Mystery Monday - The Arrival of David and Mary Fuller to Portland, Maine

When we think about immigration to the east coast of the United States, our first thought is Ellis Island.  This was the first stop for many of my relatives on their American journey.  If you are from Irish descent, then perhaps your ancestors first arrived in Boston.  Many would be surprised to know that immigrants arrived to many of the other ports on the Atlantic coast, just not in the numbers that we associate with Ellis Island and Boston.

My 3rd great grandparents, David and Mary Fuller immigrated to Portland, Maine from Nova Scotia.  I have been looking for any record of David and Mary Fuller arriving in Portland, Maine for a long time.  Those of you who have been following my blog, will know that David and Mary Fuller lived in Horton, Nova Scotia.  They were married Sept 10, 1812.  Together they had at least 11 children:  Lavinia, Rebecca, Sephrona, Matilda, Martha, David Bishop, Benjamin, James, Theodore, Andrew and Collingwood.

The oldest children (the daughters) are all recorded as their children in the Horton Township Book.  However, the book is incomplete and doesn't include any of their younger children (the sons).

The sons all moved to Portland, Maine and the daughters stayed in Canada (at least for a while).  This created a challenge of proving that the David and Mary Fuller who are the parents of the sons were the same David and Mary Fuller who was the parents of the daughters.  In my previous post, Can a Published Genealogy be Wrong?, I outline my proof for David and Mary (Cary) Fuller being the parents of all eleven children.  

There are a few records which I would like to have found which had escaped me and now I have found one of them.

David and Mary Fuller show up in the Canadian census records of 1838 as living in Horton, Nova Scotia.  They do not appear in the US Census records from 1840.  They do appear in the US Census records as living in Portland, Maine with their sons:  James, Theodore, Andrew and Collingwood.   This had lead me to believe that David and Mary had arrived in Portland sometime between 1840-1849.

But how to prove it.  I had assumed that their were no immigration records of ships arriving with forein passengers to the port of Portland at that time.  I was wrong.  I found that the LDS Church (Mormons) had microfilmed records of arrivals at Atlantic ports including Portland during this time period.  If you are interested in this information check out the following records for FamilySearch.org :  

Copies of lists of passengers arriving at miscellaneous ports on the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts and at ports on the Great Lakes, 1820-1873 : NARA RG36 M575.

There is no index to these immigration records, so you do have to look through each passenger list to find your relatives. 

It was here that I found David Fuller and Mary Fuller arriving on the British Schooner Harmony on August 1, 1849.   It showed that they were citizens of Nova Scotia and had left from Windsor, Nova Scotia (about 15 miles from Horton, NS).  Interestingly, I have various records which indicate that several of their sons may have arrived prior to David and Mary.  So instead of the parents paving the way for their sons, they may have followed their sons.  

I have read in other publications that in the early to mid 1800's that the Nova Scotian economy had hit on hard times and there was an exodus of people to the US at that time.  So it isn't surprising that young men moved to the US to seek their fortunes.

While I was very pleased to find the record of David and Mary's arrival in Portland, Maine it isn't surprising that there is something in the record which doesn't match what I expected.  In this case, the record lists David's age as 50 and Mary's age as 45.  Where David's age should have been 68 and Mary's 58.  I don't think it is that unusual for the harbormaster to be inaccurate in the ages they recorded or the immigrants to misinform the person recording information.  I have seen this a lot in my genealogy research.

Surprisingly, David and Mary arrived without any of their children, so I will keep looking through these records to see if I can find arrivals of the sons separately.

The only records I have yet to uncover are birth records for any of the sons in Nova Scotia and a death record for David Fuller.  Mary Fuller died in Portland in Sept 16, 1873.  She died as a widow.  There is no records of David Fuller after 1858 in Portland.  I have speculated that he returned to Nova Scotia at some point and died while there, but have been unable to find any death records in Maine or Canada.

One more mystery solved.  So many more to go.

Will Wednesday - Noah Fuller (1712-1774)

Noah Fuller was my 5th great grandfather.  He was born in Salem, Massachusetts in 1712.  He moved from Salem to Lebanon, CT probably between 174-1750.  He was then one of the original "New England Planter" settlers to Horton, Nova Scotia.

