Deconstrucing the marriage notice for Mrs Carhart

When Mrs Marie Carhart married Jesse Olney in 1912, the San Francisco Chronicle listed her as the daughter of Mr and Mrs Robert Nelson. My first assumption was that Marie Nelson had previously married someone named Carhart – but only part of that was true.

Moving backwards from 1912, I found the widowed Marie Carhart, age 37, living in Upland, California in the household of Robert T Nelson and his wife Marian, listed as STEPDAUGHTER in the 1910 census.  In the 1907 Los Angeles city directory Maria Carhart was listed as widow of Thomas.  In the 1900 census I found Marie and her husband Thomas in the household of her mother and stepfather along with another step-daughter Carrie Longstreet born in Ohio 1872.  With that strong hint about Marie’s maiden name, I was able to put the rest of the story together. I found Marie, her widowed mother, and 3 sisters in Ohio as Longstreet in 1880.

Knowing her maiden name helped me find her Oct 1897 marriage to Thomas F Carhart in Paris, France as reported in both SF Chronicle and the LA Herald stating that Mrs Nelson received a cablegram regarding her daughter Marie K Longstreet.

So that explained the Carhart and Nelson connections and we know that Robert Nelson was her stepfather … so who was her father? Having found the widowed Marian Longstreet and daughters in the 1880 census allowed me to backtrack in Ohio. Neither Marie nor her sister Carrie had been born by the time of the 1870 census, but their parents were married and the oldest sister was with them. Her father was Dr Aaron O Longstreet, born in Ohio about 1843.  He and Marian Parsons married in 1868 in Springfield, Ohio. They had 5 children between 1869 and 1877, 4 girls and a boy. Their son George did not live to be a year old. Two years later tragedy struck the family as Dr Longstreet died of diphtheria 3 days after treating a patient. I’m not sure how or why Marian and children relocated to California (perhaps she knew Robert Nelson as he was a native of Ohio also), but a rather full family story evolved from the brief notice of Marie’s marriage to Jesse Olney.

What happened to Mary Watson after 1860?

In 1842 Mary P Watson was born in Mississippi to John W Watson of RI and his 2^nd wife, South Carolinian Harriet Prowell. Mary’s father died when she was only 4 and in 1852 her mother married Virginia born Charles W Caldwell. 

In the 1860 census Mary, her brother Thomas, her mother, stepfather and 3 step-siblings were all living together in Lowndes County, MS.  By 1870 her brother had married and was with his wife in Lamar, Texas, as were her mother, stepfather and the 3 younger children.  But where was Mary?

I assumed she had married between 1860 and 1870 either in Mississippi or in Texas. I took a quick look at familysearch and at the 1870 census in both locations.  But it is difficult to find a MARY with unknown surname.

I focused in on Mary, b 1842 in Mississippi, without a surname, living in Lamar, Texas. In assessing my “possibles”, I checked for local marriage records. I found the 1866 marriage of a Mary Watson to a T. J. Caldwell in Lamar, Texas.  Could that be her? I searched further and found that she had indeed married Dr Thomas J Caldwell and that they named their first son Charles W –- the name of her stepfather ! Were Charles and Thomas related?

Thomas and Mary had 5 children between 1867 and 1879. She died the following year, not yet 40, and is buried in Fannin, Texas. Thomas married again and added 3 more children to the family. He died in 1903 and is buried with Mary whose gravestone shows her name as Mary P.  Their daughter Viva’s Texas death record lists her mother as Mary Watson Prowell … a bit out of order.

Dr Thomas J Caldwell and Mary’s step-father, Charles Washington Caldwell, were found together in the 1850 census with head of household Eliza born 1798 in Virginia.  No relationships are listed. Charles was 34 and Thomas was 12 (born in Mississippi). Could Charles be his father? To be continued.

Mrs Moseman Barrett nee Ludington

I came across a 1905 death notice for Mrs Barrett in the Putnam County NY Courier newspaper while looking for information on other Ludington family members – and this time I HAD NOT limited my search by year. Interestingly, she is referred to as one of fifteen children born to Frederick Ludington, but her first name is never mentioned …. It is Cornelia, born 1832. I descend from this family line, so I had quite a bit of information already.

