Myths, Mistakes, and Mysteries in Thurber Genealogy
Genealogical research can be frustrating when dealing with conflicting information. It is a given that a researcher will find discrepancies and will need to determine what is fact and what items need further research. In my research into Thurber Genealogy, I have discovered a number of myths and errors that left uncorrected will continue to be propagated as fact. In addition, there are a number of Thurber mysteries that have confounded serious researchers for decades. A few of these mysteries have been solved in recent years, but most remain unsolved. Musings presents a mix of myths, mistakes, and mysteries in Thurber genealogy to help in determining what is fact, what is fiction, and what needs further research.
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The Thurber Surname
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The most obvious mystery when researching Thurber history is the origin of the surname THURBER. Although a number of theories have been advanced, these are all merely theories. Common references to the name Thurber being of Norse origin are not supported by the DNA results showing the Thurbers to be haplogroup R1b1b2, a group that is thought to have arrived in central and western Europe around 2300 BCE, by going up the Danube from the Black Sea coast.
1. From the writings of Charles H. Thurber Sr, [Book A Part 1, page 6]:
The family name Thurber or Thorber is a shortened form of Thorebern or Thorbern, the latter occurring in the Doomsday book A.D. 1086, and both in Hundred Rolls, A.D. 1273. It is traced back to Old Norse Thorbjorn, Thor-bear, and modern Thorburn.
Another interpretation of the name. - Thorber is the spelling given in Heraldry and a very ancient origin. Probably the same as Thorsby of Hay Co., Brecon. Formerly of Leeds Co., York and derived from Jos.Patrick, Lord of Thoresby.
The arms could indicate German extraction as shown. Metal on Metal a rule only followed by Germans.
2. Charles H. Thurber Sr. - quoting from Dictionary of Ancestral Heads of New England families - 1620 to 1670 Pg XXXVII Thurber
The
name is a contraction of Thoreborn of Icelandic origin and was established in
England by Norseman, William Thoreborn who resided in Oxfordshire in the 13th
century and were armour makers.
3.
Three Hundred Fifty Years of Thurbers by Thurston T. Thurber
There is general agreement that “Thurber is of Scandinavian i.e. Norse or Viking derivation. The “THUR” is from the god Thor - he of the chariot whose wheels produce the thunder one hears when the summer lightening streaks the heavens. The “BER” part of the name engenders a couple of hypotheses: the favored one is that it comes from “bjorn” od Danish for “bear,” thus we have Thorbjorn, or Thor’s bear. A second rendering of the “BER” root is from “BERG” - thus Thor’s berg or Thor’s mountain. In the sagas, Thor was continually bashing giants with his magic hammer amongst ubiquitous icy mountains.
4. A newer theory arose from Peirce's colonial lists.
There is one county in England in which the name Thirdborough (and variant spellings) is seen.
Pallot's Marriage Index for England: 1780 - 1837 has Thirdboroughs in Blaby, Leire, Barrow on Soar, and Gilmorton - all located in Leicestershire. In checking the Thirdborough entries in England & Wales, Free BMD 1837-1983, all the births, all the marriages and all but one of the deaths listed for that name are in Leicestershire. A search of IGI extracted records found most of the variants of this name also in Leicestershire. A search using Tharborough turned up Thurburow, Thurborough, Thurberrough, Thurdborough, Thurborrow, Thurborowe, and so forth. A couple of these names dated back to the 1620s and 1630s.
The word “thirdborough” means deputy constable or tithingman. A tithingman/tythingman was the chief man of a tithing; a headborough. He presided over the tithing (a group of about ten households). Villages often had several tithings. The tithingman served for a year at a time and was expected to be able physically to keep things in order.
A recent research effort into the names Thurber and Thurburrow yielded an interesting comment from an English archivist hired to do a search for Thurber/Thurburrow variants in Lincolnshire. He reported, in considering the name Stanton or Stainton (a place of origin often mentioned for John and Priscilla): "The difficulty is that there is nowhere in Lincolnshire with the name Stanton. There is, however, a village of that name in Leicestershire, which is an adjacent county to Lincolnshire." He also mentioned that the name Thurburrow/ Thurbourough appears in Leicestershire records and noted: "English pronunciation of this name [Thurburrow] puts less stress on the latter syllables than you might in America. The English pronunciation is something like ‘Thurbruh,’ which is quite a small step from Thurber."
Although multiple theories have been put forward, the origin of Thurber name remains unknown. The earliest known records of the Thurber name are from towns on the south coast of Devonshire England in the early 1600's.
