The Haslam Line: Ohio, Baltimore, and Tennessee

How I label things here: Proven means a record I have seen supports it. DNA-supported means shared matches point to it but I have no record that names the relationship. Hypothesis is my best working idea and is not settled. Ruled out means I tested it and it failed.

The story so far

The Haslam line is my husband's family. My primary-source work has focused on Samuel Haslam, who appears in Adams and Brown Counties in southwestern Ohio, and on his connection to a John Haslam of Baltimore, Maryland. I do not yet know how Samuel and John were related. A deed between them proves that they were connected closely enough to trade land, but the deed does not state a relationship.

What I know from my research: John Haslam never lived in Ohio, but he owned land there with Samuel. John worked as a veterinarian in Baltimore and later moved to Tennessee. After both men died, John's sons sold their father's Adams County land back to Samuel's widow, Mary Haslam. Mary was a local widow who married Samuel, so she is not part of John's family. John's own wife was named Nancy. John's daughter Mary, who married Samuel Oldson, is a different woman from Samuel Haslam's wife Mary, so I keep the two apart.

John Haslam's family, as it stands in my tree

This is information from my own Ancestry tree. It is a working record, not a finished proof, and I am still verifying the dates and places for John's children. I am not discussing John's parents or Samuel's parents on this page.

• John Haslam (also spelled Haslum), baptized March 22, 1778 at St. Peter, Bolton-le-Moors, Lancashire, England. He appears in Baltimore, Maryland in the 1810, 1820, and 1830 censuses and in city directories, with a War of 1812 service record in my tree. He died in October 1841 in Blount County, Tennessee.
• Wife: Nancy.
• Children listed in my tree: Susan, Mary (who married Samuel Oldson, see below), Thomas, Samuel, Martha Jane, George S., John Jr., and Robert H. (died 1852). The tree's birth dates and places for these children need checking, and some of them conflict with each other, so I list the names only.
• Samuel T. Haslam: my tree lists him as John's half-brother, with a death date of about 1840 in Adams County. That relationship is a hypothesis. It is not proven by a record, and the deeds do not state it.

John's daughter Mary and Samuel Oldson

My tree lists a daughter, Mary Haslam, who married Samuel Oldson (1790 to 1837). The tree shows the Oldsons living in West Union, Adams County, Ohio, where Samuel Oldson died on July 23, 1837. Mary is listed as dying June 11, 1840 in Adams County. The tree names several children for the couple, born between about 1812 and 1832.

This may explain why John Haslam of Baltimore owned land in Adams County. A Samuel Oldson was one of the two witnesses to Samuel Haslam's 1829 deed to John. If he was John's son-in-law, John had a daughter living in West Union, and the Ohio land may have been bought to be near her. That is a hypothesis. I need a record that ties the witness Samuel Oldson to Mary Haslam, such as a marriage record, Oldson's estate papers, or a deed.

A date problem I am checking: my tree gives Mary's birth as 1800 and her marriage as June 22, 1811, which would make her 11. That cannot be right. Either her birth year is earlier than 1800, or the 1811 Baltimore marriage in the index belongs to a different couple. The first child's birth in about 1812 favors an earlier birth year for Mary.

Mary Oldson is not the same woman as Mary Haslam, the widow of Samuel Haslam. Samuel Haslam's wife was a local widow when she married him, and I do not yet know her earlier name.

John Haslam in the 1820 census

On August 7, 1820, John Haslam was enumerated in Baltimore Ward 6, Baltimore, Maryland. His household had eight people:

• Free white males: one under 10, one aged 10 to 15, one aged 16 to 25, and one aged 26 to 44.
• Free white females: one under 10, one aged 10 to 15, and one aged 26 to 44.
• Enslaved: one male aged 14 to 25.
• Other columns: one person was marked as a foreigner not naturalized, and one person was marked as engaged in manufactures.

The man aged 26 to 44 fits John, who was about 42, and the woman aged 26 to 44 fits a wife of that age, which would be Nancy. The census does not give names for anyone but the head of household, so the other ages are the only clues to the children.

What this tells me: The household has no free white female aged 16 to 25. If Susan and Mary were both born around 1800, as my tree says, they would have been about 20 and should appear in that column unless they had married or moved away. Mary was probably married by then, but Susan's absence means either her birth year is wrong or she was living elsewhere in 1820. The age brackets for the younger sons and the daughter aged 10 to 15 fit children born about 1805 to 1810, which matches Thomas and Samuel in my tree. The ages do not tell me which child belongs to which bracket.

