Quakers in New York

Nine Partners Meeting House

Who were the Quakers? The Quakers is officially the Religious Society of Friends, but were nicknamed Quakers because they said to “Quake insight of the Lord”. It is a Protestant denomination. There is, like all churches, a long list of beliefs if you really dig into it. Some of the basics are their belief in peace— they were the original Conscientious Objectors— and simplicity. In the early days, the women often wore more somber colors in their dress such as grey and deep plums and such. You would not see a Quaker woman with a lot of lace about her clothing or much jewelry either. In modern times they have gotten away from different styles of dress, but will often opt for simpler options and less jewelry about them. Another difference in the early days was their way of speaking. Grammar was different then and “you” was considered formal and spoken to your superiors. “Thee” and “Thou” were used with your equals. As they considered everybody equal, they used thee and thou in speech. Over time our speech changed, and this was dropped from their vocabulary as it was from everybody’s until now it is a quaint idea that nobody follows.

Where are there any today?
Your backyard! Even if you don’t live in this state, there are likely some around you, and you don’t realize it. They really aren’t any different from any other religion. Yes, Quakers believe in peace and simplicity, but so do a lot of other people. They aren’t a religion that tries to set themselves apart from others and keep themselves separate.

Here are the places that I’ve discovered relatives in New York State:

Long Island. This was probably the first settlement of Quakers in New York. They were there starting about the late 1600s or into the early 1700s. Their main meeting house and most of their population centered around the present-day city of Hempstead. From there, some of them went to New York City for work and moved into the city.

From Long Island, many Quakers migrated over to the Hudson River and north. Other large settlements were in Dutchess County and what is now Putnam County. Do you happen to remember the property dispute between Connecticut and New York late in the 17th century? Probably not, as I know in my classes, it was quickly glossed over if it was even mentioned. It produced a piece of land not quite 2 miles wide running the length of the Connecticut border, about 60 miles, called the Oblong. The Oblong Meeting House has a bit of history. The land was donated for its building, much like other denominations’ churches. During the 17th and 18th centuries, this was one of the most thriving Quaker communities in the country. During the Revolutionary War, the pacifist Quakers were called on for help. Their meeting house was used for sick and wounded soldiers of General Washington’s Army.

There were other meetings around the area, Nine Partners and Crum Elbow amongst them.

Some ancestors came from New England and settled north of Albany in the White Creek area of Washington County. Seth Chase, whom I wrote about not long ago, was a Quaker owning a tavern in that community. That family later migrated farther north to Peru in Clinton County. where another Quaker Community was.

From Dutchess County, some went to central New York and established meetings at Scipio and Union Springs in southern Cayuga County. That is as far west as I know my Quaker families to have gone. Some moved farther west, but they are not of my direct line. For many of them, subsequent generations left the religion and joined other Protestant denominations. My great-grandmother, Maria Titus was born a Quaker, but as far as I know she didn’t follow the religion as an adult and neither did her offspring.

One thing that stands out for me is that Maria Titus did not follow the Quaker faith, at least not too strictly. In her adulthood was an event that occurred upon her death. First, she and her husband, John Ward are buried near his family at Evergreen in Scipioville. Not a Quaker burial ground. Second, when the heirs split up some of her belongings, they put all kinds of teacups on a table and allowed each grandchild to choose one. The first choice went to the youngest grandchild who was 8 at the time. He told me that he was attracted to the gaudiest cup on the table and chose that one— a white cup with bright gold trim all over it in an abstract design!

Lodema Tobias Titus, my last direct Quaker

Ancestors Behaving Badly: Seth Chase

Seth Chase's Tavern in White Creek

 Seth Chase had immigrated from the Beekman Patent in Dutchess County to Washington County, New York sometime between 1761 and 1763. We know he renewed his license to operate a tavern in September 1789. These licenses were for multiple years, thus he must have been operating a tavern for many years. In fact, some testimony proves that he was operating it during the War for Independence.

The tavern in Washington County was in a small settlement called White Creek. Most, if not all of the settlers in the vicinity of White Creek at the time were Quakers. Seth was a member of the Society. This, in part, sets the stage for some of the questions we have about Seth Chase. The Society of Friends, as the Quakers were officially named, were pacifists by nature. They chose to keep the peace and not take sides in disputes, particularly military matters.

