Lydia H Watson and her cousin John S Watson

In 1857 Lydia, youngest child of Asa Watson and Ede Tennessee Watson, was born in Mississippi. She was listed in their household in the 1860 census as Lydia age 2. She was found twice in the 1870 census, on two different dates and in two different households.  In June she was listed, along with her sisters Julia and Tennie, in the household of 65 year old Mary Hand. Wondering who Mary Hand was and how she was connected with this family. (No relationships were included in that census). A few months later, in September, she was again listed with her parents and siblings, but as Olivia.

In 1878 Lydia married her 1st cousin John S. Watson (son of her father's brother Rufus) and in the following year, at age 21, she died following the birth and loss of their unnamed son. John, born in Mississippi in 1853, was recorded in the 1880 and 1900 census as a widower and farmer.  He was not found again, nor have I found a death or burial record for him. What happened to John? I assumed he would have been buried in the Hawkins Cemetery of Clay County with Lydia and his parents.

Marriage of Elizabeth Tibbets Pratt in NYC 1881

A marriage announcement like the one published in the New York Times on 22 April 1881 can help unravel family relationships and perhaps reveal unspoken issues within the family. Several of those named below were not instantly recognized  as they were identified only as “spouse of “ and, in one case, the surname was misspelled.

Distinguished relatives of the bride:

                                    Grandmother

Mrs Tibbets of Albany

                                    Great Aunts

Mrs Nelson, of New Brunswick, NJ

Mrs Horatio Seymour, wife of ex-Governor

Mrs Roscoe Conkling, wife of the Senator

So, I wondered who they were and how they were related to the bride Elizabeth, daughter of Col George Watson Pratt (deceased) and Anna Atwood Tibbets.  I found it curious that there was no mention of any relatives from her father’s side of the family making me wonder if they had lost contact with that branch after George’s tragic death in 1862. It is also interesting that no aunts or uncles are mentioned, only great aunts. Even odder was no mention at all of the groom’s family.

Family Snippets: The Children of Tertullus Ludington 1773-1821

Children with his first wife Rebecca Brown ~1776-1814, burial unknown

Eliza 1804-1886

In 1826 married George Austin who died in 1839

            6 children: John, William H, Celia, Edward,

            Believe she died in 1855 but not buried with husband in Catskill

Julia Eliza 1807-1886

            In 1822 married Hiram Comfort who died in 1839

            5 daughters: Mary Ann, Julia, Hellen, Charlotte, Caroline

            Buried in Catskill as is her husband

Amelia 1808-1881

            In 1826 married William McKinstry who died in 1845 in Texas

            Then married Galen Hodges of R.I., 1845 in Texas

            1 daughter: Julia

            Amelia died in Texas in 1881, Galen in 1884

Henry 1809 – prob before 1860

            Abt 1832 married Nancy MNU who died bfore 1842

            3 sons: Dennis, Ira, Charles

            Abt 1843 married Adeline MNU who died after 1915

            2 sons: George, Robert

Children with second wife Anna Egbertson 1789-1861

 buried Catskill with husband and son Ira

Ira 1814-1821

            Buried adjacent to parents at Catskill Village Cemetery

Robert 1816-1860 in Matagorda, Texas

            Abt 1848 married Mary Ann Coates, prob in NY then moved to Texas

            3 sons born in TX: Robert, Charles, Nicholas

             

Harriet 1817-1898

            Abt 1840 married John Lusk who died in1848 in Catskill

            5 children: Caroline, Ellen, Charles, James, Isabel

            then married widower Henry Turck of Saugerties in 1855

            No children together – she is buried in Catskil with 1^st husband

Tertullus Jr 1820-1892

            Grocer, not married

Do you have family members buried in Albany Rural Cemetery in Menands?

If you do, the burial cards are available online at Ancestry.com. The record shows name, dates, age and burial lot and section number.  Here is one for a member of my extended family.

Some of the cards have additional information listed on the reverse side – so, be sure to check that too as it could provide previously unknown information. So always check it. 

This is Harvey's reverse side which identified his grandchildren. 

 

Confusion over Josiah Watson and his son Arnold

While researching my ancestor Wheeler Watson (a Newport, RI native who moved to Rensselaerville, Albany, NY about 1800) I found an unexpected statement in the Bi-Centennial History of Albany listing a previously unknown brother, Josiah, and his son Arnold B. Watson.  I thought that I had identified all of Wheeler's siblings and Josiah was not one of them.... or was he?

Arnold B Watson was mentioned as a prominent banker in Unadilla, NY so I thought I’d start with him and work backwards to his parents. The same publication mentioned that Arnold moved to Unadilla from Albany County in 1821 at the age of 23. I found him listed in census records there with wife Susan (Hayes) and several children. After Susan's death Arnold married her sister Augusta.

I also discovered Arnold listed on some online trees as the son of Josiah Watson and Mary Beach -- might that be his middle name? Digging further, I discovered that Mary Beach Watson died in 1800 and that Josiah then married Wheeler's sister Bridget in 1803 -- making him a brother-in-law rather than a brother.

Josiah was a decade older than Wheeler. Both were born in Rhode Island and pursued "new frontier" opportunities in the expanding New York Manor of Rensselaerwyck. Josiah 1762-1844 was actually a second cousin to Wheeler's father John with both lines descending from John 1658-1702 and Dorcas Gardiner 1654-1702.

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Bi-Centennial History of Albany. History of the County of Albany, N. Y., From 1609 to 1886. With Portraits, Biographies and Illustrations.  By Howell and Tenney, published 1886. see  Page 916, item 5 Rensselaerville

1895 Catskill NY guests at Hunter-Bulkley wedding

Bride:  Julia F Bulkley 1867-1932 daughter of Henry + Caroline (Comfort)

Groom: N Herbert Hunter 1834-1910 son of William + Rachel (Washburn)

 The groom worked in NYC for the firm Acker, Merrall & Condit founded by David D Acker & partners. David's son J Park Acker was married to Eunie, a cousin of the bride listed below.

Out-of-town guests listed in a local news item were:

Julia Clark nee Comfort (widow of George W Clark), maternal aunt of bride

Mrs J Park Acker (widow), nee Eunie Clark, daughter of Julia, cousin of bride

Mrs Harriet Turck, nee Ludington (widow of Henry Turck), great aunt of bride

Miss Ella Brunjes and J E Whitehouse of New York ... believe this is actually Caroline ELMA Brunjes, 1833-1906 a 2nd cousin of the bride's mother descending from the Ludington branch; she was an unmarried teacher in NYC; uncertain about Mr Whitehouse

Mrs Axel Lohmann and Miss Laura of Astoria, Queens

  Axel, a native of Catskill, was still living in 1895

  His wife was Anna Mahaffey born in Catskill

  Their only daughter Laura (later married Wm Duncan) was born in 1868

Other than being Catskill acquaintances, not aware of their connections with either bride nor groom.

Mr and Mrs C C TenBroek of Kingston

  Druggist Charles TenBroeck 1845-1935 was the bride's first cousin as their mothers (Mary Ann Comfort TenBroeck and Caroline Comfort Bulkley) were sisters

Miss Millie Lusk of Saugerties 1868-1948 was the daughter of Charles Lusk, and grand-daughter of Harriet Ludington Lusk Turck and her first husband John Lusk

   Millie was a 2nd cousin of the bride

Mrs David Ely of Hudson was a maternal great aunt of the bride, nee Charlotte Comfort, sister of the bride's mother Caroline

Mr and Mrs Henry Ely of Hudson =   Henry 1865-1930 son of Charlotte Comfort Ely and David;   Henry's wife was Minnie Salspaugh

Trying to Confirm the Mother of Adam Clark b 1791

Adam Clark, MD was probably born in Albany County, NY about 1791. He trained as a medical doctor and was admitted to practice in 1819 in Rensselaerville.  By the time of the 1820 census he was recorded as married in neighboring Berne; his wife was Harriet Watson, oldest daughter of Wheeler and Sarah Taylor Peckham.

Several documents had been discovered referring to Adam as "Junior", but I wasn't certain his father shared his name until I found a manuscript at the New York State Library written in 1830 in which the elder Adam of Westerlo, NY granted all his property to his son Adam Junior of Berne in lieu of care in later age.

In 1800 and 1810 census in Coeymans, NY Adam Senior was listed with a son aligning with Adam Junior's age. By 1820 and 1830, Adam Senior was in Westerlo and it was that property he passed to his son. Matching records have been found in Albany NY land deeds whereby Adam Jr and his wife Harriet sold those same parcels of land prior to 1840.

It was learned that Adam Senior was minister in the Seventh Day Baptist (SDB) church, born in Rhode Island to Joseph Clark(e) and Deborah Pendleton. It is assumed that he married Olive Burdick in RI or perhaps in NY about 1790. Adam was not found as head of household in that first census in either state.

Adam Senior died in 1837 and was found listed on a transcript of the Tan Hollow Cemetery in Westerlo along with this accompanying entry:

·       CLARK, Olive, wife of Rev. Adam Clark, died Jan. 21, 1838, age 68 yrs.

·       CLARK, Rev. Adam, died Apr. 18, 1837, age 73 yrs.

Interestingly, the Burdick family was also part the small community of SDB followers in Rhode Island; however, I can find no record of Olive Burdick. So, was she Adam's mother?  If so, was Burdick her maiden name or might she have been a widow when she married Adam? Was she Adam's first/only wife?

At this point, the only mention of Olive Burdick that I have found is her cemetery listing as Adam's wife.