32: Isabella Bird Luckey

Isabella Bird Luckey died on September 1, 1847, at the age of six. She was the daughter of John Luckey, a Methodist preacher of Scottish descent, and Diana Rutherford. John Luckey's biography is featured in the book Old Sands Street Methodist Episcopal Church, of Brooklyn, NY, by Edwin Warriner (1885).*

Luckey's father, Joseph or "Squire" Luckey, immigrated from Ireland to the United States with his two brothers. Joseph's wife and John's mother was Lanah Wagner, a Dutch woman. John Luckey was born in 1800. His wife wrote of him:

"He left home when a mere boy, lived with his brother Samuel, went to school, and became a teacher. The love of the brothers for each other was like the love of David and Jonathan to the end of their lives."

For twenty years, Luckey ministered to destitute people and criminals in New York City. In 1855, he became the chaplain of Sing Sing Prison. Then, in the decade before his death, he and his wife lived on a farm near Rolla, Missouri.

Luckey married Diana Rutherford, the daughter of fellow Sands Street preacher Christopher Rutherford, in 1829; she was born in England around 1808. They had six children, only one of whom outlived her father. Mary and John Luckey were buried in the Sands Street Cemetery in Brooklyn, and Samuel and Emma Luckey were buried in Ossining. Isabella is the only Luckey buried in the Episcopal cemetery (presumably in the Methodist section). The burial place of Jane, born around 1836, is unknown.

Luckey died in 1875 in Missouri and was buried in Dale Cemetery in Ossining. After his death, Diana moved back to New York and lived in Haverstraw with their only surviving daughter, Helen Eliza.

This is Luckey's pastoral record:

And this is how the author described him, with the help of Luckey's widow:

And this is how the author described Diana Luckey:

The census below is from 1850, when the Luckeys were living in Mount Pleasant, New York. Four of their children were living at this point, and at least one had died.

1850 US Federal Census

The 1880 census shows the widowed Diana living with her unmarried daughter Helen, "adopted daughter" Sarah Rutherford (who probably was a relation of some kind as well), and a servant, Ellen Dolan.

1880 US Federal Census

By 1900, Diana had presumably died, as Helen Luckey lived with her cousins, the Felters, in Haverstraw. The Felters had a son named Rutherford, so I'm assuming that they were Helen's cousins on her mother's side.

In 1910, Helen had moved in with another cousin, Martin S. Paine, who was a banker in Manhattan. Ten years later, Helen was back with the Felters, now living in New Jersey. She seems to have died before 1930.

In 1888, the Sands Street Methodist Church was sold to developers and the people buried in the cemetery were reburied in Evergreens Cemetery.
 

*The book about the Old Sands Street Church also includes this picture of "pioneer Methodist preacher in Brooklyn" Captain Thomas Webb and his bangin' eyepatch and sword:

Maybe I will do his genealogy next. He looks like a badass.

1.  Joseph Luckey (1766-1833) m. Lanah Wagner (1763-1816) in 1787
1. Reverend John Luckey (1800-1875) m. Diana Rutherford (1808-before 1900) in 1829
1. Helen Eliza Luckey (1833-after 1920)
2. Jane Luckey (1836-before 1885)
3. Samuel J. Luckey (1838-before 1885)
4. Isabella Bird Luckey (1841-1847)
5. Emma A. Luckey (1848-before 1885)
6. John Luckey (?-before 1885)

31: Nathan C. Avery (update)

Update. Claudia, who saw this post through Facebook, has provided me with the details of Nathan's parents and wife. Thanks, Claudia!

I'm always curious about people who seem to have been buried in the cemetery on their own - that is, seemingly without other relatives in the cemetery. In the case of Ann M. Shamp, my first impression turned out to be mistaken; that is, while Ann was the only person with the surname Shamp in the cemetery, she was actually a Sarles by birth. For obvious reasons, this can't be the case for Nathan C. Avery. There are no other Averys buried in the cemetery. Who was his family?

Nathan died in 1894 at the age of 64. Unfortunately, most of the 1890 census was lost in a fire, so the 1880 census is the last surviving census in which he appears.

