52 ANCESTORS, 52 THEMES: No.5, Plowing Through... John S. TERWILLIGER 1800-1873

This year's challenge by Amy Crow is another weekly blog, but based on Themes. Last week, it was Closest to My Birthday.  This week the theme is PLOWING THROUGH.  Hmmm, plowing through... fields of grain?  snow in winter?  mounds of laundry?  sinkfuls of dirty dishes?  bushels of fruit/veggies to can?  disease/death of family members?   doing what needed doing no matter what? 

I found this particular theme frustrating and couldn't readily find an example ancestor to write about.  Finally I decided to simply pick an ancestor to write about.  Consider this is my own plowing-through exercise!  

The photograph of my 3rd great-grandfather John S. TERWILLIGER taken about 1865, was provided by a third cousin (much appreciated!).  

John S. TERWILLIGER, b. was 16 Sep 1800 New Scotland, Albany, New York, & apparently baptized 23 Mar 1760 in Schenectady, Albany, New York. (I suspect the middle name is Simon, for his father.)  John S.'s parents were Simon TERWILLIGER & Jane (Jennetje) KOEN, both also born in New Scotland township.  

John S. TERWILLIGER was the third of the 4 children, all sons, of Simon & Jane [Koen] TERWILLIGER.  I can usually find one or more of these brothers living nearby on Censuses: Conrad, Richard, George. 

In approximately 1823, John married the first time to Margaret REID, likely in New Scotland. The marriage date is approximate and is estimated by looking at the birth year of the eldest son, my ancestor.  Margaret was apparently born in Scotland and emigrated with her parents - however, this has not been confirmed. Their children were the following, born in New Scotland: 
  1.  James M.,  b 30 Jan 1825, d. 18 Oct 1909, Roselle, Union NJ; m. 1851 to Harriet F. BUELL, 2 living sons [Grove & Harry]
  2.  George,  b 26 Apr 1827, d. 1890, Sterling, Whiteside, IL;  m. abt 1852 to Matilda B. Fowler, 3 girls
  3.  Nancy,  b 13 Apr 1830, d. 2 Jan 1915, Sterling, Whiteside, IL; m. John Harpham about 1855, 3 girls, 1 boy
  4.  Jane Reid, b 26 Feb 1835, d. 8 Apr 1922, Boston MA; m. approx 1865 to Dr. John Skinner, 4 boys [with marvellously interesting names!]
  5.  Mary E., b 24 Apr 1837, d. 15 Mar 1907; m. abt 1860 to Roswell O Brown; 1 boy known

Margaret REID, his first wife, died 11 Dec 1838 in DeWitt, Onondaga, NY, when their youngest child was about 20 months old, the eldest child 12 years old.   Two years later his father, Simon died.  By this time, John S. TERWILLIGER seems to have moved to Centreville, NY.

Shortly after, he married his 2nd wife, Jane DeGroff on 13 Feb 1841, and they had the following children: 
  6.  Jane, b abt 1842, d. before 1850
  7.  Sara C, b. 5 Mar 1845, d. 26 Dec 1928; never married [schoolteacher], very close to her eldest stepbrother, my ancestor, James M., and his eldest son, James Grover "Grove" TERWILLIGER
  8.  Lida, b. abt 1849, d. infant

His second wife, Jane DeGroff died 14 Jun 1849 in DeWitt, likely after birth of her third daughter, Lida.  Around the same time, he seems to have not only owned a farm but also a grocery store in Syracuse, as the 1855 Census lists his occupation as "Merchant", and that he owned the land. 

John then married for the third time on 4 Dec 1856 to Harriet Margaret Ives; no children. Harriet appears to have outlived him, and I have not yet found a death notice or obituary for her, nor a burial record.  

He died 31 Aug 1873 and was buried in the Collamer Cemetery, by Syracuse.  His unmarried daughter by 2nd wife Jane DeGroff, Sara(h) C. Terwilliger details are etched on the same obelisk as his own information.  Sarah died 26 Dec 1928.

I copied down thfollowing obituary found for him from an Albany newspaper [must get proper copy!].  There were a number of "John Terwilliger" men in New York, but the names of the sons and their residences helps clinch this as being his death notice. A few details about where he lived, for how long, and when are slightly incorrect.  

Albany NY dated, Aug. 31, 1873

--- John Terwilliger, one of the old residents of this county, died at his farm, near the city, last Sunday night, and aged seventy-three years. He settled in the northern part of DeWitt in 1836, where he resided twenty years.   After living in the city about four years, he moved to a farm near Centerville, where he has since lived.   Mr. Terwilliger was the father of James Terwilliger of Syracuse, and George Terwilliger, formerly of this city, but at present residing in Illinois.   The deceased was a man of pure life and character, a devoted Christian, and respected by all who knew him.  

If you have any further information on John S(imon) TERWILLIGER, his three wives, and his children, do please let me know via calewis at telus dot net or in the Comments below. Thank you for stopping by to read and comment.

Margaret REID, about 1802-1838: A No-Family Ancestor!

Margaret REID, my maternal 3rd great-grandmother, is one more of those women ancestors in my direct line who appear as the wife of _______, and the mother of ________, and then she's buried.  That's it.

No parents, no siblings, no information.  Who is she?

Through FindAGrave, I can see her husband's gravestone stating he is the husband of (1) Margaret Reid, and (2) Jane DeGroff (there's a 3rd wife as well), with clear carvings of the first two wives' information on one side of the standing gravestone.  Helpful. It gives her name and death date, and that she was 35 years of age at death, therefore she may have been born about 1803, give or take a few years.

I haven't been able to find any other person named Reid buried in the same cemetery, Collamer Cemetery, in DeWitt, Onondaga, New York.

