The following is an incomplete Sweet Family History sent to me by a Sweet descendant on January 20, 2000. It was indicated that it was among the papers of Pauline Sweet Carlisle. Pauline, it is obvious, was not the author of this history and at the present time, the author’s identity is unknown. We do not know how accurate it is; however, it does serve as a guide to helping us assemble a more complete family history. Sweet researchers may find it useful in enabling them to combine its contents with cemetery records, land records, obits, and other documents. I have retyped what was sent me and made notes along the way, sometimes showing points of disagreement and sometimes raising questions about the content. The black text is the original and the red text is my commentary. It will be hard to follow and remember, not all information here is fact! I hope my critique will not be considered as ingratitude because I feel very fortunate to have been sent this unpublished history. I might add that the Critique was removed from my website for a long period of time, pending family intentions of making the history sent to me more reliable. Since that was several years ago and I haven't heard from this family, I am again using it on this site. My interest in using this here is to use it as a guide, so that I may someday come to more resolution as to the family. I do not mean to show disrespect to the Sweet descendants by what seemingly is a form of intrusion, but I do want the reader to understand that I do share ancestry with those mentioned throughout the Critique.

ALEXANDRIA BAY INTRODUCTION

The Town of Alexandria was erected April 31, 1821. It was named for Alexander, son of J. D. LeRay, who obtained a colonel’s commission in the Texan Revolution and was killed in a duel in 1836. LeRay set aside a square mile for the village, desiring a seaport. In 1880 there were 3, 135 people in the town. The first log house was built in 1818 by John W. Fuller. The first schoolhouse was built in 1821 on the site of the present Reformed Church. (we do not know in what year this was written)The first businessmen were Jerre Carrier, John W. Fuller, Azariah Walton, Andrew Cornwall and Humphrey Sisson. Their legacy may be seen in the streets named after them.

There were 4 males:

1 between 5-10 yrs. (Probably William D.) (this is stretching it - he would have been over 10 depending on when the census was taken -- I believe there must have been son this age who died young or possibly it was an Alvin Burroughs Sweet I found on a Buffalo Patriot War Website - see www.genforum.com under Sweet).

2 between 10 and 15 years (I believe these to be Sylvanus, born in 1817, later executed at Kingston, Ontario (buried at Ft. Henry and William D. Sweet born, according to my belief, in 1819, the subject of part of this text.)

(I also believe there was a son, Samuel, born in 1897, who is buried at Plessis almost beside Wm. and Susannah--but he appears to have been out of the household in this 1830 Census.)

1 between 50 and 60 (undoubtedly, the father, William Sweet)

There were 4 females:

1 under 5 (I believe this to have been Minerva, born 2-23-1827, according to calculations arrived at by her death record in the Town of Orleans - 12/21/1903 - 76 years, 9 months, 26 days - She became Mrs. Archibald Hosner and her husband was a brother of Wm. D., Sweet’s wife, Hannah Hosner. Minerva was the great-grandmother of Shirley Farone who prepared this Critique. )

1 between 5 and 10 (cannot identify)

1 between 15 and 20 (cannot identify)

1 between 50 and 60. (probably Susannah Blowers Sweet, who was born about 1780 and died 6-7/1862 - Census in 1860 states that she was born in Washington Co., N. Y.)

(It is also possible that there was an Elizabeth, born in 1825, whom one researcher states was married to a Stephen Warner in Theresa on 6-19-1825 -- if she belongs to this family; of course, she would have been out of the household at this census time. However, sometimes when accounting for a family’s children, the spokesman didn’t take into consideration that a member may have married and was therefore out of the household. Data on an Elizabeth Sweet’s children was given to me by Max Scott of Indiana, but we reached no resolve as to her placement in our Sweet family. As of late, Cherie Brown of Leader, MN has submitted much material on an Elizabeth Sweet who married a Stephen Warner in Jefferson County's (NY)Theresa area. This Elizabeth was considered as being from Theresa, which is only a few miles down the road from the Plessis area where our Sweets lived. I have E-Mail addresses for each of these researchers. As of 9/2002, this researcher believes that there must have been another Sweet family in the Plessis-Theresa family other than William D. Sweet's parents, etc.)

The author’s text continued:

This William Sweet would have had to have been born between 1770 and 1780. This was the 5th Census of the United States in 1830, and was very difficult to make out.

