THE SWEET FAMILY OF LEEDS COUNTY

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THE SWEET FAMILY OF LEEDS COUNTY

This history of the Sweet family was prepared from information gathered
from a number of sources - census records, land records, church records,
newspapers, unpublished family histories and family lore. The information is
incomplete and I am aware that there may be errors. Any comments, corrections
or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
In 1902 a short history of the family of John and Alpha Sweet appeared in
The Owl, a genealogical magazine published in Kewaunee, Wisconsin. The
information which had been provided by Senator Edmund Sweet of Menno, South
Dakota, great grandson of John and Alpha, does not always agree with information
handed down by members of the Sweet family in Leeds County.
According to Senator Sweet's account, John Sweet lived in Oswego County,
New York where all his children were born. Family lore gave the origin of the
Sweet family as Wales; bone-setting was also said to be a tradition in the
family. The article suggests that John Sweet served in the Revolutionary War,
but provides no details.
Senator Sweet relates that John Sweet died in Oswego County and shortly
thereafter his wife moved the family to Furnace Falls (Lyndhurst), Leeds County
"in order to have some of the older sons who were there assist in supporting the
family". It is possible to infer from this that the Sweet men were employed at
the Iron Works. However, the 1807 census for the Rear of Leeds lists John
Sweet's family as follows:
John Sweet
Alpheus do
Sintha
Allen
Jerod
Anna
Lydia
Eli
Frederic
William
Abigail [Abijah?]
One other son, Hiram, was born in 1809 and one census lists Clarissa, but she
has not been traced; the names correspond with Senator Sweet's recollection.
John Sweet died April 5, 1813, aged 46 year, 18 days. Alpha Sweet survived
another forty years, dying May 4, 1853, aged 86 years, 7 months and 10 days.
They are buried in the Baptist Cemetery in the Rear of Leeds.
Senator Sweet claimed that two of the sons, Allen and Jared remained in
Oswego County, but this is definitely not true; both sons appear in the 1807
census of Leeds Rear. Allen Sweet (b.1790) was a farmer, speculator and
entrepreneur. During the War of 1812 he was a sergeant in the 2nd Flank Company
of the Leeds Militia and served at Gananoque; prominent in local politics, he
represented the area at the Gourlay meeting in 1818. In later years he was
appointed a justice of the peace; he was also an active Methodist and served as
a lay preacher for many years.
Allen Sweet (1790 – 1864) married in 1810 to Rachel Knapp who subsequently died;
information provided by Chris Kenney states that there was a daughter, Rachel.
Allen Sweet remarried to Desire Sly (1793 - 1868) and they settled on lot 19,
Concession X, Leeds now known as Sweet's Corners; there they raised a family of
five:
Ira m Sibel Merrill
Amos Tibbet m Phoebe Dewolf
Electa m Asa Wing
Hester Ann m Joseph Mainse
Parthena m Skyler(Schuyler) Lake
Allen Sweet died January 3, 1864 and Desire died October 10, 1868; they are
buried at the Baptist Cemetery in the Rear of Leeds. (See below for more on
this family)
Jared Lewis Sweet (son of John and Alpha Sweet) lived in Haldimand Township,
Northumberland County and may have been engaged in the timber trade; that was
his place of residence on April 2, 1816, when he and Ziba Marcus Phillips leased
Lot 5, Concession VIII, Leeds.
Jared Sweet is not listed in the Haldimand Township census for 1861, but
the following are listed:
Sweet, Hiram 33 years W. Methodist
Samantha 30
George 12
Gerard 11
J. A. 9
M. E. 5
Johnathan 3
William 1
Sweet, John 45
Ruth 43
Polly 18
Mary? 16
Nathan 12
Angeline 8
Caroline 13
Frederick 7
Emma 5
Sephronia 3
In 1871 the census of Haldimand Township, Northumberland County lists:
Sweet, Hiram 36 years farmer W. Methodist
George 21
Jared 19
Alvy 17
Jonathan 12
Albert 8
Emmeline 14
Levy 6
Adda 4
Sweet, Jared 80 minister E. Methodist
Martha 70
The census reports that Samantha Sweet had died of dropsy in April 1870 at the
age of 35 years.
