I discovered that Timothy Adams and his wife, Susannah Adams, were first cousins, once removed. Susannah’s grandmother, Sarah Adams, and her husband, Henry Adams, were 3rd cousins, once removed.

Timothy Adams

Born: 7 SEP 1742 in Pomfret, Windham County, Connecticut, USA

Father: Isaac Adams (1698 to 1757)
Mother: Eleanor Longbottom (1711 to 1784)

Spouse: Susannah Adams (1742 to 1843)

Married: 3 MAY 1764 in Brooklyn, Windham County, Connecticut, USA

Children:

Asahel Adams (7 OCT 1764 to 28 NOV 1844)
Alden Adams (9 SEP 1766 to 23 FEB 1848)
Isaac Adams (12 DEC 1769 to 10 NOV 1839)
Cyrus Adams (21 JAN 1772 to Unknown)
Rebecca Adams (20 JUN 1774 to Unknown)
Susannah Adams (2 NOV 1776 to 22 OCT 1849)
Timothy Adams (1 MAR 1779 to Unknown)

Died: 25 AUG 1834 in Canterbury, Windham County, Connecticut, USA

Burial: Carey Cemetery

Timeline:

1757 Death of father, Isaac
1764 Marriage to Susannah
1764 Birth of son, Asahel
1766 Birth of son, Alden
1769 Birth of son, Isaac
1772 Birth of son, Cyrus
1774 Birth of daughter, Rebecca
1776 Birth of daughter, Susannah
1779 Birth of son, Timothy
1784 Death of mother, Eleanor
1790 Canterbury, Windham County, Connecticut, USA
1800 Canterbury, Windham County, Connecticut, USA
1810 Canterbury, Windham County, Connecticut, USA
1820 Canterbury, Windham County, Connecticut, USA
1830 Canterbury, Windham County, Connecticut, USA
1834 Death and Burial

Occupation: unknown

Records:

1790 to 1830 US Federal Census Records
Connecticut Town Birth Records, pre-1870 (Barbour Collection)
Connecticut, Town Marriage Records, pre-1870 (Barbour Collection)
Early Connecticut Marriages
North America, Family Histories, 1500-2000
Connecticut, Deaths and Burials Index, 1650-1934
Windham County, Connecticut, Cemetery Records, Volume I
Connecticut, Hale Cemetery Inscriptions, 1675-1934
The U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current

Variations of Surname: none

The Adams-to-Adams Connection:

Timothy Adams married Susannah Adams. As they had the same surname, I wondered how they were related.

The Canon or Common Law Relationship Chart helped me find this connection.

Timothy’s line of descent is on the left side of the chart:

Timothy Adams (1742 to 1834), grandson
Isaac Adams (1696 to 1757), son
Richard Adams (1651 to 1728), progenitor

Susannah’s line of descent is on the right side of the chart:

Susannah Adams (1742 to 1843), great-granddaughter
Ahaziah Adams (1715 to 1773), grandson
Sarah Adams (1683 to 1751), daughter
Richard Adams (1651 to 1728), progenitor

Richard Adams was their common ancestor.

The chart shows that Timothy and Susannah were first cousins, once removed.

Another Adams-to-Adams Connection:

Susannah’s grandmother, Sarah Adams (1683 to 1751), married Henry Adams (1684 to Unknown) on 19 DEC 1706 in Canterbury, Windham County, Connecticut, USA.

Sarah’s line of descent is on the left side of the chart:

Sarah Adams (1683 to 1751), great3-granddaughter
Richard Adams (1651 to 1728), great2-grandson
James Adams (1626 to Unknown), great-grandson
John Adams (1602 to 1633), grandson **
John Adams (1577 to 1609), son
John Adams (1555 to 1604

** The birth year of 1595 was changed to 1602. See John Adams (1602 to 1633)

Henry’s line of descent is on the right side of the chart:

Henry Adams (1684 to Unknown), great2-grandson
Samuel Adams (1656 to 1727), great-grandson
Thomas Adams (1612 to 1688), grandson
Henry Adams (1583 to 1646), son
John Adams (1555 to 1604)

John Adams (1555 to 1604) was their common ancestor.

The chart shows that Sarah and Henry were 3rd cousins, once removed.

Timothy’s Wife:

Susannah Adams:

Susannah Adams was born on 20 APR 1742 in Canterbury, Windham County, Connecticut, USA. She died on 18 JAN 1843 in Canterbury, Windham, County Connecticut, USA. Susannah was 100 years old when she died.

Susannah’s father was Ahaziah Adams. He was born on 22 JUL 1715 in Canterbury, Windham County, Connecticut, USA. He died in 1773 in Canterbury, Windham County, Connecticut, USA.

Susannah’s mother was Eleanor Munroe. She was born on 27 SEP 1715 in Canterbury, Windham County, Connecticut, USA. She died on 19 JUN 1748 in Canterbury, Windham County, Connecticut, USA.

Susannah had four brothers and sisters:

Sarah Adams (1737)
Eleanor Adams (1739)
Thomas Adams (1745)
Deborah Adams (1747)

Daughters:

Rebecca Adams:

Rebecca was born on 20 JUN 1774 in Canterbury, Windham County, Connecticut, USA. I do not know when she died.

Rebecca married Daniel Ashcraft. The marriage date and location are unknown. Two known children were born during their marriage. The children were born in Royalton, Windsor County, Vermont, USA.

Daniel Ashcraft (1802)
Alden Ashcraft (1812)

Daniel Ashcraft was born on 22 JAN 1773 in Brooklyn, Windham County, Connecticut, USA. He died on 26 SEP 1825 in Royalton, Windsor County, Vermont, USA.

Susannah Adams:

Susannah was born on 2 NOV 1776 in Canterbury, Windham County, Connecticut, USA. She died on 22 OCT 1849 in Canterbury, Windham County, Connecticut, USA.

Susannah married Peleg Lewis on 6 OCT 1801 in Canterbury, Windham County, Connecticut, USA. Six known children were born during their marriage:

Rebecca Lewis (1801)
Clarissa Lewis (1803)
Laura Lewis (1805 to 1806)
Laura Lewis (1808)
Emerilla Lewis (1810)
Timothy Adams Lewis (1814)

Peleg Lewis was born in 1777 in Connecticut, USA. He died on 1 MAR 1861 in Canterbury, Windham County, Connecticut, 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.

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!