Family History Questions – Part 4

Mysteries abound on Jeremiah Reuben Freeman’s side as well.  All four of his grandparents were born “back east” and died in Utah, except his maternal grandmother (Catherine Emaline Ensign) who died in 1841 in Massachusetts, so it’s safe to say that was the first generation to be baptized.  But the dates are what make things interesting.

JRF’s paternal grandparents, John Freeman and Nancy Smoot, were born in Kentucky and married there as well (1826).  John and Nancy’s ordinance records have their initiatory, endowment, and sealing all happening 2 APR 1857 in the Endowment House.  John’s baptism is listed as 16 MAR 1857, with his confirmation 1 JUN 1844.  Nancy’s baptism is also listed as 16 MAR 1857, but her confirmation was back on 1 JUL 1835.  Did they re-baptize people in the Endowment House before performing the other ordinances (two weeks, in this case)?

They appear to still be in KY in 1838 when their 8th child (Columbus Reed) is born.  However, their next three children were born in southern Illinios (the tip between Missouri and Kentucky) between 1840-1845.  So, with the dates above, it would appear that Nancy joined in KY and John joined later in IL.  Two of those last three children who were born in IL (four year old Levi and 21 month old Rosaline) died at Winter Quarters in 1847.  William Hamblin Freeman, JRF’s father, was born in KY and would have been 14 years old at Winter Quarters.

There’s another child listed (Martha) who was born in 1849 in northwest Missouri (AndrewCounty–near the Nebraska-Kansas border), and died in Provo.  Did the Freemans not leave with the Saints from Winter Quarters, staying back and drifting southward, but eventually moving out to Utah later?  Did they move on with the Saints, and Martha perhaps was an adopted orphan (or something like that) who they took in later?

Looking at the dates, when did the Freemans meet up with the Saints?  They were still hundreds of miles from Nauvoo a year after Joseph Smith died.  Did they move to Nauvoo BEFORE the Saints left, or meet up with them somewhere between Nauvoo and Winter Quarters?  IF they DID move to Nauvoo at some point, where did they live, and could we find the spot when we’re there?

We’ll finish with the Stockings…

3 thoughts on “Family History Questions – Part 4”

  1. OK, so most of the following doesn’t really shed more light into the subject, but oh well…
    The majority of the Freemans left Iowa in 1851. This included John and Nancy but their son, William Hamblin, traveled ahead of them at age 16 two years earlier (1849) and is the only Freeman listed in that company.
    John and Nancy’s daughter, Caroline, is believed to have traveled either in 1847 or 1848, possibly with her husband, Charles Hall and possibly with her older sister Adeline (who’s future husband came in the same company as William’s future wife in 1850)
    As I said on Facebook, according to the Nauvoo land records office, John Freeman never owned land in Nauvoo.

Comments are closed.