The enslaved man: The census shows that John Haslam held one enslaved male in 1820. I include it because it is part of the record and because it belongs in any honest account of this family. Researchers who are tracing enslaved people in Baltimore may find John's name useful, and I would like to hear from anyone who has found him in other records.

The record is cited in my tree as the 1820 United States Federal Census, Baltimore Ward 6, Baltimore, Maryland.

A lead worth testing

One of the grantors in the December 1846 quitclaim deed was Martha Jane Hopewell, wife of John Page Hopewell of Pittsburgh. John Haslam's tree includes a daughter named Martha Jane Haslam, born about 1811. If they are the same woman, the Pittsburgh grantors were John's heirs, which would explain why they released a claim to land that John had bought from Samuel. This is a hypothesis. I need a marriage record or probate paper to connect them, and I have not found one yet.

The land: one tract, 1817 to 1847

All of the deeds below concern the same tract: 38 acres and 85 poles on the Brushy Fork of Eagle Creek in Adams County, part of Isaac Hite's Survey No. 1686. This is in the Virginia Military District, where land is described by metes and bounds with trees and creeks as markers, rather than by township and section.

1. October 25, 1817. Christian Tomlin and his wife convey the tract to Samuel Haslam. I know this deed only as it is cited in the 1829 deed, and I have not yet transcribed it.
2. October 31, 1829. Samuel Haslam of Adams County, Ohio sells the tract to John Haslam of Baltimore County, Maryland, for $200. Witnesses were Samuel Oldson and Ralph P. McClure. McClure, a justice of the peace, took Samuel's acknowledgment on December 11, 1829. Source: Adams County, Ohio deeds, April 1829 to May 1831, FamilySearch image 127 of 324, image group 008587746.
3. 1840s. After John's death and Samuel's death, John's sons convey the land back to Samuel's widow. My notes place this in 1846. I will add the deed and citation to this page once I have transcribed it.
4. December 1846. William Tite, John Page Hopewell, and Martha Jane Hopewell, all of Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, quitclaim the tract to Mary Haslam for $100. The deed calls her "widow of the late Samuel Haslam of the borough of Aberdeen." Recorded January 30, 1847.
5. June 1, 1847. Mary Haslam of Aberdeen, Brown County, sells the tract to Francis F. Daulton for $140.50. Witnesses were Thomas Shelton and William Warren. Recorded June 18, 1847. Source: Adams County, Ohio deeds, FamilySearch image 222 of 679, image group 008587753.

What these deeds prove, and what they do not

• Proven: Samuel Haslam lived in Adams County in 1829, and by December 1846 he was dead. His widow Mary lived in Aberdeen, Brown County. This also explains why this family appears in two counties' records.
• Proven: A Samuel Haslam and a John Haslam of Baltimore County, Maryland were doing business together in 1829. The land came back to Samuel's widow, so the Ohio land stayed connected to both families.
• Not proven: The relationship between Samuel and John. They could be brothers, cousins, an uncle and nephew, or another relationship. The deed does not say. The name Haslam is not unique, so a shared surname alone proves nothing.
• Not in these deeds: The middle initial T. The deeds I have transcribed name him only as Samuel Haslam, so the link to Samuel T. Haslam comes from other records that I will add here.

James A. Haslam, son of Samuel T. Haslam

James A. Haslam was a son of Samuel T. Haslam. My tree gives his birth as August 30, 1805 in Kentucky, and his death as February 1, 1862 in Mowrystown, Highland County, Ohio, where he is buried. He served as a postmaster, and the family account says the winter weather kept his body from being brought home to Georgetown, in Brown County, where his wife and children lived. He was also a Freemason. The tree dates and places are working information, and I am still collecting the records that prove them.

