A few summers ago I visited the New Jersey Archives in Trenton searching for my Hazen family ancestors. I wasn’t successful and was browsing the shelves about 3:00 o’clock killing time until the library closed at 4 o’clock while waiting for my genealogy buddy/ride. I pulled a volume of The Genealogical Magazine of New Jersey and quite by chance found cemetery inscriptions for my 4th great grandparents, William and Esther Hemingway. I never accumulated much information about them so was very pleased to see they were buried in the First Methodist Episcopal Church Cemetery in Wantage, Sussex Co., New Jersey. William Hemingway died March 9, 1855 at the age of 80 years, 10 months, 5 days. His wife, Esther, died June 22, 1842 when she was 64 years, 5 months, 7 days.[1]
New
Jersey’s vital records began in 1848 so I hoped I’d find a death record for
William to take home. Bound volumes contain death indexes and soon I located
his passing in Volume A.F., page 648. I immediately went to the librarian for
help and he was able to go right to a microfilm and within minutes I was
looking at William Hemingway’s death as recorded in the ‘Return of Deaths in
the township of Wantage, County of Sussex, State of New Jersey’. The Return of
Deaths revealed he was a widower, 80 years old and born in Wantage. He had been
a farmer and his cause of death was liver complaint. The best news was his parents were named; my
5th Great Grandparents William and Sarah Hemingway.
3rd
Great Grandmother Dolly Hemingway, wife of John Doty and daughter of William
and Esther Hemingway was born Jan. 31, 1798. She died Feb. 10, 1884. Her death
certificate states she was born in Orange County, New York. William Hemingway
was identified as her father and his birthplace was provided as
Connecticut. William’s birthplace was
also said to be Wantage, New Jersey in the Returns of Deaths and a census
record stated he was born in New York.
Perhaps future research will document which birthplace is correct.
Dolly’s
mother, Esther Hemingway, was born in Orange County, New York. Esther was a
Halstead. I had previously known about Esther’s family from Ruttenber &
Clark’s History of Orange County, New York containing a brief biography about
her grandfather, Richard Halstead, an early settler of Goshen. Richard’s son,
Michael, was Esther’s father. Michael’s children were named in the work
including Esther who was called “Mrs. William Hemingway”. Another daughter of Michael’s married a Hemingway,
“Mrs. Silas Hemingway”. The bio follows:
“Richard Halstead was an early settler of Goshen. He lived on the
Florida road, near the present Snyder place, over the "Rio Grande,"
and it is claimed by his descendants that he was the first merchant in Goshen. He
afterwards bought 600 acres of land in what is now Wawayanda, adjoining the
Fullerton farm. The tradition in this
family is that his son Michael was born there. If so (as Michael died in 1820,
at the age of seventy- two), it determines the settlement of Richard in
Wawayanda to have been as early as 1747 or 1748, not more than ten or twelve
years later than the Dolsens. Michael Halstead left several children, Michael
Jr., Jesse, Aaron, Mrs. William Hemingway, Mrs. Silas Hemingway, and Mrs. Alma Bailey. Michael, Jr.,
had one daughter, Mrs. Charles T. Jackson, from whom most of these particulars
are obtained. It is understood that the pioneer Richard Halstead had a brother
Joseph, who came to Orange County about the same time. He had no children, but
an adopted son, bearing the family name, became the owner of the well- known
Cash farm in Wawayanda.”
The
1798 Assessment Records confirm William Hemingway was a resident of the Town of
Minisink. The “Assessment Record, homes and farms, 1798, Town of Minisink,
Orange Co., N. Y.” transcribed by William J. Coulter includes William Hemingway
dwelling on 134 acres owned by John Forger. This section of Minisink would
later become the Town of Wawayanda about 1849/50.
William
Hemingway was still in the Town of Minisink when the 1800 federal census was
enumerated.[2] His
household included 1 unknown male under 10 years; 2 males between 16 and 26
years, William and another male; 1 female under 10 years, Dolly; 1 unknown
female between 10 and 16 years, and 1 female between 16 and 26, Esther.
