In 1793, the town selectmen declared Caleb non-compos mentis or insane. He was 41 years old. Could Caleb have suffered from the early stages of dementia?

Caleb B Adams

Born: 29 JAN 1752 in Pomfret, Windham County, Connecticut, USA

Father: Joseph Adams (1694 to 1753)
Mother: Elizabeth Cary (1709 to 1753)

First Spouse: Elizabeth Chapman (1758 to 1785)

Married: 4 FEB 1779 in Pomfret, Windham County, Connecticut, USA

Children:

Smith Adams (1779 to Unknown)
Betsey Adams (1780 to Unknown)
Laney Adams (1781 to Unknown)
Oliver Adams (1783 to Unknown)
Caleb Adams (16 MAY 1785 to 29 NOV 1803)

The birth years for the four oldest children are estimated based on the marriage date and death year of their mother.

Second Spouse: Catherine Davenport (1754 to 1788)

Married: 6 APR 1786 in Leyden, Franklin County, Massachusetts, USA

Children: Unknown

Died: 19 NOV 1811 in Leyden, Franklin County, Massachusetts, USA

Timeline:

1779 Marriage to Elizabeth
1779 Birth of son, Smith
1781 Birth of daughter, Eunice
1783 Birth of son, Oliver
1785 Leyden, Franklin County, Massachusetts, USA
1785 Birth of son, Caleb
1785 Death of wife, Elizabeth
1786 Marriage to Catherine
1788 Death of wife, Catherine
1790 Leyden, Hampshire County, Massachusetts, USA
1800 Leyden, Hampshire County, Massachusetts, USA
1803 Death of son, Caleb
1810 Leyden, Hampshire County, Massachusetts, USA
1811 Death and Burial

Occupation: unknown

Records:

1790 to 1810 US Federal Census Records
Connecticut Town Birth Records, pre-1870 (Barbour Collection)
Early Connecticut Marriages
Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988

Variations of Surname: none

Caleb’s First Wife:

Elizabeth Chapman:

Elizabeth was born on 5 AUG 1758 in Pomfret, Windham County, Connecticut, USA. She died in 1785 in Leyden, Franklin County, Massachusetts, USA. Elizabeth was 27 years old when she died.

Elizabeth’s father was Amaziah Chapman. He was born on 13 SEP 1734 in Norwich, New London County, Connecticut, USA. He died on 20 APR 1825 in Hampton, Windham County, Connecticut, USA.

Elizabeth’s mother was Esther Williams. She was born on 25 MAY 1740 in Brooklyn, Windham County, Connecticut, USA. She died on 31 MAY 1790 in Brooklyn, Windham County, Connecticut, USA.

Elizabeth had five known brothers and sisters:

Esther Chapman (1761)
Samuel Chapman (1763)
Eunice Chapman (1766)
Elisha Chapman (1769)
Molly Chapman (1773)

After Esther died, Amaziah married a woman named Mary. I could find no marriage record but Mary’s name appears in Amaziah’s Last Will & Testament.

Caleb’s Second Wife:

Catherine Davenport:

Catherine was born in 1754 in Little Compton, Newport County, Rhode Island, USA. She died in 1788 in Leyden, Franklin County, Massachusetts, USA. Catherine was 34 years old when she died.

Catherine’s father was Oliver Davenport. He was born on 5 FEB 1714 in Little Compton, Newport County, Rhode Island, USA. He died in 1781 in Coventry, Tolland County, Connecticut, USA.

Catherine’s mother was Mary Devol. I could find no information on Mary.

Catherine had four known brothers and sisters:

Sarah Davenport (1751)
Freelove Davenport (1755)
Noah Davenport (1758)
Oliver Davenport (1760)

Oliver had previously married Sarah Macomber on 9 APR 1741 in Little Compton, Newport County, Rhode Island, USA.

One known child was born during their marriage:

John Macomber (1741)

Sarah Macomber was born on 2 MAR 1725 in Dartmouth, Bristol County, Massachusetts, USA. I do not know when she died.

A Little History:

I found two reports on another family tree regarding Caleb and his family. The first gave me information about Caleb’s life. The other concerned the execution of his youngest son.

From these two articles, I was able to create a timeline of events:

In 1753, Caleb’s parents died when he was 1 1/2 years old. Guardianship was awarded to his half-brother, Paul Adams. He and his wife had no known children.

In 1779, Caleb married Elizabeth Chapman.

In 1784, Caleb brought a “woman of ill fame”, Catherine Davenport, into his home. She “brought with her an idiot child of two years old. This was when Elizabeth was pregnant with their youngest son.

In 1785, Elizabeth died at the age of 27 years old. Their youngest son was five months old.

