Family of Gilbert Ogden and Sarah Ayres

Date: [unknown] [unknown]
Location: [unknown]

Research Notes for Family of Gilbert Ogden & Sarah Ayres

22 July 2015 - Louis Ogden

The key to putting Samuel Ogden into a family group may rest with a fellow named Amos Ayres Ogden. I’ve had reason to believe that the internet world has incorrectly matched Amos Ayres Ogden with a set of parents, but until now, I’ve had no good indication of where he may properly fit. Now I think the new info I have on the Gilbert Ogden of Roxbury Township in the 1790’s, coupled with the fact that Samuel and David Vanhouten seem to have joined up together in the War of 1812, result in a very plausible family grouping.

Amos Ayres Ogden is generally indicated to be the son of Anna Jayne and David Ogden of Lower Smithfield Twp. PA, and later Tompkins Co., NY. As far as I can tell this is based on two things: 1) an Amos Ogden is named as one of the executors for the will of Aaron Van Houten (Anna’s second husband) in Tompkins Co. in 1835, and 2) apparently one of the children of Amos Ayres Ogden was named David Jayne Ogden (although I’ve seen no proof of the middle name). However, the other facts are:

1. Anna Jayne and David Ogden most likely had sons Amos and Gilbert. In 1835 Amos and Gilbert were named as executors for the estate of Aaron Van Houten, the second husband of Anna Jayne. It is also noted that Daniel and Amos Beach were witnesses to Van Houten’s will. Amos Beach (and probably Daniel Beach) was a grandson of Anna Jayne (her daughter Elizabeth Ogden m. Isaac Beach). This Amos Ogden and Gilbert Ogden are documented among the earliest settlers (1809) in, Enfield Township, Tioga (now Tompkins) County, New York. In 1800, David Ogden appears to be still very much alive and can be found in Ulysses Twp (age 26-44) with sons of the right age to be Amos and Gilbert. In 1810, I believe Amos and Gilbert are mixed in with the Van Houten boys. They are on their own and enumerated next to each other in 1820 (Hector Twp), 1830 (Enfield Twp) & 1840 (Seneca Co, OH). They had moved on together to Seneca County, Ohio, in the mid-1830’s after Van Houten died. Both these brothers are documented as having died in the mid-1840 in Seneca County. Whenever one of them is found, the other is always nearby.

2. As for Amos Ayres Ogden, he moved to Menard County, Illinois about 1832. (Note this is three years before Van Houten’s will was recorded). He moved there in the company of several relatives, including his in-laws (Matthew Lounsberry and wife, Mary Wagon). The Lounsberry’s are documented to have lived in Pony Hollow, near the town of Cayuta, Tioga (now Chemung) County, NY. This is the exact area that the family of Rev. David Jayne and that of Capt. Gabriel Ogden settled before 1800. This David Jayne is the brother of Capt. Timothy Jayne (the father of Anna Jayne). This “Capt.” Gabriel Ogden is almost certainly the son of Gabriel Ogden (s/o David of Roxbury). This location near Cayuta is about 20 miles as the crow flies from where the Van Houten’s settled—a substantial distance in those days and significant enough to identify separate families. However, I am confident that Amos Ayres is NOT the son of either of these Gabriel’s.

3. Another Gilbert Ogden appeared in Cayuta Twp. in 1820 (45+). Also appearing here in 1820, along with Gilbert Ogden, is another Amos Ogden (26-45) and Nicholas Cranmer (26-45). I believe this Amos is Amos Ayres Ogden and that Nicholas Cranmer married his sister, Mary Ogden. I believe both Amos Ayres Ogden and Mary Ogden are children of Gilbert Ogden. (I also believe that Samuel Ogden is another possible son). Gilbert Ogden first appears in NY in the 1800 Census near David Ogden/Anna Jayne in Ulysses Twp. (26-44) and again in 1810 in Ulysses (45+). In 1810, Nicholas Cranmer is immediately adjacent to Gilbert in Ulysses and he apparently moved on to Cayuta (as did Gilbert) by 1820. The Cranmer family genealogy is very specific in saying that Nicholas married a Mary Ogden, that he moved from Tompkins Co. to “back to” Tioga Co. around 1820, and that he died of a snake-bite in 1825. This family story and the movement of Gilbert Ogden match. It makes sense that the now aged Gilbert would move 20 miles to be near his married children, especially since his brother/cousin David was long dead. (Remember that Cayuta Twp and Ulysses Twp are more than 20 miles apart, and separated by several townships—far enough away that this was indeed a change of location.)

