Sepia Saturday 560. Twelfth in a series on my maternal German ancestors, the Stoutners, of Gloversville, Fulton Co., N.Y.
When the 1875 New York State census was enumerated, there were two new additions to the blended family of my maternal great-great grandparents Andrew and Christina (Albeitz) Stoutner of Gloversville, Fulton County, New York.
Their first surviving child together — John H. Stoutner (b. 1869) — appeared in the 1870 U.S. census, along with the family’s two older children William and Mary E. Stoutner from Andrew’s second marriage.
By 1875, two more children had been born to the couple — a daughter Gertrude (b. 1871) and a son Andrew “Pete” Jr. (b. 1874). Pete is my great grandfather. And by 1880, the younger children were all in school, as shown in the table below.
| Family of Andrew and Christina (Albeitz) Stoutner in the 1875 NYS[1]FamilySearch requires free login to view records. and 1880 U.S.[2]Ibid.censuses of Johnstown/Gloversville, Fulton Co., N.Y. – Source: FamilySearch | ||||
| Name | Age in 1875 | Job/Details 1875 | Age in 1880 | Job/Details 1880 |
| Andrew Stoutner | 42 | Brick Mfg.; Born in Germany; Naturalized; Brick house worth $2,000 | 47 | Brick Mfg.; Born in Germany |
| Christina Stoutner | 30 | Born in Germany | 35 | Keeping House; Born in Germany |
| William Stoutner | 14 | Works in brick yard; Unemployed for 6 mos. | 18 | Brick Maker |
| Mary E. Stoutner | 11 | — | 16 | — |
| John Stoutner | 6 | — | 10 | At school |
| Gertrude Stoutner | 3 yrs. 11 mos. | — | 8 | At school |
| Andrew Stoutner Jr. | 9 mos. | — | 5 | At school |
A family of teens and toddlers
During these years, the Stoutner household was a mix of teens and toddlers — with William and Mary becoming young adults while their younger siblings were at play and at school. Undoubtedly a busy and boisterous home with such a wide age spread among the children.
Andrew Sr. followed brick making tradition by bringing his oldest son William into the business during his teens — perhaps only on a part-time basis in 1875, since the census indicates that at age 14 he was unemployed for 6 months that year. By 1880, William, 18, had graduated to Brick Maker.
Nor was this uncommon in other upstate New York industries at the time — as I discovered while researching my dad’s Uncle Albert, who began work in an Adirondack saw mill at age 15. He went on to a career in lumber.
The dawn of photography
I dearly wish that photography had been widespread enough for there to be a group shot of the Stoutner family during this period. Yet despite advances during the U.S. Civil War, most photos were take in studios — or by traveling professionals who might photograph a family home for a fee.
Fortunately, my Stoutner ancestors seem to have taken to photography — perhaps to send photos back home — because I have inherited a number of studio shots, including one of my great grandfather Pete (above) as a child and another of his older half-sister Mary (below) taken around the same time.
Alas, I have no photos of the other Stoutner children in their youth. Nevertheless, these two studio portraits of Pete and Mary amply illustrate the age and maturity range among the Stoutner siblings toward the end of the 19th Century.
Up next: Some technical work on Molly’s Canopy will require a few weeks off, but blogging should resume by the end of March — or early April for the A to Z Challenge 2021. Please stop back! Meanwhile, please visit the blogs of this week’s other Sepia Saturday participants here.
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