Saturday, February 4, 2017

The Will of Jane Cummings: A Former Slave's Bequeathals

Slaves Waiting for Sale: Richmond, Virginia by Eyre Crow (1824-1910)
 
Often, when visiting my mother's grave in the Green-Wood Cemetery, I take my time and walk around the vicinity in meditation. Last year, on one of those walks, I happened upon what appeared to be a family lot with several monuments. At the center of the lot stood a dark gray obelisk with several marble markers surrounding it. It wasn't an especially sunny day, so the marble headstones blended into the old hill upon which they stood. But the obelisk, oh it stood out, it stood out for many reasons.

The dark color of the granite illuminated the monument at the foot of the hill and its height focused my attention away from dwarfed markers. And as I approached the stone and read its inscription, my curiosity was tingling with excitement. There are hundreds of obelisks that dot the cemetery grounds, some are more elaborate than others, many record entire accomplishments of men to whom they are raised, but very few bring awe to my being than those six lines that were etched upon this particular obelisk. I read:


JANE CUMMINGS
born a slave on the
Island of Santa Cruz,
died December 29th, 1861
Aged 73 years.
------
"Asleep in Jesus blessed sleep".


Here they were, these six lines, dedicated to a memory of a woman. Not just a woman, but one who was born a slave. And yet, having died the same year when the Civil War was gaining momentum, this woman has an obelisk to her name. I had to learn more about Jane Cummings, and so, as I often do in such situations, I dived into the pages of history.
Front view of Lot 4510, Section 55, from Forrest Avenue

~*~*~*~

According to the records at the cemetery office, Jane Cummings died in New York at the age of 71 years, 10 months, 19 days. Calculating back from her date of death, we obtain her date of birth as February 10, 1790. Her place of birth was listed as West Indies, which is where the Island of Santa Cruz is located. Known today as Saint Croix, it is part of the American Virgin Islands.

At the time of her burial, Jane Cummings was a widow, but no other persons with surname Cummings buried with her, so we do not know the name of Jane's husbandyet. Though her marital status is a clue to any genealogist, it's another revelation that is of note, and it is that Jane was the recorded sole purchaser of the lot where her remains now rest.

On January 2, 1851, Lot 4510 in Section 55 was purchased by Jane Cummings, whose residence was registered as "L. B. Loder 83 Cedar". The residence was  actually Lewis B. Loder's store, where he conducted his business as merchant, located on Cedar Street, New York between Broadway (the American Exchange National Bank) and Nassau Street (the Bank of Commerce). The relationship between Cummings and Loder was not apparent until the former's will is referenced.



Portion of plate 3 of Maps of the City of New York by William Perris, third edition, 1857


On January 7, 1862, Cyrus W. Loder, one of the Executors of the Estate of Jane Cummings, appeared before Silas D. Gifford, Judge of the Surrogate Court of Westchester County and "made application to have the said last Will and Testament which related to both real and personal estate proved and on such application the Surrogate did ascertain by satisfactory evidence that their [sic] were no heirs nor next of kin of the said testatrix." On March 12, 1862, Letters of Testamentary were issued to Lewis B. Loder and Cyrus W. Loder, Executors of Jane Cummings' Estate.


Surrogate Court, Westchester County, New York, Wills 1861-1862, Volume 43-44, page 229. (ancestry.com)


From the excerpt of probate records above, we gain several important pieces of information about Jane Cummings. First, Lewis B. Loder was one of the Executors of Jane Cummings' Estate. Second, she was the late resident in the Town of West Farms, which is currently a neighborhood in the Bronx, New York. Lastly, Jane Cummings did not own any real estate property nor did she have any surviving blood relations. But Jane Cummings did not die in poverty or alone. In fact, as one reads the rest of the probated records, it becomes clear how well off the late Mrs. Cummings was in both her monetary fortunes and number of friends. The Last Will and Testament of Jane Cummings was registered on December 3, 1856, and in it she gave and bequeathed unto her friends:
  1. John Munday the sum of $100
  2. Amelia Munday = $100
  3. Eliza Graham = $100
  4. Phebe Lockwood = $100
  5. Christina Reta = $100
  6. William Jenkins = $200
  7. Jane Jenkins = $100
  8. Edward Clark =$200
  9. Sally Sinclair = $100
  10. Jane Munday = $400
  11. Thomas Macfarlane Senior = $250
  12. Daniel T. Macfarlane = $250
  13. Samuel T. Thorpe = $100
  14. John W. Thorpe = $100
  15. Mary Elizabeth Westfield = $100
  16. Catherine Ann McKinley = $100
  17. American and Foreign Anti Slavery Society = $500
  18. Catherine Ann, wife of Lewis B. Loder = $2000
  19. Sarah Amelia, wife of Cyrus W. Loder = $2000
  20. Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church, formed in New York in 1819 = $1200
  21. Mary Matilda, wife of Noah Loder = $300
  22. Henry Day Loder = my large Bible
  23. Albert Jared Loder = my Mantle Clock
  24. Jane Jenkins, Jane Munday and Sally Sinclair = all my clothing and Bedding
  25. Lewis B. Loder and Cyrus W. Loder = all the rest residue


