His great grandfather David Warner
In the name of God, amen, I, David Warner, of St. Alban's in the county of Franklin and state of Vermont in New England, yeoman, being in a low state of health, but of sound and disposing mind and memory, do make and ordain this my only and last will and testimony, and calling to mind my ?? and mortality and knowing that it is appointed for all men once to die, do, first of all, give and recommend my soul into the hands of God who gave it and my body to the dust out of which it was taken to be buried in a decent Christian burial according to the directions of my executor with a sure and certain hope of the resurrection unto eternal life, and as to the world by estate which it has pleased God to bless me with in this life, I give and dispose of the same in the following manner and form. I give to my beloved wife Rebeckah Warner all the use and improvements of the North half of the lot number 84 and the privilege of wood and fencing timber as long as she remains my widow, and I give to my beloved daughter, Rebeckah Winch, ten shillings to be paid by administrators when called for. I give to my beloved daughter Roxanna Spencer one half of my fifty acres of land which I now live on, and the other half of said lot of land I give to my beloved daughter, Lucy Post, to be equally divided after my beloved wife has done with it, and all my outdoors movables I give to my beloved daughters, Rosanna Marsh, Roxanna Spencer and Lucy Post to be equally divided, excepting one cow, one hog??, two sheep, and one yearling grey horse Colt I give to my wife. My indoor furniture is to be divided equally between my three youngest daughters, Rosanna, Roxanna, and Lucy, after the decease of my beloved wife, except my wearing apparel, I give to Lemuel Marsh, and I do appoint Lemuel Marsh and John Spencer my administrators to settle my estate in witness whereof I hereunto set my hand and seal this third day of May AD 1800 in presence of Jethro Bonney, Eleazer Jewett, and Reuben Tuller Jr.
Signed David Warner.[i]
David was deceased by July of that same year. St. Albans has no record of his death; vitals were not kept very well at the time. Rebeckah's later death was not recorded either.[ii]
The oldest daughter, Rebeckah Warner, married Abijah Winch in Clarendon in 1789. There was some type of legal trouble between Abijah and David where Abijah sued his father-in-law. There was property sold to take care of the problem, and it was probably in this transaction that Rebeckah Winch received her inheritance.[iii] She also would not have received a portion of the rest of the estate as she was living in Massachusetts at the time, and her father's family did not know when she would return. That would be why David said she was to be given ten shillings "when called for".
The daughter, Rosanna, also did not receive land because she and Lemuel had already received their portion. Lemuel probably lived with his in-laws or lived on their property when he first got to Saint Albans. In 1794, he purchased land of David Warner for 35 pounds, which was probably a very low amount for the land, and in this transaction, Rosanna received her inheritance.[iv]
There is no question as to the parents for Lemuel Marsh and Rosanna Warner as both family farms were very close in Clarendon as well as the farm of Rueben Tuller, who was named above. Evidently, they all picked up from Clarendon and moved to St. Albans, which many people from Clarendon did. Rueben Tuller may have also been a relative as David's mother married (2nd) a John Fuller (or Tuller) and died in Pittsfield, which is not far north from Clarendon. Many of the Tuller family came from Simsbury, Conn., where David's mother lived for a time.[v]
The estate of David Warner owed money which Lemuel Marsh paid by purchasing some of the land David had previously owned.[vi] Lemuel also paid taxes on the property and gave a life lease to Rebeckah Warner.[vii]
I do not know where the book, Descendants of Andrew Warner got David's marriage to Rebeckah Smith.[viii] I have not been able to find it as part of the Barbour Collection of Connecticut, in the Middletown records, in the Simsbury, Mass. records, or in the collected records of Berkshire, Mass. Note that a Sylvanus Smith witnessed one of David’s deeds in Clarendon.[ix] David’s known children are:
Dawn Hance found among the Clarendon records where David Warner served as hayward, which was a job to round up pigs, in March 1779. This was a northeast tradition which almost always meant that the man so named had been married within the past year, meaning March 1778 to March 1779. The births of his children make that unlikely. But he did serve with another man who had been widowed and had married again.
In the 1790 census of Clarendon, David Warner had 1 male in his household over sixteen, which would have been him, and four females, one of which was his wife Rebeckah, and the other three would have been his unmarried three youngest at the time.[xi] The 1790 census was actually done in Vermont in 1791 after it became a state, so Rosanna was not married to Lemuel then.
