Finding Martha Mott (1799-1883) and Her Mother Naomi - Greenfield, MA, New York, and Missouri

I have written previously about the Rees family on my father's side and how they came from New York (some having immigrated from Wales) and made their way through several states to Missouri - specifically my ancestors Thomas Rees and his wife Martha Mott.  Martha Mott had long been a genealogical dead end with only basic information garnered from census records, i.e., Martha Rees wife to Edward Rees of Martinsburg, Lewis County, New York was born in Massachusetts.

I left Martha aside for several years hoping that with passing time more records would become available, through digitization, etc., and ... voila!  Recent "Mott" searches have opened up a number of "new" records bringing me closer not only to this family, but the related Lyon/Lyons family.  Both families have New England ties, specifically Massachusetts, and possibly a Cape Cod/Martha's Vineyard connection.  I think if any of my siblings took interest in this, they would be surprised that our Midwest family story begins, in part, at New England.

As stated above, census records for Edward Rees of Martinsburg, Lewis County, New York, and his wife Martha, identify Martha as having been born in Massachusetts approximating her birth year at 1799.  The list of household members not only provides names of children born over the years, but also Martha's siblings: (1) Sarah Mott is enumerated in the Rees home on several occasions, recorded as single, and birth place of Massachusetts; and (2) in 1860, another sister, Alma (Mott) Bush, is living with the family along with her children.  More specifically, the 1865 U.S. Federal Census for Martinsburg, identifies Martha Rees and Sarah Mott as twins, both 66 years of age. There are a number of instances of twins in this branch of the family tree.

 

Edward's brother John Rees and his family are enumerated side by side, both with farms of significant value; both families board farm laborers and housekeepers. From these census records, one can determine that Martha and Edward Rees had at least the following children:  James, Thomas, and Chester. (Another child or children may have died young.) I continue to search for actual church or town records for specific birth information. 

Martha Rees was appointed Administratrix to her sister Sarah Mott's estate at the time of Sarah's death in 1874 (probate date 1875). It was about this time that Edward and Martha Rees appear to have lost their farm to foreclosure, and in 1875, Edward and Martha Rees are living with their son Chester in Iowa. Ultimately they move to Marysville, Missouri to spend the last few years of their lives.

Other than the census records, transcriptions of Greenfield birth records were all I had to go on for the Mott family (no Sarah was listed as a daughter but she may have had the birth name of Mercy - as no other records of a Mercy has been found).

Several years ago, I joined the New England Historic and Genealogical Society on a research trip to the Family History Center in Salt Lake City.  One of NEHGS' genealogists assisted me in my search for Martha.  Noted after each Mott birth entry in the Greenfield birth records above, is the notation P.R.I.  I never knew what that meant, or that it might be helpful! In this instance, the initials "PRI" means private record and happens to refer to the diary or journal of Reverend Roger Newton of Greenfield. Although available to view digitally at the Salt Lake City library, the handwritten diary entries were very difficult to read.  Both Rev. Newton's diary entries and the Greenfield Vital Records have since been digitized and are available on genealogy websites.  Additionally, the genealogist knew where to look for the Meeting House chart below which identifies a Widow Mott's pew at the Greenfield Meeting House.  [Please note that this chart is available in the History of Greenfield of Franklin County, Massachusetts.]  

The biggest find of all was Martha Rees’ obituary, which, of course, if found earlier would have saved a lot of time and heartbreak.  According to her obituary, Martha (Mott) Rees died on 18 March 1883 at her son's residence in Missouri.  She was born 23[8] June 1799 in Hatfield, Massachusetts, and at the age of 19 had moved to New York City. There she apparently lived for three years before moving on to Lewis County and ultimately marrying Edward Rees in January 1826.  I have yet to find an actual marriage record for Martha and Edward Rees but the search continues.  Approximately 1880, Martha and Edward headed West and settled with their son ultimately at Nodaway County, Missouri.  At the time of her death Martha left behind her husband and their three sons, Thomas, James and Chester (with whom she had been living). 

