Jeffersonian Republican, Stroudsburg, Pa., 02 Feb. 1842.
Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers, Library of Congress
Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers, Library of Congress
Showing posts with label Custard. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Custard. Show all posts
Tombstone Errors: William Custard, Egypt Mills PA
Once again while browsing the images in Family Search's Pennsylvania Probate Records I happened upon an entry which surprised me: William Custard's Last Will and Testament, Wayne Co Wills, Vol. I, No. 12, is clearly probated in 1806. His tombstone, located at the Swartwood burying ground in Pike County Pennsylvania, bears a death date of 1826.
A couple of possibilities come to mind - a well meaning descendant found and replaced a partially illegible stone or perhaps, based on family tradition, placed a new stone in the burying ground in memory of their ancestor.
The error exists in the 1933 transcription page of Cemeteries, Graveyards and Burying Grounds in Pike Co PA, on the State's 1935 Veteran Burial Card, on Find A Grave's website memorial for William, and in countless family trees. Multiple copies of my photo of the headstone (used without permission or credit) have appeared on Ancestry.com spreading the erroneous date like a virus across the net.
It's a lovely tombstone, with a crisp inscription & not a lichen to be seen. I remember wondering at the time if it were a replacement.
Tombstone errors spawn questions: Is a calculated birth date valid? Was the 1933 transcription the cause or merely a reflection of the error? Is the matching tombstone of Sarah Swartwood, his wife, also harboring mistaken information?
Are Sarah and William actually buried here? I would venture the opinion that their remains very likely are buried here given the names and dates on the weathered headstones of relatives, friends and neighbors who do rest in peace in the old burying grounds.
Update:
The similarities of material, shape, lettering & weathering of the following Custard tombstones leads me to believe that they are replacements, carved & placed at the same time as those of William Sr & Sarah. Further research is in order to confirm these dates:
Elizabeth Custard, d 1850
Margaretia, wife of Mason D Custard, d 18_?
William Custard, d 1862
The following well weathered Custard family tombstones appear to be original headstones placed at the time of burial:
Frances M d 1856
Ira D d 18__?
Rufus H, son of Cyrus & Francis, 1858
Swartwood is located off Rt 209 in the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, between Dingmans Ferry and Bushkill PA. Watch for the sign for Mile Marker 4. Pull in to the semi-circle gravel parking area directly opposite the entrance to Valley View Group Campsites.
Park and walk back along the northern entrance drive, look for a footpath on the left which will open up to a woods road. Take the right fork of the woods road and follow to the top of the bluff overlooking the river valley.
View Minisink Valley Genealogy in a larger map
For readers unfamiliar with the probate process, the appearance in court of the witnesses to the signing of the Will determines its validity and is the first step in the administration of the estate.
Probate:
The court process by which a Will is proved valid or invalid. The legal process wherein the estate of a decedent is administered.
When a person dies, his or her estate must go through probate, which is a process overseen by a probate court. If the decedent leaves a will directing how his or her property should be distributed after death, the probate court must determine if it should be admitted to probate and given legal effect.
Click on the images to enlarge
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| Heirs: Son William, unnamed children, grandson Benjamin (son of William) and wife Sary |
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| Witnessed by John Nyce and Barnardus Swartwood; John Brodhead, Register |
A couple of possibilities come to mind - a well meaning descendant found and replaced a partially illegible stone or perhaps, based on family tradition, placed a new stone in the burying ground in memory of their ancestor.
The error exists in the 1933 transcription page of Cemeteries, Graveyards and Burying Grounds in Pike Co PA, on the State's 1935 Veteran Burial Card, on Find A Grave's website memorial for William, and in countless family trees. Multiple copies of my photo of the headstone (used without permission or credit) have appeared on Ancestry.com spreading the erroneous date like a virus across the net.
It's a lovely tombstone, with a crisp inscription & not a lichen to be seen. I remember wondering at the time if it were a replacement.
Tombstone errors spawn questions: Is a calculated birth date valid? Was the 1933 transcription the cause or merely a reflection of the error? Is the matching tombstone of Sarah Swartwood, his wife, also harboring mistaken information?
Are Sarah and William actually buried here? I would venture the opinion that their remains very likely are buried here given the names and dates on the weathered headstones of relatives, friends and neighbors who do rest in peace in the old burying grounds.
