Family records {GHF.1} indicate that the ancesteral line we are tracing passes through George Harrison Falkinburg I (born 1818), son of Samuel Falkinburg 2 and Mary Cranmer. George married Rachel W. Line (born 10 OCT 1823) on 27 MAY 1840. Rachel's parents were William and Phebe Line. According to the Falkenburg family record, George and Rachel had two children, Solomon and George. George Harrison Falkinburg I died 22 JUN 1849 at age 31, the year preceeding the 1850 census. The family records are corroborated by data from the 1850 US Census. George Harrison Falkinburg is burried in the First Methodist Cemetery, Tuckerton, Ocean County, NJ. {GHF.2}.
In searching for records of the census for the family, I found the following record in the 1850 US Census. It is common to have misspellings in the census record. Added to that it is likely that the burg was indexed incorrectly in the computer record as bury. George Harrison Falkinburg died 22 JUN 1849, the year preceeding the 1850 census, thus his does not appear on the record shown above. He is burried in the First Methodist Cemetery, Tuckerton, New Jersey. The record of burial {GHF.3} reads: S/O Samuel & Mary Falkinburg,Died of Cholera (died: 22 Jun 1849, age: 31).
In a 1999 posted querry, David Absalom writes {GHF.4}:
Capt. George H. Falkinburg was master of a coastal vessel. While on one of
his trips he contracted cholera and died aboard ship off Staten Island, New
York Harbor. His grave marker gives his date of death as June 22, 1849,
aged 31 years. A death certificate gives his date of death as June 20, 1849.
Cholera is caused by a bacterial infection of the small intestine that releases a toxin causing severe diarrhea. It was not until 1854 Dr. John Snow, when a London physician, postulated a connection between cholera and contaminated water. New York City had suffered a severe epidemic of cholera in 1832 leading to over 3,500 deaths {GHF.5}.
The headstone of George Harrison Falkinburg is pictured on the right. {GHF.6}
| Notes | |
| (GHF.1} | Hand written notes of Falkenburg genealogy from George Harrison Falkinburg III as recorded by Wilma Falkenburg |
| (GHF.2} | US Census: Year: 1850; Census Place: Egg Harbour, Burlington, New Jersey; Roll: M432_444; Page: 372; Image: 175.Ancestry.com link; pdf file |
| (GHF.3} | Record of burials: First Methodist Cemetery, Tuckerton, Ocean County, New Jersey |
| (GHF.4} | A post on Mariners-L (Ancestry.com) |
| (GHF.5} | John Nobel Wilford, How Epidemics Helped Shape the Modern Metropolis, New York Times, April 15, 2008 |
| (GHF.6} | Memorial Page: findagrave |
| References | |
Last updated 9/17/09
© 2009 Donald R. Falkenburg