Solomon NORTON (aka NAUGHTON) is allegedly my sixth great-grandfather, although I don’t have much in the way of “proof” indicating the father/daughter relationship between him and my fifth great-grandmother Sarah.  Right now, that “proof” consists of a compiled genealogy [1] stating Sarah is the daughter of Solomon, three DAR applications for Solomon through a daughter Sarah (wife of Aaron Webster), [2] and a handwritten transcription of a biography for Solomon found among my family papers. [3]

Because of the time and place, it is unlikely that a birth record exists for Sarah, other than a baptism record, which may be hard to find.  Instead, I will have to investigate Solomon more closely, along with his wife and children, in order to see if Sarah really belongs in this family.  There is some evidence that suggests this is the right family, which I will get into a little later in this post.

Research Background

Derivative sources (aforementioned) indicate that Sarah NORTON is the daughter of Solomon.  Sarah was born about 1780, [4] likely in Poultney, Rutland, Vermont.  She married Aaron WEBSTER on 3 January 1797, [5] probably in Poultney, or perhaps Washington County, New York.  Sarah died on 18 August 1823 in Auburn Oakland, Michigan, the day after her husband. [6]

Solomon was born about 1751 in Hartford or Farmington, Connecticut. [7]  According the aforementioned DAR applications, he married Sarah Rexford on 17 April 1774 in Canaan, Albany, New York. [8]  A short biography in A History of the Town of Poultney, Vermont lists Solomon’s children as Solomon, John, Hannah (married Zimri Howe), James R, Joel, Aaron, and Amos; there is no mention of a daughter Sarah. [9]

The pension file for Solomon, along with censuses and other sources, helped to create a timeline for Solomon, resulting in the following residences:  [10]

Estimated Timeframe Residence
1751 to ?? Hartford, Hartford, Connecticut
?? to 1778 Canaan, Albany, New York
1778 to 1781 Poultney, Bennington, Vermont
1781 to 1823 Poultney, Rutland, Vermont (county formed in 1781)
1823 to 1836 Shoreham, Addison, Vermont
1836 to 1844 Villenova, Chautauqua, New York

Using this timeline, I was able to see some similarities between times and places for Sarah’s husband’s father, Ashbel WEBSTER.  His timeline was compiled using a variety of sources:  [11]

Estimated Timeframe Residence
1733 to 1775 Hartford, Hartford, Connecticut
1775 to 1785 ??
1785 to 1790 Poultney, Rutland, Vermont (before 1781, was Bennington Co.)
1790 to 1801 Hampton, Washington, New York

Although Ashbel’s timeline is far more estimated than Solomon’s, it is clear that they resided in the same area at the same time, particularly when their children were presumed to have married.  Although it is not clear, Ashbel and Solomon could have been acquaintances while in Hartford.  And although Ashbel later relocated to Hampton, it is right across the state line from Poultney, so they were still very close to one another until Ashbel’s death in 1801.  [12]

Unfortunately, just because they were in the same place at the same time, doesn’t mean that Ashbel’s son married Solomon’s daughter.  More research is needed to see if Sarah is really the daughter of Solomon.  Part 2 of this post will go in depth on the research avenues I plan to pursue in order to find more information on Solomon’s family, and hopefully the link that ties Sarah to this family.

Sources

1.  William Holcomb Webster and Rev. Melville Reuben Webster D. D., History and Genealogy of the Gov. John Webster Family of Connecticut With Numerous Portraits and Illustrations (Rochester, New York: E. R. Andrews Printing Co., 1915), 401.

2.  National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, “Ancestor Database,” database, membership no. 886958, 352593, and 333048, Genealogical Research System (services.dar.org/public/dar_research/search).

3.  Handwritten transcription of Solomon Norton biography, McMahon Family Artifacts; privately held by Julie (Cahill) Tarr, [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE,] Normal, Illinois.  The author later learned that the biography came from the following source:  J Joslin, et al , A History of the Town of Poultney, Vermont, From Its Settlement to the Year 1875, With Family and Biographical Sketches and Incidents (Poultney, Vermont: Journal Printing Office, 1875), 315-316.

4.  Aaron Webster Cemetery (Auburn, Oakland, Michigan), Sarah Webster marker; photograph in McMahon Family Papers, privately held by Julie M Cahill Tarr, ca. 1940s.

5.  Charles Fey, History of Freemasonry in Oakland County, MI (Royal Oak, Michigan: Royal Oak Lodge No. 464, 1949).

6.  Aaron Webster Cemetery (Auburn, Michigan), Sarah Webster marker.

7.  “Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files,” digital images, Footnote (www.footnote.com : accessed July 5, 2010), Solomon Naughton, pension no. S21897; imaged from Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files, M804 (Washington, D.C.:  National Archives [n.d.]).

8.  National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, “Ancestor Database,” database, membership no. 886958, 352593, and 333048.

9.  Joslin, et al, A History of the Town of Poultney, Vermont, 315-316.

10.  “Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files,” digital images Solomon Naughton, pension no. S21897.  Also, 1790 U.S. census, Rutland, Vermont, p. 245 (written) 14 (written), col. 2, Solomon Norton; digital images, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com : accessed July 5, 2010); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm M637, roll 12.    Also, 1800 U.S. census, Poultney, Rutland, Vermont, p. 195, line 4 (from bottom), Solo Norton; digital images, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com : accessed July 5, 2010); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm M32, roll 52.  Also, 1810 U.S. census, Poultney, Rutland, Vermont, p. 105, line 6, Solomon Naughton; digital images, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com : accessed July 5, 2010); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm M252, roll 65.  Also, 1820 U.S. census population schedule, Poultney, Rutland, Vermont, p. 567, line 14, Solomon Norton; digital images, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com : accessed July 5, 2010); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm M33, roll 126.  Also, 1830 U.S. census, Shoreham, Addison, Vermont, p. 194, line last, Solomon Norton; digital images, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com : accessed July 5, 2010); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm M19, roll 184.  Also, 1840 U.S. census, Villanova, Chautauqua, New York, p. 307 (stamped) 610 (written), line 8, G B Aldrich (Solomon Norton is listed as a Vetaran in this household); digital images, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com : accessed July 5, 2010); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm M704, roll 307.  Also, Solomon Naughton, Final Payment Voucher 1832; Box 21, Vermont, Mu-O; Third Auditors Office; Selected Final Payment Vouchers, 1818-1864; RG 217, Records of the Accounting Officers of the Department of Treasury; National Archives and Records Administration, Washington.

11.  Webster and Webster, History and Genealogy of the Gov. John Webster Family of Connecticut, 88, 189-190.  The book indicates “that he paid taxes in that place [Poultney, Rutland Co., Vt.] in the years 1785 and 1787.  Also, “Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files,” digital images, Footnote (www.footnote.com : accessed June 11, 2011), Ashbell Webster, pension no. W18313; imaged from Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files, M804 (Washington, D.C.:  National Archives [n.d.]). This is the file for Ashbel’s son.  1790 U.S. census, Washington, New York, p. 215, line 37, Asbell Webster; digital images, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com : accessed July 9, 2010); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm M637, roll 6.  Also, 1800 U.S. census, Hampton, Washington, New York, p. 555, line 6 (from bottom), Ashbel Webster; digital images, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com : accessed July 9, 2010); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm M32, roll 26.

12.  New York Gravestones, digital images (http://newyorkgravestones.org : accessed December 11, 2009), Ashbel Webster (Hampton Hill Cemetery, Washington County).