Ezekiel "Zeal" Welch

[ccaufield]

Hi There,
I have hit a bit of a brick wall and am hoping for some assistance.

I am looking for Ezekiel "Zeal" Welch, he's my 4th Great Grandfather
Here's what I do know:
- He was born around 1800 and died around 1877 ( source is only ancestry trees, no source documentation)
- He married a Hannah Mead around 1824/1825 - possibly around Walsingham, Haldimand County, Ontario, Canada or possibily somewhere in the United States. She lived from approximatly 1800 - 1883 ( again, just Ancestry trees, no documentation, although I think it's possible this information is incorrect, as there was a Hannah Mead married to a Seely Mead with this same information)
- He had one son, Benjamin Mattison Welch who was born around 1824/1825 - birth location unknown, but some family trees on Ancestry indicate the US.
- I have been able to confirm everything about Benjamin, his marriages, and his children, but nothing about Ezekiel.
- He might be Irish (Later census from Benjamin have Irish indicated as his "tribe")
- There is a paragraph in the Long Point Settlers that mentions he married Hannah and settled in the US

Hannah Mead, the second daughter, married Zeal Welch, and settled in the States. She had one son, Benjamin, who married Catherine Dedrick, and settled in Walsingham, where he raised a family of four sons—Abraham, William, Madison and James; and three daughters—Harriet, Susan and Jane. Subsequently Benjamin Welch married Rebecca Jewell, by whom he had a second family. source: https://sites.google.com/site/longpointsettlers/pioneer-sketches/owen-chapter-86

I would love some assistance locating more information about Ezekiel "Zeal" Welch. There are a few records in the US, but they all have the wrong children or spouse. Thank-you!

[oldohiohome]

Benjamin Welch's birthplace varied on his censuses, not much help here:
1851: born in Canada
1861: Upper Canada
1871: (just from an index) born in US
1881: US
1891: Ontario

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I didn't find Ezekiel as Welch, Walsh, or Welsh in the 1861 census in Haldimand, Ontario
https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/census/Pages/census.aspx. You'd think he would show up. Didn't see Hannah either, which is a harder name to mangle in transcribing.

One strategy for finding Ezekiel might be to look for the other Meads. That area history that you linked to says this about Hannah's brother George:

"George Mead, younger son of Benjamin, married Elizabeth Wilson, and settled on the homestead. He had three sons—William, John and Walter; and two daughters—Candace and Caroline. This family settled in the States."

Of course, it would have helped if the authors were clearer. Did they settle on the homestead or in the States? Still, George, Eliz. and 5 children's names might give you a bigger target than just Ezekiel, Hannah and Benjamin when searching.

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Or did  other residents of Walsingham, Haldimand Co go to the states. If so, where? Did any of their children move back to Ontario? Was there a pattern of doing so?

[oldohiohome]

One strategy for finding Ezekiel might be to look for the other Meads. That area history that you linked to says this about Hannah's brother George:

"George Mead, younger son of Benjamin, married Elizabeth Wilson, and settled on the homestead. He had three sons—William, John and Walter; and two daughters—Candace and Caroline. This family settled in the States."

George stayed in Canada. In 1851 he and his wife and those five children are in Norfolk Co, ON. In 1861 George is probably the widowed laborer living with a Wilson family, in Norfolk Co.
[based on links to censuses from a tree on ancestry]

So George Mead isn't going to help you find Ezekiel Welch.

[ccaufield]

Great questions to think through, thank you.

There is lots of information on Benjamin Mead (Hannah's father) he was part of the war of 1812, and there are several records of him. Also lots on most of Hannah's younger siblings, but Hannah and her sister Catherine seem are hard to locate in the records. I'll have a look for George.

I have to wonder if one or both (Zeal & Hannah) died early, it seems odd to me that they only had one child (assuming that resource I am using is correct). I can usually locate some census with the parents and child on it, but it's oddly absent. Benjamin starts showing up consistently after 1861, but he seems oddly non-exsistant before then - I can't even find marriage records for his two wives.  I wonder if the inconsistency in his birth location is due to him actually not knowing where he was born. A good genealogy mystery!

[ccaufield]

One strategy for finding Ezekiel might be to look for the other Meads. That area history that you linked to says this about Hannah's brother George:

"George Mead, younger son of Benjamin, married Elizabeth Wilson, and settled on the homestead. He had three sons—William, John and Walter; and two daughters—Candace and Caroline. This family settled in the States."

George stayed in Canada. In 1851 he and his wife and those five children are in Norfolk Co, ON. In 1861 George is probably the widowed laborer living with a Wilson family, in Norfolk Co.
[based on links to censuses from a tree on ancestry]

So George Mead isn't going to help you find Ezekiel Welch.

Darn!

[oldohiohome]

I have to wonder if one or both (Zeal & Hannah) died early, it seems odd to me that they only had one child (assuming that resource I am using is correct). I can usually locate some census with the parents and child on it, but it's oddly absent. Benjamin starts showing up consistently after 1861, but he seems oddly non-exsistant before then - I can't even find marriage records for his two wives.  I wonder if the inconsistency in his birth location is due to him actually not knowing where he was born. A good genealogy mystery!

I hadn't thought of that. Zeal and Hannah could have moved to the US, both died, and Benjamin was then raised by relatives in Canada. That would account for the story that they 'settled in the States' and for Benj's not being sure where he was born.

[Nikkiwelch]

Hi!
I'm guessing you're one of my "cousins" because zeal is also my 4th great grandfather. Did you ever have any success with this as I've been searching for quite a while but cannot find any information on Zeal or Hannah. I'd love to get further than Zeal. The Welch name has a lot of history in Ontario and New Brunswick but I cannot find anything (other than the same details you've posted here)