| Notes |
- There are important errors in the description of Paul and Zerviah's family in Phelps Family of America by Oliver Phelps and Andrew Servin. Phelps and Servin incorrectly state that Zerviah died in 1776 and that Paul then married Theodosia Root of Westfield, Massachusetts. Phelps and Servin list Paul's last four children (John, Solomon, Jedediah and Paul 3rd) as Theodosia's children. However, they actually were Zerviah's children as shown by Dimock's transcription of the records of the Town of Mansfield and the Second Church of Mansfeld, and by an image of a page from Willington Town records for the births of Jedediah and Paul 3rd. Regrettably, Phelps and Servin acknowledged the birth records showing Zerviah as the mother, but chose to list the children as Theodosia's without providing any evidence or supporting argument.
There were two Theodosia Roots in Westfield at the time, neither of whom could have married Paul in 1776.
Theodosia(1) was b. 28 Oct 1757 in Westfield, the daughter of Solomon Root and Mary Church Root. Her father bequeathed his "daughter Theodosia Root 30 pounds" in his will written 1 Aug 1786 and proved the same year (ancestry.com erroneously says the will was proved on 1 Aug 1786). The use of her maiden name indicates that she was not yet married. She appears to have married a Solomon Phelps soon after her father's death. In 1804, the widow Theodosia Phelps of Westfield married Ebenezer Williams. The deceased was not Paul, as he was still living in Swanton, Vermont.
Theodosia(2) was b. 1 Jul 1759, to Martin Root and Eunice Lamb Root. She married Gad Root, a brother of Theodosia(1) on 19 Jun 1779. Theodore, their last child for whom there is a birthdate was b. in 1797. Theodosia (2) d. 23 Aug 1812 and Gad Root died 13 Nov 1824.
Phelps and Servin state that after Zerviah’s death Paul moved to Westfield and then to Pennsylvania where he died. Paul’s known movements do not fit that scenario. Paul was still living in Windham, Connecticut in December of 1794 when he advertised that he was going to grind salt, and he (“Paul Phelps of Windham, Windham County Connecticut”) bought land in Woodford, Vermont in 1795 where he resided until about 1803 when he moved to Swanton, Vermont. He lived in Swanton until at least 1814. There is no record of him moving to Pennsylvania after this. (All of his sons and his daughter Zerviah lived in New York for many years after 1814, and a man of his age very likely would have stayed near or with one of his children.)
Phelps and Servin also state Zerviah " was probably daughter of John and Sarah (Huntington) Calkins", but that is incorrect. Zerviah, the daughter of John and Sarah, did not grow up in the Lebanon Connecticut area, as her family moved to Dutchess County, New York when she was five or six. Her mother died in Dutchess County in 1744 as did her father in 1769. If she had married Paul, the marriage would have been very unusual, as she was thirteen years older than Paul. Also, she would have been 50 when Paul 3rd was born, a very late (although not impossible) age to give birth. Zerviah, the daughter of Solomon Calkins and Zerviah Dewey, was the same age as Paul and would have been 37 years old when Paul 3rd was born. Finally, Paul and the younger Zerviah were first cousins, lived in the greater Lebanon area, and almost certainly would have known each other. [emphasis mine] [2, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9]
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Histories of the Martin, Wilson, Bloom, & Ahola Families
1768 - 
[1, 2] 
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