William Saunders (1793 - 1872)

Born 29 Dec 1793 in New Hampshire, United States [uncertain]

Husband of Rhoda (Drake) Saunders — married about 1817 (to 7 Apr 1847) in New York, United States

Descendants

Died 12 Feb 1872 at age 78 in Pleasant Township, Putnam, Ohio, United States [uncertain]

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Paul Ackerman [send private message]

Biography

William Saunders served for New York in the War of 1812
Service started:
Unit(s):
Service ended:

William Saunders was born on 29 Dec 1793 ^{[1] [2]} in New Hampshire, United States, ^[3] and died on 12 Feb 1872 ^[2] probably at Pleasant Township where he was residing in 1872. The address given for his burial is SR 12-1 ¼ Mi SW of Cols Grove, Ohio, United States, which has been interpreted to mean Truro Cemetery, also known as Osborn Cemetery, located on Ohio State Route 12, Columbus Grove, Putnam, Ohio.

He was the son of Green Saunders (1767-abt 1845), and Sarah Chamberlain (1765-aft Aug 1820). No occupation was listed for him in the censuses. He appears to have served in the War of 1812 in the Army. ^[2]

William married Rhoda Drake (1803-1847). The marriage date has been estimated @ 1817 in New York, United States, based on the birth of their first child, Mahalatha Saunders in 1818 in that state. ^[4] The marriage ended with her death on 07 Apr 1847. He died 25 years later in 1872. According to two sources, William and Rhoda had at least 13 children, although the birth date given for the last child Thurza in 1849, is not possible if her mother was Rhoda, who died in 1847: ^{[5] [6]}

1. Mahalatha Saunders (1818–1910)
2. Abigail Saunders (1820- )
3. Lydia Irena Saunders (1821- )
4. Sarah Jane Sanders (1823-1880)
5. Rhoda Lucinda Saunders (1825- )
6. Lois Saunders (1827- )
7. Sarah Jane Saunders (1829- )
8. Susan M Saunders (1829- )
9. Sidney Saunders (1831- )
10. William M Saunders (1832-)
11. Asa Saunders (1835- )
12. Daniel Saunders (1837- )
13. James Saunders (1842- )
14. Thurza Saunders (1849- )

William appeared by name in the following censuses:

Aug 1850 William Saunders appeared in the 1850 Census on 16 Aug 1850 at Pleasant, Putnam, Ohio, United States, "William Sanders", 58 years, birth place unknown, no occupation, with his son-in-law "Henry Sheets", 31 yrs, born in New York ? (not legible), Farmer, Real Estate Value $800, his daughter, "Lois Sheets", 24 yrs, born in Ohio and his granddaughter, "Abigail Sheets", 1 yr, born in Ohio. ^[7]

Aug 1860 William Saunders appeared in the 1860 Census on 09 Aug 1860 at Pleasant, Putnam, Ohio, United States, "Wm Sanders", 63 yrs, born in New Hampshire, with the Bogart family of four. ^[8]

Jul 1870 William Saunders appeared in the 1870 Census on 14 Jul 1870 at Pleasant Township, Putnam, Ohio, United States "Wm Saunders", 76 yrs, born in New Hampshire, with his son-in-law, "John Sheets", 46yrs, born in Pennsylvania, Farmer, Real Estate Value $10000, Personal Estate Value $1642, his daughter, "Mahala Sheets", 52 yrs, born in New York, Housekeeper, and seven grandchildren, all born in Ohio, ages 10-23. ^[3]

Research Notes

Regarding parents and family In Dec 2015, Green Saunders' (1767-abt 1845) fourth great granddaughter came across an edition of a New Testament from 1813 in books left by family. The edition is in terrible condition, has been damaged by water at some point, and is quite fragile. Many, but not all, of its handwritten entries are quite illegible between flooding and age but, as luck would have it, someone took the trouble to write what appears to be a few of the semi-legible entries on a piece of foolscap and tuck them into the book. Such is the case for Green Saunders. According to the papers within, he was born on 11 Feb 1767, and his wife Sarah Chamberlain (1765-aft Aug 1820), was born on 19 Jun 1765. Their children are also listed on the paper as follows:

1. Jacob B, born October 18, 1792
2. William, born December 29, 1793
3. Mahalah, born May 13, 1795
4. Jonathan, born November 6, 1796
5. Josiah F, born December 16, 1798
6. Thurma, born October 4, 1800
7. Blanchard born August 26, 1802
8. James, born October 11, 1804

This has been considered reliable evidence that Green and Sarah were indeed parents of these eight children, and as such, the names and dates the old edition provides have been used in WikiTree.

The edition is signed on the back cover by three people, Green S, Jacob B, and Abbigail [sic] Martin off [sic] Briarford or Bradford (?). A Briarford in the US was not located but there is a Bradford, Orange, Vermont, United States, that was known as such by 1788, so Abbigail has been considered as the mystery Abagail in the 1850 New York Census (included until now as Abigail Unknown) who married Jacob B, and who, according to the census, was born around 1793 in Vermont.

The back cover-page has a handwritten title: Deaths of J B Saunders Family, with the following people listed beneath:

• Green Sanders Died 3 August 1821: This could be in reference to a Green Chamberlain Sanders, who appears on the front leaf, born in Dickinson, whose birth date is May 12 but the year is illegible. It comes in the same handwriting after an entry for Hannah Sanders, born in Dickinson, November 24 (?), 1816 who is probably Jacob B's daughter Hannah. Possibly, this Green is his son, born after Hannah (?), and less likely, his father, who was born in Feb, not May, and who apparently died in 1845.

• Blanchard G Saunders Died 11th August 1823. The entry has been used for Jacob B Saunders' brother.

• Abigail Martin Died Aug 16th 1850 Aged 59 years and one month. The entry has been used for Jacob B Saunders' wife; the age given means she would have been born in 1791, which is close to the birth year of the Abigail Martin mentioned above.

A scan of the New Testament has been included in Wikitree Free Pages: 1813 New Testament Jacob B Saunders (1792-1860) & Family.

Regarding the last name Saunders Note that the surname "Saunders" often appears as "Sanders" and in the information located for many members of the family, both surnames are found. Present-day family members go by the name Saunders and this is the LNAB that has been used in WikiTree for the family.

Sources

1. ↑ _ New Testament 1813: Jacob B Saunders Family
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2} _ Ohio Soldier Grave Registrations: William Saunders on 12 Feb 1872
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} _ 1870 Census at Pleasant Township, Putnam, Ohio, United States
4. ↑ _ DEATH CERTIFICATE: Mahalatha Saunders on 11 May 1910
5. ↑ _ Ancestry.com: William Saunders Family Tree (user-submitted)
6. ↑ _ Familysearch.org: William Saunders Family Tree (user-submitted)
7. ↑ _ 1850 Census at Pleasant Township, Putnam, Ohio, United States
8. ↑ _ 1860 Census at Pleasant, Putnam, Ohio, United States

Find a Grave, database and images (accessed 29 November 2021), memorial page for Rhoda Drake Saunders (16 Sep 1803–7 Apr 1847), Find A Grave: Memorial #81930018, citing Hanna Cemetery, Tiro, Crawford County, Ohio, USA ; Maintained by SavingRecordsForOurFuture (contributor 47454702) .

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