William (she means William D. Sweet, son of William Sweet) had participated in the data collection for the Gazetteer of Jefferson County, 1684-1890, published in July, 1890 by the Syracuse Journal Co., edited by William H. Horton and compiled by Hamilton Child. The Gazetteer listed William as living in Plessis and occupation as a farmer and a joiner, having served in Company F of the 10th Heavy Artillery of New York Volunteers in the Civil War. His house and lot were on Wall Street. John, William’s son, was born in 1857 and died in 1932. To be more specific, John was born 20 Sept 1857 and died 30 Sept 1932 his obit is available and states that he was buried in the Plessis Cemetery - his wife, Mary Swan was born in 1858 and died in 1886 (or 1888) - nothing more is known about her other than that she was buried in Plessis Cemetery)

(To further explore the sighting in the Gazetteer which is mentioned above, the Wm. D. Sweet listing appeared on p. 31 of this Gazetteer under the Town of Alexandria and in Wm.’s case, his name appeared in bold, solid caps. Perhaps this meant that he paid more for the entry than the usual listings. It said:

Edward James Sweet, Sr., was born on October 24, 1880, the son of John M. Sweet and Mary Swan. (Edward was born 24 Oct 1880 and died 8 Oct 1944 and was buried in Highland Park Cemetery at Alexandria Bay, N. Y. ) He had one sister, Pearl Sargent (Pearl was born 1 Jan 1882 and died Apr 1966 - - she married George Sargent who was born 19 Apr 1876 and who died 4 June 1954 - there were no children) and four stepsisters, Pauline (Mrs. Eugene Carlisle of Alexandria Bay), Avia C. House, (born March 1895 formerly of Watertown and died in Rochester as Avia Hosner), (Avia was born 12 Mar 1895 and died in Rochester as stated on 28 Jul 1990 - body cremated - no data on her first husband, Leo House, whom she married 1 Jan 1913; her second husband was Howard Hosner, whom she married 7 Oct 1955 at Brownville by a Methodist minister. Howard was Avia’s cousin of some degree thru Hannah Hosner. He was born 28 Sept 1898 at Theresa and died 10 May 1960 in Watertown and he is buried in the Plessis Cemetery);

Zoa H. (born April 1900 and married Wendell Dickaut (sic) of Deferiet), (Zoa was born 24 Apr 1900 at Alexandria Bay and she died in Waterbury, VT on 8 Mar 1974 - she married Mr. Dickhaut at the Alexandria Bay Methodist Church on 27 Oct 1923; Wendell was born 13 Jun 1902 at Theresa and died in the Watertown hospital 23 January 1962), and Mary (Mrs. James Hourigan of California) (Mary was born 21 Dec 1902, probably at Alexandria Bay and in 1974 was living in Oakland, CA, per Zoa’s obit - there is some evidence that she was married first to a Donald M. Mullin - but later married a James Hourigan - Mary’s death date was possibly May of 1980 in Alameda, Calif. no data on her 2nd husband -- deathdate and deathsite to be proven). He resided all of his life in Alexandria Bay (I’d guess the author is talking about Edward Sweet, Sr. here.) John M. Sweet was born in Sept 1858 In Plessis, NY and Mary Swan was also born that same year in the town of Alexandria (NYS Health Department birth certificates).

(In case you’ve forgotten, the historian has backtracked - John Sweet and Mary Swan were the parents of Edward James Sweet, Sr. and Pearl Sweet Sargent, whom she started telling us about in the first part of this long paragraph. Perhaps, this was a convenient way to mention Mary’s brother, Fred, for whom Edward, Sr. worked - evidenced by the next sentence) Mary Swan had a brother, Fred Swan, (who) owned a dry dock or shipyard in the Bay where he serviced steamboats and tug boats. Divers would go out and hook them up to the tugboats so they could be pulled into the dry dock. Edward worked part time for Fred as a diver and was also licensed to navigate certain weights. Edward made his first boat trip under Capt. A. R. Hinckley of Oswego. Edward would often roast corn on the boilers of the tourboat he piloted between Rockport (that’s across the St. Lawrence in Ontario, CAN) and the (Alexandria) Bay. Edward, Sr., was a tremendous boat rower. These days, before power boats, if you wanted to get anywhere, you had to row a boat, even downriver to Dark Island. He liked to fish. He married Eliza Quinn, daughter of Sophronia Trickey and William Quinn in 1903 in Plessis. They had one son, Edward James Sweet, Jr., on whom they showered many things that were first in the village. Edward, Jr. had a Harley Davidson motorcycle before any of the other boys in the village, a bicycle, etc. As a marine engineer, Edward Sr. made good money for those times. He often had “get rich quick” schemes. One of these was selling apples. He brought home 5 bushels of apples, figuring he could see them off and make a profit. Grandma Sweet, however, wound up making apple pies, apple butter, etc. because the deal fell through. Edward Sr. was the engineer on a ferry that ran from Alex. Bay to Rockport. Jimmy (is this a clue that someone closely related to James R. Sweet, Edward, Jr.’s son born 3 May 1928, was the person who wrote this piece --- perhaps Greta Slate , Jimmy’s sister, or Marley, another sister?) remembers going with his grandfather many times. Passengers who had brought sweet corn with them found they had to leave it on the boat due to customs restrictions. Often on the ride back, Grandpa Sweet (is the author speaking of Edward, Sr.?) would peel back the husks, dip the corn in river water and put it on the boilers to roast on the way home. They would often take their granddaughter, Greta Sweet, out fishing in the early morning, and made quite an event out of stopping at Mary’s Island for breakfast. (Is this another clue that it was Greta who wrote this?).

