Amos Munson, who I wrote about here, is my 3rd great grandfather. My 2nd great grandmother was his daughter Mary Ann who married William Custer Smith and resided in the Butler/Bremer/ Chickasaw counties area of Iowa after leaving Grant County, Wisconsin in the 1860s. Amos' daughter Henrietta Munson Woodington is well-chronicled here.

This is the last of the four posts about these remaining daughters.

JULIA ANNA MUNSON

Like her sister Caroline, I don't have a definitive birthdate for Julia, but it probably occurred between 1846-1849 and again, I like the earlier, rather than the later date for a number of reasons. A native of Trumbull County, Ohio, she traveled with her family to the Eastern District Grant County in Wisconsin in 1849/1850. She married her sister Caroline's husband's brother, Frederick Porter Newcomb on 22 Jan 1869 in Delaware County, Iowa.

In 1870, the young couple and their eldest daughter, Cora, were living in Perry Township in Tama County, Iowa. Like his brother U.C., F. P. Newcomb also plied his trade as a harness maker.

In 1880, F. P. is listed on two Census enumeration sheets. He is clearly counted as a duplicate in the one that has him living in Perry, Tama County with his wife and three children. In the second census, he is listed as a resident of the Iowa State Hospital for the Insane in Washington Township in Buchanan County (Independence, Iowa). His business is listed as "harness maker" and he has epilepsy. The fact he had epilepsy didn't make him crazy, but as I've discussed before, people with conditions like epilepsy were highly likely to end up institutionalized.

The duplicate having FP Newcomb living in Tama County in 1880

The actual Census location at the State Hospital for the Insane, 1880

Frederick Porter Newcomb died while institutionalized on 27 Aug 1883. He was buried near his stepmother, Hannah Huntley Newcomb in Delaware County, Iowa. This is a case where I so wish there was an 1890 Census that would allow me to track Julia and solve the next mystery.

THE MOST INTERESTING 1900 CENSUS.
The 1900 Census has Julia living with a translated "Feril" Newcomb (this translation is nebulous at best and highly unreadable), age 66. The adults and the children line up with both Julia and U.C. Elma is where U.C. and Caroline were living (Caroline having died in 1893) until both of their deaths.

Julia is listed as his wife, but the date of marriage is 1867, which is not possible. There is no 1900 Census available for Uri, so despite the many errors on this Census, I believe that this is Julia, living in the home with U.C., her mother Mary Ann Kearney Munson and a mixture of some of their children. There is no record of any "Feril" Newcomb in any other record available. It would totally been normal for Julia to assist U.C. after his wife's death in maintaining the home, especially in her widowhood.

But, she may have actually married him. The two pieces of evidence to support this are U.C.'s obituary, which refers to his "wife," and the 1900 Census which lists him as married and Julia is his spouse. I just don't have a marriage record or they may have been living in common law.

Julia had moved on at some point since brother-in-law/husband U.C. died in 1902. In 1910 she was living with U.C.'s daughter Nellie and her son Lewis in Woonsocket, South Dakota. Lewis and Nellie had no children. Julia passed away 31 Jul 1911 in Woonsocket.

UPDATE: Definitive proof of the marriage of U.C. and Julia exists in the probate records at Howard County, where Julia is listed as the wife and administrator of the estate.

Clan William: Those Munson Girls - Caroline Amanda Munson

Capt Thomas Munson > Samuel Munson > Samuel James Munson > William Munson > Samuel II Munson > Freeman Munson > Amos Munson > Caroline Amanda Munson m Uri Clark Newcomb

Amos Munson, who I wrote about here, is my 3rd great grandfather. My 2nd great grandmother was his daughter Mary Ann who married William Custer Smith and resided in the Butler/Bremer/ Chickasaw counties area of Iowa after leaving Grant County, Wisconsin in the 1860s. Amos' daughter Henrietta Munson Woodington is well-chronicled here.

These four daughters will be the basis for the next few posts.

CAROLINE AMANDA MUNSON

I still haven't pinned down a date of birth for Caroline - various census say anything from 1838-1842. I tend to like 1838 or 1839, but still need to prove it. She was born in Trumbull County, Ohio and came with her family to the Eastern District Grant County in 1849/1850 when a teenager. While living in Glen Haven in Grant County, she married Uri Clark Newcomb in on 01 Sep 1860 in Grant County.

"U. C." was part of the sprawling Colonel Uri C. Newcomb family of Montrose, Susquehanna, Pennsylvania.

