Posts

1834 - Letter from John Hankins to Chauncy Thomas

Image
 On 30 April 1834, John Hankins wrote to his brother-in-law Chauncey Thomas (1813-1882) from Philadelphia.[1] John addressed the letter to “Dear Brother.” Chauncey was John's wife Susan's younger brother. They were the children of Moses Thomas (1777-1857) and Rebecca Monington (1782-1841). John was in Philadelphia to sell lumber. He wrote to Chauncey to let him know that John, and three other men, James Dunn, Howell Gale and William Johnson had been exposed to smallpox and planned to stay in Philadelphia until they knew if they were sick. Another man, Mr Houston, had become ill the previous week, with John and the others attending him. It wasn’t until the 26th that they learned Houston had smallpox. John and the others thought it best to remain in Philadelphia rather than risk bringing smallpox home to their families. John wanted Chauncey to tell Susan (John’s wife) to not be too concerned. The doctor treating Houston though if any of they did come down with smallpox, they woul...
Post a Comment
Read more

Melancthan S. Brown Timeline

Image
  F rom the 1872 Gazetteer  In 1872, M.S. Brown had a postal address in Hankins. He was a farmer who farmed 115 acres. [1]  From the 1875 New York State Census, both the population schedule and the agricultural schedule.  In 1875, Melancthan S Brown and his family lived in a frame house valued at $ 600 in Fremont, Sullivan County, New York. Melancthan, age 44, was a farmer who owned land. He, his wife, Eliza J, age 32, daughter Emma, age 8, and son Frank, age 4, were all born in Sullivan County. [2]  In 1875, M.S. Brown worked a 110 acres farm, with 40 acres of improved land, in Fremont, Sullivan County, New York. His farm was valued at $ 2000, with $ 400 of farm buildings, $ 300 of stock, and $ 100 of tools. He had gross sales of $ 100 from his farm in 1874.  Brown raised many fewer crops than his neighbors. He didn’t plow any land in 1874 or 1875. He had 15 acres in pasture each year, and 20 acres of meadows, which yielded 20 tons of hay. He planted on ac...
Post a Comment
Location: Fremont, NY, USA
Read more

Frederick Albert Timeline

Image
I'm starting to create timelines for residents of Hankins, New York. These aren't going to be great prose - more summaries of the information I find as I'm finding it.  First up in Frederick Albert.  From the 1872 Gazetteer  In 1872, Frederick W. Albert had a postal address in Hankins. He was a lumberman and farmer, who farmed 130 acres. [1] From the 1875 New York State Census, both the population schedule and the agricultural schedule.  In 1875, Frederick W. Albert lived with his wife Mary A., and his widowed father-in-law, William Kettle, in Fremont, Sullivan County, New York. They lived in a frame house valued at $ 600. Frederick, a 51 year old farmer was born in Pennsylvania. His wife Mary, age 40, and his father-in-law, William, age 60, were both born in Schoharie County. Both Frederick and William were native born citizens who were entitled to vote. Frederick owned the land where his house stood.[2]  Frederick owned 40 acres of land, half of which was impr...
Post a Comment
Location: Hankins, NY, USA
Read more

1875 Maps of Sullivan County

Image
 In 1875, Frederick W. Beers published an atlas of Sullivan County, New York that shows many of the landowners. These cadastral maps are an incredible tool for helping to figure out where people lived at the time. The Atlas is available at the Library of Congress at  https://www.loc.gov/resource/g3803sm.gla00190/. The Table of Contents on page 1 shows what is in the volume. [1] Page 17-18 show a map of Sullivan County. [2] The Town of Fremont is located on the west side of the county bordering Delaware County, New York and the Delaware River. Across the river is Wayne County, Pennsylvania.  Page 33 shows a map of the Town of Fremont. [3] Hankins is located in District 1 at the bottom of the map in the center.  By cropping in and enlarging District 1 on the map of Fremont makes it easier to see the names of people who lived in that area. [4] I believe District 1 refers to the School District - since School no. 1 was at Hankins.  Page 35 shows the area that I thin...
Post a Comment
Location: Hankins, NY, USA
Read more

1831 - Letter from John Hankins to Susan Hankins

Image
 I am very lucky to have several letters written by members of the Hankins family dating back to the 1830s. This first letter was written by John Hankins to his wife Susan (Thomas) Hankins in June 1831. John had traveled to Detroit, Michigan, and was writing home to let his wife know he had arrived safely.   I'm not sure where John and Susan were living at the time. In 1830, they were living at Ten Mile River, Lumberland, Sullivan County, New York. This letter is addressed to Susan at Coshecton. He didn't buy the land at what would become Hankins until December 1834.   I don't know why John traveled to Michigan in 1831, who he traveled with, or how long he stayed there. John Hankins and Susan Thomas married on 4 March 1830 in Damascus, Wayne County, Pennsylvania at her parents home. Their first child, Lucas Wurtz Hankins, was born 31 October 1831 at Ten Mile River.  Mrs Susan Hankins Coshecton Sullivan County New York. This With Care and Speede Detroit...
Post a Comment
Location: Detroit, MI, USA
Read more

1872 - Post Office Addresses at Hankins

Image
Pages 236-241 of Hamilton Child's Gazetteer and Business Directory of Sullivan County, N.Y. for 1872-3  contains a list of individuals and firms in Fremont, including those with Post Office Address at Hankins. Copies of the Gazetteer  can be downloaded from the Internet Archive and FamilySearch.   Information for each entry was: "1. Name of individual or firm. 2. Post office address in parenthesis. 3. Business or occupation." For farmers, the number after their occupation was the number of acres owned or leased. Names of subscribers to the directory were in capital letters. [1] Page 236 Albert, Frederick W. (Hankins) lumberman and farmer 130.  Battlemash, Anna Mrs. (Hankins) famer 150.  Bauer, Michael. (Hankins) farmer 63. Bear, John, (Hankins) shoemaker and farmer 60  Brant, Church (Hankins) farmer 72.  Page 237  Brown, M.S., (Hankins) farmer 115. Buestman, Chas., (Hankins) town clerk and carpenter. Claus, Martin Jr. (Hankins) farmer 100. CORR, ...
Post a Comment
Location: Hankins, NY, USA
Read more

Welcome!

Image
 Welcome to my blog - Hankins, New York and the People who Lived There.  This blog will be where I share information I find about the hamlet of Hankins in Fremont, Sullivan County, New York. It's the start of a one-place study of Hankins. For more about one-place studies, visit the Society for One-Place Studies.    Why Hankins?  Hankins is named after John Hankins, my great great great grandfather. He was one of the early landowners in the area, first buying land in the area in 1834. [1] In the 1860's, John's widow and children sold some of the land to Benjamin Tyler and John Ross Kellam.[2] Tyler was my great great grandmother's half brother, while Kellam was my great great grandfather. So when you look at the 1875 map of Hankins, you can see, I'm related to several of the families in town. [3] Growing up, I heard stories from my father, about how when his father was a child, he would visit his Hankins grandparents in Equinunk, Wayne County, Pennsylvania and t...
Post a Comment
Read more