William Secord, son of William and Ruth (Hunt) Secord
I have a copy of a transcription of William's will. He left a bequest to his son William's heirs as follows:
"First I give and Bequeath to the Heirs of my Son William deceased the Sum of Five Pounds."
William is the only child of William and Ruth for whom a birth record has survived, to my knowledge. He was baptized on April 16, 1775 and the record appears in the registers for the First and Second Presbyterian Church of New York City. His date of birth was given there as Feb. 18, 1775. As his mother was baptized at the same time and her age was given as 17, I think that William was most likely their first child. His baptism record does not give him a middle name, but his cemetery record does:
https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/2384838/memorial-search
St. Paul's Anglican Church Cemetery
Lake Side
Hampton Parish, Kings County, NB
SECORD:
77: Thomas s/o the late Wm. Henry & Polly
Secord d. 10 Jan 1841 ae 36 yrs
78: Wm. Henry Secord d. 27 Apr 1826 ae 51
yrs
h/w
Polly d. 31 Jan 1851 ae 79 yrs
William's wife was apparently Mary (Polly) Frost, though I haven't seen a marriage record for them. The age of 51 on April 27, 1826 does fit with his date of birth on Feb. 18, 1775. Polly's age of 79 at her death on January 31, 1851 suggests a year of birth of 1771 or 1772. Ancestry.com has a book called "The Frost Genealogy/Descendants of William Frost of Oyster Bay, New York" by Josephine C. Frost, published in 1912. This books states that Mary Frost, daughter of William and Sarah (Scofield) Frost, was born in Stamford, CT on January 5, 1776, and that she married William Secord. This work lists their children (and spouses), with no dates of birth, as William (married a Wallace); Thomas (married Mary Belding); Sarah (married Nicholas Pickle); Hannah (married first Mr. Sharlin, and second R. Ellison); Elizabeth (married Wm. Wiggins); Mary (married first Thomas Ellison, and second John Nelson); Amy (married Harvey Perkins); Frederick (married first a Lawton, and second a Lawton).
The Vital Statistics of New Brunswick Newspaper series, as found on the Provincial Archives of New Brunswick (PANB) website at http://archives.gnb.ca/APPS/NewspaperVitalStats/?culture=en-CA, gives a different date of death for Polly Secord. The February 4, 1854 issue of the New Brunswick Courier states that she died on January 31, 1854 at the age of 79, and notes that she was the widow of William Secord. The February 3, 1854 issue of the Weekly Chronicle says that she died on February 1 on "Tuesday eve" and adds the additional information that she "came here" in 1783, daughter of the late Captain William Frost who belonged to the "Royalist Army" in the American Revolution. Whether she died on January 31 or February 1, 1854, she would have been 78 based on a date of birth of January 5, 1776, so this is a better fit with the age given for her at that point, 79.
The 1851 census index on www.ancestry.ca does not bring up Polly. However, the index at http://automatedgenealogy.com/censusnb51/index.jsp does. She appears in the small portion of the census that has survived for St. John County, in Kings and Sydney Wards, page 111. Her age was given as 75, and she was American with a "Date of Entry" of 1783. She was living with James F. Secord, age 30, who was listed as her son.
In the Kings County Marriage Registers, as indexed by Ruby Cusack, there are a number of marriage records for this family:
Edmund D. Sharland, parish of Hampton and Hannah Frost Secord, parish of Hampton, 24 October, 1820
Thomas Secord, parish of Hampton and Mary Belding, parish of Norton, 8 April, 1830
William A. Wiggins, parish of Saint John and Betsy Secord, parish of Kingston, 1 December, 1832
William Secord, parish of Kingston and Ann Wallace, parish of Sussex, 5 February, 1835
Robert Ellison, parish of Sussex and Hannah Sharland, parish of Hampton, 23 March, 1836
Harvey Perkins, parish of Hampton and Amy Secord, parish of Kingston, 25 May, 1836
"William (married a Wallace)" - This must have been the William Secord (sometimes called W. H. Secord, and likely he was William Henry Secord) who lived in Saint John. In the Vital Statistics of New Brunswick Newpapers series, there are a number of records concerning this William. These include his marriage to his first wife, Esther Ann Wallace (which matches the record above), followed by her death and his marriage to his second wife, Isabella Laing:
Date February 28 1835
County Saint John
Place Saint John
Newspaper New Brunswick Courier
m. Sussex Vale, 5th inst., by Rev. H.N. Arnold, William SECORD of
Kingston/ Ann WALLACE eldest d/o Mr. WALLACE former place.
Date June 12 1847
County Saint John
Place Saint John
Newspaper New Brunswick Courier
d. Monday morn., Esther Ann SECORD w/o William H. SECORD, age 37,
left husband, five children.
Date July 8 1848
County Saint John
Place Saint John
Newspaper New Brunswick Courier
m. 20th ult., St. John's Chapel, by Rector, William H. SECORD
/Isabella Malcolm LAING eldest d/o late Capt. James LAING, all of
(St. John) city.
Isabella died before William:
Date January 30 1874
County Saint John
Place Saint John
Newspaper Daily News
d. Tuesday eve. 27th inst., Isabell SECORD w/o W.H. SECORD, age
44, left husband, three children. Funeral from her residence,
corner of Germain and Union Sts. (St. John) Friday 2 1/2 o'clock.
I haven't yet been able to find any record of the death of William, or burial records for any of them. I haven't been able to find them in any census records on the Ancestry.ca site. However, as above, the index at http://automatedgenealogy.com/censusnb51/index.jsp does show the family in the 1851 census for St. John County , Kings and Sydney wards, page 102. William`s age was given as 43, suggesting a year of birth of about 1808.
"Thomas (married Mary Belding)" - The only record I can find for Thomas other than his marriage record, above, is the cemetery record, as above:
77: Thomas s/o the late Wm. Henry & Polly Secord d. 10 Jan 1841 ae 36 yrs
That would indicate a year of birth of about 1804 for him.
"Sarah (married Nicholas Pickle)" - I can't find any records for Sarah at all, but some of the Secords in New Brunswick have put together some information on the family from a variety of sources, and that indicates that she was born about 1801.
"Hannah (married first Mr. Sharlin, and second R. Ellison)" - The Kings County marriage registers, as above, show both of Hannah's marriages: to Edmund D. Sharland on October 24, 1820, and to Robert Ellison on March 23, 1836. There is also a newspaper record for her first marriage:
Date November 1 1820
County Saint John
Place Saint John
Newspaper City Gazette
m. Hampton, 24th ult., by Rev. James Cookson, Edmund A. Sharland
/ Miss Hannah Frost SECORD of Norton.
Hannah and her family appear in the 1851 census for Sussex, in Kings County, NB (page 103). Her age is given as 40 there. However, the newspaper notice of her death indicates that she was older than that:
Date February 10 1858
County Saint John
Place Saint John
Newspaper Morning News
d. Sussex Vale (Kings Co.) Tuesday 2nd inst., Hannah Frost
ELLISON w/o Robert ELLISON, age 55.
That would suggest a year of birth of about 1803. This is much
more likely than 1811 as suggested by the 1851 census record, as
that would have made her nine at the time of her first marriage.
"Elizabeth (married Wm. Wiggins)" - Elizabeth/Betsy married William on December 1, 1832, as above. Betsy and her family appear in the 1860 US census for Fentonville, Genesee, Michigan, on page 208. Her age is given there as 45. In the 1870 census the family was in Detroit (subdivision G1, Ward 9, page 18), but Betsy was not with them, so it is likely that she had died by that time. I have not been able to find them in any census before 1860. Her age in the 1860 census suggests a year of birth of about 1815.
"Mary (married first Thomas Ellison, and second John Nelson)": I have not found any marriage records for Mary. There is information on Mary here:
http://www.uelac.org/Loyalist-Trails/2010/Loyalist-Trails-2010.php?issue=201033
and here:
http://www.uelac.org/Loyalist-Trails/2010/Loyalist-Trails-2010.php?issue=201023
The latter source states that Mary's date of birth was December 31, 1806. This comes from the Book of Family History, by The Ven. William Odber Raymond, LL.D, FRSC. William Odber Raymond was Mary's son-in-law.
"Amy (married Harvey Perkins)" - Amy's marriage record to Harvey Perkins appears above. They were married on May 25, 1836. In the 1851 census for New Brunswick they appear on the same page as her brother William Secord, in St. John County, Kings and Sydney wards, page 102. Amy was listed as 37 then, and she was shown with the middle name Miles. In the 1871 census Amy and Harvey and family were living in Montreal [District 105, Subdistrict A, Division 9, Page 1]. Amy was then 56. In the 1881 census they were still in Montreal [District 90, Subdistrict H, Division 11, Pages 58 and 59], and Amy's age was given as 65. These records suggest a year of birth of about 1814 to 1816.
"Frederick (married first a Lawton, and second a Lawton)" - This was clearly James Frederick Secord, who also lived in Saint John. There are two marriage records for him, both to women named Lawton.
Date June 25 1853
County Saint John
Place Saint John
Newspaper New Brunswick Courier
m. Tuesday morn., St. John's Church. by Rev. G.M. Armstrong,
James F. Secord / Sarah Ann LAWTON d/o Robert LAWTON (St John)
city.
Date April 26 1859
County Saint John
Place Saint John
Newspaper The Morning Freeman
m. 21st inst., Christ Church, Eastport, Maine, by Rev. Chadwell,
James F. Secord / Mary E. LAWTON of St. John, N.B.
This is the son with whom Polly was living in the 1851 census, as above. James F. Secord was then 30. There is a death notice for him:
Date January 27 1885
County Saint John
Place Saint John
Newspaper The Daily Telegraph
d. Saint John city, Monday 26th inst., James F. SECORD, Esq., age
65. Funeral from his residence Sewell St., Thursday 3 p.m.
These records indicate that he was born about 1821. Polly would have been about 45 at that point, so he was likely her last child.
Here is a list of the known children of William and Mary/Polly (Frost) Secord, with estimated birthdates:
1) Sarah b ca 1801
2) Hannah b ca 1803
3) Thomas b ca 1804
4) Mary b December 31, 1806
5) William b ca 1808
6) Amy b ca 1814 - 1816
7) Elizabeth b ca 1815
8) James Frederick b ca 1821
See Who were the Parents of Charles Jeptha Secord? for my reasons for concluding that he was also a member of this family, forgotten in the listing of children from the Frost Genealogy book as above.