The Chambers family of NB, NS, NJ, MA

There is another family that may have moved to Nova Scotia from Westchester, NY because they too, were Loyalists. Not much information has been uncovered concerning this family and how they came to be in Nova Scotia. There are other possibilities. This family, the Chambers, may have come from MA when the lands were opening up as free grants in Canada. At least one family by this name went to Hants County, NS.  Still another possibility is that they came directly from Scotland or Yorkshire, again, when the free land grants were available. So far nothing evidentiary has come to light. It has also been suggested that this name was Chalmers, originally, eventually becoming Chambers through a variety of misspellings and mispronunciations.

My grandmother was born Alvina Chambers in New Brunswick. Her father was lost at sea when she was 7 years old. Her Chambers grandparents had already moved or were soon to move to Bath ME. Her grandfather, James Chambers, was a ship builder and was following the industry as it grew bigger and stronger in the USA. The age of iron ships was booming and the building of wooden ships in Dorchester NB was dwindling rapidly. The economy in Dorchester was obviously affected by this. Thus began a time when many young people left for the Boston States, as it seemed to be called when you moved to New England. This must have been a horrible time for my gt. grandmother, Rebecca Cole Chambers. She also had a son, Percy, who was a year and 4 mos. old when his father was lost at sea. My grandmother told the story that the insurance man was at the house when someone came from the docks to tell Alexander that the Arabella was ready to set sail and the tide was right. He had to leave in a hurry saying he would sign the insurance papers when he got back. My gt. grandmother and children stood on the hill and watched his ship sail over the horizon, never knowing they would never see it or any of the people on board again. Because the insurance papers had not been signed, Rebecca and her small children were left with no means of income.

We don’t know how she managed as my grandmother was too young to be aware of ‘grown-up’ things, but it would seem that Rebecca probably received help from her family. She wasn’t alone in this crisis as her older sister, Lucinda, who had married William E. Buck, also lost her husband on that voyage. Life wasn’t done with hurling abuse at Rebecca, however. In April 1889, her 2 ½ year old son died of Scarlet Fever. At some point, Rebecca and Alvina went to Bath ME to live with the Chambers family. We aren’t certain how long they stayed there as Rebecca appears in the 1891 Canadian census as a housekeeper for a family in Sackville, NB.  Sometime in the 1890’s Rebecca moved to East Boston MA to live with her sister, Mame.  From there it was a quick step to the developing town of Winthrop, where my grandmother married and raised a family.

What we know of the Chambers is, at best, incomplete. As always I would love input from anyone who may have more information on this family.  Please tell me of any flaws or inaccuracies that might be found.

What has become a work in progress, to be verified, changed, edited, deleted begins with a man named Robert Chambers. He was probably alive between 1750 and 1820. There is an entry in the Grantbook Database for a Robert Chambers (Vol. A, page 139 Grant #92) showing the original province of registration was Nova Scotia, registration date 1784/10/15 and New Brunswick registration date 1784/12/27, for 200 acres. The location was in Meductic, Sunbury Co. and the comment says Delancy’s 1^st Battalion. There is no way to determine if this is the Robert who married Margaret or a totally different Robert. The Robert known as ‘the Old Soldier’ was married to a woman named Margaret, nee unknown. It seems apparent they had a son named Samuel (1783-1873), who was married to Sarah Jane McBurnie.  Records show they had children all born in NS:

*Robert (c. 1805-bef.1871)

James (1807-?)  b. in Wallace Bridge, NS

Samuel (1813-1896)

Daniel (1815-1881)

David (1820-?)

William (1821-?)

Edward (1821-?)

Catherine (1822-?)

John (1823-1904)

Thomas (1830-?)

Robert (1805-1871) m. Catherine whose last name I have seen written three different ways.  There is Millard, Millar and Miller to choose from. The difficulty was that I found families listed using all three spellings, all in the same time frame and all in roughly the same location. Since the early census reports usually only report head of household and not any names of children, I haven’t been able to sort out which family name should be hers.

Robert and Catherine had children:

          Edward (1826-1918) m. 1852 Eliza Leggett (1826-1884) – 9 children

          **James. C.  (1830-1913) m. 1852 Sarah McPherson (1831-1913)  

                              – 8 children

          George (1834-?)

          Elizabeth (1836-?)

          Margaret (1838-?)

          John (1839-?)

          Sarah (1842-?)

          Robert (c. 1845-1891) m. 1870 Bridget Delahunt (1854-1891) -6 children

**James, C.  (1830-1913) m. 1852 Sarah McPherson (1831-1913)

James and Sarah settled in Dorchester NB, sometime after 1855, as their first son, Alexander, was b. in 1855 in Wallace, NS. James (age 20) and his brother Edward (22) show up in the 1850 census for Bath ME. They were living in the Dwyer household as mariners. This must have been a boarding house as there were several people living there not related to the Dwyers. James and Sarah  had gone to Dorchester so that James could work as a ship’s carpenter.

