52 Ancestors Week 1: The Batchelder Family's Fresh Start in Plainfield, Vermont

Which ancestor had to make a fresh start after a loss or setback?

My 7^th great grandfather, Lieutenant Joseph Batchelder, was born on 28 December 1750 in Hampton, New Hampshire. He was the son of Nathaniel Batchelder Anna Butler. By 1790, Joseph was residing in Lyndeborough, New Hampshire where he likely married his wife, Sarah Ferrin. He fought in the American Revolution as part of the New Hampshire Militia where he received his title.

In 1793, Joseph made a pitch for 650 acres of land in an area called St. Andrews Gore, which would later be known as Plainfield, Vermont.  Joseph, along with his two brothers, Moulton and Nathaniel, were among the first four families to settle in Plainfield. The brothers abided by the charter granted to the town, which required that each grantee to “plant five acres of land, erect one house at least eighty feet square on the ground floor, and have one family on each share of land” (Grimaldi, n.d.). All of the houses of this early settlement were log cabins.

Joseph’s land was located at the southwest corner of Plainfield, near to Barre. He likely grew corn on his land and may have produced up to 40 bushels per acre (Grimaldi, n.d.). The land in Plainfield was known for being especially fertile. It was at his home where the town’s Congregational Church was formed (Representative Men 1908).

Joseph and Sarah had the following children:

1. Joseph Batchelder b. 22 Feb 1770
2. Nathaniel Batchelder b. 10 Jan 1772
3. Isaac Batchelder b. 08 Oct 1774; d. 11 Jan 1775
4. Anna Batchelder b. 30 Sep 1775; d. 22 Jan 1777
5. Isaac Batchelder b. 01 Mar 1779
6. Alpheus Batchelder b. 07 Aug 1781
7. Abigail Batchelder b. 03 Nov 1783; m. Joseph Glidden; d. 27 Aug 1859
8. Sarah Batchelder b. 09 Feb 1785
9. William Batchelder b. 15 Jul 1788
10. Polly Batchelder (see below)
11. Alice Batchelder b. 23 Jun 1797
12. Josiah Batchelder

Joseph’s daughter and my 6^th great grandmother, Polly, was the first girl and second child born in Plainfield. She is only referred to as Polly on her birth records. Other records list her as Mary. She was born on 26 July 1795. She married Henry C. Parker (1797-1887). She died in Elmore, Vermont on 22 Jun 1877 and is buried at the Lake Elmore Cemetery along Route 12.

Mary (Polly) and Henry had the following children:

1. Sarah F. Parker b. 05 Sep 1824 in Barre, Vermont; m. Samuel Childs on 14 Aug 1845; d. 27 Oct 1863 in Barre, Vermont. Sarah is my 5^th great grandmother.
2. Robert Parker b. Abt 1831 in Vermont
3. Alpheus Parker b. Abt 1832 in Vermont
4. Mary Parker b. Abt 1835 in Vermont

Joseph died on 25 March 1827 in Plainfield and is buried at the Bisson Barre Cemetery on Lower Road in Plainfield.

References:

Grimaldi, S. (n.d.). The early history of Plainfield, Vermont from the beginnings to 1880. Retrieved from http://plainfieldvthistory.org/history.html

Representative Men and Old Families of Rhode Island. (1908). Retrieved from https://books.google.com/books?id=sNo4AQAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

Surname Saturday: Seeking Charles Childs, son of Theron Childs

This surname Saturday post is going to be short and sweet as I really don't know a whole lot about the Childs family. I am hoping someone out there may be able to shed some light for me.

I know that my maternal 4th great grandparents were Theron Childs and his wife, Anna Parks. They had at least one son, my 3rd great grandfather, Charles H. Childs, in 1873. Charles married Mary Ann Jones in Morrisville, Lamoille, Vermont on 19 April 1894. Mary Ann was born in July 1876 in Hyde Park, Lamoille, Vermont, the daughter of Ruel Judson Jones and Philena Hill.

Charles Childs and Mary Ann Jones had the following children:

1. Minnie Belle Childs: My 2nd great grandmother. See below.
2. Olive Childs: b. 8 Nov 1896 in Johnson, Lamoille, Vermont.
3. Thomas Charles Childs: b. 1898, d. 28 Apr 1898 in Morrisville, Lamoille Vermont 
4. Norma Beatrice Childs: b. 1 Jan 1900 in Woodbury Washington, Vermont
5. Vena May Childs: b. 2 Feb 1908 in Woodbury, Washington, Vermont

Minnie Belle Childs was born on 29 May 1894 in Morrisville, Lamoille, Vermont. She married Daniel James Baker on 14 Aug 1912 in Hyde Park, Lamoille, Vermont.She died on 28 Feb 1963 in Burlington, Chittenden, Vermont and is buried in Johnson, Lamoille, Vermont.