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There has long been disagreement over the surname of Elizabeth, wife of John Wheaton (1650-1737) of Rehoboth and Swansea, MA. A quick search in December 2008 of Rootsweb WorldConnect files showed 96 files with Elizabeth Carpenter as the wife of John Wheaton. There were 75 with Elizabeth Thurber as his wife. In 29 of the files, John Wheaton has both names listed as wives, some with Thurber as 1st marriage and some with it as 2nd marriage. There seems to be nothing to indicate that John Wheaton married more than one time.
In 2002
I discovered and posted information that shows that John Wheaton married
Elizabeth Thurber. The source was a legal document included with the probate
package of John Thurber, father of Elizabeth Thurber. It included the statement “ KNOW All Men by these Presents,
That We Priscilla Thurber widow & relict of John Thurber, late of Swanzey
deceased, and John Thurber son & John Wheaton son in law all of Swanzey in
the county of Bristoll - - -"
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The
David Thurber (and sometimes Mercy Stafford) Myth
~~~~~~~~
Many files reference a David Thurber as son of the “first” Thurbers, John and Priscilla. There is absolutely no record of John and Priscilla having a son named David. In late 2008 there were still 49 files on Rootsweb WorldConnect showing David, with 17 showing he married Mercy Stafford. Another 5 have the marriage of David Thurber to Mercy Stafford, but don’t include parents for David. Some other files list Davids wife’s surname as Stofford
An erroneous listing of the death of the wife of a David Thurber that could account for this is in Rehoboth MA deaths page 880. It lists the death of THURBER, Mercy, wife of David June 3 1725. I suspected this might be wrong, since no birth, marriage, children, or death records for David have been found. In March 2000, I contacted the town clerk of Rehoboth MA and confirmed that the original record has the name THURSTAN, not THURBER. I ordered and received a certified copy of the original death record
Although I do not know whose death record this is, it could be the death of Mercy (Carey) Thurston who m. David Thurston in 1713, and had several children by him from 1714 to 1723.
In 2000 I notified each owner of a WorldConnect database containing David Thurber that the entry was incorrect, and was likely based on the incorrect name that had been published years ago in the Vital Records of Rehoboth. Only a very few corrected their files, and now nearly nine years later the myth/error has migrated to many more files. Unfortunately, these errors are almost impossible to eradicate once they take hold.
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The
Richard Thurber and Mercy Stafford (daughter of Samuel) Myth
Richard
Thurber b. 1681 married a Mercy (unknown surname).There are claims by some that
Richard’s wife, Mercy (or sometimes Marcy)
was Mercy Stafford b. 1668 to Samuel Stafford and Mercy Westcott. That
does not fit the information as we know it about Richard's wife.
However,
Mercy could have been the granddaughter of Samuel Stafford and Mercy Westcott.
The following is the best information I have been able to put together
concerning Mercy, wife of Richard Thurber.
1.
Richard Thurber and wife Mercy had a son Edward Thurber b. 31 Jan 1710 in
Swansea MA
2.
Mercy/Marcy Thurber (widow of Richard) married John Martin 4 April 1713.
3. John
and Mercy/Marcy Martin had children, including a son born 1724.
3.
Mercy/Marcy Martin, relect of John Martin died 29 September 1760 in her 72nd
year according to her stone in North Swansea MA Cemetery.
The visible portion of her headstone (as viewed Feb. 2003) reads:
In
Memory of Mrs Marcy Martin Relict of Mr John Martin
who
Departed this Life ...ptember 29th
1760 in the Seventy Second
The remainder is below ground level. Her footstone reads:
Mrs
Marcy Martin
1760
The above establishes Mercy's birth as about 1688. Her age has also been confirmed by a Bible record.
Samuel Stafford's will written in 1711 refers to a granddaughter named Marcy/Mary Thurber. Since Richard Thurber's wife was named Mercy, it is likely that Richard was married to a granddaughter of Samuel Stafford. Since we don't know which child of Samuel had a daughter Mercy b. about 1688, it is not known what Mercy's surname was. It is possible that Mercy Stafford b. 1668 had a daughter named Mary/Marcy, and that this daughter was the person who married Richard Thurber. Since there appears to be no record of such a marriage or birth, no surname can be assigned to Mercy, wife of Richard.
For those who suggest that Richard Thurber's wife was Mercy Stafford b. 1668, consider her age and her father's will. This scenario would mean that the will of Samuel Stafford had one of 2 errors: (1) Samuel neglected to mention his daughter Mercy Thurber in his will and referred to a granddaughter Mary b. to Richard and Mercy Thurber; or (2) he called Mercy his granddaughter instead of his daughter. The problem with the first possibility is that there was no daughter Mary b. to Richard and Mercy. The problem with the second possibility is that Samuel did not die until 1718 - years after Richard had died and his wife remarried. Why didn't Samuel change his will to reflect the daughter's new name - Mercy Martin. And if Mercy Stafford b. 1668 m. Richard Thurber and then later married John Martin and had a child in 1724, it means that a child was born to Mercy and John Martin when Mercy was 66.
Did Samuel's daughter Mercy marry and have a daughter named Mercy? Or possibly did his son Amos have a marriage before the marriage to Mary Burlingame, and have a daughter by that marriage? We just don’t know.
The
Genealogical Dictionary of Rhode Island, Comprising three generations of
Settlers Who Came before 1690 by John Osborne Austin, published 1887, p.
385-389 is a source that has been quoted for a marriage of Richard Thurber
b. 1681 to Mercy Stafford b. 8 Jul 1668 in Warwick, Kent Co., RI.
It just
shows Mercy Stafford b. 1668, Jul. 8 m __________Thurber. Had one child, Mary.
Since Richard's widow married John Martin, and died in 1760 at age 72, I don't see how the entry in Austin can be for Richard Thurber, and there is no other Thurber male that I know of who could have been married to Mercy Stafford b. 1668. Thurbers at that time were limited to children and grandchildren of John and Priscilla Thurber. There were no other Thurbers in the 1600's. The name began with John and Priscilla Thurber and their children
Austin didn’t supply a source for his entry. He stated in the Preface of the book that, "The material gathered in these pages was drawn from many sources." It is entirely possible that he made an assumption based solely on the will of Samuel Stafford, but there is no way to be certain.
I am going to toss this “musing” out for consideration.
1.
Mercy Stafford b. 1668 (dau. of Samuel)
2.
Mercy has dau. Mary/Mercy 1688 (father unknown) - and perhaps she never married.
3.
Mercy (b. 1668) dies before date of Samuel's will
4.
Mary/Mercy b. 1688 marries Richard Thurber bef. 1710 and before date of will
This would account for no daughter Mercy in the will, but a granddaughter Mary. Mary may have decided to use the name Mercy after the death of her mother. Before that, she may have used Mary to keep from causing confusion with the name Mercy. Alternatively, some other granddaughter of Samuel m. Richard Thurber.
The
Thurber/Stafford mystery was also addressed by Joanne E. Martin in 1999.
In an email I received from her she wrote:
I have a copy of the will of Samuel Stafford. In it he names all
his living children. He does not name a daughter Mercy or a son Stukley. From
this I assume those two to have been dead by 1710, the date of the will. He does
name all his other children and the daughters by their married name.
Note that he names two granddaughters:
Mercy Thourbur and Mary Stafford. At the probate in 1718 comes forward
his granddaughter, Mercy Smith. There is no clue as to which of Samuel's
children, Mercy Thourbur comes. One conclusion would be that she was a child of
Mercy, who married an early Thurber. However, there is no clue as to the name of
this early Thurber. This Mercy was born 1668 and was dead by 1709/1710 so
couldn't have married John Martin.
So was the Mercy Smith who came forward at the probate the same
as Mercy Thourbur? Surely, this was the Mercy Thourber mentioned in the will.
She would have been the only granddaughter, Mercy, who was named and would stand
to get money. I'm wondering if there are administration papers, etc. in
conjunction with this will. So I'll have to get the Index of probate for Warwick
to see if anything further. If this Mercy Thourbur did marry a Smith, then what
basis is there for a Mercy (Thoubur) Thurber marrying John Martin? Could be that
whole scenario is wrong?
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The
Abner Thurber Mystery
~~~~~~~~
A
number of Thurber descendants have traced their family history to an Abner
Thurber and wife Jane who were in listed in the Itawamba County Mississippi 1850
census. Details on Abner, including dates and place of birth, marriage, and
death, remain a mystery.
The
1850 United States Federal Census of District 7, Itawamba, Mississippi has a
household with the following members:
Abner E
Thurbor 43 b. N. Y.
Jane
Thurbor 31 b. Tenn.
Henry
Thurbor 12 b. Ala.
Emily
Thurbor 10 b. Mi.
Emeline
Thurbor 7 b. Mi
James
Thurbor 4 b. Mi.
William
Thurbor 2 b. Mi.
Abner
Thurbor 9/12 b. Mi.
Rhoda
Underwood 15 b. Ga.
Andrew
Conly 45 b. Tenn.
I have found only two more references to Abner: an Itawamba deed in 1852; and a directory of Denison, Texas for 1876/7 listing Jane as his widow.
Abner is in the following 1852 deed posted on the Itawamba MI board at Rootsweb by Dot Tribble.
