In 1742, Joseph’s oldest daughter, Betsy, married Samuel Wilson in Pomfret, Windham, Connecticut. In 1749, their four oldest children died of dysentery and “nervous long fever”.  The epidemic killed hundreds of people in Connecticut.

Joseph Adams

Born: 1694 in Canterbury, Windham County, Connecticut, USA

Father: Richard Adams (1651 to 1728)
Mother: Rebecca Davis (1658 to Unknown)

First Spouse: Mary Davenport (1705 to 1737)

Married: 3 NOV 1724 in Pomfret, Windham County, Connecticut, USA

Children:

Betsy Adams (18 NOV 1725 to 4 APR 1803)
Paul Adams (24 FEB 1727 to 9 OCT 1779)
Joseph Adams (27 SEP 1731 to Unknown)
Jonas Adams (24 JAN 1733 to Unknown)

Second Spouse: Elizabeth Cary (1709 to 1753)

Married: 23 FEB 1738 in Brooklyn, Windham County, Connecticut, USA

Children:

Mary Adams (27 AUG 1739 to 7 OCT 1810)
John Adams (25 DEC 1740 to Unknown)
Elisha Adams (18 FEB 1743 to Unknown)
Ephraim Adams (22 JAN 1746 to Unknown)
Elizabeth Adams (28 APR 1747 to Unknown)
Kezia Adams (26 MAR 1749 to Unknown)
Caleb Adams (29 JAN 1752 to Unknown)

Died: 10 OCT 1753 in Pomfret, Windham County, Connecticut, USA

Probate:

Timeline: no documentation available

Occupation: unknown

Records:

Connecticut, Town Marriage Records, pre-1870 (Barbour Collection)
Early Connecticut Marriages
Connecticut Town Death Records, pre-1870 (Barbour Collection)
Connecticut, Wills and Probate Records, 1609-1999

Variations of Surname: none

Joseph’s Birthplace:

The American Genealogist (TAG), Volume 23, Page 145, listed Joseph’s birthplace as Quinebaug Plantation. This area, once called Quinebaug Country, included the towns of Plainfield, Canterbury, and Pomfret.

The Historical Marker website has a photo and transcription of the town marker for Canterbury. The first paragraph begins with this description:

“Originally part of Plainfield the town was incorporated in October 1703. The town area includes the original Quinebaug Plantation of Major James Fitch, son of the Reverend James Fitch . . .”

The WikiTree profile for his father, Richard Adams (Adams-1094) supplies this timeline:

Around 1690, Richard moved to Canterbury, Windham County, Connecticut, USA.

In 1699, Richard signed two petitions in Plainfield, Windham County, Connecticut, USA.

NOTE:  The town of Canterbury is four miles northwest of Plainfield across the Quinebaug River.

In 1721, Richard’s two youngest daughters married their husbands in Canterbury, Windham County, Connecticut, USA. These records can be found in Ancestry.com’s database “Connecticut, U.S., Church Record Abstracts, 1630-1920”.

This would indicate that Richard was living in Canterbury between 1690 and 1721. The five youngest children were probably born in this town.

The Barbour Collection for Canterbury lists births from 1703 to 1850. This is why no birth records have been found for these children.

Joseph’s First Wife:

Mary Davenport:

Mary was born on 14 MAR 1705 in Dorchester, Suffolk County, Massachusetts, USA. She died on 23 FEB 1737 in Pomfret, Windham County, Connecticut, USA. Mary was 31 years old when she died.

Mary’s father was Charles Davenport. He was born on 7 SEP 1652 in Dorchester, Suffolk County, Massachusetts, USA. He died on 1 FEB 1719 in Dorchester, Suffolk County, Massachusetts, USA.

Mary’s mother was Waitstill Smith. She was born on 11 DEC 1658 in Dorchester, Suffolk County, Massachusetts, USA. She died on 9 AUG 1747 in Dorchester, Suffolk County, Massachusetts, USA.

Charles and Waitstill Davenport were buried in the Dorchester North Burying Ground Cemetery.

Mary had eight known brothers and sisters:

Eunice Davenport (1679)
Sarah Davenport (1681)
Paul Davenport (1684)
Thomas Davenport (1687 to 1687)
Waitstill Davenport (1689)
Abigail Davenport (1693)
Thomas Davenport (1695)
Charles Davenport (1700)

Joseph’s Second Wife:

Elizabeth Cary:

Elizabeth was born on 30 APR 1709 in Bridgewater, Plymouth County, Massachusetts, USA. She died on 3 SEP 1753 in Pomfret, Windham County, Connecticut, USA.

