Finding Lamphears in Jefferson County NY - Post 1

My major research effort this month has been to start my search for the potential parents of Devier J. Lamphear Smith (1839/1842-1894), whom I've written about in the recent past - see here and here. To summarize, Devier formally changed his name from Lamphear to Smith in Dodge county, Wisconsin in 1866 and his father, Ranslow Smith, named him as his adopted son Devier J. Lamphere also known as Devier J. Smith in his will written in 1865 in Dodge County and proved in 1875 in Andrew County, Missouri.

Ranslow and Mary (Bell) Smith moved from Henderson, Jefferson County, New York to Dodge County, Wisconsin in about 1843, and then to Taylor County, Iowa in 1867 and Andrew County, Missouri before 1875. Devier J. Smith ended up in Concordia, Cloud County, Kansas and McCook, Red Willow County, Nebraska and died there in 1894.

Based on the above, I'm starting my search in Jefferson County, New York, since that is where Ranslow Smith was before 1843.

I ordered some Surrogates Court and Deed Index microfilms for Jefferson County NY in March, and abstracted the Lamphere/variants data several weeks ago. Now I have a list of persons that had estates and deeds recorded in the County. I ordered the 1825 and 1835 State Census records on microfilm, and need to go to the FHC next week to read them.

Online, I searched in vain for any listing for "Devier J. Lamphear" (and surname variants like Lamphier, Lamphere, Lamfear, Lamfere, Lanfear, Lanphear, Lanphier, Lanphere, Lanpher, etc.) in my list of about 50 web sites with surname databases. I spent some time using Google to find him also, using both "Lamphere Devier" and "Devier * Lamphere" (and variant surnames) as search strings. Nearly everything I found is from my own musings.

Last week, I searched the 1830, 1840 and 1850 census records for Jefferson County NY for the Lamphear and surname variants. I did a bit more today and found more variants by using given name searches in the county. There were very few Lamphear/variant families in Jefferson County in these records.

My working hypothesis is that Devier J. Lamphear was orphaned at an early age and was adopted by Ranslow and Mary (Bell) Smith of Henderson, Jefferson County, New York. Henderson is in the southern part of the County, but the Lamphear family could be anywhere in the county or the surrounding counties of St. Lawrence, Lewis and Oswego.

One orphan scenario is that Devier's mother died soon after his birth, and the father could not deal with an infant child while supporting his family. Perhaps he looked for a wet nurse, or a family that wanted an infant to adopt and raise. Perhaps he was a young man without much family support.

I will summarize what I find in future posts. If you have any ideas or hypotheses about why and how an adoption of an infant or young child was done in the 1840 time frame in upstate New York, I would appreciate knowing about them! What records would you search for? Who would you contact for information not online?

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun - Who Is Your Most Recent Unknown Ancestor (MRUA)?

It's Saturday Night - 

time for more Genealogy Fun! 

Your mission, should you decide to accept it (cue the Mission Impossible! music) is to:

1) Who is your MRUA - your Most Recent Unknown Ancestor? This is the person with the lowest number in your Pedigree Chart or Ahnentafel List that you have not identified a last name for, or a first name if you know a surname but not a first name. 

2) Have you looked at your research files for this unknown person recently? Why don't you scan it again just to see if there's something you have missed? 

3) What online or offline resources might you search that might help identify your MRUA?

4) Tell us about him or her, and your answers to 2) and 3) above, in a blog post, in a comment to this post, or in a comment on Facebook or Google Plus. 

Here's mine:

Number 26 on my Ahnentafel List is Devier James Lamphear Smith. I don't know who his parents are - they are Numbers 52 and 53 on my Ahnentafel List. Here are the vital records, and a synopsis of what I know about Devier's parentage:

Devier James Lamphere alias Smith was born 07 May 1839 in Henderson, Jefferson County, New York, and died 01 May 1894 in McCook, Red Willow County, Nebraska. He married Abigail A. Vaux 04 April 1861 in Rolling Prairie, Dodge County, Wisconsin, daughter of Samuel Vaux and Mary Underhill. She was born 28 October 1844 in Aurora, Erie County, NY, and died 11 September 1931 in San Diego, San Diego County, CA.

Based on the available personal, public and government records, this person was born with the name Devier James Lamphear, probably in Jefferson County, New York. His birth parents have not been identified to date. He was adopted by Ranslow and Mary (Bell) Smith of Henderson, Jefferson County, New York, before 1843.  The Smith family moved from Jefferson County, New York to Dodge County, Wisconsin in 1843.  In March 1866, Devier was granted a name change, by the Wisconsin State Senate and Governor, to Devier J. Smith from Devier Lamphear (although all available records earlier listed him as Devier J. Smith), and he was named as an adopted son in the will of Ranslow Smith.

My hypotheses are that (1) Devier's father had the surname Lamphear (or a variant) or (2) that his mother, with the surname Lamphear, had him out of wedlock, and one or both parents gave him up for adoption.

I have written extensively about my search for the birth parents, ostensibly named Lamphere/Lamphear/Lamphier/Lamfear or Lanphere/Lanphear/Lanphier/Lanfear or any other reasonable spelling of the surname, in Jefferson County, New York in the 1840 time frame. One of my posts, which links to others, is Finding Lamphears in Jefferson County, NY - Post 3.

In my search, I have exhausted the court records in Jefferson County NY that are available on FHL Microfilm, the history books, the online databases, the land record indexes, etc. I've also exhausted the Dodge County, Wisconsin records available on FHL Microfilm and online databases. I visited several repositories in Dodge County and the Wisconsin State Historical Society in Madison last September, and found no records, newspaper articles or vertical files in those places that identified Devier's birth parents. That leaves other unfilmed, unindexed, non-digitized records that might be found in historical societies, genealogical societies, local libraries, and state archives, and private collections.

