Eleanor Davis and Henry Francis

Most of the projects on the Blog get their start from inherited family traditions or histories. Our role has been to paint a picture of these cousins using the documentary trail they left behind. I am intrigued by the images I find in these documents. Reading in Arta Hill Davis’s probate that she left behind 3 lace caps painted a picture of Arta in my minds eye. She ceased to be merely a historical figure and became the picture of a pious New England Congregationalist women sitting in church with her head modestly covered. Family tradition had painted an incomplete picture of the family of Leonard Davis. There seemed to be a lack of concrete documentary evidence. The discovery of a one-word hint in the Killingworth 2nd Society records changed all of that. In the Second Society ledger is found the death notice for Leonard Davis as part of that notice is one word “Episcopalian”. That one word started our hunt for the Episcopal records and the discovery of a part of the Killingworth Davis Family history. We had known for some time that Leonard was buried in the Stone House Cemetery next to his parents, Henry and Azuba Griffin Davis, along with two of his children Joel and Henry. There was no definitive understanding of the history of the rest of his children. The recovery of Leonard’s will only served to further confuse the situation. Listed were Orpha Skinner, Emma Scranton, Sabrina Stone, Eleanor Burr, Henry D. Davis, Emily S. Davis and Joel H. Davis. Buried next to Leonard was the Henry D. Davis listed in the will and Joel Hobart Davis who died in 1825 at the age of 2. So who was the Joel Davis and his wife Emily S. Davis identified as a married couple in the will? Did Leonard have a family that included 4 girls, Henry D. and 2 son’s named Joel? The search for the answer to these questions led us to the notation “Episcopalian” and our eventual discovery of the records of the Union Episcopal Society in Killingworth. The Union Episcopal records revealed the names of five children; Eleanor, Orpha, Joel, Henry and a second Joel Hobart. The first Joel and his brother Henry are buried next to their father. We recently published the family history for the 2nd Joel (Dec 2013) named after his older brother who died at a young age. The will names 4 girls the church records only 2? We had an Eleanor in the church records and an Eleanor Burr in the will. The church records had listed an Orpha and the will an Orpha Skinner. But who were the two extra girls listed in the will, Emma A. Scranton and Sabrina D. Stone? The church records listed baptismal dates of 1816 and 1820. Using that date range we searched the census records for these daughters using the married names discovered in the will. We quickly found the family of Orpha Davis. Orpha married William S. Skinner. Orpha and William are buried in the Stone House Cemetery with the rest of the extended family. Her headstone reads Orpha Davis Skinner. The Skinner family records for their 6 children are found in the various Killingworth records. Using the 1816-1820 time frame we did not find any reference to the other 3 girls. After a pause to reconsider our premise that these names represent Leonard’s daughters we preceded based on the assumption that they may in fact be granddaughters. Adjusting the dates of our search we soon came up with census and eventually burial records for the 3 girls. To our delight the burial records for 2 of the girls included their maiden as well as married name. Emma A. Francis Scranton, Sabrina D. Francis Stone. We had assumed that the Eleanor found in the Episcopal records and the Eleanor Burr in the will were the same person. Failing to find an Eleanor Burr using Eleanor’s baptismal date in 1816 we searched for a granddaughter of the same name. We soon found in the Killingworth records an Eleanor Burr wife of Harmon Burr. The birth records for her children list their parents as Harmon Burr and Eleanor A. Francis. The obvious conclusion now became that the 3 girls in the will were all sisters Emma, Sabrina and Eleanor Francis named in the will to inherit their mother Eleanor’s portion. Based on this information we went on a search for Leonard’s daughter Eleanor assuming that her married name must be Francis and that she had preceded her father in death. It should have been no surprise that we find her buried near her parents in the Stone House Cemetery were she had been hiding in plain sight all along. Eleanor