Washington County is in the northeastern part of New York State. It lies north of Albany, where the settlements of the Hudson River tended to become sparser as they reached northward. To the east are the Green Mountains of Vermont. To the west are the Adirondack Mountains of New York State. This description is given to say that this settlement was small and off the beaten path. However, even there, the war touched the inhabitants.

Correspondence with friends and relatives elsewhere in the colonies, of course, would bring news of what was happening. Even people who tried to remain neutral would be drawn into thoughts and debates over what should be done. Should we remain neutral? Should we side with the Loyalists and stay with Great Britain? Should we side with the rebels and create our own country? Those thoughts were going through everyone’s minds.

During all this, the Battle of Bennington was fought on August 16, 1777. Bennington is a town in Vermont, however, the battle was actually fought in Walloomsac, approximately 10 miles to the east in New York. Part of the Saratoga Campaign, the battle was a strategic success for the American cause. Why is this so important? Looking at the maps of where the battle was and where Seth Chase’s Tavern was, you will see that they are separated by not miles, but perhaps hundreds of feet. His farm was the first one north of the battlefield. Just over a rise of a hill, or just beyond the trees behind the tavern perhaps, troops could be seen moving around. Careful plotting would be needed to discover just how close they were, but they were not very far off.

This battle and the usual gossip around a tavern would have caused at least some trouble for an innkeeper. It would be hard to keep quiet and not express some opinion on the matters at hand. For Seth Chase, this would result even previous to the battle, in him being considered a Tory and in October of 1776 he was sent for 14 days in Albany goal and then to Exeter, New Hampshire for a year, where he was kept confined with other “traitors to the American Cause.” He would not have seen the troop movement of the Battle of Bennington himself, but the family living there likely would have. What a difficult time this must have been for the entire family!

So, the question as always in the relatives behaving badly series: Was Seth Chase behaving badly? Was he a traitor to the American Cause? The testimony that sent him first to Albany and then to Exeter definitely indicates that he was on the side of the Tories and was trying to help the British in their battles. His wife, upon his direction, pulled a paper from her bossom that gave the countersigns to get people safely to the King's Army. I would say he was behaving badly, as was Sarah, his wife. However, unlike many loyal to the British cause, he kept his property and continued living there for many years before moving to Peru, in Clinton County, where he died. He never fled to Canada at the end of the war and his punishment seems light compared to others. I wonder if the fact that he was an innkeeper in an area that tried to remain neutral, but of course, would have pressure from both sides, had anything to do with this?

Map Showing His Land

Wordless Wednesday: Amish in New York

 

Wordless Wednesday- Big Moose Deli

Wordless Wednesday- Barcelona Lighthouse

Don't Forget Saturday's Meeting!

Upcoming CNYGS Meeting

There's been a change in the next Central New York Genealogical Society meeting. Here's the flyer for the new speaker:

Places Visited

One of the latest things going around on Facebook has been about putting symbols beside where you have visited or lived. My symbols look a bit different, as I had to find ones on the keyboard as the Facebook ones wouldn’t copy over.

 

I loved these bears at a rest stop in Maine

How do you count if you’ve visited a state? I agree that sitting in an airport shouldn’t count. However, I’ve counted states where I mostly sat in the car. Some states, such as Maryland, and West Virginia, I have done little more than looked out the window as we went down the highway. We might have stopped to eat somewhere along the way, but they were mostly pushing through to get to someplace else. I have counted them as I’ve always tried to make the best of those travels and see what the landscape looked like beyond the interstate and watch to see what attractions might be around. I’ve gathered the brochures at the rest areas (remember when there were all kinds of brochures to gather?) and read through them as we went by.

Catoctin State Park that we passed in Maryland meant looking to see if I could see signs for Camp David or maybe even a presidential helicopter going over! In Kentucky this year, I realized that the hotel we made an overnight in was only a few miles from Fort Knox and we saw the Corvette Museum just off the highway as we went through Bowling Green. Tennessee meant seeing as much of Nashville as we could from I-65 as we drove through-- one trip getting some good views as traffic jams meant we took an hour to inch through there. So, even though some of the states are drive-through ones, I feel as though I did catch a glimpse of some of their features.

