Abigail (Faulkner) Kirkpatrick: 52 Ancestors #70

Abigail Faulkner, my 2nd great-grandmother on my direct paternal line and #17 on my Ahnentafel chart, was born 14 October 1808 in Maitland (part of what was then Douglas Township), Hants County, Nova Scotia.¹

Map of Hants County, N.S., 1878.² Maitland (in blue, NE corner) was split off from Douglas Twp. ~1835.

Abigail married Jabez Bradbury Kirkpatrick (later Kirk) on 13 Nov 1825,³ probably in Warren, Maine.

Although I have, elsewhere on this blog, named Edward and Margaret (Morrison) Faulkner as Abigail's parents, recent closer examination of my late brother's research files indicates that this was an early tentative hypothesis he had made, and that there is conflicting evidence he had not resolved. However, it seems certain that her father must have been one of the sons of Robert and Hannah (Faulkner) Faulkner, who were found in Douglas Township in an 1817 census of Hants County.⁴

Two other Faulkners near in age to Abigail are found in Warren in the mid-1880s, and are very likely her siblings. Olive Faulkner, born ca 1804 in Nova Scotia, married Philip Montgomery of Warren about 1824. The Montgomerys were closely linked with the Kirkpatricks: Philip and Olive named two of their sons Jabez K. and Silas K. (almost certainly for Jabez himself and his deceased brother), another son William married Jabez's daughter Eliza Jane, and both men were shipwrights who were almost certainly associated in the ship-building business. Also, a William Faulkner, born between 1800 and 1810, appeared briefly in Warren, in the 1840 census and in 1839-40 as a co-owner (with G. Boggs) of the brig Maumee, built by Philip Montgomery. None of these three Faulkners have been "placed" in a known Hants County Faulkner family, but the names given to several of Abigail's and Olive's children do suggest a close association to the Edward and Margaret (Morrison) Faulkner noted above. It's possible that Edward's brother William, who is supposed to have died unmarried, actually had a family after all.⁵

Abigail and Jabez had five children:

1. Silas (1827-1909), m. Sarah C. Sukeforth (my great-grandparents)
2. Jane Elisa (1829-1909), m. William H. Montgomery
3. Samuel L. (1831-1873), no known marriage
4. Martha A. (1834-1834)
5. Harriet F. (1835-?), m. (1) John Anderson, (2) Thomas P. King

After raising their own children, Abigail and Jabez adopted the newborn daughter of her (presumed) sister Olive's sister-in-law, who died five days after the baby's birth. (Baby Georgianna Oliver was also the first cousin of Abigail's son-in-law William Montgomery, husband of Eliza Jane.)⁶

Abigail died on 4 October 1891, and was buried beside her husband Jabez, who had died seven years before, in Newcomb Cemetery in Warren.⁷

Gravestones of Jabez and Abigail (Faulkner) Kirk, Newcomb Cemetery, Warrent, Knox County, Maine

     

Gravestone of Abigail Kirk

Rest of inscription uncovered

My descent from Abigail (Faulkner) Kirkpatrick:

• Jabez Bradbury Kirk(patrick) and Abigail Faulkner
• Silas Kirk and Sarah Sukeforth
• Chester F. Kirk and Mary Milliken Hodsdon
• Roger Kirk + Kathleen Marie Murphy (my parents)

 

