One Thing Leads to Another continued

In the process of adding what I knew about the VanGosbecks to my Tucker FamilySearch.org tree on Saturday, my eye caught the name Hosmer. What? I didn’t think I had that name in my family tree. When I finished with the VanGosbecks, I went over to the Cleveland/Hosner line and sure enough, someone (s) had changed the name of Isaac Hosner to Hosmer. Not only that, they changed the name of each one of his ten children!

My first reaction was – what are they doing messing with my family? Then I realized that maybe there was something I missed, and where did the name Hosner originate?

I am fortunate to have a copy of the handwritten journal of Adaline Cleveland Hosner (1809-1882). I also have a copy of the typed transcription of her journal, as well as a copy of The Pioneer Clevelands, from the Journal of Adaline Cleveland Hosner and the family records preserved by her granddaughter Mrs. Jessie Agard (my great-grandmother).

There still could be a mistake in transcription that has been carried forward, so I was thankful I could refer to the original document covering the years 1838-7 August 1882. The handwritten copy was difficult to read, so I went to the transcribed version and went through line by line hoping I would come across the last name of Adaline’s husband. I finally found where she called him by last name, but the fear remained that it was transcribed that way for clarification and that when I got to the primary source, Adaline would refer to him as “husband,” or Mr. H.

But that was not the case. On page 29 (transcriptionist number) of the primary document, Adaline mentions her husband as “Hosner.” This name appears a second time because she is writing about her husband suing his neighbor for allegedly poisoning their horse and she takes a third person approach.

So I had my proof of the spelling of the name Hosner. I had to then change each one of the entries back to Hosner (from Hosmer) and explain each time why I thought it was correct.

One of Adaline and Isaac’s children, Ervin, changed their family name to Hausner, so that name runs through this family line. And there may be a line that eventually changed their name to Hosmer and I am excited to learn about them. BUT, they should NOT be changing the original name that is clearly Hosner.

Ervin Mortimer Hosner

Rainy days help me to focus on genealogy and that is exactly what I did for most of the day yesterday. I delved back into the Lowthropp/Cleveland family, filling in the lives of my great grandmother's line.  

Utilizing information from the census and the journals of Adaline Cleveland Hosner, I was able to learn about the children of Isaac and Adaline Hosner. 

Ervin Mortimer Hosner, the second child of Isaac and Adaline Hosner was born 7 February 1835. In 1869 Ervin married Ruth Ann Smith (b: 1842). Ervin and Ruth Ann had three children: Clarence Hosner b: 1862; Minnie A. Hosner b: 1864; and Frank H. Hosner b: 1866. The family lived in Catherine, New York, making a living farming.

An obvious mistake was made in indexing the 1870 federal census where Ervin is indexed as “mulatto.” The indexer misread the “w” for an “m.”

Ervin’s mother details the events surrounding his death, 3 July 1873.  Later that month, on Sunday, July 27, 1873 entry of Adaline’s journal reads: “We are well at present for which I am grateful. The 3^rd of this month my dear Ervin departed this life in hopes of a better world above. He had for years been troubled with the rheumatism, more or less.” 

Adaline long wished her children would return for her and Isaac’s 40^th wedding anniversary on January 23. They all did and it was the last time Ervin was at her table.

The funeral for Ervin Mortimer Hosner was held on Saturday, July 5, 1873 at 11:00 at the Mecklenburg church. Even as he was lowered into his final resting place, Adaline wrote, “Death didn’t separate him from me. He was just as near and I could realize that it was my dear Ervin that was there in the coffin … I knew it was still my Ervin.

Four weeks before Ervin’s death, he could only communicate by writing on a slate.  He wrote: “Mother I am glad you have been with me a few days. As I cannot talk with you I write … I do not want you to go home and think I shall want for anything I ought to have.”[1]  All through this ordeal Adaline tracks Ervin’s deep faith and his readiness to enter into heaven. This is Adaline’s only consolation as she watched her son’s decline. One day they would be reunited in heaven.

The Cleveland family worried about how Ruth would carry on the farm work without Ervin.  Within a couple of years Ruth realized she could not do the work and rented out some of her land. Ruth Ann (Smith) Hosner died 3 December 1894.  She is buried in the Mecklenburg, New York cemetery with her husband.

Questions arise while researching this family. At some point during the 1870s spelling of the family name changed from Hosner to Hausner.  I am trying to find out when/why that occurred.  Although this family was born with the Hosner name, most were buried with the name Hausner.  

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[1] Journal of Adaline Cleveland Hosner, typed manuscript.  Footnote on Ervin’s last days in this manuscript reads: “This account of Ervin’s last days was written on a separate piece of smaller paper and lay loose between the pages of the journal. It would appear that Adaline wrote this account late and was unable to attach it to the sewn edges of the journal.”