Notes |
- From Susan Johnston:
The subject of family group sheet A16414 in the Case manuscript is Samuel Case, son of Philip Case.1 Information is confused and comes from four sources: letter no. 964 of Mary J. Case dated June 1903, letter no. 2541 of Mrs. A. Z. Mason dated Oct. 1904, letter no. 1231 of Mrs. Hester M. Watkins dated Dec. 1903, and letter no. 1084 of Thomas Dunbar dated March 1905. Mary Jane (Case) Case (1834-1905) is a granddaughter, daughter of Samuel's son Zina; Hester Maria (Case) Watkins (1839-1928) is also a granddaughter, daughter of Zina; Thomas Dunbar (1845-1905) is a grandson, son of Samuel's daughter Cynthia. His letter to Dr. Case must have been written shortly before his death as he died in March 1905. Kate E. Wood (1856-1913), Mrs. Arthur Z. Mason, is a great-granddaughter, the daughter of Samantha (Case) Wood, daughter of Samuel's son Samuel.
The will of Philip Case of Hebron and Candor, NY, names Samuel Case as one of his sons, but the probate record gives little information on his children. The disposition of part of Philip's real estate is found in land records of the county, not in the probate records. One deed does support the father-son relationship of Philip Case of Candor, NY, and Samuel Case of Pennsylvania. (Tioga County, NY, Deeds, 11: 544-548, microfilm no. 818,199, Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah).
In an indenture dated 1 February 1816, Samuel Case of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, son and one of the heirs of Philip Case of Candor, Tioga Co, NY deceased, of the first part and Abraham Case of Hebron... of the second part... for $125... Lot # 7 in the 2nd tier of lots in the NE section of Twp # 9 in the 12 Townships... being devised to the said party of the first part in & by the last will and testament of the said Philip Case deceased bearing the date on the ninth day of July 1811 as by the said last will and testament will appear containing 11 acres of land be the same more or less the same being in common and undivided with all of said lot # 7 excepting 20 acres on the south end of said lot conveyed to Aaron Pennell by the said Philip Case.2 This deed does not give the precise residence of Samuel Case, but when read in conjunction with the deed executed by brother Aaron of Springfield Township in Bradford County, Pennsylvania on the same day and a charge on the estate recorded by Abraham Case of $12.00, also dated 1 February 1816, a payment to two witnesses from Sugar Creek,3 Samuel Case's home region, it supports this identity.
The Case manuscript states the Samuel was possibly born in 1772 in New York.1 Both date and place are questionable. Samuel has not been positively located in the 1790 or 1800 U.S. censuses to date, but the 1810 census entry gives his age as over 45 placing his year of birth before 1765.4 The 1820 entry would place his year of birth before 17755 and that of 1830 between 1770 and 1780.6 Although the latter two censuses support the birth year of 1772, Samuel's first child was born in 1791. Of course, it is possible that a nineteen-year-old fathered a child, but it would be unlikely. It is more likely that his birth year is earlier, probably circa 1770, a date which would fit the birth pattern suggested by Philip Case's will and the known birth dates of Samuel's siblings. At this time, the Philip Case family was residing in East Barrington, Berkshire Co., Massachusetts. Note, though, that Samuel's son Philander states on the 1880 U.S. census that Samuel was born in VT. Son John, the only other child of Samuel living at the time the 1880 federal census was taken, leaves his father's birthplace blank.7
No evidence of Samuel's marriage to Delight Emory was found in the records of Washington Co., NY, although a complete study of any Emory families there has not been undertaken. It is also possible that this marriage took place in Addison Co., VT. If so, the record was not found in VT vital records in Montpelier. No Emory family records in Addison County have been searched. It is impossible to tell which correspondent provided the name of Samuel's first wife in the Case manuscript. Dr. Case identifies the origins of the conflicting evidence provided for the identity of Samuel's second wife, implying that only one correspondent named the first wife, or there was no conflict in information provided. The name Delight is repeated several times among the descendants of Samuel Case. Thomas Emory (Emry) was a neighbor of the Case family in Washington County, NY. These bits of evidence lend support to this marriage. Although Samuel's land in Bradford Co., Pennsylvania, was located through the recorded deeds of his neighbors, neither land records nor probate records for Samuel Case have been found in Bradford County or Lycoming County records. Perhaps land records may be found in Luzerne County, one of Bradford's parent counties. If so, his wife's name should appear on any document showing sale of land.
Samuel Case first appears in the records of Bradford County on the 1804 tax list for Burlington township.8 He was not present in November 1801 when his brothers and nephews signed the Connecticut claimants' petition to Congress, as his name does not appear on any of the petitions. The birthplace of son Zina, born 12 March 1802, appears variously as VT and Pennsylvania. It is likely that Samuel brought his family from the Hebron, NY-Middlebury, VT, area to Bradford Co. about the time of Zina's birth in 1802.
A Samuel Case was baptized 28 January 1810 in the Troy Baptist Church with Stephen Palmer.9 It is possible that this was Samuel the father; but the association with Stephen Palmer, who had married Samuel's daughter Lydia, makes it more likely that this Samuel was the son of Samuel Case. Regardless, religion does not appear to have been particularly important to either Samuel. The name of Samuel Case was not found on any member list or list of meeting attendees of the church. He withdrew from church fellowship February 1813 after a church committee called on him for drinking.9 He is a son and legatee in the will of Philip Case on 9 July 1811 Candor, Tioga Co., NY.10,11
Samuel's first wife died in 1813 and he remarried, probably circa 1814, to Hannah, possibly the "widow Murray."1 Samuel's death date found in the Case manuscript, 17 June 1836,1 has not been verified in contemporary records. He left no probate record in Bradford County and land record analysis has not provided any information on his death to date. Although most of his children are buried in area cemeteries, Samuel's burial place has not been found by this author. Samuel Case sold land Candor, Tioga Co., NY, to Abraham Case on 1 February 1816.12,2
Children of Samuel Case: The picture of Samuel's family early census records supports the children named in the Case manuscript, although alternate interpretations do exist. Samuel's first child, daughter Lydia, was married before 1810 and is the one child not shown in these censuses. Samuel's second wife was younger than his first and appears in the 1820 census. All informants state that this was Hannah's second marriage and she already had children. It is possible that one of the young men shown in the 1820 census is Samuel's step-son. If so, it is possible that the son Benjamin attributed to Samuel and Hannah may not have existed.
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