James and Sarah had children:

                    ***Alexander (1855-1887 lost at sea) m. 1878 Rebecca Ellen Cole  (1854-1944) 

                                          - 2  children

                    Emma Jane (1860-?) m. 1883 Edwin Hicks (1857-?) – 2 children

                    Nancy Lavinia (1863-?) m. 1882 Beverly Thomas Vincent (?-?) – 6 children

                    John (1864-1864)

                    William (1865- c. 1930) m. Elizabeth Blasland (?-?) 8 children

                    James (1867-1869)

                    George (1870-?)

                    Ella May (1874-1946) m1. c. 1891 Percy George Turner – 2 children

                                                           m2.  1904 Walter Tavenor (1873 in NS –1957 in Hillsboro    

                                                                      Twnshp, NJ – 1 child

Ella May Chambers Turner Tavenor and Rebecca Cole Chambers in Winthrop MA

As already mentioned, Alexander was lost at sea. Rebecca and her daughter, Alvina, eventually made their way to Winthrop MA, by way of Bath ME and East Boston MA. Rebecca became a domestic to Dr. Lull. He was a physician who had a practice in Boston and possibly one in Winthrop. He owned property in Winthrop when the town was just beginning to develop. Rebecca cleaned his offices and homes and through him, she was able to purchase a home. Eventually she bought another home with a large lot of land with a barn on it. This is the home my mother was born in. The value of the piece of property today stands in the $900K to $1M. If she only knew!!

A five year gap, between the births of children usually says there was another child. If so, this child has not been found. Emma Jane is the next in line and she married Edwin Hicks. They moved to NY, NY and it is reported that Emma died in Brooklyn, NY.

Nancy Lavinia is known by Lavinia and rarely by Nancy. She married Beverly Thomas Vincent and they moved to St. John, NB. They had 4 daughters and 2 sons.

William married Elizabeth, who was from Bath ME. Their first child was born in Bath in 1894 and the rest were born in NJ.  They lived in Jersey City, NJ where William was working in the ship building industry, as a carpenter.

George left NB with the rest of his family and went to Bath ME. After that, very little verified information can be found. It is believed he lived in Winthrop for a while, then Boston. It is thought he was married but no marriage records for him have been found.

Ella May (1874-1946) m. Percy George Turner about 1891. They had one daughter in CT and another in ME. At some point after the second daughter was born, Ella May learned that her husband was a bigamist. He was already married and had another family. As the family story goes, she was traumatized by all this, spent some time in Winthrop, but never told her two daughters about the problems she faced.  We then believe she went to NJ where her brother Will was living in the late 1890’s. We also believe that her parents, James and Sarah moved to NJ about the same time. She married again in 1904 and had a son. They lived in Westfield NJ.

John and James both died young. John was about 3 mos. old and James was about a year and a half old. The brothers were buried in Dorchester, NB.

In Jul 1913 James went to Jersey City to visit his son Will. It’s believed he got off the train at the wrong station and he attempted to cross the tracks, became confused and was hit by a train.  His funeral service was Jul 15 1913. The Westfield Leader reported the death of Sarah on Aug 27 1913, saying she had been ill for 2 years. It also stated that she was 82 years old, a native of Nova Scotia and that she had been the mother of 13 children. So far only 8 children have been identified. Since James and Sarah were married in 1852 and the first recorded child was born in 1855, it’s possible that 2 children could have been born in that 3 year gap. The names of these 5 children may never be known.

 1910 census Westfield NJ showing James and Sarah Chambers

The Palmers, MA CT, NY, NS and NB

Gideon Palmer became a rather noteworthy person in Dorchester, NB. He became the Coroner for Westmorland County and was still of that title when he died in 1824, in St. John, New Brunswick. But what of his earlier years?  What of his family in the States?