Other states I’ve been privileged to stay longer and see more things in. Some, like Alabama, have been for institutes or conferences. Others, such as Florida, I was able to spend about 3 weeks traveling around and exploring with my parents when I was a child. In fact, we did that 3 different times while I was growing up and for a couple weeks again while I was in college. The states in the northeast, of course, have been multiple trips. Virginia and Washington, DC, I got to visit several times as my oldest brother lived in Fairfax county with his family for many years.

In Washington with my niece, Heather

 

Albany, Of course from the state library window!

Put a  by the states you have visited. Sitting in an airport doesn't count. The average is 8. How do you match up? Put a ∆ where you have lived.

* Alabama 
* Alaska
* Arizona
* Arkansas
* California
* Colorado
* Connecticut 
* Delaware
* District of Columbia 
* Florida 
* Georgia 
* Hawaii
* Idaho
* Illinois 
* Indiana 
* Iowa
* Kansas
* Kentucky
* Louisiana
* Maine 
* Maryland 
* Massachusetts 
* Michigan 
* Minnesota
* Mississippi
* Missouri 
* Montana
* Nebraska
* Nevada
* New Hampshire 
* New Jersey 
* New Mexico
* New York ∆
* North Carolina 
* North Dakota
* Ohio 
* Oklahoma
* Oregon
* Pennsylvania 
* Rhode Island 
* South Carolina 
* South Dakota
* Tennessee 
* Texas
* Utah 
* Vermont
* Virginia 
* Washington
* West Virginia 
* Wisconsin
* Wyoming
Canada 
Mexico

Family Search & Digital Public Library

I just ran across an announcement of books becoming available on line easier through a joint effort of Family Search and the Digital Public Library. If you don't also subscribe to the NGS email announcement list, Up Front with NGS, you should consider subscribing. You don't need to be a member of the organization to receive their news releases.

I'm not familiar with the Digital Public Library yet, but it looks like a very interesting site with lots of information to explore.

Family Search is a site that I use a lot. It is the website of the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. From their site you can reach the catalog to see what is available and plan a research trip to their library. If you can't travel there any time soon, you can request films be sent, for a fee, to your local Family History Center. If you don't know where that is, of course, you can look it up on the website as well!

For me the real treasure of this site is the items that are available in databases online. All kinds of records including census records, vital records and such can be found for any state and many, many foreign countries. Trees that people have completed and submitted are available and many other things. I could go on for hours about what is available and still miss many key things.

The one thing I've been having fun diving into and discovering lately though, are the various published works that are available through the website. There are many, many titles available and more are being added constantly. A couple months ago, while at the NYS Library, I made copies of some pages from an old genealogy about one branch of my family. In working with these pages and researching this family, I realized that one page was unreadable at the bottom and I was lacking the next page totally. I was thrilled to find the book on the Family Search website and obtain these two pages so that my work wasn't interrupted until I could return to Albany.

I'm not sure how expanded access to this library is going to work or what it actually means for the average users, but I have a feeling we are going to enjoy it even more! In the meantime, I have a new website to explore!

New York State Databases- Free!

Here's another of those free promotional offers. They seem to be a lot of them lately!

http://www.americanancestors.org/New-York

Boston, home town of the NEHGS

For the month of June, American Ancestors-- that's the New England Historical Genealogical Society's website-- is offering anybody that doesn't already belong a chance to register for free and access their databases pertaining to New York information.

NEHGS has been expanding into New York research in recent years. It makes sense as many of the early settlers in New York came from New England. Many of their researchers are well versed in New York state research and their holdings are getting larger and larger.

If you don't already belong, but have some New York State ancestors, this would be a good chance to sample some of their offerings!

Almost Wordless Wednesday- In Honor of Memorial Day

Just a few from my Wooster line that served during conflicts and that I have pictures of their burial sites.

Robert Tifft burial site. Revolutionary War

Orrin Wooster. Civil War

Marion Wooster. WWI and WWII.

