[CLIENT]

Burbank1601 T1512219mh

30 March 2016

Research Highlights

GOAL

Search the ancestry of [LIVING] for Native American connections.

PROGRESS

Traced [LIVING] ancestry from her great-grandfather, Fred Stiles Burbank, to her third-

great-grandparents Aaron Stiles and Abigail Cahoon, verifying the connection from

generation to generation.

Determined there is no evidence that Deliverance Peck was the daughter of Joseph Peck

or Native American.

Determined there is no indication that any member of the family from [LIVING] to

Aaron Stiles and Abigail Cahoon was a Native American or had Native American

ancestry.

RECOMMENDATIONS

1. Confirm the relationship of Aaron Stiles and Abigail Cahoon to their son, Daniel Stiles.

While the published work and FindaGrave.com memorial are excellent clues, evidence

in original sources is needed. These sources may include:

a. Probate Records for Aaron Stiles or Abigail (Cahoon) Stiles

b. Stiles land records

2. Continue tracing the ancestors of [LIVING] beginning with Abigail Cahoon and

extending the Cahoon family back to William Cahoon, the purported husband of

Deliverance, proving the connection from generation to generation and searching for

evidence of Native American ancestry.

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Research Report

Our objective for this session was to search for evidence of a Native American connection in

the ancestry of [LIVING]. The client provided us with access to her family trees on

Ancestry.com and Geni.com. She also reported that DNA testing revealed a variety of

Canadian and Upper Midwestern United States Native American roots.

As we were preparing to begin research on this project, we received an email from the

client directing us to begin our research with Deliverance Lombard (Peck) who was born in

1637 at Block Island, Niantic Nation, and died on 9 December 1727. Her alleged father was

Joseph Peck; no mother was given. The client reported that this information came from a

Geni.com family tree appended as a source to her own tree.

Our examination of the entry for Deliverance Lombard (Peck) revealed that the

documented evidence is much different than the conclusions previously drawn. On the

profile page for Deliverance is a photograph of what appears to be a painting of a Native

American woman. This image gives the impression that Deliverance was Native American.

Adding further to this impression is her birthplace: Block Island, Niantic Nation. It is an

understandable assumption that a woman who looks Native American and whose

birthplace was within the boundaries of the Niantic Nation, which sounds Native American,

was a Native American.

A closer look at the name of Deliverance’s presumed birthplace, however, raises questions

about her status as a non-European woman. Block Island lies off the coast of both Rhode

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Island and Long Island.1 Before the arrival of the Europeans, the island was part of the

territory of the Niantic people. However, conflict between the Natives and the Europeans

resulted in the island becoming part of the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1636, a year before

Deliverance was believed to have been born. In fact, the Pequot War also began that year

and resulted in the remaining Niantic people being absorbed into other local tribes.2 While

Block Island was the ancestral home of some of the Niantic people, by the 1630s it was land

shared between the Europeans and Natives. A birthplace here did not indicate Native

American heritage with any greater probability than any other birthplace in the

Massachusetts Colony.

In historical research of any kind, including genealogy, it is of the utmost importance to

ascertain what information is directly stated in documents and records, what indirect

evidence can be gleaned, and what the records explicitly don’t say. Family stories and lore

can be used as clues to suggest a direction in which to search, but ultimately only those

facts supported by evidence are admissible. In the case of Deliverance’s profile page, there

was only one significant source listed.

Attached to Deliverance’s profile page was a narrative taken from Stephen Okeson’s

website. He wrote a lengthy and detailed history of Deliverance using several sources

which he cited at the end of his report. Okeson noted that there were many myths and

discrepancies concerning the life of Deliverance Peck. He then went on to provide

information designed to prove that Deliverance was the daughter of Joseph Peck, an

Englishman, and Deliverance (maiden name unknown). 3

1 Block Island, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org, accessed March ; and Niantic People, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org, accessed March 2016.

2 Pequot War, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org, accessed March 2016.

3 For the original narrative, see Deliverance Swanson Peck, 9- , The Descendants of Robert

Peck, http://www.stephenokeson.com/genealogy/Peck_166.html, accessed March 2016.

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However, the sources listed by Okeson regarding Deliverance did not appear to provide the

verification which he suggested they did.

