52 Ancestors 2020 – 13 – Nearly Forgotten – Ezra Albertson

When I checked the listing of names for this week to find someone who was “Nearly Forgotten,” I chose Ezra Albertson, because I had basically forgotten about him. Ezra died as a young teenager, so there are no descendants to honor him.

Still he was my 2^nd great-granduncle and I expect my 2^nd great grandfather, Benjamin Albertson, would remember his little brother. Benjamin was born in January of 1826 while the family still lived in Perquimans County, North Carolina. Naturally he was with them when they moved to Indiana in 1832 and were charter members at Walnut Ridge Monthly Meeting in Hancock County in 1836. Benjamin would have been 15 years old when Ezra was born 30 Mar 1841 there in Hancock County, Indiana. Ezra would have been 6 years old when his oldest brother Benjamin was married to Sabina Marsh 25 Nov 1847.

And surely Ezra's parents, Nathan and Phariby (Nicholson) Albertson, would remember their child. He was listed as being with them as the family moved from Hancock County to Hamilton County, Indiana in mid 1850. Since they were in the process of moving, this may explain why I have not been able to locate them in the 1850 census.

The Westfield Monthly Meeting in Hamilton County mentions Ezra twice. In 1850 he was included with the family received at Westfield from the Walnut Creek Monthly Meeting. Then these Quaker death records show that Ezra H. Albertson died 15 Nov 1854 at age 13 years, 7 months and 16 days old.

It was the next spring, 1 May 1855, when Nathan & Phariby requested a certificate to move to Iowa. By the fall of 1855 Nathan had purchased property in Hardin County Iowa and the family moved there. I have discovered that often in my family after a child dies, the family moves to a new location. Maybe this is to escape the sad memories. Hopefully that child will never be totally forgotten.

Ezra's brother Alpheus, who was just 10 years older than him, did remember Ezra in a positive way. He named his only son, Ezra A. Albertson, when he was born in Iowa in 1866. I hope Alpheus told his son Ezra about his uncle Ezra so he would not be forgotten for many years, since this second Ezra lived to age 71.

52 Ancestors 2020 – 12 – Popular – Nathaniel Shipman

When I looked at the birthday calendar for this week to find someone who would fit the theme popular, I decided that this was not a popular week to be born, since there were only 5 names listed. The previous week had 11 individuals.

I chose Nathaniel Shipman because I did remember hearing about him when I was researching in the Shipman family. It appears that Nathaniel is rather popular with researchers who have posted family trees on Ancestry.com, since when I entered his name and birthdate in a search of public trees, I discovered he was listed in 331 trees.

The town records for Lyme, Connecticut, show that Nathaniel was born 21 Mar 1791 to Abner and Margery (Avery) Shipman. As 1 of 13 children, he had 10 brothers and 2 sisters. One of his brothers, Elisha, was my 4^th great-grandfather, so Nathaniel was my 4^th great-granduncle.

These records were published in the New England Historical and Genealogical Register.

Since he was born after the 1790 census, 1800 is the first one where we can try to identify which one of the “tick marks” he is. The entry for his father Abner at Lyme, Connecticut, has 2 marked in the under 10 column, but there should be 4, so I am not certain if Nathaniel is one of these or not.

Before 1810, Abner and some of his children moved to German Township, Chenango County, New York. It is not clear if Nathaniel went there or not. But it does appear that Nathaniel married Prudence Bogue before 1814 and they and their 2 oldest sons are on the 1820 census in Lyme, New London County, Connecticut.

Then before 1830 Nathaniel and his family moved west to Ashtabula County, Ohio. The 1830 census there for “N Chipman” in Rome Township includes 8 people, matching the ages for Nathaniel's family; he and his wife, 5 sons and 1 daughter: (John, Elias, Amos, Frederick, Isaac and Lois). Then the 1840 census finds Nathaniel and Prudence and the 2 youngest sons, Frederick and Isaac, in nearby Colebrook township. John and Amos were in their own households enumerated on the same page.

Finally in 1850 the census names all the members of the household. But, by this time only one son, Frederick, is still living with his parents. Nathaniel's occupation was shown as a shoemaker and he had real estate valued at $500. I have not yet been able to locate Nathaniel and Prudence in the 1860 census.

