Abel Partridge was born to Joseph and Sarah (Warren) Partridge in Chesterfield, New Hampshire, on Sunday, 17 May 1795. This is the Partridge line that often spelled their last name as Pattridge; with Abel and his family, I find the Partridge/Patridge/Pattridge variations. I lose track of Abel through his childhood, until I find him in a marriage record to Sylvia Mansfield. This marriage took place in Chittenden County, Vermont on 18 Jul 1827.
It appears that for a short time after the wedding, Abel and Sylvia may have settled down in Essex, Vermont as their first child, Prescott, was born there on Friday, 2 Oct 1829. Not soon after that birth, or perhaps, even before the birth, we find Abel residing at Highgate, Vermont. He was enumerated there as Abel Patridge in the taking of the federal census in 1830. Note the variant spelling of the last name, as he will appear using that name in official census records, yet his gravestone shows the proper spelling again.
1830 Census Highgate Vermont
Abel – age 35
Sylvia – age 28
Prescott – age 2
Albert – age under 1 year
The 1830 census clearly shows Abel Partridge, along with 2 females, aged 20-29, and three young boys, all under the age of 5. At present I can account for only 4 of the 6 members in the household.
A more careful study of the siblings of Abel and Sylvia would have to be conducted for one to surmise about the names of the other two residents in the household. This family was again enumerated in the 1840 census of Highgate, Vermont, with Abel Patridge listed as head of household:
1840 Census Highgate Vermont
1 male 40-50
2 males 10-15
1 male 5-10
1 female 30-40
1 female 5-10
1 female under 5
Abel – Age 45
Prescott – Age 12
Albert – Age 11
Curtis – Age 6
Sylvia – Age 38
Sarah – Age 9
Adelia – Age 2
I can account for all 7 members of the household, and take notice that the other female and child is now missing from the house.
It is apparent that the 1840 census was taken before the birth of Sylvia in Oct 1840.
1850 Census Lowell Massachusetts
112 114
Abel Patrdige 55m Farmer 2500 b. NH
Silvah 48f b. VT
Curtis 16m Farmer b. VT Attended School
Delia 12f b. VT Attended School
Jane 10f b. VT Attended School
Henry 8m b. VT Attended School
Catherine Patridge 5f b. VT Attended School
Ancestry.com, 1850 United States Federal Census (Online publication – Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Images reproduced by FamilySearch.Original data – Seventh Census of the United States, 1850; (National Archives Microfilm Publication M432, 1009 rolls); Records of the Bureau of the ), Year: 1850; Census Place: Highgate, Franklin, Vermont; Roll: M432_924; Page: 312A-312B; Image: 618-619.
In 1850 we begin to get additional details about the family, most especially, the names of all households. In this enumeration, it is apparent that the census taker, Oliver Robinson, erred in the spelling of Abel's last name, however, spelled it properly for Catherine when she appeared on the following page.
Abel's real estate was valued at $2500 in the 1850 census, making him one of the larger and more prominent land owners in the community at that time. Sarah P. Partridge passed away 5 Jul 1850 at Highgate, Vermont and would not be listed on the regular federal census during that year. I find in 1850 that Albert Partridge, age 21, was residing in an apartment in Lowell, Massachusetts employed as an operative in a factory.
1860 Census Olmstead County Minnesota
917 902
Sylva Patridge 58f 2500 300 b. VT
Jane 18f b. VT
Henry 17m b. VT
Caroline 14f b. VT
918 903
Albert Patridge 30m Farmer 1500 200 b. VT
Unice 24f b. VT
Otis 6m b. IO
Henry 5m b. MN
Helen 3f b. MN
In 1854, Abel sold his property in Highgate, and prepared to move his family out west, he having settled on Jackson Co., Iowa. However, after returning from a trip to Iowa, and before moving his family away, Abel died , passing away on 19 Apr 1854. Before the 1860 census his family had removed out of Highgate, Vermont, shortly settling in Iowa, before Sylva moved the family to Pleasant Grove, Minnesota. In the 1860 census I can find both Prescott and Curtis Partridge, single, residing at Long Barn, California, the gold rush having bitten them. Albert Partridge and his mother, Silva Patridge, were both enumerated in Olmstead County Minnesota along with their families.
Pleasant Grove would become the new family home for this branch of the Partridge family under the watchful eye of the matriarch Sylva. Both Curtis and Prescott would return from California, and reside here along with Albert and Silva. Albert Jr. would later in life move to Tracy, Minnesota. Henry Harrison Partridge would reside at Rochester, Minnesota. Abel's widow, Sylva, passed from this life on 17 Feb 1886. In her obituary she was remembered for her courage and ability in moving so far out west away from friends and family. She was distinguished for her energy, industry, honesty and frugality.
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