IL. Son of Conrad and Catherine (Kooser) Shultz.

63 Catherine HANNA. Born on 10 Nov 1819 or 13 Apr 1820 in Somerset Co PA. Died 24 Jun 1862, Somerset Co PA. Probably daughter of Alexander and Julianna (Berkey) Hanna.

64 Shadrach Alvis. Born ca 1788 in Goochland Co VA. He died after 1860 in Jefferson Co IL. Son of Ashley and Elizabeth (Knollings/Nowlin) Alvis.

 By Kathy Alvis Patterson

April 2008

Part I: Introduction to the O. P. Light family charts

Oliver Perry Light was born 27 April 1828 in Clermont Co OH, and became a Methodist minister, serving in Illinois, Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas and Oklahoma Territory until his death in 1904.[1] In 1853 he met and married Miss Nancy Jane Prather (1833-1895).[2] He was Chaplain of the 7^th Minnesota Regiment from 1862 to 1864[3] and probably participated in the Oklahoma Land Run of 1889.[4] More details of his life follow in Part V of this monograph.

The grandmother of the present writer was his granddaughter, Ethel Marguerite (Light) Armstrong (11 Dec 1900-7 Jan 1991). Although she had no clear memory of her grandfather, she did possess a great deal of pride in his career and knowledge of his life and work. She frequently wrote summaries of his life and gave presentations throughout western Oklahoma, especially in Methodist churches. O. P. Light baptized all of his ten grandchildren, except the youngest Evelyn Frances (Light) Eichor, who was born 5 Jun 1904 in Oklahoma City, a few months after his death.

In 1966, when I began family research, my grandmother obtained from her sister Evelyn Eichor a stack of papers that had belonged to Rev. Light. I spent a day copying everything possible; as a well-behaved teenager, but only a beginning genealogist, I conscientiously, but unfortunately, returned the papers to my grandmother, who gave them back to Mrs. Eichor, and they were never seen again by anyone with an interest in family history.

Of particular importance were a set of family pages, written in pencil, detailing the ancestry and cousins of Oliver Perry Light’s Light family, and in less detail, his wife Nancy Jane’s parents, her brother and sisters and their children, her Prather grandparents, their children, one uncle’s children, and her Veach grandparents and their children. I do not know if the Lights kept up with family births and deaths by mail or by visits. His pocket-sized notebook does include expenses from 1899 for a trip to Illinois; by this date his son was a Rock Island employee, and he may have traveled frequently by train.[5]

This monograph is an effort to publish and establish the facts of Rev. Light’s notes, many of which are not known to exist in any other location. Their genealogical importance is not limited to my ancestry but to many Prather and Veach descendants. Since 1966, I have kept these notes separate from other research and not “contaminated” Rev. Light’s charts. His charts are printed here exactly as I received them. Internal evidence suggests they were completed after 6 Apr 1902, and before his death on 28 March 1904.

It has been possible to confirm from other sources the accuracy of some of Rev. Light’s charts. Recently published studies, census entries, wills and books not available to him at any time in his life have shown him to be almost always accurate. I have received letters from other researchers that Rev. Light’s lists confirm what they have postulated but been unable to prove.

It is my thesis that these documents are accurate and reliable as genealogical evidence.

Although except for the copies I made in 1966, O. P Light’s original family charts have been lost, a copy of the Light family data written by his daughter after his death, does exist. These are almost the same as the Light portion of what I saw in 1966, with some newer dates, minus the notes Rev. Light had added on younger family members. Rev. Light’s charts had each family on a separate sheet of paper, yet his daughter copied everything onto four pages; she did not list families before Jacob and Caty (Harmon) Light. It is possible that Harriet (Light) Vance did not copy her father’s papers, but that she had access to a family Bible, since her data are grouped in births, marriages and deaths, where his were arranged by families, with names and notes about children of the youngest generation. The Prather and Veach families were not included in her record.[6]

Part II: Verification of the Accuracy of the O. P. Light family charts

The Light family has more records in print than the branches of the other surnames, Prather and Veach, mentioned in O. P. Light’s family charts. They comprise pages 1-4 of my printed lists. John Light was O. P.’s great-grandfather, and O. P. listed seven children for him: Peter, Barbara, Jacob, Benjamin, Daniel, Samuel, and Marten. The will of John’s brother Jacob Light, Jr.,[7] establishes John’s children as Peter, Daniel, Jacob and Barbara. In addition, childless Jacob had previously adopted John’s youngest sons Samuel and Martin. The only divergence from O. P.’s list is the son Daniel, who is not mentioned in the will. At the time Rev. Light was making his lists, a contemporary Light researcher in Pennsylvania placed the Jacob who adopted his brother’s sons, Samuel and Martin, as a member of a different family. Moses Light wrote in 1896, concerning two brothers John and Jacob, “John was rich in sons; Jacob was rich in this world’s goods, but childless, so he adopted the two youngest of his brother’s children, Samuel and Martin.”[8] This means that my great-great-grandfather Oliver Perry Light, writing in the 1890s, still had family records that showed the brothers Samuel and Martin to be children of our John, not the John Light of Moses Light’s book, and more accurate than the man who still lived in Pennsylvania.

            O. P. Light’s grandfather was Jacob Light of Clermont Co OH. The 1880 History of Clermont County Ohio published by the Louis H Everts Co has biographical and family information about this Jacob Light, enough to confirm the essential accuracy of O. P. Light’s data, but enough variation to rule out Light’s having copied from this book. According to this book, Jacob had brothers David, Daniel, Peter, and a sister Barbara Robb. David and Daniel were not in the elder Jacob’s 1808 will, and David was not in O. P. Light’s list.

            Jacob and Catherine (Harmon) Light had 11 children, according to O. P. Light. The Everts book agrees with “seven sons and four daughters,” but only names John, Daniel, Jacob, David, Peter and Benjamin. There is agreement that Jacob’s brother Daniel had eleven children, including John, Martin, Abel, James, Daniel, Betsy, Katie and Susan.[9]

            Daniel’s son John had 13 children, according to Rev. Light. This John Light was Oliver’s first cousin, and both were ministers in Iowa, which may account for O.P.’s knowing John’s children’s names, but not their birthdates. In his 1860 census, John Light was listed as a farmer, with his wife and six children. The oldest child at home was Joseph D., suggesting that O. P. Light listed Joseph and Daniel as two sons instead of one, followed by James A., Charlotte, John H., George H, and Mary Minerva, on the next page. Elvira and Marion H. are missing, as are four older daughters.[10] In 1850 two of the older daughters, Ann and Emily, were in the household, in addition to the same younger children, except Mary Minerva, who wasn’t born yet. Urana and Jane appear to be living next door.[11] (Frank Light lists Charlotte Elvira as one girl.)

            Frank Light, a descendant of both Jacob Light and his brother Daniel, has compiled many Light family records, including the story of Barbara (Light) (Williamson) Robb, by a granddaughter. This lady’s list of her grandmother’s children is similar, but not identical to O. P. Light’s.[12]

            Frank Light also collected records of Peter Light, a brother of Jacob Light’s who bought and sold land in several locations and three states. Where O. P. Light stated this man, his father’s uncle, had four children, Frank Light lists only three.[13]

            I have census records that confirm the accuracy of the families of O. P.’s brothers and sisters.

            David and Harriet’s oldest child was Charlotte (Light) Scott. Her family’s 1870 census reveals a youngest son her brother must have forgotten or not known about, Samuel, age 4. The oldest daughter was probably already married; otherwise, the remaining children are exactly as O. P. Light listed them, with the interesting addition of a middle name for Nancy C. and a question why the mother was listed at the end of the household. Even the birthdates match for precise ages on June 10th of that year.[14]

            Reuben S Light’s family was also still in Edgar Co IL. His second wife and the three surviving daughters of his first wife are listed, as well as baby Harriet, who O. P. Light believed had died in 1869. All the ages correspond with O. P. Light’s charts.[15]

            Brothers Samuel Henry, called Henry, and William are on the same page of the 1870 census as their parents, David and Harriet Light. Henry’s family has a few minor differences from O. P. Light’s charts; sons William M and Charles K had not had their birthdays yet, but are a year older than the charts would indicate, and the youngest child Hattie must have died. Everyone in William’s family matches the charts exactly.[16]

            Andrew and Catherine (Light) Wheeler were also in Edgar Co IL in 1870. The three children in their household match O. P. Light’s charts exactly, but daughter Alice, 17, was already married and living with her husband a few pages away.[17]

            Benjamin and Florella Light had moved to Barton Co MO. O. P. Light had the names and ages of their three surviving, unmarried children exactly correct.[18]

I have shown that Oliver Perry Light was meticulously accurate in his Light family charts that can be confirmed from other sources. Only mistakes occur, but not very often. It should follow that if he wrote only what he was confident about as far as his own family, he would do the same with his wife’s parents’ families, the Prathers and the Veaches.

I will conclude by saying that I wish Rev. Light had included his mother’s family, the Dickinsons, in his charts. I have had the challenge of finding the Dickinsons without the help of Harriet (Dickinson) Light’s son.[19] His grandmother’s family, the Harmons, would have been nice too.

Part III: The Accuracy of O. P. Light’s charts of the Prather family

In 1853, Nancy Jane Prather was an orphan, having lost her mother in 1841 and her father on 25 Jan 1850. Three versions of her obituary name her parents.[20] Although her grandparents, uncles and aunts and brothers and sisters were all in the 1850 census in Jefferson Co IA, she was living with the Aaron Edwards family from New York State who were not related.[21] Her stepmother and half-brother and sisters had returned to Indiana; their census has not been located.

For each of her siblings, I attach a copy of his or her 1850 census, plus a later census showing the accuracy of O. P. Light’s lists of their children.