But, autosomal DNA testing and analysis might help.

Several months ago, I received an autosomal DNA match on MyHeritageDNA with 44.7 cM (0.6%), who had a 3rd great-grandmother named Nancy Lanfear (1816-1898) of Lorraine, Jefferson County, New York.  Devier's parents would be my 3rd great-grandparents.  According to Blaine Bettinger's Shared cM Chart (updated August 2017), the 0.6% indicates that I am about a half 3rd cousin or a 4th cousin (or equivalent removed cousins like 3C1R or 2C2R) to my DNA match person.  If one of the parents of my Devier and Nancy Lanfear are siblings, that would mean my DNA match is my 5th cousin.  

If Nancy Lanfear is the mother of Devier (and he is the right age to be her son), then my DNA match and I would be 4th cousins.  According to FamilySearch Family Tree, Nancy's parents were Isaac and Rosannah (Laun) Lanfear, Nancy married Walter R. Brown in 1834, and her oldest listed child was born  in 1838.  She had a younger sister who married in 1845, and a younger sister who never married; either could be Devier's mother.  She had an older brother who married in 1859 who could be Devier's father by an unknown mother.  I think it is most likely that either Devier's father was the older brother by an unknown mother, or one of the two unmarried sisters had Devier out of wedlock by an unknown father.

If anyone has other research ideas, I would love to hear them! 

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The URL for this post is:  https://www.geneamusings.com/2018/05/saturday-night-genealogy-fun-who-is.html

Copyright (c) 2018, Randall J. Seaver

Please comment on this post on the website by clicking the URL above and then the "Comments" link at the bottom of each post.  Share it on Twitter, Facebook, Google+ or Pinterest using the icons below.  Or contact me by email at randy.seaver@gmail.com.

Finding Devier J. Lamphear Smith's Parents - Part I: DNA Trails

Devier J. Lamphear Smith (1839-1894) is my second great-grandfather.  He was born in Jefferson County, New York, was adopted by Ranslow and Mary (Bell) Smith of Henderson, Jefferson county, New York, and moved with his family to Dodge County, Wisconsin in about 1843.  His adoptive father wrote his will in 1866, naming "Devere J. Lamphear commonly called Devere J. Smith, my adopted son" and Devier had his name officially changed to Devier J. Smith in March 1866 by the Wisconsin State Senate.  I wrote about all of that in 52 Ancestors Week 19: #26 Devier James Lamphier Smith (1839-1894).  

I then tried to find Lamphear/Lamphier/Lanphere/Lanfear/etc. records in Jefferson County, New York - see Finding Lamphears in Jefferson County NY - Post 1 and Finding Lamphears in Jefferson County NY - Post 2.  There were several sets of Lamphere folks in Jefferson County in the 1840 time frame, and the closest one to Henderson (where the Smiths lived) was the Isaac Lanfear cluster in the town of Lorraine, two towns over from Henderson.  Isaac Lanfear also had a number of children, all of whom were identified in his 1851 probate records, which I transcribed in Estate Papers of Isaac Lanfear - died 1851 in Jefferson County NY.

At that point, I had done a lot of searching from afar, but have not had the opportunity to go back to Jefferson County and try to find other records (church records? adoption records, etc.) that might identify Devier's birth parents.  

Fast forward to early 2018, and I started getting autosomal DNA matches from MyHeritage, including one at the 4th-5th cousin level (44.7 cM in 3 segments).  This DNA match person 1 is the third great-grandchild of Nancy Lanfear (1816-1899), daughter of Isaac and Rosina (Lown) Lanfear.  Nancy married in 1834, so it is likely that she is not Devier's birth mother.  But, in my humble opinion, it is highly likely that one of her siblings is a birth parent of Devier, and that Isaac and Rosina (Lown) Lanfear are Devier's genetic grandparents.  Let me explain:

The DNA match person 1 and I share DNA with 67 other MyHeritage test takers.  Some of them share DNA on the same chromosome in the same segments as I share with the descendant of Nancy Lanfear.  Unfortunately, none of these other DNA match persons show a Lanfear in their trees!

I used the MyHeritage one-to-many chromosome browser feature to show the DNA segments that I share with the Lanfear descendant and six others who share the same segments:

The other six DNA matches (2 through 7 on the chart) share between 13 cM and 27 cM with me.

As you can see, I share:

*  6.9 cM with Match 1 on chromosome 3
*  22.3 cM with Match 1 on chromosome 4
*  15.4 cM with Match 1 on chromosome 5

*  22.7 cM with Match 2 on chromosome 5

*  13.4 to 16.7 cM with Matches 3 to 7 on chromosome 4.

*  10.7 cM with Match 3 on chromosome 14 (not shown on chart above)

There are no other shared segments longer than 8 cM on any of the other chromosomes.

According to Blaine Bettinger's Shared cM Study (August 2017), the relationship clusters appear to be:

*  Match 1 (44.7 cM in 3 segments) - cluster 9 (Half 3C1R, 3C2R, 4C)

*  Match 2 (22.7 cM in 1 segment) - cluster 10 (Half 3C2R, 3C3R, Half 4C, 4C1R) or maybe a cluster which includes 5C

*  Match 3 (27.2 cM in 2 segments) - cluster 10  (Half 3C2R, 3C3R, Half 4C, 4C1R)

*  Matches 4 through 7 (13 to 17 cM in 1 segment) - probably the 5C cluster 

If Devier J. Lamphear's parent was a child of Isaac and Rosina (Lown) Lanfear, then Isaac and Rosina would be my 4th great-grandparents, and I would be a 5th cousin of my Match 1.

