One Rhode Island Family

Who Were the Parents of Hannah (Andrews) Lamphere?

Hannah Andrews and Russell Lamphere married on 11 June 1838 at Norwich, Connecticut and over the next 40 years until her death in 1878 they lived their lives and raised their children in Connecticut, Alabama, and Rhode Island, leaving behind enough records to make the details of her adult life reasonably clear.  The question is, who were the parents of Hannah Andrews?

There are documents that reveal the names of Hannah’s parents to be Jesse and Sarah Andrews.  Knowing exactly which Jesse and Sarah Andrews is problematic.  Neither Hannah nor her parents lived out their lives in one place, and their vital records are spotty.  Many records left by wealthier families – vital records, numerous land transactions, church pews, probate records, informative cemetery markers – were seemingly out of reach for Hannah’s family.  And of the evidence that does exist, some is contradictory.

Using a combination of direct evidence and evidence gleaned through identifying two siblings, proof that Hannah’s parents were the Jesse and Sarah Andrews married in Warwick, Rhode Island in 1795 can be pieced together.

Map showing the important locations in Hannah’s lifetime.

Jessie and Sarah Andrews

Hannah’s death record contains the names of her parents: Jesse Andrews and Sarah Andrews.  It also reports that Sarah Andrews was born in Warwick, Rhode Island.

Hannah’s 1878 death record, signed by her doctor with data reported by her husband, exists as both a “Return of Death” and as the same information copied into the Providence record book of Deaths.[1]  It is the most direct report of Hannah’s parents found.  Jesse’s birthplace is given as “U.S.” and Sarah’s as “Warwick” which would mean Warwick, Rhode Island since the form was from Providence, Rhode Island.  Hannah’s birthplace is listed as “Coventry, Connecticut,” and her birth date calculates to 12 February 1819.  Since Russell and Hannah married when Hannah was 19, her family situation prior to marriage should have been well known to him.

Research shows two sets of Jesse and Sarah Andrews in New England, although of course there could be others:

1. Jesse Andrews and Sarah Alvord married at Montague, Franklin County, Massachusetts (intentions, 18 Dec 1817[2]) and became the parents of three living children (Nancy Eliza, Sophia Lucretia, and Moses) between January, 1819 and October, 1822[3]. There would not have been time for the birth of Hannah and another sibling (Alden, see below) during the period 1817-1822.  There is no evidence that this couple ever left Massachusetts.
2. Jesse Andrews, of Philip, and Sally Arnold, of Joseph, married at Warwick, Rhode Island on 22 February 1795.[4] The town, Warwick, coincides with information on Hannah’s death record. If Sarah Arnold had been 18 at marriage, in that case, she could have been about 42 in 1819, the probable year of Hannah’s birth.  Given that there were many children reported in the federal census records of 1800[5] and 1810[6] for this couple, a child as late as age 42 seems possible. No record has been found in Rhode Island for this couple after the 1810 census.

More evidence is needed to build a case for Jesse and Sally Andrews of Warwick to be Hannah’s parents, because they did not remain in Warwick.  From here, it is necessary to backtrack through Hannah’s adult life to find the additional clues.

Hannah’s marriage

Norwich Town 11 June 1838

Norwich Town 11 June 1838 Russell Lamphere of Norwich and Hannah Andrews of Ashford entered in the marriage relation before me   Joel R Arnold   Pastor of Cong’l Church   Colchester   Received July 5 1838 Simeon Thomas Town Clerk. [7]

The handwritten record, a primary source, provides direct evidence of the marriage and was viewed in the original book where it was recorded several weeks later by the town clerk, as reported by the officiant.  It is less clear why Hannah was not married in her own town of Ashford, and why they chose a minister from another town five miles distant.

Newlyweds Hannah and Russell were enumerated in Norwich, Connecticut in 1840 with one boy under 5 and with three extra adults in the household, besides the young couple[8].

Hannah’s brother

Although birth and death records are non-existent for this family before the 1870’s, during Hannah’s marriage and even after her death, there is evidence of a brother, Alden Andrews, who was the son of the Jesse Andrews of Ashford.  Alden can very reasonably be called Hannah’s brother because of four circumstances:  co-habitation, similar age and birthplace, parental names on the death records, and assistance given to Alden’s children.

Alden is enumerated in the same Norwich, Connecticut dwelling with Hannah and Russell Lamphere in 1850.