These breakfast picnics were memorable events and were a routine of theirs (sic) whenever they went fishing. He is remembered as never coming home empty-handed and Northern pike were his fishing specialty, usually capturing at least three. Edward’s last trip as marine engineer was under Capt. C. A. Massey of this village. (the author is undoubtedly speaking of Edward, Sr. here and 'this village' is probably Alexandria Bay) The last four years of their married life Edward and Eliza were caretakers on Dark Island, near Chippewa Bay. They stayed there summer and winter. Every week or two their son, Edward, would come down and bring them groceries in his in-and-out boat. Grandma Sweet (another clue? that this was written by one of Edward, Jr.’s ch.?) would sometimes come back and stay in the Bay just to get away from the island for awhile. Grandpa Sweet was a hard worker all his life. He worked for a time at the village pumping station, next to the municipal beach. Some days his manual labor would be difficult, especially in the below-zero frostiness of the north. He had several heart attacks in the spring of his last year (1944) while he was putting boats into the water. He died October 8, 1944, at his home on Walton Street in Alexandria Bay of a severe heart attack at the age of 64 and is buried in Highland Cemetery in Alexandria Bay next to Eliza.

Eliza’s obit may be found on my database (address below). Also before leaving this paragraph, it occurred to me that this may have been written by Helen O’Brien Sweet, wife of Edward Sweet, Jr. and mother of Jimmy, Greta, Jack, Marley -- Helen was obviously well-acquainted with lore of the area and worked, according to her obit, for the Thousand Island Bridge Authority as a tour guide at Boldt Castle -- also before I forget, I do not have Edward, Jr.’s obit - he died 9 Nov 1978 -- I have the obit of son, James, who died 29 Oct 1993; I was told by a contributor that James was born in Lorain, Ohio, where his father was a lighthouse keeper.

The family historian continued:

Eliza Ann Quinn was born Dec. 6, 1882 in Alexandria Bay. Not much is known of her childhood, but she had several brothers and sisters. Almaretta, born in _________, died in________, from tuberculosis at the age of _____; Martha was born in ________, died in__________ also at a young age of unknown cause. Eliza didn’t remember too much of these sisters, but she did have another sister, Dora (I am happy to report that as of 5/7/2001, I have heard from Dora's descendants: Dora married a Charles Reid -- contact me if you would like the descendant's address. She is currently doing in-depth research on the Quinn family) who lived in Niagara Falls and had many children (13), among them a Betty and a _________. Her (I’m assuming she meant Eliza) parents were William E. Quinn, born in 1852 in Canada (according to NYS Health Department birth certificates) and Sophronia A. Trickey, born in 1858, also in Canada. William, Sophronia, Almaretta and Martha are buried in Walton St. Cemetery toward the N.E. corner. Eliza was a neat woman who suffered from Parkinson’s disease. One of her passions in life was watching SECRET STORM, one of the first soap operas on television. She referred to them as “my stories” and looked forward each day to them, often ironing and crying along with the characters at the time. For a time she lived on Walton Street, then later at 18 Bethune St. in the upper apartment with a small view of the river. She was a kind woman who always thought the best of people. She was meticulous in her dress, thin and small. She often wore gloves and always, dresses. Grandma Sweet (further indication that it was Helen or maybe Greta who wrote this) never owned a pair of slacks. Eliza had two brothers, Daniel and William B. Quinn, known as ‘Billy,’ never married and liked to drink alcohol quite well. Billy was born in ________ and died in_____,1961. Dan Quinn had married Nellie, who was also known as ‘Susie.’ Nellie Quinn was a big woman. Edward and Helen had rented a house on Anthony Street across from his parents. It was here, with Jim and Greta, as youngsters that Nellie died after Christmas dinner. Interestingly, this was a strange time for the family. A great deal of turmoil had just occurred with Harry’s death in early December, (author hasn’t yet identified Harry, nor the names coming up - Mina and Charlie) followed quickly by Mina and Charlie’s separation. To say that the family was in shock was an understatement. Helen and Edward were hosting the family dinner and all had been invited. Many ‘strange’ things had happened that day. On top of the piano was Harry’s picture which mysteriously kept falling over that day. Vegetables burned, the whipping cream wouldn’t whip. Helen had made a cake, which no one had eaten because they were all full from dinner. As she was clearing the dinner table, Helen invited Nellie to eat a piece of the cake. Nellie wanted ‘just a sliver,’ and Harry’s picture fell over again. (could it be that Dan Quinn, married to this Nellie, was known as Harry?) After straightening the picture, Nellie went into the living room and ate the cake; shortly after she died sitting in a living room chair. She had previously been in good health. (these close up and personal views cause me to believe Helen O’Brien Sweet wrote this history)

