Holbrook line: Enos Eddy 1774-after 1840

 Oh, my goodness.  Enos Eddy was a traveling man!  Or, there was more than one man by that name.  We know he had a son Enos, but even before the younger son became a man, there are confusing records for him.  The confusions are many and the records are fewer.  

Let's start with what we know for sure.  Enos Eddy was the son of Enos and Sarah Brown Eddy.  He was born in Glocester, Providence County, Rhode Island on June 6, 1774.  He was one of four children born to the couple. Enos, the father, died in 1784 and I've been unable to find a death date for Sarah.  Our Enos would have been raised either as an orphan or in a step father's home.  Either way, he may have been either indentured or apprenticed to someone, because that's what often happened in that time period.  (Apprenticeship would imply he was taught a trade; if he was indentured he may not have had that opportunity.)  That's as much as I've learned so far about Enos Eddy's early life.

He married Deborah Paine, daughter of Nathan and Lillis Winsor Paine, on March 18, 1794 in Glocester.  They had at least 14 children together. The first few may have been born in Glocester but by 1798 he was in Kingston, New York, and by 1802 the Eddy family had moved to Richfield, Otsego, New York, which is quite a distance from Glocester.  Richfield is near the eastern end of Lake Ontario.  Enos is listed there in the census of 1800 and the tax records of 1802 and 1803. where he is listed as owning a house and farm.  The 1803 list shows several men by the name of Eddy, so they may have traveled there as a group, or it may be a matter of chain migration.  

In 1810, we find him in Smithfield, Madison County, New York, with 9 children under the age of 16.  Smithfield is 150 miles south and a little to the east of Richfield.  In 1820, he seems to be in Sweden, Genesee County, New York with 7 people under the age of 25, and he and Deborah are both listed as 45 and over.  So he's moved about 125 miles west and is now south of Lake Ontario.  Enos Jr is in Cazenovia, Madison County, New York for this census.

And then it gets confusing.  The only Enos Eddy I can find in New York is listed in Cecilius, Cattauragus County, NY, where the name is Enos Eddy Junior.  This appears to be son Enos, but there is a man of the right age (50-59) also there.  Was our Enos visiting his son, perhaps helping him get settled in a new location, helping him clear fields and plant crops?  If so, where is Deborah?  I've not been able to locate a separate census entry for her.  The 1840 census is even more confusing, because while there is a listing for Enos Eddy in Mansfield, Cattaraugus County, NY, there is no tick mark that would be likely to be either Enos.  The two oldest males are between 13 and 20.  

So what has happened to Enos, the subject of this post?  Is he deceased?  I have an undocumented death date of "after 1840" but I don't know what that is based on.  I also have a death date of 1817 in Darien, Genesee County, New York.  Again, that is not documented but it is incorrect because children were born as late as 1822.  I wonder if "1817" is a typo for "1847"?  And if it was 1847, where was he in 1840?  I wonder if he was possibly working on Lake Ontario and wasn't counted by the census takers, but that is just speculation.  As far as we know, he was principally a farmer.  

We do have a cemetery inscription for Deborah, "wife of Enos Eddy", at Walker cemetery, southwest of South Byron, Genesee County, with a death date of February 16, 1849. It's possible that Enos is there, too, and that either there was no stone or the stone is now gone.  And the wording seems to indicate that Enos may still be alive, because if he was gone, the wording would likely be "widow".  

So that's what is known about Enos.  I have so many questions.  I've been unable to locate a will or probate papers,  I've not found him in any on line listings of militia or soldiers for the War of 1812, although he was of the right age and location to be in some of the major battles of that war.  Did he participate?  What was his religion?  Why did he move so frequently?  Was he the man aged 50-59 with his son in 1830?  

I plan to keep digging for answers to some of these questions.  As of now, the lack of information is giving me an itch I need to scratch!  

The line of descent is:

Enos Eddy-Deborah Paine

Joseph Brown Eddy-Susan Lamphire

Susan Eddy-Hiram Stanard

Louis Stanard-Mary Alice Hetrick

Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook

Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen

Their descendants