Elizabeth’s father was Samuel Cary. He was born in 1677 in Bridgewater, Plymouth County, Massachusetts, USA. He died in 1759 in Dover Plains, Dutchess County, New York, USA.

Elizabeth’s mother was Mary Poole. She was born in 1681 in Weymouth, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, USA. She died in 1766 in Dover Plains, Dutchess County, New York, USA.

Elizabeth had eight known brothers and sisters:

Joseph Cary (1705)
Lydia Cary (1706)
Alice Cary (1707)
Samuel Cary (1711)
David Cary (1713)
Nathan Cary (1716)
Eleazer Cary (1718)
Mary Cary (1720)

Joseph’s Daughters:

Betsy Adams:

Betsy was born on 18 NOV 1725 in Pomfret, Windham County, Connecticut, USA. She died on 4 APR 1803 in Brooklyn, Windham County, Connecticut, USA.

Betsy married Samuel Wilson on 24 MAR 1742 in Pomfret, Windham County, Connecticut, USA. Eleven known children were born during their marriage:

Samuel Wilson (1743 to 1749)
Hannah Wilson (1744 to 1749)
Esther Wilson (1746 to 1749)
Robert Wilson (1748 to 1749)
Mary Wilson (1750)
Joseph Wilson (1753)
Betsy Wilson (1755)
Ignatius Wilson (1759)
Sarah Wilson (1762)
Mabel Wilson (1764)
Rufus Wilson (1767)

Samuel Wilson was born in 1721 in Ashford, Windham County, Connecticut, USA. He died on 21 DEC 1788 in Brooklyn, Windham County, Connecticut, USA.

There is a biography of Samuel Wilson and his family on the Internet Archive website. The publication is entitled “Descendants of Jacob Wilson of Braintree, Massachusetts“. It was published in 1988. The author was Ken Stevens.

Betty and Samuel were buried in the South Cemetery in Brooklyn, Windham County, Connecticut, USA.

Did You Notice?

The four oldest children died in the same year:

Samuel died on October 10, 1749
Hannah died on October 20th, 1749
Esther died on November 1, 1749
Robert died on October 22, 1749

Whenever there are multiple deaths in the same year, I wonder what happened to the poor souls. These types of events usually occurred because of a major epidemic.

I found the answer to this question on the US Deadly Events website. In 1749, dysentery and “nervous long fever” was rampant in the state of Connecticut. This illness killed 130 people in Waterbury and 57 people in Woodbury. The town of Waterbury is 72 miles southwest of Pomfret.

Many people would have fled these towns to avoid contracting this disease. They may have already been infected and spread it to neighboring towns and hamlets.

Mary Adams:

Mary was born on 27 AUG 1739 in Pomfret, Windham County, Connecticut, USA. She died on 7 OCT 1810 in Sauquoit, Oneida County, New York, USA.

Mary married John Howard on 1 MAR 1758 in Brooklyn, Windham County, Connecticut, USA. Nine known children were born during this marriage. The four oldest children and the youngest child were born in Pomfret. The other four children were born in Monson, Hampden County, Massachusetts, USA.

Elisha Howard (1759)
Peggy Howard (1761)
Chester Howard (1763)
Joseph Howard (1766)
Molly Howard (1768)
Smith Howard (1770)
Artemas Howard (1773)
Lucinia Howard (1776)
Willard Howard (1780)

John Howard was born on 20 JUL 1735 in Ipswich, Essex County, Massachusetts, USA. He died on 4 MAY 1816 in Sauquoit, Oneida County, New York, USA.

There is a biography of John Howard and his family on the Internet Archive website. The publication is entitled “Howard genealogy: A Genealogical Record Embracing All the Known Descendants. . .“. It was published in 1884. The author was Jarvis Cutler Howard.

What Happened to Three of the Children?

Elisha, Elizabeth, and Kezia were not named in the 1753 distribution of Joseph’s estate. The excerpt from the TAG article, above, indicates that the children “probably died young”.

That is likely what happened even though I could find no death records for the children. They may have died in the 1749 dysentery epidemic or within a few days of their births.

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!