Three Rivers
Hudson~Mohawk~Schoharie
History From America's Most Famous Valleys

Enigma of Charles P[eebles] House [Howes] (7/10/1836-5/31/1894)

Compiled and Updated by Larry House June 2001

Enigma of Charles P[eoble] House [Howes] (7/10/1836-5/31/1894)

He was born in Troy, N.Y., the son of George House and Louisa Peoble (1800-5/20/1842), daughter of Charles and Elizabeth Peoble. The following is all I know about this couple. In the Troy City Directories, George House was a carpenter who in 1833 lived at the corner of 3rd and Division and in 1834 lived at 31 State. From the same directories, in 1837 Louisa House was listed as a seamstress living at 113 River and in 1839 Mrs. Louisa House lived at 153 3rd. Louisa died in Duanesburgh and is buried in the Duanesburgh Village Cemetery. Her inscription reads "In memory of our dear Mother Louisa, dau of the late Charles and Elizabeth Peoble d at Duanesburgh May 20, 1842, age 42". For George there are a couple of possibilities. The 1830 Census lists a George House living in the Town of Watervliet with the following listing: male 1-5 years old to under 10, and 1-over 30 and under 40; female 1-under 5 years old and 1-over 30 and under 40. The 1850 census for the Town of Warren (8/3/1850) (Herkimer County) lists;
Name / Age / M or F / Occupation / Born
George (middle initial)(?) House 45 male shoemaker NY
Sarah (wife) 36 female NY
Lucy Ann 17 female NY
Charles 14 male NY
Sarah 13 female NY
Franklin 9 male NY
Harvey 7 male NY
George 3 male NY
Charlotte 18 female NY

Note: Charles (in italics) is listed as 14 years old. This could fit into the framework of when Charles P. was born.

There was a George House, 1820 Census, in the Town of Warren, who listed his occupation as in agriculture. There also was a George N. House, 1840 Census, in the Town of Columbia (Herkimer County) who was listed as having an occupation as a merchant and trader. The complete listing is: male 2-under 5 years of age and 1-over 30 and under 40; female 3-over 5 years of age and under 10, 1-over 10 and under 15 and 1-over 20 and under 30. There also was a George House in the 1850 Census in the Town of Columbia (which I took to be the George House listed in the 1840 Census). One last item, which may be useful in the discussion of Charles P., is the placement of towns in Montgomery and Herkimer Counties. West of the Town of Canajoharie (Montgomery) was the following towns, in order, Minden, Warren (Herkimer) and Columbia. The following census listings are taken from the records of the Herkimer County Historical Society:
1855 Town of Warren / age / occupation # of years in town
House George N. 49 male husband shoemaker 24
Sarah 36 female wife 24
Franklin 13 male son 13
Hreland(sic)H 11 male son 11

1865 Town of Warren / age / occupation
House George N. 59 male husband laborer
Sarah 55 female wife
Charles 25 male son laborer
Clarrinda (sic) 27 female daughter
Leland H. 22 male son laborer
In the 1870 census there is a George N. House who lives in Otsego Co., Town of Hartwick. But his wife is listed as Sarah (?) (hard to read). They're younger then the ages from the previously mentioned censuses (he 55 and she 48). The following George House follows the 1850 census' ages though.
1870 census Town of Warren (7/6/1870)
age / occupation / value of real estate / personal estate
House George W. 65 farmer $3,000 $200
Sarah 59 keeping house
Clarinda 29
Charles A. 26 farm laborer

There was listed, as part of the 12th Regt. Albany County Militia (Half Moon and Ballston Districts), a Hugh Peoples (a derivative of Peebles) as Quarter Master. In the 1800 census, a Hugh Peoples is listed in the Town of Florida, Montgomery Co. The census listing shows 3 white males under 10, 1 white male from 10 to under 16, 1 white male 26 to under 45 (himself), 2 white females under 10, 1 white female 10 to under 16 and 1 white female 26 to under 45 (I assume his wife). He doesn't seem to appear in any more census indexes.

