CORA'S SCRAPBOOK ~ The marriage of her parents - Charles H.K. Brown & Cemanthe Avery - 1851 in New York

This is the story of my journey through Cora’s scrapbook.  Cora Emma Brown Hall is my husband's paternal great grandmother.  She created a scrapbook during her life and it was passed down through the generations.  It contains an amazing amount of family and general history.

Here’s that link to the posts I've written so far

 My posts about Cora's Scrapbook

Today's item from Cora’s scrapbook is a letter certifying the marriage of her parents Charles H.K. Brown and Cemanthe Avery.

My husband’s paternal 2^nd great grandparents were married in Saratoga Springs, New York on 12 Jun 1851.

Charles H. K. Brown was 25 years old and Cemanthe Avery was 20 years old.   Her parents were Frederick AVERY (abt 1810-bet 1850 & 1868) & Emeline CASE (abt 1809 to 1889)

I don’t have any information as to who Charles H. K. Brown’s parents were.  I’d certainly like to know, but so far my research has come up empty.  If you happen to uncover any information about his family/parents, please get in touch with me.

Until seeing this letter/record in Cora’s scrapbook, I had not located any other marriage records for Charles & Cemanthe. So, of course, I was excited.

This letter gives me a date and a place.  I also have a clue as to the church this couple may have been affiliated with, the Pastor’s name and names of witnesses.  That’s quite a bundle of good genealogical information.

Transcription of letter:

This certifies that Charles H. K. Brown and Cemanthe Avery were united in marriage at Saratoga Springs on the 12^th day of June A.D. 1851; and that record of the same has been made in the Register of the Presbyterian Church.

Signed

John Woodbridge, Afficiating & Pastor

Given at Saratoga Springs, Sept. 2, 1851

Names of witnesses – William & Charlotte Ayers

What questions does this prompt me to ask?

·   Which Presbyterian Church did John Woodbridge officiate as Pastor?  Was there only one Presbyterian Church in Saratoga Springs at the time?

·   Who are William & Charlotte Ayers?  There are no Ayers in my database/tree.  Were they friends or relatives?

·   Would it be possible to locate the actual church record for this marriage?

·   What other types of records would tell me more about the Pastor?

Of course I will try to find answers for those questions.

Please check back tomorrow for my post about what further information I was able to locate and how many of my questions I got answers for.

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2023   Diane Gould Hall
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

CORA'S SCRAPBOOK~Deed of Lot for Greenridge Cemetery Saratoga Springs NY - Apr 1897

This is the story of my journey through Cora’s scrapbook.  Cora Emma Brown is my husband's paternal great grandmother.  She was born 3 Aug 1854 in Syracuse, Onondaga, New York.  She married Thomas Hall (1845-1897) on 5 Feb 1877 in Saratoga Springs, Saratoga, New York. They had one son, Charles Schuyler Hall (1878-1953). 

If you'd like to read all my posts about Cora, I will give a link at the beginning of each new post.  Here’s that link My posts about Cora's Scrapbook

Today I’m continuing the story of Cora’s scrapbook and featuring the Deed of Lot in Greenridge Cemetery dated 6 Apr 1897.

Cora’s husband, Thomas Cornelius Hall had died in Jan 1897. To read more about Thomas you can click here. Civil War Pension File.  Thomas was 52 years old at the time of his death. He had worked as a Railroad Baggage Handler. He and Cora had one child, a son, Charles Schuyler Hall (my husband’s grandfather).

This deed is dated 6 Apr 1897 and is for Plot K, Lot No. 9. The amount paid was $193 to Ellen M. Ames. Cora’s signature is on this page (I have seen her signature on other items and I recognize it). 

Recorded on Association Book, Record of Deeds, No. 4, Page 183.

Elizabeth M. Hyde, Recorder of Deeds, G.C.A.

What does this cemetery deed look like? 

Do you have any cemetery deeds from your own family?

Here is the one page deed.

Here is my transcription.

Know all men by thse presents, that Ellen C. Ames, Executrix of the Town of Saratoga Springs in the County of Saratoga and State of New York of the first part, in consideration of the sum of One hundred ninety three Dollars, to her in hand paid by Cora E. Hall of the second part, at or before the ensealing and delivery of these presents, the receipt whereof hereby acknowledged, has granted and conveyed and by these presents does grant and convey, unto the said party of the second part, her heirs and assigns the certain burial Lot or Plot known as Plot K Lot No 9 on a map or plan of the land of said Association, made by George L. Ames, Superintendent of grounds, and filed in the office of the Clerk of Saratoga County, described as follow: The N.E. Angle is situated S 17’-30’ W distant 127”-3’ from monument No 8 thence N 89° 30° W 25’-7’ thence S. 42° E. 26’-10’ thence S. 89°-30’ E. 7’-50” thence N. 0°-30 E. 20’-0”. Containing 386 Sq. ft. of land @ 50¢ per square foot $193.00 together with all the rights of the said party of the first part, under or by virtue of a certain deed made by the Greenridge Cemetery Association to George L. Ames  

Greenridge Cemetery is located at 17 Greenridge Place, Saratoga Springs, New York.

