Two Henrys, Five Charles; A Note on Contemporaneous Townsend Men in Jefferson County

It has been a few days, I know, and I have found a lot. This post won't be long.

It seems that one of the Charles persons that I have been chasing down could not be the son of James. He is actually younger than James. However, he does not rule out the Charles in the 1820 census form. That Charles not only has more sons, but also is clearly older. Being able to rule out one is helpful and helps clarify the record on Old Charles.

Charles was son of Henry Townsend; the family came from England via Canada. His sons are listed as Harold and Charles. He has two sisters, on in Prince Edward listed in  the Obituary or 1914.  The Obit states Charles had been in the area for 50 years. That means he arrived in Jefferson County in 1864. Our James left Jefferson County just about the time as this Charles "arrives." This Charles is born in  about 1842. His wife survives him. .

He was clearly a hard working man. He died from injuries sustained from lifting asphalt. Quite an endeavor for a 72 year old man.

IF the obituary is correct, he is NOT the Charles in the 1820 census.  I suspect that SEVERAL researchers have confused the two men. 

 There is no doubt that this record is the sister mentioned in the obituary who is in Bloomfield, Prince Edward, Ontario. It it is the same one that is there in 1861; a good size family. 


However, I do note that one researcher has a Henry F (or P?). Townsend in Theresa with a son Charles. He is not to be confused with the Henry K Townsend of Champion that was born in Fairfield and moved to St. Lawrence. The Henry under discussion here appears to be a Henry F (or P?) that came from Bloomfield England perhaps Somerset, to Bloomfield,  Prince Edward and about 1843 came to the U.S and married. This Henry would have had a baby in the 1850 Census.

There is a Charles of the  Henry Townsend family in Theresa; he was 3 months old in the 1850 Census. Now, the Charles of the Henry in Teresa, Jefferson County is just a tad bit young to be the Charles in the Obituary above, but it is close enough that I believe that researcher should evaluate the obituary and the underlying information. I spent a bit of time in Canada's BMDs, and did not see a record for a child Charles that matched the obit or the family as a whole. I suspect that Charles might have been born in the U.S, but one never really knows.  Obituaries are only as good as the information that the living people have. If they are different people, then that is 6 Charles (sigh).

But maybe the birth record is there and I didn't look at the records closely enough? The records for Catholics in Lower Canada are patchy on the various computer assisted company websites. I suggest going directly to the archive web pages, and don't hesitate to expand your search to Nova Scotia. However, I did note a Henry over there, and the wife was Elizabeth, but the records seemed a bit out of kilter and the dates seemed a bit off. I find that when that happens it is often a cousin line.

The Charles in the Obituary above should also be kept separate from the Charles of  Brownstown of the Josiah group  that drowned at sea off the coast of MA. He died intestate, unmarried and with no issue. So they are different guys.

Then there is Charles that is the son of James Townsend of my group. Trust me, this guy is not our Charles. The Charles in my group worked the circus circuit, and when he came back to Jefferson County, it was covered extensively in the papers.

Then there is the Charles in the 1820 Census. This guy is decidedly not him. The father of the guy in the Obituary would have been about 2 years old in the 1820 Census!  What I think has happened is that people have taken the Census record of Charles in 1820 and mushed it with the Obit above to try to make one super old guy. The Charles in the 1820 Census and the Charles in the obit are different people.

Now, if someone wants to research this one,  there are two Bloomfield locations in England. One is in Somerset and one is in Staffordshire. Now, if the Henry in this obituary is the one that I think it is, then he will not appear in the 1851 Staffordshire Religious Census, because he is already across the pond. But in that Census I noted a 75 year old man named Henry and a 6 year old boy named Henry living the same family, with no 'middle' Henry.  The little boy Henry would have been born after the Henry in the obit left, but I sort of think that family would be worth looking at. It could be Henry's father and Henry's nephew.

Somerset resources are hit and miss for many people, but Catholics have the Bishop's Journal which has various details beyond the basic B.M.D. data. Some of the electoral rolls have been typed, like this one for Charles Henry Townsend. 


One last note: I did look for James Townsend over in the Canadian records again; I kind of hoped that Henry and James were brothers. None are the right age, and two that are indexed as Townsend surname entries are really Andersons. So actually look at the record before you get excited. And as always, remember when searching in Lower Canada, the French spelling often prevails. Townsend becomes Tousaint or Towson depending on the Parish priest. Soundex is your friend in searching the records in  Lower Canada.

To summarize the 5 Charles:
1) Charles in the 1820 census in Champion, 1830 Census in LeRay,  born around 1790
2) Charles in Brownstown son of Nathan, a sailor, who never appears on his own, but drowns, dies intestate, no issue.
3) Charles son of Henry in Teresa who dies in 1914, and (4) his son Charles (still alive in 1914)
5) Charles son of James of Philadelphia, the Circus guy.
Possibly a sixth if Charles (3) is not the guy in the Obit.

To summarize the 2 Henrys
1) Henry K born in Fairfield, appears in the 1820 Census of Champion
2) Henry P/F in Theresa
There could be a 3rd Henry if the Henry in the Obit is not the same as the Henry in Teresa.
And let's not forget the old Henry waiting to be discovered with grandson Henry in Bloomfield, UK, and the Henry that is in the Prince Edward records, and another Wm Henry Townsend in the early Parish records.

Plenty of James Townsend men in those records, but none born the year of the summer that never arrived in 1816.

A Note on Contemporaneous Appearances Among Townsend Men in Upstate New York

In past blog posts we have explored some of the other Townsend lines. Now, on the surface, it might seem straightforward to begin making assignments of males as they matriculate as their own households in subsequent census periods. But there are a few complication.

Having excluded the Quaker group, John and Thomas Townsend because there are no eligible child slots,  and the Martin group (Josiah, Jonathan, Timothy) is not a DNA match, and this reduces the number of eligible Townsend males. 

First there is Abraham, who doesn't even appear in the 1810 Census index, but DOES appear on the census. He has 8 sons. We know he is there in 1810 and that he buys the "Great Lot" 597 among other pieces of land. Later, his widow, Alce Townsend is buying and selling land in LeRay with James LeRay's son Vincent. Vincent joins his father later and is largely running matters for his father at that point. At this point in history, 1810, Vincent is in school and Abrahm or Absolum, is still alive..

