Mercy Griffin Pelton 1774 to 1844

Mercy Griffin was born in Killingworth, Connecticut on April 3 1774. She was the 2nd child born to Samuel Griffin and his third wife Mercy Bailey. She joined the Griffin clan in the house on Roast Meat Hill. There is a very faint trail for her existence in Killingworth. Her parent’s marriage is found in the Congregational Second Society ledger, which notes the marriage of Samuel Griffin to the widow Mercy “Bailey” Stevens. Notice of her birth is also found in the Second Society records, as is her marriage to Ithamar Pelton from nearby Essex. Recently we have been investigating the Episcopal and Congregational records from North Madison. North Madison and Killingworth share a boundary line. In many ways the far north of Killingworth and North Madison were one community. There were two Congregational Societies in Madison. In the North Society there is a record that indicates that the Peltons were granted Full Communion on August 12th 1792. At some time soon after Mercy and Ithamar made the move with her father to Essex, Vermont, as did a number of Ithamar’s kin. Pelton family records suggest that their oldest child Eunice was born in Essex in 1792 but there is a chance that she was actually born in North Madison. Such may be the case for some of their other children as well. We have a baptismal record from the North Madison, at that time named North Bristol, Congregational Society for the birth of "Betsy" daughter of Ithamar and Mercy. Is Betsy actually Flora or is this another child? Flora 1793, Oritta 1795. By 1797 when Achsah was born I think the Peltons were definitely living in Essex, Vermont as part of the growing Griffin Clan. Family records show four more children born in Essex, Josiah 1799, Lester 1801, Elizabeth 1803, and named after his grandfather, Samuel Griffin Pelton in 1805. By the time Hiram was born in 1807 family history indicates that the family had made the move to Gustavus, Ohio. In Ohio four more children were born Albert in 1809, Lucius 1822, Ithamar 1816 and Charles in 1818. The Pelton family established a generational presence in Gustavus and the surrounding area and maintains an active family history. Mercy and Ithamar’s headstones can be found online at Ancestrtry.Com

Probate and Will of Julius Kelsey 1858

Julius Kelsey died April 25, 1858. Presented here is his will and probate. These documents are primarily concerned with the distribution of his cash and real estate. The real estate included the house on the one acre home lot. The primary piece of property was the 100 acre Wright farm. There were 3 other lots and a 10 acre wood lot. Also include were 3 grazing lots. Listed is an inventory for oats, rye, potatoes, corn, hay and a cider mill. The inheritance is for the farm land, its produce and oxen to till the ground. Named are the “Widow Sylvia Kelsey” , “son of the said deceased” John H. Kelsey, James H. Kelsey, Austin Kelsey, Julius W. Kelsey and Cortland Kelsey, “daughter of the said deceased” Polly Davis, Roxa Hopson and Catherine Stevens. Missing is his daughter Mabel who had proceeded him in death who had no children to claim her share. The history of Julius's family is posted separately.

Julius Kelsey of Madison and Killingworth

Julius Kelsey was the oldest child born to Lois Griffin and her husband Stephen Kelsey. Julius married Sylvia Hill. Sylvia was the daughter of James Hill and his wife Eleanor Hull. Sylvia's sister Arta married Julius's cousin Leonard Davis. The Kelsey family records are spread out between the church and town records of Killingworth and Madison. For example the Barbour Collection for Killingworth lists the birth of three of Lois and Stephen’s children; Julius, September 8, 1783, Polly, May 30, 1786 and Stephen, January 3, 1789. There is nothing in Barbour for their daughter Cynthia. The Barbour Collection for Killingworth also contains records for the two oldest children of Julius and his wife Sylvia; Polly, November 29, 1803 and John Hill, November 4, 1805. It also contains the marriage record for the marriages of Julius’s son Julius Worthington to the two Redfield sisters, Polly B. Redfield October 25, 1840 and on her death, her sister Mary H. Redfield, on December 28, 1845. Missing are the remaining seven children in Julius’s family. Even though Lois and Stephen are buried in Killingworth they lived the majority of their life in Madison. Both Stephen and his son Julius Kelsey’s wills were filed in Madison. The question now becomes why can’t we find any record of Julius’s other children in either the Killingworth or Madison town records? Any family history search for this part of Connecticut usually starts the genealogical collection compiled by Alvan Talcott which we have referenced any number of times on the Blog. Doctor Talcott, a contemporary of Julius Kelsey, served as a physician to most of the families in Guilford and Madison over a sixty-year period. He collected genealogical data on most of the original families. In his retirement he collated and refined his collection adding to his material from the town records. His original hand written notes are available on microfilm and have been published in a two volume set titled Families of Early Guilford. In the original hand written records you can see were he added a note on a marriage or a death to an existing file. In his collection Doctor Talcott has the following notes on Julius’s family. -----Polly, mar. Thorit Davis. ------John Hill, b 4 November 1805; died August 4, 1878, mar Caroline Hill------James, died 19 September 1877; mar Mary E. Camp------Austin, b 15 January 1810; mar Maria Bristol------ Julius Worthington, b 31 January 1812, died 8 May 1881; mar Polly Redfield------Roxa, b 25 June 1844; mar John Hopson-----Mabel, died 20 June 1844; mar Fredric Chittenden-------Catherine, died August 1859; mar Julius P. Stevens------Cortland, mar Sarah Hoyt.------ My experience with the Talcott material suggests that the absence of dates indicates that there were no town records available for reference. So where were the children born? The first hint in our current search came from a death record for Leonard Davis who was Julius’s first cousin. The death record noted that Leonard Davis (Azubah Griffin’s son) was an “Episcopalian”. We have documented the involvement of our Griffin Clan with the Congregational Societies any number of times on the Blog. It had never occurred to me that some family members might have joined other denominations. While reviewing the Episcopal records in Killingworth we were surprised to find that brothers Stephen and Julius Kelsey had joined along with Leonard Davis and his son Henry. The Episcopal Congregation was formed about 1800. It was made up of two separate congregations one from North Madison, referred to at the time as North Bristol, and Killingworth. Unlike the pastor dominated Congregational Societies the Episcopalian congregation was maintained primarily by lay readers. Leonard Davis played a prominent role in the congregation. Austin Kelsey also served as a” reader”. There were regional traveling ordained pastors who also preached on occasions and on those occasions they performed the Sacraments. One such pastor was the Reverend David Baldwin. The Reverend Baldwin baptized most of Julius’s children. In all likelihood Julius was part of what was referred to in the census records as the North Bristol Society.------ We present those baptismal records here. The record for James Hill dated 27 December 1807 is very hard to make out. The others are fairly distinguishable. We have also included the original record from Alvan Talcott’s notes. -----Julius Kelsey / Lois Griffin / Samuel-Marah / Samuel Griffin.

Leonard Davis of Killingworth, Church records

In March of 2013 we posted a collection of documents for the family of Azuba Griffin and her husband Henry Davis. Part of that collection was the baptismal records for their children that are found in the records of the Killingworth Congregational Second Society. The historical evidence suggests that Azuba and Henry were faithful members. Because of their membership the Society clerks added marriage and death notations for their children including the death of their son Leonard. As part of the record of Leonard’s death the clerk added the notation “Episcopalian”. I had reviewed this collection of records many times and that simple notation had escaped my attention. Its discovery led us to expand our search for the family of Leonard Davis. Leonard’s children were born during the 30-year span in which there are almost no surviving records from Killingworth. I had never considered the fact that any of the Griffin clan would stray from allegiance to the Second Society. These two circumstances limited the scope of our previous searches. The recovery of his probate file changed all of that. Armed with a collection of names relating to Leonard’s family we began a new search of the Killingworth records that resulted in our discovery of the Episcopal connection. Much to our delight we found that the Episcopal records from that time frame had survived and were available for our review not only that we found a treasure of information in them for Leonard’s family. The Killingworth Episcopal movement received its start from the Episcopal congregation that started in nearby North Madison in what was termed North Bristol. The Killingworth and North Bristol Episcopalian Societies united as The Union Society in 1800. A prominent feature of the universities of the day was a divinity school. These divinity schools provided a steady supply of ordained ministers for the Congregational Societies. The same was not true for the Episcopalians. Many parishes were instead led by lay readers. Such was the case in Killingworth. The "readers" were chosen by the members at the annual parish meetings. The “readers" assumed the responsibly for religious instruction and preaching normally handled by the university trained clergy. Both Leonard Davis and Austin Kelsey, Julius Kelsey’s son, at times assumed this role. Occasionally a ordained clergyman would visit for the purpose of baptizing the children and administering the Holy Communion. The Reverend David Baldwin, who resided in Guilford, assumed responsibility for the Killingworth Parish and it was he who baptized most of Leonard’s children. Within the Killingworth Society Leonard Davis assumed a leadership role. Several times Leonard was elected as the moderator for the annual meetings. Leonard and his son Henry were both part of the parish as were his 1st cousin Julius Kelsey, son of his aunt Lois Griffin, from the North Bristol Parish. Leonard's wife Arta and Julius's wife Sylvia were sisters.------ Included in the collection of documents we present here are; The baptismal and confirmation records for his children including the two sons he names Joel Hobart (note the previous article on Leonard ), the membership record for Leonard and his wife Arta, several documents that highlight Leonard’s involvement in the parish.------Eleanor February 11, 1816, Orpha July 2, 1820, Joel Hobart April 27, 1823, Henry Dennison April 22, 1827, Joel Hobart July 6, 1834 / Leonard Davis / Azuba Griffin / Samuel-Marah / Samuel Griffin.

