Samuel Allin (1756-1841) Revolutionary War soldier of North Carolina and Kentucky: A record of his many descendants 1756 -1960. (ca 1960) - https://archive.org/details/samuelallin1756100alle/page/n0
Some Descendants of Richard Bagley and of his son Edward Bagley of New Brunswick and Salt Lake. (1973) - https://dcms.lds.org/delivery/DeliveryManagerServlet?from=fhd&dps_pid=IE223049
A lasting legacy : the Bagley family history since 1628. (1997) - https://dcms.lds.org/delivery/DeliveryManagerServlet?from=fhd&dps_pid=IE71740
Around 1960, the family history, Samuel Allin (1756-1841) Revolutionary War soldier of North Carolina and Kentucky: A record of his many descendants 1756 -1960, was published. It is well sourced. On page 227 there is an unsourced chart that connects Edward Bagley of New Brunswick and Salt Lake through his father to Orlando Bagley back to Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormonism. The chart lists dates that match the family of Richard Bagley of Amesbury. Edward's birthdate is given as 18 February 1815. This is the earliest document I can find that associates Edward Bagley with Richard Bagley of Amesbury and the first time any one proposed a maiden name for his mother. On this chart the name for Edward's mother is given as Esther Peffer. The following information is a pair of articles from Progressive Men in Southern Idaho, copied by Adihela H. Bagley. The rest of the information is largely drawn from family records of John Bagley and Hawley Bagley.
Norton Russell Bagley published a series of manuscripts about the Bagley family - Some Descendants of Richard Bagley and of his son Edward Bagley of New Brunswick and Salt Lake. (1973) and Some Descendants of Orlando Bagley, Vol 1-3. (1973, revised ca 1990)1 Based on the introduction, research was conducted mostly by contacting individuals and asking for family relations. Norton stated in Descendants of Richard Bagley there was no Richard Bagley had dates that would match the father of Edward Bagley and identified Samuel Bagley of New Brunswick without identifying a relationship with Richard. He identified Amos Puffer's daughter Esther Puffer as the married wife of Richard Bagley and referenced the Puffer genealogy by Charles Nutt for dates.2 He gives Edward the birth date of 18 Feb 1815, notes the opinion of John Bagley that his father was born in New York, and notes other accounts put him in Hartford, Connecticut.
Martha Bagley Halverson published A lasting legacy : the Bagley family history since 1628 in 1997. On page 39, she recounts the family story about Richard and Edward Bagley. She identifies Richard Bagley as Richard of Amesbury, states he was a sea captain, and identifies Esther Puffer - with the dates of Amos' daughter - as the mother of Edward Bagley. She gives Edward the birthdate of 18 February 1815. Halverson states "Their son, Edward, told his own children that his father was Richard Bagley and his mother was Esther Puffer." No sources are offered for this statement; this book is written in the style of an inspiring history. From the bibliography, Halverson lists the journals of John Bagley and Hawley Bagley and interviews with family members. Halverson states there was no marriage between Richard and Esther, which disagrees with Some Descendants of Richard Bagley.
Halverson used Norton Russell Bagley as a source, and is recounting the same family as Samuel Allin - the family of John Allen Bagley and Hawley Bagley - but does not include Samuel Allin in the bibliography. Halverson probably had access to most of the primary sources cited in Samuel Allin - the personal records of John Allen Bagley and Hawley Bagley, and did not feel a need to cite Samuel Allin, and may not have used it directly.
There is little consistent agreement between these accounts. The authors of these three works clearly agree on the assertion Edward Bagley was born in 1815. They are split on the birth place between Hartford and New York. There are no direct sources listed to check these claims. Sources created during Edward's life time place his birth was either 1807 or 1810. The place given is "Old Hartford", Connecticut, or CT. Early records of Edward's activities in New Brunswick favor an earlier birthdate.3 Edward's children reported different locations for their father's birthplace: most reported Connecticut or New York in census records, though some listed other places.
Only two of the works claim Richard Bagley is Richard of Amesbury. Both use this to illustrate the claim of a family connection to Joseph Smith. Halverson relates the family story that Edward went with his father to New Brunswick in search of lumber. Edward's earlier birth puts Richard in question, and at least for Halverson, the mobility of a sea captain is necessary to account for how Richard and Esther met. Richard Bagley of Amesbury's probate records identifying him as a plater instead of sea captain raise additional questions that Halverson and the author of Samuel Allin correctly identified Edward's father. Halverson's correct statements about Richard's marriages and the admission there was no documented marriage indicates she was aware of the lack of external supporting records.
Only two of the works claim Esther Puffer, daughter of Amos Puffer, is the mother of Edward Bagley. The one that does not is the earliest Samuel Allin. It is likely the identification of Esther Bagley with the daughter of Amos Puffer came after 1960. Halverson claims there was no marriage, contradicting statements in Some Descendants of Richard Bagley. For Halverson, the assertion is dependent on the later birthdate in family records for Edward Bagley and Esther being present in Connecticut at the time of his birth. The other authors do not address the issue, making it likely Halverson was aware of questions regarding the relationship, while Norton Russell and the author of the chart in Samuel Allin were not.
Summary:
- Three published works propose a relationship between Edward Bagley and Richard Bagley of Amesbury and/or Esther Puffer of Jamaica
- Two document the relationship between Edward and Richard to illustrate a connection between Edward Bagley and Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormonism
- None of the authors for various reasons gave sources for the claims
- In cases where sources were cited, the sources do not establish a clear relationship between Edward Bagley and either individual named as his parents
1In the three volumes of Some Descendants of Orlando Bagley, Norton Russell Bagley documented other family lines - the first two dedicated to documenting the lines that could be tied to Orlando and the third volume to those which could not.
2Nutt does not contain any reference to a marriage between Esther Puffer and Richard Bagley.
3Edward first bought land from John Grant in 1832 and is a witness for George Grant's marriage in 1833. These are activities that are usually activities that require a legal majority to be valid. This means Edward would have needed to pass for 21 in 1832. See Legal Age | Bob;s Genealogy Cabinet (http://www.genfiles.com/articles/legal-age/) for a general discussion of the age of majority in the British colonies including additional resources.