It starts with William Palmer who was first found in Watertown, MA in 1636. There has been no link found between this William and the William Palmer who was in Plymouth, MA. On May 6 1635, the General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony granted to the inhabitants of Watertown the liberty to move to any place they saw fit as long as they remained under the jurisdiction of the Mass. Bay Colony. {Mass. Bay Rec. Vol. I p. 146}  It was about this time that some of the Watertown settlers moved to Wethersfield, CT. During the 1620’s, emigrants from Wethersfield, England, traveled to the New World and founded a town in Connecticut, which they named after their own village. (The Brontes: Wild Genius on the Moors, by Juliet Barker) William Palmer was in Wethersfield in 1637. By 1640, it was reported that William had a home on Broad St. At some time around 1645, he moved to Branford, CT, where he received a land grant for his services to the town. By this time he is married and has at least two sons, John and William. His wife’s name is a controversy. She is listed as Martha Barnes, Martha Brown and Martha Bowne. It’s possible he has been confused with another William Palmer and the wrong name has been given his wife. The other theory is that he had two wives; both named Martha, unknown which was first. In this theory the two accepted names are Barnes and Bowne. Whatever the case maybe, I have used the name Barnes and I have only given him one wife until more substantial proof is found. It is also entirely possible for one of the names to have been her married name and the other two from marriages and two deceased husbands. Also Brown could be a misspelling of Bowne. There are just too many ‘ifs’ concerning this woman to make any definitive statement about her.

By 1657 he had moved back to Wethersfield. William, Jr. must have died c. 1658 as William, Sr. is the administrator of William, Jr’s. estate. William is mentioned in Wethersfield’s record up to 1666, after that it appears he moved to the borough town of Westchester, now a part of the borough of the Bronx, NYC. He lived there until his death in 1670. Earmarks for his cattle were entered in Westchester in 1666. There is no record to show where William came from or when he arrived in the colonies. It is thought he came with the Winthrop fleets or soon thereafter, but still no evidence to support this.

His known children, probably by his first wife are:

          Henry – (1618-?)

          John – (1625-?)

          William -  (1628-1658) his estate consisted mostly of growing crops;                              no mention of wife or children.

Children, probably by 2^nd wife:

          *Joseph – (1640-1728)

          Benjamin – (1642?)

          Elizabeth – (1645-)  no real proof that she is his daughter, but other                              researchers seem to believe she could be.

          Samuel – (1647-?)

          Obadiah – (1650-?)

          Thomas – (1652-?)

          Martha – (1654?)

          Philip – (1655-?)

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

*Joseph – (1640 in Wethersfield CT - 1728 in Flushing NY). He married Sarah Marsh of Jamestown, RI. She was the d/o Jonathan Marsh, his wife is unknown. Joseph was very active in town affairs, having held, at various times, public offices such as Constable, Overseer, Justice of the Peace, Assessor, Surveyor of Highways and Supervisor. About 1701 he moved to Flushing, right across the Sound from Westchester borough, where he lived until he died.

Sarah Marsh’s siblings also had land holdings in New Jersey, which may account for some of the Palmers moving from Westchester to New Jersey. Other Palmers moved to PA, MD and DE.

Joseph and Sarah had children:

          Sarah – (1666-?)

          Joseph – (1667-?) a mariner

          Mary –  (1670-?) m. Joseph Pryor of Newport RI

          *John – (1671-?)

          Martha – 1674-?)

          Esther – (1678-?) moved to Philadelphia

          Daniel – (1680-?)

          Richard – (c. 1682-)

          Priscilla -  (c. 1684-?)

 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

*John – (1671-1747), having lived his entire life in Westchester NY, he married Rebecca Baxter, d/o Thomas and Rebecca (nee unknown) Baxter. Thomas Baxter’s will mentions his daughter Rebecca Palmer and appointed his son-in-law, John Palmer, as one of the Executors.

In 1742, John deeded land to his sons, Marcus and Philip, on Throgmorton’s Neck in Westchester.  John was a slave owner and his will indicates the transfer of ownership of certain slaves to his children. His son Philip was appointed one of the Executors.

Rebecca Baxter Palmer died in 1773. Her will mention’s: her grandson, John Palmer (s/o her son John), granddaughters Rebecca, Esther and Rachel Palmer, all children of her son, John. Grand children Sarah and Joshua Pell, children of Phebe Palmer (Rebecca’s daughter) and her husband, Joshua Pell, granddaughter Ann Palmer, d/o of her son Benjamin, and her daughter, Martha, wife of Benjamin Morrell. Not all the children are named in the will. The reason why is probably because they had died before their mother. Although, a few had received land and other transfers of property at an earlier time and may have been excluded for that reason.

John and Rebecca Baxter Palmer had children born in Westchester:

          *John – (1701-? Haverstraw NY) m. Elizabeth Seaman -  4 children

          Joseph – (1703-1782)

          Thomas – (1704-1791) m. 1738 Susannah Hunt – 2 children

          Esther – (1707-1771) m. Messenger Palmer of Greenwich CT – 

                  his 3^rd wife

          Phebe – (1708-1796) m. 1735 Joshua Pell (1713-1810) – 8 children

          Philip – (c. 1710-1785) m. c. 1735 Sarah Hunt (c.1715-?) – 7 children

          Marcus – (?-1771 in Yorktown or Cortland Manor) believed to be                                   

                 unmarried without issue.

