Re: Elisha Sheldon (c.1811-1877) of NY married Adeline, Sarah, or Gertrude ?
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In reply to:
Elisha Sheldon (c.1811-1877) of NY married Adeline, Sarah, or Gertrude ?
Jack Sheldon, Jr. 1/11/10
Dear Mr. Sheldon,
Thanks so much for responding to my query about Elisha Sheldon.Actually, I have no personal connection with this family at all.I'm a historian in Stafford County, Virginia who works primarily with land tracts, mills, and industries here.I was working on an article about an old farm called Woodlawn and in doing the chain of title came across Elisha.On July 16, 1877 he purchased a small farm called Woodlawn located in the lower part of Stafford County (Stafford Deed Book UU, p. 323).About a month later he died of a stroke.On Sept. 6, 1877 his sister, Sarah Sheldon, convinced the Stafford court that she was his only heir and sold the farm to local resident William H. Fitzhugh (Stafford Deed Book UU, p. 329).Apparently, Adeline Sheldon predeceased her husband.
I'm always curious about folks who moved INTO Stafford from up north.Certainly, after the War Between the States, there were some who came down seeking to purchase cheap land.Woodlawn was a relatively small farm and not what I would consider an especially prime piece of real estate, but Elisha paid $2500 for it--an enormous sum at that time.What may be simply an interesting coincidence is that in 1869 Mrs. Maria J. Longshore of Hazleton, Pennsylvania purchased Woodlawn.She and her husband never lived on the tract and may have bought it for investment.She paid an incredible $4,000 for the property.In 1872 Maria sold it to Edwin G. Booth of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.Edwin had been born in Virginia, but had removed to Philadelphia well before the war.I've no idea why he purchased the farm, but he paid Maria $8,000 for it.That's easily eight times what I would expect this farm to have been worth at the time.In 1872 Booth sold Woodlawn to local resident Randolph C. Fitzhugh (brother of former owner, William H. Fitzhugh) who in 1877 sold it to Elisha Sheldon.
I'd very much like to include in the article a little information about Elisha, even though he didn't own Woodlawn for very long.I don't know what happened to Sarah after she sold Elisha's property--perhaps she went home.I had wondered where if Elisha was buried on Woodlawn, but the obituary you sent answered that question.
Jerrilynn Eby
More Replies:
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Re: Elisha Sheldon (c.1811-1877) of NY married Adeline, Sarah, or Gertrude ?
Jack Sheldon, Jr. 1/15/10
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Re: Elisha Sheldon (c.1811-1877) of NY married Adeline, Sarah, or Gertrude ?
Jerrilynn Eby 2/03/10
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Re: Elisha Sheldon (c.1811-1877) of NY married Adeline, Sarah, or Gertrude ?
Jack Sheldon, Jr. 2/04/10
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Re: Elisha Sheldon (c.1811-1877) of NY married Adeline, Sarah, or Gertrude ?
Jerrilynn Eby 2/04/10
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Re: Elisha Sheldon (c.1811-1877) of NY married Adeline, Sarah, or Gertrude ?
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Re: Elisha Sheldon (c.1811-1877) of NY married Adeline, Sarah, or Gertrude ?
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Re: Elisha Sheldon (c.1811-1877) of NY married Adeline, Sarah, or Gertrude ?