His family

James married Mariah Shelton, born December 20, 1812 in Virginia, a daughter of John Shouthall Shelton and Sarah Bohannon. She died September 21, 1876 in Georgetown. They had seven children, according to my tree:

• Sarah (1822 to 1908), who married Campbell L. Cochran in 1849 and later William Franklin Dragoo in 1876
• Alice Ann (about 1827 to about 1860), who married William A. Cochran in 1848
• John S. (1828 to 1889), who married Elizabeth Ruble in 1852 and Sarah Eliza Purdy in 1876
• William D. (about 1833 to 1879), who married Nancy Jane Long in 1856
• Thomas M. (1837 to 1857)
• Mary E. (born 1841)
• Caroline B. (1842 to 1929), who married Andrew Arn in 1880

The birthplaces in the tree trace the family's path. The older children were born in the Sprigg area of Adams County between about 1822 and 1837, which fits Samuel's land there. The two youngest were born in Huntington, Brown County, in 1841 and 1842. Several marriages took place in Highland County, which is why Highland County records matter for this family.

The two newspaper notices

• February 20, 1862, Deaths column, The Highland Weekly News, Hillsboro: "In Georgetown, Ohio, on the 1st inst., Mr. James Haslam, aged 57 years."
• September 25, 1862, "Tribute of Respect," same paper: A Masonic lodge's resolution says that Brother James Haslam "died, at his residence in Georgetown, Brown county, Ohio, after a short illness, on the 18th day of February, 1862, in the 57th year of his age." It says he was made a Mason in Highland Lodge, was a charter member of Buford Lodge, and was "one of the most useful citizens." It offers sympathy to "the widow and family." The committee was C. Matthews, Wm. Scott, and M. D. Puckett.

What the evidence shows, and what it does not

• Proven by the newspapers: A James Haslam, with a Georgetown connection, died in February 1862, was a Freemason, and left a widow and family.
• Place of death: James died in Mowrystown, Highland County, Ohio, where he was postmaster and where he is buried. Both newspaper notices name Georgetown, which was his family's home, so I read them as reporting where he lived and not where he died. The tribute even says "at his residence," which is the kind of wording a lodge would use for his home. I still want a burial record or a postmaster appointment to document Mowrystown.
• Date of death: My tree and the first notice give February 1, 1862. The tribute gives February 18. I lean toward February 1 because two sources agree, but a cemetery stone or death register entry should settle it.
• An age difference: "Aged 57" and "in the 57th year" differ by one year. The tree's birth date of August 30, 1805 makes him 56 on February 1, 1862, which matches the second wording.
• Not in the notices: His middle initial, his wife's name, and his father. The tree gives Samuel T. as his father, and I am looking for a record that names him.

A lead to test

Thomas Shelton, a justice of the peace in Brown County, took Mary Haslam's acknowledgment in June 1847. James's wife was Mariah Shelton. The surname is common, so this is only a hypothesis, but a Shelton in the same county may have been a relative of James's wife.

What I want to confirm

1. The town where he was postmaster, and the dates, from federal postmaster records. Mowrystown is the first place to check.
2. His burial record and cemetery in Mowrystown.
3. His wife and children in the 1850 and 1860 censuses for Adams, Highland, and Brown Counties.
4. His Masonic membership, in Highland Lodge and Buford Lodge records.
5. A record that names Samuel T. as his father, such as a will, estate record, or deed.
6. His birth in Kentucky. Where in Kentucky, and when did the family move to Adams County?

See my Brown County guide, Highland County guide, and Adams County guide.

William D. Haslam (about 1833 to 1879)

William D. Haslam is my husband's third great-grandfather, and my tree marks him as a common DNA ancestor with other researchers. He was a son of James A. Haslam and Mariah Shelton. This section follows him through the records that I have found.

His life, from the records in my tree

• Born about 1833 in the Sprigg area of Adams County, Ohio. The birth is estimated, and the age in each census supports it.
• 1850: living in White Oak Township, Highland County, at about 17, in the 1850 federal census.
• January 24, 1856: married Nancy Jane Long (1838 to 1898) in Highland County. Ohio marriage records are the source.
• 1860: living in Georgetown, Brown County, in the 1860 federal census.
• 1862: his father James A. Haslam died February 1, 1862. See the section above.
• 1870: living in Georgetown, Brown County, in the 1870 federal census. In May 1870 The Ripley Bee reprinted a Georgetown News item on the new Brown County jail. It named William D. Haslam as superintendent of the building and called him "one of the most skillful and ingenious mechanics" in the country, and strictly honest in requiring the contract work to be done well.
• 1876: his mother Mariah Shelton Haslam died September 21, 1876 in Georgetown.
• November 1879: died in Pleasant Township, Brown County, at about 46. An Ohio probate record is dated November 21, 1879. I still need to read the probate file. A later court case calls John Haslam the administrator of his estate.
• 1880: his household is in Pleasant Township, Brown County, in the 1880 federal census.