The oldest of James and Louvica’s six daughters and one son was Mary Elizabeth, 18, living in the home of David Beach of Connecticut.[22] By 1870, she and her husband, William Hamilton, and their family were living in Marin Co CA; their youngest son Charles, 4, whose name was known to O. P. Light, was the first of the family born in California.[23]

While the daughters, as will be seen, were living with neighbors, probably working, the only son, 14-year-old Enoch, was with his uncle, next door to his grandparents. In addition to Enoch, his census page had Lloyd and Nancy, their sons Thomas H. and his family and Reason Prather and family; Reason’s wife, Sally Ann (Veach), was a sister of James Russell Prather’s first wife.[24] The pages left by Rev. Light did not include a list of the children of Enoch Prather. In 1870, he was still living in Liberty Township, Jefferson Co IA, near his aunt Elizabeth Jane (Prather) Schwartz, and married to Ann with a baby. [25] O. P. Light said his wife was Mary, and a descendant with whom I corresponded states that his wife was Mary Ann Walmer.[26]

Sarah Ann, 12, was living in 1850 with the William Donaldson family from Kentucky.[27] Her four children with husband Ben “Evens” in 1870 were Ann, Ellen, Jane and William. The three girls do not match the “Evans” daughters named on O. P. Light’s chart: Louvica (Sarah Ann’s mother’s name) Will, Margaret and Martha, although if census listings by middle names can be considered, they might fit.[28] Sarah Ann had died by 1880 as Ben “Evins” had a new wife and four young children.[29]

Indiann, Sarah Ann’s twin, was living with the Hiram Case family from Ohio in 1850, on the same page as one John L. Prather, a nephew of Lloyd Benton Prather, who had moved to Iowa in 1846.[30] In 1870, Henry and Indiann Grammer’s three children are the same as on O. P. Light’s list, but the first and last names are spelled differently.[31]

In 1850 Elvira was listed as a boy, Alvin, 11, with the Hiram Smith family from Ohio. She was one page after the one where her grandparents, two uncles and their families and her brother Enoch were listed, just two households away from one of the uncles, above. In 1870, the William and Elvira Smith family is identical to the four children on Rev. Light’s list, although in different order, and there is a fifth baby, William.[32]

In 1850 Louvica Caroline, 9, was with the Iowa-native Carlisle Smith family.[33] A gedcom at Ancestry.com identifies Carlisle as the brother of Hiram Smith, with whom Elvira was residing, probably half-brothers of Elvira’s eventual husband, William H Smith. She married Anson C. Jones. In 1870 her family was in Jasper Co IA with three children, named the same as the oldest three of four in O. P. Light’s list.[34]

Oliver P. Light’s knowledge of his wife’s brothers and sisters and their families was not as complete as his awareness of his own nieces and nephews, but still shows that he and his wife, Nancy Jane, did keep in touch, even through the years when a few of the nieces and nephews were marrying, mostly those still in Jefferson Co IA.

The case was different with Nancy Jane’s half-brother and sisters. I corresponded in the 1980s with Becky Van Vliet, of Muncie IN, a descendant of Marion Washington Prather. She sent me, among other information, a Bible record and a copy of the second marriage license of James Russell Prather’s second wife, Elizabeth Jane (Jamison) Prather. The Bible record had a date of birth for Marion W. Prather two days difference from O. P. Light’s chart.[35] It appears that after the death of James Russell Prather in 1850 there was no further contact between the children of his first marriage and the widow or her children.

The only known evidence specifically naming the children of Lloyd Benton and Nancy (Redman) Prather is O. P. Light’s list; other than that, the geographic proximity of the families is the clearest evidence. And four of the seven children of Lloyd’s have independent proof of their parentage.

Lloyd Benton Prather was a son of Basil Prather, DAR Patriot Ancestor and early settler of Clark Co IN.[36] His census record exactly matches the sons named by O. P. Light, although there was apparently one more daughter than remembered by Nancy Jane or recorded by her husband. The biggest mistake in dates in all of O. P. Light’s pages was the age of Elizabeth Prather; he said she was born in 1824, when census information throughout her life indicates a date closer to 1810. In 1820 Clark Co IN, Lloyd’s family was comprised of one male 0-10 (Reason, 8), 3 females 0-10 (Elizabeth, 10, Cena Lillis, 7, Mary Ellen, 3), two males 10-16 (Thomas, 15, James, 13), one male 26-45 (Lloyd, 38) and one female (26-45) Nancy, 38.[37]

By 1830, the youngest sons had been born, Lillis had probably died (she is not in O. P. Light’s lists), and the oldest three children were married. Lloyd’s entry was two males 5-10 (William, 10, Jonathan, 7), one female 10-15 (Mary Ellen, 13), one male 15-20 (Reason, 18), one male 40-50 (Lloyd, 48), and one female 40-50 (Nancy, 48).[38] Elizabeth and Abraham Schwartz andJames R and his wife are at the bottom of the page previous to Lloyd, whose name is first on the page; they were consecutive households.[39] The eldest son, Thomas Helms Prather, was higher on page 56, closer to uncles Aaron and Thomas. Aaron Prather had a son Thomas, still at home; Thomas, the uncle, had one son also named Thomas, but he was married with a son William by 1830. So, this is “our” Thomas.

By 1840, Lloyd and his family with the three older sons and their families had all moved to Blue River Township, Harrison Co IN; they were the only Prathers in the county.[40] Still at home with Lloyd and Nancy were Jonathan, 17, William, 20, and Mary Ellen, 23. Thomas H. Prather had five children, James’s first four daughters and a son were with him and his wife, and Reason and his wife had two small children.[41] The next year, James’s first wife died, and he married again while in Harrison Co IN.

In 1850, the children of Lloyd Prather were all in Jefferson Co IA, as noted above, with these exceptions: James had died and his children by his first wife were living with different families in the same county as their grandparents; Mary Ellen and her husband Campbell Rankin, and her brothers William and Jonathan and their wives were in Lucas Co IA.[42]

Through census records we know that Lloyd and these seven next generation Prathers, and no others, moved together twice; this confirms O. P. Light’s Prather family lists. Further confirmation, and the only additional Prather evidence located in Jefferson Co IA comes from voting lists from 1850, where Lloyd, four of his sons, and two of his sons in-law are listed.[43]

In 1973 I wrote to Mr. Clare Prather of Tulsa, sharing O. P. Light’s family charts. Mr. Prather’s response is attached. “You cannot begin to know the pleasure that your letter gave me when I received it today.” He had been trying to establish the children of Lloyd Benton and Nancy (Redman) Prather “for many years.”[44] Mr. Prather’s assumptions were in almost complete agreement with O. P. Light.

In 1987, I copied several pages from Marriage Records of People Named Prather, Prater, Prator, Praytor at the NSDAR Library in Washington, D. C. I do not have all the pages for Lloyd’s children, but those I do have (James Russell, Jonathan C., and Elizabeth) reveal that Cartlidge connected the dots and assigned the sons and daughter to the same parents as O. P. Light wrote down based on personal knowledge.[45]

These are the children Clare Prather, O. P. Light, Miss Anna Cartlidge, census data, and other sources agree are the children of Lloyd Benton and Nancy (Redman) Prather:

1.     Thomas Helms Prather,[46] the eldest was a Methodist minister, as was Oliver Perry Light. Perhaps because of this connection and the fact that both families left Jefferson Co IA and spent time in Kansas, among other places, Rev. Light had more information about the children of Thomas than for any other of the siblings of his wife. O. P. Light knew that one of Thomas’s daughters married a Mr. Gilliland; this couple’s son Willie was buried, long with Thomas and his parents, in the same cemetery in Douglas Co KS.[47]

2.     James Russell Prather, my ancestor.

3.     Elizabeth Prather, who married Abram or Abraham Schwartz. Portrait and Biographical Album of Jefferson and Van Buren Counties, Iowa, 1890, names her parents specifically, although misstating their ancestry as German and Scottish.[48]

4.     Reason Benjamin (or Reason Redman) Prather. [49] Nancy Redman had a brother Reason Redman (or Rezin Redman), for whom this son was named; her father was Benjamin Redman, so conceivably he could have been named Reason Benjamin Redman Prather. He married a sister-in-law of brother James Russell’s and by 1860 was living in Lucas Co IA. I am attempting to communicate with a DAR member who descends from Reason and Sally Ann, whose line is proven; this evidence is available, just not necessarily speedily.

5.     Cena Lillis Prather. Clare Prather wrote in the letter cited above: “Mrs. Ruth Van Tries, a daughter of Cena Lillis (Prather) Pearson, a daughter of Thomas Helms Prather, says that her mother told her on several occasions that she was named Cena Lillis for her father’s sister.” He proposed that the daughter who was present in the 1820 census, but not seen later was named Cena Lillis.

6.     Mary Ellen Prather. O. P. Light’s identification of her husband as Campbell Rankin was not known to Clare Prather. Mary Ellen Rankin can be traced with her husband from their marriage in 1840 in Harrison Co IN to 1850 and 1860 in Lucas Co IA through 1870 and 1880 in Smithland Twp, Livingston Co KY. It is difficult to identify their children in census or other online records other than when living with the parents, in spite of some fairly unusual given names. A source I cannot locate at this time gave their death dates as 23 Apr 1881 for the husband and 28 May 1899 for Mary Ellen; probably the same source quoted her obituary as saying, “She was a niece of Rev. William Redman, a pioneer Methodist preacher, and her brother, Rev. Thomas H. Prather, was an able and devoted missionary to the Indians prior to the admission of Kansas into the Union.”

7.     William W. Redman Prather was in Lucas Co IA in 1850, Sioux City Township, Woodbury Co IA in 1860, Shirley Township, Cloud Co IA in 1870 and North Longton Township, Elk Co KS in 1880. His children’s names, as first noted by Clare Prather, point toward his being the son of Lloyd and Nancy:  Lewis Cass, Nancy E., Lloyd B., Martha E., William, Mary A., James R., Loretta Vergeia, and Charles B.

