Putting The Pieces Together
Daniel Inman's Family
The jumping-off point for these genealogical exploration was the search for the parents of Loren Inman, great-great-grandfather of the author. Loren's marriage record1 furnished the first clue, giving his residence at the time of his marriage in 1835 as Ontario, N.Y. Since the older vital records of Ontario have been destroyed by fire, church records of the requisite period are not available, and early Bible records of Loren's family have been lost, appropriate census schedules for Ontario were consulted. These records2 listed two Inman households in 1810, viz. those of John and Daniel. Only Daniel's household was given in the 1820 schedule, while only Daniel and two 20-30 year-olds, Willard and David, appeared on the 1830 lists. No Inmans were recorded in the 1840 Census, hence only John and Daniel seemed likely candidates for Loren's father. John, who moved to the adjacent town of Penfield in 18143 and was still living there in 1820,4 was subsequently eliminated on the basis of family records.5 These records list John's children, together with their birth dates. No Loren is included in this list, the accuracy of which is verified by excellent agreement with census records.6 Daniel, on the other hand, had a male in his household2 in the age bracket corresponding to that of Loren,7 and therefore remained a likely possibility for Loren's father.
A study of the geographical proximity at various times of Loren, Daniel, and Daniel's known son, Joseph,8 strongly supported the hypothesis that Loren was the son of Daniel Inman. Daniel was probably still living in Ontario at the time Loren listed that town as his residence on his marriage record, since Daniel sold land there in 1835.3 Loren arrived in Sugar Grove, Kane County, Ill. in 1836.9 Joseph went west with his father, Daniel,8 and was in Kane Co. by 1840.10 Joseph was still living in Sugar Grove in 1855,11 but purchased land in Union T., Floyd Co., Iowa in 1856.12 Loren moved to Iowa in 185813 and settled in Union Tp. on Section 18, just north of Section 19 on which Joseph was living.12
Final proof of the Loren-David relationship was found in an Illinois deed14 which specifically mentions Loren as administrator and heir of Daniel Inman's estate.
The next step was the identification of as many of Loren Inman's siblings as possible.
As already mentioned, Daniel was known to have had a son, Joseph, who went west with his father.8 Joseph administered Daniel's estate in Kane Co., Ill.15 and is listed as an heir of Daniel Inman in the same Illinois deed14 mentioning Loren as heir. Census records show that this Joseph of Kane Co., Ill. in 1850 was the same Joseph found residing in Marble Rock, Floyd Co., Iowa in 1860 and 1870.7
Another of Daniel's sons was demonstrated to be Willard Inman by the following facts.
A Willard Inman, age 20-30, and his family are listed in the 1830 Census of Ontario, N.Y. Willard is not recorded as head of a household in earlier censuses, however his 1830 age corresponds with that of a male member of Daniel's household in 1820 who is not listed in Daniel's home in 1830. Willard was born in Connecticut in 1801.16 This birth date conforms with Ontario census records2, whereas a birthplace in Connecticut is consistent with the fact that Daniel moved from that state to New York in 18078 or 1809.17
Willard's first son was named Daniel,16, 18 presumably for Willard's father. This son was born in Wayne Co., N.Y. in 1835,16 while Willard's second son, Chester, was born in Cook Co.,19 Ill.18, 19 in 1837.10 Willard was in Kane Co., Ill. by 1839.21 Hence, Willard migrated from Ontario, N.Y. to Kane Co., Ill. in the same period as did Daniel, Joseph and Loren.
A tradition that the Inman family is related to a Frost family is found among descendants of both Willard Inman and Loren Inman.
Further evidence that Loren and Willard were brothers is furnished by the fact that the circuit court in its first term at O'Brien Co., Iowa in 1869 took up and disposed of an entry of default in the suit of Loren Inman vs. Chester W. Inman,22 son of Willard. Since Loren resided in Iowa only in Floyd Co., while Chester apparently lived only in O'Brien and Butler Cos., it is difficult to understand how these two men would have become involved in this suit unless they were related.
