This family had a few “aha” moments. Two sisters married two brothers. One man married two sisters. Ezekiel married Mattie on the same day that his wife, Harriet, died.

Earl Adams

Born: 7 AUG 1799 in Fort Ann, Washington County, New York, USA

Father: Wright Adams (1773 to 1817)
Mother: Catherine Raney (1786 to 1850)

Spouse: Deborah Gifford (1804 to 1858)

Married: 1827 in Ellery, Chautauqua County, New York, USA

Children:

Anna Adams (7 JUL 1827 to 25 MAR 1907)
Lois Adams (18 OCT 1828 to 12 MAR 1919)
Harriet Adams (18 MAY 1830 to 31 JUL 1872)
John Q Adams (7 MAR 1832 to 9 JUN 1893)
Diantha Adams (1835 to 15 DEC 1915)
Caroline Adams (10 APR 1838 to 31 MAY 1917)
Benjamin G Adams (1840 to 12 MAY 1863)
Wright Adams (1842 to 10 JAN 1905)
Charles E Adams (28 NOV 1846 to 18 MAY 1904)

Died: 15 JAN 1875 in Big Grove, Kendall County, Illinois, USA

Burial: Millington Newark Cemetery

Timeline:

1817 Death of father, Wright
1827 Marriage to Deborah
1827 Birth of daughter, Anna
1828 Birth of daughter, Lois
1830 Birth of daughter, Harriet
1830 Ellery, Chautauqua County, New York, USA
1832 Birth of son, John
1835 Birth of daughter, Diantha
1838 Birth of daughter, Caroline
1840 Birth of son, Benjamin
1840 Ellery, La Salle, La Salle County, Illinois, USA
1842 Birth of son, Wright
1846 Birth of son, Charles
1850 Death of mother, Catherine
1850 Big Grove, Kendall County, Illinois, USA
1858 Death of wife, Deborah
1860 Big Grove, Kendall County, Illinois, USA
1870 Big Grove, Kendall County, Illinois, USA
1872 Death of daughter, Harriet
1875 Death and Burial

Occupation: Farmer

Records:

1830 to 1870 US Census Records
10,000 Vital Records of Western New York, 1809-1850
U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current

Variations of Surname: none

Earl’s Move to Illinois:

The Internet Archive website has a publication entitled “History of Kendall County, Illinois“. This book was published in 1877. The author was Edmund Warne Hicks.

The author may have spoken to Earl or one of his descendants when he wrote this book. He described Earl Adams as one of the first settlers in Kendall County, Illinois.

Page 54: In 1831, Earl Adams and Ebenezer Morgan journeyed to Illinois to stake their claim to land under the Homestead Act. Earl chose an area known as Court House Hill. This later became the city of Yorkville and the county seat of Kendall County, Illinois. Later that year, he returned to New York.

Page 102: In 1833, Earl returned to Kendall County. He built a cabin at Court House Hill. In the spring of 1834, Earl moved his family to Specie Grove which is four miles southeast of Yorkville. Several years later, the family settled in Big Grove, Kendall County, Illinois, USA.

Earl’s Wife:

Deborah Gifford:

Deborah was born on 31 JUL 1804 in Glens Falls, Warren County, New York, USA. She died on 17 JAN 1858 in Big Grove, Kendall County, Illinois, USA.

Deborah’s father was Benjamin Gifford. He was born in 1777 in Massachusetts, USA. He died circa 1865 in Ellery, Chautauqua County, New York, USA.

I could find no death record for Benjamin. He appears on the 1860 US Census but not on the 1870 US Census. The death date is an estimate.

Deborah’s mother was Phoebe Brown. She was born on 21 MAR 1778 in New York, USA. She died on 18 FEB 1854 in Ellery, Chautauqua County, New York, USA.

Benjamin and Phoebe were buried in Lewis Cemetery in Ellery, Chautauqua County, New York, USA.

