compiled by Teresa Martin Klaiber 2020
First,
I will apologize to my fellow Bagley cousins for the title. While it is a true statement it was only a
small part of the life of John Bagley. My father always joked about my research,
warning me that I might catch a horse thief.
He cracked up when I told him I found the court case involving 40 chickens and 40 dozen eggs.
Researching
John Bagley’s heritage has been a bit of a bumpy ride. A statement made by my
grandmother, (great great granddaughter, of John Bagley), simply never fit
properly into the puzzle. She wrote:
“"The Bagley family came from England...
He received his education in England married.
...came to US on their wedding trip in 1796...” It has taken a lot of research hours
reviewing documents to come to the conclusion that she probably misunderstood
what had been told and that John Bagley’s family was from New England. Stir the pot with several branches of Bagley
residing in the same areas and you find yourself tediously chipping away at
available documentation.
Her
manuscript gave inaccurate dates. If
Clara Page Geer Martin’s manuscript were correct Rhoda married at the age of
11. Time after time I see where novice
genies do not do the math and then – well, then the mistake is repeated like a
stutter.
This
researcher is eternally grateful to Jeff Imes for suppling a photostat copy of
the Iams family bible that lists John Bagley’s birth and death dates. John
Bagley, was born 05 Nov 1771. Records
consistently show that John was born in New York, not England.
John
and Rhoda’s first nine children were born in New York: Sally 1796[i];
John Ira 1800[ii];
Monima 1805[iii];
Julia 13 Aug 1806[iv];
Huldah 1 October 1809[v];
Rhoda about 1810[vi];
Mary Ann “Mercy” Bagley about 1811[vii];
Allen 1813[viii]
and Lois 1815[ix].
The
family may have been in Fishkill, Dutchess County, New York, at least in 1815,
when daughter Lois was born according to a written narrative. [x] Ongoing research places the family in Columbia
and Greene County, New York. Columbia County
borders Dutchess County (see further this article). After the birth of their
ninth child, the family migrated to Lawrence County, Ohio. The County was
described as “very wild.” The county was formed in December 1815 from
Scioto and Gallia County.
In
April 1822, while still in Fayette township, with ten children in the
household, John Bagley became irate when he heard that John and Margaret
Randall accused him of stealing chickens.
The Randall’s also resided in Fayette Township. John Randall was 85 years old, had served in
the Revolution “and personally killed several men of the enemy.”[xii] When he filed a pension he stated that he had
no income “except the charity of his children.”
Bagley
sued John and Margaret Randall for slander.
The Randall’s stated that the plaintiff [John Bagley] was a thief who
stole chickens and eggs. Bagley, in
return, complained that Randall had trespassed and that Mr. Randall’s wife,
Margaret, had said slanderous things in the presence of others concerning John
that were “false and scandalous English words.”
Margaret in a certain discussion between herself and Sally Hallock
stated “your dadda...has stolen my chickens.”
Margaret stated that she was not guilty and could prove that John Bagley
stole 20 hens, 20 chickens and 40 dozen eggs in Lawrence County, Ohio on
September 1st, 1821. The defendant was
found not guilty of slander and John took nothing by his bill while the
defendants recovered their costs. There
is no criminal record for John and no record of him ever being charged with a
theft of any sort in Lawrence County, Ohio.
Sally,
who was confronted by Margaret Randall, was the first child born to John and
Rhoda Rensselaer Bagley in New York. She married Hoadley Hallock. Their first three children were born between
1811 and 1816 in New York before migrating to Lawrence County, Ohio where six
more children were born. Hoadley was the
son of Nathan Hallock[xiii]
and wife Lucretia Hoadley who resided in
Durham, Greene County, New York in 1810.
John Bagley and family appear
just a few entries further on the same page in Durham in the 1810 census.
John
and Rhoda Bagley would have three additional sons: Peter[xiv],
Jeremiah [xv]and
Henry C. Bagley[xvi]
between 1822 and 1824. This made a total of thirteen children in the family. John
began paying tax in Union township about 1828. The farm was remembered by Clara
Geer Martin as the old Eaton homestead located on Symmes Creek in Union
township[xvii].
On
the 4th of July 1846 John and Rhoda along with son Jeremiah and daughter-in-law
Sarah Jane Riley Bagley[xviii]
sold two tracts of land, for $600.00, containing a total of 95 acres on Symmes
Creek, Union Township, Lawrence County, Ohio, to Harrison and John Frost. The two tracts. A: School Section 16, Lot 6 section16
township 1 range 16 south side of Symmes Creek,55 acres. B: Section 21 township 1 range 16 NE NE containing 40+ acres which appear under
Jeremiah’s name in Ohio Lands as an Entryman in 1844. The said premises are incumbered with a
mortgage made to O? Martin for the sum of $270. Due out Jany 6 1846 and Jany 6
1847 which the said grantees agree to pay as a part of the consideration
money. The deed was witnessed by H. R.
Davis and William Hall. This
researcher cannot locate a deed for section 16 School lands specifically in
John Bagley’s name on the south side of Symmes Creek. There is property on the north side of Symmes
Creek involving the family and containing 57 acres that transferred through the Hallock estate when Hoadley,
husband of Sally died. That deed[xix]
describes the close family connections, dated October 15, 1845: Peter &
Francis Bagley to Martin Frampton for $100.00 described as lot 6 School Lands s16 t1
r 16 that laid on the north side of Symmes Creek bounded on w by Ransler[xx]
(as spelled) Bagley, Being same lot transferred by James Wilks to Simeon
Sumpter and from Simeon to Richard Sumpter[xxi]
and by to Henry Dick and by him to Peter James and by him to Hodley Hallek (as
spelled) and by John Bagley and Sarah Halleck administrators of H. Hallek to ALLEN Bagley and by him to Peter Bagley[xxii]
containing “about” 57 acres. The deed
was witnessed by Richard Adams and Jacob Lindsey.
Rhoda Rensselaer Bagley died 7 October 1846[xxiii]
in Lawrence County, Ohio. No grave
marker has been located.
John,
in his mid 70’s, migrated to Stark County, Illinois with Jeremiah.[xxiv]
Monima[xxv],
widowed twice also migrated to Stark County, Illinois, as did Allen[xxvi].
Allen received a patent for two tracts of
land 68.18 acres as a cash sale 1 June 1852 in Section 4, Township 13-N (Toulon
Township), Range 6-E.[xxvii]
John Bagley lived five more years dying 12 December 1855. His death was duly recorded in the Imes
family bible. No burial location has
been discovered.
As
stated, John Bagley and Nathan Hallock are listed in the 1810 census of Durham,
Greene county, New York.
John M
Bagly
Free White Persons - Males - Under 10 1 (John Ira Bagley)
Free White Persons - Males - 26 thru 44 1 (John Bagley)
Free White Persons - Females - Under 10 3 (Julia, Mona, Hulda)
Free White Persons - Females - 10 thru 15 1 (Sarah Sally)
Free White Persons - Females - 26 thru 44 1 (Rhoda)
Free White Persons - Females - 45 and over 1 (???? Prudence)
Free White Persons - Males - Under 10 1 (John Ira Bagley)
Free White Persons - Males - 26 thru 44 1 (John Bagley)
Free White Persons - Females - Under 10 3 (Julia, Mona, Hulda)
Free White Persons - Females - 10 thru 15 1 (Sarah Sally)
Free White Persons - Females - 26 thru 44 1 (Rhoda)
Free White Persons - Females - 45 and over 1 (???? Prudence)
The
elder female is most likely Prudence, widow of John Bagley (born 1736 died 2
July 1797, Columbia County, New York). Prudence
and husband John Bagley appear on the 1790 census of Hillsdale, Columbia
County, New York. John Bagley, the
subject of this article) is 19 years old and would account for one of the sons
in the elder John and Prudence household.
The other son is Daniel born circa 1774 when Prudence was 34 years old.
John Bagley (our subject) and Rhoda marry about 1795.[xxviii]
John
Bagley, husband of Prudence, died 2 July 1797 and was buried in the Collins
Cemetery, Hillsdale, Columbia County, New York. The Collins cemetery is
sometimes referred to as the “old First Baptist Church Cemetery. A
granddaughter named for Prudence[xxix]
died 11 October 1796 and was also buried in Collins Cemetery.