For Matches 2 through 7, I am probably a 5th cousin once or twice removed, or a 6th cousin - I can't tell because they don't have extensive trees).

I wondered if any of these persons are descended from the non-Lanfear birth parent of Devier J. Lamphear, but because all but Match 2 have the same Chromosome 4 segment position, I don't think so because Match 1 (descended from Nancy Lanfear) also has the segment. 

I need to review all of the other DNA matches I have with Match 1 and see if I share more DNA than is shown on the chart above - perhaps Match 1 doesn't share DNA on segments that I do share with other Matches.

Because of the privacy issues involved with sharing genetic genealogy matches, I have kept the Match persons' names anonymous and have limited what I show on how this is done in MyHeritage.  

I am not an expert at all of this analysis, and greatly appreciate the knowledge and wisdom of the recognized experts in the genetic genealogy field.  If readers want to help me interpret this, I welcome an email with advice or observations.

                                   =============================================

The URL for this post is:  https://www.geneamusings.com/2018/05/finding-devier-j-lamphear-smiths.html

Copyright (c) 2018, Randall J. Seaver

Please comment on this post on the website by clicking the URL above and then the "Comments" link at the bottom of each post.  Share it on Twitter, Facebook, Google+ or Pinterest using the icons below.  Or contact me by email at randy.seaver@gmail.com. 

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun -- Who Is Your MRUA?

Calling all Genea-Musings Fans: 

 It's Saturday Night again - 

time for some more Genealogy Fun!!

Here is your assignment if you choose to play along (cue the Mission Impossible music, please!):

1) Who is your MRUA - your Most Recent Unknown Ancestor? This is the person with the lowest number on your Pedigree Chart or Ahnentafel List that you have not identified a last name for, or a first name if you know a surname but not a first name. 

2) Have you looked at your research files for this unknown person recently? Why don't you scan it again just to see if there's something you have missed? 

3) What online or offline resources might you search that might help identify your MRUA?

4) Tell us about him or her, and your answers to 2) and 3) above, in a blog post, in a comment to this post, or in a comment on Facebook or Google Plus. 

Here's mine:

Number 26 on my Ahnentafel List is Devier James Lamphear Smith. I don't know who his parents are - they are Numbers 52 and 53 on my Ahnentafel List. Here are the vital records, and a synopsis of what I know about Devier's parentage:

Devier James Lamphere alias Smith was born 07 May 1839 in Henderson, Jefferson County, NY, and died 01 May 1894 in McCook, Red Willow County, NE. He married Abigail A. Vaux 04 April 1861 in Rolling Prairie, Dodge County, WI, daughter of Samuel Vaux and Mary Underhill. She was born 28 October 1844 in Aurora, Erie County, NY, and died 11 September 1931 in San Diego, San Diego County, CA.

Based on the available personal, public and government records, this person was born with the name Devier James Lamphear, probably in Jefferson County, New York. His birth parents have not been identified to date. He was adopted by Ranslow and Mary (Bell) Smith of Henderson, Jefferson County, New York, before 1843, when the Smith family moved from Jefferson County, New York to Dodge County, Wisconsin.  In March 1866, Devier was granted a name change, by the Wisconsin State Senate and Governor, to Devier J. Smith from Devier Lamphear (although all available records listed him as Devier J. Smith), and he was named as an adopted son in the will of Ranslow Smith.

My hypotheses are that (1) Devier's father had the surname Lamphear (and variants) or (2) that his mother, with the surname Lamphear, had him out of wedlock and gave him up for adoption.

I have written extensively about my search for the birth parents, ostensibly named Lamphere/Lamphear/Lamphier/Lamfear or Lanphere/Lanphear/Lanphier/Lanfear or any other reasonable spelling of the surname, in Jefferson County, New York in the 1840 time frame. One of my posts, which links to others, is Finding Lamphears in Jefferson County, NY - Post 3.

In my search, I have exhausted the court records in Jefferson County NY that are available on FHL Microfilm, the history books, the online databases, the land record indexes, etc. I've also exhausted the Dodge County, Wisconsin records available on FHL Microfilm and online databases. I visited several repositories in Dodge County and the Wisconsin State Historical Society in Madison last September, and found no records, newspaper articles or vertical files in those places that identified Devier's birth parents. That leaves other unfilmed, unindexed, non-digitized records that might be found in historical societies, genealogical societies, local libraries, and state archives, and private collections.

If anyone has other research ideas, I would love to hear them! 

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The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2016/12/saturday-night-genealogy-fun-who-is.html

Copyright (c) 2016, Randall J. Seaver

Please comment on this post on the website by clicking the URL above and then the "Comments" link at the bottom of each post.  Share it on Twitter, Facebook, Google+ or Pinterest using the icons below.  Or contact me by email at randy.seaver@gmail.com.

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun - Who Is Your Most Recent Unknown Ancestor?

Hey, genies, did you miss SNGF over the last two weeks?  Well, it's Saturday Night again, time for some Genealogy Fun!!

Your mission, should you decide to accept it (where's my Mission Impossible music...drat, lost it), is:

1) Who is your MRUA - your Most Recent Unknown Ancestor? This is the person with the lowest number in your Pedigree Chart or Ahnentafel List that you have not identified a last name for, or a first name if you know a surname but not a first name. 

2) Have you looked at your research files for this unknown person recently? Why don't you scan it again just to see if there's something you have missed? 

3) What online or offline resources might you search that might help identify your MRUA?

4) Tell us about him or her, and your answers to 2) and 3) above, in a blog post, in a comment to this post, or in a comment on Facebook or Google Plus. 

