Children of Nathan3 Terrill

CHILDREN OF NATHAN³ (JOHN², ROGER¹) TERRILL with
PROBATE OF ESTATE HEZEKIAH⁴ (NATHAN³, JOHN², ROGER¹) TERRILL

Nancy Tyrrel Theodore, 13 April 2012

(All items underlined in blue are links to original documents, articles or references.)

Nathan³ and Ruth (Buck) Terrill "cellebrated mariage" on 7 June 1721 at New Milford, Liltchfield, CT. At a later date the marriage record was made and their children's births in New Milford were added to that record page through 4 July 1747. [New Milford Land Records, LDS #5189, Vol. 2, p. 352 - PDF 1.5 MB,]:

	i	David⁴ born 22 April 1723
	ii	Ruth⁴ born 22 November 1724
	iii	Daniel⁴ born 11 July 1726
	iv	Abigail⁴ born 24 March 1727/8
	v	Jonathan⁴ born 29 May 1730
	vi	Comfort⁴ born 17 January 1731/2
	vii	Eunis⁴ born 4 June 1735 [Eunice]
	viii	Nathan⁴ born 13 February 1736/7

Other children born later to Nathan and Ruth and recorded separately from the first record:

	ix	Asael⁴ born 20 September 1739^a, "Asiel" on the original record^b [New Milford Land Records, LDS #5190, Vol. 4, p. 28].
	x	Lois⁴ born 27 May 1741^a, as daughter "Lowis" on the original record^b [New Milford Land Records, LDS #5190, Vol. 4, p. 28].
	xi	Hezekiah⁴ born 20 September 1743^b [Stratford Land Records, LDS #5191, Vol. 5, p. 39].

Nathan³ removed to North Stratford in Fairfield County after 1741 and before 1743 where his youngest son and child, Hezekiah⁴, was born. Nathan's will was presented for probate on 6 August 1754. As the second youngest son, "Asail Turrel a Minor of the Town of Stratford," being 15 years of age, named as his guardian William Odell on 6 September 1754 [Fairfield Probate Court, LDS #4275, Vol. 12, PDF 1.5 MB]. Hezekiah at age 15 chose Azariah Odell of Fairfield as his guardian on 5 December 1758 [Fairfield Probate Court, LDS #4275, Vol. 12]. Widow Ruth married for her second husband Benjamin Burton on 19 December 1754.^e

Nathan³ wrote his will naming all of his children on 14 May 1746. [Transcription with original document links.] At that time Nathan stated he was "Weakly" although of sound mind, so he must have sustained a long illness of some sort that lasted over eight years until 1754. Nathan left his wife Ruth a relatively wealthy widow, giving her all of his "household goods and other moveable Estate," as well as one-third of his "Dwelling house," lands, gristmill and sawmill.

In his will Nathan³ names his daughter, Ruth⁴, as "Ruth Sherman." William Sherman, a merchant of New Milford, married Ruth Terrill there on 18 April 1743^f. He died 20 April 1756^f, two years after Nathan's will was probated. Thus, when Nathan³'s unmarried youngest son, Hezekiah⁴, died in 1760 his estate named his sister as Ruth Gaylord, not Sherman, as she was then married to her second husband, Deacon Gaylord.

Hezekiah⁴ died intestate, or without a will. The first probate record is for the "20th Day of Dec^r, in the 34^th Year of the Reign of our Sovereign Lord George ye 2^nd..... One Thousand, Seven Hundred and Sixty"^*.... "Danll Turrel and Ashael Turrel, both of Stratford," posted a bond of one hundred pounds against fulfillment of Daniel's obligation as administrator of their brother Hezekiah's estate. This document [Fairfield Probate Court, LDS #4275, PDF 1.4 MB] is a good example of how the spelling of the last name can vary widely as Daniel signed as "Turrill," and Asahel signed as "Terrill." Throughout the procession of the many documents for the estates of Nathan³ and Hezekiah⁴, the last name is spelled variously as, "Terrell, Terrill, Tirrell, Turrel, Turrill, and Tyrrel." In the case of some signatures, this appears to be deliberate.

