Aaron Read and Mary Fortner had 2 children, born between 1808 and 1810. I have only been able to trace the descendants of one of their daughters. These included 1 grandchild, 5 great-grandchildren, 7 second great-grandchildren, 8 third great-grandchildren, and 6 fourth great-grandchildren and one fifth-great grandchild. Total number of descendants equals 30. By Margaret Cooke, Aaron had 5 children, born between 1815 and 1822. To date I have traced 20 grandchildren, 44 great-grandchildren, 93 second great-grandchildren, 136 third great-grandchildren, 109 fourth great-grandchildren, 46 fifth great-grandchildren and 5 sxith great-grandchildren. Total number of descendants equals 458. However, Aaron shares 23 of his descendants by Margaret in common with his bother Isaac, 33 in common with his brother John, 5 with his brother David and 4 with his brother Samuel (total equals 65). His granddaughter Margaret Eliza Read married Isaac's grandson Jonah H. Read (14 descendants); his great-grandson John Read Wildrick married Isaac's great-great-granddaughter Carrie Dell Raub (4 descendants); and his great great-grandson Edward Cline Allen marrried Isaac's great-great-great granddaughter Helen Marie Gibbs (5 descendants). Aaron's great-grandaughter Sarah Catherine Vanscoten married John's great-grandson Isaac Read Titman (33 descendants). His great-great granddaughter Ada Allen married David's great-grandson Harold Osmun (5 descendants). And finally, Aaron's great-granddaughter Mary Wildrick married Samuel's great-grandson Nelson Ayers (4 descendants). Aarons' total number of known descendants from both of his wives is as follows: 7 children, 21 grandchildren, 49 great-grandchildren, 100 second great-grandchildren, 144 third great-grandchildren, 115 fourth great-grandchildren, 47 fifth great-grandchildren and 5 sixth grandchildren. Total known descendants equals 488.

CHILDREN OF AARON READ AND MARY FORTUNE

CHILDREN OF AARON READ AND MARGARET ANN COOKE

BIOGRAPHIC NOTES

Aaron Read was the eleventh (and final) child and seventh son of Joseph and Sarah Read. The information on his tombstone indicates that he was born 24 February 1786 (Union Brick Cemetery), but Kern (1938) gives his birth date as 21 February 1786. Aaron was orphaned at the age of six. Both of his parents died in 1792. Who cared for Aaron after his parents' deaths is not known. He was named as a minor child in his mother's will (New Jersey State Archives, hereinafter NJSA, Probate Records, File 538S). Sarah left her son a legacy of £36, which he was to receive upon reaching the age of 21. Aaron came of age in February 1807. Shortly after his twenty-first birthday, Aaron married Mary Fortner, on 28 March 1807 (Kern 1938; Sussex County Marriages), her name appears at Fortune in the Sussex County Marriage list.

Aaron and Mary had two children, Lidia, born in 1808 and Sarah Ann, born in 1810. Mary died after Sarah was born, sometime between 1810 and 1813. Both of her daughters were under the age of five. Aaron married a second time, on 7 October 1813, Margaret Ann Cooke, who was known as Peggy (Kern 1938; Newberry c. 1934:80; Sussex County Marriages). Peggy Cooke was the daughter of Levi Cooke of Sussex (now Warren) County. According to one source, she was born 23 September 1782 (Scott-Fritzen 1997), another source places her birth on 7 October 1782 (Newberry c. 1934:80). Aaron and Peggy had at least five children: Catherine, Samuel Cooke, Mary, Euphemia and Margaret. Euphemia and Margaret both died as young children (Kern 1938; Newberry c. 1934:80; Scott-Fritzen 1997; Murcko 1996-1998; Warren County Surrogate Court Records, hereinafter WCSCR, Wills Book 3, page 418).

Aaron did not name his living children in his will, instead he only mentions his "children". He does mention the heirs of his daughter Lidia Lanning and Aaron R. Coursen, the son of his daughter Sarah Ann Coursen (Ibid.). According to both Kern (1938) and Newberry (c. 1934:80) there were two children by Aaron's first marriage to Mary. Newberry does not name the children, but Kern gives them as Lidia and Sarah. Both Kern and Newberry agree that there were five children (named above) by the second marriage to Peggy. As Lidia and Sarah's heirs are named in his will (WCSCR Wills, Wills Book 3, page 418), it is logical to assume that they were the two children by the first marriage. Sarah died in 1833 (Kern 1938; Union Brick Cemetery). Aaron's will was written on 4 November 1856, in it he mentions only the heirs of Lidia Lanning, not Lidia. It is probable that Lidia Read Lanning died before Aaron wrote his will (WCSCR Wills, Liber 3, folio 418). Three of Aaron's children: Catherine Kinney, Samuel Read and Mary McMurtrie are named in the settlement of the estate of their cousin, John Hetty Read, which was dated 2 February 1865 (WCSCR Orphans Court Records).

I am assuming that only those first cousins of John H. Read, who were alive on 14 August 1862, when John died, were considered heirs of the estate. Aaron Reed Coursen, the son of Aaron's daughter, Sarah Ann, was alive in 1862. Yet, he did not receive a share of John Read's estate as an heir of his mother. The three children named in the settlement all died after 1862: Samuel died in 1869, Catherine lived until 1891 and Mary died sometime after 1880.

According to Newberry (c. 1934:80) Aaron Read's farm was in Blairstown Township, south of the Lackawanna Railroad Station in Blairstown. On 15 August 1807, a few months after his marriage to Mary Fortner, Aaron purchased a farm. He and Mary were expecting their first child (Lidia would be born on 2 January 1808). The farm contained 90 acres and at the time of the purchase it was located in Knowlton Township. Aaron bought the land from his brother Isaac Read, Sr. for $900. The tract was bordered by the land of William Allen, Charles Crisman and the Lantermans. Isaac and Mary (Shackleton) Read signed the deed. Issac signed his name, but Mary made her mark. The deed was witnessed by Isaac and Aaron's brother, David Read and by Matthew Jackson. This tract was the original Read Farm purchased by Joseph Read on 1 August 1774 from Jonathan Hampton. Joseph eventually added additional acreage to his holdings, but the 90 acres that Aaron purchased contained the original homestead. The deed does not specifically mention any buildings or dwellings on the property. It does mention "appurtenances", but this was a standard clause in nineteenth century deeds. (NJSA, Sussex County Land Records, Book Q, pages 432-435). It is doubtful that Aaron actually paid Isaac $900 for the land. On the same day that Isaac sold Aaron the 90 acre parcel, Aaron quit claim to his share in both the real and personal estates of his parents, Joseph and Sarah (Sutton) Read. Isaac paid Aaron $950 for his share. Both Aaron and Mary Read signed the quit claim. Both of their signatures are on the instrument, they did not make marks. David Read and Matthew Jackson also witnessed the release (NJSA, Sussex County Land Records, Book S, page 497). Between these two transactions, Aaron came out with $50 in his pocket and 90 acres of farm land.

After Aaron married Peggy Cooke, the size of the farm increased to at least 120.75 acres, due to Peggy inheriting land from her father's estate. Aaron and Peggy recieved 30.75 acres of land in Sussex (now Warren) County, when Levi Cooke's estate was divided by a deed of partition on 6 March 1822. This tract was bordered by the farms of Daniel Curliss and Joseph Newman (this may be the Joseph Newman who's first wife was Aaron's older sister Azuba (died 1797)). The farm was owned by Aaron and his heirs until 1882, when it was sold to Conrad Hildebrandt. In 1934, the farm belonged to Mr. Roe (Newberry c. 1934).

The earliest available United States Federal Census for the State of New Jersey is the 1830 census. In 1830, Aaron Read was a resident of Knowlton Township, Warren County (page 381). The census lists John Read, Issac Read [Sr.], William Hawk and Aaron Read as neighbors in 1830. John Read may have been Aaron's nephew by his elder brother James Read. Isaac Read Sr. was also Aaron's older brother. Maps in Kern's (1938) manuscript place James Read's farm next to the Isaac Read farm (by 1830, James's son John Read held the farm). Isaac Read's farm was adjacent to the 90 acre Read homestead owned by Aaron Read. Aaron's household consisted of Aaron and Mary and four of their children. Their daughter Lidia had married by 1830 and the two little girls, Euphemia and Margaret, were both dead:

Table 1: Household of Aaron Read in 1830

The census gives incorrect ages for Peggy Read (who was 48 in 1830). The Read's youngest daughter Margaret appears to have been living in 1830. She would have been 8 years old in February 1830. According to Newberry (c1934) Margaret died as an infant. Aaron's daughter Sarah Ann was not a resident of the household in 1830. She was 20 years old. She married William Coursen in NOvember 1822. It is possible that she was working out as a domestic servant for other farm families in the area. Young women of marriagable age frequently did this in order to make money to purchase household goods when they were married (Ulrich 1990). Sarah's sister Lidia Read and her husband, John Lanning were living in Hardwick Township, Warren County in 1830 (page 438). They had been married a little over a year and do not appear to have children on the census. A young male between the ages of 10 and 15 was living with them, his identity is unknown:

Table 2: Household of John Lanning in 1830

In 1840, Aaron was a resident of Knowlton Township in Warren County, New Jersey (United States Federal Census, Knowlton Township, Warren County New Jersey 1840:371). His houshold consisted of five individuals:

Table 3: Household of Aaron Read in 1840

Aaron's daughter by Mary, Sarah Ann Read married in November 1832 and died in childbirth a year later (Kern 1938; Union Brick). Aaron and Margaret's daughter Catherine was married by 1834 (her eldest child was born in December 1834). The identity of the male listed in the census who was between the age of 10 and 14 years, is a mystery. Aaron is not known to have had any sons other than Samuel (Kern 1938; Newberry c. 1934). It is conceivable that this male was one of his grandsons. However, Aaron Reed Coursen was only 7 in 1840. Catherine Read Kinney had two sons in 1840, but they were both under the age of 5. It is possible that the young male in the census was one of Lidia Read Lanning's children. Lidia was married in February 1829. It is possible that she had a male child in late 1829 or early 1830. However, the household of John Lanning in 1830 does not include a male child of this age (table 2). Currently, I do not know who Lidia's children were.

Aaron Read appears on the 1850 United States Federal Census for Warren County, NJ as a resident of Blairstown Township (1850 United States Federal Census, Blairstown Township, Warren County, New Jersey, page 455). Blairstown Township was created in February 1845 by the New Jersey State Legislature from a portion of Knowlton Township (Snell 1881:636). Therefore, the Reads had not moved from the farm they purchased in 1807. The farm was simply located in that portion of Knowlton Township which had become Blairstown Township. In the census, Aaron is listed as a farmer with $3,500 of real estate. His household was visited on 2 October 1850 and was listed as dwelling 1000, family 1038. Aaron and Margaret's daughter, Catherine Read Kinney, and her family were sharing the house. They are listed as family 1039 (dwelling 1000). Their son Samuel had moved to Pennsylvania and had married Mary Ann Wolverton, on 9 March 1843 (Newberry c 1934). Their daughter Mary married Andrew McMurtrie on 10 February 1841 (Warren County Marriages). Aaron Read's household in 1850 consisted of 13 people: Aaron and Margaret Read, their daughter Catherine Read Kinney and her husband, Isaac Snoover Kinney, eight Kinney children and a hired man by the name of John Wagner. The following table gives data as listed on the census.

Table 4: Household of Aaron Read in 1850

Peggy Read was very ill for the latter part of her life. She suffered edema, which was known as "dropsy." Edema is an abnormal retension of fluid in the body, resulting from congested heart failure. Catherine lived with her parents after her marriage to Isaac Kinney, in order to care for her mother. The Kinney's were living in the house in 1850. Sometime between 1850 and 1855, Catherine Kinney and her large family moved out of the house and her sister, Mary McMurtrie moved in to provide care. By 1855, Catherine had ten children and was expecting her eleventh. Margaret Cooke Read died in 1855. Aaron and Margaret's son, Samuel Read, who had settled in Columbia County, Pennsylvania, returned to Warren County after 1855 and moved in with his father (Newberry c. 1934). In 1860 the Read household was the 562nd household and 562nd family visited by the census taker (1860 United States Federal Census, Blairstown Township, Warren County, New Jersey). Aaron's occupation is still given as farmer. He owned real estate valued at $4000, with a personal estate valued at $100. His son Samuel C. Read was also a farmer. He owned real estate valued at $3000, this was probably his farm in Pennsylvania, which he still owned. Samuel had a personal estate valued at $400. The members of the household in 1860 were:

Table 5: Household of Aaron Read in 1860

Aaron Read died on 19 January 1861. His will (which was written on 4 November 1856) was admitted for probate on 30 January 1861 (WCSCR Wills, Book 3, page 418). An abstract of the will follows:

The will was witnessed by (14) Richard Read³ (Aaron's nephew and the oldest son of (3) Isaac Read, Sr.²), Aaron Haggerty (who was married to Aaron's great neice, (112) Euphemia Read ⁴, a granddaughter of (3) Isaac Read, Sr. ²), and Morris Crisman. Samuel bought the farm from the estate. It eventually ended up in the possession of his daughters, Mary Catherine Brinkruff and Ruth Ann Wildrick (Newberry c. 1934:81).

Aaron Read is buried in Union Brick burial ground on Heller Hill Road near the intersection of Heller Hill and Union Brick Roads in Blairstown Township, Warren County, New Jersey. He is buried with his wife, Margaret Read and two of his children, Sarah Ann Coursen and Samuel Cooke Read. If Aaron and Peggy's two infant daughters (Euphemia and Mary) are buried with their parents, their graves are not marked. The epitah on Aaron's stone reads:

Margaret Read's tombstone is inscribed:

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