Who were the parents of the Anna who married Elisha Strong?

Question

Benjamin Dwight's History of the Descendants of Elder John Strong says that Elisha Strong "m. Anna Pinneo, b. in 1746 (dau., as the author supposes, of Dea. James Pinneo of Lebanon, Ct., and Priscilla Newcomb)" (p. 477).

Connecticut Vital Records to 1870 (The Barbour Collection) [available through Ancestry.com or American Ancestors] says that Anne Pineo/Pinneo was b. to James Pinneo and Priscilla Newcomb in Lebanon, CT, on May 15, 1732.

According to Dwight, Elisha and Anna's 8 children were born in the years 1769-1787. If his wife was born in 1732, as James and Priscilla's daughter was, she would have been about 37 at the time her first child was born and 55 when the last was born. This seems highly improbable. If Dwight's birth year of 1746 was correct, she would have been about 25 at the birth of her first child and 41 at the birth of her last, which seems much likelier.

There is further evidence that the Anna who married Elisha Strong was born c. 1746. Her headstone reads: "In Memory of Mrs. ANNA STRONG wife of Elisha Strong who died 18 Nov. 1818 in the 72 year of her age".

The implication seems to be that either:

• The Barbour Collection mistranscribed Anne Pinneo's birth year.
• Elisha Strong married a different Anna (according to Dwight, also a Pinneo).

Porter's Genealogy of the Descendants of Richard Porter reports that the immigrant ancestor James Pinneo (ne Jacques Pineau) had three other sons besides the James who married Priscilla: Daniel, Joseph, and Peter. Perhaps she was the daughter of one of them. I have only been able to find a list of Peter's children, which does not include an Ann/Anne/Anna.

Can anyone help straighten this out?

Answer 1

I suggest you expore the Connecticut Wills and Probate Records recently made available on Ancestry.com. I note there is a will for Priscilla Pinneo, dated 1789, that lists her children as "James, Daniel, Elisabeth, Lydia, Anna & Sarah", and also mentions a daughter Priscilla. Often the daughters and sons would be listed in birth order, which suggests that Anna was probably younger than Elizabeth and Lydia.

There is also a will for James Pinneo, dated 1766, probated 1790, which makes bequests to the following:

• wife Priscilla Pinneo
• son Daniel Pinneo
• son James Pinneo
• 3 daughters Joyce Pinneo, Priscilla Pinneo, and Sarah Pinneo
• daughter Elisabeth Bliss
• daughter Lydia Gillit
• daughter Anne Strong

This is good confirmation that your Anna Strong née Pinneo was the daughter of James and Priscilla.

I see in the Barbour Collection there are birth records at Lebanon for the following children of James and Priscilla:

• 15 May 1732 - Anne
• 5 Apr 1734 - James
• 3 Apr 1736 - Joyce
• 7 Oct 1738 - Elizabeth
• 30 Jun 1740 - Lydia
• 15 Mar 1743 - Joseph

I suspect that the Anne born in 1732 died in infancy or youth, and they named another daughter after her.

I think the most plausible solution is that the birth records for the children born after 1743 (Anna, Sarah, Daniel, Priscilla) are missing, or they were born elsewhere. I'm almost certain you are correct to say the Anna who married Elisha Strong was not the Anne born in 1732.