Month: June 2018

The Children of James and Nancy Wallace of Monson

The last blog was on James and Nancy Wallace, the first African-American family with the name of Wallis/Wallace to settle in Monson, Massachusetts. James and Nancy moved from New York to Massachusetts around 1800.

In a previous post I wrote about their son Samuel and his wife, Emily Green, direct ancestors of Ruth Andrews DeBoise. I am going to finish with the remaining children of James and Nancy: DOLLY, HENRY, ROXANNA, and DICKERSON.

1. DOLLY was born about 1801 in Palmer, Massachusetts and is the oldest of the identified children of James and Nancy. On June 30, 1830 she was admitted as a member of the First Congregational Church of Monson. She was also listed as the head of household in the 1830 Federal Census in Monson, with one adult male and one male child under 10 years of age living in her home. By 1832, Dolly and her family were living in Palmer. On September 28, 1832 she married Joel Hazzard in Stafford, Connecticut. Joel was born about 1798 in Connecticut.

By 1839 she and her family had moved to Brookfield, Massachusetts. Dolly must have been a strong woman who handled her own money. She purchased three acres in Brookfield for $36 in 1844. Although she would not have been allowed to sell the property without her husband’s permission, the deed was in her name. In 1865, she needed the court’s permission to obtain a mortgage on her property without her husband’s consent. Joel deserted her in October 1861 and was supposedly living with another woman in New Haven, Connecticut in March 1862. Joel could not be found and Dolly was able to obtain the mortgage without his signature. She sold the property to her son Lorenzo in 1867.

Dolly was listed as a widow in the 1865 Massachusetts State Census, although I have not found a death record for Joel. She was 82 years old when she died on June 29, 1883 in Brookfield from apoplexy (stroke).

Dolly and Joel had at least five children. Three of her sons served in the Civil War. (1) James served in the Massachusetts 5th Colored Calvary as a Private. (2) George Alfred also was a Private in the Massachusetts 5th Colored Calvary. (3) Charles was 17 years old when he died from consumption in 1856. (4) Jane was last found in 1875 living at the State Farm in Cranston, Rhode Island. She was a domestic, and the State Farm was an almshouse for the poor. (5) Lorenzo was a Sargent in the Massachusetts 5th Colored Infantry.

Alfred Hazard Brookfield Cemetery
Alfred Hazzard Co. E Mass. Cav. Brookfield Cemetery

2. HENRY B was born between 1808 and 1812 in Monson. On January 16, 1842 he married Lucinda (Lucy) Johnson. Henry and Lucy had at least seven children: (1) Charles (2) George (3) Ann (4) Emmeretta (Emma) married George Hazzard, son of her aunt Dolly and Emma’s first cousin. (5) Henry Cady married Eveline Newport, then married Charlotte Oakley. Charlotte married George Hazzard following Henry’s death. George and Emma had separated by the time of this marriage. (6) John W was 20 years old when he died from consumption in 1865. (7) Elizabeth Sarah was nine years old when she died from consumption in 1864.

By 1860 Henry and Lucy were no longer living together. On October 24, 1874 Henry married Ellen H. Pennington Van Dusen. Henry worked as a laborer on local farms. On April 3, 1881 Henry was burnt to death. He was 69 years old.

3. ROXANNA (sometimes listed as Rosanna) was born about 1813. She was the mother of one child, Charles Henry Wallace. She was about 15 years old when he was born. Roxanna was also a member of the First Congregational Church of Monson. She was 22 years old when she died on September 18, 1835 in Palmer.

4. DICKERSON (Dick) was born about 1814. On March 22, 1845 he married Elvira Jenkins. In 1850 he was living with his mother, Nancy, and stepfather Henry Miller in Monson and worked as a farm laborer. His family was not living with him. Dick died May 25, 1861 in Monson from dropsy (edema). He was about 45 years old. Dick and Elvira had one daughter, Martha. Martha married William L. Mason of Springfield, and was 37 years old when she died from phthisis (tuberculosis).

As I researched the descendants of the children of James and Nancy, I found that many of the families of color living in Palmer and Monson at the time James and Ruth raised their family were related to the original Wallace family.

I have written the stories of the African-American ancestors of James and Ruth (Andrews) DeBoise – at least what I have found in my research. There is much more to be told, and I hope that some of their descendants will continue to add to their stories.

I will be moving on to Ruth Andrews’ father, and his ancestors. His family stretches back to the earliest settlers in New England, including a direct ancestor who was on the Mayflower. He also has family from Nova Scotia.

The next blog will be about using DNA for genealogy research, and how DNA helped to identify the father of Ruth Andrews.

Soon we will be celebrating the 4th of July – Independence Day. I wonder how our ancestors celebrated the 4th. James and Ruth DeBoise took their family annually to Forest Lake to celebrate the 4th. This annual outing was something the children really enjoyed.

Forest Lake Methuen Mass
Forest Lake in Methuen, Mass.

