The dates for Sanford’s birth and death are are taken from his gravestone, which says he was born Sept 15, 1830, and died May 4, 1896. In her application for a widow’s pension, Sanford’s wife Elizabeth gives the same date of death, so she was probably the source for both records.

Other sources, like censuses and pension applications, give birth dates a year or two earlier or later.

There is one source, though, that has significantly different dates: The 1896 death register for Newaygo County says he died April 30, 1896, aged 76 years, 3 months and 5 days, which works out to Jan 26, 1820, and it says that his parents were John and Jane Langworthy. No such couple is known that could possibly have been his parents. This register is a compilation done in each county of the deaths which had occurred in the previous year. My guess is that in this case, some creativity was used to fill in the blanks....

There is no proof that Sanford was the son of Ira (ca1799), but there is a male of the right age in Ira’s household in the 1840 census, and the 1850 census shows that one of Ira’s sons (Job) was living in Sanford’s household. Also, it’s reasonable that Ira would name a son after his father, Sanford, and that Sanford would in turn name his first son after his father Ira.

Sanford, though a resident of West Monroe, Oswego Co., NY, enlisted in the Civil War at Cavendish, Vermont. He served in the Second US Sharpshooters, but was wounded in the hand at Spotsylvania, resulting in a permanent disability. He then served in the 4th Vermont Regiment until July 1865.

After the war he moved with his family to Michigan.

Census Tracking:
* 1850 - Constantia, Oswego Co., New York
* 1860 - West Monroe, Oswego Co., New York
Note: In the household of Job Langworthy
* 1865 State Census of New York, Oswego Co., West Monroe
* 1870 - Cheshire, Allegan Co., Michigan
* 1880 - Wilcox, Newaygo Co., Michigan