8.     Jonathan Cass Prather. I disagree with Clare Prather when he identified this man as the same Jonathan Prather listed as a settler in 1855 in Kansas; for this to be so, he would have to have abandoned his wife and two children, who were listed under Elizabeth’s name in 1860 in Lucas Co IA. There were five Jonathan Prathers in the U. S. census in 1850, and five again in 1860, but one was a 7-year-old boy. Only this Jonathan is missing.

Every one of Lloyd and Nancy’s children had a daughter named Nancy, usually Nancy Elizabeth, except for the Rankins.

Part IV: The Accuracy of O. P. Light’s charts of the Veach family

In addition to her own mother, Louvica Caroline (Veach) Prather, who died when Nancy was seven, Nancy Jane (Prather) Light also knew her aunt Sally Ann (Veach) Prather, who was married to an uncle and lived in Jefferson Co IA, and another aunt, Frances Maude (Veach) Porter, at whose home in Shelbyville IL Nancy was visiting that summer of 1853 when she met and married O. P. Light.[50] She probably also personally knew Elvira (Veach) Smith in Shelbyville, since this aunt was there in the 1860 census. She knew the names of other aunts, and that there was a brother Milton, possibly because her aunt Frances’s oldest child was a namesake named Milton Porter, but no facts about the brother beyond his name were recorded by O. P. Light.

O. P. Light made very few notes about the Veach family. What he knew was that his mother-in-law, whom he never met, was a daughter of Jacob and Mary (Hilton) Veach. Actually Jacob didn’t spell the name the way some earlier families did: Veatch. In this document I have kept O. P.’s spelling, that is apparently Jacob’s spelling, but as I turn to other sources, which I will spell the name as it appears.

Rev. Light also knew that there were at least six daughters and one son, and he knew the names of some of the daughter’s husbands, although imperfectly. Lucinda, the youngest child, was married to Hiram Porter, not Jonathan. Hiram was a nephew of Frances (Veach) Porter’s husband Zephaniah.

I will analyze Jacob Veach’s census record, as Clare Prather did with Lloyd Prather’s. In 1820, he was in Clark Co IN, p 14, with this family: 010010/42010/01.[51] The six daughters named by O. P. Light were Louvica Caroline, Frances Maude (“Fanny”), Elvira, Rachel, Lucinda, and Sarah Ann (“Sally Ann”). Their ages were not known, but additional sources identified other daughters as Hannah and Mary Ann.[52] The son would have been Milton.

On the same page in 1820 were Basil R. Prather and his son John.

In 1830, Jacob’s family was comprised of 0000101…/1221101….[53] The seventh and youngest daughter has been born. There is still only one son. Again there are Prathers on the same page, plus John C. Redman, a double first cousin of Nancy Redman’s.

In 1840 in Johnson Co IN, Jacob’s family was: 100000001/00101001. On the same page were two daughters and their husbands, Moses Holeman and Francis K Porter. The daughters living with their parents were Lucinda, unmarried, and Elvira, whose husband had died, apparently leaving her with one son under five.[54] Milton Veach was still in Clark Co IN.[55]

From the 1850 census it is possible to calculate the order of the children’s births. Louvica Caroline did not live until 1850, but might be the oldest child, since she was the first married of Jacob’s children’s. In Shelby Co IL, we learn that Frances (Veach) Porter was 42, born in Kentucky.[56] Milton (“M. W. Veach”) was in Clark Co IN, 40, born in Indiana.[57] Sally Ann (Veach) Prather’s 1850 census is given above, on page 10; she was 34. Elvira was married to Henry Eller, her second husband, by 1850, living in Shelby Co IL, 32; the child Harman Smith, 13, was the boy in Jacob’s 1840 census.[58] Mary (Veach) Holeman, 30, and Rachel (Veach) Admire, 28, were on the same page in Johnson Co IN, both born in Indiana.[59]

Finding evidence to link the children named by O. P. Light to Jacob Veach begins with the Light lists. The fact of Rev. Light’s knowing these names was used in 1974 by the Veatch Family Association, when they sponsored a 913-page compilation of all known Veatches.[60]

Two of Jacob and Polly (Hilton) Veach’s children are named in American Guthrie,[61] Milton “Veatch” and Rachel (“Veatch”) Admire are named, which means that with Mary Ann (Veach) Holeman, three of Jacob’s children are independently confirmed. Rachel and her husband both died of typhoid fever in 1861 in Warrick Co IN, although Guthrie gives the date 1860. His information is different from O.P. Light’s, but agrees with it.

Jacob Veach and Polly Hilton, named by O. P. Light, were married in Jessamine Co KY in 1805.[62] James Hilton was surety, and her father “Freeman” Hilton was named.

While a college student and beginning family researcher, I copied all I could find about ancestors at my university library. I found Virkus’ The Compendium of American Genealogy, but not my Veach or Prather families, as far as I could tell. What I did find of interest was in a volume entitled Territorial Papers of Indiana, various petitions dated 1809-1816, which I copied, keeping spelling and capitalization as it appeared. And I only copied the names which I knew at that time to be ancestors’ names.[63]  The significance of these documents is the close and early connections found among these families, in the community of early Clark Co IN.

·         Clark Co IN petition, dated 12 Dec 1809, included: truman hilton, James Hilton, Joshua W redman, Lloyd Prather, Benjamin Redman, Basil R Prather, Aaron Prather, Roger Redman, Jacob Veatch, Wm Prather.

·         Another peition from 1809 included: Wm Prather, Truman Hilton, James Hilton, John Prather, Basil R Prather, Aaron Prather, Lloyd Prather.

·         A territorial memorial signed 31 Dec 1810 included Aaron Prather and Jacob Veatch.

·         A territorial petition, 11 Dec 1811, had: Aaron Prather, James Hilton, Basil Prather, Wm Prather, Basil R Prather.

·         Clark Co IN petition, dated 16 Dec 1813, included: Aaron Prather, Samuel Prather, Basil Prather, Loyd Prather.

·         Clark Co IN Memorial, 15 Oct 1812: Rezin Redman, Commandant of a Detachment from Clark.

·         Territory Memorial, 1 Feb 1815: Basil Prather. A footnote mentons Basil Prather, a native of Maryland and postmaster in 1816 at Salem. 17 April 1816: a note from the Postmaster General to Basil Prather.

In 1820, there were Veach families in four counties in Indiana.[64] Guthrie identifies the four families in Harrison County as sons of Nathan and Elizabeth (Craig) Veach, who moved there from Knoxville TN.[65] Benjamin in Orange Co IN was probably a brother of my Jacob.[66]  The Fayette County Veaches were distant cousins from a branch which originated in Frederick Co MD; they were in Harrison Co KY in 1810.[67]

All families in the 1820 census were spelled Veach; by 1830 both Veach and Veatch appear with no distinction.[68] All of the nine names in the 1820 Indiana census are repeated in 1830, plus a Thomas in Henry County and two younger men in Fayette County; two of the Harrison County Veatches have moved, one to Spencer County and the other to Greene County. Benjamin in Orange County has now been joined by another brother Asa. Jacob is still the only Veach or Veatch in Clark Co IN. And the Veaches identified by O. P. Light were all married in Clark County until after 1830, and in Johnson Co IN after 1835.[69]

While there is still uncertainty about the parentage of Jacob Veach, there is no doubt about his wife’s family. Truman Hilton and his wife, Christena Patrick, were part of a large number of Marylanders who went first to Rowan or Iredell Counties in North Carolina, tthen to Kentucky and finally just across the Ohio River to Clark County.[70] There were numerous intermarriages among this group. In 1850 in that county, there were 115 people born before 1810 who claimed to have been born in Maryland, out of a population of 2499 in that age group, or about 22%.[71]

These marriages are known to have taken place in Clark County between Veach, Hilton, Holeman (or Holman, as it is often written), Prather, Patrick, and Jacobs individuals:

HOLEMAN, –            m            JACOBS, THOMAS             Clark, 5-22-1809

HILTON, LETHA            m            HOLMAN, AARON            Clark, 8-6-1813

HOLMAN, MOSES            m            PATRICK, REBECCA            Clark, 8-23-1814

PRATHER, ARY            m            HILTON, JAMES            Clark, 3-30-1815

PRATHER, WILLIAM JR            m            HILTON, SARAH            Clark, 10-25-1816

HOLEMAN, CATHERINE            m            PATRICK, JEREMIAH            Clark, 11-4-1819

PRATHER, AARON J            m            PATRICK, ELIZABETH            Clark, 6-5-1820

PATRICK, WILLIAM            m            DAVIS, NANCY            Clark, 8-17-1820

PRATHER, JOHN JR            m            PATRICK, MARY            Clark, 8-29-1820

HOLEMAN, MATILDA            m            PATRICK, JOHN            Clark, 3-30-1822

HILTON, WILLIAM            m            JACOBS, REBECCA D.            Clark, 9-28-1828

HILTON, PRESSHA            m            PORTER, FRANCIS K.            Clark, 6-7-1829

PRATHER, JAMES R            m            VEACH, LAVICY            Clark, 2-11-1830

PORTER, ZEPHANIAH K            m            VEACH, FRANCES M            Clark, 6-3-1831

PRATHER, SAMANTHA            m            JACOBS, JEREMIAH            Clark, 4-6-1833

VEATCH, MILTON            m            NEELY, ELIZABETH            Clark, 11-30-1834

PRATHER, THOMAS F            m            JACOBS, CATHARINE            Clark, 12-6-1838

PRATHER, THOMAS F            m            PATRICK, MAHALA            Clark, 11-4-1842

PRATHER, JOSEPH A            m            PATRICK, SARAH ANN            Clark, 11-28-1844

PRATHER, MARGARET ANN            m            PATRICK, LEWIS R            Clark, 11-6-1845

Letha (or Aletha), William, Pressha, Sarah and James are all children of Truman and Christena (Patrick) Hilton. I have located ten probable children of this couple. My ancestor, Mary or Polly, was possibly the oldest child, married in Jessamine Co KY before the family moved to Clark Co IN. Louvica Veach was a granddaughter.

