Weddings in my Ancestral Line: December 8th through 14th

Two of my known direct ancestral couples were married during the second week of December:
maternal 6X great grandparents Moses Cooper and Mary Mathewson were wed in Glocester, Rhode Island, on December 10, 1732; and maternal great grandparents Lewis Logan Slater and Rufina Tomlinson in Severy, Kansas, on December 13, 1885.

[Lewis Logan Slater & Rufina Tomlinson Slater-undated double portrait

courtesy of Olive Slater-Kennedy]

The following two couples also married during the second week of December but I'm less certain of my relationship to them: paternal 10X great grandparents Thomas Ford and his first wife Joan Way wed in England on December 13, 1610*; and maternal 5X great grandparents William White and Jemima Wright were married on December 13, 1781 in Adams, Massachusetts, by my 6X great grandfather Elder Peter Worden.**

*This is a line that I haven't looked at in years and so I'm not certain of my connection. In any case, I would be descended from his second wife Elizabeth Charde.
**This couple's relationship to me is entirely speculative and not to be relied on. If it's true they are the grandparents of Hannah Leonard, the wife of Porter Worden (my 3X great grandparents)



© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Monday Is for Mothers: Myrtle Ruby Worden (1882 - 1962)

Myrtle is one of my maternal first cousins, three times removed--her father Schuyler Colfax Worden was one of my great great grandfather Dick Worden's brothers.* She was born in Iowa, was taken to Nebraska as an infant by her parents and at the age of 21 married John Davison (1873-1949) there.

By 1919 the Davison family had relocated to Siskiyou County, California, but by the 1930 U.S. Census they had finally settled in Oregon.

This photo of Myrtle, her grandson Cecil Vernon Davison (1944-1992) and his mother Lorine Marjorie (Wells) Davison was probably taken in 1945/46.

[Originally shared by Ardis Patton to her Ancestry.com family tree]

Here's her obituary that Christine found in the Albany, Oregon, newspaper:

[Newspapers.com - Albany Democrat-Herald - 4 Dec 1962 - Page 2]

*Another child of Porter and Hannah (Leonard) Worden.



© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

RePost: Monday Is for Mothers: Hannah M. Leonard & her Mother, Jemima White

This is the first post for Monday Is for Mothers way back on October 13, 2013. (I don't think we know any more about Hannah and her mother than we did then.)

Here is a portrait of my great great great grandparents, Porter Worden and Hannah M. Leonard; the earliest of my ancestors that I've seen a photograph of. Both of them were born in New York State in the second decade of the 19th century, where they got married in 1838. It was most likely taken in Iowa, where they moved in 1853 and where they are to be found in subsequent censuses, although they apparently also lived in Missouri and Nebraska at times.

[Photo courtesy of Olive Slater-Kennedy]

From the style of her dress, I think this photo was taken in the early 1860s (or possibly the late 1850s). Although her husband looks like he just showed up for the photographer, Hannah has taken some pains to look her best. She's wearing a broach with three white stones or pearls attached to her stiff white collar; her earrings are hoops that may have something longer hanging from them; there appears to be a ring on one hand and a handkerchief or gloves held in the other.

Probate records have confirmed that Hannah's father was Isaac Leonard who was born in Montgomery County, New York, about 1780 and died in Jefferson County, New York, near the end of 1862 and whose will is recorded there.

[Source: Seeking Michigan website, owned and operated by the Michigan History Foundation, all rights reserved]

It's her mother that's been the mystery here because she appears to have died before the 1840 U.S. Census and of course never appeared as more than a tick mark in those earlier censuses. From the death certificate of one of her other daughters, Cynthia (Leonard) Belcher, we learned that her name was Jemima White, always assuming that the information written there is correct. (I would like to confirm the name through other sources, but haven't been able to.)




© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Gone for Soldiers: Isaac Leonard (About 1790 - 1862), Soldier, Part II

As we discovered in an earlier post, Isaac Leonard served as a private in Captain Asal Power's company of New York Militia in Jefferson County during the War of 1812.

