benjamin whiton and lydia stodder (part 3 of 3)

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death

Benjamin died on March 6, 1858 in South Scituate, at the age of 86.  The cause of death is listed as old age. Lydia lived 6 more years, died on February 5, 1864 in South Scituate.  She was 85 years old.  She also died of old age.  They are buried at the Liberty Plains Cemetery in Hingham, MA.  I visited the cemetery in May of 2010, and found Benjamin's headstone, broken, lying against a tree.  I don't think I looked for Lydia's gravestone at the time as I remember just happening upon Benjamin's while searching for other ancestors, I will have to go back and check.

From blog post benjamin whiton and lydia stodder

land after death

After Benjamin's death, in 1859, there are some Plymouth County deeds showing Lydia purchases land from her sons Richard and Joel in South Scituate, Abington and Hanover.  These deeds describe that this land was the purchased land by her sons from her husband in 1828 and 1831.  Richard and Joel also sell some of this land to their sisters, Elizabeth Whiting Burrell, and Lydia and Mary Whiting; with Elizabeth purchasing one half of house, and Lydia and Mary purchasing the other half. (Plymouth county deeds 293,130-132 - see note 5)  So the land that Benjamin sold off to his sons remains in the family after his death.

In 1860, Lydia, a widow, is living with her youngest daughter, Elizabeth, wife of James Burrell, in Scituate. According to the census, they are still neighbors with Joanna Whiting French and her unmarried children, Mary, Lydia and Jared.  The historical land ownership map for South Scituate in 1879, shows a more precise location of their land, with sisters Joanna Whiting French and Elizabeth Whiting Burrell across the street from each other, just south of Accord Pond.  The other siblings are not listed on this map, perhaps because they are sharing the house with Elizabeth, or they may be on the Abington side of their land (although I did not find them on the Abington map either).

From blog post benjamin whiton and lydia stodder

probate

Both Benjamin and Lydia left probate records, filed in Plymouth county.  Their son Richard is the administrator for both estates.  Benjamin's file contains an inventory, which is appraised at $88.88, and includes cedar shingles, pine lumber, farming tools, blacksmith tools, grindstones, cross saw and other saws, a cooking stove, 3 guns, beds and bedding, chairs and table, desk, crocken and earthenware, and an old silver watch.  There is no mention of land.  The court allowed his wife Lydia to have $55.00 out of Benjamin's personal estate.  (Plymouth county probates (13, 550); (100, 340); (1z, 29); (9, 461); and (101,389))

Lydia's probate file does mention real estate valuing $444.25 and a personal estate of $348.75; but I was unable to find an inventory in her files.  (Plymouth county probate 108,134)  The land must be from the land she bought from her sons in 1859, after her husband's death.  Another file mentions her personal estate again (Plymouth county probate 110,148)...

Said accountant [Richard] charges himself with several accounts received as stated in Schedule A, herewith/ exhibited,....$396.34

And asks to be allowed for sundry payments and charges as stated in Schedule B, herewith exhibited,.........$367.55

Balance,..........$28.79 

Richard Whiting, adm

The undersigned, being all except Joel Whiting of East Providence, RI, parties interested, having examined the foregoing account, / request that the same may be allowed without further notice.

Lydia Whiting / Elizabeth Burrell / Mary Whiting / Joanna French / Jared Whiting / Maria Howes 

There do not seem to be any files though that show where Lydia's land went after her death. She did not leave a will, and I did not find any other purchases of land in the deed index from her children.  I am not sure if this means that the children would have just automatically received her land after her death, or if there should be other documents created that would state this.

to do:
1. find more information on Benjamin's aunt Abigail - did she marry, when did she die, land, census, etc
2. where did lydia's land go - she had also purchased some from freeman french I think

benjamin whiton and lydia stodder (part 2 of 3)

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later years of marriage

1830's

As Benjamin and Lydia's children grew older, most did not travel far from them.  In 1830, one married daughter looks to be living in their household, Maria and her husband James Howes/House and their 4 year old son James.  They also have an older woman, aged 70-79 residing with them in 1830.  I am not sure who this would be as both of their mothers had passed by this time.  It could be Benjamin's aunt Abigail, who I wrote briefly about in the last post.  I think she sold her land to Benjamin and his brother Joseph.  This is just pure speculation on my part as to who this woman is though, as I have not looked at Abigail's age, death date, or possible entries of her own in the 1830 census yet.

