Monday Is for Mothers: Mary (Polly) Gates (1809 - 1883)

Almost everything we know about this maternal third great grandmother comes from census records. She was born in New York in 1809 and may have been the daughter of Joseph Gates (1776-1854) who was living in Otsego County by 1810. Her mother's name isn't known for certain, although she may have been a Burdick or a Partridge.

Joseph Gates and his family were living in Virgil in Courtland County, New York, by 1820 and that's probably where Polly* married David Darling (1805-1895)** around 1830.

[A Map of the State Of New York. Compiled from the latest authorities; including the Turnpike Roads now granted as also the principal common roads connected therewith. Intended as well for the Student in Geography as a directory to the Traveller.

By Wm. McCalpin. Oxford, 1808. David Rumsey Historical Map Collection]

Polly and David and their growing family remained in Courtland County for the next two U.S. Census enumerations. In the 1850 Census for Harford, New York, we see Polly's name for the first time.***

[Year: 1850; Census Place: Harford, Cortland, New York; Roll: M432_493; Page: 425B; Image: 605. Ancestry.com. 1850 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Images reproduced by FamilySearch. Original data: Seventh Census of the United States, 1850; (National Archives Microfilm Publication M432, 1009 rolls); Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29; National Archives, Washington, D.C.]

[Colton's Township Map Of The State Of Iowa Compiled from the United States Surveys, & other Authentic Sources. Published By J.H. Colton. No. 86 Cedar St. New York. 1851. Entered ... 1851, by J.H. Colton ... New York. Drawn by Geo W. Colton. Engraved by J.M. Atwood. David Rumsey Historical Map Collection]

But the 1852 Iowa State Census shows that the Darlings had moved to Fairview Township in Jones County. Their daughter Olive, died there on January 15th of that year and is buried in Norwich Cemetery.

[Ancestry.com. Iowa, State Census Collection, 1836-1925 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2007. Original data: Microfilm of Iowa State Censuses, 1856, 1885, 1895, 1905, 1915, 1925 as well various special censuses from 1836-1897 obtained from the State Historical Society of Iowa via Heritage Quest.]

Just David is named in Iowa's 1854 census which only included heads of household, but the whole family is enumerated in the 1856 census.****

[Ancestry.com. Iowa, State Census Collection, 1836-1925 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2007. Original data: Microfilm of Iowa State Censuses, 1856, 1885, 1895, 1905, 1915, 1925 as well various special censuses from 1836-1897 obtained from the State Historical Society of Iowa via Heritage Quest.]

By the 1860 U.S. Census, their only child left at home is 19-year old Amanda, who six year later will become the second wife of my great great grandfather George Marion Tomlinson.

[Year: 1860; Census Place: Fairview, Jones, Iowa; Roll: M653_328; Page: 593; Image: 585; Family History Library Film: 803328. Ancestry.com. 1860 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Images reproduced by FamilySearch. Original data: 1860 U.S. census, population schedule. NARA microfilm publication M653, 1,438 rolls. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d. ]

In the 1870 U.S. Census, Polly and David had been joined by their widowed daughter Lovenia whose husband Corporal Moses Sipe had died of pneumonia in Helena, Arkansas, in 1862. Their 11-year old grandson George Sipe is living there too.

[Year: 1870; Census Place: Fairview, Jones, Iowa; Roll: M593_401; Page: 67A; Image: 137; Family History Library Film: 545900. Ancestry.com. 1870 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Images reproduced by FamilySearch. Original data: 1870 U.S. census, population schedules. NARA microfilm publication M593, 1,761 rolls. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.Minnesota census schedules for 1870. NARA microfilm publication T132, 13 rolls. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.]

The 1880 U.S. Census is the last enumeration that Polly appears in. She and David are living alone.

[Year: 1880; Census Place: Fairview, Jones, Iowa; Roll: 348; Family History Film: 1254348; Page: 433B; Enumeration District: 336; Image: 0450. Ancestry.com and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 1880 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2010. 1880 U.S. Census Index provided by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints © Copyright 1999 Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved. All use is subject to the limited use license and other terms and conditions applicable to this site. Original data: Tenth Census of the United States, 1880. (NARA microfilm publication T9, 1,454 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.]

Three years later, on May 14, 1883, Polly died and was buried next to her daughter Olive in Norwich Cemetery. David survived her by 12 years, dying on January 28, 1895, possibly in Boulder County, Colorado.

[Photo by Earl Munday (#46874433); findagrave.com]

*Polly is a traditional nickname for Mary.
**The Darlings left their native Rhode Island when David was about 11 and after first settling in Chenango County, New York, were living in Virgil by 1825.
***My direct ancestor Mercy A. Darling (Webb-Walsh) is their second daughter.
****Note that there's a Webb family living nearby--are they related to the two Webb men, Abner and Jesse Sill, who married my great great grandmother Mercy and her sister Nancy Adelia?

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