One of the most surprising items among the papers that may have belonged to Birdie WINCHESTER was a will written by Eliza FORTON of Genesee County, Michigan.
The will, dated 12 Jan. 1876, was written when Eliza was 70 years old. It lists Eliza’s son Ebenezer; daughters Eliza, Esther, Martha, Mercy, Unity, and Victoria; and a grandson, Frederick L. ARNOLD. All of the daughters, except Esther, appeared to be married; they were listed as Eliza JACKSON, Mercy ARNOLD, Unity BOOMER, Martha YOUNG, and Victoria YOUNG POWERS.
I didn’t recognize any of the names, and I wasn’t aware that any of my ancestors had lived in Genesee County. Yet my dad had found the will, along with a package of letters and other information, in his home after my mom’s death.
I zeroed in on the will, thinking it would have some important clues for my family history.
This is what I have discovered so far about Eliza FORTON and her family:
1. Eliza’s husband, James, died on 8 Oct. 1873, about three years before Eliza wrote her will.
2. Eliz died on 28 April 1881.
3. Eliza and James FORTON were both from England.
4. The family first appears in the Genesee County, Michigan, census in 1850.
5. A James FORTON, possibly the same one who ended up in Genesee County, appears on the 1840 Michigan census for Wayne County.
6. According to the 1850 census, Unity was born about 1836 in England. All of the older children – James Jr., Mercy, and Ebenezer – were also born in England.
7. Daughters Martha, Esther, and Victoria were all born in Michigan; Martha, the oldest, was born about 1838.
8. The above birth places and dates narrow the date of this family’s arrival in Michigan to about 1837.
9. Son James Jr. wasn’t listed in the will because he died on 7 Nov. 1875 in Saginaw County. That was about two months before Eliza penned her will. According to his death record, he was born 2 April 1834 in London, England.
10. Daughter Esther, who was not married at the time the will was written, later married H.E. (Harlon) WINCHESTER, Birdie WINCHESTER’s father. This means, of course, that Esther FORTON was Birdie’s step-mother, and Eliza FORTON was Birdie’s step-grandmother.
The bottom line in all this is if my family is somehow related to the WINCHESTERs, I am not related to the FORTONs – and vice versa.
None of these clues have helped me figure out why my mom had this information in the first place, but I’m enjoying the mystery nevertheless.
