Research Opportunity
Two hypotheses as to the identity of the Joseph Vining of the 1790 census of Weymouth, Suffolk County, Massachusetts are: (1) He is Joseph who married Olive Torrey and Hannah Torrey, and (2) He is Joseph Jr. who married Sarah Porter. Both Josephs had living children in 1790 in Weymouth, Massachusetts. The senior Joseph, however, had an eleven-year-old son James who would have to have been living in a different household in 1790. Further, the fact that the senior Joseph married his second wife in December of 1791 calls into question whether his first wife had died or had otherwise departed the family before the 1790 census. Finally, it is not certain that the senior Joseph's daughter Betty was living in 1790 or if so, was not married and living in a separate household. On the other hand, Joseph Jr.'s family is consistent with the census data and is, therefore, the hypothesis (tentatively) accepted in this genealogy. The question then arises as to how the senior Joseph, his daughter Betty (if living in 1790), and his son James are accounted for in the 1790 census. A plausible explanation (that needs research) is that if his first wife did, in fact, die prior to the 1790 census, he may have moved into another household (possibly his daughter's if she was married at the time?), of which he was not the "head".