Joslin Family :: Summary of Evidence

As stated in the first post in this Joslin Family series, there isn't any documentation that explicitly states that my 3rd great grandfather, Lysander Price Joslin, is the son of James and Abigail (Goodrich) Joslin. In correspondence (1968-1982) between my grandmother, Irwin Joslin, and Mrs. Edith Wessler the "connection" was made between Lysander and James and Jonas Joslin, in Delaware County, Ohio.

This series of posts has presented the documents and evidence that has been found in the last twenty years or so. We still don't have "that" one document stating a relationship but I do think the cumulative effect of the evidence available is sufficient to "prove" that Lysander is the son of James and Abigail Joslin and that James is a son of Jonas and Ruth (Dyer) Joslin.

Utilizing census records, we have shown that there was only one Joslin family in Delaware County, Ohio during the time period in question (1820-1850) consisting of Jonas and his children. And, in Whitley County, Indiana in 1840-1860, there was only one Joslin family consisting of James and Abigail and their six children. Death records are not available for the two oldest children, Lysander and Fanny, but records for two other children confirm that their mother was Abigail Goodrich. The death record for another child gives her name as Mabethy Goodrich.

Records in Delaware County, Ohio

• In 1818 Jonas Joslin purchased land in Delaware County, Ohio.
• The only 'Joslin' families in Delaware County, Ohio during the 1820-1840 time period were Jonas Sr., James, and Jonas Jr. The two Jonas' remained in Ohio.
• There were nine 'Joslin' families found in the 1820 Ohio census index at ancestry.com but Jonas Joslin was the only one in Delaware County, Ohio.
• In 1822, the land purchased by Jonas Joslin Sr. in 1818 was sold by Jonas and his wife Ruth to James Joslin and Jonas Joslin Jr. with the stipulation that Jonas Sr. and Ruth were to retain use of the premises during their lifetimes. This would seem to indicate transfer of property to their children.
• According to his family Bible records, Lysander Price Joslin was born on May 1, 1825.
  Lysander was most likely named after Price Goodrich, his mother's brother. Both Price and Abigail were undoubtedly named after their father's mother, Abigail Price. Future posts will provide evidence that Abigail is the daughter of Bela Goodrich and granddaughter of John and Abigail (Price) Goodrich.
• No record for the marriage of James Joslin and Abigail Goodrich has yet been found. However, newspaper abstracts indicate that James and his wife Abigail were married prior to July 13, 1826.
• In the 1830 Delaware County, Ohio census for James Joslin, Lysander would "fit" in the family as the one male 5-10 years of age.
• James Joslin sold his land in Delaware County to Jonas Joslin Jr. on August 29, 1837 and sometime thereafter removed to Whitley County, Indiana. That land had been purchased from Jonas Joslin Sr. in 1822.

Records of James and Abigail Joslin, and children, in Whitley County, Indiana

• On September 20, 1837 James Joslin purchased land in Whitley County from the United States. It was patented on August 20, 1838.
• We don't know exactly when the Joslin family arrived in Whitley County but the county history books state that James Joslin was among the 12 residents of Troy Township to cast a vote in the first Presidential election held there on July 4, 1839.
• According to the online index on ancestry.com there were two households with the surname of Joslin and one Joselin living in Indiana in 1840. Also one household with the spelling of Jocelin and two with Jocelyn. However, there was only one Joslin family in Whitley County, Indiana in 1840 and that was the household of James Joslin. Lysander would "fit" into that family as the one male 15-20 years old.
• In 1841, Lysander purchased 40 acres of land from James and Abigail Joslin. This is a portion of the land that James Joslin "of Delaware County, Ohio" purchased from the Federal Government in 1837. At the time the deed of sale was signed, Lysander was only 16 years old.
• On January 16, 1843 Fanny Joslin was married to Joseph Shoemaker in Whitley County. Fanny was about 16 years old at the time of her marriage. As an underage minor it would be extremely unlikely that she would not be living with her family. She "fits" into the family in the 1840 census as the one female 10-15 years old.
• On August 21, 1843 Lysander Price Joslin married Lydia Robison in Whitley County.
• The 1844 Tax Duplicate for Whitley County shows that both Lysander and James were property owners.
• In 1844, Lysander was taken before a local court for nonpayment of a debt. Naby Joslin testified that Lysander was a minor when the debt was incurred back in January 1843. Could this be considered evidence that Naby is Lysander's mother?
• Also in 1844, James and Nabby Joslin sold the remainder of their land to Edwin and Joseph Joslin. Edwin was only 14 years old at the time of the transaction and Joseph was a month shy of 12 years. Would they sell their land to two minor boys if the boys weren't their children?
• In the 1850 Federal Census for Whitley County, Indiana, Lysander P. Joslin is listed on page 471b. The James Joslin family is on the next page (472a). There were no other Joslin families in Whitley County at that time.
• No further record of James Joslin has been found beyond the 1850 census. There is no estate file for him in Whitley County, Indiana nor is there a guardianship record for the minor children.
• All of the census records found for them show that Lysander, Fanny, Edwin, Joseph, and Emily Joslin were all born in Ohio. The last child of James and Abigail, Mary Lucicia was born after the family came to Indiana.
• On January 21, 1851 Lysander purchased 20 acres of land from Edwin Joslin, which James had sold to Edwin in 1844. Lysander also purchased Joseph's 20 acres on November 1, 1853. Thus he became the owner of the original 80 acres that James had bought from the U. S. Government in 1837.
• On October 12, 1854 Emily Eliza Joslin was married to John Long in Whitley County, Indiana. Emily "fits" into the Jonas Joslin household in the 1840 census as the one female under 5 years of age. She is also listed with the family in the 1850 census.
• Edwin M. Joslin married Sarah Fellows on November 9, 1854 in Whitley County, Indiana. In the 1830 census, Edwin "fits" into the Jonas Joslin household as the one male under 5 years of age. In 1840 he would be the one male 10-15 years old. He is listed with James and Abigail in the 1850 census.
• In the 1860 Federal Census for Whitley County Abigail Joslin, Price Goodrich, Silas Goodrich and Lysander P. Joslin are all listed on page 762. There were no other Joslin families in the county at that time.
• On June 2, 1861 Joseph A. Joslin was married to Prudentia Noble in Whitley County, Indiana. Joseph "fits" into the Jonas Joslin household in 1840 as the one male 5-10 years old. Joseph is listed with James and Abigail in 1850 and with Abigail in 1860.

The place of birth for James and Abigail

• In the 1850 census, James was listed as born in L C (probably Lower Canada) and Abigail was born in Connecticut. The 1860 census gives her birthplace as Ohio. In 1870 and 1880 (as the wife of Samuel Pingree) her birthplace is given as Connecticut.
• Though not all of the census records for their children agree, the majority indicate that James was born in Canada or Vermont and that Abigail was born in Connecticut.
• The 1880 census (Cheyenne Township, Barton County, Kansas, page 93) for L.P. Joslin shows that Lysander's father was born in Vermont and his mother in Connecticut.
• In 1880, the census (Lewisburgh Township, Montgomery County, Kansas, page 21) shows that Fanny's father was born in Canada and her mother in Mass.
• The 1900 census (Antelope Township, Logan County, Oklahoma, page 1) Fanny's father was listed as born in Canada (Eng) and her mother in Connecticut.
• The 1880 census (Michigan City, La Porte County, Indiana, page 38) shows that Edwin's parents were both born in Vermont.
• In 1900 (Island Grove Township, Sangamon County, Illinois, page 109) and 1910 (Perry Township, Tippecanoe County, Indiana, page 59) the census records show that Edwin's father was born in New York and his mother in Connecticut.
• The 1880 census (North Township, Marshall County, Indiana, page 38/34b) shows that Joseph's parents were born in "Penn" [Pennsylvania].
• In 1900 and 1910 (North Township, page 12b and 167 respectively) the census shows that Joseph's father was born in Vermont and his mother in Ohio.

