Solomon Lightfoot ^{1 2 3 4 5}

  General Notes:

His birth location is not known with any certainty. The rest of his siblings were born in Virginia and his father died in Virginia, so naturally it would seem plausible to assume that he was born in Virginia. At least one other researcher indicates that he was born in Pennsylvania. Some census records indicate that he was born in Maryland.

His supposed birth year of 1783 presents a problem with the supposed death year of his mother which occurred in 1779...if his mother was Sarah Stewart. If his mother was Sarah Savin, the conflict still exists as her supposed death date was in 1775.
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1829 Tax Records
Page 21
Saint Clair Township, Columbiana County, Ohio
Solomon Lightfoot - 2 Cattle

"Ohio Tax Records, 1800-1850," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JMY9-QMC : 29 July 2017), Solomon Lightfoot, 1829; citing various county courthouse offices, St. Clair Township, Columbiana, Ohio, p. 21, Tax records indexed by Ohio Genealogy Society; FHL microfilm 476,492.
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1830 Tax Records
Page 21
Saint Clair Township, Columbiana County, Ohio
Solomon Lightfoot - 2 cattle

"Ohio Tax Records, 1800-1850," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JMYF-PTG : 29 July 2017), Solomon Lightfoot, 1830; citing various county courthouse offices, St. Clair Township, Columbiana, Ohio, p. 21, Tax records indexed by Ohio Genealogy Society; FHL microfilm 476,493.
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  Noted events in his life were:

• He appeared on the 1820 US Census in Mount Pleasant, OH on June 1820. ²

1820 US Census
Page 209
Mount Pleasant, Jefferson, Ohio, United States

1 Male 26-45..Solomon Lightfoot..Head..(age 37)

(Living with wife and 5 children.)
.

• He appeared on the 1830 US Census in Saint Clair Township, Columbiana County, OH on June 1830. ³

1830 US Census
Page 316, Roll 128
Saint Clair Township, Columbiana, Ohio, United States

1 Male 40-50..Solomon..Head..(age 47)

(Living with wife and 9 children.)
.

• He appeared on the 1840 US Census in Sewickley Township, Westmoreland County, PA on June 1840. ⁴

1840 US Census
Page 254, Roll 498
Sewickley Township, Westmoreland, Pennsylvania

1 Male 50-60..Solomon Lightfoot..Head..(57)

(Living with wife and 5 children.)
.

• He appeared on the 1850 US Census in Rochester Township, Beaver County, PA on 20 July 1850. ⁵

1850 US Census
Page 17A, Family 41, Roll 750
Rochester Township, Beaver, Pennsylvania, United States
Solomon Lightfoot..67..MD

(Living with wife, 3 children, and married daughter with her daughter.)

NOTE - His birth location is believed to be Pennsylvania instead of Maryland.

Solomon married Susanna Vink about 1808. (Susanna Vink was born in 1792 in Pennsylvania ⁵ and died after 1 June 1850.)

  Noted events in their marriage were:

• They appeared on the 1820 US Census in Mount Pleasant, OH on June 1820. ²

1820 US Census
Page 209
Mount Pleasant, Jefferson, Ohio, United States

1 Male 0-10..(probably William, age abt 6)
1 Male 26-45..Solomon Lightfoot..Head..(age 37)

3 Females 0-10..(probably Elizabeth, age 2; Susan, age 2; Margaret, age 8)
1 Female 10-16..(probably Harriet, age 9)
1 Female 26-45..(probably Susanna, age 28)

7 Total in household

1 person engaged in "manufacturing" (probably the named Head of the Family, Solomon)
.

• They appeared on the 1830 US Census in Saint Clair Township, Columbiana County, OH on June 1830. ³

1830 US Census
Page 316, Roll 128
Saint Clair Township, Columbiana, Ohio, United States

1 Male 5-10..(probably Benjamin, age 5)
1 Male 15-20..(probably William, age about 16)
1 Male 40-50..Solomon..Head..(age 47)

2 Females 0-5..(probably Caroline, age 1; Leah, age 3)
2 Females 5-10..(probably Mary, age 7; Sarah Ann, age 8)
2 Females 10-15..(probably Elizabeth, age 12; Susan, age 12)
1 Female 15-20..(probably either Harriet or Margaret)
1 Female 30-40..(probably Susanna, age 38)

Total 11 in household
.

• They appeared on the 1840 US Census in Sewickley Township, Westmoreland County, PA on June 1840. ⁴

1840 US Census
Page 254, Roll 498
Sewickley Township, Westmoreland, Pennsylvania

1 Male 15-20..(probably Benjamin)
1 Male 50-60..Solomon Lightfoot..Head..(57)

1 Female 5-10..(probably Louisa, 5)
2 Females 10-15..(probably Caroline, 11; Leah, 13)
1 Female 15-20..(probably Mary, 17)
1 Female 40-50..(probably Susanna, wife, 48)

7 Total in household
.

• They appeared on the 1850 US Census in Rochester Township, Beaver County, PA on 20 July 1850. ⁵

1850 US Census
Page 17A, Family 41, Roll 750
Rochester Township, Beaver, Pennsylvania, United States
Solomon Lightfoot..67..MD
Susanna Lightfoot..58..PA
Caroline Lightfoot..20..OH
Louisa Lightfoot..15..PA
Josephine Lightfoot..7..PA
Sarah Ann Marquis..28..OH
Almeda C. Marquis..5..PA
.

  Marriage Notes:

Probably married in York County, PA or Baltimore County, MD about 1808.
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They resided in Harve De Grace, Harford County, Maryland in 1810; Mount Pleasant, Jefferson County, Ohio in 1820; St. Clair Township, Columbiana County, Ohio in 1830; Sewickley, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania in 1840, and Rochester Township, Beaver County, Pennsylvania in 1850.
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The 1850 US Census indicates a Josephine Lightfoot, age 7, living in the household. She may have been a grandchild born to one of the sons either William or Benjamin but I have no other information which would prove that to be true. For the time being, I'll continue to list her as another daughter of Solomon and Susanna even though it means he was about 60 years old at the time of her birth and Susanna would have been about 51 years old.
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Email from Keith Dull, 14 Aug 2014:

I am still working hard to reconstruct Solomon's family, to get a picture of what was going on. Here is a brief outline of what I've found:

Solomon's children by Susanna Vink appear to be as follows: Harriet Henrietta (b. April 11, 1809 PA), son (ca 1807/1810 possibly by previous wife), Margaret W. (1812 PA), William (ca 1814), Elizabeth (March 26, 1818 PA), Susan (1818 PA), Sarah Ann (1822 OH), Mary (1823 OH), Benjamin (1825 PA), Leah (February 15, 1827 OH), Caroline J. (October 6, 1829 OH), and Louisa P. (July 13, 1837 PA).

Solomon married Susanna Vink in York County, PA/Baltimore County, MD about 1808, resided in Harford County, Harve De Grace, Maryland in 1810; Jefferson County, Mount Pleasant, Ohio in 1820; Columbiana County, St. Clair Township, Ohio in 1830; Westmoreland County, Sewickley, Pennsylvania in 1840, and Beaver County, Rochester Township, Pennsylvania in 1850. As you can see by the census records and the birth places of his children, he moved around quite a bit.

Now that Solomon has been identified in the area, I have amended my previous theory that William was the father of Perneleper/Penelope. One of the details that has always left me a little confused was that she was described as a poor child of Shrewsbury Township. Her children also list her birth place as Pennsylvania. This can be viewed as splitting hairs since all these locations were so close, but if I take them at face value, William was in Maryland in 1806, when Solomon was born, and then moved to Codorus Township, where he resided in 1809. Seemingly, there was no Lightfoot living in Shrewsbury Township, but it has become clear that Ruth Lightfoot/Ramble, mother of Solomon was living there.

Samuel Ramble was a poor tenant farmer on the land of Adam Hendricks in Shrewsbury Township. His pension mentions he was having difficulty supporting himself, and no one to help him. He appears to have had at least two children with Ruth: a daughter about 1796, and William in 1798. William was clearly poor, and his children appear on the poor lists in York County. My current theory is that Solomon returned to his mother, Ruth Ramble's home in February 1803, when his indenture expired, or at least visited regularly. Solomon married, and fathered Perneleper/Penelope there (possibly a son as well), and his wife died soon after. I believe he left Perneleper with his mother, when he married Susanna Vink in late 1808, and between April 1809 and 1810, moved to Harford County, Maryland. The Ramble's were presumably destitute enough that the state stepped in, and had Perneleper indentured.

That leaves me with identifying Perneleper/Penelope's mother. I was previously looking into Elizabeth Minchin of Baltimore being her mother, however some evidence seems to suggest that she married a mariner named George Lightfoot, and returned to England. I've gone back to the drawing board, and I am currently following the name Perneleper, which seems to be a variant of Penelope. I've only ever found it a half dozen places. The name, Penelope is extremely rare in northern Baltimore County/southern York County, as well. This being said, the only place I have found it thus far is with the Sparks family.

I suspect that Solomon's first wife may have been Penelope Sparks. She was the daughter of Francis and Cassandra (Wright) Sparks, and granddaughter of Josias and Penelope (Brown) Sparks. Penelope (Brown) Sparks married Aquila Wiley after her husband's death, and lived in York County, Shrewsbury Township, Pennsylvania. Wiley was a Captain in the Revolution from York County, and his Lieutenant was Adam Hendricks. Adam Hendricks owned land in southern Shrewsbury Township, adjacent Henry Ruhl, and John Low, along the MD/PA border (also near John Gerberich). Penelope (Brown) Sparks/Wiley's son Francis lived in Baltimore County, Mine Run Hundred, Maryland on the Pennsylvania line, and Adam Hendrick's farm in Pennsylvania. Francis Sparks sold Adam Hendricks a bit of land in Maryland in 1801. Since Samuel Ramble was a farmer on Adam Hendricks' land, this literally made Penelope Sparks the girl next door, anytime Solomon was in his mother's home.

I'm still collecting and assessing information on the Sparks family to see what I can find, and hopefully more information will be forthcoming. Interestingly, Perneleper had children Leah, Caroline, and Cassie.
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