Peter (b. c.1793) and Betsy (Lewis) Snyder

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Parents of Betsy Lewis Snyder

Peter (b. c.1793) and Betsy Lewis (c.1795-before 1850) Snyder

Key words: Peter Snyder, Peter and Betsy Snyder, Peter and Betsey Snyder, Betsy Lewis Snyder, Betsey Lewis Snyder

It is not known definitively what the relationship is between the Peter Snyder (b. c.1793) and our branch of the family. However, based on circumstantial evidence, it is possible that he was a child of Philip Snyder, Sr. and hence brother to Phillip, Jr. and uncle to Peter (b.1820) and Lorenzo (b. 1809). Another possibility is that he was a close cousin to Phillip, Jr. The following information below outlines what is known about him and the evidence that suggest his relationship with our Snyder family. It is relatively clear that Betsy Lewis Snyder is a part of the Lewis family that is closely intertwined with the Bassetts and Edgecombs.

Based on the information in the 1850 census, Peter Snyder was born in about 1793 in New York. (This contrasts with the birth year of 1790 given in Arthur G. Lyon's letter¹.) Elizabeth (Betsy or Betsey) was born in about 1795¹. Based on the ages of their children (see below) and a marriage date of 18 years for Betsy, Peter and Betsy were probably married in about 1813-14.

The following list of children is compiled from the 1850 census and the Lyon letter (compare also the 1840 census). The dates are approximate.

possible daughter 1 born c. 1815 (see 1830 census)
possible daughter 2 born c. 1817 (see 1830 census)
Cicero born c.1819
Lewis born c.1821-22 in NY
Alzina born c.1825 in NY, possibly married 10 Apr 1861 in Steuben, IN to Joseph Matthews¹⁶
Mary A. born c.1829 (vs. 1827 listed in the Lyon letter) in OH
Ambrose born c.1833 in OH, living in Lordstown, Trumbull Co., OH in 1880¹⁶

Also listed in the 1850 census is Seymor born c.1845 in OH. However, because he is so much younger than the others, it is possible that he might be a grandchild of Peter and Betsy. The 1850 census suggests he may be the son of Lewis. Seymour's birth is given as 24 Nov 1844 in Warren, Trumbull Co., OH and he was said to have married 26 Aug 1866 in Coldwater, Branch, MI to Elizabeth Swain with children Harry A. (b. c.1867 in Indiana), Alzina (b. c.1871 in Indiana), and Jay (b. 13 Jul 1877 in Batavia, Branch, MI).¹⁶

Problems with early connections

One problem with the hypothesis that Peter Snyder (b. c.1793) was a relative to Peter Snyder (b. 1820) is reconciling how the elder Peter ended up crossing paths with Betsy Lewis. Around the time when Peter and Betsy were married (c.1815), the Lewis family was living in either Otsego or Cortland Co., NY. At that time, Philip Snyder (father of Peter b.1820) was moving from Columbia Co., NY to Ontario Co., NY. Neither Ontario nor Columbia Counties are near Otsego or Cortland Counties, so it is not clear how the Snyder and Lewis families would have encountered each other. It is possible that in a move west in about 1815, the Snyders may have passed through Otsego or Cortland Counties and Peter (b. c.1793) could have met Betsy then. Betsy might then have traveled west to Ontario County with Peter or Peter might have stayed with Betsy.

There are two pieces of information relevant to this question. One is that a Peter Snyder was said to have come to Candice, Ontario Co., NY along with Philip (presumably "our" Philip) in 1815.^{2 3}. In the 1820 census for Richmond Twp., Ontario Co., NY, there is a Peter Snyder listed immediately after a Philip (presumably "our" Philip).⁴ Comparison with the list of the children of Peter (b. c.1793) shows possible correspondence with this census record:

Peter Snider - Males: one under 10 (Cicero?), one 18 to 26, one 26 to 45 (Peter age 27), one over 45 (older male); females: two under 10 (dau. 1 & 2), one 16-24 (Betsy about 25), 1 over 45 (older female)

However, since the usual practice is for the oldest male to be listed as head of household, the male over age 45 would be the most likely person to be "Peter Snider" rather than Peter b. c.1793. If the "over 45 male" was the father of Peter (b. c.1793), this record is not compatible with Peter (b. c.1793) being a brother of Philip Snyder, Jr. (whose father was Philip Snyder, Sr.).