In 1870, the Newcombs resided in Tama City, as it was then called, in Tama County, Iowa, In 1873 he had moved to Traer in Tama County and set up its first harness shop and built one of the town's first buildings in which to house the shop. He sold his interest in to his nephew A. G. Newcomb in 1883. In the Iowa State Census of 1885, they were living in Bradford (now part of Nashua) in Chickasaw county where, it appears as though he was keeping a restaurant. Quite a departure for a family of harness makers.

They soon after departed for the young town of Elma, in Howard County, just north of Chickasaw County. It is presumed, based on newspaper items, he plied his harness-making trade while there.
Caroline died at a relatively young 55 on 08 Apr 1893 in Elma. She was buried in the Howard Cemetery in Elma.

The U. C. Newcombs' had seven children in total: Lilla May (died at age 2 in Tama), Della Josephine Breckon, Edgar Clark (died at 22 in Tama), Orion Alburn, Nella Mae (who married Lewis Porter Newcomb, her first cousin and child of Frederick Porter and Julia Munson Newcomb), Effie Bell (died as infant), and Howard Clifford.

Another marriage of cousins

*In 1900, I believe he was living with his sister-in-law and later wife, Julia Munson, a mixture of some of their children, and his mother-in-law in Elma. Please see the discussion of this here.

We find U.C. still around in this amusing 1901 article from the Nashua Reporter:

A Former Nashuaite Skunked

UC Newcomb had about made up his mind to quit the harness business and "go trapping," so he commenced operations at home, setting a wire trap in the cellar for a rat that had been raising "hob" there. The next morning the trap was occupied, not by the rat but an animal that "Newc" pronounced to be a spotted mink. It was a beauty so he decided to tame it and he kept it in the cage trap for some time, fed it bread and butter, etc., and with considerable pride exhibited it to his neighbors. One of the neighbor's children, a little girl of six or eight years came over to see the "kitty" as she called it and proceeded to prod it with a stick. That was too much for the "kitty" and it resented the act in a way that made the little girl's mother look cross. "Newc" killed the "spotted mink" and to visit the place now makes one think that fourteen drug stores had all used that spot as a place to dump their stock of perfumes. Mr Newcomb has given up the fur business and is again at the old reliable shop making harness. He got "skunked" in his first game of trapping. - Elma Vidette

Nashua Reporter November 28, 1901

===

U. C. continued on working in his shop every day until his own death on 24 Apr 1902 in Elma, when he died suddenly while on the way to work.

Sunday, July 10, 2022

Clan William: Chester Case Lord and Julia Elizabeth Munson

Chester Case Lord

Today's Munson is Julia Elizabeth Munson "Elizabeth" of Montreat, North Carolina. Elizabeth and Chester lived the good life in a village founded specifically on religious principals in the beautiful Flat Creek Valley surrounded by mountains on three sides in Buncombe County, North Carolina.

Capt Thomas Munson > Samuel Munson > Samuel James Munson > William Munson > William Munson II> Seba Munson > George Pardee Munson > Julia Elizabeth Munson m. Chester Case Lord

Chester Lord was born in Killingworth, CT, 09 Sep 1857, but lived with his family in Cheshire after his birth. He was the son of Benjmain and Antoinette Goodrich Case Lord. In 1883, he married Juline Louisa Atwater, daughter of Elizur Punderson and Julia Augusta Hemingway Atwater. Juline was five years Chester's senior. Chester farmed with Juline's father for several years. During this time, he was a fervent advocate of the Grange Movement and led the charge in Cheshire to institute The Grange in 1885 [1].

The Patrons of Husbandry, or the Grange, was founded in 1867 to advance methods of agriculture, as well as to promote the social and economic needs of farmers in the United States. The financial crisis of 1873, along with falling crop prices, increases in railroad fees to ship crops, and Congress’s reduction of paper money in favor of gold and silver devastated farmers’ livelihoods and caused a surge in Grange membership in the mid-1870s. Both at the state and national level, Grangers gave their support to reform-minded groups such as the Greenback Party, the Populist Party, and, eventually, the Progressives.[2]

In 1889, he was a foreman at hardware manufacturer Sargent & Co. in New Haven. Lord's health was suffering, so he decided to move to a better climate in 1897. His wife, Juline, and young children, Robert Atwater Lord (1887-1972) and Margery Juline Lord (1891-1984) remained in New Haven while he scouted a new place to live in The Mountain Retreat, Buncombe County, North Carolina.

The Mountain Retreat sat nestled in between mountains on three sides. It was selected by the evangelist Rev John C Collins, of New Haven who wanted to create a mountain retreat community and a health resort for rescue mission workers. The first program was held in July 1897. Think annual tent camp religion. People would come and gather, sleep in platform tents and worship in large open areas, seated at benches in the great outdoors. The retreat grew and the village became Montreat. I higly recommend reading the full story of the retreat here.

