Elias Day

Husband of Sarah (Smith) Day — married Jul 1769 (to 6 Mar 1771) in Stamford, Fairfield, Connecticut Colony

Husband of Amey (Finch) Day — married 30 May 1772 (to before 1789) in Greenwich, Fairfield, Connecticut Colony

Husband of Sarah (Cooper) Day — married before 1793 (to about 1813) in Albany, New York, United States

Descendants

Died 1813 in Albany, New York, United States

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Biography

Origins and early life

No record of Elias's birth or baptism has been found. See Research Notes below for a caution note.

First marriage

In July 1769, Elias married Sarah Smith in Stamford, Connecticut Colony.^[1][2] Sarah gave birth to a daughter, also named Sarah, 1 Mar 1771, and mother Sarah died 6 Mar 1771.^[2] No further record of daughter Sarah has been found.

Second marriage

On 30 May 1772, Elias married Amey (Amy) Finch, daughter of Nathaniel Finch, in Greenwich.^[3][4] Amey gave birth to daughter

• Elizabeth, born 28 Dec 1772

Elizabeth is mentioned in a genealogy of the Cooper family (the family of Elias's third wife, below), called there Elias's daughter by his first wife (actually by his second wife, Amy).^[5] This connection helps to establish Elias Day who lived in Stamford and Greenwich, Connecticut, in the 1770's as the same Elias later recorded around Albany, New York.

The probate record of Elias's estate^[6] names Elizabeth and her husband Calvin Cheeseman (residents of Princetown, Schenectady, New York in 1810)^[7] as executors, and no other child from Elias's first two marriages appears in known records. It is likely that Calvin's second wife died sometime after Elizabeth's 1772 birth, and after her death Calvin moved to New York with daughter Elizabeth. Elizabeth was probably Elias's only surviving child at that time.

From Connecticut to New York

Elias's first two marriages were recorded in Stamford and Greenwich, Connecticut, both lying in the southwest corner of the state. Greenwich, in particular, is adjacent to Rye, New York, and the boundary between New York and Connecticut, which runs through those towns, was disputed for many years. Many families in the area had members in both states, and moves between the two states were common. It is not surprising, then, that Elias Day, often recorded as Dr. Elias Day, relocated from Greenwich into New York and moved north in the Hudson Valley, perhaps in pursuit of better opportunities to practice medicine.

Sometime before 1789, Elias moved to New York. In 1789, Elias was appointed executor of the estate of Thomas Day in Rensselaer, Albany County, New York.^[8] The relationship of Thomas to Elias is not known, but Elias named a son Thomas (below), so the Thomas who died in 1789 was likely Elias's father, uncle, or brother.

Third marriage

Elias had a son and heir Elias Baulchne Day (1791-1858), born in 1790 (see his bio for deduction of his birth year). He was probably the first child of Elias with his third wife, Sarah (Cooper) Day because Elias was known to be in New York by the time of his birth.

Elias married Sarah Cooper, probably in New York (she was a native of Albany). There is evidence that this was also Sarah Cooper's second marriage.^[5] They were married sometime before the first of four recorded baptisms of their children, and probably before the 1790 birth of Elias B. Day (above):^[5]

• Jacob, baptized 1 Feb 1793 FamilySearch link
• Josina, born 3 Aug 1794 FamilySearch link
• Thomas, born 15 Jul 1797 FamilySearch link
• Sarah, born 22 Jan 1799 FamilySearch link

All were recorded at the Dutch Reformed Church of New Salem, New York. There, Elias and his wife Sarah (Cooper) Day renewed their marriage vows 3 May 1805.^[5]

No other vital records or probate records naming Elias's other children have been found. Multiple land deeds,^[9] however, demonstrate that Elias B. Day was a son and heir, together with his brother Thomas, whose birth was noted above. The Cooper genealogy^[5] lists ages (in census age brackets) of family members reported in censuses from 1790 through 1820.