For example, A Genealogical History of the Descendants of Joseph Peck: Who Emigrated with

His Family to this Country in 1638 listed five women named Deliverance Peck, none of

whom were the daughter of Joseph Peck.4 These women were:

Deliverance, the wife of Nathaniel Peck, Joseph Peck’s son

Deliverance, the wife of Thomas Peck, the son of Nathaniel Peck

Deliverance Peck, the daughter of Thomas and Deliverance Peck

Deliverance Peck, the daughter of Russel Peck, born in 1808

Deliverance Peck, the daughter of Israel Peck, another one of Joseph Peck’s sons.

Interestingly, Okeson referenced page 13 of the book as evidence that Deliverance was the

daughter of Joseph Peck. The section in question is a quote from Daniel Cushing, the town

clerk of Hingham, Massachusetts, in which he said, Mr. Joseph Peck and his wife with three sons and daughter … came from Old Hingham [England] and settled at New Hingham. The

author of the book, Ira Peck, then proceeded to list the names of all of Joseph Peck’s children, including those born in America. They included only two daughters: Anne, who

died in England, and Rebecca, who made the journey to North American with her father.

Nowhere did Peck list a daughter named Deliverance.5 It was odd and seemed to

demonstrate a lack of historical understanding on the part of Okeson to refer to a page in a

book for proof of his assertions when the page in question actually refuted his claims.

Finally, Peck included a transcription of Joseph Peck’s will which mentioned his children

several times, making specific bequests to each child and explaining his reasons for the

4 Peck, Ira Ballou, A Genealogical History of the Descendants of Joseph Peck: Who Emigrated with His

Family to this Country in 1638 (1868), pages 203, 206, 225, 247, and 266, https://myheritage.com,

subscription database, accessed March 2016. DOCUMENTS 1a-e.

5 Peck, Ira Ballou, A Genealogical History of the Descendants of Joseph Peck: Who Emigrated with His

Family to this Country in 1638 (1868), pages 13-14, https://myheritage.com, subscription database accessed

March 2016. DOCUMENTS 2a-b.

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division of his property.6 The only daughter named in the will was Rebecca, who had

married a Mr. Hubberd. There was no mention of Deliverance. It seemed unlikely that

Joseph would cut his daughter out of his will without making mention of her or the reason

for his decision. Often when a parent desired to leave a child out of the family will, they

would leave one dollar, or other such trifle, to ensure the child took no legal action during

the probate process. The more likely explanation was that Joseph Peck did not have a

daughter named Deliverance.

The second source cited by Okeson was the passenger list of the Diligent, which brought the

Pecks to North America in 1638.7 The passenger list did not mention Deliverance but noted

that Mr. Joseph Peck and Mrs. Peck were passengers on board the ship. Again, Okeson

appeared to either completely misunderstand or was intentionally misrepresenting the

information found in his sources.

An online blog about the Miner family, Miner Descent, was listed as Okeson’s third source. Okeson did not mention any specific blog posts, though two posts, Joseph Peck and Thomas Lumbert, may have been those which Okeson used.8 Although there were many

references to Deliverance in both blogs, once again there were no sources to provide documentation of the facts presented about Deliverance, supposed daughter of Joseph Peck. These blog posts, while interesting to read, providde no documentary evidence for

their assertions and should not be used as historical proof.

6 Peck, Ira Ballou, A Genealogical History of the Descendants of Joseph Peck: Who Emigrated with His

Family to this Country in 1638 (1868), pages 17 - 20, https://myheritage.com, subscription database, accessed

March 2016. DOCUMENTS 3a-d.

7 The Planters of the Commonwealth in Massachusetts, 1620 - 1640, Lists of Passengers and the Ships

Which Brought Them – 1638, page 191, https://ancestry.com, subscription database, accessed March 2016.

DOCUMENT 4.

8 Joseph Peck, Miner Descent, http://minerdescent.com, accessed March 2016; and Thomas Lumbert, http://minerdescent.com, accessed March .

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The final source quoted by Okeson was the History of the State of Rhode Island and

Providence Plantations: Biographical.9 We searched each one of the various volumes for

Deliverance Peck, but there was no mention of her in any of them.