Here is a copy of his will which was proved on September 16, 1774.  Oh, and please don't judge me on the lack of punctuation and poor spelling.  The run on sentences are from the original document.

In the name of god, Amen, the ninetieth day of May 1774 being of sound mind and memory thanks be to almighty God therefore and calling to mind the uncertain state of this transitory life and that all flesh must yields unto death when it shall please god to call do make ordain and declare this my last will and testament  in manner and form following: 

First, I give and bequeath my soul to God who gave it and my body to the ground to be decently buried and as to my worldly goods, chattels and estate, I do order and dispose in the manner following, that is to say, first I will that all my just debts should be paid and satisfied ---- 

Item     I give and bequeath unto my well beloved wife the use and improvement of the west half of my dwelling house.  The use of a cow and the use & improvement of my breeding mare and one third part of the improvement of all my real estate so long as she continues a widow and the use of all the household goods 

Item     I give to my beloved son Elisha four acres and three quarters of dyke land at the west end of the Grand Pre, joining John Whitney dyke land  --- and to my son Timothy seventy acres of my second division farm lot number six – 

Also, I give to my son Noah my first division dike lot. 

I also will and ordain that my four daughters viz Elishiar, Priscilla, and Sarah and Lucy shall have five pounds each out of my estate to be paid them when Lucy the youngest of them shall arrive to the age of eighteen years and all the household goods, the cow and mare to be equally divided between them when their mother shall come with them ---- 

I also will to my son Noah my working open [lands?] and my sucking goat and three sheep and three swine six suckling pigs  --- 

The remainder of all my estate both real and personal, I will and ordain to be equally divided between Elisha and Noah excepting my last or third division which Timothy is to have his equal proportion it is also my Will that my sons Elisha and Noah shall pay the five pounds a piece to their four sisters equally between them ---- 

I also will an ordain my sons Elisha and Noah shall be executors to this my last will and testament, in witness hereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal 

SignedNoah Fuller 

In the presence of
Joseph WoodworthSamuel Denison 
Amos Rathbun 

Some may wonder why I have been posting so many wills to my blog.  I find them a good source of information and many of them don't seem to exist anywhere else.  

Just another great document to add to your genealogy research that I wanted to share with all my relatives: known and unknown.

Sentimental Sunday - David Godfrey's Will Proved February 24, 1783

David Godfrey of Chatham, Mass and Horton, Nova Scotia is my 6th great grandfather.  I have been looking for David Godfrey's will for some time.  It was not where it was supposed to be.  I reviewed the Will Book of probate records from Kings County, Nova Scotia, which is where he died, but no sign of his will.  I contacted the Kings County Probate Court and they couldn't find a copy, either.

I had nearly given up, but I had found the Genealogical Society of Nova Scotia website. The website didn't have a copy of David Godfrey's, but they did have a section which helped you connect with other people with similar research interests.

It so happens that I connected with Bill Kennedy who had a copy of the will and had used it as a critical document to help him write the article David Godfrey of Chatham, Mass., and Horton, Kings Co., Nova Scotia, which appeared in the October 1991 edition of American Genealogist.

In the article it identified that David Godfrey's will was to be found in the earliest Hants County, NS will book on p. 44.  Since I always want to have a physical copy of the documents, I requested a copy of the will book through my local LDS Family Research Center.

Here is my transcription of the Will of David Godfrey of Horton, NS proved on February 24, 1783

In the name of God Amen, I David Godfrey of Horton in Kings County in the Province of Nova Scotia, being weak in body but perfect soundness of mind and memory (blessed be God) and calling to mind that it is appointed for all men once to die, do this Twenty Second Day of July In the year of our Lord one Thousand Seven hundred and seventy four make ordain and publish this my last will and testament in manner following, And first of all I recommend my soul to God that gave it, and my body to the dust to be buried in decent Christian burial at the discretion of my executors herein after named and those worldly goods and estate wherewith it hath pleases God to bless me in this lifeI give and bequeath the same in manner following after paying my just and funeral charges --- 

