The Children and Grandchildren of our ancestor George Sargent of Frederick County, Maryland. The Children and Grandchildren were of Knox County, Ohio and Beyond
This page is under construction - it still needs to be edited and fact checked
A Page Dedicated to Determining Who Were The Children and Grandchildren of Our Ancestor George Sargent of Frederick Co Maryland
Our ancestor George Sargent (also spelled Sargeant, Sergeant, Sargon, and Sergent) was first shown in a record ca 1776 when he was listed with a Maryland military regiment living in the area that is now Frederick County. An adjoining page addresses what we know about the life of George Sargent and the “brick wall” of his ancestry. The above 1794 Library of Congress map shows the area where the Sargents lived in Frederick County, Maryland at the time they lived there.
This page addresses the research question of who George’s descendants were in the first two generations after him - his children and grandchildren. Both pages go hand in hand with a much longer text document that records every piece of information about the Sargent family members of these early generations, a document that I am not posting, but would share with interested Sargent researchers.
This page primarily relies on census and marriage records to establish the children of the original George – and assign children to each of George’s children. In particular, there are over twenty possible grandchildren of George named Sargent in the Knox County area at the right time – and it is a challenge to place them along with determining birth years and birth order. This challenge is magnified by the fact that the Sargents of this period seem to have not owned much land, left almost no probate records, and had limited presence in tax and other records. It leaves this researcher a limited number of records and circumstantial evidence to try to piece the family together.
George first appeared in records in 1776. Unrelated Sargents in Frederick County were present at the same time, but left for Ohio ca 1796. Our Sargents left for Ohio ca 1815. Therefore, any Sargent in Frederick County between 1796 and 1815 was likely related to our branch.
Every known child of George’s but one moved to the Knox County Ohio area ca 1815. The one child who remained behind, Jacob Sargent, is not shown in a record past 1816, the year after the rest of his family moved to Ohio. It is likely he died in this period, whether in Maryland or Ohio. Most of George’s children married in Frederick County before going to Knox County. The two daughters that married in the first years the family was in Knox County married men who had lived in Frederick County before moving.
I descend from Barbara Sargent, George and Catherine’s likely oldest child, who married Nathaniel Kinney and had nine children (one of whom was my third great-grandfather David Kinney - David’s son Harry is the subject of a page on this website) – most born in Maryland, but the last two born in Knox County Ohio after the family was part of the movement to Ohio - helping confirm that the move took place ca 1815.
The Process - Starting With George (and Catherine) Sargent To Identify Their Children
This page will attempt to ascertain George Sargent’s children and his grandchildren, using census entries and any other records I can find to identify the children of George and the children of the next generation to each of them. Some of these are a guess – but it is surprising given the absence of probates and other definitive records – how many can be attached with some certainty. The problem really appears to be in attaching children to the likely sons of George Sargent Sr. – James and George Jr. – in early Knox County, Ohio. The daughters of George Sargent also present a challenge in determining their children, but there are a few more facts for their families - and, in those cases, there are also descendants who have done research and have theories about their children.
This page will walk through all the known facts and how they suggest the members of the next generation. With most records cited on this page, the original will be posted - as there might be other facts contained in the record that might be helpful, such as people around an individual in a census.
George Sargent – first known Sargent of our Line. George is the patriarch of our Sargent line, and his life is described in great detail in the adjoining page about him and the search for his ancestry. That page also details the process of determining who his children were, based on the fact that the other Sargents left Frederick County ca 1796 - and almost any record of a Sargent after that time is a record of someone related to our George.
Just below is recounted information about George that points to his family - so I can address the next question of who his grandchildren were. The central records in this process are the two census entries of 1790 and 1800, which give us a sense of the number of his children and their age ranges, and the census entry of George’s son Jacob for 1810 - the only Sargent in Frederick County in that census. That entry likely contains George’s widow Catherine, and some of the remaining Sargent children too young to be out on their own.
George was in a militia unit in 1776 in Frederick County, which generally required a man to be eighteen years of age. If George was eighteen by this year – it would place his birth year at 1758 or before. This is consistent with the 1800 census - which places his birth at 1755 or before.
George was enumerated in the 1790 and 1800 censuses in Frederick County, and was dead by 1803 when his son George was apprenticed as an “orphan”. Unrelated Sargents left Frederick County for Kentucky and then Ohio ca 1796 – which allows us to attach any Sargent in that County after that year to George. An 1810 entry for J. Sargent was likely one of George’s sons and contained his widow and some children. There appears to be no record for a Sargent in Frederick County after all of them went to Ohio ca 1815, except for the last known record for Jacob Sargent in 1816.
Census and Other Records. The two census entries for our George, and the third with his widow and family, follow. In addition, listed are the four known marriages of our Sargents from Frederick County records in this period. I have been unable to find a marriage record for George Sargent Jr. or Barbara Sargent in Frederick County. The youngest two daughters of George Sr. married in their early time in Knox County, Ohio, and are shown below. I have yet to find the original marriage records, but have taken the records from compilations. That makes it a little more difficult, and the original might yield either information, or a questionable spelling.
The 1790 Frederick County census for George Sargent, shown below. George was shown with one man over sixteen, two men under sixteen, and five women. If one woman is George’s wife Catherine, and George is the man over sixteen - it leaves two boys and four girls born before 1790. (Based on my research, this would be George, and two of his three sons Jacob, James, and George; and the five women would be George’s wife Catherine, and daughters Barbara, Catherine, Elizabeth, and a fifth woman.)
