The children of Russell Vibert and Sarah Penhallow

I am basing the Russell Luke connection on the names and the fact that his sister Almira (the aunt who raised his son Wallace) is tentatively identified as the youngest child of Russell Sr. and Sarah (the Gene Cochran postings). Later note – Russell listed his parents as Russell and Sally when he married Christina Ellis in Attleboro MA.

The older sister Maria is also identified through the Gene Cochran postings which seem to be pretty well documented although it is not clear from the accompanying write-up what is proven by the sources and what is conjecture.

Warren and Allen appear to be brothers since they are buried together. Warren’s widow Caroline (Phelps) lived as his widow for many years in Hartford. I am assuming she is the Caroline Vibert who identifies herself as the widow of Russell L.’s brother in the Charles W. Vibert pension file although Caroline (Bancroft) Vibert was also around (widow of William H., son of David and Nancy). But David and Nancy’s children are pretty well documented so it’s hard to believe Russell and Almira could be theirs. Plus they already seem to be pretty well tied to Russell Sr. and Sarah Penhallow.

The above is incorrect. I can’t find any definite connection between Warren and Allen. They are not buried together and Allen is buried with a woman named Mary Vibbert(s) who may be his mother. The connection between Warren and Russell may still be true but at this point I have no evidence to support the theory that Allen is a member of this family. However, the evidence for Warren as a son of Russell still seems pretty good.

The Hartford Courant marriage announcement for Mary Mahela and Dudley V. Snow identifies her as the daughter of Russell Vibert.

Harriet B. (m. Ansel Eber Ingraham) is identified on the Web as a child of Russell and Sarah.

These “facts” tie Warren, Allen, Almira, Maria and Russell together and to Russell and Sarah as parents and therefore to Harriet and Mary Ann (or Mary Mahela) as well but there are many assumptions. Also, the Gene Cochran postings say that Almira claimed to be the youngest of 13 but the census information does not appear to support more than about 7 children.

Charles W.’s pension file also mentions that when Luke was arrested (sometime around 1850-1855), one of his companions in crime was Hiram Vibbert who was convicted. Could he be another brother? I did find an IGI record for Hiram which gave his father as Russell L. Vibbert and a birthplace of Vernon, Tolland County, CT with no actual DOB and no source. Also a marriage record in Springfield, MA in 1856 giving his age as 25. So he looks like a strong possibility.

Another anomaly in the Cochran posting is that Almira apparently says that two of her brothers were in the Civil War and that one died at Andersonville Prison. The two brothers are probably Russell and Nathan but I don’t have anyone in the family dying at Andersonville except the George Vibbert from New York, son of Stephen. Even if Stephen did turn out to be a son of Russell (my original theory), her statement doesn’t make any sense. However, Charles W. does appear to have been held at Andersonville before being released to Camp Parole.

Note: the Penhallow website does show Nathan as a son of Russell but I don’t know what their evidence is. Mine is just that he turns up in the Worcester area and it seems as though that’s where Russell and Sarah’s family ended up.

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Home: Surnames: Penhallow Family Genealogy Forum

Posted by: Gene Cochran

Date: January 11, 2000 at 18:37:33

In Reply to: Penhallow Penharlow Penhollow Harlow by Kevin Penhallow

of 11

I’m interested. I have an ancestor (Almira Ellen Vibbert, b. Jul 1833, bp. Ludlow, MA) who’s parents are Russell Vibbert and Sarah Penhallow. (That’s what she filled out on her marriage certificate. Athough she used the spelling "Penharlow" for her mother’s maiden name.) She lived with her granddaughter Daisy Cochran (Cowgill) for a period of time after her husband died. She related to Daisy a number of stories. The following are some extracts from a letter Daisy wrote to a nephew about the family.

Almira Vibbert, my grandmother, was the youngest of her 13 brothers and sisters.

Grandma saw lots of the troubles of war. Two of her brothers were in the Civil War, one died in Andersonville Prison.

