Thomas Forsyth (bef. 1797 - 1830)

Born before 1797 in North Carolina, United States [uncertain]

Descendants

Died 1830 after age 33 in Illinois, United States [uncertain]

Problems/Questions Profile managers: Kenneth Alexander [send private message] and Lyn Gulbransen [send private message]

Biography

This profile is part of the Forsyth Name Study.

Birth information

Information about the life of Thomas Forsyth is sparse and occasionally contradictory. The earliest record available is a transcription of the Illinois Territorial Census of 1818, which states that Thomas Forsyth resided in White County, located in the southeast part of the Illinois Territory, in June 1818.^[1] The age range for Thomas Forsyth in this census is 21 years and upwards, which gives a birth year of 1797 or earlier. Thomas Forsyth also appears in the 1820 Illinois State Census for White County.^[2] This census lists him as 21 years and older, which gives him a birth year of 1799 or earlier. The 1820 U.S. census for the Thomas Forsyth household lists one free white male, age 16 to 26 years. ^[3] This census record corresponds to a birth year range of 1794 to 1804. Combining these values from the various census records gives Thomas Forsyth a birth year range of 1794 to 1797.

The birth location of Thomas Forsyth is not available from the early census records. However, birth location information can be obtained from the census records for the Forsyth children (whose identities are given below). Of these census records, four report that Thomas Forsyth was born in North Carolina.^[4][5][6][7] The other census records for the children of Thomas Forsyth report a variety of birth locations for him, including: South Carolina,^[8] Maine,^[9] Lousiana,^[10] Scotland,^[11] Illinois,^[12] Pennsylvania,^[13] and France.^[14]

Spouse and children

According to a newspaper account, Thomas Forsyth's wife was Rachel Estes.^[15] This is in agreement with Thomas Forsyth’s will, which states that Rachel Forsyth was his wife.^[16] The names of Thomas and Rachel’s children are not available from the early census records. However, their identities can be obtained from other sources, as listed below. These sources indicate that the five children of Thomas and Rachel (at least those who survived to adulthood) were Philip Forsyth, Emily Ann Forsyth, John Milton Forsyth, Charles Forsyth, and Mary Hester Forsyth. If the couple had other children, their identities are not apparent at this time.

Transcribed will of Thomas Forsyth.

The documentation regarding the children of Thomas and Rachel Forsyth is as follows. (1). A newspaper account states that Mary Hester Forsyth was a daughter of Thomas and Rachel (Estes) Forsyth.^[15] (2). Among the relatives of Mary Hester Forsyth attending her 60th wedding anniversary were three daughters and a granddaughter of Charles Forsyth and a daughter of John Milton Forsyth.^[17] (3). A planning document for the Riolo Vineyard Specific Plan, which is a planned community in California, indicates that John Milton Forsyth and Philip Forsyth were brothers.^[18] (4). A labeled photograph of Emily Ann Forsyth states that she was a sister of Philip Forsyth.^[19] (5). A letter from Emily Ann Forsyth to Mary Hester Forsyth, a copy of which was sent to Mary Elizabeth (Forsyth) Driver, indicates that Thomas and Rachel Forsyth were the father and mother, respectively, of Emily Ann and Mary Hester, and that John Milton Forsyth was Mary Elizabeth’s uncle.^[20] (6). Subgroups of these five Forsyth siblings tended to collocate, consistent with a close family relationship. For example, in 1850, Philip Forsyth and his family, Charles Forsyth and his family, and John Milton Forsyth were all living near each other in Cass County, Illinois (dwellings 276, 282, and 283, respectively).^[21][22][23] In 1860, Mary Hester Forsyth and her family, Emily Ann Forsyth and her family, and Charles Forsyth and his family had residences near each other in Dillon Township, Tazewell County, Illinois (dwellings 1549, 1551, and 1552, respectively).^[24][25][26]

