Well, I did find some things on this family --
First, Robert Pannett and Elizabeth came over to America leaving from
Liverpool, England and arriving New York City, NY 9 Jul 1852. He was
23 and the microfilm appears to show she is either 25 or 20 -- last
number is bad to read. The ship they arrived on was the Empire State
(very fitting considering they arrived in the "Empire State" -- one of
the nicknames for the state of NY.
I first find them in Clermont Co, OH 1860 USFederal Census, as you
said, but the name there was mispelled -- shows their last name as
Pottel and microfilm of document was very clear -- why so far off in
spelling is beyond me, but going up and down in census there isn't
anyone else fitting that name EXCEPT this family who ended up in Perry
Co, IN. They were living in Nicholsville, Monroe Tp, Clermont Co, OH
(which if you draw a line between New Richmond, OH and Bethel, OH right
smak in the middle is where Nicholsville, OH used to be and there is
still the Old Nicholsville Cem.
Clermont Co isn't far from Cincinnati and the various riverways which
many of the persons used back then when traveling -- may have taken the
Zanes Trace or one of the other foot/wagon paths, but usually they went
by boat along the Ohio River from the Great Lakes area of where the
Ohio River meets there down the Ohio River, around Marietta, OH area
and "down the river" although if you look it is pretty close to being
east to west in direction, and then they may continue on to the other
tributaries and go north or south on those rivers. If they walked or
took horse or wagon they usually would take one of the roads that the
surveyors like Lewis and Clark, Zane, etc. had mapped out and in Ohio
they would have gone east to west on Zane's trace or right around
Zanesville gone south on another road. When traveling on these
overland roads back then and they got thirsty they would find buckets
of buttermilk for the travelers to drink -- back then this was
considered like something you would throw out to the pigs, etc and
instead they would leave for the travelers since it kept pretty good in
the shade of a tree, and since the water was far between and not many
wells weren't dug yet -- and those wells were at houses -- again in the
wilderness areas (they were still chopping down trees and clearing the
land for planting since the land hadn't been opened that very many
years before for the settlers -- most of the settlers started moving
into the area between 1820 and 1840s and then they had to make their
houses, dig their wells, make their own clothes, raise their own food
and sometimes a few animals to eat (usually ate the wild animals they
shot in the area like turkeys, deer, pheasant, dove, grouse, geese,
duck, groundhog, etc). Another thing they would see along the road is
what is now known as the Turnpikes -- these are very nice roads now but
back then they were the roads which were cleared and things put into
the holes so wagons could go over them without tearing apart the
wheels, etc -- and because they were going across private land, the
land owner would have one or more persons at the beginning and end of
the property on this road holding a pike across the road so the
traveler had to pay something either in money or in goods just to use
the road -- we also now call some of these toll roads because this is
where the toll was paid. For persons not knowing -- a pike is a very
long spear used in war and hunting and was very useful in this keeping
out of persons until they paid their toll to pass (or have the pike
turned -- thus the name TurnPike).
1860 census showed (name age where born, etc):
Robert 30 England Laborer
Elizabeth 25 England Domestic Duties "Insane"
Mary A. 6 OH
James 5 OH
Elizabeth 4 OH
S. J. 2 OH
Selena Doughty 37 OH
Thos 3 OH
Since I haven't done any research on Selena Doughty I am assuming that
she is widow or husband left her with a young son and she was working
for Robert and Elizabeth since Elizabeth is shown as being "Insane"
(many of the old illnesses were considered insanity when in reality
they were other things, and since it appears she later died and he
remarried -- I am considering she wasn't really insane but very ill and
so Selena was helping care for him and his children.
Again the ages of the him and his wife goes along with 1870 census and
age of coming into the USA. Same with birth of first child showing on
census, and the names of the children on 1870 census.
Will write more later
Judith Sandage Murphy
(Judy M.)