Nettie (Lamb) Baisley [52 Ancestors in 52 Wks]

Nettie (Lamb) Baisley c. 1940

My great-grandmother, Jennette Lamb was born about 6 Oct 1873 in Montrose, Westchester, New York. She was the third child and only daughter of Jacob and Emily (Outhouse) Lamb. Along with her parents, two older brothers, Winfield and Alonzo, and a younger brother, Stewart, in 1880, she was living in Cortlandt, Westchester County, New York [1], where the Lamb family had deep roots.  Jennette’s great-grandfather, also named Jacob Lamb, was a veteran of the American Revolution.

Not much is known about the early years of Jennette Lamb. By 1900 “Nettie” was married to Jacob Baisley, a man almost 10 years older than she, the son of James and Caroline (Scoutin) Baisley, and four children were living with them [2]. Although I have been unable to locate any marriage record, they were apparently married around 1889-1891.  A child “Fannie” was enumerated with them in 1900 having a birth of July 1889; but no birth record for Fannie (or other name variation) has been located, neither has any death record for a person of that name been located. I did find a birth record for a son, Alonzo Van R. Baisley, born 3 Jun 1891 to them [3]. He was known by the nickname of Van Allen or “Vannie.” One theory is that this “Vannie” is the “Fannie” enumerated on the 1900 census, even though the sex of the child was incorrect. On that census, Nettie is the mother of 4 children all of whom are living, and all four are accounted for.

1. Fannie/Alonzo Van R.  “Vannie,” born 3 Jun 1891 in Oscawana, New York;

2. Edna, born 26 Dec 1892 in Crugers, New York [4];

3. Florence, born 21 May 1895 in Montrose, New York [5];

4. Franklin, born 25 May 1897 in Montrose, New York [6].

I cannot find the family on the 1905 New York state census, but in 1906, Jacob and Nettie Baisley are named on a Westchester County deed [7] for the distribution of the estate of Nettie’s father-in-law. Also in 1906, Nettie’s brother, Alonzo, married Jacob’s sister, Carrie Baisley, which may have caused some family tension considering that the deed is the last document where Jacob and Nettie are named as husband and wife. Sometime between 1906, where they are named on the deed, and 1909, when another son, Raymond, is born, Jacob and Nettie split up.

In Ossining, New York, on 27 Oct 1910, Nettie married James Baisley[8], the son of Jacob’s brother, George. On this marriage certificate, Nettie states this is her first marriage; yet she has four children from her previous marriage living with her and her new husband on the 1910 census[9], as well as two additional children:

5. Bessie, born about 1901 in New York;

6. Raymond, born 9 May 1909 in Peekskill, New York [10].

The census also states that Nettie was the mother of 7 children, 6 of whom were living. This again brings up the question of a missing child. Is this missing child the Fannie named on the 1900 census? (If so, where was Van Allen, who was born in 1891, and not enumerated with them?) Or was there a child born between the births of Bessie and Raymond who didn’t survive? According to family tradition, there is no “Fannie” and Bessie is the daughter of Jacob Baisley and Raymond was the son of James Baisley, but I have no documentation for any of them. It is clear that Raymond was born before Nettie and James were married so my next step would be to obtain both his birth certificate and Bessie’s to confirm their father.

Nettie’s second marriage must have strained family relations and caused a family scandal. At any rate, it seems this second marriage of Nettie’s caused a rift in the Baisley family that resulted in estrangement lasting even to present time. My father knew nothing of his grandfather, Jacob Baisley, and it appears that even Jacob’s own daughters never visited him or attended his funeral when he died in 1943.

James and Nettie Baisley raised three more children, all born in Peekskill over the next few years, where they lived through most of the 1930s:

7. James, Jr. born 28 Mar 1911;

8. Elsie, born 2 May 1913;

9. Dorothy, born 31 Dec 1917 [11].

Baisley Farmhouse c. 1940

By 1940, the family had moved to Wappinger’s Falls, Dutchess County, New York [12] and established a farm. My father remembers visiting this farm many times throughout his early years. He remembers helping buck bales of hay and seeing all the farm equipment and the acres of crops. The family had a truck with the name “Baisley & Sons Produce” printed on the side in which they trucked their farm goods into town. I have several family photos of the big white farmhouse where all the Baisley clan gathered. Nettie was known to be quite strict, very old fashioned and very religious. She loved being surrounded by all of her children. Not only did she raise 9 children by two husbands, she also helped in raising her son Raymond’s children and her daughter Dorothy’s children [13].

