Sources: Gazlay Family Notes
This unpublished, untitled, and undated document is a photocopy of five pages of notes about the Gazlay family. I have given the document the title Gazlay Family Notes. The first page, hand-written entirely in cursive on plain paper, appears to be a transcription of the informtion provided by Sayrs Gazlay (1787-1874) when he was interviewed in 1852 by his brother Theodore Gazlay (1811-1899), but with a few additional details not found on other transcriptions of that interview. The second page, also in cursive, countinues with the children of John Gazlay (1750-1816), and some descendants of his seventh child, John Furman Gazlay (1788-1875). Page three is a preprinted Family Chart form containing the family details of his son, Arvin Henry Gazlay (1815-1849). Page four uses the same form to show the family details of Arvin’s only child, John Arvin Gazlay (1846-1911). Page five shows the family details of his son John Gazlay (1881-1960) but on plain paper. It appears that these pages were hand-written by more than one person, unidentified, but probably members of this branch of the family.
The format of the below transcription is greatly simplified compared to the photocopy (sample shown above). I have added a few comments, shown in [brackets]. Note that the double quote character " is used in both the original document and the transcription to indicate ordinal numbers (for example, ‘fourth’ is written as 4"). A detailed description of this unique document is shown after the transcription.
Transcription by Lee Gazlay, February 1995; revised September 2012.
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(1" Page) by Sayrs Gazlay - Wiliamsburg, ____ Co. Oct 28 _8__.
John Gazlay - 1" [generation] - Emigrated to America from England 1717 [most other sources say 1715]. Settled in Goshen, Orange. Co., N.Y. Married Elizabeth Sayer
John 2" [generation] - Born June 9, 1722 [other sources say July], Died Aug 1811 - 96" year. Married Annie Ware (over) [other sources give the name as Ward]- Born Nov. 15, 1725. Settled in Great Nine Partners, Duchess Co. Twp. Bought + improved 500 acres. Built mills 1760. [The word ‘over’ apparently refers to information on the back of the page, but was not included in the photocopy.]
[The following line appears within the indented text, with an arrow pointing from ‘Elizabeth Sayer’]
His widow married a North, descendents of Norths of Walton ____ in New York.
[The following line was written to the left of the indented lines]
John 2" losing his father when very young - his mother marrying again - ascertained the way his name was spelled by finding a note his father had given + taken up - among some old papers.
[The text continues with John and Elizabeth’s children]
1" Mary - b. Oct. 4", 1747. Married Dr. Farnham [other sources give the name as Furman] - Albany, N.Y.
2" John - 3" [generation] - b. Jan. 11, 1750 - married Sally Furman. d. Feb. 1816 [other sources say 1813] - at Edmeston - Unadilla. Dr. John’s father.
3" Daniel - b. Mar. 22, 1752, m. Keturah Platt - 2 children. Shot in Ploughkeepsie [sic], 1777 accidentily [sic] some person snapping gun among soldiers.
4" Anne - b. July 8, 1754 - m. Wm. Carter of Albany N.Y.
5" Hannah - b. Apr. 18, 1756 - m. Wm. Wright - 3 children
6" James - Ensign - b. Jan. 23, 1759 [other sources say 1758] - m. Hilda [the name ‘Huldah’ appears below, apparently to correct the spelling] Carter 1783 - 12 children. [This is] Sayrs’ father - d. 1823 Indiana.
7" Jonathan - b. Aug 17, 1760 - m. Karenda Carter - 14 children.
These brothers married daughters of Wm. Carter [referring to James and Jonathan above]
[The following lines are written to the left of the indented lines, with an arrow pointing from Jonathan]
1 Ward Madison, son of Jonathan, edited “Political Index” paper of Newburg N.Y.
2 Son at Goshen - Orange Co. N.Y. His widow - children in N.Y. City [This is probably Joshua Gazlay]
3 Another son Thos. Jefferson settled in Texas
4 Samuel - in Oregon - his son in Legislature. Left daughter in Painted Post, N.Y. - m. Dr. Rumsey - who died while Postmaster
5 Wm. A son in Michigan or West
Our ancestors were English - no Gazlays in this country except descendents of John 2".
