In 1864, Noah’s son, Amos, was interviewed by a reporter from the Keene Sentinel. The article included his memories of the Wyoming Massacre. In 1778, his family fled Forty Fort and walked 150 miles through the wilderness to reach Fishkill, New York.

Noah Adams

Born: 27 AUG 1747 in Pomfret, Windham County, Connecticut, USA

Father: Isaac Adams (1698 to 1757)
Mother: Eleanor Longbottom (1709 to 1784)

Spouse: Elizabeth Fassett (1749 to 1831)

Married: 22 NOV 1770 in Brooklyn, Windham County, Connecticut, USA

Children:

Amos Adams (16 AUG 1773 to 3 JUL 1870)
Jesse Adams (16 NOV 1775 to 1 SEP 1845)
Jerusha Adams (1 APR 1777 to 25 JAN 1810)
Lydia Adams (12 APR 1780 to 28 JUL 1853)

Died: 26 JUL 1819 in Cavendish, Windsor County, Vermont, USA

Burial: Old Revolutionary War Cemetery

Timeline:

1757 Death of father, Isaac
1770 Marriage to Elizabeth
1772 Wyoming Valley, Pennsylvania
1773 Birth of son, Amos
1775 Birth of son, Jesse
1777 Birth of daughter, Jerusha
1778 Wyoming Massacre
1780 Birth of daughter, Lydia
1784 Death of mother, Eleanor
1800 Cavendish, Windsor County, Vermont
1810 Cavendish, Windsor County, Vermont
1810 Death of daughter, Jerusha
1819 Death and Burial

Occupation: unknown

Records:

1810 US Federal Census Record
Connecticut Town Birth Records, pre-1870 (Barbour Collection)
Connecticut, Town Marriage Records, pre-1870 (Barbour Collection)
Early Connecticut Marriages
U.S., Sons of the American Revolution Membership Applications, 1889-1970
Vermont, U.S., Vital Records, 1720-1908
The U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current

Variations of Surname: none

When I started searching for information on Noah, I found two stories on my family tree website.

The first was a short biography:

“Noah Adams and his wife, Elizabeth Fassett, shortly after their marriage, went to Pennsylvania as members of the Susquehanna Land Company to make purchases of land from the Indians.”

“In the Wyoming Valley in 1778, the Adams family survived the Battle of Wyoming (Wilkes Barre, Pa) and other Indian Massacres by fleeing into the wilderness.”

“In about 1800, the family moved to Cavendish, Windsor County, Vermont. In Cavendish, he was chosen for a number of Town offices, which included assessor, sealer of leather, Grand Juror & Tything, and was voted for town Representative in 1808.”

The second was an article published in the Keene Sentinel in 1864. It was an interview with Noah’s son, Amos. Part of the article included his memories of the Wyoming Massacre.

“The fort in which his father had taken refuge contained 27 men and 300 women and children. This fort was surrendered without firing a gun under the promise of their lives being spared. The gates were thrown open and the Tories and Indians, fresh from the slaughter in the other forts rushed in–their hands reeking of blood and the bloody scalps of neighbors and kindred dangling from their belts and the packs of plunder they had made up. Here the husband saw the scalp of the wife, and the wife that of the husband, and the mother that of her child, that had been thus murdered with all the fiendish cruelty of Indian malignity.”

“They were stripped of everything, even food and clothes, and bidden to leave the settlements at once. Glad to escape with their lives, the destitute company plunged into the almost trackless wilderness, with 150 miles between them and aid.”

“The tears will roll down his cheeks as he recalls the sufferings of that time. The family consisted of 5 members: father, mother, and 3 children. Amos, the subject of the sketch, was 5 years old, one 3, and the other was 1 year old. The mother carried the baby, the father the next, and the eldest, Amos, had to walk that journey of 150 miles, and he scarce 5 years old, and that too, in no leisurely manner, but in the constant fear and dread that the Indians might be sorry for their leniency in letting, so many scalps escape, and pursue and murder them; deprived, likewise, of food and shelter and subsisting upon such roots and berries as they could obtain, they arrive at the Fishkills on North River.”

Noah’s Wife:

Elizabeth Fassett:

Elizabeth was born on 14 JUN 1749 in Pomfret, Windham County, Connecticut, USA. She died on 13 OCT 1831 in Cavendish, Windsor County, Vermont, USA.

