Henry and Mary Wingate were both born in Sussex County, DE. They married in 1788 in Sussex County, DE and had 15 children. Among those children were: Isaac, Edward, Elizabeth, Catherine, Henry, Elihu, Cyrus, Samuel Burton and Ann.
Sometime between 1800 and 1810 the family moved to Tuscarawas County, OH. Mary died in December 1818 in Tuscarawas County, Ohio when baby Ann was almost 6 weeks old. Henry lived to be 66 years old. It is likely that he died in Carroll County or Tuscarawas County, Ohio. The information regarding Henry and Mary was obtained through a Sparks family genealogy, which was compiled by a descendant of young Ann Wingate, who grew to adulthood and married Randall Sparks, son of Ephraim Lloyd Sparks and Sarah Cook.
Samuel Burton Wingate was born on 14 Mar 1799 in Sussex County, DE, the son of Henry and Mary (Biddle/Beddles) Wingate. On 25 Aug 1824 Samuel Burton married Sarah Tressel, daughter of George Franklin Tressel (8 Feb 1781-17 Mar 1861) & Catharine Shuster (7 Apr 1782-28 Jul 1854), in Tuscarawas County, OH. Sarah was born on 17 May 1805 in Washington County, PA. The Tressel family moved to Tuscarawas County, OH sometime before 1820.
Samuel and Sarah had the following children: Catherine (1825-1913); John (1827-1904); George (1829-1897); Elizabeth Ann "Betty" (1831-1913); Sarah "Sadie" (1832-1917); S Ebenezer "Eben" (1833-1907); Margaret "Maggie" (Twin) (1837-1915); Mary A "Molly" (Twin) (1837-1921); Ruth (Twin) (1839-1877); Infant (Twin) (1839-1839); Adam (1842-1862); Isaac (1847-1942); Infant (Mar 1850-Mar 1850); Samuel (-<1882); Hiram (-<1882); Daniel (-<1882).
Just after Thanksgiving in November 1844, the family packed all of their belongings and moved to Liberty Township in Hardin County, OH. They arrived at the home of Sarah’s brother John Tressel on Christmas Eve. It would have been a long, hard trip in the middle of winter, with several very small children. Sarah probably would have recently given birth or may have been with child. It was probably a great relief to finally arrive and settle down once more.
Samuel had purchased land in the Black Swamp area about 1 ½ miles north of Ada in Hardin County, OH in 1834. It is unclear why the family waited so long to move, however it may have been in reverence for Samuel’s father Henry. An exact death date for Henry Wingate is not known, however he was included in the 1830 Tuscarawas County, OH census. An elderly gentleman of the correct age was living with Samuel Wingate in 1840. Thus we estimate that Henry Wingate died sometime between 1840 and 1844, probably in the spring or summer of 1844. Several records indicate that Samuel was in both Tuscarawas and Hardin Counties between 1834 and 1844. He (and possibly his older sons) may have been visiting Hardin County during those years to build a home, or they may have been visiting relatives in the area.
Several relatives already lived in the area when Samuel and Sarah arrived: John Tressel, Sarah’s brother, and family already had a well-established home, as did John and Elizabeth (Wingate) Shuster. John Shuster was an uncle to Sarah, and Elizabeth was a sister to Samuel. The Tressels and Shusters were large industrious families. The Wingate family was a welcome addition to the growing community. At least one of the older Wingate children remained behind in Tuscarawas and Carroll Counties.
Sarah (Tressel) Wingate died on their farm in Mar 1850, giving birth to their 16th child. The child also died. Sarah's death left Samuel with many young children to raise on his own. Catherine and Elizabeth Ann were the only ones already married. At that time, it was common practice for a widowed man to “farm out” the young children when a mother died leaving little ones, however Samuel kept and raised the younger children (probably with much help from the older ones).
By 1861 there were rumblings of war in the United States. Men throughout the country were getting ready to go to war. The Wingate family was no exception. They were well represented in the Civil War, with 3 sons and 4 sons-in-law serving, all serving for the Union. Samuel’s beloved son Adam died of Typhus Pneumonia during the war, and Isaac was temporarily blinded from the disease. Daughter Mary’s husband William White was killed in action. Alvin Davis, husband of Elizabeth died in 1869 from complications of diseases contracted during the war. Ebenezer Wingate served, as did William Davis, husband of Sarah Wingate, and Elias Gerkey, husband of Margaret Wingate. George Wingate signed the Civil War roster in Ada, OH, however no proof of service can be found. He probably did not serve in that war.
The Civil War toll was heavy, and the family was greatly grieved. Shortly after it ended, in 1866, Samuel moved to Benton County, Missouri (a neutral state during the war), along with sons John and Isaac, and daughters Mary and Margaret and families. The move was either an effort to cope with their losses or to get away from the Black Swamp and the diseases that accompanied living there.
Samuel purchased land and lived in Missouri for almost 20 years. After Isaac married, he and his wife Missouri Ann lived with Samuel for a while.
By 1881 Samuel was showing signs of dementia from old age. Ebenezer traveled to Missouri to retrieve Samuel and return him to Ada, where the family could care for him. Samuel’s land in Missouri was later sold to the government to make way for the Truman Lake and Dam. This is ironic, when you consider that much of Daniel Shuster’s (Sarah Wingate’s grandfather) land was sold to make way for the Avon Lake and Resort in Tuscarawas County, OH.
Samuel died in Ada, Liberty Township, Hardin County, OH on 15 Aug 1882. He was buried in Candler Cemetery, just west of Ada. There are no records of the location of Sarah’s burial. The Candler Cemetery was in use by 1850, so it is possible that Sarah is in that cemetery. There are several empty spots next to Samuel’s grave, indicating other possible burials there.
NOTE: Samuel Burton’s middle name originated from his grandmother Ann Burton Wingate’s maiden name. The middle name Burton and a variation “Berton” has been used as middle names for several generations since, and is still used among descendants today.
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