[Ancestry.com. New York, War of 1812 Payroll Abstracts for New York State Militia, 1812-1815 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: 2013. Original data: War of 1812 abstracts of payrolls for New York State militia ("payroll cards"), 1812–1814. Series B0810 (23.5 cu. ft.). New York (State). Adjutant General’s Office. New York State Archives, Albany, New York.]

But this appears to be the only militia record for Isaac which covers less than a month of service, so I wondered what was going on at that time. Although there had been several battles at Sacket's Harbor (on Lake Ontario) in Jefferson County earlier in the war, histories didn't note any actions during the period between October 12 and November 8, 1814.

[Sackets Harbor, NY during the War of 1812. U.S. Naval Historical Center]

But persistence paid off and I found a county history published in 1854 that explains the situation.

 

[A history of Jefferson County in the state of New York by Franklin Benjamin Hough, 1822-1885.

Publisher Albany, J. Munsell; Watertown, N.Y., Sterling & Riddell, 1854. Source: Internet Archive..]

Using that information I was able to find this contemporary newspaper report published in the Paris, Kentucky, Western Citizen.

[Saturday, November 5, 1814   Paper: Western Citizen (Paris, Kentucky)   Volume: 7   Issue: 41   Page: 2. This entire product and/or portions thereof are copyrighted by NewsBank and/or the American Antiquarian Society. 2004.Source: GenealogyBank.com]

The war ended in December 1814 with the signing of the Treaty of Ghent, although that wasn't known until several months later.

There's now a state park at Sackets Harbor.


© 2017 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Gone for Soldiers: Isaac Leonard (About 1790 - 1862), Soldier

Isaac Leonard served as a private during the War of 1812, but so far I haven't explored what he did. As you can see from the list below there were two Isaac Leonards in New York and this is an attempt to sort out which one is my ancestor.

[New York, Index of Awards On Claims of the Soldiers of the War of 1812 [database on-line].]

Fold3 has 4 service records for an Isaac Leonard in New York State, each one for a different regiment.

 

 


Since there's no indication that "my" Isaac Leonard was a musician and the payroll record for the musical Isaac (below) states that he was a deserter which makes it unlikely that any later claim of his for reimbursement would be successful so I think we can discount the fourth record.

The next Isaac Leonard is listed as "In service at N.Y. City" which doesn't seem likely for someone who probably resided some distance away from N.Y.C.

This Isaac Leonard served in Captain Asel Power's company commanded by Lt. Col. Calvin Britain. 

[Ancestry.com. New York, War of 1812 Payroll Abstracts for New York State Militia, 1812-1815 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: 2013. Original data: War of 1812 abstracts of payrolls for New York State militia ("payroll cards"), 1812–1814. Series B0810 (23.5 cu. ft.). New York (State). Adjutant General’s Office. New York State Archives, Albany, New York.]

Researching these two officers let me to this publication by the State of New York in which we learn that they were located in Jefferson County. Until now the earliest known date for my ancestor was an 1816 land purchase that described him as a resident of Hounsfield in Jefferson County.

The following extract is from the 1812 section.

[Documents of the Senate of the State of New York, Volume 10. New York (State). Legislature. Senate - E. Croswell, 1902

Government publications. Source: Google Books.]

Now that I know what regiment he served in, next time I'll see what we can find out about his experiences in the War of 1812.




© 2017 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Monday Is for Mothers: Mehitable Leonard (1747 - 1808)

Mehitable was born on September 28, 1747, in Preston in New London County in southeastern Connecticut and was baptized 14 months later in nearby Griswold. She was the daughter of Captain Samuel Leonard and his wife Lydia Stanton, both of whom came from families who had lived in Connecticut for generations.

[Connecticut. (to accompany) Harriet E. Baker's Book of Penmanship & Map. At Mr. Dunham's School Windsor Vermont March 31, 1819. Source: David Rumsey Historical Map Collection.]