Death Records and Obituaries

• Lysander's obituary (transcribed, near bottom of post) published in the Columbia City Weekly Commercial May 31, 1899 states that he was born near Columbus, Ohio. It does not provide the names of his parents or siblings.
• No death record is available for Lysander. He died May 14, 1899 in Keighley, Butler County, Kansas and is buried in Lyndon, Osage County, Kansas.
• There is no death record available for Fanny Joslin Shoemaker O'Bryant who died on June 6, 1905 in Lincoln County, Oklahoma. No obituary has been found for her either.
• Edwin's death certificate gives his mother's name as Mabethy Goodrich. His father's first name is not given. Edwin died on April 6, 1916 in Tippecanoe County, Indiana.
• Joseph's obituary in The Weekly Republican, Plymouth, Indiana of June 26, 1919 does not give the names of his parents but it does say that he was born in Delaware county, Ohio.
• Joseph's death record in Marshall County, Indiana (Book CH-30 page 113) does not give the name of his father but it does show that his mother was Abigail Goodrich.
• An article in the Columbia City Post of January 3, 1914 announced the death of Prudentia (Noble) Joslin, wife of Joseph. It stated that she was an aunt of Mrs. William Brubaker of this city.
• The death record for Emily Joslin Long in Whitley County (#108-29) shows that her father was Thomas Joslin. He was born in Canada. There was no Thomas Joslin in Ohio or Indiana. Emily's mother was given as Abigail Goodrich, born in Ohio.

Additional Evidence

• Donna Shoemaker Ihns, a descendant of Fanny Joslin Shoemaker O'Bryant, submitted a supplemental application to the DAR in 2005 for the service of Joseph Josselyn, aka Joseph Joslin (1743-1829). I contacted Donna recently and learned that her application had been approved even though she had no "direct" evidence to "prove" that Fanny was the daughter of James and Abigail Joslin. Her evidence consisted primarily in the census records showing that there were no other Joslin families in Ohio or Indiana in which Fanny could belong. Also the two land records - the one of 1822 which gives Jonas Sr. and Ruth use of the land during their lifetime, and in 1837 where James sells that land to Jonas Jr. Additional evidence given was the fact that Fanny was underage at the time of her marriage to Joseph Shoemaker, presuming that as a minor she was still living with her family.
• A journal entry made by Elizabeth Quillen, daughter of Della Joslin Quillen and granddaughter of Lysander Joslin, dated February 21, 1917 stated: "My grandfather Joslin's mother was English. She was a Goodrich." Elizabeth was 24 years old when the journal entry was made. The journal information was received in 2004 from Jocelyn Camp, niece of Elizabeth Quillen.
• The sixth child of James and Abigail is Mary Lucicia Joslin. She is listed with James and Abigail in 1850 as Mary L. and as Lucicia with Abigail in 1860. She *may* be the Mary Joslin who married J C Whited on July 3, 1862 in Henry County, Illinois. In 1880 John Whitted and Mary were still living in the town of Hanna in Henry County. She may have died there or in Omaha, Nebraska where her husband was found in the city directories 1887-1896. A son also lived in Omaha. Additional research needs to be done to determine if Mary Joslin Whitted is the daughter of James and Abigail.
• Lending to the veracity that the Mary Joslin who married John Whitted is the daughter of James and Abigail, and that the Mrs. Abigail Joslin who married Samuel Pingree in Henry County, Illinois is "my" Abigail Joslin, is the fact that Edwin Joslin, listed as Edwn Josslyn, was residing in the town of Hanna in Henry County in 1860 (page 952 of the census). Samuel and Abigail Pingree were living in the town of Phenix in Henry County in 1870 and 1880. Google Map of Hanna and Phenix.

For reference: Index to all posts on the Joslin Family