Borthwick 27

Article Number Twenty-Seven - The Baldwin Family Cont'd

Written by Joshua G. Borthwick and originally published
on March 31, 1883, in the Catskill "Examiner". Copy provided by the Durham Center Museum and retyped by Annette Campbell


We will now take up the history of the other family of BaldwinsNoah Baldwin, Sr., was the brother of Abiel Baldwin, Sr., and was born in Durham, Conn., Sept. 10, 1738.  He was married July 30, 1760, to Mehitable Parmalee, daughter of Hezekiah Parmalee, and lived on the same farm with his brother Abiel.  There are some very striking resemblances between the two families of these two brothers.  Although Abiel was eight years older than Noah, they seem to have been very firm friends, living and dying on the same farm. Their wives both had the same name, Mehitable, and they both had large families: Abiel ten, and Noah eleven children. Nine of Abiel's children and eight of Noah's reached mature years, and eight of each family made this town their permanent home. This comprised five sons and three daughters of Abiel's  family, and three sons, and five daughters of Noah's. They were all well educated for those days, and were all professors of religion, and became useful members of society. Noah's three eldest children, Phoebe, Hannah and Phoebe, died in infancy.

 
Sally, the fourth child, was born Nov. 13, 1765.  When she was sixteen years of age her mother died, and the care of a family of seven children younger than herself came upon her. She was often heard to speak of the trials of those early days, saying that had it not been for the assistance of her brothers, she should have utterly failed in the undertaking. She married John Hull, of Durham, Conn., and removed to Durham, NY, and settled on the farm recently owned by the late Nelson VanWagoner, located about one mile South of the village of Durham.  Her husband was one of the nine original members of the Presbyterian church which was organized in Nov. 1792.  She united with the same church Jan, 13, 1793. He died Oct. 29, 1832, aged 76. She died July 28, 1838, aged 73.  They had five children: Sally, Elizur, Hannah, Luman, and Nancy.  Sally married Oswell Root and Harry AveryElizur married Anna StrongHannah became the wife of Deacon Lemuel Hitchcock, of Big Hollow.  Luman married Elizabeth Peck, and Nancy married John C. Peck.  We have already written at length concerning this family (Sketch 23).
 
Noah Baldwin, Jr., was born in Durham, Conn., Feb 20, 1768. His first wife was Phebe Hull, and this family consisted of six children, viz:  Charles, Henry, Dan, Lemuel, Ada,  and Phebe.  His last wife was the widow of Deacon Beach, of Lexington, NY. Her maiden name was Betsey Lockwood.  I believe she was an aunt of Hon. Horatio S. Lockwood, of Hunter.  They had four children, viz: Nancy, Hexekiah, Elizabeth, and Hannah.  Charles married Rachel Cornwall,  daughter of Dan Cornwall, of Cornwallsville, and settled in Volney, NY.  Henry married Ruth Kellogg, of Volney, and lived and died there. Dan married Mary Robinson, of Durham, Conn., and settled in Volney; but after the death of his wife, he removed to Greenville, married there and died recently.  Lemuel was twice married: first to Abigail Hedges, and had children--Lewis, (died young); William, Joseph, Horace, Amanda and Ezra.  His second wife was Samantha Strong; her children were Mary and Lewis.  Ada married a Mr. Lamphier, and Phebe married a Mr. Stearns, and both lived in Volney, NY. Nancy married a Mr. Barker, and went to Michigan. Hezekiah and Elizabeth  are living unmarried on the farm.  Hannah married Luman Ramsdell, of Norton Hill.  I have been thus minute in relation to this family because of the curious fact that all of the Baldwins named who came from Durham, Conn., to this town, the descendants of Deacon Noah, viz: Hezekiah, Elizabeth, William and family, and Lewis and family, are all living here. And just here I will mention another curious fact. Durham, Conn., as we have seen, was the home of the Baldwins; now, according to Prof. Fowler in his "History" of the town, there is not one left. The last representative of the name was Eunice, who died Feb 16, 1860, at 75 years of age.  She was the youngest daughter of Reuben Baldwin, who was the youngest brother of Abiel, Sr., and Noah, Sr.  Her tombstone in Durham Conn, says: "She was the last surviving descendant of Reuben Baldwin, and the last surviving resident in Durham of that ancient and numerous family of Baldwins, whose remains lie interred beneath the adjoining monuments erected to their memory."
When Deacon Noah and Phebe, his wife, (who was a sister to John Hull) first came to this town, they took up a small farm near the one previously taken up by John Hull, but in a few years, they bought the farm now owned by Hezekiah, his son, and built the present house, where he died May 29, 1843. Phebe, his first wife, died Jan 20, 1809. Betsey, his last wife, died May 1, 1867, aged 67.
 
