FOLLOW UP FRIDAY ~ Searching for proof of the Richard Everett & Mary Fuller family - my paternal 7th gg

Doing a bit of follow up to some research I did while I was at Rootstech and the Family History Library, this past March.

I don’t know about you, but it generally takes me quite a while to get back to some of the research I do while I'm at the FHL.

One family I found information on while I was there, was the Richard Everett family of Dedham, Massachusetts.  This family is linked to my Mayflower line.

In this case I am trying to prove the marriage & children of Richard Everett and his wife, Mary Fuller.  They are my paternal 7^th great grandparents. And, I’d like to have more proof of their marriage and the children they had together.

NOTE: When we are talking about our ancestors back in the 1600’s we must do a bit of digging.  

What have I located so far, in the way of proof?

Let’s begin with the birth record for Richard Everet (also spelled Everett) in 1683 in Dedham, Colonial Massachusetts.

Birth Record - Richard Everett, Aug 1683

Now, how about a marriage record for Richard & his wife, Mary Fuller.

Marriage of Richard Everet & Mary Fuller - 3 Mar 1708 in Massachusetts

NOTE: These are images of the actual records and not an index that has been interpreted by a transcriber. It’s important to find the originals whenever we can.

Here’s another reference to the marriage of Richard & Mary.

U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here’s another source with names, dates and places.  Remember these SAR documents have no proof with them. It is a document/application submitted by a descendant.  However, what it does give us is leads and combined with other evidence we can draw a conclusion.

Sons of the American Revolution application for a descendant of Richard Everet(t) and Mary Fuller

One of my favorite sources are wills/probate records.  When our ancestors were dying or suspected they were nearing that age, they often made wills.  It was important to them that their spouses, children and any other heirs were taken care of.  These can be gold mines of family information, including married names for daughters, locations of descendants alive at that time, names of other family members etc.

Here then, is the will of Richard Everett dated 1745/6 in Dedham, Suffolk County, Massachusetts. 

In it he names his “dearly beloved wife” Mary and his sons, Joshua, Jeremiah, Jonathan, Israel and Timothy. He later mentions his “beloved” daughter Mary Maxey, “beloved” daughter Bethiah Day, “beloved’ daughters Hannah & Abigail Everett.

What I learned from this document, was that there were 2 sons, Israel & Timothy and 3 daughters, Hannah, Abigail & Mary I had not yet discovered for this couple. From this will I see that Bethiah has the surname of Day (married name?) and that Mary has the surname Maxey (married name?). More research into these additional children will be done.

1745 will of Richard Everett of Dedham, Massachusetts, page 1-2

1745 will of Richard Everett of Dedham, Massachusetts, page 3-4

And, I went back to the Massachusetts Town & Vital Records and located the births of Timothy, Jonathan, Isarael (how it is spelled in the record), Bethiah born 18 Nov 1721 and another Bethiah born 9 October 1722 and Hannah.  Because there are two daughters named Bethiah, born within a year of one another, I will look for a death records of the first one.

 MA birth record entries for children of Richard & Mary Everett

Timothy, Jonathan, Isarael, Bethiah in Nov 1721 and Bethiah in Oct 1722 and Hannah 

 

 

 

In conclusion. Have I found enough evidence to prove that Richard Everett married Mary Fuller? And that they had 5 sons and 4 daughters and possibly 1 daughter who died? Yes, I believe I have.

Do you have any input? Would you have come to a different conclusion?

Sources:

¹Massachusetts, U.S. Town & Vital Records 1620-1988

² U.S.and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900

³ U.S., Sons of the American Revolution Membership Applications, 1889-1970

⁴ Massachusetts,U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1635-1991

⁵ FindAGrave memorial for Mary Fuller Everett #64356211

⁶ Massachusetts,U.S., Compiled Birth, Marriage, and Death Records, 1700-1850

If you are related to or connected to anyone in this blog post, please get in touch.  Let’s exchange information.

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl
Copyright ©  2010-2025   Diane Gould Hall
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

 

SUNDAY'S OBITUARY ~ Julia Maria Austin Thorp (1845-1914)

 

Following my post from two days ago, I am presenting the obituary for Julia Maria Austin Thorp.

Published in the Press and Sun-Bulletin, Binghamton, New York,
13 Jun 1914, page 7

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2025   Diane Gould Hall
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

FRIDAY FINDS ~ Finally figuring out Julia Austin’s parents

 

Julia Maria Austin Thorp

Today I’d like to talk about the wife of my half 2^nd great granduncle, Julia Maria Austin.

