A One-Name Study for the BARNUM/BARNHAM Surname
The case of Stephen Baker Barnum, the patriarch of this family, is unique in that he apparently changed the spelling of his surname to Burnham later in life. That change is particularly interesting since the two surnames are quite distinct in the historical record and no other connection has been found between them.
The 1900 Census lists Beekman as Beekman T. Burnham, born in Connecticut in September 1826 and married to Nettie P. for 26 years (abt 1884). He was living next to Seth M. Burnham.
The 1850 census lists him as 22 years old.
He is referred to as Dr. in the obituary for his son William Henry Burnham. He graduated from Berkshire Medical College in Pittsfield, Massachusetts in 1850.
In the 1855 NYC census he was shown as born in Orange County.
His business address was 609 Hudson in 1869.
Stephen Baker Burnham and his wife Martha Hill located on the farm later owned by his son Beekman Burnham in 1832/1833. No deed or mortgage documents have been found to indicate that Stephen actually purchased the farm, although he and his family lived there until about 1854. He was shown in the 1840 and 1850 census records as living on the farm. In 1854/55 the family moved to NYC. By the time of the 1860 census Truman Stanton was living on the farm. Truman is half brother of Maryetta Stanton Burnham, the wife of John H. Burnham of Fallsburgh. Living next door to him were Isaac Gardner and his wife Mahala Hill. The relationship between John H. Burnham and Stephen or Beekman is not clear. Later, by the 1900 census, John and Maryetta's son Seth Burnham was living on the farm, as were Beekman, Beekman's sister Catherine and her husband Moses Schoonmaker. Benjamin Schoonmaker and his family were living there as well.
Beekman may have actually purchased the farm in the 1860s; the deed records are a bit unclear on that subject.
In 1872 E. L. Burnham and Moses Schoonmaker were living there. E. L. was Beekman's brother Elbert Lovejoy Burnham.
In Seth's household in the 1900 census Lydia Attinelli is listed as a cousin of Seth. Lydia was the daugther of Catherine Hill Moulton, who apparently originally purchased the property in 1832 from a Von Renssalaer from Albany. This is interesting because Stephen Burnham's wife (Beekman's mother) is also named Hill. Also living with them was Caroline (Burnham) Baker, yet another sister of Beekman.
Beekman died in October of 1900 and it's not known who inherited the farm at that time.
The farm consisted of 102 acres when Catherine Hill Moulton purchased it in 1832. In 1833 she divided it in half and sold one half to James L. Ferguson, who was shown living next door to Stephen Burnham in the 1840 and 1850 Census.
A Research Guide to the Genealogy of the Barnum/Barnam/Barnham Family Worldwide
AncientFaces - Family History Photos
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