A Brief Introduction to Hugh and Sarah
Hugh LARKIN and Sarah SARGENT were my paternal 6th great grandparents. Hugh and Sarah were married on 25 February 1773. To put this date in perspective, the United States would not be founded for another three years after their marriage! The line of descent from Hugh and Sarah goes through their son Elisha LARKIN; through Elisha’s son James; through James’ son Joseph; through Joseph’s son William; through William’s son Ralph- who is my paternal great grandfather and the husband of Bessie WILLIAMS whom I wrote about a few days ago.
Hugh was born in 1745 in Maryland. His father was John. I don’t know who his mother was. I can’t seem to find much information about Hugh at all. I do, however, know that the extended LARKIN family was very involved in the underground railroad in Ohio and I’ve written about that in posts on the old section of the blog at Livejournal. If you want to review a little of the LARKIN family history including their underground railroad involvement you can click on the links below:
A Larkin, a Wedding, and a Wedding
Take Me Out AT the Ball Game?!
Sarah was born in 1751 in Frederick County, Maryland to James SARGENT and Eleanor TAYLOR. I want to jump back to Sarah’s father for a minute so you can understand a little about the history of this family. Sarah’s dad, James SARGENT, was the younger brother of Snowden SARGENT. Snowden owned a 300-400 acre estate about 10 miles outside of London, England. Ownership of an estate this large meant that Snowden was considered to be of the “landed gentry” – a social class just below the aristocracy. His estate was called Snow Hill Farm. Snowden did eventually immigrate to America. If you ever get to Pike County, Ohio, you should definitely try to stop by the home Snowden built in 1799. You can read a little about the interesting history of the home here and view this photo of the home taken by Don O’Brien:
After studying this photo, I’m wondering if this wasn’t the house that Bart and I thought about stopping to look at when we were touring the area a few years ago. It was for sale then and it was a beautiful old house. I would have loved to go through it. It sat on the banks of the Ohio river. It’s probably not the same one, but who knows.
James himself immigrated from England to America prior to 1735 and settled in Frederick County, Maryland near Sugar Loaf Mountain. (Vol. III, Colonial Families of the USA, 1607-1775; Ancestry.com)
“‘Sunset over Sugarloaf Mountain – Maryland’ with black border removed. By Scott Robinson from Rockville, MD, USA [CC BY 2.0] license, via Wikimedia Commons”; accessed at Snipview.com on 27 February 2018. Gorgeous, isn’t it?
James married Eleanor TAYLOR and together they had 10 known children including my 6th great grandmother, Sarah. According to Colonial Families of the USA (cited above), Sarah’s brother James was very prominent in the early days of Ohio. James was “a member of the Constitutional Convention of Ohio, and was Senator of the State a number of times. With a man named Gatch, was founder of the “Underground Railway” for fugitive slaves.” (p. 475) Her brother John was the first Trustee of Washington Township in Clermont County, Ohio where much of the extended Larkin family settled. Sarah’s brother William fought and died in the Revolutionary War.
Hugh and Sarah and the larger LARKIN family were, in my opinion, quintessentially American. Every time I write about them I learn something new and interesting. The family was very involved in politics, religion, and current issues of their day. I love this about them. I hope you have also enjoyed learning a little about them.
Until next time,
Lisa @ Days of Our Lives blog