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Bassett Family Association - , Modern Founder (originally founded in 1897)

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Splinters From The Tree June 2010


(1) Welcome
(2) The Bassett family of Bassett, Wisconsin
(3) Alonzo Delvin Bassett of Colorado
(4) Charles Bassett of Urbana, Ohio
(5) Elmer Ensign Bassett and other family pictures
(6) New family lines combined or added since the last newsletter
(7) DNA project update

Section 1 - Welcome

Welcome to summer. (At least for the Bassetts in the Northern Hemisphere that are receiving the newsletter).

I recently had a computer virus at home and it caused all kinds of problems. I have finally reloaded my computer and reloaded my Bassett files and am now inputting data once again. I didn't do any updates for about three weeks, but am now trying to slowly catch up with those I have corresponded with during the past two months. Please be patient. I should be caught up by the end of July.

Once again FamilyTree DNA is offering a summer pricing special for anyone interested in taking part in DNA testing. For our project, the 37-marker y-chromosome test kit price has been reduced from $148 to $119 for the next week. If you are interested in joining the Bassett DNA project (or even another surname project), please let me know this week to take advantage of this special pricing.

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Section 2 - Feature Bassett: The Bassetts of Basset, Wisconsin

I was recently on a drive through southern Wisconsin and drove through the small village of Bassett.

Reuben Le Roy Bassett descends from #1A William Bassett of Plymouth as follows:

William Bassett and wife Elizabeth
William Bassett (b. 1624) and wife Mary Rainsford
Nathan Bassett (b. 1667) and wife Mary Huckens
Samuel Bassett (b. 1693) and wife Martha Pease
Cornelius Bassett (b. 1722) and wife Lydia Norton
John Bassett (b. 1753) and wife Anne Hillman
Henry Bassett (b. 1785) and wife Deborah Norton
Reuben LeRoy Bassett (b. 1822) and wife Sarah Elizabeth Van Ness

Village of Bassett, Wisconsin sign
Village of Bassett, Wisconsin sign

 

 


 

 

 

Bassett, Wisconsin Post Office Building

Grave of Reuben L. Bassett at Mound Prairie Cemetery
Bassett, Wisconsin Post Office Building
Grave of Reuben L. Bassett at Mound Prairie Cemetery

        Reuben LeRoy Bassett
        (From Kenosha County Commemorative Biographical Record)

