The Coburg Family

of Sullivan County, New York

Generation One

William Coburg was born in about1828 in Coburg, Germany (in Bavaria) and died at some point after the census was taken in Mamakating, Sullivan County, New York on June 9, 1880. On that date he was listed as a widower suffering from consumption so it is logical to assume he did not live much longer.

Traditional Germans named their first born sons after the child's paternal grandfather. William's son was named Henry, so if that pattern was followed, then William's father's name was also Henry. The ad William put in the Sullivan County Directory for 1872/3 appears on page 260 for the Town of Mamakating and reads: "Coburg, William G. (Bloomingburgh,) boot and shoemaker." Henry's death certificate, however, lists his father as William H. Coburg.

Family legend says two brothers, aged 14 and 16, arrived from Germany, but does not say which one William was or give the brother's name. This suggests he arrived in the U.S. between 1842 and 1844. A variation on this family story says he and two brothers came and the other two remained in New York City.

The only other Coburg I have so far found who might be William's brother is the Chas. Coburgh, listed in the 1870 census in New York Ward 12, District 15, New York City. His age is given as 40, putting his birth in about 1830. He was born in Germany. In 1870 he had a wife named Kate, born in New York, age 35, and a son named Willie, age 4. If he was fourteen when he arrived in this country and William was sixteen, they arrived in 1844, which agrees with William's statement in 1855 that he had lived in Goshen, New York for eleven years.

The state census of 1855 for Goshen, recorded on June 28, 1855, reads as follows:

William Coberg, 27, born Germany, resident of town 11 years, shoemaker, naturalized citizen

Rosana Coberg, 26, born Georgia, resident of town 9 years

Mary Coberg, 2, born Orange County, resident of town 2 years

Henry Coberg, 7/12, born Orange County, resident of town 7/12 of a year

The value of William's house was given as $369.

William's wife, whose middle initial is a C in several records, consistently gave her place of birth as the state of Georgia, and this is in line with the family story that he married "a southern girl," but if she was a resident of Goshen for nine years (from 1846) and her first child was born in 1853, then it seems likely she and William met and married there. Both of them would have been living there to be enumerated in the Federal Census of 1850.

Unless the spelling of his name was more mangled than usual, William was skipped in 1850. As for Rosanna, if she was 26 in 1855, she would have been born in 1828 or 1829 and would have been around 21 in 1850. The Ancestry.com analysis of Kathy Lynn Gorton Emerson's DNA by individual parent shows German and Irish ancestry in roughly equal proportions in the maternal line. William is the source of the German DNA. Other branches of the family are well documented and do not appear to include any Irish ancestors. This suggests that Rosanna's parents, both of whom were foreign born, were Irish. Her middle initial suggests a maiden name beginning with C.

A search for the name Rosanna in the 1850 census for Goshen turned up only two, one of them a black woman. The other is Rosanna Conolly, age 22. Although this census states that she, her father (Constantine, 52), and her sister (Catherine, age 28) were all born in New York, in a later census Constantine's birthplace is given as Ireland. These details seem to suggest that this is the Rosanna who married William Coburg. So does the fact that Rosanna's nearest neighbor was a shoemaker, William Pierson, age 35. It seems possible that William Coburg learned his trade from Pierson and at the same time had an opportunity to meet and court the girl next door.

Variations on the spelling of Constantine as Constantine, Constine, and Constant and Connolly as Connelly, Conolly, Connely, Connoley, Conley, Conoly, Conly, Canley, and even Gourley, make tracing Constantine a challenge, as does the existence of other men with the same name in both the U. S. and Ireland. The Goshen Constantine, whose age in 1850 indicates a birthdate of 1798, doesn't seem to have any direct connection the Constantine Connolly who lived in George between the years 1830 and 1859, but if they were related it is possible that Rosanna might have been born on a visit to Savannah.

The 1830 census for Savannah, Chatham County, Georgia lists Constantine's household as consisting of one male aged between thirty and forty, one male under age five, one female under age five, one female aged between five and ten, one female aged between ten and fifteen, and one female aged between forty and fifty. He is probably the same Constantine A. Connoley in the Chatham property tax digest for 1821-27. The portion of the page showing what his property included (land and slaves are enumerated in other entries) is missing. It seems likely that he is also the Constantine who died in Chatham County in 1859. Since that Constantine left no will, one James B. Read was appointed administrator of his estate in April of that year.