Now, we know the gent dies, because his wife is undertaking land transactions as a dower by 1823. Of course the easy thing to do, would be to get the will right? Well, it appears that Wills and Probate in Jefferson County begin later and she asserts the right. So, there is no will to give us an insight, at least none that anyone has found.

Now, Jefferson was a new county and it could be that the will is filed elsewhere.  It appears that if there is an  instrument, it is not being held in other counties I've checked thus far. The reader can look at my indexing of Townsend Wills, and note that I am sequentially moving through the surrounding counties to double check, and looking at all the wills in the relevant time frame to make sure I don't miss anything.

At present,  it appears that Alce asserts the right of dower at a later time, which is her right.

Now, at a later time in the land records, Vincent LeRay, son of James LeRay is acting as LeRay's attorney. However, before Vincent arrives to act on his father's behest, there is another man doing the legal work for LeRay. He must have been highly regarded, because LeRay leaves the region in 1810 for France for a time, as a grieving widower. This man is actually the man on site who is supervising  the paperwork and overseeing surveyors and making sure all the perches, chains, and rods are marked off properly in the deeds and titles.

 His name is Gouverneur Morris. His signatures are all over the land documents. Now, usually his signature is smashed at the bottom of the document where most of the damage to the aging documents occurred before they were microfilmed. However, I found one record (not my family) where Morris's signature is quite clear. The record continues to the top of the next page, so his statement is easy to read. It is very beautiful penmanship. He has a strange quirk about the use of his final "s" that many may not notice, and I imagine that if I looked at enough documents, I could track back this gent's education back to the region from which he came. However, genealogy of Morris' or his scribe is not of interest to me at the moment, the Townsend genealogy is, thus I leave that note for any future researcher looking at one of these men. 

At any rate, Morris is clearly not doing the survey work himself. Curiously, his official history has him serving a partial term in the United States Senate at this time, so it is strange that he is even in the area. Yet, there is his signature.

 Morris would have his surveyor go out and lay out the acres, rods, chains, and perches of the lots as the titles are being prepared. Morris would not have been doing a lot of hiking; he had a wooden leg due to a carriage accident when he was a small child. There is a famous story about LeRay and Morris camping in the Jefferson County region in 1803 when LeRay was originally considering the region. The tent caught fire as did Morris' wooden leg. LeRay nearly died, but the incident suggests that these men were not well acquainted with camping in the wilderness, and that Morris would not be predisposed toward occupations that required substantial hiking.

 The history books related that the surveyor for Morris was Richard Townsend. While Richard Townsend is best known in St. Lawrence County, he also did quite a bit  of the early survey work in Jefferson. Some of the early land surveys are also recorded in Oneida and Herkimer, but there is no doubt who is doing the legal work and the survey work. Now, Richard is not doing all this work by himself, he has a team of people, I am certain. Who are they? I've no idea, but there could be some clues among those in his employ and it might explain why the curious migration to the St. Lawrence area later.

Our gent, Abraham, may have left the planet by the 1820 Census. But Richard Townsend appears in St. Lawrence County with a good bunch of young boys. 

Now, I am not suggesting these are mine. They are quite likely not.  However, we know these gents are in and out of Jefferson County for a time and that Richard Townsend is overseeing LeRay's interests until Vincent arrives.  We know from the recollections of one of the sons of Richard (who grew up to live in Illinois) that they traveled all throughout the region doing survey work with their father. There is a gent in the region named James that has an age of birth that is wrong for our fellow; he appears contemporaneous with our James in LeRay in later years. Typically, he shows up as J.A. Townsend; he seems to stay put in the region for a time. They are contemporaneous fellows, two men with the same name living at the same time with different lives in neighboring regions. 

I did note that there is an older woman  living with Dr. Townsend. I imagine it is his mother in law, or even his mother. The family should be noted so it doesn't get confused with ours as they drift up to St. Lawrence. They are two contemporaneous families of similar size. 

Aging Up in Jefferson County in the 1820 Census

So, who is  "aging up" in Jefferson County? The reader will recall from a prior blog entry that Henry K, Baxter, and Allenton age up and present with their households and holdings in Champion, then seem to move onward. Now Champion doesn't mean much, because at that time, Champion was a good size area. The records in Oneida prior to the LeRay purchase refer to most of modern Jefferson County as Champion lands.

Henry K does have an eligible son in terms of age, so he was of some interest. He leaves Jefferson County eventually and heads to St. Lawrence, and then LaGrange County Ohio. Some in his line move onto Ashtabula, Ohio. His sons are now well documented, and none are James.

Baxter and Allenton also have eligible males and present as households in the 1820 Census. Baxter eventually leaves and moves to Oswego. He has a son, Egbert, with his first wife, Sally, who is mentioned in Baxter's will and appears to move to Oswego with his father. He dies in the Civil War and is easy to discern from James Townsend b 1816. He is known by the families researching the line, so he is easy to set straight.

 Allenton is a little bit more difficult to determine, but if the one in Oswego is him (and there is some doubt he is that one, he is Alenson in the census), then his sons are accounted for and are not James in LeRay. However, I still have yet to follow up on  the other Allenton so there is still an remote chance of James emerging from this line, but I regard it as doubtful at the moment.

That brings the research back to the 1820 Census in Jefferson County. Now, there is an "old James" as I call him. He is not the oldest child based on my theory of the family group, but he is old compared to my James, thus the "old" moniker. He was married to Fannie Ensign. Despite popular attempts to link my fellow to this fellow, the math doesn't work. They are a sweet couple, but they have no eligible son. This "old James" has a son born in 1825-7 time frame, and I suspect he is named William.

However, there is another gent that is missing from the index, but he is there in 1820. His name is Charles, and he is right next to James, and with the other boys in Champion. Why is he missing from the Census index? I leave that one to the reader to discern. He is there and he has two males who are the right age for the James b 1816 that is of interest, and for a Henry b 1818 who is the subject of another researcher.