Our Mother [Eldora Sarah (Tourtellotte) Cochran] was half French. Grandma [Almira Ellen Vibbert], 16 years old and her boy friend, the same age, had gone with her sister and fiance, who were to be married and took the youngsters along. With a little persuasion, they got married too. When they returned Great Grandma was very angry. Great Grandmother told her, "Now you have married him, go live with him!"

[They were m. 5 Aug 1849, mp. W. Thompson, Windham Co., CT. Her sister Maria Vibbert married an Ebenezer Jencks at that time.]

Now my French grandfather lived in a fine home of wealth, which grandmother wasn’t used to, and his parents weren’t pleased either. His father owned and operated a big stage coach line across the state of New York. The name is Tourtlelotte [sic] and very French. Sad to say I don’t know what my grandfather’s name [Charles Leonidas Tourtellotte] was. Because it is said they fought like cats and dogs, and when my mother Eldora Tourtlelotte [sic] was four years old, Grandma took her and went home; this time great grandmother had relented and she stayed.

Grandma was never interested in joining the Daughters of the American Revolution. Her church and Dorcas Society was all she cared about. She had papers to prove that she could be a member. After her death her second [sic] [third] husband, William Lucas, an old soldier and I must say rather ignorant (although he owned a nice home in Hancock, New York), made a grand cleaning one day and burned up all the papers. Perhaps he liked bonfires?

My great-grandmother’s maiden name was Pen Harlow; it was he who helped dump the tea in Boston Harbor.

Little is known of her except that she had red hair and a hot temper. She was the youngest of 13 children.

She told grandmother [Almira Ellen Vibbert] all about the Boston Tea Party. As I [Daisy Belle (Cochran) Cowgill] got it as a kid, it was [great] Grandmother’s father, Pen Harlow, who was leader of the Boston Tea Party. If it was before he had 13 children it might have been, if not, it was his father. They dressed like Indians, swam out to the ship with its cargo of tea, cut the containers open and dumped it into the ocean. Then, as silently they slipped into the woods where they hid out for a few days to see if suspicion would fall on them, for they were still subjects of the crown, and could be killed for treason. It was three years before the Declaration [of Independence] was signed.

Pen Harlow owned a lot of land in Boston, but then, as now, the big shots have their way of getting what they want. In the Revolution, Pen Harlow was terribly wounded; without the medicines of today he suffered seven years in bed before his death.

Most of his children must have been born after the war. Grandmother [Almira Ellen (Vibbert) Tourtellotte] said her mother told her they lived in Boston and owned quite a lot of property, but he lost it because the men who were in that Boston Tea Party, all had to hide out or be hung by the British for traitors because they were under the rule of the king of England until after the Revolution. Pen Harlow was the leader of the group who broke the kegs of tea. They dressed like Indians and hid in the woods.

He had left England against his father’s will to come to America and join the Colonists. His father owned a factory and was wealthy so he made a will that the property was to be held in trust for the 4th generation of Pen Harlow. The fourth generation sent lawyers to England to get it, but they were bought off and they always came back claiming it couldn’t be settled. Several of them then pooled their money and were going to send the lawyer Daniel Webster, but he died. He was considered an honest man.

It’s interesting how the family tradition loosely conforms to what I’ve seen on Penhollow/Penhallow. There is a problem with the dates that I’ve seen however for Russell Vibbert and Sarah Penhallow. The dates I’ve seen indicate that they would have been dead before Almira was born. The family tradition says that Almira was kicked out of the house by her mother because she got married at the age of 16. If this is true, then Sarah Penhallow would still be alive in 1849.

This requires further investigation. I would be grateful for any information that you might have regarding Sarah Penhallow and Russell Vibbert.

Thank you.

Followups:

Re: Penhallow Penharlow Penhollow Harlow Kevin Penhallow 1/14/00

Re: Penhallow Penharlow Penhollow Harlow Mar 12/28/00

Re: Penhallow Penharlow Penhollow Harlow Kevin Penhallow 3/01/01

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