Prudence,
widowed, appears on the 1800 Hillsdale, Columbia County, New York Census. The
tax for that year is on a farm, house and mills. She pays tax in Hillsdale
through at least 1802. Son John, as
stated is now residing in Freehold, Greene, County, New York. Greene county was newly formed in March 1800.
After
son John migrates to Ohio, Prudence, widowed, eventually invests in a small
piece of property on the south side of the Coxsackie Turnpike in Greenville,
1824[xxx]. She is 84 years old and presumed to be
helping daughter Mercy. The following
year Prudence sells the property to Mercy Bixby[xxxi]
and lives with her at least until after the 1830 census was taken and probably
was living there at her death 21 December 1831. Letters
of Administration were granted Benjamin Bagley and Seth Bixby.[xxxii]
Prudence was buried in Locust Cemetery,
Greene County, New York.
This
author’s DNA now is linked to at least three of Prudence’s children:
Edward, Mercy, and Daniel.
I
have identified the possibility of eight children for John and Prudence Bagley
including the subject of this article.
Rhoda
and Benjamin are both baptized in Nobletown the 27th August 1770.[xxxiii]
Nobletown apparently fell within in the bounds of modern Hillsdale.[xxxiv]
With a huge boundary dispute between New York and Massachusetts including
Nobletown, Hillsdale would not be established within the bounds of New York
until 1788. Tenants paid taxes on lands granted to the Van Rensselaers and
others. They did not own the land. Benjamin
is taxed 1800 – 1802 in Freehold, Greene County, New York. Benjamin, John and Daniel (all brothers) are
paying tax 1801 on property owned by William Cockburn (See Danl further this
article). Benjamin was one of the administrators for his mother. He later
states he has a sister Mercy[xxxv]. Nothing further has been located on Rhoda.
Josiah
Bagley is on the 1790 Hillsdale, Columbia County, New York Census and continues
to show on tax and census in Hillsdale until his death 27 October 1848. There seems to be some confusion about Josiah[xxxvi]
that is cleared up with his death notice 29 Oct 1846 “At Hillsdale on the 27th
Josiah Bagley in the 89th year of his age – a Revolutionary soldier.[xxxvii]” Josiah is buried in Riverside Cemetery,
Egremont, Berkshire, Massachusetts[xxxviii].
Josiah and wife Hulda had a daughter who died 11 Oct 1796 and is buried in
Collins Cemetery, Hillsdale, Columbia County, New York.
Edward
Bagley appears on the 1790 Hillsdale, Columbia census. He was involved in a description of land 1808
citing a piece of road in the town of “Hillsdale in …Columbia…near the house of
Edward Bagley…running to west line of town of Great Barrington” (now in
Berkshire County, Massachusetts) in the commonwealth of Massachusetts.[xxxix]
Edward died 21 April 1837 and is buried in Riverside Cemetery, Egremont,
Berkshire, Massachusetts. As is brother
Josiah.
Hannah
Bagley born 24 March 1763 married 23 February John Shutts at the age of
16. She married 2nd 25
December 1803 William Hallock. Hannah
died 11 April 1839[xl]
in Greenville, Greene County, New York.
When brother Benjamin testified in Schoharie County, New York concerning
the pension of John Shutts, Benjamin is of the town
of Middleburgh Schoharie County, NY he was born Nov 5?(written over 7 possibly)
1766 and is now in 80th year of age and was born in Hillsdale Columbia
County...acquainted with one John Shutts who married Hannah Bagley a sister to
the deponent and thinks he was present at the marriage AT HIS FATHERS HOUSE in
Hillsdale Columbia County...had children 4 boys …3 girls...they were married
before the Revolution…while in his life time
he was in the Revolutionary War and that John Shutts is now deceased...after
his death Hannah Shutts the wife removed to Greenville, Greene County in the
state and she died while living with her son John Shutts[xli].
Hannah is buried in Locust Grove Cemetery along with her mother.
