This comes from Joan Best:
Catherine's father is Evan Thomas...Prudence is married to Caleb Thomas. According to info on familysearch, Caleb is the great-grandson of Edward Thomas and Prudence is his granddaughter... I have Evan Thomas' will, which just gives the first names of his children... Caleb Thomas was the administrator of both Jacob Bodine, Jr's estate (his brother-in-law) and Evan Thomas' estate (his father-in-law). So when I sent for papers in which Catherine Bodine gives power of attorney to Caleb Thomas I thought it was about her husband's estate. One was, the other one was for her father's estate, and this time it is in her married name as heir of Evan Thomas.
Note from Dave Bodine: We think this Evan Thomas is the son-in-law of Catherine (Bodine) Hendershot, but that is just an assumption at this point.
Evan's children were: Mary Hendershot, Inon, Evan, Elizabeth, Catharine, Prudence, Rebecca, John. To each he gave 1/8.
In the 1830 census for Groveland, Livingston Co., NY we find John Thomas and Evan Thomas, probably Catharine's brothers, and William Hendershot, Sr. and Jr., perhaps one of them a spouse of May Thomas Hendershot.
In 1838 Catherine and her children gave power of attorney to Caleb Thomas so he could sell some more of Jacob, Jrs. land. The documents say where they lived in 1838. Catharine lived in Groveland and Desire in Genesco, both in Livingston Co. NY. Russell's share had been conveyed to Catherine. Philip Traxler and wife Prudence were living in Richland Co., Ohio and they had purchased William Bodine's portion. Mary Bodine was living in Washtenaw, Michigan [The same county as Russell] She signed in Teetmish, Linawe Co. Michigan.
I think that pretty much sews up and question concerning whether the NY Bodines are one and the same as Jacob, Jr's kids.
Evan Thomas will was submitted for probate in 1820. He doesn't mention a wife so she had probably predeceased him. So with both parents and husband dead, it made sense that Catherine and her teenagers would go to NY with her siblings. New land was being developed along a newly opened canal there. Catherine did not go to live with Prudence right away, apparently. I wonder if Desire and Mary ever married. And it looks like Russel/l had more children than Elizabeth. Several boys and at least one other girl, according to the census. Keep an eye out for them. Maybe his estate papers would give some clues, or an obit.
Joan
Joan also said this about the Anna Thomas mentioned in the Straw Church baptismal records:
As for Anna, daughter of Evan, it was my guess that she had died [young]. I don't think Evan would have left her out [of his will] if she were still living. Evan and Catherine (Hendershot) Thomas moved to Northumberland in the 1780's; so I imagine that the other children were born there.
Joan later sent this:
Dave, I think that we should try to get one link-up of the straw church
records of birth dates with an independent birthdate for at least one of the
Thomas children before we can go beyond the assumption that this is the same
family, although that first son's name is unique. And it is spelled
differently each time I see it. The census records make it confusing also.
All of the census data below are for Derry Twp., Northumberland/Columbia
1790
2m under 16, 1 m over 16, 4 females
1800
1m, 1f: under 10
1m, 1f : 10-16
2f : 16-26
1m, 1f : 45+
Also, same township Aaron, (probably oldest son)
2 m: 26-45
3 f: under 10
1 f: over 45
1810
1m under 10
1m 10-16
2f : 16-26
1f: 25-45
1f: 45+
In 1820 the only Thomas listed are Caleb, William and Evan. This Evan is
younger and is either Evan, Jr. or Caleb's brother, Evan. There is a bio
about Evan Thomas, son of Thomas Thomas (Caleb's father) in the Beers book.
Here are the known birthdates for the Thomas children:
Mary 08 Mar 1768 LDS with husband's family
Inon 1770 straw church
John 1771 straw church
Anna 1773 straw church
Elizabeth 1776 straw church
Catherine 1780 straw church
Prudence 16 Aug 1788, 1784 2 diff. LDS records
Evan
Rebecca
The straw church records started with 1770, so Mary's absence from the list
is accounted for. Anna probably died. From the tone of the Thomas will, I
don't think he would not mention her. Besides, under the law of wills, a
child not mentioned is presumed to have been forgotten and therefore
received an equal share, so a person wanting to disinherit a child must say
so. While looking at a real estate transfer within the Woolever family I
found a John Thomas married to the sister of the Daniel Woolever who lived
next to Jacob Bodine. He was listed as living in Columbia County. Date
1813. Daniel Woolever, Jacob Bodine and Evan Thomas were all about the same
age so this John could be the son born in 1771, married to Daniel's younger
sister, or a different John Thomas. There are many Thomas families in
Northumberland/Columbia Co., although just ours and then Caleb & siblings in
Derry.
I don't trust the Berks Co. reference regarding the origin of Evan, Sr.,
since he obviously lived in the Greenwich NJ area. There are a surprising
number of Evan Thomases in the early census records.
He and Catherine apparently were members of the straw church, as they both
sponsored the children, after the grandparents sponsored the first one. [I
am assuming from other notes that church membership was required before one
could sponsor a child for baptism.] What is interesting is that Evan and
Catherine did not take communion, as her parents, Catherine and John
Hendershot did. It is also strange to see the Welsh name among all those
German names. This was a Lutheran church. Did Even go where his wife went,
but was really Church of England or Quaker or such?
The first son's name:
Anon in William Bodine's inventory
Aaron in 1810 census
Inon in his father's will
Einan in the straw church record
Not my family so I will not research further, but would like to get two
independent birthdates for one of the children. Catherine is possible. Her
age is given as 65 in the 1850 census, when she would have been 70 if she is
the straw church Catherine. Be nice to check her tombstone or death record,
although someone's memory of grandma's birthdate is not always accurate. If
the straw church and the tombstone match I would consider that conclusive
they are one and the same, but if they don't match, I would not consider it
conclusive that they are not.
Joan B