Haines of Burlington County, New Jersey

Ezra Adams (1768-1824) and Hannah Haines (1771-1824) were my fifth great grandparents. Ezra purchased several parcels of land in what is now Hamilton, Mercer County, New Jersey, but was called Nottingham, Burlington County during Ezra's life. Ezra purchased tracts from some of his siblings that were inherited from their father, Alexander Adams. When Ezra died, his seven children inherited partitions of his land. Hannah, widow of Ezra, died four months after him; however, she was not mentioned in his estate papers.

I've been trying to connect Hannah to her parents. Ancestry suggests Jacob Haines and Sarah Austin.

Hannah Haines in my family tree.
Ancestry proposed parents: Jacob Haines and Sarah Austin.

Jacob Haines and Sarah Austin were Quakers. They were disowned, thereby falling off the extensive record-keeping.

Quaker Meeting Records of Shrewbury, Monmouth County, New Jersey.
Children of Jonathan Haines and Hannah Sharp.
Jacob Haines, born August 24, 1745; married Sarah Austin.
DISOWNED.

People researched and wrote about the Haines of Burlington County. Jacob Haines and Sarah Austin had a daughter named Hannah Haines, but her birthdate was around 1787, which is later than my ancestor Hannah. Plus, this Hannah married Jonathan Austin, not Ezra Adams.

Excerpt of family history book by John Wesley Haines

I'm not writing that these books about Haines are correct about Hannah, but these are the records that Ancestry is citing for support that Hannah Haines, daughter of Jacob Haines and Sarah Austin, married Ezra Adams. People attached these records into their trees in support of the union of Hannah Haines and Ezra Adams, even though these records contradict this claim.

Jacob Haines' land holdings in Evesham, Burlington County, New Jersey were partitioned in 1799 among his five children: Rebeccah, Jacob, Jeremiah, Jonathan, and Hannah. Rebeccah's husband, Caleb Haines, was named. No husband was listed for Hannah, which is consistent with her being too young to be married in 1799 and inconsistent with my Hannah, who was already married to Ezra Adams and with children by 1799.

1799 Petition to divide real estate of Jacob Haines, late of the County of Burlington County, New Jersey.
Viewable at Ancestry.

Jacob's estate papers include a diagram of the land division. Evesham still exists as a township in Burlington County, New Jersey, but it is much smaller today than it was in 1799. These parcels of land were bordered on the east by the Rancocas Creek. I tilted the image of Jacob's land to align north upwards to line up with our modern maps.

Diagram of Jacob Haines' partitioned land.
Viewable at Ancestry.

I think I found the land! See what you think. The parcels may not be privately occupied. They are east of the Flying W Airport and Resort in Medford.

Modern map of Medford, Burlington County, New Jersey
that might coincide with Jacob Haines' land that was divided
in 1799.

Modern map showing location of the land of Jacob Haines, deceased around 1799
in Evesham (now Medford), Burlington County, New Jersey.

I'm changing Hannah Haines' name in my tree to Hannah Unknown. Her children's records mostly do not name their parents, but when Hannah is mentioned, she is "Hannah" or "Hannah Adams." I have yet to find a record of marriage for Ezra Adams to anyone in the late 1780s or early 1790s.

Hannah, an earlier child of Nathaniel Dunn and Sarah Adams

Another child of Nathaniel Dunn (1790-1840s) and Sarah Adams (1796-1882) was discovered, thanks to Ancestry's DNA matches.

Nathaniel and Sarah were paternal 4th great grandparents. They lived in Nottingham, Burlington County, New Jersey. This area later became part of Mercer County. I descend from their son, Ezra (1821-1898). The date of death and the parents of Nathaniel are not determined yet. Sarah's parents were Ezra Adams (1768-1824) and Hannah Haines (1771-1824).

This map from 1834 shows the New Jersey counties at the time Nathaniel Dunn and Sarah were raising their family. The area of Burlington County where Nathaniel lived now lies in Mercer County. It was near the borders of Hunterdon, Middlesex, and Monmouth Counties, as well as another state, Pennsylvania. Because of changing borders and close proximity to other county and state lines, records for Nathaniel may be spread across many repositories.

Among the DNA matches at Ancestry are other descendants of Ezra Dunn, along with descendants of Ezra's sister, Lucy, and brother, David. 

The "Shared Matches" function produces dozens of other matches. These people do not necessarily share ancestors of Nathaniel or Sarah. If the match were on the same segment of DNA, then we would suspect a connection to Dunn or Adams. Ancestry will not reveal which segments of DNA are shared, so this is a drawback to this feature.

Someone matched in the fourth cousin range and provided a limited family tree. I honed in on the Burlington County, New Jersey branch and a great-grandmother named Hannah Dunn, wife of William Leatherbury (1805-1883). They had children from the late 1830s through the early 1850s.

1850 United States Federal census
Mansfield, Burlington County, New Jersey
William Leatherbury, coppersmith
Hannah, Zillah, William, Ezra, Mary, Sarah

Hannah died October 23, 1889 in Fieldsboro (Bordentown), Burlington County, New Jersey. I traveled to the New Jersey State Archives in Trenton to view her death certificate. Her parents were listed as Nathaniel Dunn and Sarah Dunn! She is tentatively placed as the oldest child of Nathaniel and Sarah According to her death certificate, she was 70 years old in 1889. This places her birth around 1829. In the 1850 census, her birth year would be attributed as 1819. The earlier record is usually more accurate for age.

1889 death certificate of Hannah Leatherbury
Her place of birth is listed as Mercer County, which was actually
Burlington County at the time of Hannah's birth.

I also copied the death certificate of Hannah's husband, William Leatherbury. He died September 20, 1883 in Bordentown, Burlington County. He was born in Maryland to William Leatherbury and Mary Dunn. More documents are needed to determine if this really was his mother's name.

Hannah and her husband William were buried in Bordentown Cemetery. I added them to Find A Grave. One of their children, William (1840-1909), was also buried in this cemetery.

The children discovered (so far) of Nathaniel Dunn and Sarah Adams:

1. Hannah Dunn, born about 1819, married William Leatherbury.

2. Ezra Dunn, born about 1821, died 1898, married Hermion Dunlop.

3. Lucy Ann Dunn, born about 1822, died 1910, married George Sweet and John Seal.

4. Catharine Dunn, born about 1825, died 1865, married John Holcombe Butterfoss.

5. Sarah Dunn, born about 1833, died 1916, married James Burroughs Keller.

6. David Dunn, born about 1836, died 1925, married Lucy Smith.