1880 US Federal Census

This census provides a possible explanation for Nathan's burial in the cemetery. An unmarried 50-year-old stonecutter, he lived with Edwin A. and Sarah E. Purdy in Manhattan. There are four Purdys buried in the cemetery, although Edwin and Sarah aren't among them, and Purdy is a very common surname in Westchester County. Were the Purdys Nathan's family? Sarah Purdy is the right age to be his sister, although his relation to Edwin Purdy is given as "boarder," not "brother-in-law." Additionally, the census says that Nathan was born in Vermont and Sarah was born in New Hampshire.

Ten years earlier, Nathan had lived in Manhattan with a different family - one that provides him with more connections to the cemetery.

1870 US Federal Census

Haight and Hall are both common names in the cemetery. The Mary S. Haight and Elizabeth Hall listed here are both buried there; the transcription indicates that they were sisters.

But how is Nathan related to any of them?

In the 1860s, Nathan's trail goes cold, and I can't find him again until the 1850 census.

In 1850, we finally find Nathan in his native state, Vermont, in the town of Sherburne. Yet there are no other Averys to be found here either, but some Richardsons, a Rowe, a Hawkins, a Danville, a Goodrich, and a Converse. Nathan worked as a farm laborer.

1850 US Federal Census

Because he would have been ten years old, Nathan wouldn't have appeared in the 1840 census except as a tally mark in the household of his father or whoever else was the head of his household, so I can't find him.

UPDATE
Claudia told me that The Chandler Family: The Descendants of William Chandler and Annis Chandler Who Settled in Roxbury, Mass., 1637 (1883) provides information on Nathan C. Avery's family. She was also able to find the maiden name of Nathan's wife, Libbie, through the New York City marriage records index. It's Haight - are you surprised?

The book gives Nathan's date of birth as November 25, 1829. He was the son of Jeremiah Avery of Sherburne, VT, and Ruth Chandler of Alstead, NH; they married on July 4, 1825. Jeremiah was the son of Nathan Avery, a cooper and farmer.

Nathan C. Avery married Libbie A. Haight on April 28, 1881, in Manhattan. Is this the same woman as Elizabeth Haight, age 17, with whom Nathan was living in 1870? And was this Nathan's first marriage? He would have been 52 at the time. Better late than never, I suppose!

Nathan and Libbie would have appeared together in the 1890 census, but that census was destroyed in a fire. The next time Libbie would appear, she would be a widow in the 1900 census. I didn't find her there, but I did find a Libbie Avery in the 1910 census, living in the Bronx with a family of Walkers. She was 57 at the time, which makes her precisely the right age to be Elizabeth Haight, the daughter of Stephen and Mary Haight, who was 17 in 1870. In the 1910 census, her occupation is given as music teacher.

1910 US Federal Census

The next census in which I find Libbie is the 1930 census, when she was living at the Association for the Relief of Respectable, Aged, and Indigent Females in Manhattan. She was then 77.

1930 US Federal Census

Libbie was still living at the Association in 1940 at the age of 86. It was also known as the Association Residence Nursing Home. The building, constructed in 1883 and designed by Richard Morris Hunt, is still standing and is on the U.S. Register of Historic Places. It's now a youth hostel.

(Source)

Through one of the family trees on Ancestry, I was able to find the name of Nathan C. Avery's sister, Eliza Arabel Avery, who was born in 1823. She married Charles Fisher Lincoln in 1844. In 1850, the couple was living next door to Nathan and Eliza's father Jeremiah and his second wife, Laura, in Sherburne. They had three children, and also housed 14-year-old Charles Avery and 23-ear-old Alonzo Estabrook.

1850 US Federal Census

In 1860, the family had moved to Woodstock, VT, with their six curiously named children.

1860 US Federal Census

They were still there in 1870 with two more children, bringing the total number up to eight.

1870 US Federal Census

By 1880, Charles Fisher Lincoln had died. Eliza Lincoln was the head of a household that included three sons, two daughters, and two grandsons.

1880 US Federal Census

These are the children of Eliza Avery and Charles Lincoln that I have been able to trace:

Newman M. Lincoln was already a farmer of 35 in the 1880 census. He fought with the 6th Vermont Infantry Regiment in the Civil War. He is listed in the 1890 Veterans Census as living in Woodstock, VT. He married his wife Lettie in 1887 and had one child, Gladys. He was working as a carpenter in 1900 and 1910. In 1914, Newman was admitted to a National Home for Disabled Soldiers in Los Angeles, near to the home of his daughter Gladys Mellon, with a number of infirmities. He died in 1915 of nephritis.

