While researching the Chesapeake History book, I found a Nathaniel Frampton, living in Lawrence County, Ohio, between 1824 and 1830. Who was Nathaniel Frampton, and how did he fit into the family of John and Anna Barbara Martin Frampton? According to The Frampton Family, written by J. S. Wrightnour, D.D., page 184, Nathaniel was the son of Samuel, a brother to John Frampton.
The parents of Nathaniel were Samuel Frampton and Nancy Kelley, who married near Lewistown, Mifflin County, Pa. They had nine children:
- Elizabeth 1782
- Nancy 1784
- William 1786
- John 1788
- Samuel 1790
- Sarah 1792
- James 1794
- David 1796
- Nathaniel 1798
Nathaniel Frampton started his life with many difficulties. He and his brother David Frampton married sisters with the last name Brush, both of whom died early. Nathaniel’s wife died in childbirth of their daughter, and because he could not care for the newborn, he allowed his sister-in-law to care for the child.
Unfortunately, when his daughter, [whose name is unknown], was old enough, the sister-in-law put her in a convent near Pittsburgh. When Nathaniel heard of this, he took the child out by force, almost losing his life. He left Pennsylvania and came to Burlington, Ohio, where he married Laura Farnsworth on 25 May 1824*.
According to the 1820 census, Nathaniel lived in Alexandria in Porter, Huntingdon, Pennsylvania. He had six people living in his household: three females and three males. It is difficult to determine whether Nathaniel’s first wife was still living by this census. The youngest female was between the ages of 16 and 25. The oldest male was between 26 and 44, probably Nathaniel Frampton. This date gives us another fact: Nathaniel moved to Lawrence County, Ohio, between 1820 and 1824, soon after his brother’s [John Frampton, who married Anna Barbara Martin] widow and children moved here.
On 29 September 1826, Nathaniel Frampton bought Lot #56 in the small town of Burlington, Ohio, from Thomas Campbell for $100 [Lawrence County, Ohio, Deed Book 5, Page 9]. This small lot was between Washington Street on the south, Madison Street on the north, and Davidson Street on the west. It took Nathaniel over three years to pay off his property. [Lawrence County, Ohio, Deed Book 5, page 200] Thomas Campbell releases the mortgage to Nathaniel Frampton and his wife on 8 December 1828. On the same day, Nathaniel Frampton and his wife, Laura Farnsworth Frampton, sold Lot #56 to James H. Drury for $155. [Recorded on 1 April 1829 at Burlington Courthouse Recorder’s Office]
While living in Burlington, Ohio, Nathaniel became addicted to liquor, and living near his nephew’s tavern was the beginning of another tragedy for him. Thinking that leaving this county would cure his addiction, Nathaniel Frampton moved to Scioto County, Ohio, in 1830.
According to the census for that year, he was living with five people in his household: three males and two females. While there was no record of how many children Nathaniel had, this corresponds with the Frampton Book, which says they had three children: Sarah Montgomery Frampton, born in 1826; Adolphus Frampton, born in 1829; and William Martindale Frampton, born on 20 September 1831 in Scioto County, Ohio.
Since William Martindale Frampton was born after the 1830 census, there is a high probability the other child was from Nathaniel’s first wife, who had died in childbirth. The only discrepancy is the census states three males and two females. There could be other explanations for that:
- Maybe the daughter he took from the convent had died or stayed with other relatives back in Lawrence County, Ohio.
- Nathaniel could have had another son with his first wife, who lived with them in 1830.
According to the Farnsworth Memorial Book by Jonathan Farnsworth, page 374, this marriage “proved to be unhappy, and they separated in 1835.” Due to Nathaniel’s drinking, Laura Farnsworth Frampton took her children: Sarah Montgomery Frampton, b. 1826; Adolphus Frampton, born 1829; William Martindale Frampton, born 20 September 1831 in Scioto County, Ohio, and moved to Nauvoo, Illinois with her people. In 1852, her son William Martindale Frampton moved to Pleasant Grove, Utah. Soon, Laura moved to Utah and became a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints member. Laura Farnsworth Frampton never forgot the love of her life, Nathaniel Frampton, and some sources said she never married again; another source said she married a man named Owens. She died in Pleasant Grove, Utah.
Nathaniel Frampton moved to Missouri and married his third wife, Laura. They had a large family in Missouri. He died at age 85 in or near Richmond Ray County, Missouri. Whether he had contact with three children from Laura Farnsworth is unknown, as they scattered from Utah to California. Nathaniel had a lot to overcome in his life, but he worked hard in the occupation as a “Hatter.” Sadly, at the end of his life, he also became blind, just like his nephews, Martin and James R. Frampton, in Lawrence County, Ohio.
*In The Frampton Family, pp. 184-187, the book says they were married in Milton, Vermont, which is a mistake. However, it was later corrected in the later part of the book
The last account was the 1880 census of Richmond, Missouri, where Nathaniel and his wife Laura were living with their son David Frampton, 34. Nathaniel was 82 years old, a hatter, and blind, and his wife Laura was 66 years old.
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