Catherine Austin

Catherine — Amos Gardiner. Amos was born 11 Feb 1811, Exeter, RI; died 19 Apr 1888; was buried , North Kingstown, RI. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Notes from Shirley M. Greene:

Russell b 7 July 1775 d 18 Feb 1847 mar Catherine Essex Nov 1802 NK
NK Mar. Vol 5&6 pp 7, 21
Will in NK Bk 30 : 160
Austin notebook p 9
NK Town records Bk 2 : 165
History of Washington and Kent Counties p 10
Russell had his leg taken off above the knee 28 Aug 1845
He was buried in a snowstorm 18 Feb 1847

Russell married Catherine Essex Nov 1802. Catherine (daughter of Benajah or Benaiah Essex and Penelope Fones) was born Abt 1787, Warwick, Kent Co., RI; died 16 Feb 1880; was buried , Austin Burial Ground, Hunt's River, North Kingstown, RI. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

One source has Catherine as d/o Benajah (see CD).

Notes:

In the record of his birth, the last digit was burned off, so his exact birth year is not known. DAR files have it as 1739.

The gravestone says he died in his 84th year.

Shirley Greene's notes (email) say he left over 100 descendants (from obit in Prov Journal?).

James Austin:
Rev War Soldier's Book 2 p. 15 at Knight Memorial Library, Elmwood Ave., Cranston, RI
1775 Capt. Phillips Co., Col. Richmond's Regt.
1777 Capt. Benj. Hopkins Co., Col. Topham's Regt.
1780 Capt Tew's Co., Topham's Regt.
Wounded in battle on Lake Champlain, Sullivan Expedition

"The Austin family owned large farms both east and west of the Post Road. The first Austin, James, was in North Kingstown in the early 1730s. His old homestead stood east of the Post Road opposite Frenchtown Road, on the slope overlooking the Hunt River north of where Grossman's now stands. His great grandson, Fones, occupied it for many years. It was torn down in the mid-1920s having become derelict and a haven for tramps. Austin Road and Austin Farm Bridge on the Post Road are named for the several farms owned by successive generations of Austins." (source: "Graveyards of North Kingstown, Rhode Island" by Althea H. McAleer, Beatrix Hoggius, and Deby Jecoy Nunes; 1992.)

James married Katharine (Catharine) HUNT 4 Mar 1759, North Kingstown, Washington Co., RI. Katharine (daughter of Samuel HUNT and Elizabeth Unknown) was born 16 Nov 1738, North Kingstown, Washington Co., RI; died 24 Nov 1808, North Kingstown, Washington Co., RI; was buried , Austin Burial Ground, Hunt's River, North Kingstown, RI. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

The gravestone inscription says Catharine died at age 70 y 8 d.

Notes:

I have a photocopy of the original marriage entry in the North Kingstown books, Town Hall Archives. It says:

Kings County SS
These may certify that on the 4th day of May
anno 1759 James Austin and Katharine Hunt both of
North Kingstown Kings County were lawfully
Joyned Together in Marriage
Town Witness William Hall Jus Peace
M. W J Thomas LCh

(it is difficult to read all of it because the edges are missing, and some parts of the letters have faded)

Notes:

This is probably his listing in the RI Cemetery Database:
ESSEX BENJAMIN 1763c - 22 JUL 1843 WK054

Benajah married Penelope Fones Abt 1786. Penelope (daughter of Daniel Fones and Mary Unknown) was born Abt 1766; died 18 Jan 1827; was buried , Historical Cemetery WK054, Essex-Congdon-Shippee Lot, Potomomut & Austin Rds., Warwick, RI. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

RIGR Vol 12 pp 247 & 248 has her maiden name as Jones. At least one online family tree has her name as Penelope Jones (no source noted).

However, I believe she was Penelope Fones, since Daniel Fones Essex is mentioned as a nephew, s/o Benejah Essex, in the will of Daniel Fones who died c1817. Therefore, I have entered her maiden name as Fones.

Also, see this entry from the RI Cemetery Database:
ESSEX PENELOPE ([FONES]) 1765c - 18 JAN 1827 WK054

Notes:

The History of Washington and Kent Counties, p. 1229, states that James' father (Edmund) was lost at sea. His ancestry has not been determined, although it is surmised that he is very likely a descendant of Robert Austin of Kingston, RI. Edmund's descendants certainly lived in the southern RI area, particularly North Kingstown.

Edmund's year of death is uncertain. If indeed his son James was born in 1739, which is not known for sure (last digit is burned off in the town records), then presumably Edmund was living at least as late as 1738. He probably was deceased by 1741 when his wife Mary sold land to William Sweet. Other than his marriage information and the incomplete birth record for his son James, no other record of his life has ever been found.

The following notes are from the web site www.afaoa.org (Austin Family Association of America):
"This is one of the families that EAM [Edith Austin Moore] included in the Robert Austin of Kingstown, RI book. She thought that it had a connection to the Robert Austin family but could not find documentation to prove it. I think that it could be connected to the family as son of Edward E. &______ Cromb with brothers Edward & John. A second possibility is that he is Edward son of Edward E. and was recorded as Edmund on the birth of his son James. (ams 8/10/2008 [Arthur M. Sikes, Jr.])

To summarize, our Edmund could be a son of Edward E. Austin.

"EAM notes, The History of Washington and Kent County, RI, p 1229, states that James's father was lost at sea.

"EAM Ref. Mrs Leon T. Wilson, Putnam, Conn., Mr. G. F. Austin, East Greenwich, RI, Mr. George R. Austin, Middleboro, Mass. Arnold's vital records, Vol XII, p 411. Austin Cemetery between East Greenwich and Wickford, RI.

"CHILDREN: North Kingston birth records have children from 1730's, only one of them is named James, the rest just have birth dates.

"ORIGINAL SOURCE: Edith Austin Moore, "A Genealogy of the Descendants of Robert Austin of Kingstown, RI"; St. Petersburg, FL, 1951; pp. 448."

See this web page on Edmund: http://www.afaoa.org/cgi-bin/display_poi.cgi/n=Dummy?Edmund_Austin_RI@1

Also see this page on Robert: http://www.afaoa.org/cgi-bin/display_poi.cgi/n=Dummy?Robert_Austin_RI@1

Edmund married Mary WEST 22 Aug 1731, Kingston, Washington Co., RI. Mary (daughter of Francis WEST, Jr. and Sarah HILLARD) was born 29 Jun 1711, North Kingstown, RI; died Aft 16 Jul 1763. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Some genealogies have her name as Mary Hunt. The Mayflower Society identifies her as Mary West, descendant of Francis West & Susanna Soule. (see notes below)

Mary West b. NK 29 June 1711, living there on 16 July 1763. She mar NK 22 Aug 1731 Edmund Austin, a mariner. In 1741 Mary Austin sold land to William Sweet, "it being in full for right of dower in the land of my father . . . West, dec." It is to be noted that the only landowner in NK surnamed West and dying before 1741 leaving undivided land was Francis West. On 17 July 1763 she deeded to son James a house lot. Son James Austin had his birth re-recorded on 17 March 1761 but the last digit could not be read. A record in the DAR files has his birth year as 1739. Other than the marriage records and the incomplete birth record of his son, we have found no other records of Edmund Austin. We have found no probate or distribution of Mary Austin's estate. The burned records [at North Kingstown Town Hall] give only fragments of the record for this family. (notes supplied by Shirley M. Greene)

Samuel — Elizabeth Unknown. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Daniel is mentioned as deceased in his father's will of 8 Apr 1790, and his wife Mary is mentioned as daughter-in-law. Five of their children are mentioned as grandchildren.

I have roughly estimated Daniel's year of birth, as well as the birth years of his children.

Daniel married Mary Unknown Abt 1752. Mary was born Abt 1734. [Group Sheet]