This census shows Alden Andrews living in the same dwelling as Hannah and Russell and their children, along with Alden’s family.  Alden and Russell were working as machinists.  For them to live in the same dwelling provides strong evidence that they were family.  The lack of a difference in their ages seems inconsistent with other records, that usually maintain an earlier birth year for Alden.  The birthplace for both, Massachusetts, might point to other Jesse and Sarah Andrews family, from Montague, Massachusetts as parents, but in fact the period of their birth, the late 1810’s, is one in which the Jesse and Sarah Andrews of Warwick had disappeared from Warwick records, and not yet made their appearance in Ashford records, so they could have been in Massachusetts.  Or the designation of Massachusetts could be wrong.  Despite a report in her death record that Coventry, Connecticut was her birthplace, no evidence has ever turned up to clarify the birthplace question for Hannah or Alden.

Alden later lived in Rhode Island, appearing with his wife and children in the 1870 census[10] (and providing evidence that he had a son Merrill) and dying in Coventry, Rhode Island in 1873[11], leading to the second piece of evidence that Alden was Hannah’s brother:  his father was listed on his death certificate as “Jesse”; mother left blank.

The third and final piece of evidence, a census record from 1880[12], after Hannah’s death, shows that Russell Lamphere was living in Providence, Rhode Island and had taken in Alden’s son Merrill Andrews as a boarder. Both men were employed at a “Cotton Mill” which suggests that Russell (often employed in a senior capacity) may have helped the younger man find employment in Providence.

Hannah’s later life

By 1855, Hannah and Russell and the children had moved to Alabama[13].  The 1860 census in Tuscaloosa, Alabama assigned Massachusetts as Hannah’s birthplace[14].  Although Russell and his youngest daughter, Emma, were enumerated at a boarding house in nearby Meridian, Mississippi in 1870[15] a search for an 1870 census record for Hannah and the other grown children has not been successful, despite two of the sons being in their late 20s and capable of running households, which they later did, remaining throughout their lives in the south.

The 1875 Rhode Island state census in Johnston, Rhode Island shows Russell, Hannah and the daughters back up north[16].  She died in Providence on 22 June 1878 (see footnote 1) after, according to her obituary, “a long and painful illness”[17] which might explain her absence from the 1870 Meridian household of her husband.

Looking back at Ashford, Connecticut

Property records in Ashford provide the direct evidence that the Jesse Andrews of Ashford was Alden Andrews’ father.

Ashford Deeds, volume 24 : 432-433.  8 Jan 1838[18] 

Jesse Andrews of Ashford sells to Alden Andrews of Ashford, 50 acres, for $200.  Described as:

A certain tract or piece of land lying in said Ashford containing about 50 acres be the same more or less and bounded south on lands of Rufus Eastman, East on land of Rufus Eastman and William Shurman, North on land of Tomson Lyon and land possessed by Nathan B. Lyon, west on lands of said Nathan B. Lyon and land of Rufus Eastman.

This is further documentation of the only Jesse Andrews found in Ashford in the 1830’s; showing him “of Ashford” selling property to Alden Andrews of Ashford in 1838.  Significantly, this item places Jesse in Ashford in the key year of 1838, only several months before Hannah’s marriage, where she is recorded as being “of Ashford.”

Another deed documents the relationship of Jesse and Alden, using the words “received by deed of my father, Jesse Andrews”:

Ashford Deeds, volume 24 : 493-494.  31 March 1838[19] 

Alden Andrews of Ashford sells to Samuel Mosely of Hampton, 50 acres, for $175.  Described as:

A certain tract or piece of land being and lying in said and bounded on the north on lands of Nathan B. Lyon and Tomson Lyon, East on lands of William Shurman and Rufus Eastman, south on land of Rufus Eastman, West on lands of Rufus Eastman & Nathan B. Lyon, being the same piece of land which I the grantor received by deed of my father, Jesse Andrews.

Ashford, Connecticut town hall, June, 2013. Photo by Diane Boumenot.

Ashford census

The federal census offers the final clue that Hannah’s parents, Jesse and Sarah Andrews of Ashford, Connecticut, were the Jesse and Sally Andrews of Warwick, Rhode Island.  Knowing that Hannah was “of Ashford” when she married in 1838, a look at the 1820, 1830, 1840 and 1850 federal census records for Ashford reveals some details about Jesse Andrews.

