Residence: A Study of Daniel Hart Thompson
Residence studies are some of the most interesting research tasks in genealogy. Tracing the movement of an ancestor through his/her lifetime is where study meets story, and where story intersects history. Most of the journey can be derived from information we collect about other facts or events in their lives.
In this post, I present the residence history of my 3rd great grandfather, Daniel Hart Thompson. As with most genealogy research, I started by establishing Daniel’s birth and death.
Starting from the Basics
Daniel was most likely born in June 1828/29 to Daniel Page Thompson and Susanna B Richardson in Woburn, MA.[1] He died in July of 1893 in Marshfield, MA[2], where he is also buried.[3].
With those three basic facts, we have a solid start point and end point for this study:
Daniel Hart Thompson:
| June 1828/29 | Woburn, MA | Birth, home of Daniel P and Susanna Thompson |
| July 1893 | Marshfield, MA | Buried in Cedar Grove Cemetery, Marshfield, MA |
Mapping What We Know
How to capture the journey from Woburn to Marshfield? Before we turn to the obvious sources (census records), let’s look at a few more life events.
Daniel married Abigail B Coates of VT Oct 12, 1846 in Woburn, MA where both are identified as residents.[4] The couple’s first child, Abigail Flora Thompson, was born a year later. Records conflict regarding Abigail’s place of birth, either MA or NH.[5] The couple’s second child, Charles H Thompson, was born in June of 1851 in Springfield, MA, where the parents are again listed as residents.[6] Here is our updated chart:
Daniel Hart Thompson:
| June 1828/29 | Woburn, MA | birth, home of Daniel P and Susanna Thompson |
| Oct 1846 | Woburn, MA | Daniel’s age is listed as 19, which adds more confusion to his year of birth |
| 1847 | MA or NH | birth of Abigail Flora |
| June 1851 | Springfield, MA | birth of Charles H |
| July 1893 | Marshfield, MA | Buried in Cedar Grove Cemetery, Marshfield, MA |
Time to bring in the Census!
The 1830 and 1840 US Census Records for Woburn, MA indicate that a child of appropriate age lived in the household of Daniel P Thompson in those years.[7][8]
Things get interesting in the 1850 Census, where the young family of three is listed in Concord, MA. The same record indicates that Abigail Flora was born in NH.[9]
The 1860 US Census introduces a twist – D H Thompson is living in Fitchburg, MA with L. A. Thompson, listed as his wife.[10] The children are not to be found, at least not here. (They show up in the Census for Chicago, IL living with their aunt and grandmother.[11]) This of course begs the question of what happened to Abigail B., and who is L.A. Thompson?
In the 1870 US Census Daniel first appears in Marshfield, with his wife, Lydia[12], and again in the 1880 US Census[13]. Let’s summarize before digging into the mystery of Daniels new marriage.
The 1890 US census for Marshfield,like many for that year, are missing.
Daniel Hart Thompson:
| June 1828/29 | Woburn, MA | birth, home of Daniel P and Susanna Thompson |
| Oct 1846 | Woburn, MA | Daniel’s age is listed as 19, which adds more confusion to his year of birth |
| 1847 | Concord, NH | birth of Abigail Flora |
| 1850 | Concord, NH | census records |
| June 1851 | Springfield, MA | birth of Charles H |
| 1860 | Fitchburg, MA | 1860 census, new marriage, children not living with him |
| 1870-1880 | Marshfield, MA | 1870/1880 census |
| July 1893 | Marshfield, MA | Buried in Cedar Grove Cemetery, Marshfield, MA |
Digging Deeper
Massachusetts executed it’s own state census every 10 years between federal census years, and records still exist for the 1855 and 1865 censuses. In the 1855 State Census, Daniel, Abigail, and their two children show up in Fitchburg, MA.[14] This narrows down Abigail’s possible death between 1855 and 1860. In the 1865 State Census, Daniel is living with wife Lydia in Marshfield as expected (sans children).[15]
I was unable to find a death record for Abigail for this article, but I did find an un-cited note that she died Nov 9, 1856 in Fitchburg. Shame on me for not citing it originally, but I WILL find the record again.
A search on ancestry.com revealed a marriage registry entry in Fitchburg for Daniel and Lydia A (Peterson) Howard in March of 1858, identified as a second marriage for both.[16]
Our side trip into Abigail’s death and Daniel’s remarriage aside, here is our current residental history for Daniel.
Daniel Hart Thompson:
| June 1828/29-1846 | Woburn, MA | birth, home of Daniel P and Susanna Thompson thru marriage to Abigail Coates in Oct 1846 |
| 1847-1850 | Concord, NH | birth of Abigail Flora, 1850 US Census |
| June 1851 | Springfield, MA | birth of Charles H |
| 1855-1858 | Fitchburg, MA | 1855,1860 censuses, new marriage |
| 1860-1893 | Marshfield, MA | Died in July, Buried in Cedar Grove Cemetery, Marshfield, MA |
What do we Have?
This exercise has resulted in the outline of a life – that of Daniel Hart Thompson. The journey has raised more questions than it has answered, with each change of residence a story by itself. We expect that in genealogy research.
City directories are an untapped resource that might fill in some time gaps in Daniel’s residential journey. Digging deeper into Daniel’s occupations (he had several) could shed light on the motivation behind some of the moves. Looking at what was going on in Massachusetts between the late 1820’s and 1893 might also fill in some gaps. We will leave that for another day.
Hopefully I have shown how interesting it can be to follow the residential paths followed by our ancestors, and the direction it can give us for future research.