Imprimis   I give and bequeath to my beloved wife Priscilla the use and improvement of all real and moveable estate and the privilege of comfortable house so long as she shall continue my widow.  Also, I give and will unto my said Wife Priscilla the use and improvement of so much of my real estate as she shall find necessary or requisite for her comfortable support and subsistence so long as she continues to be my widow and in case my said wife during her widowhood shall by from of providence be reduced to necessity and not well supported by the profits of such my real estate of the improvement of such my personal estate, my Will is, that is that case she may and I hereby give unto her good rights to sell some part of my real estate as shall really be needful for her support ---- 

Item   I give unto my son David Godfrey five pounds to be paid out of my real estate by my executors  --- 

Item   I give unto my son Jonathan Godfrey all my real estate that shall remain after payment of said five pounds to my said son David and after the death of my said wife Priscilla or after her marrying another husband, with my dwelling house and barn, to him his heirs and assigns forever and also I give to my said son Jonathan the use and improvement of such part of the dwelling house and barn and all my real estate that shall not be found necessary for the comfortable dwelling and support of my said wife Priscilla, during her widowhood ------ 

Item   I give unto my daughter Anna Allen two third parts of all my personal or movable estate after the decease of my said wife Priscilla, or at here marrying another husband 

Item   I give unto my granddaughter Elizabeth Bishop one third part of my moveable or personal estate after the decease of my said wife
And lastly   I do hereby constitute make and ordain my said beloved wife Priscilla and my said son Jonathan Godfrey sole executor of this my last will and testament and too hereby disallow revoke all and every other and former testament, Wills, Legacies, bequests and executors by me heretofore made ratified and confirming this and no others to be my last Will and testamentIn whereof I have herein to set my hand and seal the day and year written 

Signed
David Godfrey

Witnessed 

Nathan DeWolf     Anna DeWolf     Elijah Crane 

Special thanks to Bill Kennedy to sharing his great research with me and informing me of where I could find a copy of the original will information.

One of the best things about researching family history is the people that you connect with that are willing to help you in your research.  

Black Sheep Sunday - Elizabeth Fuller's Assault on Judah Treche

Sometimes reading some historical documents about my ancestors, I get a feeling like it could be an 18th century version of Jerry Springer.  The record of Elizabeth Fuller's assault on Judah Treche is one of those instances.  

Elizabeth Fuller was the wife of Timothy Fuller, my 4th great grand uncle.  She was charged with beating Judah Treche with a stick.

Here is the disposition of Judah Treche.

Kings County 

The deposition, examination and complaint of Judah Treche of Horton in said county of Kings, who being duly examined and sworn…… 

Saith, that on the second day of March, Elizabeth Fuller,wife of Timothy Fuller of Horton aforesaid did and dishonestly assault this deponent at the door of the house of Noah Fuller in Horton and strike her many blows with a stick or club, saying “I will give you one good licking you damned bitch,” by which assault and blows this deponent says she is much bruised and hurt, and further this deponent saith not…… 

Sworn this day 4^th day of March 1776 before me…..Nathan Dewolf

Signed by Judah Treche 

It is unfortunate that the records of this event don't include any REASON why she beat Judah.  Call my cynical, but I would expect that Elizabeth felt (real or imagined) that Judah had affection for or design on her husband Timothy Fuller.  I can't think of another reason which would have caused her to react so violently without provocation on that day.

It is interesting what you find, when you dig into the family history.

Will Wednesday - John Bishop (1709-1785)

John Bishop was my 6th great grandfather.  He was born in New London, CT on May 25, 1709.  He and his 4 sons (John, William, Peter and Timothy) removed to Horton, Nova Scotia between 1760-1763.  

He wrote his will on September 18, 1780.  The will was proved after his death on November 7, 1785.

He died in Nova Scotia on October 28, 1785.  

Black Sheep Sunday: Noah Fuller’s illegitimate Child

I feel like I should start a blog series called “Ancestors Behaving Badly”.

While doing some research of my ancestors from Horton, Nova Scotia, I came upon records indicating that Noah Fuller (Born: 1750), my 4^th great grandfather, was charged with an “Order of Filiation”.

I was unfamiliar with the term, but learned that it is commonly a legal action to connect the birth father with an illegitimate child and force the parent to pay for the child's support.

I obtained a copy of the document and here is a transcription.