Later census records

Elias appears in the following census records in Albany County, New York:

• 1790 in Schenectady, heading a household with one male (Elias) and two females (probably daughter Elizabeth, then age 17, and either his second wife, Amey, or more likely his third wife, Sarah).^[10]
• 1800 in Bethlehem, heading a household with three males younger than ten, one male older than 45 (Elias), two females younger than ten, two between 10 and 15, and one age 26 to 45.^[11]
• 1810 in Bethlehem, heading a household with three males age 10-15, three age 16-25, and three over 45; and with two females under age 10, two age 16-25, one age 26-45, and two over 45.^[12]

Profession

Numerous records refer to Elias as "Dr. Elias Day." No records about his professional life have been found. Medical doctors of the era were primarily trained through apprenticeship.

End of life

Elias died intestate in Bethlehem, probably early in 1813. The probate record of his estate,^[6] dated 1 Mar 1813, designated Calvin and Elizabeth Cheeseman, noted as Elias' son-in-law and daughter, as estate executors, and referred to Elias as "Dr. Elias Day late of Bethlehem." An 1820 deed record^[9] states that Elias' widow Sarah (Sarah Cooper Day) relinquished her dower's (widow's) rights to Elias's estate, in favor of Thomas and Elias B. Day (Elias Day's sons).

Research notes

There are two other Elias Days who were roughly contemporaries. See their profiles—Elias Day (1741-) and Elias Day (1750-)—for vital records that do not belong to this Elias Day.

Sources

1. ↑ Connecticut, Vital Records, Prior to 1850. Online database with images at FamilySearch.org. Cites Marriage, Stamford, Fairfield, Connecticut, United States, Compiled by Lucius A. and Lucius B. Barbour, housed at State Library, Hartford, Connecticut. FHL microfilm 008272229. FamilySearch link
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} Connecticut: Vital Records (The Barbour Collection), 1630-1870. Online Database at AmericanAncestors.org. Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2011. Cites original typescripts, Lucius Barnes Barbour Collection, 1928. AmericanAncestors link ($)
3. ↑ Connecticut, Vital Records, Prior to 1850 Online database at FamilySearch.org. Cites Marriage, Greenwich, Fairfield, Connecticut, United States, Compiled by Lucius A. and Lucius B. Barbour, housed at State Library, Hartford, Connecticut. FHL microfilm 008272229. FamilySearch link
4. ↑ Connecticut: Vital Records (The Barbour Collection), 1630-1870. Online Database at AmericanAncestors.org. Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2011. Cites original typescripts, Lucius Barnes Barbour Collection, 1928. AmericanAncestors link ($)
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4} Wilmarth, M. Grace. Obadiah Cooper, tailor at Albany NY from 1713-1742, his wife Cornelia Gardenier Cooper, and their Descendants. Typescript, 1946. p 111-112. Archive.org link.
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1} New York, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1659-1999. Online database at Ancestry.com. Cites Wills, Letters Testamentary, Letters of Administration, Etc., 1787-1902. Albany County (New York) Surrogate's Office; Probate Place: Albany, New York, Letters of Administration, Vol 0001-0003, 1794-1815. Ancestry link($)
7. ↑ United States Census, 1810. Database with images at FamilySearch.org. Cites New York > Schenectady > Princetown > image 2 of 4; NARA microfilm publication M252. Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, undated. FamilySearch link
8. ↑ New York: Abstracts of Wills, Admins. and Guardianships, 1787-1835. Online database at AmericanAncestors.org. Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2006. Cites Eardeley Genealogy Collection: New York State Abstracts of Wills. New York: Brooklyn Historical Society, undated. AmericanAncestors link ($)
9. ↑ ^{9.0 9.1} New York: Albany County Deeds, 1630-1894. Online database at AmericanAncestors.org. Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2011. Cites Index to the Public Records of the County of Albany, State of New York, 1630-1894. Grantors Volumes 1-14. Albany, New York: The Argus Company, Printers, 1902. AmericanAncestors link ($)
10. ↑ United States Census, 1790. Online database with images at FamilySearch.org. Cites New York > Albany > Schenectady > image 8 of 17; NARA microfilm publication M637. Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, undated. FamilySearch link
11. ↑ United States Census, 1800. Online database with images at FamilySearch.org. Cites New York > Albany > Bethlehem > image 9 of 14; NARA microfilm publication M32. Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, undated. FamilySearch link
12. ↑ United States Census, 1810. Online database with images at FamilySearch.org. Cites New York > Albany > Bethlehem > image 8 of 11; NARA microfilm publication M252. Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, undated. FamilySearch link