Males under 5: 1 (james howes); Males 10-14:1 (jared); Males 20-29:1 (freeman howes); Males 50-59:1 (benjamin); Females 10-14:1  (elizabeth); Females 15-19:2 (pamelia, mary); Females 20-29:2  (lydia, maria howes); Females 50-59:1 (lydia); Females 70-79:1 (maybe aunt abigail whiton)

The records do not show that Benjamin and Lydia have any other children after Elizabeth, which gave them a total of 10 children.  All of them, except their first, Jared, lived into adulthood.

1840's

The household for Benjamin and Lydia in the 1840 census has one male between the ages of 20-29.  Their youngest son, Jared, would have been 21 years old.  This would make sense that he is still living with his parents as the records show that he never marries.  Another male between the ages of 30-39 is also living with them, which could be their son Joel who would have been 31 years old.  Joel had not married by this time either, although it is strange he is not included in the 1830 census.  (see note 1)  The only daughter that is living in their household in 1840 would have been Elizabeth, at the age of 19.

1840 Census Scituate, MA

1 male 20-29 (jared); 1 male 30-39 (joel); 1 male 60-69 (Benjamin); 1 female 15-19 (elizabeth); 1 female 60-69 (Lydia); Persons Employed in Agriculture: 1

Six out of the 9 living children are not listed in the 1840 census, but most stayed close to home.  It looks like three of their daughters are all living together in the surrounding town of Abington.  They may be living on the land that their father sold to their brothers in 1828, which is all in the general vicinity of the borders of Scituate, Abington and Hingham; close to what is left of Benjamin's land.  The head of this household in Abington is their daughter Lydia, the eldest at age 37.  The other ages in Lydia's household seem to match up with Mary, age 28, and Pamelia, age 26.  Lydia and Mary never marry according to later census records and their death records.  Their sister Pamelia did marry, but died fairly young in 1843.

Three other children, Maria, Joanna and Richard, are also married by 1840.  Maria stays in Scituate until at least 1846, when her last child is born there; but she does eventually move to Boston by the 1850 census. Joanna is married and living in Abington with her family.  The census does not show that she is near her three sisters listed above; but if she is not living near them in 1840, she and her family eventually becomes neighbors with her sisters and her parents by 1850.

Richard removes to the nearby town of Hingham, MA with his family by the 1840 census and remains there throughout his life.  According to his wife's death record; though, it looks like they were probably living on the North side of Hingham, a little bit away from his siblings and parents.  Richard sold most of his land that he owned in the Scituate/Abington area back to his mother and siblings by 1859. Joel also ends up selling his land in Scituate/Abington back to his family in 1859, and leaves the area for Providence, RI and Seekonk, MA by 1847. (see note 2)

grandchildren

Since 5 out of their 9 living children are residing near Benjamin and Lydia in the Scituate/Abington line area near Accord Pond, they were able to stay close to at least some of their children and therefore grandchildren.  Out of the families that lived close to Benjamin and Lydia, though, Joanna was the only one to have children.  They had 8 grandchildren from their daughter Joanna, all born before Benjamin and Lydia died.  Even though their daughter Elizabeth was married, the census shows she does not have children.  The same for the unmarried children, Lydia, Mary, and Jared.  I also did not find any evidence that Richard, living in North Hingham, had any children.  Benjamin and Lydia's daughter that died young, Pamelia, also did not have children in the census.  Their daughter Maria had 7 children, but seems to have been living in Boston, where it would be likely Benjamin and Lydia did not visit often.  (see note 3).  Their other son, Joel, who moved to RI and later Seekonk, MA looks to have had at least one child, but again, not sure if they were able to visit them.

continued...


notes:

1.  The 1830 census has one male between the age of 20-29 living with Benjamin and Lydia, which I attributed to Freeman Howes, their daughter Maria's husband.  This would make sense as the other ages for Maria and her son James fit, and they are living close to Freeman's parents, head of household Coomb's House.  Coomb's household also contains a male between the ages of 20-29, so it is possible Freeman is still living with his parents, while Maria and her son are living with her parents.  Then that 20-29 male in Benjamin and Lydia's household could be Joel.

