List of Notes and Resources              Samuel Day[Jr.] Family Page
From a paper by Mary Richmond of the
Fayette County Genealogical Society
100 North Walnut
West Union, Iowa 52175
Telephone:(319) 422-5797: 		Thanks to Mary Richmond for her kind permission
to reprint her write-up of research results.
Although this report was written for her personal
use and does not cite sources, it presents a very
nice description of what we know of this family.

Samuel Day and Elizabeth Munger

          Samuel Day, the first child of Samuel Day and Eunice Fay of Monson MA, was born 15 July 1772, as computed from the age on his gravestone. The birth was not recorded in Stafford CT where the births of his younger brothers and sisters are found; so perhaps Samuel was born in Monson.
          Samuel was not baptized until 2 September 1776, a month after his mother, Eunice (Fay) Day, had become a member of the First Congregational church in Stafford CT. Samuel's brothers, Edward and Thomas, were baptized the same day.
          During the Revolutionary War, Samuel's mother probably took the children to live near or with her parents, Edward Fay and Sarah Joslin, in Stafford CT. Samuel's father was a soldier in the Patriot army and was off fighting much of the time.
          By 1780, Samuel's parents had taken their family to Whitingham, Windham county, Vermont. Samuel's Grandmother, Mary (Webber?) Day, also lived in Whitingham, at least for a time. Her death occurred there in 1793. It may have been safer in Whitingham than in Stafford CT as the British desperately tried to subdue the populace.
          During the summer of 1791, the first federal census of Vermont was taken. The Samuel Day listed in Whitingham VT was Samuel's father. Samuel Jr. is one of the three males older than sixteen that were counted. The other two were his father, Samuel Sr., and his brother, Edward. The four males younger than sixteen were Thomas, Benjamin, Elijah and Stephen. Four females lived in the home: Eunice (Samuel's mother), Sarah (Sally), Eunice (Samuel's sister) and Mary (Polly).
          At some point after the 1791 census Samuel went back to Tolland county in Connecticut. On 10 October 1793 he married Elizabeth Munger, daughter of Ephraim Munger and Joanna Fay, in Union town of Tolland county. He was age 21: she was 20.
          The Mungers were close relatives on the Fay side of the family. Eunice (Fay) Day, Samuel's mother, was a sister of Joanna Fay who was Elizabeth Munger's mother. So Samuel and Elizabeth were first cousins.
          In 1778, Elizabeth's father, Ephraim Munger, had purchased land in Union CT from his father, Nathaniel Munger. The Munger family lived in the northwest part of Union town where Ephraim operated a brick yard. Union town lay just to the east of Stafford town. It is said Ephraim lived for awhile in Vermont: but records have not been found to substantiate this. Near the end of the 1790s, Ephraim moved to Madison county, New York, and in 1815 went to Milan in Huron county (now Erie county), Ohio, where he died.
          The residences of Ephraim Munger and those of his daughter and son-in-law, Samuel and Elizabeth (Munger) Day, are nearly parallel. Samuel and Elizabeth probably lived in Union CT when they were first married, near or with Mungers. Births to them are not recorded in Vermont until 1802; nor are any recorded in Stafford CT. Research needed.
          The federal census of Vermont for 1800 shows Samuel and Elizabeth living in Jericho, Chittenden county, Vermont, with three children all under the age of ten. These would have been , John, Josiah and a little girl, perhaps named Joanna after her grandmother Munger.
          The date for the marriage of Samuel and Elizabeth was recorded in Union CT as 10 October 1793. The first known child, John, was born 5 July 1795, nearly two years later. It is very possible that Elizabeth lost a child in 1794. In those days children came very regularly. Several sources indicate that Samuel lost three infant children, but this may not be one of the three. Perhaps the baby of 1794 was lost through miscarriage and thus was not considered a true birth.
          Samuel and Elizabeth named their first child John, unusual for the times. It was customary to name the first son for the father--in this case, Samuel. Perhaps the child born in 1794 was named Samuel.
          Josiah, their second son, was born 6 March 1797. The name Josiah is also a puzzle, since it was customary at that time to name the second son for the mother's father--in this case, Ephraim. No record has been found for this birth, either, not for the little girl that was living with Samuel and Elizabeth at the time of the 1800 federal census of Vermont. But the births of their next four children were recorded in Jericho town, Chittenden county, Vermont.
          Sarah L. (Sally) was born 24 March 1802 and may have been named for her mother's stepmother, Sarah Harmon, the second wife of Ephraim Munger.
          Their fourth child, Ephraim, was born 26 May 1804 and obviously was named for his mother's father, Ephraim Munger.
          Eunice, the fifth child, was born 28 May 1806 and was named for her father's mother, Eunice (Fay) Day.
          William, another puzzle in the naming sequence, was born 1 March 1808.
          By this time Samuel owned property in Jericho town. Some records suggest that he also owned land in Underhill town which lay to the east of Jericho in the same county. He had been deeded the land in Jericho by Salmon Fay under unknown circumstances. To those 50 acres Samuel had added six acres purchases from Peter Shaw. The records of these land transactions were not available when the records were examined at Jericho in 1988.
          On 31 July 1804 Samuel Day Sr. sold six acres of land in Jericho from the "northerly lot no. 3" to his son, Samuel Jr. for $127.00. The land lay between William Wiggins on the left, Samuel Day Sr.'s home farm on the north and Samuel Day Jr.'s house farm on the south. This purchase brought Samuel Jr.'s total holdings in Jericho town to 62 acres.
          By 22 September 1808 Samuel Jr. was in financial trouble. On that date he signed a promissory note and borrowed $672.90 from Eleazer H. Demming of Burlington VT. Perhaps he needed the money to purchase land or equipment to expand the ashery business he conducted. He promised to pay Demming the total amount plus interest in January 1809.
          After several unsuccessful appeals to Samuel Jr. for payment--even partial payment--Demming filed suit in February 1809. An order to attach Samuel Jr.'s "goods, chattle and estate: was filed on 25 February 1809 with the provision that Samuel be arrested if property amounting to a total of $1000 could not be seized.
          Two days later the county sheriff, Heman Allen, filed his report stating the property that was attached:

located in Underhill:

          1 lot of ashes equaling 5000 bushels
          3 potash kettles
          1 spud and ladle
          1 ash measure
          12 leach tubs
          4 lye troughs

located in Jericho:

          1 lot of ashes equaling 5000 bushels
          3 potash kettles
          1 spud and ladle
          1 iron shovel
          2 ash measures
          12 leach tubs
          4 lye troughs
          1 potash building

          In addition, Sheriff Allen reported that he attached all land in Jericho and Underhill "with appurtenances". He left a copy of the writ on the table in Samuel's dwelling. Apparently the property seized was enough to satisfy the debt because the sheriff made no mention of having taken Samuel into custody.
          Vermont is cold and snowy in February. Where were Samuel and the children when the sheriff came? John and Josiah may not have been at home. They were ages 14 and 12 and may have been off in the woods with Samuel working at the ashery. Sarah (Sally) was only seven, Ephraim was five, Eunice was 2 1/2 and William just 11 1/2 months old. They and their mother must have been home when the sheriff put the order on the table.
          Could Elizabeth read? Did the sheriff explain what he had been ordered to do? Elizabeth must have been stunned as she listened to the sheriff tell her that she and Samuel no longer owned their land or their home, and that they would have to move out. Or was he too ashamed to tell her as she stood before him, perhaps holding a sick child, maybe sick herself?
          A sale of the real estate was conducted on 27 February 1809. The 61 acres in Jericho were sold for $2000--more than enough to satisfy Demming's debt and the court costs. This acreage in Jericho included the 50 acres from Salmon Fay, the six acres from Peter Shaw, and the six acres sold to Samuel by his father, Samuel Day Sr. Nothing was mentioned in the record of the sale of the ashery equipment, or the real estate in Underhill. Perhaps there is a record to that effect in Underhill VT. Research needed.
          Homeless, Samuel and Elizabeth probably bundled up their household goods, bedding, clothes and food and struggled through the snow to the house of a relative. Did Samuel own an ox and a small wagon in which to haul potash? There was no mention in the sheriff's report of these. Perhaps such things were not attached. If Samuel owned them perhaps he could have carried, also, what little furniture they had.
          Eunice, the wife of Samuel Day Sr., had died in August of 1808. Samuel Sr. may have welcomed his son's family and let them stay a few days until they determined where they could go to live. Samuel Jr. may have received some of the $2000 from the sale of the land; or perhaps he had funds hidden away; or perhaps Samuel Sr. gave him money. It was used to purchase "a dwelling house with timber on Thomas Day's property on the road leading from Olliver Lowry south to the meeting house in Jericho." The date is not known because the early record books are missing.
          Later in the year Samuel Jr. and his family were warned out of town. "Warning out of town" was a procedure used by local governments to rid their jurisdictions of undesirable people. What had Samuel done to warrant being labeled undesirable? The bad debt had been paid. There must have been more.
          Did Samuel abuse Elizabeth? Was he often drunk? Did he owe debts to many people? Was he dishonest or a thief? Were his older boys a problem in the community? Did he have undesirable friends, maybe Indians, who aggravated his neighbors? Had he been practicing medicine and running afoul of local laws or other, more qualified doctors? There may be no way to ever know.
          On 29 November 1809 Samuel Jr. sold the dwelling house surrounded by timber back to Thomas Day for $300. Shortly thereafter--perhaps with deep snow on the ground--Samuel, Elizabeth and their six children left Vermont. Did they walk?
