Jacob Henry Becraft Dilemma
Jacob Henry Becraft (1821-1856/58) vs. Jacob Henry Becraft (1823-1902)
These two individuals have become blurred over time into one individual. Below is my case for them being two separate individuals.
Jacob I, the first is from Morehouse, Hamilton, NY, and died right around 1856-1858 (the birth and naming of Jacob H Becraft (b 1857) may be a tribute to his father).
Jacob II, the second was born in New York, but is central to the Tioga, PA area and is the one who moves to Wisconsin, marries Hannah Alford and dies in Wisconsin. The FindAGrave marker combines the data from these two Jacob’s with the birth date from Jacob I and the death that of Jacob II.
Jacob I is born 10 Oct 1821, in Schoharie, NY, the son of Peter and Elizabeth (Miller) Becraft.
Jacob II is born 3 Jun 1823, in NY (possibly Morehouse), but soon after is in Tioga, PA, the son of Jonathan and Catherine Elizabeth (Cornwell) Becraft.
- Schoharie to TIoga is 131 miles.
- Schoharie to Morehouse is 74 miles.
- Morehouse to TIoga is 212 miles.
- Morehouse to Green Lake, WI is 938 miles.
- Tioga to Green Lake, WI is 828 miles.
There is a census record for Jacob and Serena in Hamilton, NY for 1850.
There is a census record for Jacob, unmarried, in Tioga, PA for 1850.
By 1860 and after, only one Jacob, has census records in Wisconsin.
There are no Jacob census records in Tioga, PA or nearby to indicate Jacob II had remained here or where he might have gone.
The sale of the property by Jacob I and Serena in 1857 to Frederick Jacob’s brother is curious and could be construed as a separation agreement and disposal of that property so that Jacob I could go elsewhere, or it could be an indicator of his pending demise.
Jacob II fought in the civil war in a Wisconsin unit. In his pension papers, he is explicitly asked if he had any other marriages and children. By the time of this application, he only has one of the 3 children by Hannah Alford. Jacob II’s answer is consistent with him being independent of Jacob I.
NONE of the children of Jacob I are found in Wisconsin, all remain in the same geographical area their entire lives.
Right after the birth of Jacob H Becraft ( b. 1857), Serena remarries and quickly has two more children, eventually 4 plus the 8 she had with Jacob I. The response on one of the censuses is curious, as the answer to how many children and how many of those are living, the answer is 1 and 1.
The genealogy that made this combination (https://www.hamilton.nygenweb.net/bios/Becraft1.html), also says that Jacob I travelled to Wisconsin before the war, working for J.P.W. Severson, enlisting, he then returned NY.
We know he had to return to Tioga, PA where he married Hannah before returning to Wisconsin again to stay. There is no indication he returned to NY and the area where Jacob I’s children and other family were.
This is also the critical connector event that is crucial in determining the fate of Jacob I and Jacob II. If anyone has evidence of these events, they should be made available to sort this out.
- Evidence of the summer work on the J.P.W. Severson farm.
- Evidence of the travel to Wisconsin.
- Evidence of the travel back to NY.
- Evidence of a divorce/separation from Serena that allowed her to remarry.
- A death record in NY for Jacob I.
- Or in PA a death record for Jacob II.
