We know from the wills and administration papers of Jacob Bodine, Sr. that he had at least thirteen children. Of these, nine were girls and four were boys. Here is the list as it appeared in the estate papers:
James
Lea
Margaret
Abraham
Nicholas
Mary since intermarried with James Watson
Elizabeth since intermarried with Daniel McIntire.
Amy since intermarried with James Best.
Desire (written "desire") since intermarried with Jacob Lilley
Martha since intermarried with John Bears.
Rachel since intermarried with Thomas Guider.
Catherine since intermarried with William Guider
Jacob deceased leaving five children
I would guess that the order given is not necessarily the birth order. Given the information we know about Jacob's daughters, I propose the following birth order for them:
A. Margaret*
B. Catherine
C. Mary
D.Elizabeth
E. Amy
F. Martha
G. Desire
H. Leah
I. Rachel
*I believe others might place Margaret's birth in between Mary and Elizabeth in about 1783 (in New Jersey).
Now let's look at the census data from Northumberland County, Pennsylvania for the years 1790, 1800, and 1810. I believe this information can help us confirm who was born when.
The 1790 Census of Northumberland County, Pennsylvania lists seven females in Jacob Bodine's household. One of these was his wife. The other six must have been his daughters. The males listed in this census are all under 16, but I'm not sure if that means all the daughters were, too. I'll make that assumption, but it is not necessarily true. This gives us the following:
Margaret: Born 1774-1790.
Catherine: Born 1774-1790.
Mary: Born 1774-1790.
Elizabeth: Born 1774-1790.
Amy: Born 1774-1790.
Martha: Born 1774-1790.
The 1800 Census of Derry Township, Northumberland County, PA for Jacob Burdin lists nine females: 1 +45, 2 under 10, 3 10-16, and 3 16-26. The female +45 would be Jacob's wife. I will assume that one of the daughters has since married and moved out of the household. Therefore, of the the six females listed here who were 10-26, five of these six would refer to the previous six females listed in the 1790 Census. One of the girls aged 10-16 would be new. And the two females under 10 would be new. Therefore we can assume the following birth years for Jacob's nine daughters:
Margaret: Born 1774-1790 (1790 Census). Born 1774-1784 (1800 Census).
Catherine: Born 1774-1790. Not listed in 1800.
Mary: Born 1774-1790 (1790 Census). Born 1774-1784 (1800 Census).
Elizabeth: Born 1774-1790 (1790 Census). Born 1774-1784 (1800 Census).
Amy: Born 1774-1790 (1790 Census). Born 1784-1790 (1800 Census).
Martha: Born 1774-1790 (1790 Census). Born 1784-1790 (1800 Census).
Desire: Not listed in 1790. Born 1784-1790 (1800 Census).
Leah: Not listed in 1790. Born 1790-1800 (1800 Census).
Rachel: Not listed in 1790. Born 1790-1800 (1800 Census).
These would be all the daughters of Jacob and Nancy Bodine. Of course, one or more of his daughters may have died, but we don't know that and it would only complicate matters. For the sake of making this exercise practical, we will assume that none of them died.
We now have the 1810 Census info for Jacob Bodine to compare to this (Derry Township again). There are only six females listed this time: 1 female +45, 2 females 10-16, 2 females 16-26 and 1 female 26-45. This means no new females were born after 1800. The female over 45 would be Jacob's wife. The female 26-45 had to be one of the females who was 16-26 in 1800. Three more of those older female daughters from 1800 are therefore missing. They must have married off. We have therefore figured out something more concerning the approximate birth dates for the nine daughters of Jacob Bodine. The approximate birth years are given below for all nine daughters and the reasoning is in parentheses.
Margaret: Born 1774-1790 (1790 Census). Born 1774-1784 (1800 Census). Born 1765-1784 (1810 Census)
Catherine: Born 1774-1790. Not listed in 1800 or in 1810
Mary: Born 1774-1790 (1790 Census). Born 1774-1784 (1800 Census). Not listed in 1810.
Elizabeth: Born 1774-1790 (1790 Census). Born 1774-1784 (1800 Census). Born 1784-1794 (1810 Census).
Amy: Born 1774-1790 (1790 Census). Born 1784-1790 (1800 Census). Not listed in 1810.
Martha: Born 1774-1790 (1790 Census). Born 1784-1790 (1800 Census). Not listed in 1810.
Desire: Not listed in 1790. Born 1784-1790 (1800 Census). Born 1784-1794 (1810 Census).
Leah: Not listed in 1790. Born 1790-1800 (1800 Census). Born 1794-1800 (1810 Census).
Rachel: Not listed in 1790. Born 1790-1800 (1800 Census). Born 1794-1800 (1810 Census).
With this in mind, we can begin to plug in the known birth dates for some of Jacob and Nancy's daughters.
Margaret: Born 1774-1790 (1790 Census). Born 1784-1790 (1800 Census). Born 1765-1784 (1810 Census).