The 1800 Frederick County census entry for George Sergent, shown below. George’s entry, in Liberty Township, shows one man over the age of forty-five (George); one woman between the ages of twenty-six and forty-five (George’s wife Catherine); one man and one woman between the ages of sixteen and twenty-six (Jacob and ?); one male between the ages of ten and sixteen (George Jr.); and one male and two females under the age of ten (James?, and Catherine and Elizabeth).
If the 1790 census is accurate, George and Catherine had six children born before 1790 - two boys and four girls. Three of those six are here in 1800, and there is one boy and two girls born between 1790 and 1800 - making nine children in total, three boys and six girls. [NOTE: Of the oldest two children, Barbara and Jacob, Jacob did not marry until 1804 and was likely in the 1800 entry. Barbara and Nathaniel Kinney’s first child Jacob, was born ca 1797, and it is probably they were on their own in 1800, even though I cannot document them in a census record that year.]
George Sargent Jr. was shown as an orphan in August 1803, which means that George Sr. had died by then. George and Catherine are in an 1801 deed, and there is one child, Hannah, who quite likely was born after the 1800 census, and obviously before George Sr.’s death. A second daughter, Nancy, was shown as born ca 1800, and given the listing, was probably also born after the 1800 census.
From Frederick County, Maryland Compiled Marriage Records - July 30, 1804 - Jacob Sargent to Ruth Hewitt.
From Frederick County, Maryland Compiled Marriage Records - January 8, 1805 - Elizabeth Sargent to William West.
From Frederick County, Maryland Compiled Marriage Records - August 11, 1807 - Jacob Sargent to Mary Finkbone.
From Frederick County, Maryland Compiled Marriage Records - February 4, 1808 - Catherine Sargent to Peter Strine.
There one listing for a Sargent in Frederick County in the Maryland 1810 census, for J. Sergant, is shown below. It is likely of our Sargent family, and includes a woman of the age to be George’s widow. There are entries for P. Strine and W. West in Frederick County in 1810, and they are likely the entries of men who married Sargent daughters. That means that the entry of J. (appears to be Serjant), which is posted below, may include George’s widow and a few of the George Sargent children still young enough to not be on their own. The J. Sergant entry includes: one woman over the age of forty-five (George’s widow Catherine); two men and one woman between the ages of twenty-six and forty-five; two women and one man between the ages of sixteen and twenty-six; and one girl between the ages of ten and sixteen. As it is quite likely that the woman over the age of forty-five is Catherine Sargent, so I have listed her in the family records file as died after 1810.
1816. In the last known record for a Sargent of our line in Frederick County, Maryland, there is a reference to Jacob Sergeant in the Frederick Town Herald of March 9, 1816 – ‘Jacob Sergeant gives notice that his wife Polly [Polly is frequently derived from the name Mary] has left his bed and board and persons are cautioned against trusting her on his account.’
George and Catherine’s Children - Ages and Birth Order
Based on these census records, it appears that George had nine children, eight children who can be identified by name. A possible ninth child, a woman born before 1784 – but for whom there appears to be no record listing her by name. The accompanying page on George Sargent details the complete analysis on how the children of George were determined.
The adjoining page examines how we got to the identification of the children below, with the following facts rising to the top in deciding the birth order: Barbara appears to be the oldest known child, born ca 1775-80. Jacob appears to be the J. Sergent in the 1810 census. If so, he was between twenty-six and forty-five years old that year - placing his birth between 1765 and 1784. Jacob was first married in 1804 -seven years after Barbara’s oldest child was born, so I suspect he was born 1780-1782. The apprentice record determines that George Jr. was born in May 1787. James Sargent was born between 1780 and 1790, but there was an older son than James – so I will list George Jr. as the older of the two. Both the 1790 and 1800 censuses for George Sr. hint that James was born after 1790. Catherine Sargeant (Strine) was born between 1786-1790. Elizabeth Sargent (West) was born ca 1790, probably in time for the 1790 census. Nancy Sargeant (Kirby) was born ca 1800. Hannah Sargent (Lett) was born ca 1800 as well – both appearing to have been born after the 1800 census was taken. There appears to be an older unidentified woman (daughter) in the 1790 and 1800 census listings.
Therefore, this would place the following birth order for the purposes of considering George’s family: 1) Barbara; 2) Jacob; 3) George; 4) Catherine; 5) Elizabeth; 6) James; 7) Nancy; and 8) Hannah – with a possible unidentified additional daughter about the age of Jacob.
Based on this order, and using records as a further guide, it can be determined that the best estimates of birth, marriage, and deaths for George and Catherine’s children and their spouses follows:
1) BARBARA SARGEANT (KINNEY) was probably born Bet 1775-1780 Prob near Woodsboro, Frederick, Maryland, USA. She died on 12 Feb 1846 in Knox, Ohio, USA. She married NATHANIEL KINNEY. [Their first known child was born ca 1797, which could indicate a marriage date of 1795-96.] Nathaniel was born about 1766 in New Jersey, USA. He died on 03 Jun 1838 in Shelby, Indiana, USA.
2) JACOB SARGENT was born between 1782-1786 Prob near Woodsboro, Frederick, Maryland, USA. He died after 1816. He married (1) RUTH HEWITT on 30 Jul 1804 in Frederick, Maryland, USA. He married (2) MARY FINKBONE on 11 Aug 1807 in Frederick, Maryland, USA.
3) GEORGE SARGENT was born on 15 May 1787 Prob near Woodsboro, Frederick, Maryland, USA. He died after 1830 Prob in Knox, Ohio, USA. He married SARAH. She was born about 1790. She died after 1843 prob in Knox, Ohio, USA.
