The 1830 census for Tamworth NH lists Cornelius D Hawkins, and the household consisted of 1 male between 20-30 (Cornelius), one female between 20-30 (his wife) and two females under the age of 5 – presumably daughters who were old enough to be married by 1850, when the census first listed all household members. The 1840 census listed 1 male 30-40 (Cornelius), 1 male under 5 (Andrew), 1 female 30-40 (his wife), 1 female 15-10 (Sarah Ann) and 2 females 10-15, the two daughters listed in 1830. By 1850, the named family members are Cornelius, Sally, Sarah, and Andrew. The two older daughters are out of the family, still unidentified.
Fast-forward to last summer. Ancestry was having technical problems, so I revisited the pilot FamilySearch site. I searched on Cornelius Hawkins, and found him and Sarah Winkley listed as parents in the death record of Sarah Ann McClary (aka LaClair) – refer to my second WordPress post on searching for Sarah. That death record put her death place as Portsmouth, NH. But another hit also listed Cornelius and Sarah as the parents of Eliza J Fuller on her death record. That made her one of the unnamed daughters in the 1830 and 1840 census records. Here’s her story:
Eliza Hawkins was born 22 January 1829 in Tamworth NH, the second of four children of Cornelius Hawkins and Sarah Winkley. (My records for Cornelius have another wife listed – Sally Brown, and I’m not sure where she fits in. Another mystery to work on.) At any rate, Eliza’s family lived in the Tamworth/Albany area. Town lines were redrawn a couple times, and they may have lived in both towns without moving.
About 1850, Eliza married Joseph W Fuller, as his second wife. Their daughter Elizabeth J was born in 1850 in Chelsea, MA, followed by Frances, Maria, George, and Henry, all born in Portsmouth NH.
The family lived at #4 Sagamore, which is adjacent to the cemeteries, and Joseph Fuller was a caretaker there. Joseph died in 1880. Eliza continued to run the household on Sagamore by the intersection of Jones avenue, and took in boarders. Her children, as adults, also lived with her from time to time, Her sister Sarah stayed with her there. Eliza is listed at that home as late as 1903.
Eliza died 10 Feb 1906 in Portsmouth, and is buried at Harmony Grove in the Fuller/Hawkins family plot. Apparently, Eliza’s family kept in touch with some of Sarah’s daughters, as there was a reference to being visited by “Uncle Fuller” which helps me feel confident that they are all part of the Hawkins family.
Susan's Space 
Leave a comment