William Fuller was born on 17 March 1810 in Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts, at least according to his FamilySearch profile. He married Augusta Root on 10 August 1838. He later married Susan Taylor Black on 22 April 1843 at the Trinity Episcopal Church, Washington, D.C. He had 2 girls and 4 boys with Susan. His death is unknown.
William Fuller (1810?) was submitted as a research question to feature on my YouTube channel, Discover Your Origins by Joshua. Joshua gave me a fair amount of background material about William that was very interesting. In this video, I analyzed evidence, started a research plan, and gathered future research suggestions.
Table of Contents
Evidence Analysis
Joshua wanted to learn more about William Fuller. Joshua identified three things he would like to accomplish:
- Find evidence for William Fuller’s birth.
- Find a death date
- Identify William’s parents.
William Fuller had a complex and full life, possibly living in multiple locations. This increases the complexity of sorting out the details of his life. Many approaches could be taken, but the simplest is writing a research objective and focusing on only one research question. In this case, I focused on finding evidence for William Fuller’s birth. My research objective is:
The objective of this research is to find documentary evidence for William Fuller’s birth. William Fuller was born 17 March 1810 in Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts. His parents are unknown. He married Augusta Root on 10 August 1838. He later married Susan Taylor Black on 22 April 1843 in Washington, D. C.
Before beginning any research, it is important to analyze the records already attached to William Fuller in FamilySearch for his birth information. There were two source records tagged for his birth. The first was a book on the Root family. The second was the 1860 U.S. Census.
The primary source for the birth date listed on FamilySearch is the book, Root Genealogical Records, 1600-1870 : Comprising the general history of the Root and Roots families in America by James Pierce Root. The relevant page states:
William Fuller, who was b. March 17, 1810, in Boston, Mass.1
Unfortunately, this birth information is not sourced. There were no sources at the end of the book either. So, it is unclear where this information was obtained, though it likely does have some basis for being true. There is also no way to know with any certainty if William Fuller on FamilySearch was the same William Fuller included in the book. There is a possibility they are not the same person.
The next record is the 1860 U.S. Census.2 This record is for William Fuller and his family in New York City.
Here is an abstract:
| Name | Age | Calculated Birth Year | Sex | Birthplace |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wm Fuller | 30 | 1830 | M | NY |
| Sue Fuller | 30 | 1830 | F | Penn |
| William Fuller | 13 | 1847 | M | NY |
| Howard Fuller | 11 | 1849 | M | NY |
| Aspinwall Fuller | 9 | 1851 | M | NY |
| Daisy Fuller | 4 | 1856 | F | NY |
| Ellen Dunn (servant) | 29 | 1831 | F | Ireland |
The 1860 U.S. Census indicates William Fuller was born in 1830 in New York. This record conflicts with the Root genealogy book. The birth locations of the children seem to indicate the family was in New York from at least 1847 to 1856. In other words, New York and possibly New York City, are very important locations for the family. It is possible the reported birth location was wrong as that information could depend on who answered the enumerator’s questions. However, it does have to be given serious consideration.
Research Plan
The next step is to create a research plan to find William Fuller’s birth date and location. The conflict in the sources between the Root genealogy and the 1860 U.S. Census needs to be explained. Since Joshua indicated the 1860 U.S. Census was the key record for the Fuller family, it takes precedence. The census is also an original, primary document. The research plan identifies record collections that could help reach the objective.
This beginning research plan focuses on New York but can be expanded to include Massachusetts. The plan also includes looking at William Fuller’s children. The children would have reported their father’s birth location in census records. Even though it would be second-hand information, it could help direct additional research.
Research Plan
- New York Birth Record Collections
- New York State Census Records – the family should be listed in the 1855 New York State Census and possibly the 1865 State Census.
- Federal Census for each of the children. The children would have reported their father’s birth location.
Census Research
The research plan includes looking at the federal censuses to see how William Fuller’s children identified his birth location. This information can be collected in a table. As part of this, it would help to create a research log to collect the source citations for each census referenced.
| Census | Child | Father’s birthplace | Mother’s birthplace |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18803 | William Lee Fuller | New York | New York |
| 19004 | William Lee Fuller | Massachusetts | Pennsylvania |
| 19105 | William Lee Fuller | Massachusetts | Pennsylvania |
| 19206 | William Lee Fuller | Massachusetts | District of Columbia |
| 19307 | William Lee Fuller | Massachusetts | Pennsylvania |
While the table above only includes William Lee, I did look at William Lee’s siblings Howard John and Aspinwall. Massachusetts appears to be the more frequently reported birthplace for their father. Massachusetts birth and christening records should be added to the research plan.
Future Research
- Look for a birth certificate number for the children of William Fuller starting with William Lee Fuller. A birth certificate could include the father’s birth location.
- https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/109306
- Look for the death records of each of the children. The certificate may include the father’s birth location.
- Search New York obituaries for William Fuller and his wife.
- Search New York marriages for a marriage record between William Fuller and Susan Taylor Black. It’s possible William and Susan married in New York and not Washington, D. C.
- Search New York wills and probates for William and Susan Fuller.
Sources
- James Pierce Root, Root Genealogical records, 1600-1870 : Comprising the general history of the Root and Roots families in America (R. C. Root: Anthony & Co., 1870), images 216-217; digital images, FamilySearch (familysearch.org : accessed 13 January 2024). ↩︎
- 1860 U.S. Census, New York County, New York, population schedule, Post Office New York City, p. 310 (penned), dwelling 1087, family 1455, Wm. Fuller household; digital image, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org : accessed 13 January 2025); citing NARA microfilm publication M653. ↩︎
- 1880 U.S. New York County, New York, population schedule, New York, enumeration district (ED) 101, sheet 595C (stamped), p. 3 (penned), dwelling 345, family 26, Willliam Fuller household; digital image, FamilySearch (http://familysearch.org : accessed 13 January 2025); citing NARA microfilm publication T9. ↩︎
- 1900 U.S. Census, Hudson County, New Jersey, population schedule, Fourth Precinct, Jersey City, enumeration district (ED) 119, sheet 14B (penned), dwelling 136, family 294, William Fuller household; digital image, FamilySearch, (http://familysearch.org : accessed 13 January 2025); citing NARA microfilm publication T623. ↩︎
- 1910 U.S. Census, Hudson County, New Jersey, population schedule, Jersey City, enumeration district (ED) 127, sheet 1B (penned), dwelling 10, family 15, William L. Fuller; digital image, FamilySearch, (https://familysearch.org : accessed 13 January 2025); citing NARA microfilm publication T624. ↩︎
- 1920 U.S. Census, Hudson County, New Jersey, population schedule, Jersey City, enumeration district (ED) 158, sheet 1B (penned), dwelling 7, family 13, William L Fuller household; digital image, FamilySearch, (https://familysearch.org : accessed 14 January 2025); citing NARA microfilm publication T625_27. ↩︎
- 1930 U.S. Census, Hudson County, New Jersey, population schedule, township Jersey City, enumeration district (ED) 966, sheet 1B (penned), dwelling 10, family 27, William L Fuller; digital image, FamilySearch, (https://www.familysearch.org : accessed 14 January 2025); citing NARA microfilm publication T626. ↩︎