Alice Wooster. WWI

Robert Wooster. WWII

Cheat Sheets

Today I received 3 legal “cheat sheets” in the mail from Amazon. They’re laminated sheets with information printed on them in a convenient 8 ½” by 11” size and hole punched ready to slip into a loose-leaf notebook. Many companies put them out on various subjects. Legacy Family Trees and New England Historical Genealogical Society among other places sell ones on various genealogy topics. Some are called “Quick Sheets”, these I see are entitled “America’s #1 Legal Reference Chart.” Whatever they’re officially called, I refer to them as cheat sheets.

They are much like those pages that you made in high school or college before a test that listed key points on them for you to reference and study. Perhaps an index card that you were allowed to take into a test with you. I still create these from time to time for myself. I have one with models of common citations that I keep handy for doing research. The chart that somebody (The New York State Library?) put out many years ago with the New York State censuses and which counties were included is floating around somewhere as is the one that shows the year each county was formed and from which other counties. All of these various types of cheat sheets are helpful to reference.

The ones I got today are not intended for genealogy, but rather to help law students or paralegals in their studies. One is on terminology, another on research and the third on legal writing. I will be referencing all of these; I’m sure, while taking the Legal Research course at IGHR at Samford University next month. Reading over the research one this afternoon, I was glad to see they have a listing of primary and secondary authority publications. Something that having not worked with them, I often confuse. It is the difference between which are the laws and which are more like interpretations of what the laws mean. The titles are all familiar to me and I smiled to see that some of them are listed by the color of their covers. Having worked in Technical Services in a Law Library for a little over a decade, I immediately recognize those colors along with the titles and can picture exactly where they were on the shelves. After all, not only did I check them in upon arrival, but I often had occasion to shelve or retrieve them as well!

I am sure I will have reason to refer to these cheat sheets often during that week of class. I learned just enough while working in the library to have a beginner’s background in the subject, but will be delving far deeper into the research end now. These are where such forms shine. No matter the subject, if you have a basic grounding in it, but need help on the details either because you haven’t learned them yet or don’t use them often enough, a little help goes a long way. I have found over the years that such cheat sheets are great for quick reference. This is why I either make my own or search them out already created for me by others.

Create a binder of such pieces of information for the location and time period that you are researching. With this, you don’t need to remember all the seemingly trivial facts or where to find that one piece of information. Also, you can remind yourself of sources to look at that might lead to the clue to solve a problem.

I actually have two different types of “notebooks” for these. One set I keep in a binder that can set on my desk or the bookshelf where it is handy. If you’re leaving home, just take out the one or two you need if there is too big a collection. These are very easy to rearrange. The other isn’t a notebook, but rather a digital collection. In a folder on the computer amongst my genealogy is one entitled “Cheat Sheets.” This contains ones that I either haven’t printed out, or that I want to keep a digital version even if it has been printed. If I’m using it often, it is good to be able to print a fresh page when that one begins to get tattered or if it is lost. Also, ones like the citation cheat sheet is handy to have that way as I can copy and paste a sample citation directly into a document or my family tree database and then insert the specific information in place of the generic place holders.

So, even though I fondly refer to these as cheat sheets like we did back in high school, they are actually useful documents for serious research. I use these to quickly reference information that I need to be able to move forward without a lot of diving into books or other records to find that information that I know I read and can’t quite remember.

New York State Library

New York State Library

Address: 222 Madison Ave, Albany, NY 12230; 7^th Floor and 11^th Floor

Phone: (518) 474-5355

Website: http://www.nysl.nysed.gov/

Parking: http://www.nysl.nysed.gov/locpar_ce.htm#c

This will take you to a map and information on parking near the library. I have had good luck with the Cathedral parking lot whenever I have visited the library.

Hours:

Monday - Saturday 9:30 a.m. - 5 p.m.

A view from the library

Situated in the state’s capital, the New York State Library is simply put, the library for the entire state. It is situated in downtown Albany, a couple blocks from the state capital and at the southern end of the Empire State Plaza Convention Center. The building also contains the New York State Archives and the New York State Museum.