In November of 1777, David Warner bought two properties in Clarendon, one of John Bowman and the other of Abraham Salisbury. He sold land in Sep 1789; this deed was witnessed by Daniel Marsh, and in Feb 1792, he sold his land which was bounded on the west by Tullar's property, and the Amos Marsh property was only one or two farms north of these. 1792 is also when David went to St. Albans. One of David's deeds was witnessed by his daughter, Rosanna Warner.[xii]
The book "The Descendants of Andrew Warner", said this about David, "born in 1748; d. in Vermont, aged about 45." [They did not know that David moved on to St. Albans and actually lived about 7 years beyond the age of 45]. "Aug. 6, 1763, he chose Ezekial Kellog of Wethersfield as his guardian. He moved to Vermont and was a farmer there. He was a Sergeant in the Green Mountain Boys. 'Vermont Revolutionary Soldiers' gives the following service under David Warner: Oct. 17-21, 1777, in Capt. Abraham Salisbury's Company, on Otter Creek, raised in Clarendon; sergeant in same company, 12 days service, 1781; in Capt. Ichabod Robinson's Militia Co., Clarendon, 1781, 2 days; in list of Capt. Salisbury's Scouts, Oct. 17-21, 1777, at Pittsford. He married Rebecca Smith and had a large family. The boys all died in infancy, and the four girls married and went west."[xiii]
The Captain Robinson named above was probably Amos Robinson who also lived in Clarendon and was a guardian to Lemuel Marsh after Amos Marshes' death.[xiv]
David's deeds in Middletown name his parents, John Warner and Rachel Burlison, more than once when he was selling property that originally belonged to his father. One deed shows his siblings, Jonathan, Rachel, Temperance, Edward and Elizabeth Prouty. Several of the deeds also say that he was of Sandisfield.[xv]
David's name and signature were found on early petitions from Clarendon that were obtained by writing to the Vermont Secretary of State, Manuscript Division.[xvi]
Signed David Warner.[i]
David was deceased by July of that same year. St. Albans has no record of his death; vitals were not kept very well at the time. Rebeckah's later death was not recorded either.[ii]
The oldest daughter, Rebeckah Warner, married Abijah Winch in Clarendon in 1789. There was some type of legal trouble between Abijah and David where Abijah sued his father-in-law. There was property sold to take care of the problem, and it was probably in this transaction that Rebeckah Winch received her inheritance.[iii] She also would not have received a portion of the rest of the estate as she was living in Massachusetts at the time, and her father's family did not know when she would return. That would be why David said she was to be given ten shillings "when called for".
The daughter, Rosanna, also did not receive land because she and Lemuel had already received their portion. Lemuel probably lived with his in-laws or lived on their property when he first got to Saint Albans. In 1794, he purchased land of David Warner for 35 pounds, which was probably a very low amount for the land, and in this transaction, Rosanna received her inheritance.[iv]
There is no question as to the parents for Lemuel Marsh and Rosanna Warner as both family farms were very close in Clarendon as well as the farm of Rueben Tuller, who was named above. Evidently, they all picked up from Clarendon and moved to St. Albans, which many people from Clarendon did. Rueben Tuller may have also been a relative as David's mother married (2nd) a John Fuller (or Tuller) and died in Pittsfield, which is not far north from Clarendon. Many of the Tuller family came from Simsbury, Conn., where David's mother lived for a time.[v]
The estate of David Warner owed money which Lemuel Marsh paid by purchasing some of the land David had previously owned.[vi] Lemuel also paid taxes on the property and gave a life lease to Rebeckah Warner.[vii]
I do not know where the book, Descendants of Andrew Warner got David's marriage to Rebeckah Smith.[viii] I have not been able to find it as part of the Barbour Collection of Connecticut, in the Middletown records, in the Simsbury, Mass. records, or in the collected records of Berkshire, Mass. Note that a Sylvanus Smith witnessed one of David’s deeds in Clarendon.[ix] David’s known children are:
- Rebeckah Warner born 18 April 1772 in Sindersfield, Berkshire, Mass. She married Abijah Winch 4 June 1789 in Clarendon, Rutland, Vermont. Their known children are named in another part of this website.
- Rosanna Warner born 11 February 1776 in Clarendon, Rutland, Vermont. She married Lemuel Marsh in 1792 and had the children named in another part of this website.
- Roxanna Warner born 15 August 1778 in Clarendon, Rutland, Vermont. She married John Spencer. No known children. John and Roxanna were living on the piece of property given to them from David's will in 1810, and the woman with them was probably Roxanna's mother, Rebeckah. John and Roxanna returned to Clarendon by 1813, where they were both from.
- Lucy Warner born 21 November 1780 in Clarendon, Rutland, Vermont. She married Moses Post c. 1794. Known children were Lucy, Orange, and Stillman W. Post, but there were others. This family lived, at least for a time, in Canada. Moses supposedly died in Hillsdale County, Michigan.[x]
Dawn Hance found among the Clarendon records where David Warner served as hayward, which was a job to round up pigs, in March 1779. This was a northeast tradition which almost always meant that the man so named had been married within the past year, meaning March 1778 to March 1779. The births of his children make that unlikely. But he did serve with another man who had been widowed and had married again.
In the 1790 census of Clarendon, David Warner had 1 male in his household over sixteen, which would have been him, and four females, one of which was his wife Rebeckah, and the other three would have been his unmarried three youngest at the time.[xi] The 1790 census was actually done in Vermont in 1791 after it became a state, so Rosanna was not married to Lemuel then.
In November of 1777, David Warner bought two properties in Clarendon, one of John Bowman and the other of Abraham Salisbury. He sold land in Sep 1789; this deed was witnessed by Daniel Marsh, and in Feb 1792, he sold his land which was bounded on the west by Tullar's property, and the Amos Marsh property was only one or two farms north of these. 1792 is also when David went to St. Albans. One of David's deeds was witnessed by his daughter, Rosanna Warner.[xii]
The book "The Descendants of Andrew Warner", said this about David, "born in 1748; d. in Vermont, aged about 45." [They did not know that David moved on to St. Albans and actually lived about 7 years beyond the age of 45]. "Aug. 6, 1763, he chose Ezekial Kellog of Wethersfield as his guardian. He moved to Vermont and was a farmer there. He was a Sergeant in the Green Mountain Boys. 'Vermont Revolutionary Soldiers' gives the following service under David Warner: Oct. 17-21, 1777, in Capt. Abraham Salisbury's Company, on Otter Creek, raised in Clarendon; sergeant in same company, 12 days service, 1781; in Capt. Ichabod Robinson's Militia Co., Clarendon, 1781, 2 days; in list of Capt. Salisbury's Scouts, Oct. 17-21, 1777, at Pittsford. He married Rebecca Smith and had a large family. The boys all died in infancy, and the four girls married and went west."[xiii]
The Captain Robinson named above was probably Amos Robinson who also lived in Clarendon and was a guardian to Lemuel Marsh after Amos Marshes' death.[xiv]
David's deeds in Middletown name his parents, John Warner and Rachel Burlison, more than once when he was selling property that originally belonged to his father. One deed shows his siblings, Jonathan, Rachel, Temperance, Edward and Elizabeth Prouty. Several of the deeds also say that he was of Sandisfield.[xv]
David's name and signature were found on early petitions from Clarendon that were obtained by writing to the Vermont Secretary of State, Manuscript Division.[xvi]
David Warner farm – photos special courtesy of Dawn D. Hance
David's signature [xvii]
David's signature [xvii]
David Warner farm showing Fort Hill
David Warner farm on the west side of Middle Road looking toward Otter Creek.
Photos special courtesy of Dawn D. Hance
Photos special courtesy of Dawn D. Hance
[i] Franklin County, Vermont, probate records, FHL #028,197 pp.83-84.
[ii] Correspondence with St. Albans record office, P.O. Box 867, St. Albans, Vermont, 05478- 0867.
[iii] Dawn D. Hance; all deeds on file with the author.
[iv] St. Albans, Franklin, Vermont deed records, FHL #028, 860, pg. 100, 17 Jul 1794. Note the county is given as
Chittenden in the deed.
[v] Dawn D. Hance.
[vi] St. Albans Old Village Records, vol. 2 pg. 169, 29 December 1801, correspondence with Richard J. Peters, assistant
clerk, St. Albans.
[vii] St. Albans Old Village Records, vol. 4 pg. 59, 24 June 1807, correspondence with Richard J. Peters, assistant clerk,
St. Albans.
[viii] Warner, Lucien C; Nichols, Josephine Genung, Descendants of Andrew Warner, (New Haven, Conn. Tuttle,
Morehouse & Taylor Co. 1919)
[ix] Sylvanus Smith (spelled Selvanus), witness to deed of John Bowman to David Warner, Clarendon, Charlotte (sic),
Vermont, although the bottom of the deed says Clarendon, Rutland, Vermont. Land records v. 1 1778-1783 Land
records v. 2 1755-1828, FHL #028088 Items 2-3 pg. 328.
