From: Jean Mayberry BEGIN Date: Wed, 03 May 2000 18:50:04 -0400 We have your recent letter seeking information on Abraham Lake and his parents. Unfortunately, I do not think we will be able to shed much light on this. Not too long ago another person was searching for her Lake relatives which were the descendants of a John Lake. I did do some research on the Lake families of Warren County at that time and found very little. There was no information on the parents of this John Lake. This John Lake was born in 1786 and died 1871 and had two wives. The first being Sarah born 1783 and died 1831 and the second Mary born 1799 and died 1871. They are buried in the Mansfield Cemetery in Washington, NJ which is not too far from the Hunterdon County border. They lived, I am not sure for how long, in what is now Washington Township. At the time I was tracing John I did find in the Census the information on Abraham and family and speculated as to whether they were brothers. There was nothing that suggested that other than there age was about 10 years apart. As Abraham and his wife were not buried in the Hainsburg Cemetery, I assumed they left this area, as so many others did, and now I know where they went. The interesting part is that most of John Lake's children moved from the area as well. A couple of his daughters probably remained in the area but I have not traced them due to time. His one daughter was named Jane and she married a John Petty -- two very common names for this area and so it takes time to try and find them and then determine they are who I think they are. Another thing is I have seen reference to a number of John Lakes but here again is a problem to try to sort them out. There is not much to go on. It also seems that the Lakes were in Morris County. German Valley is now known as Long Valley and this is in Morris County. An article is one of the books refers to a Garret buying land in Naughright which is just the other side of Long Valley. Jean C. Mayberry for the Warren County Historical and Genealogical Society I can be reached at jcmayberry@nac.net Date: Thu, 04 May 2000 18:39:09 -0400 There is not a clue as to where John Lake was born. Warren County did not exist when he was born. It was a part of Sussex County until November 1824. Death records were to be recorded from 1848 to 1878 which are located in Trenton. You might want to try to get a copy of his death certificate. I would not anticipate a lot of luck with this. They were also recorded after that date but those from the above period are housed in the archives whereas the others are with the Vital Statistics. Every so often they move more to the archives. Info on this is at vitalrec.com/nj.html John Lake died Feburary 12, 1871. He probably lived in the Borough of Washington as his property that was sold after his death was located in the Borough of Washington and it refers to him as late of the Borough of Washing and was conveyed to him in October 1863. The death records after 1878 contain more information. There is one other thing I do have and that is an Abraham Lake of Greenwich Twp. married Elizabeth Lock December 26, 1768. This is from the church records of St. Thomas in Alexandria Township, Hunterdon County. Date: Tue, 30 Jul 2002 13:14:45 -0400 I do not really have all that much on the John Lake family. I am assuming you already know he had two wives and the names of the children from his will. The following are from Warren County Marriages, Volume 1 and I believe these would be John's children: Nelson Lake married September 27, 1838 Ann M. Snyder by Rev. I. N. Candee Jane Lake married November 7, 1840 John K. Petty by Rev. Banghart. Both of Mansfield Township. Catherine Lake of Washington married January 26, 1851 Zachariah D. Hutchison of Oxford Township by Rev. Banghart From Kris Hall I have the following: She states Nelson was born in 1816 There is a Nelson in the 1850 Census of Greenwich Township, Warren County: Nelson Lake, age 33, Carpenter Nancy Lake, age 30 Edwin Lake, age 9 George Lake, age 7 Irwin Lake, age 6 She said there was a Nelson in the 1860 Census for Phillipsburg, Warren County, as well as one in the 1860 Census for Tewksbury Township, Hunterdon County. Her notes are not that clear as to whether there was one in the 1860 Census for Lambertville, Hunterdon County or whether it was just a Nancy Lake. She found Imla in the 1870 Census for Williams Township, Northampton County, PA., age 51. I think possibly he might have also been there in the 1850 Census. Sometimes his name shows up as Emley. She has Charles Lake as being born December 18, 1825. I believe he is her ancestor. END From LDS microfilm #0584584 Index - Marriages, Middlesex - Warren Co, 1848 - 1864 BEGIN Age of Date of Each Single Married Residence Official Where Names of Residence Names of Occupation Time of Marriage M F or Wid'd by Whom Station