Holbrook line: David Fay 1762-1826

 First, a heads up:  This is not the David Fay of Marlsboro, Massachusetts, and not the one who served in the Revolutionary War. (The DAR says that new proof of service would have to be submitted for our David Fay.  While that would not be impossible, it's reasonably certain that he didn't march on the Lexington Alarm as he was only 13 at the time.)  I was a little bummed because I had to cross him off my list of Revolutionary War ancestors.  In trying to determine who he was and what he did, though, I have found some tidbits that may have been overlooked by some other researchers, and of course, I've found some questions.  

David Fay, this David Fay, was born February 9, 1762 (most records say 1762; one I found says 1761) in Stafford, Connecticut.  His parents were Edward and Sarah Joslin Fay, and he was the next to the youngest of 12 children.  Either he would have been spoiled, or ignored, most likely, but David was made of tough stuff and made his own way in the world. 

He married Marcy or Mercy Perrin, daughter of Benjamin and Mary Perrin, on December 6, 1781 in Stafford.  The two were about 20 years old, and they seem to have stayed in Stafford for at least a few years.  It may or may not be this David Fay who traveled with John Lincklaen in 1793 to what was wilderness at the time. The town of Cazenovia was laid out then.  If this was our David Fay, he apparently kept the area in the back of his mind, while continuing to live his life in Stafford and then, about the same time as the New York trip, to Holland, Massachusetts. 

David didn't have to "pay his dues" in Holland; he seems to have been accepted immediately.  He was a taxpayer there (only a few miles from Stafford) in 1793 and by 1798 had not only a house there but a barn 30 x 40 ft and another barn 25 x 36 ft, total value $1200.  He was referred to as "Ensign David Fay" in 1801, when he was on a committee to divide Holland into school districts, and the year before had been selected as town treasurer.  He was a selectman in 1802.  His neighbors in Holland were Jacob Thompson, Samuel Webber, Trenance Webber and Reuben Webber.  The "Ensign" designation is interesting because it leads us to think about what was going on in the military world about 1800.  There were various disagreements with France and with Britain, mostly on the high seas, but were there other reasons to keep a militia? 

We don't know what prompted him to go to Madison County, New York in the winter of 1805.  (Who travels that far in the winter, anyway?) Was he traveling with family?  The History of Madison County, State of New York, in writing of the small village of Fenner, says that David Fay came from Brimfield, Massachusetts (which is right next door to Holland) in the winter of 1805 and located on lot #16, a farm which had been previously occupied, and a small clearing made, by a Mr. Rhodes. I'm not sure this is completely reliable, but the same source tells us that a Miss Jackson married David Fay there.  (This could be correct only if Mercy Perrin had already died, and there was someone of the right age to be our Mercy in the 1810 census, so more research should be done).  

David doesn't appear to have taken as much a part in town politics as he had in Holland.  By the time he arrived in Fenner, he had as many as 10 children, and that would have kept him quite busy.  He doesn't appear to have had a large family support system around him there, so he likely did most of the work himself.  Sons Benjamin and Solomon were old enough to be quite a bit of help, but the others were still growing boys.  

David died on October 29, 1826 in Fenner and is buried at the Wilson Cemetery there.  Find A Grave says that his wife was Mercy, daughter of Jedikiah Jackson, who died in 1843, but it also says that his wife was Mercy Perrin, so there's some confusion.  Did Mercy Perrin Fay die early? Did David marry Mercy Jackson second, take her back to Massachusetts, and were some of the children hers?   Or, as I tend to think, was the David Fay who traveled early in the Lincklaen party the one who married Mercy Jackson, and was that David Fay from Charlton, Worcester County, Massachusetts?  

Mercy Fay was still alive in 1826, unnamed but mentioned in his will.  I haven't found an inventory so that will have to be research for another day, as will determining his religious beliefs, and the reason he was an ensign.   But we've learned enough to know we have to be wary in researching this David Fay...he may not be exactly what he seemed.  He wasn't a Revolutionary War vet, to the best of our knowledge, and he probably wasn't the man who was in Lincklaen's party.  What else do you know, or not know, about David?

The line of descent is:

David Fay-Mercy Perrin

Luceba Fay-Libbeus Stanard

Hiram Stanard-Susan Eddy

Louis Stanard-Mary Alice Hetrick

Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook

Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen

Their descendants