I think I'm losing my damn mind.
Today I woke up determined to prove one way or the other, which Catherine Whaley is mine, which you probably know is hard to do since she was born in 1799 and they didn't name children and other family members in the US Federal Census until 1840. But I was loaded with theories and two other questions. First question: There is a David Whaley, born in 1903 and died in Hillsdale County, Michigan. He was married to Hannah Bean. Could he be a brother of Catherine Whaley? Question Two: Way way way over on the Mallison side of the family is a Thankful Whaley, also from New York, born around the same time. Could she possible be a sister or relative of Catherine Whaley.
First things first: In the 1850, 1860 and 1870 United States Federal Census, it is recorded that Amos Stout Drake was born in New Jersey and Catherine was born in New York. Catherine and Amos are older and no longer have a houseful of children. I bet it was probably Catherine who answered the door when the Census Enumerator came knocking. I am inclined to believe that Catherine knew where she was born. So far, so good.
There is a US Federal Census Mortality Schedule for Catherine Drake who has died at age 80 from diphtheria. Her husband Amos preceded her. I believe that I have seen a death certificate that names Mary P Drake as the reporter of her death, but that information is not listed in the Schedule. The schedule does say the she was born in Rhode Island and that her dad was born in New Jersey and her mother in New York. I need to see if there were any Whaleys living around the Piscataway, New Jersey area, which is where all the Drakes are from. My point is that Mary P Drake was John Stout Drake's third wife and I don't think the family liked her very much. There are more than a few things that she messed up on the census. I believe that Catherine Whaley knew best about where she was born. So I am picking NY state.
The 1820 United State Federal Census shows 388 Whaleys in the entire census. Out of those 388, there are 50 in the State of New York that I felt had potential. Why 1820? Because Catherine was born in NY State in 1799 and was married to Amos Stout Drake in New York, and Amos Stout Drake was supposedly born in NY although there is a little evidence that he may have been born in NJ. Be that as it may, I searched through all 50 of the Whaleys looking for a free female living in the place of the head of household. I had to make sure that the 21 year old female was NOT the wife of the head of the house. That left me with 16 options.
Back in 1820, how much does distance come into play? Where did young people go to meet and marry? Did they do a lot of traveling and socializing? Maybe if you lived in a town, but the Drake boys were usually farmers. How far is too far? Why would they be traveling away from there town. If Amos and Catherine weren't from the same town -- which i don't think they were -- why would Amos travel to Catherine's town or why did Catherine travel to his? Trading post? Weddings? Church? But before I get into all that, I need to double check and make sure that Amos Stout Drake was living where he should be.
Amos Stout Drake's pa is William Drake. There is a William Drake living in Ontario, Ontario, New York but he seems to be a young married with a wife, 3 sons under 10 and 3 daughters under 10. But there is also a William Drake in Lyons, Ontario, New York that have one so the right age and themselves. I'm pretty sure this is My Family. Amos was the last son and it makes sense that he would still be living with his folks.
There is a Whaley family in Cato, New York that has a daughter the right age for Catherine. Cato is approximately 30 miles from Lyons. Other towns with free females the right age; Spafford (51 miles away), Marcellus (43 miles away), Fabius (78 miles away), Camden (92 miles away) and Verona (85 miles away). Right now I'm not looking as far as Queens, New York.
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