A research report by Kevin Bradford, M.L.S. Tucker, Georgia, 19 January 2014.

Acknowledgements: With thanks to Ryan Shaffer, of Spring, TX, and Rhonda (Bradford) Nipper, of Fulton, NY, for their helpful advice and research assistance.

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David THURSTON was born about 1800, perhaps in Scotland [1, 2]. There are inconsistencies in the record regarding his birthplace. These conflicting documents include his son, Theodore’s, death certificate [3], which claims his father was born in England (the informant, Margaret Sophia Mervine, was David’s granddaughter). The 1900 Manlius, NY census (Theodore Thurston) indicates Scotland as David’s birthplace [2]. The 1900 Grand Rapids, MI census enumerating George H. Thurston says that his father (Henry, son of David) was born in Scotland [68]: though partially a factual error (Henry was born in Onondaga County, NY), this record also supports the possibility of Scotland as the birthplace of David.
He first appears in the public record in 1830 in the town of Pompey, Onondaga Co., NY, residing close to the town line, near Oran [1]. David did not own land in either Onondaga or Oswego County [4], and no estate records are on file in his name [5]. His occupation, provided on the 1850 and 1855 census, was stated as laborer [6, 7]. David is indicated as a pauper on the 1850 Schroeppel, Oswego Co. census [6]; his residence that year was on the west side of the town line, next north of the place of Peter French, Lot #61, Hinmansville [4]. He died after 23 June 1855 [7] and prior to 1 June 1859 [83].
David married (1) about 1825 [1], Margaret HOUSER [3], born about 1805 in Manlius, NY [4, 8, 9]; she was baptized as an adult, 12 Feb. 1832, at Fayetteville Presbyterian Church [10]. Margaret was closely related to the Houser (Hiser) family of colonial Herkimer (likely the daughter of John and Margaret Houser, pioneering residents on Lot #82, Manlius) [4]. She was head of household in the 1840 census of Manlius, residing on Lot #75 in the vicinity of Highbridge—proof of a prior separation from her first husband, David Thurston [11]. Margaret married (2) after 1840, Lyman SPRAGUE of Fayetteville, NY; he was born 4 May 1802 and died 23 Oct. 1869, age 67 [8, 9]. Her tombstone indicates a date of death of 8 May 1850, age 45 [8]; however, she was still living on 8 Aug. 1850 [9]. They resided on Lot #56, Manlius Center [4, 9]. Margaret was deceased prior to 16 June 1855 [13]. She is buried with Lyman Sprague in Fayetteville Cemetery [8].
David married (2) about 1842-1844 [6], Clarissa (Clara) BRADSHAW [14], born in 1825 [9, 16, 79] in Schoharie Co., NY [7]. Her maiden name is discovered in the record in only a single instance: the third marriage document of her daughter, Florence, to James Warrington [55] (q.v.). She appears in the 1850 and 1855 census as “Catherine” [6, 7], but apparently dropped use of the name before 1860. In 1855, the last year the Thurston family is seen together in a census, David’s residence was in the vicinity of Rabbit Lane, town of Lysander, Onondaga Co. [7]. In June of 1860 Clarissa (listed as “Clara”) was boarding, without her children, in the household of William Young, a Cicero merchant [16]. In a report dated in Nov. 1861, the Onondaga County Superintendent of the Poor indicated that Clarissa, a pauper, had been boarding in Cicero and was a county charge for 213 days [78]. Taken ill from an unspecified “sickness,” she was brought from Cicero to the Onondaga County Poorhouse, being admitted there on 6 Dec. 1860, 35 years of age [79]. Clarissa (Bradshaw) Thurston died at the Onondaga Poorhouse seven months later, 6 July 1861, age 36 [80]. The burial would have probably occurred in the Poorhouse graveyard north of the premises; her body was likely among those exhumed in 1995-1996 and reburied at Loomis Hill, Onondaga. By a previous relationship with (first name unknown) --- DEMOREST [17], a native of Holland [18, 19], Clarissa was the mother of:

