Samuel Elston (abt. 1692 - abt. 1785)

Born about 1692 in Woodbridge Township, Middlesex, New Jersey

Ancestors

Descendants

Died about 1785 at about age 93 in New Jersey

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Biography

Samuel was born about 1690, in the vicinity of, and possibly in, Woodbridge, Middlesex County, New Jersey^[1]. His father, William Elston, and grandfather, William Elston were original settlers of Woodbridge and of Staten Island, New York. There is no known record of his death. While many online trees suggest his great-grandfather was John Elston, there is no clear documentary evidence of the relationship between either of the Williams and John. Evidence for this Samuel is given in the will of his uncle, William Spencer^[2].

Samuel was thought, by J. S. Elston, the author of The Elston Family in America (EFIA) ^[1], to be "the ancestor of all the Elstons that settled in Sussex County, N.J. ... and Orange County, N.Y. - not only of those that stayed there for some time, but also of those that ... soon went south and established the Southern branch of the family."

Research Notes

This Samuel Elston is almost certainly the same man as Samuel Elston, person #10, found on p. 49 of The Elston Family in America (EFIA)^[1] At the time of writing of EFIA, "The only positive reference to this Samuel is the will of William Spencer, Sept. 8, 1738, in which he names Samuel as one of 'sons of my brother-in-law William Elston, my first wife's brother.' He must have been born about 1700 or before, probably about 1690. He cannot, therefore, be identified with Samuel (40), who is listed as the son. The only positive references to the latter [i.e. Samuel the son of Samuel] are (1) in Asa Elston's family Bible, 'Asa Elston's G Grand-father his name Samuel Elston Born 1721, G Grandma named Sarah,' and (2) the record of Samuel and Sarah Elstone witnessing the will of Isaac Littell in Elizabeth Oct. 28, 1762." Asa Elston is entry #606 on pp. 219, 220 of EFIA^[1].

Children of Samuel and uncertain spouse, possibly (but unproven) Sarah Spencer, from the work of James Strode Elston, EFIA^[1]:
James, known from his having registered an ear mark in Woodbridge Town records in 1740, so possibly born before about 1720.
Jonathan.
William, b. about 1720.
Samuel, b. 1721.

Samuel's spouse has been identified by some, and is identified here, as Sarah Spencer - possibly because of the close relationship between William Spencer and the Woodbridge Elston family. Others have identified her as Sarah Littell - possibly because of a relationship between this Samuel Elston and Isaac Littell suggested by Samuel and his wife Sarah Elston(e) having witnessed Isaac's will (which assumes this Samuel - the father and not the son - was the witness). Many online trees condense Samuel and his son, Samuel, into a single individual, married to Sarah Spencer. The current profile for the father Samuel originally followed this latter practice and so cites Sarah Spencer as the father's wife, but without documentary evidence.

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4} Elston, James Strode. The Elston Family in America (EFIA). Rutland,VT: Tuttle Pub. Co., 1942; available online at the HathiTrust Digital Library: http://catalog.hathitrust.org/api/volumes/oclc/4484786.html; pp. 49-51.
2. ↑ Ancestry.com. New Jersey, U.S., Abstract of Wills, 1670-1817 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. Original data: New Jersey State Archives. New Jersey, Published Archives Series, First Series. Trenton, New Jersey: John L Murphy Publishing Company; Volume XXX, Abstracts of Wills, 1730-1750; viewing "1738, Sept. 8. Spencer, William, . . .; will of" from Lib. D, p. 118. Accessed 27 Jan 2019.

Acknowledgments

Thank you to Jenea Mascho for creating WikiTree profile Elston-145 through the import of Exporting Exporting Mascho.ged on Apr 11, 2013.

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