Jacob Jr.: Listed in 1790, but not in 1800 or 1810.
Born about 1774-1790.
.....Jacob Bodine, Jr. does seem to be one of
the older males. He had his first child in 1803. If this family followed Dutch
naming customs, and if Jacob Sr.'s father was also a Jacob (which we think he
might have been), then Jacob Jr. would have probably been the oldest son.
Dutch families usually named their first son after the paternal
grandfather.
William: Listed in 1790, but not in 1800 or 1810.
Born about 1774-1790.
.....This is probably the William Bodine who
died in Derry Township, Northumberland County about 1800/1801. I mentioned him
at the beginning of this discussion. William's inventory does not include any
furniture, real estate, linens, bedding, dishes, etc. - just his tools, horse
and horse stuff, four beehives, and clothes. This suggests that he was a young
and probably unmarried man, but of age, i. e., at least 21. (Otherwise, there
would be no administration of his estate. The belongings of minors are
presumed to be the belongings of their parents.) If William were at least 21
when he died about 1800, then he would have been born before about 1779. No
wife is mentioned, so he probably had not yet married. He was likely a
relatively young man when he died, not a whole lot older than
21.
Abraham: Listed in 1790 & 1800 Censuses, but not in 1810.
Born 1774-1790 & 1774-1784. Born about 1774-1784.
.....We know that
Abraham Bodine was born about 1781. This would fit the census info. His first
child may have been born about 1806. Jacob's first was born in 1803. William
was probably 21 years old by 1801. Therefore, Abraham is probably younger than
Jacob Jr. and William.
Nicholas: Listed in 1790, 1800, & 1810.
Born about 1774-1790, 1790-1800, & 1784-1794. Born about
1790.
.....We know that Nicholas was born about 1790. This fits the
census info.
James: Not listed in 1790. Listed in 1800 & 1810
Censues. Born 1790-1800 & 1794-1800. Born 1794-1800.
.....James
Bodine administered his father's estate. He had to be born between about
1793/1794 and 1800. He was the youngest son. None of his older brothers were
around to take up the responsibility of administering Jacob Sr.'s will.
William and Jacob were dead. And Abraham and Nicholas were both probably in
Canada. Based on the fact that he probably had sisters born in 1794 and 1795,
I would venture to guess that he was born about 1793. If that is true, James
could have been as old as 25 at the time he was named to administer his
father's estate in 1817.
Joan Best sent the following:
Abraham Bodine.
His descendants say he was born in 1781. He is not in any of the PA census as
an independent household. He married Zellah Taylor, prob. 1805, daughter
Letitia b. 1806, daughter Matilda b. 1807. The descendants say that Zellah was
born in 1787. There are two Taylor households in Derry twp. in 1800 with
females in the 10-16 age group, William and James who were probably brothers
as they were both over 45 in 1800. The only Taylors in Derry in 1810 are
George and Mrs. Taylor and Abraham and Zellah and two daughters do not appear
in either household, so I don't know where they were in 1810. Abt. 1811 they
moved to Elgin Co., Ontario.
Some of the most important evidence for figuring
out the members of this family comes from four letters discovered in the attic
of Judy Laylon's aunt. Judy's mother rescued them as she was helping clean up
the attic. They originally belonged to Martha (Bodine) Beers who lived in
Ohio. They were preserved in the family and passed down through the
years.
These letters discuss members of a Bodine family who lived in Madison
Township, Columbia County, Pennsylvania and in Elgin County, Ontario, Canada.
(Martha lives in Ohio, though.) Madison Township used to be Derry Township,
Northumberland County, Pennsylvania. Jerseytown was the closest town.
There
are four letters: two from Martha's sister, Rachel Girton; one from Martha's
mother, Nancy; and one which probably came from Martha's brother, Nicholas.
Joan transcribed these letters and I have made a few changes based on the
copies she sent me.