Here is a record of Thomas’ burial, from the cemetery website. Cora is not listed in the burials.  Possibly because she died in 1933 in San Diego, California and her ashes were transported back to Greenridge.

He and Cora are buried in the Old Cemetery Section. Here is where that is located.

I had located Thomas & Cora’s burial place on FindAGrave some time ago. But, having this additional piece of information adds to the evidence and gives us more information.

Imagine paying $193 for a burial plot.

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2022   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

CORA’S SCRAPBOOK–Her wedding cake & marriage to Thomas C. Hall–1877, New York

In all of Cora’s Scrapbook, there were only a handful of images.  One of those was a cabinet card with the image of a cake.  I might always have wondered who’s cake it was and what the occasion might have been.  Thankfully, Cora wrote on the back of the card and identified it as her own wedding cake from 5 Feb 1877.  I was pretty excited when I turned that image over and found the writing.

 “My wedding cake Feby 5th 1877, Cora E. B.”

(Please click on any image to enlarge it)

The cabinet card from from L.V. Myers, Artist, No. 9 Grand Hotel Site, Opposite Congress Park, Saratoga Springs.  And that is the exact place you will find Thomas C. Hall and family during this time of their lives.  Saratoga Springs, New York.

I had found out the date and time of Thomas and Cora’s marriage a couple of years ago.  I make research notes as I’m working on my ancestors.  I have found these notes invaluable over the years. 

TIP:  I learned the hard way that I wasn’t going to remember what I’d done or what I’d located on a particular ancestor.  You think you will, but most of the time you won’t.  Sometimes we move on to some other family and may not revisit an ancestor for several years.  In this case for Cora & Thomas’ wedding here are the notes I’d made. 

Dates based on her being single and living with her parents in the 1875 NY state census.  And then being married to Thomas with a 2 yr. old son in 1880.

12/28/16 - I've located a NY State census with what I believe to be a record of Thomas C. Hall living in Saratoga Springs, NY as a boarder with the Granger family.  He is working as a Clerk.  His age is listed as 30 and born in New York.

2/10/17 - In reviewing Cora's CW widow's pension file, the date of her marriage to Thomas C. Hall was 5 Feb 1877.

There it was, the wedding date and how I had figured it out.  I did not, however, have a place for the wedding.  That was about to change thanks to another item I found in Cora’s scrapbook 

Her marriage certificate!!!

Joined together in Holy Matrimony - Mr. Thomas C. Hall & Miss Cora Emma Brown - 5 Feb 1877

I notice another item of interest on the marriage certificate.  The names of the witnesses to their marriage.  Mrs. Charles Brown (that would be Cora’s mother) and Mrs. F. Schuyler.  I immediately recognize the name Schuyler, but have no one with that surname in my family database.  I do however, know that Cora & Thomas named their only son, Charles Schuyler Hall.  I’ve always wondered if that was a family name?  Now I can try to find out who Mrs. F. Schuyler was and perhaps connect those dots.  OH boy!  I love finding new clues.

That’s all for today’s post. I’ll keep on writing about Cora’s scrapbook.  There’s a LOT more!

Remember, if you are connected to anyone I write about, I’d love to hear from you.

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2021   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

CORA’S SCRAPBOOK ~ Episode 3–The obituary of her Aunt, Caroline Matilda Snyder Avery – 1841-1885

This obituary along with others, appear on various pages of Cora’s scrapbook.  I’m grateful she kept them because some of them are new to me.  I’m a newspaper hound and love to search the various websites for articles.  Some of the ones Cora kept are ones I have not been able to locate.  The only better thing would have been the names of the newspapers and dates.  Cora left that for me to figure out.

Cora’s mother Cemanthe AVERY has a sister named Mary, whom I know very little about and a brother named Calvin Montgomery Avery.  I knew he had married Caroline M. Snyder, and I have one child born to them, a daughter.  I don’t have a date of marriage for Calvin & Carolyn, but based on census records, they married between 1860 & 1865.  Will I find the marriage record in Cora’s scrapbook?  Or will some of her information lead me to finding it?