This Indenture made and entered
into between Joseph WOODRUFF Sherriff of Itawamba County & State of
Mississippi of the one part and E. J. Chasteen Witnesseth that the said Joseph
Wood as such sherriff having levied on North East quarter of Section thirty five
south west quarter of Section thirty four all of Township Eight (No 8) of Range
ten (No 10) East Of the basis meridian as as the property of Abner THURBER [Thurben?
Wurber?] by virtue of .. and to satisfy the amount thereof namely one Hundred
& fifty dollars & sixty cents debt & thirty four dollars cost a writ
of vendi Exposes of the County of Itawamba on the lands &c of Abner THURBER
and he having [advertised?] the day and place of sale did on the third Monday of
June at the Court house door of said county of Itawamba according to law Expose
to sale at Public Auction for cash and then and there E. J. Chasteen became the
last and best bidder and purchaser thereof as and for the sum of thirty one
dollars 50/100 which he thereupon paid to Joseph WOODRUFF Sherriff as foresaid
in consideration of the promises [premises?] does hereby bargain sell grant
alien infeoff and convey to the said E. J. Chasteen the aforesaid property unto
the said E. J. Chasteen and his heirs and the said Joseph WOODRUFF Sherriff as
aforesaid does warrant and will defend same to E. J. Chasteen and his heirs
&c free and quit of the right title and interest of the said Abner THURBER
botH in Law and Equity and of all & every one claiming or to claim under or
through him so far as he the said Joseph WOODRUFF Sherriff by virtue of the
process proceedings [act?] and purchaser aforesaid and the law in such cases can
or may warrant and defend but only officially and in no other manner or degree
whatsoever In witness whereof the said Joseph WOODRUFF as Sherriff as aforesaid
hereto sets his name and seal on the day and year first written.
. . . . . . Given under my hand and the seal of the said Court at office
in Fulton this 5th day of April AD 1852
CITY DIRECTORY OF THE CITY OF DENISON, GRAYSON CO, TEXAS FOR 1876 & 1877
Basket,
James M., teamster, res s s Crawford bet Austin and Rusk Aves.
Thurber,
Jane N., (wid Abner E.), home James M. Basket.
Thurber,
William, lab, res s s Crawford bet Austin and Rusk.
lab
laborer
s s
south side
res
residence
James M Basket is likely the same James M Basket who m. Abner’s daughter Emeline Thurber (also known as Sarah E.).
What
happened to the children of Abner and Jane?
I have
researched the children of Abner and Jane hoping to find some clue to who
Abner’s parents were and to see where he and/or Jane were in the years
following 1850. According to a typewritten transcription of the James Madison
Thurber Family Bible, the children’s names were: Henry Eddy, Emily E, Sarah
Emiline, James Madison, William Lewis, and Abner Echols.
Daughter
Emily married Andrew Jackson Hanna. In
1860 she was in Bates, Sebastian, AR. In 1870 and 1880 she was in Sulphur,
Sebastian, AR. I was unable to find any of the other family members in 1860.
Daughter
Emeline (AKA Sarah E.) married James Basket. In 1870 she lived in Sulphur, Sebastian, AR. In 1880 she is
married to George Robbins and lives in Precinct 7, Tarrant, TX.
Son
James Thurber is living in Upper, Sebastian, AR in 1870.
Son
William Thurber is living in Sulpher, Sebastian, AR in 1870.
There
is an odd entry in the 1870 census for a J Thuper 48 and Henry Thuper 20 in
Precinct 1, Robertson, TX - could this be Jane and son Henry? Ages are almost
impossible to read, and J is listed as male.
On 11
Oct 1876 a Henry Thurbur m Amanda M. Griffin in Medina Texas.
There was a Griffin family 2 pages from the Thupers in the 1870 census. I
don’t know if this has any significance.
Son
Abner m. Sallie Whitley 1 Nov 1876 in Atascosa, Bexar, TX.
None of
these items has provided a clue to Abner’s birth, marriage or death. Later
census records of the children of Jane and Abner vary in listing the states
where the parents were born.
In 1880
Emeline is married to George Robbins, and lists her father’s birthplace as
Mich. In 1900 she again gives father's birthplace as Michigan. In 1910 Emeline
doesn’t specify her father’s birthplace.
James
M. Thurber in 1880 did not specify a birthplace for his father.
In 1900 he lists father b. Alabama and mother born Vermont. In 1920 he
reverses the states and has father b, Vermont and mother b. Alabama.
Daughter
Emily married Andrew Jackson Hanna. In
the 1880 census she gives father b. NY and mother b. Ala.
In 1900 she lists Ala as birthplace for both parents. In 1910 she has
father b. Ill. and mother b. Miss.