4) CATHERINE SARGENT (STRINE) was born between 1786-1790 Prob near Woodsboro, Frederick, Maryland, USA. She died between 1820-1830. She married PETER STRINE, son of Johan Adam Strein and Susannah Mort on 04 Feb 1808 in Frederick, Maryland, USA. He was born on 13 Sep 1786 in Maryland, USA. He died after 1860.
5) ELIZABETH SARGENT (WEST) was born about 1790 Prob near Woodsboro, Frederick, Maryland, USA. Note: This birth year is based on older censuses - there is an Elizabeth baptized as the daughter of George and Catherine and born on November 20, 1784 - that could well be this Elizabeth. She died after 1850. She married WILLIAM WEST on 08 Jan 1805 in Frederick, Maryland, USA. He was born about 1780 in Maryland, USA. He died after 1856.
6) JAMES SARGENT was born between 1788-1790 Prob near Woodsboro, Frederick, Maryland, USA. He died after 1830 Prob in Ohio, USA. He married ELIZABETH WEST on 01 Jan 1812 in Frederick, Maryland, USA. She was born between 1780-1790 Prob in Maryland, USA. She died after 1830 Prob in Ohio, USA.
7) NANCY SARGENT (KIRBY) was born about 1800 in Prob near Woodsboro, Frederick, Maryland, USA. She died on 23 Jan 1871 in Greenbush, Clinton, Michigan, USA. She married WILLIAM KIRBY on 05 Aug 1819 in Knox, Ohio, USA. He was born about 1797 in Mount Pleasant, Frederick, Maryland, USA. He died on 20 Apr 1883 in Clinton, Michigan, USA.
8) HANNAH SARGENT (LETT) was born about 1800 Prob near Woodsboro, Frederick, Maryland, USA. She died after 1860 Prob in Knox, Ohio, USA. She married HENRY LETT on 28 Dec 1820 in Knox, Ohio, USA. He was born on 14 Nov 1791 in Frederick, Maryland, USA. He died in 1864 Prob in Knox, Ohio, USA.
Note: Elizabeth Sargent Question - Baptism records show an Elizabeth Sargent, daughter of George and Catherine, baptized in 1784. The Elizabeth who married William West is shown in censuses as being born in 1790 or just after - which is difficult to reconcile with a marriage in 1805. They could well be the same Elizabeth, with erroneous birth years in the census records. There is an unidentified woman of the age of the older Elizabeth in an early census. There were either two Elizabeths - or one Elizabeth born in 1784 with an unidentified older daughter as the ninth child.
Examining The Census Entries of George and Catherine’s Children To Determine Their Children
1810 Frederick County – J. Sargent - J. (appears to be Serjant) includes: one woman over the age of forty-five; two men and one woman between the ages of twenty-six and forty-five; two women and one man between the ages of sixteen and twenty-six; and one girl between the ages of ten and sixteen. This entry is posted above, as it likely contains George’s widow Catherine and the children who were not of age to have left home by 1810. This census entry is posted above on this page - the third of three entries that contain either George or Catherine Sargent.
1810 William West (Elizabeth Sargent) – Frederick County census entry showing one woman over forty-five, one man and one woman each between twenty-six and forty-five, one woman between sixteen and twenty-six, and two boys between ten and sixteen. There is no sure indication that this is the William West who married Elizabeth Sargent. However, it is the only W. or William West in Frederick County after the 1805 marriage. The first documented children of William and Elizabeth were born after this census - so the two boys would not have been theirs. Future records would place William’s birth about 1780 and Elizabeth would have been born about 1790 - so the category of a man between twenty-six and forty-five would have fit William, and the category of a woman between sixteen and twenty-six would have fit Elizabeth.
1820 James Sargent – shown in Wayne Township, Knox County census with one man between twenty-six and forty-five, one female between twenty-six and forty-five, and three females under ten. Peter Strine, James’ brother-in-law, is shown on the line above him.
1820 George Sergeant – shown in Pike Township in the Knox County census, with one man and one woman each between the ages of twenty-six and forty-five, one boy ten to sixteen, two boys and one girl under the age of ten. [A few random notes on this census page. Frederick Karager was likely the father (or relative) of Margaret, who married Stanley Kinney. Henry Markley married the sister of David Kinney’s wife Lydia Norton. There is a Pinkley on this page, and Levi Pinkley married Arminda Lett, daughter of Henry and Hannah Sargent Lett.]
1820 William West – shown in Wayne Township in the Knox County census with one man and one woman each between twenty-six and forty five, two boys and one girl between ten and sixteen, three boys and one girl under the age of ten. [NOTE: There are two Zolman’s at the bottom of the page. A Zolman married a son of Nathaniel and Barbara Sargent Kinney, and a Zolman married a child of Henry and Hannah Lett. There are two Zolman’s shown in the 1830 census entry below of George Sargent.]
1820 Peter Strine – shown in Wayne Township, Knox County Ohio with one man and one woman between twenty-six and forty-five, one woman between sixteen and twenty-six, one boy under the age of ten. Peter is shown a line above his brother-in-law James Sargent, and that entry is posted just above under James.
1820 - Nathaniel Kinney - The first clear reference to Nathaniel and Barbara in an Ohio record shows them in the 1820 Knox County census in Wayne Township. Nath’l Kinney is shown with three boys under ten (James, George, and an unnamed third boy), one boy between ten and sixteen (Stanley?), two young men between sixteen and twenty-six (Jacob, and David?), and one man over forty-five (Nathaniel); one girl under ten (Elizabeth), one girl between ten and sixteen (Sarah), one woman between sixteen and twenty-six (unidentified – Mary?) and one woman between twenty-six and forty-five (Barbara). William Curby Junior is on the next line of the census (likely married to Barbara’s sister).