Update:
The similarities of material, shape, lettering & weathering of the following Custard tombstones leads me to believe that they are replacements, carved & placed at the same time as those of William Sr & Sarah. Further research is in order to confirm these dates:
Elizabeth Custard, d 1850
Margaretia, wife of Mason D Custard, d 18_?
William Custard, d 1862
The following well weathered Custard family tombstones appear to be original headstones placed at the time of burial:
Frances M d 1856
Ira D d 18__?
Rufus H, son of Cyrus & Francis, 1858
Swartwood is located off Rt 209 in the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, between Dingmans Ferry and Bushkill PA. Watch for the sign for Mile Marker 4. Pull in to the semi-circle gravel parking area directly opposite the entrance to Valley View Group Campsites.
Park and walk back along the northern entrance drive, look for a footpath on the left which will open up to a woods road. Take the right fork of the woods road and follow to the top of the bluff overlooking the river valley.
View Minisink Valley Genealogy in a larger map
For readers unfamiliar with the probate process, the appearance in court of the witnesses to the signing of the Will determines its validity and is the first step in the administration of the estate.
Probate:
The court process by which a Will is proved valid or invalid. The legal process wherein the estate of a decedent is administered.
When a person dies, his or her estate must go through probate, which is a process overseen by a probate court. If the decedent leaves a will directing how his or her property should be distributed after death, the probate court must determine if it should be admitted to probate and given legal effect.
The "Widow Ennes," Magdalena Van Etten, of Delaware Township, 1798
The advantages of sketching out the family trees of an 18th century neighborhood in the Minisink, in this case Delaware Township, Pike Co. Pennsylvania, came to the fore last evening when I happened upon the tax record for the Widow Ennes while researching the Custard, Decker and Swartwood families. Records for Magdalena Van Etten after Benjamin Ennes' death are scarce; claims based on speculation or secondary sources from traditional histories with egregious errors abound on the web. Gathering together what is known and rooting out the rumors in this era of booming genealogy has been fascinating.
A question had come up in discussion with another interested party from the Sandyston Township Historical Society in NJ (the township where Benjamin Ennes was born) who asked if I had found any residency records for Magdalena in my wanderings. Some months later I am pleased to report the following record on Ancestry.com (subscription), Pennsylvania, U.S. Direct Tax Lists, 1798
General List of Lands, Lots, Buildings and Wharves, owned, possessed or occupied on the first Day of October 1798, within Delaware Township, Wayne County ... in the State of Pennsylvania ..
One house on one acre is occupied by the Widow Ennes, on property owned by John Van Etten, and who is Magdalena Van Etten Ennes, daughter of Johannes Van Etten and the widow of Benjamin Ennes, killed in the so-called Battle of the Conashaugh in 1780. This establishes a residency in Pennsylvania 18 years after the death of her husband.
32 years after Lt. Benjamin Ennes' death, on February 3, 1812, the Journal of the 22nd House of Representatives of the Commonwealth reported: Mr. Dingman [Rep. Daniel W Dingman ]
presented the petition of Magdalena Ennes, accompanied with a document,
stating that she is the widow of Lieutenant Benjamin Ennes, who was
killed during the revolution in the service of his country and praying
relief; and said petition and document were read, and referred to the
committee on claims.
The Act passed in 1812 for the relief of Magdalena Ennes
The following Pennsylvania Records of the Auditor General may contain more information:
ENNIS, BENJAMIN (W. MAGDELENA) 1812 , RG002 , P 0013 , V0014
ENNIS, MAGDALENA 1813 , RG002 , P 0132 , V0006
ENNIS, MAGDALENA 1816-1819 , RG002 , P 0080 , V0007
In 1796, Alexander Ennes, son of Benjamin & Magdalena, was a resident of Delaware Township, PA, his marriage to Jane DeWit [Dewitt], daughter of Cornelius, would take place in Sussex Co NJ.
The Daniel Ennis Van Etten Farm in Pike Co PA, presently known as the Maria Zimmermann Farm, in the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area is located on Dry Brook. Drag down on the map to see the former location of the Johannes Van Etten Farm/Fort on the Conashaugh Creek. Johannes and 2nd wife Rachel Williams Van Etten were buried on the family farm, then re-interred to the Van Etten plot at Milford Cemetery.
