I have not yet written a bio of Sarah who married the mysterious David Jenners and who was the mother of Abiel, Hannah, and Mary Jenners and Phineas and Silas (or is it Simon) Blood. I had been planning on it, but recently have had to rethink my research on her and so have not really been ready to write that post.
Another researcher has been helping another descendant of Abiel complete an application to the DAR. I've been helping as much as I can. But it has come down to this:
Where is the proof that Sarah and David Jenners were married? Where is the proof that her maiden name was Buttrick?
I have been banging my head on various brick walls trying to find some proof documenting that the Sarah who was the wife of David Jenners was indeed, Sarah Buttrick. To say I am frustrated is to put it mildly.
While I have found birth records for Sarah and David Jenners' children in the published records for Concord, Massachusetts, stating they are the children of David Jenners and Sarah, his wife, nothing lists her maiden name.
I have looked repeatedly at the sources available to me on-line, as well as at the Allen Co. Public Library in Fort Wayne, and have not found a marriage for David Jenners to Sarah. There are probably other resources out there, but so far I have not discovered them.
I reviewed my research and saw that my sources for her surname are only secondary. IF she is Sarah Buttrick, there are records of her birth that show her as the daughter of Joseph Buttrick and his wife, Sarah Brown. But how to prove (or disprove) it?
An unidentified, anonymous note in family research papers states, "Sarah Butrick was sister of Major Butrick who led the first charge in the Battle of Revolution and was the Mother of my grandfather Jenners making her my great grandmother and your great-great grandmother ["Annie Horn" written above the words "great-great grandmother"] on your mothers side. For many years I thought Sarah Butrick was a daughter of Major Butrick but in Bancrofts history of the United States there is given an account of him and his antecedents - it says he never married and so it was his sister Sarah who married a Jenners. Venie [?] and Anna Jenners found the books about Major Butricks life. The first battle of the Revolution was fought at the Concord bridge, Mass. at that time a rude one near Major Butrick's house and the latter was standing a few years, but no doubt a new one is there now. Our kin on the Jenners side were originally were [sic] from Mass. Grandma Young her kin were from Maryland and Va." Not sufficient evidence, of course, but a good clue for starting.
Another (still secondary) source for her maiden name is Butrick, Butterick, Buttrick in the U.S.A. 1635-1978 by Richard P. Butrick (1979). He says he got her birth information from a letter written by her father, "Thursday, April 16, 1752 at 8:00 a.m. in Concord, Massachusetts." But again, this is not proof. And this same book gives the marriage of Sarah Buttrick to David Jenner, but with no date.
I have found both the intention to marry and the marriage of Mrs. Sarah Jenners to Phineas Blood, Jr. They were married in Carlisle, Massachusetts on 19 February 1792. I have found the births of their two sons, Silas and Phineas, as well as their deaths and probate documents. I have found the probate documents of Phineas Blood, Jr., naming his wife, Sarah Blood. I have various primary documents recording Sarah's death, including a letter from her daughter, Mary (Jenners) Winn, mentioning it.
There are also the guardianship documents for Sarah's son, Abiel Jenners, stating that his father, David Jenners, had absconded and naming Joseph Buttrick as his guardian. But it does not state Abiel's relationship to Joseph Buttrick.
I have looked for probate records for David Jenners (nope), Sarah Blood (nope), Joseph Buttrick (nope). Or, at least the items I found are not for the David, Sarah, or Joseph I am seeking.
And then, there are two letters (originals lost, but copies exist at the Indiana Historical Society). The first one is from Adeline Winn, daughter of Mary (Jenners) Winn. Mary is Abiel Jenners' sister, so the grandmother mentioned, is Sarah (Buttrick) Jenners Blood. It is written to Mary (Jenners) Braden, Abiel's daughter. But again, nothing here PROVES the grandmother's name:
Concord
Middlesex County, Mass. March 2d, 1831
My
dear Cousin, -
I received your kind letter last
month, and it was with great pleasure that I perused and reperused its
contents. I was sorry to hear that dear
Aunt was so unwell. I hope she will be able
to write soon. We heard of your fathers
death last Dec. Mother takes his death
very hard. she loved him as she did her
life. You wrote that he was willing and
not afraid to die which I think must be a great consolation to you all. You also stated that he left a good name
behind which I doubt not for I have often heard people speak very highly of
him. All his friends would have been
very much pleased to have seen him once more, but as it was not God's will that
he should visit them again they must be still.
Dear Grandmothers health is not very good she is very old and has had so much trouble
that she has become as a child. She has buried
her husband and all her children except my dear Mother and Phinehas Blood. I presume she would write if she was capable
of writing for it pleases her very much to hear from you. Father and Mother are well and send their
kind love to you all. They would be very
happy indeed if you would visit them. I
think if I could afford to visit you as well as you could afford to visit us I
should not hesitate a moment but start right off. My oldest sister Mary was married to Samuel
Forbush 7 years ago last November. he is
a farmer they reside in Carlisle. Sarah was married three years last Nov. to
Reuben Farrar. They live in Townsend 21
miles from here. Mr. Farrar and Blood
bought a large grist and saw mill there and they carry on the pencil business
which is very profitable. My oldest brothers
name is Abiel Jenners and Mother says he looks very much as your father did at
his age he is a shoemaker and lives in
Springfield about 80 miles from Concord.