1. Sarah Jane DEMOREST, born 5 Apr. 1842, Howlett Hill, Onondaga Co., NY [9, 13, 17, 22, 51], died 26 Mar. 1920, age 77, at 805 Allen St., Jackson, MI [17, 20, 52]. Her physical description: height 5’5”, weight 145 pounds, “light complexion, auburn hair, blue eyes, small mouth, small nose, thin lips, large chin” [90]. Sarah married 3 Jan. 1857, by the Elder Swift at Manlius, her step-brother, John H. THURSTON [17] (q.v.), son of David Thurston and his first wife, Margaret Houser. They separated in the year 1879, while residents of Mason, MI [89]. John subsequently moved California, where he died in 1897 [17, 23, 89]. Sarah remained married to John Thurston after his departure: she filed for a pension as his widow in Sept. 1897 [17]. From 1879 until 1882, Sarah was involved in a domestic relationship with Peter (Pete) CEVALIA (Cavalier?) of Lansing [21, 22]; it was claimed that they were married in Lansing on 26 Dec. 1880, but there is no convincing evidence for this assertion [89]. He was born about 1854 in Ohio [22] and died 8 Mar. 1899, aged about 45, at Newport, Jackson Co., Arkansas [24, 25]; no known issue. His physical description: “sallow complexion, gray eyes, weighs 135 pounds, five feet five inches tall, and is miserable looking generally” [91]. They resided on Kalamazoo St., at the corner of Larch St., Lansing in 1880 [22, 89]. He worked at odd jobs and kept a grocery [89]. In June of 1882, their residence was on the south side of Main Street, about 6 rods west of River Street [ibid]. On the evening of 30 June 1882, during an argument and altercation at the Cevalia home, Peter Cevalia shot and mortally wounded Frank Hahn, an act for which both he and Sarah were arrested. Sarah was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced in January 1883 to five years in the Michigan State Prison [89, 90]. Peter escaped jail prior to trial and, using an alias, was on the run through the Midwest and South for 17 years [25, 91]. Sarah was residing in Jackson, MI in 1897, 1900 and 1910 [17-19]. She is buried in section G, lot 492, Maple Grove Cemetery, Mason, MI [8]. By an unknown relationship, Sarah was the mother of Ernest Thomas Thurston, born 12 May 1873 in Mason, MI; he was residing in Coldwater State School in 1880 [84, 86].

Children of David Thurston by 1st wife, Margaret Houser:

1. Daughter, born about 1826 [1].

2. Henry Horace THURSTON, born about 1828 in Onondaga Co., NY [1, 31]; baptized 12 Feb. 1832, Fayetteville Presbyterian Church [10]. He died in the service, 2 May 1865, aged about 37, at Decatur, AL (drowned in the Tennessee River) [26, 31]; buried in Corinth National Cemetery, Mississippi [8]. Military: enlisted at Grand Rapids, 11 Nov. 1861, in Battery E, 1st Michigan Light Artillery; re-enlisted in the same unit on 21 Dec. 1863 at Nashville, TN. His enlistment record describes him as 5’ 7”, light complexion, brown eyes and black hair [31]. His muster record of 4 Feb. 1864 shows his rank as sergeant [26]. Occupations: carpenter, residing in the household of Charles Northrup of Manlius, NY, 1850 [15]; cook, living at the "Brown House" hotel in Grand Rapids, MI, 1860 [27]. Then resident in Otisco, Ionia Co., MI, he married at Grand Rapids on 24 Mar. 1861, by minister M. A. Daugherty, Hannah May SYKES [28, 69], daughter of Henry Sykes of Grand Rapids [12, 31]; she was born in Dec. 1839 in the town of Oswego, NY and died 24 Oct. 1920, age 78, at Grand Rapids, MI [29, 31, 68]. She married (2) 12 Nov. 1865 at Grand Rapids, William B. ELDRIDGE [28, 31]. May sued Eldridge for desertion; their divorce was finalized on 18 Mar. 1907 [31]. She married (3) 28 Apr. 1892 at Grand Rapids, Hiram W. PHILLIPS, who died 13 Dec. 1899 [31]. May was resident in Grand Rapids, as shown by records dated from 1890 to 1920 [15, 30, 36, 68]. Issue (Thurston) [85]:

