This wooden, iron, and plastic sign commemorates the life of Harry E. Acker. The sign is placed in front of the Stanton family plot - you can see the iron bar of the fence in the background. There are no other Ackers in the cemetery. Why does Harry Acker not have a stone? Was he even buried in the cemetery? Since the sign doesn't look like it was made in 1909, when was it made and why?
In 1880, Harry was four years old and living with his parents, Benjamin and Hattie Acker, and sister Mary. His father was a carpenter.
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| 1880 US Federal Census |
In the next census in which Harry appears, he is 24 and living in Howell, New Jersey, where he worked as a "pool room manager." He died nine years later.
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| 1900 US Federal Census |
None of this really answers my questions about Harry Acker, so I decided to investigate Harry's parents. Six years before Harry's birth, they were living with Gilbert and Mary Ann Caniff. Benjamin Acker's wife is listed here as Celia - is she the same person as Hattie C. Acker of the 1880 census, or is she Harry's former wife? Notably, Celia and Hattie C.'s ages are the same. In any case, they had one child named Eveline at this point.
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| 1870 US Federal Census |
Ten years earlier, Benjamin had lived with his parents, Enoch and Phebe Acker ...
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| 1860 US Federal Census |
... while his future wife Celia lived with her parents, Gilbert and Minerva Caniff. Based on the fact that Celia's (or Cecelia's) middle initial was H, I'm going to guess that she and Hattie C. are the same person - although I could very well be wrong. It also seems likely that Minerva Caniff of the 1860 census and Mary Ann Caniff of the 1870 census are the same person.
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| 1860 US Federal Census |
That's all I've been able to find so far. I welcome anyone's help in solving this mystery!
Update: I found this obituary for Gilbert Caniff, Harry Acker's grandfather, from 1891. Interestingly, it notes that Gilbert was buried in St. George's/St. Mark's Cemetery, but I have no record of his name in the transcription I have. Was he moved to another cemetery, as many others were?
- Enoch Acker (1812-) m. Phebe (1805-)
- Benjamin H. Acker (1840-) m. Cecelia H. Caniff (1841-)
- Eveline Acker (1865-)
- Mary E. Acker (1872-)
- Harry E. Acker (1876-1909)
- Gilbert Caniff (1815-1891) m. (1) Mary Ann Hewlett (1824-); (2) Helen Swift
- Cecelia H. Caniff (1841-1876) m. Benjamin H. Acker (1840-)
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