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SOURCES

1. Cyrus Eaton, Annals of the Town of Warren, in Knox County, Maine, Second Edition (Hallowell, Maine: Masters & Livermore, 1877), p. 567. Eaton's source for her date of birth is not given, but was most likely calculated from the age at death on her gravestone.
2. A.D. & W.B. Roe, "County of Hants, Nova Scotia," map from Atlas of the Maritime Provinces of the Dominion of Canada (Philadelphia: Roe Brothers, 1878), p. 55; digital image, David Rumsey Historical Map Collection (http://www.davidrumsey.com : downloaded 28 Jan 2019).
3. Eaton, p. 567.
4. Marshall K. Kirk, "Early Faulkners of Colchester and Hants Counties, Nova Scotia: Three Families" (typescript with handwritten notes, ca 2001); Marshall K. Kirk Research Files, privately held by Kathy Kirk McCracken, Virginia Beach, Virginia. 
5. Ibid.
6. Kathy Kirk McCracken, "52 Ancestors: #21, 'Great Grand Aunt' Georgianna: Real or 'Honorary' Aunt?," blog post, Pine Trees and Pedigrees (http://pinetreesandpedigrees.blogspot.com/2014/05/52-ancestors-21-great-grand-aunt.html : 27 May 2014).
7. Newcomb Cemetery (Warren, Knox County, Maine), Jabez B. Kirk and Abigail Kirk gravestones, read and photographed by the author, 14 Aug 2012. 

Jabez Bradbury Kirkpatrick, Shipwright: 52 Ancestors #66

Jabez Bradbury Kirkpatrick was born 10 May 1800¹ in Warren, Lincoln County (now Knox County), Maine, the eldest of nine children of John Kirkpatrick 2nd and Nancy Starrett. Jabez was named after his great-great-uncle, Col. Jabez Bradbury, once commander of the garrison at the fort that had protected the settlement on the St. George River during the French and Indian Wars.²

On 13 November 1825, he married Abigail Faulkner, daughter of Edward and Margaret (Morrison) Faulkner of Nova Scotia.³ Their 59-year marriage must have been an unusually long one for that era to prompt Cyrus Eaton to note in his Annals of Warren that in 1875,

The fiftieth anniversary or golden wedding of Mr. and Mrs. Jabez Kirkpatrick was celebrated on the evening of Nov. 13th, by a gathering at their house and presentation of gifts.⁴

Jabez and Abigail had five children:

1. Silas (1827-1909), m. Sarah C. Sukeforth (my great-grandparents)
2. Jane Elisa (1829-1909), m. William H. Montgomery
3. Samuel L. (1831-1873), no known marriage
4. Martha A. (1834-1834)
5. Harriet F. (1835-?), m. (1) John Anderson, (2) Thomas P. King

1850 U.S. census, Warren, Lincoln Co., Maine, Jabez Kirk household

When their youngest was 14, a new baby joined the family. Elizabeth (Montgomery) Oliver, the sister-in-law of Abigail's sister Olive – and a close neighbor on the road to Andrews Point – died when her daughter Georgianna was only 5 days old, and the Kirkpatricks adopted the newborn.

By 1850 Jabez, like some of relatives, had dropped the "-patrick" from his surname and was henceforth known as Jabez B. Kirk.⁵ Unlike the others, who had petitioned the legislature for a legal name change, his family's change was informal.

Jabez was a shipwright⁶ and carpenter.⁷ Among the ships he built was the brig E. W. Denton, in 1851.⁸ (There were certainly many more, but in most cases the builders are identified only by surnames, e.g., Burgess & Kirk, Creighton & Kirk, so I'm not sure if this was Jabez or another member of the family.)

At various times Jabez served as a town selectman (1834-41) and assessor (1832-34, 1837-38),⁹ and in July 1838, he was charged by the town of Warren with taking a census for the purpose of distributing Federal funds refunded to the states. The population was 2,143.¹⁰

Jabez died at the age of 83 on 26 February 1884 in Warren, and was buried in Newcomb Cemetery.¹¹

Jabez B. Kirk gravestone, Newcomb Cemetery, Warren, Maine

My descent from Jabez Bradbury Kirkpatrick (my great-great-grandfather):

• Jabez Bradbury Kirk(patrick) and Abigail Faulkner
• Silas Kirk and Sarah Sukeforth
• Chester F. Kirk and Mary Milliken Hodsdon (my paternal grandparents)