A tally of amounts between numbers 1 and 21 above brings the total of bequethed moneys to $8,400. Now, that's $8,400 in 1856, when the will was written. In her will, Jane Cummings calls everyone a friend. We know these individuals are not blood relations, so that her explicit mention of them and bequeathals indicate her high regard for them. It will be necessary to write a separate blog post about specific relationships between Jane Cummings and every person mentioned in her will. 

In the meantime, her bequeathals of $500 to the American and Foreign Anti Slavery Society (no. 17) and $1200 to the Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church (no. 20) are worth noting. I have to learn more. Time for me to dive back in the pages of history.

Westchester County, Letters of Testamentary, Volume G-H, 1862-1868, page 6 (ancestry.com)










Monday, November 28, 2016

The Last Voyage of the First Son





Grave 504, Public Lot 17263, Section 16

Directly in front of the McCulloch/Rose granite headstone, a white marble stone stands on the grave of a victim of the Brooklyn Theater Fire (see above). Due to the age of the marble marker, the inscription on it is barely visible, but the following words can still be read:
JACOB L.
OSTRANDER
Died Dec. 5th, 1876
Aged 21 years
---
Rest in peace

On the evening of December 7, 1876, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported two lists of bodies as they were laid out at the Brooklyn Market and the Morgue. These bodies were numbered and described by items found on their persons; out of 45 bodies at the morgue one was reported as "No. 41. Recognized as Jacob L. Ostrander, of No. 374 Navy street." This was the first mention of Jacob among the victims of the fire. The next day, a daily newspaper in the City of Troy, reported on the conditions at the site of the fire.

An old man passed about the room in the market weeping. He said that his son, Jacob Ostrander, aged 21, of 374 Navy street, and his son-in-law, Wm. Bryant, were among the dead. His boy had been off on a whaling voyage, and had returned only a few days ago. He hoped to identify him through a carved ring from whale ivory which the boy wore.




The Troy Daily Times, December 8, 1876, cover

 
The Sun, published in the city of New York, was the main source of information for The Troy Daily Times. The original story reported on December 7 read, "Among the others identified were:...Wm. Bryant of 370 Navy street, and Jacob L. Ostrander of 374 Navy street. Young Bryant was soon to be married to Ostrander's sister." According to his death certificate, remains of William A. Bryant were removed to Connecticut; he was recorded as single because his marriage was not finalized and perhaps in the future, I will trace his story in full. In the meantime, I must turn to Jacob L. Ostrander, whose obituary was published in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle on December 8, 1876.
 
Jacob L. Ostrander.
The funeral services over the remains of Jacob L. Ostrander were held this afternoon in the Tabernacle. A large number of relatives and friends were present. A solemn dirge was played on the organ by Mr. Morgan, as the remains were borne into the church. Rev. Charles W. Wood officiated and preached an appropriate sermon. The remains were interred at Green-wood. Mr. Ostrander was very highly esteemed.

He was buried in grave 504 of Public Lot 17263 in Section 16, and thus ended his life. From above newspaper reports, we know that Jacob had a sister and that he worked on a whaling boat. 
But a question as to the origins of Mr. Ostrander is yet to be discovered, and for that we must turn to old church records. On July 12, 1855, Jacob Lawrence Ostrander was christened in the Dutch Reformed Church of Montgomery, a town located in Orange County, New York. He was the first of seven children of Jacob Ostrander Jr. and Frances "Fanny" Elizabeth Low, who were married in the same church on December 29, 1853. 

