John Fagin (1768 - abt. 1843)

Born 21 Sep 1768 in Burlington, New Jersey

Ancestors

Descendants

Died about 1 Dec 1843 at about age 75 in Clermont, Ohio, United States

Problems/Questions Profile manager: George Fagin [send private message]

Biography

John was born in 1768. He was the second child and first son of Patrick Fagin and Hannah Bradbury. He passed away in 1843. ^{[1] [2] [3]}

John's entry in Descendants of Patrick Fagin:

(1) John Fagin (1768-184?) Eldest son of Patrick Fagin, born Sep. 21, 1868 in Burlington Co., New Jersey. For some reason he was called "King" Fagin, and referred to in family records as John (King) Fagin. He grew to manhood in Burlington Co., New Hanover Township, and was 21 years old when Patrick Fagin's family left New Jersey for Western Pennsylvania. He is recorded as one of the "males over 16 yrs" in the first U.S. Census in Patrick "Feagans" family in Menallen Township, Fayette Co., Pennsylvania in 1790.

As eldest son, John probably had major responsibility in construction of the flatboat that was to take the family from the Monongohela to the Ohio River, and down the Ohio to the mouth of the Little Miami in 1794. After two years of farming the "Turkey Bottom", he moved with the family to what later became Clermont County, Fagin's Run. He probably married in Fayette Co., PA before 1794. His wife's name appears in records as both "Eleanor" and "Serena", and her maiden name may have been Jolly.

What information we have of John Fagin is scarce, but his is one of the earliest names to appear in the history of Clermont County. According to the account of Byron Williams (1913) he was located in 1798 by 12 Mile Creek, by Isaac Ferguson the first settler and Jesse Swem. This was on Fagin's Run. In 1802 he bought 106 acres further north in the 10 Mile Creek region, according to one of the earliest deeds on record, and apparently moved there. This was in Survey #514, and according to the deed his land adjoined that of Joseph and Abner Fagin, John and Amos Durham. The price was 159 dollars.

When Clermont was made a county of Northwest Territory, the First Court of Quarter Sessions (judicial body) convened in 1801. Among the county officers named was John Fagin, Supervisor of Highways. It is interesting to note that Fagin's Run Road, now a township road, was built about this time, and that a section called "Fagin's Loop" completely surrounded John's original property. Fagin's Loop still appears on county maps, but was never paved and no longer has an outlet. John Fagin was Election Judge in April 1804; of the 26 votes cast Patrick Fagin and his sons accounted for 6 of the votes.

The memoirs of Dominicus A. Fagin, published in 1907, include an interesting story told to him by his father Aaron: "Produce began to accumulate, and the three boys John, Joseph and Abner built a boat, loaded it with such produce as the country could spare and started down the Ohio for New Orleans. Dispelling several attacks of the Red Man, they arrived at their destination safely and after disposing of their cargo at a good price, purchased a horse on which they loaded their money and resumed their homeward journey afoot. After a long and tedious journey through a country infested with Indians they arrived without serious mishap at their Ohio home." This journey took place some time before 1800; whether "home" was on Fagin's Run or on the Little Miami is not certain. In any case, this was before the Louisiana Purchase and New Orleans was then French territory.

After 1804 the life of John Fagin is clouded by tragedy. In 1803, at the first meeting of the County Grand Jury, of which Joseph "Fagins" was a member, John "Feagans" was declared mentally ill, or in the language of the time, a "lunatic". We quote from the proceedings of the August, 1803 session of the Grand Jury: "Elenor Feagans, wife of John Feagans, prayed the court that a writ of lunacy might be granted, to enquire if the said John Feagans be a lunatic. Granted: writ issued returnable to this term, return made as follows, to wit: whereupon the said writ is ordered to be recorded and Jacob Light, Esq. and John Donham are appointed guardians and are to give bond in the clerk's office." At the time, John Donham and Jacob Light were both county officials, as was John Fagin.