Eli T. Sweet (son of John and Alpha Sweet) was born in Oswego County, New York
May 10, 1796 and married Emma Ann Sly (born April 9, 1796) in 1817. They had
seven children:
Lydia m Robert Nuttle(Nuttall)
Elijah m Jane Chapman
Arnold Lewis m Eliza Pierson
Hannah m Myron Ripley
Miron m Kate Thorngate
Permilla m George Powers
Hiram m Aramantha Powers
In 1844 Eli T. Sweet and all his family with the exception of his
daughter, Lydia and her husband, Robert Nuttall, emigrated from
Leeds County to Wisconsin. Emma Ann Sweet died at Portland,
Wisconsin on November 11, 1861; no date is given for the death of
Eli T. Sweet. (See below for more information on this family.)
Anna Sweet (1795 – 1856) married Hiel Sliter (1795 – 1890), son of
Nicholas and Polly Sliter. The Sliter family had moved to Leeds County in 1803
where Nicholas was employed as a charcoal burner at the Iron Works at Furnace
Falls (Lyndhurst). One of seven children, Hiel Sliter was a self educated man;
he wrote a short memoir in 1858 which provides valuable insight into
early pioneer life in the area. Hiel and Anna were married in November 1815;
they settled on Lot 21, Concession X, Leeds, where they raised a family of ten:
Washington Lee m Charlotte Umphrey
Alzina m Christopher Allyn
Spencer Percival m Amelia ?
Emily Minerva m Archibald Imeson, M.D.
Alonzo m Amanda
Ernestus Chester m a. Evaline Merill
b. Jemima Ripley
Cynthia d. 1821 aged 10 mos
Joel d. 182? aged 2 mos
Pamelia d. 1825 aged 9 yrs
Estella Ophelia (1837 - 1858)
Hiel Sliter was born January 1, 1795 and died March 27, 1890; his
wife Anna died April 4, 1856. They are buried in the Baptist
Cemetery in the Rear of Leeds. (See below for more
information on this family)
Little is known about John Frederick Sweet; he married and lived in South Crosby
where he appeared on the 1841 census with his wife and five children. John
Frederick Sweet and family migrated to Wisconsin in the 1840s.
William Sweet left home when he was young and was never heard from afterwards.
Abijah Sweet (1802-1809) married Maria Rhodes (1804-1888) and
they lived in South Crosby until 1844 when they migrated to Wisconsin with
other family members. They had at least seven children:
Nicholas (1833 - 1918) m Mary Chaffee
Mahitable (1835 - 1862) m Nathan Hood
Sylvester (1838 - 1917) m Achsa Perry
Alby (1840 - 1868)
John (1845 - 1918) m Helen
George (1850 - 1930)
Scott (1854 - 1917)
Hiram N. Sweet (1809-1903) married Hannah ? (1810-1888). The family appeared in
the 1871 census of Bastard Twp.; Hiram was a carpenter and his daughter, Luva
was a schoolteacher. Hiram and his wife are buried at the Baptist Burying
Ground in the Rear of Leeds along with four of their children. Their known
family were:
Marshall Norton (1834 - 1843)
Zebulon Jesse (1837 - 1839)
Luva J. (1841 - ?)
Malissa (1841 - 1843)
John Frederick (1844 - 1845)
Murat (1847 - ? ) m Clarissa Ophelia Wood
Julia (1851 - ? )
Hiram Sweet, his wife Hannah and four of their children are buried at the
Baptist Cemetery in Leeds Rear.
Senator Sweet's account states Cynthia Sweet married Knapp McKittrick and
Lydia Sweet married a man named Davis. At present there is no information
regarding the McKittricks and Davises. Abijah Sweet, John Frederick Sweet,
Lydia Davis and their families accompanied their brother, Eli to Wisconsin in
1844.