Now, I've had some researchers suggest that this Charles cannot be him, because Charles drown at sea. However, the Charles who drowned at sea was from Brownsville, the son of Nathan Townsend. He never presented as his own household in Jefferson County from what I can discern. He has no issue, merely a little sister who is a minor child, and his brothers come to collect on his estate and meager possessions when he dies. The father is dead, there is no wife, and there are no children for that Charles.

 This Charles clearly has sons who are the right age. He is contemporaneous with the drowning, childless Charles.

Now, Charles has a man over 44 living with him in the 1820 Census. The lasts record of Abraham/Absolum transacting land is a sale to James LeRay on 3 March  1819 (Vol P, 517, image 569). The first time Alce asserts her right as a dower is on the 22 December 1823 (Vol U, 63, image 44). It seems likely that Abr'm dies before the census, and  that might be two of Charles' brothers living with the family.

Alce's estate is probated in 1827. The will is not in the file. I looked through all the wills to make sure it wasn't misplaced with another family. It is not there, just statements by people saying they knew her, and yes that was the will.

It seems the old couple is no longer around in 1830. Charles is in LeRay at this point, or at least the land he is on is defined as LeRay. 

In looking at Charles in 1930, there are two boys in the 10-14 age slot. The "older boys" who appear to be brothers to Charles in the 1820 census are now on their own.  This is exactly what one would expect for a man to be a progenitor for James and a Henry born just before 1820, and a new baby sister Paulina (b 1820). Notice, old James now has a family emerging. He has a son born after 1820, and a child born after 1825. It is suspect that the youngest son of Abr'm and Alce might be the extra male in the "old James" household.


Now, great care has to be taken to assert that this next record is the same Charles, but I suspect it is. It does need to be check against the St. Lawrence records. But given the actions of the other gents who head out to St. Lawrence County, and it may be that  Charles follows suit.  If so, the two boys who are in the 10-14 age slot in 1820 are gone in 1840. One of the girls has left the family group as well. 

Why does he go up there? I've no idea. However, it is clear that both Henry K and Allenton for a time head north to St. Lawrence, County, to the Fowler area. He is in Russell. The record has to be closely evaluated to make certain it is him, but it appears to be the case. However, it does seem that the age of the paternal male is a tiny bit older than expected compared to the 1830 record. If he turned 40 right  after the census in 1830, he could have turned 50 before the census takers arrived in 1840. While I have some reservations about this census record, it does fit a 1790 birth; and Abr'm has a son that was born in 1790 time frame. 

In looking at the history of Russell, it seems that it pulled away from Fowler in 1816, so it may be he just went to the next town over and isn't that far away from the other gents. Maybe they were trying their hand at garnet mining, or maybe they attended the school there. I've no idea what they were doing there, I just know that they seem to have gone there.

Back to LeRay

Meanwhile, back in LeRay, Jefferson County in 1840, the gent I believe to be James Townsend b. 1816 appears as his own household. 

Notice that he is a different James from the one that was an entry in the 1830 census. This James is younger and just starting out. He appears to have a young son, and his sister, a female too old to be a child, and one the right age to be a wife.

In examining the 1850 census, the females appear to be  Paulina, and a wife, Phebe McDaniel. 

In 1850, the Census lists the family and there is better surety of the matter. Paulina is still with the family, but this is the last census in which she is observed with them. Baby Jayne is with the family.  He says he is from Canada, U.S. This reference has kept me looking for many years in Canada, but I now believe it to be Canada Creek in Herkimer County, which would account for Canada, U.S. At his point in history, nobody knows where Canada, U.S. is (it is between Fairfield and Fonda) a place name lost in the assignment of jurisdictions and a new nation. Khan-a-dah is the Mohawk word for meeting place, so there were several of those in New York, but Canada Creek area, the gandaouage of the Hudson would have been known to a prior generation. 

My ancestor appears with the family group in the 1860 Census, which is very difficult to read but this is the family he is born into. The female mother here is Phebe McDaniel. She was suppose to be from an old Hudson River family, but I've no idea what "old" means in the context of a newspaper story from the 1880s about a circus freak, and "from the Hudson region" is a very vague reference.


There is also this fellow in Teresa, who appears out of no where, and seems to be unconnected to the other lines. They also have this peculiar Canada, New York location going on in subsequent census. The two gentlemen are close in age, and I suspect this is the other male in the census the 1830-40 census records with James. 

So what have a got here?

A) A Census record that doesn't appear in the index in 1810
B) A Census record that doesn't appear in the index in 1820
C) A will that seems to be lost
D) Some strange migratory pattern from Champion to garnet district in St. Lawrence County
E) Multiple researchers who have been stuck forever trying to overcome the records gap.
F) A lot of Townsend men with the same name.
G) A lot of conjecture.

It may be that none of these guys are related at all. It is all rather fanciful and they do seem to be a bit of a high-brow crowd and I simply do not understand how my people are all involved in these matters. I understand how glass blowers could emerge, because James LeRay was from a glass manufacturing family. The rest just seems rather peculiar. 

Random Historical Nibbles

Some historical notes that might be of use, or just decoys, but they may be fruitful to check. I've no idea how to check them, but there must be some record of this business. The son of James from which I descend  is Dexter. It is a rather odd name, and I don't see a lot of Townsend lines with that name. It could be from the mother's side, but I don't think so. Now, there is a community associated with some fellow named Simon Newton Dexter, so maybe James was acquainted with him some capacity. There was a road built in the area, and there could have been some construction associated with that road or the village of Dexter, and perhaps there was some Townsend gent associated with that might explain this mess. 


I also stumbled onto another historical note that might be useful. I mentioned before that there is a will in Delaware that mentions and Alce Townsend (Caleb Jervis, 1789) in the Milford area.   Now, I've seen Jervis and Jarvis, but the will abstract says Jervis. It may be nothing, but it may be that if the Alce, who has been the a subject of this blog, turns out to be the one in Delaware, then perhaps her family had some interests in shipping and might have worked for or with this LeRay fellow. There is an Andy Jarvis who is an informant on this historical note:

 A tract of land named Castorland was created by Macomb's Purchase, the land being between Black River and Lake Ontario and in the middle of what is now Rome and Watertown.  This was property put together by the Castorland Company run by Peter Chassanis, Le Ray's brother-in-law.  Castorland was created to be a new France and the company consisted of thousand's of stockholders who would get land there.

