David Ingalls was born on May 31, 1796 in New Hampton, Belknap, New Hampshire to James Ingalls and Ruth Sleeper Ingalls. He was their first of nine known children – 4 girls and five boys.
His father, James, was born on July 3, 1772 in New Hampton. James married Ruth Sleeper on March 3, 1796 in Sandown, Rockingham, New Hampshire. Ruth is the sister of Jonathan Sleeper’s father, Josiah. Ruth was born on March 4, 1774 in Sandown.
Sometime between 1803 and 1808, James and Ruth moved the family to Dunham, Brome-Missisquoi, Quebec, Canada. They may have been one of the first of the Ingalls, Taggarts, Sanborns, and Sleepers to move to Canada. The book “The Genealogy and History of the Ingalls Family in America” on page 213 indicates that: “The Ingalls, Sleepers, Taggarts, and Sanborn families moved from New Hampshire to Canada, next to New York and thence to Michigan.” The Sleepers moved to Compton, Quebec Canada about 1803. It is likely that the Ingalls followed shortly after that date, but this is not known with any certainty.
David Ingalls married Betsey Taggart but the date and location are not known. They probably married in 1816 or 1817 in Canada.
At this time, Betsey’s parents are not known. However, on October 30, 1830, both David Ingalls and Benjamin Taggart filed land grants at the Detroit Federal Land office for property in Almont. It is very likely that Benjamin and Betsey were brother and sister or at least cousins
About the time of their marriage, David and Betsey moved west and south to Lima, Livingston County, New York. Members of the Sleeper and Sanborn families moved to western New York (Orleans, Monroe and Ontario Counties) at about this same time.
Their first child, son Orson, was born in Lima on September 12, 1818. Daughter Emily was born May 21, 1820 in Stafford, Genesee, New York. Their second daughter, Mary Anne, was born March 21, 1824 back in Lima. They had twin daughters, Diantha and Samantha born in February 1829 in Lima however they did not live very long. Diantha died in July 1829 and Samantha in December of 1829.
As stated above, David purchased land in Almont in October 1830 but he did not immediately move to Almont. He had land on both sides of Van Dyke Road and also on Bordman and Hough Roads. There is an indication that he first came to Almont and began work on his homestead in 1831 but family history doesn’t have him moving to Almont with his family until 1836. David cleared his land and planted crops and orchards. Over time, at least three orchards were operated by his descendants – one on Bordman Road, one on the west side of Van Dyke and one on the east side of Van Dyke,
David and Betsey’s last child Martha was born July 2, 1835 but the location is uncertain. Some sources show New York, some Almont, and others do not show a location. Martha, like her twin sisters, did not live long. She died on August 6, 1836 in Almont. She is buried with her parents in the Goodrich Cemetery on Kidder Road in Bruce Township, Macomb County.
David and Betsey’s son, Orson, married Mary Leonard Hough on January 2, 1842 in Almont. Mary was born on May 21, 1821 in New York to Jedediah Hough and Elizabeth Starkweather Hough (another Almont pioneer family). Orson and Mary would have five children – an infant daughter that died at birth (September 10, 1842), Martha, Benton T., Carlton T., and Nina B.
Orson Ingalls died September 27, 1913 in Almont. Mary Leonarda Hough Ingalls died March 23, 1900. They are buried in the Hough Cemetery, Almont.
David and Betsey’s daughter Emily married Sheldon Bezaleel Bristol on November 20, 1842 in Almont. Sheldon was the son of Bezaleel Bristol IV and Olive Mary Gillett Bristol (Bezaleel’s first wife who died before the family came to Almont). Sheldon Bristol was born on April 26, 1816 in Riga, Monroe, New York.
Emily and Sheldon did not have any children of their own but they did raise George Cleveland Bristol who was the son of Mary Anne Ingalls Bristol and her husband, Joseph Benjamin Bristol, Sheldon’s brother. Information indicates that they also raised a little girl who was the daughter of another of the Bristols.
It was Sheldon and Emily who built the “stone” house on Van Dyke Road between Bordman and Hough Roads. Emily died on February 5, 1892 in Lapeer. Sheldon followed about six weeks later dying on March 21, 1892 in Almont. They are buried in the Goodrich Cemetery.
Mary Anne Ingalls married Joseph Benjamin Bristol on January 13, 1847 in Almont. Joseph was the brother of Sheldon Bezaleel Bristol and he had the same mother (Olive Mary Gillett Bristol). Joseph was born on March 18, 1818 in Riga, Monroe, New York and came to Almont with his father on May 22, 1831.
Mary and Joseph’s would have seven children – six boys and one girl. Joseph Benjamin Bristol died on December 18, 1877. He was buried in the Goodrich Cemetery in Bruce Township, Macomb County, Michigan. His grave site is just inside the gate to the cemetery. Family members refer to him as the “Gate Keeper”. He also has a headstone in the Hough Cemetery where Mary Anne is buried. Mary Anne Ingalls Bristol died on December 16, 1916 in Almont. Her burial was in Hough Cemetery.
After Betsey Taggart Ingalls’ death in 1841, David remarried. He married Lydia Ann Walker McCausland on November 18, 1849 in Almont. Lydia was born in 1811 in Vaughn, York, Ontario, Canada. Lydia died on June 28, 1891 in West Bay City, Bay County, Michigan. She was probably living with Sarah when she died.
David Ingalls died November 7, 1865 in Almont. Betsey Taggart Ingalls died July 27, 1841 in Almont. David and Betsey are buried in the Goodrich Cemetery, on Kidder Road in Bruce Township, Macomb County, Michigan.
