collection of Purvis information for web page
from Susan
Fred, you pose some additional intriguing questions regarding Sam Purvis. I
shall keep thinking about all of this. Maybe something new will come to light
to help clarify it all.
I am grateful for the graveyard data. I did not have all of the information
regarding dates. It also cleared up who "Aunt Lillie" was. I found her name in
an old autograph book that had belonged to my great-aunt. So she must have
been actually Lillie French. Who were the French family members? Does anyone
know? Another autograph (dated Feb 7 1894) was that of an S.H. Purvis. I don't
know who this might have been. (whether male of female) I have no males with
these initials. The older Sam died in 1879. Samuel, the son of James and
Abigail (b. 1834) was Samuel S. Purvis according to info posted by Sheri West on the
David Hall website. (although this could be an error) Something tells me it
is a male. It says"To Carrie, The older the tree, the harder the bark. The
older the girl the harder to spark. When you are married and at the tub, think of
me in every rub. S. H. Purvis Livingston Manor NY" BTW Carrie was well into
her 40s when she finally married! Just love these funny little messages of the
late 1800s. There are several other Purvises that signed this that I do not
have linked into this family yet.
I have accounted for all of those Purvises that you mentioned that are buried
in the Methodist cemetery. I feel that they were all related. The Sam buried
there (LIvingston Sam) I am pretty sure is the brother of the James Purvis
buried there with his wife Abigail Jackson (my gr.gr. gr.grandparents). Thomas
was James' son (Thomas' wife was Anna Marie Grant......my gr.gr.grandparents)
James C. who married Kate Read was another of James' sons, as was Joseph H. who
was married to Lillie French and George W. who was married to Phoebe___?.
Leland was James C. and Kate's son. Joseph G. was Sam and James' brother who
remained a bachelor.
There are actually three of these autograph books all dating around
1879-1889. They are full of little verses and names of residents of Livingston Manor
and Morrston. When I have the time I'll post this info. Interesting to see their
actual hand-writing , little sketches etc.and funny little verses popular
during that time.
Susan
email from susan
The only Purvis photos I have are of my great grandmother Mary Esther Purvis
b. 1845. I have several of her....some fairly early...as a young girl. (taken
abt. 1860 or so) I also have a photo of a woman that I feel is also a Purvis
but I don't know who she is....perhaps a sister of Mary Esther's.
I think photos of the gravestones would also be great! I can scan some of
these of Mary Esther also. You are welcome to add any of the Purvis information
that I sent to you. I mentioned that the original settler, George and his wife
Elizabeth may have been Swedenborgian missionaries. This is not a fact but
just a guess...based on the mention of this by Quinlan.....a Purvis in a remote
area along the Beaverkill...a Swedenborgian....and that this religion was
formed in England sometime in the 1780s. It all sort of connected.
email from fred
Livingston's Sam Purvis and family are buried front row, left in the
Methodist Church Cemetery. Emilissa, who died in 1913 at age of 77,
and Jane, who died in 1908 at the age of 77, share the same stone
next to the church. Sam is next and next to him is Sattilla. The next
three should then be their children, Orring, Harriet, and an
unreadable stone, whose size would indicate a child, which now,
thanks to you, has a name; Austin.
The cemetary is populated with many other Purvis names. James C.
(1831-1886), Kate Read ( 1845-1888), and Leland (1871-1933) are a
little farther back on the left. Then there is James (1791-1876),
Abilgail Jackson (1797-1882), and Joseph G. (1829-1895). Another
stone has Joseph H. (1849-1915), and Lillie M. French (1862- no date;
maybe she's still with us and can staighten up this Purvis thing).
Then there is Thomas D. (1828-1890) and Anna M. (no dates). And
finally there is Phebe, who has no dates but says she was the wife of
George W., who could not be found. Whew! Now I'm totally confused.
Sam, the hotel keeper, has me interested. The only hotel in Purvis,
according to the 1875 map and barring any earlier catistrophic fire,
which would not have been unusual back then, would be Jack Sherwoods.
Since he only came to the Manor area in the late 1860s, perhaps this
establishment may have been originally Sam's.
But then, look at the lower right corner of the map. "S. Purvis". If
you remember past discussions, this was the location of that famous
chain hotel, the Perlmutter House. Could this be Hotel Sam, or is it
Livingston Sam who, after Edward Livingston died, had to leave the
estate. Hmmmmmmmmm.
Speaking of Livingston Sam, I wonder what Edward left his trusted
caretaker and housekeeper, and, of course, the beloved Jane. Though
Edward's son sold the estate to M.T. Morss, his home ( the J.W. Davis
lot) is separated out. Instead of throwing the Purvis' out in the
street, perhaps he left the home to Livingston Sam. So maybe
Livingston Sam became Hotel Sam. Hmmmm.
fred
There has been some confusion regarding Samuel Purvis. Early settlers to the
area, George Purvis and Elizabeth____? arrived in 1791 having sailed from
England and did have a son Samuel. Another son, James was b. 1791 aboard the ship
and it is thought that a Jane Purvis b. abt. 1775 who married Isaac Jackson
was a daughter of Goerge and Eliz.. (records that were passed down in Jane's
family state that she was 16 when her family came by ship from England so this
seems to link her to this same family. Also James married an Abigail Jackson,
thought to have been a sister of the above Isaac Jackson who married Jane
Purvis. Isaac and Abigail Jackson's father was David Jackson, an early settler and
James and Abigail Jackson named their 2nd son David Jackson Purvis which also
supports the belief that Abigail was linked to this same Jackson family).