Documentation of the life of the Goshen Constantine begins on September 28, 1828, when the Presbyterian church in Goshen recorded his marriage to Rachael McLaughlin. Rachael's death is also noted in the church's records, occurring on September 20, 1835. Later census records give Constantine two marriages. It seems clear that his first wife was the mother of his older daughter but either one could have given birth to Rosanna. Census records are not consistent about the year of her birth. It could have been anytime between 1827 and 1829, although the age given in her obituary, in February 1878, is fifty-one.

Constantine does not appear in the 1855 census, but in 1860 he was living with Pat McLaughlin (b. Ireland 1810). Constantine's age is listed as 65 in 1860 (b. Ireland 1795) and his occupation as laborer. He was also deaf. Although his relationship to McLaughlin isn't made clear, it seems obvious there was a family connection, perhaps more than one. Given McLaughlin's age, he could have been Rachael's brother. If Rachael was a widow when she married Constantine, Pat might even be her son. Almost certainly, he was Constantine's son-in-law. The Catherine McLaughlin listed in the 1860 census (age 36 so born in about 1824) was McLaughlin's second wife.

Patrick McLaughlin appears in other census records for Goshen, having apparently arrived there in 1816 at age sixteen. In 1850 and 1855 his profession was listed as innkeeper. His 1850 household consisted of his wife, Margaret (34) and children Francis (10), George (6) and Fanny (1). Also living in the house, among others, were a shoemaker named John Docty (51) and a child, Catherine Brown (4). J. W. McLaughlin, age 75, lived next door. In 1855, Margaret was listed as 38, Francis R. as 19, George C. as 11, and Fany as 5. In 1860 no profession is listed for Patrick, but his son Francis (18) was a machinist. Since the age better matches George, it is unclear which son was actually listed. Also enumerated were a daughter, Frances (12) and, again, a child named Catherine Brown.

By 1860, William and Rosanna Coburg were living in Wallkill, Ulster County, New York. Their surname in his record, dated June 25, 1860, was transcribed as Cburghe in indexing but the o is actually there, just very small, when you look at the handwritten original.

William Coburghe, 32, shoemaker, b. Germany

Rossina Coburghe, 33, b. Georgia

Mary O. Coburghe, 7, b. New York

Henry W. Coburghe, 4, b. New York

Francis J. Coburghe, 3, b. New York

In 1865, Constantine was still living with the McLaughlins, although his name has mistakenly been recorded as Gourley in the Ancestry.com index. He gave his age as 73, which would give him a birthdate of 1792, and his birthplace as Ireland. He reported that he had been married twice, was a widower, and had been naturalized. His connection to the McLaughlins is listed as "boarder." The McLaughlins listed are Patric (55), now giving his occupation as constable, Catherine (40), Fanny (16), and George (21). Catherine Brown is now listed as an adopted daughter, age 19. William and Rosanna Coburg do not show up in the 1865 census index.

In 1870, Patrick was recorded in Goshen as Patrick McLauclin, with Constantine (as Conley Constantine) and two of William and Rosanna's daughters in his household. Constantine's birth year has changed again, this time to 1795. Here are all the members in the house on June 21, 1870:

Patrick McLauclin, 60, blacksmith, b. Ireland

Catherine, 50, keeping house, b. Ireland, both parents foreign born

Conley Constantine, 75, retired laborer, b. Ireland

Coburgh, May, 17, living at home, b. NY, father foreign born

Coburgh, Frances. 14, living at home, b. NY, father foreign born

Bristlea, Thomas, 24, carpenter, b. New Jersey

Bristlea, Elizabeth, 26, boarding, b. England

Bristlea, William, 4

Bristlea, Franklin, 1

Brogan, Mary J., 21, dressmaker, b. NY

Thompson, James, 37, tailor, b. Ireland

By 1870, William and Rosanna were in Bloomingburgh, Sullivan County, about fifteen miles from Goshen, where the census was taken on July 7, 1870:

William Coburgh, 42, bootmaker, citizen, both parents foreign born

Rosanna Coburgh, 42, father foreign born; mother born in the U.S.

Fanny Coburgh, 13 (already enumerated in Goshen on June 21)

Henry W. Coburgh, 14

Edward W. Coburgh, 10

Minnie Coburgh, 2

The 1870 census also contained a Non-Population Schedule that listed William Coburg's business assets as a bootmaker. He made boots and shoes and did repairs by hand and had no employees. He listed leather and thread under "materials" but the values are hard to read.

1875 census: Mamakating, Sullivan County (June 1, 1875)

William Coburg, 46, shoemaker

Rosanna Coburg, 46

Mary Kinner, 22, married, b. Orange County

Henry Coburg, 20, b. Orange County

Fanny Coburg, 16, b. Orange County

Edwin Coburg, 14, b. Orange County

Minnie Coburg, 5, b. Sullivan County

In 1875 the McLaughlins were still in Goshen (where Patrick was again listed as a constable; he was listed as a blacksmith again in 1880) and the Coburgs were still in Bloomingburgh. Since Constantine no longer appears, it seems likely he died between 1870 and 1875.

Rosanna Connolly Coburg died on February 12, 1878 in Port Jervis, New York, where she had gone to visit her daughter.

1880 census for Mamakating, New York was taken on June 8, 1880:

William Coburg, 51, widower, ill of consumption, cobbler, born Germany

Henry W. Coburg, 26, farm laborer

Edwin Coburg, 18, farm laborer

Minnie Coburg, 12

The 1880 census Non-Population Schedule for the same date also listed William. He owned four acres of meadows, orchards and/or pastures valued at $900 (including land, fences, and buildings) and the value of his livestock was $80. Value of all farm productions was $20. All four acres were mown, producing three tons of hay. He owned one cow and one calf and made fifty pounds of butter in 1879. For 1879 his crops were three and a half acres of Indian corn ($100), two acres of oats ($100), two acres of wheat ($30), fifty pounds of maple syrup, one gallon of molasses, one acre of Irish potatoes ($50), and one acre of apples (40 trees; 15 bushels; total value of orchard products $4).

Children of William and Rosanna Connolly Coburg:

Mary O. Coburg (1853-1878)

Henry William Coburg (1854-1919)

Frances J. Coburg (1857-1903)

Edwin J. Coburg (1861-1936)

Minnie Coburg (1868-1892)

Generation Two

Mary O. Coburg was born in about 1853 in Goshen, Orange County, New York. She was listed as May Coburgh, 17, living with the McLaughlin family in Goshen in 1870. As Mamie Coburg of Bloomingburgh, she married George Kinner of Port Jervis in February 1875. She is listed as Mary Kinner, 22, in the 1875 census when she was living with her parents. George Kinner is listed in that census in Deer Park as a boarder, single, age 26, born in Orange County and working as a brakeman for the Erie railroad. Mary died of consumption on August 28, 1878 at her residence on Orange Street, Port Jervis, where her mother had died while on a visit six months earlier. George is recorded as a widower, age 28, in the 1880 Port Jervis census, when he was a fireman for the railroad. He was a yard brakeman in Newburgh in 1890 and died there on January 21, 1891.

Henry William Coburg was born November 24, 1854 in Goshen, Orange County, New York and died of Bright's Disease on January 12, 1919 in Hurleyville, Sullivan County, New York. He married Julia Swarthout February 24, 1883. The marriage was performed by Rev. E. Kimble. According to the 1855 census and his death certificate, Henry Coburg was born in Goshen, although other records say he was born in Wallkill. His date of birth also varies. November 24, 1851 is on his death certificate but it says 1852 on his tombstone and in the family record. In census records, he was listed as seven months old in Goshen in 1855, 14 in 1870, and 26 in 1880, when he was a farm laborer living with his father.

