Isaac Barton (1781-1857) (52 Ancestors 2020 Week 6) Theme: "Same Name"

My ancestor Isaac Barton (1781-1857) is one of many men carrying that name. Needless to say, this has caused much confusion to the descendants of all the Isaac Bartons. Many of the Isaac Bartons who turn up in a Google search of the name came from County Clare, Ireland.  I do not know where my ancestral line originated, but will focus mainly on the Isaac Bartons who lived in the New York state area in the 18th and 19th centuries. Even by limiting the search geographically, almost 500 results appear in an Ancestry.com search of the name Isaac Barton in New York.

Naming patterns in the past often resulted in many descendants being named for a father or grandfather or great grandfather. To avoid confusion in this story, I will call my 4X great grandfather born 1781 "our Isaac" and describe his life first before listing just a few of the other Isaac Bartons who have found their way into my database.

Our Isaac was born probably in New York State on 3 May 1781. His father's name is uncertain, most likely either Gilbert or Benjamin Barton (and to add to the potential confusion there are many men of both of those same names too!).

Our Isaac married Margaret C. ("Abba") Vought on 23 April 1804 in Yorktown,Westchester, New York. (My story about Abba's estate inventory including several of her quilts can be found through this link.) Their children included one son Jered ("Jerry") Barton (1804-1886), and daughters Sarah Ann (1809-1875), Catherine (1812-1880, my 3X great grandmother who married Stephen Wescott), Abby Jane (1819-1899) and Mary Matilda (1820-1903).

Census records have him in Butler, Wayne County, New York in 1830, and in Huron, Wayne County, New York in 1850. Huron is bordered on the north by Lake Ontario.

Location of Huron, NY
Google Earth Image

Our Isaac died in Huron, NY on 24 June 1857 at age 76 and is buried in Huron Evergreen Cemetery, near wife Margaret who died just a couple of years later.

Stone for Isaac Barton
Photo Courtesy Robert Byrnes on Find a Grave website

Some other Isaac Bartons:

1. Isaac Barton (1833-1855) was the son of Jered Barton and grandson of my Isaac. He lived his life in Wayne County, NY and died there at only about 22 years of age. 
2. Isaac Barton (c.1730-1800), a son of Roger and Elizabeth Barton, lived and died in Westchester County, NY.
3. Isaac P. Barton (1760-1834) was the son of Isaac Barton #2 above. He also lived in New York.
4. Isaac Barton (1770-1851), son of yet another Gilbert Barton, was born in New York but died in Prince Edward County, Ontario, Canada. He married Phoebe Vonblack and had a son named Gilbert Barton with her. (This branch of the Barton family seems to be the ancestral line of my paternal cousin Louise; I have been trying, so far unsuccessfully, to link her to my maternal Barton family line. Given the repetition of the names Isaac, Gilbert and Roger in both lines and given the geographic proximity, I remain optimistic about finding a link.)
5. Isaac Barton (1835-1910) was the grandson of Isaac Barton #4 above. He was born in Hastings County, Ontario, Canada and died in Grand Forks, North Dakota, U.S.A.
6. Isaac A. Barton (1868-1940) was the great grandson of Isaac Barton #4 above.  He grew up in Hastings County, Ontario and was a cheese maker there before moving to Saskatchewan, where he died and is buried. 
7. Isaac Barton (1790-?) was the grandson of Isaac Barton #2 above and the son of Roger Barton and Martha Covert. They lived in the Marlboro, New York area. 
8. Isaac Barton (1876-1877) was the son of Isaac Barton #5 above.
9. Isaac Barton (1740-1769) of Oxford, MA, married Sarah Covel; they had a son Isaac Barton.
10. Isaac T. Barton (1816-1833) was the son of David Barton of Duchess County, NY. 

If all these Isaac Bartons haven't made your head spin enough, you may wish to check out my story about John Bullen for another situation of too many men with the same name!

Some Resources:

Buxton, Anna Joan, "Family History of Barton 1559-1993", compiled December 1995, Victoria, British Columbia.