What is the maiden name of Roswell Raymond's mother and what caused her death in 1773.

Question

Roswell was the son of Timothy Raymond and Mary (maiden name unknown). He was born March 8, 1769, in Norwich, New London, CT. His parents died in 1773 in Windham CT of unknown causes when he is four-years-old. Roswell sets off with his new bride, Mary Cary, at the age of 17 on the journey that takes him through Benton, New York and Caistor, Ontario before he lives and dies in Lapeer, MI at 99 years of age.in 1868. I'm attempting to sort out the reasons for his long journeys through the wilderness. Neither Roswell nor his parents, who died in Litchfield CT, show up in WikiTree. Seems his is likely a very interesting story.

Answer 1

I doubt if it will be easy to find any documentary evidence of cause of death in 1773. However, here are some thoughts you might like to consider with respect to your questions:

• Since Roswell has such and unusual first name it would be worth investigating whether that might be the clue to Mary’s maiden name.
• Could Mary have died in childbirth, or did she and Timothy die together as a result of an illness or incident on their travels? 
• Long journeys through the wilderness were fairly common as people looked for new places to settle and ways to provide for their families. Are you anticipating that there might be some other reason?

Comments

Thank you, Lynda. What a clever idea and I've attempted to track down Roswell as a surname broadly for that date and place. So far I've come up empty.

It looks like Roswell, at the age of 17, traveled 150 mile to Benton,NY a year before a dispute over the rights to negotiate with the Iriquois for land ownership was resolved in favor of New York. I doubt he was the first in the area but the timing and location seemed unusual. He then adds more miles in the travel to Caistor, ON just before the outbreak of the war of 1812 and there is some suggestion he enlisted in the Canadian army.  His last move was around the age of 95 to Michigan, likely with one of his sons.

It appears all of his close relatives remained in the Saybrook, CT area and I'm intrigued by why he, and other family members, made the decisions they did.

Thanks again for your help,

Mark

---

I hope someone else more familiar with the areas involved can come up with some ideas to help you.