Ephraim Mansfield
Ephraim Mansfield and all of his siblings except the eldest were part of the adaptive Compromise Generation. His father was part of the heroic, civic-minded Republican Generation. His second wife (our ancestor) was part of the idealistic Transcendental Generation. His children were part of the nomadic, reactive Gilded Generation.
During the first decade of Ephraim's marriage with Vesta (Ephraim's second marriage), they had--in addition to their two sons--an adolescent boy (probably his son from his first marriage) and two elderly ladies (aunts? inlaws?) living with them.(1)
a great-great-great-granddaughter of Ephraim, who has done extensive genealogical research into our common ancestors, writes that "an Ephraim is listed in the 1830 census, which only lists heads of households and approximate ages of other members. In his house are one female the age of his wife and two elderly females, who could be anyone from aunts to mothers-in-laws. The elderly females were born between 1750 and 1760, and 1740 and 1750, respectively, making them 70 to 80 years and 80 to 90 years of age. In addition, three young males were in the household, two were the correct ages for Ephraim's two sons, the other was aged 10 to 15 (born 1815 to 1820), who was too old to be a son from the marriage of Ephraim and Vesta (he was probably the son of Ephraim and his first wife, Mary White Mansfield).
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Year by year in the life of Ephraim Mansfield
The childhood of Ephraim Mansfield in its historical context
The adolescence and young adult years of Ephraim Mansfield in their historical context
The prime adult years of Ephraim Mansfield in their historical context
| Birth of Ephraim Mansfield | |
| Born: | 18 August 1790 |
| Birthplace: |
Saugus, Essex County, Massachusetts(2)
According to Patricia Brown Mathews, Ephraim was born in Lynn, Essex County, Massachusetts. To close this footnote, click the number again or click (Close) |
| Parents | |
| Father: | Benjamin Mansfield, 1743-1816 (our ancestor), from Saugus, Essex County, Massachusetts |
| Mother: | Elizabeth Stocker, b. 1747(3)
Patricia Brown Mathews questions Geneva A. Daland and James S. Mansfield, Mansfield Genealogy: Descendants of Robert and Elizabeth Mansfield and Sons Andrew and Joseph who came to Lynn, 1639-1640 (1980), which had identified Elizabeth Stocker as "Mrs. Elizabeth Stocker," clearly implying that she was a widow of someone whose surname was Stocker and that Elizabeth's maiden surname was unknown. I have decided to go along with Pat on this. She writes: "Elizabeth Stocker's marriage record is confusing. It appears to say she was a 'Mrs.' (yet 'Mrs.' was not the usual way to designate a married woman back then). I have heard from other sources that 'Mrs.' was used for unmarried girls, and I wonder if it stood for 'Mistress.' We have looked for an Elizabeth who married a Stocker and was widowed soon after, but we have not found her. Whoever Elizabeth was, she had to have been young when she married Benjamin, for she had children for 24 years after her marriage to him. If she was 20 at her marriage, she would have been 44 at the birth of her last child [by subtraction of her birthdate from her marriage date, we can discern that she was 17 years 6 months 20 days at her marriage to Benjamin--an extremely young 'widow']. We have found the Elizabeth born to Ephraim Stocker in the Lynn vital records, who is the Elizabeth listed here. A book written after 1984 [Marcia W. Lindberg, Stocker Family of Massachusetts] also says this Elizabeth is the correct one; it tells of a will, which may be a proof. Our Elizabeth named a child Ephraim and [another] one Lydia--which are the names of Elizabeth Stocker's parents. The two families lived very close to each other in Lynn. We believe at this time that we have the correct Elizabeth Stocker, but [we] must consider this a provisional ancestry until we can clear up the marriage record." To close this footnote, click the number again or click (Close) (our ancestor) |
| Siblings | |
| Brother: | Samuel Mansfield
Born 2 July 1766 ----- in Lynn, Essex Co., MA Married Elizabeth Dempsey |