[The text continues with the rest of John and Elizabeth’s children]
8" Elizabeth - b. Feb. 9, 1763 - m. Sam‗l Furman - 9 children
9" Diadana - b. June 18, 1765 - m. Phillip Heart - 6 or 7 children
10" Abigail - b. April 27, 1768 - died 1794 [other sources say 1795] - single
11" Joseph - m. Annie Marshall - 8 children
b. Nov. 24, 1771 [lines indicate that this birth date applies to both 11" Joseph and 12" Benjamin]
12" Benjamin - m. Ruth Bradford - 2 daughters
The 12 children - namely of James - 6 above
1" James Wm. - b. July 23, 1784 - m. Martha Randall Nor__ m. Rebecca Williams Cincinnati
2" Sayrs, b. Jan. 1, 1789 [other sources say 1787] - m. Susan Hay. Washington Co. N.Y.
3" Anne - b. Sept. 21, 1789=d. July 1, 1857 [other sources say July 5]- single
4" Elizabeth - b. Mar. 26, 1792 - m. Chas. Kellogg
5" Cornelia - b. Aug 1, 1794, m. Jas. S. Chamberlain
6" Aribiet [sic, Aribert] - b. Dec. 16, 1797 [other sources say Dec. 10] - m. Elizabeth Buck - 1 son Carter
7" Karenda - b. Apr. 22, 1800 - m. David Swing - 2 sons, Alfred, David. Also m. Jas. Hagerman - 4 children - James, George, Julia, Simeon August.
[Below these lines, written in a column, are numbers 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12, all crossed out]
[The next line appears to the right of the these numbers, and undoubtedly refers to 6" Aribert]
Ambert d. 1884
[The following lines are written to the left of the indented lines]
8" Theodore - b. Aug 27, 1811 [other sources say 1815] - D. 1899 [this death date appears to have been added later] - m. Jane Fitch - 6 children. Att’y lived Lawrenceburg, Ind.
The others not living [apparently referring to the remaining four children of James] - neither Anne nor Elizabeth at this time; but he said the other six by the kindness of Providence are living. Hulda G. Miller (over) [indicating information is continued on the back, but not included in the photocopy]
He also adds (he, Sayrs) has lost 2 children + his brother James [arrow] over [indicating information is continued on the back, but not included in the photocopy]
[The tops of characters are visible in another line at the bottom of the page, but it is unreadable.]
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2" Page
John Gazlay - 3" [generation] (continued) b. Jan. 11 - 1750 - d. Feb 1816 - at Edmuston Co. Unidilla, N.Y. - m. Sally Furman - 11 children
1" Aaron - b. May 15 [other sources say May 16] - 1773
David Montras - Louisville, Kentucky [Child of Aaron]
Addison, in Calif. [Child of Aaron]
2" Anna, b. Jan. 27 - 1776
3 " Daniel, b. May 8 - 1778
3 " Alexander, b. Sept. 29 - 1780
William - lives in Rhode Is. [Child of Alexander]
5" Elizabeth - b. Oct. 7 - 1783
[The next six children are written to the right of the first five children]
6" Denton - b. Apr. 4 - 1786
7" John F. - 4" [generation] - b. Feb. 22 1788 [The underlined indicates the family line in the rest of the document]
8" Joseph - b. Mar. 25 - 1790
9" Benjamin - b. Nov. 23 - 1793
10" Jacob - b. Mar. 23 - 1795
11" Henry - b. July 25 [other sources say July 22] - 1798
[The text continues with the descendants of John F. Gazlay]
John F. 4" [generation] Dr. John’s father. b. Feb. 22 - (?) 1788 - Clinton, Duchess Co. N.Y. - Age 17 to Glens Falls (with Judge Spencer, his brother in law).
To Brant - Erie Co. N.Y. in 1847.
To Evans - Erie Co. N.Y. in 1853.
Died at Evans - Erie Co. N.Y. Dec. 31 - 1875 - 88 years old.
