Baldwin Family

• 1st Installment
• 2nd Installment
• 3rd Installment

BALDWIN FAMILY - 1st Installment

When you get back far enough in Monroe Co. genealogy, you will find that families in certain townships married and intermarried. In the townships that eventually went to Noble Co. you keep finding connections between the Archers, Enochs, Grandons, and in Center Township, there are the Hollisters, Okeys, Baldwins, etc. In the Beallsville area there are the Truaxes, Pittmans, Mellots, etc.

The Baldwins have shown up in my search for Okeys and Yohos, and now Mr. and Mrs. Gordon W. Paul, of 3515 NE Haines Ave., Albuquerque, New Mexico have written to me about Baldwins. I spoke to them on the phone when I was in New Mexico this spring, but did not have the pleasure of meeting them. Mrs. Paul's great-grandfather was Eli Baldwin, born in 1817 in Ohio and married first to an Ann, and second to Mary Jane Collins who was born in 1848 in VA. Ann Baldwin was a Henthorn, another early family. This information is known as she and Eli were listed as heirs of an Adam Henthorne who died prior to 1848.

The Pauls wanted to know more about the Baldwin family, and again I with reference to the 35,000 names in the indices to my books, I was able to give them some background information but not the answer to their specific question as to who the father of Eli Baldwin may have been. Research has also shown that this name is sometimes spelled as Balding, or Bolding.

The 1820 Monroe Co. census (which was transcribed in my book, Monroe County Ohio Records, Vol. III) shows four families of this name, and each one had a male under 10 years of age, so conceivably any one could be the father of Eli, born in 1817. In Ohio township we find (1) Isaac Balding who was between 26/45, with 6 sons and 1 daughter. In Sunsbury Township we find (2) Henry Bolding, also between 26/45, who had five sons and four daughters, (3) is John Bolding, also in Sunsbury Township also between 26/45, and he had 4 sons and 1 daughter (4) Sylvanus Bolding lived in Seneca Township also between 26/45 years of age, and he had 1 son and 2 daughters. In addition to those four, I have found other records on (5) Robert Baldwin, and (6) James Baldwin. Perhaps Robert never lived in the county, but if James did not, at least he is mentioned in the early court records, which show that he was deceased at least by 1823.

This is what my research shows up on these various men. (1) Isaac Baldwin was married to a lady named Mary. In 1826 they sold some land to James Walton and deed information shows they lived near Negro Run on Sunfish Creek. That creek empties into the Ohio River at Clarington. Some of the counties earliest settlers lived along these creeks and runs. Isaac must have died without a will prior to April 22, 1848, as the SPIRIT of that date shows that George W. Durkee had been appointed as his administrator. According to a Durkee family Bible, George W. Durkee was married to Matilda Baldwin. July 4, 1841, so she was probably the female in the Isaac Baldwin family in the 1820 census under 10 years of age. Widows were always allowed the privilege of administering their husband's estates, if they wished, so perhaps by checking in the Journals of the Court of Common Pleas, one could find a notation giving her name, and the fact that she had declined the honor. If Isaac had had minor children at his death, it may still be possible to find guardian bonds set for them, however, if Eli belonged to his family, by 1848, he would have been 31 years old, and no longer a minor, so that eliminates one possibility for finding out who he was. Salem Township is on the Ohio River, above Ohio Township, and in 1820 an Ezekiel Hoskinson lived there, also between 26/45. According to the marriage records of Monongalia Co., VA he married a Mary Baldwin there in 1803. This might be a clue too as to Baldwin's earlier whereabouts.

Family #2 is Henry Balding. He was married first to Belinda Hollister, and 2nd to Margaret Okey, widow of James Okey. Since James Okey is listed in the 1820 census, it is obvious that his wife could not then be married to Hanry (sic) Balding, so the lady listed with Henry in 1820 must probably be his 1st wife, Belinda. Mrs. Shirley Neiswonger of Beallsville has informed me that there is a single tombstone on the Herman Paine Farm on Route 26 between Jerusalem and Ozark for "Belinda Balding, consort of Henry Balding, died 1812, aged 38 yrs." That is the way Mr. Paine copied it, however, based on other records available, I believe the date must more likely be 1821. Even with a date of 1821, this must be one of the oldest tombstones in the county. The court records show that at the March term, 1821 Margaret Okey and Cornelius Okey were granted letters of administration on the estate of her husband, James Okey. In 1823 it was found that the court had erroneously entered her name as Catharine m, , so a correction was made at the June term of court 1823, to Margaret Okey, widow of James. Then at the May term of court, 1825, another entry was made in this administration, however then it concerned "Cornelius Okey and Margaret Balding, being Margaret Okey at the time of granting letters of administration, and Henry Balding, her husband." This then is the only proof one is likely to ever find in Monroe Co. to show that Henry Balding must have married Margaret Okey, widow of James, sometime between the June term of court, 1823, and May term of court, 1825. If Mr. Herman Paine reads this column, I would appreciate it very much if he would endeavor to use chalk on that old tombstone in an effort to bring out a date more in keeping with this information.

(To be continued.)