    The business was made of four commissioners - Chassanis, Le Ray, Peter Pharoux; an architect, and Simon Desjardines; an aristocrat.  Pharoux and Desjardines sailed from France and, after getting to New York, met Marc Brunel.  Brunel had traveled to the United States to escape the revolution in France and later designed a successful entry for the competition to build the new capital building in Washington, D.C; he also became chief engineer to New York City.  He then emigrated to the UK where he persuaded the British admiralty to make ships blocks by machine, starting one of the first mass production lines in history. Then he went on to design the first road tunnel under the Thames, to do this he invented the tunneling shield.  (Info on Marc Brunel provided by Andy Jarvis). On the way to upper New York, the group weathered many a hardship, including meeting and being temporarily held by a British ship (where Brunel was detained but escaped).

One last historical nibble, the year in which James was born was rather noteworthy in American history. It was called "The Year Without a Summer" was in 1816. It is a bit like a nuclear winter. Some of the records in Jefferson County in that year end with "1800-and-froze-to-death." Apparently there was a volcanic eruption of Mount Tambora on the island of Sambawa in Indonesia in 1815 that ejected a billion cubic yards of dust fifteen miles high into the atmosphere and continued far into the stratosphere. The history books state that

"New England saw a heavy and crippling snowfall between June 6 and June 11, 1816 and frost for every month of the year in 1816.  Crops failed in the New England regions as well as the Ohio River Valley, Western Europe, and Canada.  By 1817 most of the dust had settled and conditions had returned to almost-normal." (History of Jefferson County, page 2 Marc M)

It seems the area is also famous for cream cheese.

Another interesting item is that the area seems pretty well abandoned.  I'm not sure what happened, perhaps some shisters took over the area, but it looks like an area that had potential that was squandered.

When the Quiver is Full: A Note on the John Townsend Family of the Black River Region in Jefferson County from Bucks, PA

 Joseph Martinedale, History of Byberry and Mooreland Townships has long been considered authoritative on the genealogies of families from the Bucks County region. From time to time it has inconsistencies, and omissions. As we noted previously, the section on the maiden name of  the wife of John Townsend of Philadelphia Village, who I have called "Old Quaker John" is given as Strickland in the Townsend section but Carver in the Carver section. She is a Carver, there can be no doubt. Her name, Asenath Carver can be found among the women descendants in the family.  Neither family provide a complete listing of the children of John Townsend (p. 350, Evan 8, John 17 below) and Asenath Carver Townsend ( p. 267, John Carver 10, Ascenath 23). Other omissions have included Rachael Townsend Strickland's children. While they were born in Burlington, NJ, other children born out of the Byberry and Mooreland Township are included, and it seems a bit of a snub to exclude them.

Nevertheless, my focus here is to tidy up the Townsend men in Jefferson County to find my own people. In the process, that means sorting through them and assigning them their group. In the process of doing so, I am leaving this record in case it is ever useful to anyone. There are several of us out there with unknown progenitors in Jefferson County, so having part of the work done may be helpful to a future researcher.

For clarity,  I have underlined the couple I am referencing below.

 

If you don't understand how this group relates to Oneida, Jefferson, Lewis, and St. Lawrence Counties, I refer you to the first blog.


Based on Court Documents that recently came to my attention through Pete Townsend, I now realize that I may have understated the size of the household of John and Asenath Townsend. I had  assumed that Asenath's  "quiver was full" as is often stated when a woman is done bearing children and thought the "extra male" was at the top of the family. However, it seems that the extra male is at the bottom.

It seems that Asenath's quiver held more arrows than was previously believed. In my earlier posting, Parsing John Townsend's Sons, I had stopped in 1820 for two reasons: 1) my progenitor James was born 1816, so children born after 1820 were  not of interest and 2) the Byberry and Mooreland narrative stops with Evan.

Well,  it would appear that John and Asenath didn't consult with Byberry and Mooreland continued with Genesis 1:28.

Find a grave website http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=pv&GRid=83793059&PIpi=62018969

There is a minor chance that this son could really be their  son of Ezra, who died in 1835 at the age of 26 (below). I had rather hoped he would have been a brother or cousin to my ancestor, but it turns out not to be the case. Documents presented in court in the case of Burton Townsend's estate clearly state from the words of Old Quaker John that Burton is his son, not his grandson.

nnygenealogy.com

When a Quaker goes to court on a matter, it is a rare event and he says that Burton Townsend is his son. Burton was a school teacher, who was teaching the classical subjects. His teaching was controversial because he was teaching Greek, Latin, and Architecture along with other subjects. He died at the age of 30 under some mysterious circumstances. Now, he had no children, so he hasn't received a lot of attention in the genealogy community, but he should, because it opens up a possibility that had not been previously explored. That possibility is that John Townsend and Asenath had more children, and a lack of completeness of the Byberry and Mooreland records once families leave Pennsylvania is at issue.

Carefully note is that Burton dies at age 30 in 1853. That places his birth at 1823. In the 1820 Census, Asenath reports that she is still under 45, which means that it is not all that unlikely that she had more children. Mahlon Carver was the informant on the Byberry and Mooreland records, and I suppose it is possible he could have fallen out of touch with the family at this point.

We also know there is a variance with the Calendar used by the Quaker families and by the government. The Quaker calendar, as I recall is a numbering system that begins with March. So, suppose the Census takers come in January and a family has a baby in February. February would be recorded for the previous year. So, while the Census taker arrives in 1820, it is still 1819 on the Quaker Calendar. 1820 begins in March.

However, there is a biological possibility that Ezra is Burton's father, but I regard it as unlikely. If the age for Ezra is correct on the headstone, Ezra's birth year would be 1809, the same year I deduced in the Parsing John piece. That would have made Ezra 14 at the time of fatherhood. Now, I suppose it could happen in theory, but I find it doubtful. Even so, John Townsend would have raised him as his own anyway because Ezra dies in 1835. The point here is that Burton is squarely of the John and Asenath line, and not of the Abraham and Alce line or the other Townsend lines (Martin or the  Horace group) in the area.

