Brown/Sanford/Parsons Line
By Don Taylor

One of my processes is to tentatively accept conflicting data regarding an individual. As I continue my research, I look for info to help corroborate either fact. When I finally do my ancestor sketch, I analyze the conflicting facts and make a decision as to what I think is correct and provide my analysis bout what I think is incorrect and why.  In the case of John Parsons, Junior, I have conflicting facts regarding both John’s birth and his death.  But, more about that in a bit.

Roberts/Brown – Ancestor #204

List of Grandparents

• 6 – Grandfather: Clifford Brown| aka Richard Earl Durand | aka Richard Earl Brown (1903-1990)
• 12 – 1^st Great-grandfather: Arthur Durwood Brown(1869-1928)
• 25 – 2^nd Great-grandmother: Marion Sanford(1846- c. 1895)
• 51 – 3rd Great-grandmother: Mary E Parsons(1828-1888)
• 102 – 4^th Great-grandfather: Chester Parsons (1799-1887)
• 204 – 5^th Great-grandfather: John Parsons, Jr. (1764-1813)
• 408 – 6^th Great-grandfather: John Parsons, Sr.
• 816 – 7^th Great-grandfather: Timothy Parsons*[i]
• 1632 – 8^th Great-grandfather: Samuel Parsons*
• 3264 – 9^th Great-grandfather: Joseph Parsons*
• 6528 – 10^th Great-grandfather: William Parsons*

John Parsons (1764-1813)

Birth

John Parsons, Jr., was born on 18 November 1764, the third child of John and Hannah (Wadsworth) Parsons. Some researchers have suggested he was born in Windham, Greene County, New York[ii]; however, I’m sure he was born in Sandisfield, Berkshire County, Massachusetts. Five of John’s siblings were all born in Sandisfield, including siblings both older and younger.  John moved to Windham in 1802, so it is easy to understand how someone could have make a mistake and entered the wrong place.

It must have been exciting times that John grew up in. His father was a lieutenant in the Massachusetts Militia during the Revolution. Samuel Wolcott’s. Living in far western Massachusetts, I suspect that young John was eager for the latest in news of the Revolution.

Sadness did strike in 1777, when John was 12 years old, and his mother died.

There is probably a romantic story to find about John’s courting of Mary Wolcott, the daughter of his father’s Captain during the Revolution. In any event, although it is not clear when John and Mary married. The birth of their first child, Samuel, in April 1789 suggests John and Mary likely married in 1788. John and Mary had seven children:

Children of John & Mary (Wolcott) Parsons, Jr.

1790 Census

John and his father were both enumerated as heads of households next to each other in the 1790 Census.

Parsons, John, Jr. 1 1 1

The John Parsons, Jr. household consisted of:

• One male 16 & older, who has to be the head of the household, John Jr.
• One male under age 16, who apears to be Samuel who was born in born 1789.
• One female who appears to be John’s wife, Mary.

1800 Census

By 1800, the John Parsons, Jr. household had grown.

John Parsons, Jr.  3 1 – 1 – | 1 – – 1 –

Three males under 10:   Likely Orrin (Age 5), John (Age 4), & Chester (Age 0)

One male, age 10-16:     Likely Samuel (Age 13)

One male, age 26-45:     Obviously, John Jr. (Age 36) who is the head of the household.

One female under 10:     Likely Mary/Polly (Age 8)

One female 26-45:       Clearly Mary (age 33) his wife.

In 1802 John and his family moved from Sandisfield to Windham, Greene County, New York.

1810 Census

I have searched at length for John in the 1810 Census. I have not been successful in discovering John Parsons (Jr.) in the 1810 Census. I believe he is probably living with one of his children in Greene County, New York. As such, if I research each of his wife and all of his children, I may well find John living in someone else’s household.

Death

John Parsons died on 7 April 1813 in Windham, Greene County, New York. He was buried in section 1 at the Pleasant Valley Cemetery (also known as the Ashland Cemetery), about 2 and a half miles west of Windham. He was survived by hie wife, Mary, all seven of his children, and his father.

Events by Location

Massachusetts, Berkshire County, Sandisfield Town – 1764 thru 1801 – Birth, childhood, marriage, and birth of his first five children.

New York, Greene County, Windham – 1802-1813 – births of his two youngest children and his death.

New York, Green County, Ashland – 1813 – Burial at Pleasant Valley (aka Ashland) Cemetery.