Estell W. Lincoln married Sarah Gates in 1878 in Boston. He worked as a machinist. They were living in Los Angeles in 1910 and 1920. They didn't have children.

Arba Nelson Lincoln married Mira Kimball in 1876 and had five children. They lived in Bristol, Massachusetts, and he was a lawyer. You can see his biography from Who's Who in England of 1915 below. He died in 1922.

Who's Who in New England 1915

Mary E. Lincoln married George W. Clark in 1874. In 1880, they were living in Illinois, and in 1900, they were living in Los Angeles.

Loyal Tisdale Lincoln and his wife Emma were married in 1894. She had two children from a previous marriage. They lived in Los Angeles, where Loyal was a mail carrier.

1. Jeremiah Avery (1797-) m. (1) Ruth Chandler (1804-); (2) Laura (1798-)
1. Eliza Arabel Avery (1823-after 1880) m. Charles Fisher Lincoln (1819-1876)
1. Newman M.  Lincoln (1845-1915) m. Lettie (1858-before 1910)
1. Gladys Lincoln (1891-) m. Mellon
2. Estell W. Lincoln (1847-) m. Sarah Gates in 1878
3. Arba Nelson Lincoln (1849-1922) m. Mira Kimball (1850-) in 1876
1. Ernest Avery Lincoln (1883-)
2. Ralph Hayford Lincoln (1885-)
3. Grace Lincoln (1888-)
4. Kenneth Chandler Lincoln (1890-)
5. Carl Kimball Lincoln (1892-1961) m. Jean L. (1887-)
1. Nelson H. Lincoln (1915-)
2. Warner C. Lincoln (1920-2001)
4. Mary E. Lincoln (1852-) m. George W. Clark in 1874
1. William L. Clark (1874-)
2. Dona M. Clark (1886-)
3. Loyal N. Clark (1893-)
5. Loyal Tisdale Lincoln (1857-) m. Emma (1855-) in 1894
6. Julia A. Lincoln (1859-) 
7. Nettie Lincoln (1861-1924)
8. Charles R. Lincoln (1866-) 
2. Nathan C. Avery (1829-1894) m. Libbie Haight (1853-after 1940) in 1881

30: Richard and Rachel Kirby

(Source)

"Rachiel" Kirby - unconventional spelling or engraver's mistake? For now I'm going to assume it's the latter. I don't think I've ever seen Rachel spelled that way.

At first I mistook Richard and Rachel Kirby for husband and wife. In fact, she's his daughter. (Correction, August 17, 2015: She was his wife! See here.) Rachel's mother was Matilda Frost, who is not buried in the cemetery. Richard, a farmer, was born around 1781 and died in 1857.

Rachel was born in New Jersey in 1804. In 1850, she lived with her father and three Kirbys whom I am assuming are her brothers. There was also a 17-year-old girl, Cecilia Smith; I'm not sure how she fits into the picture.
 

1850 US Federal Census

Joseph Kirby (1801-1849)
Rachel's older brother Joseph, who was born in 1801, married Mary Ferris and became a miller. On August 12, 1849, he died suddenly of unknown causes, according to the 1850 United States Federal Census Mortality Schedules. After her husband's death, Mary was living with a man named Philip Clapp, a woman named Adelia Horton, and Adelia's daughter Emily.

1850 US Federal Census

Although she died in 1879, I can't find Mary in the 1860 or 1870 census.

Leonard Kirby (1802-1878)
Rachel's older brother Leonard Kirby was born around 1802. He married Jane Vervalen, who was born in New Jersey in 1813. They had thirteen children, only five of whom outlived their mother.

In 1860, Leonard and Jane lived near the cemetery with their nine children, three servants, and two laborers. Leonard was a merchant.

1860 US Federal Census

Leonard died in 1878, after which Jane lived with relatives in New Jersey and then in Westchester. In 1900, she was living with her daughter Louisa and her husband Alexander H. Mood, a traveling salesman, as well as the Moods' son George, Jane's daughter Adelaide, and one boarder.

When Jane died in 1902 at the age of 89, it was a full hundred years after her husband Leonard's birth.

Leonard's son Richard Kirby married Adelaide L. Stanton, the daughter of James P. and Jemima Stanton and the sister of Annie and Emily who are buried in the cemetery. You can read about Richard and Adelaide's descendants in the Annie and Emily post.