View Minisink Valley Genealogy in a larger map
Additional details on the death of Benjamin Ennes: The 1780 Account of the Battle of Conashaugh and The Battle of Conashaugh Affidavits.
Additional names listed on the tax record include: Andrew Dingman, Elias Decker, Thomas Decker, Hendricus Decker, Daniel Dingman, Isaac Dunn, Isaac Decker, Samuel Danforth, Benjamin Emson, John Frazer, Jeremiah Fleming, John Emmins, Jeremiah Witzell, John Fritz, John Graham, John Craig, Elisabeth Green, John Henry, Lodowick Hoover, John Hoover, John Decker.
A question had come up in discussion with another interested party from the Sandyston Township Historical Society in NJ (the township where Benjamin Ennes was born) who asked if I had found any residency records for Magdalena in my wanderings. Some months later I am pleased to report the following record on Ancestry.com (subscription), Pennsylvania, U.S. Direct Tax Lists, 1798
General List of Lands, Lots, Buildings and Wharves, owned, possessed or occupied on the first Day of October 1798, within Delaware Township, Wayne County ... in the State of Pennsylvania ..
One house on one acre is occupied by the Widow Ennes, on property owned by John Van Etten, and who is Magdalena Van Etten Ennes, daughter of Johannes Van Etten and the widow of Benjamin Ennes, killed in the so-called Battle of the Conashaugh in 1780. This establishes a residency in Pennsylvania 18 years after the death of her husband.
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| Laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Vol 5, p 334. |
The Act passed in 1812 for the relief of Magdalena Ennes
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| The Centinel of Gettysburg, Adams Co PA, Vol VII, Issue No 48, on April 22, 1812. |
The following Pennsylvania Records of the Auditor General may contain more information:
ENNIS, BENJAMIN (W. MAGDELENA) 1812 , RG002 , P 0013 , V0014
ENNIS, MAGDALENA 1813 , RG002 , P 0132 , V0006
ENNIS, MAGDALENA 1816-1819 , RG002 , P 0080 , V0007
In 1796, Alexander Ennes, son of Benjamin & Magdalena, was a resident of Delaware Township, PA, his marriage to Jane DeWit [Dewitt], daughter of Cornelius, would take place in Sussex Co NJ.
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| Sussex County NJ Marriages, Vol. A, p.7. |
By the 1800 federal census Alexander (variant Annis), along with the families of his brothers John (Johannis), Emanuel and his brother- in-law Abraham Decker, had moved to Tioga Co NY. By at least 1819 Magdalena had followed their children and in February of that year, as a resident of Spencer, Tioga County NY, she dictated her Last Will and Testament specially charging her Executor, eldest son Alexander, to collect all monies due from the State of Pennsylvania. In November of that year her Will was probated. A number of the children of Magdalena and Benjamin Ennes (variant Ennis) settlers would be buried in the so called Ennis burying ground.
Variants of the surname Ennes in various records include Ennes, Ennis, Ennist, Annis, Annist . Benjamin's father William, Town Clark(sic) of Minisink would sign his name Ennes in the 18th century.
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| Town Clark} William Ennes. |
The Van Ettens of Pike County
The Daniel Ennis Van Etten Farm in Pike Co PA, presently known as the Maria Zimmermann Farm, in the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area is located on Dry Brook. Drag down on the map to see the former location of the Johannes Van Etten Farm/Fort on the Conashaugh Creek. Johannes and 2nd wife Rachel Williams Van Etten were buried on the family farm, then re-interred to the Van Etten plot at Milford Cemetery.
View Minisink Valley Genealogy in a larger map
Additional details on the death of Benjamin Ennes: The 1780 Account of the Battle of Conashaugh and The Battle of Conashaugh Affidavits.
Additional names listed on the tax record include: Andrew Dingman, Elias Decker, Thomas Decker, Hendricus Decker, Daniel Dingman, Isaac Dunn, Isaac Decker, Samuel Danforth, Benjamin Emson, John Frazer, Jeremiah Fleming, John Emmins, Jeremiah Witzell, John Fritz, John Graham, John Craig, Elisabeth Green, John Henry, Lodowick Hoover, John Hoover, John Decker.