Death information

Definitive information about the death and interment of Thomas Forsyth is lacking. However, the available evidence indicates that his death occurred in 1830, sometime between March 3, the date of Thomas’ will (in which he states that he is “weak in body”),^[16] and June 1, the date on which the United States census was taken.^[27] On that census, Rachel, not Thomas, was listed as head of household, indicating that Thomas was deceased by that date.^[28] Moreover, Rachel is described as a widow in a land sale to Thomas Shannon on July 15, 1830.^[29] It is not apparent whether Thomas was alive to see the birth of his daughter Mary Hester, who was born on April 19, 1830, in Vandalia, Illinois.^[30]

Research Notes

Of the various reported birth locations for Thomas Forsyth, the evidence appears to favor North Carolina. In addition to the four U.S. census records mentioned above that list North Carolina as Thomas' birthplace, there are several California voter registration forms for Philip Forsyth, oldest son of Thomas Forsyth, that give Philip's birth location as North Carolina.^[31] Furthermore, genetic genealogy results are most consistent with a North Carolina birth location. Specifically, a GEDmatch.com multikit analysis of individuals related to members of the R-BY39913 Y-DNA haplogroup shows a large number of autosomal DNA matches between descendants of Charles and Philip Forsyth and descendants of the brothers James Epperson Forsythe and William Barnett Forsyth, Sr., both residing in North Carolina. Among this group of matches is a triangulated group consisting of RV (a 4th great grandson of James Epperson Forsyth), Kenneth R. Alexander (a 3rd great grandson of Charles Forsyth), and Lyn Sara Gulbransen (a 2nd great granddaughter of Philip Forsyth), who share a 19.1 cM segment on chromosome 3. The triangulation was identified using the GEDmatch triangulation utility and was confirmed by One-to-One Compare tests. Although these genetic genealogy results imply a familial relationship between the Forsyths of North Carolina and the descendants of Thomas and Rachel Forsyth, the identity of the common ancestors among these groups is uncertain.