An inventory of Hezekiah's estate, submitted on 26 December 1760 [Fairfield Probate Court LDS #4275 - PDF 1.3 MB], was "just taken" by Daniel Silliman and Nathaniel Seeley, Jr. Included are "thirteen acres & a half of Land Lying _^ ^{in Stratford bounds} in the Low[er] devistion that his onerd father gave him by will bound as described in the distrebustion at won pound per acre six pence 18-18-0..... four acres of Land & a half in the uper Devistion a joyning to the house wher his onerd father wonce lived s^d Land given to him by s^d Will at Ł8-10-0 the whole." This is the land that Nathan³ left to Hezekiah⁴ in his will of 14 May 1746, probated at Fairfield 6 August 1754. with distribution made 3 September 1754. [Distribution page 2 from Nathan3 Terrill's estate - LDS #4289 PDF 1.6 MB .**]

There are several documents with charges by Daniel against Hezekiah's estate for the expense of carrying out his administrator duties. One listing says "one Day aprising the Land," and is followed by "one Quart of Rum." Evidently thirsty work! The last of these charges was filed 11 December 1764. [Fairfield Probate Court, LDS #4277, PDF 720 KB]

Following is a transcription of the probate record for Hezekiah naming his siblings, and giving the married names of Hezekiah's sisters in 1764 [Fairfield Probate Court, LDS #4277, PDF 940 KB]:

At a Court of Probate held at Fairfield Dec^r 11^th Day A. D. [1]764.

This Court doth appoint & impower Mess^rs Dan Silliman Capt. Nath^l Seelye & Azariah Odell all of Fairfield freeholders, to divide & Distribute th^t part of ye Real Estate of Hezekiah Tyrrel late of Fairfield dec^d. [two lines scratched out] th^t remains yet undisposed of in y^e following Manner & form. To David Tyrrel one Share _^^thereof to Dan^l Tyrrel on[e] Share to y^e heirs or Representatives of Jonathan Tyrrel dec^d. one Share, to Nathan Tyrrel one Share & Asal Tyrrel on[e] Share, & to Ruth Gaylord*** one Share & to ye heirs & Representatives of Abig^l Tyrrel _^ ^{one Share}, one Share to Comfort Summers & to Eunice Hall one Share & Lois Gideons one Share thereof-----

Test. And. Rowland Clerk

One is left to wonder why Hezekiah's estate wasn't settled in a timely manner as the next probate document is dated 1782! Following is the transcription of that document with more detail on Hezekiah's siblings [Fairfield Probate Court, LDS #4279 - PDF 540 KB]:

At a Court of Probate Held in Fairfield Apriel April y^e 1^st 1782 ^{this County orders} The Whole Real Estate of Hezekiah Turrel Late of Stratford, but now dec^d to be Destributed to & Among the Brothers & Sisters of said Dec^d & to the Children & Heirs of those of them that are Dead in the following Manner (Viz)

To Ruth Wife of Wm. Sher Deacon Gaylor Eunice Wife of Joseph Hall Daniel Tyrrel Dayid Turrel Comfort Wife of Ebenezer Summers _^^and Lois Turrel to Each of them one Share or a Single portion----

And to y^e Heirs or Le[gal] representatives of Jonathan Turrel Dec^d together one share or a Single portion—

And to y^e Heirs etc of Abigail Turrel Dec^d together one Share or a Single portion—

And to the Heirs etc of Nathan Turrel Dec^d together one Share or a Single portion—

And to the Heirs etc of Ashael Turrel Dec^d together one Share or a Single portion—

And this Court Does Desire Appoint & fully Impower Leiut Nathan [crossed out] Seelye & Ensign Samuel Bennitt of Fairfield and M^r Benjamin Beardslee of Stratford Freeholders to Make Distribution Accordingly Per Order of Court.

Leiut Heze^k Silliman Clerk

So by this document we know that since the original distribution order in 1764 Nathan and Ashael have died. And, that Ruth is then the wife of Deacon Gaylord, Eunice the wife of Joseph Hall, and Comfort the wife of Ebenezer Summers.

Lois is first identified as Lois "Gideons" in Hezekiah's 1764 probate, but this and the final distribution documents refer to her by her maiden name, "Turrel." Jacobus^d says Lois married James Giddings of New Fairfield at New Milford 23 September 1761. There is no Barbour^b record for this marriage to either a Gideons or a James Giddings in New Milford. When her father's will was probated in 1754, and when Hezekiah died in 1760, Lois was not as yet married, and thus her maiden name was perhaps used in 1782 for continuity.

