Mapping it Out

I do better with visuals. I tried to map out the immigrant path - still a lot of incomplete information even after all these years of work. Here is how it went down with my four sets of great-great grandparents on my dad's side.

Includes Cappoens, Meserol, Fontaine, Leroy, Miller, Linsey lines
antecedents of my paternal grandfather, Leo Linsey
(Click to enlarge)

Abraham Owens and Zachariah Holler. This family joined with the Miller family with the marriage
of David Owens and Sarah Holler. This is the paternal side of my grandfather Leo Linsey's family.

UNK Smull immigrant who was father to Brush Valley, PA's Brothers Smull. The Quaker Cooper's of Pennsylvania and the Quaker Beams family of Whitley County, Kentucky joined  with the marriage of William Lloyd
Cooper and Elizabeth Beams. This family  joined the Smull family with  the marriage
of Johnathan Smull and Mary Jane Cooper, maternal 2GG of my grandmother Verlie Smith Michaelsen Linsey.

James Smith is the earliest located Smith originally believed to be from Monmouth, NJ
The Munson family goes back to Munson immigrant who arrive in Connecticut in 1637. Grant County, Wisconsin
was the site of the joining of the Munson and Smith families when William Custer Smith
married Mary Ann Munson. This is my maternal grandmother Verlie Smith Michaelsen Linsey's paternal grandparents.

Clan William: William Calvin Munson

Capt Thomas Munson > Samuel Munson > Samuel James Munson > William Munson > Samuel II Munson > Calvin Munson > Rilman Munson > William Calvin Munson m Eleanor Jane Mackey 

We talked a bit about Calvin here. Calvin purchased 146 acres of unimproved land in Trumbull County and through some sort of measuring error, he both built his small cabin home and improved property that was not part of the land he owned! This put him a bit behind, but he worked diligently to clear his own land, where he then farmed. He also built a the first sawmill in the township of Vienna. (Another report says Calvin purchased 154 acres)

Early steam powered saw mill

Rilman Munson was the second son of Calvin Munson.  Rilman, born 25 Jun 1799 in Waterbury, Connecticut, moved with his family to Trumbull County in 1804/05 with his family. He and his brother Randal split the land of his father after his death, Rilman taking the eastern half. Rilman married German immigrant Elizabeth Sowers on 06 Apr 1825. The couple had only one child who survived, William Calvin Munson.

W. C. Munson was born 06 Oct 1826 in Vienna Township, Trumbull County. W. C. attended school at Methodist Corners, about two miles from the farm, until another schoolhouse was built closer to the homeplace. After school, he became a stone mason and he and his father partnered in a new mill which they operated for three years when W. C. was about 17 years old.  In 1845, W. C. erected his own mill on his land which he operated until about 1864, when he put up a steam mill on a new 234-acre piece of land he purchased that year. In 1851, he married Eleanor Jane Mackey. She died on 20 Jul 1884 after giving birth to at least six children.

W. C. registered for the draft, but did not serve:

"At the date of the Civil War, Mr Munson had raised a company of troops to enter the Union cause, but on account of his parents was compelled to remain at home. He was personally acquainted with the late President William McKinley, as he was also with his venerable father, William McKinley, Sr." A twentieth century history of Trumbull County, Ohio; a narrative account of its historical progress, its people, and its principal interests; by Upton, Harriet Taylor; Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago (Ill.), Published 1909

W. C. operated his mill and farm until about 1900. Along the way, he specialized in raising quality Holstein cattle. After he retired, son John William took over the mill and Jesse ran the farm. Son Willis J. was a volunteer fireman and also a salesman. At the time of his death, he sold Studebaker wagons. Daughters Jane and Lavinia married and raised their families. 

W. C. died 10 Jan 1909. Sadly, oldest son John died a mere four days after his father, on 14 Jan 1909.

Clan William: Calvin Munson and Family

Capt Thomas Munson > Samuel Munson > Samuel James Munson > William Munson > Samuel II Munson > Calvin Munson

Trumbull County 1856 - These townships are where
most of our ancestors settled

You can read a little about Samuel Munson here on my cousin's blog. He was referred to as Samuel Munson 2nd because there are so darned many Samuels. His grandfather and great grandfather were leaders in their community and quite accomplished. Samuel 2nd was the first of the clan to head west to Ohio to settle in the Trumbull County area in September 1804. Many of the earliest settlers fit into our family tree. His wife, Susanna Tyler and he were married about 1764 in Wallingford, New Haven, Connecticut. They had at least 8 children, among them, my 4th great grandfather, Freeman Munson.

