2005: The goal was to determine if Samuel St. John [1672-7 - before 1752] the son of Mathias II or Mathias III? [consultants: Kory Mererink & Gordon Remington] I had corresponded with a fellow St. John researcher who had determined that Samuel St. John had been incorrectly identified as the son of Mathias II St. John and Rachel Bouton. He should, instead have been listed as Mathias II's brother. Taking this theory [with his blessings], I set out to see if the evidence agreed. Orline St. John Alexander's The St. John Genealogy, is and was the basic bible for St. John research.
I used the St. John Genealogy for the primary purpose of identifying the deeds for Mathias I, Mathias II, Mathias III and Samuel, as well as siblings of M-II and Samuel. I also utilized resources from the various places where the St. Johns lived, Norwalk [CT], Windsor [CT], Wethersfield [CT], Ridgefield [CT], Cortland Manor [NY] and Salem [NY].
There was no direct evidence stating that Samuel was Mathias II's son. The deeds and, especially, Norwalk town records, however, supported that theory. Part of the key was realizing that the three Mathias were going to change identity. When Mathias II came of age, he would be "junior" and Mathias I would then be "senior." After M-I's death and when M-III became of age, M-II became "senior" and M-III became "junior." Samuel was consistently deeded land by M-II, as were James, Ebenezer and Mathias III.
The St. John Genealogy gave Samuel's birth as 168_. Norwalk records and deeds suggested a date between 1672 and 1677. Samuel's wife, Rebecca Olmstead, was born about 1681.
In the vernacular of the time, the consultants and the research group felt that "the preponderance of evidence" supported the theory that Samuel had been misplaced.
Next up, 2006, A Rumor Becomes Reality
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