31 January 2011

Eliphalet H. Newcomb

Eliphalet Haskins Newcomb (b.  8 Jun 1808. BMN #782) was the son of Kinner Newcomb (b. 15 Jun 1777) and Elizabeth Beaman (b. 22 Feb 1762).  He married his first cousin, Mary Newcomb (b. 2 Jun 1808) in 1829.

Were there two Eliphalet H Newcombs living in Cleveland at around the same time? Or are there simply a number of errors and discrepancies in the record?

In the 1850 census, E.H. Newcomb's occupation is listed as tailor. His age is given as 42, which corresponds to the 1808 birthdate from the old Newcomb books. The names and ages of his wife and children in the 1850 census also match the books.

In the 1860 census, E.H. Newcomb's occupation is listed a lawyer, which now corresponds to the Newcomb books. His wife, Euretta J., could be the "Jane" listed in the book. His age is now 48, making him 4 or 5 years younger. His sons George and Theodore were living with their married sister.

In the 1870 census (taken in July), Eli Newcomb is a lawyer, married to Euretta. His age is 60, which puts him about halfway between the ages in the previous two censuses. There are now four children living with him. The eldest is George, age 20, 10 years younger than the original George, who was married and living with his wife in Cleveland in June 1870. According to the Newcomb books, Eliphalet and his second wife had no children. Since these children did not appear with them in 1860, they may have been grandchildren or the children of a relative.

21 January 2011

William Eugene Newcomb

William Eugene Newcomb (b. Oct 1851) was the son of William Perry Newcomb (1820-1898) and Catharine Bedell (1826-1895). The old Newcomb books do not indicate that he ever married. B.M. Newcomb said he was unmarried in 1915, living in Pitcher NY. However, in the 1880, 1900 and 1910 censuses there is a William E. Newcomb the right age, father born in Pennsylvania, mother born in New Jersey, living in Pitcher, married. I think it's the same person; he was probably a widower in 1915. In 1920 he appears with a second wife, and in 1930 he is a widower.

14 January 2011

John Bearse Newcomb (1824-1897)

B.M. Newcomb wrote:

Mr. Newcomb emigrated with his parents to Illinois when he was thirteen years old, arriving 11 July 1837 at Joliet. For the next three years they resided upon a farm in what is now the town of Franklin, later called Naansay, in Kendall County, about four miles southwest of the village of Plainfield. His parents died in 1840, leaving him an orphan at the age of sixteen. He then moved to Elgin, in Kane County, which continued to be his residence, with the exception of a few short intervals.

Mr. Newcomb was a pioneer in educational work, beginning in 1844 in a brick school house which is probably still standing. From 1851 to 1853 he taught in West Elgin in a frame building, still in existence. In 1854 he opened a private school in the Methodist Church, where he taught for two years. In 1856 he became assistant principal of the Academy. In 1860 he was elected superintendent of Elgin public schools, which position he held until 1866. During this time he was examiner for the northern part of the county. By municipal election in April 1873, he became a member of the board of education, was re-elected in 1874, and served until 1877. He was secretary of the board.

On 2 March 1864, John B. Newcomb was elected a corresponding member of the New England Historic Genealogical Society at a meeting held in Boston. On 4 March 1896, he was elected a member of the Society of Mayflower Descendants. He was meteorological observer for the Smithsonian Institution from 1858-1861; city sexton of Elgin cemetery from 1865-1869 and 1885-1889; member of the Association of American Cemetery Superintendents, 1881-1891. He was the author of Genealogical Memoir of the Newcomb Family, 1874. No one, unless he has during a long period of years endeavored to assemble genealogical data with very little material in hand to start with, is able to appreciate the effort of Mr. Newcomb, nor the inestimable service thus rendered to the Newcombs for all time.

13 January 2011

George Mosby Newcomb's Parents

A reader named Alan Kenneth Newcomb wrote:

George Mosby or Mosley Newcomb was born near Halifax, Virginia in about 1861-1862 and married Virginia Smith Nininger in Roanoke, Virginia Methodist Chutch 19 Feb 1885. I have been unable to determine who his parents were although one possibility was a Henry Newcomb from Birch Creek. His oldest son, Ernest, claimed that his grandparents were George Henry Newcomb and Molly Sled. I can find no trace of these two.

07 January 2011

David Barnaby Newcomb (1827-1889)

B.M. Newcomb wrote:

Mr. Newcomb owned the west half, one hundred and fifty acres, of the farm which was once in the possession of his father, John, and grandfather, Benjamin newcomb, the latter having built the house. He was a school teacher for several years, afterward a farmer; in 1863, 18 May, commissioned justice of the peace; 18 Sept. 1863, major of Second Regt., K.C. of Nova Scotia Militia. He was also a newspaper correspondent; wrote essays and delivered lectures; author of a serie of lectures published in pamphlet form -- "How to Win, or the Dignity of Labor". he was one of the leading men of the town and county in which he resided, Sheffield Mills, Cornwallis.

02 January 2011

Grace Phillps or Grace Vanderwall

Harry Allen Newcomb, BMN #2857 was born 15 Sep 1880 in New York and died 22 Oct 1948 in North Carolina. B.M. Newcomb said that Harry married Grace Phillips, daughter of Edward O. and Jennie (Hall). But on Harry's death certificate, his wife's maiden name is Grace Vanderwall. The census supports this, listing the birthplace of Grace's parents as Holland or Netherlands. In 1900, there is a Grace Vanderwal, born May 1893 in Michigan, daughter of Garret and Jennie, who were born in Holland.