Treasure Chest Thursday -- Beginning an inventory, Part 4

©The Estate of R.A. Newton, 2011

This morning I again looked through the first box of items from my Dad's legacy. I found a faded envelope, measuring 7 1/2" x 5 1/2". Inside, to my surprise, was a group of black and white photos, 2 3/4" square. There, before my eyes, were the prints of the Pumpelly Mansion...the main house. In Tuesday's post, I shared the painting Dad did of the shutters of the stone out house in the woods on the mansion grounds...part of the Underground Railroad.

©The Estate of R.A. Newton, 2011

This wasn't the first time I have seen these prints since Dad's death in 2004. The first time, shortly after returning home from Massachusetts, I queried the Tioga County Historical Society about the Pumpelly family.

--- On Fri, 11/14/08, debnc_famhist07@charter.net <debnc_famhist07@charter.net> wrote:

From: debnc_famhist07@charter.net <debnc_famhist07@charter.net>
Subject: Pumpelly family/Underground Railroad/Owego
To: edniz@prodigy.net
Date: Friday, November 14, 2008, 5:08 PM

Hi, Ed.

I received your voicemail this afternoon. Thank you for calling!

I grew up in Vestal, and my dad was the Art teacher at Apalachin Middle School

from 1966-1979. As a child, I remember going with him to the ruins of the

Pumpelly mansion, where he did some sketches for a painting, which I recently

acquired.

The painting is of the shutters of a stone house in the woods, off to the left

behind the mansion ruins. This was most likely not the Gurgon Pumpelly house

built in 1879 along a stream, but I assume, his father's house (Frederick H.

Pumpelly). It was off the highway, not on a street.

The stone building was used as the hiding place for runaway slaves on the

Underground Railroad.

I have traced the Pumpelly lineage, but I am interested in finding out anything

I can about the Underground Railroad in the area, esp. related to Pumpelly.

What sources do you advise using?

Thanks for any help you might be able to offer.

Debra Newton-Carter

Asheville, NC

©The Estate of R.A. Newton, 2011

Debra,

Nice to contact you. I have looked at the ruins of the home, but didn't see the stone house. There is also a cabin nearby that looks like the genuine item from the early 1800's. It has been modernized. What information do you have showing a connection between the Pumpelly's and the UGRR? I came across a reference to the Pumpelly's owning slaves. This doesn't mean that they couldn't have become abolitionists at a later date.

I'll pass your email on to the county historical society. They may know something that I don't. I have an article online about the UGRR and abolition. Did you see this?

Now that I have found the photos, perhaps I will attempt to contact Mr. Nizalowski with a link to these photos . . .

The Estate of Isaac Dove (1826): Transcription of Summons, Image 5

Summons: ....14 November 1825 "North Carolina, Estate Files, 1663-1979," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/VKJM-FYZ : accessed 08 Aug 2013), Isaac Dove, 1826. Image 5/45 [As you can see here, the Summons referred to in the transcription of Image 3/45 was attached to the description and plat.] STATE OF NORTH-CAROLINA. To the Sheriff of Craven County, GREETING: YOU are hereby commanded to summon Hardy L. Jones, James T. Jones Esquire, Gideon Jones, Joseph Davis & Benjamin Borden ------------- to me at such place and at some time before the next Court, to be held for your County, on the second Monday of February next, as to [scratched out] you shall seem fit, then and there to make partition of that part of the lands (which were formerly held in common between Isaac Dove and Anthony Brown) which belongs to the heirs of Isaac Dove and are situated in Craven County on the east side of Spring Branch. ---------------- -------

Honoring our Ancestors: Free Black Patriots of the Revolutionary War

When I was first contacted last October to assist in some research for a member of the DAR who was looking for the burial ground of her ancestor, Isaac Carter, I had no idea it would lead to such a wonderful tribute--with full honors--to our free black ancestors of Craven County, North Carolina. Nor would I have guessed that I would be meeting together with Ms. Maria William Cole, National Vice Chairman Insignia, of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, and a host of other dignitaries, from the highest officials of the SAR to state and local political and community service leaders, to pay tribute to these patriots. The turnout exceeded my expectation when this event proceeded on a cold and rainy Sunday afternoon, with close to a hundred and fifty people or more, seated on folding chairs under three canopy tents. The microphone cable lay along the wet grass and soon died out, and we, the speakers, were asked to use our "mother's voices" to make o

Using Estate Files to Document Family Relationships on FamilySearch.org

FamilySearch The other day I had a Facebook exchange with a fellow genealogist regarding the valuable resource of FamilySearch.org. This researcher was looking for estate records for South Carolina, and since my husband's maternal line descends from Horry County, I continued to tell her about the records on FamilySearch.org, until I rediscovered why I had chosen to work on my husband's paternal line from North Carolina: not all states' records are represented equally on the site, by far! Browsing records by location In case you've never searched using the "browse the records" method, here is the process: After signing in and clicking on the "Search" option, scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on the country file you would like to explore. For this purpose, I'll be clicking on "United States." On the left side of the screen you will find a listing of states to select from. I'll be clicking on "South Ca

Root DiggerAugust 18, 2011 at 8:52 PM
Interesting...The plot thickens.
Debra Newton-CarterAugust 29, 2011 at 2:25 PM
If anyone on the Memories of Owego, NY Facebook Page would like to contact me about this post, please feel free to post a comment, or contact me via email. I'm interested in finding out anything else I can about the history of this property.

In Black and White: Cross-Cultural Genealogy

Search This Blog