Source
records:
Texas
marriage records and images from the following census listings from Ancestry.com
were the basis of the above research on the children of Abner. They also
illustrate the problem in determining Abner’s birth location based on census
records:
Daughter
Emeline:
1870
United States Federal Census about Emeline Baskit
Name:
Emeline Baskit Age in 1870: 27
Birthplace:
Mississippi Home in 1870: Sulphur,
Sebastian, Arkansas
Household
Members: James Baskit 29, Emeline
Baskit 27, Henry Baskit 2,
Magnolia Baskit 5/12
1880
United States Federal Census about E. Robins
Name:
E. Robins Home in 1880:
Precinct 7, Tarrant, Texas
Age: 33
Birthplace: Miss Relation to
head-of-household: Wife Spouse's
name: George
Father's
birthplace: Mich Mother's
birthplace: Ala
Household
Members: George Robins 31, E.
Robins 33, Henry T. Robins 12, Magie Robins 10, Wm B. Robins 8, N.E. Robins 1
1900
United States Federal Census about Sarah E Robbins
Name:
Sarah E Robbins Home in 1900:
Justice Precinct 5, Frio, Texas
Age: 55
Birth Date: Jul 1844 Birthplace:
Mississippi
Relationship
to head-of-house: Wife
Father's
Birthplace: Michigan Mother's
Birthplace: Alabama
Mother:
number of living children: 5 Mother:
How many children: 8
Spouse's
name: George A Marriage Year: 1878
Marital Status: Married Years
Married: 22
Residence
: Justice Precinct 3-5, Frio, Texas
Household
Members: George A Robbins 51, Sarah E Robbins 55, Nancy E Robbins 21, John W
Robbins 18
1910
United States Federal Census about Emline Robbin
Name:
Emline Robbin Age in 1910: 60 Birthplace: Mississippi
Relation
to Head-of-house: Wife Mother's
Birth Place: Mississippi
Spouse's
name: George A Home in
1910: Justice Precinct 7, Llano, Texas
Household
Members: George A Robbin 45 Emline
Robbin 60 Willis Campbell 8
Son
James Madison:
1880
United States Federal Census about James M. Thurber
Name:
James M. Thurber
Home in
1880: Vineyard, Washington, Arkansas
Age: 34
Birthplace: Mississippi
Spouse's
name: Lucy A.
Household
Members: Name Age
James
M. Thurber 34 Lucy A. Thurber 30
George Thurber 9
Maggie
Thurber 5 Lilly Thurber 2
Name:
James M Thurber
Home in
1900: Township 15, Cherokee Nation, Indian Territory
Age: 54
Birthplace: Mississippi
Daughter Emily:
Name:
Emily Hanner
Age in
1860: 20 Birthplace: Mississippi
Home in 1860: Bates, Sebastian, Arkansas
Jackson
Hanner 26 Emily Hanner 20
Jane Hanner 1
Name:
Emilie Hanna
Age in
1870: 30 Birthplace: Mississippi
Home in 1870: Sulphur, Sebastian, Arkansas
Jackson
Hanna 35 Emilie Hanna 30
Mary Hanna 8 Martha Hanna 4 Andrew
Hanna 5/12
Mary
Hanna 74
Name:
Emily Hanna
Home in
1880: Sulphur, Sebastian, Arkansas Age:
40 Birthplace: Mississippi.
Name:
Emly E Hanna
Home in
1900: Township 8, Choctaw Nation, Indian Territory
Age: 60
Birthplace: Mississippi
Name:
Emily E Hanna
Age in
1910: 69 Birthplace: Mississippi Relation to Head-of-house: Mother
Father's
Birth Place: Illinois Mother's
Birth Place: Mississippi
Home in
1910: Cameron, Le Flore, Oklahoma
Son
William:
Name:
William Thurber
Age in
1870: 22 Birthplace: Mississippi
Home in 1870: Sulphur, Sebastian, Arkansas
Son
Henry with Jane?
Name: J
Thuper Estimated Birth Year: abt 1822 Age in 1870: 48 Birthplace: Arkansas
Home in
1870: Precinct 1, Robertson, Texas
Race:
White Gender:
Male
Post
Office: Calvert
Henry
Cly 22 Sarah Cly 18
Eliza Cly 10 Jim Cly 4 J
Thuper 48 Henry Thuper 20
Texas Marriages [Source: Texas Marriages, 1851-1900] :
Name:
Abner Thurber Gender: Male Marriage
Date: 1 Nov 1876
Spouse:
Sallie Whitley
Marriage
city: Atascosa Marriage State:
Texas
Name:
Henry Thurbur Gender: Male
Marriage Date: 11 Oct 1876
Spouse:
Amanda M. Griffin Marriage city:
Medina Marriage State: Texas
Musings:
Check the Musings section on Eddy Thurber for additional thoughts on
Abner.
