The Ransom Line

My Ransom line begins with Matthew Ransom of Saybrook, Connecticut in 1682 where a marriage is recorded of Matthew to Hannah Jones, 7 Mar 1682/83, as recorded in the Saybrook, CT, vital records. No record of his birth, family, or any other record of him has been found. It was common for males not to marry before 21 so we only assume his birth would be about 1662. He may have been an original colonist or the son of a still unknown Ransom immigrant-- this remains to be established.

Matthew died early at about the age of 24 leaving only one child, a son Joseph. Joseph married a Jane and had ten children in Lyme, CT.. His son Matthew married Sarah Way and also had ten children. Matthew's son Richard married Mary Sterling and had ten children. In 1781 Richard bought land in Woodstock, Vermont and move his family there in 1782. His son Elisha married Abigail Pool in 1793 in Woodstock and had eight children. In 1818 or 1819 Elisha moved his entire family to Ohio and then the following spring to Indiana, settling in Ripley County, Franklin township, near the town of Milan. The last child was born in Indiana.

Their third child, Timothy stayed and farmed in Ripley County all his life. He married Charlotte Austin in 1822 and they had ten children. His son Newman Austin moved to Moline Illinois and married Ester Mehitable Hebbard in 1861 and they had three children. Their son Harrison Shaw was born in Davenport Iowa in 1873 and he married Margaret Lillian Duncan in 1899. They had three children and their son John Richard Duncan Ransom is my father

The entries for Charlotte Austin who married Timothy Ransom and Abigail Pool who married Timothy's father Elisha remain just those single names. I have been unable to find any connection to their families.

Harrison and Lilian, 1899

More details:

Elisha RANSOM b. 27 Jul 1772 VT d. 24 Jan 1867 Milan, Ripley Co., IN Wife - Abigail Pool b. 6 Jan 1777 d. 19 Dec 1857 Milan, IN, m. abt 1793
     Abigail RANSOM b. 7 Mar 1794 Woodstock VT d. 9 May 1867 Milan, IN m. Jasper G Smith (m 17 Jan 1815)
     Elisha RANSOM b. 6 Nov 1797 Woodstock VT d. 1806
     Timothy RANSOM b. 26 Jan 1800 Woodstock VT d. 16 May 1890 Milan, IN m. Charlotte P. Austin (m 8 Aug 1822)
     Joseph RANSOM b. 22 Aug 1802 Woodstock VT d. 11 Mar 1884 Pike Co, IL m. Corinthia Swift (m 10 Jan 1826 or 31 Dec 1825)
     Polly RANSOM b. 8 Dec 1804 Woodstock VT d. 1812 Woodstock VT - died young
     Juinia RANSOM b. 16 Apr 1808 Woodstock VT d. 1 Sep 1863 Pittsfield, IL m. Sarah Freeland (m 6 Oct 1834)
     Stillman RANSOM b. 4 Mar 1811 Woodstock VT d. m. Eleanor Cole (or Chouton) (m 10 Jan 1837)
     Benjamin Franklin RANSOM b. 26 Dec 1821/22 Ripley Co. IN d. 11 Feb 1901 buried in the RANSOM family cemetery, Old Milan, Ripley Co, IN.
        m. Elizabeth Weinkecht (m Nov 1850). She is named on the grave stone of B.F. Ransom in the Ransom family cemetery.
        His second marriage was to Louina J (nie DEAN) Conger, on 19 Feb 1861 Louina J Conger died on 12 Jun 1917.

Timothy and Charlotte had 10 children:
     Eliza Ann RANSOM b. 29 Feb 1824 Milan, IN, d. 13 Mar 1892 m. Erasmus Darwin Hathaway (m 18 Mar 1852)
     Jason Kendall RANSOM b. 14 Oct 1824 Milan, IN, d. 9 Jan 1896 m. Chloe Hathaway (m 6 Nov 1851)
     Laura Farnsworth RANSOM b. 24 May 1827 Milan, IN, d. 9 Mar 1909 m. Franklin Butterfield (m 14 Oct 1855)
     Catharine Sophia RANSOM b. 23 Feb 1829 Milan, IN, d. 26 Jun 1862 m. Robert G. Glaspill (m 4 Jun 1850)
     Jane RANSOM b. 10 Jan 1931 Milan, IN, d. m. James Davis (m 4 Jun 1850)
     Newman Austin RANSOM b. 2 Mar 1834 Milan, IN, d. 1905 Moline, Illinois m. Ester Mehitable Hebbard (m 31 Dec 1861)
     Daniel RANSOM b. 17 Jan 1837 Milan, IN, d. 25 Jul 1838 - died young
     Farley Hill RANSOM b. 14 May 1839 Milan, IN, d. 2 Jul 1841 - died young
     William Seymour RANSOM b. 27 Apr 1841 Milan, IN, d. 1897 m. Margaret Wells (m 26 Jul 1864)
     Oacar Jackson RANSOM b. 8 Apr 1845 Milan, IN

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