1" Jane Ann 5" [generation] - b. Mar. 8, 1813 [other sources say 1819] - Esperence, N.Y. - d. Oct 31 - 1887 [other sources say 1897] - Evans, N. Y. - m. Hamilton Spaulding - No children. (Visited us in Clyde, O[hio]. I remember she smoked a pipe on our back porch.)
2" Arvin H. 5" [generation] - b. Aug. 26 - 1815 [other sources say Sept. 25 1815] - Esperence, N.Y. - d. Morman Island, Calif. - Nov. 5 1849 - (m1. Charlotte Luther - Saratoga Springs - Dec 19 - 1838 - d. Sept. 11 - 1841)
Our grandparent - m2. Charlotte Bradley (Seeman - maiden name) - married June 13 - 1843 - b. Mar 17 - 1812 - d. Mar 18 - 1891 - Clyde. One son.
Our father - John Arvin 6" [generation] - b. May 21 - 1846 (continued on page 3)
3" John 5" [generation] (Dr. John) - b. Esperence, N.Y. June 7 - 1820 - d. Dec. 31 - 1883 - m. Phebe Haight - Feb 20 [year unreadable] - d. 189_ - papa, mama Mac + Lotte + cousin M___ visited A___ about 1890.
Eliza Jane - b. Jan. 24 - 1851 - d. Feb. 28 - 1851
Jane Augusta - b. Dec. 18 - 1851 - d. Mar. 2 - 1883 - was married Walter [last name unreadable] Buffalo, N.Y.
Mary Ellen - b. Apr. 6 - 1855 - “Salt of Earth” - Willink, N.Y. Erie Co., No [children?] - m. late in life.
4" Henry Denton Gazlay - b. Apr. 13 - 1825 - died in Angola N.Y. - m. Oct. 6" - 1847 - Emily M. Peck - b. Eden, N.Y. - Dec. 11 - [year unreadable] - 5 children.
Helen Mariah - b. May 13 - 1849 - Versailles, N.Y. - d. Nov. 2 - 1850
Ellen Marrill - b. May 13 - 1849 - Versailles, N.Y. - d. Oct. 16 - 1850
[The death dates for the above twins may be reversed, compared with their headstone inscriptions at findagrave.com.]
May Ida - B. Jan. 27 - 1853 - Versailles, N.Y. - dressmaker - Mor[unreadable] died in Angola [be?]fore Lizzie
Carrie Bell - b. Sept. 1 - 1867 - died Feb. 22 - 1870
Lizzie Q. - b. June 4 - 1875 - Evans school teacher - Angola, N.Y. an adopted child - m. Wm. Brodie - Lizzie visited us when we lived in Bellevue - we stopped at Angola with M+C - when we took them to [the next line - at the bottom of the page - is unreadable]
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3" Page
HUSBAND: Gazlay, Arvin5 Henry (John F.,4 John,3 John,2 John1)
Birth: Aug. 26, 1815 [other sources say Sept. 25 1815]
Death: Nov. 5, 1849, Morman Island, California
Burial: Minister there - coffin used
Father: John F.
Mother: Polly Haight
Married: 2" June 13, 1843
Other Wives: 1" Charlotte Luther, m. Dec. 19, 1838, d. Sept. 11, 1841
WIFE: 2" Seeman, Charlotte
Birth: March 17, 1812
Death: March 18, 1891, Clyde, Ohio
Burial: March 20, 1891 - 2 o’clock, McPherson Cemetery, Clyde, Ohio
Father: Bradley Seeman, d. 1849
CHILDREN:
John Arvin Gazlay, born 21 May 1846, Saratoga Springs, N.Y.; died 26 Aug. 1911; married Sept. 1, 1872 at Clyde Ohio to Henrietta Morgan
3 years old when father died. Raised by his Uncle Henry and Aunt Emma on Main St. House, Angola, N.Y.. Only boy in this generation.