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Eddy
Thurber of Champlain NY Mystery
~~~~~~~~
Eddy
Thurber is an elusive early resident of Clinton County. He was a brother to the
more well-known Gen. Ezra Thurber. Ezra Thurber was vice-president of the
Clinton County Agricultural Society organized in 1819. He owned the first piano
in Rouses point. In 1811, he was one of the first stockholders of the original
Plattsburgh Republican newspaper. Ezra built the first wharf in Rouses Point in
1816. In 1817 President Monroe and his party breakfasted with the Ezra Thurber
family (still living in his frame house) and then made an inspection tour of the
border defenses before returning to Plattsburgh. Although Ezra's brick mansion
was begun in 1816 (and is still standing), it was not completed until 1818.
According
to historical reports of Clinton County, Edward and wife Abigail (Eddy)Thurber
moved to Champlain with their family in 1797 and purchased lot 57 on the lake
shore. Edward cleared land and
built his house there. His children Eddy, Edward Jr., Cromwell, Ezra. John,
Abner, Cromwell and Betsey all settled in the town.
In
spite of the fact that Ezra was prominent in Clinton County, the information on
his brother Eddy is sparse. My unconfirmed information is that he was b. 9 Jul
1776, d. 31 Oct 1829, and his wife may have been Clara Rouse.
An Eddy
Thurber household appears in the census for Champlain in 1800 as just an adult
male and female - no children.
In 1810
the household listed 2 male children and 1 female child all under 10 (and the
adult male and female)
By
1820, the Eddy Thurber household listed 2 males under 10, 3 males 10-15, 1
female 10-15 (and the adult male and female)
No
records have been located to identify any of the children in his household. It
isn’t known if they were his children or another person’s children living
with him. If Eddy really did have male children who lived to marry and have
children, this opens up a whole new line of Thurber research.
Musings:
Is it possible that one of Eddy’s children was Abner Thurber who is the
subject of The Abner Thurber Mystery presented earlier? To review,
according to a typewritten transcription of the James Madison Thurber Family
Bible, Abner’s children’s names were: Henry Eddy, Emily E, Sarah Emiline,
James Madison, William Lewis, and Abner Echols. The only census record found for
Abner is from 1850. His age is
listed as 43 and birthplace is N.Y..
Eddy
had a brother named Abner. Did Eddy name a son Abner for brother Abner?
Eddy's
brother, Ezra, had a son Henry Albert Thurber who drowned 5/7/1817 at age 3. He
wandered off and fell from a wharf at his parents' home in Champlain. If Abner
was a son of Eddy, surely the death of his young cousin would have made a strong
impression on a 10-year-old Abner - maybe enough that he would name his first
born son Henry. And if the Bible transcription is correct and Henry’s middle
name was Eddy, this could be for his grandfather Eddy.
Eddy’s
brother Ezra had a daughter Emily b. ca. 1810 and Abner in Mississippi named a
daughter Emily - possibly for a cousin in NY about his own age.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
The
Benjamin Thurber Mystery
~~~~~~~~
Benjamin
Thurber was born about 1720 possibly in Providence or Portsmouth, RI. He married
Elizabeth Hallett in 1747 in Warren, RI. His parents have never been determined.
Since the Thurber surname was not a common one, it is assumed Benjamin was
somehow connected with the immigrant progenitor John Thurber (c. 1626-1705). The
question that remained was whether he was an unrecorded son of a Thurber male,
adopted by a Thurber family, born to an unmarried Thurber woman who gave him the
Thurber surname, or assumed the Thurber surname in some manner.
The
family of immigrant progenitor John Thurber and wife Priscilla were the first to
use the Thurber surname, and are commonly referred to as“the first Thurbers.”
They were known to be in Swansea MA ca. 1668.
The Thurber name was continued through the four sons of John and Priscilla - Capt. John, James, Thomas, and Edward. Thurber researchers often refer to the Thurber lines by the name of the sons. In addition to these four Thurber lines, descendants of Benjamin Thurber (b. ca 1720) refer to their Thurber line as the Benjamin line.
The
Thurber DNA Project was initiated to see if DNA matches would provide any clues
to Benjamin’s paternity. Several Thurber males with carefully researched paper
trails back to Benjamin and/or to his son Isaac joined the project and had
matching Y-chromosome results. Early in the project, there was also one other
male Thurber participant with matching Y-chromosome results and he had a paper
trail to the immigrant ancestor John through the Thomas line. This was promising
sign that Benjamin was a descendant of John, but without additional matching
results from another John descendant, it was premature to suggest we had our
answer.
