Keturah Horton Haight 1777-1843
Mildred Harris Bradley's Great Great Grandmother
Keturah Horton was born 28 May 1777 in Amenia, Dutchess, New York to David Horton
and Temperance Owens. She was the third child and had five siblings.
It can be presumed that Keturah spent
her childhood in Dutchess
County which is one of
the oldest Counties of New York State.
It was organized 1 November 1683 by a Colony Law. It was only a County in name with boundaries
upon paper supposed to be uninhabited by white men. On 18 October 1701 “having a very few
inhabitants” it was provisionally annexed to Ulster County
where its free holders were entitled to vote.
In 1737, it was divided into seven
precincts designated: Beekman, Crum Elbow, Northeast, Poughkeepsie, Rynebeck, Rumbout, and
South. By the time America voted for its Independence
in 1776, Dutchess
County was one of the
most fervent counties in backing the Continental Congress. Most of its inhabitants wanted freedom from England. Dutchess
County furnished a high
percentage of soldiers for the Continental Army as well as furnishing food and
provisions for the soldiers.
According to the Nauvoo Temple
Records, Caleb Haight married Keturah Horton, on 11 February 1799. They were married either in a Civil Ceremony
or by a traveling Minister. When a new
Presbyterian Church was completed at Greenville,
Greene County, New York, only a short distance from where
they were living they must have decided that it would be more satisfying to
them to have a Church Ceremony. They chose their second wedding anniversary, 11
February 1801, to be remarried in the new church.
Caleb and Keturah made their first
home in Dutchess County, New York and it was there that their first
two children were born; Oscar, born 14 November 1800 and Harriet Helen, born 9
April 1802. However, they must have soon afterwards moved as we find that their
third child, a daughter, Julia Ann, was born in Windham,
Greene County, New York in 6 November 1805. The Haights made their home in Windham for
many years and it was here that the rest of their children were born; David
Bateman born 18 October 1808, Hector Caleb born 17 January 1810, Isaac Chauncy born 27 May 1813, Eliza
Caroline born 2 February 1816. Maria Antoinette born 25 July 1818, and Catherine Adelia born 28 November 1820.
In 1833, according to their son, Isaac Chauncy, the Haights moved once
again and this time made their home in Moravia,
Cayunga County, New York.
In the Land Deed Records for Greene County,
New York, it shows that on 22 June 1833, Caleb
Haight and his wife, Keturah, sold property in the Town of Windham,
Greene County
to John Adams of Catskill, New York for the consideration of $
2,500. Seven years later the U. S. census of 1840 of Moravia Town
Cayuga County
shows Caleb Haight living there with his wife and one female child, 15-19 years
of age. This no doubt was Catherine
Adelia, their youngest child as all the other children were married by that
time with the exception of Oscar who died at an early age.
Keturah seemed to have been very
successful as her children were well educated. They were blessed with worldly goods and held
good positions in the business world.
They were a religious family and Keturah’s son Isaac Chauncy would have become a Baptist Minister if his health
had been better.
In 1839, Elder Petiah Brown, a
missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, came to the
home of Isaac Chauncy. He and his wife Eliza Ann Snyder, were
converted to the gospel and were baptized into the Church 3 March 1839. They had to break the ice in the river before
they could be baptized and then walk one-fourth mile with their clothing frozen
stiff, to be confirmed. At this time Isaac Chauncy was ordained an Elder to
preach the Gospel.
By the spring of 1841, Elder Haight
and Elder Brown had converted enough people to the Gospel to build up a branch
of the church to about 40 members. Isaac
Chauncy had the happiness to see his father, Caleb Haight, his mother,
Keturah, his brother, David Bateman, and two sisters baptized into the
Church. At this time Caleb Haight was
made branch President but the members were persecuted so badly that the Branch
had a difficult time to exist.
On 7 June 1842 Isaac Chauncey, in
company with his wife and family, left his parents and brothers and sisters and
in the company of other converts for Zion. However, the following year, 18 June 1843, he
was called back to New York State on a short mission and it was at this time,
according to the Land Deed Records of Cayuga County that Caleb Haight and his
wife, Keturah, sold their property in Moravia, 22 June 1843 to Caleb Palmer of
Sempronius, New York for the consideration of $5,520. It is evident from this that Caleb and
Keturah had been making plans to leave for Nauvoo also.
Three months later, 13 September 1843,
Isaac Chauncey started back to Nauvoo,
Illinois and accompanying him
were his father and mother, his brother David Bateman and family, his sister
Julie Ann and her husband, Edmund Carbine, and their family. Adelia Rider was a niece of Keturah’s sister,
Julie Ann Horton and her husband Nathaniel Rider. She was left an orphan when just five years
of age and went to live with Aunt Keturah.
Keturah was 66. She was in very poor health at this time and
the family was fearful that she could not stand the hard journey ahead of them
but she was so anxious to see Nauvoo and the Temple that they attempted the journey. She stood it very well for the first week but
then she started to fail. After traveling for only ten days, they had to sop
and rest for two days because of Keturah’s condition. On September 25th, they started
out once again with Keturah lying on a bed in one of the wagons and they
arrived in Kirtland, Ohio two days later on September 27,
1843. Keturah was so happy to see the
Lord’s House and gazed upon it with delight and admiration. They were all
kindly received by the brethren in Kirtland and they remained there until the
next day.
It was decided at that time, because
of Keturah’s health, that it would be better for here to make the remainder of
the trip by boat. Isaac Chauncy and Adelia Rider Carbine were to accompany Keturah
and they parted company here from the rest of the family. On the morning of 28 September 1843 Caleb his
son, David and his family and the Van Ordens and Carbine families and friends
continued on in the wagons. They traveled with heavy hearts, not knowing if
they would ever see their wife and mother again as, by this time, she was so
ill that she was sometimes delirious.
The same day that Caleb and company
started out, Isaac Chauncy Haight
and Adelia Rider Carbine, who helped take care of Keturah, and Keturah left for
Ravenna where
they could board a steamer. On 3 October
1843, they took passage on the steamer, “Minstrel”, which was leaving Cincinnati, Ohio.
They arrived in Cincinnati
three days later on the 6th day of October and rested there for two
days. Keturah’s health was so delicate now that they feared she would never
live to get to Nauvoo. They boarded the steamer once again on October 8th
and left for St. Louis, Mo.
They arrived there October 14th and changed boats and
proceeded on the steamer “Iowa”
for Nauvoo, arriving there the next day 15 October 1843.
It wasn’t until twelve days later, on
October 27th, that Keturah was re-united with her husband, Caleb,
and family. They were all in good health and happy to be with their wife and
mother once again. The following week
Caleb and Isaac Chauncy went to Knox County
to see the farm that Caleb had purchased.
He was quite disappointed with it. They remained there working for ten
days. When they returned to Nauvoo, they
found that Keturah had failed very much which she continued to do until the 18th
November 1843 when she died very peacefully, just one month and three days
after arriving in Nauvoo. In the paper “The Nauvoo Neighbor” it stated that
Keturah Haight died of consumption. She was buried in Nauvoo.
Issac
Chauncy recorded in his journal:
18th November. (Mother)
died without a struggle or a groan and has gone to rest in the Paradise of God
with the Saints that have gone before, there to remain until the morning of the
resurrection of the just when we shall again behold her clothed with bright
immortality and eternal life.