          Lewis – (?-1794 Nova Scotia) m. Rachel Fowler (1720–?) 8 children

          Benjamin – (1718-?) m. 1758 Sarah Barnes, d/o Underhill Barnes and                           

                  Miriam Baxter – 1 child {The 1750 will of Underhill Barnes of Westchester, appointed  

                  his wife and his ‘trusty friend,’ Marcus Palmer, Executors}

          Martha – (1720-?) m. Benjamin Morrell – 1 child

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Philip – (c. 1710-1785) m. c. 1735 Sarah Hunt (c.1715-?)

          Philip lived in the borough town of Westchester and had land at Throg’s Neck, having received lands from his father.  He was very active in civic affairs, holding several different offices, including Mayor. After the   American Revolution began, Philip was taken prisoner and held, by the colonists, for several months in a Windham CT prison.  He was released in Dec. 1776 and remained in the New York City area under British protection.  There is no record of Philip removing to Canada. There is no record of Philip’s death or his wife, nor is there a will. He didn’t appear on the 1790 census, so he may have died. Yet all the lands held by colonists       who remained loyal to the crown were confiscated, so there is a possibility that they moved to another location. There is a record of his brother, Lewis, going to Canada, and we know his son Gideon fought on the side of the British, with the Delancy Brigade, and removed to Nova Scotia and then to New Brunswick.

Philip and Sarah had children:

          Philip (1745-?)

          *Gideon (1749-1824) m. 1786 Catherine Harper (1768 in Yorkshire, Eng. -                              

                    1832) Please other blogs on the Coles and the Bucks for more info on Gideon. 

                     They had 10 children.

          Sarah (c. 1751-?) m. 1769 Samuel Bugbee (1749-?) – 6 children

          Jonathan (1753-?)

          John (1755-?)

          →Elvin (c. 1760-?) m. c 1787 Sarah Doty – 1 child

          Thomas (1762-1844 King’s Co. NB)

          → Elvin - It is not proven that he is a son of Philip. He is included here since I have found that most other researchers include him for lack of any other possible contemporary parentage.

*Gideon (1749-1824) m. 1786 Catherine Harper (1768 in Yorkshire, Eng.-1832)

          Their children:

          Philip (c.1786-1873) m. 1810 Sarah Ayer (1784-1867) d/o Mariner Ayer and Amy 

                      Estabrooks – 9 children

          Nancy Ann (c. 1788-1875) m. 1805 John Trueman (1784-1858) –  10 children

          John (1789-1889) m. 1814 Elizabeth Cole (1797-1875) d/o Ebenezer Cole and 

                     Martha Grace – 13 children

          Mary (c. 1792-1782) m. 1831 Jonathan Robinson

          Elizabeth (1793-1878) m. 1817 Ambrose Cole (1786-1857) s/o Martin Cole and 

                     Zylpha Alverson – 10 children

          Sally (c.1795-1842) m. 1815 William Reid – 1 child

          →*Phebe (c.1801-1881) m. 1820 George Buck (1798-1878) – 9 children

          Catherine (c.1803-1875) m. 1821 John Derry

          Marcus (1804-1890) m. 1837 Sarah Harris (1808-1906) – 9 children

          Gideon (1806-1880) m. 1827 Catherine Weldon (1806-1879) – 11 children

          →*Phebe is not a confirmed daughter of Gideon and Catherine Palmer. I have referred to 

               this in a couple of blogs You can read about it at http://thepyeplate.blogspot.com/2013/04/george-buck-my-ancestor.html

         

Gideon resided in Westchester, NY. At the outbreak of the Revolutionary War he joined the British Army. He served as a Lieutenant during the war and was listed as a Colonel in Delancy’s Regulars. He joined other Loyalists going to Westmorland Co., Nova Scotia, which later became New Brunswick. He filed a claim with the Canadian Government for his losses in Westchester, claiming his father’s land had been plundered because he, Gideon, had joined the British Army. Gideon settled along a creek which has become known as Palmer’s Creek. There he built a saw and grist mill, was active in civic affairs and was made a Capt. of the local militia. He was appointed Coroner in 1787 and served in that capacity until his death in 1826. He is now considered the common ancestor of the Palmer family in that locality.  His son, Gideon resided his entire life in NB and was one of the most successful shipbuilders and ship owners of that area. Gideon’s grandchildren became, farmers, builders, ministers, lawyers and many held public offices. Some remained in NB but other spread to all parts of the North American continent, some as far away as British Columbia. The known grandchildren amount to 72 and there could be more, as there is no report of children for several of his own children.