Mehitable was only 12 when her parents died within a few days of each other in the spring of 1760. Since Captain Leonard left no will, her two oldest surviving brothers Samuel and Ebenezer were named administrators of their father's estate on June 9th. In the division of the estate filed with the Court in April of 1761, Mehitable share was the 7th item listed.

[Probate Files Collection, Early to 1880; Author: Connecticut State Library (Hartford, Connecticut); Probate Place: Hartford, Connecticut. Ancestry.com. Connecticut, Wills and Probate Records, 1609-1999 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015. Original data: Connecticut County, District and Probate Courts.]

7th Wee Set out to mehitable Lenard the Daughter of the
Said Dec'st a Lot of Said Land Containing about fourteen
acres and is Buted and Bounded as followeth 
(the text here is a long and complicated description of
the boundaries to the property allotted to Mehitable
which I'm not going to attempt to transcribe here)
Wee also Set out to the Said mehitable of the Personal
Estate of the Said Dec'st Sundrey goods to the value of
L49 = 13 S = 0 d at Inventory Price

Existing online records are silent about Mehitable until her marriage to Aaron Baldwin in 1771 but she almost certainly lived with some of her relatives in Preston. After the wedding she moved to Aaron's home in Canterbury, Windham County, Connecticut. One of their seven children was one of my maternal fourth great grandmothers Olive Baldwin.

[Ancestry.com. Early Connecticut Marriages [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012. Original data: Bailey, Frederic W. Early Connecticut Marriages as Found on Ancient Church Records Prior to 1800.

Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1997.]

Mehitable Leonard Baldwin died on April 6, 1808, and is buried in Joseph Roode Farm Cemetery in Windham County, Connecticut.

[Ancestry.com. Connecticut, Hale Collection of Cemetery Inscriptions and Newspaper Notices, 1629-1934 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012. Original data: The Charles R. Hale Collection. Hale Collection of Connecticut Cemetery Inscriptions. Hartford, Connecticut: Connecticut State Library.]

[Find A Grave Memorial# 84270575. Photo by Nate Bramlett (#46874243)]

The last record we have for Aaron is the 1810 U.S. Census but we don't have a death date or place of burial for him.

It turns out that I wrote an earlier post about Mehitable Leonard. (And I forgot to add the link to Christine's Ancestors' Page--lesson learned.)


© 2017 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

From the Probate Files: Isaac Leonard - Jefferson County, New York - 1862

For a long time our family tree listed an Isaac Leonard as Hannah Worden's father but we weren't certain that it was true. The following notice in the Albany Evening Journal (found via GenealogyBank.com several years ago) provided the proof needed.

[Advertisement. Date: Friday, December 26, 1862   Paper: Albany Evening Journal (Albany, New York)   Page: 3  

This entire product and/or portions thereof are copyrighted by NewsBank and/or the American Antiquarian Society. 2004

Source: GenealogyBank.com]

Isaac Leonard died in 1862, sometime between March 3rd when he signed his will and December 22nd when that will was presented in court in Jefferson County, New York.

["New York Probate Records, 1629-1971," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GYMB-JD1?cc=1920234&wc=9V9R-RMQ%3A213304001%2C221610801 : 28 May 2014), Jefferson > image 86 of 328; county courthouses, New York.]