Here's mine:

Number 26 on my Ahnentafel List is Devier James Lamphear Smith. I don't know who his parents are - they are Numbers 52 and 53 on my Ahnentafel List. Here are the vital records, and a synopsis of what I know about Devier's parentage:

Devier James Lamphere alias Smith was born 07 May 1839 in Henderson, Jefferson County, NY, and died 01 May 1894 in McCook, Red Willow County, NE. He married Abigail A. Vaux 04 April 1861 in Rolling Prairie, Dodge County, WI, daughter of Samuel Vaux and Mary Underhill. She was born 28 October 1844 in Aurora, Erie County, NY, and died 11 September 1931 in San Diego, San Diego County, CA.

Based on the available personal, public and government records, this person was born with the name Devier James Lamphear, probably in Jefferson County, New York. His birth parents have not been identified to date. He was adopted by Ranslow and Mary (Bell) Smith of Henderson, Jefferson County, New York, before 1843, when the Smith family moved from Jefferson County, New York to Dodge County, Wisconsin.  In March 1866, Devier was granted a name change, by the Wisconsin State Senate and Governor, to Devier J. Smith from Devier Lamphear (although all available records listed him as Devier J. Smith), and he was named as an adopted son in the will of Ranslow Smith.

My hypotheses are that (1) Devier's father had the surname Lamphear (and variants) or (2) that his mother, with the surname Lamphear, had him out of wedlock and gave him up for adoption.

I have written extensively about my search for the birth parents, ostensibly named Lamphere/Lamphear/Lamphier/Lamfear or Lanphere/Lanphear/Lanphier/Lanfear or any other reasonable spelling of the surname, in Jefferson County, New York in the 1840 time frame. One of my posts, which links to others, is Finding Lamphears in Jefferson County, NY - Post 3.

In my search, I have exhausted the court records in Jefferson County NY that are available on FHL Microfilm, the history books, the online databases, the land record indexes, etc. I've also exhausted the Dodge County, Wisconsin records available on FHL Microfilm and online databases. I visited several repositories in Dodge County and the Wisconsin State Historical Society in Madison last September, and found no records, newspaper articles or vertical files in those places that identified Devier's birth parents. That leaves other unfilmed, unindexed, non-digitized records that might be found in historical societies, genealogical societies, local libraries, and state archives, and private collections.

If anyone has other research ideas, I would love to hear them!


The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2012/05/saturday-night-genealogy-fun-who-is.html


Copyright (c) 2012, Randall J. Seaver

Finding Lamphears in Jefferson County, NY - Post 3

...
As I've searched for Lamphear/Lamphere/Lamphier/Lamfear/Lamfier and other surname variants in Jefferson County, New York, I've tried to identify families in the records that lived in or near Henderson township.

A little background: I am looking for the biological parents of Devier J. Lamphear, born in 1839 or 1842 according to family records, and adopted by Ranslow and Mary (Bell) Smith of Henderson, Jefferson County, NY.

Previous posts on this search include:

* Seeking Lamphier Probate Records in Jefferson County NY
* Finding Lamphears in Jefferson County NY - Post 1
* Finding Lamphears in Jefferson County NY - Post 2

I ordered the microfilms for the 1825 and 1835 New York State Census records from the LDS Family History Library Catalog down at the FHC in March, and they came in several weeks ago. I managed to capture images of both 1825 and 1835 census records for several Lamphear/Lanfear persons using the Microfilm Scanner and Printer at my local Family History Center.

The 1835 census images look like this:

There are two pages for each page of the 1825 and 1835 New York state census, and only the head of household have names provided. The 1825 census has 36 questions, and the 1835 census has 24 questions (the same first 24 questions as on the 1825 census).

I made up a Microsoft Word table in order to create an extraction of the records. The form for Isaac Lanfear of Lorraine, Jefferson County, NY in the 1835 New York State Census is shown below (the 1825 form is similar):

Here are the entries for this particular family:

1. Name of head of household - Isaac Lanfear

2. The number of male persons in the Family, including its head, if male = 4

3. The number of female persons in the family, including its head, if female = 7 (I think, difficult to read)

4. The number of male persons in the same family subject to militia duty = 1

5. The whole number of male persons in the same family entitled by the constitution of this state to vote for all officers, elected by the people = 2

6. The number of male persons in the same family, who are aliens, not naturalized = 0

7. The number of persons in the same family who are paupers = 0

8. The number of persons in the same family, who are persons of colour, not taxed = 0

9. The number of persons in the same family, who are persons of colour, who are taxed

10. The whole number of persons of colour in the same family who are taxed, and entitled by the constitution of this state for all officers elective by the people (and not be included in ninth column) = 0

11. The number of married female persons in the same family under the age of forty-five years = 0

12. The number of unmarried female persons in the same family, between the ages of sixteen and forty-five years. = 4

13. The number of unmarried female persons in the same family under the age of sixteen years = 2

14. The number of marriages occurring in the same family where such female married person resided during the year preceding = 0

15. The number of births in the same family, during the year preceding – Male/Female = 0/0

16. The number of deaths in the same family, during the year preceding – Male/Female = 0/0

17. The number of acres of improved land, occupied by the same family = 50

18. The number of neat cattle owned by the same family = 28

19. The number of horses owned by the same family = 5

20. The number of sheep owned by the same family = 20

21. The number of hogs owned by the same family = 12

22. The number of yards of fulled cloth manufactured in the domestic way, in the same family, during the year preceding = 10

23. The number of yards of flannel and other woolen cloth not fulled, manufactured in the domestic way, in the same family, during the year preceding = 20

24. The number of yards of linen, cotton, or other thin cloths, manufactured in the domestic way, in the same family, during the year preceding = 28.