The Dutch Reformed Church of Montgomery played an important role in the history of Low family. Fanny's parents, Lawrence Low (1807-1865) and Rachel Dunning (1807-1901), were married on February 15, 1827, and all of her ten siblings were christened in the same church. She herself was christened Elizabeth Low on August 30, 1833, but at the time of her marriage her name was recorded as Frances E. Low.

On his maternal side, Jacob L. Ostrander had German and French ancestry. The Low surname, also spelled Lowe and Louw, originates from Peter Cornelius, who in 1668 arrived from Holstein, Germany and settled in a Huguenot town of New Paltz, Ulster County, New York. Peter Cornelius' wife, Elizabeth Blanshan, was daughter of Matthew Blanshan, whose other daughter, Catherine, was wife of Louis DuBois, one of the twelve original settlers of New Paltz.




Portion of 1853 Map of Ulster County by Brink and Tillson that shows one of the last farmlands of the Ostrander family in Shawangunk. J. Ostrander on the map refers to Jacob J. Ostrander, grandfather of Jacob Lawrence Ostrander. Today, the road running from south to north on the map corresponds to Hoagerburgh Road, and the territory northeast of the farm is currently the Shawangunk Grasslands National Wildlife Refuge
 
Jacob's paternal surname indicates his Dutch ancestry, and it is likely he was directly related to Pieter Pietersen from whom the name Ostrander originated. Peter Pietersen was four years old when he arrived in New Amsterdam in 1661 with his sister, mother and step-father, and the family settled, if only temporary, in the English Town of Gravesend (currently a Brooklyn neighborhood) in Kings County. In 1663, the family moved to a village of Wyltwyck  (current Town of Kingston), which is in Ulster County, New York and from there the branches spread into the various parts of the colonies. 

Jacob Lawrence Ostrander's family moved to Brooklyn in early 1870s from Virginia. 
His father, Jacob Ostrander Jr. was born in 1829 in the Town of Shawangunk, Ulster County to Jacob J. Ostrander (1799-1879) and Maria DuBois (1804-1878). Like his father before him, Jacob Ostrander Jr. was a farmer in Shawangunk. By 1855, when the New York State Census was enumerated, Jacob was living with his wife Frances, and 8 year old sister-in-law, Mary Low, in the Town of Newburgh, Orange County. The census shows Jacob was a resident of the town for the past two years and occupied as clerk. 



Jacob Ostrander's Civil War Draft Registration, June 1863, Town of Wallkill, Orange County, Line 16 (ancestry.com).

By 1860, as the US Federal Census indicates, Jacob Ostrander was living in the Town of Crawford, Orange County, with his wife, four children and one "domestic". He was working as merchant with his real estate valued at $800. Five years later, when the New York State Census was enumerated on June 19, 1865, Jacob Ostrander Jr. was registered with his wife, six children, and Irish born servant, all living in the Town of Wallkill, Orange County; he was recorded as "owner of land" and still occupied as merchant. He must have moved to Wallkill sometimes before June 1863, as Jacob's military records indicate (image above).

It must be noted here that Orange County is located south of Ulster County in New York State and that the above mentioned towns 
within these counties (Shawangunk, Montgomery, Newburgh, Crawford and Wallkill)  are located short distances from each other. It is only conjecture on my part, but it is possible that the reason the Ostranders moved between these towns was due to the father's attempt to establish himself as merchant.

  


Seven counties of the Hudson Valley. Not identified on the map are Shawangunk and Wallkill that are located south of New Paltz; Crawford was formed out of Montgomery and now located to its north on the border of Ulster County. Hamlet of Searsville is part of Crawford and Scotchtown is part of Wallkill.

    
~*~*~*~

On December 15, 1876, the Tri-State Union newspaper, based in Port Jervis, New York, published the following obituary:

An Orange County Victim
Among the victims of the dreadful disaster at the Brooklyn theater, was Jacob L. Ostrander, son of Jacob Ostrander, formerly of Montgomery. Young Ostrander resided at 374 Navy Street. His remains were identified by his friends, and his funeral took place yesterday, from the Brooklyn Tabernacle. Interment in Greenwood Cemetery.
The deceased formerly kept a store in Searsville, and afterwards for a time, resided at Scotchtown. He removed to Brooklyn several years since. His age was about thirty--five years. He leaves a wife and children-the wife being the daughter of Mrs. Rachel Dow, of Montgomery.