Robert Bolton, The History of the County of Westchester from its First Settlement to the Present Time, Vol. I, 1848

Henry Barton Dawson, Westchester County, New York, During the American Revolution,1886

Edward Floyd De Lancy, Origin and History of Manors in New York and the County of Westchester, 1886

George Buck, My Ancestor

George’s father, Edward, left England and was recorded in New Brunswick by 1790. Edward’s marriage was recorded in 1792. They had 9 children. George was the 2^nd oldest. Please see previous blogs for the other children of this family. This blog will deal with George, his children and grandchildren.

Edward Buck, Sr. (c. 1763 England–1826 NB) m. 1792 Phebe Elizabeth Tower (1777-1822)

                   

Their 2nd child:

 George (1798-1878) m. 1820 Phebe Palmer (1801-1881)

No one knows for sure who Phebe’s parents were, but the only Palmer family in the Dorchester/Sackville area was Gideon Palmer’s. Phebe’s name is not mentioned in his will, which is what poses the problem. Until some record can be found, my theory is that she is the daughter of Gideon Palmer and his wife Catherine Harper. This is based on George and Phebe having a son named Gideon and a daughter named Catherine. Also in the birth years of Gideon’s children there is a gap into which Phebe’s birth year fits quite nicely. My theory holds that there was a family rift, after these children were born, which caused Gideon to remove Phebe’s name from his will. I would dearly love to hear from a Palmer or Buck descendant who might have the answer to this riddle.

Catherine Harper was the d/o Christopher Harper and his wife Elizabeth Leppington. Christopher brought his entire family from Sledmere which is in Buckrose, East Riding, Yorkshire to relocate on the vacated Acadian lands. Christopher’s name was not on the Jenny’s ship list, indicating he may have arrived on an earlier ship. They sailed on the Jenny, which left Hull, Yorkshire, for Nova Scotia, in April 1775. Records show that his nephew, Thomas King, who later married one of his daughters, was also on this ship passenger list. Harper also brought horses and cattle from England. In 1777 his house was burned by the Eddy rebels and not long after that he moved to Sackville. In 1809 he obtained a grant for the mill-pond at Fredericton and two or three hundred acres of wilderness land in Sackville.  They may have been Wesleyan Methodist - many Yorkshire immigrants were.

George and Phebe had 9 children:

          1. Gideon (1821-1894) m. 1845 Sarah Tower (1826-1899) – 13 children

                    {Gideon and Sarah were 1^st cousins once removed}

          2. Nathaniel (1822-1850) m. 1843 Anne Frances Mitton (1822-?) 1 child

          3. Catherine (1824-1904) m. 1841 Edward Cole (1815-1897) - 9 children

                    {Please see the blog on Edward Cole}

          4. George (1825-1886) m. 1851 Ann Wilson Baxter (1827-1886) – 9 children

          5. Phebe Ann (1828-aft. 1871) m. c. 1851 James Spires (1827-bef. 1871)

                    – 3 children

          6. Robert (1829-1902) m.1 1851 Lydia Powell (1832-1860) – 5 children

                                                  m.2 c. 1861 Sarah Olivia Baxter (1843-1880)  – 10 children                                                       

                                                  m.3 1882 Lucinda Arminta Dowling (1844-?) no known children                                                                    

          7. Serena Jane (1830-1891) m. 1851 Silas Tower (1814-1890) - 7 children

                    {They were 1^st cousins once removed. Sarah, wife of Gideon Buck and Silas Tower   

                    were half-brother sister.}

          8. Lydia (1832-1860)

          9. James Alexander (1835-1908) m. 1859 Phebe Elizabeth Buck (1838-1897) 

                    - 6 children    {They were 1^st cousins}

Phebe and George Buck had at least 63 grandchildren. George was a farmer and they lived in Dorchester NB.

                                        *******************

Their first son, Gideon (1821-1894) m. 1845 Sarah Tower (1826-1899)

                    {1^st cousins once removed}

          Their children were:

          a. Joseph (c. 1846-1871) m. 1868 Nancy Jane Tower (c.1848-?)

                    {They were 1^st cousins, by half due to a Tower 2^nd marriage} – no children found

          b. Bertha Eliza (c.1847-1890) m. 1867 John A. Cook (1844-1909 lost at sea) - 1 child

          c. William Yates (1849-1931) m. 1872 Susan Jane Fillmore (1853-1915) - 8 children

          d. Ann Jane (1851-186)

          e. Charles Burpee (1852-1930 m. 1845 Alice T. Tower (1856-1909) – 2 children

          f. Clarence (1854-1929) m. 1874 Mary Amelia Tingley (1853-?) – 9 children

          g. Arthur Gideon (12857-1932) m. 1900 Henrietta Tower (1866-1924) – 1 child. Have an 

                additional marriage for him to a Mary Unknown and no children found.

          h. George Edgar (1859) m. 1886 Catherine Elizabeth Fillmore (1861-1926) – 3 children

          i. Mary Althea (1859-1922) m. 1881 Charles Williams Hastings (1853-1929) – 9 children

          j. Phebe Eliza (1862-1938) m. 1884 Harry Maxwell (1863-1896) – 2 children

          k. Adelia (1864-?) m. 1885 Rennis Mallow Hicks (1858-?) – 3 children

          l. Silas Edward (1866-1940) m. 1898 Lavinia T. Hicks (1879-?)  – 2 children

          m. Sarah J. (1870-?)