It is rather disappointing in some respects. Some of us had hoped he was a grandchild of Abraham and Alce, who donated the land to build a school in Jefferson County. The notion that one of their children would carry it forward was a big romantic and rather tantalizing. Sadly, it is not the truth in this case.  His age at the time of his death, and his year of birth would make him the child of a dead couple. Thus, it doesn't seem likely he could be the child of Abraham and Alce. The impression some of us had was that he was a slightly older gent.

In the probate of Burton Townsend's estate, John Townsend "of full age" steps forward to be the administer of the estate. I have underlined in red the section of interest. I don't know why Harriet doesn't just give Old John back the gold watch and the books, but apparently, this becomes a contested estate. It isn't the finest hour in this community and by the end of the probate, Harriet has a new last name.

The estate is rather fascinating. Beyond the gold watch and the 3 pairs of woolen underwear, the library of books looks like my own shelves. It was actually kind of strange for me to read, because I have modern versions of these same books on my shelves. I have Wheelock and Cannon for Latin Grammar and Machen for Greek Grammar, and I can go down the list. However, the list of books in the estate file (link above) provides an insight into the sort of education that Burton had, and the sort of education he was providing.

Whoever has been teaching the families, they had a classical education.

Now, Burton dies without issue, so no direct genealogy hangs on the inclusion or omission of Burton. There are no descendants to stand forward and complain. However, to have the history correct, he should be included in the family genealogy. He was dearly loved by his father and mother, and that alone should be basis enough for his inclusion. Further his contributions to pedagogy and the institutional development of the educational system of the region is noteworthy, so it is historically important.

For my own genealogy, it isn't relevant. Burton is younger than my progenitor by roughly 5 years, but provides an important clue for my ancestor's background and provides an insight on the sort of training he would have had in if he grew up in the Philadelphia settlement.

 Revisiting that 1830 Census record of Old Quaker John now provides an insight. There is one male 15-19 and that must be Burton? That still does not seem right.  The two males between 20 and 29 are Ezra and Evan. There is one male between 40 and 49, and that is the father, Quaker John.   There is 1 female between 5-9, that is Abi from the 1855 Census record (John is living with her). Odd, Burton is younger than her yet she is coded correctly and he is not?  She is born 1821, so that must be her. There is one female 15-19, that is Martha, one female 40-49 and that is the Mother, Asenath Carver Townsend. 

Now, there are differences in the Quaker Calendar and the traditional Calendar being used, so that might still account for some problems in parsing children. I think that was the problem with parsing Robert, the eldest. I have decided for now to assign him that slot that we thought was a "mystery person;" since we now have Ezra's birth year we can be more confident that Robert is the male in that slot. However, there still seems to be something peculiar about Burton's birth year. He is noted in the census as older than Abi, yet we know Abi's age from the Census. Strange. Perhaps the Census taker made an error, or perhaps there is more to Burton that we know. That being said, the people in this family seem accounted for at the moment.

I am still not quite satisfied with the alignment of dates. There still seems to be something a bit out of kilter.

John Sr. Townsend (b. 1779) and Asenath Carver Townsend
   Of Bucks County, PA moved to the Black River regions with the Friends Settlement in 1806. 

   The purchase was originally part of Oneida County but later became Jefferson County. 

    He arrived with brother Thomas Townsend (married Elizabeth Strickland in 1800). 

    Sister Rachel Townsend Strickland, wife of Robert Strickland Jr arrived the following year

    from Burlington, N.J. The prior generation of the family had been hard hit by the pox 

    epidemic in 1769. Naming patterns appear to fit the relatives lost rather than the traditional

    naming conventions found among Quaker families particularly in the Thomas line.  By 1820,

    the Thomas line gravitates toward Lowville, Lewis County, NY, the John line in Philadelphia 

    Village, Jefferson County, NY.
Mary born between b. 1801, died March 11, 1889 married in 1825 Alfred Coolidge

           Family originally settled in the Philadelphia region.
           In 1853 the family located at 38 Clinton street,  Watertown, NY.  

           They had five sons and one daughter, Asenith Carver Coolidge. 

Robert  b. 1805, Bucks County  m Hannah [per census]

          (Ezra, Eliza Ann, and Abi and likely others) [per census] 

          Lives next door to his father during several census periods. 

 John, Jr born 1807 Jeff Co, NY marries Huldah. Family moves to Fowler in St. Lawrence County, NY

            then goes to Farmington, WI [per Haddock and Census]

           (Ezra [marries Katie from the Isle of Wight, daughter Minnie], Lydia, Laura, and likely others)

 Martha born 1812 dies 1890 marries Nathan Coolidge, settles in Antwerp, Jefferson County, NY
          (Clinton, Cassius, Abi, Ella, J. Emmet, and likely others)

 Ezra born 1809-10 dies 1835 descendants unknown, presumed none. 

 Evan born 1815 moves to Waupaca, County, WI [per census],  buys land and starts 
          the Evanwoods Settlement with Evan Coolidge (Two Evans, get it?). Land records 
          signed by President Andrew Jackson at the National Archive, some on this 
          blog. Descendants unknown but they are not in Jefferson County. 

 Abi b 1818-1820  m. George Williams
           (Elizabeth, Mary, other sons and daughters?) [Per census]
            Lives in the region through the relevant period of inquiry.
            After John Sr passes, the family moves to Waupaca, WI. 

Burton b 1823 dies 1853 married Harriet. School teacher, founded the first academy in the area.
           Dies at age 30 of unknown natural causes; contested estate,  no children.



_____________________________________

As a last minute addition, I want to include a write up of a descendant of John Jr. It may be those reading this blog from that family might enjoy. It seems that John Jr. had one son, Ezra. Ezra grew up to have a good size family of his own. This write up was put together for the town's anniversary. A branch of the family also went to Minnesota.