One final document in Hezekiah's estate says: "Hezekiah Turrels Estate, By Cash Rec^d from y^e Govt Ł4 ~ 1 ~ 1, By his Cloaths 1 ~ 5 ~~" The subject section of the document shows: "Hezeki Tyrrel/ Accounts allowance/ April 10 - 1764/ Entered Apr. 1/ Acct." [Fairfield Probate Court, LDS #4277, PDF 1.1 MB.] There are a couple of ways that Hezekiah could have received money from the government, the most likely would be through military service. In 1760 the colonies were in involved in the French and Indian War. Records from that war show a Hezh Farrell was in Lt. Col. Smedlys Company in 1760.^g Smedley was of Fairfield and his company was raised in Fairfield and Stratford. The hospital returns are the only record available for Lt. Col. James Smedly's company for 1760 as some of his records were lost.**** The hospital returns state: "The Connecticut Provincials Dr. to Hospital at Albany for the following men" for October and November..... "Campaign of 1760, Mens Names and Companies Dead.... Hezh Farrel Oct 29.... and Lt. Col. Smedlys, 6 Nov, Hezh Farrell."^g So "Farrel" died on either 29 October or 6 November perhaps from injuries received during the Montreal campaign.^## Hezekiah's first probate record is dated 20 December 1760, so it's probable that Hezh "Farrell" is in fact our Hezekiah Terrill. As the 1760 records for Smedley's company were lost, it is likely that the amount due Hezekiah from the government was delayed until 1764.

There is a four-page final settlement distribution document for Hezekiah's estate, dated 21 April 1782, and accepted 6 August 1782. Thus it took 22 years, from the time of Hezekiah's death in 1760, to the final settlement of his estate in 1782. [Fairfield Court of Probate, LDS #4280, PDF 3.7 MB.]

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Notes:

* King George I , the first of the German Hanover line^c of English kings, died 11 June 1727, which is when King George II of England would have ascended to the throne, as "a new Sovereign succeeds to the throne as soon as his or her predecessor dies."^c King Geoge II died 25 October 1760, during the 34^th year of his reign which would have commenced in June of 1727 and ended at his death that October. So, in December of that year, George III's name should be the one used on this document. It's possible that word of King George II's death had not reached New England, when this document was written, as King George III would have been reigning in December of 1760. Otherwise, it just seems either an error or oversite.

** Transcription of Hezekiah's share of the distribution for Nathan³ Terrill's estate: "Item to Heseackiah Turrill wee Let four acres & a half of Land in ye North Tract Joyning To ye house _____ also thirteen acres & a half of Land in ye Lower or South Tract Joyning North on David's Three acres." NTT

*** Ruth married for her second husband Benjamin Gaylord on 28 September 1756^d.

**** William Walker of Stratford writes Col. Seymour asking that some more pay rolls, "which contain the names of those in Fairfield County," be sent to him. The rolls particularly desired are those of Col. Smedley, Capt. John Burr, Capt. Stephen Tharp, Capt. Solomon Morehouse, and Capt. Nathaniel [Nathan ?] Hawley. There is no record of companies commanded by Burr, Tharp, or Morehouse; and the pay rolls of Capt. Nathan Hawley for 1756 and of Lieut.-Col. James Smedley for 1759 and 1760 cannot now be found..... All effort to locate these rolls for the purpose of printing in this volume has been unsuccessful.^g

## For the 1760 campaign, the British commander in North America, Major General Jeffery Amherst, intended to mount a three-pronged attack against Montreal. While troops advanced up the river from Quebec, a column led by Brigadier General William Haviland would push north over Lake Champlain. The main force, led by Amherst, would move to Oswego then cross Lake Ontario and attack the city from the west. Logistical issues delayed the campaign and Amherst did not depart Oswego until August 10, 1760. Successfully overcoming French resistance, he arrived outside of Montreal on September 5. Outnumbered and short on supplies, the French opened surrender negotiations during which Amherst stated, "I have come to take Canada and I will take nothing less." After brief talks, Montreal surrendered on September 8 along with all of New France. With the conquest of Canada, Amherst returned to New York to begin planning expeditions against French holdings in the Caribbean.^h

a The History and Genealogy Families of Old Fairfield, Volume I, Compiled and Edited by Donald Lines Jacobus, reprinted by Genealogical Publishing Company, Baltimore, 2007, pp. 950-951.

b The Barbour Collection of Connecticut Town Vital Records pre-1870, Lorraine White Cook, ed., Genealogical Publishing Co., Baltimore, 1994-2002, New Milford Vital Records, pp. 202-206 (Ancestry), Stratford Vital Records, p. 228 (Ancestry).

c The official website of The British Monarchy, the Hanoverians and the Accession.

d The American Genealogist, Vol. 25, pp. 39-40 "The Terrill Family of Connecticut," by Donald Lines Jacobus.

e Marriages of First Congregational Church Stratford/Trumbull, 1747-1800. Transcribed by Jane Devlin.

f Sherman Genealogy, by Thomas Townsend Sherman, Printed & Published by Tobias A. Wright, NY 1920, pp. 142-144.

g Rolls of Connecticut Men in the French and Indian War, 1755-1762, Vol. II, Connecticut Historical Society, Hartford, 1905 pp. XII, 228 & 230. from Connecticut State Library, War. 9, 112 and 113.

h French and Indian/Seven Years War.