Tri-State Union, December 15, 1876, page 2


The Port Jervis newspaper made a mistake between the two Jacob Ostranders. The first part of the above obituary was about Jacob who died at the Brooklyn Theater Fire, while the second part seems to be about his father. The report does not shed any new light on the young Jacob, but it adds a detail about the elder. We now know a specific location where Jacob's father had a store; Scotchtown is a hamlet within the confines of the Town of Wallkill. However, the family had not "removed to Brooklyn several years since" directly from Scotchtown, as the paper suggested, for they lived in Virginia prior to that time. This move took place sometimes after 1866 when Jacob Ostrander Jr. sold his store. On August 25, 1866, the New York Daily Tribune run an advertisement for sale of property.

FOR SALE CHEAP—The subscriber, wishing to give up the merchanting business, offers his PROPERTY in the village of Scotchtown, Orange Co., N.Y., four miles from Midddletown, on the N.Y. and E.R.R., consisting of a good Dwelling House, Store-House, Barn and Carriage-House, all in good order, and a large Garden, with all kinds of Fruits. It is a good healthy location, with post-office, church and school in the village. For further particulars inquire at the store of the subscriber, JACOB OSTRANDER. Price $3000.

New York Daily Tribune, August 25, 1866, page 7


As to what type of merchant Jacob Ostrander Jr. was is unknown, but he must have been a successful one. Both the layout of the property and its proximity to railroad allowed the Elder Ostrander to make such a good fortune that he moved his family from Wallkill, New York to Virginia, approximately five hundred miles away. The move, I believe, was a calculated one on part of Jacob Ostrander Jr., for he procured enough money from sale of his business to invest it in a new venture. 

The records are not clear, but it is possible, Jacob Ostrander Jr. moved to Virginia in order to help in rebuilding some of the badly damaged areas during the Civil War. The Township of Wythe, which is now a neighborhood in the City of Hampton, was a scene of a naval battle during the war.

On August 10, 1870, when the United States Federal Census was enumerated, the Ostranders were recorded as living in Wythe Township, Elizabeth City County, Virginia. The family consisted of Jacob and his wife Fanny E., their seven children (Jacob L. 16 years, Rachel A. 14 years, Josephine 12 years, James L. 10 years, Edward N. 8 years, Mary H. 5 years, George N. 3 years), and Jacob Low, a nine years old nephew of Fanny. The census enumerator recorded The Elder Jacob as a farmer, which was valued at $4000; he also had a $150 Personal Estate.


The Ninth United States Census, enumerated on August 10, 1870 for Wythe Township, Elizabeth City County, Virginia; lines 1-10, the Ostrander household (www.ancestry.com)


~*~*~*~
 
The Brooklyn Theater Fire Relief Association, which was formed in the immediate aftermath of the fire, included reports on each family that received help from them. They had a file on Jacob L. Ostrander that included information on him provided by his mother. It reads:
Mrs. Ostrander's Statement
Name and address of deceased Jacob L. Ostrander
374 Navy
Age 24 21
If employed at time of death, where? was to go as Seaman and leave his mother $150
What, if any wages received? gave his family about $2 or 3 per week on average
Names and ages of those depending on deceased father Jacob 48  receiver on Old Dominion Steamship line $60 a month, six children daughter 18 (teacher but unemployed) boy 16 with Toote & Richardson Fulton St. NY $5 per week, boy 14, girl 12, boy 10, girl 8
Was the body identified? Yes
By whom buried? Farrell Barnum
Was funeral expenses paid by the city? No, family paid $59.50 for funeral
What, if any, wages received by surviving members of the family? $20 a week

Are there any unemployed members of the family who are willing to work? If so, give occupation daughter teacher Rent $20 a month
Remarks and recommendations of visitors

family is much in want because husband has not been able to work nor daughter since the calamity




Courtesy of the Brooklyn Historical Society,
Brooklyn Theater Fire Relief Association Records, 1876-1879, Case Notes (N-Q)


This record is the a second clue as to what Jacob L. Ostrander's occupation was prior to his death (first being the newspaper obituary above). But it also sheds some light into his father's profession. Both father and son worked on ships, though their jobs were complete opposite of each other. According to the records at the New Bedford Whaling Museum, Jacob L. Ostrander worked as whaler.

Jacob's name appears in Whaling Crew List Database, where he is described as 19 years old light skinned and light haired man standing at 5'6" tall and resident of Brooklyn. He was on board of the bark Janet, which began its voyage from New Bedford, Massachusetts on April 12, 1875 under the command of Captain Peter Gartland. Jacob's arduous voyage lasted nineteen months, as Janet returned in November of 1876. The Whaling Museum website describes the conditions aboard a whaling ship as ranging from unpleasant to revolting. So, it is not surprising that the young Jacob should seek entertainment upon his return to Brooklyn. Alas, no one could have predicted that it would have been Jacob's last visit to the theater.
 




Courtesy of the New Bedford Port Society and the New Bedford Whaling Museum.
Crew List for bark Janet for the year 1875


Jacob's death shook the family to the core. We know this from reports made by the agents of the Brooklyn Theater Fire Relief Association, who visited the Ostrander household as late as January of 1877. Both his father and sister could not work "since the calamity". It is possible Jacob's sister, Rachel, who lost two persons to the fire (a brother and fiancĂ©, Wm. Bryant) was so depressed that she was "unable to work". But then a question must be asked as to the state of Jacob's father.

Why the "family is in much want" when in 1870 they were living in Virginia on a large farm valued at $4000? What prompted them to move to Brooklyn? Was the move motivated by financial difficulties or was there something else? I don't have exact answer for these questions, but I did find a possible route that the Ostranders may have taken from Wythe, Virginia to Brooklyn, New York

According to the BTF Relief Association report (above), the elder Jacob Ostrander worked for the Old Dominion Steamship Company. In 1902, the company, which was organized in 1867, published a pamphlet titled Along the Historic James River. Within the pages of this work, the reader could read the histories of all the places between Norfolk and Richmond. But the company also had daily services between Virginia and New York states with stops in several towns and cities along the coastline. In fact, as their ad page boasted, the Old Dominion Steamship Company had the "Longest Daily All-Water Line in the World".
 

Along the Historic James River by Robert F. Day, page 31

Perhaps coincidental, but the formation of the Old Dominion Steamship Company corresponds to about the same time when Jacob Ostrander Jr. sold his property in Scotchtown, New York in 1866. It is not far fetch to suggest that since Jacob was a merchant he would have at least heard about the company and maybe his move to Virginia was somehow motivated by the its formation; although I have not found any records suggesting that. However, it is almost certain that his return to New York was via the Old Dominion's vessels. In fact, as late as 1880, when the Tenth United States Census was enumerated, Jacob Ostrander was working as clerk for steam ship company.

The Ostranders eventually moved out of Brooklyn, most likely sometimes around 1900. The last known record of Jacob Ostrander Jr. was in the Lain & Healy's Brooklyn Directory, where he was recorded as clerk living at 106 Hewes Street. I am yet to find his date and place of death, but his wife was living in Dutchess County, New York as late as 1920s with her daughter and son-in-law.

The grave where Jacob Lawrence Ostrander was laid to rest had one more burial. Remains of Addie Jobson, christened Phebe Adeline Low on June 18, 1842, was buried on November 2, 1898. Addie was sister of Frances Elizabeth Low, Jacob L. Ostrander's mother; name of her husband is unknown, but there are records that indicate she was married more than once.
 
~*~*~*~
 

The Tri-States Union, June 4, 1869, cover page
-A hen belonging to Jacob Ostrander, of the Town of Shawangunk, laid an egg that measured seven inches one way and eight the other, and weighed half a pound. The hen only survived the egg-straordinary event a few minutes.
 
Jacob L. Ostrander's grandfather, Jacob J. Ostrander (1799-1879), was the last of the family who lived in Shawangunk. As the 1853 map above shows, grandfather Ostrander owned a farm house. The house was built in 1775 and was still standing in 1960s, when the Runowich family lived there. According to the Historical Society of Shawangunk and Gardiner, the house was demolished in 1973; fortunately, it was photographed by Mrs. Erma DeWitt in 1949. It is likely that the house was built by Jacob Ostrander, who was the great-grandfather of Jacob Lawrence Ostrander.