A One-Name Study for the BARNUM/BARNHAM Surname
In the 1850 US Census for Potsdam, Saint Lawrence County, New York the family of William J. Barnum was enumerated as follows:
Dwelling #516; Family #555
Wm. Barnum, 41, M, Farmer, Real property $10,000, b. New York
Lovica [sic] Barnum, 35, F, b. New York
Jasper Barnum, 11, M, b. New York, Attended school within the year
Seward Barnum, 6, M, b. New York, Attended school within the year
Charles E. Welles, 19, M, Farmer, b. New York, Attended school within the year
Ann Barton, 18, F, b. New York'
Olive Rich, 17, F, b. New York, Attended school within the year
Betsy Barnum, 66, F, b. Massachusetts
In the 1870 US Census for Potsdam, Saint Lawrence County, New York the family of William J. Barnum was enumerated as follows:
Household #1324; Family #1310
Barnum, Wm J.; 62; M; W; Farmer; b. New York
Barnum, Louisa A.; 55; F; W; Keeping house; b. New York
Barnum, Jasper E.; 31; M; W; Farm labor; b. New York
Barnum, Seward; 26; M; W; Farm labor; New York
Foster, Margaret; 25; F; W; Domestic servant; b. Canada; Father and mother of foreign birth
From the History of Saint Lawrence County, New York by L. H. Everts and J. M. Holcomb, J. B. Lippincott & Co., Philadelphia, 1878: This gentleman's paternal grandfather, Stephen Barnum, then a citizen of Massachusetts, was one of that gallant band who, amid the throes of revolution, achieved the independence of America. He served through the winter of 1776-77 at Ticonderoga, and in the summer of 1777 took part in the bloody battle of Bennington, where he was wounded by a Hessian bullet, and his powder-horn was shot from his person. After the Revolution he removed to Shoreham, Vt., where his son, David Barnum, was reared to manhood. In 1807 the latter moved to Potsdam, being one of the earliest settlers of that town, and located on what is now a portion of the farm of his son William. He resided there until 1830, when he died, leaving four children,—William J. and Lucy P., who are still living, and Royal and Louisa M., deceased.
William J. Barnum was born in Potsdam on the 10th of December, 1808, and from his youth to the present time has diligently and successfully followed the occupation of a farmer. On the 2d of March, 1837, he was married to Miss Louise A. Fobes, daughter of Peris Fobes, whose father, John Fobes, was one of the very earliest settlers in the township of Potsdam. This union has been blessed with two sons, Jasper E. and Seward, both of whom reside at home.
Mr. Barnum's agricultural success has been such that he now owns a farm of over eight hundred acres (one of the best in the town), which is managed by himself and his two sons. Dairying has been his principal specialty, and for the last twenty years he has milked on an average about a hundred cows, besides raising considerable stock. He has also been an intelligent advocate of all public measures tending to advance his chosen pursuit. He was one of the delegates who helped to organize the Saint Lawrence County Agricultural Society, and for twenty years has been one of its vice-presidents. When the Raquette Valley and Saint Regis Valley Agricultural Society was organized, Mr. Barnum became one of its most active members, and is now its president.
In politics, Mr. Barnum was originally a Whig, but since the organization of the Republican Party he has been one of its firmest supporters. For over twenty years he has annually been chosen one of the assessors of Potsdam,—a position of no slight responsibility and importance in a town of near eight thousand inhabitants. During the winter of 1861-62, Mr. B., in conjunction with Mr. Luther Priest, furnished cooked rations for the 92nd New York Volunteers, which was then being organized, and succeeded in discharging this heavy task in a very satisfactory manner.
In short, the subject of our sketch has been a thoroughly successful man in whatever he has undertaken, and few persons more fully deserve the appellation of a representative American farmer than William J. Barnum.
A Research Guide to the Genealogy of the Barnum/Barnam/Barnham Family Worldwide
AncientFaces - Family History Photos
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