Kings County 

The order of Lebbeus Harris and Nathan Dewolf esquires, two of his Majesty’s Justices of the Peace in for the said county  and both residing in Horton near to the township of Cornwallis in the said county, made the fourth day of May in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and seventy eight [1778] in [the] morning a female bastard child, lately born in the township of Cornwallis aforesaid, of the body of Abigail Pierse [I am unsure it is Pierfe or Pierse due to the way “S” was written at this time] singlewoman.

Whereas it hath appeared unto us the said Justices as well upon the complaint of Joseph Pierse Esq. and Mr. James Fillis  principle inhabitants of the said township of Horton, as upon the oath of the said Abigail Pierse that she the said Abigail Pierse on the fifth day of April, was delivered of a female bastard child at Cornwallis aforesaid in the said county, and that the said child likely to be chargeable to the said township of Horton, and further that Noah Fuller of Horton in the said county yeoman did beget the said bastard child in the body of her the said Abigail Pierse, and whereas the said Noah Fuller hath appeared before us, in pursuance of our summons for that purpose and hath not showed any sufficient cause why he the said Noah Fuller shall not be the father of the said bastard child :  We therefore upon examination of the cause and circumstances of the [unknown word], as will upon the oath of the said Abigail Pierse as otherwise do hereby judge him the said Noah Fuller to be the reputed father of the said bastard child…… 

And thereupon we do order, as well for the better belief of the said township of Horton, as for the sustententation and relief of the said bastard child, that the said Noah Fuller shall and do forthwith, upon notice of this our order pay or cause to be paid to the overseer of the poor of the said township of Horton or the same of the sum of four pounds…….for and towards the lying in the said Abigail Pierse and the maintenance of the said bastard child to the time of making this our order….. 

And we do hereby also further order, that the said Noah Fuller shall likewise pay or cause to be paid to the overseers of the poor of the said township of Horton the sum of three shillings weekly every week from this present time for and towards the keeping sustenation and maintenance of the said bastard child, for and during so long time as the said bastard child shall be chargeable to the said township of Horton…. 

And we do further order the said Abigail Pierse shall also pay or cause to be paid to the said overseer of the poor of the said township of Horton for the time being, or to some one of them the sum of three shillings…..

Weekly every week so long as the said bastard child shall be chargeable to said township of Horton, in case she shall not nurse and take care of the said child herself….

It is unfortunate that the order doesn’t give us any insight into the circumstances of Abigail and Noah’s relationship.   Noah was married to his wife, Elizabeth Bishop on November 6, 1777.  So it would appear that Abigail become pregnant by Noah prior to his wedding to Elizabeth Bishop.  Noah and Elizabeth stayed married and had at least 9 children together.

My understanding that the governments main concern in the event of an illegitimate child was making sure that a father was found to prevent the local government from the burden of paying for the child's care.

Being about 200 years removed from the event, I am intrigued about what happened to Abigail and Noah’s daughter.  The child is never named in the order.  Did she have the last name Fuller or keep the name Pierfe/Pierse?  How old was Abigail when she gave birth?  Did she ever marry?  I have not been able to find anything about her or her mother. 

If you have the belief that “these types of things” didn’t happen back in the “good old days”, it just goes to show that things may have not been quite so different than they are today. 

Surname Saturday - The "Lost" Cary Family of Horton, NS

This is Part III in a series of posts demonstrating evidence that my 3rd great grandfather, David Fuller married Mary Cary. Up until now, It has been widely accepted that his wife was Mary Curry.


Please read the first two posts to see all the evidence.
Part 1: Can a published genealogy be wrong?
Part 2: Mary Curry's TRUE husband

In the previous posts, I have demonstrated how David Fuller removed his family to Portland, Maine from Horton, Nova Scotia, the fact that he had 6 previously unknown sons and the fact that the woman that was believed to be his wife, Mary Curry, actually married Silas Hatch.


The one missing piece is "Who was Mary Cary"? If David Fuller did marry Mary Cary, how did he meet her, since according to the Horton Township books, there was no Cary family living the settlement. What information do we have about her family? Where was she from?


The answer is that we know very little about her.  


According to the 1850 US Census records, Mary was born in Massachusetts and according to her son, David Bishop Fuller's death record she was from Plymouth, Mass.  Although, later census records indicated that she was born in   Nova Scotia.  Her Maine death record does not include her parents names or places of birth.  Her death notice from Sept 16, 1873 is short.

