Family History - Sophronia M. Brown

1. Sophronia M. Brown,¹ born ____ (parents not determined). Sophronia married, 13 July 1845 in DuPage County, Illinois, Erasmus Darwin Gazlay^{7, 10} (born 17 April 1812 in New York, the son of Daniel Gazlay and Susannah Leavenworth;^{1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8} Erasmus died 25 March 1887 in Waucoma, Fayette County, Iowa^{1, 9}). Erasmus is buried in Waucoma Cemetery, Waucoma, Fayette County, Iowa.^{1, 9}

1. Find a Grave (website). Waucoma Cemetery, Waucoma, Fayette County, Iowa, Erasmus Don Gazlay, born: 17 April 1812 in New York; died: 25 March 1887 in Waucoma, Fayette County, Iowa (from record, which provides the names and links for his mother and three siblings).
2. U.S. Federal Census, 1850, Illinois, Cook County, Maine, family of John Gasley (33, NY, farmer); Mary Sa. Gasley (40, NY) [this is believed to be John’s sister Mary Louise]. Also, family of Erasmus D. Gasley (38, NY, farmer); Cornelius Gasley (30, NY, farmer, male) [this is strongly believed to be Cornelia (female), a sister of John, Mary, and Erasmus]; James Sherman (2, Illinois) [this is believed to be the orphaned child of Ann (Gazlay) and Nicholas Sherman; Ann is another sister of the above siblings]; M. L. Gasley (23, NY) [the identity of this male has not been determined but may be a heretofore unknown brother of the above siblings].
3. U.S. Federal Census, 1860, Iowa, Fayette County, Township of Eden, Page No. 17, family of Johnson Baker (24, Pennsylvania, farmer); Cornelia Baker (38, New York); James Sherman (12, Illinois); Lodina S. Baker (2, Illinois); Erasmus D. Gazley (48, New York).
4. U.S. Federal Census, 1870, Iowa, Fayette County, Eden Township, Page No. 5, family of E. D. Gazlay (58, New York, farmer); M. L. Townsend (60, New York). This is Erasmus Gazlay and his sister Mary Louise (Gazlay) Townsend. They are living next door to J. L. (James) Sherman and his family (presumed nephew of Erasmus and Mary).
5. U.S. Federal Census, 1880, Iowa, Fayette County, Eden Township, Enumeration District 197, Page No. 8, family of E. D. Gazley [i.e., Erasmus] (68, New York, farmer, widow); Mary Townsend (70, New York); Orlando Cotton (21, Illinois, laborer). Erasmus and Mary are brother and sister. They are living next door to their presumed nephew, James Sherman, and his family.
6. Iowa State Census, 1885, Fayette County, Eden Township, Page 269, E. D. Gazlay (72, New York, mason and surveyor).
7. Gazlay History, compiled by Margaret Howe in 1955-1956 (copy available at Gazlay Family History - Sources). Margaret Howe indicated that the document is “based on material my mother Inez L. Gazlay collected, but never lived to edit. Her material has just been copied and explains the more extensive material on generation V and VI. Other information has been added which I found from numerous sources.” Unpublished, 29 pages. Several differences in dates have been found between this document and others, especially A Genealogy of the Leavenworth Family; the latter is considered the more accurate source.
8. A Genealogy of the Leavenworth Family in the United States, by Elias Warner Leavenworth, L.L.D. Syracuse, New York, S. G. Hitchcock and Company, 1873. Digitized copy available at Google Books. Pages 88, 89, and 131, entries for Amos Leavenworth, his wife Esther Warner, and their children, especially Susanna who married Daniel Gazly (Gazlay).
9. Iowa WPA Graves (website). The information contained on this website was originally recorded by Iowa WPA (Works Progress Administration) workers during late 1930s. In 2006 it was transcribed into a searchable electronic format. Gazlay, E. D.; Died: 25 March 1887; Born: age 74 years; Cemetery: Waucoma, Fayette County, Iowa, Lot 39. This is the same lot where his presumed nephew, James Sherman, was buried.
10. Illinois Marriages to 1850; Guzlay, Erasmus D. [sic]; and Brown, Sophronia M.; 13 July 1845, DuPage County, Illinois.
11. U.S. General Land Office Records 1796-1907; and Illinois Public Land Purchase Records; U.S. Indexed County Land Ownership Maps, 1860-1919. Available at ancestry.com.