C C Lord and family became the first residents of Montreat and built the first house in the area. The home was 18 x 24 and two stories. [5] After the house was built, the family, wife Juline, son Robert Atwater Lord (1887-1972) and Margery Lord (1891-1981) joined Chester in Montreat in 1898. The family hosted boarders who were missionaries who were looking for respite after serving their tours of duty. After just months in Montreat, Lord's health was improved and he put on twenty pounds, according to his Connecticut doctor who had visited the Lord's in North Carolina.

Photo: Preservation Society of Asheville Buncombe

By 1899, the village continued to grow, particularly during the summer months. Montreat sported a school, post office, hotel, circulating library and a temporary bank. Housing was booming too and 20 new cottages were built. Montreat was on its way.

Elizabeth Munson Lord

The Lord's had brought Juline's mother down to Montreat in 1899 and she suddenly died of pneumonia. Months later, Juline Atwater Lord died on September 28, 1900. She left now 12-year-old Robert and 8-year-old Margery. Juline was just 48. The children were left well-provided the inheritance Juline left and the money would even send Margery to medical school years later.

Just a year later, on 11 Oct 1901, C C went to New Haven and married Julia Elizabeth Munson. Julia went by Elizabeth. Elizabeth was a first cousin to Juline. Julia's mother was sister to Juline's father.

The lives of the Lords went on in Montreat. C C joined the board of the Mountain Retreat Association, which was in charge of all parts of development in Montreat. He became the Secretary/Recorder of the management committee. He also served in several other capacities, including as general manager in 1904.

Housing was of foremost concern during the "tourist" months. Lord built a 2-story boarding house for the coming summer that was named, "Truda" on the Lord property. It became a very popular destination within Montreat.

Chester and Elizabeth Lord in front of their Truda Cottage
Photo: Preservation Society of Ashville Bumcombe

Lord had fingers in lots of pies in Montreat. In addition to running his boarding house and civic activities, he also became a bit of a real estate developer. He would take unimproved lots and improve them and sell them at a profit.

Lord's religious interests continued as well, and in 1906, a small group of citizens got together to form a Presbyterian church. In 1908, Lord built a grocery store next to the post office. He sold the store to the Association in 1914.

In 1922, Lord created a 10-room addition to his home and renovated much of the old property. He was also named Postmaster of Montreat. Lord remained post officer until 1932, when he was 75.

Photo: Preservation Society of Ashevill Buncombe

Unfortunately, this is also the year that his wife Elizabeth died of breast cancer at age 60. A service was held in Montreat and her body was taken for a funeral back in Cheshire. She was buried in Hillside Cemetery next to her cousin, Juline Atwater Lord, Chester's first wife.

In 1926, Lord bought into the reorganized Black Mountain Lumber Company and was one of two major owners. The same year, he joined two partners to start the Spruce Pine Lumber Company. Seems he was never going to retire, but he did slow down. He lived his last years working with the Presbyterian church as an elder and attended to Association business. On May 8, 1942, he passed away at age 86. He left all of his holdings in Montreat to his daughter, Dr. Margery Lord, with whom he shared his home in his last years.

[1]The Connecticut Granges: An Historical Account of the Rise and Growth of the Patrons of Husbandry : Sketches of the State, Pomona, and Subordinate Granges of Connecticut, with Valuable Statistics, Notices of Prominent Members, Portraits, and Illustrations; New Haven Publishing Company, New Haven, Connecticut, 1900
[2] The Gilder Lehman Institute of American History, History Resources, The Grange Movement 1875; https://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-resources/spotlight-primary-source/grange-movement-1875
[3] Presbyterian Heritage Center, History, retrieved 7/10/22, https://phcmontreat.org/montreathistory-Collins-Gales.htm
[4] Preservation Society of Asheville, Buncombe, retrieved 7/10/22, https://psabc.org/chester-lord-of-lord-place-and-the-start-of-the-pretty-little-religious-village-of-montreat/
[5] The Alumnae Record by Salem College (Winston-Salem, N.C.), 1924

Sunday, November 6, 2016

Clan William: Those Munson Girls - Lamira Munson

Capt Thomas Munson > Samuel Munson > Samuel James Munson > William Munson > Samuel II Munson > Freeman Munson > Amos Munson > Lamira Munson m George W Ball

Amos Munson, who I wrote about here, is my 3rd great grandfather. My 2nd great grandmother was his daughter Mary Ann who married William Custer Smith and resided in the Butler/Bremer/ Chickasaw counties area of Iowa after leaving Grant County, Wisconsin in the 1860s. Amos' daughter Henrietta Munson Woodington is well-chronicled here.

These four daughters will be the basis for the next few posts.

