G2G: Is Solomon Southwick father of George Wescott Southwick

Question

Is Solomon Southwick (Southwick-749) the father of George Wescott Southwick (Southwick-1307)?

George Wescott Southwick is my second great-grandfather. After massive (pre-DNA) research for years, all we know is that he was born in Kentucky in 1816 but we have found no baptism, birth, or wedding documents. However, he was a doctor and well connected to people in and around Albany, NY. He also was in Pike County, IL in the 1850s. And we found unconnected records showing Solomon Southwick in Pike County at the same time. Solomon has some offspring listed on wikitree but George is not listed. Perhaps his mother was a Wescott from KY. Would like to use my DNA results to research any possibility.

Answer 1

Hi Kevin!  Here is his Find A Grave infor and there is a newpaper clipping photograph.  I would also try Newspapers .com and maybe a member can help with that.

George Westcott Southwick

Birth

8 Oct 1816

Kentucky, USA

Death

23 Mar 1870 (aged 53)

Rapides Parish, Louisiana, USA

Burial

Mount Olivet Cemetery

Pineville, Rapides Parish, Louisiana, USAAdd to Map

Memorial ID

245076471 · View Source

Family Search profile ID K81J-59Q  ( only 1 source)

Find A Grave shows 21 Southwick buried in Kentucky, where George Southwick was born.  Kind of an unusual name so these Kentucky burials may be his family.

Comments

Thanks, David!

Yes, I've looked at Find a Grave, a great site that's getting better all the time. And I've also seached Newspapers.com and found a few things about George Wescott's activities. I'm still stumped on his genealogy, though, but circumstances highly suggest he's related in some way to Solomon. Hoping to find known descendants of Solomon so I can compare DNA. But am not sure how to do that.

Thanks again!

Kevin

Answer 2

You might look through this for clues.

Caller, James Moore., Ober, Maria A.. Genealogy of the Descendants of Lawrence and Cassandra Southwick of Salem, Mass: The Original Emigrants, and the Ancestors of the Families who Have Since Borne His Name. United States: n.p., 1881. https://www.google.com/books/edition/Genealogy_of_the_Descendants_of_Lawrence/UltVAAAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1

Comments

Thanks. Yes, I found this book in the Library of Congress about 1975. It does not list George Wescott Southwick. I'm wondering if he was either a love child of Solomon or adopted. GWS was very active and married a rather well-off woman who was the daughter of John Mason Converse, a wealthy business owner and a steam-boat captain and boat builder in St. Louis. It's just weird that records seem non-existent.

Answer 3

Update Sept 2026 - I have DNA matches to some individuals with a Jesse Southwick in their line, which leads to three Jesses. No hits from the Solomon line, so likely GWS was not a decendant. George's ancestors may have traveled down the Ohio River and then overland to the area in Illinois around Springfield. Will update if I get more.