Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Mystery #14: Richard Hincksman

The Hincksman/Henchman/Hinchman clan has been very difficult to nail down. As with John Hincksman, outlined previously, Richard Hincksman was a mariner. "The Register of Salomon Lachaire, Notary Public of New Amsterdam, 1661-1662" identifies Richard as an English mariner of Boston. On pages 212-213 of the document, Richard Hincksman bought the "Barcke Black Bird, from another mariner, Mathew Bunne, 5 October 1662. On page 215 of the book, 9 October 1662, Richard is again before Salomon Lachaire concerning payment for a large quantity of "Virginy" leaf tobacco from Cornelius Stenewyck, merchant. It is not currently known if this is the Richard Hinckesman of London, who was married to Hannah Newberry and the father of Daniel, John and Ann.
The name Richard Hincksman appears in other publications from this colonial period both in records from England and in New England (which, by the way, includes Long Island). No evidence has been found yet to indicate if this is two Richards or one.

Since Richard and John are both mariners from Boston and have ties to New York and Virginia, it is possible that they were related, perhaps Richard the father and John the son. It is also possible that they may have been the  John and Richard born to Edmund and Elizabeth Hinksman in Martley, Worcestershire in 1636 and 1638. Since Martley is land-locked, it is less likely that they would become mariners. It is of course possible that Richard is from a different family that has not been researched yet. The mystery continues.

Thursday, August 5, 2010

Mystery #13 (Solved): Daniel Beagle's Father

Among the printed ancestral stories given to me by my mom, one states "Daniel Beagle (blacksmith)...born in Liberty (Cayuga County) New York probably between 1846-50....I don't remember his father's name, but do remember he was married 5-times and had extensive knowledge of Indian lore. He traded throughout the wilderness area of Northeastern New York." A variation of this story is that one of the five women was an Indian and that we are her descendants.

This is one of those family stories which could be true but is placed in the wrong time frame. Daniel Beagle's father was named John. John was born in 1815 in Schenectady County, New York, the first child of Moses and Sally Ann (Bice) Beagle. Moses was born in Albany County and Sally Ann in Dutchess County, both in New York State. The Moses Beagle family lived in Schoharie County from at least 1818 until the early to mid-1830s, when they moved to Worcester, Otsego County, NY.

On May 27, 1836, their eldest son John married Margaret Rifenburg of Worcester. The couple settled near Davenport, Delaware County, NY. According to Delaware County deed records, John purchased land in Davenport in 1841 from Gideon Wilbur. That was around the time that Harvey, their third child (second son), was born. Third son Daniel was also born there in 1843. Later in the 1840s the family lived in Jefferson, Schoharie County, while John plied his trade as a mason. They are enumerated in Jefferson in the 1850 census. Daughter Martha and son George were born during their stay in that county.

Around 1852, John and Margaret and their family moved to a farm located just outside the town of Walton (a section known as Ox Bow) in Delaware County. They lived there for the rest of their lives and are buried in the Walton Cemetery.

There is no evidence that John had any more than one wife or that he traded with the Indians. Both John and son Daniel served in the Civil War. Daniel became a carpenter and settled in Hancock, Delaware County, NY.

Stories such as this may give us clues to more distant history since there is sometimes a grain of truth hidden in there. The challenge is to find that "grain."

Mystery #12: Lazier (Lasure) Legends

Many years ago, Mom gave me her views on our ancestral lineages via paper and conversation. One page was labeled "the Leisur/LaSure Family." She stated that her mother said her father (Barney) "came to this country without shoes. His father James had nothing, wanted nothing, except escape from the wars and economic chaos of France. Mom stated that James, a widower, migrated from Normandy into Canada, possibly settling in Nova Scotia first before migrating to New Jersey around 1811 and that James was married twice." Further written family history claims that he was a Huguenot. Another family report stated that James, a brother Henry and sons Baronett and Catherine, all born in France, migrated between 1851 and 1853.

With extensive, still continuing research, the truth is emerging. The Huguenot migration from France took place much earlier, starting during the late 16th century and continuing into the early 18th century as French Calvinists fled persecution. They migrated to places throughout the western world that were friendly to emigrating Protestants.

"The Commemorative Biographical Record of Northeastern Pennsylvania," a 'mug' book published in the late 1890s, includes a biographical sketch of Baronett (Barney) Lasure. "Baronett J. Lasure was born September 27, 1840 in Sussex County, New Jersey, a son of Henry and Rachel (Shurt) Lasure, who were born, reared and married in that State. The paternal grandfather, James Lasure, was a native of France, and on his emigration to America located in New Jersey, where his death occurred. Besides the father of our subject, his children were Joseph, a resident of Owego, N.Y. and Jacob and Mrs. Eliza Talmage, both of New Jersey." The above statement appears to be mostly true.

In the 1830 US Census, James "Lasher" was between 50 and 60 years old, therefore born sometime between 1770 and 1780 (long after the Huguenot migration). In 1830 he was living in Vernon, Sussex County, New Jersey. He could not have been the immigrant. Some documentation has been found and is being examined that place James' birth in Bergen County, New Jersey. This proved to be a different James, who moved to Canada. Later evidence points to James being born in Hamburg, Sussex County, NJ.

James lived in Vernon until his death sometime before the 1850 census enumeration date. In that census record, his offspring were Joseph, Eliza, Henry and Jacob all born between 1807 and 1818 in New Jersey.

Unfortunately, James' tenure in Sussex County is difficult to verify since the 1790-1820 census records for New Jersey were destroyed. Later census records for his children show their births in New Jersey.

As one can see, there is usually some grain of truth in family stories. The challenge is to verify what is fact and what is legend.