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.

Brown Research 2018 – Ancestor #103

List of Great-Grandparents

• 1^st Great-grandfather: Arthur Durwood Brown
• 2^nd Great-grandmother: Marion Sanford
• 3^rd Great-grandmother: Mary Electra Parsons
• 4^th Great-grandmother: Deborah Buel Maben
• 5^th Great-grandfather: Robert Maben
• 6^th Great-grandfather: John Maben (Patriot)

Deborah Buel Maben (1805-1874)

Deborah Buel Maben[i] was the second child of either eight or nine children born to Robert and Electa (Rowley) Maben. She was born on 20 January 1805 in Lexington, Greene County, New York. Later that year, Thomas Jefferson was sworn in for a second term as President of the United States and Lewis and Clark started out on their historic expedition to the west. Nine days before Deborah was born Michigan Territory was created.

Deborah’s siblings included:

• James – Born 1803
• Sarah – Born 1807
• FNU[ii] – Born 1809 (Probably)
• John – Born 1811
• Mary – Born 1815
• Addison – Born 1817
• Electa – Born 1820
• Charles – Born 1824

Childhood

Deborah grew up in Greene County, New York. She was born in Lexington, her father was enumerated in Windham in 1810 and Lexington in 1820. Lexington and Windham are about 10 miles apart, so there may not have been a move involved during her childhood. Rather, the difference may have been the census taker’s assessment of the town they lived closest to.

Marriage

On November 26^th, 1824, 19-year-old Deborah married the 24-year-old Chester Parsons in Greene County, New York.  Shortly after their daughter, Lucinda was born, the family headed west. They located about 650 miles west to Saline Township in the Michigan Territory. Saline Township, and Benton in particular, became Deborah’s home for the rest of her life. Chester and Deborah were early pioneers in Saline.[iii]

Together they had eight children

• Lucinda – b. 1825
• James – b. 1826
• Mary Electa – b. 1828
• Alfred David – b. 1830
• Harriet Eliza – b. 1832
• E. W. – b. ca. 1833 (died before 1840)
• Sarah Jane – b. ca. 1833
• Melissa Estelle – b. 1843

In 1837, Michigan becomes a state.

Death & Burial

Inscription:
Deborah B Parsons | Wife of | Chester Parsons
Aged 70 Yrs 7 Mo 24 Da – 
(Photo by Old Bones (ID 47251769) via Find-a-Grave. Used with permission.)

Deborah died on 12 September 1874 in Benton, Washtenaw County, Michigan. She is buried in the Benton Cemetery, Benton, Washtenaw County, Michigan.

Sources

1. 1810 Census – Windham, Greene, New York – Robert Maben – Family Search.
2. 1820 Census – Lexington, Greene, New York – Robert Mabin [Maben] – Family Search.
3. 1830 Census – Saline, Washtenaw, Michigan Territory – Chester Parsons – Family Search.
4. 1840 Census – Saline, Washtenaw, Michigan -Chester Parsons – Family Search.
5. 1850 Census – Saline, Washtenaw, Michigan – Chester Parsons – Family Search.
6. 1860 Census – Saline, Washtenaw, Michigan – Chester Parsons – Family Search.
7. 1870 Census – Saline, Washtenaw, Michigan – Chester Parson – Family Search.
8. DAR Ancestor Database: Maben, John – Patriot: A072838 – Member: Ruth Evelyn Hill Carr Nat’l #Nat’l #: 445593 – https://services.dar.org/public/dar_research/search_descendants
9. 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. Pg 1405. See: https://archive.org/details/cu31924028870520.
10. Michigan, Death Records, 1867-1950 – Debora Parsons – Death 12 Sep 1874 – Saline, Washtenaw, Michigan – Ancestry.com – https://search.ancestry.com/collections/60872/records/90891/

————–  Disclaimer  ————–

[i] The name is spelled “Mabin” in some records. I prefer Maben as that is the surname spelling used in most documents including the DAR Descendants Database.

[ii] The 1810 and 1820 Census records indicate at a male born between 1803 and 1810 was in the household of Robert Maben. Because of the gap in births between Sarah and John, I believe this male was born in 1809 and is the child of Robert and Electa Maben. I have not found evidence of this child in other records so far.

[iii] Chester and Deborah are mentioned several times in The 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 by Chas C. Chapman and Co. Higginson Book Company along with several other family members.