From what I can tell on the above, the history of the family in the piece probably came from Haddock. He did not know that Burton was John's son, or was not certain because it is not in the Byberry records. However, anyone who reads that probate file quickly realizes that he really is John Townsend's son and was known as such at the time. 

I am happy to include any additional information that anyone would want to include on the family. We might as well update Byberry and Haddock as long as we are sorting through the main Townsend lines. 

_______________
While it may seem obsessive to button down the family group, it is important in searching for our own progenitor. Recall he first appears in 1840 and 1850 with a sister in the Philadelphia settlement, wife, and a couple of children. They are the first family in the 1850 Census. With YDNA results not matching the Martin Townsend group (Josiah, Johnathan, Timothy, Lyman, etc) and a tie to the Quaker group with a similar YDNA profile seemed logical. While I understand that Townsend men are quite prodigious, there still needs to be some degree of geographic proximity for issue to occur.  The only prospect seems to be to buckle down on Abraham and Alce as grandparent progenitors, and work down to see what can be determined, or expand the ring of origin. We know that at least one descendant of that line is a partial YDNA match and they have recently connected to the Abraham/Absolum Alce family.

While I appreciate the multiple suggestions that Old James married to Fanny Ensign is a likely father, he doesn't have son born between 1810 and 1820. It would seem that the first condition of a potential progenitor is that he has a son born in the relevant time frame.

For our line, it seems that building churches, roads, and bridges and a predilection for classical knowledge came from the Philadelphia Settlement.  I can't imagine why James is there if he isn't born there, but he is there and so we begin again.

Townsend Wills in Jefferson County, Oneida, Lewis, & Oswego

Townsend Wills in Jefferson County
With Gratitude to Pete Townsend

Here is the list of Townsend probate files in Jefferson County

Here are the links to each of the wills.


Abner Townsend, died April of 1852 in Syracuse. There is a statement by wife Pamela that Abner's father is Nathan in Watertown. Abner also has a probate file in Lewis County, file 200. I was unable to find it and it may be a different Abner. The date is circa 1815.

Alce Townsend's will, June 12, 1824, which is actually missing from the file and only includes statements by others that they saw her sign the will.  No will is there, so there is still no information on the family group except number of boys and girls, age ranges from the census, and that she is Abraham/Absolum's "relic" in the land records.

Benjamin Townsend, Wilma, June 1882. His wife is Naomi. Pension file from the Civil War is referenced that showed he served with the New York Volunteers; pension card is below. No other information is provided in the probate.

Burton B. Townsend, died, will probated August 1853. He was the son of John Townsend of Philadelphia Village, Jefferson County. His wife Harriet, no children. There is apparently some contest over the administration of his estate. It is quite a probate file of his effects, which include 3 pair of woolen underwear and a bunch of great book titles that one would expect a teacher of the era to have, including a Greek Grammar. . By the time the process is finished, Harriet's last name changes to Lewis.


Charles Townsend of Brownville, probated August 14, 1856.  His father was Daniel Townsend who had not been heard from for 5 years and was of an advanced age with bad habits and presumed dead. Brother George W Townsend of Alexandria is mentioned. Petition to Administer the estate by brother Thomas J Townsend of Henderson. Minor aged sister, Mercy A is listed, with no guardian. Charles fell overboard in Massachusetts and was lost at sea.

Daniel Townsend of Wilma, died intestate, probate filed January 1856. Wife Adeline files for probate. Research by others suggests that he may be a member of the Josiah/Johnathan group. He appears to be the father of Charles referenced above.

Harriet Townsend of Alexandria died intestate in August 1884,  probate filed April 1888.  Letters of Administration filed by daughter Nancy Putnam. George W. Townsend of Alexandria surviving husband; Charles E Townsend, Fred H Townsend, of Cass County Iowa also surviving children.

Johnathan Townsend of Pamela, died   probate filed Sept. 1854;  sons Truman B. Townsend and George K Townsend, Lyman Townsend;  Dexter Havens and Willard Ives executors,  Lewis Barber and Bernard Bagley, witnesses; Harriet Van Amber wife of John Van Amber, Sarah Van Amber of Michigan, and several family members who contest a last minute codicil. Hulls, Blodgets, Moores, Falls, and others from Canada, Pennsylvania as well as Syracuse and Oswego listed among others. Apparently there are children from two different marriages.

Lyman Townsend's will is probated in 1871. Lydia, Addis, George O Townsend, Ida Townsend, Fannie B Townsend, Orvill Townsend, Sarah A Cooper are mentioned.  Guardians appointed for minor children Ida and Fannie.

Truman Townsend 's will probated July 1888 lists Margaret Townsend, wife, George K Townsend, Libbie DeSong of  Watertown, Florence Clark of Franklin County, NY,  Pricilla K Smith of Oak Park, IL as family members.

William Townsend died intestate and in 1866, estate papers are filed . His sons Gilbert S and Devulcout (sp?) step forward along with Eliza Chapman, Mary Ann Sheley (Shelby?), and Miles S Townsend; Two minor children are mentioned of the late Edwin Townsend, son of William. It looks like another son that has a name that is not legible is mentioned. Also M.D. Townsend and Ann Townsend are mentioned.

Oneida Wills Relevant to Jefferson County Townsend Families

Robert Townsend,  Will  filed 1888, testimony that he had been living in Westmoreland, Oneida County  for the last  10 years. This is the oldest son of John Townsend of Philadelphia Village and Bucks County, PA. Will lists second wife, Julie S. Townsend, equal distributions to the children, Abi T. Huntley(sp?), Ann Eliza Bickwell, Ezra R. Townsend, adopted daughter Mary A Carpenter.

Nathaniel Townsend, a citizen of the city of Austin Texas but currently a resident of Troy, NY, October 1863. Wife Angelina, son Benjamin, and friend Fredrick Chandler of Austin, Texas. Generic children mentioned as if he intends to have them in the future, but outside of Benjamin, no specific children named. Provisions for future grandchildren are made, none named. It is a 100+ year will, and looks like the sort of thing filed with a land purchase.