Sinclair Harcout Kirby

Leonard's other son Edgar Kirby enlisted in the Civil War on September 9, 1862, in the 5th New York Heavy Artillery Regiment, Company H. He became a Corporal on January 24, 1863, and a Second Lieutenant on June 22, 1863. He was discharged on June 29, 1863.

Edgar Kirby's son Sinclair Kirby worked in advertising and volunteered in the 71st New York Infantry, Company G, in the Spanish-American War. In 1918, he applied for a passport for the purpose of traveling to England and France to serve in the Red Cross. To the right is a photograph of him from the application.

William A. Kirby (1828-?)
William Kirby was working as a carpenter in 1850, but I can't find him in censuses after that.

Charles H. Kirby (1830-)
Charles Kirby and his wife Jane buried one child in the cemetery: Albert E. Kirby, who was born and died in 1860. The family later moved to Brooklyn, where Charles was working as a bookkeeper in 1880.

1880 US Federal Census

John Wesley Kirby (1832-1901)
I'm guessing that the Kirbys were Methodists based on the name of their youngest child, John Wesley Kirby. He was born in 1832 and was a carpenter. On September 9, 1862, along with nephew Edgar Kirby, he enlisted in the Civil War, serving in the 5th New York Heavy Artillery Regiment, Company H. He was promoted to Corporal on July 31, 1864, and to Sergeant on April 20, 1865. He was discharged on June 22, 1865.

After the war, John Wesley Kirby lived in Brooklyn with his wife, Adelaide, and their children.

1880 US Federal Census

After Adelaide's death, John lived with his daughter Leonora and her husband George Parker. He died in 1901.

Most popular names
Leonard (5)
William (3)
Charles (3)
Jane (3) 
Edgar (2)
Richard (2)

1. Richard Kirby (1781-1857) m. Matilda Frost (1783-); Rachel Kirby 
1. Joseph Kirby (1801-1849) m. Mary Ferris (1800-1879)
2. Leonard Kirby (1802-1878) Jane E. Vervalen (1813-1902)
1. William H. Kirby (1831-)
2. Richard Kirby (1834-) m. Adelaide L. Stanton (1841-after 1930)
1. Evelina A. Kirby (1862-)
2. Leonard Kirby (1869-) m. Elizabeth (1871-) in 1892
1. Leonard Kirby (1893-1983) m. Delma Crenshaw (1903-1945)
1. Leonard Kirby (1918-1964)
2. Hildegard Kirby (1895-)
3. Edgar Kirby (1838-1912) m. (1) Mary Jane (1838-1872); (2) Ellen McCoy Rider (1847-1900)
1. Jane Kirby (1861-1890)
2. Matilda Kirby (1875-)
3. Sinclair Harcout Kirby (1877-) m. Louise (1863-)
4. Edgar Kirby (1883-1967) m. Ethel B. (1884-)
1. Helen D. Kirby (1910-)
5. Ellen Kirby (1883-)
4. Matilda Kirby (1840-1878) m. James Hoyt (1838-1890)
5. Evelina Kirby (1842-)
6. Jane Kirby (1844-)
7. Leonard Kirby (1845-)
8. Louisa Kirby (1848-) m. Alexander H. Mood (1852-)
1. George L. Mood (1886-)
9. Adelaide Kirby (1849-)
10. Helen Kirby (1855-)
11. Mary Kirby (1857-)
3. William A. Kirby (1828-)
4. Charles H. Kirby (1830-) m. Jane E. (1834-)
1. Charles M. Kirby (1858-) m. Nellie (1859-)
1. Walter Kirby (1879-)
2. Lillian Kirby (1882) m. William J. Steinel (1875-) in 1898
3. Charles Kirby (1885-)
4. William Kirby (1888-)
5. Benjamin H. Kirby (1889-)
2. Albert E. Kirby (1860-1860)
3. Frederick Kirby (1865-)
5. John Wesley Kirby (1832-1901) m. Adelaide M. (1835-) in 1857
1. Leonora Kirby (1857-1928) m. George H. Parker (1856-1897)
1. George H. Parker (1886-)
2. Marguerite Parker (1888-)
3. Ethel G. Parker (1896-)
2. Augustus Kirby (1860-)
3. Louisa Kirby (1862-)

29: Alfred and Sally Ann Carpenter Cronk

Alfred Cronk and his wife Sally Ann Carpenter had ten children, including one set of twins, between 1835 and 1857. Alfred and Sally were born exactly one month apart in the year 1814. She was the daughter of Josiah Carpenter, a wheelwright, and Jane Remington. He was the son of James Cronk.

