Amanda and Prudence both married men named Alfred Franklin in Richmond, Ontario County, New York, USA. I discovered that Amanda’s husband was the uncle of Prudence’s husband. Their common ancestor was John Franklin who was born in 1789 in Pennsylvania.

Alden Alonzo Adams

Born: 12 FEB 1802 in Mount Holly, Rutland County, Vermont, USA

Father: Alden Adams (1766 to 1848)
Mother: Mary Wilcox (1759 to 1848)

Spouse: Lorena Elizabeth Short (1805 to 1890)

Married: 1829 in Richmond, Ontario County, New York, USA

The marriage year is an estimate based on the birth of their first child.

Children:

Abigail Adams (19 DEC 1827 to 22 FEB 1828)
John C Adams (6 JUN 1830 to 4 MAR 1840)
Hiram D Adams (24 JUN 1833 to 3 MAR 1912)
Margaret Amanda Adams (1835 to 15 NOV 1908)
Deborah Adams (19 AUG 1838 to 23 JUN 1920)
Alden Adams (17 MAY 1841 to 13 JUL 1911)
Maria Adams (9 SEP 1843 to 8 AUG 1916)
Noah Adams (19 APR 1846 to 23 APR 1911)
Prudence A Adams (3 FEB 1849 to 20 JUN 1928)

Died: 12 DEC 1856 in Honeoye, Ontario County, New York, USA

Burial: Lakeview Cemetery

Timeline:

1808 Death of brother, Willard
1821 Death of sister, Elizabeth
1826 Marriage to Lorena
1827 Birth of daughter, Abigail
1828 Death of daughter, Abigail
1830 Birth of son, John
1830 Richmond, Ontario County, New York, USA
1834 Birth of son, Hiram
1835 Birth of daughter, Amanda
1838 Birth of daughter, Deborah
1840 Death of son, John
1840 Richmond, Ontario County, New York, USA
1841 Birth of son, Alden
1843 Birth of daughter, Maria
1846 Birth of son, Noah
1848 Death of father, Alden
1848 Death of mother, Mary
1849 Birth of daughter, Prudence
1850 Richmond, Ontario County, New York, USA
1855 Richmond, Ontario County, New York, USA
1855 Death of sister, Susan
1856 Death and Burial

Occupation: farmer

Records:

1830 to 1850 US Federal Census Records
New York, State Census, 1855
New York, Wills and Probate Records, 1659-1999
The U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current

Variations of Surname: none

Alden’s Wife:

Lorena Elizabeth Short:

Lorena was born on 26 FEB 1805 in Richmond, Ontario County, New York, USA. She died on 3 JAN 1890 in Honeoye, Ontario County, New York, USA.

Lorena’s father was Philip Short. He was born on 3 JUN 1779 in Rehoboth, Bristol County, Massachusetts, USA. He died on 11 MAR 1855 in Hemlock, Livingston County, New York, USA.

Lorena’s mother was Abigail Briggs. She was born on 27 JUN 1786 in Rehoboth, Bristol County, Massachusetts, USA. She died on 11 NOV 1822 in Richmond, Ontario County, New York, USA. Abigail was 36 years old when she died.

Lorena had five known brothers and sisters:

Colby Short (1807)
Philip Short (1810)
Amanda Short (1813)
Hiram Short (1815)
Ransom Short (1817)

After Abigail died, Philip married Almira Cargill in 1823 in Richmond, Ontario County, New York, USA. Six known children were born during their marriage:

Lemuel Curtis Short (1825)
Almira M Short (1829)
Warren D Short (1830)
Nathan B Short (1832)
Caroline F Short (1835)
Sarah C Short (1837)

Almira Cargill was born in 1793 in Smithfield, Providence County, Rhode Island, USA. She died on 13 JUL 1869 in Hemlock, Livingston County, New York, USA.

Almira had previously married Lemuel Chipman Curtis around 1816 in Richmond, Ontario County, New York, USA. Three known children were born during their marriage:

Mercy Ann Curtis (1817)
Mary Ann Curtis (1819)
Jane Almira Curtis (1821)

Lemuel Chipman Curtis was born on 19 FEB 1795. He was born in either Rutland County, Vermont, USA, or in the state of New York, USA. He died in 1822 in Clinton, Vermillion County, Indiana, USA. Lemuel was 27 years old when he died.

Did You Notice?

Philip and Almira named their first child Lemuel Curtis Short. Was this to honor her first husband who died so young?

The Curtis Family:

Lemuel’s father was Sylvester Curtis. He was born on 14 DEC 1771 in Rupert, Bennington County, Vermont, USA. He died in 1812 in Honeoye, Ontario, New York, USA.

Lemuel’s mother was Mary Johnson. I could find no other information on Sylvester’s wife.