Francis, wife of Henry, died Sept 9, 1841, age 26 yrs. Next to her Henry Francis, died Sept 22, 1874, age 60 yrs. The youngest of the 3 daughters Eleanor was born July 15, 1841 her mother passing away 7 weeks later possibly from the stress of childbirth. ___________ We only have two documents from the life of Eleanor Davis. We have the inscription from her headstone and the notation of her baptism, “11 February 1816 Baptized by Mr. Baldwin Eleanor Daughter of Leonard Davis”. The historical evidence tells us she married Henry Francis. Both the Davis family and Francis families were based in Killingworth. Eleanor and Henry made a home in Killingworth farming along side the Davis dairy farm. Their life was interrupted by her untimely death soon after the birth of their 3rd child. The history for Eleanor Davis is the history of her 3 daughters and her husband Henry Francis. In Henry’s will he names their 3 daughters Emma A. Scranton, Sabrina D. Stone and Eleanor A Burr. The will lists 6 different parcels of land totaling 148.5 acres. The main farm contained 86 acres and an old barn. Also listed are 2 cow houses and a 24-acre plot with a new barn. The inventory contains farm equipment, a hay cutter and hay rake, 5 ox yokes and an ox wagon. Listed are rye, wheat and potatoes. One of the items for the house is 2 vinegar barrels. Harmon Burr’s will noted he had 80 gallons of vinegar a testimony to how many things they must have been pickling. One item in particular is interesting a notation for “Cash on hand” the amount $6.23. _______________ Emma A. Francis was born, according to the 1900 census, in July of 1835. In the Episcopal records in Middletown is a record of her marriage to Alfred B. Scranton dated October 6, 1861. Emma and Alfred lived for a time in Killingworth but the birth records for their 3 daughters are found in the Madison town records where they lived the farm life. The oldest child was Martha Estella born August 24, 1865. The town records list the husband and wife by age. The records also list the mother of the child by her maiden name. For Martha we have Alfred B. Scranton age 29 and Emma A. Francis age 30. In Madison we also find a birth record for Mary Eleanor October 27, 1869 and Edna Francis, listed as the 3rd child, May 10, 1874. In the Union Episcopal Society in Killingworth we also have baptismal records for Martha Estella on Oct 7, 1865 and Edna Francis October 18, 1874. Emma and Alfred must have lived in North Madison. The Union Episcopal society was made up of members from the northern end of both Madison and Killingworth. We find Emma and Alfred’s named appearing quite frequently in the Episcopal records. By the time of the 1900 census the family consisting of Emma, Alfred along with Mary and Edna neither of whom ever married, is living in Middletown. By 1910 Edna has disappeared and Mary is listed as the head of the house her parents as part of her household. The census notes that she was the owner of a dress making shop. The oldest daughter Martha married Charles S. Loveland in 1887. They were still living in Durham in the 1930 census. Emma, Alfred and Mary are buried in a family plot in the West Cemetery in Madison. “Alfred B. Scranton born 1836, died 1917. Emma A. Francis Scranton, wife of Alfred B., born 1835, died 1914. Mary Eleanor Scranton, daughter of Alfred B. & Emma A. born 1869.” Mary died Oct 6, 1955 in Durham. Having been listed as a dressmaker in the Middletown city directory into the 1950’s it is my guess that she was with her sister Martha or Martha’s children in Durham at the time of her death. _______________ Sabrina D. Francis was born in Killingworth, according to her headstone, July 21, 1838. In the Killingworth town records we have a record of her marriage. “1860 Jan. 4, Gilbert S. Stone, Sabrina Francis, 25/17, Madison and Killingworth”. The birth of their 5 children is recorded in the Madison town records; Edith Eleanor, Alton Lewis, Carrie Antoinette, George Francis and Charles Gilbert. Note the liberal use of family names. Their parents are listed as Gilbert Stone and Sabrina D. Francis. The 1900 census notes Gilbert’s occupation as “Capitalist”. Their sons are listed as “provision providers”. It is my guess that the family was involved in servicing the fleet of ships that made Madison their homeport. The Stone’s are buried in the New Cemetery in Durham. “Gilbert S. Stone., born March 19, 1839, died Oct. 5, 1903, age 64. Sabrina D. Francis Stone, wife