John and Kate

OK, All....I am so excited to tell you what I know about John and Kate (not plus 8, hehe) and what I have learned about them lately. First, I want to start with what I already told you about that wasn't complete. When telling the story of Ralph I said that he had one sister, Ida M., that I knew about. But I have been working on some stuff and I learned even more. They had one more sister her name was Leah. Here is why I didn't know about her before: she was born in 1881, which would mean she wasn't in the 1880 US Federal Census. And since most of the 1890 US Federal Census was burned in a fire, I didn't have that to go off. But I did find her in two places one in the 1900 US Federal Census and in Kate's obituary. So yay, for finding new Aunts.....lol. I promise that there will be more to come on all of Ralph's siblings later. I think for now it's good to give you your direct line so you will understand stuff like how important Uri Mulford really was to our history. Well now that I have given you that good news I will go on to John and Kate's story.

John Adamson was born on 19 May 1836 in Steuben County to John and Minerva Adamson. The date I have is really an about date as I need to verify it a little more. John had one brother Mulford Adamson, and two sisters Louisa and Barentha. I will tell you this Barentha once she was about 8, I think, started going by her middle name Edith which I agree is a better name...lol. I believe that at the time of his birth they lived somewhere around Thurston, New York. But with all things, I could be wrong....alright nobody tell my husband I just said that.

Kate is a little bit harder. I think she was born abt 1843 in New York. I also think her maiden name may have been Yost. But like with all women it's hard to research them unless you know there maiden name. I am working on verifying the last name of Yost.

Sometime before 1864 is when John and Kate married. I think they could have met in either Thurston or in Rathbone. John lived in Thurston in 1860 but could have moved to Rathbone and there met Kate or they could have gotten married and moved together. I will keep you updated if and when I get more information about this time in their lives.

By 1870, they were living in Rathbone, New York and had already had three of their children: Ida M., Arthur and Walter. They also had a farm of around 160 acres with a little more than half still being wooded. They had 2 horses, 4 milk cows, 5 cows, and 3 pigs. They grew wheat, Indian corn, oats, potatoes and hay. In 1873 they had Ralph, followed by their last daughter Leah in 1881. By 1891 they had started a lumber mill in Cameron, which was Rathbone, with about 100 acres. They had about 6 employees including Arthur and Ralph.

John died sometime around 1895 in Cameron. At the time of his death Leah would have only been about 14 years old. So Kate left alone with a child to support became a dress maker. Kate and Leah are living together in 1900 in Dunkirk, Chautaugua County, New York. Walter dies in 1909, how hard that must have been for her losing one of her children. By 1910 Leah is married and Kate being about 67 years old is living with her oldest daughter Ida M. Bailey in Schenectady, Schenectady County, New York.

Kate dies 29 Mar 1917 in Schenectady. She is survived by her two daughters and her two sons. I found her obituary, and it lists two sons living in North Dakota. This has been an important discovery because that means that Ralph was still alive in the first part of 1917. This little bit of information will hopefully help me find some clue in finding out the real story behind Ralph's disappearance. We were always under the impression that he disappeared in 1916 but now we know that maybe he was still alive then. I am ever looking for that one little piece of information that will help me figure out what happened to our Great Grandfather.

OK, so no news on my little pet project but as soon as I have more to report, I promise I will let you all in on my little secret. This will keep you all wondering and checking back often.....bahahaha. That's the way my twisted little mind works. :)

I wish that I knew more about the people themselves. Like what kind of personality they had, what was some of their experiences, how they interacted with each other. But I can only speculate that they were a loving family that lived in a hard time. Kate becoming a dress maker to me is fascinating. I am going to look more into that part of her life and see what kind of experiences she may have had trying to support her young daughter in a time in history when that was really hard for women. She lived 22 years after her husband died and never got remarried. I wonder was it true love they had for each other that she never had interest in another man. Or was she a bitter woman, past her prime in life that never attracted anyone. One can only wonder.......