In the 1880 Non-Population Schedule, taken on July 30, 1880, Henry was recorded as renting land. He tilled twenty acres and left thirty acres as meadows and had three acres of other fields. The land was valued at $2000, equipment at $35, and livestock at $120. Statistics for 1879 were listed: twenty mown acres, twelve acres of hay, one horse, three cows, two calves, one lamb, two fleeces, one swine, twelve poultry. He sold 1200 gallons of milk and produced fifty dozen eggs. Four acres were planted in buckwheat, two in corn, two in oats, three in rye, one acre in potatoes (sixty bushels) and one half acre in apples.

By 1888, Henry had moved to Westtown in the town of Minisink in Orange County. NY, where his twins were born. In 1896, according to the Sullivan County Record for December 4, 1896, he leased the house of William Pierpont in Liberty Falls, Sullivan Co. NY. In the 1900 census, his family was in Fallsburg (actually Hurleyville), Sullivan County, NY, living next door to his wife's parents. That listing includes Henry (43), Julia (32), Fannie (16), Leslie (14), Alexander (20), Nellie (7), Henry (4), and the baby, whose name is given as "Leetta M. Coburg." At that time, Henry and Julia had been married for seventeen years and had eight children, six of whom were living. In 1910, the ages given are Henry (56), Julia (39), Nellie (16), Henry (14), and Muriel (9). Henry's birth year is given as 1854. In the 1915 state census, the surname is spelled Cobart. Henry is listed as age 58 and his occupation is given as painter. Living at home were Julia (48), Nellie (20), Henry Jr. (19), Mirle (18), and Leslie (26).On his death certificate, Henry's occupation was listed as carpenter, painter, and paper hanger. He is buried in Hurleyville Cemetery, Lot #9 Division 2.

Julia Swarthout was born September 9, 1867 in Fallsburgh, New York and died July 22, 1920 in Hurleyville. She was the daughter of Alexander E. Swarthout and Parmelia Parker. In the 1880 census, at fourteen, she appears as the servant of Andrew Edwards in Bethel, New York, along with her brother George, age eighteen. She married in 1883 at age seventeen. In the 1900 census she reported having given birth to eight children, of whom six were living. In May1918 she apparently had an operation and recuperated in the Middletown Sanitarium, 10 Benton Avenue, Middletown, New York, spending four weeks there. J. B. Hulett, M.D. charged $250 for the surgery. Board, room, and treatment cost $17.50 a week. According to the 1920 census, when she was a widow (Julia Cobuigh), she shared her home in Hurleyville with two of her daughters, "Meyrl" and Fannie. Fannie Strain was named executor of her estate, according to the Republican Watchman for July 24, 1920, which gives Julia's date of death as July 21.

Children of Henry Coburg and Julia Swarthout:

Fannie Pamelia Coburg (1884-1955)

Ida May Coburg (1888-1888)

Leslie Hamilton Coburg (1888-1961)

Alexander Coburg (1890-1976)

Nellie May Coburg (1892-1979)

Henry Otis Coburg (1895-1979)

Loretta Merle Coburg (1900-1973)

Frances J. Coburg was born in 1857 in Orange County NY and died in Middletown on January 2, 1903. She appears twice, once as Frances and once as Fanny in the 1870 census and lived part of that year with her sister Mary in the McLaughlin household in Goshen. In 1892, she is listed as Fanny F. Coburg in the probate record of her sister. She may be the Fanny Coberg (b.1863) listed as servant to Ernest (or possibly Emmet) Smith of Wallkill in the Census of 1900. Her obituary in the Tri-State Union states she died of pneumonia at the home of her brother Edward (sic) and that she had been in poor health for some time.

Edwin J. Coburg was born June 15, 1861 in Orange County, New York and died on October 21, 1936 in Middletown, NY. He married Amelia Josephine Taylor, born May 1864 in Sullivan County and died June 10, 1924 in Middletown, NY. He is listed in census records under various spellings from 1870-1930, as follows: 1870 in Mamakating (Bloomingburg), NY as Edward W., 10; 1880 in same as Edwin W. (18); 1900 in Middletown, Orange County, NY as Edward Cobeng (39), with wife Josephene (36) and son William E. (6).; 1910 in Middletown as E. J. Cobing (46), with wife Josephine (45), son William E. (16), and daughter Gladys M. (9); in 1915 in Middletown as Edward Coburg (52), with wife Amelia J. (50) and son George M. (14); 1920 in Middletown as Edwin J. Caburg (58), with wife Amelia J. (56) and daughter Gladys M. (19); and in 1930 in Middletown, as a widower, age 68, sharing his home with Edward Brandt (51). His obituary in the Middletown Times Herald on October 22, 1936 says he was the son of William and Rosanna Coburg and is survived by his children William E. and Gladys, wife of W. L. Adams, and six grandchildren. He was buried in Pine Hill Cemetery on Slate Hill Road.