The nine Patricks are five children of Christena (Patrick) Hilton’s brother William Jr. and his wife Rebecca Jacobs, plus William’s own second marriage in 1820; Sarah and Lewis are two of the four children from the second marriage. Mahala Patrick was a widow when she married a Prather.

Part V: Additional documents relating to Oliver Perry Light

Oliver Perry Light was the third surviving child of David and Harriet (Dickinson) Light. In 1837, the family moved to Edgar Co IL, where David and Harriet lived for the rest of their lives.[72] In the 1850 census Oliver P. Light was listed as a schoolteacher,[73] and he is recorded in that year as a student at Georgetown Seminary, in nearby Vermillion Co IL.[74] According to Methodist Church records, he was “ordained a deacon and given full connection in 1854,”[75] after having begun serving as in 1852 in the first of many churches and circuits, moving from Williamsburg and other districts in Illinois to Dayton and Crow River, Minnesota,[76] in 1856 to Blue Grass District in Iowa in 1867 to Wymore, Nebraska, in 1884 to the Washington circuit in Kansas in 1888 and ending his career in 1889 in El Reno, Oklahoma, where he preached the first sermon. In 1853, he had met and married a schoolteacher, Miss Nancy Jane Prather (12 Sep 1833-4 Aug 1895),[77] whom he reportedly had known for only two weeks. Rev. Light served as a chaplain during the Civil War, enlisting 8 Aug 1862 in Co. H, 6^th Regiment of Minnesota Volunteers, later serving as Chaplain of the 7^th Minnesota, resigning 27 May 1864, due to disability.[78] A letter from O. P. Light, dated 14 May 1864, to the Governor of MN is included in “Reports and Correspondence—Minnesota in the Civil and Indian War,” p 495.[79] It also appears he took part in the famed Oklahoma Land Run, 22 Apr 1889.[80] Rev. Light died on 28 Mar 1904 in Wymore, Gage Co NE, where he is buried next to his wife.[81]

Since 1966, I have not seen any of O. P. Light’s family charts or many of the other papers I copied that day. I did, however, inherit some documents and typed pages when my grandmother died in 1990. Among these are:

·  A booklet from 1934 celebrating the 45^th Anniversary of the First Methodist Episcopal Church in El Reno OK.[82]

·  A sample of her presentations from 1982.[83]

·  My grandmother’s typed copies of Rev. Light’s diary and lists of marriages he performed. I am attaching all of these that I have, for their genealogical value.[84]

·  A typed extract from O. P. Light’s notebook. These are the first four pages and reveal the variety if dates and infmration contained in the pocketbook,

·  Historical Review and Directory: Commemorating the 45th Anniversary of The First Methodist Church, 1889-1934, 24 Jun 1934, unnumbered page. “History of the First United Methodist Church of El Reno (OK)” written by either Ethel Armstrong or Evelyn Eichor.

O. P. Light’s original notes and documents, which have been lost, included a list of the churches he served,[85] which were confirmed as I followed up with the Methodist State Archives, locating whenever possible the town or village, and finding contemporary records to his being in those places. His pension papers also follow his many moves. Sources not copied here include: History of the United Methodist Church at Anoka (MN), 1854-1979. Original pages of the Historical Record of the Stockton Circuit Church for 1855, in O. P. Light’s handwriting. Ephraim H.Waring, History of the Iowa Annual Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, 1909, p. 206. History of the First United Methodist Church of Wymore NE. “The United Methodist Church, Union City OK, 1890-1990.” 1870, 1880, 1900 FC. 1885 Iowa State census. Obituary, Weekly Wymorean, Wymore NE, 31 Mar 1904, p. 1.

[Page one:] This book was purchased Anno Domini 180–

            By David Rice   Greene [County, Tennessee]

Job Comes T Willou… born Dec the 18^th 1847

Job Comes Willoughby w… the 18^th 1847 1847

Job C. T. Willoughby was born December the 18^th 1847

[Page two: The first column is almost totally destroyed. The name Willoughby can be read four or five times plus the years 1840, 1842, [illegible], 14^th day of [missing month, known from another page to have been February] 1846.

The second column was probably written first and contains numbered births, as follows:

Missing, a few letters only visible]

–) Elijah Berryman Willoughby was born June the 4^th 1832

3) Mary-ann Elizabeth Willoughby was born March 15^th 1834

4) Margaret Eeveline Willoughby was born April [xx]^[xx] 1836. [This is a different ink, smeared and faded, but possibly says the 21^st or 23^rd.]

5) Benjamin Franklin Willoughby, Born January 31^st 1838 ~ 1838

[Page three: written in a more modern hand, possibly in pencil:]

Born

Job Combs Willoughby Dec 18, 1847.

Mary Jane Florence Smith March 22, 1858.

John Wesley Hutson Oct 2, 1869.

Edith Melissa WilloughbyAug 10, 1880.

Leslie Willoughby Hutson May 15, 1905

Otto Albert Hutson April 21, 1913.

Marriages.

Job Combs Willoughby and Mary Jane Florence Smith were married Aug 22 ‘79

John Wesley Hutson and Edith Melissa Willoughby were married October 11, 1896.

Death.

Job Combs Willoughby July 24, 1886.

Mary Jane Florence Willoughby (Reeves) March 13, 1905.

[Page four: This appears to be practice writing similar to page one. There are also drawings of two women or dolls, one large and one small.]

Job Comes tomas was born J. Combs the 18^th  1847

Willoughby Emily Willoughby

18

J[illegible] Sister

Job Combs

Willoughby

Benjamin Franklin Jeffers[off page]

Willoughby was born January the 31^st day Adomin 1838

[Page five:] Nelson M Brown and Sarah J Willoughby was maried Dec the 29 1859

[Page six, the first column has:]

Benjamin Jefferson Willoughby son of Elijah Willoughby was born December 7^th 1810

Katharine Rusel [sic = Russell] James daughter of Berryman James was born Dec 22^nd 1810

Benjamin Willoughby and Katharine James was married October 15^th 1829

— — — —

Nelson M Brown and Sarah J Willoughby was Maried Dec the [illeg.] 185[?]

Nelson Brown son of [illegible] Brown was Born February the 11 183[?]

[Second column]

Benjamin Willoughby

 — — — —

Robert Parker and Polly Richey was married Dec^r 31^st 1836

Samuel M Stewart and Elizabeth See W[as married?] March 24, 1850[1]

— — — —

William P Willoughby and Nancy Howard was married December the 30^th 1852 = 1805 a 1852

Robert Sarchet and Margaret Willoughby was married April the 8^th 1855 = 1855

[Page seven:]

David Rice born September the 1^st Anno Domini 1775[2]  [This birth is in a very different hand from the rest of these notes.

At least half of the page with two columns headed Births is missing. The second column starts:]

5 Susannah Willoughby was born Jan 31th anno domin 1798

6 Sarah Willoughby was born Sep the 15 Anno Domini 1800

7 Elijah Willoughby was born March 12^th ano domin 1802

8 George Willoughby [the rest of the page is missing, except a fragment along the right margin, probably George’s birth year —04 or —06 and —hby De <end of line> thirty first –ear of his age —ty seven. Did George die in 1837, when he was 31?]

[Page eight starts with more practice writing in the first column:] Benjamin [next line] Biermann

Elijah Willoughby and Susanna Leachman was Maried Oct[o]ber the 23 day anno domini 1787   1787 [The writer copied over some of the words, possibly helping to preserve them, There is no “h” on Susannah, and “Anno Domini” is not copied over, but very faint.]

Enoch Willoughby [remainder of this marriage record is missing. Very large writing.

Second column, more practice words:] Mary

Martha Willoughby [This is written in large, dark letters, almost over the faint record below.

Very faint:] Rhoda Willoughby and Moreland was married Sep 4 Anno Domine 1804.

Polly Willoughby and James Richey was married May the 20 Anno Dom…

[Page nine, across the top of the page:] The war for the [Come   enas — commenced?  —Comberland?] in the year Eighteen and Sisety 1860 and they are still fiting yet and this is the years 1865

[Along the side of the page:] 1860 Abraham Lincoln President

[Page ten, hand-drawn lines on an originally blank page. At the bottom of the page are initials, MW:]

Born

9 Benjamin Jefferson Willoughby was born December the 7 – 1810

Elijah Beneman Willoughby son of Benjamin J Willoughby was born June the 4 1839

Martha E Willoughby was born February the 14 1846

Death

Benjamin Jeffers Willoughby died August 30^th 184[? Probably 9]

Elijah Berman Willoughby died June the 6 1846

[There are also two pages of a Clay Co IN deed, apparently made in 1830,  between Berryman James and Benjamin Willoughby. It is only in occasional spots where the reader can distinguish a few words, conventional language for a deed. James’s daughter married Willoughby’s son.]

Internal evidence suggests the Bible was purchased before 1810 by David Rice of Greene Co TN. At some time the Bible was acquired by the Willoughby family.

The earliest Wiloughby notations were made in now-faded ink of events from 1787 through the death of a 31-year-old in 1837. Many portions of this record are missing, including the exact birth dates for the first four children, including my ancestor, Elizabeth, ca 1813.

Possibly after the marriage of Benjamin Jefferson Willoughby and Katharine James in 1829, a new hand wrote the family events, including the children of Benjamin and Katharine.

