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Adel Murray Fredenbu… on Dayton History before 161… terrybrowngts@aol.co… on February 2023 Ralph Dayton Y-D… Susan Smith McMichae… on February 2023 Ralph Dayton Y-D… Susan Smith McMichae… on February 2023 Ralph Dayton Y-D…
 | Adel Murray Fredenbu… on Dayton History before 161… |
 | terrybrowngts@aol.co… on February 2023 Ralph Dayton Y-D… |
 | Susan Smith McMichae… on February 2023 Ralph Dayton Y-D… |
| Susan Smith McMichae… on February 2023 Ralph Dayton Y-D… |
Dayton Ancestry 
Hi steve, I am cheryl devokaitis daughter of Marion Dayton fuller, granddaughter of Alice Marion Dayton fuller, gr granddaughter of Ashley bascom dayton. My mom created our family tree about 50 yrs ago and we cherish it! Because computer tech wasn’t avail back then, she only went so far. My son and I just researched our ancestry and discovered that Samuel daytonnis my 8th gr grandfather we are planning a trip to Long Island in the near future.
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Hi Cheryl. Very nice to meet you. Congratulations on your research! I am always amazed when I hear about people like your mother, before the computer age, who produced such work! Are you a descendant of Samuel, son of Ralph and Alice? I ask just because early Daytons were notorious for using the same names time and again. I am really curious which son of Samuel is part of your line?
I’ll ask my brother if he is familiar with your line.
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Steve,
Happy to find this site. If my research is correct, Ralph Dayton is (possibly) my 9th great grandfather. Do you maintain a family tree on any of the prevailing lineage sites that are open for others to view and validate against their findings?
Very happy to meet you and I hope to hear from you soon.
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Hi Eric. Nice to meet you. I do not have anything like that. Let me check with a few people and I’ll get back with you.
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Hi Steve. I am a descendant of Ralph Dayton. He was my 9x great grandfather. His son Samuel was my 8x great grandfather. Samuel’s son Isaac was my 7x great grandfather Isaac’s son, Nathaniel was my 6x great grandfather. Nathaniel’s son, Tuttle was my 5x great grandfather. Tuttle’s son Robert White was my 4x great grandfather and Robert White’s son Robert Henry was my 2x great grandfather. Robert Henry’s oldest daughter, Ann Eliza Dayton Dewar was my great grandmother and her youngest daughter, Bertha Eliza Dewar Hein was my grandmother.
I have been researching my Mom’s family since she passed in 1997. Since she was estranged from her family, I knew nothing about them. With only my grandparents’ names, I found their marriage certificate up in Albany, which opened all my doors.
Liz
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Hello Steve!! I am Ralph Dayton’s 10th great granddaughter – thru Samuel’s daughter Abigail Phoebe Dayton who married a Beardsley which a daughter then married into the DeForest line. Between the convoluted DeForest line and Samuel Daytons potential four wives, I find myself picking up and setting down the reams of oft-misguiding information and picking thru other ancestors. However, I WOULD like to unravel my story! Sadly, many genealogies often include only the male line, so female lineages get little press or no mention. As you also may have found, when children are named in honor of parents or sisters or other relatives and that relative is still living with that very similar name, the knots become knottier. Not to mention the propensity for intermarriage (my family history is rife with cousins and in-laws marrying one another!). I too wish to be as accurate as feasibly possible, given that Samuel Dayton is no longer around to tell us his true story. I have taken the requisite DNA tests and they show no link to any American Indian nation – then again, we’re going back two hundred years, so there is that! I hope you will keep up the good work. I plan to head to my local bookstore that says your book is on their shelves to do some digging. I thank you for the work and thank you as well for not using only other Ancestry members as your sources, nor the Mormon church – I have continued to find far too many errors in both sourcing realms and am loathe to include much from either without much corroboration from historical documents (which can be a mess as well!). My husband believes in time travel. To a point. If only he were right we could get this all sorted out. I look forward to further posts clarifying Samuel’s life, his wives and those of his kids. Thank you to you and your brother as well.
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Hi Beth. It is a pleasure to meet you.
May I ask how you have come to believe that you are a descendant Samuel’s through a daughter Abigail? Was your source Isaac Beardsley in Genealogy Beardsley-Lee Family in America?
This book claims that William Beardsley’s son Joseph left the sea and resided in Brookhaven, and married Abigail Dayton there in 1665. Unfortunately, the author provided no citation for this claim, and no record of an Abigail Dayton has ever been located for this time and place. In order to be of marriageable age, this Abigail would have had to belong to Samuel’s generation, another daughter of Ralph the immigrant, born to the Daytons when Ralph was at New Haven. This claim supports the theory that Ralph had an additional wife between Alice Goldhatch Tritton and Mary Haines, a Dorothy Brewster, who bore this child in 1650. However, no basis has been found for the existence of anyone named Abigail Dayton in the 1650s or 1660s, much less the existence of a wife Dorothy Brewster for Ralph. It is believed Ralph named all his children who were in America in his will and Abigail does not appear.
When I can, I will look into this more and refresh my memory.
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PS…erm….clearly, math is not my forte. My DNA results likely do not extend two hundred years much less the FOUR HUNDRED that would encompass Samuel Dayton and his wives. Sheesh. Do the math, me, do the math…..Beth Hollis
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Hi Steve
I am so happy to find this site. I no longer have to research the family tree. I can now sit back and enjoy this site. Thank you Thank you!
I too grew up and live in the Hudson Valley. Mid Hudson to be exact. Very close to where the Long Island crew first settled after the migration up the Hudson River. It is a beautiful area. Once again, thank you for all your hard work.
Denise
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Hi Steve,
So great to find your site. Recently new to the world of Ancestry but am loving every bit of it. Had hit a road block with the parents of Ralph Dayton. William Deighton and Agnes Green weren’t syncing up so was happy to see your notes on the fact that they probably were not his parents.
I am wondering what you know regarding Samuels wife Medlen Harker / Wilhelmena Montauk? I would think that, as some of the stories say, she was of the Montauk Tribe, that would have shown up in my DNA???? This is why i’m wondering if that is just a old folk tale.
Thanks so much in advance for any info you can share! Jennifer
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Jennifer,
Welcome, it’s very nice to meet you. Almost more than any other topic, people seem to be especially interested in Medlin. My own opinion on Medlin is that she was not Native American. Long Island historians I have consulted agree. In fact, as I have often point out, no reputable genealogist has ever been willing to claim she was Indian. For every piece of “evidence” introduced to support the theory, there are even more to counter. I discuss the theory, and arguments for and against, in our book, pages 111-123. About a possible DNA connection–my cousin and brother are currently participating in the “Deaton yDNA project,” exploring the line. We are anxious to learn of developments.
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Thanks for getting back to me. It did seem unlikely but would have made for a fun story!
My line comes through Samuel’s (1624) son Abraham and down, down, down to my Great Great Grandfather, Orson Dayton Taylor. Thank you for providing such insightful research into the Dayton family
Jennifer
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I find that Ralph, Samuel and Abraham are the most interesting generations. Fascinating stories. There is much information about them, but still many mysteries.
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Jennifer, I’m curious. Is your Abraham line through wife Mary or Catherine (various spellings)?
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