29 Apr. 1993

(From Mrs. Priscilla Hammel of Arizona and Alaska)

Dear Shirley,

Your very interesting letter reached me today in Juneau, AK (my husband and I are spending this spring and early summer visiting Alaska) and I shall answer as best I can. Unfortunately, I have very few records with me and so am a little handicapped.

First of all, I must thank you for your very nice words about my article. With you, I hope it produces wonderful results! Next I have to tell you that I don’t have any help for you on your John, regrettably. I have not made any effort to trace down “Johns”, in particular. And all I know about my ?John? is what is in the article. My great-grandfather, Chester Barrett Putnam, apparently never knew anything more about his father than what is in the article. Not when ?John? owned the store in Sackets; not when he owned the grist/saw mill; not when he had the run-in with the law. It is my theory that his father disappeared right after he was born and he never knew him. And, if his mother died soon, say before Chester was 10, he wouldn’t remember much from her, either. The family tradition was that she was blind and never could see her son, Chester. I suspect, too, that she married the Streeter man after losing her Putnam husband, and that her Streeter children were really step-children. Chester was always very loyal to the Streeters and the family tradition was that the older Streeter boy really raised Chester.

I have visited Jefferson County a few times, and should really do some more solid research there, as I have a couple of other “stone walls” in other lines there. Interesting that you lived in Sackets Harbor. That is where my grandmother was born (she would be Chester’s grandchild) in 1866. Her parents left Jefferson Co. after 1870, but Gram always was very loyal to Jefferson and went back to visit many times. She talked about it so much and with so much praise, that I thought surely the streets were paved with gold and angels were in residence!!

I have done a little research into Abijah Putnam. Yes, he founded Port Putnam and established a ferry service to Wolfe Island. He sold the whole thing after just a couple of years or so, and bought a tavern in Watertown. I don’t know what happened to him after that. He came from Rome and had been a town supervisor there. He was in the 1800 Census in Rome with a family and had a son between the ages 10 and 16. I was interested in finding out who this son was, but was never able to. I became interested in Abijah after getting some information about him from the Rome Historical Society. He had come to Rome about the same time as Clark Putnam (there was no indication of whether they were related or not, nor no indication as to where they came from originally). There was also a Roswell Fellows in Rome at the same time, and it was a Deacon Fellows who first built the grist/saw mill in Henderson. Abijah served on some community positions in the Cape Vincent area, too, but just can’t remember what they were. It seems like I remember he was in on the construction of a highway between Brownsville? (sic) and Port Putnam. I found a book in the library at Cape Vincent that mentioned him, and also a Clark Putnam and Pearly Putnam (could this latter be yours?). I also found an Abijah Putnam as a private in Rev. War Rolls in Vermont in the Am. Genealogy Bio. Index, Vol. 141 p. 429. Maybe these Abijahs are one and the same and your research into Asa and Adonijah moving to Vermont from Mass. opens up some possibilities. It is most interesting that Asa is from Warren. As you note, that is close to Brooksfield, and in fact, Sally Barrett’s mother, Sally Tyler, was from Warren. There is a Vital Records book from Warren, too, as is from Brookfield. These books were published at the beginning of this century by the New England Gen. Society. There are many, many towns of Mass. done this way. Many genealogy libraries have them. They are all entitled “Vital Records of ________ to 1850.” They contain church records, cemetery records, etc. I will look next time I get to a genealogy library, but it may be next fall before I do.

Yes, I have exchanged info with Phyllis Putnam. I sent her copies of what I had on Abijah, so if you visit her when in Jefferson Co. in May, perhaps she would let you see it. Perhaps you might enlist her help in doing some courthouse work, too. I have not done any in Watertown, but have many times in other cities, and it is lots of fun and also very productive. Wills and other probate records give plenty of family information. Also land deeds often give relationships, too, as well as tracing a family’s movements. You probably know, too, that the library in Watertown has a good genealogy room.

I still have a distant cousin living in Woodville - Fred Millard. He and his wife, Elizabeth are very interested in family history, but are just as mystified as to who this ?John? is as I am. You might want to talk with them, if you get down in that direction

Yes, I am familiar with the Eben Putnam book. In fact, he wrote a letter to my grandfather, sometime before he published the book, asking for his family information. (I am mystified as to how those early authors found their information about where people of the same name were located!) I don’t know if my grandfather answered, probably not, as he knew so little about his family. However, my mother exchanged several letters with Eben’s daughter, sometime in the 1930’s, and this daughter sent one of Eben’s leaflets -- a large sheet with a diagram of the family from England down to himself. It didn’t have anything on it about Abijah, and of course, not Chester, and I didn’t know anything about an Asa before your letter. I didn’t find Abijah in the book, either. I saw it at Salt Lake. It is interesting that you found that it did contain a John who died in Oswego! Quite a coincidence.

I have read and reread your letter many times. It doesn’t appear to me that your John and Chester’s father could be the same, unless he really was the “cad” I mentioned that just abandoned his wife to look for greener pastures! Your John must have moved around a bit (it always surprises me that the pioneers travelled as much as they did), and it is entirely possible that he had more than one wife. The mother of his three children may have died when they were small, and he may not have married again until later in his life, which would account for his lack of children. You may not be able to substantiate his death in Mexico, since vital records are so scare (sic) in early New York. You may only find it if it is recorded in a church record somewhere. It seems quite reasonable that he may have been there living with his daughter or granddaughter. One thing you could do, if you haven’t already, is to check the 1850 Census for either Clark or Allen to see if they are living in Mexico then. Also, NY does a “Mortality Schedule” of deaths within the year of the Census, so you might check that for the 1850 census. It would be at the town hall or the county clerk’s office at the county seat. Also, are there any now living descendants of these two who might possibly have a family Bible? It is also quite reasonable to believe that after death the body would be taken back to his home area for burial, even if it was 60 miles away. My Chester died in Grand Rapids, MI, but his body was taken back to Woodville to be buried beside his wife. Yes, it is a bonus to have a gravestone with dates on it, but sadly, they, too, are sometimes in error

I’m really glad that you have written; you have opened some avenues for me to approach. I will be happy to continue exchanging information with you, as it is found, and I will be especially happy to hear that you have found anything interesting in your research in Jefferson County coming up. Happy Hunting!

Priscilla L. Hammel

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