Tompkins County - Day 2

Monday 30 June 2008


We began today by visiting the county clerk's office at the court house in Ithaca. There are census records, land deed records and wills located in the building. The 1825 and 1835 census reports are not on the internet and thus were of particular interest. John Abbott and wife had 4 cows, 2 sheep and a hog. In the 1825 census there are 2 males listed, one below voting age, and a female. They owned 20 acres, 6 cattle, 14 sheep and 6 hogs. Reuben only owned 1 cow, 7 sheep and 2 hogs.We looked in the 1835 Newfield census to answer the question as to whether Reuben was still alive. After lifting a 2 foot wide, heavy, leather bound logbook and placing it on a long standing bench, it only took 5 minutes to locate John Abbott followed by Mary Strong and family. This settles the issue that Reuben had passed, probably in 1834 since Mary gave birth to a daughter in 1834 and Reuben Jr in 1832. Another interesting bit of information from this census,was the listing of their animals and hand made cloth. In the household were 4 males, one eligible to vote, and 5 females, 2 married and 3 unmarried under 16. In addition, she owned 17.7 acres, 2 cows, 12 sheep and 2 hogs. There is a listing of about 25 yards of cloth of linen, wool and cotton. Clearly the sheep were providing the clothes.
We did find the Danby land sale deed from Mary to Electa in 1853. It is assumed that this sale was done just prior to Jasper and family along with Mary moving to Ontario. In 1850, Mary was 59, Jasper 21 and Martha 16. Also in the household is Margaret Barbour, age 94. Her age matches up with John Abbott's wife but the name is a mystery. Was she previously married? Is this her maiden name? Unanswered questions.
Tomorrow we are meeting Cheryl at the University and will search marriage and death notices along with other papers that cover 1820 - 1870. We also plan to stop at the Historical Society building and in days to come, Newfield, Danby and possibly Owego, where Tioga County records were kept as of 1798. There were a lot of Strong families in the area during this time period, many of them in Lansing, according to the book of deeds. There is a good chance that these are related but we may not be able to prove it. We also will look for Philip Strong's birth record since he was likely born in or near Danby in 1851. Records are scarce for this period but we will continue to search.
The area is beautiful and the afternoon thunder showers freshen the air and make it quite enjoyable. We may not find the answers we seek but the journey is still worthwhile.

Tompkins County - Day 1

Sunday, 29 June 2008

We traveled from Providence RI, where our son David lives with his wife and 2 children. We loaded up the car and, with various entertainment devices in hand to occupy a 5 and 9 year old, we headed west through the green rolling hills of Massachusetts and New york. It was a hot and muggy day but the the scenery was entertaining and the rolling hillsides and farmlands gave us an idea of centuries past. It is a 6 hour drive to Ithaca NY but the MapQuest directions served us well and we arrived to find our little rental house just right for the 6 of us. Ithaca is a typical college town with lots of fast food restaurants and a laid back atmosphere. It's the 4th of July week and many tourists are also in town to enjoy the area and its many attractions. It is nestled at the foot of Cayuga Lake in the Finger Lakes region and takes pride in its gorges, camping sites, hiking trails, water falls and lake activities.
The finger lakes extend north and south across Central New York like the fingers of a pair of outstretched hands. They were formed by glaciers that covered the state and formed the lake basins and river valleys of the region. There are two long ridges that run north and south and the roads follow these paths to Newfield and Danby where Reuben and Mary Strong settled along with their 10 children, including Jasper. There are 29 parks and recreation areas of the Finger Lakes State Parks, thus providing a wide variety of vacation opportunities.
We had identified Reuben's town through the census reports but it turns out to be slightly more complicated due to the restructuring of towns and counties during this very time. He is listed in the 1820 census in Cayuta and in the 1830 census as in Newfield. I assumed they had moved during this time since there is a Cayuta on the current map. As it turns out, Newfield was originally called Cayuta so they are one and the same. Newfield was taken from Spencer, Tioga Co., NY about 1811, called Cayuta and then the name was changed to Newfield when it became a part of Tompkins Co., abt. 1817. This also explains the John Abbot connection, (somehow related to Mary Abbot Strong) who is listed in the 1810 Spencer census and thereafter next to Reuben in the 1820 and 1830 census. Since Reuben is missing in the 1840 census, we have noted that Mary and kids seem to be in John's family, since he and his wife are alone in the others. The question was when did Reuben pass away?
Fortunately, I have had assistance from various family researchers who have added various pieces to the puzzle . Jeff Hayward is a descendant of Anna Strong, Reuben and Mary's first born child. He had shared a document of the sale of land from Mary Strong to Electa Hayward in 1853, his 4g Grandmother. He has also been working on the Abbott family and the Messenger family (Martha Messenger, Jasper's wife). More recently, I have exchanged e-mails with Cheryl Hall who was working on Freeman Strong who also lived in Tompkins county. Cheryl lives in Ithaca and works at Cornell University in town. She is also a genealogy resource for Danby in her spare time. She has provided us with a list of several potential resources to investigate in our quest for Reuben and family.