Children of Edward J. Coburg and Amelia Josephine Taylor:

William E. Coburg (1893-1961)

Gladys M. Coburg (1901-1983)

Minnie M. Coburg was born in 1868 in Sullivan County and is listed at age 12 in the 1880 census. The Middletown Daily Times for May 4, 1892 records that the surrogate court has awarded letters of administration for Minnie M. Coburg to Edwin J. Coburg, her brother. The probate record of April 7, 1892 lists her date of death as February 19, 1892 and names her three surviving siblings.

Generation Three

Fannie Pamelia Coburg, daughter of Henry, was born April 24, 1884 and died in October 6, 1955 in Hurleyville, NY. On July 24, 1909, she married Benamin Strain, born May 27,1882 in Hamden, Connecticut and died October 18,1945 in Hurleyville, NY. Fannie was the one who burned all the Coburg family papers and letters during World War I because they were written in German. In the 1910 census Fanny Strain, 23, and Benjamin Steain (sic), 27 were living in Montgomery, Orange Co., NY. In 1920, Fanny was living with her mother ("Julia Cobuigh") and sister "Meyrl" in Hurleyville. In this entry she is listed as married but there is no sign of her husband. In the 1925 New York census the listing for Fallsburgh (probably Hurleyville) reads: Benjamin Strain, head (44), diesel engineer; Fannie P. (41), wife; Muriel Coburgh (25), sister-in-law. In the next house are Claude Cole (40), head, carpenter and Nellie (33), wife. In 1930, Benjamin and Fanny were in Fallsburgh, NY. His occupation is given as civil engineer. In 1940, in the same house they were living in in 1935, they have been joined by Fanny's niece, Julia Shipiro [sic], age fourteen. Benjamin's first name is spelled Beryman.

Ida May Coburg, daughter of Henry, was born August 9, 1888 in Westtown, town of Minisink, Orange Co. NY and died August 20, 1888 in Westtown, town of Minisink, Orange Co. NY. Minisink Museum records for Westtown Cemetery give the date of death as June 24, 1889 aged nine months twenty-four days. She was the twin of Leslie Hamilton Coburg.

Leslie Hamilton (Pat) Coburg, son of Henry, was born August 9, 1888 in Westtown, NY (town of Minisink, Orange Co.) and died July 25, 1961 in Liberty, NY. The origin of his middle name is unknown. He married Tressa Estelle Hornbeck in Hurleyville, NY. On their affidavit for license to marry, dated February 2, 1910, his name has been transcribed as Lester E. Coburgh. His occupation is listed as painter. Tressa died of complications of childbirth. The baby remained with her maternal grandparents. In the census of 1910, Leslie (known as "Pat") and his brother Alec were boarding in Middletown, New York. At that time he was working as a trainman. According to his daughter, he wore a suit like a conductor's and checked couplings. In the 1915 census he is listed with his parents (under the name Cobart) in Fallsburgh (Hurleyville) and his daughter was with her mother's family. In the 1920 census, listed as Leslie H. Roburg, he was again in Middletown but living in the house of his brother-in-law, Claude Cole, as was his youngest brother, Henry. By 1925, his main residence was with his late wife's family in Hurleyville. In the 1930 listing, he owned a garage in Hurleyville. He married Catherine May Hornbeck (January 18, 1886-March 28, 1958) on September 27, 1934 in Hurleyville, NY. In the 1940 census he was still at the farm in Hurleyville. His occupation was listed as "gas station" and under education he is recorded as having gone only as far as the end of 8^th grade. His draftcard from World War I (June 5, 1917), which claims an exemption because he has a dependent child, lists his occupation as trainman. It is signed Lester H. Coburg and says he has light brown eyes, but his World War II draft card, dated April 25, 1942, gives his name as Leslie H. Coburg and states his eyes are blue and his hair brown. In that year he was 5'10" and 145 pounds with a light complexion and his phone number was 5713. After the death of his second wife in 1958, he lived with his daughter in Liberty, New York until his death. He was buried July 28, 1961 in Hurleyville, NY.

