RELEASE DATE: OCTOBER 4, 2009
KINSEARCHING
by
Marleta Childs
P. O. Box 6825
LUBBOCK, TX 79493-6825
[email protected]
In this column are a few selected items from newspapers in New York and New Hampshire. Maybe they will provide useful information about some of your ancestors. (Surnames are capitalized for emphasis and some punctuation has been added for clarity.)
The death notice, "The wife of
Benedict ARNOLD," is found on page 1, column 6, of the 19 April 1836 issue of
the Albany Journal, published in Albany, NY: "The recent death of an old
lady in Uxbridge, the widow of a late inhabitant of that town, who had the
misfortune to bear the same name with the traitor Gen. Arnold, has given rise to
a considerable discussion respecting the wife of the latter."
(Editor's Note: Another newspaper item about the
death of Mrs. Arnold of Uxbridge appears in Kinsearching column dated 4
July 2008.)
An interesting piece of news in the
Albany Journal appears on page 3, column 2 of the 26 April 1836 (Vol. 7,
no. 639) issue:
"Mr. Kings MERRETT of Sampson County, N. C., was killed
by Joseph BENTON, while attempting to prevent him quarrelling with another. Mr.
Merrett received a stab with a knife, in the thigh, and died immediately."
Edited by John C. GERRISH, the
Exeter News-Letter and Rockingham County Advertiser was published in Exeter,
NH. These deaths are found in the issue dated 31 May 1836 (Vol. VI, no. 5), p.
3, c. 4:
"In China, Me., Dr. John HALL, formely (sic) of
Warner, N. H., revolutionary pensioner, 82. He served his country in the
capacity of Surgeon in the Revolutionary Army for several years."
"At Cambridgeport, on Sunday last, Rev. N. JACOBS, pastor of the Baptist church in that town. He and his wife were in a chaise, going to meeting; the tolling of the bells frighted (sic) their horse, and he overturned the chaise, which he dragged against the Universalist Meeting House, killing Mr. Jacobs and so badly wounding his wife that it is feared she will not recover."
"In Hampstead 18 inst., with
apoplectic fit, Betsey, wife of Jonathan SANBORN, aged 57 years." (Printers in
NH, VT, ME, etc.)
(Editor's Note: Newspapers during this era often
used "inst." as an abbreviation for "instant;" referring to a date within the
current month, it means May 18 in the Sanborn death notice. In the past,
"apoplectic fit" was a vague term applied to any sudden death, especially one
that began with an immediate loss of consciousness; for example, an unconscious
condition may have been caused by a seizure or stroke. Since it was common
practice for newspapers to use items published in other newspapers, the notice
to printers in neighboring towns and states was probably a way of asking them to
reproduce the death notice in their papers.)
"In Kensington on Friday the 20th inst., very suddenly, Mr. Hilliard SANBORN, aged about 65"
Charles N. Ferguson, 811 South Market, Shawnee, OK 74801 is seeking information about John MCCRACKEN and Lou HARRIS, who married on 8 July 1894 in Wise Co., TX. Ferguson cannot find them listed on any census in Texas, Arkansas, or Oklahoma. They had at least two children, a son and a daughter.
There is a John MCCRACKEN on the 1880 Tarrant Co., TX, census, in the household of Eli MCCRACKEN. Is this the same John?
On the 1880 Tarrant Co., TX, census, Lou is living in the household of her mother, Letty HARRIS.