Cynthia Swan & Potter Gage

Cynthia Swan and Potter Gage are my 4th great grandparents.  I first saw their names in a Gage genealogy that my great grandparents had.  I think that they got the book in the late 1960's and as a child, the book drew me in to doing my first genealogical pursuit through the pages of a book.

Cynthia Swan Gage's gravestone - Knox Cemetery, Knox, NY

Cynthia Swan was born 26 July 1801 in Knox, Albany Co., NY.  She was the daughter of Nathaniel Swan and Harriet Shutter.  Nathaniel Swan was born in Stonington, New London Co., CT and probably came to the New York area sometime before 1800 as that was when he married Harriet Shutter.   Since his father, Jesse Swan died in 1803 in Berne, Albany Co., NY - I think that I can make the assumption that they moved to New York sometime after 1787.  I know that my Gallup family immigrated from Connecticut about the same time, so it leads me to believe that they probably immigrated around the same time.  On the other hand, Harriet Shutter was born about 1779 in New York.  She was the daughter of Abraham Shutter and Geetruy or Catharina Salsbury.  Those names suggest a Dutch ancestry which is not unexpected.  So, like most of my New York ancestry...there is a mix of those originally from New England and Dutch and German.

Potter Gage's gravestone - Knox Cemetery, Knox, NY

Potter Gage was born 25 Dec 1798 in Knox, Albany Co., NY.  He was the son of William Gage and Ruth Macomber.   William Gage was born in Duanesburg, Schenectady Co., NY and he was the first generation of the Gage's who had left Dutchess Co., NY and perhaps their Quaker heritage.  The story is that there was a falling out in the family and some supported the Tories during the Revolutionary War and other supported the colonists...and this is why the name change occurred.  There are some who added an "i" in their name so the spelling was changed to Gaige.  Potter's mother, Ruth Macomber, was born 9 Oct 1773 in Dutchess Co., NY as the daughter of John Macomber and Mary Brownell Davol.  Both of Ruth's parents came from Massachusetts and both maternal and paternal lines had been in New England for multiple generations.  Ruth was one of 16 children who were born from 1760 to 1787.

Cynthia Swan and Potter Gage married about 1822 in Knox, Albany Co., NY.  She and Potter Gage were the parents of eleven children from 1823 to 1840, including a set of twins, one of whom was my 3rd great grandfather.  Cynthia and Potter were the first of their families to have been born, married and lived their lives in Knox, NY.  Cynthia died at the age of 62.  Five years later, Potter Gage married Elizabeth Potter (name similarity is kind of ironic) and Potter lived to the age of 84 when he died on 16 Mar 1883 in Knox, Albany Co., NY.

My Great grandfather, Ora Silas Gage left New York state in 1908 at the age of 15 when his parents died within days of each other.  During the entire of the 19th century, the Gage family lived in Knox, Albany Co., NY.

Here is a list of the family of Cynthia Swan and Potter Gage:

• Emily Gage b. 4 Jun 1823 d. 17 Nov 1893 m. Peter Swan
• Charles Gaige b. 8 Dec 1824 d. 7 Jul 1914 m. Hannah M. Tompkins
• Gilbert Gage b. 8 Dec 1824 d. 8 Aug 1894 m. Phoebe Allen
• Harriet Gage b. 12 Jan 1826 d. 12 Aug 1874 m. Jacob Auchenpaugh
• Mary Ann Gage b. 15 Apr 1830 d. aft 1910 m. William Van Allen
• Susan Gage b. 14 Feb 1832 d. 24 Dec 1914 m. Edward M VanAuken
• Ezra Minor Gage b. 18 Apr 1833 d. 26 Mar 1823 m. Nancy Van Auken
• Jane A Gage b. 27 Jun 1834 aft 1900 m. John E Soley
• Hiram Potter Gage b. 25 Aug 1835 d. 10 Sep 1894 m. Martha Bronk
• William Gage b. 19 Sep 1837 d. 8 Mar 1910 m.. Julia Davis
• Juliette Gage b. 28 Aug 1840 d. 18 Dec 1876 unmarried

Gage Trio - Potter and Cynthia's gravestone with their unmarried daughter, Juliette