2.  Sons Richard and Joel sell land back to mother and siblings in 1859

• Plymouth county deeds 293,130 Their mother, Lydia, widow, purchases parcel of land lying partly in South Scituate and partly in Abington - bounded southerly by the highway, easterly by land of Leonard Cushing, northerly by Accord Pond, and westerly by land of David H. Greely.  Originally land purchased from their father in 1828 (162,253).
• Plymouth county deeds 293,131 Their sister Elizabeth Whiting Burrell purchases the easterly lot of land from land they purchased from their father (162,253), which includes 1/2 of house - to be shared with their sisters, Lydia and Mary.
• Plymouth county deeds 293, 131 : Their sisters, Lydia and Mary Whiting purchase the westerly lot of land from land they purchased from their father (162,253)  which includes 1/2 of house - to be shared with their sister Elizabeth Whiting Burrell.
• Plymouth county deeds 293, 132 : Their mother, Lydia Whiting, widow, purchases 2 1/4 acres of land in Abington from her son Joel.  Bordered easterly by heirs of Joseph Whiton, southerly by land that was just sold to Lydia from Richard and Joel in first deed above.  This is part of the land that Joel purchased from his father Benjamin in 1831 (169,274), and partly land Joel purchased from another deed (173,44).
• Plymouth county deeds 293,133 : Richard purchases from Joel woodland partly in Abington, partly in Hanover, bounded northerly by land just given to Lydia from Joel and Richard.  This is part of same land the sons purchased from their father in 1828 (162,253)

3.  It looks like their daughter Maria continues to live in Boston in 1860, while her husband Freeman is living in Scituate with his sister Lucy.

benjamin whiton and lydia stodder (part 1 of 3)

early years of marriage

Benjamin Whiton and Lydia Stodder, my fifth great-grandparents, were married December 10, 1797 in Hingham, MA.  There marriage is listed a few times in the Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988 on ancestry.com.  A heading before one of the marriage entries states that "The persons hereafter named were married by the Rev. Henry Ware, pastor of the First Church in Hingham."  Rev. Henry Ware was later known for his Unitarianism influence in the Congregational religion.  I am a little surprised that Benjamin and Lydia were married in the First Church of Hingham because Benjamin's family lived in the Southern part of Hingham, as I will show later in this blog post.  At this time, there was another church in the southern part of the town, with Rev. Shute as their pastor.  (History of the Town of Hingham / Solomon Lincoln, page 36)

The above database also has a record of intention for Benjamin and Lydia in November of 1797, as seen below.

From blog post benjamin whiton and lydia stodder

1800's

Their marriage intention record indicates that Benjamin and Lydia were both from Hingham, but they did not stay in Hingham for long. By 1800, they are living in Scituate, MA; a neighboring town, with two boys under the age of 10.  I matched the children up to those in the vital records database on ancestry.com.

1800 Census, Hanover (actually states Scituate on lower page)

Benjamin Whiting: 2 males under 10 (Jared and Richard), 1 male 26-44 (Benjamin), 1 female 26-44 (Lydia)

Scituate is in Plymouth County, so I browsed the Massachusetts, Land Records, 1620-1986 available on family search.  I was looking for a purchase of land around the time of their marriage in 1797.  There is nothing listed before 1800 for a Benjamin Whiton/Whiting or a Lydia Stodder/Whiting purchasing land in Scituate in the Plymouth County deed index on family search.  I did eventually come across (by luck) Benjamin's original purchases of land in Scituate (and Abington) after their marriage by looking through other deeds in Plymouth County.  Two purchases are filed in vol. 126 (159).  This volume is for the year 1816; however, these transactions took place in October 1797 and April 1800.  Benjamin, named as a blacksmith, first purchases land in Scituate from Ebed Vining, which abuts his father Benjamin's land.  A couple of years later, he purchases land in Abington, bordering Accord Pond, which also borders Scituate.

1797 Scituate purchase:

Paid by Benjamin whiting 3d of Hingham in the county/ of Suffolk blacksmith/ the receipt whereof I do hereby acknowledge, do hereby hive, grant, sell and convey unto the said/ Benjamin Whiting, 3d his heirs and assigns forever a certain piece/ of land lying in Scituate in the county of Plymouth aforesaid/ containing 114 rods be the same or more or less, butted and bounded/ as follows, beginning at the highway leading from Abington/ to Hingham at the northeast corner of the land of Benj. Whiting, jr/ then runs south fifteen ? ? east eighteen rods with ?/ Benjamin Whiting's land then south seventy one ? east five rods/ nineteen links with the lands of the said Benjamin whiting then north/ twelve ? west twenty one rods and links to the highway...