Letter number 1: Madison Township September
27th 1818
To Mr John Beers and Martha Beers
Dear Brother an Sister I have
Taken up My penn once more To inform you that we are all well at pesent Thanks
be to God for his Mercy to us hoping thes few lines May find you in the Same
all our frends and neabours are in Good helth and James Watson is here and
says our Brothers and Sisters is well except Abrahams wife she lies helpless
and speachless in Canada the harvest was reasonable good we had great Crops of
grass in this Cuntry Buckweat and Corn is Middleing good Apples is plenty But
we have no peaches this year.
Dear Brother an Sister I fear that you are not
alive or else you have forgotten us as we hav not Received a line from you
since 1816 But since it has pleased the Lord to Seperate us so far Apart that
we Cannot talk face to face we must Converse By pen and paper therefore write
to us every oppertu[nity] and we will do the same I add no More But remain
your efectinate brother an sister
Thos an Rachel Girton
Letter number
2: From October 2nd AD 1819
Dear Daughter I send you these few lines to
inform you that we are in a Reasanable State of health at this time hoping
these lines may find you enjoying the Same State of Health a Blessing wee
never Can Be to thankfull For. I received a letter from Cannada from Amy Best
and the are all well their the letter was wrote September the Sixth She wrote
that the ware a comming for me this winter and Either me or Margeret will go
with them I have not Mutch to right But if I Could Se you I Could talk a graet
dale with you But I do not expect to se you soon Leah is Maried and lives with
me this Summer and She Has got a fine young daughter and Calls hir Nancy ...
William Girton and Caty was here last night and they are well. I expect John
would like to here from Mathias Applemans family the are well I must
Conclude.
With love to you | October the 2d AD 1819
Nancy Bodine
Notes from
Joan Best:
Mathias Appleman's wife's maiden name is Beers (WorldConnect). She
is probably a relative of John Beers, Martha's husband. Amy Best is Nancy's
daughter, wife of James Best. They lived in Elgin Co., Ontario, Canada, as did
several other of Nancy's children. Caty is Catherine Bodine, married to
William Girton. She is believed to be one of the older of Nancy's children.
The census figures (1790-1820) indicated that there was a daughter that did
not marry in the Jacob and Nancy Bodine household. She is still with her
mother in the 1820 Census. We believe this was Margaret. She is mentioned in
another letter. Leah Bodine married Abia Phillips and had a daughter Nancy,
and had died before 1830. The Phillips household is found in the 1820 Columbia
County (PA) Census. It was this letter that made us realize that she was part
of this family, as references to her are in Lycoming County. I am not sure if
she is Nancy's daughter or a granddaughter.
Letter number 3:
October the 19th, 1823. Sent from Thomas and Rachel (Bodine) Girton to Martha
(Bodine) Beers, New Landcaster, Ohio
Address on envelope is:
To
Mr.
John
Beers
New Landcaster
State of Ohio
Madison Township Columbia County October
the 19, 1823
Dear Brother and Sister I take this oppertunity to Inform you
that we are all well at presant Thanks be to God for his Mercys to us hopeing
these lines May find you all in the same wen they come to hand William Girton
and family is well Margaret Bodine lives with us us [sic] and is Reasonable
well, we are sorry to here of your ill heth, By Mr. Obediah Welever, for he
says you was very Sick But we are in hopes God will have Mecy on you and raise
you up to the honour and glory of his great name (sp?) Our country here is
very sickly & grate Many has died of the fever, we had a very fine season, Ry,
Corn and Buckneat, and all kinds of grain is plenty, I have sold the Real
Estate of father Bodine By order of the Cort and the last payment is not due
till April first 1826 We have just Received letters from our Brothers and
sisters in Cannaday Dated September the 22: 1823 and they are Reasonable well
except James Best he was very sick Zelah is giting Better and in hopes of
recouvering again
We add No more at presant but Remain your efectionate
Brother and Sister untill Death
Thomas Girton
Rachel Girton
To
Mr.