Finding Leonard Davis's family in his will

Leonard Davis’s birth is found in the Killingworth town records the date is given as September 23, 1791. Leonard married Arta Hill who was born in nearby Madison. Leonard was the son of Azuba Griffin and Henry Davis. We have documented Azuba and Henry’s history on the Blog in January and March 2013. In 1791 it must have been a sight as Azuba present her new baby at the homestead on Roast Meat Hill. The rough farm boys Joel, Asahel, John, Worden, Samuel and Dan. Her sister Lois Griffin Stevens, Her sister Polly Doud up from Guilford. Any number of little cousins. I am sure her father Samuel probably took delight in holding his new grandson. Finding all of Leonard’s family has been a difficult task. We have know for some time that he was buried next to his parents in the Stone House Cemetery along with his wife Arta and two sons Joel Hobart and Henry D. Davis. His headstone lists the date of his death as July 20, 1840 at the age of 49. Sons are often easy to identify using Census records daughters are almost impossible to trace if you do not know their married name. A review of the census records indicates that the family also included two girls. Their identities remained hidden until we were able to recover Leonard’s Will and probate file. As required by the probate courts all of the parties to the transfer of the real estate were required to sign the court document authorizing the transfer. A probate file can cover a period of 15 to 20 years usually ending when the widow signs over her rights to her children which is what we have in this case. It is from this page in the probate file that we can identify Leonard’s family. The signatories to the document were; Orpha Skinner, Emma A. Scranton, Sabrina D. Stone, Eleanor A. Burr, Henry D. Davis, Emily S. Davis and Joel H. Davis. ------ In his will Leonard sets aside a section to address the inheritance given to each of his children. They start with the phrase “We set out”. In his will is a section, Set out, to Orpha Skinner. A review of the Stone House cemetery records identifies; Orpha Davis Skinner, wife of William, died January 21. 1897, age 77 yrs. Next to Orpha is a headstone that reads, William S. Skinner died February 26, 1876, age 59 yrs.------ There is a section, set out, to the heirs of Eleanor Francis. Eleanor was the first child born into the family. Next to the rest of the Davis family in the Stone House Cemetery we find a headstone for, Eleanor Francis, wife of Henry Francis. Eleanor died September 9, 1841 at the age of 26. Henry Francis’s headstone reads, died September 22, 1874, age 60 yrs. The Emma A. Scranton, Sabrina D. Stone and Eleanor A. Burr listed in the probate record are their married daughters left to sign the probate after their mother Eleanor’s passing. ------Next on the signature list and listed third in the will is Henry D. Davis he and his wife Diantha are buried next to his parents. ------ The last two signatures on the probate document are husband and wife Joel H. Davis and his wife Emily. Emily is identified as Joel’s wife elsewhere in the will.------ This leaves one last mystery who is the Joel Hobart Davis buried next to Leonard and Arta? His headstone reads “Joel Hobart Davis, son of Leonard & Arta, died March 11, 1825, age 2 yrs”. The answer is found in the Killingworth Episcopal Church Records. The Killingworth clan had been so faithful to the Killingworth Second Society that it never occurred to us that there would be any family records in the Episcopal records. But in the Episcopal records we find the baptismal records for all of Leonard’s children including one for Joel Hobart Davis on April 27, 1823. Because of his early demise the family then named a second son Joel Hobart a practice we have seen several times in our family history. The second Joel was baptized on July 2, 1834. The second Joel married Emily S. Doty and he is buried in the Evergreen Cemetery in Watertown, Connecticut. His headstone reads September 2, 1832 to October 11, 1894.---- There are a number of things that would seem to indicate that Leonard and his family remained close. With the exception of the 2nd Joel the family is all buried in the Stone House Cemetery. In the 1850 census we find living as neighbors. Henry D. Davis and his wife Diantha, Atra and Joel H., William S. Skinner and his wife Orpha and two of their children, the family all gathered around the large farm created by Henry and Azuba. ------ Eleanor 1815, Orpha 1820, Joel, 1823, Henry 1826, Joel 1832 / Leonard / Azuba Griffin / Samuel-Marah / Samuel Griffin.

A view of an 1850's household

Azuba Griffin (Azuba / Samuel / Samuel ) married Henry Davis and they raised their family on a large farm in Killingworth. Their story is told elsewhere on the Blog ( January and March 2013 ). Their son, Leonard, in all likelihood lived on their homestead until his death. Leonard married Arta Hill. Her will is filed in the Killingworth probate files. One part of Arta’s probate file is an extensive list of all of her personal property some items probably inherited from Azuba. This list provides an interesting insight into the lives of the Griffin Clan living in the mid 1800’s. The list includes feather beds and bed ticks plus pillows and bolsters and all manner of linens. Of a personal nature 3 white lace caps and a fancy black handkerchief. As a reflection of the nature of their existence the list contains a whole section devoted to items from a well outfitted kitchen including a sugar box. A commentary on the quality of the kitchen fare is a set of silver spoons and wine glasses. The list includes 8 lbs of butter, 23 lbs of lard ( you can’t make pie crust without lard) and 43 lbs of pork hams. Listed are a cider barrel, a molasses keg and a wine keg.