The latest event in this hand is the birth of Martha Willoughby 14 Feb 1846. A child or young woman, probably Martha, used the Bible for copying. She particularly enjoyed making copies of her younger brother Job Combs Thomas Willoughby’s birth record; it is only from this writing that we know he had a third given name. Martha died in 1927 in Walla Walla WA. There are no records in the Bible after 1860. It is tempting to think she was married then and left the Bible at home.

The Bible must have passed to Job’s family, since a new hand, possibly using a pencil, wrote the events in the life of Job and his wife, through 21 April 1913. This was probably Edith Melissa (Willoughby) Hutson, since her mother’s death is recorded here, and she likely wrote all entries at one time.

Della Melissa (Hutson) Norwood was the granddaughter of Edith Melissa (Willoughy) Hutson. After her death in 1991, the Bible was given to Michelle Pierce of Lake City CO, who writes,  “It was in a paper grocery bag and smelled very musty. It had no binder and the pages were very water damaged. It didn’t take long to figure out what a treasure I had. Although I was broken hearted to see what was lost on torn and missing pages, I was thrilled by the remaining information.”

[1] “Rootsweb Tree Zimmerman” at Ancestry.com identifies her as a daughter of George and Sarah (Willoughby) See.

[2] “East Tennessee Hicks, Bowmans and Cooks” at Ancestry.com has a David Wilson Rice born in Bedford Co VA this exact day and died in Greene Co TN in 1864, having outlived three of his four wives. He was in Greene Co TN, the same county as the Willoughbys, which makes me guess the Bible was acquired second hand by the Willoughby family.

David L Smith, 31

Mary L Smith, 32

Eliza G Smith, 9

Adell Smith, 7

Juliaette Smith, 5

Ellen A Smith, 3

Milo J Smith, 41

Sally Smith, 42

Milo J Smith, 18

J L Smith, 17

Josephine Smith, 12

Chester Smith, 59

Clara Smith, 52

Chester W Smith, 29

Theodotia Smith, 27

Eliza Smith, 19

Harvy Smith, 52

Lucy Smith, 46

Everline F Smith, 18

Catharine A Smith, 16

John Smith, 14

Emmerson Smith, 12     [other census implies Jerome Emerson or Emerson A]

Gertrude Smith, 8         [the John I’m looking for had a daughter Gertrude]

George Smith, 4

Marion Smith, 2            [the John I’m looking for had a daughter Marian]

Charles H Smith, 39

Sophia Smith, 34

Martha Smith, 12

Clementine Smith, 9

Lewis Smith, 18

Wells Smith, 14

Hervey had an older daughter, Eunice J, b 28 Sep 1825, Northampton MA, m 1845 Henry Hamilton Wilcox, d aft 1900 Adrian, Lewanee Co MI.

Sometime after the death of Bartholomew Doyle and the death of the first wife of Benjamin Wilson, the mother of Elizabeth (Doyle) Joy, Elizabeth (Sprague) Doyle, married Benjamin Wilson or Willson, Sr. There is confusion in the records concerning events which should have followed clearly in sequence, but as recorded, did not.

·      Elizabeth, the first wife of Benjamin Wilson, died in Rehoboth MA, 10 Jul 1731.[3]

·      Benjamin Willson “of England” married Elizabeth “Sprague” 15 Dec 1730,[4] that is, before the death of the first wife.

·      The first child of Benjamin and Elizabeth (Sprague) (Doyle) Wilson was Nathaniel, who died in West Stockbridge, MA, 21 Apr 1821, “in his 89th yr.” His birth is thus between 22 Apr 1731 and 21 Apr 1732; since James Blanding’s Rehoboth records say Nathaniel was born 10 Jun 1733, it has been posited that his most likely date of birth was 10 Jun 1731,[5] also before the death of the first wife.

·      The next child of Benjamin and his second wife Elizabeth was John, born 29 Oct 1733 in Rehoboth.

·      The couple also had six additional children, born regularly from 1735 to 1746.

·      Reports to the Wilson Association, USA, published in 1866, states on page 24 that Elizabeth Sprague Darryl [sic] married, as his second wife, Benjamin Willson, and had seven sons and one daughter: Nathaniel, John, Lucas, Ammi, Benjamin, Jonathan, Ezekiel, and Chloe. This book affirms that he married the Widow Darril, whose maiden name was Sprague. Genealogists in Massachusetts, in cooperation with Dr. William Alexander McAuslan, Historian General of Mayflower Society apparently in the 1930s, accepted this Benjamin Willson and Elizabeth Sprague Darril (or Doyle) Willson as the parents of Benjamin Willson, born Rehoboth, MA, 11 Apr 1739, married 1762 Sarah Saben. But the General Society of Mayflower Descendants has since rejected the Willson children as line carriers, while accepting Elizabeth’s daughter from her first marriage, Elizabeth (Doyle) Joy.[6]

The problem with acceptance of the lineage of descendants of Benjamin Wilson (or Willson) and Elizabeth (Sprague) (Doyle) Wilson lies in the faulty chronology of the vital records of Rehoboth, Bristol Co MA, along with the fact that some records were added decades later than the events.

Theory that makes Nathaniel a son of the first wife

Ken Stevens, Wilsons From New England, Vol “J” Descendants of John Wilson of Woburn, Massachusetts, n.d.[7], states on page 44 that Nathaniel was the last child of Benjamin’s first wife, born probably 10 Jun 1731, a month before that lady’s death on 10 Jul 1731. Stevens passes over the errors in Benjamin’s second marriage record: Benjamin was from Woburn not England, and the second Elizabeth was the widow Doyle, no longer Elizabeth Sprague. So it appears to be of no moment when he transfers the year of the marriage from 1730, when the first wife was still living, to Dec 1731 or 1732.

Stevens’s rationale is that the second marriage and the birth of Nathaniel were added to the other Willson records in Rehoboth after Mar 1812, almost a century after the events. This town clerk was Josiah Blanding, a nephew of Lucy Blanding, the wife of Jonathan Wilson, one of Benjamin and the second Elizabeth’s sons. At the instigation of Jonathan, these delayed entries changed Benjamin’s origin to England. The reason was an attempt to acquire a potential British fortune.[8] [9]

Theory that there were four couples named Benjamin and Elizabeth

In The New England Historical and Genealogical Record, Vol 135, p 302, Kenneth C Stevens continues his discussion of the issue in an article entitled “Must the Circle Stay Unbroken [sic]? Three Benjamin Wilsons of Rehoboth MA.” Here Stevens starts with the clear facts that a marriage existed between Benjamin Willson and Elizabeth, a descendant of Richard Warren of the Mayflower, and that this marriage produced seven or eight children. Stevens previously adjusted facts until they fit an acceptable pattern; this time, the same writer accepts each fact as written and allows no mistakes in the records; enough characters and marriages must be created to cover all events.

Stevens lists four women named Elizabeth in Rehoboth who were married to men named Benjamin Wilson.

1.      Benjamin Wilson Sr (1670-1750) is buried in Ashford CT where he died. He married Elizabeth, ca 1693, who died in Ashford in 1766. This couple moved from Woburn to Rehoboth ca 1697, and there joined his brother Francis. He moved to Connecticut about 1733.

2.      This couple’s son Benjamin Jr (1695-living 1772) had a first wife Elizabeth, possibly Ross or Roff, with whom he lived some years in Woodbridge, Middlesex Co NJ. They move to Putney by 1727, and Elizabeth died there by 10 Jul 1731, after having at least one child, Sarah.

3.      A different Benjamin Wilson “of England” married an Elizabeth Sprague. They became the parents of Nathaniel on 10 Jun 1733. But the dates show they could not have been the parents of  John Willson born 29 Oct 1733.

4.      Since Stevens requires another Benjamin and Elizabeth to be the parents of seven additional children born in Rehoboth, he accepted Ebenezer J Ormsbee’s family records, published in H. O. Smith’s Reports to the Wilson Association, USA, 1866, and states straightforwardly that Benjamin Wilson had a first wife, Elizabeth [Roff?] by whom he had three sons in NJ, then he married the widow Darril, maiden name Sprague, by who he had seven sons and one daughter.

       Stevens admitted that his two theories cannot both be true. Either the town records or the family records, kept carefully somewhere, possibly in a Bible, were mistaken.[10]

Theory that Benjamin Wilson had two families at the same time

In another article a few years later, “Benjamin Wilson of Rehoboth: Further Clues,” in NEHGR Vol 140, p 264, the same Kenneth C Stevens cites Robert S Trim of Rehoboth, who brought forth the facts that James Blanding, the town clerk who recorded the two questionable facts, Benjamin’s second marriage, and son Nathanial’s birth, would not have had any personal evidence when he inserted the missing dates into the Vital Records. Prior to Blanding’s term in office, the records contained only the death of the first wife, 10 Jul 1731, and the births of all the children of Benjamin and the second Elizabeth which took place after 1733, sufficient time since the death of the first wife as to appear respectable. Fueled by tales of English wealth, Jonathan Wilson and his nephew Blanding added a marriage date and birth date for the first child. Doubtless, Benjamin and his second Elizabeth did not marry in Dec 1730; that would have been bigamy. But when their first boy Nathaniel made his appearance in Jun 1731, a wedding in the previous year must have become part of the “Established Wilson Family Tradition.” This is only guessing, but Blanding wrote “of England” to tie Benjamin to the treasure, he wrote “Sprague” instead of Doyle to seem more British and less Irish, and he added two years to Nathaniel’s birthday, since 1733 might make things look even better.

Mayflower Families Reasons for Rejecting the Willsons

Mayflower Families, Vol 18: 2, the Richard Warren volume, with descendants of his daughter, Mary Bartlett, concluded: “The data on the purported marriage [of Elizabeth (Sprague) Doyle] to Benjamin Wilson is so flawed it cannot be accepted as proof.”