i. George H., 6 May 1862

3. Theodore Wood THURSTON, born 24 June 1830 [32, 33] near the hamlet of Oran, Manlius, NY [1, 3]. Baptized 1 Apr. 1849, age 18, at Trinity Episcopal Church, Fayetteville [34]. He died 11 Mar. 1914, age 83, at Manlius, NY [3, 32]. Occupation: paper maker [39, 40]. Theodore married about 1851 [2, 32], Amanda Elizabeth HILTS, daughter of George Hilts of Fayetteville [37]. She was born about 1832 in Manlius [13], and died at her residence on Mill Street, Manlius, 1 Aug. 1906, age 76 [33, 38]. Both are buried in Christ Church Cemetery, Manlius [33]. While he lived most of his adult life in Fayetteville and Manlius [2, 38, 45-49], Theodore resided in 1870 at Barton, Tioga Co., NY [40]; in 1880, he was a close neighbor of his youngest sister, Henrietta (Thurston) Wiltse (q.v.), in East Palermo, Oswego Co., NY [41]. On 2 Aug. 1907, he was admitted to the U. S. National Home for Disabled Veterans in Bath, Steuben Co., NY, being discharged 5 Sept. 1908; he was re-admitted 10 Sept. 1912, with final discharge on 27 Aug. 1913 [42]. Military: enlisted 4 Nov. 1861 at Manlius as private in Co. I, 61st NY Infantry; discharged for disability 27 Nov. 1862 at Annapolis, MD; enlisted 31 Dec. 1863 at Manlius as a private in Co. E, 22nd NY Cavalry, promoted to corporal; mustered out 1 Aug. 1865, Winchester, VA [43]. His muster-out record describes him as 5’10” tall, blue eyes, light hair, light complexion [44]. Isssue (Thurston) [85]:

i. John H., 1853
ii. Sarah E., May 1855
iii. Sophia Margaret, Dec. 1858
iv. Albert J., Feb. 1860
v. Alfred Henry, Feb. 1860
vi. Theodora A., about 1863
vii. Charles T., May 1864

4. John H. THURSTON, born in 1833 [9, 23, 50] near the hamlet of Oran, Manlius, NY [9, 11]. He died 14 May 1897, aged about 64, in the County Hospital at Placerville, El Dorado Co., CA [17]. His first appearance in the record is at age 16, when he is found as a laborer on the Job Williams farm, Lot #99, near Oran, Manlius, 1850 [15]. Occupation: stone mason [17]. California voter records indicate his middle name as “Howe,” although this is likely an error for “Houser” [23]. He married, 3 Jan. 1857 by Elder Swift at Manlius, NY, his step-sister, Sarah Jane DEMOREST (q.v.), daughter of Clarissa (Clara) BRADSHAW [14, 17]. She was born 5 Apr. 1842 at Howlett Hill, Onondaga Co., NY [9, 13, 17, 22, 51] and died 26 Mar. 1920, age 77, at 805 Allen St., Jackson, MI [17, 20, 52]. They resided at Vevay, Ingham Co. MI in 1860, two houses from Loren Sweet, a Pompey native and first cousin of Lyman Sprague, John’s step-father [50]. In 1870, they were living in the village of Mason, township of Vevay [51]. They separated in the year 1879, while living at Mason [89]. In June 1880, John was living somewhere in the state of California [ibid]; in September 1881, he was working at herding sheep, about two miles from Truckee, California [ibid]. John subsequently moved to Sacramento, California, where he was living in 1888 [23]. He is described in the El Dorado County, California voter records as 5’ 8” in height, light complexion, blue eyes, gray hair, with his “end left finger off” [23]. A resident of Folsom in 1891 [17], John is buried in Old Placerville City Cemetery, El Dorado Co., California [8]. Military: enlisted 15 Aug. 1862 as private in Co. H, 26th MI Infantry; promoted to corporal, 5 June 1863; received a self-inflicted foot wound from the discharge of his pistol, 30 Dec. 1863; absent on rolls from that time forward; discharged 22 June 1865, Jackson, MI [17]. His physical description, dated 3 June 1891, states that he was 5 feet, 5 ¾ inches in height, weight 140 pounds [17]. Issue (Thurston) [85, 89]:

i. Estelle, 1858
ii. Clara Henrietta, 20 July 1860
iii. Mattie Elizabeth, 1864
iv. Orla N. (Orley), 25 Sept. 1867
v. Cora Alpha (Althea), 17 Aug. 1869
vi. (son), “died at 2 days old”

Children of David Thurston by 2nd wife, Clarissa (Clara) Bradshaw:

5. Mary A. THURSTON, born about 1844 in Onondaga Co., NY [6]; she is not enumerated with the family in the June 1855 census—thus presumed deceased prior to that date.

6. Martha E. THURSTON, born about 1846 in Onondaga Co., NY [6, 7]; married possibly (first name unknown) --- HOLBEIT? (or HOLBERT) [32]; she was living in 1914, probably in Michigan, and was deceased before 1920 [32, 52].

7. Florence Abigail THURSTON, born 4 Nov. 1848 in Onondaga Co., NY [6, 7, 53, 87, 88]. She died 4 Oct. 1930, age 81, at 685 Strong Ave., Elkhart, IN [8, 53, 88], and is buried in Rice Cemetery, Elkhart [8, 53, 88]. Florence married (1) 18 Sept. 1865 at Syracuse, NY, Marvin H. BENJAMIN [53], son of Charles Benjamin of DeRuyter, NY [81]; occupation: blacksmith [54]. They were later separated, but never divorced (Florence received a widow’s pension based upon Marvin’s service in the Civil War) [87]. He was born 21 Jan. 1832 in Truxton, Cortland Co., NY [54] and died 1 Nov. 1891, age 58, at Mason, Ingham Co., MI [72-74, 87]; buried in Leslie Cemetery, Ingham County [74]. His death occurred as the result of head injuries sustained in a carriage accident the afternoon before his decease. Marvin’s funeral was held from his estranged wife’s residence, the home of her domestic partner Andrew G. Markham in Vevay [53, 72, 73]. Military: enlisted as a private, 2 Nov. 1861 at Elmira, NY, in Co. D, 10th NY Cavalry; re-enlisted 18 Dec. 1863, rank corporal [54]. Florence married (2) 27 Apr. 1892 at Holt, Ingham Co., MI, widower Andrew G. MARKHAM [55, 87, 88], son of Elisha Markham of Oakfield, NY [82]; he was born 1 Aug. 1836 in Farmington, Ontario Co., NY [8, 56, 75] and died 20 Oct. 1904, age 68, at his residence, 512 West Beardsley Ave., Elkhart [8, 57]. They had no issue. Occupations: farmer and stock dealer [75]; butcher [77]. They moved to Elkhart, Indiana about the year 1894 [53], and resided in Concord in 1900 [56]. Andrew is buried in Eden Cemetery, Mason, MI [57]. Florence married (3) 28 Sept. 1910 at Ingham Co., MI, widower James WARRINGTON, Jr. [55, 87], son of James Warrington of Hamtramck, MI [60]. He was born in Mar. or Apr. 1838 in Ireland and died 18 Mar. 1915, age 77, in Leslie, Ingham Co., MI [58, 75, 87]. Immigration: he boarded the "Yorkshire" at Liverpool, and arrived at the port of New York, 12 Apr. 1854 [59]. Florence and James resided in Mason, MI [55]. He is buried in Mount Elliot Cemetery, Detroit [8]. Issue (Benjamin) [85]:

i. Jennie F., 20 Sept. 1867
ii. Wilfred, 24 Dec. 1870
iii. Charles Lester, 28 Mar. 1872
iv. Ben H., July 1874
v. Estelle Clara, 2 Mar. 1877