Several of her siblings are mentioned and I have added some of what I know about them and about those not listed. It seems that 14 lived to adulthood.

Mrs Barrett was visiting her sisters Harriet and Frances in Danbury, CT at the time of her death. Those sisters were Harriet 1822-1907,  wife of  Solomon Benjamin Denton, and Frances 1836-1922, wife of Rev John L Benedict.

Two other sisters mentioned (though only by their husbands’ names) were Abby 1827-1895, wife of Lyman Birchard, and Anna 1823-1859, wife of John Townsend.

Also mentioned were brothers Joseph and Oliver who “went west to seek gold”. The article indicates that Joseph died there, however I believe it was Oliver (born 1820) who died in Sacramento in 1856. Joseph (born 1829) moved from California to Bloomington, IL, where he married, had 2 daughters and died in 1864. Harrison 1812-1891, the oldest sibling, was mentioned as former Governor of Wisconsin where he lived for over 50 years. He was a very successful lumber merchant and had also served as Mayor of Milwaukee. The article states “another <brother> was mayor of Chicago” – not true.

Those siblings not mentioned above are;

George W. 1814-1874 merchant and banker, Putnam County

Caroline 1816-1898 wife of Rowland Patrick, Dutchess County

Nelson 1818-1883 an extremely wealthy lumber merchant in Milwaukee & Chicago

Samuel 1830-1877 lumberman in Michigan, then Illinois

Frederick 1834-1907 farmer in Putnam County

Lewis 1838-1909 merchant in IL .. .the only CW vet in the lineup

I had been seeking confirmation that the Oliver Ludington born in NY in 1820 and died in California in 1856 was the son of Frederick … and this news item, dated almost 50 years later, certainly helps.  I will continue to seek more formal confirmation. But, don’t confine your searches to just the years in question. You might be surprised by what you’ll find.

Were they named MERCY or MARCY?

Seems there is a great deal of confusion over the spelling of this female name in my Wheeler and Watson family lines in the 18^th and early 19^th centuries.

The mother of my ancestor, Desire Wheeler Watson, I thought was Mercy Williams who married Thomas Wheeler. Here is an excerpt from the American Genealogist, vole 82, 2007 pages 60-61 as shown on the NEHGS website:  

A look at the family of Mercy Wheeler, first wife of Capt. Christoper Gardner of South Kingstown, provides additional argument that Rufus Gardener of New London was likely their son.  She is presented in The Gardiners of Narragansett as “a daughter of Thomas and Mercy (Williams) Wheeler.” ……In his will of 28 November 1760, proved on 6 January 1761, Thomas Wheeler of Stonington. “in a Weak and Low Status of Body”, names his wife, Marcy, son Thomas …. Daughter Marcy Gardner ….There is no estate file for Thomas’s widow, Mercy, in Stonington.

Well, which is it ?? Seems to change back and forth between using E or A, as I have seen with others, including these two who confused me when I first found the name spelled with an A.

       Mercy Watson 1778-1817, wife of Ezra Lester

       Mercy Watson 1810-1882, wife of Col John Watson

           Her NYC death certificate & Woodlawn memorial both use A

           Seems she was named for her aunt Mrs Mercy Lester above

Today I found another one, Mercy Stanton …or was it Marcy? Looks like A wins in this case.

The wife of Jesse Watson Olney

Jesse, the son of Julia Watson and James Brown Olney, was a lawyer from Catskill, NY and a graduate of Yale. In 1900 he was living with his widowed father in Catskill and then was not found again until 1918 when his WW I registration card listed him as a farmer in Victorville, California with wife Marie K. I did not find them in the 1910 census. In the 1920 census Marie was listed as born in Ohio.

Attempting to find marriage place and date, I began searching for him the in NY 1905 census.  On familysearch I came across a 1905 passenger listing for Mrs Jesse Olney, returning to NY from Bermuda. Going further I found a NYC marriage record for December 1905 uniting Jesse Watson Olney and Catherine Morris Bruno (then 24 per the ship record).   A bit confusing ... did she use a different name or was this a different wife?  I had trouble finding them in the 1910 census.