John M. Sweet was the eldest son of William D. Sweet and Hannah Hosner Sweet and was a very tall, lean man with a big mustache which he had all his life. He was born in Plessis, N. Y. on September 30 (or 20), 1858 (cemetery records at Plessis show the 20th -- also it appears that the author was looking at a photo of John Sweet when she described him -- would love a copy if it can be found) and is buried in the Plessis Cemetery, having died at the age of 75 in 1932. (His obit states that he died Sept. 30, 1932 -- no wonder the confusion about Sept. 20th or 30th - the obit states that he was born 20 Sept 1857 - notice the year 1857 instead of 1858 - was he about to be 76 -- would like to clarify the death date with both cemetery records and obit - perhaps a typo on my part) He had one brother, Sidney Sweet, of Theresa. (there may have been another brother, also younger than William, whose name is unknown -- possibly Alvin -- an article appearing in 1923 written by Ernest Cook, historian, about William D. Sweets has this to say):

"When William D. Sweet marched away he hoped that in someway (sic) he could have the brother who was to join them kept from harm and brought back to the family.

“Down in Dixie Land the brother was taken ill and ordered to the hospital where he lay sick for sometime (sic) with the measles, having the disease quite hard. When he rejoined his company he was in a very weakened condition but ready to answer to duty. Almost the first night it came his turn to go on guard. Lieut. Watson came at once to speak out for the help of the soldier in such a weakened condition to go on sentry duty in the night when it was hardly fit for a well man to be out. A cold rain was falling which would wet a person through in no time and chill them to the bone. Mr. Watson contended the soldier would catch cold, for he had not yet recovered sufficiently to stand such hardships. He asked that the turn be changed so that Sweet could go on sentry duty at some later date. But the captain was strong for discipline and felt that he wanted no favoritism shown. He would not change the order and Sweet was the kind of a fellow who would not ask for favors. He stood sentry duty in the rain and caught a cold that sent him back to the hospital and this time never to return. It was just as Mr. Watson feared.

The paragraph starting, “John M. Sweet” continued:

The 1880 census listed John as a farmer/laborer and as a domestic at the age of 22 in the household of John Comstock. John (Sweet) was first married to Mary Swan, who died young at the age of 30 (1858-1888?). Together John and Mary had a son, Edward, Sr. and a daughter, Pearl Sweet, who later married George Sargent (data appeared earlier in this rendering) of Lafargeville. Not much is known of Mary Swan, except that she had two brothers, Hank and “A. B.” Later, John remarried to an Emma D. Hemenway (Mar 1869 - 1946) (even though I have an obit, I do not have a more complete date of death than the 1946 mentioned here -- also the name on the obit is spelled Hemingway; but I, too, have seen it the way the author spells it - her date of birth was 16 Mar 1869 and she was buried in Plessis cemetery. Emma and John were married, according to the obit, 26 August 1889 at Alexandria Bay. Emma was the daughter of Nelson and Mary Downey Hemingway of Hammond, St. Lawrence Co., N. Y.)

Together John and Emma had four daughters: Pauline (Mrs. Eugene)Carlisle (1907 - ) (Pauline died 29 June 1996); Zoa (Mrs. Wendell) Dickhaut, (1900 - ) (Zoa died 8 Mar 1974) who was a schoolteacher; Avia House Hosner (1895-1990) (so whoever wrote this did so between 1990 and 1996 - the year of Avia’s death and that of Pauline’s death) who died July 28,1990 at the age of 96 in Rochester; Mary, (Mrs. Donald Mullin (1901 - ); note that Mary’s death year has not been recorded by the author -- did she not know anything about Mary whose name was Mrs. James Hourigan by the time of her mother’s death in 1946 and living in California - see my earlier comments about Mary) -- and a boy who died in infancy (1893 - ).

Avia was born March 12, 1895 at Alexandria Bay and she resided on Central Street in Watertown for many years. She married Leo J. House on October 1, 1913 in Watertown and had a daughter, Madeline House, and that marriage ended in divorce in 1957. (1955, per Avia’s obit) She later married Howard Hosner on October 7, 1956 in the First Methodist Church in Brownville, with the Rev. Kenneth Combs, officiating. Mr. Hosner died in May 1960 at the age of 61. Avia had been employed as an assistant housekeeper at the Hotel Woodruff in Watertown for several years. Emma Hemenway was the daughter of Nelson Hemenway, a Watertown carpenter in 1850 and they resided in Canada, where some of their children were born. They moved back to the U. S. in 1855. Mrs. Hemenway had a remarkable memory until her death. She recalled the “Windmill Fight” of November, 1838 and the Patriot War. (it appears not to be mentioned by this author, but Mrs. Hemenway’s daughter, Emma, by marrying John Sweet was marrying the son of one of the widely known participants in this little known war and John’s Uncle Sylvanus Sweet was executed in Kingston, Ont. because of his participation in that War). Her memories included the California Gold Rush of 1849. The first newspaper of the community consisted of one man who went from house to house reading the news. Then, later, two or three men would pool their money and share the evening news. She recalled transporting tan bark from Ogdensburg to Morristown by ox cart. Emma cared for Mary Ann, her mother, in her later years until her death. She had six siblings, with only one surviving at the time of her mother’s death, a William Dalton Hemenway of Alexandria Bay for the last 50 years of his life. He was born in Brockville, Ontario on June 21, 1851 and moved as a youth to Hammond. He married Catherine and had a son, Floyd Hemenway. He died in October 1935 at Ogdensburg State Hospital after a three month illness and is buried in Ingham Cemetery in North Hammond. Another brother, Samuel Hemenway, born in Canada, died at age 70 in 1924 in Alexandria Bay (having lived there forty years) and is buried in Walton St. Cemetery. Samuel’s obituary read, “He stood high in the esteem of his fellow men and always ready at all times to do what he could for ‘the other fellow.’”

