Firelands History Website

This genealogy of Sally DeForest, wife of Platt Benedict, is an excerpt from the transcription of a handwritten notebook I discovered in my grandmother’s papers. It is the work of two women, Agnes Caroline Wickham and her daughter, Harriott Benedict Wickham Barton (my grandmother), who separately researched and made entries in it over a period of seventy years.  Agnes Wickham wrote roughly half of the entries in the notebook from 1909 to 1915.  In 1915, she gave handwritten copies of her work to each of her five children: Eleanor, William, Lucy, David and Harriott.  Harriott continued her mother’s work off and on for the next sixty years, adding entries as late as 1977.

Dave Barton
December 14, 2008

De Forest Family
“A Walloon Family in America”

1.  Melchior de Forest & Catherine Du Fosset of Mous were married 1533 in Avesnes, France.  He died 1571.

2.  Jean de Forest, born about 1543; married Anne Maillard, daughter of Michel Maillard, mayor of the town of Felleries, about 1570.  The site of Jean’s house is still to be seen on the marketplace of Avesnes.

3.  Jesse de Forest, born 1576(?) in Avesnes; married Marie du Cloux at Sedan in 1601; Moved to Leyden, Holland 1615.  Left on the Pigeon, July 1, 1623 from Leyden and entered Amazon River, October 21, 1623; died at Commaribo, South America, October 1624.
1.  Marie, born 1602
2.  Jean, born 1604
3.  Henry or Hendrich 1606.
4.  Elizabeth, 1607.
5.  David, 1608.
6.  Rachel, born 1609.
7.  Jesse, baptized March 1, 1615
8.  Isaac, baptized July 10, 1616
9.  Israel, baptized October 7, 1617.
10. Philippe, baptized September 13, 1620.

4.  Isaac, 1616-1674, born at Leyden, Holland.  Sailed 1636 on the Rensselaerswyck, owned by Kiliaen Van Rensselai & Gerard de Forest, for New Amsterdam; married Sara du Trieux, June 9, 1641 – she died November 9, 1692
1.  Jessen, 1642                       8.  Philipe, 1652
2.  Susannah, 1645                  9.  Isaac, 1655.
3.  Gerret, 1646.                     10. Hendrick, 1657.
4.  Gerret, 1647.                     11. David, 1660.
5.  Marie, 1649.                       12. David, 1663
6.  Micheil                               13. Marie, 1666.
7.  Jan, 1650.                          14. David, 1669.
The names are taken from the books of the Old Reformed Dutch Church in New York.

5.  David, founded the Connecticut branch – settled Stratford, Connecticut 1695; married Marsha Blagg, daughter of Samuel Blagg of Stratford.  He left New Amsterdam in a row boat in 1694 and settled in Stratford, where he died in 1721.
4.  David, born April 24, 1702

6.  David, born April 24, 1702; married Abigail, daughter of Ephraim Clark of Stratford; settled at Wilton, Connecticut; died in 1748 leaving an estate of 4,000 pounds.
1.  David, baptized July 1, 1733 at Wilton,
Connecticut, a parish of Norwalk;.
2.  Hezekiah, married Rebecca.
?.  Lieutenant Samuel, of Wilton, was with Washington at Valley Forge and many
other battles.  Belonged to Society of the Cincinnati.
?.  Elihu, born approximately 1736-7; served in French
& Indian Wars (2 campaigns in Canada – also 1779 was a Captain of
local “Alarm List” (Home Guards).
?.  Ephraim, also in French & Indian Wars in Canada.  A Tory, lived in Redding.

7.  David, baptized July 1, 1733 in Wilton Parish; married Sarah Olmstead, daughter of Nathan & Eunice (Smith) Olmstead, 1754 at Wilton, Connecticut; as a member of the Church at Wilton, Connecticut in 1755 – as was his wife.  Was in the War of the Revolution & was taken prisoner by the British & lay in prison ship near New York; died 1788.
1.  David, born 1755; married Sabra Mead, 1776; died 1788.
2.  Samuel, born 1755.
3?. Rebecca; married David D. Wildman; moved to Yonkers, New York.
4.  Isaac, born 1761; married Deborah Ingersoll.
5.  Eliud, 1769; married Isabel Hoyt.
6.  Clark, 1772.
6?. Sarah, born August 1777; married Platt Benedict, 1795.

8.  Sarah, born August 27, 1777 at Wilton, Connecticut; married Platt Benedict, November 12, 1795 and lived at Danbury, Connecticut.  Left Danbury with her husband and 5 children in a wagon drawn by oxen in July 1817 for the Firelands in the Western Reserve, and reached Norwalk, Ohio in September 1817. (1)

The Sally DeForest Chapter of the D.A.R in Norwalk, Ohio is named for her.

“The De Forests were originally Walloons, from Avegues, Belguim, territory devastated in War of 1914.

Footnote:
(1) Benedict Genealogy, 380; Firelands Pioneer, page 920.

NOTE: Agnes and Harriott cited their sources in the margins of original notebook.  I included these citations as footnotes, attempting to keep them as close as possible to where they appear in the original notebook.

I would appreciate critiques and corrections of this genealogy. Please comment below or contact me by email at dawbarton@aol.com. Thank you.