I claim that the problem, as stated earlier, is really how to place Nathaniel. Robert S Wakefield posits that either

·      Nathaniel was a son of the first wife.

·      Nathaniel was an illegitimate child of Benjamin Wilson and Elizabeth Doyle.[11]

·      Or, the death date of the first wife is wrong by a year or more.

Given the evidence I will present of continuing relationships between some of the children of Elizabeth’s Joy and Wilson descendants, I see no reason to continue denying Mayflower Society membership to the seven younger children of Benjamin and Elizabeth.

First, the family of Elizabeth Sprague’s first daughter, Elizabeth Doyle and her husband Obadiah Joy—documented descendants eligible for the Mayflower Society— was:

1. Obadiah JOY was born on 18 Jan 1726/1727 in Rehoboth, Bristol Co MA. Obadiah died in Chautauqua Co NY, in 1816. On 26 Mar 1749 when Obadiah was 23, he first married Elizabeth DOYLE, daughter of Bartholomew DOYLE & Elizabeth SPRAGUE, in Rehoboth MA, Born ca 1730 in Rehoboth, Bristol Co MA, Elizabeth died probably about 1777, possibly in Putney VT. On 31 Oct 1798 when Obadiah was 72, he second married Mary PARK in Marlboro, Windham Co VT. 1790 census: Windham Co CT, Putney, p 53, Obediah Joy: 1/0/2. They had the following children:

                         i.    Major Moses (1749-1816)

                        ii.  Huldah (1751-1813)

                        iii.  Relief (1753-1832)

                        iv.   Joshua (1755-)

                        v.   Joseph (1757-1837)

                        vi.   Mary (1759-)

                        vii.   Capt Amos (1761-1837)

                        viii.    Betsey (1763-1855)

                        ix.  David (<1764-1844)

                        x.    Obadiah Jr (1767-1846)

Second Generation

2. Major Moses JOY. Born in Dec 1749 in Rehoboth, Bristol Co MA, Moses died in Putney, Windham Co VT, on 30 Nov 1816. On 23 Nov 1775, he first married Lydia BURR in Rehoboth. She was born on 24 Jun 1754 in Rehoboth. On 9 Feb 1790, Moses second married Hannah TAFT in Putney, Windham Co VT.  1790 census: Windham Co CT, Putney, p 53, Moses Joy: 3/4/4.  Moses and Lydia had the following children:

                        i.  Cromwell (1778-)

                        ii.   Joshua (1782-)

                        iii.  Moses (1787-)

Moses and Hannah had one child:

                        i.  Lydia Burr (1791-)

3. Huldah JOY was born in 1751 in Rehoboth, Bristol Co MA. She died in Putney, Windham Co VT, on 13 Mar 1813. On 27 Mar 1773, Huldah married Abiah FULLER in Rehoboth, who was born there on 11 Jan 1748/9.  1790, Rehoboth, Bristol Co MA, p 508: 1/3/4. They had the following children:

                        i.  Bethiah (1774-)

                        ii.  Abiah (1775-)

                        iii. Susannah (1776-)

                        iv.  Sally (1780-)

                        v.  Abel (1783-)

                        vi.  Joshua (1785-)

                        vii.  Nancy (1787-)

4. Relief JOY was born in 1753 in Rehoboth, Bristol Co MA. Relief died in Royalston, Worcester Co MA, on 7 Aug 1832. Relief married Daniel PECK. Born on 17 May 1741 in Rehoboth, Bristol Co MA, Daniel died in Royalston, on 27 Nov 1814. 1790, Royalston, Worcester Co MA, p 497:  3/3/5. They had the following children:

                        i.  Daniel (1772-)

                        ii.   Ichabod (1774-)

                        iii.   Sally (1775-<1781)

                        iv.  Solomon (1776-)

                        v.  Royal (1778-)

                        vi.  Calvin (1779-)

                        vii.  Sally (1781-)

                        viii.  Moses (1783-)

                        ix.  Rebekah (1785-)

                        x.   Charlotte (1787-)

                        xi.   Lydia Burr (1789-)

                        xii.  Leaffee (1792-)

                        xiii.  Huldah (1794-)

5. Joshua JOY. Born in 1755, on 9 Sep 1786, he married Sarah SMITH in Rehoboth, Bristol Co MA. She was born on 22 Dec 1760 in Rehoboth. They have not been located in the 1790 census.

6. Joseph JOY. Born in 1757 in Rehoboth, Bristol Co MA, Joseph died in Putney, Windham Co VT, on 28 May 1837. In Mar 1779 when Joseph was 22, he first married Millicent CLAY in Putney. Going against his father’s Toryist views, he was an officer in the Revolutionary War.[12] 1810, Putney, Windham Co VT, p 453, Joseph Joy: 02101/01201. On 15 May 1781 Joseph second married Hepsibah DICKINSON, daughter of Azariah DICKINSON & Temperance SHIPMAN, in Putney, Windham Co VT. She was born on 25 Jun 1760 in Westminster, Windham Co VT. On 11 Mar 1819, he third married Lucinda DUTTON in Dummerston, Windham Co VT. Joseph and Millicent had the following children:

                        i.  David (1778-)

                        ii.  Polly (1780-)

Joseph and Hepsibah had the following children:

                        i.  Huldah (1788-)

                        ii. Joseph (1794-)

                        iii. Temperance (1797-1886)

7. Mary JOY was born in 1759. In Apr 1778 when Mary was 19, she married Richard HARDEN (also written Harding) in Putney, Windham Co VT. 1790, Putney, Windham Co VT, Richard Harden: 1/1/6. Born in say 1750s, Richard was from Topsham, Orange Co VT.

8. Capt Amos JOY. Born on 27 May 1761 in Rehoboth, Bristol Co MA, Amos died in Putney, Windham Co VT, on 14 Jun 1837. 1790 census: Windham Co CT, Putney, p 53, Amos Joy Jun: 1/3/2. On 16 Apr 1787 when Amos was 25, he married Rachel FLETCHER in Putney, Windham Co VT. She was born on 28 Oct 1765 in Dunstable, Middlesex Co MA. They had the following children:

                        i.  Wilder (1789-)

                        ii.  Francis Fletcher (1791-)

                        iii.   Rachel (1793-<1807)

                        iv.  Elizabeth (1795-)

                        v.   Lucinda (1797-)

                        vi.  Martha (1799-)

                        vii.  Rebecca S (1800-)

                        viii.  Nathaniel Cummings (1803-)

                        ix.  Thomas (1804-)

                        x.  Rachel (1807-)

                        xi.  Amariah (1809-)

9. Elizabeth JOY. Born on 29 Nov 1763 in Rehoboth, Bristol Co MA, Betsey died in Deruyter, Madison Co NY, on 20 Mar 1855. On 2 Sep 1777 when Betsey was 13, she married Charles JONES in Putney, Windham Co VT. 1790, Putney, Windham Co VT, p 110: 1/4/2.

10. David JOY. Born before 1 Apr 1764 in Rehoboth, Bristol Co MA, David died in Cass Co MI, on 1 Apr 1844; he was 80. On 25 Apr 1785 when David was 21, he married Mary DICKINSON, daughter of Azariah DICKINSON & Temperance SHIPMAN, in Putney, Windham Co VT. Born on 14 Dec 1761 in Westminster, Windham Co VT, Mary died in Chautauqua Co NY, on 1 Jun 1831. 1790 census: Windham Co VT, Putney, p 53: 1/2/3. 1800 census: Windham Co VT, Putney. David Joy: 22011/11110. 1810 census: Windham Co VT, Putney. David Joy: 11211/01001/40/50. 1820 census: Chautauqua Co NY, Portland Twp, p 125. David Joy, 110011/00011/01. 1830 census: Chautauqua Co NY, Portland Twp, p 430. Moses Joy: 210102001/31010001. 1840 census: Cass Co MI, p 223. Moses Joy, 01210011001/101101. They had the following children:

                        i.   Isaac (1786-1850)

                        ii.  Moses (1793-1854)

                        iii.  Ezra (1787-)

                        iv.  Dorrill (1790-)

                        v.  Polly (1774-)

                        vi.  Roxalana (<1790-1867)

                        vii. Anna (1795-1845)

                        viii.  Obadiah (1803-)

11. Obadiah JOY Jr. Born in 1767 in Rehoboth, Bristol Co MA, Obadiah died in Putney, Windham Co VT, on 11 Dec 1846. On 21 Sep 1788[13] Obadiah married Content HOVEY in Putney VT. Born on 10 Mar 1772 in Oxford, Worcester Co MA. Content died in Putney, Windham Co VT, on 15 Jan 1841. 1790 census: Windham Co CT, Putney, p 53, Obediah Joy Jun: 1/1/1. They had the following children:

                        i.  Comfort (1788-)

                        ii.  Daniel (<1799-)

                        iii.  Waterman (<1799-)

                        iv.  Abigail (<1799-)

                        v.   Solomon (1799-)

                        vi.  Angelina (1803-)

                        vii.  Joshua (ca1805-)

                        viii.  Royal Dire (ca1807-)

                        ix.  Sabra (ca1810-)

                         x.  Lura (ca1815-)

The grandmother of this Joy family was Elizabeth SPRAGUE, born on 15 Aug 1704 in Hingham, Plymouth Co MA. Elizabeth died after 9 Nov 1772. On 1 Jan 1727/8 Elizabeth first married Bartholomew DOYLE in Hingham. Bartholomew died in Hingham, about 1730. They had one child, Elizabeth (ca1730-ca1776). On 15 Dec 1730 when Elizabeth was 26, she second married Benjamin WILSON (often spelled Willson) in Rehoboth MA.[14] Born on 21 Nov 1695 in Woburn, Middlesex Co MA, Benjamin died in Rehoboth, Bristol Co MA, after 9 Nov 1772. They had the following children:

                        i.  Nathaniel (ca1731-1821), probably

                        ii.  John (1733-1826)

                        iii.  Lucas (1735-1818)

                        iv.  Ammi (1737-1812)

                        v.   Benjamin (ca1739-1821)

                        vi.  Jonathan (1741-1830)

                        vii. Ezekiel (1744-1830)

                        viii.  Chloe (1746->1801)

The children of Elizabeth (Sprague) (Doyle) Wilson and her second husband Benjamin Wilson, that is, the younger half-brothers and sisters of Elizabeth (Doyle) Joy had the following families:

1, probably. Nathaniel WILSON. He was born ca 10 Jun 1731 in Rehoboth, Bristol Co MA, that is, one month before the death of his father’s first wife. Nathaniel died in West Stockbridge, Bristol Co MA, on 21 Apr 1821. He married first Jemima Turner, 10 Jun 1756, Rehoboth MA; and second Mehitable Cone, about 1775, Rehoboth MA. Jemima was the aunt of Thomas and Sarah Turner; she was a daughter of David and Sarah (Howard) Turner, who were the parents of Thomas Turner Sr. 1790, West Stockbridge, Bristol Co MA, p 699, Nathaniel Willson: 3/4/3. He had eight children with his first wife and two with the second; one of his sons was named Fairing, born 28 Feb 1768 in Rehoboth.[15]

2. John WILSON. Born on 29 Oct 1733 in Rehoboth, Bristol Co MA. John died in Rehoboth, Bristol Co MA, in Oct 1826. 1790, Rehoboth, Bristol Co MA, p 506, John Wilson: 1/1/2.

3. Lucas WILSON. Born on 10 Aug 1735 in Rehoboth, Bristol Co MA. Lucas died in Putney, Windham Co VT, in 1818. On 29 Mar 1759 Lucas married Sarah CORBIN in Rehoboth, Bristol Co MA. Born before 28 Jun 1741 in Woodstock, Windham Co CT. 1790, Putney, Windham Co VT, p 111, Lucas Wilson: 2/1/5. In addition to an infant who died in Mar 1779 and another infant who also died in 1779, they had the following children:

                        i. Lydia (1760-)

                        ii.  John (1762-)

                        iii. Sarah (1764-)

                        iv.  Lucas Jr (1767-)

4. Ammi WILSON. Born on 26 Apr 1737 in Rehoboth, Bristol Co MA, Ammi died in Windsor, Windsor Co VT, in Aug 1812. 1790, Windsor, Windsor Co VT, p 62, Ami Wilson: 2/2/5. He married Anna MUNRO, ca 1771; children born in Sullivan Co NH:

                       i.  Joseph, 10 Aug 1772

                      ii. Chloe, 16 Jun 1777

                      iii. Sarah, 6 Apr 1779.

5. Benjamin WILSON was born ca 11 Apr 1739 in Rehoboth, Bristol Co MA. Benjamin died in Oshawa, Durham Co, Ontario, on 5 Mar 1821. Occupation: Surveyor of highways, Putney VT. Benjamin married Sarah SABIN. Born ca 1740, Sarah died in Putney, Windham Co VT, on 12 Aug 1803. He was on a 1771 census in Putney, but not found in later census records in that town.[16] In 1785 Benjamin had problems with the town fathers, when he left his wife and children and ran away with a prostitute; they immediately “took into custody” all his estate for the support of his family. Benjamin and Sarah had these children, all recorded in Putney VT:

                       i.  Abigail, born 12 Dec 1762, Putney VT.

                       ii.  Moses, born 14 Oct 1764, Putney VT.

                       iii.  Benjamin, born 27 Feb 1767, Putney VT.

                      iv.  Sarah, born 7 Mar 1770, Putney VT.

                      v.  Joseph, born 29 Feb 1772, Putney VT.

                      vi.   Moly, born 14 Mar 1774, Putney VT.

                      vii.  Chloe, born 15 Sep 1776, Putney VT.

                      viii. Otis, born 16 Nov 1784

6. Jonathan WILSON. Born on 7 Apr 1741 in Rehoboth, Bristol Co MA, Jonathan died in Shoreham, Addison Co VT, on 9 Apr 1830. He married Lucy BLANDING, 29 Nov 1764, Rehoboth MA. Son Jonathan born 8 Feb 1766 Rehoboth, died 26 Aug 1838. 1790, Shoreham, Addison Co VT, Jonath: Wilson: 1/0/1.

7. Ezekiel WILSON was born on 11 May 1744 in Rehoboth, Bristol Co MA. Ezekiel died in Putney, Windham Co VT, on 6 Jun 1830. He was a soldier in the Revolutionary War and married Sarah TURNER, daughter of Thomas and Hannah (Wheaton) Turner, sister of Thomas Turner who married Ezekiel’s sister Chloe. 1790, Putney, Windham Co VT, p 111, Ezek’l Wilson: 2/5/5. They had nine children, including Fairing, born 9 Feb 1772.[17]

8. Chloe WILSON. Born on 23 Jun 1746 in Rehoboth, Bristol Co MA, Chloe died in Rehoboth, Bristol Co MA, after 1801. She married Thomas TURNER, son of Thomas and Hannah (Wheaton) Turner, sister of Sarah Turner who married Ezekiel Wilson. They were possibly in Freetown, Bristol Co MA in 1790, 1/0/3.

        Two of Obadiah and Elizabeth (Doyle) Joy’s sons married sisters: Joseph married as his second wife, Hepsibah Dickinson 15 May 1781, in Putney, Windham Co VT, and David married Mary “Moly” Dickinson 25 Apr 1785, in Putney. Hepsibah and Mary were daughters of Azariah Dickinson and his wife Temperance Shipman. Another daughter, Lucy Dickinson, married Lucas Wilson Jr, 15 Nov 1787, Windham Co VT, a son of one of Elizabeth Sprague’s children from her second marriage to Benjamin Wilson.[18] Thus, the three sisters married two brothers and a cousin once removed.

       Of Benjamin and Elizabeth (Sprague) (Doyle) Wilson’s children, it appears that Lucas, Benjamin, and Ezekiel went with their older half-sister to Putney VT. Although the families may not have actually traveled together, they did end up living in the same town and having dealings together. Other sons, Ammi and Jonathan, went to other parts of Vermont.

        At a town meeting Putney VT, 13 May 1777, Lucas Willson[19] was named one of the Commissioners of Highways and Moses Joy was named one of the Surveyors of Highways. Lt. Lucas Willson was also named to both the County Committee and the Town Committee. On 12 May 1778, Obadiah Joy was named a Surveyor of the Highways. A list of freemen who took an oath “In the State of Vermont” is on pages 461 and following of the “Book of Putney,” and while the date or dates the oath was given are not given, it clearly includes the names, in the order listed, Lucas Willson, Moses Joy, Richard Harding, “Obediah” Joy, Ezekiel Willson, Joseph Joy, Thomas Turner, Charles Jones, David Joy, Lucas Wilson Jr, and Obediah Joy Jr.

         On 27 Dec 1785, an indenture was drawn between Lewis Allyn of Putney and Moses Joy of Putney. For 40 pounds Allyn conveyed to Moses Joy “all that parcel of land” which he owned in north Putney. Witnesses were Lucas Willson and David Joy.[20]

         The continuing relationship between Willsons and Joys in Putney VT reinforce the vital records of Rehoboth which show kinship since the 1730s when the widow Elizabeth (Sprague) Doyle probably married the widower Benjamin Wilson. They may have had a child before an actual marriage took place, if it ever did. But by far the most obvious conclusion is that all of Benjamin Wilson’s children born after Sarah in early 1730 were children of his second wife, they were half-brothers and a half-sister of Elizabeth (Doyle) Joy, and they were grandchildren of Elizabeth (Fearing) Sprague.

         Doubt about Nathaniel’s parentage may still exist, but this should not cloud the parentage of the other sons and daughter.

© 2008, Kathy Alvis Patterson

[1] Rehoboth VR.

[2] Possibly a daughter of Amariah and Mary (Brigham) Park, who were resident in Marlboro when their son Josiah was born Mar 1781. They had a daughter Mary born 23 Aug 1765 in Grafton, Worcester Co MA.

[3] Rehoboth VR, 801.

[4] Rehoboth VR, 406. This record was added by Town Clerk, James Blanding, between Mar 1812 and Mar 1836.

[5] According to the Rehoboth VR, 783, he was born 10 Jun 1733.

[6] Lineage application of Katherine Alvis Patterson, national no. 60585, Society of Mayflower Descendants, approved 1994.

[7] But probably before 1984 when his first comments appeared in NEHGR.

[8] Stevens also discounts the existence of the three sons of the first marriage. Wife #1 had Sarah and Nathaniel. Wife #2 had six sons and a daughter.

[9] Stevens ignored the fact that Nathanial and his brother, or half-brother, Ezekiel each named a son Fairing, an obvious reference to the second wife, Elizabeth (Sprague) (Doyle) Willson;s mother, Elizabeth (Fearing) Sprague.

[10] As an English teacher, I have striven to understand Stevens’s title. We cannot adequately connect the dots, or tie the threads, that link this family together. According to his metaphor, we have an “unbroken circle” which we must strive to untangle. What will we get then? Loose threads? A broken circle? Don’t we actually have a broken circle now which we would like to be able to tie up neatly, with all the threads in place? The goal is an unbroken family circle.

[11] This could explain why he was not originally listed with the other children’s births and also show that Nathaniel named a son Fairing for his grandmother, Elizabeth (Fearing) Sprague.