As you can see, there were 11 persons (4 males, 7 females) living in this household. We cannot be sure that they were all family members - some might be laborers or servants that support the family farm. We can also see the livestock count on the farm and the amount of cloth manufactured by family members.

In the 1825 New York State Census, these Lamf*/Lamph*/Lanf*/Lanph* families were enumerated in Jefferson County NY (FHL Microfilm 0,895,239):

* Asa Lamphear in Adams (4 males, 3 females)

* Isaac Lanfear in Lorraine (3 males, 7 females)

* William Lanfear (3 males, 4 females)

* Lewis Lanphear in Wilna (6 males, 3 females)

* John Lanphear in Wilna (2 males, 1 female)

* Lewis Lanphear Jr in Wilna (7 males, 3 females)

In the 1835 New York State Census for Jefferson County, New York (FHL Microfilms 0,895,239 and 0.895,240), the Lamf*/Lamph*/Lanf*/Lanph* families included:

* George N. Lanphear in Antwerp (4 males, 3 females)

* Isaac Lanfear in Lorraine (4 males, 7 females)

* Orin Lanfear in Lorraine (4 males, 2 females)

* William Lanfear in Lorraine (2 males, 3 females)

* John Lanphear in Wilna (5 males, 2 females)

* Hiram Lanphear in Wilna (3 males, 3 females)

* Lewis Lanphear Jr (4 males, 6 females)

* Jeremiah Lanphear in Wilna (2 males, 3 females)

In addition, Ranslow Smith (the adoptive father of Devier Lamphear) was enumerated in Henderson township with 1 male and 1 female.

The challenge for me is to try to identify the males and females in these families who might have been the parent to my Devier Lamphear. Adams township is right next to Henderson, and Lorraine township is just two towns from Henderson, while Antwerp and Wilna are further away.

52 Ancestors - Week 485: #107 Rosina (Lown) Lanfear (1781-1881) of Poughkeepsie and Lorraine, New York

 Rosina Lown (1781-1881) is #107 on my Ahnentafel List, my 4th great-grandmother, who married #106 Isaac Lanfear (1777-1851) in 1809 in Claverack, Columbia County, New York.

I am descended through:

* their daughter, #53 One of the children of Isaac and Rosina (Lown) Lanfear, who had a child by an unknown person, who was adopted by Ranslow and Mary (Bell) Smith.

*  their son, #26 Devier James Lamphier Smith (1839-1894), married Abbie Vaux (1844-1931) in Dodge County, Wisconsin in 1861.

*  their daughter, #13, Abbie Ardell "Della" (Smith) Carringer (1862-1944), who married  #12 Henry Austin Carringer (1853-1946) in 1887.
*  their son, #6 Lyle Lawrence Carringer (1891-1976), who married #7 Emily Kemp Auble (1899-1977) in 1918.
* their daughter, #3 Betty Virginia Carringer (1919-2002), who married #2 Frederick Walton Seaver (1911-1983) in 1942.
*  their son, #1 Randall J. Seaver (1943-....)

=====================================================

1)  PERSON (with source citations as indicated in brackets):

*  Name:                          Rosina Lown[1]

*  Alternate Name:          Rosanna Lanfear[2]

*  Alternate Name:          Rozanna Lamfear[3]

*  Alternate Name:          Rosanna Lamphear[4]

*  Alternate Name:          Rosannah Lanfear[5]

*  Alternate Name:          Rosina Lanfear[6]

*  Alternate Name:          Roseannah Lowen Lanfear[7]

*  Sex:                             Female

*  Father:                         Georg Laun 1730-1810

*  Mother:                       Susannah Schumacher 1730-1831

2)  INDIVIDUAL EVENTS (with source citations as indicated in brackets):

*  Birth:                           3 December 1781, Rhinebeck, Dutchess, New York, United States[1]

*  Christening:                20 January 1782 (age 0) Reformed Church, Poughkeepsie, Dutchess, New York, United States[1]

*  Census:                       1 June 1850 (age 68), Lorraine, Jefferson, New York, United States[2]

*  Census:                       1 June 1860 (age 78), Lorraine, Jefferson, New York, United States[3]

*  Census:                       1 June 1870 (age 88), Lorraine, Jefferson, New York, United States[4]

*  Pension:                      7 November 1879 (age 97), pension admitted; Lorraine, Jefferson, New York, United States[5]

*  Census:                       1 June 1880 (age 98), Lorraine, Jefferson, New York, United States[6]

*  Death:                         1 May 1881 (age 99), Lorraine, Jefferson, New York, United States[7]

*  Burial:                         after 1 May 1881 (after age 99), Lorraine Rural Cemetery, Lorraine, Jefferson, New York, United States[7]

3)  SHARED EVENTS (with source citations as indicated in brackets):

*  Spouse 1:                       Isaac Lanfear 1777-1851

*  Marriage 1:                    10 October 1809 (age 27), Claverack, Columbia, New York, United States[5]

*  Child 1:                          Anna Lanfear 1807-1898

*  Child 2:                          Elizabeth Lanfear 1809-1900

*  Child 3:                          Susan B. Lanfear 1812-1849

*  Child 4:                          Latham Lanfear 1814-1878

*  Child 5:                          Nancy C. Lanfear 1816-1898

*  Child 6:                          Polly Lanfear 1817-1908

*  Child 7:                          Eleanor Lanfear 1818-1902

*  Child 8:                          Malinda Lanfear 1823-1905

*  Child 9:                          John Lanfear 1824-1893

*  Child 10:                        Sarah Lanfear 1828-    

4)  NOTES (with source citations as indicated in brackets):    

Rosina Lown was born 3 December 1781 in Dutchess County, New York, and was baptized on 20 January 1782 in the Dutch Reformed Church in Poughkeepsie, New York[1].  She was the daughter of Georg Lown and Susannah Shoemaker.  Martinus Wilham and Rosina Shoemaker witnessed the baptism.

