William Porter Packard Sr ^{1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8}

  General Notes:

(Source: Sharon Rouse, https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.2.1/9QD4-QX6)

Checking on a Samuel Packard, who came from England in 1638 to the same area who is the possible ancestor of all Packards. The place William Porter Packard was born (Enfield, MA) is now underwater, and is named the Quabbin Reservoir. This was done to get water to the citizens of Boston, per Susan. This is from Genealogy.com, the Packard Family Genealogy Forum. Don't know if this is any connection, but want to keep this in my file. This was done by Tamala Jackson.

Introduction

Gratiot County, Michigan, has special significance for all of us that are descendants of Edson and Eunice Cornell Packard. The Cornells and the Packards landed in Mass. from England 2 years apart-- the Cornells in 1636 and the Packards in 1638. Five generations later both families became pioneers in this Michigan County --- the Packards coming from Ohio in 1854 and the Woods from New York in 1855. As soon as enough clearing was made, a school was built. Edson Packard was one of the directors of this school and Eunice Cornell Wood became the teacher. Her professional career was ended on August 31, 1858, four years after he had come from Ohio and three years after she had come from New York. They lived in the vicinity until the spring of 1875 when, because of Edson's health they went to Maryland, near Linkwood. In the fall of 1884, they returned to Michigan, this time settling in Benzonia, the place which to many of us is still home.

Our life history now begins...

Supposedly the Packards in America are descended from a common ancestor, Samuel Packard. With his wife and daughter, both named Elizabeth, Samuel came from Wymondham near Hingman, England, in 1638. They sailed from Gravesend in the ship "Diligent of Ipswich, 133 passengers, John Martin master" on April 26,1638, and landed in Hingham, Mass. August 10. There they settled and there their sons Samuel, Zacheus, and Thomas were probably born.

After a few years they removed to Weymouth in the same colony, and this the birthplace of John and Nathaniel, our ancestors(my line). Bridgewater, the first interior settlement in the colony, became their permanent home. Born here were their daughters Mary, Hanna, Jael, Deborah, and Deliverance and their son Israel. The year of their settling in Bridgewater is not know but in 1664 Samuel Packard was licensed as a constable, and in 1667 he was one of a jury "named by the court to be empanelled to lay out all the ways requisite in the town of Bridgewater." In 1671 he was licensed as an innkeeper, and in 1672 as a surveyor of highways.

Bridgewater originally was a plantation or township bought in 1649 of the Indian Massasoit, by Miles Standish, Samuel Nash, and constant Southworth, "in behalf of all townsmen of Duxbury, to them and their heirs forever." The "townsmen of Duxbury" were those early settlers that "lived on their lots on the other side of the bay" from Plymouth, and who applied to the court for an extension to the westward. According to the deed given by Chief Massasoit, the price paid for the township was "seven coats, a yard and a half in a coat, nine hatchets, eights hoes, twenty knives, four Moose skins, and ten yards and half of cotton."

Of the fifty-four original proprietors, about one third became inhabitants of the new plantation; the rest from time to time conveyed their shares to their sons or sold them to others who became residents. Many families came from adjoining townships other than Duxbury, and among them was that of Samuel Packard. In 1682, he and his sons Samuel, Zacheus, John, and Nathaniel, are named among the proprietors of the town.

Bridgewater later became separated into four towns: South Bridgewater (later known as Bridgewater), East Bridgewater, West Bridgewater, and North Bridgewater (now the city of Brockton). Samuel's homestead was in the present West Bridgewater on the north bank of the Town River and a short distance from Central square.

Samuel died November 7, 1684 and was the buried in the first burial place in Bridgewater and within fifty rods of his old homestead. Today a small monument marks the location of this old burial ground and the first church building. Elizabeth's maiden name is not known; neither are the exact dates of her birth or death. She and Samuel married about 1634. In 1685 she married John Washburn who died in South Bridgewater the following year.

That Samuel prospered during the years is evidenced by his will which is of sufficient interest to quote as given in an abstract published in "Mayflower Descendants", Vol. 15. The names of the twelve children and their husbands and wives will help to better understand the will. Elizabeth married Thomas Alger, Samuel m. Elizabeth Lathrop, Zacheus m. Sarah Howard. Thomas married but there is no record of his wife's name; he had one son, Joseph. John m. Judith Willis. Nathaniel m. Lydia Smith. Mary m. Richard Phillips. Hanna m. Thomas Randall. Israel, a trooper, did not marry. Jael m. John Smith. Deborah m. Samuel Washburn. Deliverance m. Thomas Washburn. (Samuel's will is already printed on this forum so I will not repeat it unless it is requested)

My own line comes through Nathaniel, sixth child of Samuel and Elizabeth. (there are other family lines mentioned in the telling of this story)

Nathaniel married Lydia Smith of Tauton, mass. about 1682. the daughter of John and Lydia Eliot Smith. Lydia was born at Dedham, Mass. April 10, 1660. Her mother was a niece of Rev. John Eliot, apostle to the Indians of Massachusetts Bay. Her father's second wife was Jael Packard, Samuel's 10th child, to whom he willed her share of his estate "for her comfort", stating that it "should not be delivered to the John Smith." Lydia and Nathaniel both died in West Bridgewater, she before November 15,1710 and he on May 15, 1721. Since in 1682, Nathaniel is mentioned as one of the proprietors of the town it seems likely that most of his life was spent there .

In 1701, Nathaniel is said to have built for his own home part of Dunbarton, the present (1932) home of Miss Martha Mason at West Elm St. West Bridgewater. Dunbarton has housed seven generation of Packards. The second story was added and the house named by Dr. Simeon Dunbar, whose first wife was Abigail Packard, daughter of Rev. Elijah Packard. From the attic of this house came the ladder-back chair believed to have been Nathaniel's which came into my possession in 1944 when Marion Packard moved from her old home in Flushing, Michigan to California. Marion's line is through Nathaniel's son Zachariah.

Nathaniel and Lydia had four sons and nine daughters, all of whom were remembered in Nathaniel's will of April 24, 1720 which follows. (Already on Packard forum). As compared with Samuel's, Nathaniel's will is brief, largely because his land seems to have been disposed of earlier. (Recap of his childrens name as listed in will) Samuel, Zachariah, George, Fearnstl. Margaret, Sarah, Faithful, Hanna, Lydiah, Deliverance, Elisebeth, Mary, Deborah the youngest.

George was the name of the head of our line for the third and fourth generations. George Sr, the third son of Nathaniel and Lydia Smith, was born about 1692 in West Bridgewater. On July 4, 1728, he married Mary Edson, Daughter of Samuel and Mary Dean Edson. she too was born in West Bridgewater, her birth date being March 9, 1712.

It is considerable interest to us that the name Edson, our fathers given name, appears so early in the Packard history. George's wife, Mary Edson was the great-granddaughter of Samuel Edson and Susanna Orcutt Edson who came from England in 1639, the next year after Samuel and Elizabeth Packard. In the first generation after their coming to America, Samuel Edson's daughter Elizabeth married Samuel Edson's son Samuel. There were several other intermarriages, the next in our own line coming two generations later when our Phillip Packard married Martha Howard Edson. the Edson's were a family of considerable means, as shown by their wills which extend back to the 15th century.

Five children were born to George Sr. and Mary Edson Packard; George Jr., Jonathan, Lydia, Rebecca, and Ichabod. Following George's death, Mary married Jonathan Mehurin by whom she had one son, Ephriam.

George Jr. was baptized in West Bridgewater, June 13,1736, and was married to Abigail Esty. She died May 14, 1765, at the age if 29, leaving two sons, both born in West Bridgewater -- Amasa on August 18, 1761, and Phillip on April 24, 1763. George Jr. than married Abigail Packard, daughter of John and granddaughter of Zacheus, and to them born were George, Zadoch, and Zebedee.

In the fifth generation, Phillip, son of George Jr. and Abigail Esty Packard, represented our line in the Revolutionary War. For this service he was accorded an annual pension of $96.00, according to the "History of Plainfield" by C. N. Dyer, his brother Amasa served in the army too, but little is known of this Amasa aside from his war record.

Phillip's enlistments were all from Bridgewater or Plymouth county, as follows: as a Private to serve until Jan. 1, 1779; as a Private Feb. 3, 1779, in Capt. Abner Crane's company with guards in Boston; from Bridgewater for the Continental Army in 1779 (at that time he was listed as 17 years old, stature five feet, six inches, light complexion); July 22, 1780, as a Private in Captain David Packard's company, Col. Eliphalet Cary's regiment, for service in Rhode Island; Sept. 3, 1781, as a Private in Captain Luke Bicknell's company, Lt. Col. Enoch Putman's regiment, for service at West Point. This company was raised in Plymouth county.

