I've written of Samuel Falley earlier. He's the son of Richart and Margaret Hitchcock Falley, the one we know of who went to sea and worked himself up the ladder from cabin boy to second mate before returning home to Westfield, Massachusetts. I've speculated, based on comments in his biographical sketch that he was an abolitionist, that perhaps whatever he saw of the slave trade became just too much to bear. Or perhaps he was offered a better opportunity. He is reported to have set up mercantiles or stores of some sort in Ohio that were owned by his father. Richard died in 1808 and it appears that Samuel went back to Westfield then, and stayed there and in Montgomery, Hampden County, Massachusetts, for a few years before moving to Granville, Licking County, Ohio.
Samuel married Ruth Root, the daughter of Martin and Ruth Noble Root in 1810, and the couple had at least 11 children together. The first three were born in Westfield or Montgomery, and the others were born in Granville, Ohio, where both Samuel and Ruth died, she in 1862 and he in 1871.
Their first born was a daughter, Lois Matilda and known as Matilda, who was born in 1811 and died in 1900 in Granville. It appears that she never married, but if she was able, she surely would have helped with some of her nephews and nieces. Her occupation was "housekeeper" in her parents' home until Samuel died, and then she went to live with a sister. She had attended the Granville Female Academy in 1838 and it appears that this was a college level education. It would be interesting to learn what her story is!
Clarissa was born in 1812 and died in 1875 in Tipton, Iowa. She married John Havens Starr, the son of John and Elizabeth (Betsey) Havens Starr. Their children are Myra, Harriet, John, Eunice, Mary, and Frances.
Richard was the first born son, born in 1813 and died in 1877 in York, Clark County, Illinois. He married Francis ("Fanny") Scranton, the daughter of Charles and Olivia Sparks Scranton, Their children are Sarah, Olivia, Louis, George, Charles, and Louisa. There may have been a Lula, also, but I'm not clear on whether Lula may have been a nickname for one of the girls.
Charles was born in 1815, in Granville, Ohio and died in 1896 in Bible Grove, Clay County, Illinois. He was married twice, first to Caroline Richardson, who died within a few years of the marriage, and then to Ann Brackett, the daughter of John and Eunice Clark Brackett. (I haven't been able to trace John, but would not be surprised to learn that he is a distant relative to the Massachusetts Brackett family we have in our Holbrook line,) It appears that all of the children were born to the second marriage. They are Charles, Louise, E.A., Richard, and another Charles.
Samuel was born in 1816 and died in 1850 in Marshall, Clark County, Illinois. I don't know why he died so young, but he left a widow, Mary Abigail Damon, and five children-Mary, Eliza, Matilda, Julia, and Francis. He was a cabinet maker. I've not been able to identify Mary Abigail at this point.
Francis was born in 1818 and died in 1893 in Bible Grove, Illinois. He seems to have never married, and was a farmer all his life.
Ruth was born in 1819 and died in 1879 in Granville, Ohio. She married Charles Webster, the son of Elijah and Miriam Mallory Webster. I have located only two children for them, Helen and Miriam.
Edmund was born in 1821 and died in 1897 in Lawrence, Douglas County, Kansas. His harness store was burned in Quantrill's raid of 1863, when Confederate soldiers burned most of the town and killed many of its residents. I'd sure like to know how he escaped! (Finding nuggets of history like this really makes history come alive for me. They are pure gold.) He married Eliza Montgomery, another person I can't further identify. Their children are Clara, Laura, James, George and Samuel.
Linus was born in 1822 and died in 1897 in Licking County, Ohio. He married Elizabeth Haupt, the daughter of John and Elizabeth Runnels Haupt. Their children are Nancy, an unnamed twin, Lewis, Charles, Mary and Walter.
Eunice was born in 1824 and died in 1906 in Columbus, Franklin County, Ohio. She married John Seegar, the son of David and Mary, another unidentified woman, Seegar. Their children are Cyrus, Eldora, and Norah.
The last known child was a daughter, Charlotte. She was born in 1828 and died in 1901 in Granville, Ohio. She married late in life, at age 49, to Amos Montonya, and had no known children.
This list gives Samuel and Ruth 38 grandchildren. Some of them were likely beyond their reach, in Illinois, Iowa, and Kansas, but I'm sure they were never far from their hearts. This family was strongly Presbyterian in religious affiliation, as far as I can determine. They were good, solid citizens, and led good lives. It's another family to take pride in, as we say good-bye to the Falley line.