John Townsend of  Westmoreland (not Philadelphia Village). Lists wife Pamela,  sons Henry L. Townsend, George B. Townsend, John Townsend Jr., Martin L. Townsend, William Townsend, daughters Jane Graves (wife of Benjamin Graves), Amelia J. Stoddard (widow), Elizabeth Rogers, wife of Henry Rogers. Provided to help discern any that might drift eastward. [16 July 1860]

Lewis County

I am singularly unimpressed with the indexing of the wills in Lewis. However, once you find the will, you generally find genealogy pay dirt. The judge was extremely detailed in his notes.

Thomas Townsend, brother of John Townsend in Philadelphia, died January 1856. Mentioned are Jesse Townsend, already deceased, Elizabeth Townsend, Thomas's widow; Rachel Rogers the wife of Thomas Rogers,  residing in Grieg,  Lewis County; Sarah Hill, the wife of William Hill residing in Lewis County, Ann Phelps, wife of Solomon Phelps, residing in Lowville, Lewis County,  Thomas J. Townsend of Winnebago, WI; grandchildren listed Thomas T Hill, Western Oneida County, a minor; Abi Gillet, wife of Leonard Gillet residing in Lima, Lewis County; Jesse Townsend, a minor residing at East Avon, Levingston [sic]; Mary Townsend and Margaret Townsend, minors living in Lima. There is apparently an issue because an N. Duane Baker from Minnesota is involved with the will. He is a merchant who had regular contact with Thomas and represented Thomas in his western land interests. The will orders that the lands held in Wisconsin and Michigan be sold and cash given to his daughters Rachel, Sarah, and Ann. Wills said distributions had already been made to son Jesse, Thomas, and daughter Elizabeth. Nothing was to be sold before wife Elizabeth dies, and all profit is to be used to support her until she dies. The distributions occur after her death. The will that is held by Duane Baker has new executors because of Jesse's death.  It is  very detailed, ending with image 396.

Abraham Perkins, mentioned daughter Cynthia Townsend, wife of John Townsend of  Fowler, St. Lawrence County.

Israel Knight, while not a Townsend, certainly someone of note in the Byberry & Mooreland records. On page 325, Giles (7), Joseph (22) lists son Israel Knight. It seems likely this is him. He is also mentioned in Haddock.

Jesse Townsend, son of Thomas Townsend; Jesse Townsend, Margaret Townsend, and Mary Townsend are minors and David Miller of Martinsburg is appointed to represent the children's interests as a disinterested party. Solomon Phelps, Mary Townsend (sister of Jesse), William Hill, and Abi Gillet, appear to prove the will. He made the will at age 49; he died, April 1852.  Abi Gillet is Jesse's daughter as well as three daughters by wife Mary. Daughters Mary Elizabeth and Margaret Amelia receive payments when they are 21. Provisions for care of his parents, Thomas and Elizabeth.

Oswego County

James H Townsend, of the Village of Fulton, d 1872 only person mentioned is wife Julia. He leaves everything to her and mentions no other family member. Will is 553 on J-K. (my James dies much later, this is a man contemporaneous to the James in my line). A beautiful testimony of love for his wife, no other family mentioned.

Baxter Townsend, Wife Jemima W Townsend granted income from estate, Egbert Townsend receives the lands he is on, Egbert and Eliza (wife of Lorenzo Cooper) to share profits after Jemima passes. [Egert and Eliza may be from  prior marriage to Sally while living in Champion, Jefferson County] William Iniff to receive carpenter tools, mentions Jemima's children from prior marriage Hudson, William James, Richard W Quigg. Richard Hard is co-executor with Jemima.

Allenson Townsend, of Schroepple, Oswego, Dec. 23, 1884. A short & sweet will.  Leaves son Harvey in Herkimer County, NY $25.00, the balance to Lucy Townsend, the wife of his son William. After Lucy passes, the shares to be divided equally between William's two daughters Dora and Mary; his son William is named executor.

John Weaver's widow Mary Weaver (formerly of Rome), relevant to the line of Fletcher Jacocks, who married into the Townsend line.

Baxter Townsends Across the Great Lakes

The Baxters Abound

Certainly the Townsend men who arrived in Jefferson County made their mark on the shipping industry on the Great Lakes region. Actually, there was a period in the 1800s where one could set sail on Lake Ontario and wave farewell to a Baxter Townsend in Oswego.

 Then arrive at the other end of the Great Lakes and be greeted by a Baxter Townsend in Danby, Ohio. No kidding. The sons of Henry K Townsend of Jefferson County headed off to Ohio, and strangely, they seemed to gravitate toward Lake Erie. Now, the Baxter in Danby, Ohio is the nephew of the Baxter in Oswego. Baxter in Oswego has a brother Henry K Townsend who married Lara Graves and had a herd of children. Among them is a young man named Baxter. You can look at the states in which the children are born and see the family's pattern of movement.

Beyond the far more readable penmanship of Ohio group's census taker, the other thing that is interesting is to notice the naming patterns, and particularly Clarissa. One can't help but think about the names of the women in the line of James and see the same names, except of course, Gertrude. Clarissa seems very popular in our family in the mid to late 1800s.


Now are these guys part of the Henry K line of the family? I don't think so, but I am not certain. They are in the Northeastern part of Ohio, where most of the Henry K line gravitated, but I simply do not know. It could be another leg of the family drifted into Erie County. It is interesting to see another Absolum alive and well farming, with a Dr. Charles Townsend, a physician. They seem like brothers.

 Well, enough of the Ohio group for the moment. Let's see what we can learn from Old Uncle Baxter's family in New York.

Baxter Townsend from Lyme to Oswego

Baxter appears as an independent household in 1820. It could be that one of the older kids is living with him. I don't know if he is married at this point or if this is one of the sisters living with him. He has a resident alien living with him...

By 1830, the family has left Lyme, Jefferson County, and is living in the Village of Oswego. The family presents as a Mom and Dad and a boy between 5-9 and a little girl under 5. Any siblings that might have been living with him are on their own. Even the babies that barely knew their father, Black River Absolum, would be 30 at this point, and should be having their own families.

In 1840, the family is still in Oswego. The kids are are becoming teenagers.

