First Friday Folder: Job Bates & Sarah Martin

I selected the Bates/Martin folder, my 4th-great-grandparents on my mother's side, for First Friday review because I am having so much trouble with their parents.  Given that researching this Job's parents has only led to bigger problems, back I go to making sure I do everything here that I can.

Physically, the folder was pretty well organized.  The family group sheet was old, so I printed a new one: the new one is 4 pages longer than before!  I like to work from a new print out because things look different to me on paper than they do on the screen.

I worked briefly on filling in gaps in the US census data for their 12 children and was able to find those for 3 more of the children in 1850-1880!  Now I only have gaps for 4, three of whom I cannot prove even lived to 1850. 

Job Bates and his wife, Sarah C. Martin

Job BATES and Sarah/Sallie MARTIN were the parents of the Abigail Bates  [1] who married Thomas Porter in  1813, probably in Chittenden County, Vermont [2]. Sarah died 19 August 1851 and Job died 4 (or perhaps 7) February 1863, both in Essex, Chittenden, Vermont.  They are both buried in the Essex Center Cemetery [3 & 4].  And, that appears to be as far as my certainty goes.... 

PROBLEMS BEGIN...

Sarah C. Martin was born about 1763-1770 and probably in Connecticut [3].  She is often referred to in undocumented, online trees as Sarah Childs Martin, but I have not found any solid documentation of a middle name nor any tie to a Childs family.

Job Bates was possibly born 22 November 1768 in Attleborough, Bristol, Massachusetts to Simeon Bates and his first cousin, Abigail Bates [4]. I have more info linking my Job to these parents. My concern is whether or not that Job Bates is the Job Bates who is the father of the Abigail Bates who marries Thomas Porter: his entries in the 1850 and 1860 censuses, his children's censuses for 1880, and the History of Chittenden County [5] all give Connecticut as his birthplace. I think his children were probably the informants for all of those sources so they are not independent evidence, but it is still enough to make me hesitate.

Unsourced online family trees consistently have a marriage date for Job and Sarah of 1793 in Thompson, Windham, Connecticut, which is only about 40 miles from Job's supposed birthplace in Attleborough, Massachusetts.  But I have not found this record in Barbour, Bailey, or in Thompson town records. 

12 children, but who died when?

A publication from 1882 says that Job & Sarah had 12 children (8 boys and 4 girls), "...all of whom arrived at maturity, and six of whom are now living"  [6].  Another, from 1886, also says there were 12 children and 5 were living at that time [5] .  Unfortunately, neither names the children.  A grandson, Luther, is discussed and I am thinking he may have been the informant.

I have 12 children (split 8 & 4), but  I only have death dates for 9.  I can account for 6 dying before 1880 and 3 died in 1889.  That leaves the deaths of John, Hosea, and Elnathan unknown to me.  It does, however, seem to say that the three of them were alive in 1882 and one of them died before 1886.  That's the kind of unknown data that bothers me, even though it wouldn't really add anything to my direct line.

The PLAN

• Go through the Vermont State index cards on microfilm for full details on all the children, especially their birthplaces and being on the look out for 'new' children.  Perhaps I can determine the five who were living in 1885.  Also, look again for Job and Sarah.
• While I'm solid on land records for Job in Chittenden County, I should review/find all probate info for both Job and Sarah in Chittenden County and perhaps in other counties where he might have owned or inherited property.
• Try the Connecticut state index as mentioned at the SCGS Jamboree in June 2010 by Christopher Child in his presentation on Connecticut resources.  As I remember it, he said it is perhaps more complete and easier to use than the Barbour collection books.  (I have specific notes about that source somewhere in the ToFile Pile.)
• Review  my notes for the town records for Essex and Westford in Chittenden County, Vermont.  Perhaps I missed some or perhaps I should just plain go back and do them again?!
• Find probates for sons Clark in Michigan and Welcome in Vermont since they might refer to siblings.
• Review everything I have on Sarah's parents so that I can make a plan to find her birthdate and birth place.

Conclusions

Review is good and I'm glad I'm doing this formally at least once a month.  Writing it out formally this time led to my cleaning up about six little problems I didn't even list above!

Given all that I have on Job and having such things as dates, location, siblings, and land records, I'm fairly confident he is indeed the son of Simeon.  It's just all the Connecticut birthplace stuff that makes me hesitate.  On the other hand, I have good evidence for Massachusetts and while the Connecticut sources are numerous, they are probably not independent of each other.

SOURCES

[1] Vermont General Index to Vital Records, 1871-1908, FHL #540,106; Abigail (Bates) Johnson's card: Abigail (Bates) Johnson, born Connecticut, age 94y 6 (or 8)m 3d; died 11 Mar 1889 of lung fever, recorded in Colchester; widow; father Job, mother Sallie Martin

[2] Hamilton Child, Gazetteer and Business Directory of Chittenden County, Vermont for 1882-1883  (Syracuse, New York: Journal Office, August, 1882), available at Heritage Quest Online; p. 190: "Thomas Porter, son of Ashbel Porter, born September 17, 1773, came to Colchester from Grand Isle, Vt., in 1806, and bought the Amos farm, then owned by Moses Catlin.  Mr. Amos built the house now standing on the place.  January 24, 1813, he married Abigail, daughter of Job Bates."

[3] The 1770 date is calculated from her entry in the 1850 census for Westford, Chittenden, Vermont at age 80 and born Connecticut.  Her surviving children all gave their mother's birthplace as Connecticut in the 1880 census.  The 1763 date is calculated from her headstone's death date of 19 August 1851 at age 88 years.  See Findagrave for a photo.

[4] Massachusetts, Attleboro: Vital Records, 1694-1900, FHL # 1,987,017; Item 1, p. 26.  However, in the 1850 census of Westford, Chittenden, Vermont, my Job is 80, which would yield a birth year of about 1770, and born in Connecticut.  Also, his Essex Common Burial Ground headstone inscription of 4 February 1863 at age 93y 2m 13 d leads to a calculated birthdate of about 21 November 1769.  See Findagrave for photos.  

[5] History of Chittenden County, Vermont. Syracuse: D. Mason & Co., 1886; p. 698. Available at Heritage Quest. 

[6] Hamilton Child (comp.), Gazetteer and Business Directory of Chittenden County, Vermont for 1882-83.  Syracuse: Journal Office, 1882; p. 256.