1820 - William Curby Jr. - The 1820 entry for Wm. Curby Jr. - above - shows one man and one woman between the ages of sixteen and twenty-six, one girl under the age of ten, and one person working in agriculture. The entry is in Wayne Township in Knox County, and is in a six entry sequence that runs Wm. Curby Sr., Natl Kinney, Wm. Curby, Jr., John Curby Jr., William LaFever, and John LaFever. That entry is posted above with the Nathaniel Kinney entry - as they were both on the census page. A LaFever married one of the children of a Knox County Sargent, shown further below on this page.
1830 William West – In Richland County, Perry Township, shows one man between forty and fifty, one woman between thirty and forty, and one woman between twenty and thirty; one woman and two men between ten and fifteen; and one woman and one man between the ages of five to ten. Further down the census page are Schaffer’s and a daughter of William and Elizabeth married at Schaffer in Richland County in 1836. Two lines below William is James McDaniel. Mary Ann Sargent, daughter of James Sargent, married a James McDaniel in 1829. William Kinney, youngest son of Nathaniel and Barbara, married a McDaniel - but it was when they all moved to Shelby County, Indiana.
1830 James Sergeant – In Jefferson Township, Richland County, Ohio – one line above James Welsh is James with one man and woman each between forty and fifty, one woman between fifteen and twenty, one woman between ten and fifteen, one boy and one girl each between five and ten, and one boy under the age of five. A daughter assigned to James Sergeant, Barbara, married Peter Welsh in 1839 and died in 1848, and had five children in the decade they were married. The 1830 census page with James is posted just below.
1830 George Sergent – Shown in Morris Township, Knox County, Ohio with one male between forty and fifty; one female between the ages of thirty and forty; one male between twenty and thirty; one male between fifteen and twenty; two boys and one girl between the ages of ten and fifteen; one girl between the ages of five and ten; and one boy under the age of five. At the end of the census page with George, posted below, are two Zolmans. A Zolman married a son of Nathaniel and Barbara Sargent Kinney, and a Zolman married a child of Henry and Hannah Lett.
1830 Peter Strine- Shown in Jefferson Township, Richland County, with one man between forty and fifty, and one woman between sixty and seventy.
1830 Nathaniel Kinney - Nathaniel is listed in the 1830 Knox County census in Middlebury Township (with David Kinney shown three lines below, and the page after with the listings of Jacob and Samuel Kinney) with a man between the age of sixty and seventy (Nathaniel), a woman between the age of fifty and sixty (Barbara), a man between the age of twenty and thirty, two boys between the ages of fifteen and twenty, and one boy and one girl between the age of ten and fifteen.
1830 Henry Lett - In the 1830 census in Knox County, there are two different entries for a Henry Lett. The first shows a Henry Lett in Morris Township. The Morris Township entry shows one man between the ages of thirty and forty; one woman between the ages of twenty and thirty; one boy between ten and fifteen; two boys between five and ten; and two girls under the age of five. The Morris Township entry is posted just below - there are no familiar names elsewhere on the page.
The second shows Henry Lett in Middlebury Township, with one man and one woman between the ages of thirty and forty; one male between the ages of ten and fifteen; two males between the ages of five and ten; and two females under the age of five. The names are listed alphabetically on this Middlebury Township page, so one cannot tell for sure if family members are nearby - but ten lines above is David Kinney and thirteen lines above in Nathan Kinney - their entry is posted above with just their lines from the census. Except for the older woman in Morris Twp being born between 1800 and 1810, and the older woman in the Middlebury Township entry being born between 1790 and 1800, the entries are the same. The Middlebury Township census entry is posted just below.
By the 1840 census, the only Henry Lett in Knox County is in Berlin Township and it’s clear in the 1850 census that the only Henry Lett in the Knox County census – shown that year in Berlin Township – is ours.
1830 William Kerby, Jr. - There is an entry for William Kerby, Jr., in the 1830 census in Berlin Township, Knox County, Ohio. This listing has segregated the entries on an alphabetical basis, so there is no telling who was next door or in the next line of a census on a geographical basis. The listing shows one male and one female between thirty and forty; one girl between ten and fifteen; two boys between five and ten; and one boy under the age of five. Interestingly, the fact that this is in Berlin Township conflicts with the fact that the Kirby’s are shown in Middlebury Township tax records during this period.
1840 Sarah Sargeant – Shown in Knox County, Morris Township, with one woman between the ages of eighty and ninety; one woman between the ages of fifty and sixty; one woman between the ages of fifteen and twenty; one boy between ten and fifteen, and two girls between the ages of five and ten. [A record shown in the mid 1820’s in Knox County places George and his wife Sarah together.]
1840 Peter Strine – Shown in Richland County, no township listed, with one man between fifty and sixty, and one woman between thirty and forty.
1840 Barbara (Sargent) Kinney - Barbara Kinney was shown in the 1840 census in Knox County, living in Middlebury township, with eight people in the household: a woman between the ages of fifty and sixty, a man and woman each between the ages of thirty and forty, two men between the ages of twenty and thirty, a woman between the ages of ten and fifteen, a girl between the ages of ten and fifteen, and a boy under the age of five. Stanley Kinney is shown on the same census page, eight lines below the entry for Barbara. Mary Kirby is on the page (possibly the widowed mother of William Kirby Sr. There are Bigby’s also on the page. [NOTE: Nathaniel and Barbara’s oldest son went to Shelby County, Indiana in the 1830’s, and Nathaniel and Barbara were there as well - Nathaniel died and is buried there. Stanley Kinney was shown in a record there. All the Kinneys but Jacob were back in Knox County by this 1840 census entry.