LAMIRA MUNSON

Lamira did not live a long life. She was born in about 1834 in Trumbull County, Ohio and came with her parents, Amos & Mary Ann Munson, to the Eastern District of Grant County in 1849/1850 when she was 16. She married George W. Ball, in Grant County on 10 Aug 1851.George was born in New York State about 1831. The couple had two surviving children, Mary Josephine Ball, born in 1852 and Walter Scott Ball born 17 Nov 1861, both in Grant County. She died at age 31 29 Oct 1865.

George would marry again to Caroline Key McCallister, originally of Canada and the widow of Nathan McCallister. She had two children. The Ball's would go on to have Henry, Ida, Dora, Lenna, Forest, Wyman, and Lee Ball. Caroline died prior to 1900 and George died after 1910 in Seattle, Washington where he lived with his daughter Ida and her family.

I'll cover the Uri Sr. Newcomb family of Montrose, Susquehanna, Pennsylvania in more depth in a coming post as they play an important role in the Munson history.

Mary Josephine Ball "Josephine," born in 1852 in Grant County, Wisconsin, married 26 Oct 1873 in Tama, Iowa to Arthur Gilman Newcomb (born 10 Apr 1851 in Montrose, Susquehanna, Pensylvania), a harness maker and farmer and son of Marvin Alonzo Newcomb (and wife Amanda Pratt). His father M. A. was brother to Frederick Porter and Uri Clark Newcomb, husbands of Julia and Caroline Munson.

This bio was published prior to son George's death:

A. G. Newcomb, harness maker, now owns the business which was established by himself and father, November 23, 1874. This is the longest established business of the kind in Traer. The present building was erected in 1875; and in October, 1879, M. A. Newcomb, father of A. G. and senior member of the firm, retired and left the business entirely for his son. M. A. Newcomb came here, from Tama City, in the spring of 1873. He was one of the early settlers of that city and its first Mayor. A. G. was born in Susquehanna county, Pennsylvania, in 1851. He came to Tama City with his parents in 1867, and there learned his trade. His uncle, U. C. Newcomb, opened the first harness shop in Traer, in the spring of 1873. A. G. worked with his uncle till the spring of 1874, then opened a shop in Dysart, which he ran till in November, when his father and himself opened their shop in Traer, as above stated. M. A. Newcomb removed from Perry township to Waterloo, thence to Waverly, Bremer county, this State, and from there moved to Michell, Dakota. A. G. Newcomb married Miss Josephine Bull (sic), a native of Wisconsin, and daughter of G. W. Bull (sic), now of Minnesota; her mother is deceased. They have had four children, three of whom are now living: Myrtle C., Earl and George M. Maud is deceased.

History of Tama County, Iowa, 1883, Union Publishing Company

By 1900, they were living in Silver Creek, Sanborn County, South Dakota. By 1910, they had joined several other family members in Woonsocket. Arthur died in 31 May 1912. The 1920 Census has Josephine living in Spokane, Washington with son Earl's family. And, in 1930, she was back in South Dakota, living with her granddaughter Mary Ferne Cox McDonald in Washington Springs in Jerauld County. She continued living with Ferne and family through the 1940 Census. She died 29 Jun 1941, presumably in South Dakota. They had four children: Myrtice "Mertie" Newcomb Cox, Maude (who died as an infant), Earl Aubry Newcomb, and George Martin (who died at age 11 in 1891 in Tama County, Iowa).

Walter Scott Ball was born 17 Nov 1861 in Fennimore, Grant County, Wisconsin. On 16 May 1889, he married Cora Ann Newcomb (born 29 Dec 1869 in Tama County), daughter of Frederick Porter Newcomb and Julia Munson in Woonsocket, Sanborn, South Dakota. In 1900, they lived in Woonsocket and Walter was a dry goods salesman. He continued as a commercial salesman in 1910 and they lived next to sister Josephine. In 1920, he was back in the harness making business and owned his own shop in Woonsocket. He was retired by 1930, but two of his sons and his wife resided with him. In that year, he died:

WS BALL DIES AT HIS HOME IN WOONSOCKET

WOONSOCKET, April 14 - Special - WS Ball, a resident of Woonsocket since 1883 died at his home here Saturday night following a paralytic stroke. Mr Ball, who ws 68 years ago at the time of his death had been in apparently good health, bud had suffered strokes previous to the one that caused his death. He had been up town earlier in the evening.

Surviving Mr Ball besides his widow are six sons, Harry of Minnesota, Arthur, Earl, George, Clifford, and Carroll of Woonsocket and a daughter Mrs Cleo Roach, also of Woonsocket. Funeral services will be held Tuesday afternoon at 1:30 o'clock from the family home with the Rev Mr Hoyer of the Methodist church in charge. Interment will be in Eventide.

