Daniel Freeman II (1788 - 1854)

Born 14 Feb 1788 in Cane Creek, Orange County, North Carolina

Ancestors

Husband of Mary (Wells) Freeman — married 6 May 1809 in Orange County, North Carolina

Descendants

Died 29 Mar 1854 at age 66 in Washington Twp, Mercer County, Ohio

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Daniel was a Friend (Quaker)

Biography

Daniel Freeman II was the son of Daniel Freeman and Jane Wood of Orange County North Carolina. His birth date was recorded in the Cane Creek Quaker Monthly Meeting Minutes as 14 Feb 1788.^[1] He was educated as a young man and later in life would become a teacher on the frontier.

Family of Daniel and Jane (Wood) Freeman

At the June of 1808 Monthly Meeting of the Cane Creek Quaker Church, Daniel Freeman was reprimanded for fighting. By the July meeting, he had repented and made an offering to the church which satisfied the elders for a time. By May of 1809, he would be permanently disowned.

Daniel Freeman Jr Disciplined for Fighting

On 9 May 1809, Daniel Freeman was reprimanded by the Cane Creek Quakers for "having carnal knowledge" before marriage and marrying non-Quaker Mary Wells. She was the daughter of John Wells and the granddaughter of Joseph Wells and Charity Carrington. According to their youngest son Granville Freeman's biography, his father did not attend church again after being disowned by the Quakers. However, Mary Wells Freeman was said to have been a devout Methodist Episcopal member for her entire life.

Daniel Freeman and Mary Wells Marriage

Their eldest child, daughter Hannah Jane Freeman, was born shortly after the gunshot wedding in 1809. It is presumed that she was named in honor of Daniel's maternal grandmother, Hannah Thornton and his mother, Jane Wood. Daniel Freeman also had two sisters named Hannah and Jane who had died young. Mary Wells's mother was also named Hannah, so the name was meaningful to the family.

Daniel Freeman appears in the 1810 Census of Orange County, North Carolina, next door to his father Daniel Freeman Senior:

Dan Freeman & D Freeman Jr on 1810 Census

Daniel Freeman II wagon-trained west with his parents and siblings to Orange County Indiana in 1816. His parents were very avid Quakers and keen to establish a new Quaker church on the frontier. He settled there for a short time. He appears on the 1820 Census at Paoli Orange Co Indiana as Daniel Freeman Jr. It is indexed as Daniel Frieman Jr.^[2] Daniel Freeman is named as a beneficiary in his father's 1822 will and his mother's 1826 will.^[3]

By 1827 Daniel Freeman had settled with his family in the White River Township section of Randolph County, Indiana. He was living there when his daughters Hannah^[4] and Charity^[5] were married. Although the area was known as a Quaker abolitionist settlement, the Freeman family were not members of the Quaker community. Since Mary Wells Freeman expressed beliefs consistent with the Methodist Episcopal Church and Daniel was ex-communicated, it may have been awkward living in a Quaker Community.

Daniel Freeman is enumerated in the 1830 Census at White River Township in Randolph County, Indiana.^[6] Once again, his name is mis-indexed in the files. This time as "Fruman." However, when you look at the document, it is apparent that the name is Freeman.

Daniel Freeman family in 1830 Indiana Census

After just a few more years on the Indiana frontier, Daniel Freeman retreated back to the only slightly more civilized Fort Recovery, Mercer County, Ohio. The Indian Removal Act of 1830 would have made the area safe from Shawnee Indian attacks. A treaty was signed between the US government and the Shawnee, Wyandot and Seneca tribes that made Ohio more appealing to settlers.Ohio Indian Treaty Daniel Freeman purchased a choice piece of farmland there in 1838. According to Granville Freeman's biography, there were only 4 homes comprising the settlement when his father arrived in Fort Recovery.

Daniel Freeman Land Entry

Daniel Freeman had a small farm somewhere between Fort Recovery and Coldwater, Ohio. It seems that he worked several odd jobs to make ends meet. Daniel Freeman is credited with teaching school and grave-digging as well as farming. His sons were known to hunt and trap animals to sell the pelts. There is an old story of young boys playing on the banks of the Wabash River in 1851. These boys discovered a mass grave of the bones of soldiers who had died at Fort Recovery in the various battles with local Indians there. These bones filled 13 large wooden caskets and were interred in the Pioneer Cemetery Pioneer Cemetery. This would have been big local news during Daniel Freeman's lifetime.

Several early court documents from Mercer County, Ohio carry Daniel Freeman's signature as a witness with the initials J. P. to designate that he occasionally served as a Justice of the Peace in the Fort Recovery and Coldwater communities.^[7]

Mercer Co Justice of the Peace

In Daniel Freeman's 1854 probate file, his eldest daughter Hannah's children are named. These are the Rhodes children, who were living in Randolph County Indiana near Winchester at the time of his death.

Daniel Freeman Probate Names Hannah Freeman Rhoads's children

Hannah Freeman Rhodes is conspicuously missing as a sibling in Granville Freeman's biography. However, he only included his living brothers and did not mention any of his sisters.

