The Rembis Report and Other Fascinating Topics - Volume XLVIII

Scandal.

Everyone loves a good scandal.

These days it is Johnny Depp and Amber Heard airing grievances and atrocities in the public forum. Over the last decade Donald Trump took center stage much of the time. In the 1990's the O.J. Simpson trial for the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman enraptured the public, and I'll bet you know where you were when you heard that the verdict was not guilty.

But scandals go back to the beginning of time. William Shakespeare and thousands of other authors built their careers on scandal. The Bible is full of scandal. It starts with a man, a woman, a serpent, and forbidden fruit. Scholars suppose it was an apple or pomegranate, but I am betting it was a kumquat. Without scandal, and interesting fruit, stories get a bit bland.

So, I was intrigued when I looked into my heritage and picked up the ancestry files from where my Aunt Barbara left off a few years ago. When she died I was given the short stack of files that detailed her lineage all the way back over several family trees, up to four generations. She found proof of who our greatest of great-grandparents were.

My Grandmother, Mary (Kulikowski) Brown's lineage goes back only two generations to Ukraine and we run into dead ends in the 1890's, so there is more research to be done.

Her husband, my Grandfather Blake Brown's lineage goes back four generations through multiple sets of grandparents to Ireland in the 1830's and mostly Canada throughout the 1800's.

Yeah, yeah, Mike, we all have roots. So where's the scandal? Sheesh!

Okay, hold on. your patience will be rewarded, I promise.

I had only a passive interest in genealogy until I started looking further into the Brown line. When Aunt Barbara got to my Great-Great-Great-Grandparents, Henry and Lucy Ann (Sales) Brown, she hit a dead end. No information on where either of them came from. Something about the name Sales hit me. Maybe because I spent most of my life as a salesman. Maybe because my parents somehow knew Soupy Sales and when he visited Detroit (or we visited L.A.), I was introduced to him as a child and he scared me. I have since outgrown my fear of Soupy Sales and other comedians.

So, I went searching online for more information about Lucy Ann Sales. I found two bits of information, one link stated her father was Hamlet Sales. Now, that's a cool name! Another page states that her mother was probably named Hannah. So, I have another generation covered. My G-G-G-G-Grandparents were Hamlet and Hannah Sales. But, then it ends. No information on who they were or where they came from. How do you fill in the blanks?

There are a lot of ancestry sites! So many options. But not all records are complete, and they rarely give any useful details. Unless somebody leaves behind a diary, all you get are dates of birth, and death, and sometimes marriage. A lot of information is just a name on a census line, or lost forever, and all you can do is search for logical explanations to fill in the blanks.

The most logical thing I could do in this case was search for the Sales family in Ontario, Canada, where Henry and Lucy Ann Brown had all their kids and gave us a solid history.

Are you getting to the scandal soon?

Oh, yes, soon. Hang in there.

The Sales family I found who were nearby, in that part of Ontario at that time, were the Sayles clan who moved from the Mohawk Valley of New York in 1793. Lucy Ann was born in Mohawk Valley in 1828. Hamlet, her father, was born in 1808, and no date of birth is reported for her mother, Hannah. Hamlet is also not listed as part of the Sayles clan. But in that group, born in 1777, one of the sons of Mordecai Sayles is Hiram Sales. Why does Hiram not have a Y in his name? Could he be Hamlet? Or Hamlet's father?

Hiram is reported to have married Nancy Ann Thorington and they had three children, in 1813, 1815, and 1819. She was born in 1794 and gave birth to her first child at age 17. Hiram would have been 36.

Hardly a scandal, Mike. That was typical for youngsters to marry older men 200 years ago.

Okay, but what about Hamlet who was born in 1808? Where did he come from? It seems likely that Hiram may have hooked up with a woman and became Hamlet's dad, and history lost track of her. If that happened, where is she? And why drop the Y from the family name?

Searching for anything online with the word Sales in it brings up tons of things you do not want to shop for, but there they are. Hamlet Sales conjures real estate of all sorts. I had no idea how many realtors list property as hamlets!