Evening Huronite April 14, 1930

===

Cora lived until some time after 1940 and lived with daughter Mrs Harry (Chloe) Roache as of the 1940 Census.

Note: Woonsocket was a little boom town when it was first settled. It was noted for its many artesian wells, which provided ample water for the farmers in the area.

Wednesday, October 11, 2017

Clan William: The Newcomb Family of Montrose, Pennsylvania

Capt Thomas Munson > Samuel Munson > Samuel James Munson > William Munson > Samuel II Munson > Freeman Munson > Amos Munson > Caroline Munson m. Uri Clark Newcomb and Julia Munson m. Frederick Porter Newcomb and Uri Clark Newcomb

The Newcomb family of Montrose, Pennsylvania, headed by patriarch Col Uri C Newcomb, provided husbands to two of the Munson girls. Julia married son Frederick Porter Newcomb and Caroline married Clark Newcomb. After Caroline died, Julia married Clark.

The Newcomb family has a long and storied history in the US, going back several generations before the birth of Uri Sr. on 02 Aug 1806 in Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania.

The great grandfather of Uri, Silas Newcomb, was born in 1717 and married Submit Pineo in Lebanon Crank (now Columbia), Connecticut. His wife's family were French Huegonots. Old Silas died suddenly of a stroke while sitting under a tree, 24 May 1773. His wife was described as, "having a remarkable attachment to her children and grandchildren. " Five of their sons were coopers and three were physicians.

Uri's grandfather, Captain John Brewster Newcomb, was born in Lebanon, Windham County, Connecticut. He and his family lived for many years on "Metcalf Hill," which he had received from his father Silas' estate in 1774. After the birth of their last child, they moved around quite a bit in New York, moving to Oxford, Owasco Flats, Oswego, Moravia, Owego, where his wife died. He then moved to Scipio, where he remarried in 1818, to Reliance (Ticknor) Strong, widow of Daniel Strong. He held various offices in New York, including justice of the peace, as a captain in a calvary company, and was a prominent member of a masonic fraternity. He was described as "an intelligent and an eminently good man," in the Newcomb Family History.

Montrose

Uri's father John was a cooper and farmer who moved the family to Bridgeport, Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania in 1804. All of their 10 children were born in Montrose. Uri was the eldest.

Uri married Emily Tyler on 04 Oct 1826 and they had 12 children before Emily died on 06 Oct 1863. After her death, he married Hannah Huntley on 23 Jun 1864 in Delaware County, Iowa, and they went on to have two sons, neither of whom survived childhood.

One of the things Uri did before his big move west to Iowa was to contract for Mail Route 3187, a mail route from Montrose to Towanda. The trip was 40 miles each way and he went three times per week. His low bid was $700 for a two-horse coach. He started the contract in 1856. He also served as a colonel in the Pennsylvania State Militia.

He and most of his children headed west and landed in Tama, Iowa. They moved to Traer in Tama

Typical harness maker shop

county later - most likely about 1873. They were a family of harness makers. Son Clark was the first harness maker to establish himself there (with his father) in 1874. The building was erected in 1875 and was later taken over by son Marvin's son Arthur Gilman when Clark moved on to Chickasaw and then Howard County. Marvin himself was Tama City's first mayor and was justice of the peace for many years prior to his death in 1884. Many of Uri's grandchildren ended up in South Dakota later; none remained in Tama from the time of Marvin's death.

Uri died on 12 Sep 1883 in Delaware County and his second wife, Hannah Huntley, died 04 Aug 1893.

Tuesday, November 1, 2016

Clan William: Amos Munson from Trumbull County

Glen Haven, Grant County, Wisconsin

Capt Thomas Munson > Samuel Munson > Samuel James Munson > William Munson > Samuel II Munson > Freeman Munson > Amos Munson m Mary Ann Kearney

Amos is my 3rd great grandfather.

Samuel Munson, son of William Munson and Rebecca Curtis, came to Brookfield, Trumbull County, Ohio from New Haven County, Connecticut with his family in about 1806. Son, Freeman, born near Waterbury, Connecticut in 1878 lived as an adult in Vienna Township and farmed. You can read a little about Freeman here and here.

Freeman's son Amos, born 31 Jan 1809 in Trumbull County, married Mary Ann Kearney on 20 Aug 1831, in Vienna. The 1850 Census shows that by 1850, the Munson's were living in the Eastern District of Grant County, Wisconsin, Since their final child of eight, Charles Fremont Munson, is shown to have been born in Ohio in 1849, I would surmise that their trip took place sometime between 1849-1850.

