I’m most interested in research on the following surnames:
- HANSON/HANSEN, Dutchess, Columbia, and Rensselaer counties, NY (late 19th – mid 20th c.)
- HOLMES, Madison county, NY — probably from CT (early 19th – late 19th c.)
- JENSEN, Dutchess, Columbia, and Rensselaer counties, NY (late 19th – mid 20th c.)
Some specific questions:
- Who were the parents and siblings of Hiram HOLMES? Hiram was b. Aug. 2, 1804 in Connecticut, d. Feb. 28, 1864 in Poolville, Town of Hamilton, Madison County, New York. Was he related to other HOLMESes in Hamilton? Was he son of Nathan HOLMES and Grace CHAPEL of Montville, CT? For the status of my researches into Hiram and Nathan see Hiram and Nathan Holmes search.
- Who was the wife of John COOK? John was b. ca. 1770 in Rhode Island, d. aft. 1850 prob. in Norwich, Chenango County, New York. His wife was b. ca. 1784 in Rhode Island, d. aft. 1855 prob. in Norwich. According to one census and a daughter’s death certificate her first name was Barbara, but another census identifies her (if it’s the same woman) as “Maybill”. What was her maiden name? (Recent research supports the first name Barbara and suggests a surname of KING.)
- Who were the parents and siblings of Hans HANSEN and Johanna JENSEN? Hans and Johanna emigrated from Denmark (on which ship or ships?). Their parents’ names are shown on their marriage record as Peter HANSEN and Carrie ANDERSEN (Hans’s) and Lars JENSEN and Carrie [DAN]SEN (Johanna’s). The names are faded and hard to read, and in particular while Johanna’s mother’s surname looks something like DANSEN, that doesn’t seem to be an extant surname in 19th century Denmark. Of course the commonness of their names is a problem; it’s almost as bad as looking for “John SMITH and Mary JONES” in England! Compounding this is uncertainty in Hans’s birthdate and Johanna’s birthplace. Apparently they had siblings (or at least Hans did) in America, including some near Bridgeport, Connecticut, but I don’t know their names and tracking them down is difficult.