Finally, the Marble Rock, Iowa Census of 1870 shows that an Ellsworth Miller, age eight, born in Iowa, was living with Henry and Dora (Inman) Waist in the home of Loren and Lucy Inman. A granddaughter23 of Loren has stated that this Miller boy was raised by Lucy Inman and that he had been born in the Clarksville, Iowa vicinity. Clarksville is in the part of Butler Co. where Willard, his daughter Harriet, and Harriet's husband, Marcus Miller, were living in 1860.18
Evidence that still another son of Daniel was David Inman is relatively meager and is based primarily on the fact that David is listed in the 1830 Census as head of a household in Ontario. He is not listed in the 1820 Census of that town. His age (20 to 30 in 1830) could conceivably be correlated with that of a member of Daniel's household in 1820, however the correlation is not clear-cut.
No David Inman is listed in the 1840 Census of Wayne Co., and the last Ontario record of his name concerns the sale of land in Ontario to Lorenzo Church, recorded in February, 1833.3 Hence it appears that David left Ontario about the time that Daniel, Joseph, Loren and Willard did.
A David Inman appears in the 1840 Census of Kane Co., Ill. Although the ages given for the members of his household do not agree with those in the 1830 Census of Ontario, the possibility of an error in recording cannot be dismissed, particularly since the ages of the older male and female in this household correspond to the ages of Daniel and his wife, Sarah, who do not appear to have been living with any of the other known children of Daniel in 1840. The 1840 Census of Kane Co. is not broken down by towns, however the order of enumeration suggests that David may have been living in the vicinity of Joseph Inman. David is not listed in the 1850 Census of either Sugar Grove or Kaneville, Kane Co.
The last son of Daniel to be identified was Nelson Inman. In 1860 Nelson was residing in Marble Rock, Iowa, census records for that year indicating he was living in close proximity to Daniel's sons Joseph and Loren, since all three dwellings were enumerated successively. The census records also show that Nelson was born in New York State in 1822-3, thus corresponding to a male child age 0-10 in Daniel's Ontario household in 1830.2 Nelson was in Illinois no later than 1853,24 and in 1855 was in De Kalb Co.25 where Daniel's son, Willard, was known to be living five years earlier.26 In 1856 he was in Kane Co.27 where Joseph and Loren were residing.
Nelson's wife, born in New York State, was Laura Jane Denny,24 daughter of John Denny.28 It should be noted that a J. J. Denny family from Wayne Co. (in which Ontario, N.Y. is situated) moved to Sugar Grove, Kane Co. Ill. about the time Daniel and his sons Loren, Joseph and Willard did.9
Specific mention of Nelson as a son of Daniel Inman was found in a letter from Loren Waiste Inman (20) to Esther (Inman) Haldorson (64), written 7 November 1935, and containing the following paragraph:
Of the four daughters whom Daniel apparently had,2 the name of only one has been ascertained. This is Alcy Inman,29 born in Connecticut in 1806 or 1807,7 and therefore of an age which corresponds to that of a female member of Daniel Inman's household in Ontario. Alcy was certainly in Ontario in January 1831, since her son, Joseph I. R. Frost, was born there then. The initial "I" of this son presumably represents Alcy's maiden name.