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4" Page
HUSBAND: Gazlay, John6 Arvin (Arvin,5 John F.,4 John,3 John,2 John1)
Birth: May 21, 1846, Saratoga Springs, New York
Death: Aug. 26, 1911 (Sat. 7 o’clock), Bellevue, Ohio
Burial: Aug. 21, 1911, McPherson Cemetery, Clyde, Ohio
Lodge or Club: GAR - Eaton Post No. 55
Served in War: Feb, 1862 - July, 1865 - Priv. Co. 77 N.Y. Vol. Inf. 2nd Lt. Co. B, 1" NY. Vet. Cavalry
Father: Arvin H.
Mother: Charlotte Seeman
Married: Sept. 1, 1872
Merchant druggist in grocery with Thaddeus Hurd in Clyde, Ohio. Had grocery store on Main St. - Bellevue, Ohio.
WIFE: Morgan, Henrietta Almira (p. 11) [Page 11 is not included in the photocopy]
Birth: Nov. 13, 1853, Medina, Ohio
Death: Jan. 10, 1913, Bellevue, Ohio
Burial: Jan. 14, 1913, Tues. 2 o’clock, McPherson Cemetery, Clyde, Ohio
Church: First Methodist Church, Bellevue, Ohio, played the organ
Father: Henry Morgan
Mother: Phoebe Rhoades (p. 11) [Page 11 is not included in the photocopy]
CHILDREN:
F Charlotte Morgan G., born 6 Jan., 1877, Clyde, Sandusky County, Ohio; died 8 - Feb 1963, KC, Mo.; married Dec. 28, 1903 at Bellevue, Ohio, to Herbert DeCamp Laycox
F Phoebe May, born 23 May, 1878 in Clyde, Sandusky County, Ohio; died 4 Dec. 1942 in Miami, Fla., married July 22, 1903 at Bellevue, Ohio, to Frank Peirce - D[ied].
F Emily Maria (Emma), born 22 Sept. 1879 in Clyde, Sandusky County, Ohio; died 21 Oct. 1881 in Clyde, O.
M John7, born 27 June 1881 in Clyde, Sandusky County, Ohio; died 1960 [other sources say 1958] in Miami, Fla., married June 15 1902 at Bellevue, Ohio, to Maude Peirce - Died
F Maria Elizabeth, born 25 June 1883 in Clyde, Sandusky County, Ohio; married Sep. 22, 1909 at Bellevue, Ohio, to Carl A. Hildebrand - D[ied]
F Jane Estelle, born 29 Nov. 1884 in Clyde, Sandusky County, Ohio; married Oct. 10, 1906 at Bellevue, Ohio, to Carl Zehner - D. 1962
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5" Page
HUSBAND: Gazlay, John7" Arvin (John A.,6 Arvin,5 John F.,4 John,3 John,2 John1)
Birth: 27 June 1881, Clyde, Sandusky Co., Ohio
Death: 1960 [other sources say 1958], Miami, Florida
Father: John Arvin Gazlay
Mother: Henrietta A. Morgan
Married: 15 June 1902
Other Wife: 2" Marilee - 19__ [year unreadable]
WIFE: Peirce, Maude I.
Birth: 13 Dec. 1880 [other sources say 1879], Dennison, Ohio
Death: 3 May 1946, Coral Gables, Miami, Florida
CHILDREN:
1. John8 Peirce Gazlay, born 23 May 1904, Bellevue, Ohio; married 18 Ap. 1929 at Okeechobee, Fla. 1" Cora Robert Collins (1 ch). Divorced 21 June 1945; 2" Katherine ____, 1945.
Child
1. John Collins Gazlay, born 2 Mar. 1930, Miami, Florida
2. Harold J. Gazlay, born 8 Aug. 1910, Bellevue, Ohio; married 31 Dec. 1936 in Coral Gables, Fla, Rubye Virginia Pickle (3 ch).
Sons
1. Charles (Chuck) Lee Gazlay, born 17 May 1938, Coral Gables, Fla. m. Joann
2. Harold (Tommy) Thomas Gazlay, born Mar. 1942, Tenn.
3. Frank Gazlay, born in Tenn.
[The following is written in the right margin]
Grandson [of John Arvin Gazlay]
Charles L. Gazlay
R.R. #1 Douglas Dam Rd.
