Philip and Nancy Sarles

Philip Sarles outlived his wife Nancy by nearly fifty years. She died in 1825, age 41; he died in 1872, age 88. When Nancy died, slavery was still legal in New York. Philip got to see the entire Civil War and a good chunk of Reconstruction. Not bad for someone who was born the year after the Revolutionary War ended.

Nancy is not the only Nancy Sarles buried in the cemetery. In fact, she is one of three. One lived from 1783-1863, and the other lived from 1812-1899.

There are no other Philip Sarleses buried in the cemetery, but I can imagine that he wasn't the only Philip Sarles running around town in the nineteenth century. Accordingly, it's somewhat difficult to say with certainty whether this Philip Sarles - who would have been born around 1787 - is the correct one. Shown here in the 1850 census, this Philip Sarles was a constable with an estate of $3,000, and was living with a family of Merritts. Figures. (None of these Merritts are buried in the cemetery, though.)

1850 US Federal Census

Unfortunately, this is the only census in which I can find Philip Sarles. He should be in the 1860 and 1870 censuses, but I can't find him. This is sad, since I'm sure that Philip and Nancy Sarles raised a whole flock of little Sarleses, as Sarleses are inclined to do. I would have liked to see if I could figure out who they were.

I did find an article in the Yonkers Statesman giving the "abstract of accounts audited by the Board of Town Auditors" in 1870, which named Philip Sarles as the constable (his account for the year was $6).

I also found a reference to the property owned by Philip Sarles: "a farm of about a hundred acres near Roaring Brook." After Sarles died, the property was owned by Abraham Hyatt.