Their first child, Margaret was born on 05 Sep 1831 in Trumbull County, according to her Iowa Burial record (this is less than a month after their marriage, so this birth date might have been inaccurately reported - or not!). She would marry Giles Weaks on 05 Oct 1851 in Grant County, Wisconsin. Amos' fourth child, Caroline Amanda, was born in about 1838 in Trumbull County, and would marry Uri Clark Newcomb, Jr. on 01 Sep 1860 in Grant Count, Wisconsin. "U.C" or "Clark" was the son of Colonel Uri Clark Newcomb, Sr. and Emily Tyler, originally of Montrose, Susquehanna, Pennsylvania.

Amos Munson & Mary Ann Kearney
20 Aug 1831, Trumbull County

Amos is shown in 1860 as living in Glen Haven in Grant County.

In 1880, Amos and Mary Ann were living in Perry in Tama County, Iowa with son Charles and his wife Stella and their son. Daughter Caroline, now Caroline Newcomb, and her family living nearby. Caroline died in 1893. In 1873 "U. C." Newcomb was the owner of the first harness shop in Traer which he sold to his nephew A. G. Newcomb in 1883.

Amos's burial record indicates that he died 05 Aug 1885 and was buried in Hawkeye. His daughter Margaret Weaks, lived in Bethel Township in 1880, which is right next door to the Hawkeye cemetery where Amos was buried. Margaret died in 1896. Margaret's husband Giles P. Weaks, died in 1900 in Hawkeye, which he stated in his will was his residence. I theorize that in Amos' waning years, they lived with Margaret and her family.

Hawkeye Cemetery

Mary Ann left Fayette County sometime after her daughter Margaret's death. She is found in Howard County living with whom with double-son-in-law U.C. Newcomb and his former sister-in-law/now wife (her daughter) Julia. Her daughter, U.C.'s wife had died in 1893. Mary Ann died in Howard on 12 Oct 1901. She was buried in Hawkeye with her husband Amos. Her daughter Julia died in 1911.

Of interest is that Amos' sister, Henrietta Vaughn, lived very close by in Randalia, Fayette County, Iowa and clears up some of the mystery of what happened to the Freeman Munson children who left Trumbull County.

Sunday, June 17, 2018

Clan William: The Newcombs and Mayflower Immigrants.

Governor Wm Bradford

Capt Thomas Munson > Samuel Munson > Samuel James Munson > William Munson > Samuel II Munson > Freeman Munson > Amos Munson m Mary Ann Kerney

The children of Amos & Mary Ann Munson married into the Newcomb family of Pennsylvania and here and read more here. Their immigrant was Capt Thomas Munson, founding father of the Munson's of America, who arrived in the US in 1637.

Caroline married Uri Clark Newcomb and sister Julia married Frederick Porter Newcomb. Caroline and Frederick died and Julia married her sister's widower, Clark. To top it off, Almira Munson married George Ball. Their daughter married Arthur Gilman Newcomb, a nephew of Clark and F.P. Newcomb. Now, we're going to have a quiz. Or not.

Anyway, my point is, the Munson's ties to the Newcomb's are very deep and complex. The Newcomb's time here in America is also quite long. It even includes a marriage within the the family of one of the original Mayflower immigrants - a great granddaughter of Governor Bradford of Plymouth with Hezekiah Newcomb. There are 35 million claimed descendants of this relatively small group of Mayflower settlers.

Capt Andrew Newcomb was born in the East of England, possibly Devonshire, about 1618. He was a sea captain. He died in Boston in 1686. The descendant Newcombs are in the millions - but our Newcombs are descended from LT Andrew Newcomb, the eldest son of the first wife (Andrew is not mentioned in his father's will and there is some contention over his parentage).

According to The Genealogical Memoir of the Newcomb Family by John Bearse Newcomb, it is believed that Lt Andrew Newcomb came to America as early as 1666. He was also a sea-faring man in his younger life and his earliest recorded mention in writing is regarding a meeting he attended to help set the price of fish in the new colony. Andrew ultimately settled on Martha's Vineyard and does not appear to have felt the call of the sea for many years. He owned a number of pieces of land and served as constable during his lifetime. He died intestate.

Fishing in the New England colonies dates back to the early 1600s when the first Pilgrims made the journey across the ocean to the New World. The poor farmland caused the fishing industry to become vital to the success of the 13 colonies.

Early fishing vessels

USA Today

Simon Newcomb born about 1666 and believed to have been born at the Isles of Shoals in Maine before his father moved to the Edgartown area on Martha's Vineyard. Simon later moved his family to New London, Connecticut, where he remained until his death in 1774. Simon's son Hezekiah was born in 1693 in Edgartown and married the great granddaughter of Governor William Bradford, of the original Mayflower immigrants.

