Since discovering a land deed proving that my Loyalist John Adams was the son of David Adams and Susannah Lockwood of Fairfield County, Connecticut, I have been hot on the trail working out the lines of John’s full brother and sister, David Adams Jr. and Ann Adams, who married Ephraim Lyon.
I am very thankful to have the work of Donald Lines Jacobus (1887-1970), FASG to guide me through his multiple volumes of History and Genealogy of the Families of Old Fairfield, published between 1930-1932.
While Jacobus was an extraordinary researcher, he didn’t have access to all the documents available today and the deed proving the parentage of my John Adams is one of them.
However, there are likely a few errors in a work as massive as Families of Old Fairfield and I believe I have identified two Miles Oakleys who have been conflated into one man.
Ephraim Lyon married Ann Adams about 1769, likely in Fairfield County, Connecticut, where they raised a family of seven children in what later became the town of Weston, but at that time was part of the town of Old Fairfield.
Their third known child was Susanna Lyon, baptized on 14 January 1776 and she is the subject of today’s genealogical problem.
Jacobus states that Susannah, daughter of Ephraim, was the second wife of Miles Oakley, a Revolutionary War soldier born in 1757. Jacobus couldn’t identify his first wife, but correspondence from the 1900s found in his pension file identifies her as Eunice Bennett.
Perhaps supporting that identification is the fact that Bennett Oakley lived in Pomeroy, Meigs, Ohio in 1840 and had in his home an elderly man, aged 80-90 years. However, there was also an elderly women, aged 80-90 years.
Miles’s pension application doesn’t name his wife, although it is evident from the correspondence, that she survived his death, which happened before April 1844.
Miles does document where he lived from the time of the Revolutionary War until 1832 when he made his application for his pension.
1776-1780 Served in more than one company in Fairfield County, Connecticut, including that of Captain Ephraim Lyon (Susannah’s father)
1801 Removed to Alfred, Allegheny, New York then to Pennsylvania
1806 Removed to Belpre, Washington, Ohio
1811 Removed to Olive, Meigs, Ohio where he still lived in 1832
We have an immediate problem with these facts since Miles’ apparent wife was also 80-90 years old, living with him in Meigs County, Ohio in 1840.
Susannah was likely born late in 1775 and baptized in early 1776.
However, several probate documents filed in Fairfield County, Connecticut identify her as the wife of one Miles Oakley.
First, her brother Samuel died in 1838, unmarried, and his siblings inherited his estate, including Susanna, identified as the wife of Miles Oakley.
Second, Fairfield County cemetery records identify Peter Oakley, son of Miles and Susanna, who died 21 May 1821, aged 22 years, so born c1799.
Third, two sons of Miles and Susanna Oakley were baptized at Trinity Church in Fairfield County, Connecticut on 17 January 1802 – Peter and Ahaz Oakley.
None of these records mention anything about New York or Ohio.
Fourth, Susanna, baptized on 14 January 1776, came from a family where many of the sons and daughters married at age 18, 19 or 20, which was a bit earlier than the typical New England ages of 25 for the men and 21 for the women.
With Peter’s exact date of birth not known, he could have been born as early as 1798, with his parents marrying about 1796 or 1797.
Next, let’s look at the Fairfield County records for some of the Oakley family.
Jeremiah Oakley, born c1730, lived a very long life, dying in 1820. His estate distribution to his heirs included:
Heirs of his son, Peter Oakley
Miles Oakley (the Rev. War pensioner in Ohio)
Widow Abigail Wheeler
Gilbert Oakley
Jeremiah Oakley
David Oakley
Burr Oakley
Of particular interest, aside from Jeremiah’s son, Miles, the Rev. War soldier are the heir of his son, Peter Oakley.
Peter Oakley died on 18 August 1794 with his wife, Hester/Esther Fanton, predeceasing him by one day, passing on 17 August 1794. They were only in their 40s. I wonder if there was a contagious disease like diphtheria or cholera that passed through that summer, but that is an aside to this case study.
