In 1771, Ahaziah’s daughter, Deborah, married a man named Ephraim Adams. Who was he? There were two men with this name living in Windham County, Connecticut at that time.

Ahaziah Adams

Born: 22 JUL 1715 in Canterbury, Windham County, Connecticut, USA

Father: Henry Adams (1684 to Unknown)
Mother: Sarah Adams (1683 to 1751)

Spouse: Eleanor Munroe (1715 to 1748)

Married: 1735 in Canterbury, Windham County, Connecticut, USA

Children:

Sarah Ann Adams (31 DEC 1737 to 1793)
Eleanor Adams (22 SEP 1739 to 1810)
Susannah Adams (20 APR 1742 to 18 JAN 1843)
Thomas Adams (20 MAY 1745 to 28 OCT 1806)
Deborah Adams (15 MAY 1747 to Unknown)

Died: 1773 in Canterbury, Windham County, Connecticut, USA

Burial: Carey Cemetery

Timeline: no documentation available

Occupation: unknown

Records:

Connecticut Town Birth Records, pre-1870 (Barbour Collection)
The U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current

Variations of Surname: none

Ahaziah appears in the publication “A Genealogical History of Henry of Braintree, Massachusetts”, Page 108. You can view this record on the Internet Archive website.

Ahaziah’s Wife:

Eleanor Munroe:

Eleanor was born on 27 SEP 1715 in Canterbury, Windham County, Connecticut, USA. She died on 19 JUN 1748 in Canterbury, Windham County, Connecticut, USA.

Eleanor’s father was David Munroe. He was born on 6 OCT 1680 in Lexington, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, USA. He died on 19 JUN 1755 in Canterbury, Windham County, Connecticut, USA.

Eleanor’s mother was Deborah How. She was born on 19 OCT 1685 in Concord, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, USA. She died on 1 SEP 1748 in Canterbury, Windham County, Connecticut, USA.

Eleanor had ten brothers and sisters:

Deborah Munroe (1705 to 1705)
Mary Munroe (1707)
David Munroe (1708)
Abigail Munroe (1711)
Deborah Munroe (1713)
Elizabeth Munroe (1718)
Samuel Munroe (1720)
Sarah Munroe (1723)
William Munroe (1726)
Josiah Munroe (1728)

David Munroe’s biography can be viewed on the Internet Archive website. The publication is entitled “Genealogies of Connecticut Families from the New England Historical and Genealogical Register“, Volume 2, Pages 579 to 581.

Ahaziah and Eleanor’s Daughters:

Sarah Ann Adams:

Sarah was born on 31 DEC 1737 in Canterbury, Windham County, Connecticut, USA. She died in 1793 in Wilkes-Barre, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, USA.

Sarah married Asa Stevens on 1 OCT 1761 in Canterbury, Windham County, Connecticut, USA. Seven known children were born during their marriage. The five oldest children were born in Canterbury. The two youngest in Wilkes-Barre.

Roger Stevens (1763)
Jonathan Stevens (1764)
Sarah Stevens (1765)
Asa Stevens (1767)
Abigail Stevens (1771)
Simon Stevens (1776)
Mary E Stevens (1778)

Asa Stevens was born on 27 MAY 1734 in Canterbury, Windham County, Connecticut, USA. He died on 3 JUL 1778 in Wyoming, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, USA. Asa was 44 years old when he died.

Asa was a lieutenant in the Colonial Army during the American Revolutionary War. He was killed in the Battle of Wyoming in what is now called Luzerne County, Pennsylvania.

There is a Find A Grave memorial for Asa. His name was inscribed on a commemorative plaque that honored those killed in the Battle of Wyoming.

Eleanor Adams:

Eleanor was born on 22 SEP 1739 in Canterbury, Windham County, Connecticut, USA. She died in 1810 in Canterbury, Windham County, Connecticut, USA.

Eleanor married Thomas Austin on 30 DEC 1764 in Canterbury, Windham County, Connecticut, USA. Three known children were born during their marriage:

Sarah Austin (1765)
Deborah Austin (1768)
Peres Austin (1776)

Thomas Austin was born on 10 JUL 1733 in Canterbury, Windham County, Connecticut, USA. He died in 1790 in Canterbury, Windham County, Connecticut, USA.

Susannah Adams:

Susannah was born on 20 APR 1742 in Canterbury, Windham County, Connecticut, USA. She died on 18 JAN 1843 in Canterbury, Windham County, Connecticut, USA. Susannah was 100 years old when she died.

