Abraham Wilkins (1777 - 1850s)

Third great-grandparents

B: 14 November 1777 or 1778 in Marblehead, Essex county, Massachusetts

D:  between 1850 and 1860 (He is shown in the 1850 census as living with his son in Nashua, New Hampshire, but he is not listed on the 1860 census.)

Father:  Jonathan Wilkins (1744)

Mother:  Susannah Berry

Siblings:

  Moses Wilkins, 1765

  Hannah Wilkins, 1767

  Jonathan Wilkins, 1769

  Susannah Wilkins, 1772

  Betty Wilkins, 1774

Married:  20 July 1800 in Old Ipswich, MA, to Mary Emmons

Mary (Evans?) Emmons

B: 22 September 1780 in Old Ipswich, Essex county, Massachusetts

D: 12 August 1886 in Brigham City, Box Elder county, Utah

Father: Joseph Morehead Emmons

Mother: Sarah Farrin

Children, all born in Peterborough, New Hampshire:

  Abraham Wilkins, 1801

  Daniel Wilkins, 1802

  Jacob Wilkins, 1804

  Mary Wilkins, 1806

  Judson Wilkins, 1809 

  Joseph Emmons Wilkins, 1811

  Jonathan Wilkins, 1814

  Susannah Wilkins, 1816

  James Wilson Wilkins, 1820

  George Washington Wilkins, 1822

  Charles Wilkins, 1822 (George and Charles were twins, but Charles died as a baby)

  Lucy Ann Wilkins, 1824

Although they married in Old Ipswich, Massachusets, Abraham and Mary moved to Peterborough, New Hampshire, shortly afterward. Mary's family had lived in Old Ipswich for several generations. Abraham was a farmer. 

It is interesting that the New Hampshire census of 1850 shows Abraham living with his son but mentions nothing about Mary. Family records on file with the LDS church show her living until 1886, which would mean she lived until just a month short of her 106th birthday. Records show that she was baptized into the LDS church on 20 May 1879, along with her husband and the five of their children who had already died. It is traditional for Mormons to baptize dead family members by proxy, but I don't know if a live family member would likely be baptized on the same day. I suppose that the odds say the death record must be wrong and that Mary actually died at a younger age and then was baptized by proxy with the other family members. The photo above is from a "Find a Grave" site but the site does not show me the tombstone or any records.