What is a hamlet anyway? Like a little ham? Like a baby pig is a piglet?

Back to 1808. That year, Mordecai gave his son Hiram some land in Ontario. In following years, Hiram became a small time land baron of sorts, and also bought land in Mohawk Valley, New York and Defiance County, Ohio. So he knew something about wheeling and dealing.

So did Mordecai, but it was more like wheeling and stealing. He was accused of thieving a bar of iron in Oxford, Ontario in 1806, but he beat the rap. In 1820 he was convicted of grand larceny (I don't know what for) and spent three years in prison. He died in 1824. Mordecai's life had further tumult. He was married twice. His first wife, Hiram's mom, died in 1789 in Saratoga, New York, leaving behind six kids ages 1 through 14, when Hiram was 12. The kids needed a mother, so Mordecai got his act together and wooed his second wife, Deborah Fairchild. They followed her family to Canada, taking Hiram and his five siblings, and then had another child together.

Scandal, please!

Hiram must have done something that made him change his name and drop the Y from Sayles to Sales. No other siblings did this. Mordecai's disapproval likely played a role. This is where a great deal of speculation on my part plays out, but when I see the timeline for everything, it is what makes the most sense.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's master sleuth Sherlock Holmes once said "When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth." I don't know how close I am going to get to eliminating the impossible here, because I may not have all the information, but I am going to do my best to fill in the blanks.

The contemptible act that made Hiram change his name must have been fathering Hamlet. But why? What caused the rift? Was he with with a woman out of wedlock? Is that it? Could be. If so, who was she?

I don't know Hamlet's birthplace, but he lived with the Sayles clan to raise Lucy Ann, and stayed in Canada until his death in 1886. That is really all we know about Hamlet.

But let's take a closer look at Hiram and the Sayles family.

After having three kids in Canada, Hiram moves his family to his property in Ohio, and reportedly dies in 1824. End of story? No. No. No. No.

To get the full story you need to takes a look at where Mordecai and his five siblings started out - Providence, Rhode Island. They were the children of Stephen Sayles, whose great grandparents came from the Plymouth Colony of Massachusetts in 1633, and then lead all the way back to England as long ago as 1120. It is quite the legacy.

When Mordecai's clan moved from Providence to Mohawk Valley, it appears there was another Sayles family member from Providence who broke away from them. Mordecai and his siblings were born between 1748 and 1759. William Garfield Sayles was born in Providence in 1743. His father is listed as unknown, but I suspect he is also a son of Stephen Sayles and eldest of the siblings, and decided to separate from the Sayles of Providence, forging his own way on the outskirts of Syracuse. His son William was born in 1768 in Manlius, New York. William then fathered six children between 1799 and 1812, all of which were born in Manlius.

The oldest of these children is recorded as Hiram C. Sayles, born in 1799. He is recorded as marrying Hannah Rickard and having two kids in 1832 and 1837.

So where does Hamlet fit into all this? He does not. Hannah, however - where have we heard the name Hannah before? Hannah was a popular and common first name back then. Even though Lucy Ann's mother was named Hannah, was it this Hannah?

Take a look at Hiram. This guy has the Y in his last name. He even has a middle initial. He has a wife named Hannah. Could this be Lucy Ann's parents? They fit into the timeline as far as age goes. In 1828, Hiram was 29 and Hannah was 22. But there is no connection to Canada. They have other kids, and where is Hamlet?

The only connection is the name Hiram. Supposing that they are distant cousins, their first name is all they have in common. Except for their birthplace: Manlius, Onondaga County, New York, where they are recorded as born 22 years apart, Hiram Sales in 1777, and Hiram C. Sayles in 1799. The problem here is that Mordecai and his wife had Hiram and his siblings in Saratoga and Albany. Both Hiram, and his brother Thomas, were born in 1777. It would not make sense for the family to move all over Mohawk Valley, with Mom giving birth to two kids that year, so Hiram and Thomas were probably twins, born in Albany.

So, if the Hirams are cousins, what's the problem?