Monday through Saturday, the doors to the building open at 9:30 in the morning. Upon entering, you are in a large room with information and guard counters as well as kiosks with information about Albany including bus schedules. At first it can be confusing as archways lead off in all directions. If you have time, feel free to explore through these arches—they are parts the New York State Museum which is free admission. In the northeast corner is the museum gift shop, which among other items, sells many books about the history and culture of the state.

Shortly after opening Saturday morning

Walking towards the back, you will see a desk for the security guards of the building. On either side of their area are banks of elevators. Turn towards the right and you will see these are marked with the various public floors. The majority of the library is on the 7^th floor. This is where you will find books of general interest, law books and the genealogy area. Genealogy covers almost half the floor. There are many microform readers, copiers and scanners available to you. A set of computers connects to the Internet. All of these must be reserved, but it is very easy to do at the information desk. Another computer gives you access to the card catalog if you haven’t looked at it through the website prior to arriving or need to check for one more item. An old-fashioned paper based card catalog contains surnames with published genealogies related to that name; locality cards and listings from the Daughters of American Revolution (DAR) books contain similar information. Open stacks contain countless genealogies and books regarding counties within New York, books on New Jersey, New England and probably other places as well. A complete set of the NYS DAR books are available as well as boxes of loose papers on various subjects. All of these are fully browsable and accessible.

Some microfilm and microfiche are available in cabinets. Most of these and some items from the catalog must be requested as they are stored on other floors. There are several “pulls” throughout the day, but request early so that you have plenty of time. I’ve requested microfilms to be pulled late in the afternoon for the following day. If you’re coming from out of town, you can also contact them ahead of time and they’ll have them ready and waiting for you upon arrival.

Looking towards the microfilm area

The 11^th floor is the archives and items from the library that need special handling. I will write about that floor in a post soon.

Photocopies cost 25 cents each, or you can do digital copies either to a thumb drive (a staff member will scan your drive first to make sure there are no viruses), or you can email them to yourself. Digital copies are free as well as the ability to take pictures with your own digital device as long as no flash is used. Some books are marked “too fragile to photocopy”. There are now special overhead scanners that can be used on these as well as the ability to photograph.

Just a few of the NY counties...

There are so many different items available that it is hard to mention one special item that can be singled out for this library. One thing that comes to mind is that the Capital District Genealogy Society actually staffs the library on some days with volunteers from their society that can help you with your searches! These volunteers are not only experienced genealogists, but they are already familiar with the library and can help you negotiate to where you need to go to find that elusive item. Librarians and staff members are also available and very willing to help, but they are very low staffed and so are busy trying to accomplish many things at once, so often it is better if one of the volunteers is available to help out.

Another thing that is special is the ability to use microfilms of newspapers across the state. While I was there on Saturday, I used some rolls of the Watertown Times to find a couple articles on one of my families. However, if I wasn’t going to be there I could go to my local library anywhere in New York State and request that they Interlibrary Loan them for me from the NYS Library. It is a free service, and I’ve even had a film come to the Syracuse University Law Library (a private institution) a few years ago to look through. Outside of NYS there is a $20 fee for the loan.  

Many years ago, while working on a high school assignment, my father gave me a box of newspaper clippings and photos that his mother had saved over the years. Among those was a yellowed and tattered article from a newspaper telling of her mother’s death. This project started me on my genealogy search. Saturday morning while going through those microfilms, I found the exact issue of the paper that the article about my great-grandmother’s death had come out of and was able to get a digital copy to go along with the tattered one my grandmother had saved.

Flower Memorial LIbrary

Name Flower Memorial Library

Address 229 Washington St, Watertown, NY 13601

Phone (315) 785-7705

Website https://www.flowermemoriallibrary.org/

 

Front Entrance

The Flower Memorial Library is the library for Jefferson County in northern New York. It is located just south of the major intersection of downtown Watertown on Washington Street. Surrounded by commercial and governmental buildings, it can be occasionally hard to find parking spots. However, I have often been able to find on-street parking in front of or very near the library. There are also public parking lots available as can be found on this map. The above shows the front entrance to the library; there is also an entrance on the right-hand side of the building that is accessible without any steps to climb.

