So earlier this year I decided to research the “residents” of the old Presbyterian Church graveyard in Fish House. This time I chose the grave of Joseph Ranney. He died on July 18, 1823. His gravestone is the only Ranney gravestone in that cemetery, so I was curious as to why. Joseph died at the age of 25, not enough time to really make his mark on the world. So I decided to go back a generation or two. Joseph’s father was Hezekiah Ranney Jr., he was born in Connecticut. Joseph’s grandfather was Hezekiah Ranney Sr., also born in Connecticut. So how and why did Joseph end up in Fish House, New York? Be patient as I go back a couple of generations.
Joseph’s grandfather, Hezekiah Ranney Sr. was born in 1742, he married Lucretia Hartshorn and they had 7 children from 1766 to 1780. Lucretia died in 1784. Hezekiah Ranney Jr., was the fourth born of their seven children. Hezekiah Ranney Sr. then married a widow, named Martha Stocking. They had one child, David, born in 1787. Martha was the widow of Captain John Stocking. All these names are prominent names of Middletown, Connecticut. Here my research gets a little murky. Certain records have Martha dying in 1790. But then I came across a wonderful article written by Diana Ross McCain for The Hartford Courant on November 4, 1998. It was titled: “An Old Fascination With Sensational Crime News” The article was about stories found in Middletown ,Connecticut’s first newspaper, the Middlesex Gazette,
“There were occasional brief notices of the marriages and deaths of prominent local people, and every so often an item that served up a little slice of life, such as the advertisement placed by Hezekiah Ranney of Middletown on Nov. 3, 1797, that, "Whereas, I . . . am about to move out of this state, and my wife Martha having absolutely refused to accompany me, although she has been often urged and requested thereto -- This is therefore to forbid all persons trusting her on my account as I will not pay any debt of her contracting after this date.”
So this looks like Hezekiah Ranney Sr. was trying to divorce himself from his second wife. That would fit with the marriage dates of Hezekiah Ranney Sr. to his THIRD wife, Ann Wright Sage ( another widow) in 1798. Ann Sage had married Giles Sage and they had 8 children in eleven years, from 1785 to 1796, the year that Giles Sage died. Two years later Ann Sage married Hezekiah Ranney Sr. He had inherited the family homestead from his grandfather, Captain Joseph Ranney and he sold it so he could move to New York. * He and Ann moved to Edinburg,New York and had two children. Hezekiah Ranney Sr. died in 1826, in Edinburg, New York. His wife, Ann, went to live with her son, Orrin Sage, in Rochester, New York.
Hezekiah Ranney Jr., Joseph’s father, was born in Connecticut in 1774. He married Mary Richardson in 1797. They had six children. The first two, Jabez and Roland were born in Connecticut. Joseph was the third, but I am not sure if he was born in Connecticut. Then, Elizabeth (known as Eliza) was born in 1801 in Saratoga County. She only lived until the age of three and is buried on Sinclair Point, in the Partridge Cemetery, which is near where Hezekiah Ranney Sr. lived in 1804. Records show that Hezekiah Ranney Jr was living in Edinburg at that time. Perhaps he was living with his father but I have yet to find any proof.
Eventually Hezekiah Ranney Jr. and Mary relocated to Rochester, N.Y. and then to Geneseo, NY.* where they both died in1857 and are buried in Temple Hill Cemetery in Geneseo. Their oldest son, Jabez, is buried in Mount Hope Cemetery in Rochester, NY. Their second son, Roland, died in 1856 and was buried at sea. So why is Joseph buried here in Fish House? Perhaps Joseph was visiting his grandfather, Hezekiah Ranney Sr. at the time of his death. If so, why didn’t his grandfather bury Joseph in the Partridge Cemetery next to his sister, Eliza? Another question, where is Hezekiah Ranney Sr.’s grave? There are some things, as an historian, I might never be able to discover.
* Middletown Upper Houses: A History of The North Society of Middletown
Joseph’s grandfather, Hezekiah Ranney Sr. was born in 1742, he married Lucretia Hartshorn and they had 7 children from 1766 to 1780. Lucretia died in 1784. Hezekiah Ranney Jr., was the fourth born of their seven children. Hezekiah Ranney Sr. then married a widow, named Martha Stocking. They had one child, David, born in 1787. Martha was the widow of Captain John Stocking. All these names are prominent names of Middletown, Connecticut. Here my research gets a little murky. Certain records have Martha dying in 1790. But then I came across a wonderful article written by Diana Ross McCain for The Hartford Courant on November 4, 1998. It was titled: “An Old Fascination With Sensational Crime News” The article was about stories found in Middletown ,Connecticut’s first newspaper, the Middlesex Gazette,
“There were occasional brief notices of the marriages and deaths of prominent local people, and every so often an item that served up a little slice of life, such as the advertisement placed by Hezekiah Ranney of Middletown on Nov. 3, 1797, that, "Whereas, I . . . am about to move out of this state, and my wife Martha having absolutely refused to accompany me, although she has been often urged and requested thereto -- This is therefore to forbid all persons trusting her on my account as I will not pay any debt of her contracting after this date.”
So this looks like Hezekiah Ranney Sr. was trying to divorce himself from his second wife. That would fit with the marriage dates of Hezekiah Ranney Sr. to his THIRD wife, Ann Wright Sage ( another widow) in 1798. Ann Sage had married Giles Sage and they had 8 children in eleven years, from 1785 to 1796, the year that Giles Sage died. Two years later Ann Sage married Hezekiah Ranney Sr. He had inherited the family homestead from his grandfather, Captain Joseph Ranney and he sold it so he could move to New York. * He and Ann moved to Edinburg,New York and had two children. Hezekiah Ranney Sr. died in 1826, in Edinburg, New York. His wife, Ann, went to live with her son, Orrin Sage, in Rochester, New York.
Hezekiah Ranney Jr., Joseph’s father, was born in Connecticut in 1774. He married Mary Richardson in 1797. They had six children. The first two, Jabez and Roland were born in Connecticut. Joseph was the third, but I am not sure if he was born in Connecticut. Then, Elizabeth (known as Eliza) was born in 1801 in Saratoga County. She only lived until the age of three and is buried on Sinclair Point, in the Partridge Cemetery, which is near where Hezekiah Ranney Sr. lived in 1804. Records show that Hezekiah Ranney Jr was living in Edinburg at that time. Perhaps he was living with his father but I have yet to find any proof.
Eventually Hezekiah Ranney Jr. and Mary relocated to Rochester, N.Y. and then to Geneseo, NY.* where they both died in1857 and are buried in Temple Hill Cemetery in Geneseo. Their oldest son, Jabez, is buried in Mount Hope Cemetery in Rochester, NY. Their second son, Roland, died in 1856 and was buried at sea. So why is Joseph buried here in Fish House? Perhaps Joseph was visiting his grandfather, Hezekiah Ranney Sr. at the time of his death. If so, why didn’t his grandfather bury Joseph in the Partridge Cemetery next to his sister, Eliza? Another question, where is Hezekiah Ranney Sr.’s grave? There are some things, as an historian, I might never be able to discover.
* Middletown Upper Houses: A History of The North Society of Middletown
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