52 Ancestors: #20, Catherine (Newbert) Sukeforth: Broad Bay Pioneer Daughter

Three months ago I related the tale of my ex-Hessian mercenary four times great grandfather, Andreas Suchfort (Andrew Sukeforth). Andreas provided only part of my one-eighth German heritage; his wife, Catherine Newbert (Neubert, Newbit), was also of German extraction, but by a very different route.

Beginning in 1742, several groups of German immigrants settled in the so-called Waldo Patent in Maine, forming a colony known as Broad Bay (later incorporated as the town of Waldoboro in 1773). The immigrant families who arrived aboard the ship Elizabeth in 1753 included 13-year-old Johannes (John) Neubert (born 1740, Froestockheim, Unterfranken, Bayern [Bavaria], Germany)¹ and 8-year-old Maria Elisabetha Benner (born 1744, Herbornseelbach, Hessen-Nassau, Germany)². About 1761 they married, and had eleven or twelve children.

The third of these was Catherine, born about 1764 in Broad Bay, Lincoln County, Maine.³ Catherine married, about 1778, Andreas Suchfort,⁴ a Hessian mercenary taken prisoner after the Battles of Saratoga.

Catherine and Andreas apparently had at least eight children:

1. John Suckforth, b. 1783, married Hannah P. Maddocks
2. Robert Suckforth, b. ca 1780-88, married 1) Mary "Polly" Miller, 2) Jane _____
3. Sally Suckforth, b. ca 1789, never married
4. Margaret Suckforth, b. 1792, married Waterman T. Newbert
5. Philip Suckforth, b. 1793, married Thankful Robinson
6. Love Suckforth, b. 1804, married Alden T. Newbert
7. Henry Suckforth,⁵ b. ca 1806-07, married 1) Hepsibah C. Ripley, 2) Mary C. Seavey
8. Ebenezer Suckforth,⁶ b. ca 1812-13, married Elizabeth "Betsey" Rokes

Catherine never appeared by name in a U.S. census, but we can infer her presence in Andrew's household from 1790 to 1830 and, probably, in son Philip's household in 1840:

• 1790, Barrettstown: one of two females in the household⁷
• 1800, Barrettstown Plantation: one female age 26-44 (Catherine would be 36)⁸
• 1810, Hope: one female 45 & up (Catherine would be 46)⁹
• 1820, Hope: one female 45 & up (Catherine would be 56)¹⁰
• 1830, Hope: one female 60-69 (Catherine would be 66)¹¹
• 1840, Hope: one female 70-79 (Catherine would be 76)¹²

Catherine does not appear in the 1850 census (nor does Andreas), so we can assume ahe died between 1840 and 1850. She was probably buried in Hope but there is no record of the location.

My descent from Catherine Newbert:

• Catherine Newbert and Andreas Suchfort (Andrew Sukeforth)
• Robert Suckforth (Sukeforth) and Polly Miller
• Simon Sukeforth and Jane Miller
• Sarah C. Sukeforth and Silas Kirk
• Chester F. Kirk and Mary M. Hodsdon (my paternal grandparents)

(Note: This post is in response to Amy Johnson Crow's "52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks" challenge at No Story Too Small.)

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SOURCES

1. Wilford W. Whitaker and Gary T. Horlacher, Broad Bay Pioneers (Rockport, Maine: Picton Press, 1998), p. 489.
2. Ibid., p. 354.
3. Ibid., p. 490.
4. Ibid., p. 603. I'm suspicious of Whitaker & Horlacher's marriage date estimate of 1778, because (a) Catherine would have been only 14 (assuming that her birth year is correct), and (b) they also claim that Andreas came to Waldoboro "after 1778" (my emphasis). The date may have been chosen to accommodate the questionable 1780 birthdate for Robert. A birthdate of 1785 for him is more compatible with the census records, and would mean John was the oldest child, born 1783, allowing a marriage in 1782 at a more reasonable age of 18.
5. The assignment of Henry as Andreas's son is tentative. (The family did include a son of about this age, but it could conceivably be an Andrew Jr., ca 1808-1836, currently assigned to Robert's family.) In the 1840 census, Henry's household included one male 80-89, probably Andreas (who would have been about 85) who was no longer a head of household. This, in tandem with additional evidence provided by land deeds, seems a likely indication of a father-son relationship.
6. It seems highly questionable that Ebenezer could be Catherine's son, as she would have been at least 48 at his birth. Whitaker & Horlacher give Ebenezer's birth as 1802, but no source is indicated, and the available census records and his gravestone all point to 1812-13.
7. 1790 U.S. Census, Maine, Barrettstown, p. 107, Andrass Suchfort household; database and digital images, Ancestry.com (http://search.ancestry.com : accessed 12 Dec 2012).
8. 1800 U.S. Census, Maine, Barrettstown Plantation, p. 662, unnumbered 4th line, Andrew Sukforth [sic] household; digital images, ProQuest, HeritageQuest Online (access through participating libraries : accessed 14 Apr 2012).
9. 1810 U.S. Census, Maine, Hope, unnumbered 9th line, Andrew Suchfort household; digital image, ProQuest, HeritageQuest Online (access through participating libraries : accessed 14 Apr 2012).
10. 1820 U.S. Census, Maine, Hope, p. 279 (penned), col. 1, unnumbered line 19, Andw Suckforth household; digital image, ProQuest, HeritageQuest Online (access through participating libraries : accessed 14 Apr 2012).
11. 1830 U.S. Census, Maine, Hope, p. 508 (penned), unnumbered line 4, Andrew Suckforth household; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://search.ancestry.com : accessed 8 Jun 2012).
12. 1840 U.S. Census, Waldo County, Maine, Hope, p. 316 (stamped), unnumbered line 27, Philip Suckforth household; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://search.ancestry.com : accessed 8 Jun 2012).