According to her tombstone as pictured on the Find A Grave website, Prudence died July 21, 1867, and was buried in North Colebrook Cemetery, at New Lyme, Ashtabula County, Ohio. On the 1870 census Nathaniel, listed as age 78, was living with his son Elias in Richmond Township, still in Ashtabula County. Nathaniel's oldest son, John, had moved to Upshur County, Virginia, before 1860. In 1863 that part of Virginia was included in the new state of West Virginia. While on a visit there in 1873, Nathaniel died at Buckhannon on June 5^th and was buried in Union Cemetery, Kedron, Upshur County, West Virginia.

52 Ancestors 2020 – 11 – Luck – Francis Henry Frazier

I was having a hard time deciding who to write about with the theme “Luck” so I wrote down the 11 names for this week found on my aunts and uncles birthday calendar and cut them apart. Then I put them in a small bucket and drew out one. Francis Henry Frazier was the “lucky” one, so I am writing about him. He was the youngest brother of my 3rd gt-grandmother Sarah (Frazier) Hockett, so he was my 3rd gt-granduncle.

The following information has been posted about him on my genealogy website:

https://www.joanneskelton.com/p57.htm#i1421

“Francis Henry Frazier was born on 12 March 1804 in Guilford County, North Carolina. He was the son of Francis Frazier and Elizabeth Stanley. On the 29th day of the 9th month 1810 (29 September 1810), at Fairfield Monthly Meeting in Highland County, Ohio, he was received on certificate from Center Monthly Meeting, North Carolina with his father Francis Frazier.

He married Eunice Beard at Lynn Meeting House in Randolph County, Indiana, on 14 August 1823. Francis died in 1845.”

So what more can I discover about him. At least I should try to find out where he died and if he and Eunice had any children. If he really is lucky, I will be able to find out these things as well as even more.

Looking at Quaker records:

Since my website mentions “Monthly Meetings,” that indicates that Francis Henry was a part of the Quaker church. Although the Fraziers were a part of Fairfield Monthly Meeting in Highland County, Ohio, the marriage records for 3 of Francis Henry's older siblings list his parents as residents of Clinton County, Ohio. Fairfield Meeting was in the Leesburg area, which is in Fairfield Township at the northern edge of Highland County, adjoining Clinton County, so this seems reasonable.

In 1812 the Clear Creek Monthly Meeting in Clinton County was set off from Fairfield Meeting and apparently the Fraziers became members there. In 1815 the family began to move farther west. Francis Henry was included with his father and mother and 3 older sisters when they were granted a certificate on 14 Dec 1816 to the New Garden Monthly Meeting, in Wayne County Indiana. The New Garden records show they arrived in March of 1817.

It was the 5^th month of 1821 when Cherry Grove Monthly Meeting near Lynn in Washington Township, Randolph County, Indiana, was set off from the New Garden Meeting. Again members of the Frazier family were included in the newer meeting. You may notice that when Francis Henry married Eunice Beard in 1823, it was at the Lynn meeting house. This was a part of the Cherry Grove meeting.

The family continued to move west, a few years after father Francis died in 1830. In the 11^th month (November) of 1838 when our Francis and family were granted a certificate to Vermillion Monthly Meeting in Illinois. This was for the transition to Iowa. They were received at Salem Monthly Meeting in Henry County, Iowa Territory in the 2^nd month 1839 from Cherry Grove, endorsed by Vermillion Monthly Meeting.

The Salem Monthly Meeting records show the following children for Francis and Eunice: Hannah born 1829, Ann born 1832, Asa born 1834, Cyrus born 1837, Elizabeth born 1840 and Mary born 1842. On Find A Grave, one more child is listed: Elva Jane born in 1845.

Looking at Probate records:

Since one of my goals was to determine where Francis died, I decided to check his last known residence, Henry County, Iowa. Many of the Henry County probate records have been digitized and placed online at Ancestry.Com so even if they were not indexed I still could browse the records. I chose to look at Volume B, which was supposed to include records from 1843 to 1849, because the death date I had found was 1845. After looking through the records of 1845 and not finding him, I realized there might be an index in the back of the record book. There was an index and Francis was listed in the F section. It included a recorded copy of his will, appraisal of property and sale bill. His will was dated the 4^th day of the 3^rd month in 1846 (March 4^th) and it was entered into probate the 23^rd of April 1846, so Francis died between March 4^th and April 23^rd in 1846, not in 1845 as I previously thought. The probate papers have left the date of his death blank. Now I know that Francis died in Henry County, Iowa Territory, because Iowa did not become a state until 28 Dec 1846.