The problem is Hiram Sales place of birth. When you lay out the timeline, and look at who is where, and when, you can suspect that they are the same person.

Here is your scandal.

In 1808, Hiram, age 21, fathers a child (Hamlet, born in New York) with a woman named Hannah. This so outrages Mordecai that it causes a rift which forces Hiram to drop the Y from his last name, so he would not be associated with the Sayles family. Mordecai, in order to hide the shame of his wife and bastard child, gifts Hiram a lot in Ontario. Hiram and Hannah raise little Hammy down the road from the rest of the Sayles clan, getting together only on Canadian holidays, which there are none yet, as Canada is in only it's infancy as a nation. Never married, Hiram steps out and meets up with Nancy Ann. Hannah has no say in this and she moves back to New York with Hamlet. Hiram marries Nancy Ann and they have three kids.

It is unknown what Hiram did for work, but in every reference I could find on any of these people, they were all listed as farmers. Hiram accumulates land in New York and Ohio, and after their third child is born, Hiram leaves for New York for a few years, doing guess what - raising Hamlet and hanging with Hannah. He splits with Nancy Ann. She takes the kids to live with her relatives in Iowa. Good riddance to Hiram, they consider him dead, and history marks him deceased in Defiance, Ohio in 1824.

Hiram lives with Hannah and Hamlet for the next few years, while he makes land deals, but then he meets Hannah Rickard. Bye-bye Hannah One, hello Hannah Two. Naturally, Hannah One would be none too happy about this arrangement. Or maybe she doesn't know about it. You see, Hannah Rickard is 29 years younger than Hiram, smitten perhaps, by the dashing older gentleman who owns so much land. Maybe he was able to keep Hannah One and Hammy a secret. We don't know what was said, but if the timeline is any indication, and Hiram Sales and Hiram C. Sayles were indeed the same person, he may have perpetrated a fraud, lying about his age, if he looked the part, and said he was 30 when he was actually 50.

Hannah Rickard gave birth to her first child at age 26 (in 1832), and her second child at 31 (in 1837), when Hiram Sales would be 60, using the alias Hiram C. Sayles (which was his real name), lying about his age, and lying about who his father was. He already had everything Mordecai could give him when Mordecai died in 1824, and now reclaimed his original name to pose as the son of his Uncle William, and as the brother of his cousins in Manlius, who he would never see, so nobody would question his authenticity as Hiram C. Sayles. To convince anyone who would question whether or not he was Williams' oldest son from Manlius, and heir to that part of the family fortune, he secured that legacy by naming his son with Hannah Rickard, who was born in 1837, William.

But what about Hamlet, and his daughter, Lucy Ann Sales? Who was her mother?

Okay kids, time to cinch up those adult diapers real tight because it is about to get saucy.

When Lucy Ann was born in 1828, there were several Hannah Sales around the country. None have any solid connection to anyone mentioned here, but the only one who is a viable candidate died in 1844 at the age of 67. She is buried in Fishkill, Dutchess County, New York. No other Hannah Sales fits into the timeline. I now conclude that Lucy Ann's father was not Hamlet. It was the one and only Hiram C. Sayles, Hamlet's father. Hamlet was her brother, who raised her as his daughter. Lucy Ann was born in Mohawk Valley. Once Hannah One had Lucy Ann in 1828, Hiram sent this part of his family packing to his property in Ontario, Canada, to be with the rest of the Sayles clan, where he would never return. After his youngest son William was born, Hiram, Hannah Two, and their children moved to Ohio, never to hear from Hannah One, Hamlet, or my G-G-Grandmother Lucy Ann again.

Is that it, then? Is that the whole scandal?

Not quite. Remember what our friend Billy Mays said.

You are probably wondering where is the smoking gun? What proves this theory about who Hannah Sales was, and that this is the right Hannah Sales?

Here is her gravestone. She was buried in Negro ground, so she is black. In the last census of her life in 1840, she is listed as a free black woman, but I find no other information about her.

But Mike, you are not black.