Lemuel had seven brothers and sisters:

Elizabeth Curtis (1798)
Sylvester Curtis (1800)
Amos Curtis (1802)
Mary Curtis (1803)
Lena Curtis (1807)
Sina Curtis (1808)
Philo Curtis (1810)

Sylvester’s genealogy appears in the publication entitled “A Genealogy of the Curtiss-Curtis Family of Stratford, Connecticut“, Page 110. You can view this book on the Internet Archive website.

The Chipman Connection?

Sylvester died without writing a Last Will & Testament. Mary must have died before 1812.

The Find A Grave memorial for Sylvester shows that the children were placed in the custody of three men. This information came from New York probate records.

  • On 11 JAN 1813, Cyrus Wells was appointed guardian of Philo, Eliza, and Sylvester. Proved in a Canandaigua Court.
  • On 11 JAN 1813, William Smith was appointed guardian of Sina, Mary, and Amos. Proved in a Canandaigua Court.
  • On 22 Feb 1813, Lemuel Chipman was appointed guardian of Lemuel Chipman Curtis and Irena Curtis in the town of Livonia, Ontario, New York.

The creator of the Find A Grave memorial listed Lemuel’s middle name as Chipman. Lemuel probably received this name after he was placed in Lemuel Chipman’s custody.

Lemuel Chipman was a distinguished surgeon and judge. His genealogy appears in the publication entitled “The Chipman Family, a Genealogy of the Chipmans in America, 1631-1920“, Page 50. You can read this book on the Internet Archive website.

Alden and Lorena’s Daughters:

Margaret Amanda Adams:

Amanda was born in 1835 in Richmond, Ontario County, New York, USA. She died on 15 NOV 1908 in Richmond, Ontario County, New York, USA.

Amanda married Alfred Franklin around 1867 in Richmond, Ontario County, New York, USA. Amanda was a teacher and did not get married until she was 32 years old. Alfred was 42 years old. Three known children were born during their marriage:

Fanny Franklin (1868)
George Franklin (1870)
Murry Franklin (1874)

Alfred Franklin was born in 1825 in Richmond, Ontario County, New York, USA. He died in 1878 in Richmond, Ontario County, New York, USA.

Alfred’s Parentage:

I found a biography on another family tree for a man named Benjamin Franklin. It is from the publication entitled “Portrait and Biographical Album of Hillsdale County, Michigan“, Pages 885 and 886. You can view this book on the Internet Archive website.

The author indicated that Benjamin’s parents moved to Ontario County, New York, USA in the mid-1820. The family consisted of seven sons and two daughters. His father died in 1826.

The 1830 US Census shows that only one family named Franklin was living in Richmond, Ontario County, New York, USA.

The 1840 US Census shows that Rachel and her son, Samuel, were living in Richmond, Ontario County, New York, USA.

This information helped me establish Alfred’s parentage:

Alfred’s father was John Franklin. He was born on 6 OCT 1789 in Pennsylvania, USA. He died in 1826 in Richmond, Ontario County, New York, USA. John was 37 years old when he died.

Alfred’s mother was Rachel Richardson. She was born on 24 MAY 1788 in Pennsylvania, USA. She died in 1848 in Richmond, Ontario County, New York, USA.

Deborah Adams:

Deborah was born on 19 AUG 1838 in Richmond, Ontario County, New York, USA. She died on 23 JUN 1920 in San Diego, San Diego County, California, USA.

Deborah married George Ashley on 28 JAN 1863 in Richmond, Ontario County, New York, USA. Three known children were born during their marriage:

Alice L Ashley (1865)
Mary Jane Ashley (1867)
William S Ashley (1870)

George Ashley was born on 6 JUL 1838 in Richmond, Ontario County, New York, USA. He died on 18 MAY 1906 in Richmond, Ontario County, New York, USA.

Prudence A Adams:

Prudence was born on 3 FEB 1849 in Richmond, Ontario County, New York, USA. She died on 20 JUN 1928 in Richmond, Ontario County, New York, USA.

Prudence married Alfred Franklin in 1877 in Richmond, Ontario County, New York, USA. No known children were born during their marriage.

Alfred Franklin was born in 1852 in Richmond, Ontario County, New York, USA. He died in 1907 in Richmond, Ontario County, New York, USA.

After Alfred died, Prudence married Lemon O Hopkins on 13 JAN 1912 in Richmond, Ontario County, New York, USA. Prudence was 62 years old and Lemon was 69 years old when they married.

Lemon O Hopkins was born in 1843 in Sparta, Livingston County, New York, USA. He died on 7 JUN 1915 in Honeoye, Ontario County, New York, USA.

Did You Notice?

Amanda and Prudence married men named Alfred Franklin. I discovered that Amanda’s husband was the uncle of Prudence’s husband.

Here is their lineage:

Alfred Franklin (1825), Amanda’s husband
John Franklin (1789)

Alfred Franklin (1852), Prudence’s husband
William Franklin (1815)
John Franklin (1789)

You can view this connection on my Ancestry.com family tree entitled Adams Family Tree (Isaac).

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

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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.

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