Family Tale of Samuel H. Slater from Wayne County Pennsylvania Lost in Boston Fire- Part 3

After I found those wicked awesome articles, I began to search for Samuel Slater and this event on google.  No luck, but wait.  There were three other people that died in this fire with him.  Maybe if I search for them I will find something on google.   

I begin to make my way through my list I created with keywords, places and people.  As I work through my combinations, I search google for "Henry Ward" (one of the other men that died) and Damascus.  I find a website with Henry Ward buried in Lookout Cemetery, Damascus Township with a notation that says "(same plot as Sam Slate)".  I search the webpage for Slater knowing the "r" was missing from Slater.  No Slater named Sam, however once again the "r" was missing.  A "Slate, Sam L. H. GAR GR.L. NY GAV (same plot as Henry Ward)" is buried in the cemetery.  (Slate [Slater], Sam L. [SamL] H. GAR GR.L. [Co. L] NY GAV [CAV]) 

Is this my Sam?  There are other people buried in this cemetery with the last name Slater.  Two of which are jumping off the page.       

"Slater, William T. 1877 - _____ (husband Mary C. Brown)"
"Brown, Mary C. 1876-1913 (wife of William T. Slater)"

These are my great-grandmother's parents!!  William T. [Thomas] is the son of my Samuel H. Slater.  (If you could have only seen me doing the snoopy dance of joy!) 

Another bonus...SAMUEL IS A CIVIL WAR VET!!!  Possible Pension File?

After this discovery, my father contacted the Equinunk Historical Society in Pennsylvania.  They sent us a wonderful article from the Honesdale Citizen that talked about all the specifics of the house fire at Senator Joel Hill's residence at Lookout in Damascus Township, Wayne County, Pennsylvania.  The article stated that Samuel was a pensioner, and left behind "a wife and quite a large family of grown up children".  They also sent information about the National Historical Site - Joel Hill Saw Mill, where Sam may have worked.

I would say based on the evidence collected thus far that this is likely my Sam.  I will continue to search for more documentation to confirm this.  Samuel's pension file is currently "missing" at the NARA, and they are looking for it.

Likely, my 3x great grandfather, Samuel H. Slater, did die in a fire just not in Boston.  He died in a fire at the residence of Senator Joel Hill.  For those of you that remembered from earlier that the only thing that was left was a ring.  Well, that part is kinda true.  It wasn't a ring, but suspender buckles.  That is how they identified him after the fire.

I would like to Thank Linda Blum-Barton, who is the host of the website Wayne County PAGenWeb.  There is lots of great genealogical information for Wayne County, Pennsylvania on this website!  The cemetery information on the website allowed me to help put the pieces of the puzzle together! 

Family Tale of Samuel H. Slater from Wayne County Pennsylvania Lost in Boston Fire- Part 2

This story of Samuel Slater being killed in a hotel fire (see previous post) was not know to me as I began the search for information about my great grandmother (Helen Jane Slater) and her branch of the family tree.

I was on genealogybank.com in search of any newspaper reference to my Slater family of Wayne County, Pennsylvania or Sullivan County, New York. I was about to give up when all of the sudden I see an article about a Samuel Slater, similar age according to the information I do have, that died in a house fire in Honesdale, Pennsylvania in April 1904.

Source Citation:  "Four Burned To Death," Wilkes-Barre Times (Wilkes-Barre, PA), 11 April 1904, p. 10; digital images, Genealogybank.com (http://www.genealogybank.com : accessed 30 November 2012), Newspaper Archives (1690 - 2010).

Hmmm. Then I find another article with an age that is very close to my Samuel Slater.

Source Citation:  "To Bury Four In One Grave," Philadelphia Inquirer (Philadelphia, PA), 17 April 1904, vol. 150, issue 108, p. 7; digital images, Genealogybank.com (http://www.genealogybank.com : accessed 30 November 2012), Newspaper Archives (1690 - 2010).

I can't stop here! Is this my Samuel Slater that supposedly died in a hotel fire in Boston? To be continued....

Family Tale of Samuel H. Slater from Wayne County Pennsylvania Lost in Boston Fire- Part 1

I have always loved hearing family stories or family tales.  I was that kid that use to bug my elders to tell me stories of what life was like, something they did or family stories.  Often these stories conveyed to us are passed down from one generation to the next, and it is like playing telephone.  By the time it gets around to the last person, you are lucky if the original message was correct.  Well, today's family tale is about my Slater family branch from Wayne County, Pennsylvania and Sullivan County, New York.

Growing up my father was told that his 2x Great Grandfather, Samuel H. Slater, died in a hotel fire in Boston, and all that was left was a ring he wore on his finger.  My father searched for years trying to find some record or newspaper article about a hotel fire in Boston, Massachusetts in the early 1900's.  The searches always came up empty.

Though this event was very tragic, it is exciting to know that there may have been a historical event that my ancestor was involved with. Why was a man that remained in the same area of the country his whole life go to Boston and was he really killed in a hotel fire? 

In the mean time, I knew very little about Samuel H. Slater, and what I did know mostly came from US Federal Census Records.  Here is the condensed version...

He was the father of William Thomas Slater and grandfather of Helen Jane Slater.

In 1850, Saml Slater (age 11) resided in Lumberland, Sullivan, New York within the household of David Slater.

In 1860, Samuel H. Slater (age 22) resided in Tusten, Sullivan, New York within the household of David Slater.

By 1870, Samuel Slater (age 34) resided in Damascus, Wayne, Pennsylvania. In 1880, Samuel Slater (age 40) resided in Damascus, Wayne, Pennsylvania.

In 1900, Samuel Slater (age 62) resided in Manchester Township, Wayne, Pennsylvania. Samuel married Mary A. (_____) probably in 1863, and had six children, James, Jane, Charles E., William Thomas, Samuel C. and Grace M. 

In 1900, residing next door was Thomas Slater (aka William Thomas), wife Mary C. (____) and daughter, Helen J.

Samuel most likely died prior to 1910 because Mary A. (_____) is listed as Widow in the 1910 US Census.

To Be Continued...