8. Henrietta THURSTON, born 7 Mar. 1851, Lot #61, Hinmansville, Schroeppel, Oswego Co., NY [6, 8, 61]. She died 18 May 1894, age 43, at her residence in East Palermo, Oswego Co., NY (cause: septicemia) [8, 61]. Her death certificate lists no parents: proof of their identity is found in the 1855 census [7]. Henrietta was boarding, age nine, in the household of the widow Louisa (Hall) Parker of Peth Road, Cazenovia, 1860 [70]; she was orphaned the following year. In 1865, age 14, Henrietta was boarding in the George and Zelinda West household, at Gilbert’s Mills, Schroeppel [71]. She married at Palermo Center in Oct. 1869, as his 2nd wife, John Mills WILTSE [62], son of Solomon Wiltse of Island Road, Palermo [62, 63]; he was born 21 June 1835 at Thorn Hill, Marcellus, NY [8, 62], and died 22 June 1917, age 82, in Syracuse, NY [8, 62]. The Wiltse farm was situated at the corner of Hare Road and Co. Rt. 33, East Palermo [64]. John and Henrietta are buried in Roosevelt Cemetery, Schroeppel [8]. Military: he enlisted at Palermo as a private in Co. F, 147th NY Infantry, 23 Aug. 1862; transferred to the Brigade Quartermaster’s Dept., rank private, position wagon driver; present for duty at Battle of Gettysburg, 1-3 July 1863; promoted to wagon master in 3rd Brigade, 30 Jan. 1865; mustered out 7 June 1865 at Washington, DC [62, 65-67]. Issue (Wiltse) [85]:

i. Villa V., 22 Oct. 1870
ii. Clarissa Adelle, 27 June 1874
iii. William Nelson, 25 May 1876
iv. Bessie E., 4 Oct. 1879
v. Ellsworth Logon, 13 Apr. 1894

REFERENCES:

[1] 1830 Pompey census
[2] 1900 Manlius census (Theodore Thurston)
[3] NYS Dept. of Health, certificate #16681
[4] NYS land records: Familysearch.org
[5] NYS probate records: Familysearch.org
[6] 1850 Schroeppel census
[7] 1855 Lysander census: Familysearch.org
[8] Inscription: Findagrave.com
[9] 1850 Manlius census
[10] Fayetteville Presbyterian Church baptisms, 1831-1932. Online at: http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~nyononda/MANLIUS/fayettevi...
[11] 1840 Manlius census
[12] 1860 Grand Rapids census
[13] 1855 Manlius census: Familysearch.org
[14] Michigan marriages: Familysearch.org
[15] 1910 Grand Rapids census
[16] 1860 Cicero census
[17] NARS pension file #659262
[18] 1900 Jackson census (Sarah Thurston)
[19] 1910 Jackson census (Sarah Thurston)
[20] Michigan Vital Statistics, certificate #277
[21] Ingham County News (Michigan), 6 July 1882
[22] 1880 Lansing census
[23] California voter registers: database at Ancestry.com
[24] Ingham County Democrat (Michigan), 16 Mar. 1899
[25] New York Times, 8 Mar. 1899
[26] Michigan Civil War Volunteers, p. 108: database at Ancestry.com
[27] 1860 Grand Rapids census
[28] Michigan marriages: Familysearch.org
[29] 1840 Oswego census
[30] 1890 special census, veteran’s schedules
[31] NARS pension file #94695
[32] Obituary, Fayetteville Bulletin, Mar. 1914
[33] Inscription, Christ Church Cemetery, Manlius.
[34] Trinity Episcopal Church baptisms, 1831-1920. Online at:
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~nyononda/CHURCH/TRINBAPT.H...
[35] Fayetteville Weekly Recorder, 1896
[36] 1920 Grand Rapids census
[37] History and genealogy of a branch of the family of Kinne (1881). Online at:
https://ia600404.us.archive.org/20/items/historygenealogy00k...
[38] Syracuse Herald, 2 Aug. 1906
[39] 1860 Manlius census
[40] 1870 Barton census
[41] 1880 Palermo census
[42] U. S. national homes for disabled volunteer soldiers, 1866-1938: database at Ancestry.com
[43] American Civil War soldiers: database at Ancestry.com
[44] Muster-out record, American Civil War soldiers: database at Ancestry.com
[45] Civil War servicemen, town of Manlius, 1866. Online at:
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~nyononda/MILITARY/CIVILW2....
[46] Fayetteville Weekly Recorder, 1895-96
[47] Enumeration of inhabitants, Manlius village, Jan. 1898. Online at:
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~nyononda/MANLIUS/inhabitan...
[48] Names appearing on the 1902 Manlius village tax book. Online at:
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~nyononda/MANLIUS/1902taxro...
[49] 1910 Manlius census
[50] 1860 Vevay census
[51] 1870 Vevay census
[52] Obituary, Jackson County Politician, 27 Mar. 1920
[53] Obituary, Elkhart Weekly Truth, 6 Oct. 1930
[54] Civil War muster roll abstracts: database at Ancestry.com
[55] Michigan marriages: database at Familysearch.org
[56] 1900 Concord census
[57] Obituary, Elkhart Weekly Truth, 27 Oct. 1904
[58] Michigan death records: database at Ancestry.com
[59] New York Passenger Lists: database at Ancestry.com
[60] 1860 Hamtramck census
[61] NYS death certificate #20767
[62] NARS pension file #492114
[63] NYS death certificate
[64] New York State land records: database at Familysearch.org
[65] U.S. Civil War soldiers: database at Ancestry.com
[66] New York, Civil War muster roll abstracts: database at Ancestry.com
[67] Promotion letter, 30 Jan. 1865, from 3rd Brigade Quartermaster W. O. Chapman, recommending John M. Wiltse as a wagon master.
[68] 1900 Grand Rapids census
[69] Kent County marriage records, 3:358. Online at:
http://kent.migenweb.net/marriages/court/1845-1870/t.html
[70] 1860 Cazenovia census
[71] 1865 Schroeppel census
[72] Obituary, Ingham County Democrat, 5 Nov. 1891
[73] Obituary, Ingham County News, 5 Nov. 1891
[74] Headstones provided for deceased Union Civil War veterans: database at Ancestry.com
[75] Michigan Vital Statistics, certificate #134
[76] Detroit DAR: Portrait and biographical album of Ingham and Livingston Counties, Michigan (Chapman Brothers: Chicago, 1891), pp. 363-64
[77] Elkhart city directory, 1:145 (1904)
[78] “34th Annual Report of the Superintendent of the Poor in the County of Onondaga,” published in the Syracuse Daily Journal, 22 Nov. 1861. Online at: http://fultonhistory.com/Fulton.html
[79] Onondaga County Poorhouse registers, FHC #1993147; admittances, 3:78
[80] Onondaga County Poorhouse registers, FHC #1993147; dismissals, 3:320
[81] 1850 DeRuyter census
[82] 1850 Oakfield census
[83] 1860 New York mortality schedule: database at Ancestry.com (beginning 1 June of 1859)
[84] Michigan births: database at Familysearch.org
[85] Rhonda (Bradford) Nipper, “Bradford and allied families.” Online at:
http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?db=rjn57&...
[86] 1880 Coldwater State Home census, Branch Co., MI
[87] NARS pension file #534783
[88] Indiana death certificate #39249
[89] The People of the State of Michigan vs. Sarah Jane Cevalia, Ingham County Court of Justice, 6-8 July & 1 Aug. 1882: Michigan State Archives, Register #80-109, Box 182, Folder 12
[90] Jackson State Prison registry, Jan. 1883: Michigan State Archives, Register #56-27, 22:293; Register 64-50, 26:98-99.
[91] Saline, Michigan Observer, 14 Sept. 1882. Online at:
http://condor.cmich.edu/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p15076...