Analysis of This William's Maine Connections

There is a question as to how this William Jameson and therefore all of his descendants, are connected to the Jamesons of Maine. Family folklore has always had him as part of the Maine Jameson family, which various records, including census records, confirm. However, exactly who his parents were is uncertain, questionable, unclear and contested. There is however, no dispute that the William Jameson, or his wife Henrietta Connor were originally from Maine.

Part of the problem with trying to figure out who this William Jameson belongs with, is because the area of his beginnings in Maine was constantly changing at the time of his birth and while he was still there when so many Jameson families were still moving around a lot. Maine was in it's early land development period, particularly with regards to new and adjusting towns and counties. In fact, Maine itself did not become a state until 1820, before that it was part of Massachusetts. Furthermore, the area where William was born and lived was then and is still, a rural and sparsely populated part of Maine. Many documents and records from that time seem limited or unavailable, making genealogical research difficult.

Many sources, including several genealogies that exist among family descendants from Iowa onward, claim his parents were John Watts and Mary (Fuller) Jameson. This however, seems unlikely for several reasons. First, John Watts and Mary (Fuller) Jameson had a different son, Gilbert, born 10 August 1816 - making William's 29 June 1816 birth, a disqualifying conflict. Furthermore, John Watts Jameson and his second wife Almira Wilson (m.c.1825) had themselves a son they named William (b.1833). It seems highly unlikely that John and Almira would name a child of theirs so similarly to a living child from John's first marriage. There is also the fact that William does NOT use any of the unusual names from this John Watts Jameson family, including his father's name John, or his grandfather's name George, for any of his own children - untypical for those times. It is not known why the John Watts and Mary (Fuller) Jamesons are sometimes refereed to as his parents. This could be simply because one or more of his descendants made an incorrect conclusion, based on what they later found and felt was the only, or perhaps best, available possibility. However, it is possible that William Jameson of Iowa, b.1816, knew of, or was somehow otherwise connected with the John Watts and Almira (Wilson) Jameson family, as both families were living in approximately the same area (Kennebec County) of Maine at about those same times and that somehow this influenced what William's descendants thought were William's parents?

So, if the John Watts and Mary (Fuller) Jameson connection is incorrect, what other Jameson Family in Maine is a likely possibility? Looking first at the possible connection with William Jameson (b.1816) and his use of names for his own children as a clue, we might recognize as traditional connections the names William, Ebenezer and Charles, as common names used by several families in that area of Maine, of what is now the counties of Knox, Kennebec, Waldo and Hancock, north of Portland.

The name William and the name Ebenezer, in particular pop out as strong possibilities, particularly as to William, which is the name of the William in question. Unfortunately 'William' is a very common name among the many Jameson families of Maine and as such is almost impossible to use as an indicator of which family with that name might be a parent. Ebenezer, on the other hand, is a far more unique name and one name the William we're trying to find a parent for, seems important in his family and appears as a name used for both his son and then again for his grandson. Fortunately, the name Ebenezer does not seem to be very popular with Maine families as does William, or Charles, or James. We can find just two Maine Jameson families using using the name Ebenezer, both which are time and location appropriate and both of whom were in the same general area of Maine.

Of those two, the most obvious possibility might have been the Ebenezer Jameson (1788-1867), who was in that same area of Maine where William (b.1816) was known to have born and at the same time, to have been his father. This Ebenezer married a Sarah Powers, probably in the early 1820s, in Knox County, Maine. This Ebenezer is assumed to be the son of an older Ebenezer Jameson, who was born in 1754, the son of Alexander and Mary (McLellan) Jameson. Like all of the other Ebenezer Jamesons we have discovered, very little is known about this older Ebenezer, or his his descendant families, apart from their long history in this part (Knox County) Maine. There is however, a 1790 and 1800 census for him, that suggests he did in fact have a family, which had sons, one of which was almost certainly Ebenezer Jameson (1788-1867). It should be noted that the younger Ebenezer Jameson (b.1788) was sometimes thought to have been a son of Charles Jameson (b.1760), however the 1800 census for that family does not include him, whereas the 1800 census for the older Ebenezer (b.1754) does and would be incomplete without him.