On
March 28, 1804 William Hemingway and his wife, Esther, of the Town of Minisink,
Orange Co., NY sold 25 1/2 acres land to Silas Hemingway, house carpenter, also
of Minisink. John S. Ketcham was a neighboring property holder. The deed was
signed by William and Esther Hemingway and witnessed by Jonathon Davisson and
William Halstead. William and Esther appeared in the Court of Common Pleas
March 19, 1804 but the transaction wasn’t entered in county records until April
15, 1807.[3]
The
Old School Baptist Church at Brookfield (later known as Slate Hill) records
indicates William Hemingway was a church member on Feb. 6, 1805 when the
Church’s trustees sold pews and seats to raise money to finish their meeting
house. William purchased Pew number 11 for $27.00.
"Primitive
Baptist Church of Brookfield" by Daniel Case - Own work. Licensed under
Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
(Old School Baptist
Church was also known as the
Primitive Baptist
Church of Brookfield)
On
April 1, 1809, William Hemingway served as a will witness for John Forgerson
from Minisink along with Jonathan Shephard and Joshua Reeve.[4]
William
Hemingway remained in Minisink per the 1810 federal census. His household
included 1 male under 10 years, perhaps this is a son Silas; 1 unknown male
between 16 and 26 years; 1 male between 26 and 45 years, probably William
Hemingway; 2 unknown females under 10; 1 female between 10 and 16 years, Dolly
would have been 12 years old; 1 female between 26 and 45 years, Esther
Hemingway.[5]
When
the 1820 federal census was taken, the family was again counted in the Town of
Minisink. Dolly had already married John Doty and had started her own
family. William, about 44 years old, and
Esther, about 41 years old had young children in their home. Two males, one
under 10 years and the other between 10 and 16 were living in the Hemingway
home along with two females, one under 10 years and the other between 10 and 16
years.[6]
A
search of the 1825 New York State Census for the Town of Minisink proved
negative. William must have taken his family to Sussex County, New Jersey
sometime between 1820 and 1825.
In
1830 there were 5 people living in William Hemingway’s home at Wantage, Sussex
Co., New Jersey. William and Esther were the 50 - 60 year olds in the house. A
small boy, between 5 and 10 years, a young man aged between 15 and 20 years and
a girl between 15 and 20 years were the other members of the household.[7]
The
Hemingway family remained in Wantage per the 1840 federal census enumeration. William’s
household consisted of 4 people: one
male between 15 and 20 years, William being the male between 60 and 70 years,
one female between 10 and 15 years with Esther aged in the 60 to 70 range. One
person was employed in the agriculture industry.[8]
My
3rd Great grandmother, Dolly and husband, John Doty had also
relocated to Wantage, Sussex Co., New Jersey per the 1830 and 1840 federal
census.[9] [10]
A
few years later, Esther (Halstead) Hemingway passed on June 22, 1842. By the
time the 1850 federal census was taken Sept. 7, 1850, William Hemingway was
living in William and Easter Post’s home with their children.[11] William
Hemingway was 74 years old and employed as a laborer. I’m wondering if Easter
Post might be a daughter but haven’t been able to document this yet. Easter
Post was born about 1807 in New York.
She would be a good fit with the family per the 1810 federal census.
William
Hemingway died March 9, 1855 in Wantage, Sussex County, New Jersey.
I have additional notes and thoughts but will save
them for next week’s Mystery Monday, The Hemingway’s Part 2.
[1] The
Genealogical Magazine of New Jersey, Volume VI, No. 2, October 1930, Whole No.
22, Sussex County Gravestones
[2] 1800
Federal Census, Town of Minisink, Orange Co., NY page 324
[3] Orange
County, New York Land Records, Deed Bk K, pages 7-9
[4] Orange
County New York Early Wills Volume II, page 121
[5] 1810
Federal Census, Town of Minisink, Orange Co., NY page 412
[6] 1820 Federal
Census, Town of Minisink, Orange Co., NY page 241
[7] 1830
Federal Census, Wantage Township, Sussex Co., NJ page 256
[8] 1840
Federal Census, Wantage Township, Sussex Co., NJ page 96
[9] 1830
Federal Census, Wantage Township, Sussex Co., NJ page 253
[10] 1840
Federal Census, Wantage Township, Sussex Co., NJ page 97
[11] 1850
Federal Census, Wantage Township, Sussex Co., NJ page 217, William Post
Household
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