A further NOTE: There was a William E. Sargent who witnessed an 1838 property record of Nathaniel and Barbara Kinney in Shelby County, Indiana, but it appears to be a coincidence. I have found no connection to our Sargent family.]
1840 Henry Lett - In the 1840 Knox County census, Henry Lett (Letts?) is shown in Berlin Township with one male and one female each between the ages of forty and fifty; two males between the ages of twenty and thirty; two males between the ages of fifteen and twenty; two females between the ages of ten and fifteen; one female between the ages of five and ten; and one female under the age of five. There do not appear to be any surnames associated with our lines near Henry in this census.
1840 - William West - I have yet to clearly find William West in the 1840 census.
1840 - William and Nancy Kirby - In the 1840 census, there was a listing for William Kirby in Middlebury Township in Knox County, Ohio. There is a woman between thirty and forty; a man between twenty and thirty; a man between fifteen and twenty; a man between ten and fifteen; and a man between five and ten. This would fit with the exception of the age of William which is one or two categories younger than our William would be in this year. John F. Kinney was the census taker.
1850 William West - In the Franklin Township, Fulton County, Ohio 1850 census is Wm. West, 61, Elizabeth West, 60, he being a farmer and both of them being born in Maryland. With them is Anna Sargent, 20, born in Ohio.
1850 Peter Strine – He is shown in Jefferson Township, Richland County with Peter Strine, 64, laborer born in Ohio and Betsy Strine, 50, also born in Ohio.
1850 Henry Lett - In the 1850 census in Berlin Township, Knox County is shown Henry and family, in an entry taken on August 5, 1850. Shown is Henry Lett, 60, Laborer, born in Maryland, Hannah, 50, born in Maryland, Jane 19, Catharine 12, and Alfred 5, all born in Ohio. Only two entries between this family and David and Julia Kinney. Two more entries later is the Phineas and Elizabeth Breese family. Alfred is a name that recurs through the Knox County Sargents.
1850 William and Nancy Kirby - William and Nancy appear to be shown in the 1850 Ohio census in Knox County, Middlebury Township, taken on July 24. They are shown as William Kirby, 52, Nancy, 40 (could also be 50), and Thompson, 15, all born in Maryland. This is probably not correct for the child, where ditto marks are shown to his parents. [There is a Thompson Kirby, 26, in Clinton Co., Michigan in 1860. See below. There is a later biography of a son of Thompson in a Saginaw County, Michigan history that places Thompson’s birth in Knox County, Ohio.]
1860 Peter Strine – He is shown in Jefferson Township, Richland County, by himself, age 72, born in Maryland. There is a Mrs. Strine shown in the 1860 mortality census for Richland County, showing she died in November 1859, was 68, was ill for two weeks, died of inflammation of the bowels and born in Maryland. That mortality census entry is posted below the census entry.
1860 - Henry Lett - There is an entry in the 1860 census in Knox County, Ohio, Berlin Township, Shalers Mills Post Office, in an undated entry, appearing to match this family, but with a number of errors or differences. Shown is Henry Scott (sic), 65, a laborer born in Maryland, with Hannah 34 (sic), also born in Maryland, Alfred, 19, attended school in the last year, and Mary, 24, a domestic.
1860 - William and Nancy Kirby - William Kirby and Nancy Kirby are shown in post office Greenbush, in Greenbush (Township?), Clinton County, Michigan in the 1860 census, taken on June 6, 1860. This is the same post office and township where Thompson was located in the same census. William Kirby was 60, a farmer, property valued at $200/$100, and born in Ohio, with Nancy, 56, also born in Ohio.
1870 - William and Nancy Kirby - William and Nancy are shown in the 1870 census in post office Ovid (? - there is both an Ovid City and Township in this area at this time), Greenbush Township, Clinton County, Michigan, taken on August 26, 1870. William Kirby is 67, a day laborer born in Maryland with property valued at $300, with Nancy, 67, keeping house, also born in Maryland. Nancy is shown not to be able to read or write.
1880 - William Kirby - Nancy Sargent Kirby appears to have died in 1873 in Michigan. William, the last surviving child or child-in-law of George and Catherine Sargent, appears to have remarried to a woman named Mary. They are shown over two pages with a step-daughter to William in the 1880 census in Greenbush Township, Clinton County, Michigan - posted below.
Unattached Sargeant Family Members
There were twenty-one unattached Sargeants that married in Knox County (or nearby) prior to 1850, were listed in probate records, or were shown in the 1850 or 1860 censuses with or near with family members – and therefore are candidates to be connected to our lines. They are listed below.
James and George Sargeant (and George’s widow Sarah) had fifteen children listed between them in the censuses from 1820 to 1840. A couple of them look like they could have died before the next census – or were married or otherwise out of the house before then. There is a chance that a few of these Sargents were from other families or other Sargeants – such as Jacob, who does not show up in Maryland after 1816 or so. There are a few that are clearly in James or George’s families, because there is no other Sargeant of their age to match to the census entries. I have listed the twenty-one below, ordered in their approximate birth year.
The oldest three could have been children of George and siblings of George, James, Elizabeth (West), or Catherine (Strine) – leaving eighteen possible Sargents to fit the fifteen indicated as children of James and George.
Of the eighteen unattached children of the age to be children of George and James, they seem to fall into three categories: a child of George (assisted by the probate of Alfred in 1849/1850 that lists each of his siblings - and therefore, lists all of George’s children), a child of James, and those that are likely not attached to our Sargent family. I have listed each below, with the assignment in one of these categories:
The twenty-one unattached Sargents listed as such in my notes:
The three that were older in the group - two of which are clearly daughters of our original George Sargent. The third was John Sargent listed immediately below.
