Leonard Adsit - 52 Ancestors #41

For this week's 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks writing challenge from blogger Amy Crow Johnson of No Story Too Small, I am sharing the little bit I know about the short life of my third great-grandfather, Leonard Adsit.

Leonard was born to Martin Adsit and Rhoda Haight on September 4, 1783, in Spencertown, Columbia County, New York, as the second of eleven children. (From the secondary source: Descendants of John Adsit of Lyme Connecticut, by Newman Ward Adsit, privately published about 1959. A digitized copy of this book can be found at FamilySearch.org.)

The only census I have found him in is the 1810 U.S. Census. In 1790 and 1800, he would have been just a tick mark in his father's household; he was dead before the 1820 census.

1810 U.S. Federal Census. Hillsdale, Columbia, New York; Roll: 31; Page: 666; Line: 20.

I previously shared my analysis of this census record at James Adsit's Parents in New York State, where I also shared an abstract of Leonard's probate record.

With the addition of lots of probate records at Ancestry.com, I found the probate record for Leonard Adsit.

This tells me that Fanny notified the court on October 31, 1816, that Leonard was dead and that as far as she knew, he didn't make a will. She was appointed Administratrix of his estate, to make a "true and perfect inventory" of the "Goods, Chattels and Credits" of her late husband, and to render this account within six months, which she did by February 3, 1817, less than four months after Leonard's death.

Unfortunately, the specific inventory is not available, which might tell me what Leonard did for a living.

Note that the Adsit genealogy has an incorrect death date for Leonard of September 10, 1817, which disagrees with the death date on his gravestone, and wouldn't be possible based on the probate record shown above.

According to the Adsit genealogy, Leonard married Frances (Fanny) Davenport on November 11, 1804. They had six children:

Albert G. Adsit (1805-1884)
Arunah Metcalf Adsit (1807-1870)
James Monroe Adsit (1809-1894)
Alma Malvina Adsit (1811-1843)
Martin Noah Adsit (1812-1903)
Charles D. Adsit (1814-1816), who died about a month before his father.

A couple of years later, Fanny married Orlando Davis, and had three sons with him. I wrote about Fanny's life at Matrilineal Monday ~ Fanny Davenport (1785-1871).

Leonard and his youngest son are buried at Sherburne East Hill Cemetery. See his FindAGrave memorial here. The inscription on his stone says:

In memory of

Leanord Adsit [sic] who D. Sept. 10

1816 a. 33 Y.

Fair and blooming yesterday

Now a lonesom corps I lie

See how beauty faids away

O prepare prepare to die.

~~~~~~~~~~~

More information about my Adsit line can be found at Surname Saturday ~ Adsit of Lyme, Connecticut.

I descend from Leonard Adsit as follows:

Leonard Adsit
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James Monroe Adsit
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Charles Chapin Adsit
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Elizabeth Adsit
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Charles McAlpin Pyle, Jr.
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Me