It wasn’t until I was a few years into my research that I realized my paternal 3^rd great grandfather, Monson Thorp, Sr. had been married prior to him marrying my 3^rd great grandmother, Lany Cooper.

In finding that out, I came to also learn that his two oldest children, Ann Maria and Wallace Walter were children born to this first wife, Ann Eliza Armitage.

Then I was fortunate to visit with a 3^rd cousin and his wife in Northville, Michigan and obtain a photo of Julia Austin. That’s when I learned she was the wife of Wallace Walter Thorp, my half 2^nd great granduncle.

In doing further research on Julia I have located her death record, burial location and obituary.  BUT, I had always wanted to find her parents and/or siblings. None of those records gave me the names of her parents.

There is an 1850 census in Chenango, Broome, NY that has a Julia, age 5 in a household with parents (William & Mary Austin) and siblings.  Then in an 1855 NY state census this same family is enumerated and Julia is 10 yrs. old.  Is this “our” Julia?  That has always been my question.

By the time of the 1860 census I find a Julia Austin living in the Geer/Gere household with her age being 16 and she is listed as a domestic.  The importance of this is her location, which is Skaneateles, Broome Co., New York.

That’s the place her future husband Wallace Walter Thorp was born and grew up. By about 1860, he was attending Auburn Theological Seminary, just 13 miles from Skaneateles. 

I don’t know how Wallace & Julia met, but they were certainly in the same area at the appropriate time.

While I was writing this post a light bulb went off in my head.

You all know how this feels.  You’ve researched a particular ancestor off and on for years and SUDDENLY it dawns on you!

If 16 year old Julia is working in a household with a husband and wife, could they be part of her family?  Is Elizabeth Geer her older sister? 

Off I went back to the 1850 U.S. census and the 1855 NY state census to see who was enumerated in that household that I suspect to be Julia’s family.  GUESS WHAT?!

There she is, Elizabeth Austin age 17, an older sister of Julia.  And also in the household is baby Sarah Ann Austin, Julia’s younger sister.

CLICK ON ANY IMAGE TO ENLARGE IT

In the 1855 NY state census on the same page as Julia Austin’s family, is her sister Elizabeth, with new husband, Fayette Geer and Julia’s youngest sister, Sara. Although the census lists “sister” as the relationship between head of household, Fayette Geer and Sarah Austin, she is really a sister to his wife.

I have just put this family together!!! Woohoo!!

Why sometimes, does it take us so long to put the pieces together?  I honestly don’t have an answer to that.  But, it has happened to me many times.  I think as we research we remember different details and then they just fall together.

This process made me smile today. 

What are your recent finds?  I’d love to hear about them.

OTHER POSTS THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST

A STATE CENSUS RECORD THAT LEADS TO A LOT MORE QUESTIONS–The Monson Thorp family 

WHAT I LEARNED FROM ONE SINGLE PAGE OF A CIVIL WAR PENSION FILE–1864 –Edith E. Thorp widow of Walter B. Thorp

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2025   Diane Gould Hall
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

DIGITAL ORGANIZATION PRESENTATION COMING UP APRIL 12 - How to Register

 

I will be presenting How to Organize Your Digital Files.

Whether it's a vital record, land record, newspaper article or family heirloom, you should not have to look all over your computer to find it.

Saturday, April 12, 2025, 9 a.m. PDT, 10 a.m. MDT, 11 a.m. CDT and 12 noon EDT

This presentation will be put on by the San Diego Genealogical Society. You do not have to be a member to attend. This will be online via Zoom.

REGISTRATION is FREE and OPEN TO ALL

Here is the link https://www.casdgs.org/event-6104668

I look forward to seeing you there.

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2025   Diane Gould Hall
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

ROOTSTECH 2025 - A REVIEW and SOME PHOTOS

Another year has come and gone and so has another Rootstech.  This was my 5^th time attending this conference. 

Here are my previous posts.  Some of these will give you a good idea of the things you can do, the fun you can have and my preparation before going.  It’s pretty critical to have some kind of game plan if you intend to spend time at the Family History Library. For me, that’s the biggest part of the Rootstech experience, other than seeing friends, of course.

ROOTSTECH PREPARATION (2018) – In this blog I share what I did to prepare when I attended for the first time.  It was not my first genealogy conference and not my first time to the Family History Library.  However, preparation is a must, at least for me.

And here is a post about attending "after" Covid.

ROOTSTECH 2023 ~ An overview of our week (2023)

Now let’s talk about Rootstech 2025. 

I flew in on Sunday, March 2^nd.  This gives me time to get a good sleep and be prepared to hit the FHL first thing Monday morning.