The year 1943 was a year of loss for Nettie. In February, her ex-husband, Jacob Baisley, died, and in October, her husband, James Baisley, died. Nettie outlived them both by 11 years. She died on her 81^st birthday, on 6 Oct 1954 in Cold Spring, Putnam, New York. She is buried next to her husband, James Baisley, in Hillside Cemetery, Cortlandt Manor, New York. [14]

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[1] 1880 U.S. census, Westchester, New York, population schedule, Town of Cortlandt, enumeration district (ED) 92, p. 37 (penned), 179-A (stamped), dwelling 317, family 394, Jacob Lamb household; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 7 Jan 2010); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm T9, roll 945. 

[2] 1900 U.S. census, Westchester, New York, population schedule, Town of Cortlandt, enumeration district (ED) 57, sheet 39-B (penned), dwelling 638, family 790, Jacob Baisley household; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 15 May 2012); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm T623, roll 1,174. 

[3] Town of Cortlandt, New York, birth certificate no. 3178 (1891), Alonzo Van R. Baisley; Town of Cortlandt, Town Clerk's Office, Cortlandt Manor.

[4] Town of Cortlandt, New York, local birth certificate no. 3634, (1892), Edna Baisley; Town of Cortlandt, Town Clerk's Office, Cortlandt Manor.

[5] Town of Cortlandt, New York, , local birth certificate no. 4056 (1895), Florence Baisley; Town of Cortlandt, Town Clerk’s Office, Cortlandt Manor.

[6] Town of Cortlandt, New York, local birth certificate no. 4475 (1897), Franklin Baisley; Town of Cortlandt, Town Clerk’s Office, Cortlandt Manor.

[7] Westchester, New York, Deeds, 1768: 409, Charles W. Baisley and others to Harriet B. Foster, 12 June 1906 (recorded 15 Aug 1906); digital images, Westchester County Clerk, "pre-1967 Deeds," Westchester County Records Online (http://wro.westchesterclerk.com/landsearch.aspx : accessed 6 Jun 2012). 

[8] "New York, Marriages, 1686-1980," digital image, FamilySearch (http://www.familysearch.org : accessed 30 Apr 2012), marriage record no. 5472, James Baisley and Jeanette Lamb, 1910; citing New York Department of Health, Division of Vital Statistics, Albany. Microfilm of original records at the Municipal Archives of New York, New York City. 

[9] 1910 U.S. census, Westchester, New York, population schedule, Peekskill, enumeration district (ED) 10, sheet 18-A (penned), dwelling 284, family 383, James Baisley household; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 14 Apr 2012); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm T624, roll 1090. 

[10] Elsie Mattingly (Whittier, North Carolina) to Karin Coppernoll, letter, 27 Apr 1993; privately held by Coppernoll; Mrs. Mattingly is the daughter of James and Nettie Baisley. She spoke from personal knowledge about her immediate family.

[11] Mattingly, Elsie, letter to Coppernoll, 1993, Coppernoll Family Papers, Baisley file, information for children of Nettie (Lamb) Baisley, Mrs. Mattingly's mother. 

[12] 1940 U.S. census, Dutchess, New York, population schedule, Wappingers Township, Hughsonville, enumeration district (ED) 14-108, sheet 1-B (penned), household 30, Raymond Baisley household; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 9 Aug 2012); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm T627, roll 2,525. 

[13] Mattingly, Elsie, letter to Coppernoll, 1993, Coppernoll Family Papers, Baisley file, information for description of Nettie (Lamb) Baisley, Mrs. Mattingly's mother.

[14] Doris Smith (1033 Oregon Road; Peekskill, New York) to Karin Coppernoll, letter, 19 Apr 1993; privately held by Coppernoll, [STREET ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE]; Doris Smith is the secretary of Hillside Cemetery and wrote the names and dates of burial of the Baisley's interred there.