Here is a portion of the page from Cora's scrapbook, with the obituary toward the bottom.  I believe these were from two different newspapers.  I've tried finding them on newspapers.com, genealogy bank and Fulton postcards website (where I had located her husband's obituary).  No luck so far. As a result I can tell you the source.

Transcription:

AVERY - In Saratoga Springs, at No. 69 Lawrence street, Nov 23, 1885, of peritonitis.  Caroline Matilda Snyder, wife of Calvin M. Avery, in the 44th year of her life.
  Mrs. Caroline Matilda, wife of Calvin M. Avery, died at her residence, No. 69 Lawrence street at an early hour yesterday evening from peritonitis.  She was taken ill in August last but had nearly recovered.  On Tuesday afternoon last she was seized with the disease which carried her off.  On Saturday last she was more comfortable, but during the night a change for the worse, was observed and she gradually failed until death came to her relief.  Her husband and one child, Miss Gussie, survive her.  The funeral will be held on Thursday next at 12:30 o'clock at Bethesda Episcopal church.

I have located another record of Caroline’s death in the NY Death Index

New York, Death Index, 1880-1956
Name:    Caroline M. Avery
Death Date: 23 Nov 1885
Death Place: Saratoga Springs, New York, USA
Certificate Number: 26886

I have ordered other death records from Saratoga Springs, New York.  I expect I could request Caroline’s and may, in fact, do that.  I like to have as much documentation as I can.

Caroline’s life was fairly short, dying at age 44.  I do hope those years she had with her husband and daughter were happy ones.

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright © 2010-2020   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

CORA’S SCRAPBOOK ~ Episode 2 – Thomas C. Hall & Cora E. Brown marriage announcement, 1877

This is the story of my journey through Cora’s scrapbook.  I will give a link to all posts at the beginning of each new post.  Here’s that link My posts about Cora's Scrapbook

The very first piece of family history I find in this scrapbook is the wedding announcement of Cora to Thomas C. Hall.  As I mentioned in a previous post, I knew they had married 5 Feb 1877, based on information in his Civil War Pension file.  But, what other evidence did I have.  None! 

Thomas was 32 at the time of the marriage and Cora was 22.  Their only child, Charles Schuyler Hall was born 13 months after the marriage, on 5 Mar 1878, in Saratoga Springs, New York. I have no record of any other children born to this couple.

Here are the newspaper clippings from the scrapbook.  It doesn’t say what newspaper they are from, so I’m going to try and find that information.  It also looks like a portion of the article is missing.

(Please click on any image to enlarge it) 

TRANSCRIPTION:

HYMENEAL – Mr. Thos. C. Hall, a former resident of Saratoga, now a citizen of Poughkeepsie, came back to Saratoga yesterday and carried away with him one of those most attractive features of our village – a charming young lady, Miss Cora E. Brown.  Mr. Hall always had good sense and fine taste when he dwelt here, and we are glad that they cling to him.  Our best wishes to Mr. and Mrs. Thos. C. Hall

A nice package of wedding cake comes to our table accompanied by a notice of the marriage, on the 5th inst., at the residence of the bride’s father on Church street; by the Rev. Mr. Carey, of Miss Cora E. Brown, of Saratoga, to Thomas C. Hall, of Poughkeepsie.  The wedded pair, on return from their wedding tour, will make their home in Poughkeepsie.  The marriage service was attended by a large number of relatives and friends who manifested their regards for the wedded couple by a liberal bestowment of presents. Among these was a piano by father and……

Another of Saratoga’s fair daughters has left to make a house elsewhere.  Miss Cora E. Brown, daughter of Charles Brown the tobacconist, changed her name preparatory to making her home in Poughkeepsie, on Monday.  The best wishes of many friends attend her………..

Even with the missing portions of this article, we can learn something about our couple. 

• Their wedding was well attended
• There was a wedding cake
• The marriage location was Cora’s father’s residence on Church St.
• Cora was the daughter of Charles Brown, a tobacconist
• The officiant was Rev. Mr. Carey (this can help us figure out which religion the couple may have been and lead to church records)
• The couple was going on some kind of “tour” or trip after the wedding
• They were going to make their home in Poughkeepsie

That’s quite a lot of genealogical leads to follow. Admittedly in my case, some of the items are facts I already know about.

Update: I cannot help but research as I write.  I have located a portion of the articles transcribed above, plus another small wedding announcement. The first place I go for any east coast newspapers is to Fulton History Postcards website where Tom Trynski has been scanning newspapers for years.  He’s a one man show and a blessing to us all.

Here is a cropped portion of the page from The Daily Saratogian from 6 Feb 1877. 