Married Parties Parents Making Record 26 Jan 25 23 Single George Bridgeville Clergyman Oxford Zachariah D Hutchison Oxford James Miller 25 Feb 1851 1851 Single Banghart Catharine Lake Washington John Day laborer END Date: Jun 1999 From: kris_or_eric_hall@email.msn.com LAKE, John Charles (b. 18 Dec 1786, Washington Twp, Sussex Co., d. 11 Feb 1871, Mansfield Twp., Warren Co.) m. btw. about 1806-1820, prob. NJ Sarah (surname unknown), b. 01 Jun 1783, d. 12 Nov 1831, Washington Twp., Warren Co. They had 8 children, 5 girls and 3 boys. The seventh child was my great- great grandfather, Charles LAKE (b. 18 Dec 1825, prob. Mansfield Twp., Warren Co., d. 01 Feb 1906 in Berryessa, Santa Clara Co., California m. in White Oak Springs, WI 22 Feb 1850 Priscilla HANCOCK, b. 1832, Cornwall, Eng. Cathy DiPietro actually suggested I contact you, since you are knowledgeable about the LAKE family, of course. I had asked her to check a Sussex Co. marriage record for John and Sarah Lake, and this is what she found: "The only early Lake marriage in the index might be yours: 03 Jan 1817 - Lake, John to Susan Caul I checked in the Warren county book as well as your Lakes seem to come from an area of Sussex county which became Warren county in 1824. There are a number of typos in Howard Case's Sussex county marriages index which may account for why there are no other "Caul" surnames listed and why I could not find the accompanying listing under the bride's name. Perhaps this was meant to be Cool or some other similar name?" While I have been doing genealogical research for several years, the overwhelming bulk of my family is in Massachusetts and Maryland, and both ended up here in California. The LAKE family is my only NJ link, and I'm stymied as to how to get more information about John and Sarah. I would very much like to find their birth families, their wedding location, and the names of their other children and their families. I wonder if we have any connection between our LAKE lines? I have found John LAKE in the NJ census indexes, and I note that there really aren't very many LAKEs in that part of NJ. Can you tell me anything about where they came from and when? John Charles Lake b. Washington Twp., Warren Co. Posted by Kris Hall on Wed, 08 Sep 1999 Surname: Lake, Caul Hello- I'm trying to track down information on my gr-gr-gr grandfather and his family. His name was John Charles LAKE, and the information I have says he was born on 18 Dec. (?) 1786 in Washington Twp. in what was then Sussex Co., now Warren Co. He is buried in Old Mansfield Woodhouse Presbyterian Cemetery in Mansfield Twp. His son, Charles Lake, b. 18 Dec. 1825 in Mansfield Twp., Warren Co., left NJ about 1845 for N. IL where he met his wife, Priscilla Hancock, b. Cornwall, Eng. 1832. They left IL via covered wagon, buried their first two children on the wagon trail, and arrived in CA in 1852. Charles' death cert. says his mother was named "Sarah", but I can find no record of that marriage. I have found a m. between a John Lake & Susan Caul on 3 Jan 1817 in Warren Co. and perhaps that is the correct one. Charles was one of 8 children, but the only sibling's name I can find is Catherine Lake, who m. Zachariah D. Hutchison in 1851 in Warren Co. I do not know who John Charles Lake's parents were, or where they were from. I know that there were LAKEs in other parts of NJ but I've not been able to tie the families together. Washington Twp. does not have birth records for either John or Charles, and though they suggested I contact the State Archives, both dates are earlier than their start date of 1838. Can anyone help? I'd love to hear from you. From: "Kris Hall" Date: Sat, 13 May 2000 13:47:50 -0700 Why, Marshall, what a treat to hear from you! And, thank you for remembering me. I do recall some correspondence in the past in which you helped direct my Lake research. I've had to shift gears here today, as I've put aside that for the past few months while concentrating on my Plymouth, MA family. I recently submitted an application to the Society of Mayflower Descendants, and that took up a lot of my genealogical time. Anyway, I've found your letter fascinating. I'd love to place John Lake with his parents, as I really don't know who they are. Jean Mayberry of the Warren County Historical Society was of incredible help to me last fall in tracing down John Lake's will and deed records. It turns out that one of John's daughters, Elizabeth, wife of Jacob. J. Beck, named her eldest son Abraham, so perhaps there is a family connection after all between my John, who was my gr-gr-gr grandfather. He is buried in Old Mansfield Woodhouse Presbyterian Cemetery, Washington Township, Warren County, New Jersey, and the cemetery records state he was born 01 February 1786 and died 12 February 1871. His occupation was listed as "day laborer" in the marriage register for his