Minnie Belle Childs with Old Jumbo Cat

Minnie Childs and Daniel Baker had the following children: 

1. Gladys Mabel Baker: See my previous post, Surname Saturday: Baker Family of Lamoille County, Vermont for more information on her.
2. Daniel Lee Baker: See my previous post, Black Sheep Sunday: Jailhouse Death, for more information on him.
3. Ilda M Baker: b. 22 Apr 1926, d. Sept 1992.
4. Irene R Baker: b. 8 Feb 1930, d. Jan 1984.

Surname Saturday: Baker Family of Lamoille County, Vermont

Update: I have found more information about Cornelius's ancestors since writing this post. Please see my latest post, Baker Family Cape Cod to Vermont.

My 3rd great-grandfather, Cornelius H Baker, was born about 17 May 1842 in or near Johnson, Lamoille, Vermont. He married Almira M (Thomas) Ingalls on 4 July 1864 in Johnson. He died on 19 Jan 1909 in Eden, Lamoille, Vermont. His mother, Caroline, is listed on his death certificate. Her place of birth was Vergennes, Addison, Vermont. There is no name given for his father, but census records list his birth location as Germany or Vermont.        
Almira M Thomas was born in Oct 1841 in Belvidere, Lamoille, Vermont. She was the daughter of William Thomas from Fairfield, Addison, Vermont and Sally Stancliff from Halifax [Canada?]. Almira died on 20 Apr 1917.

Cornelius and Almira had the following children:

1. Charles C Baker b. 30 Dec 1865 in Johnson, m. Nora Emory on 29 Sep 1889 in Eden, d. 31 Jul 1935
2. Caroline M Baker b. 1869, m. William Griswold on 5 Mar 1885.
3. Emma A Baker b. 23 Oct 1871 in Belvidere, m. Dan Adams on 1 Jun 1890 in Johnson
4. Frank M Baker b. 10 Apr 1874 in Belvidere
5. Harrison B Baker b. 4 Jun 1876 in Belvidere, m. Lilah Mae Bidwell
6. Daniel James Baker (my 2nd great grandfather, see below)
7. George H Baker b. 29 Jul 1885, m. Anna Jones

My 2nd great grandfather, Daniel James Baker, was born on 3 Jan 1877 in Belvidere, Lamoille, Vermont. He married Minnie Belle Childs on 14 Aug 1912 in Belvidere. He died on 7 Nov 1949 in Windham, Vermont.

Minnie Belle Childs Baker

      

Minnie Belle Childs was born on 29 May 1894 in Morrisville, Lamoille, Vermont. She was the daughter of Charles H Childs and May Ann Jones from Hyde Park, Lamoille, Vermont. Minnie died on 28 Feb 1963 in Morrisville. She is buried in Johnson.

Obituary for Minnie
Belle Childs Baker

Daniel and Minnie had the following children:

1. Gladys Mabel Baker (My great grandmother, see below)
2. Daniel Lee Baker b. 20 Oct 1919 in Belvidere, d. 22 Apr 1945 in Hyde Park (see my previous post about Daniel Lee Baker)
3. Ilda M Baker b. 22 Apr 1926, m. ______ Allen, d. Sep 1992
4. Irene R Baker b. 8 Feb 1930, m. _____ Wade, d. Jan 1984

Gladys Baker Wallace

My great grandmother, Gladys Baker, was born on 9 Sep 1916 in Belvidere, Lamoille, Vermont. She married Hezekiah Truman Wallace on 10 Mar 1930 in Cambridge, Lamoille, Vermont. She died on 12 Jun 1967 in Burlington, Chittenden, Vermont. 

      

Hezekiah Truman Wallace on Right

Hezekiah Truman Wallace was born on 29 Jan 1907 in New Hampton, Hillsborough, New Hampshire. He was the son of William Henry Wallace of Tyngsboro, Middlesex, Massachusetts and Blanche L Corbin of Charleston, New Hampshire. Hezekiah died on 20 Sep 1976 in Montpelier, Washington, Vermont.

Black Sheep Sunday: Jailhouse Death

Create a post with the main focus being an ancestor with a “shaded past.” Bring out your ne’er-do-wells, your cads, your black widows, your horse thieves and tell their stories. And don’t forget to check out the International Black Sheep Society of Genealogists (IBSSG). This is an ongoing series at GeneaBloggers.

According to a family story, my great-granduncle, Daniel Lee Baker, died in his jail cell in Hyde Park, Vermont. It was uncertain how he died, but there was some speculation that he hung himself.

I located his death certificate on Ancestry.com, which lists his cause of death as "obstruction of air passage with food due to acute alcoholism with vomiting." So it seems that Daniel did not hang himself, but rather choked on his own vomit while he was drunk. However, it still not known if he died at the jailhouse or not. The death certificate does list his place of death as Hyde Park, Vermont, which is where the jailhouse is located, but it doesn't specify a particular building or institution, so I suppose that part of the mystery remains unsolved for now.

Daniel Lee Baker was born on 20 Oct 1919 in Belvidere, Vermont. His parents were Daniel James Baker (03 Jan 1877 - 07 Nov 1949) and Minnie Belle Childs (29 May 1894 - 28 Feb 1963). He was never married, nor did he have any children. He died on 22 Apr 1945 in Hyde Park, Vermont.