Ellen (Ballard) Putnam (1841 - 1930)

Born Oct 1841 in Monroe, New York, United States

Ancestors

Descendants

Died 9 Sep 1930 at age 88 in Ontario, New York, United States

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Biography

Ellen married Lyman/Linus Putnam in around 1860.

In the 1860 Census, Lyman Putnam is with wife Ellen and son Charles in Webster, Monroe County, NY. Ellen and Charles's ages are consistent with the records listed below, but Linus/Lyman should have been about 24, not 27 as listed.^[1]

In the 1870 Census, Linus Putnam is listed with his family in Williamson, Wayne County, NY, about 14 miles west of Webster. He was working as a farm laborer.^[2][3]In 1875, 1880, 1892 he is in Webster, Monroe County, New York. All census records give fairly consistent names and ages:^[4][5]

Linus b. ~1835/6 in Wayne County (1833 in one record)

wife Ellen b. ~1842/3 in Monroe County

son Charles b ~1860 in Wayne County

daughter Mary E b ~1862 in Wayne County

daughter Florence b ~1876

mother Sarah b ~1814 (1880 Census only)

It appears that in 1900, Ellen was working as a live-in servant in the home of a local farmer. By 1910, she was living with her daughter Florence Putnam Young in Ontario. She died at Florence's home in 1930.

Obituaries: "Mrs. Mary Ballard of Pleasant Street [Shortsville] mourns the death of her sister, Mrs. Ellen Putnam, which occurred last week Tuesday at her home in Ontario, Wayne County, at the advanced age of 89 years. She was one of the oldest residents in that township. She is survived by two daughters, one sister, three grandsons, one granddaughter, and two great-grandchildren. Funeral services were held from her late residence on Friday afternoon."^[6]

"Mrs. Ellen Putnam, a former resident of Webster, passed away Tuesday, September 9, at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Florence Young, in Ontario. Funeral services were held from the home Friday afternoon with burial in Webster Union cemetery."^[7]

Sources for family of origin

From Ellen's obituary, we know that she had a sister Mary Ballard. Finding their family of origin is complicated by the fact that Ellen was married and out of the house (first child 1860) by the time Mary (b. ~1857) would show up in a Census.

Mary's husband's obituary says she was from Webster, and says "he married Mary Ballard" in a way that could be consistent with Ballard being her maiden name as well as her married name.^[8]

The Nathan Ballard family in Webster has daughters Ellen and Mary of the right ages. I wasn't quite ready to make the call that this was the right connection until, scraping for any possible mention, I came across this social notice in a 1912 newspaper:

"Mr. and Mrs. Fremont Ballard of Rochester and Mrs. Zeruah Eldred and Miss Carrie Eldred of Webster were guests of Mr. and Mrs. C.C. Young and Mrs. Ellen Putnam Sunday."^[9]

Fremont and Zeruah are two of the other children in the Ballard family. Given the other evidence, I'm going to assume this was a family visit and make the connection.

The 1900 Census shows a 59 year old Ellen Putnam as a servant in the Webster household of Milton Newland, an unmarried farmer. All of the details are consistent with our Ellen: born October 1841, married 40 years, 3 children of whom 2 are living.^[10] (Son Charles died in 1890). By the 1905 state census, he had a different servant.

1910 Census, Ontario, Wayne NY: ^[11]

self Chas Young M 47y New York

wife Florence Young F 32y New York

dau Ethel Young F 2y New York

dau Edma Young F 15y New York

Ellen Putnam F 68y New York

1920 Census, Wayne NY:^[12]

self Florence Young F 43y New York

moth Ellen Putnam F 78y New York

dau Ethel Young F 12y New York

Sources

1. ↑ "United States Census, 1860", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MCHD-HPF : 30 December 2015), Lyman Putman, 1860.
2. ↑ 1870 Census https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-267-11771-104159-80?cc=1438024
3. ↑ 1875 state census https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-266-11604-37578-33?cc=1918735
4. ↑ 1880 Census https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/MZDF-4H5
5. ↑ 1892 state census https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-266-12318-230399-14?cc=1529100
6. ↑ Shortsville Enterprise http://fultonhistory.com/Newspapers%2021/Shortsville%20NY%20Enterprise/Shortsville%20NY%20Enterprise%201928-1931/Shortsville%20NY%20Enterprise%201928-1931%20-%200868.pdf
7. ↑ The Herald Mail, Fairport NY, September 18, 1930, page 11
8. ↑ obituary of Clinton Ballard is here
9. ↑ The Record, Sodus NY, May 17, 1912
10. ↑ "United States Census, 1900," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-266-11128-19354-50?cc=1325221 : accessed 10 May 2016), New York > Monroe > ED 132 Webster Township (part) > image 5 of 25; citing NARA microfilm publication T623 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
11. ↑ "United States Census, 1910," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MRQD-3KN : accessed 10 May 2016), Ethel Young in household of Chas Young, Ontario, Wayne, New York, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 147, sheet 3B, NARA microfilm publication T624 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.); FHL microfilm 1,375,107.
12. ↑ "United States Census, 1920," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MV39-LSV : accessed 10 May 2016), Ethel Young in household of Florence Young, Ontario, Wayne, New York, United States; citing sheet 15B, NARA microfilm publication T625 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.); FHL microfilm 1,821,274.