The Cobb Family Grows And Shrinks

The marriage of Silas W. Cobb and Olive Throop must have been a good match. In 1817, the couple gave birth to twin daughters. One twin’s name is unknown at this time, but the other twin was named Mary. 

A family of twelve must have kept Olive very busy. Silas W. Cobb was also busy providing for his large family. In the 1820s Silas was the proprietor of The Cobb Tavern of Moretown, Vermont. 

In the 1820s New England Taverns were considered “hotels” where overnight guests could receive a breakfast and dinner. As with any restaurant, the quality of food could vary but it was usually plentiful as stagecoaches might stop for the night.

Good, plentiful food is only part of the New England tavern life. Men gathered at the local tavern for drink.  In the 1820s American men consumed a great deal of alcohol much more that today. The Cobb Tavern may have been home to the Cobb Family and a meeting place for the gentlemen of the area.

Silas Bowman Cobb’s biography reports that the large family had little money. Silas Bowman tells of receiving a limited education due to family finances; which suggests that all the Cobb children had limited educational opportunities as well. Perhaps they worked in their father’s tavern or were “bound out” as Silas Bowman was.

The Cobb Family most likely experienced hardship. In 1828 and 1830 two family members passed away. The Vermont Watchman & State Gazette reported Mary Cobb’s death.

Cobb, Mary; age 11; 29^th ult., twin daughter of Silas W. Cobb, Esq.; Moretown;

Issue Date:  8 April 1828

The paper also reported the death of Olive Cobb.

Cobb, Olive; age 52; 16^th inst; wife of Silas W. Cobb; Montpelier; 

Issue Date:  23 November 1830

I would like to extent a thank you to the Janice Boyko and The Northeast Kingdom Genealogy Group of Vermont. This nonprofit organization is run by volunteers and has been a great source for my Vermont genealogy research.

What Is A Man To Do?

What is a new widower to do with four young children? The answer seems quite obvious. He needs to remarry quickly and that is exactly what Silas W. Cobb did. I often wonder how does a man find a suitable bride in Vermont in the year 1815. I haven’t discovered the answer yet, but I know that Silas W. Cobb prevailed in his quest for on 9 October 1815, just nine months after the death of his first wife, Silas W. Cobb remarried. His bride was Olive Throop, herself a widow.

Olive lived in Bethel, Vermont with her husband, Charles Throop, along with their four children:  Martha, Nancy, Sarah and Charles. Her husband, Charles,  passed away in 1809 prior to the birth of their son, Charles. Poor Olive had to give birth to her only son just three months after the death of her husband.

Records show that Olive did not rush into a second marriage. She was a widow for ten years. This indicates that Olive had strong, familial support. The support may have come from her father-in-law, Nathaniel Throop.

Nathaniel Throop and Elizabeth Skinner had a large family of ten children. Nathaniel was the patriarch who cared for his own family and most likely the family of his deceased son, Charles. I believe this to be true as he officiated the wedding ceremony of Silas W. Cobb and Olive Throop, his daughter-in-law. Nathaniel Throop was a Justice of the Peace.

Lessons in Story Telling

My challenge is to tell the story of the Silas W. Cobb Family. I am ready for the challenge, but struggle with mechanics. I am beginning to think that this blog is my practice ground. Stories may be repeated as I hone my skills.

One single grave marker located in the Northfield Oakwood Cemetery, Northbrook, Illinois sparked my interest in Silas W. Cobb. Silas W. Cobb was a New Englander and an ancestor unknown to me.  He resided much of his adult life in the towns of Moretown and Montpelier, Vermont.

I suspect he married Sarah Hawks sometime prior to 1802 as their first child, Adeline was born about 1802.  Adeline was followed by Edwin (1804), George Whitman (1807), Silas Bowman (1812) and Mary Ann (1814).

The end of 1814 and the beginning of 1815 must have been terribly challenging for Silas W. Cobb and his family. The Vermont Watchman Newspaper of Montpelier reported in December 1814 that infant Mary Ann Cobb died at three months of age.

Cobb, Mary Ann; age 3 months, daughter of Silas W. Cobb; Moretown; Issue Date 13 Dec 1814.

Sarah Cobb, my great, great, great grandmother, passed away on 3 January 1815. The Duxbury and Moretown Cemetery Inscriptions by Robert Morse report the following:

Cobb, Sarah, wife of Silas W. Cobb, d. Jan. 3, 1815, age 33 years

In about one month's time, Silas W. Cobb lost his youngest daughter and became a widower with four young children to raise. What is a man to do?

Lessons in Record Keeping

As a new family history researcher, I made one very large error in my early record keeping. When writing about the Cobb Family, I realize that my Cobb research was performed during those early years.  Unfortunately, it fell victim to poor record keeping and inexperience. What I know about this family has been through a hunt and peck type of strategy. I discover little information here and then a little information there.