California has detailed death records, and I did find one for Marie Olney, listing her parents' surnames as Nelson and Parsons. But then I was stuck ... could not find them in census records, nor a birth records. Little by little, the story evolved -- greatly due to newspapers. But there were quite a few twists and turns before all the pieces fell into place. Based on newspaper items I found that Jesse and his first wife had divorced in 1909 and he married Marie in 1912 -- but not as clear cut as that may sound.

The sons of Thomas Watson of Rensselearville

Until a few weeks ago I knew only that Thomas Watson was born in Newport, RI about 1770 and died in Rensselaerville, Albany County, NY in 1813.  I had found him in the NY census in 1800 and 1810 with an assumed wife and 3 sons.  Exploring a bit more I learned that he was a lawyer (as many in that family line were), he was a land owner and was survived by wife “Sally and heirs”.  I had suspicions that Rufus W. Wheeler (1806-1876), a Catskill New York lawyer, might be one of his sons.

I had a great breakthrough earlier this month when I received copies of pages from the records of Rev Samuel Fuller, a Presbyterian minister in Rensselaerville. [ Thanks to the NYSHA in Cooperstown, NY for their assistance]. Those pages unveiled the family as follows:

-       His wife was Sarah “Sally” Jenkins, daughter of Samuel who built the first house in the village

-       Three sons were named without ages, all baptized on the same date the year their father died

o   Rufus Wheeler

o   Samuel Squires

o   John Jenkins

-       She remarried in 1818 – a second marriage also for her husband Roger Metcalf of Otsego County (where Thomas’ oldest sister Desire and her husband Peleg Peckham lived after leaving Rensselaerville)

Rufus W. Watson is a common name in this family line, so at first I as not sure the baptized son was the Catskill lawyer.  But I found a reference to Rufus W. Watson of Catskill lawyer that mentioned his father Thomas was one of the earliest lawyers in Rensselaerville. Rufus is buried in the Catskill Village Cemetery with his wife Elizabth Botsford. He apparently spent his entire adult life in Greene County, NY.

So, now the question is what happened to Samuel and John?  Were they older or younger than Rufus?  The search continues.

Margaret and John Orr of Zanesville 1860-1880

I believe that Margaret's maiden name was Sheils and that she was born in County Roscommon, Ireland around 1830. She was mentioned in a biographical sketch of her younger brother John Sheils, a hotelier in Ulster County, NY published in 1896. There she was listed as married to John Orr (though spelled Awer, which I believe was incorrect), a foundryman in Ohio.

I think I found Margaret as Orr, age 30 born in Ireland, in the 1860 census in the Zanesville Ohio household of G.W. Graham 35 and  Rebecca 30 both born in Ohio. Her husband John is not with them, but there is a 16 year old Emma Orr born in Ohio. Who is she? Not likely to be Margaret's daughter. Perhaps she is a relative of John -- or even a daughter from an earlier marriage? How is Margaret affiliated with the Grahams? Where is her husband (I have not found him in 1860)?

The 1870 census in ward 6 of Zanesville shows John and Margaret together, he is 55 and she is 40. No sign of the Grahams nor of Emma Orr. Now with them are Agnes, 14 and Frank, 9 -- assumed children.  But where was Agnes in 1860 at age 4?

In 1880 Frank is living alone, aged 21; John 65 and Margaret 50 are together in ward 6 and it seems that Agnes was in the county jail.

That was the last I found of them.  A Margaret Orr, listed as 58, died in Zanesville in 1893 ... but I don't know if it is her. What happened to the rest of them?

Bonus info in Iowa State Census 1925

I have been stumped for a while on the deaths of James V Ely and his wife Sarah Loomis who lived in Hudson, New York. I have not found them in the 1930 census nor have I found a death or burial record for either of them.  One of their sons died in 1923 and they were both named as survivors, so that’s the last I knew of them.