At this point, we had no verifiable information about Deliverance. None of the information

provided on the Geni.com website had any sources to prove the accuracy of the statements. The story written by Stephen Okeson did not have any sources which proved Deliverance’s date and birthplace or the names of her parents. Rather than continue to search for

information to prove or disprove the antecedents of Deliverance, it was more reasonable to

verify whether or not this woman was one of the client’s ancestors. Once accomplished, we

could continue our research to learn the identities of her parents and if there was any

evidence of a Native American connection.

The client provided us with a list of names, beginning with her mother and extending to

Deliverance. These were the ancestors which connected the client to her eighth-great-

grandmother. However, no dates or locations were attached, and no sources were offered.

Presuming the client’s mother knew the name of her father and grandfather, we began with

the grandfather, Fred Styles Burbank, and determined to trace the client’s lineage from Fred to Deliverance.

The purpose of this report was not to produce a biographical study of this family but to link

one generation to the next in search of proof of Native American heritage. Thus, our sole

focus was on providing the necessary documentation to connect Fred to his father, and

then connect the next generation and the next, until we reached Deliverance, the alleged

Native American ancestor, or reached the allotted time limit.

9 Bicknell, Thomas Williams, The History of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, vol. 4

pages 15, 19, 95, 182, 286, 404, 429; and vol. 5, pages 289, 479; and vol. 6, page 61, https://ancestry.com,

subscription database, accessed March 2016.

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We located Fred Burbank’s death certificate which listed not only his date and place of death but also the names of his parents.10 According to Fred’s death certificate, his father’s name was Hiram Burbank, and his mother was Millessa Styles [sic] whose birthplace was

unknown. This corresponded to the client-provided information naming Melissa Stiles as

the mother of Fred. We also noted that Fred’s color or race was listed as white.

From Fred Burbank’s death certificate, listing his mother’s name. DOCUMENT .

According to the client’s email, Melissa Stiles Burbank was the daughter of Daniel Stiles. We

did not know when or where she was born or died. We could confidently assume that

10 Michigan, Death Records, 1867-1950, Fred Styles Burbank, 2 December 1933, https://ancestry.com,

subscription database, accessed March 2016. DOCUMENT 5.

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Melissa was alive on 26 July 1862 when Fred was born, but without additional information,

we did not know anything else about her.

We located a memorial page for Mary M. Burbank, who was buried at the Lowell Cemetery

in Lowell, Dodge, Wisconsin.11 This corresponded to the information regarding the place of Fred’s birth as listed on his death certificate, which was Beaver Dam, [Dodge County],

Wisconsin. Lowell is about ten miles south of Beaver Dam. It seemed reasonable that Mary

M. Burbank was the same person as Melissa Burbank.

Her headstone read, Wife of Hiram Burbank, with her dates of birth and death. Mary

Melissa was born 10 December 1842 and died less than 20 years later on 16 November

1862.

Melissa Burbank’s headstone. DOCUMENT b.

11 Lowell Cemetery, Lowell, Dodge, Wisconsin (image and transcription), memorial page of Mary M.

Burbank, 10 December 1842-16 November 1862, http://findagrave.com, accessed March 2016. DOCUMENTS

6a-b.

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We searched for an obituary for Melissa in the hope that it would name her parents, but

instead were surprised to find an announcement of her marriage to Hiram on 9 June 1862

in Huntsburg, Geauga, Ohio.12

Announcement of Melissa Stiles and Hiram Burbank’s June wedding. DOCUMENT .

While it was certainly possible that Melissa was already pregnant when she and Hiram

married, it was unlikely she was eight months pregnant, given the social mores of Victorian

America. It seemed more likely that the date of Fred’s birth was incorrectly reported on his

death certificate, and that it occurred later in the year, perhaps on or slightly before 16 November, when Melissa died. Given the style of women’s clothing in that era and Melissa’s youth, it was possible that she was able to hide a pregnancy of only three months when she

married.

With a date and location for their marriage, we searched for a copy of Melissa and Hiram’s marriage record. Depending upon the laws in Ohio at the time, and given Melissa’s age (19),

it was possible that her father had to give his consent for the marriage to take place, in

which case his name could be included on the marriage record.

