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Author: richb888
Surnames:
Classification: queries
Message Board URL:
http://boards.rootsweb.com/localities.northam.usa.states.nevada.counties....
Message Board Post:
'The Ancestors of Benjamin Ferris Blakeney..' by Josephine Frost (1926) reports
that Anna Matilda Summerbell was the daughter of Mary Ferris (b. 1790) and Dr James
Summerbell (married 1810), and that she was the sister of Joseph, Benjamin F, Martyn and
Ferris A Summerbell. It also reports that AMS married a Dr Hitchcock.
The 1850 US Census reports an Ann M Hitchcock (age 35) as head of a household in NYC that
includes a Mary Summerbell (age 60) and an Ann M Summerbell (age 11).
In 1860 my ancestor, Charles DeForest Burns, married Matilda Summerbell in NYC; the
marriage registry shows both to be age 20. I think she almost has to be that 11-yr old.
Subsequent Censuses show Charles' wife as Anna or Anna M, ('Tillie' and
'Lilly' appear elsewhere), and her 1911 death cert is in the name of Matilda
Summerbell Burns. Her d/c reports that she died at age 79 and it identifies her parents
as James Summerbell and Mary Ferris.
My quandary is this: since it appears that the AMS who married Dr Hitchcock is the
35-year-old Ann M Hitchcock of the 1850 Census, then where did the 11-year-old Ann M
Summerbell of the 1850 Census come from? She is quite certainly the woman who married C D
Burns in 1860 and whose death cert identifies her parents as James and Mary It almost
looks as if James and Mary had TWO daughters named Anna Matilda - one in 1815 and the
other about 1840!
But if Mary Ferris were in fact born in 1790, she would have been about 50 when she gave
birth to the 'second' AMS - could that be possible? Also, it can be deduced from
a previous post (9 Jan 2006 from jlaffer) that James Summerbell had died in a mill
accident prior to 1835.
I'd greatly appreciate any information that can help make sense of the above.
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