52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks

Ancestor #33

Asenath Buck (1782-1825)

Asenath Buck was born probably in Sorel, Quebec mostly likely between 1780 and 1783. She was baptized in Sorel on 28 January 1789ⁱ. She died in Matilda, Dundas, Ontario probably about 1825. She married about 1803 John Baldwin born on 19 March 1774ⁱⁱ and died on 26 September 1846ⁱⁱⁱ in Mountain, Dundas, Ontario. She is the daughter of Samuel and Mehitable (McKay) Buck.

There are so many unknowns in Asenath’s life because she was born in the middle of the American Revolution while her parents were dealing with massive upheaval in their lives. Her father, Samuel, joined a Loyalist regiment (Butler’s Rangers), leaving her mother in Arlington, Vermont with 9 children ranging in age from 3 - 20. In 1778 the Vermont government confiscated Samuel Buck’s property in Arlington and escorted his wife and children to the British lines. Butler’s Rangers were garrisoned in Quebec from 1778 through the end of the war so the family probably settled in the Sorel area.

Based upon the births of her children and the age of her mother, I have estimated that Asenath was born between 1778 and 1783. Mehitable was probably born about 1735 in western Connecticut or Massachusetts. She married Samuel Buck in 1762 in New Milford, Connecticut^iv. If she was born in 1735, she would have been 45 in 1780. She had sisters born in 1734, 1740 and 1742 and she is generally believed to have been born in the 1735-1739 time period. So she could have had her youngest child in the 1778-1783 timeframe.

Many on line trees give 1789 as Asenath’s birth date because this is the date of her baptism. This is not a reasonable birth date for her based on the birth of her first child in October 1804. She would have been 15 at his birth and 14 at her marriage. This is highly unlikely. My observation in this location and this time period is that most women are over 20 before they marry. Asenath had her last child about 1824. She would have been 44 if she was born in 1783 and 47 if born in 1780. This is a reasonable age for a mother to give birth.

By 1798 the Buck family was in the Elizabethtown, Leeds, Ontario area. Her mother submitted a petition in July 1798^v to have her husband reinstated on the Loyalist list. For some reason, he was dropped from this list at least twice. When his reinstatement was approved both she and her son, Samuel Miles^vi submitted land petitions from Elizabethtown (that’s where the lawyers were) on 16 October 1798^vii. Samuel Miles Buck had already found land he liked in Edwardsburg, Grenville, Ontario. Also, Asenath’s sister, Sally had married John Faddle in Quebec and both John and Sally^viii had land grants in Mountain, Dundas, Ontario. Thus Asenath was in the right place to meet and marry John Baldwin.

Asenath submitted her own petition for a land grant on 30 October 1822^ix. In this petition she states she is the daughter of Samuel and Mehitable Buck and the wife of John Baldwin of Matilda. She was granted 200 acres in an area close to Lake Michigan. She died according to family records about 1825 and is probably buried in Matilda.

Children of John and Asenath (Buck) Baldwin, all born in Matilda:

1. Daniel Baldwin b. 20 Mar. 1804, d. 4 Apr 1886 in Mountain, m. 3 Jan 1833 in Mountain, Ellen Wilson, b. abt 1808 in Ireland and d. 16 Feb 1891 in Mountain.
2. John Baldwin, b. 10 Oct 1807, d. 11 Mar 1891 in Mountain, m. abt. 1843, Henrietta Higginson b. 10 Oct 1816 in Ireland and d. 24 Feb 1905 in Mountain.
3. William H. Baldwin, b. 1809, d. 21 Feb 1864 in Ottawa, Carleton, Ontario, m. 2 Aug 1831 in Matilda, Elizabeth Wert (Wart), b. Mar 1810 in Matilda and d. 6 Oct 1869 in Ottawa.
4. Thomas Baldwin, b. abt. 1810, d. 1852 in Kemptville, Grenville, Ontario, m. 6 Apr 1835, Elizabeth Foxton, b. 1813 in Ontario and d. 23 May 1881 in Kemptville.
5. George Baldwin, b. 12 Jun. 1815, d. 24 Jan 1880 in Frankville, Winneshiek, Iowa, m. abt. 1840 Eleanor Wagner b. 10 Oct 1822 in Frontenac County, Ontario and d. 2 Dec 1891 in Iowa City, Wright, Iowa.
6. Mary Orilla Baldwin, b. 1818, d, 1890 in Pembina County, North Dakota, m (1) abt 1838 George Reid (Reed) b. in Ireland and d. abt.. 1860 and (2)bef Jan 1861 George Almon Van Camp, b. 13 Jun 1825 in Mountain and d. 1919 in New York State.
7. Sarah Louisa Baldwin, b. 20 Feb 1820, d. 21 Aug 1899 in Mountain, m. abt. 1837, Robert Brown, b. 1816 in Mountain and d. there 10 Dec 1874.
8. Silas Baldwin, b. abt. 1821, d. 3 Mar 1877 in Mountain, m. 1843, Laroxa Catherine Bigford, b. 1825 in Ireland, d. 1887 in Mountain.
9. Ezra Baldwin, b. 1824, d. 9 Aug 1853 in Mountain, m. 1851 Priscilla Ennis, b. 1825 in Smiths Falls, Lanark, Ontario, d. 15 Oct 1893 in Mountain. She m. (2) Noah Guernsey, b. 1831 in Ontario.

i Simmons, Marlene, Christ Church, Anglican, Sorel, Quebec, 1784-1899, (Point Clare, Quebec, Quebec History Society, n.d.), 34.

ii Susan W. Dimock, Births, Marriages, Baptisms and Deaths from the Records of the Town and Churches in Mansfield, Conn., 1703-1850 . (New York, New York: The Baker and Taylor Co., 1898.), 18.

iii Land Records of Dundas County, Dundas County (v. C-D) 1839-1847. page 261, M 2160 Will of John Baldwin.

iv Cook, Lorraine, “Connecticut Town Marriage Records”, database, Ancestry.com (http:..www,ancestry.com : accessed 13 Aug 2010), citing New Milford town records.

v “Land Petitions of Upper Canada, 1763-1865”, database and images, Library and Archives Canada, (http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca : accessed 6 April 2016); Mehitable Buck, 1798, Vol 31, Bundle B4, petition 13, microfilm C-1620.

vi “Land Petitions of Upper Canada, 1763-1865”, database and images, Library and Archives Canada; Samuel Miles Buck, 1798, Vol 31, Bundle B4, petitions 2 and 127, microfilm C-1620.

vii “Land Petitions of Upper Canada, 1763-1865”, database and images, Library and Archives Canada; Mehitable Buck, 1798, Vol 31, Bundle B4, petition 31, microfilm C-1620.

viii “Land Petitions of Upper Canada, 1763-1865”, database and images, Library and Archives Canada; John Faddle, 1797, Vol 186, Bundle F3, petition 37, microfilm C-1894. Sarah Buck Faddle’s petition is included with her husbands.

ix “Land Petitions of Upper Canada, 1763-1865”, database and images, Library and Archives Canada; Asenath Baldwin, 1822, Vol 45, Bundle B13, petition 116, microfilm C-1626.