Documentation of the age of Felix Demonbreun
Date of birth of Felix Demonbreun. 28 Jan 1789
The age Felix gave for each census record 1820-1860 is consistent with a year of birth of 1789. When He applied for a pension in 1855, he stated he was 66 years old. Two of his gr gr grandsons gave the birthdate of 28 Jan 1789 on their SAR applications both gave the family bible as the source. Kathryn Whitefort thought the birth date of Felix was 28 Jan 1789, until she found out he might be illegitimate.
8 Jul 1791 – Timothy Demonbreun deeds to Felix Theodore Bennett son of Elizabeth a one acre lot in Nashville
24 May 1809 – Marriage
1811 Tax list Felix belongs to the same militia company as his stepfather and is listed two household from him.
1812 Tax list Felix belongs to the same militia company as his stepfather and is listed two household from him.
10 Dec 1812 – 9 Feb 1813 Served in War of 1812
13 Oct 1813 Felix sells one acre lot deed to him in 1791 by Timothy Demonbreun.
1820 Census In 1820 there is more than one family living in the household of Felix Demonbreun. Felix is probably the male age 24-44. YOB - 1776-1796. The other is male over 45, born before 1775.
1830 Census - Male 40-49, yob born 1781-1790
1840 Census - Male 50-59, yob 1781-1790
1850 Census – Given age 61, yob 1789
1855 Pension Application War of 1812. Felix stated that he was 66 year old on the 24th of May 1855.
1860 Census - Given age 71, yob 1789
When Felix lived in Davidson County he was near neighbors with John Baptiste Demonbreun and with Elizabeth Durrat on census records and tax records. He was baptized in the same church as his brother John B. Demonbreun. The fact that he believed he was born in 1789 means he could not be the Timothy born in 1770. And it would very difficult for a man to go through life believing he was 20 years younger than his actual age. Especially when he was a young man.
There is no record of a Timothy Felix. Mrs. Whitefort made that up. Never once is there a document with the name Timothy and Felix together.
There was a Timothy Demonbreun born in 1770 who was a son of Timothy Demonbreun and Theresa Archange Gibault. A second son named Jacques Timothy was born to this couple in 1788.
In a book about the Boucher/Demonbreun family, Kathryn Whitefort used the name Timothy Felix when she reported the baptism of Timothy Demonbreun in 1770. However the name Felix was not in this record. Mrs. Whitefort was a descendant of Felix Demonbreun who lived in KY.
There is no record of the Timothy born in 1770 other than his baptismal record. There is no official document that has the name Timothy Felix. I would welcome anyone who could prove this to be wrong.
There was a Felix Demonbreun. His family records shows that he was born in 1789. On every census record his given age is consistent with being born in 1789. When he applied for a pension for his service in the war of 1812, Felix made the statement on May 24, 1855 that he was 66 years old. This adds to the evidence that he was born in 1789, not 1770. People back in those days did sometimes get confused about their age. Records were not often kept and many were not able to read or write. This was not true with Felix. He had family bible and he was literate. According to a statement by his wife in her widow's pension application, the Bible contained birth, marriage and death dates for Felix. A young person has a good idea of their age but as they grow older they sometimes become confused. They often think they might be older than they are but rarely do they claim to be younger. Sometimes they are off by several years. But what person would think they were twenty years younger than they are? If Felix was born in 1770, he would have been ninety-eight years old. He would have been ninety in 1860 when the census was taken, yet he thought he was 71. It should be too much of a stretch for most people to think a man lost 20 years of his life. And we get to that family record used over and over of a year of birth of 1789. It is my opnion that Mrs. Whitefort had a terrible shock when she discovered that Timothy did not name Felix in his will. She says in her book that she was not able to find the will. And yet it was readily available. She knew he died in Nashville, she knew the date and she yet she failed to go the courthouse to read the will. I believe she did read the will and it was not what she expected. The only way for her to explain Felix was to turn him into Timothy Felix and make him almost twenty years older that she knew him to be. Felix in Kentucky knew his age and that he was born in 1789. He believed his parents were the old Timothy Demonbreun and Elizabeth Bennett.
I am convinced just as Felix was, that he, Felix was born in 1789. I believe his mother was Elizabeth Bennett. I think Timothy Demonbreun for a time, believed he was his child. I suspect that may have changed as Felix grew. Timothy did not mention Felix in his will although he did name his other illegitimate children with Elizabeth Bennett.
He did not live in Nashville. He was out in the county, a neighbor of Elizabeth Bennett and Joseph Durat and of John Baptiste Demonbreun. He went to the same church as John Baptiste Demonbeun, and Joseph Durat also children of Elizabeth Bennett. The Cagles went to church there. This was the neighborhood of the children of Elizabeth Bennett.
DNA will tell. If Felix was a son of old Timothy, without regard to who his mother was, he will match the descendants of Timothy and his wife Therese. If he is not a son of old Timothy, he will only match the descendants of Elizabeth Bennett.