1790 – John (Jno.) Sargant (the spelling is unclear) – listed below in the 1860 census in Mt. Liberty Post Office, Liberty Township, Knox County, 70, born in Pennsylvania, a pauper in the County Infirmary. (no obvious connection)
Ca 1800 – Nancy Sergeant (Curby – Kirby) – married William Curby in Knox County Ohio on August 5, 1819, in a record shown below. Census records above show her in Ohio and Michigan. As shown above, she is a daughter of George Sr.
Ca 1800 – Hannah Sargent – married Henry Lett in Knox County on December 28, 1820, as shown below. Hannah is shown in the censuses above. As shown above, she is a daughter of George Sr.
Eighteen Unattached Sargents in Knox County records, of the age to be possible children of James, George, or other Sargeants:
1809 – James Sargent – born on May 16, 1809 in Maryland, married Sarah Berk in March 1835, died in Knox County in November 1882. James was shown in Greenbush, Clinton County, Michigan in 1850 (the township where his uncle and aunt William and Nancy Kirby moved not long after and lived out their lives). By 1860 James was shown back in Knox County, being shown in Fredericktown, Morris Township in that year’s census. In the 1880 census, posted below, James and Sarah were shown in Morris Township, Knox County - James is shown with his birth state as Maryland, and disappointingly the birth state of each of his parents left blank - with Lewis R. Sargent, their son, in the next entry. James Sargent is listed as one of the heirs of Alfred Sargent - eight Sargents were listed, implying that each was a sibling of Alfred. (I have placed James as a son of George Jr.)
Ca 1812 – Jacob Sergeant – born ca 1812 in Maryland, married Nancy Piatt (in Find-A-Grave records, Nancy is shown as the daughter of Thomas and Catherine Pyeatt) in Richland County, Ohio in 1834, died in Richland County in 1867. Nancy died in 1880, probably in Richland County. Jacob and Nancy are shown below in the 1850 census with seven children. I show ten children for them, three of whom were born after this census. Both Jacob and Nancy are buried in Bellville Cemetery in Bellville, Richland County. Bellville is roughly ten miles north of Fredericktown. Jacob Sargent is listed as one of the heirs of Alfred Sargent - eight Sargents were listed, implying that each was a sibling of Alfred. (I have placed Jacob as a son of George Jr.)
1813 – Mary Sargent (McDaniels/Newland) – Mary Sargent was born October 16, 1813 in Maryland (her grave record records this, Find-A-Grave states she was born in Baltimore County). She married James McDaniel in Knox County in August, 1829, and remarried Garret Newland in August 1837, also in Knox County. She moved to Iowa in the 1850’s and Find-A-Grave records her death in reportedly died there on December 17, 1884 in Neola, Pottawattamie County, where she is buried in the Neola Township Cemetery. Garret died and is buried in the same location, having died June 26, 1893.
In the 1830 census there is a James McDaniel in Perry Township, Richland County, with a few adults and no children. In the 1840 census, Garret is shown in Franklin, Knox County, Ohio with a few adults but just two girls under the age of five - which matches the oldest two children of Garret and Mary. There do not appear to be any children of the age to have been from Mary’s first marriage. Garret and Mary are shown in the 1850 census in Perry Township, Morrow County, Ohio - posted below - with six children (the sixth, Elvina, is at the top of the next census page, age one). They had three more born after this census. They were in Iowa by 1860, and are shown in three different counties in Iowa in 1860, 1870, and 1880. While shown in most census records as born in Maryland, Mary is shown in the 1880 census as born in Ohio - with no birth states listed for her parents. (I have placed her with James)
1814 – Georg(e) Sargant – shown below in the 1860 census in post office Bladenburg, Jackson Township, Knox County Ohio. He is with wife Eliza and eight children, the oldest six shown on the page posted below. Georg is shown as born ca 1814 in Ohio. George is shown as marrying Eliza Green in Muskingum County in 1838, and they are shown in the 1850 census in Muskingum County. (George does not appear to be from our Sargent lines – he is not placed with one)
1816 – Alfred Sargent – born about April 1816, married Betsy Shapter in June 1844, and died in Knox County in 1849. Both his probate and a deed from his probate are significant to this Sargent research, as each lists his heirs - and in both cases they list his widow and eight Sargents who appear to be his siblings, tying them all together. They appear to be in order of age.
Alfred is shown in Knox County probate records with a probate case dated July 1, 1850. Shown is his widow Elizabeth, with Benjamin H. Taylor as the administrator. Also listed are “heirs-at-law” James, Jacob, George W., Independence, Mary, Hannah, and Rose Ann Sargent; and Ann Hill and Channey (sic) her husband. Since his widow is listed and then the others by law – it implies that they were his living siblings in 1849.
A Knox County deed from Book JJ, pp. 204-205 dated November 29, 1850 shows the same heirs at law and is posted below.
An 1850 census entry in Morris Township, Knox County shows C and A. Hill (Chauncey and Ann) with four Sargents - I. Sargeant (I had long thought this looked like a “J”, but this is likely the “I” for Independence), 23, shoemaker, Rosanna, 25, Hannah, 21, and Mary, 17, all born in Ohio - in the next entry. That is five of the heirs of Alfred living in the same location at the time of the probate and deed documents - tying them together. (All of these, some of them who are shown individually in this list – are attached to George.) The census entry is posted below.
(I have placed Alfred and the heirs mentioned with George Jr.)
1818 – Jemima Sargeant (Lafever) – born March 6, 1818, shown in Find-A-Grave as having died March 21, 1866, buried in North Fork Cemetery in Chesterville, Morrow County. Censuses show her born in Ohio. She is shown below with Irwin LaFever and three children in the 1850 census in Franklin Township in Morrow County. In this census she is shown as being born in the 1819-1820 period in Ohio. (I am listing Jemima with James. She could have been the daughter of either James or George as each had a woman this age in their early census entries, but the only other candidate is Barbara Sargent Welsh, and she had a son named George. Jemima was not listed with the members of George Jr.’s family in the probate of Alfred. James is most likely her father.)
1818 – Ann Sargent (Hill) – born in Knox County in 1818, married Chauncey Hill in Knox County in 1842, died in September 1896 in Knox County. The entry for Chauncey and Ann in 1850 is shown above in the Alfred section, because of her siblings that were shown in the next entry. The 1880 entry in Morris Township in Knox County for Chauncey and Ann - along with their daughter Blanche - is shown below, with both of Ann’s parents shown as born in Maryland. Also shown is the bio for “Chancey” Hill in the 1881 Knox County History, which confirms Ann’s birth year as 1818, and lists their daughter as Mary Blanch. I have also obtained “Chauncey P. Hill’s” civil war pension file, showing he served in the 142nd Ohio Volunteers and was a resident of Fredericktown, Ohio - but none of the documents list his family or details that would help in linking them to other family members.
Being in Alfred’s probate and next to four siblings in the census seems to indicate a placement with George. They lived out their lives in Knox County - Chauncey dying in 1895 and Ann in 1896, and they had one daughter. (attached to George Jr.)
1815-20 – Barbara Sargeant (Welsh) – married Peter Welsh in January 1839 in Knox County, appears to have died in 1848. She is obviously named for her aunt - assuming she is a daughter of James - but her life ended just before individuals were named for the first time in a census in 1850, so the only record that exists for her by name is her marriage record in 1839. Census records for Peter in 1840 list the woman in the entry as born between 1810 and 1820. Five children were listed with Peter in 1840 and later censuses that were of ages to have been born while Barbara was alive - four by name: Amanda, James, Mary, and Frances. The fifth child was a boy shown in 1840 that likely died before the 1850 census. The fact that the one son we know by name was James links her to James as well.
Peter Welsh remarried in 1849, to Ruby Totman Anderson - and they had five children. She was married first in 1843 and was widowed as well. There was also a biography in the 1881 Knox County history for J. W. Welsh, their son, that describes their marriage and the children of Peter. It is replete with small errors, but confirms the basic framework of the different marriages and children: that Peter was married to his first wife in 1833 (it was 1839); there were four children, two of which had died by 1881 (there may have been five - Amanda and Mary were alive in 1881); Peter’s first wife died in 1848; he remarried 1851 (it was in 1849); that there were five children by the second marriage; that both Peter and his second wife died ca 1866.
Posted below is the 1840 census for Peter, the 1850 census for Peter, and the 1860 census for Peter, as well as the 1881 biography of J. W. Welsh from the Knox County History. Given these census entries, I have placed Barbara in James’ family, shown as born between 1810 and 1815.
1818-1822 – Thomas Sargeant – born ca 1818-22 in Ohio, shown married to Nancy Thompson in Knox County in 1841. I cannot seem to find them in another record. (Not sure where to place him.)
1821 – George W. Sargent – shown on his tombstone from Forest Cemetery in Fredericktown to have been born on July 10, 1821 and died on May 21, 1883. He was married twice, to Martha Parsons in 1842, and who died in 1855 – and was married again in 1858 to Lydia Hall, who was born in 1837 and died in 1921. He appears to have had five children, all by Martha – Ellen (Louise); Rosanna, T., Lewis T., and William - the first three are shown in the 1850 census below.
The 1880 census below shows that both of George W.’s parents were born in Maryland, son Lewis is shown in the next entry that year. In the 1870 census entry below, George W. is referred to as “Washington”. He was bond holder at David Kinney’s 1868 probate, David would have been his first cousin. George W. Sargent is listed as one of the heirs of Alfred Sargent - eight Sargents were listed, implying that each was a sibling of Alfred. (placed with George, possibly through a fluke where in one census George has a son this age and in another he doesn’t – but George is listed in Alfred’s probate among the siblings)
1823 – Joseph Sargent – shown below in Jackson Township, Knox County in 1850, born in Ohio ca 1823. He was shown as marrying Belinda Roberts in Muskingum County, Ohio in 1843. He registered for the draft in Odenville, Knox County on July 1, 1863. His 1880 listing in Van Wert Town and County below states that his father was born in New Jersey. He has sons Solomon, George, and Alfred with he and his wife in the 1850 census. (not sure where to place him, not sure he is related to our Sargents)
Ca 1825 - Rosanna Sargent (King) - listed in the 1850 census with three siblings that all were also heirs of Alfred, an apparent sibling. Rose Ann Sargent is listed in Alfred’s probate. She then was not listed in Ohio records, and I couldn’t figure out where she was. Her niece Sarah Sargent Brollier, the daughter of Jacob and Nancy Pyatt Sargent, was with her in San Jose, California in the 1870 census below - a further link between Jacob and Rosanna. Sarah’s husband died in 1865 in South Carolina during his civil war service (he served in the 20th Ohio, Company A, along with William Harrison “Harry” Kinney, a history of which is on this website). Working back, Rosanna married Abram King in Santa Clara County, California in 1854. [Rosana is shown in a 1901 local history as a pioneer - listing that she came to the area in 1853.] They are shown below in the 1880 census in San Jose, where Rosanna is shown as born in Ohio with both her parents born in Maryland. Abram was a prominent business man there. They had at least four children, with Abram dying in 1903 and Rosanna in 1907. (I have placed her as a daughter of George Jr.).