BALDWIN (BALDING, BOLDING) FAMILY - 2nd Installment

Henry Baldwin or Balding/Bolding could have been the same man listed as a lawyer in Pittsburgh in 1812. The Directory of Pittsburgh 1812-13, published by Patterson and Hopkins, and republished in the genealogical publication, PENNSYLVANIA TRAVELER, Vol. 1, #2, Feb 1965, shows that a Henry Baldwin was a lawyer on Front Street between Market and Ferry. When I first started on these columns in 1967, I mentioned that some of the heirs of Thomas Butler had engaged Henry Baldwin of Pittsburgh, PA in 1812 as their attorney to dispose of his land. With that power of attorney, on Mar. 29, 1815, Henry Baldwin sold 209 acres of land, in S. 14, T.3, R.3 for $2,300 to Robert Baldwin, and in 1819 Robert Baldwin and Ruth, his wife, of Ohio Co. VA sold the same land to James Walton. That is the same man to who Isaac Balding also sold land - see last week's column. This description should be in Salem Township below Clarington, on the Ohio River. Robert Baldwin shows up on an 1816 tax list for Monroe Co. owning 209 acres in R.3, T.3, S.14. Hardesty's History shows that he was an early settler near the mouth of Sunfish creek, however in 1819 when he sold the land, the deed shows he was of Ohio Co., VA, so he probably never lived here, he made a tidy profit on the land as he purchased 209 acres in 1815 for $2,300 and sold it in 1819 for $3.030, and didn't even have to pay capital gains tax on the quick profit of 600 dollars that he made.

Henry Balding was still in Sunsbury Township in the 1830 census, but was deceased between 1831-1834 per this item from The SPIRIT, issue of April 26, 1844. Court Notice: Suit of Joseph Morris vs. Cornelius Okey, surviving admr. of James Okey, deceased et al. This suits states that Margaret Okey Balding was deceased and the "et al" included "children and heirs of Henry Balding, deceased, whose names are unknown to the complainant." Joseph Morris contended in his suit, originally filed on the 3rd day of Oct. 1834, that on the 17th of April 1831, he purchased from said Henry Balding, now deceased, the 1/3 part of lot 30 which had formerly belonged to the estate of James Okey and made firm payment, but that said Balding had never made a deed of conveyance and the suit was being brought to obtain a deed to the property. In order to find all the particulars on this suit, (and perhaps the date of Henry Baldwin's exact death, and maybe even the names of some of his children if the court was able to determine that during the litigation) one would just have to spend hours and hours in the court house to try to run down all the records and entries on the suit. I picked up the first notice from the paper in 1844, so you can see how long these dragged on sometimes. Since it was a case in the Court of Common Pleas, rather than the Probate Court, it still might be possible to find something on it. But this points up why I cannot answer questions about finding death records for persons off the top of my head at 10 minutes to midnight, or thousands of miles from my home. The answer to the question as to when Henry Baldwin died lies buried in a case indexed as Morris vs. Okey et al. One needs Cassandra, the Oracle, not Catharine the Researcher, to come up with an immediate answer. The only way to find the answers is to spend hours and hours copying records, indexing them into books, then trying to find as many references as possible to a name. Even then perhaps all that research does not hold the answer, but it can point you in the right direction, and then YOU can spend hours and hours trying to tie up all the loose ends.

The third Baldwin was John. He was married to Achsah Hollister, born 1786 and died in 1857, a sister of Belinda who married Henry Balding. Perhaps Henry and John were also brothers. In 1835 John and Achsah sold land and their deed was witnessed by a Julia Balding, but I don't know anything more about her. I also have never found anything else on (4) Slyvanua Bolding who lived in Seneca Township in 1820.

No. 5 was Robert Baldwin whose wife was Ruth. He was mentioned earlier, as being the land speculator. I imagine more records on him could be found in Ohio Co. at Wheeling, WV.

(to be continued)

BALDWIN - ODEN

No genealogy is ever completed, and I keep getting letters adding bits and pieces to previous information in these columns. In Aug. 1972, I wrote about the Baldwin family and now Mrs. Umanuel Baldwin of Rt. #2, Beallsville, Ohio 43716 has answered the question about the father of Eli Baldwin, born in 1817, mar. (1) Ann Henthorn and (2) Mary Jane Collins.

According to her, the father of that particular Eli was Isaac Baldwin (see the Aug. 24, 1972 column) and she received this information from her husband's uncle. He also told her that Eli had twin sons, Sanford and Lanford, and Lanford was killed in the Civil War. By his second wife, Mary, Eli has three children, George, Matt and Clara. However, Mrs. Baldwin did not know if Matt was male or female, and I suppose the full name could have been either Matthew or Martha. After Eli died, his second wife married a Hanthorne (sic, Henthorne, REH), presumably some relative of the first wife.

This particular family lived on Nigger Run. It seems to have been called that ever since the beginning of Monroe Co. and is a stream which runs into Sunfish Creek. I have often wondered how it got that name, and that might be an interesting story too, if someone has the answer.

Mrs. Baldwin said her father-in-law (Sanford, son of Eli, son of Sanford, son of Eli, son of Isaac) has some old deeds dated in 1848 and 1856, and one of the is signed by a Franklin Baldwin in 1856. She does not know Franklin's identity and would like that information. He does not show up in the 1850 census but it could be that his full name was Benjamin Franklin Baldwin.

In the August 31, 1972 article I wrote about the Monroe Co. Henry Baldwin, and stated that he could perhaps have been the same man who was a lawyer in Pittsburgh in 1812. I also received information to disprove that assumption. It was printed in the March, 1970 issue of the DAR Magazine and shows that Henry Baldwin, lawyer, was born in New Haven, Conn. and graduated from Yale in 1797, later settling in Pittsburgh. He served Allegheny Co., PA as Congressman from 1817-1822 and then owned extensive acreage in Delaware, Franklin Co., OH. In 1808, in co-operation with Moses Byxbe, he acted as co-founder of Delaware, Ohio. He had a half-brother, Abraham Baldwin, who had title to 400 acres of land in Delaware Co. for service as a chaplain in the army during the Revolution.

[Note: The remainder of the article deals with the KIMPEL and ODEN family and is not reproduced here. REH]