Family relationships are complicated! Abner and his wife were second cousins, once removed. Mary’s first husband was her second cousin, once removed. That means Mary’s two husbands were second cousins. Wow! I hope I got that right!

Abner Adams

Born: 27 Jun 1762 in Killingly, Windham County, Connecticut, USA

Father: Joseph Adams (1707 to 1773)
Mother: Dorothy Hyde (1725 to Unknown)

Spouse: Mary Adams (1752 to 1830)

Married: 28 AUG 1786 in East Poultney, Rutland County, Vermont, USA

Children:

Parker Adams (11 JUL 1787 to 21 MAR 1863)
Phoebe Adams (1790 to 17 AUG 1835)
Abner Adams (1795 to 1875)
Talcott Adams (1800 to 1820)
Sally Adams (1801 to Uknown)

Died: 20 JUN 1831 in East Poultney, Rutland County, Vermont, USA

Burial: East Poultney Cemetery

Timeline:

1773 Death of father, Joseph
1786 Marriage to Mary
1787 Birth of son, Parker
1790 Birth of daughter, Phoebe
1790 Poultney, Rutland County, Vermont, USA
1795 Birth of son, Abner
1800 Birth of son, Talcott
1801 Birth of daughter, Sally
1810 Poultney, Rutland County, Vermont, USA
1820 Death of son, Talcott
1820 Poultney, Rutland County, Vermont, USA
1830 Poultney, Rutland County, Vermont, USA
1830 Death of wife, Mary
1831 Death and Burial

Occupation: unknown

Records:

1790, 1810 to 1830 United States Federal Census Records
Connecticut Town Birth Records, pre-1870 (Barbour Collection)
A History of the Town of Poultney, Vermont
Vermont, U.S., Vital Records, 1720-1908
The U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current

Variations of Surname: none

After I created Abner’s profile on my family tree, a hint appeared. It was an excerpt from a publication entitled “A History of the Town of Poultney, Vermont“. You can view this book on the Internet Archive website.

On Page 197, the author explains that four brothers named Benjamin, Samuel, Joseph, and Abner Adams moved to the town of Poultney. He included the names of Abner’s children.

I then found information on Abner and Mary’s children in another publication. It is entitled “A Genealogical History of Henry Adams of Braintree, Massachusetts“, Page 330. You can view this book on the Internet Archive website.

Did You Notice?

Abner and Mary’s son, Talcott, died from “drinking cold water“. I had never heard of this happening before and searched the internet for information. Shannon Selin published an article on her website that describes this unusual cause of death.

Abner’s Wife:

Mary Adams:

Mary was born on 14 FEB 1753 in New Marlborough, Berkshire County, Massachusetts, USA. She died on 15 DEC 1830 in Poultney, Rutland County, Vermont, USA.

Mary’s father was Charles Adams. He was born on 2 JAN 1716 in Canterbury, Windham County, Connecticut, USA. He died on 30 SEP 1762 in New Marlborough, Berkshire County, Massachusetts, USA.

Mary’s mother was Judith Hyde. She was born on 29 AUG 1725 in Pomfret, Windham County, Connecticut, USA. She died on 22 JUN 1813 in New Marlborough, Berkshire County, Massachusetts, USA.

Mary had four known brothers and sisters:

Chloe Adams (1749)
Davenport Adams (1751)
Abigail Adams (1755)
Elizabeth Adams (1757)

Mary had previously married Timothy Hyde on 14 OCT 1773 in New Marlborough, Berkshire County, Massachusetts, USA. Two known children were born during their marriage:

Judith Hyde (1775)
Calvin Hyde (1779)

Timothy Hyde was born on 27 MAR 1745 in Newton, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, USA. He died on 28 SEP 1784 in East Poultney, Rutland County, Vermont, USA. Timothy was 39 years old when he died.

Did You Notice?

Abner’s mother was Dorothy Hyde. Mary’s mother was Judith Hyde. Mary’s first husband was Timothy Hyde.

