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After doing a little bit of research in Litchfield, it became apparent that South Farms Litchfield spun out as the town of Morris in 1859 - and I would have to continue my land and vital record search there. The town clerk of Morris was very helpful. As I was leaving, she suggested I contact the town Historian, Walter D. France because he was the “walking encyclopedia” of Morris. I called him, explained my ancestry, deep roots to the area, and my research goals, and he graciously invited me to his home to share his own research.
What Walter had accomplished was astounding. He had created hundreds of hand drawn to scale maps - graphically representing every single land transaction in Morris by date sequence in the colonial period to the early 1800s - as well as the corresponding text of the land transfer record. He pulled every record for Emmons transfers and made copies on the spot. I have them now. When you buy a map from HistoricalTownMaps.com - you are getting a snapshot of ownership in a particular year. What Walter had done - from rigorous research - was provide a graphical snapshot of Morris on a particular day. The ultimate embodiment of location based genealogy - and the learnings are dramatic.
I am a descendant of William’s son Arthur, who is buried in the Old Morris Burying Grounds. It is obvious that William loved Arthur because he gave him land:
William Emmons of Litchfield, gave to his son Arthur, for love and goodwill two parcels of land in the South part of Litchfield: one parcel contains 25 acres and 2 rods of land ye North end of 58 acres which I bought of Capt. John King, beginning at the North East corner, then running South by Smedley’s land 69 rods to a black oak staddle with stones laid on it, then West by my own land 58 rods to a stake with stones on it, the North by Gridley’s land 69 rods to my Northwest Corner, then East by Henry Gibbs land 58 rods to the first bounds. Litchfield Land Records, Vol 4, p690, April 4, 1759.
I have 14 more hand-drawn maps spanning land transfers between William and his descendants and Arthur and his descendants betweenDecember 22, 1761 and April 7, 1810. When you look at these transfers - you get a sense of the relationships with the neighbors who were buying and selling land to each other as well as new people in town. Moreover, you set a sense of the relationship - or lack of relationship with their children. Because apparently not all of Arthur Emmons children were afforded the same opportunities.
I am a descendant of Arthur’s son Orange Emmons. Orange was the 6th of 7 boys. He was recruited as one of the 1777 volunteers that was recruited to the 5th Connecticut Regiment by James Morris (Emmons neighbor and whom the town of Morris was named) and was at the defense of Horse Neck, the fort that guarded the salt producing works on the west shore of Greenwich Harbor where another neighbor, Enos Barnes was killed. Orange faced other tragedy in his life - as was reported in the Middlesex Gazette (07-23-1791, Vol VI, Issue 299, page 2):
The next day, July 13, 1791, the wife of Mr. Orange Emmons (Eunice Tucker) was instantly struck dead by lightning as she was securing a window at which the rain was beating in. A child, lying in bed, was by the explosion thrown on the floor, but received no harm.
That child was most likely my direct ancestor, Orange and Eunice’s baby son Lorrin who was only born 2 months earlier. What is also clear from the land records is that he may have had a poor relationship with his father. For when Arthur Emmons died in 1804, at least 5 of his male children were probably still alive, however only 3 were named in the will to get the remaining land. Orange got nothing. Orange got nothing. Arthur’s children Phineas, Arthur Jr., and the youngest Oliver Emmons and their descendants received the benefit of this wealth creating resource - land. But Orange got nothing… Why?
Two years earlier, on June 26, 1802 (Litchfield Land Records, Vol 23, page 350), Orange had purchased a house, 2 acres, and cooper shop from his baby brother Oliver and ran the cooper shop for about 3 years. There was likely also a cider mill and a distillery on the property. But on November 30, 1805, 1 year after the death of his father who “stiffed him” in the will, Orange sold his property for $500 and his new wife Polly Doolittle left South Farms, his brothers, in-laws, cousins, and ancestral homeland in America and moved to Sharon Connecticut where their son Lorrin was brought up.
Why? Here the maps, land records, and vital records become silent. All that is left is conjecture… Did they have a falling out? Did Orange exhibit bad behavior? Does the distillery indicate a profit motive or did Orange oversample his production? Other then the reporting of his wife’s macabre death - the record is silent.
Maybe…
Last year, I had my Y and mitochondrial DNA sequenced by FamilyTreeDNA and I allowed my results to be entered in a public database. For Y-DNA, which is passed paternally, matches on 12, 25, 37, and 67 genetic markers are reported to other individuals who consented to have their DNA sequenced. What I was stunned to see in my record was multiple exact 12-marker matches and 3 out of 4 individuals with 24 out of 25-marker matches whose last name was Barnes. Barnes… Twelve marker matches are quite common. I have hundreds of matches with people of different surnames from around the world. However, 3 out the 4 25-marker matches whose surname was Barnes really got my attention. Why? Because when looking at the Walter D. France’s maps - there are numerous Barnes’ who were neighbors of the Emmons in the 18th and early 19th century. Could it be that the reason that Orange was not named in the will, and that Arthur did not give or transact land with is son, because Orange was not his son?
Again, only conjecture. But it is through these detailed studies of maps, like the ones you find at Historical Town Maps, combined with deep field research as evidenced by the late Walter D. France - that you can create deep insight and generate further clues for inquiry to make your family history come alive in ways you never ever thought possible.
Next post - following the trail from Litchfield to Morris to Sharon Connecticut…
Good hunting,
historicaltownmaps.com