I was unable to find any specific records which pertain to Mary Cary coming to Horton, Nova Scotia from Massachusetts. I will keep digging...


But, Yes, Virginia, there was evidence of a Cary family living in Horton, NS.  


Even though, there is no record of a Carey family in the Horton Township Books, there are land transaction records pertaining to Cary families.  And to sell land you must have at least purchased the land and more than likely lived there.  Looks like the Cary's probably arrived in late 1700's.  I have found records for John, Joshua and Samuel Cary.  They may have been Mary Cary's brothers or one was her father.

Here is a record of them selling land.  

Not to mention, the 1838 Horton census records.

During the 1920's and 1930's there were a series of articles published in Nova Scotia which was intended to track the genealogies of many of the families of Nova Scotia.  The series was called "New Englanders in Nova Scotia".  In one addition, it references a woman named Lydia Cary and identifies her as a descendant of the pilgrim, John Cary.  I have included an excerpt.  While this isn't proof of Mary Cary being descended from John Cary or the descendants from his family that arrived in Nova Scotia, it does say in the article that "John Cary has many descendants living in Nova Scotia."

One last thing, the marriage record which is recorded between David and Mary on the Familysearch.org(LDS) website indicates that David Fuller married Mary Cary.  

Phew!  That is it.  That is my case.

Have I convinced you, yet?


Also, if you have any clues or information on the Cary family of Horton, Nova Scotia.....please contact me at pilgrimage1620@gmail.com . Thanks!!

Thriller Thursday - Mary Curry's TRUE Husband!

In my last post, Can a Published Genealogy Be Wrong? I presented a compelling case for why the established belief that my 3rd great grandfather, David Fuller, married Mary Curry was incorrect.  

Sadly, no matter how strong my evidence that David Fuller married Mary Cary and NOT Mary Curry, it has been met with disbelief. The fact that he had married Mary Curry was in several published books and genealogy reports.  

Please review my evidence in my last post for the details.

I had to take it one step further. I had to prove that not only did Mary Curry not marry David Fuller, I had to show that she had, in fact, married someone else.

Initially, I had no idea how to do that. But I found a clue.  There are several editions of the Horton Nova Scotia Township Books, which were used to record the births, marriage and deaths of the town residents. I looked at original copies of the township books, not transcriptions, so I could see for myself what was recorded.  In one of the records, it doesn't provide any clues, but in another township book I could find it clearly said "Hatch". This seems to be pretty common practice that they record the married names of women (when it is known) next to their names.  

See below the two versions of the Horton Township records:

But, of course, just having a random name next to Mary Curry's in those records doesn't PROVE anything.  

So I had to dig deeper.

I was able to find a family tree which showed that a Silas Hatch married a Mary Curry. It looked like this could be what I was looking for, but if I couldn't find any 3rd party verification of this union, then it didn't prove anything.

In the absence of a marriage record, I was able to find the next best thing.  A marriage announcement in the Bangor Weekly Register on December 28, 1819.  Not only had Mary Curry not married David Fuller, she had married once prior to marrying Silas Hatch!!

Just in case there are any doubters that wonder if this announcement refers to someone other than Marry Curry, it does clearly state that Mary's father is Richard Curry.  There was only one Richard Curry in Horton, NS and he had only one daughter named Mary.

It appears that Silas and Mary Curry had at least 6 children:  Abigail(1817), Isaac(1819), Silas C.(1821), Charlotte(1825), Richard(1826), Louisa (1827)

The only troubling thing is that it appears that the couple had some of these children in Horton, NS and some in Maine.  Their youngest child was born in 1827, but that is at odds with the belief that Marry Currry died in 1822.  It is possible that either the record that appears to state that she died in 1822 is incorrect or Silas may have remarried.  Hard to say.

Which leads to my final post on this subject:  The "Lost" Cary Family of Horton, Nova Scotia

Wisdom Wednesday - Can a Published Genealogy Be Wrong?

The short answer is "of course".


Genealogies are written by people and people make mistakes. I have made more than a few, myself. But, I will say that once information is published in a book or genealogical research paper, they become part of the "conventional wisdom" and are treated as established fact in the genealogy of those individuals.  


