Breakthrough: John D. Hamilton!

Podcast - 4 min audio brief

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1oMGOD9KIYZ0yLMJwXa7LRePbTRImGyJn/view?usp=sharing

For Hamilton family historians, getting stuck behind a 'John Hamilton' ancestor is the worst of all 'brick walls.' John is by far the most common Hamilton male name, especially in the 17th to 20th centuries and can be almost impossible to identify with certainty.

Our John Hamilton married Altha Judd, from Delaware County, New York and began raising a family in upstate and western NY in the late eighteen teens and early twenties eventually having nine children by 1834 with the last three, Supplina, William and James, born in Morgan county, Illinois. They both died around 1840 and left the family parentless (all the children survived).

We are fortunate to have Y-chromosome genetics that connect us to our colonial family of Thomas & Lydia (Wing) Hamilton in 17th century New England, but, working backwards from today our paper trail stops in Allegany County, NY with the 1830 census and 1829 record of the birth of a son, John Pooler Hamilton.

Stopped that is, until this week.

For us the 1830 census is special. Only 'heads of households' were listed in census records until 1850, but in the 1830 census in Amity, Allegany, NY there are three households listed in three rows together:

• John Hamilton

• Supplina Judd

• Heman Judd

The ages and gender composition of the households match exactly what we'd expect of our families there. Having all three families living together but in separate households is critical to identifying our 'John Hamilton' with absolute certainty.

Altha's parents were Supplina and Jemima (Pooler) Judd and her younger brother was Heman Judd. They are all well documented in the extensive Judd family histories written in the 19th century.

So, this week, with more records getting scanned and becoming full-text searchable, I found Allegany County, NY court records that I believe reference our John Hamilton, and they give him a middle initial. The initial is 'D'!

That's a big deal. I can't help but think that it could stand for Daniel, a very common name in the Thomas Hamilton lines as all his descendants descend from Thomas and Lydia's son, Daniel (1670 - 1738). The Daniel name actually comes from Lydia's father, Daniel Wing (1616-1697).

For the first time since Sept. 2013, our 'brick wall' moves forward in time... eight years, to 1821, as we now have records confirming Heman Judd in Allegany county court as early as Feb. 1821, Supplina Judd as of Oct. 1829, and John Hamilton as of May 1827.

The records are:

1) Supplina Judd Jury List - Oct. 25, 1829, Allegany County Court.

2) Heman Judd, Witness for the defense - Feb. 13, 1821.

3) John D. Hamilton, Defendant in civil suit - May 1827.

4) John, Supplina & Heman - 1830 Census. Amity, NY

Something truly incredible: In a special dispensation from the family history 'gods' one of 12 jurors in John D. Hamilton's case was 'Freeborn Hamilton.' Freeborn is from the other well documented Hamilton family living in Allegany County at this time, and they are definitely NOT related, coming from a different colonial line with different Y-chromosome genetics. BUT, if Freeborn had not been on that jury I would have always wondered if this was really our John. The fact that the judge and the plaintiff would NEVER have allowed a family member of John's to be on his jury, confirms it for me that this is our John Hamilton. As a clincher, there is no other John Hamilton in the Allegany County 1830 census as a head of household. Our John was the only one in the county in 1830.

WooHoo! John D. Hamilton.

Link: Old Allegany County Courthouse - built 1819

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Allegany_County_Courthouse