Sevierville, Tenn. 37862
--------------End of Transcription--------------
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The following is a detailed description of this document.
Document Type and Condition: This unpublished, untitled, and undated document is a photocopy of five pages of hand-written notes about the Gazlay family. Words at the right 1/2" of the page are faded and mostly unreadable, and there is at least one line of writing that has been cut off on the photocopy at the bottom of each of the first and second pages. Pages 1 and 2 are written in cursive on plain paper. Pages 3 and 4, apparently written later, are pre-printed family group sheets with hand-written block letter entries, except that page 3 also includes one entry written in cursive. Page 5 consists of block letter handwriting on plain paper using a layout that mimics the pre-printed family group sheets. Several places on first page show the word “over” indicating that more information was written on the back of the page, but that information does not appear in the photocopy. The notation “(p. 11)” in two places on page 4, both associated with Henrietta Almira Morgan, wife of John Arvin Gazlay (1846-1911), suggests the photocopy is only part of a larger document.
Original Page Format: Page 1 of the document fills the entire page. The writing begins with the immigrant John Gazlay at the top left of the page, and indents the individuals in each succeeding generation. The white space to the left of the indented lines is filled with details of selected individuals, with arrows pointing to the intended place of insertion. The second page of the notes is somewhat more orderly, using the full width of the page with only one level of indent for children, leaving little white space to the left of the indented lines. Pages 3, 4, and 5, maintains the writing within the preprinted sheets as they are designed.
Transcription: The format of my typewritten transcription varies significantly from the original notes, in that I have presented the information in a consistent, cohesive linear format. Great care has been taken to transcribe the information as faithfully to the original notes as possible. I include annotations in [brackets] to indicate which information originally appeared to the left of the indented lines on the first page. Also, my transcription of pages 3, 4, and 5 converts the style of the original notes from a family group sheet (form) to the same cohesive linear format as is used for the other pages.
Throughout the notes in the photocopy, the double quote character is used to indicate ordinal numbers (e.g., first, second, etc.), so I have preserved this distinctive style in my transcription. I inserted in the transcription a few explanatory notes, which are also shown in [brackets].
Information Sources: It is believed that the first page of this document is a later transcription of parts of the notes taken by Theodore Gazlay when he interviewed his brother Sayrs Gazlay in 1852 (Theodore eventually typed his notes into a document titled Genealogy of the Gazlay Family [transcription available at Gazlay Family History website]). At the top of the first page is written, “(1 Page) by Sayrs Gazlay - Williamsburg, _____ Co., Oct 28, _8__” [the words and date after ‘Williamsburg’ are mostly unreadable]. Dates of various events (births, etc.) on the first page all precede the mid-1800s (with two exceptions which appear to have been added later). Even though most of the information on these notes is identical to Theodore’s Genealogy, the notes contain several details that are not found elsewhere, making this document an important addition to the body of knowledge about the Gazlay family.
The origin of the information on the remaining pages is not known, but is probably from unidentified documents and local family knowledge. Page 2 was probably written long after the interview with Sayrs Gazlay, since many dates are in the late 1800s. Page 2 continues from page 1 with the 11 children of (third generation) John Gazlay (1750-1816), and then focuses exclusively on the descendants of one of his children, John Furman Gazlay (1788-1875). Pages 3, 4, and 5 continue that exclusive focus on this branch of the family, specifically, his only child, John Arvin Gazlay (1846-1911), and his descendants. Several of the event dates on pages 4 and 5 are in the early and mid-twentieth century, with the latest date being in February 1963. This suggests that pages 3, 4, and 5 may have been hand-written in the 1960s.
Authorship: It is likely that more than one person contributed to hand-writing this document, owing to the two distinct styles of writing (cursive and block lettering), and the wide range in dates appearing in the document. A margin note on the second page says, “Our father” next to the line for John Arvin Gazlay, b. May 21, 1846, and a note at the bottom of the same page is written in first-person plural (using “we” several times), suggesting that pages 1, 2, and parts of 3 were hand-written in cursive by one of John Arvin‘s children. The author of pages 3, 4, and 5 is probably also a descendant of John Arvin Gazlay.