James A. Herrick was born on 2 Jul 1789, the first child of Artemas Herrick and Eleanor Peck (85 HGR). He was probably born in Connecticut where his parents were born and married. As a child he moved Westward with the family, first to New Berlin, Chenango Co. NY, then to Maysville, Chautaqua Co. NY(HistSw). It is not known when he appeared in Switzerland Co. Indiana but it was probably before 1816 as his marriage to Vienna Wade was recorded on 1 May 1817 (InMarr). (It is interesting to note that the Town of Patriot was built on the land owned by Elisha Wade (WadFam) and that this family arrived in the area about 1812. There is mention that James and/or his brother Bela(he arrived in 1818 (HistSw)) helped survey & lay out the town. Also, it was noted that Elisha was noted for his Saw and Grist Mills erected there - something James may have been able to provide significant support as his father, Artemas, was also a builder/operator of these Mills (HistChe).
The date of James's death is not known exactly but in the biographic sketch of his son, Benjamin Franklin Herrick, it is given as 1835. In any case, he is shown in the 1830 census (CenSwIn30) but not in the 1840 census (CenSwIn40). The exact date of birth for Vienna Wade, daughter of Elisha Wade and Nancy Watts (WadFam) is not known. In the two census documents were she can be clearly identified (1830 and 1840 -CenSwIn30, CenSwIn40) she is identified as having been born before 1800. She is shown as "head of household" in the 1840 census (CenSwIn40) but has disappeared by 1850. In the biographic sketch of her youngest child, Benjamin, it is stated that he lived in Indiana for his first 13 years of life. In the 1850 census (CenGalKy50) we find him living with his oldest brother, James A. Herrick in Gallatin KY, which is directly across the Ohio River from Switzerland County, Indiana. The most probable reason for this would have been the death of his mother; which is thus dated about 1845. Although James and Vienna may have spent a short amount of time in Gallatin, KY, the bulk of their married life was in Patriot, IN. They had seven children (HistVe) (CenSwIn30); 5 boys and two girls, all seem to have been born in Patriot.
Children of James and Vienna Herrick
| 1. | James Alexander. Herrick was born in 1818 in (Patriot) Indiana (CenGalKy50). On 24 May 1841 he married Sarah Ann White in Switzerland Co. IN (InMarr). By 1847 the family had moved from Patriot across the Ohio River to Gallatin Co. Kentucky. At this time his youngest brother, Benjamin Franklin, was living with the family. James's occupation is given as shoemaker. By 1860 the family had left the area. It is interesting to note that his first born son was also given the name of James A. Herrick. |
| 2. | Male Herrick. In the 1830 Census (CenSwIn30) there are two males shown in the family as being born between 1815 and 1820. As James and Vienna were married in 1817, the and James A. was born in 1818, the second male must have been born about 1819. Apparently he had died or left the area by 1850 as there is no record of any potential candidate in the 1850 census or marriage records. |
| 3. | Sequida Herrick. The 1830 (CenSwIn30) census showed the James & Vienna Herrick family with two girls born between 1820 and 1825. The Indiana marriage Index shows that Sequida Herrick married George W. English on 11 Sep 1837 in Switzerland County (InMarr). The 1840 census (CenSwIn40) reflects the marriage as only one girl is shown in the Vienna Herrick family. Sequida was most probably born before Saphronia, and if she was 16 when married was born in 1821. |