          A reference to the oldest sons, John and Josiah, indicates they lived for awhile in Madison county, New York. Madison county lies just east of Syracuse. Oneida lake forms the northern boundary of the county. This county had been the home of Ephraim Munger, Elizabeth's father, since the end of the 18th century. Unproven records indicate he lived in the town of Fenner, probably near Chittenango, in the northwestern part of the county. Research needed.
          Given the pattern established by the births of Elizabeth's children both 1810 and 1812 would be logical dates to look for the birth of another child. No further births to Elizabeth are recorded in Vermont. If Samuel and Elizabeth went to live with her father the births of these two children may be recorded in Madison county, New York. Research needed.
          If babies were born to Elizabeth in 1810 and 1812 they were not alive at the 1820 census. Neither was Elizabeth. She died on 20 February 1812, possibly in childbirth. Her death is said to have occurred in the town of Smithfield in Madison county, New York. Unless her father bought a stone, she probably lies in an unmarked grave.
          Samuel remarried that same year (1812) to Hannah Robbins. Was she related to the Mrs. Sarah Robbins who was Ephraim Munger's second wife--perhaps Sarah's child? Hannah was twenty years old when she and 40-year-old Samuel married. The marriage record may be in Madison county, New York. Research needed.
          Samuel and Hannah's first child is said to have been born in Smithfield NY on 30 August 1813. They named the little girl Elizabeth. Their second child, Elijah, was born about 1815, possible in Sullivan, Madison county. Research.
          Ties to Madison county were weakening. In 1815 Ephraim Munger's son, Amas, decided to move to Ohio. He took his 66-year-old father with him. Josiah Day, Samuel's second son, must have gone with them at that time, or visited them there the following year, for he was in Huron county, Ohio, in 1816. The land and the conditions in Huron county suited Josiah and in the spring of 1817, he went back to New York and persuaded his brother, John, to go with him to Ohio to live.
          In New London OH John met the Corey family. John Corey and Phoebe Hendryx had come from Steuben county, New York, in July of 1816. Corey immediately built a log cabin on his property located in lot 7 of section 4. It was the first cabin to be built within the future village of New London. Corey also planted the first orchard in the township.
          Soon John Day fell in love with Polly, the oldest daughter of John and Phoebe Corey. At the end of his first harvest John and Polly married on 16 December 1817. It was the first marriage involving people from New London township but the wedding itself took place at the home of Polly's uncle, Abram Dayton Hendryx, in Haneytown, at that time located in Richland county, about six miles south of New London village.
          The country was all wooded at that time. No road had yet been constructed to Haneytown. So Polly and John "mounted the same horse, rode over hills, through streams and woods, and dispatched a friend to find Esquire Ralston" who went to the Hendryx farm to officiate at the ceremony. On the evening of the second day they returned to New London on the horse and stayed a short time with her family. Then they went to live at John's place, described as being on the same lot given by historians as belonging to Josiah: lot 25 section 1 of New London township.
          Apparently both brothers lived on lot 25 until about 1822, at which time John was listed by the county as the owner of lot 20 section 2, five miles to the north.
          From about 1817 through "several years" very few pioneers purchased lots in New London township. It was considered to be unsafe since the title to the land was in doubt. Some purchases were proclaimed illegal because of the death of Nathaniel Ledyard, one of a handful of men who had purchased the territory from land grant recipients. Ledyard had offered a gift of land to those who purchased land from him, and agreement that was not accepted by Ledyard's heirs. Josiah and John may have delayed purchasing property until the litigation was settled. Search Ohio land records.
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