by Barbara Leiger Granato
NOTE: This is a continuation of my previous post entitled "We Must Be Famous!" In this blog entry, I learn the truth about our family "hero" - Sylvester Spare.
We had traveled from Whitesboro, New York to Montgomery County, Pennsylvania to try to learn more about the life of my second great-grandfather, Sylvester Spare. It was the summer of 1992, and I thought this would be a great learning opportunity for our family. My husband Joe was a schoolteacher and our two children were 12 and 10. Montgomery County, Pennsylvania is full of history – and just to think that our family was a part of that history was pretty darned exciting to me.
We had found Sylvester’s grave at Augustus Lutheran Church in Trappe, Pennsylvania, and from that we learned that he was born on June 10, 1828 and died on February 14, 1867. Wow… Valentine’s Day! How strange. Maybe there was a story behind that???
Today was the day we would learn the truth.
We proudly walked into the Historical Society of Montgomery County in Norristown, Pennsylvania, and were immediately greeted by a very knowledgeable staff member. When she asked how she could be of assistance, I proudly told her about the family story of Sylvester. I knew his birth date and I knew his death date and I knew where he was buried.
“I want to find out more about my second great-grandfather,” I told the staff member. “My family told me that he supposedly was a bodyguard for Abraham Lincoln. I’m also thinking that he may have been in the Civil War.”
The kind woman brought us into a room full of books with the names of Civil War soldiers from the area. Ta-da! We searched, and we searched some more…but Sylvester was not among those listed. Not only that, we couldn’t find any substantiation that Sylvester ever had anything to do with Abraham Lincoln!
Hmmmm…. Well, maybe if we found his obituary we could learn more about him. So, the staff member took us to a microfilm machine and brought us the microfilm for the time period during which he died. But…there was no obituary listed for him around the time period of February 14, 1867.
I was beginning to get frustrated and my family was bored to tears. The staff member told me she wanted to look one more place, and then she would be back.
When she returned, there was a big smile on her face. “I think I found something that may be of interest to you,” she said. She handed me an Inquest that was done on the 20th day of April 1867. I could not believe the words I was reading:
“An Inquisition indented and taken at Perkiomen Bridge in the county of Montgomery, on the 20th day of April A.D. 1867 before J.C. Beyer, Esq., Coroner of the county aforesaid, upon the view of the body of Sylvester Spare then and there lying dead, upon the oaths and affirmations of Jackson Bevan, John J. Dettra, W. H. Gumbes, Henry Snider, Isaac Weaver, Jehu Munshower…
“Six good and lawful men of the county aforesaid being sworn and affirmed, and charged to inquire on the part of the Commonwealth, when, where, how, and after what manner the said Sylvester Spare came to his death, do say, upon their oaths and affirmations aforesaid, that the said Sylvester Spare came to his death by…
“drowning by accidentally falling from a boat while engaged in setting his traps while under the influence of liquor received at the Hotel of Davis Longnecker.”
Oh my… this was definitely not the truth I was seeking. This is the man who was our family hero??? Seriously??? But all of a sudden, the scandal of a family member who met his demise because he was intoxicated made this somehow pretty interesting.
The staff member then took us to a big map of the Perkiomen River and actually showed us the path that Sylvester’s body had traveled before it was found two months after that fateful Valentine’s Day. Wow.
But there was one more surprise in store for us as we got up to leave. “The hotel where Sylvester had his last drink and fell from his boat is still standing today and is located just down the road in Collegeville. It is now called The Perkiomen Bridge Hotel and it has recently reopened.”
My family just stood there and looked at each other. We were all thinking the same thing. And a few minutes later, there we were, sitting at The Perkiomen Bridge Hotel, enjoying our beverages as we made a toast to Sylvester.
Lessons learned –
- Visit Historical Societies in the area where your ancestors lived.
- Learn to use microfilm machines.
- Don’t give up if you cannot find an obituary.
- Try to find maps of the area during the time period your ancestors lived there.
- Don’t believe everything your family members tell you about your ancestors.
©2015 Barbara Leiger Granato
After retiring from her job as a secretary at Mohawk Valley Community College, Barbara Granato had more time to pursue her love of genealogy. She is a member of the Oneida Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution, currently serving as the chapter Registrar and Vice-Chair of NYS Lineage Research for DAR. In addition to teaching Beginning Genealogy classes, she is a Board member of the Central New York Genealogical Society, as well as a Board Member for the Oneida County Historical Society. She also is a member of the Landmarks Society of Greater Utica and serves as a tour docent to the mansions on Rutger Street in Utica, and writes murder mysteries which are performed at one of the historic mansions once a year. She is a member of the Association of Professional Genealogists as well as the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society.
