Catherine'sdeath certificate (number 6505) states that she was born in Matteawan,which is a small post town located in East Fishkill, Dutchess county,New York. She was buried in the family plot in the Evergreens Cemetery in Brooklyn.She was living at Hale, and Atlantic avenues in Brooklyn when she died. Some family histories are so difficult to clarify, and the history of Catherine's family was indeed difficult.The written evidential trails state that she was born between 1822-1824 in Dutchess county, New York, the 1855 New York city census states her birthplace as Dutchess county, and that she was in New York city since she was only 1 year old.Of course she would not herself remember where she was born,but no doubt she was told by her mother where she came from.Her death certificatestates the town of Matteawan, and the only place in New York where this name comes up is again in Dutchess county.Also she gave the name of Hermance to one of her daughters, a name which originates in Dutchess county.Numerous family members interviewed by this author, Aunt Ruthie, Uncle Roy, and my father Ellsworth La Coste all remember a name that sounded like Hermance, or Heran, as being in the family tree, and they said Dutchess county, New York was there early on in the families history. These clues alone does suggest that either Catherine herself may have been born in Matteawan, or that her mother's family came from that area, and that they still had relatives living in that town.Also when this author started his quest in the late 1970's, the surname of Hermance came up more than once, and Aunts, and Uncles seemed to remember that we were descended from that family, even though they did not know how, or even how to write the name.It is my guess that Catherine was probably born either in Matteawan, or in New York, probably Brooklyn, New York, and that her father may have been from the Dutchess county area, but this is not known for sure. However, it is the belief of this author that her mother, who may very well be the Elizabeth Savage who was found in the 1830, and 1840 Brooklyn census records, was probably from this area, most likely Matteawan, and that her maiden name may have been Hermance, or a variation thereof. It is entirely possible that Elizabeth came from Dutchess county, moved to the New York City area, and met Mr. Savage.This author has conducted an extensive 5 year study of Dutchess county records which included Census, Probate, Church, Deeds, and Cemetery records, and the Dutchess County Genealogical Society conducted a search of their records, and no mention was found of any family with the surname of Savage in their records.Thusly, it is safe to assume that what you do not find is as important as what you do find.No doubt the Savage family itself had little or anything to do with Dutchess county, even though occasionally a person of this surname does appear in records but nolink has been established.Assuming that Catherine was either born in New York city, or came to New York city as a young girl of 1 or so, I then researched all available records from there.This included a detailed study of the 1820-1860 census records for all persons with the surname of Savage, Deed records in NYC, and Brooklyn, and New York City Directories,Probate records,War of 1812 records,death records, Church records, and Newspaper records.This exhaustive search took over 7 years,with no conclusive proof mentioning Catherine.In two occasions a Catherine was mentioned in connection with two families named Savage, but this author proved that these girls were not our Catherine.Now we get the practice of family naming patterns, and the general rules,while not conclusive proof,sometimes leads us to a possible connection, in this case came up empty, except for the name of Hermance.However, George William La Coste, and his wife Ellen Jane Hermance Mc'Canlis did name their first born son William N. La Coste, so this also could point to his being named for some ancestor.The census records, and City Directories seemed to be the only proofs available,but they did not name the names of the children in 1830-1840.The only family with the surname of Savage located in the 1830-1840 census records of New York city which fits our family was the Elizabeth Savage who lived in Brooklyn, New York from ca. 1829-1841 or so. But the father of this family died, or left home before the 1830 census, and his name is never mentioned. At one time I thought a Jacob Savage, obviously an Englishman,or Irish born, who was found in the Brooklyn 1820 census, and who died in 1822, based on Spooners Brooklyn City directories for 1822, was the husband of the Mrs Savage, and Elizabeth Savage in the 1830, and 1840 census records, but this is probably not the case.That Catherine named her first daughter Sarah Elizabeth, and that Thomas Mc'Canlis first lived in Brooklyn, and then New York City, lends some degree of probability that the Brooklyn family is probably related to this family.It is this author's belief that Elizabeth Savage may have been named Elizabeth Hermance, and that she was the one who came from Dutchess county, and that she most likely met her husband Mr. Savage either in Columbia county, Dutchess county, or New York City. The name of Savage is conspicuously absent in Dutchess county during this time frame.He probably came from either the Columbia county area, or the Dutchess county area, including possibly Putnam, and Westchester county, and possibly CT., or from New York City, or somewhere else in New York State.While there is no direct evidence to prove my assertions, there is little doubt that Catherine Savage was either herself from Dutchess county, or that her mother's family was. Indeed the family of Hermance was a well known family of Dutchess county.In the 1880 census Catherine lived in Brooklyn, and she stated that her mother, and father were both born in New York, she was 57 in this census. A thorough search of the Greene street Methodist church records has revealed three families attending with the surname of Savage, however, this author has conducted a very extensive search of these persons, and they do not match the profile, and they do not have a daughter of this age bracket. Catherine may have been the girl found in both the 1830, and 1840 Brooklyn census records with her mother Elizabeth. Another very probable match for Catherine's parents was a certain Bernard Savage who was the son of a Barnaby Savage, and Catherine Colner of New York City. This family goes back to the early 1740's in NYC withanother Barnaby Savage, a rope maker of NYC.. Bernard Savage fits the profile in the 1830 NYC census, he does have one daughter, unnamed in the household, who fits the age bracket of our Catherine, and Bernard's mother's name was Catherine so it is very possible that he named his oldest daughter after his mother.Bernard first appears in the New York City Directories in the 1824 period, and he disappears from all records, including future census records in 1833. He most likely died by this time, and his wife's name is never mentioned. He never appears in any records in upstate New York.It is this author's belief that Bernard was not the father of our Catherine, but I mention it anyway in case sometime in the future new evidence appears which may dispute my beliefs based on many years of research. A third match was that of a James Savage who was found in the NYC 1830 census, but he disappears in the 1840 census. These were the only three households with the surname of Savage in either the 1830 or 1840 NYC census records which could be the parents of our Catherine. It is presently not known who the real parents of Catherine were, and this author leaves this issue open for future research. However, it is this author's belief that her mother's name was most likely Elizabeth Hermance, and the only woman of this name found in any records in New York State during this time was the daughter of Hendrick Heermans (Hermance), and Sarah Hoyt of Matteawan, and Rhinebeck, Dutchess county, New York, but this author has not put forth their genealogy,considering there is no proof of such an assertion. More research is needed to ascertain the validity of this claim. That there is a connection to the Hermance family of Dutchess county seems very probable. |