Croffords and Dillinghams and the travails of pioneer life

Our story goes back to Calvin V. Crofford, b. 1806.  I have found plentiful documentation on Calvin's life, but nothing about his parentage.  There is family lore about his father (possibly Horace Crofford or Crawford) from Scotland.  Ada Crofford wrote about Horace Crawford settling in the Genessee Valley in NY, who was known as the "Genessee Millwright." Calvin's wife, Anna Dillingham, is easy to trace, though there are questions about the identity of her grandparents.

John Dillingham > Anna Dillingham (m. Calvin Crofford) > Horace C. Crofford > Horace C. Crofford > Virginia M. Crofford > Teresa Zaun Austin

The most important documentation of the Crofford/Dillingham connection is the 1850 census from Porter, Indiana (see below).  It was a thrill to stumble upon the Crofford (Crawford) name while researching the Dillinghams!

The most colorful stories are linked in Ancestry to Anna's father John Dillingham, my 3rd great grandfather.  Here are some highlights:

• He was born in 1773, in New England (possibly Rhode Island, Connecticut, or Massachusetts - his father's family was from Cape Cod).
• His mother was a Quakeress.
• He was a seaman in his youth, once surviving a storm in which the men cast lots to see who would be sacrificed to feed the rest.  Thankfully, they were rescued by another ship near Hartford, CT.
• At age 21 he married Clarissa Olcott and had six children, all of whom died (two of them in the Fire Lands, part of the western reserve of Connecticut in what is now Ohio).
• He was enlisted to fight the Indians under General Wayne. He had many hairbreadth escapes from the Indians, as described in the stories.
• After his discharge, he returned to Connecticut with his little family, but later moved west to Genesee County in New York (until 1809), and then to the area near Cleveland, Ohio. 
• He married Hannah Hiccox (cousin of Wild Bill) of Cleveland, and had 14 - 15 children, most of whom died at birth. Among them were Sally, Ann, John, Hannah, Betsey, King, Esther, Olcott, and Comfort.
• John and his son, Henry, served in the War of 1812.  Afterward they worked as mail carriers on the route between Cleveland and General Harrison at Camp Seneca, surviving more close calls with Indians.
• In 1836, he pioneered by wagon train to Porter Co., Indiana where he died at age 90. 

The descendants of the Dillinghams play an important part in the history of Liberty Township and still populate this ancestral home.  The eastern third of Liberty Township in Porter County was known as the "Dillingham Settlement."  Liberty Township was a quiet and law-abiding community in spite of frequent episodes with Indians, fires, storms, and train wrecks.  John was known for sheltering "wayfaring men" as there was no inn.

Interesting notes:  
1) a history of Liberty Township mentions a "William Crawford" who owned land in the northeast part of the town (Calvin V's relation?).  
2) There is a Crawfordsville, Indiana  (Text, p. 59.) established in 1823 (Wickipedia) and named after Colonel William H. Crawford from Virginia.  Coincidence? I think this is different family, but still...
3) Several sources list John Dillingham as a "Welshman." One source says that John and Hannah were natives of "Wales and Connecticut respectively."I have not found evidence of his Welsh heritage, but it makes me wonder about the accuracy of my research.  
4) Hannah's last name can be spelled many different ways, making research a challenge... Hiccox, Hickok, Hekok, Hitchcock...

The history of Porter Country documents the marriage of Anna Dillingham to Daniel Lyons in 1837 and tells us that Anna taught school in her father's house (eight or nine students).   In 1839, she married Calvin Crawford, who was one of the first settlers of the nearby Jackson Township.  They had five children:  Angeline, Cylinda, Chester, Horace (my great grandfather), and Charles.  Many young men from Liberty fought for the Union in the Civil War (including my great grandfather Horace Crofford).  

1850 Census for Porter, Indiana.  My great grandfather Horace was three years old.

Congruent Maternal/Paternal lines

I have discovered additional convincing evidence that my father's and mother's ancestors knew each other long, long ago.

In 1652 my paternal 9th great grandfather Thomas Judd was one of seven founders of the Church of Christ in Farmington, CT, and was a pillar of the church until his death in 1688.  His children and grandchildren were baptized there.

Samuel and Hannah Hickok, my maternal 8th great grandparents, were members of the congregation at the same time and their children were also baptized there.

There were only 84 proprietors of town of Farmington at the time.

Detailed church records can be seen here.

From the church website > click here.

From the Farmington Historical Society:

George Washington, who traveled through town in 1780 and 1781, is said to have called Farmington "the village of pretty houses." And when the French army, commanded by the Comte de Rochambeau, camped in town in 1781, an officer wrote, "This town contains some of the handsomest houses and best people in America."

