Digging Down East: Libby David L.

Showing posts with label Libby David L.. Show all posts

Saturday, January 30, 2016

My 64 ~ Researching My 4th Great Grandparents : A Libby But Not A Direct Ancestor

My "4th great grandfather," David L. Libby, was born in Limington, Maine, on June 2, 1807, the second of ten children born to Daniel Libby and Dorcas McDonald, and their second son. After marrying Charlotte Stevens in Limington in 1827, and together with her, had one daughter named Eunice, he appears to have relocated his family to Penobscot County, farming in the town of Clifton.

Year: 1850; Census Place: Clifton, Penobscot, Maine; Roll: M432_264; Page: 281A; Image: 565.

Ten years later, he, wife Charlotte and two of their children are still in Penobscot County, but in the town of Levant.

Year: 1860; Census Place: Levant, Penobscot, Maine; Roll: M653_446; Page: 985; Image: 480.

Twenty years later, David and Charlotte are empty-nesters in their 60's, still living in Levant.

Year: 1870; Census Place: Levant, Penobscot, Maine; Roll: M593_554; Page: 166A; Image: 336.

David and Charlotte had seven children:

Eunice, b. 1827

William Swasey, b. 1829

David, b. 1832

Charlotte, b. 1834

Hall J., b. 1836

Harriet, b. 1839

Isabelle, b. 1842

It is their son, William Swasey Libby, however, who married the single mother Patience Miller in 1854, who proves that David L. Libby and Charlotte Stevens are NOT my 4th great grandparents by blood. Let me explain.

Patience Miller, my 3rd great grandmother, is listed in the 1850 Bridgton, Maine, census as the 24 year old daughter of Daniel and Patience Miller. Also listed is a 7 year old female named "Heneryetta" Miller. I have been unable to locate a birth record for this child, and believe that she is the daughter (perhaps born out of wedlock) of the 24 year old Patience.

Year: 1850; Census Place: Bridgton, Cumberland, Maine; Roll: M432_251; Page: 277A; Image: 251.

William S. Libby and Patience Miller were married in Denmark, Maine, four years later in 1854.

By the 1860 census in Bridgton, William S. and Patience Libby have a 16 year old daughter named Heneritta.

Year: 1860; Census Place: Bridgton, Cumberland, Maine; Roll: M653_437; Page: 28; Image: 717.

And 20 years later, when Henrietta, by then herself a widow of Alexander Griswold, is listed in the 1880 Bridgton census as the step-daughter of William S. Libby.

Year: 1880; Census Place: Bridgton, Cumberland, Maine; Roll: 477; Family History Film: 1254477; Page: 41A; Enumeration District: 023; Image: 0332.

I believe it is highly unlikely that there was a formal adoption, but it is clear that William S. Libby gave his wife's daughter his last name. He was not the natural father of Henrietta, however, and therefore, not my 3rd great grandfather by blood. Which means his parents, David L. Libby and Charlotte Stevens, are NOT my direct 4th great grandparents.

The lineage reads as follows:

Patience Miller (1825-1887), unmarried mother of Henrietta, married to William S. Libby
daughter Henrietta Miller/Libby, married to Alexander Griswold
daughter Nettie Griswold, married to Clarence Seavey
son Howard Seavey, married to Mattie Leighton
son Richard Seavey
daughter Pamela Seavey

I may never know the name of this 3rd great grandfather.....and hence, this set of 4th great grandparents.

Sources:

1850 US Census; Census Place: Clifton, Penobscot, Maine; Roll: M432_264; Page: 281A; Image: 565

1860 US Census; Census Place: Levant, Penobscot, Maine; Roll: M653_446; Page: 985; Image: 480

1870 US Census; Census Place: Levant, Penobscot, Maine; Roll: M593_554; Page: 166A; Image: 336.

1850 US Census; Census Place: Bridgton, Cumberland, Maine; Roll: M432_251; Page: 277A; Image: 251.

1860 US Census; Census Place: Bridgton, Cumberland, Maine; Roll: M653_437; Page: 28; Image: 717.

1880 US Census; Census Place: Bridgton, Cumberland, Maine; Roll: 477; Family History Film: 1254477; Page: 41A; Enumeration District: 023; Image: 0332.

