Genealogical Gems

Margaret Dempsey, a New York centenarian, was found dead in her hut On This Day in 1880. Dempsey was found in her hut by a hunting party. The hut is located in the mountains near Ellenville , Ulster County, NY.    Her story is indeed a sad one. As a girl, she ran away from home to marry Mr. Dempsey, who soon after deserted her. She is believed to have died, at the age of 111, from hunger.   Source Lancaster Daily Intelligencer. ( Lancaster , PA ), 5 November 1880. Chronicling America : Historic American Newspapers . Library of Congress.    On This Day is a prompt to further explore historical events.                  © Jeanne Ruczhak-Eckman, 2015

Thursday’s “On This Day” post revealed an article in the Lancaster Daily Intelligencer about Charles Deyo of Shawangunk , Ulster County, NY. Deyo was shot by a “playfellow” on Tuesday, 12 October 1880, according to the paper. This particular piece had caught my attention because my husband is descended from the New York Deyo/Deyoe family.   To clarify, the Evening Gazette out of Port Jervis, NY, stated that the 14 year-old boy had been shot on Friday, which would have been the 8 th of October. He was shot in the abdomen and his recovery was “doubtful.”   Charles Brodhead Deyo was born 30 May 1866 to Brodhead Deyo and Sarah C. Bruyn. The 1870 Census shows four-year old Charles had three older sisters. They were: Nelly (then 17), Anna (then 13), and Jennie (then six). The family lived in Shawangunk and their post office was Tuthill. In 1878, his sister Nellie married Alpheus R. Brigden, of Fleming , NY .       He is buried at the New Hurley ...

Charles Deyo was fatally shot at Shawangunk , Ulster County, NY on Tuesday, 12 October. The Lancaster Daily Intelligencer reported, On This Day in 1880, that Charles was accidently shot by a “playfellow.”   Source Lancaster Daily Intelligencer. ( Lancaster , PA ), 14 October 1880. Chronicling America : Historic American Newspapers . Library of Congress.      On This Day is a prompt to further explore historical events.                  © Jeanne Ruczhak-Eckman, 2015