James Baldwin was born in Durham, Conn., Nov 3, 1769; was married Jan 8, 1794, to Mabel Jones, daughter of Setty Jones, a Revolutionary soldier, of Saybrook, who gave his life for his country. Her mother, whose maiden name was Mabel Lord, daughter of Christopher Lord, afterward married Reuben Baldwin, James Baldwin's uncle.  Soon after their marriage they settled upon the farm now owned by Ralph Campbell.  He first built a log house, but in time he and his brother Noah, who lived only about 30 rods East of him, built each of them a substantial hip-roofed house, both of which are still standing and are in good repair. The internal arrangements of these houses were exactly alike, every door and window occupying the same relative place, and both were not only built the same year, but the frames were raised the same day. The only difference in them was that one stood on the North side of the road and the other on the South side.  He was a very quiet, peaceable, pleasant man, and was much respected. He eventually sold his farm to his nephew, Lemuel Baldwin, and he and his wife spent the evening of their days with their eldest son, Dennis, in the village. He died Dec 2, 1843. Mabel, his wife, died Jan 29, 1857, aged 81.  Their children were, Dennis, James Jones, Ezra, Aaron and Rhoda.  Dennis was born Nov 1, 1794, and married Temperance Chapman, daughter of Deacon Benjamin Chapman, of whom we hope to speak hereafter.  They had four children: Mabel J., Benjamin C., Mary C.,  and Ezra J.  Benjamin C., to whom I am indebted for many of these facts, lives in St. Paul, Minn., and Mary C., lives in Honesdale, PA.  In 1857, Dennis sold his farm, and removed first to Honesdale and then to St. Paul where he died in 1875, aged 80.  Temperance, his wife, still survives at 87 years of age.  James Jones, was born June 26, 1797, and married Candace Beach, daughter of Deacon  and Betsey Beach of Lexington.  He was by profession an engineer and surveyor and lived in Buffalo, NY, and latterly in Cleveland, Ohio.  Ezra was born Dec 2, 1799, and died April 9, 1822.  Aaron died in infancy. Rhoda, born June 10, 1803, married Curtis Hayes, now of Catskill. She died in New York City leaving no children.
 
Hezekiah Baldwin was the third son and seventh child of Noah Baldwin, Sr., and was born in Durham, Conn., Aug 18, 1771. He married Rachel Stow or Rachel Parmalee (authorities differ) and in 1816, he came to this town and bought a farm then owned by Deacon Jonathan Baldwin, where he lived the remainder of his days. He died Dec 20, 1831. They had no children. Rachel, his widow, afterward became the second wife of Capt. Johiel Cooley. She died Feb 8, 1849.
 
Adah Baldwin April 13, 1773, came to Durham NY, married Christopher Post, lived where Orville Moss now does, and died in 1854, without children.
 
Hannah Baldwin was born in Durham, Conn., in Nov 1774, married Stephen Tibbals, of the same town, and removed to this town and settled on the West part of the VanWagoner farm.  Their first house was on the ridge, about 40 rods West of John Hull's house (now the VanWagoner house).  At that time there was a road running from these houses direct to Bidwell's Falls, where there was a grist mill and a saw mill. These two women, Sally Hull and Hannah Tibbals were sisters, and, it is said, spent many a day in each other's homes making music on their flax wheels---the only musical instrument they had.  In time the log house was replaced by a frame house, in which Mr. Loren Hay now resides. Their children were Sally, married Leverett Bryant and removed to Volney, NY.  Almon died in childhood.  Samuel married Eunice Parks,  of Windham; had two children, Mary and Caroline, who was the first wife of Nelson VanWagoner. Samuel Tibbals, was a beautiful singer, but he died in the prime of his life. Rhoda and Betsey married and removed from this town and have since died. Stephen Tibbals, Jr., who was the oldest of the family; married Fanny Wright, and lived with his uncle, Hezekiah Baldwin; built the fine brick house in which Curtis Osborn now lives, and lives near Poughkeepsie, NY. They have five children: Hezekiah, Harriet, Jonathan, Amelia  and Edwin.

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