Let me introduce you to my two Kimber grandmothers--3rd Great Grandmother Phebe Maria Kimber born April 4, 1813 and 3rd Great Grandmother Charity Kimber born Dec. 6, 1813. What these two ladies share is my grandparents, Frank Leroy Doty and Viola Lillian Wilson. Phebe Maria was a great grandmother to Frank Leroy while Charity Kimber was great grandmother to Viola Lillian. My Grandmother might have known about her ancestry but I doubt my Grandfather knew about his Kimber connections.
Photo from Personal Collection |
Charity (Kimber)
Clark
1813-1874
Charity and Phebe Maria were both raised in the Minisink,
New York area. If they didn’t know each other personally, they certainly knew
of each other. The Town of Minisink was
created in 1788 after the American Revolution and encompassed the present day
towns of Minisink, Wawayanda and Greenville. In 1849 the Town of Wawayanda was
carved out of the Town of Minisink lands. Charity’s parents, Benjamin Kimber
and Keziah Bennett, were residents of what is today “Town of Minisink” while
Phebe Maria’s father, Isaac Kimber, lived in what would become the “Town of
Wawayanda” in 1849. Technically, they were both raised in Minsink but probably
a good carriage ride away from each other. Later, in their married lives, Phebe
Maria and Charity would reside in Wawayanda and be part of the same community.
They became wives and mothers. A seventeen year old
Charity Kimber married William P. Clark Sept. 17, 1831 in Minisink, Orange Co.,
NY. The Clarks lived in the original Town of Minisink lands with a large family:
James L. Clark
(1832-1901)
|
Phebe Jane Clark
(1834-1890)
|
Keziah Bennett
Clark (1836-1909)
|
Katherine Amelia
Clark (1838-1921)
|
Sarah Angeline
Clark (1840-1842)
|
Jeremiah B. Clark
(1842-1908)
|
Charles Edgar
Clark (1844-1919)
|
William P.
Clark Jr. (1847-1915)
|
Howell Reeve
Clark (1848-1924)
|
John R. Clark
(1849- died young)
|
Charity Emeline
Clark (1851-1947)
|
Benjamin Reeve
Clark (1853-1926)
|
George Emmet
Clark (1856-1946)
|
Anna Augusta
Clark (1858-1925)
|
A few years later about 1833/4 Phebe Maria Kimber married
Orsamus C. Brundage in Minisink. They resided in what would later become
Wawayanda nears Johnsons, New York. Phebe Maria and Orsamus were the parents of
seven:
Emily Brundage
(1835-1873)
|
|
William Kimber
Brundage (1836-1914)
|
|
Albert Lewis
Brundage (1838-1911)
|
|
Ira S.
Brundage (1841-1874)
|
|
John L.
Brundage (1845-1913)
|
|
Charles Emet
Brundage (1847-1879)
|
|
Ellagene Brundage
(1856-1921)
|
Charity and William left Orange County for a short time
as they were enumerated in Candor, Tioga County, New York per the 1850 federal
census. By the time the 1855 New York State census was taken, they had returned
to Orange County and were dwelling in the Town of Wawayanda. They remained
there until Charity’s death in 1874. (William Clark remarried a year after
Charity passed and moved to Goshen soon afterwards.)
Charity died
November 27, 1874 and her death was recorded in the 1875 New York State census:
Deaths
Occurring in the Town of Wawayanda in the county of Orange, N. Y. during the
year ending June 1, 1875.
Line 10
Charity Clark 63 Female Married Death November 27
Line 10
Charity Clark 63 Female Married Death November 27
Native State
New York Trade or Occupation
Housekeeper
Disease or
Cause of Death Rupture inside
Phebe Maria enjoyed more years than Charity passing on
April 21, 1887. Her death was noted in the following newspapers:
Middletown Daily Argus, Tuesday evening, April 26, 1887
South Centreville. Mrs. O. C. Brundage, died April 21st, at 6 p.m.
Orange County Press Semi Weekly, Tuesday, April 26, 1887
DIED BRUNDAGE--April 21, in the town of Wawayanda, Phebe Maria Brundage, aged 74 years, 21 days, Interment at Ridgebury.
South Centerville Mrs. O. C. Brundage died the evening of April 21st
Middletown Daily Argus, Tuesday evening, April 26, 1887
South Centreville. Mrs. O. C. Brundage, died April 21st, at 6 p.m.
Orange County Press Semi Weekly, Tuesday, April 26, 1887
DIED BRUNDAGE--April 21, in the town of Wawayanda, Phebe Maria Brundage, aged 74 years, 21 days, Interment at Ridgebury.
South Centerville Mrs. O. C. Brundage died the evening of April 21st
I’m very inquisitive about my Kimber Grandmothers and
want to know if Charity and Phebe Maria were friends or acquaintances. They
were raising their families in the same community for a number of years. Did
their children and husbands know each other? They each had a child born in
1856.
Were Phebe Maria and Charity related? I don’t know.
Charity is a documented descendant of Casper Kimber, the progenitor of the
family in Orange County. Charity’s line continues with Casper’s son George
Kimber, George’s son Samuel, Samuel’s son Benjamin who is the father of
Charity. So far I only have been able to find Phebe Maria’s parents, Isaac
Kimber and Abigail Stilwell. I think its likely Phebe Maria and Charity share a
Kimber ancestor.
I’ll keep searching. Keep an eye out for me!
Note: Minisink
is located in the southwestern part of Orange County. It’s bordered on the
north by Wawayanda, south east by Warwick, southwest by New Jersey and west by
Greenville.