Here are their individual lineages:

Dorothy Hyde (1725)
James Hyde (1683) father
Jonathan Hyde (1655) grandfather

Mary Adams (1753)
Judith Hyde (1725) mother
Isaac Hyde (1700) grandfather
Jonathan Hyde (1674) great-grandfather
Jonathan Hyde (1655) 2nd great-grandfather

Timothy Hyde (1745)
Ebenezer Hyde (1719) father
James Hyde (1683) grandfather
Jonathan Hyde (1655) great-grandfather

I discovered that Dorothy was Ebenezer’s sister. That would mean Dorothy was Timothy Hyde’s aunt.

Jonathan Hyde (1655) was their common ancestor. The Canon or Common Law Relationship Chart shows their connection:

Dorothy and Mary were first cousins, twice removed
Dorothy and Timothy were first cousins, once removed
Mary and Timothy were second cousins, once removed

The relationship chart also shows that Abner and his wife, Mary, were second cousins, once removed.

Sometimes family relationships get a little complicated!

Abner and Mary’s Daughters:

Phoebe Adams:

Phoebe was born in 1790 in East Poultney, Rutland County, Vermont, USA. She died on 17 AUG 1835 in Panton, Addison County, Vermont, USA.

Phoebe never married.

Sally Adams:

Sally was born around 1801 in East Poultney, Rutland County, Vermont, USA. I do not know when she died.

Page 330 of the above publication did not include a birth year for Sally or Talcott. For that reason, I have estimated their birth years.

The author noted that Sally married a man named Crofoot. They lived in Hampton, Washington County, New York, USA, and then moved out west.

Sally is a variation of the female given name Sarah.

In the 1840s, Sally’s brother, Abner, had moved to Fond Du Lac County, Wisconsin, USA. This would be considered “out west” from Vermont.

When I searched the US census records, I could find nothing for Sally or Sarah Crofoot, or variations of the surname. It could be that she died before the 1850 US Census was enumerated.

Are you a descendant of Sally Adams Crofoot? If you have information on this family, please contact me. My email is dlwakenight@yahoo.com. You can also leave a message in the Comments Section of this post.

Notes:

John Adams (1595 to 1633) was the first person with that English surname to immigrate to North America from England. In 1621, John boarded the Fortune. This was the second ship, after the Mayflower, to bring Puritans to North America. In late November of that year, the Fortune arrived at Plymouth Colony. John was the progenitor of all the Adams descendants listed in these posts.

Creating Your Family Tree

Interested in building a great family tree? Remember these important steps:

Look in your photo albums. You may have old pictures that your parents or grandparents gave you. Or, ask them for copies of photos that they have in their possession. Many people will write names and dates on the backs of photographs. Letters, diaries, and family bibles are also excellent sources for births, marriages, and deaths.

Talk to your older relatives to find out about your ancestry. They may relate stories about an ancestor that you can add to your family tree. Family history is usually not found in newspapers. It is more of a verbal memory that is passed down from generation to generation.

Find the right family tree builder that suits your needs. You can choose one that has a paid subscription like Ancestry.com. There are also free sites like FamilySearch.org.

When you start building your family tree, add documentation to your ancestor’s profile. The records can include birth, marriage, death, census, military, city, and county directory listings. Any information that you can find will help create a life story about your ancestor.

If you have a unique surname, like Wakenight, you may find databases on the internet that are useful in your search. I use SurnameDB.com for my English surnames. There are many others on the internet for other countries like Ireland, Italy, and Germany.

Genealogy is the study of a person’s “line of descent.” As you create your family tree, you would typically start with one individual and go “back into time.” You would add their parents, grandparents, and so on.  There are also family trees that go “forward into time.”  Many of these family trees start with a famous person, such as a president or royalty, and move forward into the present time.  The purpose of this type of pedigree is to establish a person’s bloodline with that famous person.

There is no limit on how big your family tree can grow. The blank canvas is there for you to use. Cherish your family history, and it will be there for generations to come!