Around 1907 John (Sweet) worked for a Mr. Petrie in Alexandria Bay “pressing hay.” John Sweet liked to fish, particularly bullheading. Family traditions were particularly important to John, and the children always made it home for Christmas. John did not believe in smoking and drinking. He liked to please other people and never talked bad about anyone, according to his daughter, Pauline, who married Eugene Carlisle and lives in sight of the Thousand Islands Bridge on the Alexandria Bay-Clayton Road. John was a worrier, and his second wife, Emma, often used to say that John did the worrying for both of them. She was very easygoing. John and Emma lived on the Cook Road, just before the spring. John was very creative. Evidence of this is provided by his daughter, Pauline, who showed me a picture of the “cabin on wheels” that he built. During the week, John worked with a man named Allie Huffman building roads. He needed a place to stay because he couldn’t come home at night, so he built the first trailer in these parts, more out of necessity than anything else. John loved having company and on the weekends which he spent with his family; often there were visitors and guests who would come to the Sweet house for the parties. Pauline remembers him taking her on a picnic. Her mother, Emma, had prepared cold chicken and she and John went to a favorite spot. He brought along a little stove and just the two of them had a picnic together. John dearly loved doughnuts and his ritual never varied, because he would have doughnuts and cold coffee before going to bed at night. John often had pains in his legs. In his later years he had a stroke and walked with difficulty. When he went into town, John overheard a person remarking that he must be “drunk to walk that way” and he never went back. Pauline shared a picture of her parents. (Soon after writing this critique, Doug Dickhaut sent me separate pictures of both Emma and John Sweet - it was exciting to see that John Sweet whose parents were Hosner and Sweet, resembled my own grandfather, George Hasner, and his brother, Edward Hasner -- these gentlemen had a Hosner father and a Sweet mother -- siblings of John’s parents - very interesting. And while on the subject of photos, I found one of Mr. and Mrs. Sidney Sweet. It came from the Watertown Daily Times. I might also add here, I cannot understand why this historian did not write about Sidney -- he was one of the children of Wm. D. Sweet and was quite prominent in the Theresa community. See my database for his obit. There, that said, back to the Critique!.)

On the porch of a clapboard frame house, John sat in a white wicker chair with Emma on his lap. Around them were flower boxes filled with pretty flowers. John was very tall and quite handsome. He lived in his later years in Alexandria Bay, having come some twenty years before from a farm in Plessis. His funeral was held at home and Rev. C. G. Roop of the First Methodist Church officiated.

The rendering now refers to William D. Sweet:

William D. Sweet was born in 1822 in Mayfield, New York, which was part of Montgomery County then. (This is in vast disparity with information received or calculated from other sources, including the cemetery records at Plessis and/or supposed tombstone sightings -- also the fact that he was born in Mayfield, N. Y. is new information for me -- an article written about Wm.’s activities in the Patriot War speak to his having been born on Wellesley Island -- however, I would like to believe that the early Sweets were from Montgomery Co. because there are Sweet families evident on the 1790 and 1800 Census in that area -- it also brings to mind information on the Patriot War whereby there was mention of an Alvin Sweet, also from Alexandria Bay, whose place of birth was Windfield (perhaps a typo on someone's part) -- a community perhaps meant as Winfield, which I believe is considerably southwest of Mayfield, N. Y. No one has ever been able to identify that Sweet and I found only one mention of him regarding the Patriot War.). He served in the Civil War as a private for three years (enlisted Aug. 4, 1863) and was discharged on June 23, 1865 at Petersburg, Virginia by orders from the War Department dated May 29, 1865. Although there is no 1890 census because all the records burned in Albany, (I believe the fire occurred in Washington, D.C., since there are but few remaining records for the whole United States.) the 1890 Census Index of Civil War Veterans or their Widows lists the date of discharge as July 31, 1865, with a total service of 1 year, 11 months and 27 days with a rank of corporal in Company F. He incurred no disability from the war, surprising since dysentrey (sic) and traumatic injuries were common. His post office address was listed as Plessis, N. Y. These discharge papers state that William was 5’ 8” tall, with fair complexion and blue eyes and dark hair. His occupation when enrolled in the military was “joiner.” These orders were co-signed by J. S. Vanderburgh, Capt. 10th N. Y. Artillery. Also signing these papers was Hermann Mauth. He had been enlisted or “enrolled” on Aug. 4, 1862. One writing indicates that he re-enlisted -- that narrative is listed at the end of this Critique under "Resources" and is available on my website (by shirley. In trying to gather more information on William, the town clerk in Mayfield stated that their records didn’t go back that far. William is believed also to have fought in a Canadian War called “The Windmill.” Perhaps that is why he travelled to the Thousand Islands in the first place. William did indeed take part in this War and there are supporting statements that he was living in Plessis and attending school there when the winds of that little War were ebbing - those articles may be found on my website - look for the link under "Resources" at the completion of this Critique..) William had three wives, the first of which was Hannah, born March 21, 1826 and died April 14, 1889 (?) at the age of 55 years according to her tombstone. (new information for me - I was happy to get this even with the questionmark) ; William’s second wife was Julia who was born February 10, 1821 and who died May 31, 1891 at the age of 70 years. (we need to get a maiden name for Julia - should be possible with a death certificate or maybe a church record); William’s third wife was Libbie W. (Hawn) who died January 22, 1898 at the age of 62 years. It seems probable that Hannah was the mother of John Sweet. (the focus on John gives strength to the premise that the author of this history was a descendant of John Sweet -- I do not, however, understand why the author would doubt that any of the children’s attributed to Willliam were none other than Hannah’s - look at the ages of the subsequent wives)

The writer shifts now to the topic of land transactions and wills on behalf of William and/or his wives:

The first original land purchase of William D. Sweet was dated Aug. 8, 1846 where he purchased an acre of land lot #67, of the subdivision of Great Lot #4 of Macomb’s purchase for $5.00. It appears this is part of 6.35 acres being surveyed for Samuel B. Sweet. It is unknown whether Samuel and William were related. A Samuel Sweet is buried in Plessis, having died June 1, 1861. (It seems very plausible that Samuel was William’s older brother -- if not, he may have been an uncle - the author fails to note that Samuel Sweet was buried within one grave of whom one could conjecture was William’s father and mother, Wm. and Susannah (Blowers) Sweet in the Plessis cemetery. It is known by original record that Hannah sold to her husband, William, a cemetery lot in Plessis for the sum of $200.00 in January, 1886. I find this an intriguing fact - why would a husband sell her husband a cemetery lot? Were they getting a divorce at that age? And why were cemetery lots so much more expensive at the time than plain, ordinary land which was being purchased for $5.00 -- and you will notice that Wm. and his third wife sold a portion of a cemetery lot, not necessarily that one, for $8.00. Lots of unanswered questions here) On Nov. 5, 1894 William D. Sweet and Libbie Sweet sold a portion of the cemetery lot #26 (there’s my answer -- it sounds like the same lot) in the Plessis Cemetery to Chauncey Fuller and Esther Fuller (his wife) for $8.00. (Esther Fuller was Wm. D. Sweet’s dtr. by Hannah Hosner). Another deed, dated Nov. 21, 1905 sold land in Plessis between the Mill Pond and Mullet Creek Rd. by John and Emma Sweet to Esther Fuller. Apparently, William Sweet and James Hosner together purchased 25 acres in the town of Alexandria on April 18, 1872 for $47.00. (James was, according to my History of the Hosner Family, a brother of William’s first wife, Hannah Hosner)

Another deed dated June 25th 1887 shows Hannah and William purchasing 25 acres of land in the town of Theresa from James Hosner for $50.00. So William bought out his land partner, it appears. (I agree - and am very happy to have this information -- my land research abilities are so limited. by shirley)

Other documents, such as Libbie's original will provide an interesting commentary on family life in the late 1800’s. (someone not connected in any way to this family recently sent me snip-its of the will’s passages and the author is correct -- very interesting -- I now have copies of the complete will.)

The author reviews Libbie Sweet’s will, in part, and tells us a little about the relationships of the legatees involved:

Included in the will was the sale of the “homestead” for $200 (Now can you agree with me that $200 for a cemetery lot seemed absurd?) Numerous household items are listed, including goose feather pillows and comforters. Libbie’s parents were buried in LaFargeville Grove Cemetery. (change in train of thought here puzzles me, but the information is nice to know) She lists many nieces and nephews who were given $20 and $10. Libbie had two sisters, a Mrs. R. S. Cook and Mrs. M. A. Hurd and two brothers, C. J. Hawn and L. C. Hawn. Her will was made out three years prior to her death in 1895. One wonders if Libbie’s sole worth was 40 acres of land in Plessis or whether she had accumulated wealth throughout her lifetime. (is the author saying that the “homestead” which she mentioned above, which was sold for $200, included 40 acres of land?) It is known that Libbie received a deed on Sept. 28,1894 for land in the town of Alexandria in Plessis from a John Hagan, a farmer in the Town of Orleans for which she paid $800.00 for 2.64 acres near Plessis Mill Pond and Mullet Creek Rd. (is the author implying that this transaction was only between Libbie Sweet and Mr. Hagan -- i.e., William Sweet, her husband, was not listed as a participant in the contract? - independent thinker, maybe?) It appears her will was probated on September 6, 1898. William’s date of death appears obscure. (is the author saying that the tombstone is not legible? or is she referring to a failure to find more information in public records as to the date -- see information earlier -- William, it appears, died in 1905) William D. Sweet and all three wives are buried in the Plessis Cemetery. William’s grave has a Civil War marker on it. (and for those of you descendants who care about Civil War recognition, there are current (January 2000) Civil War Specialists on the Internet who have insufficient data on William, as a participant in the Civil War - and I doubt the marker is there now)

John is believed to have three sisters and one brother, although exactly which of the wives had which child is unknown. (she continues this quandary - I wonder if she had a census available from which to see the lineup?) Sidney Sweet, John’s brother, had a son, Verne, who married a woman named Eva. Together they bore two sons, one of which had meningitis and died young. (I believe this is erroneous - Sidney Sweet married an Eva Swartout on 8 Aug 1888 at Evans Mills Presbyterian Church - she was adopted by the Swartouts and her real may have been a Plato; it was they who had a son, Verne, born in 1890 and died 26 June 1920, having been in World War I; they also had two others sons who both died in infancy or childhood: Lawrence, born in 1891 - died 15 Sept. 1895 and Forest, born March 1895, died 5 Oct 1895) (I’d also like to point out here that Eva Sweet was very active in the DAR, both locally and on a statewide basis -- one might uncover some interesting genealogy on the Sweets if her records could be located - this family was buried in Theresa Cemetery.) John’s sister, Mary Sweet, was also known as “Aunt Mame.” She first married a man named Hardy, then a man named Hunneyman. One of these men was known as “Uncle Vet.” Mary had a son named Willie who married a woman named Beulah (Beulah’s name, according to cemetery records was Ritter). Together Willie and Beulah had a daughter, Eunice, who married a Snell, and a son named Erastus who married Alice. (none of this can be disproved) Another of John’s sisters was Esther born in 1849 and died 1926. Esther married a Charles Chauncey Walsh (this appears to be incorrect - his name was most likely Chauncey Fuller, based on the fact that the Plessis Cemetery has burials for both - Esther, 1849-1926 and Chauncey (Fuller?), 1845 - 1915. Info taken from Bartlett’s Cemetery Books. - I wonder how the name Walsh fit in and was it from a fading memory of someone for the name of Waltz - that being said because the name Orzo is coming up in reference to an Orzo Walsh -- some say I have a wild imagination -- but the name Orzo Waltz was a name in that area at that time) and together they had three children, Bernadette Walsh, Orzo Walsh, and Leona Walsh. Later Esther married a Fuller (1845-1919.) (the name Chauncey appearing in the Plessis Cemetery records probably should get some attention -- looks like Esther did indeed have two husbands, and she was buried as Esther Fuller!) John’s third sister was Abigail Sweet, who married a man named Hart and moved to Kansas. (I, as a Sweet researcher, never knew about Abigail - I must remind myself to examine the various census records more closely - I find this very interesting -- the name Abigail was the name of Hannah Hosner’s mother and might be clue enough that this was Hannah’s child.) They had two children, a daughter who was mute “dumb” and a son named Worth. (This is a reminder to me to bear this mute child in mind -- it is particularly interesting to me because I have been asked if I knew the source family of genes contributing to deafness. Those asking are from the Hosner lineage, which of course, is Hannah Sweet’s maiden name. Other Hosners with no Sweet lineage had considerable deafness in their families. by shirley)

This appears to be the line-up of William D. Sweet’s wives:

William D. Sweet:

Hannah (1826-1881) (this date is way off -- there were monetary transactions after this date - see preceding data -- Hannah died 4/4/1889)

Julia (1821 - 1891)

Libbie (1836 - 1898) (this is the first I’ve seen of Libbie’s birth year). According to an entry from the Charlebois Scrapbook on this website, the couple married in 1893: "1893 Sweet, William D. Plessis mar Mrs. Libbie W. Scarlett, LaFargeville on 22 Aug 1893 Clayton Center at home of F. Brown by Rev. Baker." I once found mention that Libbie was adopted by a Plessis family.