Each of these census records is an original record, placed online as a digital copy.  For each year, the pages give the impression of having been created in some kind of geographical order, because no other scheme seems evident.  Eastford, Connecticut was split off from Ashford in 1847[20] and it is likely the Andrews were in approximately the same place for all four decades.

The 1820 census, the earliest Connecticut record for Jesse Andrews, is consistent with the growing family found in the earlier Warwick records.  Jesse Andrews was head of a bustling household of 11 in 1820, with five of those persons engaged in manufacture, and five household members under the age of 10 – presumably, Hannah and Alden were among them.  Although Ashford was rural, eastern Connecticut in this era was a thriving industrial area, with Norwich and Plainfield being home to several industries.  Possibly, the family was doing some sort of piecework for a local industry.

But in 1830, when Hannah and Alden would have been about 11 and 13 years old, no children were enumerated in the Jesse Andrews household, making this record serve as contradictory evidence.  Next door, if the census was done in a geographic path, Benjamin Andrews, a young man, was living with his wife (Benjamin had married Lucy Snow on 8 March 1830 at Ashford[24].)  Jesse’s almost empty house implies that the older couple had no parental responsibilities.  But the older offspring, formerly “engaged in manufactures,” would have households of their own by 1830 and possibly took the younger children with them, for household help or to work in industries close by; this supposition is based on the large number of household members “engaged in manufactures” in the prior census.  No obvious candidates for the older siblings, except for Benjamin, appear in the 1830 Eastford or Ashford enumeration districts, so they may have gone to more industrialized towns nearby.  Hannah met her husband Russell, a longtime Norwich resident, by the time of her marriage in 1838 and it is doubtful she could have met him in Ashford.

In 1840, no trace of Jesse or his wife can be found in Windham County, and no burial, probate, cemetery, newspaper or any other record can be found for Jesse after 1838.

By 1850, Benjamin was enumerated with an older woman, Sarah Andrews, and his children, and remarkably, both Benjamin and Sarah reported being born in Rhode Island.  This theory (and unfortunately there is no further evidence for it) that Jesse is Benjamin’s father, and that Sarah was his mother, living with him and perhaps caring for his apparently motherless children, provides the only evidence that the wife of Jesse Andrews, of Ashford, was named Sarah, and the only direct link of the Ashford Andrews back to Rhode Island.  No death record can be found for Sarah.  Benjamin, after a long career in and out of jail as a noted chicken thief[27], was given a perfunctory death record in Eastford in 1885 which did not name his parents[28].  Most other death records on that page and surrounding pages recorded names and places of birth for parents.  Likely, Benjamin died friendless and no one wished to report any facts about him.

Some further support for Sarah Andrews’ birth in Rhode Island occurs in the 1860 census. Benjamin and his second wife Mary Ann Davis were enumerated in Norwich, Connecticut. Although Sarah appears to be enumerated as “Anna” Andrews, this is her son’s household, based on names and ages, and further evidence that this is Sarah can be found in the 1861 city directory for Norwich, where “Sarah Andrews” boarded at 22 Spring Street, which is the same address as given for farmer “Benjamin B. Andrews[30].”

Ashford, from Connecticut Historical Collections by J.W. Barber, New Haven, 1836, p. 417.

In conclusion

The case for Jesse and Sally Andrews married in 1795 in Warwick, Rhode Island to be Hannah’s parents rests on Hannah’s death record which states that her mother Sarah was born in Warwick, on the 1850 census report that Benjamin and the elderly Sarah Andrews were born in Rhode Island (further backed up by a flawed 1860 census), and on the evidence that Alden (and, much more hypothetically, Benjamin) were brothers of Hannah, thereby linking her more completely to the Jesse Andrews of Ashford.  Although the evidence appears contradictory at times, the story holds together and exhaustive research has uncovered no other solution.

Further research will be ongoing among the Andrews of Windham and New London counties, Connecticut, to find another likely sibling with a post-1870 death record that properly lists parents and their birthplaces.

Endnotes

[1] Two versions:  (1) City of Providence, Rhode Island, Returns of Deaths, 1856-1921, for Hannah Lanphear (died 22 June 1878), digital images, FamilySearch.org, (htttp://www.familysearch.org : accessed 4/18/2016) image 2023 of 2142, from FHL microfilm 2022884 (June 1877-June 1878).  (2; derivative of the first and omitting birthplaces of the parents) Providence, Rhode Island, “Deaths,” Book 14, p. 161, for “Hannah Lanphear,” Providence City Archives, Providence.