But was this Samuel Purvis the one b. 30 Aug 1799 d. 24 Jul 1876, caretaker
of Livingston, who is buried in the Methodist cemetery with some of his
children including his daughter Jane who was the school teacher? (He certainly would
have been of the ages of George and Elizabeth Purvises children). Since the
Samuel Puvis who was the son of George and Elizabeth is thought to have had a
sister Jane it would be feasible that he might also name a daughter Jane.
I have seen a number of names for Samuel's wife (Estella, Satillia, Samantha)
. It appears that Samuel had six children (Austin-died at age 2, Satilla
"Estella" who married David Knapp, (was she named after her mother?) Mary Ann
"Polly" who married Erastus Sprague, Orrin- died age 35...may have never married,
Jane -may have also died unmarried at age 77, Harriett- died age 25 apparently
unmarried, and Emmalissa died age 77, also apparently unmarried.
If this is one and the same Samuel Purvis it appears that he left at some
time and moved to the town of Claverack because in Sliter's book on Edward
Livingston it states, (p.25) " Edward brought Samuel and Samantha and their
children here from Claverack, where the daughter, Jane, had taught at Washington
Seminary where the Livingstons, Duanes, Beekmans, Van Rensselaers and Schuylers
were taught." Was he hired by Livingston to move there from Sull. Co as his
caretaker initially?
Also there is a lot of confusion regarding Samuel's wife's name. She is
called Samantha by author Sliter but her gravestone appears to say Satilla. Census
records have her as Estella. (or was there another Samuel Purvis?)
To add to this confusion in the 50th Anniversary Livingston Manor High School
publication 1989 it states (p.25)" At one time there were two men in this
town by the name of Samuel Purvis; one was caretaker for the estate of Dr.
Livingson for a number of years; the other was owner of a hotel. They were not
related and according to the older residents, it was after the latter Samuel
Purvis that the village was named."
The above Samuel's brother, James had a son named Samuel b. 1834. It is
thought that he is the Samuel that married Jane Krum, daughter of Daniel and Sarah
"Sally" Parks Krum. (Sarah Parks was the daughter of William and Hannah Hall
Parks) . Hannah was the daughter of early settler David Hall. Is this the other
Samuel Purvis referred to? But these two would be uncle and nephew. By "not
related" do they mean not father and son...or grandson (i.e. not a direct
line).
According to information posted on a David Hall website by a Sheri West
(www.noren.com/genealogy/david_hall.html) info. from a letter she found
containing info. on David Hall and family she says, Samuel "used to go on rafts or
logs down the river to Philadelphia. He accepted a position with Hammond Bros.
who owned one of the largest tanneries in the state at DeBruce as outside
overseer, remained eight years and then became a partner of Peter Millspaugh in the
lumber business in Woolseyville. A few years later he formed a partnership
with H.J. Barles in the mercantile business in Liberty NY, where he remained
until 1886 when he sold out, retired and moved to Middletown NY" . Interestingly
this Samuel had a daughter named Estella which could infer that he is indeed
the nephew of the Samuel whose wife was also referred to as Estella. It says
nothing about him owning a hotel in Purvis so now I wonder was there another
Samuel Purvis as well....and which was which??
Susan
The Methodist Church is possibly the oldest existing building in our
town, or at least the oldest existing building whose erection date
was documented. And though much of the Purvis community was involved
in this project, through donations and/or labor, two individuals are
singled out by past historians for their important roles in the
establishment of this church in 1857.
Edward Livingston not only donated the land for the church site, but
also donated $500, a fund to be matched by the community. This
fundraising chore was taken on by Jane Purvis, the local school
teacher.
Jane's parents worked for Mr. Livingston. Her father, Samuel, was the
caretaker for the Livingston farm and her mother, named Samantha in
Jack Sliter's biography of the Livingstons but is named what looks
like on her weathered headstone as Sattilla, worked as Livington's
housekeeper. Some historians have the Purvis family living on the
premises. If so, Jane certainly would have had the opportunity to
express her thoughts on the need for a church to Mr. Livingston.
Young, energetic, and persistant, Jane not only signed on subscribers
in Purvis, but also many people from our neighboring communities. Her
efforts were rewarded when she was able to double the matching fund
stipulated by Mr. Livingston.
Past town historian, Herb Mussman, puts Jane's age during this time
as "barely 20 years of age", but her headstone cites her death in
1908 at the age of 77. This would have her being around 25 years
young during this period. By the way, Jane, her parents, and Edward
Livingston are all buried in the Rock Avenue Cemetery, right behind
the church that they helped create.
fred