[x] "Massachusetts, Births and Christenings, 1639-1915," index, <i>FamilySearch</i>
(https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/VQ6D-62R : accessed 28 Feb 2014), Rebecca Warner, 18 Apr 1772.
"Vermont, Births and Christenings, 1765-1908," index, <i>FamilySearch</i>
(https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/F825-D6R : accessed 28 Feb 2014), Rosanna Warner, 11 Feb 1776.
"Vermont, Births and Christenings, 1765-1908," index, <i>FamilySearch</i>
(https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/F825-DNL : accessed 28 Feb 2014), Roxey Warner, 15 Aug 1778.
"Vermont, Births and Christenings, 1765-1908," index, <i>FamilySearch</i>
(https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/F825-DN5 : accessed 28 Feb 2014), Lucey Warner, 21 Nov 1780.
[xi] 1790 U.S. census, Clarendon, Rutland, Vermont, David Warner.
[xii] Dawn D. Hance; all deeds on file with the author.
[xiii] Warner, Lucien C; Nichols, Josephine Genung, Descendants of Andrew Warner, (New Haven, Conn. Tuttle,
Morehouse & Taylor Co. 1919)
[xiv] Dawn D. Hance.
[xv] David’s Middletown, Hartford, Connecticut deeds on file with the author.
[xvi] Vermont Secretary of State, manuscript division, 1078 US Route 2 – Middlesex, Montpelier, Vermont, 05633-
7701, (802-828-3700) or look up Vermont Office of the Secretary of State, on-line.
[xvii] Ibid.
[ii] Correspondence with St. Albans record office, P.O. Box 867, St. Albans, Vermont, 05478- 0867.
[iii] Dawn D. Hance; all deeds on file with the author.
[iv] St. Albans, Franklin, Vermont deed records, FHL #028, 860, pg. 100, 17 Jul 1794. Note the county is given as
Chittenden in the deed.
[v] Dawn D. Hance.
[vi] St. Albans Old Village Records, vol. 2 pg. 169, 29 December 1801, correspondence with Richard J. Peters, assistant
clerk, St. Albans.
[vii] St. Albans Old Village Records, vol. 4 pg. 59, 24 June 1807, correspondence with Richard J. Peters, assistant clerk,
St. Albans.
[viii] Warner, Lucien C; Nichols, Josephine Genung, Descendants of Andrew Warner, (New Haven, Conn. Tuttle,
Morehouse & Taylor Co. 1919)
[ix] Sylvanus Smith (spelled Selvanus), witness to deed of John Bowman to David Warner, Clarendon, Charlotte (sic),
Vermont, although the bottom of the deed says Clarendon, Rutland, Vermont. Land records v. 1 1778-1783 Land
records v. 2 1755-1828, FHL #028088 Items 2-3 pg. 328.
[x] "Massachusetts, Births and Christenings, 1639-1915," index, <i>FamilySearch</i>
(https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/VQ6D-62R : accessed 28 Feb 2014), Rebecca Warner, 18 Apr 1772.
"Vermont, Births and Christenings, 1765-1908," index, <i>FamilySearch</i>
(https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/F825-D6R : accessed 28 Feb 2014), Rosanna Warner, 11 Feb 1776.
"Vermont, Births and Christenings, 1765-1908," index, <i>FamilySearch</i>
(https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/F825-DNL : accessed 28 Feb 2014), Roxey Warner, 15 Aug 1778.
"Vermont, Births and Christenings, 1765-1908," index, <i>FamilySearch</i>
(https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/F825-DN5 : accessed 28 Feb 2014), Lucey Warner, 21 Nov 1780.
[xi] 1790 U.S. census, Clarendon, Rutland, Vermont, David Warner.
[xii] Dawn D. Hance; all deeds on file with the author.
[xiii] Warner, Lucien C; Nichols, Josephine Genung, Descendants of Andrew Warner, (New Haven, Conn. Tuttle,
Morehouse & Taylor Co. 1919)
[xiv] Dawn D. Hance.
[xv] David’s Middletown, Hartford, Connecticut deeds on file with the author.
[xvi] Vermont Secretary of State, manuscript division, 1078 US Route 2 – Middlesex, Montpelier, Vermont, 05633-
7701, (802-828-3700) or look up Vermont Office of the Secretary of State, on-line.
[xvii] Ibid.