She was also known by the first names Rosanna, Rosannah, Rozanna, Roseannah and by the surnames Laun, Lowen, Lanfear, Lamfear, Lamphear, 

Rosina married Isaac Lanfear (1777-1851), the son of Latham and Anna (Wilbur) Lanphere, on 10 October 1809 in Claverack, Columbia County, New York[5].  They had ten children, all probably born in Lorraine, Jefferson County, New York:

*  Anna Lanfear (1807-1898), married before 1831 William Shelmadine (1806-1861).

*  Elizabeth Lanfear (1809-1900), married before 1837 Chester Clark Rose (1812-1900).

*  Susan B. Lanfear (1812-1849), married circa 1844 Orlando Kellogg (1807-1872).

*  Latham Lanfear (1814-1878), married circa 1859 Nancy A. Middleton (1835-1888).

*  Nancy C. Lanfear (1816-1898), married 1834 Walter Risley Brown (1815-1891).

*  Polly Lanfear (1817-1908), married (1) 1846 Nelson Muzzy (1806-1865); (2) 1870 Francis Cornwell (1818-1887).

*  Eleanor Lanfear (1818-1902), married circa 1843 Lester Loveland (1815-1888).

*  Malinda Lanfear (1823-1905).

*  John Lanfear (1824-1893), married before 1850 Rhoda Mariah Parsons (1827-1888).

*  Sarah Lanfear (1828-????). 

Isaac Lanfear served in the War of 1812, volunteering at Lorraine on 9  September 1812 and was honorably discharged on 25 August 1814 at Sackets Harbor, New York.  Isaac's wife, Rosannah Lanfear applied for a Widow's pension in 1871 and was granted a pension and 160 acres of Bounty land in 1879[1].  There is more information about Isaac's service from the Pension file (201 pages!) transcribed below.

The Isaac Lanfear family was enumerated in Lorraine, Jefferson county, New York in the 1850 United States Census[2]. The person in the household included:

*  Isaac Lanfear -  age 73, male, a farmer, has $2000 in real property.

*  Rosanna Lanfear - age 65, female.

*  Latham Lanfear - age 36, male, a farmer.

*  Melinda Lanfear - age 27, female.

Isaac Lanfear died intestate on 3 May 1851 in Lorraine.  Rosina denied taking letters of administration.

In the 1860 United States Census, the Rozanna Lamfear household was enumerated in Lorraine, New York[3].  The household included:

*  Rozanna Lamfear - age 76, female, born in New York.

*  Malinda Lamfear - age 36, female, housework, born in New York.

The family of her son, Latham Lamfear, was enumerated just before her, and the family of her daughter, Ann Shelmidine, was enumerated just after her.

In the 1870 United States Census, the Rosanna Lamphear household was enumerated in Lorraine, New York[4].  The household included:

*  Rosanna Lamphear - age 86, female, white, born in New York.

*  Melinda Lamphear - age 46, female, white, farming, born in New York.

The family of her son, Latham Lamphier, was enumerated just before her.

Rosannah Lanfear applied under the Act of 1871 for a Pension based on Isaac's military service in the War of 1812, but initially it was denied.  She reapplied in 1876, and received the pension and bounty land warrant for 160 acres in 1878.  This pension file contains 201 pages[5]. The Bounty Land and Widow's Brief (pages 179-180) transcription is:

CLAIM OF WIDOW FOR BOUNTY LAND.

State of New York       }  SS:

County of   Jefferson  }

On this  Twenty fourth day of April, A.D. one thousand eight hundred and Seventy Eight, personally appeared before me, Erwin F Ramsdell, the same being a member of a court of record within and for the county and State aforesaid,  Rosannah Lanfear aged  94  years, a resident of  Lorraine  , in the State of  New York  , who,

being duly sworn according to law, declares that she is the widow of  Isaac Lanfear deceased, who was the identical  Isaac Lanfear  , who served under the name of Isaac Lanfear  as a  Private  in the company commanded by Captains Gould Wilcox and Goodell, the  55th regiment of Militia, commanded by Clark Allen  , in the war of  1812;  that her said husband   Volunteered at Lorraine aforesaid on or about the  Ninth day of September  , A.D. 1812  , for the term of  the war   and continued in actual service in said war for the term of  sixty six days  , and whose services terminated, by reason of

honorable discharge at Sackets Harbor  , on or about the 25th dau of August , A.D.  1814 .  She further states that the following is a full description of her said husband at the time of enlistment, viz:  Occupation farmer age 35 years hight 5 feet 6 nches Complection light Blk hair & blue eyes & was born at Hillsdale, N.Y. She further states that she was married to the said  Isaac Lanfear , at the city (or town) of Claverack , in the county of Columbia , and in the State of New York , on the  Tenth  day of October, A.D.  1809 by one  David Wager, who was a  Justice of the Peace; and that her name before said marriage was  Rosannah Lown ; and she further states that  deponent has not remarried since the death

of her said husband. and that her said husband  Isaac Lanfear , died at Lorraine , in the State of  New York, on the  Third day of May , A.D. 1851; and she further declares that the following have been the places of residence for herself and her said husband since the date of his discharge from the Army, viz:  Lorraine County of Jefferson and State of New York.

She makes this declaration for the purpose of obtaining the bounty land (or the additional bounty land) to which she may be entitled under the act approved March 3, 1855; and she further declares that she has heretofore made  an application for  a pension under the act of February 14'th 1871 which application was dated about March 08'th 1876 which pension No. is 11,838. 

