Henry Packard & Polly Thatcher Kelly

Henry Packard was born 25 Aug 1786 at Dartmouth, Bristol, Massachusetts
According to several ancestry trees found at Ancestry.com, Henry married Polly Thacher Kelly (O’Kelly) on 22 Mar 1815 in Dartmouth. These trees do not list the children of this marriage nor do they list Henry’s parents.
According to the census of 1820 there was a male under the age of 10 in his household. That male child could have been Shepard L Packard who was born in 1818.

Polly was born in 1796 and died in 1830. The ancestors of Polly Thatcher O’Killey are found on the subject trees and include the surnames; Kelley, O’Kelley, Lombard, Davis, Rogers, Thacher, Crosby, Hedge, Gorham and more.

A will for a Henry Packard was filed in 1877 in Bristol County, Ma. This Henry could be the same as the one of Dartmouth. He was, however, listed as being from Acushnet, Ma. In the 1870 census he is listed with a wife Sarah, possibly a second wife. There are no children identified.

A fact that may or may not be significant is that Shepard L Packard named his second son Henry Shepard Packard.

Does anyone know the names of the children of Henry and Polly Packard?
Could one of them be Shepard L Packard, born in 1818?

Calvin Packard (1762 - ) and Betsey Dunbar

The will of Calvin Packard of Easton, Bristol County, Massachusetts, yeoman, was written 17 May 1816 and recorded 4 November 1823. In this will, he identified his wife, Betsey, as well as daughters Sally Pratt, Betsey Packard, and Loisa (Louisa?] Packard. Calvin Packard also identified one son, Tilson Packard, who was appointed executor of his father's estate. This will was witnessed by Joshua Britton, Ebenezer Kinsley, and John Serle.

Since Calvin Packard's will was written at, or just before, the approximate time of Shepard Packard's birth, this could account for Shepard Packard's absence from Calvin Packard's will. However, since his will was not recorded for seven years, it also seems likely that he would have revised his will in the event of the birth of another child. If this Calvin Packard is the same individual who appeared as head of household in Easton in the 1820 U.S. census, though, his household did contain .a male of the correct age to be a match for Shepard Packard. Therefore, we could not definitely eliminate Calvin Packard as a parentage possibility, although he does not seem to be a strong possible match.

In addition to the above information from NEHGS we found several Ancestry.com family trees which included all the above family information plus two additional sons ... Calvin and Zibeon. Calvin was born in 1799 and died in 1875. He was married to Mary Harris in 1821 and so could not have been the Calvin of the 1820 census mentioned be NEHGS. The latest child of the senior was listed as being born in 1808.  The senior Calvin was married to Betsey Dunbar.  Calvin Sr's father was Timothy Packard and his mother was Sarah Alden, a direct descendant of John Alden of Mayflower fame. I agree that neither of these two seem a likely match for my 2ng great grandfather's parent but, ... could there have been another Calvin Packard who was listed in the 1820 census?  Who was he? Was he my 3rd great grandfather and who were his parents?

Abijah Packard (1768-1842)

Abijah Packard was identified as residing in Bristol County, Massachusetts in the 1820 U.S. census who could be considered a  parentage possibility for Shepard Packard (b. circa 181S, Massachusetts), since his household contained a male below the age of ten who could be a match for Shepard Packard.

The will of Abijah Packard of Dartmouth., Bristol County, Massachusetts, yeoman, was dated 3 June 1842. In his will, Abijah Packard identified several family members by name, including sons Henry S. Packard and Charles F. Packard (both appointed as executors of their fathers estate), daughter-in-law Mary Packard, grandsons William a, Franklin S., and Charles A. Packard, granddaughters Mary Ann and Abby M. Packard, son-in-law Elihu Wood, and grandson John A. Wood. This will, which was witnessed by Joseph Gifford, John Cummings, and William Howland, did not contain any reference to Shepard Packard.

The above information came from NEHGS and the birth and death dates as well as the name of his wife, Hannah Smith (1775-1811)  was derived from Ancestry.com family trees.  To have been the father of a child about 1811, Abijah must have married again but we have no knowledge of this union. No marriage was found for their son Henry. Charles apparently married Mary Pierce and they parented William Henry, Marry Ann, Franklin S, and Charles A. It is unknown if this information is complete nor do we know the parents of Abijah. Since Shepard had gone into the Army for six years and then never returned home it is entirely possible that they didn't know where he was and he was left out of the will.

Does anyone know more about this Packard family group? Is there a connection to Shepard L Packard? 

 Gamaliel Packard (1776-1855) & Susan Joy (1779-1852)

Administration of the estate of Gamaliel Packard or Dartmouth was granted to William Howland, also of Dartmouth, in a document dated 5 June 185521 This Gamaliel Packard (b. 1776; d. 26 March 1855) also appeared in Burials and burial places in the sown of Dartmouth, Massachusetts, which stated that he was buried at the Newtown Burial Ground in Dartmouth, alongside his wife, Susannah Packard (b. b. 1779; d, 13 September 1852).  Gamaled Packard was listed in the census of 1820 as having a male below the age of 10 who could be a match for Shepard Packard (b 1818)

Other Family Information:

For additional information regarding the Lossner/Husmann families and Florence Lucille Lossner the Milns family and the Copeland Families as well as how these the families intermarried in the earlier days you are invited to view the following pages: