Family:Whitney, Cynthia (1819-1887)
Cynthia7 Whitney (Andrew6, Micah5, Abel4, Nathaniel3, Benjamin2, John1), daughter of Andrew6 and Huldah (Sweetser) Whitney, was born 18 Oct 1819, Phillips, ME, and died 26 Nov 1887. She was buried in the Byron Cemetery, Phillips, ME.
She married, about 1840, John Byron. He died before 1848.
She married secondly, 23 Oct 1848, George A. Staples, son of Hugh and Johannah H. (Conant) Staples, son of Hugh and Johannah H. (Conant) Staples. He was born 25 Oct 1828, Temple, ME, and died 5 Feb 1893, Chippewa Falls, WI.
George and Cynthia Staples lived with her Byron children and the children they had together in Phillips, ME. G. B. Sedgeley says that George Staples abandoned Cynthia and their children and moved to a midwestern state, where it was rumored he had another family. George served in the Civil War, and received a pension based on that service. The pension file reveals that George did indeed move to Wisconsin, where he was divorced from Cynthia in Chippewa Co. on 18 Jun 1872.
George married secondly, 27 June 1872 (the same date he was divorced), West Eau Claire, WI, Susie Mary Dix, daughter of Caleb and Abigail (Walton) Dix. She was born 12 Oct 1855, St. Louis, MO. They had five children.
Subsequent to George's death, Susie received benefits from George's Civil War pension. She then married secondly, 3 Dec 1899, Tilden, WI, Patrick O'Brien. He was born in Ireland and died 17 Aug 1915, Chippewa Falls, WI. Because she had cohabited with Patrick prior to their marriage, Susie lost her pension benefits. On 18 Sep 1905, Eau Claire Co., WI, Susie divorced Patrick O'Brien. She subsequently resumed her previous married name and applied for reinstatement of benefits from the pension of George Staples.
Children of John and Cynthia7 (Whitney) Byron:
i. John W. Byron, b. 1 Apr 1841, Phillips, ME. ii. Orvard Byron, b. 15 Oct 1843, Phillips, ME. iii. Cynthia Ann Byron, b. 25 Jul 1845, Phillips, ME.
Children of George A. and Cynthia7 (Whitney)(Byron) Staples:
iv. Betsey Jane Staples, b. 23 Oct 1850, Phillips, ME. v. Lillie Staples, b. 27 Apr 1855, Phillips, ME; d. 31 Oct 1871, Bridgewater, MA. vi. Mary Staples, b. ca. 1857, prob. Phillips, ME. vii. George Alvah Staples, b. 19 Jun 1860, Phillips, ME. viii. Hildreth Sweetser Staples, b. 1862, Phillips, ME; d. 22 Feb 1928, Phillips, ME.
Children of George and Susie Mary (Dix) Staples:
i. Blanche Abigail Staples, b. 28 Apr 1873, Eau Claire Co., WI. ii. Hugh Dix Staples, b. 19 May 1878, Chippewa Co., WI. iii. Harry Alfred Staples, b. 20 Jul 1882, Chippewa Co., WI. iv. Ethel Johanna Staples, b. 7 Jun 1886 in Trout Creek, Wheaton, WI. v. Elsie Grace Staples, b. 14 Sep 1888, Wheaton, WI.
Census
- 1850 Census: Phillips, ME; Cynthia resides with husband George Staple (sic), her 3 Byron children, and her Sister, Betsey R. Whitney.
- 1860 Census: Phillips, ME; Cynthia resides with husband George Staple (sic), and blended Staples and Byron children.
- 1870 Census: Phillips, ME; Cynthia and her children reside in the home of her son Orvand Byron, for whom she & her daughter Lillie are domestic servants.
References
- Sedgeley, George B., Micah Whitney, Revolutionary Soldier and His Twelve Children Settled Early in Philips, Maine; Jacob and Joseph Whitney Came to Phillips 1792; Salmon Whitney Appeared in Letter E Plantation 1810 (Farmington, Maine: The Knowlton & McLeary Co., Printers, 1943).
- Phillips, ME, Vital Records
Copyright © 2015, Kenneth L. Whitney, Robert L. Ward, and the Whitney Research Group.