Susannah married Timothy Adams on 3 MAY 1764 in Brooklyn, Windham County, Connecticut, USA. Seven known children were born during their marriage:

Asahel Adams (1764)
Alden Adams (1766)
Isaac Adams (1769)
Cyrus Adams (1772)
Rebecca Adams (1774)
Susannah Adams (1776)
Timothy Adams (1779)

Timothy Adams was born on 7 SEP 1742 in Pomfret, Windham County, Connecticut, USA. He died on 25 AUG 1834 in Canterbury, Windham County, Connecticut, USA.

Susannah has the honor of being one of the oldest ancestors in my Adams family lineage. She was 100 years, 8 months, and 29 days old when she died. Her husband, Timothy, was 91 years old when he died.

Susannah’s lineage appears in the publication entitled “Henry Adams of Braintree, Massachusetts“, Pages 131 to 132. You can view this book on the Internet Archive website.

Deborah Adams:

Deborah was born on 15 MAY 1747 in Canterbury, Windham County, Connecticut, USA. I do not know when she died.

Deborah married a man named Ephraim Adams on 27 OCT 1771 in Pomfret, Windham County, Connecticut, USA. I do not know if any children were born during their marriage.

Who Did Deborah Marry?

In my family tree, I have two men named Ephraim Adams:

Ephraim Adams:

He was born on 22 JAN 1746 in Pomfret, Windham County, Connecticut, USA. He died in 1823 in Brooklyn, Windham County, Connecticut, USA.

His father was Joseph Adams. He was born in 1694 in Canterbury, Windham County, Connecticut, USA. He died on 10 OCT 1753 in Pomfret, Windham County, Connecticut, USA.

His mother was Joseph’s second wife, Elizabeth Cary. She was born on 30 APR 1709 in Bridgewater, Plymouth County, Massachusetts, USA. She died on 3 SEP 1753 in Pomfret, Windham County, Connecticut, USA.

I was able to confirm that this man named Ephraim Adams was living in Brooklyn based on the following document:

This excerpt was taken from a genealogy report on Ephraim’s nephew, Caleb Adams. He was born on 16 MAY 1785 in Leyden, Franklin County, Massachusetts, USA. He was convicted of murder and executed on 29 NOV 1803 in Windham County, Connecticut, USA.

There are three US Census records for a man named Ephraim Adams:

The 1790 US Census shows that Ephraim Adams and three females were living in Brooklyn, Windham County, Connecticut, USA. The document does not specify the ages of the individuals.

The 1800 US Census shows that Ephraim Adams was living in Brooklyn, Windham County, Connecticut, USA. The document listed Ephraim, his wife, and four children.

The 1810 US Census shows that Ephraim Adams and one female over the age of 45 were living in Brooklyn, Windham County, Connecticut, USA.

I could not find Ephraim on the 1820 US Census. He may have been living with one of his adult children.

Did Deborah marry this man?

There are no death entries for either Deborah or Ephraim in the Barbour Collection of Connecticut. There is an entry for Ephraim in Ancestry.com’s Hale Cemetery Inscription database.

For this reason, I cannot confirm that Deborah married Ephraim Adams (1746 Pomfret).

Ephraim Adams:

He was born on 8 APR 1748 in Canterbury, Windham County, Connecticut, USA. I do not know when he died.

I did find a document that confirms Ephraim moved to Catskill, Green County, New York, USA. You can view this record in Ancestry.com’s database “New York, U.S., Prisoners Received at Newgate State Prison, 1797-1810”.

In 1801, Ephraim was convicted of larceny. The entry listed his age as 53 (1748) and his birthplace as Canterbury, Connecticut.

The 1790 US Census shows Ephraim and four other people were living in Catskill, Green County, New York, USA.

Did Deborah marry this man? Again, I could find no death records in New York for either Deborah or Ephraim.

The False Lead:

Many family trees show Ephraim Adams of Canterbury moved to Fairfield, Fairfield County, Connecticut, USA. They indicate that he married a woman named Elizabeth Sherwood between 1766 and 1769. They list his death date as 13 JUN 1823 in Fairfield, Fairfield County, Connecticut, USA.

Deborah did not marry a man named Ephraim Adams until 1771. If this man married Elizabeth in 1769, he could not be Deborah’s husband. Elizabeth did not die until 1810.

The 1790 US census shows three men named Ephraim Adams. One was living in Catskill, one was living in Brooklyn, and one was living in Fairfield.

Even if we disregard the Fairfield gentleman, that still leaves the other two men named Ephraim Adams. Which one did Deborah marry?

I do not know. Maybe there is a descendant of this family who knows the answer to this question. If so, 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!