The second son and child of George and Phebe Palmer Buck was:

Nathaniel (1822-1850) m. 1843 Anne Frances Mitton (1822-?)

          Their son:

          Leonard (1851-1921) m. Martha Unknown (1853-1921) – 4 children

Their third child was Catherine. Please see the blog on Edward Cole for this family.

George and Phebe’s next child was:

George (1825-1886) m. 1851 Ann Wilson Baxter (1827-1886)

          a. Sarah Augusta (1852-?) m. 1876 John Wilmot Buck (1849-1883) – 4 children. {They   

                  were 1^st cousins 1x removed.}

          b. DeMille (1854-1917) m.1884 Martha Ann Cole (1862-1928) – 5 children

          c. Catherine (1856-1857)

          d. Emma Louise (1858-?) m. 1890 Milton Scurr (c. 1859-bef. 1898) – 1 child

          e. Bedford Buck (c. 1860-1871)

          f. Frederick A. (c. 1860-1862)

          g. Frank M. (1863-1962)

          h. Hattie Ann (1865-?) m. 1891 Walter Edmond Bishop (?-?) – 2 children

          i. Charlotte (1868-?)

The 5^th child of George and Phebe was:

Phebe Ann (1828-aft. 1871) m. c. 1851 James Spires (1827-bef. 1871). James was as Mariner, possibly lost at sea. Phebe was listed as a widow in the 1871 census and living with her parents.

          Their children were:

          a. Caroline (1855-?)

          b. George (1858-?)

          c. Robert (1860-?)

The next child was Robert (1829-1902) m.1 1851 Lydia Powell (1832-1860)

          a. Rufus T. (1853-?) m. 1875 Sarah Jane Schurman (1850-?) – 4 children

          b. Rebecca Jane (1855-1860)

          c. Robert Irving (1857-1896) m. ?? – 1 child

          d. Hiram H. (1859-1860)

          e. Harvey Archer (1860-1906)

          Robert  m.2  c. 1861 Sarah Olivia Baxter (1843-1880)

          f. Martha A. (1862-1926) m. 1885 Harry Smith

          g. Harmon Trueman (1864-1926) m. 1889 Merilla May Copp (1893-1936) - 6 children

          h. Joseph Clement (1865-?)

          i.  Harry H. (1869-?)

          J. Mary A. (1870-?) m. Thomas H. Simonds

          l. Collinwood O. (1873-?)

          m. John W. (1875-?)

          n. Sarah Augusta (1876-?) m. 1900 John E. B. Herd

          o. William H. (1879-?)

          p. James Alexander (1880-?) m. 1909 in Stoughton MA Hattie Landon -4 children

          Robert m.3 1882 Lucinda Arminta Dowling (1844-?) no known children

Next after Robert comes Serena Jane (1830-1891) m. 1851 Silas Tower (1814-1890). Their children were:

          a. Benjamin (1851-1916) m. Bessie Towse (1858-1940) – 8 children

          b. Silas (1855-?) m. Caroline Milner (1853-1922) – 3 children

          c. James B. (1856-1933) m. Amanda Smith (1857-1923)

          d. Albert (1860-1882)

          e. Phebe Jane (1868-1941) m. 1892 Martin Carter (1857-1940)

          f. John (1869-?)

          g. Gideon Trueman (?-?)

The next to the youngest child was Lydia (1832-1860) nothing further is known of her.

The youngest child of George and Phebe was James Alexander (1835-1908) m. 1859 Phebe  

        Elizabeth Buck (1838-1897).

          Their children were:

          a. Celeste Alice (1860-1901) m. 1887 Charles Scurr (1855-1824) – 1 child

          b. Lydia Jane (1863-1930) m. 1890 William Wallace Ferguson (1862-1938) – 7 children.  

