52 ANCESTORS in 52 WEEKS, #18 : Freelove MITCHELL, b.1755, Rhode Island

Following the challenge of writing 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks, issued by Amy Johnson Crow, here is my 19th installment, for Freelove MITCHELL (1755-1834), my ex-husband's 4th great-grandmother on his mother's line.

I am fascinated by the various names given to children in the 1700s, and here is another one:  Freelove MITCHELL. How does someone name a beautiful little baby girl "Freelove"?  Apparently, it was a relatively common name in this time. Who knew?

I have lots of research still to do on this particular Freelove. I meant to do it earlier, but here we are, and I'm diving in with what I have found to date.  The Olin Family Society has 'webcards' for families of the Olin line, online, apparently linking to various sources. However until I can get at the sources, these cards can only be considered as clues requiring further research on my part.

Freelove MITCHELL was born 21 Nov 1755, on Block Island, Rhode Island. Mitchell is a familiar name on Block Island, and various Mitchell men were made Freemen in the late 1600s and early 1700s.  

A number of men's names are mentioned, but not details of their families, in a book titled "A History of Block Island: from it's discovery, in 1514, to the present time, 1876"  by Rev. Samuel Truesdale Livermore, published 1877; p.336.

On 15 Jan 1775, Freelove married Caleb OLIN, and they moved to Shaftsbury, Vermont fairly soon afterwards. All of their 11 children were born in Vermont. About 1814, the parents moved with their youngest son, Soloman, to the Canton area of New York state, where both parents died within a few years of each other. (Caleb is one of the sons of Henry Olin whom I wrote about as #16 in this series, by the way.)

Children of Caleb & Freelove:

1.   Naomi, b. 15 Sep 1777 Shaftsbury VT; d. 12 Aug 1864 Addison VT; m. Daniel Smith
2.   Thomas Dickens, b. 25 Apr 1779 Shaftsbury VT; d. 20 Aug 1860 Canton NY; m. Experience Miller Conkey
3.   Rebecca, b. 9 Jul 1782 Addison VT; d. 8 May 1862 Canton NY; m. Jonathan Day
4.   Joseph* [direct line], b. Mar 1784 Addison VT; d. 27 Jan 1873 Nicholville NY; m. Huldah B. Smith, 9 children
5.   Benjamin, b. 29 May 1786 Addison VT; d. 5 Dec 1853 Canton NY; m. Sarah Egbert/Edgebert
6.   Justin, b. 11 Apr 1788 Shaftsbury VT; d. 18 Nov 1864 Dartford WI; m. Polly Tower
7.   Caleb [Jr.], b. 30 Oct 1789 Shaftsbury VT; m. Polly Moore
8.   Henry, b. 3 Sep 1793 Shaftsbury VT; d. 8 Dec 1874 Birmingham MI; m. Polly Stewart/Stuart
9.   David, b. 16 Jan 1795 Addison VT; d. 8 Aug 1860 DeWitt MI; m. Anna Edgebert
10.   (Dr.) Soloman, b. 5 Mar 1798 Panton VT; d. 5 Apr 1865 South Sodus NY; m. Hannah Moore
11.   Sarah, b. 16 Jun 1800 Shaftsbury VT; d. 30 Apr 1884; m. Harvey Healey

There may be a few clues in these names which might assist in researching and identifying Freelove's correct parents.  The "Dickens" as middle name of Thomas, their first boy, may relate to either parents' mother's maiden name, for example, a working assumption that needs further research.

Note that parents married just towards the end of the Revolutionary War, and there are several military records indicating that (as one example of a son in the war).  Caleb served  in Shaftsbury VT with Capt Cyprian Downey's company.

Freelove died several years before her husband, in July 1834, in Canton, New York.  She was 79 years of age.

If you have information about Freelove Mitchell and her family, please do not hesitate to contact me via email calewis at telus dot net, or in comments below.