Shortly after Phillip's marriage to Martha (Polly) Edson, daughter of William and Martha Howard Edson on March 2, 1786, they moved to Hampshire County, Mass. The births of their children, Amasa, Phillip Jr., Patty, and George, were recorded in Plainsfield in 1778, 1790, 1794 and 1805 respectively. Phillip's second marriage occurred April 26, 1809, his wife being Lucinda Stetson Lazelle, daughter of Levi Stetson and widow of John Lazelle, born at Abington, Mass, October 25, 1769. Phillip died about 1840, probably at Plainfield.

Amasa was the name of the head of our line for the sixth and seventh generations. The first of out two Amasa's , the oldest son of Phillip and Martha, married Lucinda Ford, daughter of John, native of Bridgewater. She was born July 11, 1787, died January 5, 1814, and was buried in Plainfield. To Amasa and Lucinda were born three children: William on July 23,1808, Martha on February 18, 1810, and Amasa Jr., our grandfather, on January 27, 1812.

Following Lucinda's death, Amasa married Abigail Pettinggill, born August 8, 1781, by whom he had seven children. Five of these, Josiah, Lucinda, Jonathan (grandfather of Dr. R. M. Packard), Sarah, and Frances, came West [Bridgeport] with their parents and their half-brother Amasa Jr. to Chatam Township, Medinah county, Ohio, in the fall of 1832. In company with several others from their locality, "they traveled to Troy, New York, thence via the Erie Canal to Buffalo, Lake Erie to Cleveland, and by slow wagons and stages into the interior settlement." Amasa and his family located in the fall of 1832 on 110 acres of wooded land situated one and one half miles south of Chatham Center. Here Amasa Sr. lived 33 years, his death occurring August 30, 1865. Abigail passed away two years earlier. I have visited the Chatham Cemetery and have a sketch of the stone that marks their resting place.

The "History of Medinah county, Ohio", published in 1881 by Perrim, Battle, and Godspeed, says of Amasa Sr: "He is one of the township's best citizens. He was for many years a member of the Congregational Church and Officiated as deacon in that body and, in fact, he and wife were among the first members at the time of its organization. Formerly an old-time Whig but in after years became affiliated with Republican party; though not a partisan was a man of decided opinion which he did not fail to express annually at the ballot box."

Medinah County was formed February 18, 1812. Chatham Township was the eighteenth in the county to be formed and was organized December 5, 1833. Elections and town meetings were held in the log school house which had been put up at the Center and which served as a Union meeting house. Northup's "History of Medinah County, Ohio," published in 1861, states the following: "At the first election there were only eleven votes, to wit: Gaylord C. Warner, Joel Lyon, Nebediah Cass, Moses Parsons, Barney Daniels, Amasa Packard, Ebenezer Shaw, Amos Utter, Iram Packard, Harvey Edwards, and Thos. F. Palmer.

The First Congregational Church organized April 4, 1834, under the Union Plan and attached to the Presbytery. Members at its organization: Barney Daniels and wife, Ebenezer Shaw and wife, Joel Lyon and wife, Amasa Packard and wife, Gideon Gardener and wife, Iram Packard and wife, Orin Shaw and wife, George, Phillip, and Jacob and Sarah Packard, making 18 members."

*The first country store was established in 1839, and the first post office in 1844.

Two other close relatives of Amasa are of special interest to us, followed him to Chatham. One was his brother George, youngest son of Phillip and Martha. George was the grandfather of the late Dr. Wales Packard of Bradley Polytechnic Institute, Peoria, brother-in-law of Mrs. G. M. Sprout of Benzonia. I learned a good deal about the Chatham Packards from Wales' mother about 1911 and more from Wales in recent years. He was born there and made a real study of Packard family history. When I stopped in Chatham in 1941, I had a pleasant chat with his cousin Milo, then 81 years of age.