Today I happened upon the 1925 state census record for their son Fred who lived in Cedar Rapids. What really took me by surprise was PAGE TWO where both parents are listed (mother with maiden name, which I knew already, but a bonus in a case where maiden name was not known). Place of birth and age at last birthday are also recorded for the parents.  James was listed as 68 and Sarah as 65 … so now I know they were still living in 1925. The search continues.

Confused about Hannah Taylor of Newport 1762/3

Based on published work from the local historical society, I thought that Hannah was born in 1762 the youngest daughter of Robert Taylor and his 3rd wife Rebecca Coggeshall. Her father died that year at age 74 -- perhaps old to be having more children. Rebecca was in her 40s.

Hannah married John Easton in 1808 following the death of his 1st wife Ruth, who has been reported to be Hannah's sister.  Ruth was born in 1760 reportedly the daugher of Robert Taylor ... but could they both be the offspring of Robert Taylor Jr (son of Robert and his 2nd wife Elizabeth Stanton) born in 1762?

There are Newport marriage records of a Robert Taylor marrying Mary Pitman in 1759 (which could match up with Ruth's birth in 1860) and with Mary Lyon in Nov 1762. Not at all clear that they are the SAME Robert Taylor --- nor which is which. I have struggeled to find death records, newspaper items, etc which might clarify, but none has resolved the issue yet.

To confound the issue, I recently received a photo of a cross-stitch sampler created in Newport in 1774 by a Hannah Taylor, who lists her birth date as December 17, 1763 --- is that my target Hannah? If so, she clearly was NOT the daughter of Robert who died in Nov 1762.

Photo and permission to post it courtesy of UK-based Tony Meyer who owns it.

My  search continues !!

Who were the parents of Minerva Lester Fish?

She lived in Rensselaerville, Albany County, NY and married Dennison Fish about 1832. They had the following children: William, Jonathan, Lester and Mary. 

Minerva died in November 1858 and is buried in Rensselaerville Cemetery.  Wondering if her father could have been Ezra Lester … and if so, who was her mother?

If you know, please contact me. Thanks !

Scrubbing the Hudson, NY 1915 Census

I was going crazy trying to find Getzel Panush and his son Abram in this state census. They were listed together in the federal 1910 census and then Abram was listed as head in 1920. I was trying to determine if his father was still alive in 1915.

I had found their names spelled in various ways but was not finding a match in 1915. I tried to find them by searching for their neighbors from the 1910 and 1920 census, but no luck.

Finally I searched for anyone of any age who was born in Poland and was living in Hudson. Found a quite a few, many with the names spelled oddly. There I found them, listed as PENSAK and Abram without a first name --- it was there, a bit hard to read, but it was there.

So, when names don’t work, try using place of birth and place of residence.  It worked for me.

The Elusive Brockholst Livingston

I came upon him while researching the Peckham family of New York.  Miranda, daughter of Peleg Peckham and Desire Watson, was born in Rensselaerville, Albany County in 1802. The family relocated to Cooperstown and likely she met her husband-to-be there. They married in 1827 in New York City and lived in Albany where he died of cholera in 1832. They had no children.

That is almost all I knew of Brockholst except that he was a a lawyer and educated at Columbia Univerity. Then I found this record:

In the The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, Volumes 17-18 p 60 there is a notation: Anne Van Beuren, born 1789, died 1827, who married Brockholst Livingston, a lawyer of this city, died in 1832, grandson of Governor William Livingston of New Jersey, and had no issue.

Well !! Seems he had been married previously and that his first wife died in the same year that he married Miranda. New information !

Looking further, I discovered that he married Anne in 1818 and that she died in Cooperstown, NY where Miranda was living ... they married about 6 months after he was widowed.

But I was not sure who Brockholst's parents were. Governor William Livingston had a number of sons including a Supreme Court Justice known as Brockholst Livingston (1757-1832) although his first name was actually Henry which he dropped in favor of his middle name. Miranda's husband was NOT the Justice's son.