Of significance, though, is that Peter Oakley married Hester Fanton on 11 March 1774 and only three children receive distribution from Peter’s estate, which was substantial:
- Miles, old enough by 4 September 1794 that he didn’t require a guardian
- Peter
- Abigail
Nathan Wheeler, wife of Abigail Oakley and Peter’s sister, took on guardianship of Peter and Abigail.
It’s possible that Miles Oakley was born as early as December 1774, but certainly was born by 1775. He would have been 18 years old (and there are documented instances in this area of young men marrying at 18 or 19 years old) and didn’t require a guardian. It may have influenced the court that Peter was a fairly well-to-do man when he died.
With Miles being the eldest son, it was unlikely that he would become a charge to the town.
Now, let’s quickly review Susannah – born probably late in 1775 – and her family knew the Oakleys since Miles the Rev. War soldier served under her father in the war. She certainly would have known Peter and Hester Oakley and their children.
And – Miles’ and Susanna’s son that died in 1821 was named PETER, seemingly their first born child.
Can Connecticut census records help?
There is no elderly Miles Oakley in Fairfield County, so the Rev. War soldier might have been off by a year or so when he stated he removed to New York in 1801. He was already gone from Connecticut in 1800.
However, there is a Miles Oakley living in Weston, Fairfield, Connecticut in 1800:
Male – 16-25
Male 16-25
Female – 16-25
Male – under 10
This would exactly fit the configuration of Miles (son of Peter) with his younger brother Peter, wife Susannah, and son Peter (born 1798-1799).
Miles and Susannah would both be 24 or 25 years old, his brother Peter, a teenager, and then baby son Peter.
In 1810, in Weston, Fairfield, Connecticut, we have Miles Oakley:
Male – 26-44 (Miles, about 35 years old)
Female – 26-44 (Susanna, about 35 years old)
Male 10-15 (Peter, about 11 years old)
Female 10-15 (likely an unidentified daughter, born about 1800)
Male under 10 (son Ahaz, born about 1802, so about 8 years old)
Male under 10 (likely an unidentified son, born, say 1805)
In 1820, in Weston, Fairfield, Connecticut, we have Miles Oakley:
Male – 26-44 (Miles, about 45 years old)
Female – 26-44 (Susanna, about 45 years old)
Male – 16-25 (Peter, about 22 years old)
Male 16-25 (Ahaz, about 18 years old)
Female – 10-15 (?Daughter, about 10 years old)
Male – 10-15 (?Son, born say 1805, so about 15 years old)
Lacking exact birth dates for Miles and Susanna, they might have both been born in 1776, so actually 44 years old, but they are close enough in age with their two known sons to fit this family.
Since Jacobus didn’t extend the histories to this generation, and he assigned Susanna as the wife of Miles, born 1757, on-site research at the FamilySearch center might reveal more in land deeds.
In 1830, in Weston, Fairfield, Connecticut, we have Miles Oakley:
Male – 60-69 (Miles, aged about 55)
Female – 60-69 (Susanna, aged about 55)
Male – 20-29 (Ahaz? aged about 28)
Female – 20-29
Female – 5-9
In 1850, in Weston, Fairfield, Connecticut, we have Susan Oakley:
Susan Oakley, 75, born Connecticut
Charity Oakley, 30, born Connecticut
William Oakley, 8, born Connecticut
Miles Oakley, 6, born Connecticut
Merwyn, 3/12, born Connecticut (about July 1850)
Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to locate any of the people who lived with Susan in 1850. Susan removed to Easton, where she died on 29 December 1857.
Susan’s husband, Miles, died between 1840-1850, but no probate has been found.
Readers, what do you think? Have I made a tentative case that Susanna Lyon married Miles Oakley, son of Peter Oakley, who died in 1794?
