Gazlay Family History
 

FamilyArvin Haight Gazlay

DIRECT DESCENDANT OF JOHN GAZLAY (from England c.1715)
Arvin Haight Gazlay5 (John Gazlay,4 John Gazlay,3 John Gazlay,2 John Gazlay1)

Parents

FatherJohn Furman Gazlay (23 February 1788 - 31 December 1875)
MotherPolly Haight (25 July 1788 - 16 August 1862)

Personal Information

Record Created: 20 March 2011; Last Edited: 3 February 2022 
Person ID2068
NameArvin Haight Gazlay
GenderMale
Born 25 September 1815 in Esperence, Schoharie County, New York1
Married 19 December 1838 in Saratoga Springs, Saratoga County, New York to Charlotte Luther2, 3
Married 13 June 1843 in Saratoga Springs, Saratoga County, New York to Charlotte Bradley (née Seeman) 3, 4, 5
Died 5 November 1849 in Mormon Island, California Gold Fields, California1, 2

Biography

Arvin was a harness maker. His harness and trunks store on Broadway, Saratoga, New York, was twice destroyed by fire, along with several other shops, on 22 November 1844 and again on 27 August 1846.6

On 14 March 1848, Arvin was granted Letters Patent No. 5476 for an improvement in harness saddles, specifically, “The manner of constructing harness saddles, in making the jockey skirts and saddle of metal cast in one piece.”7

Arvin’s name is listed as A. H. Gazley among the passengers on the ship Elizabeth Ellen, sailing from New York to San Francisco on 16 February 1849. His descendants understand that he died the same year at Mormon Island, an early gold mining community located on the south forks of American River, about 20 miles northwest of Sacramento.8, 9

Arvin’s widow Charlotte was appointed his administratrix, and in September 1850 she assigned title to his patent to Nathaniel Wright. Five years later, Nathaniel sold the patent to O. B. North & Co., New Britain, Connecticut, and they had the patent reissued in their own name as RE No. 408 on 28 October 1856. In July 1857, North & Co. made an unsuccessful attempt to defend Gazlay’s patent in court against an alleged patent infringement. It was found that the defendants had filed a separate patent that, although it duplicated Gazlay’s and another of North’s patents, was used in the making of harness saddles with the knowledge of the two patent holders, and they did not immediately challenge the defendant’s patent.7

Person/Family

Spouse 1FamilyCharlotte Luther
Born ca. 1813
Married 19 December 1838 in Saratoga Springs, Saratoga County, New York to Arvin Haight Gazlay
Died 11 September 1841 in Saratoga Springs, Saratoga County, New York
  
Spouse 2FamilyCharlotte Bradley (née Seeman) (daughter of _____ Seeman and (unidentified))
Born 17 March 1812 in New York
Married to John A. Bradley
Married 13 June 1843 in Saratoga Springs, Saratoga County, New York to Arvin Haight Gazlay
Died 18 March 1891 in Clyde, Sandusky County, Ohio
  
Children of Arvin Haight Gazlay and Charlotte Bradley (née Seeman) :
  
+1.FamilyJohn Arvin Gazlay
Born 21 May 1846 in Saratoga Springs, Saratoga County, New York
Married 1 September 1872 in Clyde, Sandusky County, Ohio to Henrietta Elmira ‘Etta’ Morgan
Died 26 August 1911 in Bellevue, Sandusky County, Ohio
  

Sources

  1. Gazlay Family Tree, available at ancestry.com; owner: Charles Lee Gazlay. Although this online family tree is unsourced, public records and other sources provide confirmation of many of the event dates and places presented in this family tree, with few conflicts. Therefore, the information in this family tree is considered highly reliable.
  2. Gazlay Family Notes, undated and unpublished. This photocopy of five pages of hand-written notes start with what is believed to be the same 1852 interview of Sayrs Gazlay by his brother Theodore that is transcribed elsewhere. The remaining pages focus on the branch of the family that includes John Arvin Gazlay (1846-1911). Some dates in this photocopy differ from other sources. Transcription available at Gazlay Family History (website).
  3. Gazlay Family Tree, by David Paul Gazlay. First edition published June 1984. Second edition published August 2001. This extensive Gazlay family tree provides birth and death years (but not exact dates) for Gazlay descendants, and names (only) of spouses. No sources are cited, but the compiler is known to have collected information from numerous documents and Gazlay descendants. Names, dates, and relationships should be compared to other source citations.
  4. U.S. Federal Census, 1860, New York, Erie County, Evans, Page 49, family of Henry Gazley (34, NY, wheelwright), Emily M. Gazley (31, NY), May Ida Gazley (7, NY), and John A. Gazley (16, NY, apprentice wheelwright). John is believed to be the son of Henry’s brother Arvin Haight Gazlay and his wife Charlotte (Bradley) Gazlay.
  5. Marriage Announcement, Schenectady Reflector and Democrat, Schenectady, New York, June (27?), 1843. Available at www.fultonhistory.com. In Saratoga Springs, on the 13th inst., by Rev. W. F. Walker, Mr. Arvin H. Gazlay to Mrs. Charlotte Bradley, all of that village.
  6. Reminiscences of Saratoga, compiled by Cornelius E. Durkee, pages 11-12. Reprinted from The Saratogian, 1927-28.
  7. Reports of Cases Argued and Determined in the Circuit Court of the United States for the Second Circuit. By Samuel Blatchford, Judge. Volume IV. New York: Baker, Voorhis & Company, 66 Nassau Street, 1868. Digitized copy available at Google Books.
  8. The Argonauts of California, By a Pioneer, C. W. Haskins, 1890 (Second Half of Book) Available at Rootsweb.com.
  9. New York Herald, New York City, New York, February 18, 1849. Available at sfgenealogy.com.