Eventually
a male Thurber participant with a well-researched paper trail back to John
through the James line also had markers on the Y-chromosome that were an exact
match for the markers of the other matching participants. This provided the
final piece of the puzzle, and allowed the conclusion that there is a very high
probability that John Thurber b. ca 1620 is the progenitor for all project
members with matching Y-chromosome DNA. Although the line of descent from John
to Benjamin is not known, there is little doubt that this connection is through
the male Thurber line.
In
looking into the Benjamin connection to the "first" Thurber (John b.
ca 1620), the most likely parents for him are John Thurber and Sarah Leonard -
from the Thomas line.
Recorded
children of John Thurber and Sarah
Leonard are:
i. Samuel
Thurber, born 21 March 1715/16
ii. Elizabeth Thurber, born 12 August 1717.
iii. Sarah Thurber, born 12 August 1717
iv. John Thurber, Jr., born 3 March 1718/19
v. Mary Thurber, born 5 May 1721
vi.
Hannah Thurber, born 13 December 1726
vii. Leonard Thurber, , born 27 December 1728
viii. George Thurber, born 26 August 1730
Benjamin’s
date of birth is not known, but is generally accepted to be ca 1720. Benjamin
could have been born in the years just before or just after daughter Mary.
If Benjamin’s birth was actually a few years earlier, John and Sarah
could still be the parents, since Samuel or John Jr. Could have had a twin
brother. John (who m. Sarah Leonard) was a twin and had twin daughters.
One
point I think is important is the Leonard name. The only times the name Leonard
appears among early Thurbers are Leonard, the son of John Thurber and Sarah
Leonard, or among descendants of Benjamin, both as a given name or middle name.
Another
point of interest is that John Jr (son of John and Sarah) named his son b. 1749
Benjamin, which could mean he named a son for his brother.
In
looking at male descendants of John, there doesn’t appear to be any another
Thurber male at that time who could be Bejamin's father. The problem before DNA testing was that we had to include the
possibility of his father being something other than a Thurber male (e.g., son
of a non-Thurber male and an unmarried Thurber female who gave him her Thurber
surname). Now with the DNA matches, we have eliminated that possibility. This
leaves the possibility that Benjamin was the son of John Thurber and Sarah
Leonard or one of two remote possibilities: that there is an unknown Thurber
male for whom there has never been found a
birth, marriage or death record; or that a known Thurber male fathered a
child born out of wedlock, the birth was not recorded, and the child was given
the Thurber surname.
The
following outline descendant tree gives the
male descendants of John and Priscilla
through the time Benjamin was born:
1 John
Thurber b: Abt. 1620 d:
Abt. 1706
+Priscilla b: Abt. 1625 m: Abt. 1647
......2
John Thurber b: Abt. 1649 d: 24 November 1717
.....
+Mary Tucker b: Abt. 1644 m: 1 September 1671 d: 25 March 1718
.............3
Thomas Thurber b: 24 November 1676 d:
Bef. 1717
..............
+Ann Walker m: Abt. 1698
..................
4 John Thurber b: 30 January
1700/01 d:
7 May 1791
....................
+Mary Brown b: 28 March 1707 m: 8 April 1726
......2
Edward Thurber b: Abt. 1654
d: 1703
........
+Elizabeth Shadwicke m: 15
March 1674/75 d:
Abt. 1680
*2nd
Wife of Edward Thurber:
.......
+Margaret m: Aft. 1680 d: 1716
...........
3 Richard Thurber b: 1681 d: Bef. 4 April 1713
............
+Mercy b: Abt. 1688 d: 29 September 1760
...........
4 Edward Thurber
b: 31 January 1709/10 d: 25 March 1777
..................+Hopestill
Luther b: 4
October 1714 m: 19 November 1733 d:
31 July 1763
..... 2
Thomas Thurber b: Abt. 1656 d: 12 April 1703
.......
+Ruth Busecot b: Abt. 1660 m: 23 February 1676/77
............3
James Thurber b: 4 August 1680 d: 10 January 1746/47
..............+Hepsibeth
Lewis b: 16 July 1674 m: 25
December 1706
...........
3 John Thurber b: 31 August 1690
...............+Sarah
Leonard b: 29 April 1691 m: 7
January 1713/14
.
(children listed above)
......2
James Thurber b: 26 August 1660 d:
26 March 1736
........+Elizabeth
Bliss b: 29 January 1657/58
m: 25 June 1684 d: July 1723
...........
3 James Thurber b: 3 March 1684/85 d: 31 July 1711
...........
3 John Thurber b: 31 October 1686 d: 23 November 1709
...........
3 Jonathan Thurber b: 26 March 1695 d: 1746
............
+Mehitable Bullock b: 1 April 1701 m: 11 March 1723/24
...........
3 Samuel Thurber b: 26 August 1700 d: 20 December 1785
.............
+Rachel Wheeler b: 4 April 1701 m: 27 December 1722 d: 19 June 1755
Some of
these Thurbers died too young to be Benjamin’s father, others married too
late. I considered James b. 1680 who married Hepsibeth b. 1674. They had a
daughter b. 1707, but no other known children. Since Hepsibeth would have been
ca 56 when Benjamin was born, this doesn’t seem a likely scenario.
But there certainly could have been an unrecorded birth for John and
Sarah.
It may
never be known who Benjamin’s parents were, but we do know he was a
descendent of the “first Thurbers.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~
The
Charles H. Thurber Mistake
~~~~~~~~
In
1932, compiler Clarence E. Peirce’s research on Thurbers identified three
separate persons by the name of Charles Thurber.
Two had the middle initial H, and one had the middle initial S. In
researching a Clarinda Amelia Bagley who married a Charles Thurber, I discovered
that these three persons were actually a single person, Charles H. Thurber, son
of Alfred Wood Thurber and Mehitable Short.
According
to Peirce, they were:
1.
Charles H. Thurber, parents unknown, who married Clarinda A. Bagley. They had
one child, Alonzo Francis Thurber b. Pawtucket 1860. Clarinda married 2nd Philip
W. Chase.
2. A
Charles H. Thurber, parents unknown, b. Attleboro MA 1834. He married Amelia
[last name unknown]. They had Charles Edgar b. 1853, Eliza T. b. 1857, Terrence
F. b. 1880, Clarinda B. b. 1865, and Lucy T. b. 1870.
3.
Charles S. Thurber, son of Alfred W. Thurber and Mehitable Short, He was b.
Attleboro MA ca 1836 and was married first to [person unknown]. He was married
secondly to Lucy Wood 13 Dec 1873. It is noted that at his marriage he was
called Charles H. Thurber age 36.
The
truth is that Charles H. Thurber, son of Alfred Wood Thurber was born Attleboro
MA. ca.1834. Alfred and Mehitable were m. 20 April 1833 [date of Intention of
marriage]. In the 1850 census he is listed as age 16. Charles married Clarinda
Amelia Bagley in July 1851. They were still married when Charles married Lucy L.
Wood 13 Nov. 1873.and began living with her as husband and wife in a house
belonging to his father Alfred W. Thurber situated next door to Alfred’s home.
According to Alfred Thurber, the couple separated about a year before Clarinda
filed for divorce on grounds of bigamy. Clarinda filed 11 June 1875 and the
divorce was granted the first Monday in October 1875. Clarinda was granted
custody of the children “during their minority.”
Charles
H. Thuber died of heart disease in Mattapoisett MA 7 August 1894. He is listed
as a married male age 63, born Attleboro to Alfred Thurber born Attleboro and
Mehitable Short. Burial was in Pawtucket RI.
An IGI
file lists Charles H. Thurber with wife Clarinda Amelia Bagley but erroneously
identifies his parents as Rensselaer Ferdinand Thurber and Dolly.
Rensselaer Ferdinand Thurber did have a son Charles, but he was Charles
Hathaway Thurber b. 1835 NY and married to Eva Ford.
A
Charles Henry Thurber born RI 1838, son of Stanton Thurber and Martha B. Dexter,
married Melissa Winslow. Some WorldConnect files mistakenly include
Melissa as a wife of Charles H. Thurber, son of Alfred Wood Thurber.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
James
Thurber’s Mother-in-law Mistake
~~~~~~~~
James
Thurber was born 26 August 1660, probably in England, died 26 March 1736 in
Rehoboth, MA. He married 25 June 1684 in Rehoboth Elizabeth Bliss, daughter of
Jonathan Bliss. Over 100 WorldConnect sites and many published genealogies state
that Jonathan Bliss was married to Miriam Harmon
However,
Eugene Cole Zubrinsky has posted the following information on Bliss message
boards and it should be seriously considered before accepting the claim that
Jonathan was married to Miriam Harmon.
“JONATHAN BLISS (1626-1687) was the son of Thomas and Dorothy (Wheatlie) Bliss of Braintree and Rehoboth, Mass. The oft-repeated claim that his wife was MIRIAM HARMON is false. She was, in fact, neither a Miriam nor a Harmon; there is no record of a Miriam Harmon in New England during this period. Jonathan Bliss's wife was almost certainly a daughter of George PUFFER of Braintree, Mass., probably named RACHEL. For a complete discussion of the factors that led to this misidentification and the evidence supporting its correction, see NEHGR 151(1997):32-37.”