These records gave me enough confidence that I was at least looking in the right direction.  But why was Martha in New York?  Who was her father?  What happened to Widow Mott, or Naomi Widow, identified in the Greenfield records?  I began researching Martha's siblings hoping to find out who Martha's parents were. I discovered a lot about the family but nothing immediately directed me towards Martha's mother Naomi or her father. 

Widow Naomi Mott

Focusing on Martha's mother Naomi, we know that she was named a widow in the Greenfield meeting house chart "about" 1800.  and, was identified as a widow in her children's Greenfield birth/baptism records in 1808.  Greenfield records (including Reverend Newton's records) identify a Naomi Lyons marrying Joseph Mott of Goshen on 12 April 1792, and then a Naomi Mott marrying Edward Sumner of Vermont in 1811. Intentions of marriage between Joseph Mott of Goshen, Massachusetts and Naomy Lyon of Greenfield were published 26 March 1792;  the couple married 12 April 1792.  Joseph Mott died at Greenfield on 3 October 1806, again the record originating in the records of Rev. Newton. Naomi Mott was appointed administrator of Joseph's estate on 6 January 1807.

 

Joseph Mott is mentioned in the History of Greenfield as having sold land in 1799 and in fact there are many deeds and land transactions in which he is involved.  At least two I have found so far involve a member of the Lyon family of the area and they need to be researched further.  Joseph Mott was named as son in Samuel Mott's Last Will and Testament dated 18 February 1805 at Goshen, along with Samuel's wife Martha and several siblings. It is this Mott family I believe may ultimately lead to Cape Cod and/or Martha's Vineyard and I hope to follow up with a separate blog on this research.

After Joseph's death, Naomi married Edward Sumner of Townshend, Vermont on 14 January 1811.  Until recently, this was the last account I had of Naomi.  There are many deeds and other information about Edward Sumner and this family may have a very illustrious history if pursued.  Edward may be the brother (or other relation) of Charles Sumner with important Massachusetts connections. I finally found this short obituary on Newspapers.com posted in The Washingtonian, Monday, 20 April 1812.  It appears Naomi was married to Edward for only a little more than a year before she died at the age of 42.  Where her children were during this time and why they were on their way to New York is unclear.  Edward went on to remarry, with no other mention of Naomi again.  I would love to find where Naomi is buried.

Sources:

U.S. Federal Census, Martinsburg, Lewis, New York; Family History Library Film: Accessed on Ancestry.com.

U.S. Federal Census, Lowville, Lewis, New York; Family History Library Film: Accessed on Ancestry.com.

U.S. Federal Census, Polk, Taylor, Iowa, Ancestry.com.

New York State Census, various years, Ancestry.com.

New York, U.S., Wills and Probate records, 1659-1999, New York, Surrogate's Court (Lewis County), Ancestry.com.

The Washingtonian, Monday, 20 April, 1812, p.3, Newspapers.com.

Death of a Former Resident of this Town, Burlington Junction Post, a Missouri newspaper, reposted in Lewis County New York Democrat), Lewis County Democrat, 18 July 1883, p. 3., NYS Historic Newspapers.org.

Massachusetts Probate Court, Hampshire County, Probate Records 1803-1805, Image Group Number 007705559, Vol. 23, Image 338 of 353, Familysearch.org.

History of Greenfield: shire town of Frankling County, Massachusetts, Hathitrust.org.

Greenfield and Goshen, Massachusetts, Vital Records, 1781-1820, accessed on Familysearch.org.

Diary of Rev. Roger Newtons Records, 1762 to 1812.

Greenfield, MA: Records 1775-1911, Americanancestors.org.

Record Book 1802-1852 of First Congregational Church, Greenfield, MA, Archive Grid.

Vital Records of Greenfield Massachusetts to 1850, New England Historic and Genealogical Society, Boston, MA, 1915, accessed online.

"Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L97M-Y9G1-R?cc=2061550&wc=Q4D7-RML%3A353350301%2C353414701%2C353417601 : 13 July 2016), Hampshire > Goshen > Births, marriages, deaths, town records 1781-1820 vol A > image 264 of 301; citing Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, Boston.