Children of Samuel and Anna Maria Comfort

Samuel Comfort and Anna Maria Youngblood married in Montgomery, Orange, New York in 1784. They had the following known 9 children.

Samuel, Martha and Catherine remained in Orange County.  Only Moses went to NYC. Elsje, Hiram and Joel moved to nearby Catskill in Greene County.

1785-1862  Elsje + Ebgert Bogardus, 7 children, Catskill

1786-1839  Moses + Anna Pache, 10 children, NYC

1788-1846  Samuel Jr + Fanny Low, 10 children

1791-1839  Hiram + Julia Ludington, 5 children, Catskill

1792-1881  Mary + Isaac Douglass/Philip Mould, 3 children

1795-1844  James + Jane Smith, 8 children, Kentucky

1797-1874  Martha + Moses Rogers, 4 children

1800-1871  Joel D + Emeline Ludington, 5 children, Catskill

1802-1892  Catherine + Peter Clearwater, 1 child

Samuel died in 1802 when several of the children were very young. Anna Maria outlived him by 45 years.

Children of Benjamin and Elizabeth Comfort

Benjamin Comfort and Elizabeth Youngblood married in Montgomery, Orange, New York in 1780. Their 9 known children are listed below. Given the 4 year span between their marriage and first recorded child, they may have had others not yet identified. Three of their sons moved to Mississippi: Daniel, William and Joseph.  Two other sons, David and Jacob, have not been found as adults; unsure if they survived and if so, if they left NY.  If you happen to know, please pass along their info.

1784 – 1855 [71]     Daniel married Martha A Cruser, 9 children, MS

1786 – 1867 [81]     Benjamin Jr married Eliza Kierstad, 10 children, Catskill

1788 – 1832 [43]     Catherine + John D Fulton, 7 children, Montg.

1790 - ??                    David  NO FURTHER INFO

1792 – 1836 [44]     William + Eleanor Whitsett, 6 children, MS

1794 - ??                    Jacob  NO FURTHER INFO

1797 – 1870 [77]     Samuel G. + Mary S Chollet, 6 children, Catskill

1799 – 1858 [58]     Abasalom + Sarah Oliver, 8 children, Catskill

1802 – 1870 [68]     Joseph W + Nancy Williams, 7 children, MS

Elizabeth died in 1805 when their youngest son was only 3.  Benjamin outlived her by only 9 years.

Comfort - Youngblood Marriages 1780s

In Montgomery, Orange County, NY brothers Benjamin and Samuel Comfort married sisters Elizabeth and Anna Maria Youngblood.  The four remained in Montgomery where they raised their families, died and were buried in the local church cemetery.

The grooms were sons of New York natives John Comfort (1725-1795) and his wife Annatje Maul (1726-1805). Their brides were daughters of Revolutionary Soldier Johannes Wilhelm Youngblood and his wife Caterina Buchstaber (1744-1807) who were also born in New York. All four had parents born in Germany.

Benjamin (1757-1814) and Elizabeth (1763-1805) married in 1780 and had 9 known children (8 sons and 1 daughter) and at least 53 grandchildren. Two of their sons (David b 1790 and Jacob b 1794) have not been found as adults. Only their daughter remained within the same county after marrying. Three sons moved to Catskill in Greene County and 3 sons moved south to Mississippi.  Benjamin outlived his wife by 9 years. 

Samuel (1760-1802) and Anna Maria (1762-1847) married in 1784 and also had 9 known children and 53 grandchildren!  All but one of them stayed in New York State – 1 in NYC, 3 in Catskill and the others in Montgomery. Their son James ventured south to Kentucky. Anna Maria outlived her husband by 45 years.

RI Watson Sisters: Mary and Mercy

Mary Perry Watson (1808-1891) was born in Rhode Island to Capt John and Mary Watson (who, by the way were first cousins, their fathers being brothers).  In 1830 she married George Williams Peckham, also a Rhode Island native born 1796. George was a lawyer who moved his family to Albany, New York. Of their 7 children, only 3 lived to adulthood. Sometime prior to 1856 they moved westward to Milwaukee where George purchased 82 acres of land and had a lucrative law practice. 

Both surviving sons, George Jr and William, served with Wisconsin Regiments in the Civil War. After the war George studied law and medicine and became an educational leader in Wisconsin. Daughter Isabella married lawyer Benjamin K Miller. William also practiced law, but in Texas. Other than William, the family members remained in Milwaukee for the rest of their lives.

Mary's younger sister, Mercy (1810-1880) followed the path established by their parents and also married a 1st cousin -- "Colonel" John Watson, son of Wheeler Watson and Sarah Taylor Peckham. (Sarah was 2nd cousin to George Williams Peckham noted above -- their fathers were 1st cousins).

"Colonel" John was a very successful leather tanner who had partnered with Zadock Pratt, his brother-in-law and later was involved in leather sales in NYC. He and Mercy had two daughters and no grandchildren. They lived on 5th Avenue and had a home in New Jersey. John's very substantial wealth passed to his daughters who were generous philanthropists .. and to many cousins. The will of younger daughter Emily who died in 1924 created lots of squabbling among relatives including some she'd never met from the deep south branches of the Watson family.  The Milwaukee branch of the family was included in the will directly -- seems the sisters had maintained contact despite their geographic distance.