52 ANCESTORS IN 52 WEEKS 2015 WEEK 11: FRANCIS UPTON OF ALBANY MAINE PT1

I'm continuing with exploring my Upton family line for the 2015 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge. My 5x great grandfather Amos Upton, the son of "Deacon" Amos Upton  married his second cousin Edith Upton in North Reading, Massachusetts on 13Feb 1766. He was a Revolutionary War veteran, and one of the first settlers of Oxford County, Maine. Since I've already blogged about him two years ago, I'll move on to his son, Francis.


Here's what John Adams Vinton has to say about Francis Upton in his The Upton Memorial:

Francis Upton5, (Amos4, Amos3, Samuel2, John1,) eldest son of Amos Upton 4 and Edith Upton4, born in North Reading, February 24,1772; married, __ 1800. Sarah Bancroft, of Norway, Me. She was born at Lynnfield, Mass., July 11,1783, daughter of John Bancroft6, who with his family removed thence to Norway, about 1800. John Bancroft's father, grandfather and great-grandfather all bore the name of John, and descended from Thomas Bancroft, who died at Lynn End, now Lynnfield, in 1691. 

Mr. Upton went with his father from North Reading to Norway, in the then District of Maine, in September, 1790, and worked with him at making a farm in what had been, in all time previous, a wilderness, till the time of his marriage, he then being twenty-eight years of age. For his services his father gave him the grist mill which he had built, and the small farm which was attached to the mill property. He carried on the mill but a few years, and then exchanged with his brother Amos, for a farm a mile or two westerly, on the same road. Subsequently he sold that place and removed to the town of Gray; he lived there four or five years and then returned to Norway, and " carried on" a farm for one year.

The next year, I822, he bought land, all covered with wood, in the adjoining town of Albany, and, with the aid of his sons, he made a very productive farm. While at work on this Albany farm, he received a severe injury by the falling upon him of a limb from a tree which he was cutting down. The injury effected his head to such an extent, that he became insane, and remained so until his death, which took place in February, 1835, at the age of sixty-four years. pp198-200

I tried to find a record of the marriage of Francis Upton and Sarah Bancroft but had no luck
so far. I did find a record of his death on FamilySearch though, and the date is different from that
given in the book.

But John Adams Vinton was probably getting his information from family members nearly
forty years after Francis died, and he didn't have access to records over the internet as we
do today.

Which is why you should always double check the information in old family genealogies.  


To be continued.