The other relevant piece of information is that according to the Trumbull County history⁵, there were very few settlers in Lordstown Twp. before 1826. That year, Peleg Lewis, John Lewis, Samuel Bassett, and Peter Snyder were reported as living there, suggesting that they all moved there about that year. If this were the case, then it suggests that Peter Snyder moved to Trumbull Co., with Samuel Bassett and the Lewis's, who were coming from Solon, Courtland Co., NY. That scenario would suggest that either Peter (b. c.1793) was related to Philip and joined up with the Lewis's in Otsego/Cortland Co. or that he simply was from a different Snyder family altogether and not a relative of Peter (b. 1820). However, this would then raise the question of how Lorenzo Snyder came to move to Trumbull Co. in about 1832.

Known track of Peter and Betsy

In 1826, Peter and Betsy lived "north of the center" of Lordstown Twp., Trumbull Co., OH.⁵

In 1830, they are listed in the census for Lordstown Twp.

In September 1835, Peter and Betsy Snyder bought land in section 11, to the north of Lorenzo (and diagonally northwest of Samuel Bassett). (See the plat map of northern Bath Township, Allen Co., OH.) They were described as "of Trumbull County, Ohio" so at that time they were not yet living in Allen County.⁶ In 1839, Peter and Betsey sold land to their son Cicero for one dollar.⁹ In that transaction, they were described as "of Bath, county of Allen" so they were living on their land in Bath at the time that the younger Peter (b. 1820) moved there. By 16 Dec 1839, Peter, Betsey, and Cisero were again living in Lordstown, Trumbull Co.¹⁰

Because Betsy is not listed in the 1850 census, she had presumably died by that time. A Peter Snyder of Milton Twp., Mahoning Co., OH (adjacent to Newton Twp of Trumbull Co) married Lydia Doud Brown (sister of Betsy Doud Edgecomb) on 26 Jun 1851.⁷ However, it is not known if this the Peter b. c.1793.

Parentage of Betsy Snyder

Assuming that Mr. Lyon was correct in giving Lewis as Betsy's maiden name, there are two pieces of circumstantial evidence that strongly support the conjecture that Betsy was a daughter of Peleg Lewis, sister to Jonathan and John Lewis shown on the plat map, and sister to Elsie Lewis Bassitt, wife of Samuel Bassitt also shown on the map. The first is the date of purchase of Peter and Betsy's land in section 11⁶. This date, 15 Sep 1835 is the same as the date John and Fanny Lewis bought their adjacent land in section 14. Both Peter and Betsy and John and Fanny were residents of Lordstown Twp., Trumbull Co., OH when they made their purchases. Therefore it is very suggestive that these purchases were the coordinated effort of siblings.

The other evidence is the account of the formation of the first church (later to be a part of the Disciples of Christ denomination) in Lordstown Twp. on 20 Mar 1830⁸. The church was organized in a log cabin school house on the corner of the farm of David Lewis (another child of Peleg Lewis). Original members included Samuel Bassett and wife, Peleg, Fanny, and Rachel Lewis, David Lewis and wife, Sylvester Roberts and wife, Peter Snyder and wife, and Betsy Snyder. It is believed that all of these Lewis' as well as Samuel Bassitt's wife, Elsie, and Sylvester Roberts' wife, Mary, were siblings. If the inferences made in this posting are correct, then Peter Snyder's wife, Betsy was a sibling as well. I do not know why in the list of original members the wife of Peter Snyder and Betsy Snyder are listed separately. Perhaps there were two Betsy Snyders.

In a transaction dated 1 Mar 1840, Joseph and Maria Lewis of Lordstown Twp., Trumbull Co., OH sold land in section 1 of Bath Twp. to Martin Lewis of Putnam Co., OH (which at that time was adjacent to section 1 of Bath Twp. although after the reorganization of 1848 Monroe Township was transferred from Putnam to Allen County). This transaction was witnessed by Peter and Alzina Snyder. I do not know who Joseph Lewis is, although it is thought that Martin Lewis was the son of Peleg Lewis, Jr., oldest sibling of John, Jonathan, Elsie, etc. This again shows that Peter (b. 1793) and his family were closely associated with the Lewis's.