Looking at Census records:

It is said that census research is the backbone of American genealogy, so I cannot leave that out. Francis Henry was born in 1804, which would make 1810 the first census where he would appear.

A search for his father, Francis Frazier, in North Carolina in the 1810 census produced no results. Since they were in Ohio by September of 1810 I should search for them there except there is no census available for Ohio in 1810. T.L.C. Genealogy published a book titled The 1812 Census of Ohio, which was compiled from tax lists. There were 2 Frazers and 1 Frazier in Clinton County, but none were Francis. Maybe he did not own land.

By 1820 I believe that Francis Henry was the 10-15 year old male in the household of Francis Frazier in Wayne Township, Randolph County, Indiana. 

The 1830 census in Greensfork Township, Randolph County, Indiana has two Francis Frazier Seniors in it, on adjacent pages, 36 and 37. It is most likely that Francis on page 37 is the first cousin of our Francis Henry. He was the son of James Frazier. I expect that our Francis Henry and his wife Eunice were the 20 to 29 year old male and female on page 36 in the household of his parents, the male and female aged 60 through 69. There was also a listing for a male and female under 5. From a Quaker record after Francis Henry and family moved to Iowa, it would be probable that the female was Hannah born in 1829. However that record does not show a male of the correct age. Possibly there was a male child born between Francis Henry's marriage in 1823 and Hannah's birth in 1829 and he died before they moved to Iowa.

There is a census record for Henry County, Iowa Territory, in 1840. Francis Frazier is there with 7 members of the household. I would designate the male 30 through 39 as Francis, the female 30 through 39 as Eunice, the males under 5 as Asa and Cyrus, the female 10 through 14 as Hannah, the female 5 through 9 as Ann and the female under 5 as Elizabeth. Mary and Elva Jane were not born yet.

I did go ahead and check for the family in 1850, even though Francis has already died. Eunice as the head of household and the 4 younger children were still in Henry County in Tippecanoe Township.

I am glad that Uncle Francis was the “lucky” individual because I have really enjoyed all the research in various records: Quaker, probate and census.

52 Ancestors 2020 – 10 – StrongWoman – Catherine (Brown) Baker

If you have been keeping track of the numbers, you will see that I skipped number 9, which was disaster. I couldn't find a woman within the time limits to write about, so I have gone on to number 10.

I have chosen Catherine (Brown) Baker, who was my half 2^nd great-grandaunt. She was the daughter of my 3^rd great-grandmother Sarah Lollar and her first husband, Thomas Brown. I find it very interesting that Ancestry.com in their DNA ThruLines suggests that I have 20 matches from Catherine's descendants, through 9 of her children. This makes me quite confident that I am related to this “strong woman.”

Catherine should have been a strong woman because she had 14 children and at least 13 of them lived to adulthood. Maybe she learned this from her mother, who had just 2 children from her first marriage, but 14 from her second marriage to my 3^rd great-grandfather, Thomas O'Neal. As Catherine was the oldest daughter she was having her first 3 children while her mother was having her youngest 3 children (1841 - 1845).

Catherine married her husband, Oliver Baker, 17 Mar 1841 in Franklin County, Indiana, and they were married for over 60 years until Oliver's death 30 May 1905 in Delaware County, Indiana. This is another indication that Catherine was a strong woman. She lived less than a year as a widow before her death 25 Feb 1906, also in Delaware County. They were both buried there in Union Cemetery, near Eaton. At least through 1900 Catherine and Oliver lived in Franklin County. It was sometime before 1905 they moved about 60 miles to Delaware County. Their son William was living there in 1900.

On censuses (1860 – 1900) Catherine was marked as unable to write, but apparently she could read. I hope she was able to read the information about her son Maxwell, who lived in Brookville, Franklin County, Indiana. A biography for him was published in 1899 in the Biographical and Genealogical History of Wayne, Fayette, Union and Franklin Counties, Indiana, Volume II, pages 929-931. It included the following about her: “His parents are Oliver and Catherine (Brown) Baker, worthy and esteemed residents of this county.”