Sources

1. ↑ Norton, Margaret Cross, ed. Illinois Census Returns 1810, 1818. Baltimore, MD, Genealogical Publishing Company, 1969, page 201.
2. ↑ Norton, Margaret Cross, ed. Illinois Census Returns 1820. Baltimore, MD, Genealogical Publishing Company, 1969, page 335.
3. ↑ "U.S. Census, 1820", database online. North of West, White County, Illinois, USA; page 185; NARA Roll M33_11, Image 160.
4. ↑ "U.S. Census, 1880", database online. Township one, Placer County, California, USA; page 235D; dwelling 163; family 163; line 33; June 10, 1880; NARA microfilm publication T9, roll 70.
5. ↑ "U.S. Census, 1880", database online. Reno, Washoe County, Nevada, USA; page 283B; dwelling 406; family 411; line 14; June 16, 1880; NARA microfilm publication T9, roll 759.
6. ↑ "U.S. Census, 1880", database online. Delavan, Tazewell County, Illinois, USA; page 253; dwelling 209; family 215; line 40; June 9, 1880; NARA microfilm publication T9, roll 253.
7. ↑ "U.S. Census, 1900", database online. Rich Hill Ward 2, Bates County, Missouri, USA; page 19; dwelling 416; family 416; line 3; June 19, 1900; FHL microfilm 1240839.
8. ↑ "U.S. Census, 1880", database online. Homer, Bates County, Missouri, USA; page 40D; dwelling 28; family 29; line 3; June 10 & 14, 1880; NARA microfilm publication T9, roll 673.
9. ↑ "U.S. Census, 1880", database online. Prairie Creek Township, Logan County, Illinois, USA; page 60B; dwelling 175; family 178; line 25; June 21, 1880; NARA microfilm publication T9, roll 227.
10. ↑ "U.S. Census, 1900", database online. Fruitvale Precinct 2, Alameda County, California, USA; page 16; dwelling 323; family 329; line 15; June 14 & 15, 1900; FHL microfilm 1240081.
11. ↑ "U.S. Census, 1910", database online. Oakland Ward 7, Alameda County, California, USA; page 20B; dwelling 442; family 454; line 68; May 3, 1910; FHL microfilm 1374084, roll T624_71.
12. ↑ "U.S. Census, 1910", database online. Rich Hill Ward 2, Bates County, Missouri, USA; page 16A; dwelling 344; family 344; line 41; April 29, 1910; FHL microfilm 1374781, roll T624_768.
13. ↑ "U.S. Census, 1910", database online. Atchison Township, Nodaway County, Missouri, USA; page 4A; dwelling 92; family 93; line 11; April 18, 1910; FHL microfilm 1374816, roll T624_803.
14. ↑ "U.S. Census, 1920", database online. Campbell, Greene County, Missouri, USA; page 16A; dwelling 338; family 343; line 23; February 20, 1920; NARA microfilm publication T625, roll T625_915.
15. ↑ ^{15.0 15.1} "Death of Willis Crabb." The Butler weekly times and the Bates County record, December 30, 1920.
16. ↑ ^{16.0 16.1} Will of Thomas Forsyth. Transcribed by Ann (Forsyth) Eidson from a newspaper article of unknown origin, included in a letter from Ann Eidson to Mary Hester (Forsyth) Crabb, July 24, 1892. A copy is in the possession of Kenneth Alexander.
17. ↑ "60th wedding anniversary." The Rich Hill Tribune, February 27, 1908, page 1.
18. ↑ JRP Historical Consulting, "Historic Resources Inventory and Evaluation for Riolo Vineyard Specific Plan," Appendix F2: Land Ownership History, p. 5, January 2006. Kenneth Alexander has a copy and will scan the page on request.
19. ↑ Penciled notation on the reverse side of a photograph of Ann Forsyth. Photograph in the personal collection of Lyn Sara Gulbransen
20. ↑ Ann (Forsyth) Eidson. Letter to Mary Hester (Forsyth) Crabb, July 24, 1892. Copy is in the possession of
21. ↑ "U.S. Census, 1850", database online. Cass County, Ilinois, USA; page 21B, dwelling 276, line 9; November 18, 1850; NARA microfilm publication M432, Roll 99.
22. ↑ "U.S. Census, 1850", database online. Cass County, Ilinois, USA; page 21B, dwelling 282, line 41; November 18, 1850; NARA microfilm publication M432, Roll 99.
23. ↑ "U.S. Census, 1850", database online. Cass County, Illinois, USA; page 22A, dwelling 283, line 13; November 18, 1850; NARA microfilm publication M432, Roll 99.
24. ↑ "U.S. Census, 1860", database online. Dillon Township, Tazewell County, Illinois, USA; page 463; dwelling 1549; family 1549; line 2; NARA microfilm publication M653.
25. ↑ "U.S. Census, 1860", database online. Dillon Township, Tazewell County, Illinois, USA; page 463; dwelling 1551; family 1551; line 16; NARA microfilm publication M653.
26. ↑ "U.S. Census, 1860", database online. Dillon Township, Tazewell County, Illinois, USA; page 463; dwelling 1552; family 1552; line 19; NARA microfilm publication M653.
27. ↑ 1830 United States census
28. ↑ "U.S. Census, 1830", database online. White County, Illinois, USA; page 3; NARA microfilm publication M19, roll 25, FHL microfilm 0007650.
29. ↑ White County Deed Records, Book A, p. 287. Microfilm Roll 9A, Accession Number 6-254-1; Illinois Regional Archives Depository, Southern Illinois University.
30. ↑ Find A Grave: Memorial #32915289
31. ↑ "Voter Registers, 1866-1898", database online. California State Library, Sacramento, California, USA; collection number 4-2A; CSL roll number 32; FHL roll number 977085.