James and his wife had three sons: John, Amos, and Benjamin. John married Elizabeth Mann, Amos married Nancy Ellis, and Benjamin married Patience Roles.
Wheaton writes, "In addition to James's three sons, John, Amos, and Benjamin, there was a daughter, Elizabeth. She was older and could have been a widowed daughter-in-law."
Other sources state that Elizabeth was born in 1751 (at least the Elizabeth living with James in the mid 1780s). This can't be a daughter. If the desertion ad is correct, James was 27 in 1777. He would have been very close in age to this Elizabeth. If we believe Everette Miller's book, and James was born "about 1740", then he was still fairly young to have such an older daughter. It's worth repeating that the Dunlap's Pennsylvania Packet desertion ad made by Cpt. William Vause is one of the few -- if not the only -- primary documents that we have for: 1. James Halstead's age, 2. his birthplace, 3. a physical description of him, 4. where he lived at the time, and his marriage status (see my earlier post).
The Elizabeths: One a Sister and One a Daughter?
Some researchers, including Wheaton, believed that the older Elizabeth might have been his daughter, or, as she states in her book, a daughter-in-law.
In 1786, a Shawnee Indian party made a raid on John and Elizabeth Flynn's home at Cabin Creek, WV (Virginia at the time). John was killed. Elizabeth and their children, Mary (Polly), Nancy, Chloe, and John W., were captured by the raiding party. According to the Lyman Draper documents, Chloe was rescued by Daniel Boone. Nancy remained for a period of time, married a chief, had a son, and later escaped captivity. John W. remained with the tribe until he was an adult. Elizabeth, the mother, died in captivity 3 to 5 years after the raid (Lyman Draper documents). Elizabeth's maiden name was Halstead. The Lyman Draper documents include an 1883 letter from Andrew Kessinger to Lyman Draper stating that Nancy was rescued by a "man by the name of Halstead".
It is my guess, and it is only a guess, that this Elizabeth Halstead, who married John Flynn, might be a sister to James Halstead. Nancy and Chloe Flynn made their way back to the Monroe County area. I looked at marriage bonds for Nancy and Chloe. Presumably, they would have needed a bondsman if they were under the age of 21. However, the marriage bonds that I could find didn't appear to have the name "James Halstead". However, both were living in the area around this time. As a note, Mary (or "Polly") was old enough not to need a marriage bond to Adam Mann in 1804.
In 1799, another Elizabeth Halstead married Charles Meeks (Monroe, County). This is possibly James's daughter. But, on the marriage bond, James isn't named. The surety is a man by the name of James Maddy. A father did not have to be the bondsman, of course.
Wheaton included this same marriage bond in her book. I think she was circumspect concerning Elizabeth because of the confusion. She spent a short time covering Elizabeth Halstead Meeks. She states that her brothers, John and Amos, accompanied her to the Monroe County courthouse to apply for their own marriage bonds. She states, "Charles and Elizabeth lived in the same area as her parents until 1803. That year, they owned four horses and then disappeared from all records of western Virginia and elsewhere."
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