Mercy Bagley was born 26 March 1766. She married Aaron Hull Bixby. He usually went
by the name “Hull.” Mercy purchases the property from Prudence in 1826. Mercy
is living under her own name with a female 90 to 99 in 1830. She died 12 April 1838 in Castile, Genesse
(later Wyoming Co.) New York.[xlii]
Daniel Bagley is the youngest child of John and Prudence
Bagley. In a letter that was sold on
Ebay he is cited along with Bixby (misspelled In description): LETTERS FROM
WILLIAM COCKBURN of KINGSTON IN THE COUNTY OF ULSTER IN NEW YORK, FROM 1781
& 1799 . - It is dated June 17th, 1799. A letter/document from Cockburn
concerning Hull Dixby & Daniel Bagley, where he lets them a farm to
improve, talks about terms for living , first rent is due on May 1, 1801. It is
signed & dated by Cockburn, Bagley & Dixby. Back side has an
interesting note from 1802 on produce & goods from Bixby.[xliii] Daniel did purchase land on his own terms as
well. An ad dated 21 Oct 1805[xliv]
describes a farm containing 78 acres and 40 acres in the town of Durham with a
new English constructed barn, framed house and orchard on the Batavia (Windham)
Turnpike Road. Daniel sold his property[xlv]
in Greene County in 1819 and migrated to Crawford County, Pennsylvania.
Some
researchers have taken a huge leap assuming John Bagley 1736-1797 was the son
of another John Bagley (wife Judith Sargent) from Essex County,
Massachusetts. This compiler is not
ready to make such a leap. Columbia County, New York borders Berkshire,
Massachusetts to the east. As stated before Great Barrington is in Berkshire,
as is Egremont. There were boundary
disputes until 1788. There are several
deeds involving the Bagley’s of Rhode Island in the Berkshire records that need
scrutiny. “Berkshire
County has always been at the crossroads of settlers on the move. As the
western side of the Berkshire Mountains, those moving west from all other
Massachusetts counties, Rhode Island, and much of Connecticut, and occasionally
from very southern New Hampshire and Vermont would converge here. Many would
continue west into New York state or up the western side of Vermont following
the first roads that allowed easy travel through this region[xlvi]” But that is for another
article.
Some
researchers have provided Prudence with a maiden name. To date I walk with caution, as should every
researcher, until I find the needed documentation. In the mean while I think of John and Rhoda
residing in the “wilds” of Lawrence County, Ohio on the banks of the Ohio
River. I easily cross the bridge in
Kentucky, fly along a four-lane highway and cross another bridge into West
Virginia, looping back to my own home in Kentucky, in just a matter of
minutes. So many mouths to feed and
clothe while farming. Life had to be
more than strenuous. No wonder John
Bagley was insulted when accused of stealing 40 chickens and 40 dozen eggs by
an elderly woman. Would it even be plausible?
I wonder if the Randall woman might have
been showing signs of unrecognized dementia.
[i]
Sally Bagley m. Hoadley Hallock probably NY
[ii]
John Ira Bagley m 2x 2nd m 11 Jan 1837 Mary Polly Ward, Law. Co. OH
[iii]
Monima Bagley m 3x. 1. Peter Imes 1 Jan 1822 Law. Co. OH; 2. Michael Saxton 25
Mar 1845 Law. Co. OH; 3. Nicholas Sturm 14 Apr 1853 Stark Co., Ill.
[iv]
Julia Bagley m. Asa Kimball 28 Mar 1830, Law. Co. OH
[v]
Hulda Bagley m. Thomas Imes 9 Jan. 1831 Law. Co. OH
[vi]
Rhoda Bagley m. Solomon Adams 14 Feb. 1828, Law. Co. OH
[vii]
Mercy Bagley m. 2x 1. Valentine Riddle 21 Feb. 1841 Law. Co. OH and 2. 6 Mar
1845 Corydon Gillett
[viii]
Allen Bagley m. Phebe Smith 30 Mar 1835 Gallia Co., OH
[ix]
Lois Bagley m. James Webb 6 May 1832, Law. Co. OH
[x] Lincoln
County Genealogical Society, Lincoln County, West Virginia And Its People
(Charleston, WV: Appalachian Literary League, 1989),
[xi]
Renselear Bagley name m. 2x. Lucinda Riddle 7 June 1840 Law. Co. OH Mary Eaton 4 Dec 1842 Law. Co. OH.