Illustrious ancestors from the Colonies

There are so many significant persons in our ancestry that it has become tedium to sift through all of the documents and photos.  I find myself wishing that there was a simple way to present the lineage from all parents in a visual way to show how they are interconnected in history.  My mother and father's ancestors surely knew each other.  There just weren't that many people around at that time!  Ancestors from both sides played prominent roles in the founding and leadership of places such as Hartford, New Haven, and Providence.  Sometimes their names are juxtaposed on monuments or in graveyards.

Here is one monument that features several names of our direct ancestors, located in Hartford Connecticut.

Thomas Welles (10th great grandfather - paternal), John Bidwell (9th great grandfather - paternal), John Hopkins (7th great grandfather - maternal), Thomas Judd (9th great grandfather - paternal)

A list of names on the monument:  http://josfamilyhistory.com/stories/founders-monument.htm

The Society of the Descendants of the Founders of Hartford

The Founders of Hartford

The original Founders Monument is located in the Ancient Burying Ground, also sometimes referred to at the "Old" or "Center" Cemetery. The cemetery is located at the rear of the First Congregational ("Center") Church at the corner of Main and Gold Streets in Hartford. The original brownstone Monument erected in 1837 was replaced by one of pink Connecticut granite in 1986. The Society of the Descendants of the Founders of Hartford maintains a list of names found on the new monument and biographical information about each of the Founders.

The Society of the Descendants of the Founders of Hartford maintains a list of names found on the new monument and biographical information about each of the Founders. Those descended from an ancestor who settled in Hartford before February 1640, may be eligible for membership.   http://www.ctstatelibrary.org/node/3531

Reverend Orrin Bishop Judd

Zaun > Powell > Judd

If this blog emphasizes the fame and notoriety in our family lineage, it's because the more colorful characters more immediately come to mind. This post is no exception... meet Orrin Bishop Judd, the grandfather of my great grandmother Nannie Zaun (Georgia Powell).

Orrin Judd was born in 1816 in Hartford, Connecticut.  He grew up in a middle class home "removed alike from the evils of affluence and want." (Memoirs and Remains of Rev. Willard Judd).  He was the ninth of ten children - seven sons and three daughters with two decades between the ages of oldest and youngest.  He graduated from Madison University which later became Colgate University. Succeeding generations of "Orrin Judds" also attended college there.  The current Orrin Judd, who is the great great grandson of our Orrin and his third wife Susanna, maintains a blog called "BrothersJudd" in which he writes about his family's tradition:

"The Reverend Orrin Bishop Judd graduated from Madison which became Colgate and was a trustee.  
His son, Orrin Reynolds Judd, was a trustee of Colgate.  
His son, Orrin Grimmell Judd, went to Colgate and was a trustee.  
His son, The Reverend Orrin Dolloff Judd, went to Colgate-Rochester Seminary. 
His son, yours truly, went to Colgate." 
 (http://brothersjuddblog.com/archives/2008/05/fairest_theme_of_all_our_lays.html)

Rev. Orrin Bishop Judd D.D., L.L.D., was a respected Baptist theologian and author, as well as servant in both public and private office.  He wrote a translation of the New Testament (Matthew ch. 1-3), and many other works including a biography on the life, religious experiences, and teachings of his brother, Rev. Willard Judd.

(https://archive.org/details/memoirsandremai00conegoog)  

He founded the New York Chronicle, which he edited for many years (The Magazine of Christian Literature, volumes 5-6). 

Other works listed here:  http://www.worldcat.org/identities/lccn-no97-37833.  

Orrin was quoted at the beginning of this scholarly work:  

However, on the more human side, Orrin was married three times, and made front page news in the New York Times (April 19 and 26, 1868) because of a scandalous divorce from his second wife - our ancestor - Elizabeth MacDonald.  Her son-in-law testified that Elizabeth, who herself was a writer for the New York Tribune, was "treated with the most revolting cruelty," and that her husband beat and starved her and kept her from seeing her children.  In her own testimony, Elizabeth says that when she had only been married a week when she discovered that Orrin's "love of money was his besetting sin." He would not give her money for household incidentals, even refusing to supply his aging mother, who lived with them, with sufficient underclothing.  Elizabeth took off her own underclothing for the "venerable lady" and as a consequence took ill herself.  She accused Orrin of adultery, and the testimony of offenses and tawdry details of their personal lives goes on for entire pages of the newspaper. 

Egad.

The 1880 census in Brooklyn, NY, Orrin's occupation is "6th Ave E.RR." (elevated railroad).  The 6th Ave. E.RR was constructed in 1878.  I have not confirmed positively that this is the same Orrin Bishop Judd.