Under Hannah Sweet (it is assumed) is:

Abigail

Esther

Mary

Sidney

Worth (I believe Worth should not be on this list, since the first four are what the author meant to be a list of William’s children -- if the text above is correct, Worth was Abigail’s son. My conception of the family looks like this - order not known:

Esther, Mary, Adelaide - died young, John M., Sidney, Abigail and on one census sighting -- not documented is a William. by shirley)

Next, appeared what looks like a list of the children of John Sweet and Mary Swan -- with dates: (the copy I received did not separate the children from John’s first wife, Mary Swan, and that of his second wife, Emma Hemingway -- however, we have already established that Pearl and Edward, Sr., were the children of Mary Swan and John Sweet -- all the remaining children were with Emma.)

Pearl

Edward, Sr. - 1880

Son who died

Avia

Zoa

Mary

Pauline

Then Edward, Sr.’s child:

Edward, born 1907 and Avia’s children, who appear to be twins: (need more information on the twins)

Madeline

Marilyn - twin Fitzpatrick (new to me and not mentioned when Marilyn House was mentioned in preceding account: Fall of 2000 I learned that Marilyn married a Fitzpatrick.)

The author now tells about Edward, Jr.: (please be reminded that I believe that it was Edward’s wife, Helen O’Brien Sweet, who assembled and wrote this history.)

Edward Jr.’s childhood was one of being an only child. He and Helen (is she talking about herself?) both attended school at what is now the village municipal building housing the fire department and the police department on Rock Street across from the Methodist church. Edward was a fearless child who often fought with other boys on the lawn of the Dutch Reformed church after school. He attended school until the eighth grade, and received good grades in school. A report card with G. F. Radley’s signature indicated Edward attained these grades in June, 1923:

Reading 80
Spelling 89
Geography 82
Writing 85
Arithmetic 76
Elem. Eng. 77
Elementary U. S. History 76

He grew up in a white house on Anthony Street which is still standing, the last white house on the right. He had pigs as pets (which later became Sunday dinner). One little one, the runt of the litter, never grew too well. It was after his death that a roofing nail was found in his nose and it hurt him to eat. Edward had been quite fond of this animal. His Uncle Dan remembered an episode after Edward got his Harley-Davidson when he turned the corner on Anthony Street and wound her up to head down the street. Dan said, “Better be shutting her off soon, or he’ll be in trouble.” In trouble he was, for he crashed into the house, escaping with only minor injuries. Another famous motorcycle story occurred when Edward assisted his father on a Great Lakes sailing vessel. Having docked in Ogdensburg for the night, Edward went out with his motorcycle to roam the countryside. With only dim dock lighting and perhaps a toddy or two under his belt, Edward drove the motorcycle onto the dock right up to the edge, where a 12” by 12” timber bordered the dock. Up went Edward and the motorcycle, end over end right into the drink. The next day, the crew hoisted the bike up out of the water and it was dried out.

Helen Myrtle O’Brien married Edward James Sweet, Jr. on December 4, 1926. She was 16 and he was 19 years old. She had made her father very angry by quitting school in the early spring of 1926 and began working full time at the Candy Kitchen, where the Dockside Restaurant is now. Her boss was Pete Skordis. At this restaurant was homemade candy, sandwiches and ice cream. After that she moved out of the house and had worked as a waitress at the Marsden House, where her Grandmother O’Brien (Jennie) was the head cook. Helen lived at the hotel until it closed in the fall and then went home. Her relationship with Mina was conflicted also. (who is Mina?) Grandma O’Brien had ideas that Helen should be a telephone operator and made arrangements for her to go to Fulton, N. Y. for this training. Basically, she didn’t want Helen to continue to see Edward. She tried to break them up by informing the people in Fulton that Helen was not to have any phone calls or letters from home. So when Edward wrote to Helen, the letters never were forwarded and his phone calls were never told to Helen. Helen decided she didn’t want to become a.............(text ceased or lost)....

The treatise of the Sweet Family by the unknown author ended in the middle of the previous sentence. Since posting this on the Internet, someone has asked me for the identity of Lyla Sweet -- who was she? -- the person who is asking told me her husband, a Mr. LaPress of Niagara Falls, used to visit the Alexandria Bay area when a child and he remembers an Aunt Lyla Sweet. If anyone knows, please contact me at [email protected].)

Written by Shirley C. Farone
1208 Township Rd. 1153
Ashland, OH 44805

January 2000 - Revised for Internet: May 7, 2001

The ensuing pages contain various research findings which I used to support my comments.

My Sweets In The Patriot War
Participants in the Patriot War (in Canada - 1838)
A Second Patriot War Article

Libbie Hawn Sweet's Will is on the Jefferson County GenWeb site -- under Rootsweb GenConnect Boards -- have to type in "Sweet" and select "eons" because it was sent in long ago.

Hannah Hosner Sweet's Will is on the Jefferson County GenWeb site -- under Rootsweb GenConnect Boards -- have to type in "Sweet" and select "eons" because it was sent in long ago.

My database is on a Rootsweb's WorldConnectDatabase

http://wc.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?db=shirleyfarone023

This database includes some of the names mentioned in this Critique. The database is a work in progress, as are most databases.

Return to Index of Family Genealogy Items

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