My great grandparents Daniel & Susan Baker lost 7 children to "Black Diphtheria" in Jerden Falls NY around 1883 to 1887. I'm trying to find out information on Jerden Falls, ie. a village historian, church, cemetery etc. I found it on the map on Compo Creek, just northeast of Indian River.
Any info will be greatly appreciated!

kristine: my gr gr gr grandmother mary bellinger came from jerden falls also. if you find out anything on the area would you please let me know? it would be greatly appreciated. sincerely bea

The hamlet of Jerden Falls was originally called Jordon Falls for it's location near the falls on the Oswegatchie River. The hamlet was the home for the forty to one-hundred men employed in the local bark tannery owned by Wirt and Yale Rice. Not much more is known about Jerdon Falls, it did have a boarding house and a store along with the residence of both Writ and Yale Rice. In 1883 the tannery was sold to Bullard and son of the Swamp in New York City and closed in 1888 after the area was ravaged by forest fires. I do have a copy of a old map of Jerdon Falls and also a post card showing the tannery with a group of men lined with wagon loads of bark. I'd be happy to e-mail you copies if you are interested. Today there is nothing left of the site. For awhile Erien Yousey farmed the abandoned site which was sold to the state in 1934 and reforested by the CCC shortly afterwards.

Bea, Here's some food for thought. I'm researching for Daniel Baker's line. According to some census records he was born in Canada, came to NY ca 1860. I've done lots of research on my mother's French Canadian heritage and found that many French surnames were translated into English. The surname "Baker" could very well have been "Boulanger" in French, of which Belliger may be a different Anglized spelling. So far, I haven't researched any Canadian sources for Daniel "Boulanger", but hope to in the near futures.
I will keep you in mind if I find anything.

Nick,
Thank you for the info. I would love a copy of the map & post card. Please email them to KrisRaff2@aol.com.

My great grandparents Daniel Baker (1850-1933) and Susan Renaudin (1854-1290 from Croghan Falls) orginally had 13 children. I can account for 9 of them (EllaMay, Charles, Mary/Minnie, Delia, Agnes & Esther - my grandmother) and three (Daniel, George, Laura) of which died from diphtheria. I'm still missing the names of 4. According to a cousin, EllaMay & Charles survived. My father's other cousin told me the deaths of 6 children occurred in Jerden Falls. Since Charles was born in 1883, I believe the deaths occured between 1883 and 1887, when the next child - Minnie was born.

According to census records Daniel was born 1850 in Canada, came to NY in 1860. Daniel married Susan ca 1872. I can imagine he may have worked at the tannery. I did locate the family in the 1880 Federal census records in Croghan Falls, and in the 1892 NYS census for town of Diana/Harrisville.

I did hear there wasn't anything left of the village etc., now I know why - must have been the 1888 fire. The children supposedly were buried in Jerden Falls somewhere.

Thank you again, please let me know if you find any more info on Jerden Falls.... Kristine

dear kristine: you may have hit on something. if i find anything i will keep you in mind also. the bellinger's have been a tough nut to crack. sincerely bea

Kristine,
I've e-mailed you a copy of the map of Jerden Falls and post card, hope you enjoy them. My wife's grandmother lived in Jerden Falls as a young girl and often told stories of the area, which sparked my interest in Jerden Falls. I own a camp a few miles from the falls and have visited the area often. I don't believe there was a cemetery in Jerden Falls so more than likely the cemetery in Indian River which was nearby was used. The problem is I know of no listing of who's buried there. I once visited the cemetery with my wife and mother-in-law trying to find the grave of her sister who was buried there in the early 1900's and of course we had no luck.
Nick

Nick,

I wonder if I could also get a copy of the information you have on Jerden Falls (MSJL714@att.net).

My great grandfather, Frank Fournier (Forney), is listed in the 1880 US Census Town of Diana, as working in the Tannery. I have always assumed he was working in a leather tannery but I wonder if it might just be possible that he was working at the Jerden Falls tannery. Do you know how far it is from Harrisville to the old Jerden Falls site? Would it be reasonable to go back and forth.

I have written to the Harrisville town historian to see if she office might have some additional information about the "tannery" but I am still waiting for a response.

Thanks
Shayne

Shayne,
Will be e-mailing you a copy of the map and post card of Jerden Falls. The Jerden Falls tannery was located a short distance from Harrisville, so yes it would be reasonable to travel back and forth, however there was also a tannery located on the same Oswegatchie River in Harrisville in the Town of Diana The tannery was also a leather tannery where they used hemlock bark to tan hides. If you are interested there is a very interesting book out called Hides, Hemlocks and Adirondack History written by Barbara McMartin. The book was published in 1992 by North Country Books 311 Turner St. Utica, NY 13501 Phone: 315-735-4877.
Hope I have been some help to you.
Nick

Hi Nick,

I came in here to post a message and ended up reading all the threads to Kristin's original message, including one by my E-Mail friend, Bea. I was going to suggest these ladies contact you, but there you were!!!! Remember, about five years ago you helped me out with this Jerden Falls bit. I still haven't found the burial site or date of death from my husband's great-grandmother's first husband, Luke Lalone. There surely must have been a lot of French-Canadians there -- because that's what my husband's folks were -- came up from Clayton, I think -- possibly stopping off in W. Carthage for awhile.

Nick, I am interested in knowing where the cemetery at Indian River is located. I don't think I'm acquainted with it. I do know of the Indian River which flows around Evans Mills, but I don't know of a community called that. Can you help me?

Was it you who was doing the touring with the collector cars, Nick? If so, where'd you go this year?

Thanks for any help -- this Jerden Falls topic is always fascinating.

Thanks,
Shirley Farone (Ashland, OH)