William Thurber (1745 - 1828)

Born 9 Nov 1745 in Providence, Providence, Rhode Island

Ancestors

Husband of Patience (Wilkinson) Thurber — married 30 Sep 1772 in Providence, Rhode Island

Husband of Anna (Bacon) Thurber — married 28 Oct 1784 in Rehoboth, Bristol, Massachusetts, United States

Died 19 Apr 1828 at age 82 in North Providence, Providence, Rhode Island, United States

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Biography

William was born in 1745. He is the son of Edward Thurber. The book "Memoirs of the Wilkinson Family in America, 1869" gives the following list of children, all born in Providence:

Waity, b. April 2, 1773

Kingsley, b. December 27, 1774

2d son, b. June 26, 1778; d. October 9, 1778

Alpha, b. June 21, 1780; d. August 8, 1782

This age/sex distribution is partially supported by the 1774 census of Rhode Island, which shows exactly one young girl in the household at that time.

Research

William appears as head of household in the 1774 census of Rhode Island^[1]. The age/sex distribution and inferred attributions are

• two white males over 16: William and Unknown
• one white female over 16: Patience
• one white female under 16: Waity
• one Indian male under 16: unknown

There is a second William Thurber in the 1774 census. It is not clear if we should have attributed the this man to the other William, since their household distributions are very similar.

In the United States Census of 1790, there is just one head of household in the entire country named William Thurber, living in Providence. The age/sex distribution of his household is

• one white male over 16,
• three white males under 16,
• one white female over 16,
• two white females under 16

William married again after 1800 to Elizabeth [Taber?]. There was another William Thurber having children with wife Elizabeth in Providence at the same time, so it is hard to disentangle their families and several online sources have conflated both men.

Sources

1. ↑ 1774 Census

• "Rhode Island Births and Christenings, 1600-1914," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F8QW-2R4 : 6 December 2014), William Thurber, 09 Nov 1745; citing PROVIDENCE,PROVIDENCE,RHODE ISLAND, reference ; FHL microfilm 908,559.

• 1774 Rhode Island Census, Providence, Page 9, Entry 4 -- William Thurber; citing transcription by Cherry Fletcher Bamberg in Rhode Island Roots 31 p.78, June 2005.

• Gargaro, Florence Thurber. The English Origins of John¹ Thurber of Swansea in Plymouth Colony, and His Descendants, NEHGR (NEHGS, Boston, 2023) Vol. 177, Page 279.