Nathan Trail

Allegany County, Maryland 1838 Probate Record: https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XKJK-RVF https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XKJK-4LJ

Listed heirs:

• Susan Trail (Widow of Nathan)
• Malala Trail
• Nathan Trail
• Elizabeth wife of Thomas Hartley
• William Trail
• John Trail
• Ashford Trail
• David Trail

Administrator of Probate : Thomas B Trail stated on 11 Sep 1838. When Thomas died the Administrator of Nathan's Estate became John Mann.

My listing of James Trail Jr. and Mary Ann Northcraft's children came from the Northcraft genforum,Janice Parker in 2000 made that listing "Re Edward Northcraft 1750".She had a definite date for James and Mary Ann's marriage, 27 August 1777.Unless Nathan was from an earlier marriage one would expect his birth date to be 1778 not 1775.

3. MARY ANN2 NORTHCRAFT (EDWARD1) She married JAMES TRAIL August 26, 1777 in Montgomery County, Maryland, son of JAMES TRAIL and RACHAEL ?. He was born 1748 in Montgomery County, Maryland, and died Abt. 1823 in Montgomery County, Maryland.

Children of MARY NORTHCRAFT and JAMES TRAIL are:

• i .ASHFORD3 TRAIL, d. 1863, Montgomery County, Maryland; m. ANN UNKNOWN.
• ii.SUSANNA TRAIL, m. CLEMENT BOSWELL, December 24, 1821, Montgomery County, Maryland7.
• iii.NATHAN TRAIL, b. Abt. 1778, Montgomery County, Maryland; d. November 29, 1825, Montgomery County, Maryland.
• iv.JAMES TRAIL, b. 1781, Montgomery County, Maryland; d. Bef. April 08, 1823, Montgomery County, Maryland.
• v.RACHEL TRAIL, b. 1782.
• vi.NOTLEY TRAIL, b. Abt. 1785.
• vii.MARY ANN TRAIL, b. March 11, 1786, Montgomery County, Maryland; d. January 09, 1861, Southampton, Bedford County, Pennsylvania.
• viii.ELEANOR TRAIL, b. 1788.
• ix.GULIELMA TRAIL, b. October 10, 1794, Montgomery County, Maryland; d. July 07, 1873.
• x.FRANCES "FANNY" TRAIL, b. December 11, 1798, Montgomery County, Maryland.

About Nathan.Nathan was born in 1774 according to Sarencia Powers.His death date may be 29 Nov 1825 from a family Bible?but it was before 5 Sep 1838 definitely (see my note below).He lived in Chaneysville, South Hampton Twp., Bedford Co., PA and nearby Allegany Co., MD.It was said that their first four children were born in Montgomery County and the others in PA/MD. (Historical note:Allegheny County, MD used to be Washington County until 1789.)

In the 1810 Census of No. Jefferson Co. W Virginia there is a Nathan Trail listed who had 3 males under 10, Nathan (male between 26 and 45) and his wife (fem. between 16 and 26).Rosalee Fuller identifies this as the Nathan Trail (b. c. 1783) son of James (b. 1753) and Mary Ann Trail.The Pennsylvania Census Index lists his brother, James Trail, and his brother in law, George Buxton, as living in Southampton Dist. of Bedford Co., PA in 1820.(She says 'Ohio' in her sources note, but that would only be if it was also land claimed by Ohio as well as Virginia and PA, since it is a PA Index.) (Info from Fuller p. 5 and 39)M.A. Cole has the land purchase record of James and George's joint purchase of a farm in Bedford Co..Later James went on to Ohio, Seneca Co. with his family in 1839-40.

Tax records in No. Jefferson Co., VA, show a Nathan Trail paying poll tax only in 1806, 1807, 1810, 1813, and then from 1817 to 1820.This seems to indicate that the family kept spending periods of time elsewhere.This would explain the two records that are given for Nathan and Susannah's son, Samuel, b. 1808 (pg. 5 in Fuller).Perhaps because they lived in W VA off and on for those years, the 1850 Census ofN Jeff. Co. lists Samuel's birthplace as Virginia, but according to the report of his death (from information supplied by his widow and recorded by his son Charles, Assessor of Jeff. Co. at that time, 16 Jan 1877) he was born in PA.His parents were identified as "---Trails", evidently because Evalina, Samuel's wife, had not known them.Nathan died in 1825 according to Fuller.At that time Samuel was only 13, several years before Samuel and Evalina were married further north in 1832 in Washington Co., Maryland. (Samuel and Evalina's children were all born in Harpers Ferry, W. Virgina.)

A record later in the Allegany County records (found by Mary Ann Cole) was Nathan Trail (Liber C, folio 142) Wednesday, September 5, 1838, Nathan Trail, late of Allegany Co, deceased.Application is this day made by Thomas B. Trail for letters of administration on the personal estate of Nathan Trail late of Allegany County deceased. This must mean that the 1825 date of his death is wrong, or belongs to a different Nathan Trail (there were more of them). The next year Thomas B. Trail himself died.

Nathan and his family seemed to move around a fair amount between Jefferson County VA (now W VA), Piney Grove, MD and perhaps to Bedford Co., PA.It was a time for moving into new territories and many people were trying out various localities, clearing new homesteads and trading properties.Nathan died in 1825Montgomery Co., MDacc. to Fuller p. 40, a man in his prime years, leaving his wife with 10 children, one not yet born! Mary Ann Cole’s 1838 date must be right since the place of death as Montgomery Co. in 1825 is strange.He had been living in other places, not Montgomery Co., MD.

Mary Ann Cole found a patent by Nathan Trail dated 1802 for a tract “Trails Good Will”,in Frederick Co.,. 7 1/2 acrews Liber IC#R, Folio 96. Note: Patented to Jacob Everheart, Liber IC#L, folio 719.

Source: Re: Looking for Trail Family Info, By Gail Trail July 17, 2009 at 12:35:51, In reply to: Re: Looking for Trail Family Info. http://www.genealogy.com/forum/surnames/topics/trail/1802/