BOUNTY LAND WIDOW'S BRIEF

Case No. 333149, Act of   March 3'd 1855,  Warrant No.  114282

Rosannah Lanfear      , widow of

                                                    , Examiner

Approved   July 15,  1878

                   Charles H. Sawyer, Reviewer.

In the 1880 United States Census, the Rosina Lanfear household was enumerated in Lorraine, Jefferson County, New York[6].  The household included:

*  Rosina Lanfear - white, female, age 96, born in New York, father born in New York, mother born in New York

*  Melinda Lanfear - white, female, age 53, farmer, born in New York, father born in New York, mother born in New York.

Roseannah Lanfear died 1 May 1881 in Lorraine, Jefferson County, New York at the age of 99 years, and is buried in Lorraine Rural Cemetery in Lorraine[7].  Her gravestone transcription is:

"Roseannah

Wife of 

Isaac Lanfear

Died May 1st 1881

Ae. 97 years 6 mo's."

5.  SOURCES

1. "U.S. Dutch Reformed Church Records from Selected States, 1639-1989," digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com), New York > Poughkeepsie (The Flats) > Book 39 (image 313 of 417), Rosina Lown birth and baptism entry.

2. 1850 United States Federal Census, Jefferson County, New York, Lorraine, Page 358 (stamped), Lines 4-7, Isaac Lanfear household, online database with record image, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com); citing National Archives Microfilm Publication M432 (1009 rolls).

3. 1860 United States Federal Census, Jefferson County, New York, population schedule, Lorraine, page 179 (stamped, image 37 of 44), line 4, Rozanna Lamfear household, indexed record with record image, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com); Original record in National Archives Microfilm Publication M653.

4. 1870 United States Federal Census, Jefferson County, New York, population schedule, Lorraine, page 10 (penned, image 10 of 36), line 33, Rosanna Lamphear household, indexed record with record image, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com); Original record in National Archives Microfilm Publication M593.

5. "War of 1812 Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Files," digital image, Fold3.com (https://www.fold3.com : accessed 27 May 2019), W.O. Pension No. 11,838, Rosannah Lanfear, widow of Isaac Lanfear, 201 pages; citing NARA RG15-1812PB-Bx2071.

6. 1880 United States Federal Census, Jefferson County, New York, population schedule, Lorraine, ED 130, page 4 (penned, image 4 of 28), line 43, Rosina Lanfear household, indexed record with record image, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com); Original record in National Archives Microfilm Publication T9.

7. Find A Grave, indexed database and digital image,  (http://www.findagrave.com), Lorraine Rural Cemetery, Lorraine, N.Y., Roseannah Lowen Lanfear memorial #79896131.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

NOTE:  Amy Johnson Crow suggested a weekly blog theme of "52 Ancestors" in her blog post 

 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks on the No Story Too Small blog in 2014.  I have extended this theme in 2023 to 520 Ancestors in 520 Weeks.

The URL for this post is:  https://www.geneamusings.com/2023/06/52-ancestors-week-485-107-rosina-lown.html

Copyright (c) 2023, Randall J. Seaver

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Finding Lamphears in Jefferson County NY - Post 2

As I've searched for Lamphear/Lamphere/Lamphier/Lamfear/Lamfier and other surname variants in Jefferson County, New York, I've tried to identify families in the records that lived in or near Henderson township. A little background:

I am looking for the biological parents of Devier J. Lamphear, born in 1839 or 1842 according to family records, and adopted by Ranslow and Mary (Bell) Smith of Henderson, Jefferson County, NY. I decided to start with the census records, and with the 1840 census. The only Lamphear/variant surname entries in the 1840 US Census for Jefferson County NY living near Henderson are in Lorraine - two townships away.

1) 1840 US Census: There are three indexed entries for Isaac Lanfear, William Lanfear and Erin Lanfear in the 1840 US census in Lorraine. Isaac and William are identified as early settlers in 1804 in Lorraine. They appear to be there for a long time, living near the town center.

In the 1840 census for Lorraine, Isaac Lanfear (aged 60 to 69) has two males, aged 15-19 and 20-29) - the older one is likely Latham/Lathrum who is in the 1850 census living with him. There is no infant male listed. William Lanfear (aged 50 to 59) has two males aged 10 to 14 and 15-19 in his household, and Orin Lanfear (aged 30-39) has two males aged 5-9, one aged 10-14, and one aged 20-29.

So there are no infant Lanfear males in the 1840 census in Lorraine, Jefferson County, NY living with Lanfear (and variants) families. Of course, there may be one hiding in the other 400 or so families in Lorraine, or the thousands of families in Jefferson County!!!

2) 1850 US Census: I knew that Isaac Lanfear died in 1851 in Lorraine, Jefferson County, NY (from cemetery records) and that his wife Rosanna Lanfear died there in 1881, and they were in the 1840 US census in Lorraine, so I figured they were probably in the 1850 US Census. However, searching for Isa* Lan* and Isa* Lam* in Lorraine yielded no results. I used Ros* without a surname to find Isaac and Rosanna Lamfear (it looks like Lamfear to me!) and easily found them, but they had been indexed as "Samfear." The capital "S" and "L" often are interchanged (I have much experience with this having searched for Seaver for many years).

There are two younger "Samfear" people in the record - Lathrum Samfear (a male age 36) and Melinda Samfear (a female age 27). Are they siblings or husband and wife? It's impossible to tell in this record. I checked the 1860 US Census and found Latham with a wife and infant living next door to Rosanna and Malinda. So they are probably siblings, although they could be brother and sister-in-law (if Melinda was a widow of a brother of Latham).

