| Notes |
- According to Robert L. Winder (Sep 2000):
Caleb Winder, the oldest child of James Winder of Bloomfield Township, Crawford County, PA, was born in 1796, according to the best estimates that can now be made from census records and his grave marker. This date indicates that he was born in Fayette County, PA prior to his father's move north to Crawford County, PA. It is supposed that Caleb's mother was living when the family moved to Crawford County, but no record of her has been found except as a number in the census of 1790 and 1800. Our first public record of Caleb, other than the cryptic count of the 1810 census, is the record of his service in the Pennsylvania Militia during the War of 1812. The Pennsylvania Archives and the Military Service files of the National Archives both show that Caleb served from 14 October 1812 to 31 October 1812, and was paid $3.00 at the end of his service. This service was done in the Company of Captain Nathaniel Price, attached to the 135th Regiment of the 16th Division of Pennsylvania Militia, Lt. Col. Andrew Christy Commanding. Caleb was a private in this company, while James Winder, presumably his father, served as First Sergeant, as did a Samuel Winder who has not been further identified.
Caleb probably returned to the Brownsville area in Fayette County, PA, as his oldest son, Lewis B. Winder told the story in the subscription History of Elkhart County, Indiana. Caleb learned the hatter's trade as an apprentice in Brownsville, and then at some time, apparently before 1816, he took a position as a "keelboater", and floated down the Monongahela, Ohio, and Mississippi Rivers, presumably to New Orleans. Brownsville was the site of the building and launching of many keelboats, so it would not be unusual that Caleb would venture to go on one of them down the river, as he was single and seeking his fortune, which no doubt appeared quite limited as a hat maker in Brownsville. After Caleb completed the raft journey, he stayed for some time in Natchez, Mississippi, and related that there he was stricken by yellow fever, and was shipped to St. Louis with several other victims of this outbreak of "yellow jack". The history of Natchez does in fact record that in 1816 several yellow fever victims were shipped to St. Louis for treatment, as no hospital had been established in Natchez by then. This outbreak supposedly provided the impetus to have the first hospital built in Natchez. As the story related, Caleb was fortunate enough to recover from the yellow fever, and then spent "fourteen years wandering in the wilderness" of the west. This seems a bit apocryphal, but the next record of Caleb is found in the tax list of 1826 for Bloomfield Township, Crawford County, taxed for 25 cents for one house valued at $25. In 1827 he was listed as Caleb G. Winder and was assessed at $1.13 for 88 acres of land, 1 horse, 1 ox and 1 cow. He appeared on the tax rolls in Bloomfield Township through 1831, when he is listed with no land taxable. 1831 is the approximate date of his removal to Ohio. According to his son, Elihu, Caleb was a native of Pennsylvania. In the 1830 census, Caleb Winder is shown as a head of household in Bloomfield Township, Crawford County, PA, but by the 1840 census he is listed in Randolph Township, Portage County, Ohio, as the head of a household. That household, in 1840, contained Caleb, his wife Margaret Bloomfield Winder, and seven children. The date of marriage of Caleb Winder and Margaret Bloomfield is given as 7 July 1825 according to the record in Lewis B. Winder's family Bible. The marriage is presumed to have taken place in Bloomfield Township, Carwford County, PA. No deed records were found in Crawford County, PA showing that Caleb Winder ever bought or sold land there.