Dear sister Eliza Ann was married to Josiah Beard 4 years ago last Sept. he is a very amiable and worthy man. They lived in Saco Marine she
had been married about two years when she had a daughter and in 9 months after
she died. We have reason to believe that
she is now happy. She came home about
two months before she died she said her
health was not very good but hoped her journey would prove beneficial to her
health. Soon after she returned she
wrote me that she was much better but the next news we received was heavy, dear
sister was dead. She had a kind and
affectionate husband who sat by her bedside until she died. He tried every thing in his power to save her
life he grudged neither cost nor labour
[sic] but alas! it was all to no purpose, death called and she must obey. She left a bright and promising child which
resembles her very much in its looks.
Mother has it with her and thinks she could not part with her more
willingly than she could with one of her own.
Soon after sister died the factory was burnt in Saco and Mr. Beard lost
considerable property by the fire I do
not know exactly how much. He still
remains a widower and lives in Waltham 9 miles from here he visits his little daughter often which
appears to be a great comfort to him.
Sister Abigail lives in Lowell
Joseph and Alden and Lucy Janette live at home They all wish to be remembered to Aunt and
all their Cousins. Please to tell Mr.
Braden that I thank him for the kind letter he wrote me I did not answer it because I thought you
would see the letter I wrote and if you cared about ever hearing from me again
you would answer it, which I see you have and I thank you kindly for it, and I
hope you will receive and answer this.
Please to give my love to dear Aunt and all my Cousins and tell them we
should be very happy to see them in Concord.
I remain your loving Cousin
Adeline
Winn
The second letter is from Mary (Jenners) Winn, mother of Adeline who has since died and is written to Abiel's widow, Deborah (Young) Jenners.
Concord January 28, 1832
My
Dear Sister,
Your daughter's affectionate
letter was handed to me about 3 weeks since, which was written to my daughter
Adeline, who is now in the cold & silent grave. My afflictions have been so great the
past summer that I hardly feel myself able to address you, still I hope that
you will excuse all errors & mistakes.
Last April Adeline was married to Franklin Farmer[?] of Lowell. My son Joseph was taken very ill with a
severe fever in June, we despaired of his life for several weeks, but soon he
began to recover his health, & I felt very thankful that he was spared to
his parents a little longer. In the
course of his sickness Adeline & Abigail came over from Lowell & spent
a week with him. Abigail left our house
of a Monday morning, and in a fortnight from that day which was the 7th August,
she was brought from Lowell a lifeless corpse, & the 11 of August my dear
Adeline was brought home a corpse. I was
with both of them when they died.
Adeline was sick 3 weeks, but Abigail lived little over a week. Oh! my dear sister, permit me to call you by
that endearing name, can you imagine my feelings? I trust that you could have sympathized with
me, you having been repeatedly called to like afflictions. It does not seem possible to me that my
dear Daughters can be numbered with the dead, they were cut off in the
[unreadable] of their days, from the full enjoyment of health & prosperity,
but a few short days, laid them in the cold & silent grave. My mother is gone to the world of spirits,
she expired the 20 of November. She had
lived to a good old age & her senses were very much impaired, but if she
had been spared a little longer she might have been a comfort to her children. Death moves near us in the deaths of our friends & relatives, &
warns us to be also ready; And my sister should we consider ourselves immortal,
when we see so many of our friends fall victims to this fell destroyer. How often are my dear daughters, presented to
my imagination, as the appeared when in health, now no more, even now I cannot
realize that they are gone forever; How awfully solemn is death, what a change
then takes place, when the spirit takes its departure, & the body sleeps a
lifeless corpse: how mysterious, how
common, & how little thought of; I am astonished at my own want of thought
& reflection on that day which will decide the fate of the immortal soul,
it will then be fixed in a state of endless happiness, or appear before an
angry judge & be banished from his presence forever. Oh! I hope my daughters were prepared to meet
death, & are happier than to be in this world of trouble. Adeline appeared perfectly willing to die
& rose up in bed a few hours before she expired and [said?] a prayer. Abigail died without any sense of her
situation.
Although I have never had the
pleasure of seeing you, still I feel myself considerably acquainted with you,
you being united to my brother, whom I tenderly loved. It would have given me a great deal of
pleasure, if my brother & you had made us a visit before his death, &
if it should ever be in your power, or your children to visit us, you may
depend upon a very welcome reception. It
is not very probably we shall ever meet in this world, but we hope to meet in
heaven. We must take the bible [sic] for
our guide, & lay aside those prejudices which [unreadable]in our world
& seek for the one thing needful, "this pearl of great price,"
which is promised to those who diligently seek for it. My husband & family join in love with me
to you & your family. Accept my
friend my warmest wishes for your health and happiness; a letter from you will
be received with emotions of grateful & sincere affection from you
affectionate far distant sister.
for
Mrs Deborah Jenners [Mary]
Winn
So while these letters lay out a number of relationships, Abiel and Mary's mother is only mentioned as "mother" or "grandmother" and though her son, Phineas Blood, is mentioned, still nothing to prove her family line.
I am still fairly confident that David's wife, Sarah, is indeed Sarah Buttrick, but I am out of ideas of where to search to prove it. Anyone have any ideas?
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