There is also a Hannah Lamfers family (Hannah age 50, Ann age 24, Martha age 11) and a Sarah Lamfers (age 22, living with the Clark and Maranda (age 33) Bailey family) in Lorraine in the 1850 census. I wonder if thiese are from William Lanfear's family? I don't find William in the 1850 census.

There is a John Lanfear (age 26), with wife (?) Rhoda Lanfear (age 24) enumerated in Worth, the town just east of Lorraine. John may be a son of Isaac Lanfear.

3) In the 1830 US census for Lorraine are not indexed as Lan* or Lam*. Are they there? Yes! All three are indexed as "Lmfrie." I can see how it might have been indexed as "Lamfier" or even "Lamfire" but I can't figure out how the indexer got "Lmfrie" out of it! In all three cases!

In this census, Isaac Lamfire (aged 50 to 59) has two young males aged 5-9 and 15-19 in his household. William Lamfire (aged 40 to 49) has one young male in his household aged 10 to 14. Orran Lamfire (aged 20 to 29) has a young male aged 0 to 4 in his household. Orran might be another candidate for having an infant and giving him up in the 1839-1842 time period. Orran is indexed as "Oran" although it is clearly "Orran" on the census image.

4) Potential Parents: Latham Lamfear rose quickly to the top of my list as a potential father of my Devier J. Lamphear (born 1839-1842). Did he marry someone before 1842 and have a small child, but lose his wife in childbirth or when Devier was an infant?

Melinda Lamfear also is near the top of my list as a potential mother of my Devier J. Lamphear. Did she have a baby out of wedlock (she would have been 16 in 1839 and 19 in 1842) or by a brother of son of Isaac and Rosanna Lamfear?

The son of William Lamfire (born 1815-1820) in the 1830 census is another candidate old enough to father a child in 1839-1842.

Orran Lamfire is also old enough to father a child in that period, but not before the 1840 census. However, I think that the Orrin Lanphere in Warren County, Illinois in the 1850 census is the Orran in Lorraine in 1830 and 1840, with children born in 1838/9 and 1841/2. Haven't proved this, of course!

So now I have identified several potential parents for my Devier J. Lamphear in Lorraine. There are probably more potential parents to identify, especially if I expand the search to all of Jefferson County and even the three neighbor counties.

Your comments and ideas are welcome! I will capture all of them and discuss them in a future post.

Addendum: I posted corrections to the three 1830 "Lmfrie" entries in Lorraine to Ancestry.com last night, and will correct the 1850 "Samfear" entries today. I hope the Ancestry.com system doesn't bog down because of my efforts!

Stymied on Devier J. Lamphear Smith problems

I used my Devier J. Lamphear Smith research problem for my ProGen homework assignment. Specifically, when and where was he born?

Devoted Genea-Musings readers will recall that Devier J. Smith was adopted by Ranslow and Mary (Bell) Smith, according to Ranslow Smith's will from 1875, and that Devier changed his surname from Lamphear to Smith via a Wisconsin Legislature private law in 1866.

To recap, the evidence includes:

* A Family Bible page written by Devier himself in 1889 that states he was born on 7 May 1842 in Jefferson County NY.

* A family paper written by his wife, Abigail (Vaux) Smith in (probably 1895) that states he was born on 7 May 1839 in Jefferson County NY.

* An obituary in the McCook NE Times-Democrat newspaper that says he was born in May 1842 in Wisconsin.

* A transcription of his tombstone in a Red Willow County NE cemetery book that says 1842.

* A newspaper article in the Wano KS Plain Dealer published in 1886 states 1839 that says he was born in Jefferson County NY.

* Federal census records for 1850 (age 11), 1860 (age 21), 1870 (age 30), and 1880 (age 41) that imply 1839 or 1840.

* State census records for 1875 (KS, age 35), 1885 (KS, age 46), and 1885 (NE, age 45) that imply 1839 or 1840.

The informant for the obituary and the tombstone was Devier's son, David D. Smith, who had access to the Family Bible. So there is really one original source record for 1842, and one original source record for 1839, and they are secondary information because of the dates they were written. There are nine derivative sources with secondary information for 1839 or 1840.

The Preponderance of Evidence principle is no longer the standard - the Genealogical Proof Standard requires resolution of all conflicts - and I cannot resolve the conflict at this time with the information I have.

In order to resolve the contradiction, I need more source records. I have two localities to investigate:

1) Jefferson County, New York is where Devier was almost certainly born. I've checked guardianship, letters of administration and estate papers for Lamphears in Jefferson County without a mention of Devier Lamphear.

There is one record that might be available -- a church record may identify Devier's birth parents and birth date. I need to determine if there are any records in the Henderson/Adams/Lorraine townships at that time.

2) Dodge County, Wisconsin is where Devier J. Smith ended up as an adopted son of Ranslow and Mary (Bell) Smith, formerly of Henderson, Jefferson County, New York, who migrated in 1843. All county records were lost in a fire in 1877, including guardianships, probates, deeds, taxes, vital records, etc.

My first thought had been that, since Devier J. Smith married Abigail Vaux in April 1861 in Dodge County (when Devier was either 18 or 21, and Abigail was age 16), that there might be a marriage record for the marriage that might list their ages, or the agreement by both parents for the marriage.

My second thought was that Devier J. Smith might be listed on a tax list when he turned age 21 - either in 1860 or 1863.

My third thought is that there might be an article in the local newspaper for the marriage, and perhaps another when his name change became official in March 1866.

I contacted the Dodge/Jefferson Counties Genealogical Society last week to see if there are records for churches and newspapers in those time frames. Apparently, there are, and they can perform the search for a fee. I'm thinking about it!

Before I request this search, I'm wondering if other researchers have any other ideas to help me solve my dilemma?