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SOURCES

1. Cyrus Eaton, Annals of the Town of Warren, in Knox County, Maine, Second Edition (Hallowell, Maine: Masters & Livermore, 1877), p. 567.
2. Ibid., pp. 58, 115. 
3. Ibid., p. 567.
4. Ibid., p. 480.
5. 1850 U.S. census, Lincoln County, Maine, Warren, p. 3 (penned upper left), p. 167 (stamped), dwelling 17, family 18, Jabez Kirk household; digital images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org : accessed 10 Dec 2010).
6. Ibid.
7. 1860 U.S. census, Knox County, Maine, Warren, p. 317 (penned), dwelling 304, family 319, Jabez Kirk household; digital images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org : accessed 6 Mar 2012).
8. Eaton, p. 677.
9. Ibid., pp. 659, 661.
10. Ibid., p. 341.
11. Newcomb Cemetery (Warren, Knox County, Maine), Jabez B. Kirk gravestone, read and photographed by the author, 14 Aug 2012. 

52 Ancestors: #21, "Great Grand Aunt" Georgianna: Real or "Honorary" Aunt?

In the first fully nominal census, in 1850, my great great grandparents, Jabez and Abigail (Faulkner) Kirk, had five children in their household in Warren, Maine. They ranged in age from 23 (my great grandfather-to-be Silas) through 21 (Eliza J.), 19 (Samuel), and 15 (Harriet F.)... and a 1-year-old baby girl named Georgianna.¹ Now Abigail was 42 at the time, so it wasn't impossible that she was the girl's mother; just rather unlikely after a gap of 14 years. Nevertheless, I set out to document this "late" great grand aunt along with her brothers and sisters.

1850 U.S. census, Warren, Knox Co., Maine, Jabes Kirk household

Except... there weren't any further records of a Georgianna Kirk. Instead, ten years later, the grown children had all left home, leaving 10-year-old Georgianna with Jabez and "Abby"... but now she was listed as Georgianna Oliver.² What was going on?

1860 U.S. census, Warren, Knox Co., Maine, Jabes Kirk household

While birth records from this era seem to be singularly non-existent in Warren, there is plenty of information to be had in Cyrus Eaton's Annals of the Town of Warren, particularly in the "Genealogical Tables" at the end of the book. And indeed, the tables of the Kirkpatrick/Kirk line partially solved the mystery: Eaton lists Georgianna in Jabez's family as "adopted," and also states that she married Alcander Jepson of Lewiston on 22 Aug 1874.³

Hoping for parents' names, I looked for that marriage record, which has her listed as "Miss Geogianna [sic] Oliver." Unfortunately, the record – one of those labeled "Copied from old records" – wasn't much help. It gave only the names of the bride and groom, their residences (both Lewiston), the date and place of marriage, and the officiating clergyman. Everything else is blank, including the parents' names on the reverse side.⁴

Well, in the mid 1800s in rural Maine, "adoption" would have been an informal affair, and it's almost certain that the birth parents would be near neighbors and/or relatives of the adoptive parents. So I went looking for Olivers in Warren. Three households before Jabez Kirk in 1850, I found Palmer Oliver, with five children aged 6 to 17 – and no wife.⁵

1850 U.S. census, Warren, Knox Co., Maine, Palmer Oliver household

That looked promising, so it was back to Eaton's Genealogical Tables, where I found Palmer Oliver, who married Elizabeth Montgomery (his second wife) in 1842, and whose last child was Georgianna, born July 12, 1849, married and residing in Lewiston. Finally, in 1877 Palmer Oliver was residing in Warren "in house he built on road to Andrews's Pt."⁶ It came as no surprise to find that Jabez Kirk was also "r. W. on road to Andrews's Pt."⁷

That still left the question of exactly how the Kirks had come to adopt Georgianna – were they actually related to the Olivers, or just close neighbors? The Montgomery name rang a bell with me; Jabez's and Abigail's graves are right next to those of William H. Montgomery and his wife Jane E. Were William and Elizabeth related? And how were William and Jane related to Jabez and Abigail?

All the threads came together when I traced the Montgomery family in Warren.

• Remember 21-year-old Elisa J. Kirk in the 1850 census? Jabez's daughter's full name was Eliza Jane Kirkpatrick, known variously as Eliza J. or Jane E., and two years after that census, she married William H. Montgomery.⁸ So the graves next to Jabez and Abigail are their daughter and son-in-law.
• William Montgomery was the son of Philip Montgomery and Olive Faulkner.⁹ As far as I can tell, Olive was Abigail (Faulkner) Kirk's sister.¹⁰ That makes William and his wife Eliza Jane first cousins in the Faulkner line.
• Philip Montgomery was the son of John Montgomery and Julia Howard. And... he had a sister named Elizabeth... who married Palmer Oliver... and died July 17, 1849.¹¹ Five days after giving birth to Georgianna. That makes William and Georgianna first cousins in the Montgomery line.

If you're having trouble visualizing this (I know I did!), here's a chart that hopefully clears things up. (Chester Frank Kirk, in the lower right corner, is my paternal grandfather.)

The interwoven Montgomery/Oliver/Faulkner/Kirkpatrick lines. Click on the image for a larger view.

So Georgianna is not my "real" great grand aunt. She's actually the first cousin of the first cousin (and husband) of my "real" great grand aunt Eliza Jane (Kirkpatrick) Montgomery. That, and her informal adoption by Eliza Jane's parents, I think are enough to make her at least an "honorary" great grand aunt.¹²

Although Georgianna apparently never used the Kirk surname, she must have had a close bond with her adoptive family. She had three children with Alcander Jepson, and named each of them, in part, for her adoptive parents:

1. William Jabes Jepson (1875-1949)¹³
2. Abbie S. Jepson (1877-1877)
3. John Kirk Jepson (1878-1957)¹⁴

Georgianna ended up outliving two husbands. Alcander died in 1891, and four years later she married a widower, Talbot G. Lawrence,¹⁵ who died in 1924. Georgianna died in 1927. Alcander Jepson and Talbot Lawrence are buried together with "their wife, Georgie," in the Herrick Cemetery in Lewiston, Maine.¹⁶

Monument for Alcander Jepson, Talbot Lawrence, and "their wife, Georgie," Herrick Cemetery, Lewiston, Maine

(Note: This post is in response to Amy Johnson Crow's "52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks" challenge at No Story Too Small.)

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SOURCES

1. 1850 U.S. census, Lincoln County, Maine, Warren, p. 3 (penned upper left), p. 167 (stamped), dwelling 17, family 18, Jabes Kirk household; digital images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org : accessed 10 Dec 2010).
2. 1860 U.S. census, Knox County, Maine, Warren, p. 317 (penned), dwelling 304, family 319, Jabes Kirk household; digital images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org : accessed 6 Mar 2012).
3. Cyrus Eaton, Annals of the Town of Warren, in Knox County, Maine, Second Edition (Hallowell [Maine]: Masters & Livermore, 1877), pp. 567-8; digital images, Google Books (http://books.google.com/books : accessed 11 Dec 2010).
4. “Maine, Marriage Records, 1705-1922,” database and digital images, Ancestry.com (http://search.ancestry.com/search : accessed 30 Apr 2012), Alcander B. Jepson-Miss Geogianna [sic] Oliver marriage, 1874.
5. 1850 U.S. census, Lincoln County, Maine, Warren, pp. 2-3 (penned upper left), dwelling 14, family 15, Palmer Oliver household; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 26 May 2014).
6. Eaton, p. 595.
7. Ibid., p. 567.
8. Ibid., pp. 567, 589.
9. Ibid., p. 589.
10. Both Abigail and Olive were from Maitland, Nova Scotia, so I find it hard to believe that the two Faulkner women are unrelated.
11. Eaton, p. 588.
12. For a discussion of honorary aunts, see #14 in my 52 Ancestors series, The Not-So-Honorary Aunts.
13. "United States, World War One Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org : accessed 26 May 2014), William "Jabres" Jepson, serial no. 4270, order no. A-4346, South Paris, Oxford County, Maine. The card is typed, and I feel certain that the "r" in his middle name is a typo.
14. "United States, World War One Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org : accessed 26 May 2014), John Kirk Jepson, serial no. [illegible], order no. A-1220, Lewiston, Androscoggin County, Maine.
15. “Maine, Marriage Records, 1705-1922,” database and digital images, Ancestry.com (http://search.ancestry.com/search : accessed 26 May 2014), Talbot G. Lawrence-Georgia N. Jepson marriage, 1895.
16. Find A Grave, database and images (http://www.findagrave.com : accessed 26 May 2014), memorial #112607218 for Georgie Oliver Lawrence, memorial and photo by "HaleyCookFromMaine" (20 Jun 2013); citing Herrick Cemetery (Lewiston, Androscoggin Co., Maine).

Ahnentafel of Chester F. Kirk

Over the next few weeks, I'm going to post a brief five-generation Ahnentafel and pedigree chart for each of my four grandparents, starting this week with my paternal grandfather, Chester Frank Kirk.

Pedigree of Chester Frank Kirk (click on the image for a larger view)

1 Chester Frank KIRK. He was born in Warren, ME, on 10 Sep 1857. Died on 13 Jul 1939 in Lewiston, ME; he was 81. He was buried in Mt. Auburn Cemetery, Auburn, ME, on 15 Jul 1939. Occupation: Clockworks machinist and veterinary surgeon; mechanic.

He married Mary Milliken HODSDON ca 1901-03 in prob Andover, ME.

2 Silas KIRK. He was born in Warren, ME, on 9 May 1827. Died on 9 May 1909 in Lewiston, ME; he was 82. He was buried in Mt. Auburn Cemetery, Auburn, ME. Occupation: Carpenter and mechanic. Cause of death: Old age and nephritis.

He married Sarah C. SUKEFORTH on 12 Jun 1856 in Warren, ME.

3 Sarah C. SUKEFORTH. She was born in Washington, ME, on 31 Mar 1838. Died on 26 May 1905 in Freeport, ME; she was 67. She was buried in Mt. Auburn Cemetery, Auburn, ME. Cause of death: Softening of brain.

4 Jabez Bradbury KIRK(PATRICK). He was born in Warren, ME, on 10 May 1800. Died on 26 Feb 1884 in Warren, ME; he was 83. He was buried in Newcomb Cemetery, Warren, ME. Occupation: Carpenter and shipwright.

He married Abigail FAULKNER on 13 Nov 1825 in prob Warren, ME.

5 Abigail FAULKNER. She was born in Maitland, Douglas Twp, Hants Co, NS, on 14 Oct 1808. Died on 4 Oct 1891 in Warren, ME; she was 82. She was buried in Newcomb Cemetery, Warren, ME.

6 Simon SUKEFORTH. He was born in Washington, ME, ca 1813. Died on 13 Aug 1874 in prob Washington, ME; he was 61. He was buried in Maple Grove Cemetery, Washington, ME. Occupation: farmer.

He married Jane MILLER abt 1832-33.

7 Jane MILLER. She was born in Friendship, ME, on 30 Jul 1810. Died on 29 Apr 1879 in Washington, ME; she was 68. She was buried in Maple Grove Cemetery, Washington, ME.

8 John KIRKPATRICK 2d. He was born in Warren, ME, in 1773. Died on 13 Dec 1825 in N. Warren, ME; he was 52. He was buried in Town Cemetery, Warren, ME. Occupation: Farmer.

He married Nancy STARRETT on 26 Aug 1798 in Warren, ME.

9 Nancy STARRETT. She was born in Warren, ME, in 1777. Died on 22 Apr 1834 in Warren, ME; she was 57. She was buried in Town Cemetery, Warren, ME.

