McLafferty Family History, Page 2

• page 1: Henry McLafferty, Rev. Henry McLafferty & Rebecca Dunn McLafferty
• page 2: Henry & Rebecca McLafferty's Children
• page 3: Henry McLafferty & Rachel Dunn McLafferty; Other McLaffertys; Kendaia Cemetery Records

Henry & Rebecca's children

Henry and Rebecca's firstborn James was born in Piscataway the following December 16, 1808. On November 18, 1830 at age 21 he married Deborah Stoatart in Romulus, New Jersey. He passed away on June 1, 1838 at the age of 29. Deborah Ann McLafferty passed away on May 23, 1843.

Daughter Elizabeth C. was born in Piscataway on August 13, 1810 and died at age 3 on November 19, 1813, in Romulus, New York. She was named after her grandmother McLafferty. (A Jane McLafferty also died the same day, but she was not a child of Henry's. She may have been a sister, aunt, or cousin ; perhaps their fates were somehow intertwined.)

Daughter Gennie was born on July 30, 1812, in Romulus, Seneca County, New York. The family moved there in 1811 or the first half of 1812. Reverend and Mrs. McLafferty moved there at the same time or shortly after (perhaps with Jane?). All the McLafferty children from this point on were born in Romulus. (There is a Jennie E. McLafferty in the Kendaia cemetery but she is not buried in the same row as the rest of the family and she died on November 30, 1929 so it probably is a different person.)

The Reverend McLafferty died on April 27, 1814 and his wife Elizabeth died 6 1/2 years later on December 11, 1820. They both died in Romulus, NY where they lived with their son and his family.

Son Gershom was born just over a year later on September 6, 1813. Gershom married Matilda Carroll (or Carrell) on February 7, 1838 at age 24, in Romulus. She was born on September 27, 1814. They went on to live in Catherine, Schuyler Co., near Havana NY. They had a son, James, whose birthdate is unknown but who was old enough in 1856 to bring two oxen his father had purchased for his grandfather down from Catherine and go back on the train.

Elizabeth was born on September 5, 1817. She was named after her grandmother, and after her sister who had died nearly 3 years earlier. Elizabeth was the first girl born after her elder sister Elizabeth C.'s passing. At age 22 she married John Carroll in Romulus on February 12, 1840.

Henry McLafferty (III) was born on December 14, 1819, and was named after his father, and his grandfather. He never married. He went by the name Henry McLafferty, Jr. He had an epileptic condition that caused him much difficulty. He passed away on October 20, 1859. It is his diary that is reprinted in Rochester History (see link on resources page).

According to Rochester History and his own diary, he was, over the years, a real estate agent and speculator, a surveyor, and an accountant for the Postmaster, Mr. Martin. He also repaired clocks and for the 1850 census called himself a "merchant."

Amos McLafferty was born January 4, 1821 and died at just over ten years of age on April 3, 1831.

Joel McLafferty was born on July 4, 1822. He farmed in the Romulus area, and raised buckwheat. In 1856 he moved into a frame house at Romulus Center which was owned by the Postermaster Martin. Later on he lived in El Passo, Ill.

Simeon McLafferty was born March 21, 1824. He lived in Romulus. His occupation is unknown but he did assist his father in killing some hogs in 1856. Henry notes in the diary that Absalom planned to go on "an exploring tour" of the west, and that "Simeon also expects to go west on similar business on our about the first of next month." ("Next month" would have been June 1857.) He corresponded with Rebecca while she was teaching in Indiana. He passed away at the age of 34 on March 31, 1858.

*Catherine McLafferty was born April 15, 1826 and died just past her second birthday on April 28, 1828.

*Philemon McLafferty was born April 10, 1833 and died at 4 years 3 months old on July 10, 1837 (Or July 10, 1833 according to the cemetery). He was named after Rebecca Dunn McLafferty's cousin Philemon Dunn.

*Absalom McLafferty was born October 17, 1834 and married Miriam Sackett (born in 1840) on February 22, 1864 in Romulus. He was 29. He worked on the farm, and according to Henry Jr., "works the premises on shares." Henry states in his diary in May of 1857 that Absalom "expects to go west soon on an exploring tour." Absalom passed away in Ovid in 1908.

*(At least these last three children - Catherine, Philemon, & Absalom - present a problem. At this point (1826) it is hard to believe that Rebecca would still have been bearing children as she would have been 56 years old at the time. However, if these later children weren't Rebecca and Henry's then whose were they? None of the children were yet married. It is possible, I guess, that these were the children of other relatives, though there is no reference to this anywhere that I can find.)

Rebecca Dunn McLafferty died on October 17, 1836, on Absalom's second birthday, at age 66. She had given birth to 13 children, with 9 surviving at her death (if all the children listed above were truly hers, and that seems unlikely).