Jerusha Bradford was born in 1692 in Norwich, New London, Connecticut. They married 14 Nov 1716 in Norwich. Jerusha's line from the Governor is: Thomas, Maj William, Gov William Bradford. Jerusha's aunt Hannah Bradford married into the Ripley line when she married John Ripley in 1684. That tells you just how tied in those New England folks intermarried!

Hezekiah's son Silas was the father of Capt John Brewster Newcomb, born in 1760. According to the Lineage Book, Vol 19 of the DAR, Newcomb was a, "conductor of trains for the transportation of supplies from Lebanon to the Continental Army," during the Revolutionary War. John was the grandfather of Uri Newcomb - the father of all the "modern" Newcombs who pioneered west to Iowa and South Dakota.

The great grandfather of Uri, Silas Newcomb, was born in 1717 and married Submit Pineo in Lebanon Crank (now Columbia), Connecticut. His wife's family were French Huegonots. Old Silas died suddenly of a stroke while sitting under a tree, 24 May 1773. His wife was described as, "having a remarkable attachment to her children and grandchildren. " Five of their sons were coopers and three were physicians. Uri's grandfather, Captain John Brewster Newcomb, was born in Lebanon, Windham County, Connecticut. He and his family lived for many years on "Metcalf Hill," which he had received from his father Silas' estate in 1774. After the birth of their last child, they moved around quite a bit in New York, moving to Oxford, Owasco Flats, Oswego, Moravia, Owego, where his wife died. He then moved to Scipio, where he remarried in 1818, to Reliance (Ticknor) Strong, widow of Daniel Strong. He held various offices in New York, including justice of the peace, as a captain in a calvary company, and was a prominent member of a masonic fraternity. He was described as "an intelligent and an eminently good man," in the Newcomb Family History. ~ Me, Here, Right Now

Saturday, November 5, 2016

Clan William: Those Munson Girls - Margaret Jane Munson

Capt Thomas Munson > Samuel Munson > Samuel James Munson > William Munson > Samuel II Munson > Freeman Munson > Amos Munson > Margaret Jane Munson m Giles P Weaks

Amos Munson, who I wrote about here, is my 3rd great grandfather. My 2nd great grandmother was his daughter Mary Ann who married William Custer Smith and resided in the Butler/Bremer/ Chickasaw counties area of Iowa after leaving Grant County, Wisconsin in the 1860s. Amos' daughter Henrietta Munson Woodington is well-chronicled here.

These four daughters will be the basis for the next few posts.

MARGARET JANE MUNSON

Born 05 Sep 1831 in Trumbull County, Ohio, Margaret was the eldest child of Amos and Mary Ann and most likely named for Amos' mother, Margaret Gregory. The Munson's came to the Eastern District of Grant County in 1849/1850 when Margaret was 18 years old.

Grant County had been established in 1837. Located in the southwest corner of the state, European settlers had started arriving by the 1820s. Mining operations (and an influx of Cornish miners) of lead

and zinc began in the mid-1820s in Hardscrabble (now Hazel Green) in Grant, Wisconsin. This area of Wisconsin is particularly beautiful and full of rolling hills because it did not, as a land, fall victim to the glaciers that flattened out much of the Midwest million of years before. As mining waned, farming flourished due to its fertile land.

Glen Haven, Wisconsin

The Munson's ended up in Glen Haven (originally called Stump Town), which was platted in 1857, just a year after the first steam ferry started operating. When the railroad arrived in 1884, the town flourished to its greatest degree and became a shipping point for both stock and farmed materials between St Paul and Chicago 1 As time went on and the locks and dams on the Mississippi were completed and transportation shifted to trucks for conveyance, Glen Haven slowly shrunk to less than 100 residents.

Margaret met Mr. Giles P. Weaks, son of Robert and Catherine Weaks, who originally hailed from Virginia, and married him on 05 Oct 1851 in Grant County. Giles purchased 40 acres of land at 1 SWNE 4TH PM - 1831 MINNESOTA/ WISCONSIN No 5 N 4 W 2 in 1857.2 They resided in Glen Haven as of the 1860 Census and by 1870 would have grown their family to five children. The 1870 Census also has them located in Glen Haven.

The children: James P. (who died prior to his father's death), Alice J. (who died at age 20 in 1876 in Glen Haven), Matilda Dell Siglin, Floy Margaret Rogers (later Hoppa), and Frank.

1880 found the Weaks family living in Bethel Township in Fayette County, Iowa. They owned 120 acres along the southern edge of the township that place them in Fayette County by at least 1879. I theorized in my post about Amos that for some time, Margaret's parents resided with them until Amos' death in 1885. Margaret followed him in 04 Oct 1896. Her mother, Mary Ann, moved on to live with her daughter Julia Newcomb in Howard, Howard County. Giles lived until 1902 and died in Hawkeye in Fayette County. He left all his worldy goods to his three remaining children.