Ancestry.com. Maine, Marriage Records, 1713-1937 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.

Monday, August 11, 2014

52 Ancestors: #32 William S. Libby (1829-1894)

William S. Libby, my third great grandfather, was born on this date in 1829, in Eddington, Maine, the second of seven children born to David L. Libby and Charlotte Stevens, and their first son.

At the age of 25, William married a single mother named Patience Miller, in Denmark, Maine, on August 12, 1854. By the 1860 Census, the couple, along with 16-year-old "Heneritta Libbey," were living in Bridgton, Maine. At some point after their marriage, William adopted Patience's daughter Henrietta.

In October of the following year, however, he left his young family, and enlisted in Company C of the 10th Maine Infantry Volunteers, known as the "Portland Light Guard," which was being reorganized and raised in Portland. He lasted until March of 1862, when he was discharged "on account of disease."

10th Maine Flag preserved in the Maine State Museum

As often happened to military units during the Civil War, portions of the remaining 10th Maine were transferred to the 29th Maine, and William re-enlisted in Company C on December 17, 1863. This enlistment lasted until July of 1864, when he was mustered out "at hospital." One wonders if this indicates a recurrence of the prior illness.

By 1870, the 40-year-old William was back in Bridgton, where he lived for the next 24 years, working variously in a sawmill and a tannery.

William S. Libby died in Bridgton on November 10th, 1894, at the age of 65, and is buried in High Street Cemetery there. I will be traveling there this fall to visit his grave.

Sources:

1850 US Census; Census Place: Bridgton, Cumberland,Maine; Roll: M432_251; Page: 277A; Image: 251, Patience Miller, age 24, and Heneryetta Miller, age 7.

1850 US Census; Census Place: Clifton, Penobscot, Maine; Roll: M432_264; Page: 281A; Image: 565, William Libbey.

1860 US Census; Census Place: Bridgton, Cumberland, Maine; Roll: M653_437; Page: 28; Image: 717; Family History Library Film: 803437, William S. Libbey.

1870 US Census; Census Place: Bridgton, Cumberland, Maine; Roll: M593_539; Page: 19B; Image: 43; Family History Library Film: 552038, William S. Libby.

1880 US Census; Census Place: Bridgton, Cumberland, Maine; Roll: 477; Family History Film: 1254477; Page: 41A; Enumeration District: 023; Image: 0332, Wm. S. Libby.

1890 Veterans Schedule; Census Place: Bridgton, Cumberland, Maine; Roll: 6; Page: 5; Enumeration District: 30, William S. Libby.

Ancestry.com. Maine, Death Records, 1617-1922 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.

Ancestry.com. U.S., Civil War Draft Registrations Records, 1863-1865 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.

Gould, John Mead. History of the First-Tenth-Twenty-ninth Maine regiment. In service of the United States from May 3, 1861, to June 21, 1866. By Major John M. Gould. With the history of the Tenth Me. Battalion, by Rev. Leonard g. Jordan. Portland (Me.): S. Berry, 1871, p.319.

Historical Data Systems, comp. U.S., Civil War Soldier Records and Profiles, 1861-1865 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2009.

Historical Data Systems, comp.. American Civil War Soldiers [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 1999.

Libby, Charles Thornton. The Libby Family in America, 1602-1881 (Portland, B. Thurston and Co., 1881), p. 524.

"Maine, State Archive Collections, 1718-1957", index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/246J-GCD : accessed 10 Aug 2014), William S Libby, 1863.

"Maine, State Archive Collections, 1718-1957," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1942-21942-24999-30?cc=1877829 : accessed 10 Aug 2014), Maine > Military Records-Civil War > Civil War soldiers index Lavington, Joseph-Littlefield, George W., 1861-1865 > image 1102 of 1409; citing State Archives, Augusta.

"Maine, Veterans Cemetery Records, 1676-1918," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1961-26281-45009-30?cc=1985567 : accessed 10 Aug 2014), King Philip's War to Spanish-American War > Jeffers-Lyman, H. > image 2931 of 3746; citing State Archives, Augusta.

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This is the 32nd in a series, “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks,” coordinated by Amy Johnson Crow at No Story Too Small.