Samantha Louise (Luther) Webster (1833 - aft. 1892)

Born 28 Feb 1833 in New York, United States

Ancestors

Wife of Byrum Webster — married 13 Feb 1859 in Chautauqua, New York, United States

Descendants

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Kem Luther [send private message]

Biography

This profile is part of the Luther Name Study.

Samantha Luther was born on 28 February 1833 in New York. She was the third child of Ebenezer Luther (1797–1867) and Aurilla Mariette Wait (1801–1880). Her birth overlaps with the period when her parents were living in Alden Township of Erie County, New York, near the village of Crittenden.

Samantha would have been in her teens when the family moved to Fairfield Township, Crawford County, Pennsylvania. In her mid-twenties, Samantha married Byrum Webster. He was 32 years older than she was and had already had a family of four in the years between 1825 and 1841.

The question of when and where Byrum and Samantha married is not easy to answer. The LDS church IGI at one time listed^[1] the marriage as happening on 13 Feb 1859 in Chautauqua County, New York, the place where Byrum had been living during his first marriage. This datum has been picked up by many researchers. It may be incorrect. Samantha gave birth to her first child, Asher Webster, in 1857. And we are not certain when Byrum Webster's first wife, Hulda Ann Berry, died. There is a gravestone, however, in Peterson Cemetery at Cochranton, Crawford County, Pennsylvania, near the grave of Byrum Webster, that may mark Hulda's last resting place.^[2] It is easier to think of Byrum and Samantha meeting each other if Byrum and Hulda Ann had moved from Chautauqua County, New York, the place where the couple had married and had lived until at least until 1850, to Crawford County, where Samantha lived. Two facts are relevant to this conclusion.

(1) The 1850 decade was when Byrum and Hulda's recently married third child, Lydia Webster, left Chautauqua County, New York, and moved to Fairfield Township, Crawford County, Pennsylvania. Lydia's first child, who was born in 1855, was born in Pennsylvania rather than New York.^[3]

(2) Crawford County, Pennsylvania, tax lists show Byrum Webster as a landowner in Fairfield Township from 1853 on.

All told, then, the most likely scenario around the marriage seems to be that Byrum and Hulda Ann moved to Crawford County, Pennsylvania, in the early 1850s and that Hulda Ann died there, perhaps around 1855. Byrum would have then married the much-younger Samantha, perhaps in 1856 since they had their first child in 1857.

Byrum and Samantha had six children:

• Asher Webster
• Sarah Webster
• Henry B. Webster
• Mary Jane Webster
• Hannah Webster
• Clarisa Webster

On 28 Jun 1860, Byrum and Samantha are counted in the 1860 federal census for Fairfield Township, Crawford County, Pennsylvania. They are living two houses away from Byrum's daughter Lydia and her family. Byrum owns $1300 real estate and $250 personal property,^[4]

There are land records on file in Crawford County show Byrum and Samantha buying and selling land between 1863 and 1888.

The next federal census, in 1870, the daughter Sarah Jane is missing--she died at age two. Children are being born about ever two or three years.^[5]

On the 1880 census, the 23-year-old Asher is listed as head of the house. Byrum describes himself as a shoemaker--over the years he has alternated in the census reports between "farmer" and "shoemaker." The daughter Mary Jane is not at home--just 16, she had already left for Wisconsin with the family of Byron Payne, the man she would marry the next year.^[6]

Presumably the 1890 census, if it had survived, would show Byrum and Samantha still alive. Byrum would die the next year, in 1891.^[7] In 1892, Samantha would marry again, this time to a Rober P. Burger.^[8] How long Samantha lived after this second marriage is unknown.

Sources

1. ↑ The scannable IGI records on FamilySearch no longer seem to contain this record. Some IGI records were not based on direct data.
2. ↑ Memorial. The gravestone is marked "H. W." It contains no legible date, if it ever had a date. Find a Grave has an image of it. Find A Grave: Memorial #55160616 (accessed 17 February 2024)
   Memorial page for H Webster (unknown-unknown), citing Peterson Cemetery, Cochranton, Crawford County, Pennsylvania, USA; Maintained by Randi Bowersox Peterson (contributor 47213856).
3. ↑ 1860 Census: "United States Census, 1860"
   citing Page: 88; Affiliate Name: The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); Affiliate Publication Number: M653; Digital film/folder number: 005171010; FHL microfilm: 805099; Image number: 291; Packet letter: A; Indexing batch: N01807-7
   FamilySearch Record: MXP1-DKX (accessed 17 February 2024)
   FamilySearch Image: 33SQ-GBS6-11L
4. ↑ 1860 Census: "United States Census, 1860"
   citing Page: 88; Affiliate Name: The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); Affiliate Publication Number: M653; Digital film/folder number: 005171010; FHL microfilm: 805099; Image number: 291; Packet letter: A; Indexing batch: N01807-7
   FamilySearch Record: MXP1-DKW (accessed 17 February 2024)
   FamilySearch Image: 33SQ-GBS6-11L
5. ↑ 1870 Census: "United States Census, 1870"
   citing Page: 10; Affiliate Name: The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); Affiliate Publication Number: M593; Line: 15; Digital film/folder number: 004278550; FHL microfilm: 000552829; Image number: 314; Packet letter: A; Indexing batch: N01629-5
   FamilySearch Record: MZGD-XZT (accessed 17 February 2024)
   FamilySearch Image: S3HT-665Q-V7N
6. ↑ 1880 Census: "United States Census, 1880"
   citing Volume: 2; Affiliate Name: The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); Affiliate Publication Number: T9; Affiliate Line Number: 00084; Digital film/folder number: 005162061; FHL microfilm: 1255119; Image number: 452; Sheet number: 123; Sheet letter: B
   FamilySearch Record: MWXT-2MZ (accessed 17 February 2024)
   FamilySearch Image: 33S7-9YBJ-9GB6
7. ↑ Memorial: Find a Grave (has image)
   Find A Grave: Memorial #55160578 (accessed 17 February 2024)
   Memorial page for Byron Webster (1802-1891), citing Peterson Cemetery, Cochranton, Crawford County, Pennsylvania, USA; Maintained by Randi Bowersox Peterson (contributor 47213856).
8. ↑ Marriage: "Pennsylvania, County Marriages, 1885-1950"
   citing Digital film/folder number: 004265069; FHL microfilm: 000910245; Image number: 199; Packet letter: D; Indexing batch: I10363-8
   FamilySearch Record: VF9M-CCM (accessed 17 February 2024)
   FamilySearch Image: 33S7-9PXZ-98X3

• Some data has been adapted from the research summary by Kem Luther entitled "Descendants of Ebenezer Luther (1797-1867) and Aurilla Mariette Wait (1801?-1880)." It is available on the web. Most of the personal data in the summary is derived from the Luther family history kept for 50 years by Bertha Elizabeth (Luther) Calhoon and Helen Moody. Their data was collected directly from the people in the history or their children or parents and carries the same authority as a family Bible. Some records for the descendants of Samantha (Luther) Webster and Byrum Webster have been added to WikiTree from this summary.