daughter, Catherine to Zachariah D. Hutchinson (Warren County, Marriages, Vol. AH, p. 34), on 26 Jan 1851, in Oxford Township, Warren County, New Jersey. John had two wives, neither maiden name known, unfortunately. Sarah, wife #1 and mother of his 8 children, was born on 1 June 1783 and died 12 Nov. 1831. They were married sometime before 1816. No record has yet been found. His second wife, Mary, was born 14 Mar 1799 and died 24 Nov. 1871, just six months or so after he did. We have no marriage record for them either, though they were married before the 1850 census. All three are buried in Old Mansfield Woodhouse Presbyterian Cemetery. I think you'll find the copies of the emails I received from Jean Mayberry to be of interest. She was able to fill in the names of all but one of their children. That one, a girl, I suspected died as an infant. Charles Lake, their 7th child and my gr-gr grandfather, said that he was the 7th of 8 children, though John's will lists only 7 (or the heirs of 7). The third child was a son named Imla, which is pretty unusual, though Jean says it is a name that crops up in NJ records. He left NJ and moved to Williams Twp, Northampton Co, PA and was there in 1871, when John died, and Imla was declared his executor. He is listed there in the 1870 PA census index. September 22, 1999 Hi Kris, I made it to the Courthouse today and got a copy of the will. It copied very poorly. Part of the handwriting is very light and some rather dark. By not reducing it I lost some on the side which I have penciled in but I have decided I would like to type it and then take it back and double check the whole thing. In the meantime I will tell you the names in it. It names his wife Mary and children Nelson, Anna, Imla, Elizabeth, Jane, Charles and Catharine who is deceased but had children. Unfortunately it did not give the last names of the daughters. It was dated January 7, 1871. Proved February 21, 1871. At the time he wrote it he lived in the Borough of Washington. Actually the whole thing is somewhat interesting. I also checked deeds as he owned property at the time he died. I went back to our library and found marriages as follows: Catherine Lake of Washington married January 26, 1851 by Rev. Banghart to Zachariah D. Hutchison of Oxford Township. Elizabeth Lake married March 12, 1836 by J. Kern, JP, to Jacob Beck, Jr. Jane Lake married November 7, 1840 by Rev. Banghart to John K. Petty. Both from Mansfield Township. Nelson Lake married September 27, 1838 by Rev. Candee to Ann M. Snyder. John Lake was married twice. His first wife's name was Sarah and his second wife's name was Mary. They are all buried in the Mansfield Woodhouse Church Cemetery which is located in Washington Township. John Lake February 1, 1786 February 12, 1871 Sarah w/o John Lake June 1, 1783 November 12, 1831 48-5-11 Mary w/o John Lake March 14, 1799 November 24, 1871 Hainsburg Cemetery inscriptions: Jacob J. Beck September 25, 1815 September 22, 1864 Elizabeth Lake w/o Jacob J. Beck March 6, 1819 July 3, 1899 Susan Beck March 16, 1845 July 6, 1865 (no relationship given) Deeds: Over the course of years he sold a number of properties. I did not look them all up to see where the properties were located other than what was in the index. He and Mary sold property in 1840 in Mansfield Township and in l855, 1864, and 1866 property in Washington Township. I thought I could tell you when he bought the property that was sold after his death but I see I wrote down a wrong date. But I did want to point out that Washington Township was taken from Mansfield Township in 1849 and Washington Borough was taken from Washington Township in 1868. So without doing a lot of checking it could be all the property was in Washington Township or in the Borough except for the last property was definitely. I think I know where it was and I doubt if the other property was near that. This will give you something to think about until I can recheck some of these things. Time ran out on me today. Unfortunately, we still do not know the name of John's father. Actually we had more information at our library than what I thought but without the will from the Courthouse it would not make too much sense. Jean This next letter mentions what I believe to be YOUR Abraham Lake. Jean mentions this person Dian (or Dianna) Lake, who is living with Elizabeth Beck Lake and family in 1850. She may be the same one as Dianna, d/o Abraham & Susan Lake (your Abraham, I presume?) who died in 1854. Abraham & Susan lived in Knowlton Twp, at least in 1850-54, but are gone by 1860. Do you know what happened to them? If Dian(na) is your Abraham's daughter, and if Abraham and John are brothers, then Dian and Elizabeth were first cousins. Now why Dian would be living with Elizabeth and not her own family, I can't say, except that Elizabeth & Jacob had seven children by 1850, and