Monday, October 16, 2017

#10 Genealogy is what I do: The Adams Family-I found my connection back to Plymouth but not to the Mayflower

I actually have two different connections to the Adams family. ( I am humming the tune as I write)
My first connection is When my Great Great Grandfather Philip Price married Mary Adams around 1851 in Macomb County, Michigan. I am stuck on that line about two more generations back.
My other connection is when my Great Great Great Grandfather Timothy Banister married Susan Adams in the state of New York around 1815. (I have not found the record for that marriage yet). They moved to Macomb County, Michigan in the 1830s and Susan Banister purchased Government Land there in 1837. (I admit that I am curious about why she bought the land instead of her husband).
Anyway, Susan's parents were Alden Adams and Mary Wilcox who married in West Greenwich, Rhode Island in 1785. Susan was born in Vermont in 1790, (this family really gets around) They moved to Ontario County, New York before the 1810 census.
Alden Adams was the son of Timothy Adams and Susannah Adams (Yes, her maiden name was also Adams) . They were married in Pomfret, Connecticut in 1764. This was after Timothy served in the military during the French and Indian War and before he again served in the military during the Revolutionary War. Alden was born in 1766 in Canterbury, Connecticut.
Timothy's parents were Isaac Adams and Eleanor (no known maiden name) around 1719. ( no record found so far) Timothy was born in Pomfret, Connecticut in 1742 having about 14 siblings.
Isaac was born in Sudbury, Massachusetts in 1694 and died in 1757 after fathering 15 children, while his wife remarried after his death and had one more child.
Isaac's parents were Richard Adams and Rebecca Davis who were married in Sudbury in 1679. Richard fought in King Philip's Indian War and was wounded at the Swamp Fort Battle on December 19, 1675..
Richard's parents were James Adams and Francis Vassall. Richard was born in Scituate, Massachusetts in1651.
James Adams was born in Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1626. His parents were John Adams Sr. and Eleanor Newton. John Adams Sr. came to Plymouth on the Ship Francis in 1621 a year after the Mayflower. He was probably born in London, England in 1695 and he was a carpenter by trade. He died in 1633. I am still looking for the circumstances of his death because I have read that his body was lost and never buried. his wife, Eleanor, came to Plymouth on the Ship Ann in 1623. She was born in England in 1598.
There you have it;not the Mayflower but pretty close. What do I do next? Dig around a bit more online, before I take any trips to New England or across the pond.

Thursday, October 12, 2017

#9 Genealogy is what I do: The Bannister Connection. Did I get it right?

Sometimes when I am working on a new branch of my tree, I get to a spot where other folks have connected my ancestor to a set of parents, but I cannot see where the connection came from. That is the case with my Bannister line. First of all, how am I connected to the Bannisters? Okay, my Great Grandfather, Roland Eugene Price married Eva Elizabeth Bannister. I have the Bannister Bible in my possession so I know a couple generations back. I have noticed that when you go back a little ways on this branch of the family that we lose one of the "n"s and the name becomes Banister. Why did they add another "n" ? I have no idea! Maybe they thought it looked more classy that way. I would actually like to know the answer, because it may tell me an important something about the family.
So here is the line as I know it.
Eva Elizabeth Bannister was the daughter of Joseph Madison Bannister and Phebe Burke. She was born January 9. 1860 in Armada, Macomb County, Michigan and married Roland Eugene Price on December 22, 1877 in Sterling, Michigan.
Joseph Madison Bannister was born December 11, 1822 in New York (the state not the city) and was married to Phebe Ann Burke September 25, 1850 in Macomb County, Michigan. His parents were Timothy Banister and Susan Adams
Timothy was born in Vermont on March 25, 1793 and married Susan Adams in New York around 1815. He was a drummer in the New York Militia during the War of 1812.
I know that Timothy had a brother named Levi Jr. who also fought in the New York Militia.
On several other trees I have found his parents listed as Levi Banister and Anna Woodworth, but I have not found any document that actually proves that as fact. What I do have is the pension file for Levi Jr in which Timothy (living in Macomb County, Michigan) gives testimony for his brother's pension. The interesting part is that he says that they were living in Genesee County, New York when they signed up. That puts them in the same county as the Levi Banister whose wife is Anna Woodworth. This is where they lived for many years until his death. Timothy's death record does not name his parents, but it does say that they lived in New York.
So it looks likely that Levi and Anna are his parents, but I can not state it with certainty until I find more. What do I plan to do? i will continue to look for an obituary for Timothy Banister; I will order Timothy's service record, which is not online yet and hope it names his parents; and maybe I will take a trip to Genesee County, New York to see if there are other documents there or even to Vermont to try to find church records for Timothy's birth. Who knows where it will lead. I do know that Levi Banister (sr) was a Revolutionary War Soldier and the next few generations back are easier to trace.