52 Weeks of Abundant Genealogy - Historical Documents - Pioneer Clevelands

The historical document that assisted me the most was The Pioneer Clevelands, from the Journal of Adeline Cleveland Hosner and the family records preserved by her granddaughter Mrs. Jessie Agard.

The journal entries of Adeline Cleveland Hosner provided information on how her parents, Josiah and Fanny Lathrop Cleveland of New London, CT migrated through New York State and then settled in Updike’s Corners, near Jacksonville, NY. Fanny is a descendant of the Rev. John Lowthropp of Barnstable, MA.

The journal provided birth, death, and in some cases cause of death of Fanny and Josiah Cleveland’s twelve children listed below:

Descendants of Josiah B. Cleveland b: 1774 and Fanny (Lathrop) Cleveland b: 1778;[1]

Gurdon Lathrop Cleveland b: 9 June 1801; d: 10 Dec 1825 Typhoid Fever

Julia Ann Cleveland[2] b: 12 Aug. 1802; d: 7 Feb 1825 Typhoid Fever

John Porter Cleveland b: 1804; d: 1825

Mehetable Cleveland b: 11 Oct. 1805; d: 1862

Nelson Cleveland b: 12 Nov. 1807; d: 12-13 Sept 1808Adeline Cleveland b: 6 May 1809; d: 1882

Sally Cleveland b: 23 Jan 1811; d: 10 May 1864; m: James Montgomery Case

William Johnson Cleveland b: 19 Aug 1813

Nelson Bliss Cleveland b: 13 April 1815

Adelia Cleveland b: 10 Mar 1817; d: 15 April 1838; m: 1837 Lewis VanWegner

Fanny Belinda Cleveland b: 12 Aug 1820; d: 1853;[3] m: Samuel Howard

Alanson Josiah Cleveland b: 12 March 1822

Through her diaries, Adeline Cleveland Hosner tells us of life during the 1800s. She details how diseases and fevers no longer common today devastated entire families. Diphtheria, typhoid, scarlet fever, malaria, smallpox, and pneumonia were all beyond the skill of the physician. Herbal remedies were widely used to treat those who were ill.

A deeply religious woman, Adeline agonized over the fact that they paid $300 for each son that was drafted to keep them from serving in the Civil War.  This option stated, “Persons furnishing a substitute or paying the above sum of money shall be discharged from further liability under the draft.”  Adeline knew that her decision, paying to avoid the draft, was not the Christian thing to do, and for this she carried an emotional and spiritual burden.

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[1] The dates for the Cleveland family are from genealogical information in The Pioneer Clevelands.

[2] Julia Ann is buried in Updike’s Corners Cemetery, Jacksonville, NY.

[3] According to Cleveland family genealogy, Fanny drowned in the ocean. She and her children were lost at sea while on route to join her husband in San Francisco.