she probably could have used the help! What source do you have that mentions Abraham's father's name as John? 10/24/99 Dear Kris, Sorry I did not think to tell you Imla was a man's name. I assumed because I knew that you would know. Yes, it is an unusual name but in thinking it over it does present a clue if we can trace it down. Imla was the last name of a very early settler in this area and a number of people named their children after him giving it as a first name. I believe I know one who had it as a first name and I will try to track him down to see if he had a will. Possibly his daughter married John Lake if we are lucky. Of course, it is possible he was a neighbor with no children as often happened. Where by the way did you find him in Northampton County, PA? Here is another interesting thing. When I checked the 1850 census there was a Dian Lake living in the same household with Elizabeth Lake and her husband Jacob J. Beck in Knowlton Township which is further northwest of the Washington area - about 10 miles. And the name of a child of Elizabeth and Jacob was Abraham Beck. In checking more cemetery records I find where a Dianna d/o Abraham and Susan Lake died September 13, 1854 age 23-11-24. There is also an Abraham s/o Abraham and Susan Lake who died September 1, 1848 age 16-5-5. They are buried in the Hainsburg Cemetery where Elizabeth and Jacob J. Beck are buried. This is located in Knowlton Township. In going back to the 1850 census I found an Abraham Lake aged 55 who was a hotel keeper in Knowlton Township along with Susan age 56 who I am assuming was his wife and a number of other children. So at our library we have an index to the 1860 census and I went through that and the only people by the name of Lake listed was John and Mary. Abraham and his family are all gone and do not seem to appear in the cemetery records for Hainsburg Cemetery. John's son Nelson is no where to be found either. Some deeds and reference in a book about him put him off in the area of Phillipsburg, NJ which is about 10 miles west of here and near the PA border. I did review what records there are for the Washington Presbyterian Church/Mansfield Woodhouse Church and found no reference to your Lakes. The only one was a John Lake who married an Abigail Case. He died April 16, 1854 78-0-2 and she died May 17, 1870 84-4-2. They had two children baptized: Margaret born October 4, 1818 and John Case Lake born August 1, 1820. Both were baptized November 24, 1820. Their death dates are from the Musconetcong Valley Cemetery records which is about 2 miles from Washington. Think that is about enough for today. Regards, Jean I looked at your index of materials on John Lakes (http://melake.erols.com/lake/NewJersey/JohnLake.jpg) on the page from the Centennial History of Susquehanna Co. The story of that John L. Lake is that he supposed to be the son of your Abraham, and presumably the nephew of MY John? And that your Abraham and my John are the sons of a John Lake of Hunterdon Co., NJ, is that right? Is this the "only reference" you referred to that gives Abraham's father as John? I'd say that the circumstantial evidence that John & Abraham are brothers is pretty strong, given that Elizabeth named her first born son Abraham, that her cousin Dian, dau. of Abraham and Susan, was living with her, that it appears that Abraham named a son John, presumably after both his father and his brother. It would be nice to be able to tie that odd name of "Imla" into all of this. If the presumed patriarch John Lake was a prominent politician and served as sheriff of Hunterdon Co. there ought to be some records of him! Upon reading that history further, I note that John L. Lake (is he your gr-gr grandfather or an uncle?), named a son Charles H. Lake, and my gr-gr grandfather was also named Charles. He left NJ in about 1840. Also, there is an error. It lists Elizabeth Lake Beck, wife of Jacob J. Beck, as a daughter of Abraham, when I have the will of my John Lake that states that Elizabeth Lake Beck, wife of Jacob J. Beck, is HIS daughter. I have to assume that that is correct, and that John wouldn't give his estate to his niece, misidentified as his daughter! Maybe I'm confused! Anyway, I will certainly go through your web pages more thoroughly, and hope that we can figure this out. I'd be delighted to add your branch to my tree, and hope we can find the mysterious patriarch of the family. Thanks again, Kris From LDS microfilm #0584584 Index - Marriages, Middlesex - Warren Co, 1848 - 1864 Date of Age of Each Single Married Residence Official Where Names of Residence Names of Occupation Time of Marriage M F or Wid'd by Whom Station Married Parties Parents Making Record 26 Jan 25 23 Single George Bridgeville Clergyman Oxford Zachariah D Hutchison Oxford James Miller 25 Feb 1851 1851 Single Banghart Catharine Lake Washington John Day laborer