Enjoy Independence Day – celebrate with family, have a cookout, and just have lots of fun!

Until next time…..

Teri

James and Nancy Wallace – the Original Family Settlers in Monson, Massachusetts

We recently celebrated Memorial Day. Although Memorial Day was established to honor those who died in American wars, for our family it is also a time to visit the graveyards and remember our departed loved ones. We clean the gravestones, and leave flowers as a tribute to those who were close to us. We hope that our children and grandchildren will continue this tradition when we are no longer able to do so.

 

DeBoiseTombfront
James and Ruth DeBoise

In the last post I finished the story of SAMUEL and EMILY WALLACE and their fifteen children. This week we are visiting with JAMES and NANCY, Samuel’s parents.

 

In one of my early trips to Monson town hall, long before records were on the Internet and you had to search for information the old fashion way spending hours looking through the original records, I was going through all of Monson’s vital records looking for information on anyone named Wallis or Wallace. Thankfully Monson is not a large town and this task was manageable. The staff working at the Town Hall was really nice and let me have access to the records. Not all places that I have visited in my genealogy research have been so helpful.

I found a card in the death index for JAMES WALLACE who died January 23, 1823. All it said about him, besides his date of death, was male and Black. In 1823 Monson, there were very few black families. JAMES WALLACE was listed in the 1820 Monson Federal Census, with one male over 45 years of age, and nine free black persons in the family. Until 1850, only the name of the Head of Household was listed in the census, making the connection of early families more difficult.

Was James the grandfather of the James who served in the Civil War and was married to Anna Gibbons? Naming a child after one’s father is a common naming practice. How was the “Widow Wallace”, a free black in the 1830 Federal Census, related to this James?

After many years of not finding answers to my questions, I began building “family trees” for all the old Wallace/Wallis families and I began to find the connections. I found the given name of “Widow” Wallace (Nancy), where she and her first husband James were from, and the children who were born after they moved to Massachusetts. Their story is not complete, but it is no longer silent.

The Wallace family is one of the earliest black families to settle in Monson. The JAMES WALLACE family, the first Wallace family found in the records for Monson, is from New York. They are first listed in the 1820 Federal Census as living in Monson, but might have been living in Palmer as early as 1801 when one of their children was born. They were not found living as an independent household in the 1800 or 1810 census for Palmer. However, only heads of households were listed, and if they lived with another family they would be listed as a number of free persons of color in that household.

So why would they move to Massachusetts from New York around the turn of the century? We don’t know if they were free people of color when living in New York. Slavery had not ended in New York, and did not end until 1827. In 1799, New York passed a gradual emancipation law that freed children born after July 4, 1799, but they were indentured until they were young adults. In 1817 a new law was passed freeing all slaves but not until 1827.

Massachusetts and Vermont had both abolished slavery before 1800. Blacks in Massachusetts could vote, and could move within the state without legal restrictions. Although I will never know for certain, James and Nancy probably moved to Massachusetts from New York because they knew they could raise their family without the threat of slavery.

The family is listed under James Wallace in the 1820 Federal Census with nine in the family, and as a free family of color. The family is listed in the 1830 Federal Census in Monson as Widow Wallace with seven in the family, again as a free family of color. Dolly Wallace (James and Nancy’s daughter) is listed as head of a separate household. I believe that all of the early Wallace families from Monson are related to James and Nancy. Birth records in Monson for this time period are very incomplete. Marriage, death, and census records were very helpful in trying to tie these relationships together.

JAMES WALLACE was born between 1755 and 1770 in New York. This is an estimated date of birth, based on various dates of birth given for his wife Nancy. Men were generally, but not always, a few years older than their wife. He died on January 23, 1823 in Monson. James probably worked as a laborer on the farms in Monson.

NANCY (last name unknown) was born between 1757 and 1775 in Staten Island, New York. She was listed as the head of house in the 1830 census in Monson, with seven living in the household, including one female between 36 and 55 years of age. On April 10, 1841 she filed intentions to marry (2) HENRY MILLER. He was born about 1797 in New York. She is listed in the 1850 census as Nancy Miller in the household of Henry Miller. She is 80 years old and he is 57 years old and a laborer. Neither Henry nor Nancy can read or write. Her son Dickerson is also living in the household.

In the 1855 Massachusetts State Census she is living in the household of her son Henry, is 91 years old and blind. Her husband is no longer living. She died February 13, 1860. Her death record states she was widowed and 103 years of age. I think she was old, but not that old. The 1850 census indicates that she was 80, and the 1830 census indicates that there was one female 36 – 55 years old in the household, both placing her birth around 1770 or 1775. Her youngest child was born in 1816. It is very unlikely a woman is having a baby when she is 60 years old!

I found records on five of their children. They might have had more. Children of James and Nancy are:

1. DOLLY
2. SAMUEL
3. HENRY B
4. ROXANNA
5. DICKERSON.

The families of Dolly, Henry, Roxanna and Dickerson will be discussed in the next blog.

Have a great week!

Teri