Lorette's Diary

Following is the set of footnotes associated with research of the transcription of the January 1857 diary entries by Lorette Shepard & John Hamilton. Footnotes are also interspersed and embedded within transcriptions.

1. Henry & Hellen ♢ Henry 24 and his wife Helen Shepard 20, lived just south of Lorette’s parents on Batavia-Bethany Townline Road. Henry and Hellen often changed where they lived – sometimes at his parents (Peter and Roxanny Showerman) and sometimes with her parents (Asahel Shepard and step-mother Sarah Bartlett).
2. Shepard ♢ Lorette’s cousins, children of twin brothers Martin and Marvin Shepard of Wethersfield, Wyoming County; Eugene 14, Malvina 11, and Cornelia 12
3. Elizebeth ♢ Elizebeth Quance (1828-1883) is Lorette’s mother’s half-sister, a daughter of Grandmother Elizabeth Powell Powers and John P. Showerman. Her full siblings are Webster Showerman, Olive Showerman Powers, and Lorinda Showerman Bride. Lorette refers to her in the diary simply as Elizebeth, spelled with an e not an a.
4. Myron Putnam ♢ Myron Putnam (1816-1895) lived at the south-west end of Putnam Settlement near Walter Cole with his wife Elizabeth Lord, four-year old daughter Betsey Etta, his widowed mother Phoebe Burroughs Putnam 68, and widowed mother-law Sally Hodson Lord 83. In 1850 George Bryan 15 also lived with the family, he was a son of George and Mary Bryan.
5. Frank & Dan Shepard ♢ Frank 23 and Dan Shepard 21 were sons of Lorette’s Uncle James and Aunt Amanda Putnam.
6. church ♢ West Bethany Baptist Church
7. Webster Showerman & wife ♢ Webster Showerman 31 was Lorette’s mother’s half-brother. He and his wife Hilda lived in Freedom, Cattaraugus County, NY.
8.  Elder Putnam ♢ Elder Rev. Charles Putnam 34 grew up on Putnam Settlement. He married Phoebe Hawley, Lorette’s cousin (a daughter of Sally Shepard and Nelson Hawley).
9. Deacon Lovelace ♢ Deacon Alanson Lovelace 61 and his wife Patience Chaffee lived in Alexander.
10. Nelson Hawley’s ♢ Nelson and wife aunt Sally Shepard, lived at the south-west end of Putnam Settlement, near Walter Cole. They had four children, Wallace 19, William 11, and Mary Dell 3; Ruana was deceased. In 1850 they lived with his parents Levi and Olive Paine Hawley in Lenawee Michigan, who had twelve children. Only brother Alvin came to Genesee County with Nelson, and he died in 1846, leaving Phebe Shepard Hawley a widow at age 39. Phebe then married 55 year-old widower Richard Covell.
11.  Josiah Putnam ♢ Josiah Putnam(1801-1873) and wife Lydia Shaw (1816-1904) lived on Putnam Settlement, next to James Shepard. With his first wife they had ten children: Norman (1837-1895), Allen (1840-1910), Erwin (1841-1876), Edwin (1842-1876), Irving (1843-1876), Amelia Thomas (1845-?), Merritt (1847-1910), Julius (1848-1928), Laura (1849-1926), and Julia (1857-1937).
12. melodeon ♢ A melodeon is a small affordable reed organ that would fit easily into a nineteenth-century parlor. Lorette played and gave Melodeon lessons to young women in the neighborhood.
13. Julia Brainard ♢ Aunt Julia Powers Brainard (1822-1889) was the wife of Levi Brainard. She was a full sister of Lorette’s mother, Polly Powers Shepard; their full brother was Daniel W. Powers. After their widowed mother married John P. Showerman, they gained 16 half-siblings.
14. Ben Moore ♢ Rev Benjamin Moore, a son of John & Clarissa Moore, was born in Berkshire, MA in 1820, living in Batavia by 1830.
15. Mr Levings ♢ Rev Abel Levings 60, lived in Bethany and was a minister in the Methodist Episcopal Church.
16. Center road ♢ This is Bethany Center Road, where John’s sisters, Harriet and Adeline lived.
17. Mr. Lanes donation ♢ George W. Lane 43 married Harriet N. Franklin in 1839 in Leicester, Livington Co., NY. A donation was a fund raising event for the ministers.
18. 21 degrees below zero ♢ It was so cold in New York City that the Bay of New York froze solid and people were walking across the ice between Manhattan and Brooklyn.
19. Mr. H. Huggins boy ♢ Freddie Huggins is a son of Harrison J. Huggins 44 and his wife Betsey Clement 40 who lived in Eagle, Wyoming County during the 1850 census, but were living with his widowed mother Aleythea Taylor Huggins in Bethany by 1860. They also had a daughter Mary A. Huggins age 15.
20. Mr Rogers school ♢ Schoolhouse No. 6 was located on the town lines of Batavia and Bethany, thus known as Batavia-Bethany Schoolhouse. It also served as a place of worship, religious education, and debates on Sunday afternoons, while Sunday “church” was held in the morning at the West Bethany Baptist Church.
21. Uncle Covells ♢ Uncle Richard Covell (1793-1873) In 1848, Richard, a widower, married Lorette’s father’s widowed sister Phebe Shepard Hawley. They lived in Pavilion, NY. Richard’s first wife was Elizabeth Covell, his first cousin, they had the same grandparents, John Covell and Rejoice Smith. Richard and Elizabeth’s two children were Ichabod and George. They are all buried in Machpelah Cemetery, LeRoy, NY.
22. Mrs. Walter Cole ♢ Sophronia Blanchard (1826-1921) married Walter Cole in 1844. Their daughter Cora was their second child.
23. Mr Hawley ♢ Nelson Hawley was married to Lorette’s father’s sister, Sally. Nelson was a younger brother of Alvin Hawley, first husband of Phoebe Shepard.
24. We were alone ♢ Lorette and John, married in 1855, were living with her parents and weren’t alone often.
25. Jane Hawley ♢ Jane Hawley (1840-1918) was Lorette’s cousin, a daughter of Phebe Shepard and first husband Alvin Hawley.
26. Wesley ♢ John Wesley Sweetland (1831-1884) a son of minister Lewis Sweetland and Drucilla Palmer, who lived on Ellicott Street Road, was born in Little Valley, Cattaraugus, NY and was planning on returning there to live.
27. child ♢ Charles was the first child of Samuel Hawley 27, a son of Ann N. Hawley and a step-son of Gilliam Bartholf, and Phebe Stone who were married at the end of 1855 and shortly after moved to Illinois.
28. Geo Moore ♢ George Moore (1832-1904) was a younger brother of Benjamin Moore and was living possibly in Detroit with his wife Adelia Mosher. Their son did not survive.
29. melodeon man ♢ James (1798-1881) was born in England, and in 1827 he started a music store in Buffalo known as Jas. D. Shepard, Dealer in Pianos and Melodeons. His store was located on Main Street in Buffalo. In 1854 Hugh Cottier (1820-1878) joined Sheppard to form Sheppard & Cottier. The music store is still in business and known as the oldest existing business in Buffalo, The store sold melodeons and was also the first in the USA to sell Steinway pianos. (WNY Heritage. Winter 1997)
30. visited here ♢ Wives were: Marvin Shepard and Persis Chaddock; Asahel Shepard and Sarah Bartlett; Dennis Chaddock and Polly Shepard; Nelson Hawley and Sally Shepard. Also Mrs Charles Putnam (Clorinda Hawley) and Franklin Putnam Shepard.

See the Next or Previous set of footnotes.

Read the January 1857 transcription.