In the 1895 book “Santa Clara County and its resources: historical, descriptive, statistical. A souvenir of the San Jose Mercury”, are two photos of the Abram King house and a photo of some prominent men of the San Jose area that includes Abram King. The photos have been colorized and enhanced. The first of the two house photos seems to include Abram and Rosana. The third photo, of prominent men, has Abram in the top middle.
Ca 1827 – Peter Sargeant – Peter is shown in Middlebury Township, Knox County in the 1850 census, posted below, to have been born in Ohio about 1827. He was married in Richland County in 1853 and was in Michigan after that. One online posting lists his parents as being from New Jersey, which his 1880 census entry, in Ganges, Allegan County, Michigan below also shows. I wondered if he was one of our Sargents named after Peter Strine. One of his children has Ervin/Erwin as a middle name – which is a connection to the LaFever who married a Sargent that was of the age to be a sibling.
I originally found Peter hard to place, but after a long conversation and exchanges of emails with the late Chuck Rintamaki of Norfolk, Virginia – a Peter descendant – it makes sense to link him to James Sargent and Elizabeth West. Based on their 1830 census entry they had an as yet unidentified son born between 1825 and 1830 – and Peter was born in 1826. His oldest son, George, had Irvin (or Irwin) as his middle name – a name that occurs in two of the women attached to James and Elizabeth as daughters. And James’ father and brother had the name George, which makes that a likely candidate for an oldest son’s name. The listing of his parents, as shown in the 1880 census, as born in New Jersey is what held me back – but I think that is likely incorrect. Chuck indicated that his parents would have died very early in his life, and it’s unclear what understanding he would have had of his parents’ ancestry.
I believe that Peter belongs with James Sargent and Elizabeth West. I obtained Peter’s civil war pension file, which shows he served in Company E of the 28th Michigan Infantry, and was a resident of post office Fennville in Allegan County, Michigan - but does not have affidavits from others, or family members listed as part of this file. His main affidavit leaves his birth location blank.
Ca 1827 - Independence Sargent - shown as an heir of Alfred, and in the 1850 census with siblings. He is likely the “I”, shown with his sisters next door to Ann and Chauncey Hill in the 1850 census. There is no further record of him. There is a Sargent, born in Ohio, in the Mariposa, California census in 1852 as a miner, but there’s no indication of any kind that this is Independence - the part of the page that shows the first name is broken off in the census page posted below. However, it might make sense that he left Ohio, as there are no records for him. And thinking that Rosanna went to California - it would be logical she didn’t go alone, although this record is for 1852 and a pioneers record in Santa Clara County shows that she arrived there in 1853. (I have placed him as a son of George Jr.)
1829? – Hannah B. Sargeant (Hulbert) – shown in Knox County marrying Joseph W. Hubbert (in later records this is Hulbert) on August 14, 1851. Listed in Alfred’s probate. If this were the Hannah above, she would have been about twenty-two at the time of the marriage. Lived her later life in New Jersey, dying there on January 15, 1905.
She is shown below in the 1860, 1870, 1880, and 1900 censuses, all in Mendham, Morris County, New Jersey. In three of them, she is shown as born in Ohio - in the fourth there are ditto marks for many entries above her that she and her parents were born in New Jersey. That’s not correct. In 1900, she is shown as born in Ohio with both her parents born in Ohio - not correct for her parents. (Placed with George Jr.)
Ca 1830 – Anna Sargent – shown in the 1850 census in Fulton County Ohio, at age 20, born in Ohio, with her uncle and aunt William and Elizabeth (Sargent) West – placing her birth year about 1830. The census entry showing her is posted above in the section on George Sr.’s children’s census entries. There is already an Anne in the children of George Jr., so she is not his daughter. James Sargent married Elizabeth West, and the last census entry for them is 1830 and there is not a child born after 1825. However, it is quite possible that Anna was born just after that census - and therefore not listed. Given that her parents were sister and brother to her uncle and aunt - there is a strong possibility that she should be placed with James and Elizabeth. She is clearly in the family, and that is the only possibility. I have not been able to find a further record for her - in marriage, census, or cemetery records. (Based on this, I will place her with James and Elizabeth).
Ca 1831 – S. M. Sargeant – born ca 1831 in Ohio, shown in the 1850 census in Gambier, College Township, Knox County, age 19 and a student. Further research places his full name as Samuel Mustard Sargent. He died in Santa Cruz, California in 1898. He does not appear to be linked to our family in any way, but was in Knox County because he was attending college. (not placed with any of our Sargent lines.)
1833 – Mary Sargent (McNare) – born in Knox County in 1833 (matches the Mary above), married Isaiah McNare in 1852, she died in 1867 and is buried in Old Fredericktown Cemetery. He remarried someone named Mary and lived to 1910, and the children of Isaiah and Mary Sargent were shown in future censuses after her death.
Mary had as many as five children: Rosan, Ida, Anna, Chancey H., and Mary Blanche. Mary Blanche is only listed in an 1881 Knox County history and is not evident in other records. Rosan is shown in a Fredericktown cemetery, died in 1854. She did not appear in a census. The child Chancey H., which likely stands for Chancey Hill, married to Ann Sargent – seems to tie this Mary to Ann. Additionally, Rosan is the name of a likely sister of Mary.
Shown below is the 1860 census, showing Mary born in Ohio and age 26 - with two children, Ida and Anna. In the 1870 census posted below, taken after Mary’s death, Chauncey H., 9, is shown with his father and sisters. (I have placed Mary with George Jr.)
Attaching George and Catherine’s grandchildren to their children, presented in the birth order of George and Catherine’s eight known children
Barbara Sargent (Nathaniel Kinney)