10 Edward FAULKNER.

He married Margaret MORRISON.

11 Margaret MORRISON.

12 Robert SUCKFORTH. He was born in Union, ME, ca 1780-88. He was born in Appleton, ME. Died in 1860-1870 in Washington, ME; he was 80. Occupation: farmer.

He married Mary/Polly MILLER ca Jul 1807 in prob Hope, ME.

13 Mary/Polly MILLER. She was born in Friendship or Waldoboro, ME, in 1775. She was born ? 1790. Died ca 1850-60 in Washington, ME; she was 75.

14 William MILLER. Died aft 1837 in Friendship, ME.

He married [--?--] [--?--].

15 [--?--] [--?--].

16 John KIRKPATRICK. He was born in Scotland ca 1734. Died in Jun 1785 in Warren, ME; he was 51. He was buried in Old Settlers' Cemetery, Warren, ME. Occupation: cooper.

He married Ann BRADBURY on 3 Nov 1758 in Falmouth (now Portland), ME.

17 Ann BRADBURY. She was born in Falmouth (now Portland), ME, on 3 Jan 1736. Died on 19 Jan 1817 in Warren, ME; she was 81.

18 Col. Thomas STARRETT. He was born in Warren, ME, in 1738. Died on 22 or 31 Jan 1822 in Warren, ME; he was 84.

He married Rebecca LEWIS on 3 Jun 1762 in Dedham, MA.

19 Rebecca LEWIS. She was born in Dedham, MA, on 8 May 1743. Died on 26 Jun 1813; she was 70.

20 Robert FAULKNER. He was born in prob County Tyrone, Ireland, ca 1733.

He married Hannah FAULKNER.

21 Hannah FAULKNER. She was born in County Monagan, Ireland.

24 Andreas SUCHFORT. He was born in Hannover, Sachsen, Germany, ? 11 Jan 1755. Died aft 1840 in Washington, ME; he was 84. Died ? 1840 in Waldoboro, ME; he was 84. Died ca 1830 in Washington, ME; he was 74. He was buried in Metcalf Cemetery, Appleton, ME.

He married Catherine NEWBERT ca 1778.

25 Catherine NEWBERT. She was born in Broad Bay, MA, ca 1764. She was born ca 1760-62. She was born in Waldoboro, ME, ? 1766. Died aft 1840 in prob Hope, ME; she was 76.

26 [--?--] MILLER.

He married Margaret [--?--].

27 Margaret [--?--]. She was born in Germany ca 1753. Died aft 1850; she was 97.

28 William MILLER. He was born ca 1750.

Index

[--?--]
    [--?--]    15
    Margaret (ca1753 - >1850)    27
BRADBURY
    Ann (1736 - 1817)    17
FAULKNER
    Abigail (1808 - 1891)    5
    Edward    10
    Hannah    21
    Robert (ca1733 - )    20
HODSDON
    Mary Milliken (1882 - 1965)    spouse of 1
KIRK
    Chester Frank (1857 - 1939)    1
    Silas (1827 - 1909)    2
KIRK(PATRICK)
    Jabez Bradbury (1800 - 1884)    4
    John (ca1734 - 1785)    16
    John 2d (1773 - 1825)    8
LEWIS
    Rebecca (1743 - 1813)    19
MILLER
    [--?--]    26
    Jane (1810 - 1879)    7
    Mary/Polly (1775 - ca1850)    13
    William ( - >1837)    14
    William (ca1750 - )    28
MORRISON
    Margaret    11
NEWBERT
    Catherine (ca1764 - >1840)    25
STARRETT
    Nancy (1777 - 1834)    9
    Col. Thomas (1738 - 1822)    18
SUCHFORT
    Andreas (?1755 - >1840)    24
SUCKFORTH
    Robert (ca1780 - 1860)    12
SUKEFORTH
    Sarah C. (1838 - 1905)    3
    Simon (ca1813 - 1874)    6