Apparently these two men did nothing about the court's order, for according to the proceedings of Dec., 1803: "The guardians of John Feagans a lunatic appointed last term having refused to act, upon motion Abel Donham and William Abercrombie is (sic) appointed in their stead." The account of this in Evert's History of Clermont County (1880) says, "the guardians formerly appointed for John Fagin (commonly called Old King Fagin) refusing to serve, the court appointed Abel Donham and William Abercrombie". (p.109)

From the point of view of modern psychiatry, one wonders just what the procedure was on mental health questions, what the symptoms were, why no physician was consulted, or why John's brother Joseph Fagin, a member of the Grand Jury, was not named as guardian. (He was named guardian some years later.) One wonders also [whether] the refusal to act, on the part of Jacob Light and John Donham, was due to disagreement with the "diagnosis" or simply distaste for the assignment. In any case, Abel Donham did act as guardian for a while, since he co-signed receipts for payment of bills. Some children of John Fagin, not identified, were pupils of the schoolmaster Alexander Robb in 1805, and there are receipts for their tuition signed by "Serena Fagin", and also by Abel Donham. In spite of discrepancies in spelling and names there can be no doubt of John Fagin's identity in this case.

In 1827 his brother Joseph Fagin was granted permission by the Court of Common Pleas to sell John's land (106 acres, #514) for the latter's support, Joseph then having been his guardian for many years. The deeds show that Joseph then sold the land to his son Lewis Fagin, who deeded it back to Joseph in 1829. The census records of 1820, 1830 and 1840 show that John was present in the home of Joseph Fagin during these years. John Fagin apparently died before 1844, for in that year Joseph Fagin deeded John's 106 acres to his own son James. John Fagin's son David was at that time Mayor of Felicity, in Franklin Township.

We have no record of John's wife after 1805. Their children were apparently raised by a family named Jolly, according to a letter written by a descendant, George B. Wilson of Buffalo, NY in 1928; hence the supposition that Serena (or Elenor) was of this family. Not all of John Fagin's children have been identified. They include the following: 1) Mary Fagin, b. 1800; married Moses Larkin of Felicity, May 29, 1820. 2) David Fagin, b. 1804; married Mary Wharton of Felicity, June 17, 1824. 3) Elizabeth (Betsy) Fagin; married Iraneus Chandler, Felicity, December 25, 1823. Probably also 4) Mahala Fagin, married Accle Daily, Washington Township, March 6, 1831. There is no further record of the Chandler or Daily families; both apparently left Clermont Co. at an early date. Iraneus Chandler was a son of Hill and Rhoda Chandler of Felicity.

Research Notes

Re: Mahala Fagin, included as "probably" a 4th child of John who married an "Accle Daily" in 1831. By good luck and a lot of searching, I found FindAGrave memorial #67259841, for Mahala Daily.

The location in Ohio, and Mahala being a quite unusual name, I think it's quite possible that this is the same individual. With a birth date in 1840, she clearly wasn't married in 1831, but this entire entry for John Fagin is rambling and muddled (e.g. John's wife's name, referred to as both 'Elenor' and 'Eleanor', with 'Serena' supposed to be the same person). "Accle", given as Mahala's husband's name , seems even more unlikely than her own. Mahala's spouse at FindAGrave memorial #67259824 seems a reasonable alternative (Dailey instead of Daily, Baker instead of Accle).

But does Mahala fit as a daughter of John? He'd have been at the end of his life then, in his early 70s, so it is possible, but I'm not ready to add a profile for her on such tenuous evidence. Hopefully additional information will be uncovered at a later date making her link to the family more certain. - George Fagin

Sources

1. ↑ Descendants of Patrick Fagin, page 16, Fagin ID [1]
2. ↑ Jim Lemon's Fagin family research - see Biography for Patrick Fagin
3. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/209096850/john-fagin: accessed 03 December 2022), memorial page for John “King” Fagin (Sep 1768–1843), Find a Grave Memorial ID 209096850, citing Ten Mile Cemetery, New Richmond, Clermont County, Ohio, USA; Maintained by Jill S. (Gasdorf-Moshier) Topper (contributor 46629902).