In 1850, Alfred was a farmer. At age 35, the couple already had seven children.

1850 US Federal Census

By 1860, one of the Cronks' children - Antoinetta or "Annett" as she is called on her gravestone - had married and had a child. This child was born only a year after Alfred and Sally's youngest child, Oscar. It must have been strange for Antoinetta to have a child who was about the same age as her brother - or maybe not. In the nineteenth century it was a lot more common than it is today to see mothers and daughters pregnant at the same time.

1860 US Federal Census

Sally A. Carpenter Cronk died on November 12, 1869, and her death was recorded in the mortality schedules of the 1870 US Federal Census. These schedules really are fascinating. You can see all the people who died in the past year, how old they were, and what they died of. Sally died of typhoid fever. At age 55, she is actually one of the older people in this section of the list. Quite a few were children, as you would expect. Others were young adults. Causes of death included childbirth, cancer, consumption, heart disease, measles, and "inflammation of brain" - perhaps caused by head trauma? It's easy to imagine a nineteenth-century farmer like Mr. McDonald getting kicked in the head by a horse.

1870 US Federal Mortality Schedules

Meanwhile, the widowed Alfred Cronk was living with a family of Reynoldses. He died in 1887.

1870 US Federal Census

This was the obituary of Alfred Cronk:

Mr. Alfred Cronk died on Tuesday morning, Dec. 30th, at the residence of his son, Mr. Wesley Cronk, in this village. He was 70 years of age, and the cause of his death was apoplexy. He was a native of the town of Somers, but for some time past he has lived in Mt. Kisco. He was twice married, his first wife being a daughter of Mr. Josiah Carpenter, of Sing Sing, and his second wife was a Mrs. Barnes, of New Castle. He leaves five sons and two daughters (all children by his first wife) - William and Wesley (twins), John, and Carpenter Cronk; Oscar, who lives in New York; Emma, wife of Wm. Van Wyck; and Tillie, wife of Wm. Avery, of South Salem. 

What about the Cronks' children?

Amy J. Cronk was born 1835.

Antoinetta Cronk, who was born in 1838, married George Schesler and had a son, George. Sadly, she died in 1866 at the age of 28. Her gravestone gives her name as "Annett" Cronk, wife of George Schesler. Due to the difficulty the census-takers had with the name Schesler (the 1860 census-taker spelled it "Chesley") I've had a hard time tracking down George and George Jr. after Antoinetta's death.

Grave of Antoinetta or Annett Cronk Schesler

Charles W. Cronk, born in 1841, was a shoemaker. On October 2, 1861, he enlisted in the 59th New York Infantry Regiment, Company I. He was wounded in the Battle of Antietam on September 17, 1862, and thereafter went missing from the hospital where he was taken. He died on December 1, 1865, and his gravestone reads "Our Brother."


Andrea Cronk was born around 1842.

John A. Cronk, born in 1843, enlisted in the Civil War a year after his brother did, at the age of 18. He joined the 6th New York Heavy Artillery Regiment and was appointed a corporal in 1865.

After the war, John first worked as a farm hand, then as the superintendent of Oakwood Cemetery for more than 20 years. He married a woman named Maria, and they had two children.

John and Maria's son George Irving Cronk, who was born in 1879, was a sheet metal worker, as was his son Frank. I wonder if he worked for or with my great-grandfather, who owned a sheet metal shop in the same town, and incidentally was born the same year.

William Cronk was born in 1849.

Wesley Mortimer Cronk was William's twin. He married Esther Mead Banks in 1867, and they had eleven children, only seven of whom were living in 1900. Wesley worked in a shoe factory and later as a house painter. In 1903, Esther died, and in 1905, Wesley married Hannah, a widow whose only child had died. In 1910, Wesley's son Wesley Mortimer Cronk Jr. filed a patent for a combined elevator cage and scale. Wesley Jr. also had a son Wesley Mortimer Cronk, an engineer who died in 2007. You can read Wesley Cronk III's obituary, which states that he was predeceased by his son Wesley Mortimer Cronk IV.