Ultimately, neither the marriage license nor the marriage certificate provided any

additional information, with the exception that Melissa claimed to be 20 years old.13 There

12 Married, The Jefferson Democrat [Chardon, Ohio], 20 June 1862, page 3, https://newspapers.com,

subscription database, accessed March 2016. DOCUMENT 7.

13 Ohio, County Marriages, 1789-2013, Geauga, Marriage applications and licenses 1855-1863, Hiram

Burbank and Melissa Stiles, 9 June 1862, https://familysearch.org, accessed March 2016. DOCUMENT 8; and

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was no notation on either form that Hiram or Melissa was a Native American or of Native

American descent.

Hiram Burbank and Melissa Stiles Marriage Record. DOCUMENT 8.

Since Melissa married in Geauga County, Ohio, in 1862, we searched the 1860 U.S. Census

of Geauga to find her in her parents’ household. We found Melissa living with Daniel and

Nancy Stiles in Huntsburg, Ohio, in 1862.14 The 1860 census report did not explicitly state

the relationship of enumerated individuals to the head of household. Based on Daniel’s and

Ohio, County Marriages, 1789-2013, Geauga, Marriage records 1852-1863 vol E, Hiram Burbank and

Melissa Stiles, 9 June 1862, https://familsearch.org, accessed March 2016. DOCUMENT 9.

14 1860 U.S. Census (Population Schedule) Huntsburg, Geauga, Ohio, sheet 172, Daniel Stiles,

https://myheritage.com, subscription database, accessed March 2016. DOCUMENT 10.

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Nancy’s ages (63 and 55 respectively) it was possible that Daniel and Nancy were Melissa’s parents or her grandparents. Both Daniel and Nancy were reportedly born in New York.

Melissa Stiles in the home of Daniel Stiles in 1860. DOCUMENT 10.

There were two other individuals living in the household. One was a ten-month-old boy

named Myron Stiles; like Melissa, he was born in Ohio. While it was possible for Myron to

be the son of Daniel and Nancy, it would be unusual for Nancy to have a child at her

relatively advanced age. Additional research will be necessary to determine the identity of

this child.

The other was Abigail Stiles, an 80-year-old native of New York. Given her age, it was

possible Abigail was the mother of Daniel Stiles, but she may also have been his sister, a

sister-in-law, or even a more distant family member. The client reported that Daniel’s mother was Abigail Cahoone, but we still did not know if Daniel was Melissa’s father, grandfather, or some other relation.

It is important to understand the manner in which Native Americans, or Indians as they were referred to in the various census reports, were enumerated in this country. In the

instructions to the marshals (enumerators) in 1850, they were directed not to include

Indians in the census report: Indians not taxed are not to be enumerated in this or any

other schedule. 15

15 1850 Census: Instructions to the Marshals and Assistant Marshals, https://usa.ipums.org, accessed

March 2016.

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The 1860 U.S. Census instructions directed the marshals Under heading , entitled "Color," in all cases where the person is white leave the space blank; in all cases where the person is

black without admixture insert the letter "B;" if a mulatto, or of mixed blood, write "M;" if

an Indian, write "Ind." 16

In the 1870 U.S. Census, Native Americans who lived on tribal lands were not to be

enumerated.17 Only those who had renounced their tribal affiliations and chose to live and

be taxed as citizens of the United States were to be included in the census report. The same

instructions were given for the 1880 U.S. Census.18

Leaving column 6 blank clearly indicated that the enumerator of the 1860 census believed

that the entire Daniel Stiles family was white and not native.

We continued our research and found the Stiles family listed in the 1850 census report.19 If

one or both of the Stiles adults were known to be, or looked like, a Native American, the

enumerator would not have included them in the census report. The Stiles household

consisted of Daniel, age 50; Nancy, age 48; and three girls: Lucretia, Matilda, and Melissa.

Again, this census did not indicate the relationship of the individuals to the head of the

household, so while we could assume that Melissa and the other girls were the daughters of

Daniel and Nancy, there was no proof of this.

16 1860 Census: Instructions to the Marshals and Assistant Marshals, https://usa.ipums.org, accessed

March 2016.

17 1870 Census: Instructions to Assistant Marshals, https://usa.ipums.org, accessed November 2015.