In 1786, Caleb married Catherine Davenport. This was six months after Elizabeth died.

In 1788, Catherine died at the age of 34 years old.

In his confession, Caleb the younger, described his family as “poor and lacking in the necessaries of life”.

The 1790 US Census indicates that three males under 16 years old and two females were living in the household. These would be Smith, Oliver, Caleb, Betsey, and Laney.

In 1793, the town selectmen declared Caleb to be non-compos mentis. This means that he was “of unsound mind” or insane. The Wikipedia article included this explanation:

“The status of non-compos mentis applied to those who were not mad from birth, but became so later in life through no fault of their own”.

When did Caleb Die?

There are many family trees that list Caleb’s death date as 1801 or 1802. This is an assumption based on the 5 JAN 1802 probate record that awarded guardianship of his son, Oliver, to John Esen.

There are actually 17 probate records referencing Caleb and his estate. They span the years 1793 to 1811. In each entry, Caleb is referred to as non-compos mentis. That means he was still living in 1811.

NOTE: These documents can be found in Family Search’s database entitled “Probate records, 1660-1916; index, 1660-1971”.

If you have trouble finding this database, you can access it through the Massachusetts Government website. Click on Hampshire County and then Record Books 1660-1916.

The file entitled “Abare, Henry – Babbitt, Susan E” contains 3 index cards for Caleb. They list the volume and page number of each probate record. The volumes are listed directly below the 31 alphabetized index files.

Most of these probate records were, in actuality, expense reports. They listed the fees charged by various people for taking care of Caleb, his children, and his property.

There is one probate record that shows Caleb was living with Israel Bullock’s family from 14 DEC 1800 to 14 DEC 1801. This document can be found in Volume 24, Image 189 of 355.

The 1800 and 1810 US Census Records for Israel Bullock list two males over the age of 45 years. Although John Esen claimed to have kept Caleb in 1810, the US Census lists only one male over the age of 45 years in his household.

NOTE: I discovered that Israel Bullock was Caleb’s brother-in-law. He married Catherine’s sister, Freelove Davenport.

It was the last probate record that led me to believe Caleb died in 1811. It was dated 19 NOV 1811 and can be found in Volume 28, Image 47 of 345.

John Esen wrote two lines:

“For boarding him from 12th day of February last to the present date . . .”

“For taking care of his property [for] nineteen years . . .”

The second line seems to indicate that John Esen was finalizing his role as guardian of Caleb. There are also no other probate records after this date.

If Caleb was still living, John Esen would have continued to make charges against his estate. For that reason, I believe Caleb died on 19 NOV 1811.

What Happened to the Children?

Caleb Adams, the youngest child, was born on 16 MAY 1785 in Leyden, Franklin County, Massachusetts, USA. He died on 29 NOV 1803 in Windham, Windham County, Connecticut, USA.

You can find the “Execution of Caleb Adams” on the website calebadams.org. The article entitled “Mr. Welch’s Address” contains some of the information used to write this post.

The other four children remain a mystery. I have found no birth records for them on Ancestry.com, Family Search, or any other family tree website.

The author of the two above-mentioned reports found the names of the children in the probate records. She listed them as Smith, Oliver, Caleb, Elizabeth, and Laney.

I did find a marriage record for Laney Adams and Alexander Mon. They were married on 7 NOV 1793 in Leyden, Franklin County, Massachusetts, USA. Alexander’s surname is very hard to decipher on this record. It could be Mons, More, Man, etc. I could not find Alexander on any US Census Records.

In 1824, Elizabeth’s father wrote his Last Will & Testament. Amaziah listed two of his grandchildren as Smith Adams and Eunice Adams. This document was transcribed when his estate was probated in 1825. Could the name Eunice actually be Elaine? Laney is a nickname for Elaine.

Oliver and Elizabeth’s names were not included in this document. That would indicate that they died before 1824.

The 1820 US Census listed two men named Smith Adams who could be Caleb’s son. The census listed their ages as 26 to 44 years old.

My Thoughts:

The mental condition of Caleb and the execution of his youngest son seem to have overshadowed this family’s genealogical history. It could be out there, packed away in someone’s attic.

It is also understandable that Caleb’s lineage may have been omitted from family trees because of these stigmas. People want their ancestors to be presidents, heroes, or other famous personalities. They would not want it known that their family lineage included a crazy person and a killer.

Smith, Elizabeth, Laney, and Oliver could have married and had children. Who were Caleb’s descendants? Does someone have a great-great-grandfather or great-great-great-grandfather named Caleb Adams in their family tree?

If you know the answer to these questions, please contact me. My email is dlwakenight@yahoo.com. You can also leave a message in the Comments Section of this page.

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!