Showing posts with label Martha Durston. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Martha Durston. Show all posts

Tuesday, January 1, 2019

Arnold ORMSBEE/Ormsby abt 1770-1830s, New York - So many questions

My 4th great-grandfather on my maternal lines, Arnold ORMSBEE, alternately spelled Ormsby, born about 1770, died likely before 1830.

Early censuses in New York state show him with his family on the 1810 Census in the village of Manlius, Onondaga, New York, and in the 1820 Census, again in Manlius. Manlius is/was a small village about 10 miles southeast of Syracuse. On the 1810 Census, there seem to be 6 children under 15. To date, I have only identified three. Where are those other children? And the ages of the children don't seem to allow for all of them to be the eldest woman's children. Is she his second wife? And who is his wife? See snippet below...
1810: [All are Free White Persons] Manlius NY
  Males under 10  :    2
  Males 10 thru 15:    1
  Males 26 thru 44:    1  [this should be Arnold]
  Females under 10:   3
  Females 16 thru 25: 1 [this should be mother of children/wife of Arnold]
 Total in household : 8
I do wonder about the Females 16 thru 25 - surely it should be in the next column? But I checked the blank form, and it is very clear. The third column past the double lines is for 16 thru 25.  Letting her be 25 [maybe turning 26 later that year], that teenaged boy 10 thru 15 could only be hers if she were married at about 14-15 years. Very unusual.
1820: [All are Free White Persons] Manlius NY
  Males under 10    :  1
  Males 10 thru 15  :  1
  Males 16 thru 18  :  1
  Males 16 thru 25  :  2 [i.e., 1 male 19-25]
  Males 45 and over:  1 [this should be Arnold]
  Females under 10 :  1
  Females 10 thru 15: 1
  Females 26 thru 44: 1 [this should be mother of children/wife of Arnold]
   Total in household: 8

Arnold and his wife appear to have had about 7 children, from approximately 1795 to 1816: 4 boys, 3 girls. Of course, at least one of the children on a census might possibly be a neighbour's child, or a relative's child, helping out. No assumptions. The children I have been able to identify are the following:
   1)  Jacob ORMSBEE [ancestor] b. 21 Jun 1806 Pompey NY, d. 1 Apr 1893 Syracuse NY; m.[1] Sabra TOWERS abt 1824?, 5 children; m.[2]  Emily Hurd Dec 1869 Syracuse NY, no children.
  2)  Stephen Decatur Ormsbee b. 13 Jan 1816 Pompey NY, d. 30 Jul 1893 Syracuse NY; m. Martha Durston abt 1840; 4 children
  3)  Hannah Ormsbee, b. May 1818 Manlius NY, d. bef 1893 Onondaga Co., NY; m. Henry James Coon abt 1836 in Van Buren Onondaga NY; 5 children.

Clearly, I'm missing possibly 2 males, and 2 females, one of whom [Hannah] would have been only 2 yrs old for the 1820 Census - where was she this census day? Confusing.

In addition, there is a tick mark indicating the Enumerator saw that Arnold was involved in Manufacturing, as were half a dozen other individuals in the same neighbourhood.  What could it have been?

Also, I note the residence change for Hannah's birth, b. 1818. [see above]. Either the family moved or, Arnold's wife first deliberately birthed her children in Pompey, then stayed in Manlius for Hannah's birth; between 1816 to 1818 - Manlius lies about 8 miles north of Pompey. This gives me many more questions. Were her parents or at least her mother living in Pompey? Perhaps her mother died between 1816-1818? Did Arnold still have manufacturing concerns in Manlius earlier than 1820, but stayed in Pompey? Note, as a village, Pompey was established in July 1790 by the Land Office Commissioners [New York].

I have been unable to find further details of Arnold and wife. One family tree indicates her name was Hannah/Ann Sherman, but provided no sources. I have found no information of Arnold's wife, including no details of her death date/place. If Arnold died before her, she might well have lived with one of her children - or possibly a sister. But teasing out those bits of information can be quite difficult.

And of course, it could be that I have stumbled on the wrong ORMSBEE in Onondaga county, New York. Although a number of these Ormsbee individuals and their spouses, children, were all buried in the same large plot in Oakwood Cemetery, Syracuse, Onondaga, New York [graves of Graves and Ormsbee]. I do believe I'm correct, but of course, everything could be different!

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 If these are your ancestors, I am happy to share what little I have on these ancestors. And if there are errors, please do let me know, via calewis at telus dot net, or in the Comments below. I appreciate the opportunity to correct any issues in these family trees.

Blogger - or my computer - is still not letting me "reply" to your comments, for some unknown reason. If I don't reply to your Comment, please know that I'm totally thrilled you came to read my post and commented!  You truly make my day.

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.  

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