Elizabeth’s father was Adonijah Fassett. He was born on 23 SEP 1720 in Canterbury, Windham County, Connecticut, USA. He died on 29 DEC 1800 in Pomfret, Windham County, Connecticut, USA.

Elizabeth’s mother was Anna Copeland. She was born on 4 AUG 1728 in Braintree, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, USA. She died on 18 OCT 1801 in Pomfret, Windham County, Connecticut, USA.

Adonijah and Anna were buried in the South Cemetery.

Elizabeth had nine brothers and sisters:

Anne Fassett (1746)
Adonijah Fassett (1751 to 1751)
Adonijah Fasset (1753)
Jesse Fassett (1756)
Joab Fassett (1758 to 1759)
Lois Fassett (1760)
Joab Fassett (1763)
Mary Fassett (1766)
Pearly Fassett (1768)

The Fassett/MacPherson Lineage:

Elizabeth was the granddaughter of Benjamin Fassett. He was born on 7 JUL 1690 in Billerica, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, USA. He died on 3 OCT 1764 in Pomfret, Windham County, Connecticut, USA.

She was the great-granddaughter of Patrick MacPherson Fassett. He was born in 1628 in Scotland. He died on 7 NOV 1713 in Billerica, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, USA.

Patrick was buried in the Old South Burying Ground Cemetery.

It is speculated that Patrick McPherson fought in the 1650 Battle of Worcester. He was one of the prisoners aboard the ship, John and Sarah, that arrived in Boston in 1651. When he became a free man, he changed his surname to Fassett.

Noah and Elizabeth’s Daughters:

Jerusha Adams:

Jerusha was born on 1 APR 1777 in Wilkes-Barre, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, USA. She died on 25 JAN 1810 in Cavendish, Windsor County, Vermont, USA. Jerusha was 32 years old when she died.

Jerusha was buried in the Old Revolutionary War Cemetery.

Jerusha married Zacheus Spaulding on 30 MAR 1803 in Cavendish, Windsor County, Vermont, USA. Three known children were born during their marriage:

Lydia Spaulding (1804)
Nathan Payne Spaulding (1806)
George Adams Spaulding (1808)

Zacheus Spaulding was born on 20 NOV 1779 in Westford, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, USA. He died on 25 JAN 1834 in Claremont, Sullivan County, New Hampshire, USA.

Zacheus was buried in the Broad Street Cemetery.

After Jerusha died, Zacheus married Elizabeth Peabody on 10 SEP 1810 in Cavendish, Windsor County, Vermont, USA. Six known children were born during their marriage:

Jerusha Spaulding (1812)
Adeline Eliza Spaulding (1813)
Julia Granby Spaulding (1815)
Harriet Newell Spaulding (1817)
Eleanor Peabody Spaulding (1819)
Alonzo Zacheus Spaulding (1825)

Elizabeth Peabody was born on 17 NOV 1781 in Jaffrey, Cheshire County, New Hampshire, USA. She died on 6 OCT 1852 in Claremont, Sullivan County, New Hampshire, USA.

Lydia Adams:

Lydia was born on 12 APR 1780 in Fishkill, Dutchess County, New York, USA. She died on 28 JUL 1853 in Bakersfield, Franklin County, Vermont, USA.

Lydia married Thomas Child on 1 DEC 1803 in Cavendish, Windsor County, Vermont, USA. Ten known children were born during their marriage. The children were born in Bakersfield, Franklin County, Vermont, USA.

Frances Child (1804)
Chauncey Child (1807)
Thomas Child (1808 to 1813)
William Child (1811 to 1818)
Sally Child (1813 to 1818)
Marcus Child (1816)
Solomon Proctor Child (1817)
Thomas Child (1818)
Elizabeth Child (1821)
Philetus C Child (1823 to 1827)

Thomas Child was born on 30 APR 1779 in Westminster, Worcester County, Massachusetts, USA. He died on 26 APR 1862 in Bakersfield, Franklin County, Vermont, USA.

Lydia and Thomas were buried in Maple Grove Cemetery.

Did You Notice?

Four of Lydia and Thomas’ children died before they were ten years old. I do not know the causes of their deaths.

There were many illnesses that killed children before the advent of antibiotics. These diseases included dysentery, measles, smallpox, and typhus.

Sally died on 7 OCT 1818. William died two weeks later on 21 OCT 1818. It must have been a tragedy for Noah and Elizabeth to lose two children in such a short time.

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!