[xii]
Revolutionary Pension R21892
[xiii]
The Hoadley Genealogy:
A History of the Descendants of William Hoadley of ... Francis Bacon Trowbridge
page 26
[xiv]
Peter m. 2x. Francis Pemberton 20 May 1842 Law. Co. OH & Elizabeth Ann
Bergin 17 Mar 1853, Hamilton, IL
[xv]
Jeremiah m. 2x 1. Sarah Jane Riley 12 Sep 1844 Law. Co. OH & 2. Nancy
[xvi]
Henry C. Bagley m. Mary Spears 26 Mar 1845 Law. Co. OH
[xvii]
Renselear had married Mary Eaton had several properties along with the Eaton’s
near Rockwood, Union Twp.
[xviii]
Ohio, Lawrence , deed book 10 page 317
[xix]
Ohio, Lawrence deed book 10 page 269
[xx]
Ohio River Survey 1-N 16-W 21 Nov 1846
Chillicothe Land Office OH1330_.254
[xxi]
Richard Sumpter was still living in Union twp. 1850 age 84.
[xxii]
Peter went to Marshall Co., IL and so did sister Mercy Bagley Riddle Gillett
[xxiii]
D. cited in Imes Family bible
[xxiv]
Jeremiah Bagley died 21 May 1863 in Greene, Missouri
[xxv]
Researchers have assumed it was a typo and often times you will find Monima
listed as Jemima which is incorrect.
[xxvi]
Allen Bagley moved on to KS and ARK
[xxvii]
Bureau
of Land Management, BLM Seaial #: IN NO S/N,
www.glorecords.blm.gov/PatentSearch
[xxviii]
Marriage calculation based on birth of Sally Bagley circa 1796
[xxix]
d/o Josiah and Hulda Bagley
[xxx]
New York, Green, deed book H page 149
[xxxi]
New York, Green, deed book I page 53
[xxxii]
New
York, Greene, , Letters of Administration A-F: page 20, 23 Jan 1832
[xxxiii]
Hasbrouck
Von Sahler, St. James' Church Records Great Barrington, Mass. (N.p.:
n.p., n.d.), page 53.
[xxxiv]
The Historians of Hillsdale, NY. In Search of Nobletown. Jan 31, 2018. https://hillsdalehistorians.wordpress.com/2018/01/31/in-search-of-nobletown/
[xxxvi]
Another Josiah birth unknown is also buried at Egremont in Riverside. This
Josiah died Mar 22, 1831. This compiler
believes this is a younger Josiah.
Further documentation is needed.
[xxxvii]
The
Rural Repository Devoted to Polite Literature, Volumes 23-25. Vol XXIII No. 2
[xxxviii]
Find a Grave, Riverside cemetery, Egremont, Berkshire, Massachusetts
[xxxix]
Private
Laws of the State of New York Passed at the Thirty First Session (N.p.:
n.p., 1808), page 14
[xl] "Find
A Grave," database, Find A Grave (http://www.findagrave.com/:
accessed ), Locust Cemetery, Greenville, Greene, New York.
[xli]
Pension W17042
[xlii]
Willard
Goldthwaite Bixby, A genealogy of the descendants of Joseph Bixby, 1621-1701
of Ipswich and Boxford, Massachusetts, who spell the name Bixby, Bigsby,
Byxbie, Bixbee, or Byxbe and of the Bixby family in England, descendants of
Walter Bekesby, 1427, of Thorpe Morieux, Suffolk
[xliii]
https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/1799-1781-letters-from-william-cockburn-kingston
Sale of letter from Wm Cockburn concerning Bixby, Bagley land accessed Jul
2020. , sold Ebay.
[xliv]
"For
Sale," Margaretville Catskill Recorder, 21 October 1805
[xlv] New York,
Greene, Deeds, Book K p 286, rec 30 May 1827 writ 19 Jan 1819; , .
[xlvi]
Abolished
County Governments - Secretary of State, Acts of
1998, Ch. 300, Sect. 11.
