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Archiver > NYCHAUTA > 2006-03 > 1141591783


From: Bob Strong <>
Subject: Re: [RICHARDSON] Caleb T. Richardson (BETSEY RICHARDSON-VT)
Date: Sun, 05 Mar 2006 14:49:43 -0600
References: <1da.4d09cff4.3129274a@aol.com><6.1.2.0.2.20060304183258.05d8b310@mail.ischool.utexas.edu><000b01c6406c$fb30c1c0$6501a8c0@yourpdnds2yigt>
In-Reply-To: <000b01c6406c$fb30c1c0$6501a8c0@yourpdnds2yigt>


Elaine,

Appreciate the suggestion, but I have pretty well worked the Chautauqua
ground over the last few years (and on an extended visit several summers
ago) and stay active on the NYCHAUTA-L and in the Chautauqua County
Genealogical Society--though that doesn't mean there is nothing left to
learn there. Simply have been unable to connect Betsey to any of the
Chautauqua Richardson families.

Betsey moved to Chautauqua with her husband Joseph Jones and his
family--including his twin brother Benjamin and their father John Jones (a
Revolutionary War "hero" who is pretty well documented, as is Benjamin;
Joseph has been a bit more obscure) and other family. Apparently there was
a mass migration of folks from the Wardboro VT area to Chautauqua in the
early 1800s--whole families or large parts of families living in
Wardsboro--the Jones, the Fairbanks, the Cheneys, & others--picked up and
moved. While this is one of the better known migration routes of the
period, none of the historians of Wardsboro seem to really account for it.
May be that it was just the attractiveness of the land in Western NY.

Betsey seem to stay pretty much with her in-laws (she is buried with them,
though no one knows exactly where Joseph Jones is buried; he seems to be
missing from the family plot in Maple Grove). The Jones families were among
the founders of the Congregational Church in Kiantone; there are no
Richardson in the early rolls of the church. Unfortunately I cannot find
any Richardsons associated with any of the Wardsboro families living in
Chautauqua.

A larger problem seems to be the absence of any other Richardsons anywhere
in or near Wardsboro, VT. An exhaustive review last summer of Wardsboro
town records--marriage, births, deaths, and land--did not find a single
Richardson beside Betsey and her marriage to Joseph Jones. (Their only
known child, Lydia was apparently born in Chautauqua fairly late in the
marriage--1823; they married in 1806! No children are recorded in Wardsboro
records.)

I have not dismissed the possibility that "Richardson" was in fact a
married name for Betsey--that she had been married to a Richardson before
marrying Joseph Jones. That may account for her "sudden appearance" on the
scene, particularly if the earlier marriage had been a short one. [If
anyone out there has such a Betsey of this time period/locale that married
into a Richardson family, I would sure like to know about it!]

So I am trying to play all the angles but thus far have not had a lot a
luck--so anytime I see a reference to Richardsons that in anyway might
somehow lead me to Betsey, I try to throw out an inquiry.

Again, appreciate your taking the time to reply. I may give the Chautauqua
Richarchsons another look to see if any came from ANYWHERE in VT or close by.

Bob Strong

At 09:53 AM 3/5/2006, you wrote:
>In looking for Betsey (Richardson) Jones who died in Chautauqua Co NY in
>1846, you might want to look at the multiple Richardsons who are in
>Chautauqua. Crocker, Elijah, Josiah and Seth Richardson are on the 1825
>NY Census in Gerry and Ellery Townships. I haven't looked for 'Jones' (my
>life is hard enough with Hill and Smith in my family line!) -- but you
>might find evidence that Betsey & spouse were settled with members of her
>family. This would give you a broader list to trace backwards. Several
>times, I've been able to trace a female by first identifying a male
>relative since the males are so much more visible in those early records.
>
>There are also some very early Chautauqua newspapers that might
>help. From my notes, they include
>People's Gazette, founded by Wm Snow in Forestville, August
>1824. Newspaper in Mayville and two in Fredonia came before 1824. The
>Gazette became the Fredonia Gazette and Chautauqua Advertiser in 1825 or
>1826. Irving Democrat published in 1840s.
>
>Good luck.
>
>----- Original Message ----- From: "Bob Strong" <>
>To: <>
>Sent: Saturday, March 04, 2006 6:02 PM
>Subject: Re: [RICHARDSON] Caleb T. Richardson (BETSEY RICHARDSON-VT)
>
>
>>Christine,
>>
>>I regret that I do not have anything on your Caleb.
>>
>>However, I would like to ask if you (or anyone on the list) have come
>>across a Betsey Richardson while researching in Vermont (or nearby states
>>NH or MA). I have found Betsey's marriage record in Wardsboro, Windham,
>>VT, where she married Joseph Jones on 1 Jan. 1806, but she seems to have
>>materialized out of thin air. Betsey Richardson was born 14 July 1783
>>[date on headstone], place unknown; she died on 7 July 1846, in Kiantone,
>>Chautauqua, NY, and is buried in the Maple Grove Cemetery in Kiantone.
>>
>>Many thanks for any help,
>>
>>Bob Strong
>>
>>At 07:43 PM 2/18/2006, you wrote:
>>>Hello List,
>>> I am hoping somebody is familiar with this Caleb, this whole thing gets
>>>complicated.
>>>
>>> My gg grandfather was a Howe and his sister Hannah Howe married
>>> a Caleb T.
>>>Richardson. I know nothing else what became of them after
>>>their marriage in
>>>1839.
>>>
>>>
>>>Tunbridge, Orange County, Vermont Town Records....
>>>
>>>1st day of January 1839
>>>Mr. Caleb T. Richardson of Hartford in the County of Windsor of the State of
>>>Vermont & Miss Hannah Howe of Tunbridge in the County of Orange in the State
>>>of Vermont were duly joined in marriage.
>>
>>Robert W. Strong <><><>"Things are more like they are right now
>><><><><>than they have ever been."

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