| 4. | Saphronia Herrick. Saphronia Herrick was born 24 Feb 1824 in Patriot, Switzerland County, Indiana; and died 4 May 1873 (CofFam). On 1 Sep 1841 she married Isaiah Coffin in Switzerland Co. (InMarr) (CofFam). It is interesting to note that the first child of Saphronia and Isaiah, Margaret Swain Coffin, in 1866 married James Franklin Vunkannon, a brother of Sarah Elizabeth Vunkannon, wife of Benjamin Franklin Herrick (CofFam) (VunFam). As this occurred at the end of the Civil War - and the Vunkannons fought for the South - there is probably a very interesting story to be told. |
| 5. | Micheal S. Herrick/Hearick. Micheal was born on 11 Jun 1827 in (Patriot) Indiana, and died 24 Dec 1882 in Warsaw, Gallatin Co. KY. (WarCem). On 11 Jun 1848 he married Louisa Vanluven in Switzerland Co. IN (InMarr). On 11 Jun 1848 he married Louisa Vanluven in Switzerland Co. IN (InMarr). In 1850 the family moved from Patriot to Gallatin Co. (CenGalKy50) His profession was Blacksmith. I believe him to be a son of James & Vienna but there is a cloud of doubt. The Census records for 1850 and 1860 (CenGalKy50) (CenGalKy60) spell the name as Herrick. However, the marriage records and Cemetery tombstones show the spelling Hearick and his children used that spelling. Either he changed the spelling (for reasons currently unknown) or he was born a Hearick somewhere else in Indiana and moved to Patriot after 1840 (no Hearick name is seen in the 1840 census in Switzerland County or Gallatin County). It is easier for me to believe he changed the spelling for reasons unknown. |
| 6. | Albert G. Herrick. The 1830 census listed two boys in the Herrick family born between 1825 and 1830 (CenSwIn30). The 1850 census (CenSwIn50) of Switzerland shows a Albert G. Herrick (profession: tinner) boarding with another family. He was 22 years old (b. 1828) and born in Indiana. The marriage Index shows an Albert G. Hearick marrying a Francis Adkinson, 9 Jan 1853 in Switzerland Co. |
| 7. | Benjamin Franklin Herrick. Born 28 Sep 1832, Patriot, Switzerland Co. IN; died 23 May 1890, Denver CO. (BenBib). Benjamin's father died in 1835 when he was 3, and his mother when he was 13 (HistVe); he then lived with his oldest brother, James, until about 1850 (CenGalKy50). About that time he moved to Illinois and learned the trade of Mill construction and operation (HistVe). He may have been apprenticed or worked for William Vunkannon, an itinerant Contractor who was building Mills in "the West". In any case, he married William's eldest daughter, Sarah Elizabeth Vunkannon, on 10 Aug 1859 in Windsor, Sheby Co. IL. (IllMarr). In the 1860 census of Polk County Missouri (CenPoMO60) Benjamin & Sarah are listed living next door to the William Vunkannon family. {While there is no record of Benjamin participating in the Civil War the same is not true of the Vunkannons. Both of Sarah's older brothers, James Franklin (QMSgt Co. B, 3rd MO Cav. Bn) and William C. (Pvt. 5th MO Inf.) and a cousin, Eli (Pvt., 6th MO Cav.) who was living with them, fought for the South} In 1873 Benjamin & family moved to Schell City, Vernon Co. MO. (HistVe) (CenVeMO80). About 1889 the family moved to Denver, CO. where Benjamin died a short time later, in 1890 (BenBib). |
Second Generation (partial)
| 1. | Children of James A. Herrick and Sarah Ann White. This is taken from the 1850 census (CenGalKy50).
1.1 Harriet Herrick b. 1844 IN
1.2 James A. Herrick b. 1847 KY 1.3 Albert H. Herrick b. Feb 1850 KY |
| 2. | Children of Saphronia Herrick and Isaiah Coffin. Data from The Coffin Family (CofFam) and The Vuncannon-Voncannons of Randolph County (VunFam)
2.1
Margaret Swain Coffin b.11
Apr 1842, Patriot , Switzerland Co. IN; d. 10 Jan 1928 Geneva OH; m. James Franklin Vunkannon, 4 May 1866. 2.2 Mary Frances Coffin b.9 Oct 1843; m. Nathan B. Johnson 30 Dec 1860 2.3 Sarah W. Coffin b. 28 Apr 1846; m. Selah Mead 17 Sep 1865 2.4 Bela Coffin b.6 Jun 1849; d. 11 May 1851 2.5 Emma G. Coffin b.7 Sep 1856; d.4 Sep 1858 |
| 3. | Children of Micheal S. Herrick
and Louisa B. Vanluven. Data taken from 1850 and 1860 Census (CenGalKy50) (CengalKy60)
3.1 Virgil
Winfield Herrick, b.
Nov 1849, IN; m. Maria J. Moore 22 Jun 1869, Switzerland Co. IN. 3.2 Mary E. Herrick, b. 1852 KY 3.3 James A. Herrick, b. 1854 KY; m Olive Crandall, 21 Feb 1875, Switzerland Co. IN 3.4 Charles C. Herrick b. 1 Sep 1859 KY, d. 23 Sep 1936, Warsaw, Gallatin Co. KY |
| 4. | Benjamin Franklin Herrick and Sarah Elizabeth Vunkannon Data taken from Family Bible (BenBib) and supported by census (CenPoMO70) (CenVeMO80)
4.1 Jennie
Saphronia Herrick b.
7 Aug 1860 Polk Co. MO ; d. 22 May 1946 Los Angeles CA; m.
Granville M. Peoples 16 Apr 1884 Schell City, Vernon Co. MO. 4.2 Albert Curtis Herrick b.16 Dec 1861 Polk Co. MO; d. 12 Jan 1913, Omaha NE 4.3 William Vunkannon Herrick. b. 27 Oct 1863, Polk Co. MO; m. Jennie Strong 19 Oct 1885, Schell City, Vernon Co. MO 4.4 Eleanor Vienna Herrick. b. 11 Feb 1865, Polk Co. MO; d. 19 Jan 1818, Schell City, Vernon Co. MO. 4.5 Sarah Avarilla Herrick. b. 23 Jan 1868, Polk Co. MO; m. Harry Lewis Swan 18 May 1886 Schell City, Vernon Co. MO; d. 17 Feb 1951 Omaha NE. 4.6 Robert Edward Lee Herrick. b. 11 Mar 1870. Polk Co. MO; m. Elizabeth Magn 9 Aug 1899, Denver CO.; d. 18 Jan 1953 Seattle, WA. 4.7 Ida May Herrick. b.12 May 1872, Polk Co. MO; m. Harry Jackson McGowan 13 Jun 1894, Denver CO.; d. 8 Sep 1947, Alhambra, CA. 4.8 Maude Herrick. b. 6 Jul 1874, Schell City, Vernon Co. MO.;m. Ernst Glesecke 27 Jun 1893 Denver CO.; d. 27 Jul 1921, Denver CO. 4.9 Benjamin Franklin Herrick Jr. b. 27 May 1880, Schell City, Vernon Co., MO.; d. 30 Oct 1882, Schell City, Vernon Co. MO. |
The following abbreviations have been used to identify the data sources:
| CenSwIn30 | 1830 Census Switzerland County Indiana |
| CenSwIn40 | 1840 Census Switzerland County Indiana |
| CenSwIn50 | 1850 Census Switzerland County Indiana |
| CenSwIn60 | 1860 Census Switzerland County Indiana |
| CenGalKy20 | 1820 Census Gallatin County Kentucky |
| CenGalKy30 | 1830 Census Gallatin County Kentucky |
| CenGalKy40 | 1840 Census Gallatin County Kentucky |
| CenGalKy50 | 1850 Census Gallatin County Kentucky |
| CenGalKy60 | 1860 Census Gallatin County Kentucky |
| CenPoMO60 | 1860 Census Polk Co. Jefferson Twn, Missouri |
| CenPoMO70 | 1870 Census Polk Co. Jefferson Twn, Missouri |
| CenVeMO80 | 1880 Census Vernon Co., Bacon Twn, Missouri |
| 85 HGR | 1885 Herrick Genealogical Register |
| WadFam | The Wade Family |
| HistSw | History of Switzerland County 1885, published 1993 by Windmill publications; sponsored by Switzerland Co. Historical Society |
| HistVe | History of Vernon County, published by Brown & Co.; St. Louis, 1887 |
| InMarr | Indiana Marriage Index through 1850 |
| BenBib | Family Bible Benjamin F. Herrick |
| VunFam | The Vuncannon-Voncannons of Randolph County North Carolina, by Samuel H. Vuncannon |
| CofFam | The Coffin Family, 1962, by Louis Coffin, published by The Nantucket Historical Assoc. |
| HistChe | The History of Chenango Co. (NY), published in 1880 by James H. Smith |
| WarCem | Warsaw IOOF Cemetery, Gallatin Co. Kentucky |
| IllMarr | Illinois Statewide Marriage Index, 1763-1900 |