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About 1830 Lewis Bloomfield and several of his children moved to Stark County, Ohio. Caleb , Margaret, and their children soon followed him to that area. Stark County deed records show that Caleb G. Winder purchased, for $500, from Henry Botman [Boatman] and Elizabeth, his wife, about 80 acres (the West ½ of the SE ¼ of Section 26, in township 20, range 7), received by Henry Botman on patent from the U. S. Land Office at Steubenville, Ohio. This was part of the "Seven Ranges" first opened up for sale in Ohio. This description places Caleb's land about 2 miles directly south of Marlboro Village, and about 4 miles south and 1 mile east of the land bought by his father-in-law east of New Baltimore, Ohio. On 8 April 1836 Caleb and his wife Margaret sold this land in section 26 for $800 to John Baptist Menegot and his wife Mary. Only eleven days after that, on 19 April 1836, Caleb purchased 80 acres in Randolph Township, in Portage County, Ohio, and moved to that location, where he resided until his death on 13 July 1840. The land in Randolph Township was described as "part of Lot 11 in Township 1 and Range 8". Caleb's grave is in the New Baltimore Cemetery, ½ mile east of New Baltimore, in Marlboro Township, on land that his father-in-law, Lewis Bloomfield, once owned. The grave marker was extant in October 1982 and bore the inscription "CALEB WINDER, Died 13 July 1840, aged 44 years". Beside the grave was a metal marker indicating his military service in the War of 1812.
The 1840 Census shows Caleb Winder as the head of a household in Randolph Township, Portage County, Ohio, and that household consisted of 2 males 5-9 years old, 2 males 10-14 years old, 1 male 40-49 years old, 3 females under 5 years, and 1 female, 30-39 years of age. Caleb's occupation was shown as a farmer. Again, according to Caleb's oldest son, Lewis B. Winder, there were supposed to have been 8 children born to Caleb and Margaret, but if so, one of them must have died young, or completely lost contact with the rest of the family. Caleb died leaving no will - at least there is no record of probate of a will in Portage County, Ohio. His widow, Margaret, is believed to have gone to live with her parents in Marlboro Township, Stark County, and she was reported to have died there in 1842 . The family Bible record section of Lewis B. Winder's Bible states that Margaret Winder died 13 December 1842. She is believed to be buried in the New Baltimore Cemetery, but there was no marker there in 1982 for her, nor was one present when the undated "cemetery census" of Stark County, as found in the Canton Library, was taken. This cemetery census also listed a Melissa Winder as buried there. Melissa was a grandchild of Caleb and Margaret Winder, the daughter of Lewis B. Winder and his first wife, Sarah Ann Walker. No headstone was found for Melissa Winder in 1982. In 1845 Lewis M. Bloomfield, Caleb's brother-in-law, rather belatedly took out letters of administration on Caleb's estate, but there is no record of an accounting of this administration on file in Portage County. The last papers in the file indicate only that Lewis M. Bloomfield was issued a summons to show cause for his failure to file an accounting on the estate in 1846. Probably Lewis M. Bloomfield took out the administration papers because Margaret had died, leaving no adult legally responsible to look after Caleb's estate and his children.
After Caleb's death, and before 1850, it appears that the children were living with relatives or friends, perhaps some in Randolph Township, Portage County, and some in Marlboro Township, Stark County. Elihu Winder, age 18, farm laborer, born Pennsylvania, was in 1850 living with his uncle, Lewis M. Bloomfield, in Randolph Township; Amy Winder, age 10, attending school, was living with her grandparents, Lewis and Susanna Bloomfield, in Marlboro Township in the 1850 census. The other children, except for James, who was married and living in Randolph Township, have not been found in the 1850 census.
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The children of Caleb and Margaret Bloomfield Winder who have been positively identified as such are only six in number. A seventh is believed to have been Warren Winder, who is included in the listings below. Of these children, the three oldest were born in Crawford County, Pennsylvania, and the remaining four children were born in Ohio, most likely in Randolph Township, Portage County.
- (Research):1830 census
2 males under 5 (1826-1830)
1 male 20-29 (1801-1810) Caleb
1 female 15-19 (1811-1815)
1840 census
2 males 5-9 (1831-1835)
2 males 10-14 (1826-1830)
1 male 40-49 (1791-1800) Caleb
3 females under 5 (1826-1830)
1 female 30-39 (1801-1810) Margaret
(note, this along with the 1830 census makes Caleb b. ca 1800)
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1796 - 1840 (44 years)
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