..........I believe this is Margaret. She does not seem to have married. From the census data, we see that she was born between 1774 and 1784. She may be the oldest daughter, but that is not necessarily true. Catherine or Mary could have been older (females B & C). From the known and estimated birth years of her siblings, I would guess that Margaret was born about 1774, but that is only an educated guess. I believe she may have been the oldest child. I think others might place Margaret's birth in between Mary and Elizabeth in about 1783 (in New Jersey).
Catherine: Born 1774-1790. Not listed in 1800 or in 1810 (with her father).
..........Catherine was born between 1774 and 1790. Further Census data (for her husband, William Girton) shows this: In 1800, she is between 16-26 (b. 1774-1784). In 1820, she is between 26-45 (b. 1775-1794). In 1830, she was between 40-50 (b. 1780-1790). In 1840 she was between 50-60 (b. 1780-1790). All this data shows that she had to be born between about 1779/1780 and 1784/1785. It looks like she was married in about 1800. If she was around 20 when she got married, then she was probably born about 1780. Since Abraham, her brother, was born about 1781 (and William may have been born about 1778/1779), I propose an estimated birth year for Catherine of about 1779/1780. It is possible that Catherine was the oldest daughter based on Dutch naming customs. However, I don't yet see that those kind of customs were systematically followed in this family. It is something to keep in mind, though. The custom would depend on Jacob Sr.'s mother being named Catherine. This is possible since we think that the most likely candidates for Jacob Sr.'s parents are Jacob Bodine and Catherine Bogart. If this Catherine were the oldest daughter, then I would want to give her an earlier birth date than 1779/1780.
Mary: Born 1774-1790 (1790 Census). Born 1774-1784 (1800 Census). Not listed in 1810 (with her father).
..........By the process of elimination, this must be Mary, wife of James Watson. James is listed in the 1810 Census of Derry Twp., Northumberland Co., PA. He and a female (must be this Mary) are between 26 and 45 years old (b. 1765-1784). Based on this census data, Mary was born between about 1774 and 1784. In the 1810 Census, they have two boys under 10. If we say her oldest boy was born about 1804 (estimating he was about six years old at the time of the 1810 Census) and that Mary was around 20 when he was born, then we could guess that Mary was born before 1784. However, Elizabeth, her sister, was born in 1784. Since Mary was probably older than Elizabeth - and since Mary's brother, Abraham, was born about 1781 - I propose a birth year of 1782/1783 for Mary. Mary was in Canada by 1820.
Elizabeth: Born 1774-1790 (1790 Census). Born 1784-1790 (1800 Census). Born 1784-1794 (1810 Census).
..........This would be Elizabeth. The census data shows she was born between about 1784 and 1790. The information I have says she was born about Nov. 26, 1784. She married in April of 1815; so she was still at home at the time of the 1810 Census. Elizabeth was in Canada by 1820.
Amy: Born 1774-1790 (1790 Census). Born 1784-1790 (1800 Census). Not listed in 1810 (with her father).
..........This would be Amy. The census data shows she was born between about 1784 and 1790. The info I have on her says she was born on October 15, 1786 and had married by September 29, 1809. She would not have been in the 1810 Census. Amy was in Canada by 1820.
Martha: Born 1774-1790 (1790 Census). Born 1784-1790 (1800 Census). Not listed in 1810 (with her father).
..........This is probably Martha. From this census data, she had to be born between about 1784 and 1790. We can add the 1830 Census of Pickaway County, Ohio to this. She was between 40 and 50 (b. 1780-1790). And in 1820 (census location not known to me, possibly Pickaway Co., OH), she was between 26 and 45 (b. 1775-1794). So, according to all this census data, Martha had to be born between about 1784 and 1790. Someone has said that Martha was born in 1789. However, no source was given for this. The 1789 was probably estimated from census data somewhere. We will go with a date of 1788/1789 for now.
Desire: Not listed in 1790. Born 1784-1790 (1800 Census). Born 1784-1794 (1810 Census).
..........By the process of elimination, this must be Desire, wife of Jacob Lilley. She would be one of the three younger daughters since we already know the names of the six oldest daughters. According to the census data above, she would have been born about 1790. Desire is also found in the 1820 and 1830 Censuses of Pickaway County, Ohio. In 1820, she was 26-45 (b. 1775-1794). And in 1830, she was between 30 and 40 (b. 1790-1800). This census data, along with that above, shows that she had to be born about 1790. I will venture to guess about 1791 since Nicholas was born about 1790. She has not been found yet in any censuses after 1830.
Leah: Not listed in 1790. Born 1790-1800 (1800 Census). Born 1794-1800 (1810 Census).
..........This is probably Leah. The census data above shows she was born between about 1794 and 1800. We also have the 1820 Census data to look at. In 1820, Leah was between 26-45 (b. 1775-1794). This shows that she had to be born about 1794. Leah seems to be the last daughter to have married (in 1819). This would normally mean that she was one of the youngest daughters. The birth date I have for her is January 13, 1798, but I don't know the source for this. I would guess that it is incorrect (unless it is really January 13, '1795'). Based on all this, I venture to guess that she was born 1794.
Rachel: Not listed in 1790. Born 1790-1800 (1800 Census). Born 1794-1800 (1810 Census).
..........This is probably Rachel. Since she married in 1813, she still would have been at home in 1810. Rachel died in 1831. From the census data above, she had to be born between about 1790 and 1794. We also have the data from the 1820 and 1830 censuses to look at. In 1820, she was between 26-45 (b. 1775-1794). And in 1830, she was between 30 and 40 (b. 1790-1800). Therefore the census data shows that she was born between about 1790 and 1794. Info I have says she was born about 1795. That is close enough to 1794 to be accurate. I would guess she was born 1795.
Catherine could be one of the three females born between 1774 and 1784. Catherine Bodine was married to William Girton. There is a William Girtin right after Jacob in the 1810 Census of Derry Township in Northumberland County, PA. There is a male, 16-26, male 45+, and a female 26-45 (b. about 1765-1784) in his household. In 1800 there is a William Girtin and female, both between 16-26 (b. about 1774-1784), no children. (However, the Family Search records show two sons born between 1800 and 1810 that grew to adulthood so where are they?)
If Catherine has a son 16-26 in her household, then that means we can figure out by what year she must have been born. If, in 1810, the son is at least 16 and she was at least 19 when she had him, then that means Catherine had to be born at least by 1775 (1810-35). That doesn't match the 1779/1780 date given above for Catherine; so this needs to be reconciled. Either Catherine was older or the male who is 16-26 is not her son.
Joan said that this family continues to show up in the censuses at least through 1830.
Joan Best also sent me this:
These families [DB: Bodines and Girtons] should show up in the 1810 census. It was still Northumberland Co. then. Abraham and Zellah were married in 1808, Amy and James in 1809. Thomas and Rachel's first child was born 10/1813. Rachel was born 1795. She probably hadn't married yet in 1810. William Girton's wife, Catherine, born in 1780 had her first child in 1803, second 1804, third listed as 1811, all boys. Some who later died could fill in that gap. This family should show up in 1810 census. The Girton family moved from NJ to PA between 1795 and 1803, based on the birthplace of the children. It is possible that William and Catherine Girton were married in NJ. The Girton family were from Sussex Co., NJ. Got any records on such a marriage?
The following comes from Melva M. (Girton) Sloan (m-sloan@worldnet.att.net). She provided the following
information at the Girton Family Genealogy Forum which she says came from WFT, v. 5, ed. 1, Tree #3126, no proofs given:
William GIRTON, son of William and Magdalena (SHIPMAN) GIRTON, (and uncle of Thomas GIRTON who married Rachel BODINE) was born Apr 1778. He married Catherine BODINE.
Issue of William and Catherine:
1. James GIRTON, married, went West
2. Jacob GIRTON, b. 1803, d. 2 May 1870
3. Esau/Asa GIRTON, b. 14 Apr 1804, d. 11/16 Nov 1884
4. Mary Catherine GIRTON, D. SHORTLY AFTER HER MARRIAGE
5. Amy GIRTON
6. Rachel GIRTON
7. Hannah GIRTON
8. Ellen GIRTON, unmarried
9. Possibly Mahala GIRTON
And here is some more information on their children. It is a little different than the above:
Posted By: Larry Phalin
Subject: Re: William Girton & Catharine Bodine, Thomas Girton & Rachel Bodine
Post Date: June 15, 2002
Message URL: http://genforum.genealogy.com/girton/messages/204.html
Joan, Thanks for the wonderful data on the Bodine Family. I show the children of William and Catherine (Bodine) Girton as:
1. Jacob b1800 Derry twp,Northumerland Co, Pa ; m Rachael Hess dau of John Hess, Jacob died 2 May 1870 at Briarcreek Twp, Columbia Co, Pa.
2. Peter was born at Derry Twp, Northumberland Co, Pa 14 Apr 1804, he married Margaret Smith b1 Mar 1812, Peter died 11 Nov 1884, she died 19 Nov 1873, both buried Lemon Cem, Columbia Co, Pa.
3. James born 19 Dec 1811 at Northumberland Co, Pa. He married Sarah Lemon the dau of William and Elizabeth (Parker) Lemon. They died in Iowa.
4. Esau
5. Mary Catherine
6. Amy
7. Rachel , b at Columbia Co, married William Shoemaker 20 Jul 1833 at Columbia Co, Pa.
8. Hannah
9. Ellen, she never married
10. Mahalia, not certain if a family member, or a nick name for a family member, she never married.
The above is from Larry Phalin (phalintl@aol.com).
There is also a son named Peter. He is in the 1880 Census of Greenwood Twp., Columbia Co., PA (age 75, b. PA). He says that both of his parents were born in New Jersey.
Joan Best said that "Thomas and William Girton donated the land for the Dutch Hill Cemetery before 1812. There is a partial listing for this cemetery on the web. The earliest Girtons are 1831. Some of the stones can't be read. I suspect that this is where the Bodines and the early Girtons are."