Deborah had five known brothers and sisters:

Richard Gifford (1799)
Stephen Gifford (1800)
Desire Gifford (1811)
Abigail Gifford (1814)
Benjamin S Gifford (1817)

Earl and Deborah’s Daughters:

Anna Adams:

Anna was born on 7 JUL 1827 in Ellery, Chautauqua County, New York, USA. She died on 25 MAR 1907 in Sheridan, LaSalle County, Illinois, USA.

Anna married Levi Brainerd on 22 OCT 1845 in Mission, Kendall County, Illinois, USA. Three known children were born during their marriage:

Melvin Chesterfield Brainerd (1847)
Leonidus Levi Brainerd (1849 to 1850)
Louis Kossuth Brainerd (1851)

Levi Brainerd was born on 21 JUN 1821 in Pennsylvania, USA. He died on 19 FEB 1859 in Jacksonville, Morgan County, Illinois, USA. Levi was 37 years old when he died.

Anna and Levi were buried in Millington Newark Cemetery in Millington, Kendall County, Illinois, USA.

Lois Adams:

Lois was born on 18 OCT 1828 in Ellery, Chautauqua County, New York, USA. She died on 12 MAR 1919 in Stites, Idaho County, Idaho, USA.

Lois was buried in Clearwater Cemetery, Clearwater, Idaho County, Idaho, USA.

Lois married Thomas Howes on 1 OCT 1854 in Big Grove, Kendall County, Illinois, USA. Five known children were born during their marriage. The children were born in Minnesota, USA.

Josephine Howes (1856)
Charles Howes (1858)
Mary Ellen Howes (1860)
Norman Howes (1862)
Earl Howes (1867)

Thomas Howes was born in 1824 in New York, USA. He died in 1891 in Harding, Polk County, Wisconsin, USA.

Thomas was buried in Wolf Creek Cemetery, Wolf Creek, Polk County, Wisconsin, USA.

After Thomas died, Lois married John Turnbull on 27 OCT 1892 in St Croix Falls, Polk County, Wisconsin, USA. No known children were born during their marriage.

John Turnbull was born in 1826 in Canada. I do not know when he died.

John had previously married a woman named Elizabeth. I do not know her maiden name. No known children were born during their marriage.

The 1860 and 1870 US Censuses show that Elizabeth was born in 1821 in England or Maine. They were living in Polk County, Wisconsin, USA.

Harriet Adams:

Harriet was born on 18 MAY 1830 in Ellery, Chautauqua County, New York, USA. She died on 31 JUL 1872 in Big Grove, Kendall County, Illinois, USA. Harriet was 42 years old when she died.

Harriet was buried in Millington Newark Cemetery in Millington, Kendall County, Illinois, USA.

Harriet married Ezekiel Howes on 3 MAY 1849 in Big Grove, Kendall County, Illinois, USA. Two known children were born during their marriage:

Earl E Howes (1851)
Clarence A Howes (1853)

Ezekiel Howes was born in 1818 in New York, USA. I do not know when he died.

After Harriet died, Ezekiel married a woman named Martha Jane Russell on 31 JUL 1872 in Grundy County, Illinois, USA. Ezekiel was 54 years old. Mattie was 49 years old.

I could find little information on Mattie except what was provided by the 1870 and 1880 US Census records. She was born in 1823 in New York, USA. I do not know if Russell was her maiden or married name.

Did You Notice?

Harriet died on 31 JUL 1872. Ezekiel married Mattie on 31 JUL 1872.

The Find A Grave website has a photo of Harriet’s headstone. The date is listed as 31 JUL 1872.

The marriage date came from Ancestry.com’s database Illinois, U.S., Marriage Index, 1860-1920. This is a text-only entry which means I cannot view the original document to verify the date.

If these dates are accurate, it means that Ezekiel married Mattie on the same day that Harriet died. Could he have been that amoral?

Harriet and Ezekiel were living together when the 1870 US Census was enumerated. There is no way to tell if they were separated after that date.

Did You Notice?

Lois and Harriet married men with the surname of Howes. I discovered that Ezekiel was Thomas’ brother.