Granville Freeman Biography

Sources

1. ↑ Cane Creek Monthly Meeting Quaker Records, Orange County, now Alamance, North Carolina, recorded with family in 1789, after Daniel Freeman was re-admitted from disownment.
2. ↑ "United States Census, 1820," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHG4-86B : accessed 8 January 2017), Daniel Frieman Jr, Paoli, Orange, Indiana, United States; citing p. 135, NARA microfilm publication M33, (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 14; FHL microfilm 205,608.
3. ↑ Orange County, Indiana, Will Book 1, Pages 37- 39.
4. ↑ "Indiana Marriages, 1811-2007," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:V5PM-9S4 : 21 January 2016), Thomas Rhoads and Hannah Freeman, 22 Nov 1828; citing Randolph, Indiana, United States, various county clerk offices, Indiana; FHL microfilm 1,654,838.
5. ↑ "Indiana Marriages, 1811-2007," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:V5PM-3M7 : 21 January 2016), Benjamin Cox and Charity Freeman, 16 Aug 1829; citing Randolph, Indiana, United States, various county clerk offices, Indiana; FHL microfilm 1,654,838.
6. ↑ "United States Census, 1830," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHPY-1NY : 18 August 2015), Daniel Fruman, White River, Randolph, Indiana, United States; citing 23, NARA microfilm publication M19, (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 29; FHL microfilm 7,718.
7. ↑ "Ohio Probate Records, 1789-1996," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-99QG-YZCD?cc=1992421&wc=S2CK-RM7%3A266275901%2C266308101 : 1 July 2014), Mercer > Final records 1852-1865 vol 1-2 > image 52 of 494; county courthouses, Ohio.

• Cane Creek Monthly Meeting Quaker Records, Orange County, now Alamance, North Carolina, recorded with family in 1789, after Daniel Freeman was re-admitted from disownment.

Mercer County Probate Records:

• https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1961-31287-9148-59?cc=1992421&wc=S2CK-RM7:266275901,266308101, Image number 88 of 494

Bureau of Land Management Records:

• http://www.glorecords.blm.gov/details/patent/default.aspx?accession=OH1750__.380&docClass=STA&sid=obumqnx5.pmd#patentDetailsTabIndex=1

• http://www.glorecords.blm.gov/details/patent/default.aspx?accession=OH1700__.149&docClass=STA&sid=obumqnx5.pmd#patentDetailsTabIndex=1

• "North Carolina Estate Files, 1663-1979," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QJ8L-11FB : 20 November 2015), John Wells, 1827; citing Orange County, North Carolina, United States, State Archives, Raleigh; FHL microfilm 2,069,373. (Mary Wells Freeman, wife of Daniel Freeman inherits from father John Wells Estate)

• "United States Census, 1820," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHG4-86B : accessed 8 January 2017), Daniel Frieman Jr, Paoli, Orange, Indiana, United States; citing p. 135, NARA microfilm publication M33, (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 14; FHL microfilm 205,608.

• "Indiana Marriages, 1811-2007," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:V5PM-9S4 : 21 January 2016), Thomas Rhoads and Hannah Freeman, 22 Nov 1828; citing Randolph, Indiana, United States, various county clerk offices, Indiana; FHL microfilm 1,654,838.

• "Indiana Marriages, 1811-2007," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:V5PM-3M7 : 21 January 2016), Benjamin Cox and Charity Freeman, 16 Aug 1829; citing Randolph, Indiana, United States, various county clerk offices, Indiana; FHL microfilm 1,654,838.

• "United States Census, 1830," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHPY-1NY : 18 August 2015), Daniel Fruman, White River, Randolph, Indiana, United States; citing 23, NARA microfilm publication M19, (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 29; FHL microfilm 7,718.

• "United States Census, 1840," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHBQ-ZH3 : 24 August 2015), Daniel Freeman, Black Creek Township, Mercer, Ohio, United States; citing p. 84, NARA microfilm publication M704, (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 413; FHL microfilm 20,172.

• "Ohio Tax Records, 1800-1850," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:7HXQ-TP3Z : 2 April 2020), Daniel Freeman, 1841; citing multiple county courthouse offices, Ohio, United States, p. , Tax records indexed by Ohio Genealogy Society; FHL microfilm 004849524.

• United States Census, 1850," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MXQP-TV4 : 9 November 2014), Dan G Freeman, Washington, Mercer, Ohio, United States; citing family 176, NARA microfilm publication M432 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration.

• "Ohio Probate Records, 1789-1996," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-99QG-YZCD?cc=1992421&wc=S2CK-RM7%3A266275901%2C266308101 : 1 July 2014), Mercer > Final records 1852-1865 vol 1-2 > image 52 of 494; county courthouses, Ohio.

• "Ohio Probate Records, 1789-1996," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-89QG-YZQB?cc=1992421&wc=S2CK-RM7%3A266275901%2C266308101 : 1 July 2014), Mercer > Final records 1852-1865 vol 1-2 > image 88 of 494; county courthouses, Ohio.

• "Ohio Probate Records, 1789-1996," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-89QG-YZ43?cc=1992421&wc=S2CK-RM7%3A266275901%2C266308101 : 1 July 2014), Mercer > Final records 1852-1865 vol 1-2 > image 89 of 494; county courthouses, Ohio.

• "Ohio Probate Records, 1789-1996," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-99QG-YCB6?cc=1992421&wc=S2CK-RM7%3A266275901%2C266308101 : 1 July 2014), Mercer > Final records 1852-1865 vol 1-2 > image 90 of 494; county courthouses, Ohio.

• "Ohio Probate Records, 1789-1996," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-99QG-YCRB?cc=1992421&wc=S2CK-RM7%3A266275901%2C266308101 : 1 July 2014), Mercer > Final records 1852-1865 vol 1-2 > image 91 of 494; county courthouses, Ohio.

• "Ohio Probate Records, 1789-1996," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-99QG-BX6K?cc=1992421&wc=S2C2-HZ9%3A266275901%2C266432201 : 1 July 2014), Mercer > Journals 1852-1867 vol 1-4 > image 98 of 907; county courthouses, Ohio.

• "Ohio Probate Records, 1789-1996," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L9QG-BF9X?cc=1992421&wc=S2C2-HZ9%3A266275901%2C266432201 : 1 July 2014), Mercer > Journals 1852-1867 vol 1-4 > image 109 of 907; county courthouses, Ohio.