THE FAMILY OF ALLEN AND DESIRE SWEET
Allen Sweet and Desire Sly had five children who survived to adulthood:
Ira Sweet, the oldest child of Allen and Desire Sweet, was born
May 20, 1820 and died January 16, 1893. He married Sibel Merrill
who was born in the U.S.A. May 20, 1819 and died February 20,
1887. In 1851 the family was living on lot 20, Concession VIII,
Leeds. Ira and Sibel were Episcopal Methodists and are buried in
the Halladay Cemetery, Elgin. Their children were:
Allen Miner (1842 - ?) disappeared to U. S. A.
Molly Philomela (1843 - ?) m Robert McCormack
Merrill C.(1847 - 1930) m Mary Editha (Lydydce)
Hicock
Edna S. (1848 - 1934) unmarried, buried Halladay
Cemetery
Ira /Iremius (1850 - ?) moved to Grand Rapids,
Michigan
Melvin S. (1854 - 1910) m Selora Wing
Electa (1857 - 1857) buried Halladay Cemetery
Ida S. (1858 - 1930) buried Halladay Cemetery
Eva Alpha (1861 - 1945) m John Redmond Wiltse (1859 - 1958)
(See below for more information on the family of Ira Sweet)
Amos Tibbits Sweet, second child of Allen and Desire Sweet, was
born in 1822 and died October 20, 1894. He married Phebe Dewolf
who was five or six years his senior. She died January 26, 1903
and they are both buried at the Baptist Burying Ground in the
Rear of Leeds along with two of their children, Clarissa (1856 -
1927) and William (1858 - 1863). Their third child, Allen Healy
Sweet, married Alice Hicock and raised a family of five.
Amos T. Sweet was living on Lot 13, Concession IX, Leeds Twp. in 1851;
records for the District of Johnstown show that in 1848 he was paid 10s
as a constable for his services to a coroner's jury in disinterring a body.
Allen and Desire's third child was Electa (1824 - 1851) who
married Asa Wing (1822 - 1891); she died at the age of 27 years
leaving him with two young daughters, Rachel and Rosanna, who
were mentioned in the will of their grandfather, Allen Sweet.
Asa Wing remarried to Maria Botsford; Wing and his family are
buried at the Baptist Burying Ground.
Hester Ann, the fourth child of Allen and Desire Sweet, was
born November 21, 1833. She was one of the earliest female
school teachers in the area. On October 10, 1859 she married
Joseph Mainse (born November 28, 1831) and they had three
children:
Electa Jane m Philip Robeson
Allen Sweet m Parthena Snider
Edward Topping m Susan Berry
On April 23, 1869 Joseph Mainse was killed in a fall on their
farm; Hester lived another thirty years until March 3, 1899.
They are buried at the Halladay Cemetery in Elgin.
The youngest of Allen and Desire's children was Parthena, born
in 1837 when her mother was 44 years old. She married
Schuyler(Skyler) Shibley Lake (born 1841), a carpenter from
Ernestown and they lived in the Lyndhurst area. They had no
children, but adopted several Home children. The 1891 census
lists three adopted children:
Emma age 21 years
Hiram Thompson age 15 years, born Scotland
Nellie McGeachy age 5 years, born Scotland
Parthena Lake died in 1921; Schuyler survived another six years.
They are buried at the Olivet Cemetery with their daughter,
Nellie (1885 - 1953).
THE FAMILY OF HIEL AND ANNA SLITER
Washington Lee Sliter, eldest son of Hiel and Anna was born in
1817; on December 28, 1848 he married Charlotte, daughter of
Henry and Charlotte Umphrey. The marriage was performed by Peter
Schofield of the Baptist Church of Christ and was witnessed by
Arden Kilborn and Amos Tibbitt [Sweet]. Bride, groom and witnesses were
all residing in Leeds Township at the time.
