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.