[2] Town of Montague, Franklin County, Massachusetts, Town Records with Births, Marriages, and Deaths, for Mr. Jesse Andrews of Montague and Miss Sarah Alvord of Greenfield (Montague, Dec. 18, 1817 on page 439, digital image, Ancestry.com, (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 04/12/2012) image 217 of 232, from Massachusetts Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988.

[3] Town of Montague, Franklin County, Massachusetts, Montague Births and Deaths, 1744-1861, Book 1, for Jesse Andrews and Sarah Alvord, his wife, (Nancy Eliza, daughter, born Jan. 27, 1819; Sophia Lucretia, daughter, born Oct 6, “1819 or 1820”; Moses, son, born Oct 7, 1822, plus eight subsequent births, page 12-13), digital image, Ancestry.com, (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 04/12/2012) image 24 of 518, from Massachusetts Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988.

[4] The marriage record reads: “2 : 258 – Andrews, Jesse, of Phillip, deceased, and Sally Arnold, of Joseph; m. by James Jerauld, Justice, Feb 22, 1795.”  Arnold, James, Vital Record of Rhode Island, 1636-1850. First Series, Births, Marriages and Deaths. 6 vols.  (Providence, Narragansett Historical Publishing Company, 1891), 1 (section: Warwick – Marriages) : 3. Note: Original book cited, Warwick Marriages 2, page 238, has not been found in Warwick City Hall and was not microfilmed with other books in the 1970’s. Note also that wife “Sally” signed her name as “Sarah” with her mark in a 1797 deed (East Greenwich, Rhode Island, Land Evidence, 10: 424, Jesse Andrews to Christopher Andrews, Town Clerk’s Office, East Greenwich.)

[5] (The 1800 census shows the couple in Warwick, with one boy under 10 and two girls under 10 plus a man and two women).  1800 U.S. Census. Kent County, Rhode Island, population schedule, Warwick, p. 38 (penned), line 15, Jesse Andrews; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 22 June 2014); from National Archives microfilm publication M32, roll 45.

[6] (In the 1810 census, still in Warwick, Jesse Andrew’s household shows three boys under 10, one boy 10-16, one girl under 10, and two girls 10-16 plus a man and a woman. He is enumerated next to Joseph Arnold, which is the name of his father in law, according to his marriage record, see footnote 4). 1810 U.S. Census. Kent County, Rhode Island, population schedule, Warwick, p. 22 (penned), line 22, Jesse Andrew; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 22 June 2014); from National Archives microfilm publication M252, roll 59.

[7] Norwich, Connecticut, “Marriages Births & Deaths No. 6,” p. 19, for “Russell Lamphere of Norwich” and “Hannah Andrews of Ashford;” Office of the City Clerk, Norwich.

[8] 1840 U.S. Census. New London County, Connecticut, population schedule, Norwich, p. 3613 & 3614 (stamped), p. 178 (stamped), line 26, Russel Lamphere; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 14 June 2016); from National Archives microfilm publication M704, roll 30.

[9] 1850 U.S. Census. Windham, Connecticut, population schedule, Eastford Township, p. 470 (penned 471 on facing page), p. 235B (stamped 235 on previous page), dwelling 63, family 67, Sarah Andrews; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 14 June 2016); from National Archives microfilm publication M432, roll 51.

[10]   1870 U.S. Census. Kent County, Rhode Island, population schedule, Coventry, Post Office: Summit, p. 139 (following page, stamped), p. 34 (penned), dwelling 237, family 312, Aldin Andrews; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 14 June 2016); from National Archives microfilm publication M593, roll 1471.

[11]   Coventry, Rhode Island, “Record of Deaths, 1843-1900, Town of Coventry”, Deaths section : 34, Alden Andrews; digital images, FamilySearch.org, (www.FamilySearch.org : accessed 22 June 2016) image 393 of 528, from FHL microfilm 925616 (Births, marriages, deaths 1830-1900).

[12]   1880 U.S. Census. Providence County, Rhode Island, population schedule, Providence Enumeration District 61, p.541 (stamped), p. 19 (penned), dwelling 90, family 110, Russell Lamphere; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 16 June 2016); from National Archives microfilm publication T9, roll 1213.

[13]   1855 census, Tuscaloosa County, Alabama, “An Enumeration of the Inhabitants of the County of Tuscaloosa taken under an Act “To take the Census of the State of Alabama for the year 1855,” p. 75, line 3, household of Russel Lamphere; FHL microfilm 1,492,023.