1800 Abington purchase:

a certain piece of land laying in Abington in the county/ aforesaid containing six acres and a half and 22 rods bounded as/ follows viz beginning at the highway leading from accord/ pond to Hanover, then southwest corner of the land of Thankful/ Dunbar then runs easterly with her land thirty six rods and a/ half to the land of Enoch Dunbar to the line between Scituate and/ Abington then southerly with said lines and said Dunbar land to the/ land of David? Chubbuck twenty five rods and a half then westerly/ with said Chubbuck’s land forty eight rods and then links to the highway/ then northerly with said highway twenty four rods and a half to/ the first named corner...

There is another Plymouth county deed dated after Benjamin and Lydia's marriage, in 1804, which has Benjamin purchasing land with his father Benjamin.  This land is 16 acres lying in both Abington and Hanover from Joseph Jacob. (Plymouth County deed 100, 133)  Although it does not state it in the deed, this land is most likely abutting or at least in the same general area as the first two deeds.  At this time, Abington borders Scituate and Hanover (this part of Abington is now Rockland, and this part of Scituate is now Norwell). Benjamin's father eventually gives this land entirely to Benjamin in his will.

So from these deeds we learn that Benjamin is a blacksmith, and he owns land in Scituate, Abington and Hanover, near Accord pond.  We also learn that Benjamin is close to his father, as he purchases land with him.

The following is a current map of the area where Benjamin owns land (from OpenStreetMap), with Accord Pond in the center. The boundary lines are:  Southwest of Accord Pond is Rockland, (which was Abington when Benjamin purchased the land); to the East of Rockland, is Norwell, (which was Scituate when Benjamin purchased land there); to the North of Rockland and Norwell is Hingham, where Benjamin's father owns land; south of Rockland and Norwell is Hanover, where Benjamin purchases land in 1804 with his father, partly lying in Abington (currently Rockland).


View Larger Map

1810's

Benjamin and Lydia reside in Scituate throughout their lives, as shown by the rest of the censuses.  The 1810 census does not match up as nicely as the 1800 census, though.  According to the Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988, they should have 3 sons and 3 daughters by 1810.  Their youngest son would have been Joel, who would only be a year old.  The category of males between the ages of 10-15 only list one son, but they have two at this age, Jared, 12 and Richard, 10.  Maybe Jared at the age of 12 was apprenticed to another family or just living with someone else.  It is also possible the census enumerator mistakenly put one dash instead of two.  I still think this is their family, even with the missing son.

1810 Census Scituate, MA

1 male under 10  (joel); 1 male 10-15 (Jared is 12 and Richard is 10); 1 male 26-44 1 (Benjamin); 3 females under 10 (Lydia, Maria, Joanna); 1 female 26-44 (Lydia)

1815

Benjamin's father, also Benjamin, died around 1815 and fortunately left a will; which shows how he divided his land among his children.  He left his son Benjamin more land adjacent to his land Benjamin already owns. (Plymouth Probate 47,135)

"He gave his eldest son Benjamin 8 acres in Abington, in common and undivided with the land of the said Benjamin, also 1/2 acre of the old place so called, said half acre to be taken off the easterly side of said place adjoining the home lot of said Benjamin, also 1/2 acre of land where his shop stands."

This 8 acres in Abington is part of the deed Benjamin purchased with his father in 1804, which was 16 acres in Abington and Hanover.  The other part of Benjamin's inheritance, the 1/2 acres, were probably in Scituate, where Benjamin must also have had his blacksmith shop.  According to an earlier deed, his father Benjamin purchased land in Scituate and Abington in 1761.  (See note 1 and 2)

1820's

In 1820, Benjamin and Lydia are still living in Scituate.  The 1820 Census matches up with their growing family according to the records found in Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988.  They now have 3 boys and 5 girls.  Their oldest son, Jared, unfortunately died before this census was taken, at the young age of 20 in 1817.  Benjamin and Lydia had another son in 1819, also naming him Jared.  They also have one more daughter after the 1920 census, Elizabeth, born in 1821.

