Henry Sebring remains a man of mystery. There is no direct evidence of his existence. We cannot even be certain that he was, indeed, named Henry. The only record of his name is found in the second marriage record Timothy Shattuck and Sarah DeWaters. [1] of his son, William H. Sebring, and William's death certificate. Timothy Shattuck and Sarah DeWaters. [2]
Much more information is available for his wife, Hettie E. Shattuck. She was born on 20 May 1842 [3] in Oswego County, New York, Timothy Shattuck and Sarah DeWaters. [4] the daughter of Timothy Shattuck and Sarah DeWaters. Hettie's life offers a poignant example of the downward turn life could take in the 19th century when the family breadwinner died and left young children. In 1840, the Shattuck family lived a conventional middle class existence in the town of Hannibal in Oswego County, where Timothy was farming. [5] He soon acquired two modest parcels of land. [6] By 1850, Timothy had died. Hettie and her sisters were living at home, [7] and brother Homer was working as a farm laborer with their uncle, Jeremiah Dewaters, in Victory in Cayuga County, [8] By early 1852 Hettie's mother had died as well, for in February 1852 petitions were made to the Surrogate's Court in Cayuga County to appoint guardians for the children's property. The petitions indicated that the elder children were living in Sennett in the same County. Hettie's petition was filed by Jeremiah DeWaters, presumably her uncle, and stated that she was living in Victory. [9]
She likely married Henry Sebring around 1857, for her son William was born on 10 June 1858 in the town of Rose in Wayne County. She cannot be found in the 1855 New York state census. She may have been living in Rose or Wolcott, where her son William H. was born, [10] for the 1855 enumerations for those towns are no longer extant. She also cannot be found under the names of Sebring or Shattuck, despite a line-by-line search of Wayne County and searches of Cayuga County on both Ancestry.com and FamilySearch. An examination of Sebring families in Wayne and Seneca Counties (Cayuga had no Sebrings) in 1850 has not produced any Henry or William Sebrings who would be a likely candidate for the Henry Sebring who married Hettie Shattuck. Hettie did presumably marry a man named Sebring. Her son William H. consistently used the name Sebring, and in the 1865 New York state census she indicated that she was on her second marriage. [11]
By 1865 she was widowed and remarried to Philander Winchell, himself a widower farming in Wolcott. [12] Philander was born c. 1837 in Rose, [13] the son of Jacob Winchell and his wife Catherine. [14]
In 1870 they were living in Rose, where Philander was a laborer with real estate worth $200. [15] In 1880 they were living in Wolcott. Philander worked as laborer, and they had a three-year-old son, Chester. [16] 1892 found them in Butler. [17]Hettie died of appendicitis on 23 June 1898 in Wolcott at the age of 56 and is buried in Red Creek. [18]
Philander struggled along without Hettie for almost twenty years. In 1900 he was still in Wolcott, farming. According to the census he owned him own home, free of mortgage. Living with him was eleven-year-old "Henry Winchell," described as his son. Since this Henry was too young to be his son Chester, and this is more likely to be his stepson William's son Henry. William had moved to Syracuse but had apparently left his son Henry in Wolcott to help his aging stepfather with the farm work. [19] In 1905 he was living alone in Rose, working for others as a day laborer. [20] He was living with another step-grandson, William Sebring, in 1910 Sodus in Wayne County. He was presumably in failing health, as no occupation was listed for him. [21] He may have worn out his welcome with his relatives, for on 10 June 1912 he was admitted to the Wayne County Poorhouse. According to their record, he had been on relief for four years and had no relatives to whom he could turn. He was suffering from old age and an injured left foot and could only perform very light work. He was also "intemperate," a condition from which his father also suffered. This drinking problem may be what had left him homeless in his old age. [22] He managed to find refuge with step-grandson Henry, now living in Phelps in Ontario County, in 1915. [23] He was back in the poorhouse in Lyons, Wayne County on 13 July 1919, where he died of bronchial pneumonia. He was buried in the poorhouse cemetery. [24]
Hettie E. Shattuck and Henry Sebring had the following child:
| + | i. | William H. Sebringwas born on 10 June 1858 in Wayne County, New York. |
Hettie Shattuck and Philander Winchell had the following child:
| ii. | Chester Winchell was born in New York c. 1877. [25] He had probably died by 1900, as his father had only a step-grandson living with him to help with the farm work. [26] |