During the War of 1812, Asahel contracted to carry mail from Cleveland to Pittsburgh. There were no bridges to cross the rivers. He had to contend with wild animals such as bears and wolves that roamed the countryside.

Asahel Adams

Born: 10 JUL 1786 in Canterbury, Windham County, Connecticut, USA

Father: Asahel Adams (1754 to 1821)
Mother: Olive Avery (1763 to 1813)

Spouse: Lucy Mygatt (1794 to 1885)

Married: 20 MAR 1814 in Canfield, Mahoning County, Ohio, USA

Children:

Charles Avery Adams (1 JAN 1815 to 6 SEP 1816)
Comfort Avery Adams (18 DEC 1816 to 25 MAR 1901)
Asahel Edgar Adams (29 NOV 1820 to 2 OCT 1886)
George Adams (19 DEC 1822 to 9 MAR 1905)
Fitch Adams (2 SEP 1828 to 16 MAY 1888)
Whittlesey Adams (26 NOV 1829 to 27 JUN 1916)
Alfred Adams (16 FEB 1833 to 9 MAY 1906)
Henry Adams (29 APR 1835 to 20 FEB 1863)

Died: 11 OCT 1852 Warren, Trumbull County, Ohio, USA

Burial: Oakwood Cemetery

Timeline:

1802 Liberty, Trumbull County, Ohio, USA
1813 Death of siblings, Mason & Olive
1813 Death of mother, Olive
1814 Marriage to Lucy
1815 Birth of son, Charles
1816 Death of son, Charles
1816 Birth of son, Comfort
1820 Warren, Trumbull County, Ohio, USA
1820 Birth of son, Asahel
1821 Death of father, Asahel
1822 Birth of son, George
1828 Birth of son, Fitch
1829 Birth of son, Whittlesey
1833 Birth of son, Alfred
1835 Birth of son, Henry
1840 Warren, Trumbull County, Ohio, USA
1848 Death of brother, Jay
1850 Warren, Trumbull County, Ohio, USA
1852 Death and Burial

Occupation: a hunter & trapper, school teacher, mail carrier, owner of a general store, and farmer

Records:

1820, 1840, and 1850 US Federal Census Records
Connecticut Town Birth Records, pre-1870 (Barbour Collection)
Ohio, U.S., County Marriage Records, 1774-1993
Ohio, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1786-1998
The U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current

Variations of Surname: none

There is a memorial for Asahel on Find A Grave. The creator of this page included a short biography. The source of this information came from a collection entitled “The Asael Adams Family Papers“. You can view this biography on the Western Reserve Historical Society’s website.

During the War of 1812, Asahel contracted to carry mail between Cleveland and Pittsburgh. This event was documented in the publication entitled “History of the Western Reserve“, Volume 1, Pages 62 to 64. You can view this book on the Internet Archive website.

In 1836, Asahel built and operated a general merchandise business. This entry appears on Page 172 of this publication.

A Note on Names:

On 24 SEP 1852, Asahel wrote his Last Will & Testament. In this document, he named his wife and seven of his surviving children.

You may have noticed that three of his sons were named Comfort, Fitch, and Whittlesey. It was normal practice to name children after family members. Here is who I think Asahel’s sons were named after:

Asahel’s second son was named after his maternal grandfather, Comfort Starr Mygatt (1763 to 1823).

Asahel’s third son was named after his paternal grandfather, Asahel Adams (1754 to 1821).

Asahel’s fourth son was named after his brother-in-law, George Hapgood (1795 to 1861).

Asahel’s fifth son was named after his paternal great-uncle, Fitch Adams (1772 to 1837).

Asahel’s sixth son was named after his maternal aunt’s husband, Elisha Whittlesey (1783 to 1863). Elisha was a lawyer, civil servant, and US Representative from Ohio.

Asahel’s eighth child was named after his friend, Henry Stiles (1798 to 1869). Henry was also Comfort Starr Mygatt’s stepson.

Asahel’s Wife:

Lucy Mygatt:

Lucy was born on 28 JUL 1794 in Danbury, Fairfield County, Connecticut, USA. She died on 8 MAR 1885 in Warren, Trumbull County, Ohio, USA.

Lucy’s father was Comfort Starr Mygatt. He was born on 23 AUG 1763 in Danbury, Fairfield County, Connecticut, USA. He died on 17 OCT 1823 in Canfield, Mahoning County, Ohio, USA.

Lucy’s mother was Lucy Knap. She was born on 17 AUG 1766 in Danbury, Fairfield County, Connecticut, USA. She died on 8 MAR 1804 in Danbury, Fairfield County, Connecticut, USA. Lucy was 37 years old when she died.

Lucy had seven known brothers and sisters:

Abigail Mygatt (1785)
Polly Mygatt (1787)
Julia Mygatt (1789 to 1813)
Betsey Mygatt (1790)
Comfort Mygatt (1792 to 1814)
George Mygatt (1797)
Anna Maria Mygatt (1799 to 1812)

Did You Notice?

Three of Lucy’s siblings died young. Julia was 24 years old. Comfort was 20 years old. Anna Maria was 13 years old.

There are memorials on Find A Grave for this family. The contributor included this excerpt taken from the Mahoning Dispatch:

“Anna Maria died in Canfield at the age of 13 with consumption, Julia (wife of Mr. Boughton) in 1813, of the same disease. Their mother died at the age of 34, death caused by the same complaint. Comfort, a son (of) the first marriage, died of the “prevailing fever” in 1814. At the time of his death, he was affianced to Bridget Tanner.”

After Lucy died, Comfort married Eleanor Stuart Stiles on 20 MAR 1805 in Danbury, Fairfield County, Connecticut, USA. Five known children were born during their marriage. The children were born in Canfield, Mahoning County, Ohio, USA.

Eli Mygatt (1807)
Hannah Mygatt (1812 to 1840)
Comfort Stuart Mygatt (1815)
Julia Anna Mygatt (1816 to 1832)
Almira M Mygatt (1818)

Eleanor Stuart was born on 24 SEP 1777 in Danbury, Fairfield County, Connecticut, USA. She died on 9 JAN 1860 in Canfield, Mahoning County, Ohio, USA.

Eleanor had previously married Timothy Stiles around 1796 in Danbury, Fairfield County, Connecticut, USA. Two known children were born during their marriage:

Jarius Stiles (1797)
Henry Stiles (1798)

Timothy Stiles was born on 23 FEB 1775 in Woodbury, Litchfield County, Connecticut, USA. He died on 29 APR 1801 in Danbury, Fairfield County, Connecticut, USA. Timothy was 26 years old when he died.

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!