I could not find a baptism record nor other confirming references. Just today I found this record on page 1335 of vol 3, Genealogical and Family History of Southern New York by Cuyler Reynolds:

William Livingston, son of Gov William and Susannah (French) Livingston, was born on March 21, 1754, died 1817.  He married Mary Lennington and they had the following children:  Jane, Phillip, Brockholst, John L, Matthew, john Jay and Essex Ridley.

So, that seems to be him.  Now I need to find where he is buried. 

Look carefully at household members in a census

In working on my Peckham line, I became interested in Walton Hazard Peckham, MD, born in 1800 to Peleg Peckham and Desire Watson. Though trained as a physician, he abandoned that profession and took on a property investment and management role with his wealthy father-in-law Christopher Mildeberger in New York City.

I knew that Walton and Margaret Mildeberger married in 1839 and had two children. In 1850 they were living with her parents in NYC, part of a large household with numerous servants.  Margaret’s brother Oliver was in the household along with another couple (Charlotte and Marshall) that I initially overlooked, assuming they were servants too.  DON”T ASSUME !!  I must keep reminding myself.

The 1855 census is now more widely available and with the notation of “county of birth”, it adds information.  What struck me as I reviewed the Mildeberger household’s record today was the fact that Margaret was listed as Mildeberger (not Peckham, though her husband and children were listed as such) with relationship of “child” in reference to her father who was head of household. And then it was clearly laid out that Charlotte Pipoon, wife of Marshall, was her sister – listed here also as a Mildeberger “child”.

It seems simple, but becomes easy to glide through a record only picking out the individuals you are looking for. I get excited to move on … but a slow analysis reveals the extended family lines that are of great interest to me. I think knowing the siblings and in-laws tells us a lot about our target individuals.

Ludington – Comfort marriages in Catskill, NY

Brothers Archibald and Tertullus Ludington were born to Col Henry Ludington and his wife Abigail in Dutchess County.  Both migrated to Catskill in Greene County where they raised their families.  Each had a daughter who married into the Comfort family.  Emeline was born to Archibald and his wife Elizabeth Sears in 1805.  Julia was born in 1807 to Tertullus and his wife Rebecca Brown.

Brothers Hiram and Joel Comfort were born in Montgomery, Orange County, NY to Samuel Comfort and Ana Maria Youngblood in 1791 and 1800 respectively. They both migrated to Catskill in Greene County in early adulthood.  Within a three month time period in 1822 the brothers married the Comfort Cousins – Joel and Emeline in May followed by Hiram and Julia in August. The girls were both quite young (17 and 15) which may have been the custom at the time and/or may have been a necessity in light of their fathers’ deaths a year or so earlier.

Between the 2 couples, they increased the Comfort clan by 11. Five daughters were born to Hiram and Julia and 3 sons and 3 daughters to Joel and Emeline.  The migration continued with only a few of that next generation remaining in Catskill.

FAMILY FOCUS: John I Hill 1801-1884

John was a lumberman in Wawarsing, Ulster County, New York, born to unknown parents possibly in Shawangunk.  About 1830 John married Esther Furman (1808-1902), daughter of Joseph Furman and Polly Sheeley.  My challenge this year is to identify John’s parents and siblings.

Interestingly one of Esther’s sisters, Catherine (1816-1880) married Isaac Dubois Hill (1812-1888).  I’ve been wondering if Isaac (who often seems to have gone by his middle name) and John might have been brothers or cousins.  Isaac reported that he was born in Orange County and John reported Ulster. They were born 11 years apart and the 2 counties are adjacent. Some unsourced online records show John as the son of John W and Charlotte Mullaney Hill; I have not been able to confirm this.

Assuming that John was in fact born in Shawangunk, I checked the 1810 census and found two families with boys under 10, headed by Isaac and Sturgis Hill.  But that trail goes cold in 1820 when neither Isaac nor Sturgis show up as head of household in Ulster County. Might they have moved to Orange County? There was a family headed by Isaac but it’s almost impossible to know if it is the same household.

John and Esther had 8 known children – perhaps one of their descendants knows something of John’s birth family and will stumble upon this post. That would be my lucky day !! The children and spouses are listed here.