Tressa Estelle Hornbeck was born May 19, 1889 in Hurleyville, NY and died c. May 6, 1910 in Hurleyville, NY. She was the daughter of M. G. Hornbeck and Ella May Applebee. Catherine May Hornbeck was her sister.

Child of Leslie Coburg and Tressa Hornbeck:

Theresa Marie Coburg (1910-1993)

Alexander Coburg, son of Henry, was born July 19, 1890 and died March 4, 1976 in Schuylerville, Saratoga County, NY. His social security death certificate gives the dates as July 20, 1890-February 1976. In the 1910 census, at nineteen, he was a boarder in Middletown, along with his brother Leslie. On December 22, 1914, he married Minnie Bodine (October 1898-June 7, 1934), daughter of Charles Bodine and Olive Lizette Edwards. In the 1915 census, he was renting a home in Fallsburgh, New York. The same was true in 1920 and 1925, but in 1930 the family had moved to Woodbridge and Alexander was superintendent of the creamery there. In the 1940 census he is listed as a widower. His daughter Ruth was no longer living at home, but his son Robert, 14, was still with him. His World War I draft card says he was of medium height and build, not bald, with brown eyes and hair. His World War II draft card gives him blue eyes, brown hair, and a ruddy complexion and says he was 5'7" and 190 pounds.

Children of Alexander Coburg and Minnie Bodine:

Ruth Coburg (1919-1984)

Robert Alexander Coburg (1925-1997)

Nellie May Coburg, daughter of Henry, was born August 8, 1892 and died July 22, 1979 in Harris, NY. She married Claude Benjamin Cole (December 4, 1885-1965), the son of Leander Cole and Lucy Spencer Cole of Peakville, Delaware County, New York, in 1915. They lived in Middletown, NY in 1920, together with their daughter Marion J., age 3, and two of Nellie's brothers, Leslie, 39, and Henry, 24. Their only child died in 1923. Later Nellie and Claude moved back to Hurleyville, NY, where she was a member of the Hurleyville Methodist Church. He was a carpenter. She was buried in Hurleyville, NY with the Rev. Nicasio Diaz officiating at the funeral.

Nellie Coburg Cole with Elizabeth (Betty) Coburg

Child of Nellie May Coburg and Claude Cole:

Marion J. Cole (1916-1923)

Henry Otis Coburg, son of Henry, was born January 2, 1895 and died November 18, 1979 in New London, Connecticut. The origin of his middle name is unknown, but his mother's brother, Mynard Swarthout, also had a son named Otis (born in 1889). In 1920, at age 24, he was living in Middletown in the household of his brother-in-law, Claude Cole. He served in the Army during World War I. He married Dorothy Eliza Ranson (August 25, 1901-January 25, 1977) on October 16, 1920 in Liberty, New York. In 1925, they were living in Mt. Vernon, NY with their three-year-old daughter. He retired from Consolidated Edison and was also a cabinet maker. His draft card for World War II lists his statistics as blue/brown, 5'10" and 145 pounds.

Leslie (Pat) and Henry Coburg

Child of Henry Otis Coburg and Dorothy Ranson:

Elizabeth Helen Coburg (1921-2006)

Loretta Merle Coburg, daughter of Henry, was born May 30, 1900 and died September 1, 1973 in Cranston, RI. In the 1900 census for Fallsburg, NY, her name is given as "Leetta M. Coburg." In the 1920 census she is listed as Meyrl Cobuigh and was living in Hurleyville with her mother and her married sister, Fannie Strain. By the 1930 census she was married to Edward Shapiro, age 29, and living in Manhattan with their daughter, Julia, age 4, and two lodgers, William and Elza Zimmerman. She is listed as Muriel Shapiro. Ten years later, there is no sign of either Muriel or Merle Shapiro, or of Edward, unless he had remarried. Their daughter was living in Hurleyville with Fannie and Benjamin Strain. By 1950, Merle had formed a life partnership with her friend Lucy Ivino (or perhaps Iovino), with whom she later owned a restaurant in Rhode Island. In the 1950 census they were living together in Manhattan. They both listed "partner" as relationship to head of household and "cook" as occupation. Merle was divorced. Lucy never married.