My personal experience is that the quantity and quality of evidence needed to alter what is accepted fact after a genealogy is published becomes quite a challenge. In some cases, the amount of evidence needed to overcome the current accepted belief greatly exceeds the original evidence used to create the initial assumptions.  

The case that impacts me is about my ancestors David Fuller (Born:  1781, Horton, Nova Scotia) and his wife Mary. David Fuller was the son of Noah Fuller Jr (Born: 1750, Salem, MA). and grandson of Noah Fuller (Born: 1712, Salem, MA).  Noah Fuller Sr. was one of the original settlers to Horton, Nova Scotia. These settlers are known as New England Planters. More about them in future posts.


David Fuller, wife and sons removed from Horton, Nova Scotia and moved to Portland, Maine between 1840-1850.


There is not a lot of expert genealogical interest in David Fuller. He was not a famous figure nor was he a person of historical significance....at least not that I have uncovered. But according to my research he is my 3rd great grandfather, which makes him important to me.  However, if I believed what has been written in public genealogy records, then it is unlikely that he could be my ancestor.

The Conventional Wisdom


It has been asserted that David Fuller  married a woman named Mary Curry (Born:  July 11, 1795) daughter of Richard Curry and Rachel Bacon. Both David Fuller and Mary Curry were born in Horton, Nova Scotia. They were married in Grand Pre, NS on Sept 10, 1812. They had 5 daughters all born in Horton:  Lavinia, Rebecca, Sephrona, Matilda and Martha.  No sons.


It has been published that Mary Curry died in 1822, but there is no record of when or where David Fuller died or if he had any further children.


My Disagreement


My fundamental disagreement with this information is that I don't believe that David Fuller married Mary Curry. I believe he married a different woman all together. A woman named Mary Cary.  There is a good reason for this. When I review the original Horton Township Record book for Horton, Nova Scotia (which contains the birth, marriage and death information recorded for the town), it records that David Fuller married Mary Cary.  


My other challenge is that I believe I am descended from David and Mary's son, James Henry Fuller. But there is no record of him in the Horton Township Record book.


How the Conventional Wisdom became the Conventional Wisdom


Horton, Nova Scotia was a very small settlement. Only 100 or so families settled there in the early 1760s. It was typical that the families intermarried. So it is reasonable to believe that David's wife would be to one of the families already living in Horton at the time.


The Horton Township Book record indicates he married Mary Cary, but there wasn't a "Cary" family recorded as living in Horton, Nova Scotia at the time. The only name that was close was Mary Curry. She would have been about the right age. While it clearly does not say "Curry" in the Horton Township Book, this is explained by the general poor spelling and variations of how names were spelled at that time.  


In addition, Mary Curry was said to have died in 1822. All of the children recorded in the Horton Township Book are all born prior to 1822.


Anyone who has spent anytime working on family research knows that sometimes you have to make some assumptions to connect the dots between certain ancestors. In the absence of specific proof you have to make assumptions and make a leap of faith that they are correct.  


So as assumptions go, I can see why these were made and they do make an awful lot of sense.


However, the preponderance of the evidence I have uncovered indicate that David Fuller never married Mary Curry and that he did, in fact, marry Mary Cary.


The Supporting Evidence


The biggest leap of faith I had to take was that the David and Mary Fuller of Portland, Maine where the same David and Mary Fuller of Horton, Nova Scotia. There is no border crossing records that I have uncovered which show the immigration of the David and Mary Fuller or any of their sons.  


The second leap of faith I had to make was that even with no record of any sons in the Horton Township Book, that they did in fact have 6 sons named, David B., Benjamin W., James H., Theodore, Andrew H., and Colllingwood.


These do sound like pretty major assumptions, but don't judge too quickly. I do have overwhelming evidence to support them.


David. Mary and Sons of Portland Maine were from Horton, Nova Scotia


The US Census from 1850 shows that David, Mary, James, Theodore, Andrew and Collingwood all living together in Portland, Maine. In addition, it indicates that David and his sons were all born in Nova Scotia. It states that Mary was born in Massachusetts....which works, because this might help explain why her family wasn't included in the Horton Township Book.


