Gardner Sheldon (1798-1859)

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Life Events & Family:

  • Born c1798 in South Kingston, Washington, Rhode Island: to Isaac Sheldon III & Esther Carpenter
  • 1816: Moved to Saratoga County, New York at age 18.
  • 1818: Married in Saratoga County, New York to Nancy Gorum (1799-1884)
      • Children
    • 1. Harriet Sheldon Wells (1819-1878): She married Seymour Wells and had at least three children – Newton, Adelia, and Mary.  They stayed in Genesee County.
    • 2. Benjamin Sheldon (1820-1859): He married Louisa Vaught in Edgar County, Illinois in 1846.  They lived for a time in Fond-du-Lac County, Wisconsin where some of their children were born but eventually made their way down to Helena, Texas – now a ghost town.  It was in Helena in 1859 that Benjamin was shot and killed by Alexander Selser, a man who lived and worked on his farm.  It was suggested by his brother-in-law, Martin Vaught, many years later that this was for political reasons but the details are unclear.
    • 3. Russell A. Sheldon (1822-1907): Moved to Wisconsin
    • 4. Daniel G. Sheldon (born 1823): Moved to Wisconsin
    • 5. Abigail S. Sheldon Gillett (born c1825)
  • 1819: Moved to Pittsfield, Otsego, New York
  • 1833: Moved to Genesee County, New York
  • Died 10 Jun 1859 in Bethany, Genesee, New York of dropsical pneumonia

Biography – (tree link)

Gardner Sheldon was born in South Kingston, Rhode Island to Isaac Sheldon III and Esther Carpenter, his maternal grandmother was Abigail Sheldon.  Both parents were descendants of the progenitor John Sheldon of Newport and Kingstown, Rhode Island.  At the age of 18 (1816) he moved from Rhode Island to Saratoga County, New York where he met and married Nancy Gorum.  He stayed there just a few years before moving again (1819) to Pittsfield, Otsego County.  With the possible exception of their first daughter, Harriet, who may have been born before they left Saratoga County, it is in Otsego County that their children were born – Harriet (1819), Benjamin (1820), Russell A. (1822), Daniel G. (1823), and Abigail (1825).

The family moved again in 1833 to the town of Perry that was, at the time, still part of Genesee County, New York but is now part of Wyoming County, New York.  By 1840 they had moved a few miles further north to Middlebury, Genesee County, and by 1850 a few miles further north to Bethany, Genesee County.  It was in Bethany that Gardner spent his final days, where he wrote his Will on 28 March 1859, and where he was buried at Transit Cemetery.  Gardner passed away on 10 Jun 1859 of “dropsical consumption” – in modern terms an edema, most likely in the lungs, caused by tuberculosis bacteria.  After his death, his widow Nancy remarried to the Rev. Rufus Peet.

Gardner’s Migration

Gardner was born in South Kingston, RI (1798), and moved to Saratoga County, NY at age 18 (1816), then after his marriage moved to Edmeston, Otsego Co., NY (1819), Pittsfield, NY (1830), then moved to Perry, Wyoming County, NY (1833), Middleburgy, Genesee County (1840), before finally retiring in Bethany, NY (1850), where he died in 1859.

Documentation

Cemeteries:

  • Transit Cemetery (Bethany, Genesee, New York)

Census:

  • 1810 – South Kingston, Washington, Rhode Island – with parents
  • 1820 – Edmeston, Otsego, New York – with wife & 2 children
  • 1830 – Pittsfield, Otsego, New York – with wife, 4 children, and an elderly man
  • 1840 – Middlebury, Genesee, New York – with wife & 3 children
  • 1850 – Bethany, Genesee, New York – with wife & youngest daughter

Publications:

By |2023-08-05T04:43:33-04:00January 13, 2022|Comments Off on Gardner Sheldon (1798-1859)

About the Author:

Dale has been studying genealogy heavily for over 30 years, since the age of 10. Although he does not seek professional clients, he has helped a family regain property lost during the Holocaust, and has assisted to obtain historical preservation status for a building in San Francisco. He is a co-admin of the ftDNA Sheldon DNA Project. He lived most of his life in California but has recently moved to upstate New York. He works in the travel industry.
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