Lurancy Taft (1796-1870)

The second child of Asa Taft (1774-1839) and Sarah Whitney (1773-1813).)

Ancestor #82b
By Don Taylor

Lurancy Taft, sometimes recorded as “Luransa,” “Lurancy,” or “Lunacy,” Olmstead, was born on 28 March 1796 in Partridgefield (later Peru, now Hinsdale), Berkshire County, Massachusetts. She was the daughter of Asa Taft (#82) and Sarah (Whitney) Taft (#83), a conclusion supported by Massachusetts town vital records and reinforced by later compiled Taft family sources.

As a child, Luransa moved west with her family to Sharon, Schoharie County, New York, where her father appears in the 1800 census. Although her name is not recorded, as was customary for this census, her presence in the household is consistent with her age and family structure. This move reflects the broader post-Revolutionary migration of New England families into upstate New York.

On 23 March 1814, shortly before her eighteenth birthday, Luransa married Luman Olmstead in Triangle, Broome County, New York, a town that would remain her home for the rest of her life. Together, they raised a large family of at least ten children, born between about 1816 and 1841. Census records repeatedly describe Luransa in her later years as “keeping house,” a quiet but telling summary of a lifetime of domestic labor.

Luransa appears consistently in the 1850, 1855, 1860, and 1865 censuses, all placing her in Triangle. She died there on 2 April 1870, reportedly of paralysis. She was buried in Taft Cemetery, underscoring the enduring presence of the Taft family in the community. Although she appears in the July 1870 census, this is almost certainly the result of delayed or derivative reporting, a common practice among enumerators.

Her given name appears in records as Luransa, Lurancy, Lauranca, and Lunacy—variations reflecting phonetic spelling rather than multiple individuals.

Closing Reflection

This research had a purpose beyond documenting dates and places. By firmly establishing Sarah Whitney (#83) as Luransa Taft’s mother through contemporary Massachusetts vital records, the evidence helps clarify a long-standing question in this line: whether Lucy Fuller and Lucy Wilson were the same woman. Luransa’s documented maternal connection to Sarah Whitney, rather than to a Lucy of any surname, provides an important anchor point in the Taft family structure. While it does not resolve the Lucy Fuller/Lucy Wilson question, it eliminates one avenue of confusion and helps ensure that similarly named women are not mistakenly merged across generations.

Sources

1. 1 Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001, Family Search, Births – Luransa Taft – 28 Mar 1796, Amanda Taft – 31 Dec 1798. “Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001”, , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:DD93-2J2M : Mon Sep 23 17:30:27 UTC 2024), Entry for Luransa Taft and Asa Taft, 28 Mar 1796. Also: https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:DDM4-GH3Z?lang=en (for Amanda). https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:DD93-2JPZ?lang=en.
2. 2 Massachusetts, U.S., Compiled Birth, Marriage, and Death Records, 1700-1850, Ancestry, Page 45 – Peru Births – Taft. https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/61401/records/33709.
3. 3 Thomas E. Collins, Taft Family Bulletin, Ancestry, Taft Family Bulletin (December 1970) – Page 15 – Children of Asa & Sally (Whitney) Taft #15263. Accessed 23 Jan 2025 – Ancestry.com.
4. 4 Massachusetts, U.S., Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988 (, 2011), Ancestry, Puru Births – Page 45 – TAFT.
5. Email, Files (Personal), Timothy J Foulkes. See file:  Email from Tim Faulkes re Lucy Wilson Taft, et al, dated 31 Dec 2018.pdf.
6. U.S., Sons of the American Revolution Membership Applications, 1889­-1970, Ancestry.Com, Joel C Taft – Volume: 265. National Number 52981 – State Number 1007 (Indiana). http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&db=SARMemberApps&h=1149463.
7. Ancestry.com, New York, U.S., Tax Assessment Rolls of Real and Personal Estates, 1799-1804 (Provo, UT, USA, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014), Ancestry.com, 1800 – Asa Taft – Sharon Schoharie, NY
8. Indiana Marriages, 1811-2007, Family Search, William Taft – Elizabeth Braggs Scott – 23 Jun 1883. https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XXNB­QBP.
9. Indiana, U.S., Death Certificates, 1899-2011 (Indiana Archives and Records Administration, Indianapolis, Indiana, Indiana State Board of Health), Ancestry.Com, William Taft – Died 17 Oct 1908. State Number 341  08-807 – – Amended – July 7, 1964    .
10. Find a Grave, Find a Grave, Lurancy Olmstead – Memorial ID 316400350. Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/216400350/lurancy-olmstead: accessed January 23, 2026), memorial page for Lurancy Olmstead (unknown–2 Apr 1870), Find a Grave Memorial ID 216400350, citing Taft Cemetery, Triangle, Broome County, New York, USA; Maintained by Nancy C. (contributor 48716319).
11. New York, U.S., U.S. Census Mortality Schedules, 1850-1880, Page 168, line 14 – Olmstead, Lauranca.
12. 1800 Census (FS), Family Search, 1800 – Asa Taft – Sharon, Schoharie, New York, page 161. “United States, Census, 1800”, , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XH5B-QR1 : Sat Mar 09 23:59:55 UTC 2024), Entry for Asa Taft, 1800.
13. 1850 Census (NARA), 1850 – Lurancy Olmstead – Triangle, Broome, New York. “United States, Census, 1850”, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MCTJ-83F : Fri Oct 17 07:58:22 UTC 2025), Entry for Lurancy Olmstead and Chandler Olmstead, 1850. https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MCTJ-83F?lang=en.
14. 1855 New York Census, Family Search, Lunacy Almstead – Triangle, Broome, NY. “New York, State Census, 1855”, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K63V-LB9 : Thu Jul 18 22:41:29 UTC 2024), Entry for Laman Almstead and Lunacy Almstead, 1855.
15. 1860 Census (NARA), 1860 – Luman Olmstead – Triangle, Boone, New York. “United States, Census, 1860,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GBS8-R2G?cc=1473181&wc=7QPF-BBQ%3A1589422212%2C1589431272%2C1589432120 : 24 March 2017), New York > Broome > Town of Triangle > image 37 of 44; from “1860 U.S. Federal Census – Population,” database, Fold3.com (http://www.fold3.com : n.d.); citing NARA microfilm publication M653 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
16. 1865 New York State Census, Family Search, 1965 – Luman Olmstead, Triangle, Broome, NY. “New York, State Census, 1865”, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVNN-XJG4 : Mon Jul 08 15:37:57 UTC 2024), Entry for Luman Olmstead and Lurancy Olmstead, 1865.
17. 1870 Census (NARA), Various, 1870 – Chandlier Olmstead – Triangle, Broome, New York. “United States, Census, 1870”, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M86P-JC4 : Sun Jan 12 21:49:10 UTC 2025), Entry for Chandlier Olmstead and Laman Olmstead, 1870.
18. Family Search Tree, Family Search, Lurancy Taft (1796-1870). https://www.familysearch.org/en/tree/person/details/L4BV-RRW.

This article was researched and written by the author. ChatGPT was used as a research and drafting aid, and Grammarly for editorial review and copyediting.