Alcy married Robert Frost,7, 28, 302 a name which has been mentioned by several descendants of Loren Inman as being related to the Inman family. Daniel sold land in Ontario to Robert Frost about 1835.3 Robert and his wife, Alcy, had moved to Sugar Grove, Ill. by 184331 and then proceeded to Marble Rock, Iowa in 1854.31 Hence the migration path and time of this couple parallels that of other members of Daniel Inman's family. In Marble Rock, Robert and Alcy were among the first members of Loren Inman's church.31 Furthermore, Robert Frost and a son of Loren Inman, Harvey Carpenter Inman, were partners in ownership of the Aureola Mill near Marble Rock.31
Early in the study of the Ontario area, evidence began to accumulate indicating that Daniel was the son of a Joseph Inman who died in Ontario in 1819 while felling a tree.32
Land records3 show that lot 89 in Township 14 (later Ontario), which was purchased by Joseph Inman and James Leavens in 1816, was sold by Daniel and Sally Inman to James Leavens about 1826. This fact suggested that Daniel may have been Joseph's son and inherited a part title to this parcel upon Joseph's death. It was further theorized that, since James Leavens' wife was Lydia Inman,33, 34 born about 177835 and formerly living in Connecticut33 as did Daniel Inman,8 Joseph was also the father of Lydia. If such were the case, the next logical step would be to search the Pomfret, Connecticut area where Lydia had lived33 for evidence of Joseph's family.
The only Inman household listed in the 1800 and 1810 Census of Pomfret was that of Joseph. Not only does the 1800 schedule include people in age brackets corresponding to Lydia and Daniel, but the appearance of three young females in the 1810 Census could be accounted for if Lydia remained living with her father after her marriage, since she bore three daughters in the period 1806-9 while still at Pomfret.33 As would be expected if he were the same man who purchased land in Ontario in 1816, there is no record of Joseph residing in Pomfret in 1820.36 In fact, the last known record of Joseph of Pomfret involves the sale by him of land in Thompson (Killingly), Conn. to Edward Inman Barrett in 1814,37 perhaps in reparation for his move to New York State. The appearance of an account of the death of Joseph of Ontario in the Providence Gazette38 also indicates that Joseph must have originally lived in the Rhode Island area.
After years of conjecture, the validity of this hypothesis that Joseph was Daniel's father was proved by the discovery of a petition for letters of administration39 in which Daniel states, "...that he is the son of Joseph Inman late of the town of Ontario...".
Ascertaining in turn the origin and parentage of Joseph Inman has been a relatively easy task. Pomfret land records40 show Joseph first purchased land in that town in 1797, at which time he was living in nearby Woodstock. Some of the land of a Joseph Inman of Dudley, Mass. was on the Woodstock line, and the last mention of this Joseph in the town records of Dudley is for the year 1792. Consequently, Joseph of Pomfret and Joseph of Dudley must have been the same person. All known facts agree with this identification. The distance between the center of the town of Pomfret and the the section of Dudley where Joseph's land was situated is only about 12 miles in a straight line. Furthermore, the intervening area is in the town of Woodstock where Joseph lived prior to moving to Pomfret.40 The 1790 Census for Dudley lists Joseph's household as consisting of one male over 16, two males under 16, and three females, while the 1800 Census of Pomfret gives for Joseph's household one male 45 up, two males 16-26, one female 45 up, and one female 16-26. Joseph of Dudley married Lucy Sprague in 1775, and Lydia, daughter of Joseph of Pomfret, was born about 1778. Note also that Lydia named her third daughter Lucy.
Joseph of Dudley was the son of Edward Inman of Dudley, as is specifically stated in the latter's will,41 probated in 1778. According to the terms of this will, Joseph and his brother Nathan received all Edward's land in the town of Dudley.
The absence of town and church records of the birth of Joseph's children, despite the fact that this family almost certainly lived in Dudley continuously from 1775 to 1792, can be explained by the location of the Inman property in the southeast corner of Dudley along the Quinebaug River, To get from there to the center of Dudley where the town clerk's office and the only church (Congregational) were located, it would have been necessary to go over a very large hill, then several miles along a ridge, into the valley, and up another hill. This could have been reason enough for not going to church (if, indeed, Congregationalism was palatable to these Inmans) and for not visiting the town clerk except to pay taxes.
Edward Inman of Dudley is shown by the following facts to be identical with the Edward of Glocester, R.I., who was the great-grandson of the first Inman in America, viz. Edward of Providence.
On the basis of the foregoing considerations, we may now reconstruct with certainty the line from the first Inman in America to Daniel Inman of Ontario, N.Y.