Person:William Seaver (103)

MARRIAGE RECORDS:

The marriage of William Joseph Seaver (resident of Malden, age 31, a grocer, born in Philipston, son of Joseph and Louisa Seaver, first marriage) to Charlotte Philbrook (resident of Malden, age 26, born York ME, daughter of William and Olivia Philbrook, first marriage) is recorded in the Melrose MA town records on 21 March 1883 (Massachusetts Vital Records, 1841-1905, Volume 344, Page 193).

CENSUS RECORDS:

In the 1900 US Census (line 12), this family resided at 285 Main Street in the 4th Ward of Malden, Middlesex County, Massachusetts. The household included William J. Seaver (self, white, male, born Mar 1851, age 48, married 17 years, born MA, parents born MA, a grocery clerk), Hattie Seaver (wife, white, female, born Sep 1856, age 43, married 17 years, 0 children born, born ME, parents born ME), and Harriett Faulkner (mother-in-law, white, female, born Nov 1818, age 81, widowed, 1 child born, 1 living, born ME, parents born ME) [National Archives Microfilm Series T623, Roll 662, Page ??, ED 842, Sheet 4A, Lines 12-14].

In the 1910 US Census (line 29), William J. Seaver (head of household, male, white, age 59, first marriage, married 27 years, born MA, parents born MA, salesman, works in grocery store) and his wife Hattie A. Seaver (female, white, age 55, first marriage, married 27 years, 0 children born, born ME, parents born ME) resided at 285 Main Street in the 4th Ward of Malden, Middlesex County, Massachusetts [NARA Microfilm T624, Roll 601, ED 898, Sheet 6A, page 240, dwelling #86, family #122].

DISCUSSION:

There is no marriage record for William Joseph Seaver to Hattie Faulkner in the Massachusetts Vital Records. However, he is married to a Hattie (born 1856) in the 1900 and 1910 census records, with a mother-in-law in 1900 also named Hattie Faulkner. The 1880 census for Malden Massachusetts lists a Harriet Faulkner (age 61, born ME, parents born ME) and her niece Harriet Faulkner (age 21, born ME, parents born ME). In both the 1900 and 1910 census records, William states it is his first marriage, and that they were married in about 1883, which matches the vital record for William and Charlotte. It is possible that Charlotte Philbrook and the 1880 "Hattie Faulkner" are the same person, that she went by Hattie rather than Charlotte, that the 1880 listing of her surname is erroneous, and that the listing of Hattie Faulkner as her mother is also erroneous.

The death record in 1910 (cited on Charlotte's page) confirms her name, parents, and proves she is the same person as Hattie. It appears she was raised by her aunt and uncle starting sometime between 1855 and 1860: 1850, lines 7-8; [1] lines 34-35; 1860 lines 11-13; 1865 right side lines 30-32; 1880, lines 34-35. The aunt died in 1906 here, identified as d/o Rufus Barrell and Olive Abbott. Her marriage to Aaron Faulkner (as Harriet Ferrell of Charlestown) plus the birth and death of their daughter, Harriet, in 1841, and the death of son Benjamin in 1846, are found in Malden records. William Philbrook m. Olivia Varrell in 1844 in York, ME here. I find no records of it, but AFNs say Charlotte's mother Olivia died in 1859.

1. ↑ Massachusetts, United States. Massachusetts Births, 1841-1915. Database. (Salt Lake City, Utah: FamilySearch. Citing Secretary of the Commonwealth. Massachusetts Archives, Boston.)
   Vol. 53, p. 194.

   Births registered in the Town of Phillipston for the year, 1851.
   No.: 7
   Date of Birth: march 3'd [1851]
   Name: W'm Joseph Seaver
   Sex: M
   Place of Birth: Phillipston
   Parents: Joseph & Louisa A. Seaver
   Residence: Phillipston
   Occupation of Father: P. Leaf Splitter
   Birthplace of Father: Phillipston
   Birthplace of Mother: Paister N.Y.