The Silas W. Cobb and Sarah Hawks Family

To understand early census records, I needed to first research the Silas W. Cobb family. Please refer to March 9, 2012 Post. Vermont records can be accessed online through Ancestry.com, Family Search and various Google searches. The Newberry Library located in Chicago also has an extensive collection of Vermont records.

Silas Bowman Cobb’s biography informed me that his mother’s maiden name was Hawks. Researchers on Ancestry.com have noted her name as Sarah Hawks. I have not personally found original records proving her given name.  I did, however, find a book, Duxbury and Moretown Cemetery Inscriptions, Washington County, Vermont written by Robert Morse. Copies of the book can be found in Vermont. This book suggests that evidence does exist as to Mrs. Cobb’s given name. Vermont Old Cemetery Association also published a book giving Sarah Cobb’s death information; which I was able to locate at a nearby library. It is there I learned that Sarah Cobb passed away 3 January 1815.

Silas W. Cobb and Sarah Hawks had a good size family considering she passed away at approximately 33-35 years of age. Here are their children:

Adeline Cobb                           Born about 1802

Edwin Cobb                             Born about 1804

George Whitman Cobb            Born about 1807

Silas Bowman Cobb                Born about 1812

Mary Ann Cobb                       Born about 1814 – Mary Ann passed at 3 months of age

Twin sister to Mary Ann          Born about 1814

When looking at the 1820 U.S. Census records for the Silas W. Cobb household, I understand how the family fits into the census numbers. As you see, there are many reported but unknown people in the household. Sadly, Sarah Cobb nee Hawks is not reported. Her passing suggests a remarriage for Silas W. Cobb and perhaps a few more children!

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

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

Free White Persons – Males – 26 thru 44:           1

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

Free White Persons – Females – 10 thru 15:        2

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

Free White Persons – Females – 26 thru 44:        1           

Number of Persons – Engaged in Agriculture:     1

Total Free White Persons:                                   13

Opportunities for genealogical research are always changing as new information comes online regularly.  I was recently contacted through Ancestry.com by a Vermont resident who is the new Cemetery Commissioner in the Town of Moretown, Vermont. She discovered Sarah Cobb’s gravestone and informed me that the stone was surrounded by briars and brambles in what was once a cow pasture. She has invited to Moretown and I plan on visiting there this spring or summer. How lucky am I?

Linda

Shoemaker, Mason, Harness Maker . . . Famous Chicagoan

I have been absent lately. Life will return to normal next week and I will be able to devote more time to writing.

Were you able to watch Friday’s "Who Do You Think You Are?" I hope so.  If not, you can view the episode on the website, www.nbc.com/who-do-you-think-you-are/. Jerome Bettis and his desire to learn about his mother’s family was the focus of this episode.  Jerome was very familiar with this paternal side of the family.  However, his mother knew very little about her ancestors. Not knowing about a part of one’s family history seems to be a common thread among so many stories. I think it is the reason why genealogy is so appealing.

This week I began writing about the Silas W. Cobb Family of Vermont. Silas W. Cobb’s youngest son was named Silas Bowman Cobb. In his biographical sketch, Silas Bowman Cobb appeared to be a restless young man with a determined father. This determined father wished to find a trade for his son.

With little education, Silas Bowman was “bound out” as an apprentice to a shoemaker. Shoemaking was not for young Silas Bowman and he broke away from the apprenticeship and returned home. Young Silas Bowman was apprenticed again, against this will, to a mason. Silas Bowman discovered masonry was not for him and he returned home.

The elder Cobb finally conceded and allowed the young man to choose his own path. Silas Bowman chose to apprentice with a harness maker and found success at just seventeen years of age. Unfortunately, the harness maker sold his business; which included the service of young Silas Bowman.

Of course, this was unacceptable to young Silas. According to his biographical sketch, Silas Bowman spoke the following words to the new owner, “In this case the nigger don’t go with the plantation.” He negotiated with the new owner and received satisfactory wages and mastered the harness making trade.

His words, “In this case the nigger don’t go with the plantation,” show that slavery was part of life even as far north as Vermont. Slavery touched all people at that time in history. Lucky for Silas Bowman as he was not African American, could speak his mind and negotiate a better life for himself.

 _____________________

Thomas Wakefield Goodspeed, “Silas Bowman Cobb,” The University of Chicago Biographical Sketches, (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1922), 145-170.

Silas W. Cobb

I would like to introduce you to my fourth great-grandfather, Silas W. Cobb. Today he resides in the Northfield Oakwood Cemetery located in Northbrook, Illinois.

The gravestone of Silas W. Cobb reports that he passed away on 13 April 1852 at seventy-five years of age.  This suggests that Silas W. Cobb was born about 1777. My heart beat faster with this discovery because he could be my one and only link to the American Revolution!

The surname Cobb was a new name in my tree and required careful research. I have many questions about this gentleman and will need to travel to Vermont to find the answers. The 1820 and 1830 census records show Silas W. Cobb living in Moretown, Vermont and Montpelier, Vermont; respectively. Back in the day, census takers reported heads of household and tallied the household members by age, sex, free or slave, and colored or white.