In the census of 1861 the family was enumerated in the household
of Henry Umphrey, but gave their residence as Escott:
NAME AGE
Washington Sliter 44
Charlotte " 33
Henry H. " 12
Anna M. " 9
Henrietta W. " 8
Malcolm W. " 6
Edwin E. " 1
Hiel and Anna's second surviving child, Alzina, was born in
1822. She married Christopher Allyn, an American who settled in Beverley
(Delta) and practiced the trade of stonecutter. Many of the early are the
marble tombstones in area cemeteries were manufactured in his shop. Christopher
and Alzina had at least five children:
Sherman
Pamela died February 6, 1848, aged 3 mos, 7 dys
Anna
Lester N. m Hannah Ripley
Clara L.
Christopher and Alzina Allyn are buried in the Baptist Cemetery
at Philipsville.
Third in Hiel and Anna's family was Spencer Percival Sliter who
married Amelia ??. They lived in in Leeds Township and later in
Morton. The census of 1861 lists:
NAME AGE
Percival Sliter 37
Amelia " 37
Norman H. 13
Emma Maria 11
Eugenia 9
Sarah Belle 1
Archibald E.
Other children were born later including a son, Robert Hiel.
Emma Maria Sliter married Henry H. Turner, a native of Scotland,
who taught school in Lyndhurst; since 1987 their great grandson,
Dr. Larry Christianson, has been researching the Sliter family.
Hiel and Anna's second daughter was Emily Minerva who married
Dr. Archibald Imeson June 16, 1857. Emily was a schoolteacher
but, little more is known of this family; Dr. Imeson is buried at
Philipsville.
Alonzo Sliter was the fifth surviving child; he married Amanda
Phillips? Alonzo taught school in the area, but he and his wife
lived in Brockville in later years. It is not known whether they
had any family. Alonzo died February 2, 1894 aged 64 years;
Amanda died November 20, 1901 aged 70 years. Both are buried in
Oakland Cemetery, Brockville.
The youngest of Hiel and Anna's children was Ernestus Chester
Sliter, born in 1834. He married Evaline Merrill and settled in
Athens where they had at least one child, Mary Alzina, born
February 13, 1870. Evaline died in 1881 at the age of 50 years
and Ernestus remarried to Jemima Ripley who died in 1905 in her
69th year; Ernestus survived until 1910; he and his two wives are
buried in the Halladay Cemetery, Elgin.
THE FAMILY OF ELI AND EMMA SWEET
Senator Sweet's record of the family of Eli Taylor Sweet and Emma
Ann Sly published in 1902 is presented here with additional
information.
Lydia Sweet was born June 17, 1818; on July 29, 1839 she was
married to Robert Nuttall, (born in 1817 in England) by Peter
Schofield of the Baptist Church of Christ. Witnesses were Elijah
Sweet and W. L. Sliter. They lived on Lot 18, Concession IX
where Robert farmed and ran a tavern. They had nine children:
Anna Matilda (b. 1840/1/23) m Robert Tye
Charlotte Melinda (b. 1842/1/13)
Eli John (b. 1843/12/23)
Emma I. (b. 1845?)
George Edwin (b. 1847?)
Allen E. (b. 1849?)
William L. (b. 1853?)
Robert E. (b. 1855?)
Hannah E. (b. 1857?) m Joseph N. Galway
Lydia died in 1901 and Robert in 1905; they are buried at Olivet
Cemetery.
The remaining children of Eli and Emma Sweet moved with their
parents to Wisconsin in 1844; they were:
Elijah, born April 7, 1820; married in 1841 to Jane Chapman.
He died at Reedsburg, Wisconsin, in 1895; Eli and Jane had five
children: Eli, Mary, Alice, William and Edward.
Arnold Lewis, born January 23, 1822; married July 16, 1848 to
Eliza Pearson. He died at Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, August 3,
1900; Lewis and Eliza's children were Edmund Theodore, Anna and
Charles Edwin. Edmund Theodore (b. 1849/4/30) married Julia
Harris and eventually settled in Menno, S. D. where he was a
stockman and state senator. He and his wife had four children:
Oliver, Edmund, Julia, Jessie (died age 7 months). Anna Sweet
(b. 1851/7/16) married Alfred Cobb; they lived in Sun Prairie, WI
and had one son, Ollie. Charles E. Sweet (b. 1853/1/12) married
Ella Hecker and remained on the homestead at Sun Prairie where
they raised three children: Edmund, Julia, Josie.
Hannah, born November 6, 1823; married Myron Ripley in 1846;
lived near Sun Prairie, Wisconsin where she died December 6,
1856. Their children were Esther, Permilia and Lydia.
Miron, born November 29, 1826; married Kate Thorngate in 1856.
They had five children: Francis, George, Arthur, Nettie and
Albert; Miron and Kate moved to Warner, S. D., where they were
living in 1902.
Permilia, born January 14, 1833; married George Powers and in
1902 they were living in Devil's Lake, N. D. Their two children
were Hannah and Lewis.
Hiram, born February 21, 1834; married Aramantha Powers in
1850. In 1902 they were living in Marshall, Wisconsin; their
three children were Elmer, Alver and Mary.
THE FAMILY OF IRA SWEET AND SIBEL MERRILL
Ira Sweet and Sibel Merrill had eight children; of these,
Electa died before her first birthday and Edna and Ida never
married. The remaining children were:
Allen Miner (b. 1841?) disappeared to the United States never
to be heard from again; the following household is enumerated in the 1880 census
for Beaver, Newaygo County, Michigan:
Allen SWEET - Male Birth: <1838> CAN
Nansy SWEET - Wife Gender: Female Birth: <1838> CAN
Charles SWEET - Son Gender: Male Birth: <1872> MI
Sarah REDDING - MotherL Gender: Female Birth: <1791> CAN
Molly Philomela (b. 1842?), married Robert McCormack; no further
information at this time;
Merrill C. Sweet (1847 – 1930), married Mary Editha Hicock
(1846 - 1921); They had six children:
Miner (1872 - 1927) m Mary Smith (1872 - )
Bertha (1871 - 1938) m Edwin Putnam (1871 - 1941)
Hattie (1875 - 1970) m Pockrage Mustard (1871 - 1959)
Austin (1878 - 1934) m Estella Gertrude Brown
(1880 - 1932)
Mary (1882 - 1886)
Edith (1885 - 1886)
Ira/ Iremius Sweet, born 1850; moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan;
there has been no contact with this family since they left Leeds
County.
Melvin S. Sweet(1854 - 1910) married Selora Wing (1856 -
1919); they lived at Sweet's Corner and had four children:
Celia (1879 - 1939) m Frank Truman Wiltse
Gordon(1882-1938) m Geneva Bell(1881-1939)
Raymond Wing(1893-1977) m Zella Slack(1891-1975)
Carl m Iva Kenny(
Zella(1902 – 1957) m Clarence Kenny(1900 – 1973)
Eva Alpha (1861 - 1945) married John Redmond Wiltse (1859 – 1958), a
cheesemaker from Plum Hollow; they had three children:
Clifford Stanley (1887 – 1966)
Lena Rebecca (1893 – 1966)
Charles Artemus (1901 – 1984) m Eva Laura Cowles
Keith Sly

November 2004

Bow this has me reeling because I can't find any paper trail that is completely reliable so far and I been working on and off since 1986. My Aunt from my Mothers side helped me because she does this kind of research and she told me that there is a problem because Oswago, New Youk's City hall burned down with all the records.

Also I joined the Sweet Family DNA Project a few years ago. I found out our line is not part of the main lineage that had confirmed paper trail to Ireland. This leads me to believe that prior to John and Alpha or during Johns life that a name changed occurred; Although my DNA shows link to Ireland, England, France and Germany. DNA can't lie and all the Sweets in the main Sweet study do not match with several claims but there are several other Sweet lines with different spellings of the name. Also besides their group spellings There are clusters of DNA samples that do not confirm they actually are Sweets. I found that there are  at the 12 Marker - Exact Match 29 Match(es) and when I check the maps I find that the names are different and that they are in Ireland, England and France. So my conclusion is We are at an end unless some family member knows where they can get documents to prove this paper trail that has been stopped by fire in a burnt down court house in Oswago, New York.

 

I am still inputting data in my family tree program and making changes as I get them.

I will continue to scour everywhere.