Interesting. Either I have the incorrect will abstract for this particular William J. Wells and he lived longer and married Caroline Searles (nee Brown)- or - I have the correct will abstract for this William J. Wells who then died before the 3 June 1872 probate date and you need to look for another William J. Wells of the same age as this one! -----Original Message----- From: JANB111@aol.com [mailto:JANB111@aol.com] Sent: Thursday, March 17, 2005 4:18 PM To: NYGREENE-L@rootsweb.com Subject: Re: [GREENE COUNTY] Wells family Jim.... I hope this helps. Janice Brown Buchanan 1850 Federal Census 17 October 1850 William J Wells Age: 29 Estimated birth year: abt 1821 Birth place: New York Gender: Male Home in 1850 (City,County,State): Coxsackie, Greene, New York Page: 267 Roll: M432_510 Wells, William J. 29 NY. farmer Elanor 27 NY. Christopher 5 NY. Sarah E. 2 NY. ------------------------------------------ 1860 Federal Census 25 July 1960 Wm J Wells Age in 1860: 39 Birthplace: New York Home in 1860: Coxsackie, Greene, New York Gender: Male Value of real estate: View image Post Office: Coxsackie Roll: M653_758 Page: 477 Year: 1860 Head of Household: Wm J Wells Wells, Wm. J. 39 NY. laborer Eleanor 37 NY. Christopher 16 NY. Sarah E. 13 NY. Estella 9 NY. Joseph 6 NY ---------------------------------------------- 1870 Federal Census 30 June 1870 William Wells Estimated Birth Year: abt 1820 Age in 1870: 50 Birthplace: New York Home in 1870: Coxsackie, Greene, New York Race: White Gender: Male Post Office: Coxsackie Roll: M593_940 Page: 202 Wells, William 50 NY. laborer Joseph 18 NY. laborer ---------------------------------------- 1880 Federal Census Name Relation Marital Status Gender Race Age Birthplace Occupation Father's Birthplace Mother's Birthplace Mary HERRICK Self W Female W 79 CT Keeping House CT CT William WELLS SonL M Male W 60 NY NY NY Caroline WELLS Dau S Female W 47 NY CT CT Elizabeth SEARLES GDau S Female W 26 NY NY NY ((see 1870 Caroline Searles) dau of Caroline nee Brown Searles Wells)) Source Information: Census Place Athens, Greene, New York Family History Library Film 1254836 NA Film Number T9-0836 Page Number 26D ----------------------------------------------- 1900 Federal Census 14 June 1900 Caroline Wells (Caroline Brown) Census Microfilm Records: New York Lived in: Athens, Greene County, New York Series: T623 Microfilm: 1038 Book: 2 Page: 36 Wells, Caroline March 1832 69 NY. NY. NY. nurse widow 412/354 Catskill Turnpike Armstrong, Elizabeth February 1854 46 NY. NY. NY. nurse widow ---------------------------------------------- First Reformed Church marriage 1888 Dec 30 Rufus Willard Wells, NY City & Annie May Hallenbeck, Athens First Reformed Church 1874 Feb 5 Wm. J. Wells, Athens & ? Caroline Searles, Athens ($5.00) ------------------------------------------------ Town of Athens Tax Assessment 1889 Copy of the original located at the Vedder Memorial Library and retyped by Arlene Goodwin Names Remarks Dogs Acres Real Personal Total Tax Wells, Caroline house and lot 600 600 5.10 >> From Athens Lutheran marriages: pg. 26, #528, 1843, 2.4. William J. Wells [wed] Elenor Clow. Witnesses Martin Hallenbeck, Ira Porter. She died 4 Sep 1862, buried Mt. Hope Cemetery, Athens. He presumably of this from Abstracts of Greene Couty Wills: 2:61, William I. Wells of Coxsackie. Will Probated June 3, 1872. Heirs: son, Christopher and grandson, William. Executor: son. Witnesses: Epenetus Reed and Samuel King. What's your basis for his marriage to Caroline Brown? Maybe that's why I haven't found his deathdate or gravestone. I don't recognize the other Wells names you mention. There seems to have been one or more "core" Wells families in the area with other, possibly unrelated, Wells families moving to the area. ==== NYGREENE Mailing List ==== 1850 federal census for Prattsville and Windham fully transcribed! Come check us out! http://www.rootsweb.com/~nygreen2 ============================== Search the US Census Collection. Over 140 million records added in the last 12 months. Largest online collection in the world. Learn more: http://www.ancestry.com/s13965/rd.ashx