James J. and Carrie J. Gorham

When Charles and Caroline Gorham buried their two children within just a few weeks of each other in the middle of the summer of 1860, there would have been many parents in the community who knew their pain. The 1850s and 1860s were the worst decades for children in the cemetery's history. A full third of the burials that took place in those years were those of children 10 years old or younger. With the 1870s, child mortality would start to decline. The cemetery would decline, too - not of a consequence of the decreased mortality rate, but rather of the foundation of a rival cemetery several blocks away.

But in the 1860s, the cemetery was busier than it had ever been or would be again. Dozens of caskets would have made their way up the gravel pathway to the new church, built in 1852. Others would have entered the other cemetery, behind the church, through its side entrance, via an iron gate that is now propped up against a tree. This back half of the cemetery site belonged to the Methodists, and it is where the Gorhams were buried.

Charles W. Gorham, the children's father, was a shoemaker who was born in Connecticut around 1827. In 1850, he and his wife Caroline lived in Lewisboro with their one-month-old child, Clarence.

1850 US Federal Census

Unfortunately, I can't find the Gorhams in the 1860 or 1870 censuses, so a full thirty years passes before I see them again. During that time, they lost two children, and possibly more. They also had at least one grandchild. Edward Field, their grandson, was living with them in Lewisboro. Unfortunately, due to the gap in the censuses, I don't have the name of a single daughter of the Gorhams other than Carrie, the one-year-old who died in 1860.
 

1880 US Federal Census

Charles W. Gorham died in 1882 and was buried in the cemetery. In 1895, his 68-year-old widow sought shelter in the Westchester County Almshouse. The document below states that Caroline Gorham had one sister, one brother, and one child surviving. The reason for her stay was that she was "sick," and her chances of recovery were deemed "not probable."

1895

Charles and Caroline's sole surviving son, Charles F. Gorham, was living in Ansonia, Connecticut, with his family: his wife Sarah and their four daughters and one son.

1900 US Federal Census

I would love to fill in more details about the Gorhams - for instance: When did Clarence Gorham die and where is he buried? What is Charles Gorham's connection to the other Gorhams in the cemetery? When did Caroline Gorham die, and did she ever leave the Almshouse? And did the following children all die of the same illness?

Carrie J. Gorham, died 1 August 1860
George Starr Gorham, died 4 May 1860
James J. Gorham, died 23 July 1860
Lillian Harriet Gorham, died 17 October 1860

It just seems like a lot of Gorham children (4) dying within a short period of time (five months).

1. Charles W. Gorham (1827-1882) m. Caroline M. (1828-)
1. Clarence Gorham (1850-)
2. James J. Gorham (1856-1860)
3. Carrie J. Gorham (1859-1860)
4. Charles F. Gorham (1861-) m. Sarah Jane (1859-) in 1885
1. Mable B. Gorham (1887-)
2. Eloise Gorham (1890-)
3. Hazel Gorham (1871-)
4. Bessie M. Gorham (1894-) m. Charles W. Clark (1889-)
5. Edwin W. Gorham (1896-1961)