John an
Martha
Beers
Notes from Joan Best:
James Best is the husband of Amy Bodine,
sister to Martha and Rachel. They lived in Elgin County, Ontario,
Canada.
Zelah is the wife of Abraham Bodine. Her maiden name is given in LDS
records as Taylor. They lived in Elgin County, Ontario, Canada. Abraham was
Martha and Rachel's brother. William Girton is believed to be Thomas' uncle.
His wife is Catherine Bodine, sister to Martha and Rachel. They lived in
Columbia County, PA also. Margaret Bodine is [probably] the spinster sister of
Rachel and Martha. The mother, Nancy, with whom she had lived, has apparently
died by this time. Father Bodine is believed to be Jacob Bodine, based on
census records of this family. He apparently died between 1810 and 1820.
Obadiah Welliver lived in Ohio. He was the brother of Abigail Welliver, who
married ________ Bodine. This reference is found in a Welliver
bio.
Letter number 4: The "2" in 1826 is partially obscured (only
the top is visible), but 1826 is the only date which makes sense in the
context of the letter. Joan Best pointed out this information in regard to the
date.
July 28th 1826
Brother and Sisters I embrace this opportunity to
inform you that we are all well at present and thanks be to the all Mity for
his kind faviour and hoping these few lines May find you in the Same State of
health I am in the State of Pennsylvania at this time and it is 25 Days since
I left Canada and then tha were all in a Reasonable State of health but
Abrahams wife. and Best is troubeld withe the asma And Abrahams wife is in a
meloncolly State and has ben this 10 years past She cant Neither see nor talk
But at the same time has children Since Shes bin this way shes had 3 or 4 if I
am correct. She has in all ten children James Watson nine Betsey five Amy 6 or
seven I will Now return on my Story. I am at this time at Thomas Girtons as
before Stated from Canada Williams and Thomas famalys are well and send, there
Respects to you all.
I ohere side [I guess this means "other side." This is
the end of the first sheet. Joan thinks the two sheets of paper she has were
back to back in the original.]
Second sheet:
I am Married and have ben four
years last winter and we have two Children living boys and one dead and we
call the oldest James, Alexandra youngest an Franklin [or this might say "the
oldest James Alexandra youngest Franklin"]. we suspect that you wold enquire
who I married as she is a stranger of you all hir name is or was Charlott
Sovereene I am living in Canada yet and expect to remain my days in that place
as I have got seteld there it is agrate while since I have had any Sight of
you Martha Desiar I seen when I was here before but I wood be verry happy to
see you both once more but if we will we may talk to each other by pen and
paper if the distance was not grat I wood come and see you but you must for
give My indulgance As I have come a long jurney and My family will be
Expecting me home I expect to leve this on the first of August for Canada and
there to spend the Remainder of my days As I am not as
Notes from Joan
Best:
The letter appears to end in mid-sentence. I don't know if there was an
additional page. Ruth Dengler, who also received a copy of the letter stated,
"There were two more pages to this letter but Judy said too faint to scan."
Ruth has transcribed this letter also, with some variations and a different
interpretation of the meaning of parts of it.]
I believe the names and
numbers on the first page of the letter refer to Nicholas's siblings who lived
in Canada, not the names and ages of Abraham's children. The numbers do
conform to the known number of children in each family. [Note from Dave: I
think this is clear as well. The numbers do refer to the number of children
each of Nicholas's named siblings had at the time the letter was
written.]
End of information about four letters.
Posted by Nancy Thompson on
June 25, 1999:
Abraham Bodine b.1780(?) Northumberland, PA. Married about
1805 to Zelah/Zellah Taylor. They moved to Southwold Twp London District
Ontario Canada about 1810. Son William was born there in 1820. Anyone working
on this line who could give me some leads? Thanks for any help you can
supply.