Giles will is available on Ancestry.com and is below, stating:

First. That all my debts be paid.
Second: I give and bequeath to my daughter Matilda Dell Siglin, the sum of $600.00
Third: I give and bequeath to my son Frank Weaks, the sum of $500, also all my household goods, gray mare, single harness, double harness, buggy, and wagon.
Fourth: That all of my personal property be sold other than the above names.
Fifth: That after the above bequeaths (sic) have been paid, my estate shall be divided equally between my son Frank Weaks and my daughter Matilda Dell Siglin and Floy(d) (sic) Rogers.
Sixth: And lastly, I do hereby appoint my friend D W Wilbur to be the executor of this my last Will and Testament.

Giles Weaks Last Will & Testament

1 http://mississippivalleytraveler.com/glen-haven/
2 Wisconsin, Homestead and Cash Entry Patents, Pre-1908

Thursday, August 10, 2017

Clan William: Charles Fremont Munson

Capt Thomas Munson > Samuel Munson > Samuel James Munson > William Munson > Samuel II Munson > Freeman Munson > Amos Munson > Charles Fremont Munson

We've covered all of the daughters of Amos Munson and Mary Ann Kerney, but I've finally had some time to look into the two boys in the family. I'll start with the baby, Charles Fremont Munson.

Charles was born on 02 Dec 1849 in Trumbull County, Ohio and came to Plattville, Wisconsin with his family about 1849/1850. The family moved to Tama County, Iowa in 1870 and to the town of Traer. This is the point at which his sisters, Caroline and Julia married into the Newcomb family. Charles went into the harness making trade with uncle U. C. Newcomb.

On 31 Dec 1874, he married Estella Root at Tama. They had four children; two infants died, son Charles Franklin "Frank" died in 1890 at age 11, and the surviving child was Clyde Amos Munson who was born 23 Sep 1881 in Hawkeye. In 1881, the family came to Hawkeye. Charles engaged in the harness trade with a barber shop in connection. That to me sounds really funny!

Stella died in 1907 and in 1908, Charles moved to Woonsocket, South Dakota and later to Wessington Springs, in Jerauld County, South Dakota, where he was manager of the Wessington Springs Hardware and Implement Co. He married Mrs Mary Shabell Hathaway in 1911.

While visiting his son in Hawkeye, he became ill and consulted with Dr Walsh, who recommended surgery in Rochester at the Mayo Clinic. Son Clyde and CF went to Rochester and on September 23, 1919, Munson had surgery. He had been making good progress after surgery and expected to recover, when he began to fail and died on 25 Sep 1919. Clyde had spent three weeks with his father while there.

He was a charter member of the IOOF lodge in Hawkeye and a member of AF&AM and Yeoman.

Sunday, February 19, 2017

THE ORIGINAL MUNSON IN AMERICA, CAPTAIN THOMAS MUNSON

SAMUEL MUNSON IISamuel is the son of William. William is the first member of Clan William. The clans are made up of the great grandchildren of the immigrant Captain Thomas Munson.

FREEMAN MUNSONFreeman is the son of Samuel II.

AMOS MUNSONAmos is the son of Freeman

HENRIETTA MUNSONThe daughter of Freeman

MILES MUNSONThe son of Freeman.

MARIETTA "MARY" E MUNSONThe daughter of Freeman

CLARISSA MUNSONThe daughter of Freeman

OTHER CLAN WILLIAM STORIES

MARTHA MUNSONThe daughter of William

PETER MUNSONThe son of William

WILLIAM II MUNSONThe son of William

Monday, November 7, 2016

Sunday, July 10, 2022

Sunday, November 6, 2016

Wednesday, October 11, 2017

Tuesday, November 1, 2016

Sunday, June 17, 2018

Saturday, November 5, 2016

Thursday, August 10, 2017

SAMUEL MUNSON II
Samuel is the son of William. William is the first member of Clan William. The clans are made up of the great grandchildren of the immigrant Captain Thomas Munson.

FREEMAN MUNSON
Freeman is the son of Samuel II.

AMOS MUNSON
Amos is the son of Freeman

HENRIETTA MUNSON
The daughter of Freeman

MILES MUNSON
The son of Freeman.

MARIETTA "MARY" E MUNSON
The daughter of Freeman

CLARISSA MUNSON
The daughter of Freeman

MARTHA MUNSON
The daughter of William

PETER MUNSON
The son of William

WILLIAM II MUNSON
The son of William