Tangled web of relationships among early landowners in northeastern Bath Township, Allen Co., OH

Returning to the plat map of northeastern Bath Township, the relationships among the landowners listed are as follows: Uriah and Betsy (Doud) Edgecomb moved to Bath Township in 1832 and purchased land in section 3. Presumably Betsy communicated with her sister Fanny (Doud) Lewis of Lordstown Twp., Trumbull Co., OH about their new home and this information was shared with the siblings of John Lewis (Fanny's husband). Elsie (Lewis) Bassitt (John's sister) and her husband (also of Lordstown) decided to buy land in section 13 in 1834. On 15 Sep 1835, John (Elsie's brother) and Fannie (Betsy Edgecomb's sister) bough land in section 14 adjacent to Elsie and Samuel. On the same day, Betsy (Elsie's sister) and Peter Snyder (i.e. Peter b.c.1793, also of Lordstown) bought land in section 11 adjacent to John and Fanny's land. In 1836, Samuel and Elsie Bassitt moved to Bath Township. However, John and Fanny Lewis apparently never left Lordstown Twp., Trumbull County and eventually they sell their land to others. On 25 Feb 1836 Jonathan (brother of Elsie Bassitt, John Lewis, and Betsy Snyder) and Nelly Lewis buy land in section 14 adjacent to John and Fanny Lewis and Peter and Betsy Snyder. They move there sometime before 1840 (perhaps with the Bassitts).

Did Peter Snyder (b. 1820) live with Peter (b. c.1793) and Betsy Snyder in Bath Twp.?

Peter (b. 1820) was the youngest of twelve children of Philip and Mary (Sharpsteen) Snyder, and was born in Livingston County, New York. Philip died in about 1824 when Peter was four years old. Peter probably lived with his mother or an older sibling (or both) until he was twelve or thirteen years old. At that time (about 1833), Peter moved to Trumbull County, Ohio where he stayed with his brother Lorenzo for about a year.¹¹ (Lorenzo was married in Trumbull County in 1832.¹²) This insinuates that his mother was not living in Trumbull Co. at that time. Why did he stop living with his brother? If the birth dates of Lorenzo's children can be trusted as clues, Lorenzo and Julia Ann may have returned to New York by 1834.

This leaves the question of with whom Peter lived after Lorenzo left Trumbull Co. In these late 19th century biographies, the stalwart and independent pioneer subjects make their way on their own. However, the reality seems to be that they more often moved and lived with relatives: siblings, in-laws, uncles, etc. It is possible that Peter (b.1820) lived with a relative (perhaps uncle), the Peter Snyder born c.1793 who was living in Lordstown, Trumbull County at the time. Although I have no direct evidence that Peter (b. c.1793) was an uncle to Peter (b.1820), it was common practice to name children after aunts and uncles at that time. When Peter (b.1820) was 18 or 19 years old, he moved to Bath Township.¹³ An obvious place for him to have lived at that time was with his brother, Lorenzo. However, Lorenzo and Julian Ann sold the last of their land in Bath Township in 1840 and were living in Hinsdale, Cattaraugus Co., NY at the time of the 1840 census¹⁴. So if Peter lived with Lorenzo, it would not have been for long.

After Peter (b.1820) married Clarinda Edgecomb, his biography says that "he then rented a farm of 160 acres".¹³ Where was this farm? Referring to the plat map, one could hypothesize that it was a part of Peter Snyder (b. c.1793)'s farm in section 11 - in particular the southwest quarter section. If Peter (b.1820) had been living with his putative uncle (Peter Snyder b. c.1793) in Trumbull County, they could have moved together to Bath Township in 1838-39. (The elder Peter moved to Bath Twp. sometime between 1835 and 1839.) If this were true, Peter (b.1820) would have ended up living a mile south of Uriah Edgecomb's farm. This would give him an opportunity to begin seeing Uriah's 16-17 year old daughter, Clarinda. After she became pregnant, they got married in 1840. The elder Peter soon moved back to Trumbull County, but the younger Peter, now permanently entangled with the Edgecombs, stayed. In 1849, Peter (b.1820) purchased what was known in 1885 as the "Hiram Prottsman farm". Examination of the 1880 map of Bath Twp.¹⁵ and land transactions recorded in Lima show it to be a part of the elder Peter Snyder's 160 acres in section 11. So it is possible that Peter's purchase of a farm in 1849 does not represent a move, but rather represents Peter and Clarinda finally accumulating enough money to buy the farm on which they have been living since they were married.