I am well aware of this. Several generations of DNA create whatever it creates. It is out of our control. At this point, I am thinking that this Hannah Sales is my Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Grandmother, and through Hiram C. Sayles family from Providence, I also see my genealogy going back almost a thousand years, in England.

As far as finding that smoking gun, there is none. This is all speculation. In the 1861 Canadian census, Column 13 has an option for Colored Persons, Mulatto, or Indian. There is a tiny dot representing the total for the entire family in that column for Henry, Lucy Ann, and their four children at that time, but I think it is a marker that delineates the family from the others on the page. Line 22 on that same form gives the enumerator the option to mark whether or not there are any Lunatics or Idiots in the family. I'm not kidding! Click the link and see for yourself. There is also a tiny dot in that box, but once again, I think it is a separation line.

I agree that this is far from conclusive, but for Mordecai and the Sayles clan, I'll bet it was scandalous.

But wait! There's even more.

Seems that in the early nineteenth century, you could never have enough Hannahs. Enter Hannah Number Three.

Upon further investigation I found that Hamlet Sales was indeed married to a woman named Hannah, so -

Ha! You were wrong! That's Lucy Ann's mom right there!

Not so fast. That's the easy explanation, and the one that looks good on paper at first glance, but when you do the math, things just don't add up.

Hamlet and his wife Hannah are listed in an 1860 Michigan census and an 1871 Ontario census. Seems that Hamlet bounced across Lake Huron for work. On both forms Hannah is eleven years younger than Hamlet, which would make her 9 years old at the time of Lucy Ann's birth. On both forms, Hamlet is listed as a farmer, and on both forms, they shared a household with Chloe Ann Tucker and her son Charles. Chloe is listed as 15 years younger than Hannah, and on some family trees, she is listed as Hannah's daughter. The 1871 Canadian census shows Chloe Ann still living with Hamlet and Hannah, and now married to Thomas Runciman. Further complicating Chloe Ann's genesis is that her surname is listed in several places as (formerly Clark).

Considering all of these surnames, searches for Hannah Clark and Hannah Tucker proved fruitless. Nothing leads me back to New York, where the census forms state Hannah was born, and where I know Hamlet and Lucy Ann were born. No kumquats for me. This leads me to suspect that Hamlet and Hannah served as surrogate parents for Chloe Ann, for over a decade, assisting in the care of her son, and creating a family, as it were.

One final morsel on the 1871 Ontario census states that Hannah was of German descent, but so far, that leads nowhere.

Yes, Hamlet married a woman named Hannah, but unless she gave birth at the age of 9, she is not Lucy Ann's mother. It was a convenience, and otherwise, best option to call her Lucy Ann's mother, which she may have served as for a while. I have not yet found documentation of their marriage, so I don't know when Hamlet and Hannah married, or if they indeed had any children, or whether or not Hamlet was definitely Lucy Ann's father.

I am unable to conclude the absolute identity of Hamlet Sales' parents, but he did serve as Lucy Ann's father, so technically, he is my G-G-G-G-Grandfather. In light of the evidence at hand, with all of the impossibilities eliminated, I like to think that at least my theory on Hiram Sales' timeline is correct; he had the sneaky constitution to live two consecutive lives, and that he is likely to be Hamlet's father, if not also Lucy Ann's. Given the options, I would prefer that Lucy Ann be the offspring of a scheming lothario rather than that of a child bride. But we cannot choose our past and must accept the reality that we will never know what really happened.

Lastly, concerning the Hannah Sales buried in Fishkill - I find no evidence to completely support or defeat the theory of her being Hamlet's mother. But I will keep looking. He had to have a mother, everyone does.

It is a strange sensation to want to know something you may never find out.

I would have not tunneled into this warren had it not been for my Aunt Barbara Brown paving the way. Now that I am in here, I find myself running into deeper caverns with greater mysteries to solve. Every turn leads someplace else. After a while you may go in circles or slam into walls, and sometimes, reach a conclusion that finally makes sense.

You may not find exactly what you are looking for, but there is always a great story in there when you dig deep enough.

Thanks again for reading.

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