The second one to come later to Chatham was William, Amasa's oldest son by his first wife, Lucinda Ford. Uncle William, as father called him, married Mary F. Rude in Plainfield and later moved to Renssselaer County, New York, but in 1836 they followed his father and brother to Chatham. There he too cleared a farm and remained until 1859 when he moved to Allegan County, Michigan and later to Covert where he died February 10, 1882. His second wife was Mary F. Rood and third was Josephine L. Seymour. He was survived by two sons and two daughters, William O., Alfred S., Mary, and Ruth Celesrta, all of whom some years ago were living in southern Michigan. Uncle William was a lumberman, prominent in business and politics, a Republican, and a Congregationalist. Father and mother were acquainted with him but we lost touch with his family after father's death.

Returning to our own line, Amasa Jr., the third child of Amasa and Lucinda, was twenty when he came with his father and stepmother and their children to Ohio in 1832. The next year he was married to Mercy Goodwin from near Chatham.

Goodwin was a well-known name in Medinah County. The first Goodwins to settle there was Nathaniel and David. Nathaniel A. Goodwin was born March 18, 1788, in Litchfield,Connecticut. In the winter of 1815-16 he came through from Cayuga County, New York, on ox sleds, and settled in Granger Township. With him was his wife, the former Lovira H. Low, a native of Ontario County, New York, and their children and also his brother David and his family. In 1817 their parents, Seth Goodwin (Captain in the Revolutionary War and Major in War of 1812) and his wife, Deborah Allen Goodwin, came from Ontario County, and joined them in Granger Township and lived till Deborah's death in 1829 and Seth's in 1849. They had two other children besides Nathaniel and David. Nathaniel died Jan. 21, 1843 and Lovira, Feb. 5, 1868. They were survived by ten children. Presumably this is the family that our Grandfather Amasa married in 1833.

Edson, our father, was born in 1834, followed by Elmer in 1836, Lucinda in 1840 and Martha in 1849. Perlie (sister to me) says that father described the Chatham school of his boyhood as a one-room log building with benches next to the walls on two sides and with the stove in the center; this was the building that served not only as a school house but as a church and town hall. Edson helped his father on the farm and also he worked in Mansfield where an uncle was engaged in the leather business and where it is likely that his own family lived for some time. Like his father, Edson was rangy in build, tall and spare, with deep-set blue eyes and brown hair touched with auburn.

Edson attended near-by Oberlin College. In his second year there he suffered a severe attack of rheumatic fever from which he was many months in recovering and from which his heart was probably permanently weakened. As soon as he was able, he and a neighbor boy, Dan Price, went to Gratiot County, Michigan, where each took up a homestead in the woods at the place which was later called Forest Hill in Pine River township. This was in 1854 when Edson was twenty years old. His family soon came from Ohio to join him on the homestead and from then on Forest Hill was their permanent home.

According to the "Portrait and Biographical Album of Gratiot County, Michigan," published in 1884, Pine River Township, in which the homes of the Packards and the Woods were located, was organized the winter of 1855 and originally embraced the township of Bethany. This was the year after Edson originally took up his homestead and the same year that the Woods came from New York. A post office was established in 1855, the mail being carried in the pocket of the postmaster. The first sawing mill in April, 1856. A list of township officers from the beginning gives Amasa Packard as supervisor in 1858, and Edson in 1873 and 1874. Quoting directly, "Pine River Township is a most excellent body of land and was from the first one of the most enterprising in the county, Pine River swayed the county in a political was, it being well settled with men who took a deep interest in such matters." Both Edson and his father took an important part in community affairs. At the age of 16, Edson had joined the Congregational Church, but in his new home there was no church of that denomination and he became affiliated with the Methodist Episcopal Church and was active in this church through the rest of his life. For many years he held what was known as a local preachers license. Both he and his father were charter members of the St. Louis Masonic Lodge which held it's first meeting August 31, 1865. Edson was active also in the Grange. Unlike his father, uncles, and sons, Edson was Democrat.

Three years after coming to Michigan, three of the children of Amasa and Mercy were married in close succession. The first was their son Elmer. In 1857 he was married to Mary Holmes, a local girl. and they too lived for some time in Pine River. My brothers and sisters knew them and their children. I do not remember Uncle Elmer; I have a letter which he wrote mother when father died and I [believe] that his own death occurred soon after father's and in much the same way. Mother and I visited Aunt Mary and cousin Wesly in Alma about 1909 and that was the second to the last time that I ever saw them after I was old enough to remember. None of the cousins, William, Ida, Daniel, Amine is living at this writing. Both Will and Amine had children so that it is possible that there are descendants of this branch of the family.

The second marriage was that of their daughter Lucinda to John Wesley Doane, also of Pine River, which took place Dec. 18, 1857. Uncle Wesley was one year old when his parents, Erastus and Hester Stringham Doane, moved from Ontario County, New York, to Livingston County, Michigan, in 1834. As one of a family of five boys and three girls, he was accustomed to hard work and did it willingly and gladly. He and Lucinda had one daughter, Ida, who lived only two years and Lucinda passed away November 4, 1860.

On August 12, 1861, Uncle Wesley enlisted for the Civil War in the Eighth Michigan Infantry. He was made a First Lieutenant May 6, 1864, and that same day was wounded in his left knee in the Battle of the Wilderness. When honorably discharged on Aug. 17, 1864, he had served 3 years and 5 days. The next year Uncle Wesley married Martha Packard, the fourth child of Amasa and Mercy Goodwin Packard, and the sister of his first wife. She was the mother of our cousins, Amasa, Erasrus, and Edith May Doane. In 1880 Aunt Martha died and later Uncle Wesley married Minnie L. May. May whom many of us knew was the mother of cousin Otto. Uncle Wesley died in 1924 and Aunt Minnie somewhat later. The Doane cemetery lots are in Alma.

Uncle Wesley was one of the finest men I knew. He and father were good friends, and I like to think they were much alike, kindly, fun-loving, industrious, devoted to family, good citizens, Christian gentlemen.

The third marriage in Amasa's family in that year 1857/58 was that of his older son Edson Packard to Eunice Cornell Wood, August 31, 1858. As stated in the introduction, the school house was one of the first buildings which land was cleared, and in 1858 Eunice was the teacher. "As director, one of Edson's duties was to visit the school, a duty which the patrons claimed he never neglected.

Having reached the founding of my own home, it is natural now to refer to Edson and Eunice and mother and father. They began their married life in Wheeler Township, and it was here that Ellen, Perlie, and Thomas were born in 1860, 1862, and 1865. Not knowing how the roads ran in those days, I hazard a guess that Wheeler was not more than 20 miles from both Grandfather Wood and Grandfather Packard, and that the two grandfathers were about 5 miles apart. In 1865, our family moved even nearer to the grandparents, to a farm three miles east of St. Louis in what had become Bethany Township, originally a part of Pine River. Here Jesse was born and here they lived until after Grandfather Packards death.

Perlie says that father's rheumatism kept bothering him and that while they were living in Bethany, he and mother spent several weeks in St. Louis so that he could benefit from the mineral baths. During this period, the children had their first experience being away from their parents, Perlie and Tommy being left with Grandma Wood and Ellen and Jesse with Grandma Packard.

Grandfather Amasa Packard died at his home in Forest Hill on September 4, 1870 and was buried in St. Louis. Of his death, Perlie writes: "I attended Grandfather Packards funeral. We went from our home in Bethany, three miles east of St. Louis, to grandma's house where we stayed the night. The next day we all drove to St. Louis in a lumber wagon with three spring seats and as many board seats as necessary. Our load included Grandma, Uncle Elmer, Aunt Mary and two of their children, father (Edson), mother (Eunice), Perlie, Thomas, and Jesse. Jesse sat in mothers lap for want of room rather than age. Wesley Packard, Uncle Elmer's son about Thomas' (Tommy) age couldn't go because his new pants were not done and his best pair of old ones had patches. Grandma said she had a great mind to take him anyway and I for one wished she would for I felt sorry for him. Grandfather had a Masonic funeral, the first funeral that any of us children had attended. No doubt Uncle Wesley Doane's folks went, and also Dan Packard, a young man whom Grandpa partly raised and who married one of our hired girls. It was at Dan's home that we four children stayed when Nellie was born; we had the whooping cough and had to see our sister through the window." (Story by Perli)

Following Grandfather's death, father moved the family to the home near Forest Hill, and here Nellie was born in 1872. Grandma Packard lived another 20 years, making her home with our family and with Uncle Elmer, Uncle Wesley, and finally with her grandson, Erastus Doane. She, too, is buried in St. Louis.

