Tuesday, September 2, 2014

52 ANCESTORS in 52 WEEKS, #36: Arnold ORMSBEE

Following the challenge from Amy Johnson Crow to write a post weekly, 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks, here is my 36th installment, Arnold ORMSBEE, my 4th great-grandfather on my mother's lines.

I know virtually nothing about my 4th great-grandfather. Until earlier this year, I didn't even have his name.  A very helpful volunteer for FindAGrave, Tom C., helped by adding information from the Oakwood Cemetery burial record books. Simply gold, such treasure to find another name in the family line.  This ORMSBEE line has been quite a brick wall for me for years, but now I have a few crumbs of clues.

Arnold ORMSBEE seems to have been married to a Hannah - but this is not yet proven.  I'm not certain where he was born, nor when he was married, but I do know he and his wife had at least two sons, as well as several daughters (unknown names):
  1. Jacob [ancestor], b.21 Jun 1806, Pompey, Onondaga, NY; m. Sabra TOWERS about 1824, 5 children.
  2. Stephen Decatur, b. 13 Jan 1816, Pompey, Onondaga, NY; m. Martha Durston; 3 children
The family may be found in listed in the Manlius' Census, even though both Jacob and Stephen say they were born in Pompey (beside Manlius).  A history of Manlius may be found by clicking here:  http://history.rays-place.com/ny/onon-manlius-ny.htm   

I found Arnold on the 1810 Census for Manlius, as follows: 



As you can see here (referring to blank forms) there are, 
Males: 2-under 10 yrs, 1-10 to 16, 1-26 to 45
    i.e., Arnold, plus 2 little boys (Jacob 4, plus unknown son), and 1 roughly teen son unknown
Females: 3-under 10, 1 16-26 yrs
    i.e., Arnold's wife (age seems rather low - she would have married extremely young?), plus 3 little daughters unknown to me

Here he is in the 1820 Census, again for Manlius:   


As you can see there are, in the Arnold Ormsbee household:  

Males:  1-under 10 yrs, 1-10 to 16, 1-16 to 18, 1-45 and up
    i.e., Arnold, and 3 sons, under 18 yrs of age (Jacob 14, Stephen 4, & an unknown older brother)
Females: 1-under 10, 1-10 to 16, 1 from 26-45
    i.e, Arnold's wife, and 2 daughters under 16 yrs of age, unknown to me
And there was 1 person "engaged in Manufacturing"
    i.e., Arnold? 

Hmmm. I thought Arnold was a farmer for some lost-to-me reason.  I clearly need to check out more records and newspapers to find out what "manufacturing" he might have been working at in Manlius.  

Arnold disappears after 1820 as a head of household.  An Isaac (I.F.A. Ormsbee) is listed on the 1830 Census and he may be an older brother.  I haven't researched him as yet.  

Both Stephen Decatur and his older brother, Jacob, worked as carpenters in the area. One might wonder if their father, Arnold, also was skilled with carpentry or some similar work. Interestingly, Stephen named his only son James Arnold Ormsbee, carrying on the same name. I have discussed Jacob ORMSBEE in a previous blog post: click here

Although both Stephen and his family, and Jacob and his family, are buried in Oakwood Cemetery in different plots and sections, I have not found burials of Arnold, nor other Ormsby/Ormsbee sons or daughters whom I can identify as having Arnold as a father. Challenging.

If you have any information or details - or suggestions - please do contact me via calewis at telus dot net or by Comments below.  I love to hear any ideas you may have.  And if you also have these Ormsbee's in your family, I'd love to see you.  

2 comments:

SallySearches said...

Those old censuses are so challenging. I also do the tick marks and hope to "make" the children fit. I also have ancestry in New York at this time period and understand your frustration. Good luck with the search!

Celia Lewis said...

Thanks for the sympathy, Sally - these age-year groupings can be quite confusing, and of course if the oldest kid gave the ages, he might have gotten it wrong, right? I'm going to assume the tick should have been in the next column over, as she was more likely about 30 with a 10+ yr old or so in the family group. I mutter a lot over these censuses! Oh well, maybe a cousin will run across this post and contact me with definitive information like the Ormsbee/Ormsby Bible, or letters to/from the family with details of who's who when and where... I can dream, eh?!

Welcome!

Family, friends, and others - I hope you enjoy these pages about our ancestors and their lives. Genealogy has become somewhat of an obsession, more than a hobby, and definitely a wonderful mystery to dig into and discover. Enjoy my writing, and contact me at celia.winky at gmail dot com if you have anything to add to the stories. ... Celia Lewis