I was getting my laptop up and running so I could just “sleep” it for the next day.  I use Legacy Family Tree software and all notes, references and sources are stored there, on my laptop.  At home I use a desktop PC, but for travel I take my laptop.  Worse thing that can happen, well one of the worst.  Your laptop decides to give you the dreaded spinning blue circle and error messages.  WHY?  I had just used this laptop for the entire previous week at home.

Two long and stressful hours later all was well.  Thankfully, I’m a bit of a computer geek and not afraid to dig in and fix things.  Whew! This is a perfect example of "anything" can and will happen.

My friend and fellow blogger Debby Warner Anderson (Debby’s Family Genealogy Blog) arrived about 6 p.m.  Dinner and back to the room to prepare for the next day.

This was Debby’s first trip to the FHL and Rootstech so I was excited for her to experience the incredible chance to be there among all those millions of records. It did not disappoint.  

Later on Monday afternoon our friend Pam Mohrman Paxton arrived after driving over from Colorado.  She and I have attended together on all 5 times I’ve been to Rootstech.

Tuesday and Wednesday were spent researching at the library. Some good finds were made by all of us.

On Monday, I got to do something on my bucket list.  Be a guest on Mondays with Myrt.  Pat Richley-Erickson has been doing this podcast longer than I’ve been researching.  She had retired a couple of years ago so I figured I’d never get the chance to appear on the show.  But, because she came out of retirement and is hosting the show again, I got this chance.  What fun! 

You can find me at the 34 min mark and actually speak at the 39:35 minute mark.  Thanks again Pat.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Om6PKg22rbE

Debbie Gurtler, Asst. Director of the Family Search/History Library, me and Fran and of course Dear Myrt on the far right

We picked up our badges on Wednesday afternoon.  This year instead of walking over to the convention center, they offered to check us in, right there at the FHL.  Very convenient.

There was a nice gathering at Dear Myrt’s (Pat Richley-Erickson) hotel where some of us got to laugh and chat in a more intimate environment.

The actual conference began on Thursday and ran through Saturday.  There were lots of great classes offered.  They ranged from beginner to advanced.

The first place I like to visit is the Exhibit Hall.  I enjoy visiting booths that are associated with companies or websites I am familiar with.  I do love collecting the ribbons and adding them to my badge.  

As is usual for me, I attended just two classes, but enjoyed them both.  My plan is to watch a few of the others that will be offered online.

Here are the classes I attended: Finding Genealogical Gold in New England Probate Records, presented by David Allen Lambert.  I always enjoy David’s presentations and this was no exception.

I also attended Reasonably Exhaustive Research – Ireland presented by Richard G. Sayre, CG, CGL, FUGA.  This was my first time listening to Mr. Sayre and I thought he was engaging and extremely knowledgeable about Irish Research.

On Friday afternoon bloggers met up near the media center and took the usual group photo.  Unfortunately, this year, there weren’t as many of us gathered for the photo.  But, nonetheless, it was fun.

The gathering of bloggers at the Exhibit Hall - What do you call a gathering of bloggers anyway?

As to the rest of the trip.  The preparation I did for the library and it’s fantastic holdings of records, paid off.  I found many good bits of information on mine and my husband’s ancestors.  Stay tuned in a future post for more on that.

My flight home was uneventful and I’m always happy to be greeted by my husband, Ron and my sweet dog Libby.

Here are some scenes from Rootstech.

The view from our 8th floor room at the Plaza

Me and Debby in front of the library

One of my favorite views - 3rd floor where the books are

And our view after a little snow fell

Pam & me in front of the library

Proof that I did attend a class

At the Mayflower booth with Ali Golon, Mayflower Historian General

Found this in a book and it is said to be a drawing of Ron's 1C5x removed-Bathsheba Day Hall

Me, Debby and Pam on our last night before we all head in different directions  

Here are my honest takeaways pro and con, comparing pre Covid Rootstech to post Covid.

• The location is still very nice and accommodates us well.
• The time and effort that goes into preparing such a large conference is commendable and appreciated.
• The design of the Exhibit Hall is beautiful and different every year.
• Many of our frequent speakers don’t show up in person any more and I miss them.
• We used to get a nice bag with some bling in it when we got     our badges and now we don’t.
• The Exhibit Hall isn’t nearly as much fun as it used to be.  There just aren’t the small companies in the booths selling various fun genealogy items.
• The food offered in the exhibit hall has LONG lines and they could use a few more vendors.

I will be back again…………………….see you in 2026

I’d love to hear your thoughts about your time at Rootstech.

Happy Hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2025   Diane Gould Hall
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION