They first appear in the 1810 census for Chenango Co, NY...(film # 181380
says one reporter.)
I found a Christopher Main in Chenango Co with the notation of
Pharsalia in the left hand
margin. I thought it read closer to "Philadelphia" but Pharsalia
is the name of a town within
Chenango Co.
On the web I found mention of this town(ship) and learned that its original nameIn an 1884 biographical blurb, about Henry Main, this was said about Henry's father Christopher Main.
was Stonington . The history of the Town of Pharsalia includes the mention of the arrival of the
WEAVER brothers John, Lodowick, Joshua, Jonathon and their sister Betsey in 1798 from
Stonington, CT. While there was no mention of MAIN in the town history, the WEAVER
name was a welcome sight and may provide a lead to the origins of Amelia.http://www.rootsweb.com/~nychenan/township.htm has yet another link to the history
of Stonington Township which was renamed back in 1808 to become Pharsalia Twp.
While this biography was a big help in clarifying who my Wm J was, it did have some errors.
HENRY MAIN was born in Liberty Township, Henry Co. on March 9, 1827,
the third son of CHRISTOPHER and MAHALIA MAIN.
(note: The first two sons were Samuel and William J. Main)His father a native of New York, his mother of W. Va. His father moved to
Lawrenceburg Ohio, when 18 years of age, and when 21 years of age in 1817,
he married MAHALIA JOHNSON, then shortly after moved to Wayne Co.
Indiana and settled in Jacksonburg on rented land.He subsequently moved to Henry Co. and in 1823 bought 40 acres of Government
land in Liberty Township, which he afterward sold and entered 80 acres near the
Wayne Co. line. Three or four years later he sold this land and entered 160 acres
of heavily timbered land south of Millville. Jan. 1, 1839, he sold out and bought
200 acres in Blue River Township, on Flatrock Creek, afterward adding 81 acres to it.
This land he gave to his children with the exception of 30 acres, which he sold to
his son HENRY.He and his wife were members of the Christian Church for 45 years. His wife died
Jan. 10, 1865 and he died April 5, 1882. To them were born 10 children, but two of
whom are living: LUCINDA and HENRY. The deceased are: SAMUEL, WILLIAM,
JOHN, POLLY, DAVID A., LEWIS W., NATHAN T. and MARTHA.
The biographical information also says that Christopher Jr is a native
of New York. Some believe
this and others believe Christopher Jr was born in CT. Since the Town
of Stonington, NY (which
became Pharsalia, Chenango Co, NY) was not settled until 1797 and the
Town of Stonington was
not spun off from Norwich, NY until April 7 1806 perhaps we will find
that Christopher Jr was
born in CT and not NY.
There are still lots of things to check:
The census for CT and NY for 1800. Where were they then, still in CT
or already in NY?
Further checking has not found Christopher & Amelia in either the
NY or CT census for 1800.
The Wayne county IN census for 1820 inludes Christopher Jr and Mahalia
as expected.
Finally, but some things are easier to prove than other things.
Revised 7/15/02
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