I did it! Here is the last blog post for the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge. Thank you Amy Johnson Crow for this challenge. And thank you to my wonderful readers for following along. And now to introduce you to this week's ancestor.... Abraham (or Abram) Augustine Webster was the thirteenth and last child born to my 4th great-grandparents, Augustine Webster and Mary Tyler. I've introduced you to four of his brothers in previous posts – Ebenezer, Daniel, Wesley and George.
For some reason there's some confusion about whether his name was Abraham or Abram. In most of the census records I've seen him listed in his name was Abraham. On his Find A Grave memorial page there's a picture of his tombstone. His tombstone lists his name as Abraham.
The inscription on his tombstone is as follows:
Webster Our Parents Abraham Webster 1817-1894 Phebe His Wife 1819-1883
According to the book Waterman Family, Descendants of Robert Waterman, Volume 1 by Donald Lines Jacobus, his name was Abraham.1 The book also states that he was a farmer and had 11 children. The book History and Genealogy of the Governor John Webster Family of Connecticut. Vol. 1 states that his name was probably Abram.2 Why was he listed in both the Waterman and the Webster genealogy books? Because he married a Waterman, or I should say the descendant of a Waterman. Regarding his name though, with most of the records stating that his name was Abraham, I think I'll go with that instead of Abram.
Abraham was born on 2 June 1817 in Chester, Meigs, Ohio.
Abraham, who is my maternal 3rd great-granduncle, married my 1st cousin 4 times removed, Phebe Smith, who was the daughter of Jonas Smith and Jerusha Waterman. This is another instance in my family tree where someone in my Webster family married someone in my Waterman family. Another example is the marriage of my 2nd great-grandparents, Ebenezer Perry Carlisle Webster and Cynthia Maria Waterman. Cynthia Maria Waterman and Abraham's wife Phebe Smith were first cousins. Phebe's mother, Jerusha, and Cynthia's father, Asher, were siblings.
I wrote about Abraham's mother-in-law, Jerusha Waterman, in a previous 52 Ancestors post. She was one of the children of Dr. Luther L. Waterman who was a surgeon in the Revolutionary War. You can read about Jerusha by clicking HERE.
Abraham and his wife Phebe were the parents of eleven children.
Martha Caroline Webster (1840-Bef 1910)
Antsel Delay Webster (1841-1843)
Charles Austin Webster (1843-1863)
Sarah Jane Webster (1845-?)
Lewis Stanley Webster (1847-1874)
Emma Viola Webster (1849-?)
Malinda Frances Webster (1853-?)
Spencer Ackley Webster (1855-1856)
Elma Alvira Webster (1857-?)
Eva May Webster (1859-1944)
Corwin Webster (1861-1861)
Abraham spent his life as a farmer in Lebanon Township, Meigs County, Ohio. That was his occupation in every census record in which I've seen him listed.
He passed away on 31 January 1894 in Racine, Meigs, Ohio. He was buried in the Bethlehem Cemetery located in Lebanon Township, Meigs County, Ohio.
Tomorrow is Christmas Day. And I wanted to share a very special video with you. It's beautiful and moving. I love it! And I hope you will love it too. This beautiful video includes the musical talents of The Piano Guys, David Archuleta, Peter Hollens, and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.
In early December, over 1,000 people came together to break the Guinness Book of World Record's title for the largest live Nativity scene. The video I'm sharing with you today shows this record-breaking live Nativity scene. I hope you enjoy this wonderful video.
This is part of the "Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories" by Thomas MacEntee of GeneaBloggers. If you'd like to join in the fun, just click HERE. 23 December – The Meaning of Christmas
If someone dropped out of the sky and was unfamiliar with the concept of Christmas, how would you explain it to them? Can you put the meaning of Christmas into words? What does Christmas represent to you and is it different than when you grew up or from the meaning it had for your ancestors?
Tell us what Christmas means to you and your memories of Christmases past.
I love Christmas. It's a very special time of the year that we celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Because He was born in Bethlehem so many years ago, and because He fulfilled His divine mission here on earth, we all have the opportunity to return to live with our Heavenly Father again. I'm eternally grateful to our Heavenly Father for the gift of His Son, Jesus Christ. “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” (Isaiah 9:6) Please enjoy this beautiful video that tells the Christmas Story.
This is part of the "52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks" Challenge begun by Amy Johnson Crow, author of the blog No Story Too Small. This is my maternal 3rd great-grand uncle, George Kinney Webster. He was the sixth child born to my 4th great-grandparents Augustine Webster and Mary Tyler. I recently wrote about his brothers, Ebenezer, Daniel, and Wesley. George was born on 25 March 1803 in Columbia County, New York. He was married twice. He married his first wife, Polly De Wolf, on 2 September 1831 in Meigs County, Ohio. According to an article in The Democrat (Pomeroy, OH) newspaper, George and Polly were married by George's brother, Ebenezer, who was a minister in the Methodist Episcopal Church.1
George and Polly were the parents of ten children.
Amanda Maria Webster (1832-1865)
Clarrissa Webster (1834-About 1846)
Lavina Webster (1836-1858)
Aurilla Webster (1838-1869)
Louisa Webster (1840-1919)
Nancy Webster (1842-1866)
Verlinda Webster (1844-1873)
Mary Alice Webster (1849-1869)
Donnally Darius Webster (1851-?)
Homer Horton Webster (1853-1872)
Sadly, most of these children did not survive past about thirty years of age. In fact, most died while they were in their twenties.
George's first wife Polly passed away on 6 May 1861 in Syracuse, Meigs, Ohio.
George married his second wife, Martha Sayers, on 13 October 1861 in Meigs County, Ohio. They were the parents of one child.
Melissa Webster (1863-?)
George passed away on 21 June 1878 in Oldtown, Meigs, Ohio. He was buried in Bicknell Chapel Cemetery located in Great Bend, Meigs, Ohio.
A note to my wonderful readers: There will not be a Fab Finds post for the next two weeks due to the Christmas and New Year's holidays. My Fab Finds posts will resume on Friday, January 9, 2015. I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! My Fab Finds for this week are (in no particular order)