Isaac Leonard's Estate

Be it remembered, that heretofore to wit: on the 22nd day of December AD, 1862, Jacob G. Hooper of Brownville, Jefferson County, New York, the executor name in the last Will and Testament of Isaac Leonard, late of Brownville aforesaid, deceased, appeared in Court before the Surrogate of the County of Jefferson, and made application to have said Last Will and Testament which relates to both real and personal estate, proved; and on such application the said Surrogate did ascertain by satisfactory evidence who were the widow, heirs at law and next of kin of the said testator and their respective residences, and that they are as follows, to wit: Mary Leonard of Brownville aforesaid, the widow of said deceased; Cynthia Belcher wife of Justus Belcher, of Lyme, Jeff. Co. N.Y.; Jemima Worden wife of Po  Worden of Beech-Wood, Sheboygan County, Wisconsin; Hannah Worden, wife of Porter Worden, of Cedarville, Iowa; Sarah Ann Jackson, wife of John Jackson, of Brownville, aforesaid; George W. Leonard of Pitcairn, St. Lawrence Co., N.Y.; Anna Carpenter, wife of Joseph Carpenter, of Brownville, aforesaid; Rosetta Belcher wife of Andrew Belcher, of Danby, Ionia County, Michigan: | of full age | and Emily Jane Leonard and James F. Leonard of Brownville aforesaid, minors, having no general guardians; all children of said Isaac Leonard, deceased; and Albert H. Leonard, Anna A. Leonard, George Byron Leonard and Jane Leonard, children of Isaac N. Leonard, deceased, son of said Isaac Leonard, deceased, minors having no general guardian. Said Surrogate did therefore appoint Samuel D. Barr of Watertown, Jeff. Co. N.Y. the Special Guardian for all minors to appear for them and take care of their interests in the matter of proving said will, he having previously filed with said Surrogate in writing to be thus appointed and to serve, the said Surrogate did theretofore issue a citation in due form of law directed to the widow, heirs at law and next of kin of said Isaac Leonard, deceased, by their respective names, stating their respective places of residences requiring them to appear before said Surrogate at his office in the said village of Watertown in said County of Jefferson, on the 9th day of February A.D. 1863. to attend the probate of said Will: And afterward, to wit: on the 9th day of February A.D. 1863, satisfactory evidence by affidavit was produced and presented to said Surrogate of the d???vice of said citation in the mode prescribed by law, and on that day, no one appearing to oppose such Will, such proceedings were therefore had said court afterward, that the said Surrogate took the proofs of said Will hereinafter set forth on this 9th day of February A.D. 1863, and therefore adjudge the said Will to be a valid Will of real and personal estate, and that the proofs thereto be sufficient, said Last Will and Testament, and proofs are hereinafter recorded in this Book.
                                                          Witness             M. H. Merwin   Surrogate
Will

I, Isaac Leonard, of Brownville, Jefferson County and State of New York, of the age of Eighty-two years and upward, being mindful of the uncertainty of this life, I do h ereby make, publish and declare this my last will and testament:  First, I will, order and direct that my executor hereinafter nominated and appointed to execute this will, pay all my just and lawful debts and funeral expenses -- Second, After the payment of my debts, funeral expenses and expenses of administration I give, bequeath and devise unto my wife Mary Isabel Leonard the use occupation and control of all my property both real  and personal during her natural life, provided she remains my widow and unremarried until her decease, and, on her decease, I give & bequeath all my real and personal property then remaining as follows, to wit: One third thereof to my daughter Emily Jane Leonard and the other two-thirds thereof to my son James Foster Leonard & heirs -- But in case my said wife shall marry after my decease, then, in that case, she shall not hold my estate or the use thereof under the above bequest, but from such marriage, she shall have the use of one-third of my real estate during her natural life, in lieu of dower, and she shall also have, and I hereby give, bequeath and devise unto my said wife one-third of my personal property remaining after the payment of my debts, funeral expenses and expenses of administration, to be hers absolutely, and all the rest, residue and remainder of my estate, both real and personal remaining at the marriage of my sid wife after my decease, and after the legacies to her made in case of her marriage, I give, bequeath and devise as follows to wit: One-third to my said daughter Emily Jane and the other two-thirds to my said son James Foster Leonard.

Lastly, I hereby nominate and appoint my friend Jacob Hooper of Brownville aforesaid, to be the executor of this my last Will and testament thereby revoking all former wills by me made & in case my said wife shall marry after my decease, then, I hereby appoint the said Jacob Hooper the guardian of my said daughter Emily Jane and my said son James Foster, to be such guardian and act as such from the time of such marriage.

In witness thereof I hereunto set my hand and seal and published and declared this to be my last Will and Testament in the presence of the witnesses who have signed below, this third day of March A.D. 1862.