of Gilbert S. Stone, born July 21, 1838, died June 6, 1906, age 68”. ________________ Eleanor Anna Francis was born according to her headstone July 15, 1841. Her mother Eleanor Davis Francis was to die soon after on September 9, 1841. In the 1850 census she is listed as Anna E., in 1860 as Eleanor A. Eleanor married Harmon Burr in Killingworth on August 20, 1862. Their 2 children were also born in Killingworth Eva Luella December 9, 1865 and Wilton/Willie January 10, 1867. Their parents are listed as Harmon Burr and Eleanor A. Francis. Harmon died at the age of 35 December 30, 1871 followed two years later by his son Wilton. The Burr’s were a farm family. Harmon’s will lists “A dwelling house and barn and wood house”. There were 2 plots of land totaling 47 acres. Among the listed assets 10 bushels of rye, 19 bushel’s of corn, 14 of buckwheat and 33 bushels of potatoes. As a commentary on their home life a “washing machine” was listed in the inventory. The extended Burr family is buried in the Nettleton Cemetery in Killingworth including Harmon’s parents Martin and Lucretia Burr. Eleanor took Edward Burr as her 2nd husband. Edward was from Haddam. His first wife Eliza Hough had died in 1876. The 1880 census finds Eleanor and her daughter Eva as part of Edward’s household in Haddam. Edward died in 1907 and is buried next to Eliza in the Burr Family Cemetery in Haddam. Eleanor is buried in Killingworth next to Harmon. “Eleanor A. Burr, born July 15, 1841, died July 9, 1912.” ______________ While collecting material to finish this essay I became aware of a history published by the Francis family in 1906 titled, The Descendants of Robert Francis of Wethersfield. The Francis family had documented the family of Henry Francis but ran into a roadblock trying to identify the family of Eleanor Davis. We had just the opposite problem. Now we can combine the two histories. As I read the material in the Francis family history I wondered about the source for their data. One hint might be found in Henry Francis’s will. As part of the legacy to his son Friend was a “Bible containing the family records of the Francis family.” Henry Francis was the son of Friend Wicks Francis and his wife Anna White. Henry was born in Killingworth Aug 2, 1814. The Francis family history places their marriage date on April 14, 1833. There are no remaining birth records for the 3 girls in Killingworth. The Francis history lists them as Emma A. July 21, 1835, Sabrina July 21, 1838, and Eleanor July 15, 1841. We have postulated previously that the Stone House Cemetery was named after the stone house owned by Henry and Azuba Griffin Davis and served as a family cemetery for the extended Davis family. The next largest family group in Stone House is the Francis family. Friend and Anna are buried there. I am assuming that there was some familiarity between the two families thus the courtship and marriage. The early death of Eleanor cut short the marriage for the young couple, which accounts for the lack of a family history. After Eleanor’s death in 1841 Henry took as his 2nd wife Rachael Hill. They married February 28, 1843. Their children were Martha, Friend Hill, Charles, George, Jane and Rachel Estelle born October 12, 1857. Childbirth was very unkind to Henry. We find the death record for Rachel in the Killingworth records dated October 12, 1857 on her childbed. Henry then married Harriet Kelsey Lane. The couple had 4 children together Roselle, Mary Jane, Mertie A. and Henry E. As if losing 2 young wives was not challenge enough diphtheria ravaged the Francis household in the fall of 1862. Rachael Estelle died October 27, Martha, November 2, George, November 11 and Jane M., January 1. Henry lost his 3rd wife Harriet January 4, 1867. The next day Eleanor Davis Francis’s mother, Arta Hill Davis, passed away. The Killingworth records list a “4th” marriage for Henry. On March 24, 1868 he married the widow Esther A Holbrook maiden name Bunnel. Childbirth was again cruel to Henry. At the age of 56 he suffered the lost of a daughter April 26, 1870 recorded as stillborn. In 1871 the same fate for a son. Henry’s death is part of the Killingworth records the cause of death is listed as “Hemorrhage”. Henry is buried in the Stone House Cemetery in the Francis family plot. “Henry Francis, died Sept 22, 1874, age 60 yrs.”_________________ Orpha Davis Skinner, Eleanor Davis Francis / Leonard Davis / Azuba Griffin / Samuel–Marah / Samuel Griffin of Killingworth.