Nancy Thompson
Subject: Bodine
Date: Tue, 26 Dec 2000
From: "joan
best"
Date: September 17, 2000
Thomas Girton was married to Rachel Bodine born abt
1795. Catherine Bodine born about 1780 as married to William Girton. Are they
sisters, is Abraham their brother, who are the parents.
Larry Phalin phalintl
at aol.com
Here is a message that was posted at the Genealogy Forum's Bodine
message board by Joan Best:
Re: Abraham Bodine/Zellah Taylor PA
Posted by:
Joan Best
Date: November 29, 2000
I have been reviewing your various replies
on the Bodine Family Genealogy Forum, particularly your long history of the
Bodine family and migration and found it helpful in application to my family.
My g-g grandfather, Michael Best,was born abt. 1812 in Southwold, Elgin Co.,
Ontario. His father was James Best and mother Amy BODINE.
James's father was
Michael Best, mother, Anna unknown. James was christened, on August 9, 1789 in
the Dutch Reformed Church, Lebanon, Hunterdon, New Jersey. Since the Bodine's
seem to have all passed through this area, it makes sense that James and Amy
married in Hunterdon, New Jersey area before moving to Canada in C. 1812 where
they took up a 200 acre homestead. Abraham Bodine/ Zellah Taylor were
neighbors in the same township. Also nearby were Rachel BODINE, b. abt 1795,
married to Thomas Girton, and Catherine BODINE, b. abt. 1780, married to
William Girton.
The Fingal Cemetery, Southwold Township, Elgin County,
Ontario has the following: A large red pillar with urn on top. Each side has
Best family members. on the east side it says:
In memory of James Best died
October 6, 1846, aged 57 years also his wife Amy died November 10th 1855 aged
69 years...
Thank you again for your assistance.
Here is a little
information to think about, but it is probably not too important. There was a
query at the Berkeley County, West Virginia Ancestry.com message boards which
said this:
Do you have knowledge of Hezikiah Kitchen who at the age of 25 mar
Nanny (Nancy) Bodine, dau of Richard and Mary A. Lee Bodine, Jan 13, 1880 in
Berkeley Co, W.Va.? Parents of Hezikiah was BM & Mary. Could this be your
Behuel Middleton Kitchen? Do you know what happened to Nancy and
Hezikiah?
The answer to this query was this:
This is almost certainly the
same family. The best info I can give you is from the Berkeley County
Historical Society publication The Berkeley Journal., 1996 page 30 in an
article by Don Wood. I quote "Bethuel Middleton Kitchen, born 21 March 1812,
died 15 December 1895,...left as his heirs his widow Mary, son Joseph G.
Kitchen, son Gilbert Kitchen, daughter Melvena Grantham, daughter Catherine
Robinson, Fannie Freeze, who was the only child of his daughter Beth J.
Nelson, Hesekiah Kitchen, only child of B.M. Kitchen, son Hesekiah, deceased,
John B. Kitchen, Wesley E. Kitchen, Fannie May Groves and S. H. Kitchen, who
were children of Henry Kitchen, deceased."
This is about as clear as mud.
Bethuel Middleton Kitchen was a very prominent man in Berkeley county and I
would bet there is a fine obit in the county paper on his death. He served in
the WV legislature and a term in Congress.
This line is researhed back about
3 more generations. B. M. Kitchen's mother was Catherine Gulick and her line
is documented way back to New Amsterdam and Holland.
End of query
thread.
The messages above from the Berkeley County Message Board would kind
of match some information I have about a Richard Bardine in Berkeley County
who was associated with the Abraham Marlatt family. If that is true, then this
Abraham Bodine could be related (distantly) to the Bodines from Fountain
County, Indiana - who themselves are related to the Marlatts.
There is some good information on this family in at article called "Is This
Your Line?" by Eva Murrell Harmison on Abraham Bodine of Pennsylvania and
Ontario. It is in the Detroit Society For Genealogical Research Magazine, vol.
20-23, spring 1960. The author may have been Mrs. Charles E. Horman. That is
not clear.