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| Grave of Martha and Henry Gorham (source) |
Martha and Henry Gorham's story is a sad, but not unfamiliar one for the nineteenth century. Henry Gorham died on May 9, 1884. His mother Martha, age 33, died nine days later. Since Henry's exact age is not given (he is described as "infant son"), it seems plausible that he died before, during, or just after birth and that his mother died from complications of the birth. Either that or they both succumbed to illness shortly after he was born.
Martha was born in Connecticut around 1851. Her husband, Lyman, was a photographer who was also born in Connecticut. His work can be found in the New York Public Library's
Photography Collection.
Four years before her death, the couple was living in New York and had no children. This was the only census in which they would appear together.
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| 1880 US Federal Census |
In 1870, twenty-year-old Lyman Gorham was living with his family in Westport, Connecticut. He was the son of David, a farmer, and Sally A. Gorham, and had two sisters. Marietta was presumably his grandmother.
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| 1870 US Federal Census |
Lyman Gorham married again, to a woman named Sarah Hendrick, in 1892. In 1900 they were living in Norwalk, Connecticut, and Lyman was working as a machinist. They were still there in 1910.
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| 1900 US Federal Census |
In 1917, Lyman was interviewed for the Connecticut Military Census. This document reveals that his middle name was Beers; that he was 5'9"; that four people were considered his dependents; and he had a hernia. I'm not sure what the State of Connecticut thought that a 67-year-old man with a hernia could do for the military, but they asked anyway.
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| 1917 CT Military Census |
In 1919, Sarah Gorham died, leaving Lyman a widower for the second time. A year later, now age 70, he had moved in with his 91-year-old father-in-law Edward Hendrick and his wife's unmarried sister Maria. Lyman was still working as a machinist.
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| 1920 US Federal Census |
Lyman Gorham died in 1927 at the age of 78 in Connecticut.
There are several other Gorhams buried in the cemetery, all children. They are:
Carrie J. Gorham, died 1860, age 1 year, daughter of Charles W. and Caroline
George Starr Gorham, died 1860, age 3 years, child of C. W. and Mary A.
James C. Gorham, died 1860, age 4 years, child of Charles W. and Caroline
Josie Gorham, died 1863, age 1 year, child of C. W. and Mary A.
Lillian Harriet Gorham, died 1860, age 2 years, child of C. W. and Mary A.
An article I found from a local newspaper in the 1890s stated that Lyman Gorham, then living in Connecticut, had ridden his bicycle over to New York to visit his relatives who lived there. I may be able to figure out how he was related to these Gorhams, but I think I'll explore that in a later post.
UPDATE: I found the obituary of Martha Gorham in the historical society, which provides her maiden name:
It is our sad duty this week to record the death of Mrs. Martha Gorham, which took place at about two o'clock last Sunday morning, May 18th, at her residence, South Norwalk, Conn., aged 34 years. The cause of death was paralysis of the heart, an affection [sic] from which she had previously suffered. The circumstances surrounding her death are of a particularly sorrowful character. On May 3rd, she gave birth to a son who died a week later. This was a severe blow to her fond hopes, which seemed to have centered on their first and only child. Mrs. Gorham, however, made good progress toward recovery from her sickness, and on Saturday morning last her physician gave most assuring hopes of her speedy restoration to health and strength. But in the evening, she was taken with paralysis of the heart, and although everything was done for her that medical skill could suggest, or loving hand could do, she died about two o'clock. As she realized that her end was near, she placed her trust in the Saviour, and became fully resigned to the separation from her friends in this world, looking forward to a happy reunion in the land beyond. She was a member of the M. E. Church, and her religion showed itself in the Christian faith and sweetness which had characterized her daily life. She was the only daughter of Mr. Newman Reynolds, of this village, and leaves her father and a brother, Mr. Eugene Reynolds. Her mother died about a year ago. She was married in 1878 to Mr. Lyman Gorham, then of this village and last year they moved to Stamford and afterward to South Norwalk. Much sympathy is felt for her bereaved husband in his deep affliction.
- Lyman Beers Gorham (1849-1927) m. (1) Martha J. Reynolds (1851-1884) in 1878 (2) Sarah Hendrick (1862-1919)
- Henry Gorham (1884-1884)
The grandson of Oliver Knapp (and son of my late grandmother's close friend) Frank just alerted me to these two stereographic images in the digital collection of the New York Public Library. Both were taken by Lyman Beers Gorham, youngest of the Gorham brothers and professional photographer. The upper image shows the railroad station about 1880. The lower one shows a church - but which one? At first I thought it was the old Catholic Church, but it doesn't seem to match the image of that church that I have seen. Perhaps someone can help me identify it.
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.