18 1880 Census: Instructions to Enumerators, https://usa.ipums.org, accessed November 2015.

19 1850 U.S. Census (Population Schedule) Montville, Geauga, Ohio, sheet 208, Daniel Stiles household,

https://myheritage.com, subscription database, accessed March 2016. DOCUMENT 11.

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Melissa Stiles in the 1850 U.S. Census report. DOCUMENT 11.

Both Nancy and Daniel were older than expected to have such young children. Perhaps they

married late in life, or this was the second marriage for both of them.

We hoped the Daniel Stiles to Nancy Washburn marriage record would include the names

of Daniel’s parents, verifying Abigail Cahoon was his mother. However, the marriage record

did not provide either answer.20 According to their marriage certificate, Daniel and Nancy

married on 21 January 1821. It appeared the three girls were either the last of the couple’s children, or they did not have children until late in life. There was no indication of Daniel’s parents on the marriage record.

1821 marriage record for Daniel Stiles and Nancy Washburn. DOCUMENT 12.

20 Ohio, County Marriages, 1789-2013, Cuyahoga, Marriage records 1810-1822 vol 1, Daniel Stiles and

Nancy Washburn, 21 January 1821, https://familysearch.org, accessed March 2016. DOCUMENT 12.

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An 1895 history of the Stiles family provided the necessary evidence that Daniel was Melissa’s father.21 According to this book, Daniel, born in New York on 14 August 1799,

married Nancy Washburne [sic] and they had five children, including Melissa. Although the

book stated the children were born in New York as well, this appeared to be a minor error, perhaps on the part of the elderly relative who wrote to the book’s author about the family.

This same book also reported that Abigail, who appeared in the 1860 U.S. Census with

Daniel Stiles and his family, was Daniel’s mother.22 Daniel’s parents were Aaron Stiles, born about 1776 and died on 19 January 1843; and Abigail Cahoon, born 30 March 1799 and

died 15 October 1867. There was no mention in any portion of this book that anyone in the

family was a Native American or of Native American descent.

Because Henry Reed Stiles’ book mentioned that Daniel died in Kansas, we searched for

and found his memorial page. It offered a slightly different date of birth and recorded a

death date of 19 August 1878 in Anderson County, Kansas.23

We contacted the creator of the page to inquire about the sources of her information, but

we did not receive a reply before the due date of this report. There were two photographs

of Daniel included on the memorial page as well—one most likely taken in the 1840s

(based on the style of his hair and clothing) and the other probably taken towards the end of Daniel’s life.

21 Henry Reed Stiles, The Stiles family in America. Genealogies of the Connecticut family. Descendants of

John Stiles, of Windsor, Conn., and of Mr. Francis Stiles, of Windsor and Stratford, Conn., 1635-1894; also the

Connecticut New Jersey families, 1720-1894; and the southern (or Bermuda-Georgia) family, 1635-1894, vol. 2,

(1895), pg. 444, https://myheritage.com, subscription database, accessed March 2016. DOCUMENT 13.

22 See DOCUMENT 14.

23 Greeley City Cemetery, Greeley, Anderson, Kansas (transcription), memorial page of Daniel Stiles, 28

July 1798-19 August 1878, http://findagrave.com, accessed March 2016. DOCUMENTS 15a-c.

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Daniel Stiles. Left, circa 1840, right, circa 1870. DOCUMENTS 15b-c.

Conclusion

At this point, our allotted research time had expired. Although we were unable to locate

any evidence that a woman named Deliverance Peck existed, or that she was a Native

American, we were able to verify successfully the ancestors of [LIVING] back to her third-

great-grandparents, Aaron Stiles, and Abigail Cahoon. During our research, we discovered

the necessary evidence to prove the connection from one generation to the next. There was

no evidence any of these individuals was of Native American descent.

There are, however, at least four generations which need to be researched and verified

between Aaron Stiles and Deliverance Peck. It is possible that in the course of that research

some evidence of Native American ancestry will be found. We recommend continuing this

research in a future project.

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It has been a pleasure researching [LIVING]’s family tree in search of her Native American

roots. We look forward to continuing research in the near future, according to your

direction.

KJE/cdf/keb

©2016 Legacy Tree Genealogists

https://legacytree.com