                 William Ferguson was from Lexington MA . All the children in this family were born in      

                 Lexington MA.

          c. Maggie H. (1872-? In Port Elgin NB) m. 1900 Joseph Turner (?-?)

          d. James (1880-1908)

          e. Joshua (1881-1953) m. 1901 Nellie May Oulton (1883-1957) – 2 children

          f. Alexander (?-?)

http://www.libris.ca/yrkfam/yrkpas.htm#jn

1851 Canadian Census

1871 Canadian CensusA

Some Bucks Stay in New Brunswick

To continue with Edward and Phoebe’s family, of the seven children, the first two and the last two stayed in New Brunswick. Ann has gone off to ME and then Iowa, William, the next in line was b. 1801 but died in 1819. Thomas, who was b. in 1803, also died in 1819. I haven’t found any explanation for their deaths. It could have been illness; it could have been a common accident where both were killed by the same circumstances or any of a number of other scenarios.

Their daughter Ann Buck Simonton has an adopted son named William Buck. His birth year doesn‘t fit in with any of the other known Bucks. Since his name is William, he could be the son of her younger brother, William, who died, but this William’s death date is 3 years before the adopted William’s birth. It’s quite probable that the year of death is incorrect. I haven’t explored that possibility.

Edward Buck, Sr. (c. 1763 England–1826 NB) m. 1792 Phebe Elizabeth Tower                        (1777-1822)

There are two children left to discuss before I return to my direct line to the Bucks. The sixth child was:

James Richard (c. 1812-1874) m. 1836 Sarah Mitton (1812 Yorkshire Eng.- 1879 NB)

          - 8 children

          1. Phebe Elizabeth (1838-1897) m. 1859 James Alexander Buck (1835-1908)

                    – 6 children. They were 1^st cousins.

          2. William Edward (1840-1887 lost at sea) m. 1866 Lucinda Jane Cole (1845- 1919)

                   – 10 children (See earlier blog – Edward Cole’s Family, Dorchester, NB)

          3. Frances Maria (1841-1925) m. 1865 Albert Cook (1842-1929) – 8 children

          4. James Richard (1845-1909) m. 1875 Theodora Woodworth (1851-1918) – 9 children

          5. Charles Albert (1848-1914) m. 1872 Matilda Brown (1853 CT-1919 CT) – 6 children

                      (Find more info on this couple in my blog: A Tower Marries a Buck in New 

                      Brunswick

          6. John Wilmot (1849-1883 lost at sea) m. 1876 Sarah Augusta Buck (1852-?)

                      – 4 children; Sarah was the d/o George and Ann Baxter Buck. This line will be 

                      discussed in the next blog.

          7. Lemuel Allen (1852-1914 Hartford CT) m. 1878 Mary Wilmot (1854-1932) – 3 children

          8. Sarah A. (1855-1861)

Lemuel and Mary are enumerated with the household of J. Richard Buck, his brother, in the 1881 Sackville census. Lemuel is listed as a Sea Captain. I find him again in the 1900 census living at 69 New Britain Ave., Hartford CT, with 3 children.

Phebe (1814-1881) m. 1834 Leighton Card (1809-1881) – 12 children

          1. William (1836-?) m. Esther Kent

          2. Elizabeth (1838-?)

          3. George Buck (1840-1906) m. Unknown – 2 children

          4. Maria (1842-?)   

          5. John (1844-1919)

          6. Wesley (1847-?)

          7. Sarah Ann (1849-?)

          8. Jane (1852-?)

          9. Clara (1854-?) m. 1871 Isaac Beach                      

          10. Charles (1855-1946)

          11. Benjamin Miles (1858-?) m. 1877 Jane Wry (1858-?)

          12. Bedford Layton (1860-1948)

Phebe and Leighton both died in 1881, apparently before the census as neither appear. William, the oldest son is called the Head of House and all the rest of the children, who are now grown adults, are listed there, except Clara and Bedford.  They are both married and have moved elsewhere.

Now I’ll move back to the main line of my descent. See you on the next blog.  

My sister kindly shared with me an updated photo of the graves of Edward Sr. and Phoebe Tower Buck. They've been cleaned and look great. 

A Buck Moves West

As always, I welcome additions, corrections or necessary deletions when brought to my attention. I recently received this correction for Ebenezer Cole’s first daughter, Elizabeth Cole Palmer. The correction is for her grandson which I had incorrectly given as William Gifford Ayer. If this is important to your family line, please change it to Willard Gilford Ayer.

Corrections sent in:

Ebenezer Cole’s First Daughter

Elizabeth Cole (1791-1875) m. 1814, John Palmer (1789-1889)

          Melvina Augusta Palmer (1842-1927) m. 1863 Elijah Ayer (1837-1927)

                    Willard Gilford Ayer (1875-1965 Attleboro MA) m. 1902 Gertrude   

                                  Eugenie Newell in Plainville MA (1876-1921 Attleboro MA) – 2 children

********************************************************************************************

The next child in Edward and Phebe Tower Buck’s family will be their first daughter Ann Buck. Ann ended up a long way from home so I thought she deserved a bit more blog space than some of the others. 

