James Boston (1778 - 1833)

Biography

James was born in Somerset County, Maryland in 1778 ^[1]. He married Anne Finley (1786-1861) in Kentucky in 1805 ^[2].

The 1820 census shows that James and Anne resided in Somerset, Maryland with three sons and one daughter, all under the age of 10, along with 8 slaves and one free person of color ^[3]. At the 1830 census, James and Anne resided in Anderson, Kentucky with two male children between the ages of 5 and 9 ^[4]. Although the 1830 census didn't provide the names of all members of the household, the two male children are presumably Joshua Mathias Boston (1825-1909) and his younger brother Joseph Boston (1827 - 1831). The 1840 census shows the family still residing in Anderson, Kentucky with two teenage sons and three enslaved persons (2 male, 1 female) ^[5].

James passed away in 1833 ^[1]. His will was probated in Spencer, Kentucky on 2 September, 1833 ^[6].

Research Notes

• Several family trees on Ancestry.com show that James and Anne had a total of twelve children ^[7]. However, the number of children and their ages don't align completely with the household member counts shown in the census records. More research is needed in this area. Possible children of James and Anne Boston:

1. William J. Boston (1806-1862)
2. James (1808-1831)
3. Sarah Ward Boston (1810-1843)
4. Esau Boston (1811-1836)
5. Elizabeth Long Boston (1813-1827)
6. Isaac Henry Boston (1815-1841)
7. David Longward Boston (1817-1869)
8. Mary Ann Boston (1819-1893)
9. Rebecca Boston (1821-1851)
10. Eleanor "Nelly" Boston (1823-1860)
11. Joshua Mathias (1825-1909)
12. Joseph Ward Boston (1827-1831)

• Since James Boston passed away in 1833 ^{[1] [6]} the 1840 census record of James Boston in Anderson, Kentucky must belong to another person of the same name. The 1850 census and 1850 census slave schedule ^[8] both indicate that another James Boston lived in Anderson, Kentucky long after the death of Anna Finley's husband James Boston. Although Anna and James had a son also named James Boston, he passed away in 1831 and therefore would not be the person listed in the 1840 and 1850 census records. More research is needed to determine if these are related persons.

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2} Find a Grave, database and images, memorial page for James Boston (1778–4 Mar 1833), Find a Grave Memorial ID 182416350, ; Maintained by Linda (contributor 46626647) Burial Details Unknown. [1]
2. ↑ Ancestry.com. Kentucky, U.S., County Marriage Records, 1783-1965 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2016. Original data: Marriage Records. Kentucky Marriages. Madison County Courthouse, Richmond, Kentucky. [2]
3. ↑ 1820 U S Census; Census Place: Election District 2, Somerset, Maryland; Page: 383; NARA Roll: M33_45; Image: 133.[3]
4. ↑ Year: 1830; Census Place: Anderson, Kentucky; Series: M19; Roll: 33; Page: 92; Family History Library Film: 0007812.
5. ↑ Year: 1840; Census Place: Anderson, Kentucky; Roll: 103; Page: 107; Family History Library Film: 0007823. [4]
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1} Administrator's Bonds, 1824-1977; Author: Spencer County (Kentucky). Clerk of the County Court; Probate Place: Spencer, Kentucky. [5]
7. ↑ Family tree of James Boston (1778 - 1833) on Ancestry.com. [6]
8. ↑ "United States Census (Slave Schedule), 1850 ", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:HR7J-776Z : 15 February 2020), James Boston in entry for MM9.1.1/MVC1-M9M:, 1850. [7]