Schuyler C. Lake born 1875 in New York

Who were the parents of New York-born Schuyler Lake? In 1902 he married Bertha Albach in Michigan but neither of his parents were listed on their marriage record; nor were they named on his death certificate in 1922.  Could he be a descendant of Ulster County, NY Schuyler Lake 1810-1880? Harmon, the youngest son of the elder Schuyler and his wife Caroline Morse did move to Michigan but vanished without leaving many records.

Harmon Lake was born in Ulster County, NY in April 1855. About 1874 he married Lydia Barber who was born in Delaware County, NY in 1856; no marriage record has been found for them. Based on later records, it appears that their daughter Ella Jane was born in New York about 1875 and younger daughter Bertha was born in Michigan in 1878. Could Schuyler have been their son? None of the family members have yet been found in the 1880 census.

It is assumed that Harmon died prior to Lydia’s 1881 Wisconsin marriage to Albert Ledger.  In the 1900 census Lydia reported 5 living children, presumed to be: Ella and Bertha Lake, Edward 1882 + Inez 1894 Ledger …. Who was the 5^th?  Could it have been Schuyler Lake?

Lydia died shortly after the 1900 census, Ella had married in 1894 and was living in Wisconsin with her husband Clark Easter, Bertha had married John Grebel in 1895. Schuyler has not yet been found in the 1900 census.

In 1897 civil war veteran Reuben Lake, older brother of Harmon, died in Ulster County, NY leaving his wife Sarah Ann and minor children in a destitute state. Her widow’s pension application stated that they were living in a log cabin outside of town on land owned by the Michigan descendants of Reuben’s deceased brother Harmon.  That was the first (and vague) indication that Harmon had relocated there and was deceased by that time.

Mary D Comfort, wife of James W Johnson

Mary and James married in 1856 in Catskill, NY and had a daughter named Minnie in New York City in 1860. None of them were found in the 1860 or the 1870 census. I had stumbled upon a NYC marriage record for Minnie in October 1880 and then, checking the 1880 census, found her with her father (born in Ohio), an assumed sister Fannie (also born in Ohio), a stepmother (born in Mass) and 2 young NY born half siblings.

Focusing in on Fannie Johnston, I could find no record of the family in Ohio nor of her birth there about 1864.  With the 20 year time gap between the 1880 and the 1900 census, I hoped that Fannie had married and that I’d find some additional information about her birthplace. Unexpectedly I discovered an 1890 marriage announcement for Fannie HERENDEEN, daughter of James W Johnston, uniting with Rev Henry Freeman of Troy, NY. That led me to realize that Mary Comfort and James Johnston were not her parents as first assumed.

Follow-Up on Mary D Comfort

Mary married James W Johnstone in Greene County, NY in 1856 and was never thereafter found in an official record – not a census, a death, a burial. Their marriage record listed James’ residence as Dubuque, Iowa but I could find no record of him there. Nothing was known of his birth date or place, his parents or his occupation. The only tidbit I had on this couple after 1856 was the appearance of a young Johnston granddaughter listed in the 1865 Catskill, NY census with Mary’s parents, Joel and Emeline.  The record was almost impossible to read & only the child’s surname had been transcribed making it hard to identify and track her later; she was 6 years old and NOT with her grandparents in 1870.

I searched the 1870 census in multiple states and locales, unable to find any members of the Johnston family.  I then turned to family search where I entered a query using only the surname, a birth date 1859-1860 with location New York, plus the full names of parents James and Mary. To my surprise, a NYC marriage record popped up for Minnie Johnston with a matching father and mother (listed as Comfork). It stated that Minnie had been born in NYC, in 1860 and, better yet, her marriage was in October 1880 AFTER the census !!