His work

The 1870 jail notice shows that William was a skilled builder or mechanic, trusted by the county commissioners to oversee a public building. I have not yet found his occupation in the censuses, so the census entries are the next place to look.

The 1883 sheriff's deed: his family after his death

A Brown County deed, dated April 23, 1883, records what happened to his Georgetown property. Source: Brown County, Ohio deed records, FamilySearch image 122 of 658, image group 008586165.

• On May 27, 1882, Charles Thers sued in the Brown County Court of Common Pleas, Case No. 7349, to foreclose a mortgage.
• The defendants were Nancy J. Haslam, Thomas, Melissa, Mary Jackson, John, Charles, William, and Frank Haslam, and John Haslam as administrator of William Haslam, deceased. The deed later names Melissa as Melissa Ashmore, so these were William's widow and children, some with married names.
• The court gave judgment of $931.55 in October 1882. The sheriff, John P. Helbling, sold Lots 17 and 18 in John G. Marshall's addition to Georgetown at auction on February 24, 1883. Charles Thers bought them for $920. The court confirmed the sale in April 1883 and the sheriff signed the deed on April 23, 1883.

The plaintiff's name: The deed spells it "Thers," but the spelling probably should be "Thies." William and Nancy Jane named a son Charles Thies Haslam in 1870, so the plaintiff may have been a friend or relative the family named a child for. That is a hypothesis, and I have not found his connection to the family.

What it tells me: The deed proves William's widow and children were still living in Brown County in 1882 and gives married names for two daughters, Melissa Ashmore and Mary Jackson. It also gives an administrator named John Haslam. The deed does not say who that John was. A likely candidate is William's brother John S. Haslam (1828 to 1889) of Georgetown, but that is a hypothesis, since a son named John, born in 1874, would have been only about eight. The deed's spelling of some names varies, with "Harlan" in some places where Haslam is probably meant, so I am working from the image and not just the transcription.

His children, per my tree

William and Nancy Jane had nine children, born between 1858 and 1879. All of them died long ago.

• Thomas M. (1858 to 1898)
• Melissa Carolina (1859 to 1941)
• Mary Mollie (1862 to 1914)
• Frank (1864 to 1917)
• William Saford (1866 to 1939)
• Kathryn (1868 to 1870)
• Charles Thies (1870 to 1936)
• John Marshall (1874 to 1959)
• Nellie (1879 to 1880), who was born about the time of her father's death and died as an infant

Two children, Kathryn and Nellie, died as a toddler and as an infant.

What needs checking

• His death. I need the exact date, his burial place, and the cause. The 1880 mortality schedule may list a death in the year before the 1880 census, and my tree cites the mortality schedules as a source.
• The probate file. It may name his widow, his children, and the guardians for the minor children.

The questions I am working on

1. How were Samuel Haslam of Adams and Brown Counties and John Haslam of Baltimore related?
2. Where did each man come from before he appears in the record? A Baltimore veterinarian with a brother or cousin in Ohio suggests a family that moved in more than one direction.
3. Who were John's children and heirs, including sons John Jr., Robert, and George, and what happened to the family in Tennessee? Was the Martha Jane Hopewell of the 1846 deed John's daughter?
4. Who was Samuel Haslam's wife Mary before she married him? She was a local widow, so I am looking for her earlier husband's name and her marriage to Samuel.
5. Was the Samuel Oldson who witnessed the 1829 deed John's son-in-law?
6. Who were Samuel T. Haslam's other children, besides James A.? My tree names a Mary as James's mother, but Samuel's wife Mary was a local widow when she married him. Was she James's mother, or a later wife?
7. Was Samuel T. Haslam John's half-brother, as my tree suggests? What record would show it?

How I am approaching it

1. Transcribe the deeds, not summaries. I work from the deed text and cite the image number. Automated summaries of old deeds can make mistakes, such as misreading a date or guessing who a widow was, so I always check the text.
2. Follow the other state. John's trail runs through Baltimore and Tennessee, so the answer may be in Maryland wills, deeds, and city records, or in Tennessee records, not in Ohio.
3. Check the probate files. Both men died in the 1840s, so estate papers in Adams or Brown County, in Baltimore, and in Tennessee may name heirs.
4. Check the parent county. The parent county trap article explains why records may sit in a different county than the one you expect.

The Ohio counties