Henry Youmans Sexton

My great-great-great grandfather Henry Youmans Sexton (1797-1863) (his middle name also appears as Youman and Yeoman) was born on June 22, 1797 in New York City, New York. He was the son of William Sexton and Martha Youmans Sexton of New York. I do not know the ancestry of William Sexton.

William Sexton served in the Revolutionary War. His granddaughter Jane Ann Sexton recalled her father Henry declaring in a meeting that "he (Henry) was the only man there present whose father had served in the War of Independence."

Martha Youmans was born or baptized on October 5, 1768 in Clarkstown, Rockland County, New York. She was the daughter of Jonathan Youmans and Maria Smith. Martha was a descendant of Christopher Youmans and his wife Hannah. Christopher Youmans was born about 1638, possibly in Middlesex, England, and immigrated to New Haven, Connecticut about 1656. All of Christopher and Hannah's children were born on Long Island, New York.

I have not yet located a marriage record for Martha Youmans and William Sexton, but presumably they were married around 1788. They had at least six children:

• William Sexton was born in January 1789 and baptized in 1791 by Richard Watcot at the New Prospect Methodist Episcopal Church in Waldwick, Bergen County, New Jersey. This church is still in existence and is now known as the Waldwick United Methodist Church.

• John Gillespie Sexton was born July 19, 1793 and baptized in 1801 by Robbert Cuddy.

• Fanny Sexton was born October 28, 1795 and baptized in 1801 by Robbert Cuddy.

• Henry Youmans Sexton was born June 22, 1797 and baptized in 1801 by Robbert Cuddy.

• Susanna Sexton was born April 16, 1799 and baptized in 1801 by Robbert Cuddy.

• James Jefferson Sexton was born March 21, 1801 and baptized in 1801 by Robbert Cuddy.

The biography of Henry's son Charles says Henry was born in New York City. However, the baptismal records list William and his children as living in Bergen Township, Bergen County, New Jersey. This is only about twenty five miles from New York City. All the census records for Henry Youmans Sexton list him as born in New York State.

Henry Youmans Sexton married Roxa Adams in the First Lutheran Church of Albany, New York on June 14, 1823. Roxa Adams was the daughter of Williams Adams, Jr. and Orpha Cossitt of Waterbury, Connecticut. Henry and Roxa made their home in Waterbury, Connecticut where they produced at least three children and possibly five:

• Mary E. Sexton was born April 18, 1824 in Waterbury, New Haven County, Connecticut. Mary died there on August 15, 1828. She is buried in the Grant Street Cemetery in Waterbury. Her tomb stone says she was "four years and one month" (sic) when she died. The cause of death was "the rattles," an old term which was usually used to describe the cough accompanying a fatal bout of pneumonia or pertussis.

• Jane Ann Sexton (1828-1904). She married Franklin James Tillotson.

• Charles Sexton (1829-1905). He married Nancy M. Lewis.

• Two other unnamed children were also born to Henry and Roxa. They died as infants. Waterbury records say they were born and died in Ohio.

Roxa Adams Sexton died December 29, 1829, shortly after Charles was born. She probably died of complications resulting from childbirth. Henry later married Minerva Peat , daughter of Jehiel Peat, Jr. and Lois Manville, on October 21, 1831.

Henry may also have been married briefly to Elizabeth Ellison. A Henry Y. Sexton married Elizabeth Ellison on March 26, 1822. The wedding took place in the Dutch Reformed Church on Sugar Loaf Street in New York City. This Henry Y. Sexton's father is given as William, while his wife Elizabeth's father is given as John. In this case Elizabeth would have been Henry's first wife; Roxa his second; and Minerva his third.

Henry was a mechanic. He worked for seven years in a clock factory (presumably in Waterbury, Connecticut). He also worked as a shoemaker for a number of years. That is his listed occupation in the 1850 U. S. Census record for Henry Youmans Sexton which was taken down shortly before the move to Michigan. Henry continued to ply his trade of shoemaker and boot dealer after moving to Duplain, Clinton County, Michigan. Henry and John Meacher were the first two shoemakers in what would become the village of Elsie, Michigan. Henry was also township treasurer in Elsie.

Henry and Minerva Peat produced five children:

• Albert Sexton (born about 1832), who died in infancy.

• Caroline Maria Sexton (1835-1904). She married Albert C. Bennett.

• William Henry Sexton (1838-1908). He married Anna P. Squiers.

• Mary Minerva Sexton (1841-1880). She married William Crow who was born in Pennsylvania. He was probably the William Crow listed as a resident farmer in Elsie in an 1860 business directory in Michigan. The 1860 census shows William age 27 and Mary age 19 as married with no children (and a farmhand named William Dodge).

  Mary and William later moved to Illinois. They had at least one child:

  • Milton Crow, born about 1871. He was living with Caroline Maria Sexton and Albert C. Bennett in 1880, probably after the death of his mother. He is listed as nine years old in the 1880 census.

• Ellen Eliza Sexton (1843-1926). She never married.

Henry and Minerva moved to Medina County, Ohio about 1836 settling on a farm there. It was while the Sextons lived in Brunswick that Henry's daughter Jane Ann Sexton met Franklin James Tillotson. Franklin and Jane Ann were my great-great-grandparents.

Henry and Minerva moved their family to Duplain, Michigan in the fall of 1850. The area was an unbroken wilderness and they carved out a farm about one mile east of what would later become the town of Elsie, Michigan. Charles actually built the Sexton farm in Elsie as Henry was already 53 years old when the Sextons moved to Elsie. Charles was also involved in other building projects in Duplain, including farms, residences, barns, and other outbuildings. In 1852, Henry's daughter Jane Ann and her husband Franklin James Tillotson followed the Sextons to Duplain and were instrumental in establishing the town of Elsie, Michigan.

Henry remained married to Minerva until his death on the family farm on May 25, 1863. He was buried in Elsie. Minerva died on October 30, 1874 and was also buried in Elsie. The family farm passed to Jane Ann's brother Charles Sexton and his first wife Nancy Lewis.

Portrait of Henry Youmans Sexton courtesy Wayne L. Caswell and JoEllen Lathwell.
Family group photo courtesy Wayne L. Caswell and William Tompkins.

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Last modified by pib on October 26, 2003.