Hankins, New York and the People who Lived There

 On December 3, 1835, John Hankins wrote to his wife Susan in Damascus, Wayne County, Pennsylvania from Trenton, New Jersey. [1] He had taken at least two rafts from Sullivan County down the Delaware River. He sold the lumber from a raft from the Basket Mill for 5 1/4 cents per thousand feet and sold the second raft at Columbia. John had encountered snow, rain, hail and high winds during his trip. He opened his letter saying “I am Not frose Quite to Death yet.” [2] John planned to visit his Uncle Lukes the following day. [3]  After he finished his business in Trenton, he planned to travel to New York, where among other things, he would buy goods for the family and send them back to Newburgh.  Trenton  Dec 3 1835 Dear Wife I take my pen in hand to Inform You that I am Not frose Quite to Death yet and am in Good Health at present and have Sold the Raft the Came from the Basket Mill for $ 5.25 cts per Thousand and the Raft that Was Run from the pa?? mill is at Shomak...

 On 28 April 1835, John Hankins wrote to his wife Susan from Philadelphia. [1] The letter was addressed to Susan in Cochecton, Sullivan County, New York. John was in Philadelphia to sell lumber he had brought from Sullivan County as a raft. He asked if Chauncey [2] (Susan’s brother) was tending to business. John had sent a gift to Susan with Kiney Skinner. John had been ill while in Philadelphia, but had recovered. He was thinking of stopping rafting, since he missed his family. He asked his wife to kiss their children Lucas and Mary.[3] There may have been a second letter written to Chauncey Thomas on the original paper, since John asked Susan to tear off part of the paper and give it to Chauncey.  At 4 oclock P.M Philadelphia  28 April 1835 Dear Wife I Know Take my pen in Hand to Inform you that I am in Tolerable Kind of Health at present and hope these lines will find you in Good Health at home I fell anxious to get home but Cannot until I Sell the Wind Still Blows, So...

 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...

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...

 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...

 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...

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, ...