| Brother: | Nathaniel Mansfield
Born 25 August 1767 Married 12 August 1791 ----- to Elizabeth Howard ----- from Malden |
| Brother: | Benjamin Mansfield
(the first one) Born 10 December 1769 Died 24 June 1770 |
| Sister: | Content Mansfield
Born 17 May 1771 Married 9 October 1792 ----- to James Newhall |
| Sister: | Bethia Mansfield
Born 25 August 1773 ----- in Lynn, Essex Co., MA |
| Sister: | Lydia Mansfield
Born 18 February 1776 ----- in Lynn, Essex Co., MA |
| Brother: | Benjamin Mansfield
(the second one) Born 25 August 1778 Died 31 August 1778 |
| Brother: | Benjamin Mansfield(4)
Patricia Brown Mathews provided the information on this Benjamin Mansfield; she says that he was possibly the one listed in the 1860 census of Saugus who had a wife Esther born in 1791, and that he is probably the one who died 28 June 1864 in Saugus, listed in the Saugus Town Hall records as born in Lynn the son of Benjamin Mansfield. She says that the source for all these wives is unknown. To close this footnote, click the number again or click (Close) (the third one) Born 22 August 1779 ----- in Lynn, Essex Co., MA Married (first) 1804 ----- to Elizabeth Cox Married (second) 1813 ----- to Lucy Smith Married (third) 1822 ----- to Mrs. Esther Twist (widow?) ----- b. 1791 Died 28 June 1864 ---- in Saugus, Essex Co., MA |
| Brother: | Amos Mansfield
Born 4 November 1781 Married 15 October 1807 ----- to Mary ("Polly") Mansfield ----- b. 1788(5) Patricia Brown Mathews provided this date; our other sources had "ca. 1786." To close this footnote, click the number again or click (Close) ----- d. 1862
Warren Mansfield, b. 1819 Samuel Mansfield, b. 1824 (No information on possible other children) |
| Sister: | Sally Mansfield
Born 18 February 1784 ----- in Lynn, Essex Co., MA |
| Sister: | Betsy Mansfield
Born 21 April 1786 ----- in Lynn, Essex Co., MA |
| Spouse and children | |
| Wife 1: | Mary White(6)
Information on Mary White is from rootsweb.com. Presumably, she died before Ephraim married our ancestor Vesta. To close this footnote, click the number again or click (Close) (No information on her parents). Married 8 February 1819 Saugus, Essex County, Massachusetts |
| Wife 2: | Vesta V. W. Francis, 1799-1878 (our ancestor) (No information on her parents(7)). Patricia Brown Mathews speculates that Vesta might have been the daughter of a Lorenzo Francis (Frances?), because she gave one of her sons the name Lorenzo, which was an unusual name. This should be investigated. To close this footnote, click the number again or click (Close) Married 16 November 1823 Saugus, Essex County, Massachusetts |
| Son: | Ephraim Sylvester ("Sylvesta") Mansfield, 1825-1910 (our ancestor) |
| Son: | Lorenzo Mansfield(8)
Patricia Brown Mathews supplied most of the information we have on Lorenzo Mansfield, including his birth and death dates. For his first marriage, she cites the Saugus Town Hall records (p. 11); for his second marriage, she cites the census for 1870 and for 1880; for his son William, she cites the census for 1860 and for 1870. She notes that in the 1880 census there were no children in Lorenzo's household. To close this footnote, click the number again or click (Close) Born 18 June 1828 Stonecutter (stonemason) Married (first) 26 November 1855 ---- to Ellen Armor ---- b. 1839 ---- Windham, NH
William Mansfield, b. 1858 (No information on possible other children) ---- Private, 40th Reg. Mass. Volunteers ---- 1862-1865 Married (second) <1870 ---- to Abby (Abba) UNKNOWN ---- b. 1840 or 1841 Died 2 April 1915 ---- in Saugus, Essex Co., MA |
| No information on any other children | |
| Other information | |
| Occupation: | No information available |
| Religion: | No information available |
| Death of Ephraim Mansfield | |
| Died: | 1841 (age 51 years) |
| Deathplace: | Probably Saugus, Essex County, Massachusetts |
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Sources on Ephraim Mansfield:
Nancy cites Geneva A. Daland and James S. Mansfield, Mansfield Genealogy: Descendants of Robert and Elizabeth Mansfield and Sons Andrew and Joseph who came to Lynn, 1639-1640 (1980).
Ted cited the 1855 census figures, for Amos Mansfield and his family.