Gilbert Ogden had sons and daughters in the various censuses that are the right age to have included Amos Ayres and Mary (and Samuel). Amos is out on his own in 1820 (Cayuta 26-45) and 1830 (Newfield 30-40). Note that Newfield is in Tompkins Co., but shares the county line with Tioga County. Pony Hollow is almost exactly on the county line. In 1840 Amos Ayres Ogden is found in the census of Menard Co., IL (40-50). He also died in the 1840’s compounding the confusion with the other Amos.

In Roxbury Twp., Morris County, NJ, on the tax lists for years 1783 to 1797, there is a Gilbert Ogden. He is shown as a singleman in 1783 and married thereafter. He never has more than about 50 acres, and in many years he has none. But he is there every year. After 1797, he is not present anymore. He could very well have moved on to NY with his cousin/brother David Ogden and Anna Jayne--there are other recognizable families in this immediate area that migrated to Tompkins/Seneca Counties from western Morris County at this same time, including members of the Ayres and Abel families.

In Hackettstown, Sussex (now Warren) Co., NJ, about five miles from where David of Roxbury lived, there is a fellow named Ezekiel Ayres who died in 1796. Ezekiel had a daughter Sarah, born 09 Mar 1757, who married a fellow named Ogden. This is proven by the division of Ezekiel Ayres’ estate in 1796, in which eight of his children are named, including daughter Sarah Ogden. This Ayres family is also substantiated by a family bible record which is reproduced in ‘Early Germans” and “Pioneers of NW NJ.” The middle name “Ayres” had to come from somewhere. I am guessing that Gilbert Ogden married Sarah Ayres and moved on to NY shortly after her father died and divided up the estate. And finally, if Amos Ayres Ogden did name his son born in 1831 “David Jayne” Ogden, it is just as likely that he did so to honor the patriarch of the extended family in Cayuta Township, Rev David Jayne. Or perhaps David Jayne Jr., also a preacher and the guy who married Margaret Ogden (probable d/o Gabriel). Or their preacher, or a neighbor, etc. There are a dozen reasons that the middle name “Jayne” could have been chosen given the close family relationships, the timing, and the location.

So I believe there were three related Ogden families (cousins/brothers) who moved into what is now Tioga/Tompkins Cos., NY prior to 1800. They are:

1) David Ogden and Anna Jayne who moved to Ulysses Twp directly from Lower Smithfield, Northampton Co, PA.

2) Gabriel Ogden and unknown wife who moved to Spenser (later Cayuta) Twp, either directly from Smithfield, or first stopping in current day Bradford Co., PA. (by the way, he is a son of Gabriel of the Bible in Bradford who is definitely NOT the Gabriel who married Mary Shotwell).

3) Gilbert Ogden and Sarah Ayres who moved first to Ulysses Twp from Morris County, NJ, and then before 1820 moved on to Cayuta Twp.

And I believe that Samuel Ogden, still a minor, is with his father in NY in 1800 Census. He soon returned to NJ (perhaps to marry Anna Auble in 1803), remained in NJ near the old home place and Anna Auble’s folks until some time after Anna died, then drifted around NJ until the war came and gave him a nitch in life. That he probably joined up with David Vanhouten indicates to me that David probably returned to NJ with Samuel. Anyway, it seems to make sense to me, and it is the first time I’ve been able to match up all these Ogden families.