Carpenter J. Cronk was born in 1852 and also worked in a shoe factory. He married a woman named Matilda and had a daughter, Eliza. He died in 1897.

Matilda Cronk was born in 1853 and married William Avery.

Oscar Cronk was born in 1857.

Most popular names
Wesley Mortimer (4)
George (3)
William (2)

Surnames used as first names: Wesley Mortimer Cronk (x4), Everett M. Cronk, Carpenter J. Cronk

1. Alfred Cronk (1814-1887) m. Sally Ann Carpenter (1814-1869)
1. Amy J. Cronk (1835-)
2. Antoinetta Cronk (1838-1866) m. George Schesler (1834-)
1. George A. Schesler (1858-)
3. Charles W. Cronk (1841-1865)
4. Andrea Cronk (1842-)
5. John A. Cronk (1843-) m. Maria (1850-) in 1866
1. Frank V. Cronk (1876-1937)
2. George Irving Cronk (1879-1959) m. Jennie G. Reynolds (1879-1960) in 1900
1. Frank G. Cronk (1901-1961) m. Gladys Dakin (1907-)
1. Douglas Cronk (1937-)
2. John Cronk (1939-)
2. Lela L. Cronk (1904-1964)
3. Douglas Cronk (1913-2003) m. Violet Beard (1912-2007)
6. William Cronk (1849-)
7. Wesley Mortimer Cronk (1849-) m. (1) Esther Mead Banks (1851-1903); (2) Hannah (1851-) in 1905
1. Gertrude Cronk (1873-)
2. Bertha Cronk (1875-)
3. Mildred E. Cronk (1877-)
4. Wesley Mortimer Cronk (1879-1934) m. (1) Ada R. (1879-); (2) Elizabeth M. Wolder (1893-)
1. Leonard Turner Cronk (1900-1957) m. Lillian Rausch (1905-)
1. Allen Cronk (1933-)
2. Ralph Cronk (1935-)
2. Everett M. Cronk (1907-) m. Elizabeth A. (1908-)
3. Margaret E. Cronk (1923-)
4. Wesley Mortimer Cronk (1926-2007) m. Frances
1. Wesley Mortimer Cronk
5. Myra Cronk (1883-)
6. William W. Cronk (1886-) m. Elizabeth Wall (1891-)
1. Kenneth Cronk (1917-)
2. Elizabeth M. Cronk (1920-)
7. Amy K. Kronk (1887-)
8. Carpenter J. Cronk (1852-1897) m. Matilda (1853-)
1. Eliza Cronk (1874-)
9. Matilda Cronk (1853-) m. William Avery
10. Oscar Cronk (1857-)

Reader Survey

So, I'm not really sure how many readers of this blog there actually are - and that's part of the reason why I'm doing this survey. I'd like to get a feel for what people think about my work on the cemetery and what kinds of things they'd like to see in the future. It's occurred to me that I may soon feel the need to branch out into other cemeteries in order to find new stories to tell and to fill in the gaps in some of the stories in the Episcopal Cemetery, as many of those interned there have relatives buried in other nearby cemeteries.

Answer if you want, and be as brief or as lengthy as you wish. I really appreciate the fact that anyone is interested in what I'm doing here and would love to hear from you.

1. What are your feelings regarding the posts I've made? Are there anything you'd like to see done differently? Any types of posts you'd like to see more or less of?

2. What do you think about branching out into other cemeteries in the future? Would you like to see cemeteries from Westchester County, New England, or Upstate New York?

3. Are there any families I've already researched that you'd like me to delve into further?

The Widow Haines House

Today a local historian showed me the Widow Haines house on an 1851 map. Then I drove by it. It still exists!

28: Mary L. Yerks

Mary L. Yerks is one of three of Anthony and Louisa Yerks's daughters who are buried in the cemetery. The other two are Derinda Yerks, who died in 1856 at the age of five, and Sarah E. Yerks, who died in 1884 at the age of 22.

Anthony Yerks, the son of Peter and Mary Yerks, was born around 1826; his wife Louisa Ann was born around 1825.

This 1860 census is kind of hard to read, but you can make out the names of Anthony and Louisa Yerks and four of their children. One child, of course, had already died at this point.

1860 US Federal Census

By 1870, the Yerks family now had five children, and lived together with Anthony's father Peter and brother Gilbert.

1870 US Federal Census

Here is the Yerks family again in 1880. Here things get a little confused for me, because one of the family trees on Ancestry suggests that Adelia Yerks married Thomas Farrington and that they had two children by 1880, yet here she appears as an unmarried daughter living with her parents. Also, it's pretty clear that Louisa wasn't five years older than her daughter. She was 56, not 36.

1880 US Federal Census

Anthony - or Marc Anthony as he is called in his obituary - died in 1891. The obituary states he leaves behind "a son and daughter," but I believe this is referring to the son and daughter (George and Mary) who were still living at home at this point.

Nine years later, Louisa Yerks was living with George and Mary along with Harry Farrington, age 25. This is why the census for 1880 must be incorrect in some way - I found Harry Farrington as a child living with Adelia Yerks Farrington, who must have been married before his birth in 1875. Harry also had a younger brother, Arthur.

1900 US Federal Census

Ten years later, 87-year-old Louisa Yerks was living with her daughter Elmira Yerks Brundage, Elmira's daughter Florence, and a cousin, David Yerks.

1910 US Federal Census

Anthony Yerks's brother Gilbert Yerks, born 1834, served in the 17th New York Infantry from May 1861 to June 1863. In 1870 and 1880, he was living with his brother and his family and was unmarried. Then, in 1898, at the age of 65, he married a 56-year-old woman named Sarah B. According to the 1900 census, Sarah was the mother of 12 children, only four of whom were living.

As for the rest of Anthony and Louisa's children ...

Adelia A. Yerks married Thomas Farrington, a blacksmith and the son of George and Susan Farrington, and had two sons, Harry and Arthur. She died in 1935. Her son Arthur died in 1983 at the age of 103.

Elmira Yerks married Smith Brundage in 1876 and had five children, only two of whom were living in 1900.

Mary L. Yerks didn't marry and died in 1908 at the age of 52.

Gilbert W. Yerks was a farmer and didn't marry until 1902, when he was 41. He and his wife Martha had two daughters, Edith and Olive.

Sarah E. Yerks died in 1884 at the age of 22.

1. Peter Yerks (1795-) m. Mary (1799-)
1. Marc Anthony Yerks (1826-1891) m. Louisa Ann (1825-)
1. Adelia A. Yerks (1849-1935) m. Thomas Farrington (1849-)
1. Harry Farrington (1875-) m. Mary Jimeson (1873-1942)
1. Walter Farrington (1906-) m. Mary (1900-)
1. Donald R. Farrington (1930-)
2. Thomas Farrington (1933-)
2. Clarence Farrington (1908-1939)
3. Mildred Farrington (1916-)
2. Arthur Farrington (1880-1983) m. Jennie (1883-)
1. Ralph T. Farrington (1902-) m. Lillian (1903-)
1. Helen E. Farrington (1928-)
2. Ernest C. Farrington (1906-) m. Grace (1908-)
1. Ernest Farrington (1934-)
2. Ronald Farrington (1939-)
2. Derinda Yerks (1851-1856)
3. Elmira Yerks (1854-) m. Smith Brundage (1852-) in 1876
1. Florence Brundage (1880-)
2. William H. Brundage (1881-) m. Tillie Dingee (1877-)
4. Mary L. Yerks (1854-1908)
5. George W. Yerks (1859-) m. Martha (1878-) in 1902
1. Edith Yerks (1903-1977) m. Norman Williams Lander (1903-)
1. George Washington Lander (1928-1989)
2. Olive Yerks (1907-1985)
6. Sarah E. Yerks (1862-1884)
2. Gilbert Yerks (1833-) m. Sarah B. (1842-)
3. Alexander Yerks (1836-1909)

27: The Dr. Leggetts

Grave of Dr. Robert Leggett

Dr. Robert Leggett and Dr. Joseph Leggett had many things in common. To begin with, they were brothers; they were doctors; they were Irish immigrants; and they each married a daughter of Merritt and Elizabeth Kirby Sands (and yes, Merritt Sands is now the third man connected with the cemetery with the first name Merritt. The others are Merritt Brundage and Merritt Hewlett. It's getting a little out of hand). The doctors and their wives are all buried in the cemetery.

The Dr. Leggetts are the second and third doctors I have investigated in this project; the first, of course, being Dr. Enoch Greene, subject of my first post. Robert Leggett was fifteen years older than Dr. Greene, and Joseph was one year older than Dr. Greene. Living and working in New York City and Westchester County, they must have known each other.

Robert Leggett was born in Ireland on March 5, 1805. He married Mary Ann Sands, who was born around 1810. Joseph Leggett, born in Ireland on March 22, 1819, married Mary's younger sister Esther R. Sands, who was born in 1820.

I think I will tackle this chronologically.

1850
In 1850, Robert and Mary Leggett were living in Manhattan with their two sons, James and Leonard. Mary may have married an Irishman, but she wasn't about to abandon the great Westchester County WASP tradition of giving sons names like Leonard, Kirby, or Merritt. Cynthia Sands was Mary and Esther's sister.

1850 US Federal Census

In 1850, Joseph and Esther were also living in Manhattan, but Joseph is listed as a druggist, not a physician. Mary and Esther's mother Elizabeth Kirby Sands was living with them.

1860
I can't find Robert and Mary Ann Leggett in the 1860 census, and I have a theory as to why, which I'll reveal as you read on.

In 1860 Joseph was now a fully-fledged doctor - and a quite successful one, judging by his personal and real estate. Elizabeth Kirby Sands was still living with him and Esther, along with a "Mary Ann Sands" - is this actually Mary Ann Sands Leggett? She's the right age, and, of course, she's Esther's sister, which might lead to the census taker giving her the same surname as their mother, Elizabeth Sands. It's a little bit strange, though - where was Robert? Catharine G. Sands is presumably another one of Elizabeth's daughters.

1860 US Federal Census

Elizabeth Kirby Sands died in 1862, and Mary Ann Sands Leggett in 1863.

1870
I can't find Robert Leggett in the 1870 census either, but I did find Joseph and Esther. Now living in Mount Pleasant, Robert was a farmer. Cynthia Sands had moved to the country along with them.

1870 US Federal Census

Robert Leggett died on August 19, 1873, and Joseph on September 1, 1873. It's my best guess that they died of the same infectious disease.

Searching for more information outside of the census, I found this snippet in The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, Vol. 47:

NYG&B Record Vol. 47

This gave me the name of the third son of Robert and Mary Ann Leggett ... sigh ... Merritt Leggett. This brings the Merritt tally up to four. Mary Elizabeth and Adelaide Elizabeth are the daughters of one of these sons, but which one is not certain. There is a Merritt Leggett buried in the cemetery, but get this: it's Merritt Leggett Junior. If we look at the 1870 census:

1870 US Federal Census

Merritt Leggett Senior here is the son of Robert and Mary Leggett and, like his father, went into the medical field in New York City. Merritt and his wife Charlotte's children are Henrietta and Merritt Junior. It's Merritt Junior who is buried in the cemetery. Total Merritt count: FIVE.

While searching for this information, I also discovered why Robert Leggett had seemingly disappeared from the census, while his wife lived without him.

This is the New York Tribune from 1849:

This is the New York Sun from 1859-1861:

These articles raise a lot of questions that I can't answer, and give a rather sad note to the history of the Leggett family.

Esther died in 1899, and her sister Cynthia in 1900. Mary, Esther, and Cynthia's brother Jesse M. Sands, a Civil War veteran, is also buried in the cemetery. He married Elizabeth Florence; they died in 1867 and 1874 respectively.

Graves of Elizabeth Florence and Jesse M. Sands

Most popular names:
Merritt (3)

Surnames used as first names: Merritt Sands, Leonard Leggett, Merritt Leggett

1. Merritt Sands m. Elizabeth Kirby (1786-1862)
1. Mary Ann Sands (1810-1863) m. Dr. Robert Leggett (1805-1873)
1. James Leggett (1831-)
2. Leonard Leggett (1835-)
3. Merritt S. Leggett (1836-) m. Charlotte (1838-)
1. Merritt Leggett (1857-1890)
2. Henrietta Leggett (1860-)
2. Cynthia Jane Sands (1816-1900)
3. Jesse M. Sands (1818-1867) m. Elizabeth Florence (1826-1874)
4. Esther R. Sands (1820-1899) m. Dr. Joseph Leggett (1819-1873)