On 7 August 1820 the Silas W. Cobb household of Moretown, Vermont looked like this:

Free White Persons – Males – Under 10:                2

Free White Persons – Males – 10 thru 15:               2

Free White Persons – Males – 26 thru 44:               1

Free White Persons – Females – Under 10:             3

Free White Persons – Females – 10 thru 15:            2

Free White Persons – Females – 16 thru 25:            2

Free White Persons – Females – 26 thru 44:            1           

Number of Persons – Engaged in Agriculture:         1

Total Free White Persons:                                       13

In 1830 the Silas W. Cobb household of Montpelier, Vermont looked like this:

Free White Persons – Males - 20 thru 29:                 3

Free White Persons – Males – 50 thru 60:                1

Free White Persons – Females – 10 thru 14:            1

Free White Persons – Females – 15 thru 19:            1

Free White Persons – Females – 20 thru 29:            3

Free White Persons – Females – 30 thru 39:            1

Total Free White Persons:                                       10

Who were these people? What were their names? How did a man living in Vermont end up buried in Illinois? There is so much to learn and so much to tell. Tune in to my next post for a little more of the story.

Linda

Wordless Wednesday

My Only Early Chicagoan

Chicago will be celebrating its 175^th Birthday this year. Such a grand milestone made me wonder if any of my family tree members were present for the actual incorporation. In fact, there was one Chicagoan whose his name was Silas Bowman Cobb and I am his third great grand niece.
 

Silas Bowman Cobb was born in Montpelier, Vermont on January 23, 1812.  His father was a prosperous businessman whose partner introduced young Silas Bowman to the idea of going west. Oliver Goss had just returned from the small town of Chicago and was organizing a group to go west and to create a settlement. Silas Bowman’s imagination was sparked.

Silas Bowman decided to go west against his father’s wishes, joined the Oliver Goss party and traveled to Albany, New York via wagon. In Albany Silas Bowman parted with Oliver Goss and traveled onward via the Erie Canal to Buffalo, New York. Along the way, a thief stole much of his money leaving him with a mere seven dollars. He explained his situation to the captain of the schooner, “Atlanta,” who then agreed to take him to Chicago for a fee of four dollars. He bought food for the journey with his remaining funds. As things would go, the journey took longer than expected and young Silas Bowman ran up a small bill.

The “Atlanta” reached Chicago on May 29, 1833. There was no harbor so passengers disembarked and were rowed to shore. Silas Bowman was held aboard ship due to his debt of three dollars.  A kind person took pity on the young man and paid his bill allowing Silas Bowman to disembark. On June 1, 1833, Silas Bowman Cobb finally set foot in Chicago.

What did Chicago look like in 1833?  It is reported that there were not more than 50 white inhabitants and only a few soldiers in Fort Dearborn. The Kinzies, pioneer settlers, lived in a log home north of the river along with huts of Indians and half-breeds. The town clung to the river and no one lived near Madison Street for it was the prairie.                                                   

___________________________________

Thomas Wakefield Goodspeed, “Silas Bowman Cobb,” The University of Chicago Biographical Sketches, (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1922), 145-170.

Happy 175th Birthday, Chicago!

Today the great City of Chicago celebrated its 175^th birthday. The Chicago History Museum and the DuSable Museum honored this day with actors dressed as famous Chicagoans.

So what has happened in the past 175 years? Here are a few highlights that come to mind:

1866            Cook County Hospital Opens 

                     Tunnels are built to draw “pure water” from the lake.

1868            Lincoln Park Zoo welcomes a pair of swans.

1869            The Chicago Water Tower was built.

1870            St. Ignatius University opens its doors. Today it is known as Loyola University.

1871            The Great Chicago Fire

1876            A baseball team wins the National League title. 

                     That team will be eventually named The Chicago Cubs.

1878            A Chicago firehouse invented the first fire pole.

1882            The cable cars begin operation.

1893            The Columbian Exposition

1958            Our Lady of Angels Grade School Fire

1967            Chicago is hit with a blizzard that dumped 23 inches of snow on Chicago.

1968            Chicago Democratic Convention

1976            Mayor Richard J. Daley died.

1979            American Airlines Flight 191 crashes at O’Hare.

1981            Jane Byrne is elected mayor.

1983            Harold Washington is Chicago’s first black mayor.

1986            Chicago Bears win Super Bowl XX.

2005            White Sox win the World Series.

2010            Black Hawks win the Stanley Cup!

It’s Friday Night

Tonight is my favorite show, “Who Do You Think You Are?” Reba Mc Entire is this week’s featured celebrity. I really know very little about her and am looking forward to her story.

My entry into genealogy was delayed for a long time because I thought that genealogy was reserved for important, famous people such as Mayflower descendants, presidents, kings, etc. Published genealogies of famous, blue blood families can be found in libraries and now on the Internet. The books provide a great resource for those who are related but they were not for me.

My roots are much more humble. Despite my humble roots, discovering those who came before has been so exciting and so interesting. The celebrities on “Who Do You Think You Are?” respond to familial discoveries exactly as I do. We are basically all the same. Celebrities, blue bloods and even  those with humble roots all experience the same joy in the discovery of our ancestors’ stories.

History is part of that discovery and I think the television show does a very good job of putting the ancestral information into historical and social context. Our family trees are not just names and lines linking parent to child they are real people who lived in real time. To better understand our ancestors, we need to understand the time in which they lived for that time shaped the society they lived in and affected their actions.