A One-Name Study for the BARNUM/BARNHAM Surname
From Woodland Bicentennial Committee. (1976). One hundred & fifteen years in Woodland: Aroostook county, Maine 1861-1976. Woodland, Me. Woodland Bicentennial Committee:
Ephraim Barnum was born in Sturbridge, Massachusetts on March 4, 1825. He was the son of Ebenezer and Betsy (Rice) Barnum.
In 1860 Ephraim Barnum, a farmer, his wife Sophronia, and their two children, Myra, 5, and William, 3, came from Ware, Massachusetts by ship to St. John, New Brunswick; up the St. John and Aroostook Rivers to Caribou, Maine; then to the town of Woodland. They were the first family to come and stay in the town. Ephraim purchased lot 106 from the State of Maine for $86.44. On this land they built a log house and barn.
John Eddy, Sophronia's brother, and family came to Woodland in 1861. At Portland, Maine, two of their children died of scarlet fever. John bought the lot next to the Barnums.
The early years were filled with hardships. Sophronia spun her yarn from wool to make warm clothes. All fats, ashes, and rags were saved. A man picked these up in the spring of the year, paying for them with soap he made from the fat.
Myra Barnum married Will Thayer, son of John G. Thayer. In 1883 William Barnum, a teacher, married Elizabeth Leary, a nurse, born in Dramoor [sic], Ireland, at Cambridge, Massachusetts. A son Harvey was born to them in 1884. In that year they built a new house, sheds, and barn. Both Barnum families lived here. Two daughters were born to Will and Elizabeth, Lulu in 1889 and Elsie in 1892.
The Barnums built a church in 1896. The first service in it was a funeral. The last service was also a funeral. The church was torn down in 1940. Ephraim hurt his back while building the church and died in 1899.
William had a son Stanley, born in 1900, who with his family lived on the farm until 1944.
In the 1850 US Census for North Brookfield, Worcester County, Massachusetts the family of Ephraim Barnum was enumerated as follows:
Dwelling #124; Family #182
Ephraim Barnum, 25, M, Shoemaker, b. Massachusetts
Sophronia Barnum, 28, F, b. Massachusetts
Dwelling #124; Family #183
George W. Comer, 40, M, Shoemaker, b. Massachusetts
Betsey Comer, 40, F, b. Massachusetts
On the death certificate of his son William, in 1914, Ephraim's occupation was listed as farming.
In Massachusetts, Town Records, 1620-1988 there is an entry for an Ephraim Barnum, illegitimate child of Betsy Barnum, born 4 March 1825 in the town of Sturbridge.
A Research Guide to the Genealogy of the Barnum/Barnam/Barnham Family Worldwide
AncientFaces - Family History Photos
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