There is a book on the Internet Archive website that shows this connection. It is entitled “Genealogy of the Howes Family in America, Descendants of Thomas Howes, Yarmouth, Massachusetts“. The last sentence on Page 101 explains “This family is scattered in the West“.

Ezekiel and Thomas’ parents were:

Thomas Howes was born on 7 FEB 1792 in Wethersfield, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, USA. He died on 10 SEP 1851 in Big Grove, Kendall County, Illinois, USA.

Sarah Gleason was born in 1797 in Schoharie County, New York, USA. She died on 19 JAN 1859 in Big Grove, Kendall County, Illinois, USA.

Thomas and Sarah were buried in the Millington Newark Cemetery. The Find A Grave memorial for Thomas includes an account of his accidental death.

Diantha Adams:

Diantha was born in 1835 in Big Grove, Kendall County, Illinois, USA. She died on 15 DEC 1915 in Gilman, Marshall County, Iowa, USA.

Diantha married Charles M O’Brien on 20 FEB 1873 in Big Grove, Kendall County, Illinois, USA. No known children were born during their marriage.

Charles M O’Brien was born in 1835 in Ireland. He died on 13 JUN 1915 in Gilman, Marshall County, Iowa, USA.

Diantha and Charles were buried in Prairie View Cemetery.

Caroline Adams:

Caroline was born on 10 APR 1838 in Big Grove, Kendall County, Illinois, USA. She died on 31 MAY 1917 in Millington, Kendall County, Illinois, USA.

Caroline married Zacheus Eden Brown on 18 DEC 1860 in Big Grove, Kendall County, Illinois, USA. One known child was born during their marriage:

Harvey Brown (1864)

Zacheus Eden Brown was born on 8 FEB 1832 in New York, USA. He died on 15 NOV 1884 in Monroe, Jasper County, Iowa, USA.

Caroline and Zacheus were buried in the Millington Newark Cemetery.

After Zacheus died, Caroline married Seth Eastman Bradley in 1886 in Evanston, Cook County, Illinois, USA. No known children were born during their marriage.

Seth Eastman Bradley was born on 18 APR 1822 in Canterbury, Merrimack County, New Hampshire, USA. He died on 23 JAN 1903 in Wilmette, Cook County, Illinois, USA.

Seth’s First Marriage:

Seth married Hannah Hall Forrest on 13 JAN 1844 in Canterbury, Merrimack County, New Hampshire, USA. One known child was born during their marriage:

Ellen Amanda Bradley (1844)

Hannah Hall Forrest was born on 28 NOV 1824 in Canterbury, Merrimack County, New Hampshire, USA. She died on 8 JUN 1854 in Evanston, Cook County, Illinois, USA. Hannah was 29 years old when she died.

Seth’s Second Marriage:

After Hannah died, Seth married Clarissa Chase Forrest in 1855 in Evanston, Cook County, Illinois, USA. Three known children were born during their marriage:

Hannah Josephine Bradley (1855 to 1855)
Lilly Maggie Bradley (1857 to 1883)
Lucian Forrest Bradley (1861 to 1868)

Clarissa Chase Forrest was born on 23 NOV 1827 in Canterbury, Merrimack County, New Hampshire, USA. She died on 3 JAN 1886 in Evanston, Cook County, Illinois, USA.

Seth, Hannah, and Clarissa were buried in Rosehill Cemetery in Chicago, Cook County, Illinois.

Did You Notice?

Seth married two women with the surname of Forrest. I discovered that Clara was Hannah’s sister.

Their father was Jeremiah Forrest. He was born on 25 JUN 1787 in Canterbury, Merrimack County, New Hampshire, USA. He died on 9 AUG 1845 in Canterbury, Merrimack County, New Hampshire, USA.

Their mother was Hannah Brown. She was born on 9 DEC 1791 in Northfield, Merrimack County, New Hampshire, USA. She died on 15 MAR 1859 in Canterbury, Merrimack County, New Hampshire, USA.

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.

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