The US Census from 1860 for Portland, Maine shows Mary Fuller living with Benjamin W Fuller and his family including Benjamin's brother James H.  Fuller.  David Fuller died somewhere between 1857-1860. I have not found his death record.


Mary Fuller died in Portland, Maine on Sept 16, 1873. I found both her death record and death notice in the paper which indicates that she was the Mary Fuller married to David Fuller.


Ok, So David and Mary and these sons were from Nova Scotia, but how do I prove that they are from Horton, NS?

My records show that 4 of the 6 sons became naturalized citizens. Two of the son's records show that they were born in "Norton, NS" and two show "Windsor, NS". Since there wasn't a "Norton, NS", we can discount this as an error. I am confident about this as Andrew H Fuller's naturalization says he is from "Norton, NS", but his obituary states he was born in "Horton, NS". In addition, David B. Fuller's death record states he was from Horton, Kings Co, NS


This is particularly important as Horton, NS was a small settlement. There were several Fuller families, but only one David Fuller who was the son of Noah Fuller Jr. and Elizabeth Bishop.  


David and Mary had Additional Children In Addition to Those Captured in the Township Book


Proving that David B. Fuller and the other men were born in Horton and Windsor, Nova Scotia doesn't prove that their parents, David and Mary Fuller are THE David and Mary Fuller from Horton, NS which are descended from Noah Fuller the original New England Planter.  


Which is why I needed to find some records which showed their mother's maiden name. I think you will agree that there COULDN'T have been two separate Fuller families living in Horton, NS which included a David Fuller and a Mary Cary, right?


I found death records for each of the Fuller sons (which was quite a feat in and of itself). Only 3 of the records included the names of each man's parents. ALL of those records listed the father as David Fuller and the mother as Mary Cary!


In addition, the 1838 Kings County Census records for Horton Township shows that David Fuller had a household of 13 people . The breakdown of ages of males and females lines up well to the fact that David and Mary had a total of 11 children that I have uncovered.  


At the time of the census, David and Mary's children would have been the following ages:

Lavinia - 25
Rebecca - 23
Sephrona - 21
Matilda - 19
Martha - 17
David B - 15
Benjamin W -13
James H - 11
Theodore - 9
Andrew H - 7
Collingwood - 2


This doesn't translates perfectly to the census, but very closely and would depend on when in the year the census was conducted. Also, I can't confirm, but it seems likely that either Lavinia or Rebecca would have been married by 1838 and judging from the time that lapsed between Andrew H and Collingwood's birth it is likely that there may have been another son who was born, but died young.


Connecting David and Mary's Daughters from Horton, NS to David and Mary Cary of Portland, Maine


By now, I hope that you can see that I have made a strong case that David and Mary Fuller moved to Portland, Maine and they did have 6 sons which were not recorded in the Horton Township Books.  

The last missing piece is trying to connect any of David and Mary's known daughters to my David and Mary Fuller or any of their brothers. This has proved to be very challenging!!  Matilda Fuller married Thomas Marine/Morine.  They lived in Kings County, NS, until they moved to Standish, Maine somewhere between 1880-1900. I have found a death record for Matilda Marine which records her father and mother as David Fuller and Mary Cary!!  


One more fact: I recently found out that David B. Fuller's middle name was "Bishop". This is significant because David Fuller Sr's father Noah Fuller was married to Elizabeth Bishop. The fact that David was given the middle name of the family name "Bishop" would be another compelling fact.


For me that was the final piece.  


Through a preponderance of the evidence, I think I have very convincingly proven that David and Mary Fuller of Portland, ME and David and Mary Fuller of Horton, Nova Scotia are one and the same, and they had a total of at least 11 children, 5 daughters recorded in the Horton Township book and had 6 sons who were not recorded.


But....


When presenting this overwhelmingly strong argument, I am ALWAYS told, "but David Fuller married Mary Curry...I read it in the History of Kings, Co or other published genealogy.  Maybe David Fuller remarried after Mary Curry died....these could be the children of his second wife"!!


Ughh!!


It has been very difficult to get anyone to take my evidence seriously,  because they feel like that the fact that Mary Curry married David Fuller is an established fact.   


Which leads to my next post:  Mary Curry's TRUE husband!