[12] Joseph Joy, MA, NY, Sea Service Private, Sergeant, Lieutenant. 7 Aug 1832, Windham County, VT, Anthony Mason, guardian for Joseph Joy, resident of Putney, non compos, at age 76. …In 2nd year of the Revolutionary War Joseph in May or June at Rehoboth MA enlisted under Capt. Bliss, for 6 months, “and this while a minor and contrary to the wishes of his father, who at that time was infected with Toryism, but he knows of no living witness by whom he can prove said service, excepting Obadiah Joy, whose affidavit is herewith transmitted. … approx. September of 1777 or 1778 he enlisted as a sergeant for 3 months under Capt. David Hill. …The said Joseph Joy in the year 1780 [very poorly written or overwritten] in the town now called Putney…mid June of that year and mustered at Brattleboro, to Fort Stanwix, then Fort Hunter, discharged in November and returned home. 2 Aug 1832, affidavit of Obadiah Joy of Putney, age 64. In the 2nd year of the Revolutionary War he and Joseph Joy now of Putney lived at Rehoboth, Mass., and in May or June Joseph enlisted as a private…”The company commander I think was Capt. Bliss,” and marched to Roxbury and Dorchester and served 6 months, that his father was inclined to be a Tory and opposed the said Joseph Joy going into the army and particularly did not like him to go under Capt. Bliss. …About the middle of June 1780 Joseph went from Windham County, Vermont into the service as a lieutenant and mustered at Col. John Sargent’s horse in Brattleboro…Captain’s name was Blakeley… Lieutenant commission for Joseph Joy, State of New York, appointed 1 Jul 1780, recorded 11 Sep 1780.

[13] This Obadiah Joy cannot be the man who married Molly Park in 1798, as he had a living wife.

[14] As noted above, the dates of the second marriage, Benjamin’s first wife’s death, and son Nathaniel’s birth are in conflict.

[15] If Nathaniel’s mother was Elizabeth (Sprague) (Doyle) Wilson, as his birth record in Rehoboth states, Fairing was probably have been named for his maternal great-grandmother, Elizabeth (Fearing) Sprague.

[16] See John Duffy, ed., Early Vermont Braodsides, University Press of New England, 1975, p 37, where Benjamin Willson of Putney is described as refusing the muster call of the Governor of New York. Nearly 100 men of Putney tried to hide their cows and some emigrated to Canada. This is probably why Obadiah Joy was accused of being a Toryist. In a deed dated 2 Feb 1789, for a consideration of £100 he quitclaimed all land in Putney. Putney Deeds, 2:145. Note that after his wife’s death, Benjamin did move to Canada where he died.

[17] See note 14, above.

[18] All in Putney VR.

[19] In these records the family name is always spelled Willson.

[20] Putney, Windham Co VT Land Records, 1770-1805, Vol 1, pp 270-271. Also, Vol. 3, p 103: Lucas Willson to Moses Joy; Vol 4, p 358, Lucas Willson to Lucas Willson Jr.

© Kathy Alvis Patterson  2008

The purpose of this list is to illustrate how many of the men from the Guilford Courthouse Militia were still in Henry Co VA six years later, and also how often Col. Penn’s list does not show the same spelling as the tax list. At times, the man’s name may not appear on the tax list, but his family may have still been in the county.

Col. Penn’s list/ those names also found in 1787 spelling in tax list, if different

Abraham Penn

George Waller

David Lanier

Jonathan Hamby /Jonathan Hanby

George Hairston

Edward Tatum

Josiah Shaw

Jesse Corn

Hamon Critz/ Haman Critz

Charles Dotson/ Charles Dodson

William Dotson/ William Dodson

Deverix Gilliam

William Going/ Wm. Gowing

William Smith

Thomas Hollinsworth/ Thomas Hollandworth

Samuel Packwood

Daniel Smith

William Cox

John Davis

Thomas Edwards

Richard Gilley

Archie Murphy/ Archebald Murphy

William Moore

John Pharis/ [xxx] Farriss

John Rea

Brice Martin

John Burchell/ [xxx] Burchel

John Cox

Thomas Jones

John Pyrtle

Joseph Piper/ Joseph Phifer

John Pursell/ John Parsley

Michael Rowland

John Kelly

William Bohanon

John Brammer

John Stanley/ John Standley

John Alexander

Joseph Anglin/ [xxx] Anglen

John Bowling

John East

William Hays

_____ Joyce/ Alexander Joyce

David Mays

John Richardson

Lewis Bradberry/ Lewis Bradbury

Aristophus Baughn/ [xxx] Vaughn

John Crouch

Jesse Elkins

John Jones

John Jamerson

John Kitchen

Richard Parsley

Thomas Hambleton

Morris Humphreys/ Morriss Humphris

James Roberts

Bartlett Reynolds

John Taylor

Samuel Luttrell/ [xxx] Littrul

John Fontaine/ John Fountaine

William Graves

Stephen King

Thomas Leak

George Pool/ George Poor

James Rea

Joseph Rice

Thomas Smith

George Bowles/ [xxx] Bowls

William Bowling

Nathan Jones

John Nance

Joseph Peregoy/ Joseph Pedegau 

Joseph Pearson/ [xxx] Pierson

John Burch/ John Burchfield

Charles Dickerson

John Doyal/ [xxx] Doyall

William Elkins

Joseph Gravely

Edward Smith

Michael Barker

John Branham

William Branham

James Crawley/ James Croley

John Edwards

George Folly/ [xxx] Foley

John Gibson/ [xxx] Gipson

Joseph Hurt

Joel Harbour

Elephas Shelton/ Eliphaz Shelton

Jacob Adams

John Barrat/ John Barrott

Francis Barrat/ Francis Barrott

Shadrack Barrat/ Shadrack Barrott

Thomas Hudson

Joanthan Hanby

Nelson Donothan/ Nelson Donathan

Dudley Stephens/ Dudley Stevens

Joshua Stephens/ Joshua Stevens

James Poteet/ James Poteete

Peter Bays

Aquilla Black/ Aquila Blackley

Ben Hubbard/ Benjamin Hubbard

Charles Hibbert/ Charles Hibbitt

Ambrose Mullins

George Nevil/ [xxx] Nevill

Richard Potson/ Richard Pilson

Ninon Prater/ Ning Prater

Thomas Tinson/ Thomas Tenison

Peter Tittle

John Ratford/ John Radford

Joseph Walden/ Joseph Waldon

William Dellingham/ [xxx] Dillingham

William Bartee

                    Additional last names from Col. Penn’s list still represented in Henry Co in 1787: Cloud, Watson, Belcher, Lockhart, Cunningham, Turner, Webster, Hall, Hurd/Hurt/Heard, Robertson, Gray, Wilson, Barker, Mitchell, Rogers, Dunn, Harris, Massey, Mullins, Allen, Evey/Ivie, Johnson, Dillard, DePriest, Fee, Sims, Witt, Bennett, Haile/Hale, Anderson, Cook, Payne, Burnett, Pratt, Stewart, Brown, Bryant, Small, Harris, Bowman, Chandler, Hensley, Howell, Street, Hill, McGuire, Woods, Thompson, Graves. Although many spelling differences are seen to be minor, there are times the initial letter is changed from F to PH, or PH is changed to P, three times a syllable is dropped, and several times consonants or vowels are changed. 

Conclusion: Col. Penn was not accurate in the spelling of the names of men in his militia.

Analysis and compilation by Kathy Alvis Patterson, using a Col. Penn’s autograph muster list, the transcribed list in Pedigo, History of Patirck and Henry Cos VA,  and Schreiner-Yantis, Personal Property Tax Lists for 1787, Henry Co VA (1987)  @2008

So I wrote the Somerset Co PA Genealogy Society and asked about Augustus, son of Patrick. Their longtime head genealogist, Eber Cockley, mailed me a list of Dorsey data, which later appeared in a 1971 article in exactly the same words, in the Laurel Messenger, their genealogy society newsletter. I was pleased to see confirmation that there was a Pat Dorsey and he had a son Augustus. It took me about 20 years and a lot of genealogy experience to realize that Mr Cockley had used me as his source for that relationship. I spent that 20 years searching for Pat.

By the late 1980s, I knew Augustus’s father was more likely a member of William C Dorsey’s family, and I was concentrating on finding out who this man was. In 1987 I found Augustus’s second marriage license which showed his parents as Loyd Dorsey and Sarah (Moser) Dorsey.

The Dorsey Dreams newsletter published by Lois Bennington, mentioned in one issue several Hancock Co OH Dorseys, whose names corresponded to some of the children of William C Dorsey. The Genealogy Society there forwarded my letter to Kim Carles-Hammer. This gave the names of all of William C’s children, and his wife as Mary Black.

The NSDAR Library in DC has a chart put together by Montgomery Cumming ca 1900 and a typed manuscript by Edith L Burrell of Findlay OH. The chart is similar to what Edith used in her book. Kim also had access to a notebook, which shows that Loyd and Lloyd Dorsey are the same, and that Augustus and his father Lloyd were son and grandson of William Cumming and Mary (Black) Dorsey.

I have not been able to obtain a copy of the entire notebook or a statement from Tom Dorsey, who has the notebook, giving its provenance. 

Edith Burrell corresponded with Montgomery Cumming and Jean Muir Dorsey, who wrote a large book in 1947 about the Maryland Dorsey family. Too bad Mr Cumming wasn’t more specific about his sources; no one apparently has ever been able to find them.

Jean Dorsey’s letter to Edith was dated after the publication of her book and contradicts people who say “she didn’t extend the line of Edward and Sarah (Cumming) Dorsey; therefore, she must have agreed they had no children.” 

Recently DNA studies of descendants of William C Dorsey and of his brother Richard Dorsey of Washington Co KY demonstrate that they were members of the Maryland family.

© Kathy Alvis Patterson  2008