Joy-Riding with the Huffsmiths

This is not a picture of the Huffsmiths, but the card was sent to Cora Huffsmith of Dushore, Pennsylvania (current population 663).

The message reads:

Hello cousin am home now your father ask me if i saw you to Dushore so I toll him i did and that you took me to church.

Cousin Leslie

Ans Soon

You may or may not recall a previous postcard to Cora Huffsmith, where I mentioned that I had discovered that Cora was the eighth great granddaughter of Wolphert Gerretse Van Kouwenhoven.  I became curious because on the genealogy website where I found this information, everybody is traced to Van Kouwenhoven in one way or another. So, who was he?

Wolphert Gerretse Van Kouwenhoven was born in Holland in about 1584. In about 1624 he immigrated to New Amsterdam, New York, now known as new York City. He purchased 3,600 acres from the Indians.

In 2007, the original deed to the land was auctioned off. This text is quoted from the Conover Genealogy site:

A document described as the oldest surviving land deed for Long Island land was auctioned Wednesday for $156,000 in Manhattan.The deed, signed by Dutch Colonial Gov. Wouter von Twiller at "Eylandt Manhatans" on June 6, 1636, confirms the purchase of 3,600 acres from the Lenape Indians. The land is known as Keskachauge, and constitutes a large portion of present day Brooklyn."It is without question one of the oldest Dutch documents in private hands," said Jeremy Markowitz, head of Americana sales at Bloomsbury Auctions, a Manhattan auction house where the sale took place.

The 13-by-18-inch document, written in ink in Dutch, confirms the purchase of the land in the Flatlands section of Brooklyn from the Indians by Wolfert Gerritsz van Couwenhoven and Andries Hudde.On the reverse side, there is a reaffirmation of the original transaction in 1658 and signature of another more famous governor, Peter Stuyvesant, who amended it to say the sole owner of the property was Kouwenhoven.  

Here's another amusing bit about Cora Huffsmith and the Van Couwenhovens: In all likelihood I am related to them. At least I'd be willing to make a small wager on it.  There are just too many common surnames, including Facklers and Meyers from Kansas. What's really amazing (and amusing) about genealogy in general is that if you are thorough enough, you find that you are related to just about everybody. So, the chances are not at all bad that you are also related to Cora and the Van Couwenhovens. Take a look at the surname list.  Taking some of the Sepia Saturday participant surnames, I found 36 Burnetts, 16 Mortensens, 96 Paynes, 403 Reeds, and 14 Brubakers. Alas, not a single Zimnoch or Scotney.  It's too bad, really, because if we were all related, we could have just adopted the Van Couwenhoven family crest as part of Sepia Saturday.

Ayer's Sarsaparilla

Ayer's Sarsaparilla  claimed to cure all sorts of ailments and purify the blood. Sarsaparilla was made from a trailing vine called smilax regelii, which was also used to flavor root beer. If you look hard enough, you may still be able to find an old-fashioned root beer flavored with sarsaparilla. You can read all about the history of Ayer's Sarsaparilla at Cliff and Linda Hoyt's website, which includes great photos of old advertisements, bottles, and even a paper doll. These cards are from about 1880.

I looked up Nellie Hicks from Cincinnatus, New York and discovered that she is listed as the 8th great-great granddaughter of Wolphert Gerretse Van Kouwenhoven. Wait a minute, that sounds familiar. I have lots of cards sent to Cora Huffsmith, who was also the 8th great-great granddaughter of Wolphert Gerretse Van Kouwenhoven. I'll write a little more about him on an upcoming Huffsmith card.

Everything Smokers and Chewers Want

Why anyone would think this picture would help sell a product is beyond me. It is amusing though. This is an advertising or trade card circa 1880.