Another time that Catherine needed to remain strong was during the Civil War as she had 3 sons who were the right age to fight. Her son Maxwell did become one of the soldiers in Company A of the 35^th Indiana Infantry. It appears he was a substitute for someone else and joined near the end of the war, 15 Oct 1864. The official records show that the 35^th Infantry was involved in the operations against Hood in north Georgia and north Alabama until November 3. They participated in the Nashville Campaign to the end of the year, including the battle of Franklin on Nov 30 and the battle of Nashville Dec 15-16. In 1865 they moved to Huntsville Alabama and were on duty there until March. They were involved in operations in East Tennessee until April 22^nd. I expect both Maxwell and his mother were happy to know the War was ending as Lee signed the document of surrender on April 9^th and other generals were signing until the official end of the War on 26 May 1865. The 35^th Infantry went to Nashville until the middle of June when they were sent to New Orleans. Later they served in Texas until mustered out 30 Sept 1865. Maxwell served long enough that he did get a pension in 1890.

It has been a delight to learn more about this relative of mine, Catherine (Brown) Baker, a “strong woman.”

52 Ancestors 2020 – 8 – Prosperity – Rachel (White) Winslow

With the theme this week of Prosperity, I decided I should look it up in a dictionary. Because I am focusing on siblings of ancestors who lived mostly over a hundred years ago, I chose a dictionary of 1909. The definition given there was: “Successful progress in any business or enterprise; good fortune.” It also listed some synonyms: well-being, weal, welfare, happiness, good luck. Within my self-imposed limits of their birthday being during the week and females during February, I only had 2 choices. So the “aunt” I chose was Rachel (White) Winslow, my 5^th great-grandaunt.

Rachel was one of the few individuals among my relatives who was a twin. She and her brother Thomas were born on the 25^th day of the 12^th month of 1730. But since it was before 1752 and the family were Quakers that translates to the 25^th of February 1730/31.

She was listed as the 7^th child of 13 born to Thomas and Rachel (Jordan) White.

Thomas and Rachel were married in Isle of Wight County, Virginia, in 1719. They moved to Perquimans County, North Carolina, at least by 1724 when Thomas Winslow deeded 330 acres to Thomas White. So this indicates that Rachel was born in North Carolina.

It so happened that Rachel married John Winslow, the son of John the 10^th day of the 3^rd month in 1752 “at the meeting house in the Piney Woods” as recorded at the Perquimans Monthly Meeting. I suspect that she could feel happiness on that day as there were

25 relatives and friends who signed as witnesses to their marriage. In the usual place for the parents signature there is Rachel White, but not Thomas.

It appears that Mrs. Watson Winslow, who wrote a history of Perquimans County in 1931, confused things when she stated on page 428 that Rachel married Benjamin Winslow, the son of John and Esther (Snelling) Winslow. When checking the public trees on Ancestry.com I found there were over 500 trees which have Abigail Rachael White, daughter of Thomas and Rachel, married to John Benjamin Winslow on 10 May 1752. There was listed in the Quaker records an Abigail White who married Benjamin Winslow, but this was in 1770.

There is a question in my mind of why Rachel does not appear in her father's will as it was recorded in the will book C of Perquimans County on page 1. The rest of her family does seem to be included there. In Mrs. Winslow's book on pages 370-371 she includes what she says was a newly discovered copy of Rachel's mother's will, undated and unsigned, which had not been probated. She quotes the entire will and in it she listed the following bequest: “Fifthly I give and bequeath unto my daughter Rachel Winslow, one Small Square table, and one brass Candle Stick, and one negro wench Judah, and one old feather bed and some furniture.” Rachel (Jordan) White died in 1768. In Thomas' will of 1761 his bequests to his wife Rachel included one negro woman named Judah and one square table. Were these what Rachel left to her daughter Rachel?

The Quaker record from Perquimans Monthly Meeting indicated that John and Rachel (White) Winslow had 3 children: Ann born in 1761, John born in 1763 and Samuel born in 1764. It stated that Ann “appears to have been married to John Sanders.” Then it listed 8 children born between 1776 and 1792, the last 2 being twins. Here is another place for prosperity for our Rachel, since she lived until after all 8 of these grandchildren were born.

In the Quaker record the clerk recorded her death in this manner after noting her husband's death of 1801: “Rachel Winslow his wife & mother of these children departed this life 10^th mo. 8^th 1794.”