Histories of the Martin, Wilson, Bloom, & Ahola Families

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Who were Samuel Martin's ancestors?

Samuel Martin (I27) b. ca. 1759, d. 1832, m. Silence Greene. His birthplace is unknown, but is most likely Connecticut, Massachusetts, or Vermont. There appears to be a Lanesborough, Massachusetts connection, as his wife's family lived there and his wife's sister Huldah was married there.

Samuel appears to have believed he was of Scottish descent. Three of his children (Calvin, Elial and Eunice) declared their origins to be "Scotch" in the 1871 Canada Census. This tradition was carried on through a few generations. In a 1941 letter to Maud Latham, Eva Sowden wrote "Were there Scotsmen among the Pilgrim Fathers? You said the first time you were over that the Martins were Highland Scotch. Adda Smith said they were & Dr. DeWitt Martin son of Chauncey spelled his name "Martyn" because it was a Scotch name & that was the correct way, he said."

Although not conclusive, Y-DNA evidence suggests that Samuel was not descended from two well-researched New England families whose ancestry goes back to Devon, England. If this could be firmly established, it would show that our Samuel (I27) could not be the son of Samuel Martin (I29), b. 1729 in Woodbury, Connecticut, who married Ann Hurd, as some have suspected.

If you are a male named Martin or Martyn whose direct paternal line goes back to Samuel, please join the Martin/Martyn Y-DNA project at FamilyTreeDNA.com (I have no financial interest in this project). Your particiaption will help to build a "Samuel Martin Y-DNA genotype". It's possible that in the future someone else whose family tree goes back to an earlier ancestor might match the genotype and give us the clues necessary to find Samuel's ancestors.
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Who were Catherine Willse's ancestors?

Catherine Elizabeth Willse (I129) b. 22 Aug 1806 in Otsego County, New York, d. 5 Feb 1888 in Little Falls, Morrison, Minnesota, m. John Tanner 24 June 1828.
There were several Wilse (Wilsey) families living in Otsego County at the time of her birth. Which did she belong to?
Variant spellings include Wilsie, Wiltsie, Wilse, Willse, Willsey.
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Who were David B. Knapp's ancestors?

David Benjamin Knapp (I305) b. ca. 1813 in Mayfield, Montgomery (now Fulton), New York, d. 1 Oct 1897 in Rockland, Manitowoc, Wisconsin, m. Hannah Osborn (Orsborn).

At one time I thought that David was the son or grandson of Solomon Knapp (I557, b. ca. 1767, m. Sarah ______, d. 19 Aug 1848) for two reasons: (1) David was mentioned in the heirs and next of kin section of Solomon Knapp's (I557) probate papers along with Axey (Achsa) Holbrook. (2) There was a male of the correct age living with Solomon in 1830 (US Census). However, the obituary of Harriet Knapp said that she was the youngest of a family of 7 [children]. This is the number if children named in Solomon's will. This suggests that David was not Solomon's child. He could have been Solomon's grandchild or adopted.

Achsa Holbrook was widowed, and she and her children lived with David's and Hannah's family for many years. Her relationship to David and Solomon is unclear. She was the daughter of John Holbrook and Sarah (Sally) Knapp. She was an unwed mother of two children, and it is possible that Solomon and his wife took her in. She was at one time a member of Solomon's church in Mayfield, and it is possible that she lived with Solomon's family for a while when she was young. She was an unwed mother of two children, and perhaps Solomon took her in.

There are errors in the information about the Knapps of Fulton / Montogomery Counties, New York in A. A. Knapp's book Nicholas Knapp Genealogy.
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