A One-Name Study for the BARNUM/BARNHAM Surname
This alternate name comes from the record of his marriage to Sylvia Queal, found in Marriages and Deaths in the Delaware Gazette, 1819-1836.
In the US Census of 1850 for Sheshequin, Bradford County, Pennsylvania, the family of Burgess Barnum was enumerated as follows:
Dwelling #238; Family #241
Burgess Barnum, 37, M, Farmer, Real Estate $600, b. New York
Silvia Barnum, 35, F, b. New York
Laura Barnum, 11, F, b. New York
Ira Barnum, 10, M, b. New York
Smith Barnum, 9, M, b. New York
Burgess' older brother John and his family were living nearby, in Dwelling #249; Family #252.
In the US Census of 1860 for Sheshequin, Bradford County, Pennsylvania, the family of Burgess Barnum was enumerated as follows:
Dwelling #2064, Family #1958
Burgess Barnum, 48, M, farmer, b. New York
Sylvia Barnum, 45, F, b. New York
Laura Barnum, 23, F, b. New York
Ira Barnum, 21, M, farmhand, b. New York
Smith Barnum, 20, M, farmhand, value of real estate $2,400, value of personal estate $600, b. New York
In the US Census of 1870 for Litchfield, Bradford County, Pennsylvania, the family of Burgess Barnum was enumerated as follows:
Dwelling #247, Family #242
Barnum, Burgess, 58, M, W, Farmer, Real property $3,000, Personal property $1,883, b. New York, Male citizen 21 years and up
Silva Barnum, 55, F, W, Keeping house, b. New York
Berley, 10, M, W, b. Pennsylvania, Attended school within the year
The History of Sheshequin 1777-1902 contains the following entry: Ghent Methodist Episcopal Church — The pioneer Methodists in the Ghent locality were Reuben Young and wife, Issac S. Horton and wife, Burgess Barnum and wife, Darwin T. Gillett and wife and Dr. Wm. C. Ransom and wife.
Burgess Barnum died 23 Dec 1873 at the age of 61 years, 9 months, 5 days.
He was buried in Tioga Point Cemetery. Records state: Barnum, Burgess; Dec. 26, 1873; 61 yrs, 3 mos., 8 das.
Note: Tioga Point and Athens are the same place. Louise Welles Murray, in her book Old Tioga Point and Early Athens Pennsylvania, 1908, says that "The Indian calls it TE-A-OGA . . .where the loving waters meet."
Teaoga, Diahoga or Old Tioga Point is the meeting place of the Chemung and Susquehanna rivers in Northern Pennsylvania. Murray describes the curious peninsula just above the confluence of the two rivers called Tioga Point as; "The receding, yet encircling hills, only their tops crowned with the forests which once clothed their sides, fade into soft shades in the distance, recalling the title of 'The city of the violet crown' given by the ancients to Grecian Athens, and doubtless to the little hamlet of the long ago by a traveled pioneer."
“There have been various stories about the change of name from Tioga Point to Athens. The truth is this: the Connecticut people took out the grant as Athens (1786); the Pennsylvania settlers (1798) generally gave it the name of Tioga Point, corrupted from the Indian appellation.... called by the old Indian name Teoka, Teaoga or Diahoga, which, interpreted, means a space or point between the forks of a river or road; 'Point', therefore, being an unnecessary addition."
He died at the age of 61 years, 9 months, 5 days.
A Research Guide to the Genealogy of the Barnum/Barnam/Barnham Family Worldwide
AncientFaces - Family History Photos
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