1820 Census Scituate, MA

1 male under 10 (jared); 1 male 10-15 (joel); 1 male 16-25 (richard); 1 male 45 and over (benjamin); 2 females under 10 (mary, pamelia); 2 females 10-15 (maria, joanna); 1 female 16-25 (lydia); 1 female 26-44 (lydia)

1823 

In 1823, Abigail Whiton of Hingham, sells land in Hingham to a Benjamin Whiton of Hingham, yeoman and a Joseph Whiton of Hingham, Cooper.  This seems to be Joseph's family, as Abigail would be his aunt, Joseph his brother, and it is signed by another sibling, Aseneth his sister.  But Benjamin is not usually listed from Hingham, and he is also usually listed as a blacksmith, not yeoman.  This land is for one acre in Hingham to Benjamin (southeast side) and one acre to Joseph (northwest side), bounded northeasterly on Benjamin Whiton land, southeasterly on Abigail Whiton's land, southwesterly on the cartway, and northwesterly on Joseph Whiton's land.  If this is our Benjamin, and there does not seem to be other Benjamin Whiton's in the area at this time, this is the first land he owned in Hingham, where he grew up.  (Plymouth county deed 149,291) (see note 3)  

1828

In 1828, Benjamin sells what seems to be most of his land to his sons Richard and Joel for $750.00. Mentioned in this deed:

• the land Benjamin's house resides on in Scituate
• another lot that lies in Abington and Scituate (lying opposite the first mentioned scituate lot - south of Accord Pond)
• another six acres in Abington that Benjamin purchased from Ebed. Vining
• and finally the sixteen acres Benjamin and his father purchased from Joseph Jacobs in Abington and Hanover.  (Plymouth county deeds 162,253)

The only land not mentioned is the land in Hingham he bought from Abigail Whiton in 1823, if that is even our Benjamin.

1829

In 1829, the estate of Abner Morton sells land to Benjamin Whiton of Scituate containing 1 1/4 acre in Abington and 3/4 of the dwelling house, subject to the improvement of the widow of Abner.  This land is north of Benjamin's land and west of his brother Joseph's land. (Plymouth County Deed 165,263)  I find it interesting that the deed states it is north of his land, as it seems he sold his land to his children already. Apparently, he did keep some of his land.  Only a couple of years later in 1831; however, Benjamin does sell this land from Abner Morton to his son Joel Whiting, shoemaker of Scituate. (Plymouth county deeds 169,274) (Joel sells this land back to his mother after Benjamin's death in 1859 293,132)

1831

Another indication that Benjamin still has land is just a couple of years later, in 1831, there is a judgement against Benjamin Whiton by Bela Tower, for Benjamin to sell some of his land.  Benjamin owes $48.23 to Bela and is ordered to give him the southerly part of his land in Abington, appraised at $58.96 (looks like the court received the difference in sum).  This land contains 9 acres, bounded southerly by partly Tilson Gardner's land and Noah Gardner, westerly on land in the town of Abington, northerly by land of him, Benjamin Whiton, easterly by road leading to Tilson Gardner. (Plymouth county deed vol 173,30)  This is probably the judgement referenced in The court of Common Pleas, 1825-1834, vol. 14/David Thomas Konig p 250.  It seems like this was a difficult time for Benjamin; perhaps that is why he was selling his land to make money to pay off some debts.  He was able to keep most of his land in his family though, by selling it to his sons.

continued...

notes:

1.  I was able to find an earlier deed, from 1761 (Plymouth County Deeds 47,5) with a Benjamin Whiton, cordwainer of Scituate, sells to a Benjamin Whiton, cooper of Hingham, land in Scituate near Accord Pond.  On the preceding page is another deed, where Benjamin Whiton purchases land from Thomas Chubbuck in Abington, bounded north by Accord Pond line between Scituate and Abington (Plymouth County Deeds 47,4).  The purchaser of these lands (Benjamin Whiton, cooper of Hingham) is Benjamin's father, and the seller is most likely his grandfather.

2. One of Benjamin's brothers, Joseph, also receives land about "3 acres lying partly in Scituate and partly in Abington being the remainder of the old lot not already given to Benjamin."  This brother also receives the land in Hingham, where his father Benjamin resided (looking at the Hingham historical map shows where Benjamin grew up in Hingham, very close to the Scituate, Abington border near Accord Pond.)

3.  There was a Benjamin S. Whiting, son of Perez, born in 1815, and lived in the Plymouth area - there are a lot of deeds with this Benjamin purchasing and selling land in Plymouth.  This Benjamin has a brother Charles who I also see much of in census and deed documents.