Echoes of a Past Epidemic

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic we face today, I am reminded of a story from an influenza epidemic which struck North America from 1850 to 1851. This disease had a devastating impact on my 3rd great grandparents and their family. The text from a newspaper at the time captures the depth of their loss:

TERRIBLE AFFLICTION --- Mr. and Mrs. George Snedeker, who reside in the town of Flushing, have been sorely afflicted by the loss of five children within the brief space of thirteen days. The last victim to the fell destroyer, a child ten years of age, died on Sunday last, and will be buried today at Norwich, L. I., from which place this family removed to their present residence in April last. Five little ones at one fell swoop – another daughter, married, now afflicted with the same disease, and the father prostrate on a bed of sickness.

--- From the L. I. Former, to the Brooklyn Eagle, March 20, 1851, pg 2.

I first found this news story as I was searching online newspaper archives near the Long Island area of New York where I knew that my Snedeker family had lived.  My search included the name of George Snedeker who I knew to be my 3^rd great grandfather.  He was also known as Joost Snedeker. 

To determine if this might be the same family as my 3^rd great grandparents, I looked first for my Snedeker family in the 1850 Federal Census.  This census has the Snedicor [sic] family living in Flushing, Queens County.  I am certain that this is the correct family even though my 2^nd great grandmother Mary Elizabeth, their eldest child, was not included in this census group.  It’s possible that she was either already married by 1850 or was working outside of the home.  I am certain that Jane was her younger sister and Elbert was her brother.  

In the 1850 Census, we have George Snedicor [sic] (father), with Elizabeth (wife), plus 7 children:  Jane 17, Elbert 14, Caroline 12, Henry 10, Andrew 8, George 5, and John 4 years.  Also the census shows that a Vandeverg family lived nearby, and Jane married one of the Vandeverg sons, Jeremiah, later that year on December 24, 1850 -- making Jane very likely the “daughter, married, now afflicted with the same disease” mentioned in the 1851 news story and only a few months after her marriage.

Next, looking at the 1860 Federal Census, we find George and Elizabeth Snediker [sic] living in Oyster Bay, Queens County but they only have one child, Caroline aged 7 years.  This Caroline would have been born after the epidemic of 1851.  In 1860 their eldest daughter, Mary Elizabeth, is found living in Brooklyn with her husband, John Gordon and 2 children.  The next daughter, Jane, was living in Flushing with her husband Jeremiah Vandeverg and a son in 1860.  And the son, Elbert Snedeker and his family were living in the same building as the Gordon family in the 1865 New York Census.  Thus, those three children all lived past 1851.

Elizabeth Snedeker lived to be 97 years old and was included in the 1900 Federal Census.  That census also tells us other interesting information including that she had 13 children during her lifetime, and that only 3 of her children were still living in 1900 -- that would be Mary Elizabeth Gordon, Jane A Vandeverg and Elbert Snedeker.

The five children that died in 1851 would have been the first Caroline, Henry, Andrew, George and John.  It appears that the younger Caroline, born after that time, was deceased before the 1900 Census.  And last, while that accounts for 9 children, we don’t know about the other 4 children that Elizabeth had that did not live long enough to be named in any census. However, Elizabeth and George were married in 1822, and their oldest child that we know of, Mary Elizabeth, was born in 1832, leaving 10 years when 4 other children could have been born.

Having survived not only the influenza epidemic that took so many of her children, Elizabeth led a remarkably long life which spanned the Civil War and into the 20th century.

Printed in the L. I. Former, to the Brooklyn Eagle, NY, March 20, 1851, pg 2;

 and The Long Islander, Huntington, Long Island, NY, March 21, 1851, pg 2.

*  *  *  *  *

Key Individuals:

Elizabeth Swart Heermans Snedeker  (c.1804 - 1900)

George (Joost) Snedeker  (1799 – 1875)

Mary Elizabeth Snedeker Gordon  (1832 – 1912)

John C Gordon  (c.1831 – 1886)

Jane A Snedeker Vandeverg  (1833 – 1919)

Elbert Snedeker  (1837 – 1906)

Notes:

There are several items that I have searched for without luck that are listed below.  I would greatly appreciate if you have knowledge of information that might assist me with finding these or other related missing pieces of this family story.  Church records would be likely to answer most of these questions.  I haven’t found them yet.

·        A marriage record for Mary Elizabeth Snedeker and John C Gordon circa 1850-1853?

·        Church records that might include birth, death & burial records for the Snedeker children?

·        The news story states that the 5 children that died in 1851 were buried in Norwich, Long Island.  Elizabeth’s death certificate says that she was buried in East Norwich, and we have found that George is buried in East Norwich in the Wesley Methodist Church Cemetery which is now overseen by the Community United Methodist Church of East Norwich Long Island, NY.  I suspect that Elizabeth and all of their young children are also buried there with George, but to date, I haven’t been able to verify that there are any other Snedekers in that small cemetery.

·        Whatever happened to the 2^nd Caroline?  At 15 years, she is still living with her parents in the 1870 Federal Census.  Did she live to adulthood?  Did she marry and have a name change?

- Jane Scribner McCrary