Hours from their website:

Monday-Saturday: Noon to 4:00 pm

Or call us to make an appointment 315.785.7711

Sign in when you enter the local history room. Almost everything is available on open shelving and in old style card catalogs. These cards are being put into databases that will soon be available for in-house use. Last weekend I asked about the possibility of remote access to them, but it is not planned for at this time. Copies cost 20 cents each. While I imagine you can make copies yourself, I never have. Terry, who seems to always be there and eager to assist you, is very glad to make copies and knows the copier well. He is quite a treasure of the local history room, as he knows where everything is and a great deal of history of the area.

 

A view of some of the room

Although on a beautiful spring Saturday afternoon, my husband and I were the only visitors in the local history room, other parts of the library were busy. The Saint Lawrence chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution (SAR) had been by for a personal tour of the room on the day before. Often volunteers can be found in there working on various projects as well.

This library was opened in 1903 and was built in the classic ornate library architecture. While being very modern with microfilm readers and computers for your use, many areas of the library look like they are still in the early 20^th century. Reading rooms and exhibit rooms keep their classic look. Rather than trying to describe the beauty, I will let you see for yourself in pictures that I took there on our trip through on Saturday:  

One of the best things I find in this library are the family files. If you’re lucky, your family has an entire loose-leaf notebook full of information on them. Several of my surnames from the area do. Many others are just a small envelope in a file cabinet. Although less information, these likewise have some very special gems in them. There is a notebook readily available that lists the surnames alphabetically with a code to tell you which place to look.

Upon Leaving The Cemetery

Oblong Meetinghouse built 1764

 Upon leaving the cemetery, don’t head directly for the highway. If your ancestors are buried there, then very likely they lived around here as well. Drive around slowly and look at the area. Sure, things have changed in 100 years, but things have also stayed the same. The terrain is likely the same. Some of the houses and public buildings will still be standing. Maybe you can even find your ancestor’s home! Family stories, old pictures or a search through the county land records can all lead you to where your ancestors lived.

While traveling one summer, I found an old church (actually a Quaker Meetinghouse) built in 1764. Although the congregation ceased in 1885, it is still standing and open to the public. I was the only person there as I quietly entered the building and looked around. Looking at this simple building I felt a great sense of welcoming as if the former members were there smiling and wanting to say hello to their visitor. It felt calming and serene much like the reputation of their form of worship.

Fascinating to me was not only that this building still exists, but also some of the records that are left from here. This is perhaps the most important part of discovering this meetinghouse. I found out that in June 1793, a couple by the name of Jane Hoag and Gilbert Titus were married there. Later this couple moved to central New York and became the parents of my g-g-g-grandfather!

When visiting the area, don’t forget to check out what research places there are in the area. Even if you can’t stop now, you can add them to your list for future investigation. I keep two lists on my computer in a file. The first one is a sort of address book with information on research places. Besides the address and phone numbers, I also list directions on how to get there, hours they are open, and specific resources that are available. If I know there are good, inexpensive places to stay or a place to eat nearby, I will list them as reminders to myself as well.

Akin Library at Quaker Hill

The other list is a sort of “To Do” list arranged by repository and then surname. It lists specific areas that I need to research, either by person or families. For example, some of the entries are a reminder to look for somebody’s date of birth; others are leads on where a family grouping may have lived. This I keep in an Excel spreadsheet. As I find information I need to research, I add it to the list. One of them is items that can be located using the Internet. When I have some spare time, I will pick an item and start working on it to see if I can solve the problem or at least get closer to the answer. The repository pages are especially handy when I get an unexpected chance to go there. I look to see what I have wanted to research, but maybe have forgotten about. I then have a head start on creating a research plan for there!

This is especially useful if you have somebody like my husband in your life or perhaps even yourself. He will suddenly decide that this weekend we should head to this certain area and do some research. This is great, except that I haven’t thought about my research in that particular area in awhile and when he decides it is usually Thursday or even Friday evening and I have little to no time to prepare! Luckily my spreadsheet notes give me a good start and I don’t waste the opportunity.