Ann (1800-1883) m. 1819 Benjamin Simonton (1795 Portland ME-1883 Cass Co. IA)

 – 16 children

Ann married Benjamin Simonton from Portland ME in 1819. Benjamin was the son of Thomas and Mary Alden Simonton. By this marriage, the descendants of this family can claim Mayflower descendancy through Benjamin’s mother, Mary Alden. Benjamin was the 3x gt. grandson of John Alden. Some time during the year 1819, Ann’s two younger brothers, William and Thomas died. I’ve found no explanation for this although, often, when two young family members die in the same year, it’s due to some disease. In our era, we don’t think much about scarlet fever and measles, but both of those childhood diseases were killers in the 1800’s.

My notes on Ann say they left New Brunswick for ME in 1825. The first five children were born in NB; the remaining 11 were born in Portland ME.

Benjamin and Ann Simonton’s children were:

          1. William Buck (1822-?) Adopted

          2. Mary Alden (1820-1899) m. 1851 in Portland ME Royal Cummings

          3. Ann Phoebe (1822-1905 Lawrence MA) m. 1844 Daniel Handy of    

              Boston MA – 2 children

          4. Susan M. (1823-?) m. 1846 in Portland ME William H. Swain of Boston  

               MA

          5. Jane T. (1825-?)

          6. Sarah M. (1826-?)

          7. Thomas B. (1828-?) m. 1853 in Portland ME Seraphina Margeson

          8. Elizabeth (1830-?)

          9. James P. (1831-?)

          10. Charles McLellan (1833-1905 Cleveland OK) m. 1869 in Cleveland OK 

                 Hannah Elizabeth Waltrous of Cattaraugus Co., NY – 5 children

          11. Caroline L. (1835-1914) m. 1859 James G. Davis of Windham VT

          12. John L. (1837-?) m. Lydia Unknown of NY

          13. George E. (1838-1841 Portland ME)

          14. Olive A. (1840-1842 Portland ME)

          15. Silas A. (1842-1924 Cleveland OK) m. 1868 Clarissa A. Turner

                – 3 children

          16. William L. (1843-?) m. in Cass Co., IA Ellen Griffin

         

The 1850 Federal Census for Portland, Cumberland Co., ME, shows this family still living there, with Jane, Elizabeth, Charles, Caroline, John, Silas and William still living with them. Sometime in the 1850’s-1860’s time frame the family moved to Cass Co., IA. This was mostly farming country with small groups of population in small towns scattered across the landscape. The 1880 census shows that Benjamin and Ann are living with their son, Charles, in Franklin, Cass Co. IA. The records for the Wiota Cemetery show that both Benjamin and Ann are buried there.  They also show a military gravestone for Silas Simonton, with no dates, just Co. B, 42^nd Illinois Infantry.

I haven’t done the digging on this, but he was of the appropriate age to have been in the Civil War. The 1910 census shows Silas and wife with their son James living with them. He is age 33 and his occupation is a printer. Silas is listed as a landlord in that census. There is a grandson, Delford, age 10 living with them but it doesn’t indicate who the father is. But by 1920, James and Delford are gone and their divorced son, George, is living with them. Silas and Clarissa also had a daughter, Bertha, for whom I’ve found 3 marriages and no children. In 1935, she applied to the Gov’t for a military headstone for her father’s grave. It was approved, shipped and placed on his, then unmarked, grave in the Wiota Cemetery, Cass Co., IA. Then I found a 1900 census for George. His wife’s name was Bertha, also, and Delford was his son, born in Dec. 1899. They were living in Atlantic City, Cass Co., IA.

Over the years, I’ve been in touch with a descendant of Charles Simonton who has generously shared a great deal of his information. I truly appreciate the generosity of all genealogists who spend hours on research yet are always willing to share what they’ve found.  Then, in the last few years before I retired, a new staff member was added and, would you believe, his name was Simonton. The minute he opened his mouth I knew he was from New England, so first chance I got I was asking him questions. Not only was he from New England but he was from the town right next door to the one I grew up in. As a teenager, he even had a job in one of the drug stores in my town. Here we were both of us over 400 miles away from our beginnings and just happened to end up working for the same organization. Of course, I had to ask him about his name and he said he knew they had come from ME and that there were family stories that they were Mayflower descendants. Right then I knew he was connected to the same Simonton family. I didn’t pursue it to see if Benjamin and Ann were his ancestors. But then you never know!  I love small world stories!!

http://iagenweb.org/cass/cemetery/wiota/

http://iagenweb.org/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franklin_Township,_Cass_County,_Iowa