"irretrievable" updates

In 2014, I posted a list of vexing brick walls in my family tree. Here is that list, but with more updates. Anyone out there in cyberland who can contribute (or refute) any information about these folks, especially their parents, would be appreciated!

Isaac Burnett (1780? - May 1860), lived most of his life in Newport, Penobscot, Maine. He married Deborah Grindle (25 Feb 1784 - aft 1860) on 23 Dec 1802. I have written about his garbled ancestry elsewhere.
UPDATE: Although no further along with his ancestors, despite some interesting leads, I have at least been able to identify by name all ten of his children, and with the help of a cousin learned that the "S" of his son (and my 3x great-grandfather) Nathaniel's middle name stands for Spalding.
UPDATE: Still nothing new here, despite some interesting leads. I was contacted by a 
distant cousin--who found me through this blog!--and we are collaborating. In a happy coincidence, he is also a metal-worker, like our common ancestor, who was a blacksmith.

Samuel Squire (1773 - aft 1830); his wife was perhaps named Mary Ann LKU (abt 1775 -  aft 1830). He appears on the U S Federal Censuses from 1800 through 1830, primarily in Madison, Somerset, Maine.
UPDATE: This Samuel has become a lot clearer. His birth and death dates are now known (18 Jul 1768 - 17 Mar 1832), as well as the name of his wife: Rhoda Perham (24 Jul 1772 - 20 Nov 1847). His parents are Samuel Squire (abt 1740 - 3 Apr 1780) and Mary Hildreth (17 Dec 1732 - aft 1770); thus, I have Samuel Squires as 4x, 5x, and 6x great-grandfathers. Although still working on his ancestors, the chain of Samuels appears to be broken, as his father may be a John Squire. Mary's line has opened up several more generations.


Aaron Colman (abt 1783 - aft 1830 15 Jan 1838), and his father, Aaron Colman (? aft 1756 - aft 1820); both residents of Maine, appearing on the U S Federal Censuses from 1800 through 1830 and 1820, respectively. Aaron Colman, junior, was married to Mary "Polly" Lombard or Lumbar.
UPDATE: No additional ancestor information, but a little more detail about dates.


John Swarts (28 Nov 1795 - 24 Oct 1874), born in Pennsylvania, but living most of his life in Brighton, Kenosha, Wisconsin; and his wife Mary McDonald (abt 1799 - 1893), also born in Pennsylvania.

Anna B. A. "Annie" Miller (Jan 1867 - aft 1920), was born in Germany and arrived in the U S about 1870. She married Dor Henry Eaton (May 1869 - 31 Dec 1945) on 27 Jan 1890, in Minnesota.
UPDATE: Annie was born 28 Jan 1865, in Szczecin, Poland. At the time, it was part of Germany/Prussia. Her parents are August Miller (Aug 1833 - Apr 1924) and Amelia LKU (May 1831 - aft 1910).

Willard Brown (abt 1806 - aft 1860), born in New Hampshire. He married Mary "Polly" Rasey (21 Oct 1808 - 12 Dec 1868) on 17 Nov 1826 in New York.

William Carter (1800 - 30 Mar 1849) and Melinda Johnson (1813 - 1902). Complicated by both a scarcity of information and fairly common names, they were both believed born in Tennessee; she died there, while he died in Missouri.

William Kinman (abt 1830 - aft 1858), born in New York and died in Illinois, and Sarah R Moore (abt 1826 - aft 1875). She was probably born in Ohio (I have one U S Federal census to back that up), and the only reason I have "Moore" is that my maternal grandmother provided it, although she was occasionally wrong about these details. Sarah later married a Walter Reading or Redding (abt 1825 - aft 1875); they lived in Illinois.
UPDATE: Grandma was right: Sarah's last name is "Moore." But almost everything I thought I knew about "William" was wrong, starting with his name. Apparently this 3x gg was actually--for now--Seaborn G Kinman (abt 1816 - abt 1862). I learned all this through an article about his son (and my 2x gg), William Edwin Kinman (17 Mar 1858 - 13 Jun 1925). But nothing is settled yet: for starters, I have found no other records or mentions of a Seaborn G Kinman, although the Illinois Marriage Index does have a Greeham Kinman (G for Greeham?) marrying Sarah Moore on 25 Apr 1852. It could be our guy, although searching "Greeham Kinman" yields no other results either. And to further complicate things, William's brother, Francis Augustine Kinman ( 2 Jul 1853 - 14 Dec 1927), has their father listed as a "Fred" Kinman on his marriage record.  Another example of one document changing everything.





Jesse Toliver (1756 - 4 Mar 1838) and his sister, Lucy Toliver (23 May 1868 - 1832), are both 5x ggs; I have written about them before. There ancestry is confused and unlikely to ever be sorted out, despite many generations trying.
UPDATE: More cousins have surfaced, again through the help of this blog; two of them are other descendants of Jesse, the first I have been in contact with. DNA is helping to crack this family's mystery. We'll see.


Frederick Dillazone Ketchum (6 Apr 1811 - 21 Jan 1888), about whom I have written often. I believe I have discovered his father as Elisha Ketchum (abt 1771 - aft 1840), but yearn to know more about these two, including the identity of Frederick's mother. I would also love to know if "Dillazone" is in fact correct (I no longer know where I first saw it; it may have been another Grandma Brown error), and from where it derives. He was most often referred to as "Capt F D Ketchum."

And speaking of Captains, there is Samuel Cherry (15 May 1756 - 27 Oct 1825), about whom I have also written in one of my earliest posts. His parents, and even his place of birth are a great mystery. It is generally agreed that he was born in Londonderry--but which: Ireland or New Hampshire?

Finally, there is Clarissa Adams (31 Jan 1791 - 7 Feb 1872), daughter-in-law of Capt Cherry, above. She was born in New York, and died in Delaware, Delaware County, Ohio. I have visited and photographed her grave site, which perhaps explains in part her particular appeal for me; that and her potentially historically rich last name! The Cherrys were great patriots, after all....
UPDATE: Another one-document wonder, my lead coming from someone else's query in a genealogy publication, it seems likely that Clarissa is the daughter of a William Adams (dates unknown) and either Polly or Molly Roby (30 Oct 1763 - bef 1855); there are marriage records for them dated 4 Nov 1785 with both variations of her name, and a location of either Chelmsford MA or Dunstable NH. I believe the intentions, which were posted 31 Oct 1785 (and are often erroneously seen as the marriage date) are from Massachusetts, while the wedding itself occurred in New Hampshire.
UPDATE: I was contacted by a possible cousin, who was trying to tie himself to the Adams family. (Snap! Snap!) If his DNA matched mine, we might both have proof of our connection. Alas, nothing was conclusive, and he did not have any information beyond what I already "know."


I have uncovered almost nothing  else about Adams himself, except a few land records of upstate New York, although there was one thrilling tidbit. In 1806, William Adams, a 5x gg, purchased land in what is now Scriba NY, from the estate of Alexander Hamilton. Another brush with greatness.... 

But research is it's own reward, famous kin or not, and you can bet I'm not throwing away my shot at finding more ancestors, and, of course, writing about it.