There is a rumour I've heard in our family, that Margaret had come to New York from Scotland with her family, or at least, a father. But there's not really any evidence to substantiate this thought - or, at least, not that I've found to date.

She and John S. TERWILLIGER (1800-1873) were apparently married in about 1823, in New York, possibly in New Scotland, Albany, New York, where their first child was born. (The link takes you to the New Scotland Historical Association.)

They had the following 5 children:
 - James M. [direct ancestor], b. 30 Jan 1825, m. 1851 Harriet F. Buell; d. 18 Oct 1909
 - George, b.26 Apr 1827, m. Matilda B. Fowler; d. 1890
 - Nancy, b. 13 Apr 1830, m. John Harpham; d. 2 Jan 1915
 - Jane Reid, b. 26 Feb 1835, m. Dr. John Skinner;  d. 8 Apr 1922
 - Mary E., b. 24 Apr 1837, m. Roswell O. Brown;  d. 15 Mar 1907

Margaret REID Terwilliger died about 20 months after the birth of her 5th child, of unknown causes.

On 13 Feb 1841, John married Jane DeGroff, who was b. 4 Jul 1812. He and Jane had 3 more little girls, before Jane died 14 Jun 1849, after the 3rd birth.  On 4 Dec 1856, John then married a widow, Mrs. Harriet Ives, who survived him, with no issue; John died 31 Aug 1873.

If anyone has any further information about Margaret REID or if you have questions about any of these details, please contact me via calewis at telus dot net.  I always love to read your comments below!

I'm currently watching RootsTech 2014 Conference live-streaming sessions, online.  I'm struck again by how important it is to me to start getting my own stories down - now, so that MY 3rd great-grandchildren know me as so much more than these few tiny bits of information.

James M. TERWILLIGER, 1825-1909

   From all the wonderfully helpful links and comments I received from Albert Riezobos in Winnipeg, I decided to add some photos of James M. Terwilliger, and describe him further.  James is the father of James Grover "Grove" Terwilliger, whose Souvenirs Album I am documenting page by page by page over the coming year.  It's big.  And has lots of unusual items, names, calling cards, memorabilia and more.

   There are very few photos of  James Sr. - but since the early Album pages show items about Grove's father and friends/colleagues, it seems reasonable to at least give a smidge of information about him.  These are his "official" Senate photos.

   James Sr. was the eldest son of John S(imon) Terwilliger, b. 16 Sep 1800 in New Scotland, Albany, NY.  John married 3 times, firstly to Margaret Reid from Scotland, with whom he had 5 children:  James M., George, Nancy, Jane R., and Mary E.  Margaret died 11 Dec 1838 in DeWitt, Onondaga, NY, about 19 months after the 5th child, and John married secondly to Jane DeGraff/DeGroff, in 1841.  There were 3 girls born this time, Jane, Sara, and Lida; however both Jane and Lida died before 1850, and John's wife Jane also died in 1849.  John married one more time in 1856 to a widow, Harriet M. Ives, with whom there were no more children.  James Terwilliger and his son, Grove, were quite close with their extended family, and there were numerous social events described about visits, picnics, and more.  Sara, the only living stepsister of James Sr., lived with him and his wife for a time.

   James M. Terwilliger married Harriet F. Buell in 1851; she was the youngest of 5 (4 girls, 1 boy) of Grover Buell & Charlotte Bortle [a brick wall of mine].  They had two living children, James Grover "Grove" Terwilliger, b. 27 May 1856, and 8 years later, Harry Reid Terwilliger b. 9 Apr 1864 [the Reid from James mother's surname].  Both boys were born in Syracuse where the Terwilligers settled by the time of the 1860 Census.

   In 1851, he bought a half-interest in "The Syracuse Journal," as it was known at this time, and was listed as a "publisher" on the 1870 Census for Syracuse.  Although he sold his interest around this time, he repurchased it by 1871.  I am not certain of the reasons for this activity.  The family was relatively wealthy, and enjoyed an active social life, with invitations to social events such as the Ball of the Prince of Wales in October 1860.

   He was an active member of the Odd Fellows, and was Grand Secretary of the Grand Lodge from 1884 to 1894.

   James Sr. was active in politics both locally, and state-wide.  For example, he was selected to be secretary at the first Republican Convention in 1856, held in Philadelphia.   Earlier he was elected in DeWitt, Onondaga, NY, on the 1847 "Whig Ticket" as well as on the 1848 "Temperance Ticket".    He was also a Clerk of the State Senate (NY), from 1856 to 1860, and the above 3 photographs show him dressed up for his official photographs.  In 1864 he was acting secretary of the Republican National Committee.  He was Deputy Collector for the Port of New York in 1870-1871.  In addition, from 1860-1870, James Sr. was secretary of the NY State Republican Committee.

   As stated in several obituaries published the day after his death, he retired from business and official activities in 1893.  And in 1905, he and his wife, Harriet, moved to Roselle, New Jersey, to live with their eldest son, Grove [James Grover Terwilliger] and his wife, Gussie.  James Sr. died 18 Oct 1909 at his son's home, and Harriet died 14 months later 4 Jan 1911, also at her son's home.   Both are buried side by side, in Oakwood Cemetery, in Syracuse, Onondaga, NY.  Their son, Grove, is buried nearby.


(Details above are taken from items in the Terwilliger Souvenirs Album filled out by his son Grove, as well as New York state and federal Censuses, plus newspaper articles in Syracuse and New York, NY.  Thank you Albert for your sluething!)

If you wish further information on any of the above, please do contact me, and I'll be happy to provide whatever information or details I may have.  More about the Souvenirs Album may be found by clicking on the link here   Thanks for reading my blog about this interesting ancestor of mine.