This information is freely available under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. On the web, a link to this page would be helpful.

Comments? Questions? Contact Steve Baskauf

References:

1. Letter from Arthur G. Lyon to Canandaigua Public Library, New York, 29 Apr 1952. Reply on 10 May 1952

2. History of Ontario County found by Wib Everett (publication date unknown)

3. "Town of Candice History" from History of Ontario Co., NY, 1878, p.253-258 "In 1815, Benjamin, Peter, and Philip Snyder came to Ball Hill. The first took the REMY place, Peter the WHITBECK farm, and Philip the east portion of the lands of the brothers Orlando G. and Andrew BROWN. … Philip Snyder sold to D. ADAMS in 1838, and from him title descended to Ira MERRILLS and Jairus COLEGROVE, who sold to the brothers named. Benjamin Snyder sold to E. MACOMBER and H. GREEN. J. DAVIDSON, S. PHIPPS, S. R. HICKOK, and J. DEWEY were successive owners prior to John REMY, the present possessor. Peter Snyder and Captain GRANBY, a sea-captain in the war of 1812, were almost simultaneous settlers on this farm. The captain soon died. SNYDER sold to John CHAMBERLIN, he to I. W. MITCHELL, and Hart and Murray, Isaac GIFFORD, and Jacob WHITBECK…".

4. U.S. Census of 1820 for Lordstown Twp., Trumbull Co., OH, p.193 [blank 1820 form]

5. History of Trumbull and Mahoning Counties, Vol. 2, Cleveland, H.Z. Williams & Bro. 1882, p. 536, p. 537

6. Deed records, Allen Co, OH Courthouse, Lima, OH, Vol.47, p. 319-320. 15 Sep 1835.

7. Letter from Inez L. Eagleton to Kathryn Snyder Geiser, 28 Jul 1978

8. History of Trumbull and Mahoning Counties, Vol. 2, Cleveland, H.Z. Williams & Bro. 1882, p. 542, p. 541

9. Deeds, Book G, p. 80 - p.81, Allen Co., OH Recorder's office. 8 Feb 1839.

10. Deeds, Book H, p.186 - p.187, Allen Co., OH Recorder's office. 16 Dec 1839.

11. History of Allen County, Ohio. Chicago: Warner, Beers & Co., 1885. p.587-88.

12. An email from Theresa Wirth states that Lorenzo married Julia Ann Browne on 16 Jun 1832 in Trumbull Co., OH.

13. Portrait and Biographical Record of Allen and Van Wert Counties, Ohio. Chicago: A. W. Bowen & Co., 1896. p.490

14. U.S. Census of 1840 for Hinsdale, Cattaraugus Co., NY. p. 44.

15. Historical Atlas of Allen County, Ohio, 1880, Philadelphia: R.H. Harrison, p.61.

16. J. Max Anderson. 2006. A History of Johann Jost Snyder and Anna Magdalena Elizabetha Flagler of Palatine Immigrants to America in 1710. Salt Lake City, Utah. p. 277.

Census references

U.S. Census of 1830 for Lordstown Township, Trumbull County, OH, p.196 [blank 1830 form]
Males aged 5-10 (Lewis), 15-20 (Cicero or an older son? - Cicero should be 10-15 if the 1819 birth date is correct), and 30-40 (Peter age 37); females aged under 5 (Mary A.), 5 to 10 (Alzina), 10-15 (dau. 2), 15-20 (dau. 1), and 30-40 (Betsy about 35).

U.S. Census of 1840 for Lordstown Twp., Trumbull Co., OH. p. 87 [blank 1840 form]
males: one under 5 (?), one 5-10 (Ambrose age 7), one 15-20 (Lewis age 18), one 20-30 (Cicero), one 40-50 (Peter age 47); females: one 10-15 (Mary A. age 11), one 15-20 (Alzina age 15), one 40-50 (Betsy about 45)

U.S. Census of 1850 for Lordstown Twp., Trumbull Co., OH, p.193 [blank 1850 form]