Find A Grave Friday

Susan B Gordon Sharp

Susan Gordon was my husband’s 3rd great grandmother. She is buried in the Felts Mills Cemetery in Felts Mills, Jefferson County, New York. You can view her Find A Grave memorial here.

Born about 1823 in New York, Susan was the oldest known child of Thomas Gordon and Sylvia King. There are very few records available for Susan during her lifetime. We know based on a census record that Susan married Henry Sharp (probably about 1842) and they lived in Rutland, Jefferson County, NY. In fact, the only census record available for Susan Sharp is the 1850 US Federal Census. Prior federal census records only list head of house by name, and Susan died prior to the 1855 NY State Census.

It was a monumental task to put the Sharp family back together by following the census records, and the will of Susan’s father was invaluable in connecting and confirming Susan’s children. The will of her father, Thomas Gordon, lists the children of Thomas and wife Sylvia – including deceased daughter Susan Sharp and the oldest 3 daughters of Susan and Henry Sharp. I assume the youngest daughter (Susan) was deceased prior to the death of Thomas in 1872. (The research and methods used are outlined in several previous posts that start here)

Susan died 8 July 1853. Her monument was transcribed by the NYGenWeb project before it became unreadable. Although we can’t know much about Susan’s short life, her family lineage is fairly well documented and she is connected to some very interesting ancestors.

The Gordon family can trace a direct line back to Alexander Gordon from Scotland who fought at the battle of Worcester in 1651 under General Monk. Alexander was captured and held as a prisoner of war until his deportation to the American colonies where he would work as an indentured servant for John Cloyes until he gained his freedom. (You can read about him here)

The King family can trace it’s lineage back to the 1600s in England to Elizabeth King and her husband Samuel Rice. Samuel came to the American colonies and settled in Massachusetts. Samuel and Elizabeth’s son, also Samuel, was adopted by Elizabeth’s brother Peter King and his wife as an infant because Elizabeth died about 2 weeks after he was born. Samuel was known as “Rice alias King”. Samuel Rice King’s grandson William King and two of William’s sons fought during the Revolutionary War. (The Rice family have their own lineage association that can be viewed here)

Susan’s family lines also intersect with the Nash, Warriner, Swain, Scribner, and Cushing families through various marriages. All of these families are found in the colonies of New England in the 1600-1700s.

Susan appears to have largely been forgotten by her grandchildren and later generations. I am so happy to have found her again and reconnected her to her family and given her her proper place in our family tree.