[The following is based on conjecture]
Sometime after the birth of Sarah (~1837), George [N.] House left his wife, Louisa Peoble House, and married Sarah ----. Their first child was Franklin House born ~1841. Louisa House stayed in Troy at least until 1839 per the city directory. Sometime later she moved to Duanesburgh, died there and was buried in the Duanesburgh Village Cemetery. At some point her children, not husband, had a headstone placed for her [note the inscription states "dear Mother" and there is no mention of a husband]. After Charles reached the age of majority-21, he must have decided to slightly change the spelling of his last name to something that kept the same general pronunciation hence Howes. He continued to use this spelling until after he was notified of his father's death. Neither George W. nor George N. is listed in the 1880 index kept by the Herkimer County Historical Society. The only person listed in the 1850 census that would be about the right age, as per the 1850 census, is a Charles listed, in the 1880 census list, as being 42 years old in the Town of Winfield. Could this be the reason that after 1880 Charles Howes became and remained Charles House? I also think that there is another indication of when the split occurred, Charles named 2 of his daughters after 2 of his sisters-Charlotte and Sarah. It will have to be pointed out though that Charles didn't use the name Lucy Ann but did use a feminine version of George for his daughter Georgiana.

Charles P. House used the name Charles Howes when he enlisted in the Civil War. My father related that there was another House in the regiment who my Great Grandfather didn't like and that's why he used Howes. Charles Howes enlisted, in Albany, by Capt. W.J. Temple, in Company G, 17th Regt U.S. regular infantry on 4/8/1861, as he has indicated in his pension application (from the National Archives) and GAR matters or 4/8/1862 as was indicated in his military records (from the National Archives). He was a member of the GAR Post No.5 "Lewis Benedict". He was given a discharge on 3/27/1863 for disability [chronic diarrhea, etc.] at Albany, N.Y. He was married, on 3/29/1864, to Elizabeth Maslin by Rev B. van Zandt, pastor of the Reformed (Dutch) Church, Canajoharie, N.Y. He still used the name Charles Howes even when living in Albany as listed in the various Albany City Directories from 1865 until 1880. The headstone, in the Albany Rural Cemetery, says House. The obituary also says House. His death certificate indicates Charles P. Howes.

Charles P. House was in Albany about 1859. Amos Free, in a General Affidavit dated 2/7/1891, filed as part of the Civil War pension record, indicated that he knew Charles Howes for the past 32 years. In a General Affidavit dated 11/21/1895, his widow, Elizabeth Howes indicated that she had been acquainted with Charles Howes for 5 years prior to their marriage. This would also indicate circa 1859 that he was living somewhere near Canajoharie in order to have gotten the attention of Elizabeth Maslin. Continuing in this vein, in Otsego County, in the Town of Springfield (across the county line from the Towns of Stark and Warren), in the 1860 census (7/10/1860), is listed a Charles Howes, age 25, a laborer enumerated with the family of O.N. Shipman-a farmer.

His children were named (the ones who lived); Charlotte, Georgiana, Louisa M., William J., Sarah E., Charles Henry and there was one listing of an "E.P." who lived at the same address in 1885. I don't know if "E.P." was a male or female. If female, I wonder if her name was Elizabeth Peoble.

Sources
Albany City Directories-various years
1800, 1820, 1830, 1840, 1850, 1855, 1865 and 1870 Censuses
Howes, Charles-military record and pension record (National Archives)
Records of Albany Rural Cemetery, Menands, N.Y. [Lot 7, Section 49]
Records of the Herkimer County Historical Society
Schenectady County Historical Society, The Cemeteries of Duanesburg and Princetown, N.Y.,
pp, 2002 [this is a revised and enlarged edition of Clarence Foote's "A Memorial Census
of Duanesburgh", pp, 1935]
Troy City Directories-1833, 1834, 1837 and 1839.