In searching for Desire Newton, wife of Luther Taylor and mother of his four daughters, I decided to try Google as my last resort for leads. And as usual, Google did not disappoint me.
I simply typed in “‘Luther Taylor’ Desire Newton” and hit go… and one of the first results was a individual’s profile on RootsWeb’s WorldConnect. The individual was William Newton, born about 1780 in Voluntown, New London, Connecticut, USA and who died 30 NOV 1856 in New Albion, Cattaraugus, New York, USA.
The profile for him included part of his will: PROBATE RECORD dated September 28, 1857. Mentions widow Lois; son Isaac Spencer Newton; daughters Anna Newton wife of Stephen Newton, Melinda Whitney wife of Aaron Whitney, Dolly Perry wife of Asa Perry, children of Elizabeth widow of Henry Lawton now deceased, children of Desire Taylor widow of Luther Taylor, children of Lucinda widow of Phineas Hotchkin.
Census records from 1830 and 1840, placed him in Fowler, St. Lawrence, NY where Luther and Desire lived along with three of their girls in 1840. But, I was confused because the excerpt from the will of Newton called Desire the widow of Luther, when it was she who made him a widower after she died circa 1846-1855.
A few months later, I decided to take another look at the family of William Newton and his wife Lois Butter. The first daughter I looked into was Elizabeth Newton Lawton, and what I found helped me decide that this was a viable clue to Desire after all… Elizabeth Newton Lawton died February 9, 1853 in Coopersville, Ottawa, Michigan (which is 30 miles away from where I live!) where she and Henry moved in about 1850. So, if Elizabeth died prior to her father’s death in 1856 and was still listed as the widow of Henry Lawton (he died in 1896), perhaps it was just an error in the language used to describe the family relations?
I will continue to look into this branch of Newtons, now that it does show some promise!