The Origins of Deborah Gilbert Watson Hall

Date: 1788 to 1865
Location: Bath, Allen, Ohio, United States
Surnames/tags: Gilbert Watson

That Deborah, wife (first) of Joseph Walton and (second) of Anthony Hall was born a Gilbert, daughter of Moses Gilbert and Lydia Mallery is supported by the following:

• A birth record has been found in Brandon, Vermont for Deborah, daughter of "Moses Gilbert by Lydia his wife," on 29 Aug 1788.^[1]
  • Additional children of Moses and Lydia on this same record include Sarah, b 18 Dec 1786; and Hall Gilbert, b 4 Oct 1790
• The Gilbert and Walton families were both part of a group of American-born families who migrated to Quebec between 1770 and 1810.
• "Deberough" Gilbert married Joseph Walton in Franklin, Vermont on 5 June 1808.^[2]
  • Her brother Hall Gilbert was also married in Franklin-- two years later in 1810.^[3]
• While Moses Gilbert Jr and his son Hall Gilbert remained in Dunham, Quebec through the War of 1812, Joseph and Deborah (Gilbert) Walton -- at least -- were part of a group of families that migrated 1812-1813 west to Ohio^[4]-- initially settling in Madison, Ohio through 1820; then to Bath Township, Allen Co., Ohio by 1826. It appears that two other Gilberts-- Horace (nephew of Deborah and Lydia) ^[5] and Lydia ^[6] -- also removed to Ohio. See below.
• Joseph Walton died in 1841 and in 1843 Deborah married Anthony Hall. ^[7]
• In 1849, a notarial record was created (reason unclear) referencing multiple 1844 attachments, that tie together the following Gilbert siblings-- namely, Lydia Gilbert (m Leonard Austin; they also migrated west to Ohio where they were before settling in Iowa) and Deborah Gilbert (m Anthony Hall)-- both (then, 1844-1849) of Bath, Allen, Ohio; Sarah Gilbert, Shefford widow of John Parker; John Gilbert and Hall Gilbert, both of Dunham, Quebec. It reads:

On the Seventeenth day of July in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and forty nine Before the undersigned Notary Public duly admitted and sworn for that part of the Province of Canada heretofore constituting the Province of Lower Canada residing in the village of Frielighsburg in the Seignory of Saint Armand in the District of Montreal in the said Province and the witnesses herein after named personally came appeared and were present Horace Gilbert of the Town of Liberty in the county of Harden in the State of Ohio one of the United States of America, yeoman acting for the effect of these presents as the attorney duly constituted and appointed of Leonard Austin of the Township of Bath in the County of Allen in the state of Ohio, one of the United States of America and Lydia Gilbert, wife of the said Leonard Austin under and by virtue of that certain Power of Attorney bearing date the sixteenth day of May which was in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and forty four hereunto annexed(;) The said Horace Gilbert also further acting for the effect of these presents as the attorney duly constituted and appointed of Anthony Hall of the said township of Bath and Deborah Gilbert wife of the said Anthony Hall under and by virtue of that certain Power of Attorney bearing date the Thirtieth day of May which was in the said year of our Lord one thousand and eight hundred and forty four hereunto annexed, of the first part -- Sarah Gilbert of the Township of Shefford in the said District of Montreal Widow and relict of the late John Parker in his lifetime of the said Township of Shefford yeoman deceased of the Second Part -- John Gilbert of the Township of Dunham in the siad District of Montreal yeoman of the Third Part -- And Hall Gilbert of the said Township of Dunham yeoman of the Fourth Part

Dunham, Missisquoi Co. Lower Canada (Now Quebec)^[8]

• Both 1850 and 1860 censuses record her birth place as Vermont about 1787-1789.^[9],^[10]
• Her age at death as given on her gravestone translates to 29 Aug 1787.^[11]

All these records, which were created during the lifetime of Deborah and her family members, taken together support that she was a white woman, born in Brandon, Vermont, of a white couple; that while still a teen, she moved with her parents to Dunham, Quebec, Canada where she likely met her future husband, Joseph Walton, and after marrying him in 1808, removed in 1812 with him to Ohio.

In 1826 Joseph and Deborah Walton moved to a location in Ohio near the Hog Creek Shawnee Reservation. Shawnee chieftain Pe-Aitch-Tah (PHT) lived on this reservation (and died there in 1831). There is no other point of contact with any Indian tribe for this family. The Hog Creek Shawnee were Removed to the west between 1831 and 1833.

Sources

1. ↑ Brandon, Vermont Land records, vol. 1-3, 1785-1801. Microfilm #27976, Image group #820446; page 255; Family History Library. Thanks to Linda Bischoff for finding and sharing this record.
2. ↑ Walton-Gilbert, (1808). Marriages. Ancestry.com. Vermont, U.S., Vital Records, 1720-1908 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2013. Original data: State of Vermont. Vermont Vital Records through 1870. New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, Massachusetts.State of Vermont. Vermont Vital Records, 1871–1908. New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, Massachusetts.
3. ↑ "Vermont Vital Records, 1760-1954", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XFVX-H5M : 19 February 2021), Hall Gilbert and Jane Jennings, 1810.
4. ↑ Beers, W. H. 1883. The History of Union County, Ohio, containing a history of the county 
its townships, towns ... military record. Chicago: W. H. Beers & co. Part V. Township Histories. Chapter 2. Union Township. p 171
5. ↑ "United States Census, 1850", database with images, FamilySearch (ark:/61903/1:1:MXQ8-QWP : Sun Jul 09 12:40:49 UTC 2023), Entry for Horace Gilbert and Sarah Gilbert, 1850.
6. ↑ "United States Census, 1850", database with images, FamilySearch (ark:/61903/1:1:MZ4N-996 : Sun Jun 04 11:58:45 UTC 2023), Entry for Leonard Austin and Lydia Austin, 1850.
7. ↑ "Ohio, County Marriages, 1789-2016", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XD76-GZ7 : 27 September 2021), Anthony Hale and Deborah Walton, 1843.
8. ↑ Notarial Records as researched by Linda Bischoff and shared with Jillaine Smith
9. ↑ "United States Census, 1850," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MX3X-HBD : 21 December 2020), Deborah Hall in household of Anthony Hall, Jackson Township, Allen, Ohio, United States; citing family , NARA microfilm publication (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
10. ↑ "United States Census, 1860", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MC2L-K4N : 3 February 2022), D Haul in entry for Anthony Hall, 1860.
11. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/31485559/deborah-arvilla-walton: accessed 08 July 2023), memorial page for Deborah Arvilla Gilbert Walton (29 Aug 1787–24 Jun 1865), Find a Grave Memorial ID 31485559, citing Ward Cemetery, Bath, Allen County, Ohio, USA; Maintained by Kathleen Ferguson* Matthews (contributor 47752657).