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Hester DOUGLASS (b c1803)

Hester Douglass was born, probably in the year 1803 in the village of Cold Spring Harbor. She was the daughter of William Douglass, a mariner, and his wife Susanna Conklin. Her father William is listed as the head of a Huntington Township, Suffolk County, New York household in the 1800 US Census. There were three girls in the household under the age of 16 in 1800, so Hester probably had at least three older sisters.

As with her husband Jacob, I know very little about Hester. Almost everything except the list of her children above is taken from secondary sources. I have found no official record of her marriage to Jacob Titus, another resident of Cold Spring Harbor, but they were most likely married sometime shortly before 1830 and possibly as late as 1828. In 1828, Jacob would have been age 27 and Hester age 25. It is entirely possible that they were married several years earlier than that.

The 1830 US Census only counted the number of members of a household and only identified the household by the name of its head. Jacob Titus (jun) appeared in the enumeration of Huntington Township. Huntington would have included the village of Cold Spring Harbor. The household that year would appear to support the idea that Jacob and Hester were married by this time, that they were both less than 30 years of age, and that they had a daughter under 5 years of age. By 1840, the household had expanded to include four males and four females. The couple had only three children at this time, all girls, Narcissus (age 10), Jane (age 9), and Amanda (age 5 or 6), so the home must have also been host to two young men, perhaps relatives or Jacob's fellow boatmen. The census in 1840 is explicit in identifying Jacob's occupation as something related to water navigation.

The 1850 US Census at last gives us the names of the members of Jacob and Hester's household. In addition to Jacob and Esther, there are five children, Narcissa (age 20), Jane (age 19), Amanda (age 16), William (age 12) and Jacob (age 8). A daughter, Hester, born in 1840 did not survive to 1850 and another daughter, Esther, born in 1847 also did not live until 1850. Both daughters are known to me only through the record of their graves.

Hester died on 10 Dec 1855 at the age of 52. I know nothing of the circumstances of her death but is difficult to avoid speculating that she may not have been in the best of health for many years. She was buried in Huntington village in the Old Burying Hill Cemetery in Huntington Township, Suffolk County, New York. Her husband Jacob did not remarry but lived on for ten years. In 1860, his children Ruth Amanda (age 25) and Jacob (age 18) were still living with him. Daughter Jane had married in 1854, the year before Hester died. Son William died in 1859.

Sources:

1830 US Census, Household of Jacob Titus (b c1801): Citation: Ancestry.com. 1830 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Year: 1830; Census Place: Huntington, Suffolk, New York; Series: M19; Roll: 103; Page: 322; Family History Library Film: 0017163, Content: The 1830 US Census of Huntington, Suffolk County, New York in June 1830 lists the household of Jacob Titus jun with males (1 20 to 30 yrs) and females (1 under 5 yrs, 1 20 to 30 yrs) a total of 3 persons. Note: Jacob would be age 29 in 1830, Hester age 27. Daughter Narcissus was the only daughter in 1830, probably born in the early months of the year 1830.

1840 US Census, Household of Jacob Titus (b c1801): Citation: Ancestry.com. 1840 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Images reproduced by FamilySearch. Year: 1840; Census Place: Huntington, Suffolk, New York; Roll: 343; Page: 188; Family History Library Film: 0017207. Content: The 1840 US Census of Huntington, Suffolk County, New York in June 1840 lists Jacob Titus with a household composed of males (1 under 5 yrs, 1 15 to 19 yrs, 2 30 to 39 yrs) and females (1 under 5, 2 5 to 9 yrs, 1 30 to 39 years). Three members of the household are employed in navigation of canals, lakes, rivers. 8 persons total. Note: Jacob would be one of the two males age 20-39. He was age 39 in 1840. Son William would have been age 2. Daughter Narcissus would have been age 10, Jane age 9, Amanda age 5 or 6. It looks like Hester had not yet been born. There are two more males in the household who must have been Jacob's fellow workers.

1850 US Census, Household of Jacob Titus (b c1801): Citation: Ancestry.com. 1850 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Images reproduced by FamilySearch. Year: 1850; Census Place: Huntington, Suffolk, New York; Roll: 601; Page: 80b. Content: The 1850 US Census of Huntington, Suffolk County, New York on 12 Dec 1850 shows dwelling (1181/1338) with a household composed of (1) Jacob Titus, age 49, male, coaster, real ($2000), born NY, (2) Esther Titus, age 47, female, born NY, (3) Narcissa D Titus, age 20, female, born NY, (4) Jane P Titus, age 19, female, born NY, (5) Amanda Titus, age 16, female, in school, born NY, (6) William Titus, age 12, male, in school, born NY, (7), Jacob H Titus, age 8, male, in school, born NY. Note: A coaster refers to a class of boats that are used to transport shipments in domestic waters, in this case, presumably, Long Island Sound.

1860 US Census, Household of Jacob Titus (b c1801): Citation: Ancestry.com. 1860 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Year: 1860; Census Place: Huntington, Suffolk, New York; Page: 321. Content: The 1860 US Census of Huntington, Suffolk County, New York, (Post Office: Cold Spring) on 26 Jul 1860 shows dwelling (1091/1196) with a household composed of (1) Jacob Titus, age 59, male, farmer, (real: $1200; pers: R3000), born New York, (2) Ruth A Titus, age 25, female, born New York, (3) Jacob H Titus, age 18, male, born New York.

Find a Grave Memorial 32603378 for Hester Douglass Titus (b 1803).

Find a Grave Memorial 37291273 for Hester Titus (b 1840) .

Find a Grave Memorial 37291332 for Esther Titus (b 1847) .

Find a Grave Memorial 37291226 for William Douglass Titus (b 1838) .

Find a Grave Memorial 37291030 for Jane P Titus Sammis (b 1831).

Find a Grave Memorial 32603125 for Jacob Titus (b 1801) .