Cora & Thomas had moved from Poughkeepsie to Halfmoon, New York by the time of the 1880 census.  He was working as a baggage handler for the railroad.  I can’t wait to share more about this couple’s life.

If, while you are reading this post, you find you are connected to any family mentioned, I’d love to hear from you.

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2020   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks ~ Week #5–Charles Henry Brown–Cigar Maker ~ about 1826 to 1903

Charles Henry Brown also known as Charles H. K. Brown is my husband’s 

2nd great grandfather

  

What I DON'T know about Charles Brown…

• Who his parents were
• If he had any siblings
• Exactly when he was born
• Where he died and from what

I have gathered quite a bit of information about Charles H. Brown over the years of my research.

The easiest way to present what information I have on him is by sharing an Event Report.  This is a report created in Legacy 8, using the Event/Fact section for each individual.  I use this area extensively on all my ancestors.

(CLICK ON ANY IMAGE TO ENLARGE IT FOR EASIER VIEWING)

The report above tells me each event/fact I have entered and depending on the information I have entered, all the details associated with that event, including the person’s age at the time of the event.

It’s not that I lack information about Charles H. Brown, I just don’t have additional information I would like to have, such as his parent’s names.

I haven’t been able to locate Charles in the 1850 census.  With the name Charles Brown or Charles Henry Brown being so common, this adds to the difficulty. 

• Was he always a Cigar Maker?
• On 3 Aug 1854, the date of birth I have for his first child with Cemanthe, he would have been 28 years old.  When did he and Cemanthe marry?  Was he married prior to marrying her?

 Charles & Cemanthe (Avery) Brown had two children that I know of.
1. Cora E. Brown, born 3 Aug 1854 in Syracuse, Onondaga, New York married Thomas Cornelius Hall and had one son, Charles Schuyler Hall.  Cora moved to San Diego, California after her husband’s death and died there on 9 Sep 1933.
2. Albert Walton Brown, born 24 Oct 1856 in Saratoga Springs, Saratoga, New York.  I don’t believe he ever married.  He too moved to San Diego, where he died on 5 Sep 1937.

Charles is listed in many city directories throughout his life.  He can be found in Syracuse, Troy and Saratoga Springs, New York directories.

Charles enlisted in the army during the Civil War.  His enlistment date was Aug 1862, as a Private in the 9th infantry for a term of 3 years.

I’ve located his enlistment record.


According to the Muster Roll (see image below), Charles deserted and was absent without leave 25 Jan 1863.  This record lists his unit as Company F, 134th Infantry.  What I liked about this muster roll was the personal information it provided.  Prior to finding this record I had no idea where in Pennsylvania Charles was born.  This record, if correct, states he was born in Philadelphia.  I also get a good idea of his physical characteristics.



Did Charles ever return to service?  I have located no other military records for him, including no pension file.  His military unit is engraved on his headstone, so it makes me wonder.

It’s hard to believe that at sometime during Charles’ and Cemanthe’s life, there wasn’t a photo taken of them.  I have yet to find one.

Cemanthe died of Cerebral Apoplexy at age 70, on 26 Mar 1899 in Saratoga Springs, New York and is buried at Greenridge Cemetery. You can visit her memorial here #22149978.
 
According to online cemetery records, Charles died on 14 Apr 1903 and is buried with his wife, Cemanthe, at Greenfield Cemetery.  There is a picture of their headstone, but his portion is impossible to clearly read.  You can see his memorial here #22149991.

Here is the online record I found regarding their burial.  I had lost track of the URL for this cemetery index.  Thanks to reader, Cathy, for finding it and sending it to me.  To view the searchable, alphabetical index please click here.
 


The record above gives me the only reference to Charles Brown’s date of death.  I have not located a death record, yet.  And, I cannot locate Charles in the 1900 census.
 
During the preparation of this post I was able to locate one more piece of evidence referring to Charles as a Cigar Maker.  It’s a news article published in The Saratogian in 1963.
 


Here are a couple of screenshots, courtesy of Google Earth, of the area where Charles worked and lived in Saratoga Springs, New York., as they look today.

Church St - Charles & Cemanthe lived on this street in the 1880's

424 Broadway - location of Brown & Avery Cigars

Lawrence St - Where Charles & Cemanthe lived in the 1890's

If you think you may be related to anyone mentioned in this post, or have additional information or corrections, please contact me.  I’d love to hear from you.

OTHER POSTS THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST
MYSTERY MONDAY ~ Unidentified Family Photos - AVERY, BROWN, BRIGHT, GOODBODY & HALL (Can you help us identify any of these people?)

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2017   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION