Samuel Thurber (1751 - 1832)

Born 28 Feb 1751 in Warren, Bristol County, Rhode Island

Ancestors

Husband of Elizabeth (Wilson) Thurber — married 3 Sep 1775 in Providence, Providence, Rhode Island

Descendants

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Biography

(Many sources confuse this Samuel Thurber with another Samuel Thurber. This is, perhaps, not surprising -- they were born within seven years of each other, lived in Providence, and the other Samuel was relatively distinguished through service in the Revolutionary War and operating a successful paper mill.)

Samuel's birth in 1750^[1] was recorded at Warren.^[2] His father is listed as Samuel Thurber and his mother is "Eliss".

The marriage of Samuel and Elizabeth Wilson is is in Arnold.^[3] (it was performed by the Rev. James Manning). All of their children mentioned here are of record, except for Henry. Evidence for Henry being their child also is given in Henry's bio.

Samuel was an "oysterman".^[4] Indeed, he was the first Rhode Islander to petition and be granted a portion of seawater for the cultivating oysters, with exclusive rights to said area.

His death is noted in the Providence Phenix ^[5]: "Thurber, Samuel, aged 82 years"

The evidence for Alice Wood being the mother is circumstantial. Foremost, there is the birth record mentioned above that lists her name as "Eliss". There is a bio^[6] of Samuel's grandson Thomas Jones Thurber (son of Henry) that lists Thomas's paternal line as Henry, Samuel, Samuel, John, Thomas, John -- indicating that Samuel's father was also Samuel, and Samuel the Father's marriage to Alice Wood is of record.

Research

In the Rhode Island Census of 1774, there are three heads-of-household named "Samuel Thurber" in Providence. While this Samuel was old enough to be a head of household, we can make a compelling case that the three Samuels are Thurber-9, Thurber-320, and Thurber-451 and that each of Thurber-344 and Samuel-450 was shown in the household of his father, at 17 and 24 years of age respectively. This is reasonable, since the two younger Samuels were not yet married.

In the Rhode Island Census of 1782, Samuel appears in a household with distribution

• two white males under 16
• two white females under 16
• one white male aged 16-22
• one white male aged 22-50
• one white female aged 22-50

In the United States Census of 1790, there are again three heads-of-household named "Samuel Thurber" in Providence. This Samuel seems to be the one who heads the household^[7] with one male over 16, three males under 16, and two females. These should be Samuel and Elizabeth and children William, Celinda, Stephen, and Samuel. The households immediately above and below this in the register are headed by Stephen Thurber and Darius Thurber. These could be Samuel's half-brother and brother, respectively (and we note that Stephen also appears next to Samuel's father in the 1774 census of Rhode Island).

In the census of 1800, there are once more three heads-of-household named "Samuel Thurber" . Samuel is again listed just below his half-uncle Stephen (Darius is not listed this time). His household has two boys and two girls aged under 10 years old, two boys between 10 and 16, one man and one woman between 16 and 26, one woman between 26 and 45, and a man over 45. This matches precisely the household consisting of Samuel Elizabeth and all of their known children who were still living in 1800, except for Henry, who was born in 1800 and probably just missed being included.

In the census of 1810, Samuel is listed just above his half-brother Stephen's widow Experience Thurber.^[8] Samuel's household shows

• one white male and two white females aged over 45
• two white males aged 25-44
• two white males and one white female aged 16-25
• two white males and one white female aged 10-15

Sources

1. ↑ unclear if this year is written old style or new
2. ↑ Births, marriages, deaths 1730-1856, Warren, Rhode Island, image on Family Search
3. ↑ Arnold, Vital Records of Rhode Island, volume 2, p.185
4. ↑ Collins, page 127
5. ↑ Arnold, Volume 19, page 181
6. ↑ "[1]." Online archive, unknown source
7. ↑ "US Census, 1790", database online. Providence, Providence, Rhode Island, USA; pg. 199, line 9; National Archives microfilm M-637, film number 10, GS number 0568150, digital folder number 005157142, image 00122.
8. ↑ "United States Census, 1810," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XH2H-LS6 : accessed 23 July 2019), Samuel Thurber, West District, Providence, Rhode Island, United States; citing p. 71, NARA microfilm publication M252 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 58; FHL microfilm 281,232.

• Rhode Island Births & Christenings, 1600-1914

• Collins, Clarkson A. "Pictures of Providence in the past, 1790-1820: the reminiscences of Walter R. Danforth" in Rhode Island History, published by the Rhode Island Historical Soceity. Begins in volume 10 (1951) no.1 pp.1-13, continues in no.2 pp.45-60, continues in no.3 pp.85-96, continues in no.4 pp.119-129, continues in volume 11 (1952) no.1 pp.17-29, concludes in no.2 pp.50-63.