This is a bit of a repeat with the 1850 Census, but it provides the only opportunity to see the Baxter Townsend household with Baxter. There is a William Lingl living with the family, from New Jersey. I've no idea if they are related. We learn the name of Baxter's wife, Jemima, from Maryland. Gerrit Smith, a boatman, is also living with the family.

The 1860 Census is virtually unreadable for the family, so the index will have to do.  However, it appears that Baxter is no longer with the family. Jemima now says she is from Rhode Island. It appears that Gerrit is still with the family. I suspect that Jemima is taking in boarders to make ends meet.

I would not venture to guess the relationship between these folks and the family. They may simply be boarders. E Townsend could be a son, but I simply do not know. For me, this is a line lost in time, unless there is a family member who can discern the information.  However, I think it speaks to the difficulty of parsing the census. One simply doesn't know the relationships between all the people in a household unless one has family information.  I guess that is why keeping family information has historically been so important.

But back to Baxter Townsend, the man. He was far more than simply a carpenter, although that itself is a noble thing. He was one of the trustees that started the Village of Oswego. He is one of the original Trustees chosen at the first meeting.

This was the sign one saw when they entered the Village Building in 1839-1840s. Notice the name of the 4th Trustee is Baxter Townsend.

Here is the record that he was sworn into office.

In 1844, it seems that a Charles Parker wanted the Village to build a sidewalk to Baxter Townsend's property. One gets the impression that there was a lot of traffic to Baxter's property (4th paragraph, left column). We know that Baxter was on 7th Street. 

It seems by 1845, Baxter was operating in the role of Fire Warden for the community.

In 1846, Baxter Townsend was appointed to a committee to report on graveling sidewalks, perhaps because people wanted the sidewalk to go to his house.

The Village meeting notes show he was still acting as the Fire Warden in 1847.

Baxter appears to have been active in local government. His name is all over the records of the early founders of the community. 

So, what happens to Baxter? Well, I imagine by 2014, it is safe to say he is dead. However, it appears he is no longer in Oswego by 1860. Does he die? Does he leave?

The 1860 Census is practically unreadable. But in St. Lawrence County, there is an entry.

County:	St. Lawrence County
Township:	3 W Ogdenburgh
Year:	1860
Record Type:	Federal Population Schedule
Page:	148
Database:	NY 1860 Federal Census Index

Is this him? Is this another nephew from another brother? A son? If Henry K (who had children born in St. Lawrence) names his sons after his brothers, then I would imagine the other sons might do the same.


Allenson Townsend of New York, Which One?

I mentioned in a prior entry that there were a few Allensons/Allenton, and after this, I think the reader will understand why I am shy on delineating them. I notice not far from where the  Baxter lived, there are the little villages of Schroeppel and Phoenix. In the picture above you can see that they are not far from Lake Ontario.  That would be near Baxter. Constantia is not far from view and my James b. 1819 in Jefferson County is also settled somewhere in view, in the 1870s.

 One might expect  the descendants of orphans to hang tough together in one region.

In 1870, somewhere between Schroeppel and Phoenix, in Oswego County not far from Baxter and James, there lived a very old man named Allenson Townsend. He lived with William Townsend and his wife Lucy. At first, the geography seems right.

Then one does the follow up work on the gent and realizes that this may yet another family group. While I have no doubt that it is a cousin line, the question is which cousin. Is this the Allenton son of Absolum and Alce? Son of Isreal? Son of another?

This guys says in 1855 that he is from Putnam. Since Putnam was created in 1812, this gent likely left  after the creation of Putnam, or else he would have reported Dutchess. Now, it could be this actually is our guy giving us a new clue on Absolum's path into New York, so we don't want to shut the door entirely. We need a fellow from Herkimer, or "Canada" for the Creek at Fairfield, not a gent from Putnam as far as I know. So while the name is right, and the geography is right, and related names convenient, this gent  may not be the Allenton we are seeking, unless we find that  Absolum who settles in the Black River region came to Herkimer through Dutchess (Putnam would have been in Dutchess County during the life of Absolum of the Black River Settlement).  However, I've no reason to believe that Black River Absolum came that route at the present time.

There appears to be some evidence to suggest that this particular Allenson is the son of  Israel and  Keziah Paddock Townsend. A message left on a "Find A Grave" website for Israel and Keziah in New Jerusalem in Herkimer County suggests he belongs to that group and not ours. Of course, messages left on "Find A Grave" are not proof, only a claim of proof. Claims require substantiation and I have found more than one error on Find a Grave messages. (See my blog on Ezra Townsend).

It seems that this farmer is a long way off from that family group. A claim of "from" Putnam County is strange for our group, but it is also strange for their group too. Their group all claims Litchfield in Herkimer, but since our Allenton went back to Herkimer for a time, it is hard to say. I would have thought this one was their guy.

 So it may be that this Allenson in the Schroeppel, Oswego region belongs to neither group and could easily belong to Harrison Townsend. We simply do not know from a census page. 

What I can say is that it does not appear that Alce's children were raised by this gent if he is really from Putnam. He isn't even in the correct part of the state at the time in question.

But before we leave Oswego, there are some gentleman that seem worthwhile to point out. They are in the New Haven area of Oswego. They seems like brothers.  They are a year apart in age, and appear to have been born about the time of our missing guys. Are they them? I've no idea. But they should be researched so that we don't confuse them with ours since they are contemporaneous and in the same region of New York.  If they are NOT ours, then we need to consider them so as to keep the records straight for future researchers; if they are ours, they could be given their due in the family history.

It may be more productive to return to Jefferson County and begin filling in the blanks. Sometimes following a co-line opens a door, and sometimes it creates confusion. I think this is one of those times where it causes confusion. At least we know that most of Henry K's people busy populating the state of Ohio, Quaker John's people are populating Wisconsin, and Horace group has left the region. Baxter and Allenton have left the region too.  That means the residuals who are not of the Martin line have an good probability of being the remnant of the Absolum group.


Thus, we trudge back to Jefferson County, where our family line was lost, to see what can be reclaimed from errant historical writings of a past generation, poorly transcribed census indices, missing wills, intentionally destroyed church records, and the silent unmarked graves that remain as an obstacles to our heritage.