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Possible family connection of Mariah Bassett
Mariah Bassett (1806 - 1862) and Harmon Wood (1802 - 1877)
Key words: Harmon and Mariah Wood, Harmon and Mariah Bassett Wood
With one exception, Bassetts and Bassitts living in Allen County, Ohio prior to 1900 have a known connection to Samuel Bassitt (b. 1795) who emigrated there in 1836. This exception is Mariah Bassett Wood, wife of Harmon Wood.
Mariah Bassett was born in 18061 in Genesee Co., NY2. The identity of her parents is not known.3 She married Harmon Wood (b. 11 May 1800 in Otis, Berkshire Co., Massachusetts to James and Mary Wright Wood4) in about 1828. This may have occurred when they lived in Geauga County, OH, although a family tradition said that they were married "on the wagon train from New York"5. Harmon and his family lived on the east side of Parkman Twp., Geauga Co., OH, near the Trumbull County line. Mary Wood was the first person buried in the Old Parkman Cemetery, although there is no marker for her grave.4
Harmon and Mariah were early settlers of Bath Township, Allen Co., OH. Harmon Wood bought land in the northwest quarter of the southeast quarter of section 4 on 20 Jul 1833. He was on the Allen County tax rolls in 1834,5 so he was living on his land by then. Mariah and Harmon had the following children:1 6
Mariah died in 18621 and after her death Harmon married again to Catherine Stoner5 (or Mosier6) They had two children:6
Harmon died on 10 Sep 1877.1 Harmon and Mariah are said to be buried in the Berryhill Cemetery, Bath Twp., Allen Co., OH, but there is no known marker there for their graves.9
One of the recurring themes of the history of the Bassett, Edgecomb, and Snyder families is that family members rarely moved west in isolation. In most cases, it appears that some family connection influenced the decision to buy land or to move to a particular area. It is therefore tempting to speculate that Mariah Bassett was a relative of Samuel Bassett because they lived within a few miles of each other in Bath Township. Mariah's age would be reasonable to place her as a sister of Samuel - Samuel was born in 1795 and his brothers with known birth dates were born in 1789 and 1796. So if Mariah was a sister she would have been one of the younger siblings.
Her birthplace in Genesee county is somewhat problematic since her putative father, William Bassett was not known to have lived as far west as present-day Genesee County. However, there were many changes in the boundaries of counties in central and western New York around the time of her birth, so it is possible that what was Genesee County at that time was closer to where William lived. It is also possible that only Harmon was born in Genesee County and that Mariah's birth there was assumed (I have only second-hand sources stating that she was born there). It is also suggestive that Harmon and Mariah lived in Parkman Twp., Geauga County, Ohio because it is adjacent to Trumbull County where so many Bassett, Edgecomb, and Snyder families (including Samuel Bassitt) lived. However, the supposed relationship would be more convincing if they lived in the same township as other family members.
Other alternatives are that Mariah may have been a cousin to Samuel and there is the possibility that she was no relative at all and that her presence in Bath Township was merely a coincidence. Additional information is needed to shed light on these questions.
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Comments? Questions? Contact Steve Baskauf
References:
1. Letter from Phyllis LaRue to Steve Bassett, 5 Jul 1982 Letter to Steve Bassett (Baskauf) from Phyllis Leech, 2 May 1977, annotated by Phyllis LaRue in 1982 . John Bielstein gives her birth date as 1809.
2. Letter from Phyllis LaRue to Steve Bassett (Baskauf) 28 May 1983
3. The death certificate of Pheobe Lucebe Wood Davisson lists her mother's maiden name as Mariah Bassett (death records of Wapakonetta, OH). Cited in an email from John Bielstein, 15 Nov 2007
4. Birth certificate of Harmon Wood from town clerk of Otis, MA. Cited in an email from John Bielstein, 14 Nov 2007.
5. Letter from Judith Rush to Lewis Bassett, 23 Jan 1976
6. Descendants of William White (genealogical database output) from John Bielstein, 14 Nov 2007
7. This date was listed as "c. 1824". However, the 1830 census lists two males under the age of 5 and the 1840 census lists two males between the ages of 10 and 15. A date after 1825 would also be consistent with the presumed marriage date of Harmon and Mariah.
8. The 1840 census lists a male in the household under the age of 5, but no child of the appropriate age is listed in the 1850 census.
9. Email from John Bielstein, 15 Nov 2007
U.S. Census of 1830 for Parkman, Geauga Co., OH, p. 208 [blank 1830 form] Includes James Wood (father of Harmon) and Harmon and Mariah (listed as "Harman Weed").
U.S. Census of 1840 for Bath Twp., Allen Co., OH p. 131 [blank 1840 form]
U.S. Census of 1850 for Bath Twp., Allen Co., OH, p.249-50 [blank 1850 form]
U.S. Census of 1860 for [blank 1860 form]
U.S. Census of 1870 for Bath Twp., Allen Co., OH, p.309 [blank 1870 form]
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