Henrietta (Dorr) Phelps (abt. 1808 - abt. 1853)

Born about 1808 in Chatham, Ghent Town, Columbia, New York, United States

Ancestors

Died about 1853 at about age 45 in Chatham Town, Columbia, New York, United States

Problems/Questions Profile manager: AmyLynn Hunt [send private message]

Biography

Not much is known about Henrietta Dorr, there are oddly specific dates for her birth and death on every Genealogy web site, but at Find A Grave, this researcher currently leans toward agreeing that the most honest dates exist: Unknown, dash, Unknown.

We *can* narrow down the time in which she lived, however. There are more records for her husband, Orrin Phelps, who may have lived twenty years after the loss of his wife. Henrietta is last seen - in documents available online (It would be fantastic to travel and search libraries and walk through cemeteries, doing "boots on the ground" research - we too often forget that "everything" is actually not on the Internet. Fortunately, much is) - in the 1850 Federal Census, and her death is usually placed in about 1853, as the 1855 New York Census shows then 49 year old Orrin has returned to the home of his parents, along with at least one of his and Harriet's children.

There are no visible dates on her headstone, pictured at her Find A Grave Memorial. But as a daughter, wife, and mother, Henrietta née Dorr Phelps left footprints - perhaps breadcrumbs - in the lives of three generations. Research is ongoing.

Sources

• "United States Census, 1850," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MCYM-V7V : 23 December 2020), Henrietta Phelps in household of Orrin Phelps, Chatham, Columbia, New York, United States; citing family , NARA microfilm publication (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).

Family in 1850:

Orrin Phelps, 42, born in New York

Henrietta Phelps, 40 born New York

Louisa Phelps, 18, New York

Georgiana Phelps, 4, New York

• Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/29258297/henrietta-phelps : accessed 9 April 2022), memorial page for Henrietta Dorr Phelps (unknown–unknown), Find a Grave Memorial ID 29258297, citing Chatham Union Cemetery, Old Chatham, Columbia County, New York, USA ; Maintained by Elizabeth M, Phillips Hurley (contributor 46805289) .

Henrietta is mentioned in a DAR book I'm unsure how to cite properly, or how much weight it carries - but she does appear to be a descendant of a "Captain Matthew Dorr", who was a Revolutionary War Patriot. Her parents are in the line to the DAR member, which also goes through Orrin and Henrietta née Dorr Phelps, and gives Henrietta's date of birth and death as 1808-1853. This is the only place a marriage year is given, 1828 (These books are still pretty new to me, I'm just showing everything I can find, perhaps someone can comment on the veracity? And how to properly cite it)

• "Daughters of the American Revolution, Pg 166" Source Citation: Book Title: Lineage Book : NSDAR : Volume 138 : 1918 Source Information Ancestry.com. North America, Family Histories, 1500-2000 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2016. Description:"This collection contains genealogical research privately published in family history books"...

One more!

• "The Hyde Genealogy" - this appears to be the source of the very specific day/month/year used for Henrietta's birth and death dates. (My tablet won't let me copy/paste the URL, I'll try again elsewhere). Another book I don't yet know how to vet - but am absolutely hesitant to use this book as a Primary Source for these dates. But as there is so little about here, throwing it all out here so others can sort through it seems ... not completely unwise.

Everything I could bring here:

Source Citation: Book Title: Hyde Genealogy, or, The Descendants, in the Female as Well as in the Male Lines, From William Hyde,

Source Information:

Ancestry.com. North America, Family Histories, 1500-2000 ::[database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, ::Inc., 2016

Details (continuing from Hyde book):

Name: Henrietta Dorr

Gender: Female

Birth Date: 8 Dec 1808

Birth Place: Chatham

First Marriage Date: 14 Jan 1828

Death Date: 24 Sep 1853

Death Place: Chatham

Father: Russell Dorr

Mother: Palsa Piana Bull

Spouse: Orrin Phelps

Child[ren]:

Louisa Mariah Phelps

Henrietta Paulina Phelps

Catherine Clyde Phelps

Georgianna Phelps

The information about Henrietta's parents, spouse, and location of birth and death line up with what is known, so maybe the dates are correct? Her children, on the other hand, vary wildly from book to different web sites.