I have two distinct memories of Grandmother Packard. The first was in Benzonia, the spring before I was three, when she and I walked from the Jones house to East Hall the morning the family moved. She was wearing a bonnet and shawl and I, my white terrycloth coat and hood. She was short and plump and lame, and father said we made a good team as together we carried my favorite doll to our new home.

The second memory was at Uncle Elmer's in Gratiot County the next Christmas season. After a cold ride in an ox-driven sleigh--only such ride I ever had so far as I remember--I opened a door. There sitting by the window was Grandma Packard (Mercy Goodwin) in her lace cap. Without getting up from her chair, she helped me off with my wraps; then she took from her pocket a little box and from this she took a ring with a tiny opal setting which she placed on my finger. These two memory snapshots, a letter or two, and a photograph are all that I know personally of Grandma Packard, but I remember her with much affection.

*Continued another day. This story was originally told by Eunice Packard born July 12, 1883, the youngest of child of Edson Packard and Eunice Cornell Wood Packard.
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  Birth Notes:

Birth date is calculated from the age at death of 81 years, 10 months, and 4 days as given on his gravestone.
----------------------------------------------------

  Noted events in his life were:

• He appeared on the 1850 US Census in Butler, IL on 31 October 1850. ⁵

1850 US Census
Page 359A, Dwelling 24, Family 27
Butler, Winnebago County, Illinois
(Butler is now present day Cherry Valley)
William P. Packard..40..MA..Farmer


(Living with wife and 5 children.)
.

• He appeared on the 1860 US Census in Cherry Valley, IL on 23 August 1860. ⁶

1860 US Census
Page 515, Dwelling 3711, Family 3784
Cherry Valley, Winnebago County, Illinois
William Packard..51..MA..Farmer

(Living with 2nd wife and 6 children.)
.

• He appeared on the 1870 US Census in Cherry Valley, IL on 28 June 1870. ⁷

1870 US Census
Page 26, Dwelling 181, Family 191
Cherry Valley, Winnebago County, Illinois
William Packard..59..MA..Farmer

(Living with 2nd wife and 4 children; an additional two older children are probably adopted children from his wife's first marriage.)
.

• He appeared on the 1880 US Census in Cherry Valley, IL on 1 June 1880. ¹

1880 US Census
Page 18D, District 217, Dwelling 79, Family 82, Roll 0261
Cherry Valley, Winnebago County, Illinois
William P. Packard..Self..71..MA..Farmer

(Living with wife and 3 sons.)
.

• He was buried after 8 May 1891 in the Cherry Valley Cemetery in Cherry Valley, IL.

Plot: Row 6/180a
Find A Grave Memorial 18110029
. ⁸

• His obituary was published after 8 May 1891 in , Winnebago County, IL. ⁹ William P. Packard died at the home of his stepdaughter, Mrs. Frank Rowley 802 South Court Street in Rockford at 3:12 PM. Deceased was 82 years old and has been ill for a long time. Twelve years ago he met with a fall from a wagon and has been physically mentally weak ever since. A few weeks ago, in a temporary aberration he wandered into the country where he was picked up by a farmer and brought home. He has resided in Rockford three years, coming here from Cherry Valley, where he will be buried tomorrow. He had a family of 11 children, but three of the sons were slain while battling for their country.

(Source: Unknown newspaper)
-------------------------------------------
.

William married Julia Rose Adams about 1860.¹ (Julia Rose Adams was born in 1822 in New York,¹ died on 23 August 1881 ¹⁰ and was buried after 23 August 1881 in Cherry Valley, IL ¹⁰.)

  Noted events in their marriage were:

• They appeared on the 1860 US Census in Cherry Valley, IL on 23 August 1860. ⁶

1860 US Census
Page 515, Dwelling 3711, Family 3784
Cherry Valley, Winnebago County, Illinois
William Packard..51..MA..Farmer
Julia Packard..27..NY
William P. Packard..18..MO..Farm Laborer
Charles E. Packard..16..MO..Farm Laborer
James H. Packard..12..IL
Mary J. Packard..9.. IL
John W. Packard..7..IL
George F. Packard..5..IL
William N. Torry..10..NY
Deborah R. Torry..7..NY
.

• They appeared on the 1870 US Census in Cherry Valley, IL on 28 June 1870. ⁷

1870 US Census
Page 26, Dwelling 181, Family 191
Cherry Valley, Winnebago County, Illinois
William Packard..59..MA..Farmer
Julia Packard..45..NY..Housekeeper
Norman Packard..19..NY
Deborah Packard..17..NY
Timothy Packard..8..IL
Daniel Packard..6..IL
Edwin Packard..3..IL
William Packard..1..IL

NOTE - Only Daniel, Edwin, and William were children born to William and Julia. I am still trying to figure out the exact relationship of the older 3 children to William. Neither Norman, Deborah, nor Timothy were listed on the 1860 census under the name of Packard but I highly suspect that Norman and Deborah Packard were the same William and Deborah Torry listed on the 1860 US Census. It appears that during those 10 years, William Porter Packard may have adopted these two children who I think were children from Julia's previous marriage.
.

• They appeared on the 1880 US Census in Cherry Valley, IL on 1 June 1880. ¹

1880 US Census
Page 18D, Roll 0261, District 217, Dwelling 79, Family 82
Cherry Valley, Winnebago County, Illinois
William P. Packard..Self..71..MA..Farmer
Julia Packard..Wife..58..NY..General Debility..Keeping House
Daniel Packard..Son..15..IL..Laborer
Edwin D. Packard..Son..13..IL..Laborer
Wilson Howe Packard..Son..10..IL..At Home
Ada M. Thayer..Brdr..35..IL..School Teacher
.

William next married Sarah Ann Fowler, daughter of Rodney Fowler and Rachel Field, on 27 October 1934 in Hatfield, MA.^{2 3} (Sarah Ann Fowler was born on 26 July 1816 in Hatfield, MA,^{2 4 5} died on 30 September 1858 in Rockford, IL ¹¹ and was buried after 30 September 1858 in , Winnebago County, IL ¹¹.)

  Noted events in their marriage were:

• Marriage Image: 27 October 1834, in Massachusetts. ³

• They appeared on the 1850 US Census in Butler, IL on 31 October 1850. ⁵

1850 US Census
Page 359A, Dwelling 24, Family 27
Butler, Winnebago County, Illinois
(Butler is now present day Cherry Valley)
William P. Packard..40..MA..Farmer
Sarah A. Packard..33..MA
Maria Packard..15..NY
Sophia Packard..14..NY
Porter Packard..8..MO
Charles E. Packard..5..MO
Jane H. Packard..1..IL
Benjamin Frick..17..NY..Farmer
.

  Marriage Notes:

Name: William P. Packard
Event Type: Marriage
Event Date: 27 Oct 1834
Event Place: , , Massachusetts, United States
Gender: Male
Spouse's Name: Sally Fowler
Spouse's Gender: Female

Citing this Record
"Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q29L-LNLV : 10 February 2018), William P. Packard and Sally Fowler, 27 Oct 1834; citing Marriage, , , Massachusetts, United States, Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, Boston; FHL microfilm 004325917.
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There remains much confusion over the names and number of children actually born to William and his probable two different wives, Sarah Fowler and Julia Rose Adams. To make matters worse, many "Internet researchers" blindly assign a marriage date of 24 Dec 1867 to his marriage to Sarah Fowler not even bothering to realize that the children they list were all born between 1835 and 1855.

It appears that William Packard and Sarah Fowler separated sometime after 1855 perhaps by reason of her death. It also appears that he remarried to Julia Unknown by 1860. The wife's name of Sarah shows on the 1850 US Census while the name Julia shows on the 1860, 1870, and 1880 US Census records.

The following children are shown on the 1850, 1860, 1870, and 1880 US Census records living with William and either Sarah or Julia:

1850 (with wife Sarah):
Maria Packard..15..NY
Sophia Harriet Packard..14..NY
Porter Packard..8..MO
Charles E. Packard..5..MO
Jane H. Packard..1..IL

1860 (with wife Julia):
William P. Packard..18..MO
Charles E. Packard..16..MO
James H. Packard..12..IL
Mary J. Packard..9.. IL
John W. Packard..7..IL
George F. Packard..5..IL

1870 (with wife Julia):
Norman Packard..19..NY
Deborah Packard..17..NY
Timothy Packard..8..IL
Daniel Packard..6..IL
Edwin Packard..3..IL
William Packard..1..IL

1880 (with wife Julia):
Daniel Packard..Son..15..IL
Edwin D. Packard..Son..13..IL
Wilson Howe Packard..Son..10..IL

Merging all these names together, we come up with one master list of children:
(Hannah) Maria Packard
Sophia Harriet Packard
William P. Packard
Charles E. Packard
James H. Packard
Mary J. Packard
John W. Packard
George F. Packard
Norman Packard
Deborah Packard
Timothy Packard
Daniel Packard
Edwin Packard
(Wilson)/William Packard

The 1880 US Census record is the least confusing to examine in that it shows only three children all born after 1865 and all born in Illinois, and all three showing a relationship of son or daughter. Thus these three youngest children, Daniel, Edwin, and Wilson, must be born to William and Julia.

However, the 1870 US Census is somewhat more challenging to figure out the relationship of the six children listed. The three youngest children on this 1870 US Census are the same as shown on the 1880 US Census therefore, these three, Daniel, Edwin, and William (Wilson), were born to Julia. But the older three "Unknown Children" have ages and birth locations that raise questions about who would be their mother. The 1870 US Census shows their ages to be 19, 17, and 8 but notice the large gap between 17 year old and the 8 year old. It is my belief that this gap could represent the years between William's first wife, Sarah, and his second wife, Julia. This means that the two oldest children, Norman and Deborah may have been born to Sarah while the youngest of these three, Timothy, may have been born to Julia. This would now gives this relationship:
Norman - born 1851, son of Sarah
Deborah - born 1853, daughter of Sarah
Timothy - born 1862, son of Julia

This still presents a major problem concerning the birth locations of the two older of the three "unknown children". It seems counterintuitive to believe that the birth location of Sarah's children went like this:
Hannah, 1835 in New York
Sophia 1836 in New York
William Jr, 1842 in Missouri
Charles, 1844 in Missouri
James, 1848 in Illinois
Mary, 1850 in Illinois
Norman, 1851 in New York (?)
Deborah, 1853 in New York (?)
John, 1853 in Illinois
George, 1855 in Illinois

After William and Sarah were married in Massachusetts, they probably moved to New York, had their first two children in New York, moved to Missouri where William Jr and Charles were born, and then according to published biographies finally settled in Illinois by 1846. It just doesn't seem right that they went back to New York during 1851-1853 for the births of Norman and Deborah and then returned back to Illinois for the births of John and George in 1853 and 1855

A little more research shows that Julia was from the New York area and was previously married to a Torry before 1860. Therefore, the parentage of Norman and Deborah Packard is most likely that of Julia and her first husband, Torry. Norman and Deborah's correct surnames should be Torry instead of Packard.

The name of Timothy is also problematic in that he never appears in any other census record other than being 8 years old on the 1870 US Census. It is possible that he could have been out working on his own at age 18 when the 1880 US Census rolled around, but lacking any other records for him, the parentage of Timothy is also unknown.

The one big unknown factor in this entire discussion is the fact that the 1870 US Census did NOT show relationships to the head of household. This means that these "unknown children" may not even be William's children at all but perhaps nieces and nephews from some other relative. At this time, I have not been able to place their names with any other Packard relative. In addition, no other researcher lists any of the six children's names shown on the 1870 US Census (even though the three youngest are listed as his children on the 1880 US Census).

Finally, the youngest two children of William and Sarah, John and George, are only shown with the mother being Sarah for the sake of convention with other researchers. Both John and George were born between the 1850 and 1860 US Census so it is equally possible for either Sarah or Julia to be their mother, all depending upon when Sarah left the household and when William remarried. So far I have not seen any document or source citation that is definite in this matter.

The final "master list" of William's children now looks like this with the appropriate mother's name added:
(Hannah) Maria Packard - Sarah
Sophia Harriet Packard - Sarah
William P. Packard - Sarah
Charles E. Packard - Sarah
James H. Packard - Sarah
Mary J. Packard - Sarah
John W. Packard - probably Sarah but undocumented
George F. Packard - probably Sarah but undocumented
Norman Packard - should be Norman Torry, son of Julia's first husband; not related to William Packard
Deborah Packard - should be Deborah Torry, daughter of Julia's first husband; not related to William Packard
Timothy Packard - unknown; slight chance the mother is Julia
Daniel Packard - Julia
Edwin Packard - Julia
(Wilson)/William Packard - Julia
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The 1850 US Census for the family shows them residing in Butler, Winnebago County, Illinois. Butler eventually became known as Cherry Valley.
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