Merle Coburg holding Marie Coburg

Child of Loretta Merle Coburg and Edward Shapiro:

Julia Lee (known as Joy) Shapiro (1925-1985)

William Edwin Coburg, son of Edwin, was born December 5, 1893 in Middletown, Orange County, New York and died December 1, 1961 in Gardner, Ulster County, New York. He is listed with his family in 1900 and 1910 census records. On November 19, 1912, he married Jennie May Smith (March 11,1895-May 8,1923), daughter of Charles W. Smith and Olive Lizette Edwards. She was the half sister of Minnie Bodine, who married Alexander Coburg. In the 1915 census he is listed with his wife and one child, ten month old Edwin. In the 1920 census he was living in Middletown, New York, renting his home, and had four children. His son Woodrow is listed as "Woodward P. Coburg." In 1921, William was employed by Howell Hinchman Company in Middletown. William's wife died as the result of her clothing catching fire in a kitchen accident. The fire was reported in the Evening Gazette for April 3, 1923. In 1925, the family employed a housekeeper, Anna Cunningham, 55, who was born in Ireland. In 1930, William and his five children had been joined by Olive L. Cronk, 60, identified as his mother-in-law. In 1940, William and his youngest son Richard were lodgers on West Main Street in Middletown. Under education, the highest grade completed was eighth and under "class of worker" it reads "wage or salary worker in Government work." His obituary in the Middletown Daily Herald says he was a retired Middletown State Hospital cook and had moved to Old Ford Road in Gardner in 1956 to make his home with his son Richard.

Children of William E. Coburg and Jennie M. Smith:

Edwin W. Coburg (1914-1942)

Anna May Coburg (1915-1998)

Olive Gladys Coburg (1917-2002)

Woodrow Pershing Coburg (1918-1990)

Richard Henry Coburg (1920-1991)

Gladys M. Coburg, daughter of Edwin, was born April 17, 1901 and died in 1983. She is listed with her family in census records for 1910 and is probably the "George" M. Coburg, age 14, listed in the 1915 census. She is still with the family in 1920 at 19. In the Middletown City Directory for 1921 she is listed as a clerk residing at 129 Academy Street with her father. In 1924, she is listed as a clerk at the Merchant's National Bank in Middletown. She married Walter Lester (or Leslie) Adams (January 31,1896-1980) before 1928, when they are both listed in the Middletown City Directory as living at 15 Sunnyside Avenue and Walter L. Adams was an employee of RL&P Co. The 1920, 1925, and 1930 census lists contain two families with a Walter L. Adams as head of household with a wife named Gladys (Gladys M. in 1920 and Gladys J. in 1930). This Walter and Gladys are about the same ages as our Walter and Gladys. What distinguishes Gladys Coburg Adams and her husband is their continual residence in Middletown. The 1930 census gives Walter's age as 34 and says he was born c.1896 in CT. Gladys C. Adams was 29. In the 1940 census, Walter is listed as Walter Adams, Jr. (44), living on Royce Avenue (same residence as in 1935). He rented his home and shared it with his wife Gladys (44), and their son, Walter (8). He had four years of college. The 1948 Middletown City Directory gives their address as 40 Royce Avenue and lists his job as electricity distribution supervisor for RL&P Co. They are regularly listed in this directory between 1928 and 1948. In 1970, they moved to Highland Park, Illinois to be closer to their son, who lived in nearby Glencoe.

Child of Gladys M. Coburg and Walter L. Adams:

Walter L. Adams III (1931-2015)

If you have any further information about this Coburg family, please contact Kathy at mailto:kathylynnemerson@roadrunner.com

Kathy Lynn (Gorton) Emerson is the granddaughter of Leslie Coburg