Abraham Sorrell(2)—What the 1850 US Census for Ferrisburgh Doesn’t Tell

vermont 2016

Abraham Sorrell, who lost his life from injuries sustained in the Civil War’s Wilderness Battle in May 1864, had married three times. His Civil War pension file offers an incredible portrait of people living in Ferrisburgh in 1850 and beyond.

After having read the testimony left by his first wife, Eliza Sears about their lives together, let’s continue our journey through the eyes of his second wife, Eliza Carpenter. At the time of her testimony, Eliza was living with John Ayers but was apparently not married to him.

I will publish a short biography of each person concerned in the last post of this series. Enjoy!

Continue reading

Abraham Sorrell(1)—What the 1850 US Census for Ferrisburgh Doesn’t Tell

vermont 2016

About a year ago, while doing some sleuthing on people listed in the 1850 US Census in Ferrisburgh, I came across one of the most baffling Civil War Pension Files I have seen in years.

The name is Abraham Sorrell. In 1850, he was living on a farm in Ferrisburgh, working as a labourer (although his family was living elsewhere in the same town). Of course, without any information on his civil status, we can assume this 17-year-old young man was still single, right? Continue reading