Further Actions / Follow-up

• Research each of John’s children and both his and his wife’s siblings for their location during the 1810 Census. Were John and Mary with them.

• ————– Disclaimer  ————–

Sources

• 1790 Census – Page 34 – John Parsons, Jr. & John Parsons (Sr.) – Sandisfield Town, Berkshire County, Massachusetts. “Heads of Families – 1790 Census – Massachusetts – Page 34, Column 1, Persons 3 & 4. – Accessed 2 August 2020. https://www.census.gov/library/publications/1907/dec/heads-of-families.html.
• 1800 Census (FS), Family Search, 1800 – John Parsons Jr. – Sandisfield, Berkshire, Massachusetts (3rd from bottom). “United States Census, 1800,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHRZ-J6J : accessed 31 March 2018), John Parsons Jr, Sandisfield, Berkshire, Massachusetts, United States; citing p. 175, NARA microfilm publication M32, (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 13; FHL microfilm 205,611.
• Find a Grave, Internet, John Parsons, Jr. – Memorial 118318770. Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 27 July 2020), memorial page for John Parsons Jr. (18 Nov 1764–7 Apr 1813), Find a Grave Memorial no. 118318770, citing Pleasant Valley Cemetery, Ashland, Greene County, New York, USA ; Maintained by Mookie (contributor 47515129). https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/118318770.
• History of Washtenaw County, Michigan (Chicago, Chas. C. Chapman & Co., 1881), Google, Pg 1371. Chas. C. Chapman & Co. (2012). History of Washtenaw County, Michigan: Together with sketches of its cities, villages and townships, educational, religious, civil, military, and political history ; portraits of prominent persons, and biographies of representative citizens : history of Michigan : embracing accounts of the pre-historic races, aborigines, French, English and American conquests, and a general review of its civil, political and military history. Salem, MA: Higginson Book Company.
• Massachusetts Births and Christenings, 1639-1915, Family Search, Birth – Chester Parsons – 1 Dec 1799 – “Manual Media”. “Massachusetts Births and Christenings, 1639-1915”, database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VQ6 J74 : 14 January 2020), Chester Parsons, 1799. – Accessed 26 Jul 2020. https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VQ6D-J74.
• Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001, Family Search, PAGE 335 – 4TH SECTION (After Manley, Crane, & Spelman) – PARSONS (John Parsons, Jr. and Mary, his wife. “Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q29 DWB6 : 18 February 2020), Chester Parsons, 01 Dec 1799; citing Birth, Sandisfield, Berkshire, Massachusetts, United States, Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, Boston; FHL microfilm 004267208. https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q29L-DWB6.
• Michigan Deaths and Burials, 1800-1995, Family Search, Permetia (Parsons) Clark – Died 26 Apr 1873. “Michigan Deaths and Burials, 1800- 1995”, database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FHRG RJ6 : 25 March 2020), Permetia Clark, 1873.
• Michigan Deaths, 1867-1897, Pittsfield, Washtenaw, Michigan,, (Lansing, MI, Department of Vital Records), Family Search, Permelia Clark – Died 26 Apr 1873. “Michigan Deaths, 1867-1897,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:N36 57K : 2 April 2020), Permelia Clark, 26 Apr 1873; citing p 163 rn 45, Pittsfield, Washtenaw, Michigan, Department of Vital Records, Lansing; FHL microfilm 2,363,453. Vital Records of Sandisfield, Massachusetts to the Year 1850, 1936
• Vital Records of Sandisfield, Massachusetts to the Year 1850, Capt. Elizur Yale Smith, Member New York Genealogical and Biographical Society – Connecticut Historical Society (1936), Births – Parsons – Pages 48, 49, & 50.; PDF File, Genealogy Gophers (gengophers.com).

Endnotes

[I] (*) Unconfirmed and unverified.  Timothy, Samuel, Joseph, and William are suggested by other researchers and have NOT been confirmed or verified by me.

[ii] Daughters of the American Revolution, “Descendants Search”, DAR, Ruth Evelyn Hill Carr – Nat’l #: 445593 – Ancestor #: A088240. Accessed 31 July 2020. The databases contain DAR proprietary information which should under no circumstances be redistributed to others; assembled or collected for purposes other than DAR membership or for citation in genealogical scholarship; or reproduced, published or posted in any form whatsoever. https://Services.DAR.Org.