[14]   1860 U.S. Census. Tuscaloosa County, Alabama, population schedule (free), City of Tuscaloosa, p. 448 (stamped 447 on prior page), p. 12 (penned), dwelling 130, family 130, Hannah Lamphere; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 14 June 2016); from National Archives microfilm publication M657, roll 25.

[15]   1870 U.S. Census. Lauderdale County, Mississippi, population schedule (free), Township 6, Post Office “Meridian,” p. 29 (stamped), p. 17 (penned), dwelling 130, family 130, Russell Landfare; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 14 June 2016); from National Archives microfilm publication M593, roll 735.

[16]   1875 census, Providence County, Rhode Island, “Census of District, No. 1, Town of Johnston, June 1, 1875,” p. 51, “Silver Lake Street,” line 34, household of Russel Lamphere; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 21 June 2016); Rhode Island, State Census, 1865-1935 for Hannah Lamphere, 1875, Providence, Johnston, image 51 of 145.

[17]   “Providence Journal, Tuesday Morning, June 25, 1878,” obituary for Hannah Lanphere, The Providence Daily Journal, 25 June 1878, p. 2, col. 3.

[18]   Ashford, Connecticut, Deeds, 24:  493-494, Col. Jesse Andrews to Alden Andrews 8 January 1838; Town Clerk’s Office, Ashford.

[19]   Ashford, Connecticut, Deeds, 24 :  432-433, Alden Andrews to Samuel Mosely, 31 March 1838; Town Clerk’s Office, Ashford.

[20]   Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org), “Eastford, Connecticut” 09/12/2016.

[21]   1820 U.S. Census. Windham County, Connecticut, population schedule, Ashford, p. 28 (penned), p. 430 (stamped), p. 1978 (stamped), line 8, “Jessee Andrews”; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 14 June 2016); from National Archives microfilm publication M33, roll 3.

[22]   1830 U.S. Census. Windham County, Connecticut, population schedule, Ashford, p. 166 (penned), p. 330 & 331 (penned), line 2, Jesse Andrews; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 14 June 2016); from National Archives microfilm publication M19, roll 11.

[23]   1830 U.S. Census. Windham County, Connecticut, population schedule, Ashford, p. 166 (penned), p. 330 & 331 (penned), line 3, Benjamin Andrews; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 14 June 2016); from National Archives microfilm publication M19, roll 11.

[24]   Ashford, Connecticut, “Births Marriages Deaths 1710-1851,” 6: 38, for Benjamin B Andrews and Lucy B. Snow “both of Ashford,” Office of the Town Clerk, Ashford.

[25]   1840 U.S. Census. Windham County, Connecticut, population schedule, Ashford, p. 4275 (stamped), line 12, Benjamin B. Andrews; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 14 June 2016); from National Archives microfilm publication M704, roll 32.

[26]   1850 U.S. Census. Windham County, Connecticut, population schedule, Eastford, p. 235B (stamped), line 13-16, Benjamin B. Andrews household; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 19 May 2016); from National Archives microfilm publication roll M432_51, page 235B, image 285.

[27]   For instance, “Tuesday Apr 30 1878: Benjamin Andrews from Eastford, was brought before Judge Tilden last week, charged with stealing 10 chickens from Chas. Simpson of South Windham. He was found guilty on circumstantial evidence, and fined $5 and costs. He appealed, and in default of bonds was sent to Brooklyn to await trial. He was well known at the jail, and bears a bad reputation among his neighbors. It is stated that one year he sold 200 chickens and did not raise one of them.” – Message Boards > Topics > Newspaper Research > Willimantic Enterprise News Message Board 1877. “1262.”  Digital item, http://Ancestry.com: accessed 21 October 2013.

[28]   Eastford, Connecticut, Births Marriages Deaths, 3 (1881-1886): 210-211, for “Benjamin Andrews,” Eastford Town Hall, Eastford.

[29]   1860 U.S. Census. New London County, Connecticut, population schedule, Norwich, p. 217, line 33-37, Benjamin B. Andrews household; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 28 June 2016); from National Archives microfilm publication Roll M653_90, page 1000, image 375.

[30]   John W. Steadman, compiler, Directory of the City and Town of Norwich, No. 1, 1861, microfilm reprint, U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995, Ancestry.com, Norwich, Connecticut City Directory, 1861, 15, “Sarah Andrews.”

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