        Reuben Le Roy Bassett, one of the best known of the old settlers of Kenosha county, who was station agent at Bassett for thirty years, and postmaster for a like period, is now living retired. He was born in Washington county, N.Y., Jan. 12, 1822, son of Henry and Deborah (Norton) Bassett, the former of Martha's Vineyard, Mass., and the latter a native of Cambridge township, Washington Co., New York.
        The paternal grandfather of our subject was a native of England, and was a sea-faring man. On coming to America he settled in Washington county, N.Y., where he purchased a fine farm, later buying one of the Hudson river, near Fort Miller, where he died at an advanced age. On the maternal side our subject is a grandson of Elijah Norton, who was known as Capt. Norton, having been a captain during the Revolutionary war. He was born April 9, 1759, and married Rebecca Moore at Martha's Vineyard, Oct. 13, 1895; she was born Jan. 25, 1966. They had eleven children: Elizabeth, born Aug. 14, 1786; Deborah, Aug. 12, 1788; Eunice, May 18, 1790; Robert, Sept. 26, 1792; Anna M., June 23, 1794, Reuben M., Sept. 20, 1796; Alexander, Feb. 11, 1799; Susanna B., Oct. 22, 1800; Rebecca, Jan. 23, 1803; Lydia, Jan. 8, 1805; and Delia, June 27, 1806. One of the above named sons, Rueben Norton, was the first mayor of Racine, Wis., was the first president of the Western Union Railroad Company, and threw the first shovelful of dirt when the grading of that road was commenced.
        Henry Bassett, father of Reuben L., followed farming principally, but also had other business interests. He was a captain in the war of 1812. He was a pioneer of Randall township, coming here in 1842, and purchasing a farm of 120 acres, upon which, after improvements were made, he spent the remainder of his life. He was born Aug. 19, 1785, and died Oct. 2, 1848, while his wife, born Aug. 12, 1788, died April 4, 1872. Their children were: Eliza, born April 2, 1805; died Oct. 11, 1879; Sophie, born Aug. 22, 1807, died Aug. 24, 1807; Emeline, born Sept. 14, 1808, died March 1, 1900; Mary Ann, born Nov. 17, 1810, is deceased; Elnora, born Oct. 21, 1813, died March 5, 1904; Elijah Norton, born May 5, 1817, died June 30, 1903; John Henry, born July 23, 1819, is deceased; Rueben LeRoy was born Jan. 12, 1822; Charles B., born April 24, 1824, died April 5, 1825; Edgar was born Jan. 14, 1826; Alexander, born May 29, 1828, is deceased; Helen F., born Nov. 6, 1830, is deceased; and Julia Norton, born Nov. 6, 1835, is deceased. The family were members of the Presbyterian Church.
        Reuben LeRoy Bassett was reared in Washington county, N.Y., and there received his education. He lived with his grandfather Norton from the time he was twelve until he was sixteen years of age, then going to Troy, N.Y., where he learned the coachmaker's trade with Eaton & Gilbert, a business which he followed altogether about ten years. He came to Wisconsin in 1846, and located at his father's place in Randall township for two years, after which he spent two years in Racine, and while there erected a grain warehouse and a bridge pier in Lake Michigan. After a time he sold out and returned to the home farm, which has been his home ever since. The village of Bassett is mostly built on this farm, and was named for the Bassett family.
        On Jan. 5, 1854, Mr. Bassett married Mrs. Sarah Elizabeth Van Ness, daughter of John and Lucy (Baldwin) Bessey, and to this union came seven children: Henry, born Oct. 24, 1854; died Oct. 12, 1877; Harvey Church, born May 1, 1857, died Aug. 13, 1877; Howard LeRoy, born Feb. 24, 1861, died April 13, 1862; Deborah, born Aug. 16, 1864, died Nov. 24, 1875; George was born Jan. 15, 1868; Edgar, Oct. 11, 1870, and Sarah Elizabeth, Aug. 12, 1873. George and Edgar are general merchants of Bassett. Sarah Elizabeth is the wife of Samuel G. Barton, of Chicago, and they have two children, Elizabeth and William LeRoy.
        Mrs. Sarah Elizabeth Bassett had one daughter by her former marriage, Charlotte Catherine, who married Benjamin Richter, both being now deceased. They had two daughters and one son; Deborah, of Chicago; Maude, the wife of John Barton, of near Rockford, Ill, and Reuben L.
        Mrs. Bassett's parents were natives of New York State, and at an early day removed to Michigan, and thence to Wisconsin, settling in the township of Wheatland, Kenosha county, among the very first settlers of that township. Mrs. Bassett's father, John Bessey, owned a tract of 640 acres of land in that township, where he resided until his death. His wife survived him a number of years, being eighty years old at the time of her death. They had a family of eleven children, of whom but three are now living, namely: John Bessey; Mariette, the wife of Harry Varguson, a farmer of Floyd county, Iowa, and Sarah Elizabeth.
        In addition to carrying on agricultural operations Mr. Bassett acted as station agent at Bassett for over thirty years, and as postmaster for about the same length of time. He has held various township offices, and was a member of the Wisconsin Assembly for one term. He and his estimable wife are honored and esteemed for their many sterling traits of character.

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Section 3 - Feature Bassett: Alonzo Delvin Bassett of Colorado

Alonzo Delvin Bassett descends from Caleb Bassett of Vermont/New York as follows:

Caleb Bassett (b. 1768) and wife Alice Scriven
James Bassett (b. 1773)
Philo Bassett (b. 1804) and wife Elizabeth
Alonzo Delvin Bassett (b. 1831) and wife Harriet E. Gardner
Willis Alonzo Bassett (b. 1859) and wife Laura L. Morse

Alonzo Delvin and Harriet E. (Gardner) Bassett
Alonzo Delvin and Harriet E. (Gardner) Bassett

Willis Alonzo and Laura Lauretta (Morse) Bassett
Willis Alonzo and Laura Lauretta (Morse) Bassett

A descendant of Alonzo Delvin took part in the Bassett DNA project and his results are back.  He matches the group of Bassetts of Wales.

The following are results for two descendants of Caleb Bassett of Vermont/New York and two descendants of George W. Bassett of LaGrange County, Indiana. You can see that three of the tests match exactly.

Based on these DNA results, I am pretty sure I can now place the #25B George W. Bassett line into the #20 Caleb Bassett line. Watch for an update during the next few newsletters as time permits me to get all of the material organized.

DNA chart

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Section 4 - Feature Bassett: Charles Bassett of Urbana, Ohio

I have been unable to find any record of Charles after the elopement listed below.

Charles Bassett descends from #1B  John Bassett of Connecticut as follows:

John Bassett and wife Margery
Robert Bassett and wife Mary
Robert Bassett (b. 1640) and wife Elizabeth Riggs
Samuel Bassett (b. 1692) and wife Deborah Bennett
John Bassett (b. 1721) and wife Naomi Wooster
Edward Bassett (b. 1751) and wife Alice Curtiss
Andrew C. Bassett (b. 1791) and wife Lucy
Joel Bassett (b. 1832) and wife Jennie L.
Charles Bassett (b. 1865)

The Sun, New York, Sunday, September 28, 1884
Elopement In Ohio
A Dashing Widow of Forty Runs Away with a Youth of Twenty

        URBANA, Ohio, Sept. 27 – It was ascertained today that Charles Bassett, son of a poor widow, and Mrs. Lida Weaver, widow of Thomas B. Weaver, have eloped. Bassett is a boyish-looking youth of twenty, earning a small salary as clerk in a retail shoe store. He has no property nor expectations. Mrs. Weaver is forty, but a commanding beauty; tall, straight, well rounded in figure, black eyes and hair, and expressive countenance. During Mr. Weaver’s life she had all she desired in the way of dress and personal adornments, and her good taste have her the reputation of being the best dressed woman in Urbana. That she should have become infatuated with such a mere boy is doubly puzzling to everybody, as it was known that she was engaged to be married on Monday next to a well-to-do man from Philadelphia named Upton. Preparations for the wedding were well advanced. It is supposed that Mrs. Weaver did not wish to meet Mr. Upton under the circumstances, and, besides, she had a grievance against her hotel for the reason that the proprietor had forbidden Bassett to call there to see her. These seem to be the reasons on her part for an elopement. Bassett gave out that he was going to Illinois to visit friends. He took the train to Westville, near by, where Mrs. Weaver met him in a carriage. Dismissing her carriage, another was procured to take them to Piqua, where they took the train. They have been heard from at Richmond, Ind., and are supposed to be going to St. Louis. It is not yet known whether they have been united in marriage, but there is no reason to supposed their elopement was for any other purposes.

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Section 5 - Feature Bassett: Elmer Ensign Bassett and other family photos

Elmer Ensign Bassett descends from Daniel Harvey Bassett as follows:

Daniel Harvey Bassett (b. 1835) and wife Mary Coonradt
Clarence William Bassett (b. 1861) and wife Cora Wadsworth
Elmer Ensign Bassett (b. 1885) and wife Ethel West

Elmer Ensign Bassett - 6 months
Cora Wadsworth, wife of Clarence William Bassett
Elmer Ensign Bassett - 6 months
Cora Wadsworth, wife of Clarence William Bassett

The pictures above were found by Sharon Cardiel in a Bassett album. Sharon contacted me through our Bassett family website and I found living descendants of this Bassett branch that now have 8 new Bassett photos in their possession.

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Section 6 - New family lines combined or added since the last newsletter

        The following family lines have been combined/eliminated since the last newsletter.

334B.   Bassetts of Llangan, Glamorgan, Wales into the #117B Charles Bassett of Cowbridge, Wales.
   
        The following family lines have been added since the last newsletter.

 331B.  Paul Bessette (b. 1870) of North Adams, Berkshire County, Massachusetts

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Section 7 - DNA project update

Kits from two new family lines residing in England along with several kits for United States branches went out during the past month. These tests will be featured in future newsletter once the DNA results are back from the testing lab.

Donations of any amount can be made to the Bassett DNA project by clicking on the link below. Any funds donated will be used to fund select Bassett DNA tests that will further our project as a whole and benefit all Bassetts worldwide.

http://www.familytreedna.com/group-general-fund-contribution.aspx?g=Bassett

This is just a reminder that the DNA portion of the Bassett Family Association can be found at:

http://www.bassettbranches.org/dna/

A current spreadsheet of results can be found at:

http://www.bassettbranches.org/dna/BassettDNA.xls

If you don't have Excel and can't open the spreadsheet above, you can now see the DNA test results at the following website.

http://www.familytreedna.com/public/Bassett/

Jeffrey Bassett
520 Salceda Drive
Mundelein, IL 60060 USA
email address link in header above