They were some of the very earliest settlers in the area. The couple purchased land in Vienna Township on 12 May 1804 "Samuel Munson buys 154 acres from the east end of Lot #5 for $438.90," (this included Brookfield Township until 1811),(Another report has 146 acres having been purchased).

Freeman's brother Calvin was, according to family records, born on 04 May 1770 (one report has 1769) in Wallingford. He married Sarah "Sally" Hungerford on 27 Nov 1794 in Waterbury. She was the daughter of Rosannah Williams and Revolutionary War soldier David Wallingford. David died while a POW in NYC in 1777. Calvin and Sally had at least five children: Randal, Rilman, Lucy, Deidamia, and Susanna.

In 1793, a year before he married, Isaac Benham sold him 13 acres of land in Waterbury, CT, "to be taken off from the north end of my land near Samuel Munson's House." He paid 27 Pounds for the land. He took the freeman's oath at Waterbury 20 Sep 1802. He sold the land on his departure to Ohio.

John Bull represented England as Uncle Sam later
represented the US. Columbia takes that role here.

 Calvin always farmed once he arrived in Ohio. He also served as a tanner and shoemaker. The War of 1812 interrupted his peaceful, hard-working life, and he was called to serve as a private in Captain Jedediah Burnham's Company from August to mid-November of 1812 and Jan-Feb of 1813.

He returned to farm and remained doing so until the end of his life, when he moved "into town." Along the way, he was involved in creating the first rural school in Vienna township, which was originally called "The Munson School," but later was dubbed "The Carey School," after the Carey family who lived nearby. The school burned to the ground in the 1920s.

Once he had retired to town, his sons Randal and Rilman took over the family farm, splitting it with Randal getting the west side of the farm and Rilman the east. All of his children married and had children. I will take us down their paths at a later time. Sally died 06 Feb 1844 and Calvin 02 Sep 1846, both in Vienna Township.

The Munson Clans and a Post About Aeneas Munson

Munson Clan Tree

My 2nd great grandmother on my paternal grandmother's side of the family was Mary Ann Munson. She certainly didn't make any big splashes and was quite like most pioneer Americans, working hard for a better life, being a reliable and steadfast helpmeet to her husband, William Custer Smith, and raising her family. Her ultimate destination was Fremont Township, Butler County, Iowa, but the Smith family's lives revolved around the neighboring Bremer County community of  Plainfield.

The Munsons can trace their roots back to the immigrant Munson, Captain Thomas Munson. According to the Munson Family Foundation website:

"The first appearance of Thomas Munson (1612-1685) in America is recorded in Hartford, Connecticut in 1637 as a member of the militia unit engaged in the Pequot Indian War. He signed the Fundamental Agreement at New Haven Colony (dated 1639) prior to April 1640 and established his permanent home. His life and actions are well documented in The Munson Record, Volume I and the Connecticut colony records.The evidence is persuasive that the Thomas Munson who was recorded as being baptized in St. Nicholas Church in Rattlesden, County Suffolk, England on September 13, 1612, was the same man who later distinguished himself in the public affairs of colonial New Haven."

ThomasMunson.org

To trace this now huge lineage, some wise person broke it all down into clans. So, each of us from the Munson lineage was attached to the great grandson of the original immigrant. In my case, I'm a descendant of Thomas' great grandson William, and belong to Clan William. There were originally 17 clans, but this did not include all the descendants of Thomas (excluding the female lines), so in 2008, the Foundation agreed to consider activating a total of 43 additional lines to ensure full inclusion. Only a handful of these have been researched and activated. This involves literally millions of descendants.

My new cousin, whom I've not met, but religiously read her always informative blog, today talks about another distant cousin from Clan Theophilus, Dr. Aeneas Munson, Revolutionary War Surgeon. 

Dr. Aeneas Munson, Jr.