Jane (Miller) Sukeforth: 52 Ancestors #71

Jane Miller, my great-great-grandmother (#19 in my Ahnentafel chart), was born on 30 Jul 1810 in Friendship, Lincoln County, Maine.¹ Analysis of Friendship census records and other sources indicate that she was the oldest of five children of William Miller Jr.; their mother's name is unknown.²

Jane and her first cousin, Simon Sukeforth, entered their intentions of marriage on 8 August 1834 in Thomaston³ (her residence at the time) and on 16 August 1834 in Washington⁴ (his residence). No record of the actual marriage has been found, but they likely married shortly after 16 August, as the 1850 census implies that their oldest child was born in 1834.⁵

Marriage intentions for Simon Suckforth and Jane Miller, 8 Aug 1834, Thomaston, Maine

They had eight known children:

1. Thomas Sukeforth, b. 1834, married (1) Sarah A. Sprague, (2) Sarah A. Norwood
2. James Llewellyn Sukeforth, b. est 1836, married Eliza M. Clapp
3. Sarah C. Sukeforth, b. 1838, married Silas Kirk (my great-grandparents)
4. Mary C. Sukeforth, b. 1845, married George H. Chadwick
5. Addie E. Sukeforth, b. 1846, married Lyman B. Weever
6. William A. Sukeforth, b. 1850, married Mae Isadora Moolekamp
7. Franklin M. Sukeforth, b. ca 1851-52, d. 1875 unmarried
8. Lawrenton M. Sukeforth, b. ca 1854-56, married Abbie H. Clark

Jane (Miller) Sukeforth gravestone

Jane died on 29 Apr 1879 in Washington, Knox County, Maine, and was buried beside Simon and their son Franklin in Maple Grove Cemetery, Washington.⁶ For a view of all three stones, see 52 Ancestors: #16, Simon Sukeforth.

Unusually for these old gravestones, the following lines engraved on her stone are still clearly readable (closeup below):

     Dear mother, thou art gone to rest,
     The toils and cares are o'er.
     And sorrows, pain and suffering now
     Shall ne'er distress thee more.

Verse on Jane (Miller) Sukeforth gravestone

My descent from Jane (Miller) Sukeforth:

• Simon Sukeforth and Jane Miller
• Silas Kirk and Sarah Sukeforth
• Chester F. Kirk and Mary Milliken Hodsdon
• Roger M. Kirk + Kathleen Marie Murphy (my parents)

Jane is also my first cousin four times removed by descent from Johann Wilhelm Müller (William Miller Sr.) and Eve ______.

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SOURCES

1. Melville Bradford Cook, editor, Records of Meduncook Plantation and Friendship, Maine, 1762-1899 (Rockland, Maine: Shore Village Historical Society, 1985),  p. 75, birth of Jane Miller, 10 Jul 1810 (parents not named).  
2. Marshall K. Kirk, “Miller: Waldoboro & Friendship, Maine,” undated typescript of unpublished research notes, Marshall K. Kirk Research Files; privately held by the author, Virginia Beach, Virginia.
3. Original Records of Maine Towns and Cities: Town of Thomaston - 1727-1893, digital images (PDF), CD-ROM, 2 CDs (Rockport, Maine: Picton Press, 2005), CD 2: image 102; "Volume 2nd of Town Records of the Town of Thomaston," p. 193, Simon Suckforth-Jane Miller marriage intentions, 8 Aug 1834.
4. Ella M. Hewins, "Washington, Maine early records", p. 41, Simon Suckforth-Jane "Millett" marriage intentions, 16 Aug 1834; FHL microfilm 859,058, item 5, image 746; typescript of extracts from original town records of Washington, Maine, of families, marriage intentions, and marriages, 1812-1871. 
5. 1850 U.S. Census, Lincoln County, Maine, Washington, p. 576 (penned), dwelling 296, family 296, Simon Suckforth household; digital image, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org : accessed 14 Apr 2012).
6. Maple Grove Cemetery (Washington, Knox County, Maine), gravestone of Jane (Miller) Sukeforth, read and photographed by the author, 14 Aug 2012.