Ancestor Sketch – John Parsons, Jr.

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.

Child	Born
Samuel	1789 – Sandisfield, MA
Polly	1792 – Sandisfield, MA
Orrin	1794 – Sandisfield, MA
John	1796 – Sandisfield, MA
Chester	1799 – Sandisfield, MA
Parmelia	1805 – Windham, NY
Prudence	1808 – Windham, NY

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.

Continue reading “Ancestor Sketch – John Parsons, Jr.”

Ancestor Sketch – Deborah Buel Maben

Brown/Sanford/Parsons/Maben Line
52 Ancestors – Week 2018-29
By Don Taylor

Like many of my ancestors, Deborah Buel Maben, was a pioneer wife. She was born, raised, and married in eastern New York (Greene County). After she married she headed west with her husband to Michigan Territory. She was there when Michigan become a state. She passed away and was buried in Benton, Washtenaw County, Michigan, in the land she and her family settled.

Continue reading “Ancestor Sketch – Deborah Buel Maben”

The 1820 Census and Robert Maben

Brown/Sanford/Parsons/Maben
Census Sunday
By Don Taylor

Following families through the pre-1850 Census is always a challenge. I was researching my 4^th great-grandmother, Deborah Buel Maben. She married in 1824 and I’ve been able to follow her through her husband in the census records during her married life. I began working to find evidence of her in the 1820 Census. I knew she was married in Greene County, New York and I quickly found what appeared to be her father, Robert Maben (Mabin in the census Record).

Next, I mapped the family out with what I believed I knew about the family. Do the children I know about fit the Census record?

Robert Mabin 2 1 1 1 1 – 2 2 – 1 –

< 10             = 2      Presumed to be Addison T,. Age 3
Presumed to be John, Age 9
10-16             = 1      Unknown Child –
16-18             = 1      Presumed to be James, Age 17
16-26             = 1      Duplicate of above person (James)
26-45             = 1     Presumed to be Robert Maben, Age 39
Over 45 –

< 10               = 2      Presumed to include Mary E. Maben, Age 5
Presumed to include Electa Maben, Age 2 months.
10-16             = 2      Presumed to Include Deborah Buel Maben, Age 15
Presumed to Include Sarah, Age 13
16-26 –
26-45             = 1      Presumed to be Electa, Age 38
Over 45 –

In this case, every child I know about appears to be enumerated along with Robert Maben and his wife, Electa, fit the age ranges given in the census. Now, I’m confident that the Maben family was in Lexington, Green County, New York in 1820.

And what so often happens with records, there are new questions. Who is the unknown male child from 10 to 16 years of age? I know of no child in the Maben family who fits that criteria. Could this be a cousin, an adoptee, or a child of Robert and Electa? I don’t know yet, but it will definitely cause me to keep an eye out for other records that suggest another child.

A child between 10 and 16 in 1820 had to have been born between 1803 and 1810.

James was born in 1803
Deborah in 1805
Sarah in 1807 and
John in 1811.

The only gap in that series is 1809. So, I suspect this unknown boy living in the household of Robert Maben is a heretofore unknown son. I’ve added him to my tree as a hypothesis with the above information. It is certainly possible that this person is possibly some other and I will keep that possibility in mind.

So many possibilities exist. Another one revolves around Robert & Electa’s eighth known child, Charles B. Maben. It is possible I have his birthdate wrong and he was really born much earlier than the 1824 date, I have for his birth.

On to the 1810 Census….

Chester Parsons and the 1820 Census

Census Sunday
Brown/Sanford/Parsons Line
By Don Taylor

Following ancestors through all the census records is often difficult, particularly in census records before 1850, when only the head of household was named. Tracing my 4^th great-grandfather, Chester Parsons was straight-forward from the 1880 census back to the 1850 census, even on to the 1830 Census, while Chester was in Saline, Michigan. Before that, he was a young man in someone else’s household not in Michigan. The path to understanding is to take what you know, hypothesize what should be, then see if research fits.

What I think I know.

Chester was born on 1 December 1799 in Sandisfield, Berkshire, Massachusetts.
Chester married his first wife in Greene County, New York in 1824.
In May 1826, Chester and his young family moved from New York to Saline, Washtenaw County, Michigan Territory.
He and his family appear in 1830, 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870, and 1880 censuses. The family seems to have been very stable living in Saline, Michigan, for over 60 years.
Chester’s father, John Parsons, died in 1813 in Greene County, New York.
In 1820 Chester would have been 20 years old.

My Speculation.

Because Chester probably lived with his father when his father died in 1813 and Chester probably resided in Greene County when he married in 1824, I presume the 20-year-old Chester also was living in Greene County during the 1820 Census. If so, who was he living with?

Search & Results

A quick search on Family Search of all families with the Parsons surname living in Greene County, New York in 1820 yielded four candidates, Samuel, Orrin, Albert, and Stephen. I’m looking for any of those people that might have Chester living with him.

Samuel Parsons – This Windham household consists of 1 Male (Age 26-45) and no other males. Chester’s oldest brother was named Samuel and would have been 33-years-old. This Samual is possibly, even likely, Chester’s brother.

Orrin and Samuel were enumerated next to each other in the 1820 Census.

Orrin Parsons – This Windham household consists of two males (one 16 to 26 and one under 10. There is also a female 16 to 26 in the household. Chester’s 2^nd oldest brother was named Orrin and was 25 at the time. It is likely this was him with his wife, and first, previously unknown, son.

Albert Parsons – This Windham household consisted of five individuals, apparently Albert age 16-26, male 10-16, and male under 10 and two females, one, an apparent wife 16 to 26 and another age 10 to 16. There is no known Albert Parsons in my research before this. I will probably need to do more research to determine this Albert’s place in the family or determine he isn’t related. In any event, Chester is not in that household either.

Conclusion

Chester’s father John died in 1814. It appears that Samuel and Orrin each married and established households of their own. Chester, his brother John, and their mother were probably either missed in the 1820 Census or were living in the household of someone without the surname Parsons in Greene County, New York.

Further Research

It is possible that Chester and family lived with sister Mary/Polly in 1820. Research Mary/Polly Parsons’ life.
It is possible that Chester and family lived with a female sibling of John Parsons, Jr. Research the lives of the other Parsons of Sandisfield, Massachusetts that located to Windham, Greene County, New York between 1800 and 1820.

Brown/Sanford/Parsons Line By Don Taylor