As I matured in my research skills, I began to develop a habit of asking questions; which led to a specific type of research. I have learned to use my camera to record books, pages and any information I find. I now write my all source information and am beginning to develop a research log by family names with the hope of saving me from retracing my footsteps.

Now to the Cobbs . . .

After reading my previous post about Olive Throop, you might wonder where I gathered my information. My burning desire to travel to Vermont is on the back burner; which means I must find my information through the next best avenues.

I wrote to the Bennington History Museum, 75 Main Street, Bennington, Vermont, inquiring about Silas W. Cobb. Tyler Resch, museum librarian, provided the marriage record for Silas W. Cobb and Olive Throop. The discovery of this marriage led to the question: Who is Olive Throop and what did she bring to this marriage? 

 

 

Olive Throop Enters The Picture

Here we are returning to the story of Silas W. Cobb (March 16^th post) and revisiting the 1820 U.S. Census records for Silas W. Cobb of Moretown, Vermont. To better interpret the household members of that census, further research was needed. My amazement continues, as I am able to find so much information about a man born about 1777 on the Internet.

Following the 3 January 1815 death of “Sarah” Cobb, Silas W. remarried an Olive Peake Throop. The marriage took place on 9 Oct 1815.  Olive, widow of Charles Throop, brought four children into the new marriage. Additionally Silas W. and Olive Cobb had twins: Mary and an unknown child.

The Children of Charles and Olive Throop:

Martha Throop:              Birth Unknown

Nancy Throop:               1806

Sarah Throop:                1807

Charles Throop:             1809

The Children of Silas W. and Olive Cobb:

Mary Cobb:                     1817

Twin to Mary:                 1807

When I fill in the names of the Troop children and the Cobb children the 1820 household begins to look like this:

Free White Persons – Males – Under 10:               2 (Silas Bowman) (Charles Throop)

Free White Persons – Males – 10 thru 15:              2 (Edwin) (George Whitman)

Free White Persons – Males – 26 thru 44:              1 (Silas W. Cobb)

Free White Persons – Females – Under 10:            3 (Mary Ann’s Twin Sister) (Mary & Twin)

Free White Persons – Females – 10 thru 15:           2 (Nancy Throop) (Sarah Throop)

Free White Persons – Females – 16 thru 25:           2 (Adeline)

Free White Persons – Females – 26 thru 44:           1 (Olive Cobb)           

Number of Persons – Engaged in Agriculture:        1

Total Free White Persons:                                      13

           

The family appears to be complete. The question arises regarding the number of daughters named Mary and their twins. Could this possibly be repeated information? I will need to look further.

Wordless Wednesday

The Start of a New Week

Do you ever wish the days to be longer in order to get that “To Do List” checked off? I have been wishing that lately. A few too many things on my “To Do List” have made blogging a bit of a challenge.

I joined my local genealogy society and volunteered to help with the scheduling of programs for our monthly meetings. It has been a good experience. My co-chair, Bill, and I quickly filled the schedule. Our speakers have been confirmed and the year seems to be moving along smoothly.

The Illinois Humanities Council is sponsoring our April meeting. I am told we are very lucky to have received the funding and a few tasks need to completed in regards to the IHC requirements. We must advertise our April meeting in newspapers.

I made my feeble attempt at a press release and then sent it off to my daughter for her review. Luckily for me, she happens to be in the public relations field. My daughter quickly amended by work and tonight I have sent out my first official press releases!

On April 14, 2012, Ellie Carlson, Curator of Costume for the Winnetka Historical Society, will be teaching us techniques for dating photos. Guests are invited to bring photos for her review. The meeting is held at the Northbrook History Museum, 1776 Walters Avenue, Northbrook, Illinois. The meeting begins at 1:00 p.m. If you are interested, please stop in.

I must show off by first Press Release with a BIG THANK YOU to my daughter!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

North Suburban Genealogy Society Hosts Public Meeting

Attendees Invited to Bring Family Photographs for Dating

March 19, 2012 (Northbrook, Ill.) - The North Suburban Genealogy Society invites the public to attend its April 14 meeting at the Northbrook History Museum (1776 Walters Avenue, Northbrook, IL). The meeting will feature Ellie Carlson, Curator of Costume for the Winnetka Historical Society, and focus on dating family photos through clothing. Attendees will learn techniques for dating photos and additional tools to use in their genealogy search.

Carlson, who is quoted as saying, “Some people are married to their jobs, I date costumes,” is a museum curator with 25 years experience in small and mid-size museums. She has also completed a professional internship at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History in the Division of Costume in 1987.

The April 14 meeting begins at 1:00 PM and is handicap accessible. This is a Road Scholar lecture sponsored by the Illinois Humanities Council.

Linda