The name Ebenezer however, could also have been from a maternal side of the family where it appears twice, first as Ebenezer Thompson, the father of Margaret Thompson, second wife of James Jameson. Unfortunately, Margaret Thompson married a James Jameson in 1840, after his first wife Elizabeth Storer had died, some 24 years after our William was born. That would rule out this Ebenezer as a possible father of the William Jameson born 1816.

There was a second maternal Ebenezer who was the father of Eunice Packard, the wife of William Jameson (b.1790). This William and Eunice (Packard) Jameson then had a son named Ebenezer Jameson, who was born in 1782, perfect age to have had a son named William Jameson in 1816 and a good "fit" for what we are trying to determine. This Ebenezer Jameson, married a Betsey Delano in 1805, in Hallowell, Kennecbec County, Maine, but, we know very little about him, or them. The William we are looking for left Maine before 1840 and this Ebenezer and his wife Betsey also disappear by that same time, perhaps even earlier, as we find nothing for them past the 1820 census. Never the less, if we examine what we do know about them, it appears very possible they could very well have been the parents of William Jameson (b.1816). Not only was there the familiarity of the Ebenezer and William names, but the proper location as well. William Jameson was born at Searsmount, in what was at the time, Hancock (now Waldo) County, Maine in 1816, which is not that far (about 50 miles) from Hallowell, in Lincoln (now Kennebec) County, where Ebenezer and Betsey Delano were married, in 1805. It might be interesting to note is that there is a 1820 census for Winslow, Kennebec County, that lists an Eben P. Jameson of the right age with a female of the right age and a son (or at least a male) with an age of 10-16. This is nearly correct and it should be noted that the "P" initial for presumably a middle name that might be "Packard," his mother's maiden name? Winslow, Maine is about 35 miles north and west of Searsmont, Maine, both in what is now Kennebec County, Maine.

So if the William Jameson (b.1816) is actually a descendant of any of the families in Maine, with a history and tradition of an Ebenezer as a forefather, maternal or paternal, there does not look like there is much of a choice. There is apparently only two families to choose from. One is the Ebenezer Jameson, (b.1782), son of William and Eunice (Packard) Jameson and the other the Ebenezer Jameson (b.1788), son of Ebenezer and Catherine (DeMorse) Jameson. Although we do not know very much about either of these two families, nor any concrete connection with the William (b.1816) of Iowa, a circumstantial argument can be made for either that each could be the correct connection. However, on a closer inspection, the nod might be most correct with the Ebenezer Jameson (b.1782), son of William and Eunice (Packard) Jameson. This is because the other Ebenezer Jameson (b.1788), apparently did not marry until after the William Jameson (b.1816) of Iowa was born. Although we have no documented proof of that, it seems highly likely the case. In conclusion, the Ebenezer Jameson, (b.1782), seems to fill the bill in every way. Even more so perhaps, when we consider that the Ebenezer Jameson, (b.1782) was born in Waldo County where he and most of his family can almost always be found (various records, census, etc.) north of Knox County, in Waldo and Kennebec Counties, for nearly everything we know about any and all of them.

It would be prudent however, to warn that this connection, although logical and supportable, is not definitive and the possibility that the William Jameson (b.1816) of Iowa, was not the son of Ebenezer and Betsey (Delano) Jameson after all, but rather a son of someone else altogether, yet unknown. Unfortunately, not enough concrete facts are known to be able to make any final decision. Perhaps if more information by way of say DNA matches can be developed, linking the William (b.1816) family of Iowa to others with families in that era of Maine, better and more conclusive results can be made. For now it would be best to refer this William Jameson (b.1816) of Iowa as "very likely" the son of Ebenezer and Betsey (Delano) Jameson, while pursuing all efforts to develop DNA testing amongst all living relatives.