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THE FAY FAMILY HOMEPAGE GENEALOGIES |
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| John Fay (1769 - 1840) And his Descendants |
| see also Vermont Directory |
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| Anthony Finley, 1831, New York |
| image � copyright by Cartography Associates and used with permission |
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| The map selection above shows the towns which were important to this branch of the family. Travelling from Charlton, Massachusetts (right, center) south to Pomfret, Connecticut (right bottom), then continuing back to Massachusetts, John probably headed straight from Pomfret to Otis in Berkshire County. Other places of importance were Blandford, Springfield, Westfield, Chester and Becket, all easily visible on this map. |
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| John may have been born in Charlton, or he may have been born in Connecticut. The births of only three of the children of Stephen and Susan were reported in Charlton, but many births were not recorded. Stephen is certainly in Charlton in 1790 and 1800 (census), but there is some evidence that he spent some time in Connecticut: in the census of 1880, both Aaron and William Pierce report that their father (John) was born in CT. |
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| John definitely set up his household in Pomfret, Connecticut. He moved to Massachusetts later, to Loudon in Berkshire County (Loudon changed its name to Otis on June 13, 1810). The first birth recorded to John and Mary in Otis is that of Truman on July 14, 1799; this means that John's move was accomplished before then. The births of four children in Otis are recorded to John and Mary: Truman, Ann, Brewster and William Pierce. |
| 1790 |
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John Fay Pomfret, Windham, CT --one adult male [John], two females [Mary; Polly] |
| 1800 |
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John Fay Loudon, Berkshire, MA - 2 - 1 - 0 - 1 - 0 | 1 - 1 - 0 - 1 - 0 males: Truman 1799, Aaron 1796, John 1791; John females: Abigail 1793, Polly 1789; Mary |
| 1810 |
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John Fay Otis, Berkshire, MA 2 - 2 - 1 - 1 - 0 | 1 - 0 - 2 - 1 - 0 family is now complete |
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| The vital records of Otis give us a great deal of information about John, Mary, and their children and grandchildren. The fact that this family remained in Massachusetts for so many years means that it is easier to trace them than many other branches. In establishing the line below, I have used the vital records at NEHGS, WWI registrations, the evidence of the census records, social security death lists, and other miscellaneous information. |
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| There is one question not yet answered. Who was John's wife? Orlin has her name as Mary, and the name of their oldest daughter as Polly. It must be remembered that Polly was an accepted, common and frequent nickname for Mary. Often it seems that a girl before marriage was called Polly, and after marriage was called Mary; or that a mother would be called by her birth name Mary when she had a daughter named after her, who could then be "Polly" in her turn. However, sometimes the child was simply recorded under "Polly" and kept that name throughout her life; such was the case with the daughter of John and Mary: she appears in the vital records as Polly, and in the census records all the way along as Polly. With this in mind, I looked at the marriage records for Pomfret, Connecticut, the first place we specifically see John. In Frederic W. Bailey, Early Connecticut Marriages as Found on Ancient Church Records prior to 1800, there is a marriage between John Fay and Polly Pierce, Dec. 11, 1788. We know that John's first child was born in May, 1789 (Orlin). True, that is only five months after the wedding, but that is not unusual. Mary, John's wife, was born April 23, 1767 (Orlin, strengthened by the death records). In 1788 Mary would have been 21, a common time to marry. I think that this John Fay is the one who married Polly Pierce. This is not proved by evidence yet, but it seems very likely to me. |
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