                                                                      Isaac Leonard {L.S.}

The foregoing instrument was at the date thereof Signed by Isaac Leonard, the testator therein named, in our presence, and he at the same time declared the said instrument so subscribed, to us, to be his last will and testament; and we at the same time, at his request and in his presence, and in the presence of each other, have subscribed our names thereto as attesting witnesses ----
W.H. Beach, Watertown, Jeff. Co. N.Y.
F. Milton,  Watertown, Jeff. Co. N.Y.






© 2017 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Working on Wednesday: Porter Worden (1811 - 1891) Cooper & Farmer

If we had to rely only on the census records to follow this 3X great grandfather and his family we wouldn't know about several of the places he and his wife Hannah lived after they left their home state of New York. Fortunately his 1891 obituary in the Anamosa Eureka has come to light.

[Detail of a joint portrait of Porter and Hannah Leonard, c1860, Anamosa, Iowa.

Courtesy of Olive Slater-Kennedy]

[Iowa  Anamosa  The Anamosa Eureka   Thursday , February 26th , 1891.

Source: Digital Archives of the Jones County Genealogical Society.]

                  PORTER WORDEN
   Died, at the residence of Thurston Joslin, his
son-in-law, Feb 15, 1891 Porter Worden. He was
born in Oswego county New York, May 12, 1811,
was married to Hannah M. Leonard in the year
1838, ten children being the fruit of this union.
He came to Iowa in 1853. In the course of time he
moved to Missouri, lived in Nebraska for a time
and later returned to Iowa. In early life he
united with the Methodist church but in after
years united with the Baptist church at Fairview,
of which he was a consistent member at the time
of his death. The companion of his youth died in
Nebraska in January, 1887, at the age of 74 years.
They leave a family of eight children living. Six
of them were present to assist in caring for him.
He was a great sufferer in the last days but mur
mured not. He looked forward to the time when
he would soon be free from trouble. He fell asleep
in Jesus. His remains were followed to the church
by many relatives and friends, where services were
held, and then they bore him to Wilcox ceme-
tery where he now rests to aait the summons to arise.
  Mr. and Mrs.Joslin wish to tender their thanks
to the friends for their kind assistance in this
time of trouble.
                                      D. GIVEN, Pastor.

The information in the obituary would have been supplied by his children including Polly Ann Joslin and it mostly agrees with the records we have except that Porter was actually born in Cayuga County, New York--his family moved to Oswego when he was about five years old.

Hannah's family lived in Jefferson County, New York, and that's where she and Porter were living at the time of the 1840 and 1850 federal censuses. They moved to Iowa* within a year of her father Isaac Leonard's second marriage to a much younger woman.

His occupation was listed as "Cooper" in the 1850 U.S. Census, but in all later enumerations he was a farmer.

*First to Linn County before moving on to Fairview in Jones County by 1870. Neither their move to Missouri, possibly in connection with their daughter Elizabeth Anna and her husband Steven Peregoy who moved their family to Missouri around 1870, nor their sojourn in Nebraska (and Hannah's death there) would be known except for the obituary. Since their granddaughter (and my great grandmother) Elnora Worden Webb and her family had moved to Know County in 1885 it's likely that influenced Porter and Hannah's move there.


© 2017 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Monday Is for Mothers: Olive Baldwin (1778 - 1843)

Olive Baldwin and her husband Joseph Gates (1779-1854) are the parents of my great great great grandmother Mary "Polly" Gates. As you will find if you follow the link to my post about Polly Gates, Olive was added to this line in 2015.*

[Hyde genealogy; or, The descendants,in the female as well as in the male lines, from William Hyde, of Norwich...

by Reuben Hyde Walworth, , 1788-1867. Source: Internet Archive]

Olive was born in Canterbury in Windham County, Connecticut on September 2, 1779. Her parents were Aaron Baldwin and Mehitable Leonard.

She married Joseph around 1794, probably in Windham although I haven't found any online record of their marriage. Their first child was born in 1795--a daughter whose name isn't known.

As always with women before 1850, we have to follow Olive through records in her husband's name. In 1800 according to the federal census they were living in Preston in New London County. Most likely the Dorothy Gates whose name follows Joseph's in the enumeration is his widowed mother.

[Year: 1800; Census Place: Preston, New London, Connecticut; Series: M32; Roll: 3; Page: 708; Image: 220; Family History Library Film: 205620. Ancestry.com. 1800 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2010. Images reproduced by FamilySearch. Original data: Second Census of the United States, 1800. NARA microfilm publication M32 (52 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.]

Dorothy Gates died in February of 1805 and by September of that year Joseph, Olive and their family were living in Otsego County, New York, where Polly Gates was born. Here's the household in the 1810 U.S. Census for Unadilla.

[Year: 1810; Census Place: Unadilla, Otsego, New York; Roll: 34; Page: 173; Image: 00098; Family History Library Film: 0181388. Ancestry.com. 1810 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Images reproduced by FamilySearch. Original data: Third Census of the United States, 1810. (NARA microfilm publication M252, 71 rolls). Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.]

[Image from The pioneers of Unadilla village, 1784-1840 by Halsey, Francis Whiting, 1851-1919; Gaius Leonard Halsey, 1819-1891.

Source: Internet Archive.]

By 1820 the Gates family had moved to Virgil in Cortland County, New York.

[1820 U S Census; Census Place: Virgil, Cortland, New York; Page: 621; NARA Roll: M33_66; Image: 341. Ancestry.com. 1820 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Images reproduced by FamilySearch. Original data: Fourth Census of the United States, 1820. (NARA microfilm publication M33, 142 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.]

Olive died in 1843 so this 1840 U.S. Census record is the last official document she's represented in.

[Year: 1840; Census Place: Cortland, New York; Roll: 275; Page: 8; Image: 20; Family History Library Film: 0017184. Ancestry.com. 1840 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Images reproduced by FamilySearch. Original data: Sixth Census of the United States, 1840. (NARA microfilm publication M704, 580 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.]

Olive Baldwin Gates died on January 6, 1843, and is buried in the Snyder Hill Cemetery in Virgil.

[Created by: Larry Wales; Record added: Apr 04, 2011

Find A Grave Memorial #67882262.

Photo: Larry Wales (#47374334)]

Joseph survived Olive by 11 years. He moved in with Polly and David Darling in Iowa and is buried there in Jones County.



*Credit where credit's due--Christine found this reference. Olive is not a very common given name among my ancestors and I think it's significant that Polly and her husband David Darling named one of their daughters Olive G. Darling (1838-1852). (Note that the Hyde connection is not in my direct line.)

© 2017 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Working on Wednesday: Isaac Leonard (About 1790 - 1862), Farmer

A life-long resident of New York State, Isaac Leonard and his first wife Jemima White had probably been married only a couple of years when he enlisted as a private during the War of 1812.*

[War of 1812 Service Record Index, Fold3.com]

We know that the Leonards were living in Hounsfield in Jefferson County, New York, by 1816 when Isaac entered into an agreement to buy 25 acres of Great Lot Thirty-Nine for $100 and was described as being "of Hounsfield."

[Jefferson County, New York : from actual surveys, 1855. Source: Library of Congress Geography and Map Division Washington, D.C.]

[Detail from above showing Hounsfield and Brownville Townships in 1855]

["New York Land Records, 1630-1975," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G9W5-XDQQ?cc=2078654&wc=M7C7-GPD%3A358135401%2C359509801 : 22 May 2014), Jefferson > image 421 of 568;

county courthouses, New York.]

However, as shown on the following page, this indenture wasn't recorded until 1822 so I don't know when (or if) the Leonard family might have resided there.

[Source: FamilySearch]

Isaac and Jemima with their young family as shown as residents of Hounsfield in the 1820 U.S. Census.**

[1820 U S Census; Census Place: Hounsfield, Jefferson, New York; Page: 405; NARA Roll: M33_72; Image: 222. Ancestry.com. 1820 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Images reproduced by FamilySearch.

Original data: Fourth Census of the United States, 1820. (NARA microfilm publication M33, 142 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.]

[Ancestry.com]

By New York State's 1825 enumeration, the Leonard family had reached its final size: Isaac, Jemima, two sons and seven daughters.*** (Their second child, my great great great grandmother Hannah Leonard was 12.)

From the 1830 U.S. Census we can deduce that one of the Leonard daughters has died. This is the last census to include Jemima.

[1830; Census Place: Hounsfield, Jefferson, New York; Series: M19; Roll: 92; Page: 194; Family History Library Film: 0017152. Ancestry.com. 1830 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Images reproduced by FamilySearch.Original data: Fifth Census of the United States, 1830. (NARA microfilm publication M19, 201 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.]

[Ancestry.com]

Ten years later the Leonard household had moved to neighboring Brownville and shrunk to four people as the older children married and started their own families.****

[Year: 1840; Census Place: Brownville, Jefferson, New York; Roll: 292; Page: 414; Image: 956; Family History Library Film: 0017190. Ancestry.com. 1840 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Images reproduced by FamilySearch. Original data: Sixth Census of the United States, 1840. (NARA microfilm publication M704, 580 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.]

[Ancestry.com]

That same year Isaac paid $600 for land in Brownville.

["New York Land Records, 1630-1975," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-99WG-MVCH?cc=2078654&wc=M7HY-4Z9%3A358135401%2C358704501 : 22 May 2014), Jefferson > image 49 of 645; county courthouses, New York.]

By 1850 Isaac was living in his younger son Isaac Newton Leonard and his family in Brownville. One of his daughters Anna, the wife of Joseph Carpenter, was living next door with her family.

[Year: 1850; Census Place: Brownville, Jefferson, New York; Roll: M432_514; Page: 189A; Image: 140. 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.]

But if you're picturing old Isaac dozing by the fireside surrounded by his grandchildren...there's a surprise in store for you in 1855 New York State Census. Recall that I referred to Jemima as his first wife? Well, in 1851 he married his second, 25-year old, Canadian-born Mary. And by 1855 his new family included 6-year old Mary (also born in Canada and not his biological daughter*****), and daughter Emily - 3, and son James, just a year old.

[Ancestry.com. New York, State Census, 1855 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2013. Original data: Census of the state of New York, for 1855. Microfilm. New York State Archives, Albany, New York.]

Other useful information to be gleaned from the census is that Isaac's frame house was valued at $350. In response to another census question not shown here, Isaac stated he was born in Montgomery County, New York.

In the 1860 U.S. Census, the Leonard household hasn't substantially changed, although this enumeration gives us an idea of Isaac's real and personal wealth. Also young Mary's name is recorded as Hellen this time.

[Year: 1860; Census Place: Brownville, Jefferson, New York; Roll: M653_761; Page: 791; Family History Library Film: 803761. 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.]

Isaac Leonard of Brownville is on a list of War of 1812 veterans who filed a claim with the State of New York. The preface to a re-printing of the list explains what it was about.

[New York, Index of Awards On Claims of the Soldiers of the War of 1812 [database on-line].]

On March 3, 1862, Isaac Leonard "at the age of eight-two years and upward" made his will which was presented for probate in February of 1863 at Watertown, New York. We don't know his exact date of death or where he was buried.

I'll be covering Isaac's will next week.



*There were two Isaac Leonards from New York  who served in the military at this time so while there are supplementary records it's not clear to me which ones refer to my ancestor. I'll address that in a future post.
**From the birth years of their known children we assume Isaac and Jemima married in about 1809-10 so I don't know who the young white male 16 - 25 could be, but he and Isaac are undoubtedly the two persons engaged in agriculture.
***This information is only available as a database record without an image.
****Hannah Leonard married Porter Worden in 1838.
*****This is made clear in his will.


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