1833   JOHN  + Phebe

1835   JOSEPH + Mary (moved to VA)

1837   LUCINDA (unmarried)

1840   JANE + James Cutler

1843   ALMIRA + August Stangle (Brooklyn)

1844   EMILY + Francis Sheeley

1847   WILLIAM + Eliza (moved to VA)

1850   MARY A + Lorenzo Low (moved to CT)

I don’t know where else to look. I’ll search out church records for Shawangunk and see if they show up. If you have another suggestion, please drop me a note 

She was a Comptometer Operator

In the 1940 census I found Barbara Daly, 54, living in Chicago with her widowed sister Alice Ludington.  Barbara was listed as a comptometer operator – not an occupation most would be familiar with today.

The comptometer was the first commercially successful key-driven calculator, patented in the U.S. in 1887. Interesting to think that Barbara was using this office tool in her job for the steam railroad more than 50 years after it was first manufactured.

Technology advances quickly today.  What do we use now that might still be an office ‘staple’ 50 years from now?

Another Way to find Burial Records

I have been quite confused by the SANDFORD family of New York – or was it SANFORD? I found the spelling varied often.  Harriet Watson Clark, known as “Hattie”, married Clarence H. Sandford in New York City in 1874.  Their marriage certificate spells his name with 2 Ds … and hers as Clarke. So, you never know if the spellings are correct.

Sadly Harriet died in childbirth 3 years later and was buried at Green-wood Cemetery in Brooklyn.  The cemetery’s website has burial records online where she is listed as SANDFORD, HATTIE W.  But I could never find a death record for her husband and he was not listed under Sandford. I last found him in the 1915 NY state census and assumed he had died by 1920.

Harriet is buried in lot 18149, section 189 as is her mother-in-law Jane who died in 1900. In the 1880 census Jane was listed as a widow and neither she nor others in the family have yet been found in the 1870 census.  So I was guessing that  her husband Hiram died between 1860 and 1880. I could not find him on the Green-wood website either.

However, today just by chance I Googled “Green-wood cemetery section 18149, lot 189” and the following findagrave entries popped up:

 HIRAM SANFORD, July 1868, # 57543743

 CLARENCE H SANFORD, Nov 1923, # 57543704

Father and son, spelled with only a final D.  I don’t know why I had not searched that site using both spellings … I assumed they would all be spelled alike.  I must remind myself over and over DON’T ASSUME !!

Then going back to the newspapers, I found that Hiram (formerly of the US Navy which matches) died of paralysis in Brooklyn on February 1, 1868 and Clarence died in Norfolk, VA, unclear if he was just visiting.  There is a disconnect between Hiram's death in Feb and reported burial in July -- but that's another story. At least I know where they were buried.

I had assumed Clarence died in NYC and that he and his father’s name would be listed with the same spelling as their wives on the Green-wood site.  Next time and every time …. Check all spellings and check all the residents of a family burial plot, if at all possible.

FAMILY FOCUS: Dr Adam Clark 1791-1860

Adam, my 4^th Great Grandfather, was a physician and leather tanner in New York.  I have many unanswered questions about him – including where he was born, who his parents were, possible siblings, why he moved to Westchester County late in his life. I am determined to find answers this year.

What I do know is: 

• He was born about 1791, likely in Albany County
• He reported that his parents were born in CT
• He may have been Adam Jr
• He marred Harriet Watson before the 1820 census
• They had 7 known children born 1821-1843
• He lived in Berne, NY (1830 + 1840 census)
• He had a seat at the 1^st Dutch Reformed Church
• He built a large tannery in Middletown in mid-1840s, creating the village of “Clark’s Factory”
• In 1860 he was living in Cortlandt as a physician
• He died in Nov 1860 + is buried in Cortlandt
• His wife outlived him by 5 years
• His wife, daughter Eliza and 2 grandchildren are buried with him

With a common surname like Clark and no other information about Adam, I was at a loss how to continue. I will be attending a research workshop at NEHGS in Boston in March when Adam will be at the top of my “I need help” list. NEHGS has great resources for New York research and I hope I’ll find some answers there.