NYALBANY-L Archives

Archiver > NYALBANY > 2008-02 > 1203223647


From: "" <>
Subject: Re: [NYALBANY] John M. Greenfield born in Albany County
Date: Sun, 17 Feb 2008 04:47:27 -0000


This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list.

Author: djr0125
Surnames:
Classification: queries

Message Board URL:

http://boards.rootsweb.com/localities.northam.usa.states.newyork.counties.albany/7552.1/mb.ashx

Message Board Post:

Hello,

I checked the 1810 and 1820 census and couldn't find a Greenfield family in Albany County. There were about 16 Greenfield families in other parts of the state in 1810, and a bit more than that in 1820.

Assuming John's mother was alive in 1820, I had hoped to find her. Of course, before 1850, only the heads of household were listed on the census, which doesn't help. If John's mother moved into another household after her husband died, she probably would not have her own listing in the 1820 census (and there is no female Greenfield enumerated in that general area).

Of course, sometimes folks just didn't make it to the census.

So let's start with a theory: your grandfather was NOT born in Albany County and he died in Oneida County. In 1810, there were four Greenfield families living in Herkimer County, which is quite close to Rome, NY and not all that far from Albany County (you can drive from Albany to Rome in about 2 hours or so). Rome is an even shorter trip westward from Herkimer County.

The four Greenfield heads of household in Herkimer County in 1810 were:

Bethuel Greenfield; Fairfield, Herkimer, NY.
Caleb Greenfield; Newport, Herkimer, NY.
...and 2 James Greenfields; Russia, Herkimer, NY

By 1820 there were no Greenfields in Herkimer County.

I found Bethuel in 1830, so we might be able to assume he wasn't John's father. I couldn't find Caleb in 1820 nor 1830, so he's a possibility.

As far as the two Jameses go, well that's a very common name, and they might or might not be one or more of the James Greenfields who lived in other areas.

Anyhow, that's the best I can suggest as a starting point. For your case, until you get some concrete issue, it's a case of making best guesses and trying to prove or disprove them. It's ugly; I went through a similar situation, and it can be a long process.

If you haven't done so already, try posting on the Herkimer County board and the Oneida County board. Or, if you get enough information to find out where they married, you might be able to get some of the missing info from a marriage certificate.

I suspect that, although Nancy was from Knox, she probably met your grandfather while she was traveling west with her family. That's more likely to be the case than having your grandfather travel east, court her, marry her, then travel west again to the middle of the state. Most folks tended to go from east to west at that time. Certainly there are exceptions, but since you have to work on guesses right now, it's best to stick with the most likely scenarios.

I wish I could be of more help.

All the best!

Important Note:
The author of this message may not be subscribed to this list. If you would like to reply to them, please click on the Message Board URL link above and respond on the board.



This thread: