The Cronkhite Bible is nearly a large scrapbook because the family had included and pasted numerous newspaper clippings and obituaries inside the book over the years. There are so many clippings that the publishing information on the Bible is hidden. Given that the main marriage page provides the marriage of James V. Cronkhite and Eveline M. Sweney in 1845, it would appear this Bible belonged to James V. Cronkhite. It does include a family record of his parents and his siblings. One of the pages of the Bible, which has since been detached, is the marriage page, showing the following (including the printed information):
This is to Certify That Mr James V Cronkhite of the Town of Greenfield in the State of New York and Miss Eveline M. Sweney of the town of Greenfield in the State of New York was joined together in HOLY MATRIMONY on the Sixth Day of October in the Year of our Lord One Thousand Eight Hundred and forty five
In the Presence of By me
V. B. Carter J. D. Burnham
Sarah M. Weed Minister of the Gospel
The family record pages include a list of births. These are written in two different handwriting styles, with a majority of the entries appearing to be written all at once. The births in the first column are:
Harmon G. Sweney was born March the 25, 1800
Polly Sweney was born July the 22, 1799
Mary E Sweney was born June the 22, 1828
William S. Sweney was born April the 20, 1831
W. W. Annable was born July 14th 1826
Francis D. Annable was born July 29th 1847
Orlena Annble [sic] was born July 28th 1853
Infant son of Walace & Elisabeth Annable May 27th 1857
Orlena A Fulton was born November 6th 1871
Harmon C. Fulton was born April 1st 1874
[second column]
Asahel P. Cronkhite was born Dec the 14th 1794
Betsey P. Cronkhite was born May the 2 1798
Ann Eliza Cronkhite was born Jan th 14, 1821
Olive Cronkhite was born August th 28, 1825
Rachel R. Cronkhite was born Sept th, 2, 1828
Dan Cronkhite was born March the 18, 1831
Asba Cronkhite was born July the 23, 1833
Harmon Cronkhite was Born Jan the, 20, 1836
Betsey Ann Cronkhite was born Jan th, 16, 1838
Nancy Cronkhite was born Jan, the, 25, 1844
The second page of the family record includes additional births, as well as a list of some deaths. The deaths are recorded on the left side, with most all but the last entry written by the same hand. On the right side, in the births, the first four entries are written by the same hand, though not seemingly at the same time, and the rest are written in the same handwriting. These entries are:
Deaths
Orlena Annable died July 5th 1856
Infant son died May 30th 1857
William M. Annable died December 30th 1857
Francis D. Fulton died October 8th 1874
Harmon C. Fulton died January 16th 1875
Mary Elisabeth Jones died January 21 1903
[Right side – Births]
James V. Cronkhite was Born April the 1, 1823
Eveline M. Cronkhite Was Born August the 13, 1825
Harmon S. Cronkhite Was born May the 10, 1848
Charles P. Cronkhite Was Born April the 13, 1850
Lucinda E. Denton was born Dec 23, 1850
Camilla Daniels was born Sept 3 1852
Evalina Cronkhite was born Dec 5th 1871
Lizzie H Cronkhite was born October 2, 1873
Annie M Cronkhite was born October 13th, 1874
James P Cronkhite was born October 13th 1876
Hugh D Cronkhite born Sept 2 1881
Camilla Cronkhite was born December 4, 1888
The next page is another list of deaths, encompassing two columns of entries; there are multiple ink colors, indicating these deaths were mostly recorded at various times. These entries are:
[First column]
Polly Sweney Died June the 6 1850
Harmon G Sweney Died February 16th 1875
Harmon S Cronkhite died Oct 24th 1873 aged 25 yr 5 mo 14 days
James V Cronkhite died Dec 31st 1876 aged 53 yr 8 mo 23[?] days
James P Cronkhite died Sept 5th 1877 aged 10 mo 22 days
Camilla Cronkhite died July 12 1892 aged 3 years 7 mo 8 ds
Camilla D Cronkhite died June 25 1900 aged 48 years 10 mo
[Second column]
Ann Eliza P Cronkhite Died Feb the 22, 1831
Rachel V[?] Cronkhite Died Dec the 12, 1833
Harmon Cronkhite Died June the 23, 1837
Asahel P Cronkhite Died May the 8, 1853
Betsey V Cronkhite Died Feb the 3rd 1860
Dan Cronkhite “
Nancy J Campbell died Feb 27[?] 1896
Betsey Ann Ingraham died May 16 1900
Asba S Cronkhite died March 30 1907
On a separate piece of paper, inserted into the Bible as an insert, is a list of marriages, but most of the rest of the page contains a list of deaths, as follows:
Asahel P & Betsey Cronkhite was Married July 31=1814
James V & Eveline M. Cronkhite was Married Oct the 6 1845
Ann Eliza P Cronkhite Died Feb the 22 1831
Rachel V Cronkhite Died Dec the 12 1833
Harmon Cronkhite Died June the 23 1837
Tryphena L Cronkhit Died Feb August the 5 1822
Olive Cronkhite Died December the 25 1824
George P Cronkhite Died Nov the 16 1827
Harmon S Cronkhite Died Nov the 25 1827
In addition to these family records are a large collection of obituaries and clippings from over the years. Some of the obituaries found in this Bible include the following, most of them are undated:
- Daniel S. Haight, born 1821 at Plattskill, Ulster County, New York
- Mr. W. Calkins of Greenfield, New York
- Mrs. Aner Brill Ambler at Worcester, Massachusetts
- Mrs. Julia Ann Williams, born in Milton, July 1805
- Death notice of James Denton, “the insane perpetrator” from Saratoga Springs, New York
- Mrs. Mary D. Brownell, widow of Dr. Charles A. Brownell of Troy, New York, and daughter of John Denton
- Mrs. Augustus E. Allard
- Lucy B. Hale, of Saratoga County, New York
- Abby Lester Croknhite, widow of Ira Hale, of Saratoga Springs, New York (two notices)
- Mrs. Anne Cronkhite, wife of A. Clark Pratt, of Buskirk’s Bridge, New York
- Anna Briggs Cronkhite, at Chateau Frontenac, Quebec, Canada, Friday, 30 September 1904
- Sally Hale, widow of Justus Cronkhite of Greenfield Center, New York
- Justine S. Allard, daughter of Augustus E. Allard, at Saratoga Springs, on 5 April 1892 (two notices)
- A. T. Cronkhite of Vinland
- Mrs. Reuben E. Cronkhite (Martha Comstock), of Gansevoort, daughter of Gideon Comstock
- Harmon S. Cronkhite, 1873 (two notices)
- Harmon G. Sweeney, on 16 February 1875, at Greenfield, New York (two notices)
- James V. Cronkhite, died 31 December 1876 at Greenfield, New York (two notices)
- Jamie P. Cronkhite, at Greenfield, New York, 5 September 1877, infant son of Charles and Camella Cronkhite
- Camalli Cronkhite of Greenfield, New York, 1892
- Mrs. Camilla D. Cronkhite, wife of Charles P. Cronkhite of Greenfield, New York, 1900
- Mrs. Frances D. Fulton, wife of J. H. Fulton, at Belvidere, Illinois, on 8 October 1874
- Truman P. Cronkhite at Saratoga Springs, New York, March 1881
- Justus A. Cronkhite of Greenfield, 1889
- Nina Helen Allard of Greenfield, May 1883[?]
- John C. Cronkhite of King’s Station, New York, 21 August 1892
- Child of Rev. and Mrs. C. H. Blake of Fairbank
- Arba S. Cronkhite, 30 March 1907
- Mrs. Nancy J. Campbell, wife of Alexander Campbell, daughter of Asabel Cronkhite, February 1896[?] (two notices)
- Mrs. W. A. Jones of Independence, Iowa, former wife of W. W. Annable
BACKGROUND:
Asahel Porter Cronkhite was born 14 December 1794 and died 8 May 1853, according to his tombstone at the Greenfield Cemetery in Greenfield, Saratoga County, New York[1]. As of the 1850 federal census for Greenfield[2], “Porter A Cronkhite” was 55 years of age, with his wife, Betsey, aged 52 years, and four children, all enumerated with the surname of Conkhite: Olliv, aged 24 years, Aasba, aged 17 years, Betsey, aged 11 years, and Nancy, aged 6 years. Asahel owned $1,500 in real estate value that year, working as a farmer in the town of Greenfield, Saratoga County. He was enumerated in the same immediate vicinity as Dan Cronkhite [Conkhite] and wife Nancy, aged 82 and 78 years[3], as well as Justice Conkhite, and wife Sally, aged 54 and 53 years[4].
Dan Cronkhite, occasionally found as “Daniel,” and wife Nancy were Asahel’s parents. Dan was born 9 February 1768 in Dutchess County, New York[5], the son of George Cronkhite and Esther Adzit, and died at Greenfield, Saratoga County, New York, on 25 April 1863 in Greenfield, Saratoga County, New York[6]. Dan and wife Nancy Patterson were married on 14 May 1789; she was born 14 August 1771 in New York and died at Greenfield on 4 November 1851[7]. Most of the descendants of Asahel P. Cronkhite appear to have remained around Saratoga County, New York, as shown by many of the death notices inserted in the family Bible.
This Cronkhite Bible has since been placed for sale, for which the link to the page is here (note: this link may expire in the future). The Bible is accompanied with a record book, containing many more obituaries and newspaper clippings, some photographs, and what appears to be a diary in the record book itself. This would be a goldmine of information for the descendants of this branch of the Cronkhites!
[1] Find-a-Grave memorial 20,013,582, Plot 1-336, Asahel P. Cronkhite, Greenfield Cemetery, Greenfield, Saratoga County, New York.
[2] 1850 U.S. federal census, Greenfield, Saratoga County, New York, p. 302-B, dwelling no. 85, family no. 85, Porter A. Conkhite [sic], NARA M432, roll 593, RG 29 series.
[3] 1850 U.S. federal census, Greenfield, Saratoga County, New York, p. 302-B, dwelling no. 80, family no. 80, Dan Conkhite [sic], NARA M432, roll 593, RG 29 series.
[4] 1850 U.S. federal census, Greenfield, Saratoga County, New York, p. 302-B, dwelling no. 81, family no. 81, Justice Conkhite [sic], NARA M432, roll 593, RG 29 series.
[5] Place of birth confirmed through the 1855 New York Census, 1st Election District, Greenfield, Saratoga County, New York, unpaginated, dwelling no. 294, family no. 326, Dan Cronkhite. The census shows Dan Cronkhite had resided in the town of Greenfield for 58 years, which was as long as his son Justus A. Cronkhite was alive; Justus and his wife and son were then living in Dan’s household.
[6] Find-a-Grave memorial no. 116,005,748, Dan Cronkhite, Greenfield Cemetery, Greenfield, Saratoga County, New York.
[7] Find-a-Grave memorial no. 116,005,857, Nancy Cronkhite, Greenfield Cemetery, Greenfield, Saratoga County, New York.
The Ancestral Clark 