CONRAD SHIMMELL of Pamelia, Jefferson County, NY, first appeared on the 1820 census of the county, and since their second youngest child was born in Minden in 1812, his arrival in Jefferson was between 1813 and 1820. He was born about 1770, and was on the 1799 tax list in Minden, Montgomery County, New York, with his wife, Maria, and descendants claim her maiden name was Countryman. The composition of his family is spelled out in his will, which is on the Jefferson Co., NY site, and the children are listed here. Whether he was born in New York is not known but in the 1820 census mentioned above, there are three members of his family who were foreigners and not naturalized. The census also tells us that Maria was living, by census records, at least until 1830 but no grave has been identified for her. Conrad died 5 April 1851 at 81 years, 7 months, 5 days from a urinary disease. At the time of his death he was living in the household of his son, Benjamin.
Children of CONRAD SHIMMELL and MARIA COUNTRYMAN who were named in his will:
1. NICHOLAS SHIMMEL bc 1792 - he was of Pamelia, Jeff. Co. and is buried in the Perch Lake Cemetery near his brother, Conrad, below. He died 17 March 1869 at 77 years, 10 months, 6 days.
2. RICHARD SHIMMEL b 1793 - early property owner in Jeff. Co. He moved to Nottawa, St. Joseph Co., Michigan eventually. He married SUSAN OGSBURY (Augsbury), who was born about 1802.
3. CONRAD SHIMMEL b 9 January 1794 in Minden, Montgomery Co., NY. He married MARGARET FIKES, born 14 April 1799, daughter of HENRY FIKES and MARGARET KECK who settled in Leray Township by 1831. Margaret died 9 November 1897 and is also buried in the Perch Lake Cemetery in Jeff. Co. Sadly, she died about two months after the story of her life appeared in the Gouverneur Free Press, which is repeated below.
4. ABRAHAM SHIMMEL b 17 September 1796 in Minden. He married Catherine ____. Children of Abram Shimmel and Catherine:
a. His daughter, FIDELIA of LeRay, Jeff. Co., married SPENCER PAYNE, son of WILLIAM PAYNE and EMILY HERRICK of LeRay. When Spencer was age 20, (bc 1839) he married on 29 Dec. 1858 at LeRay to Fidelia and they had two sons: Herman and Clarence. Phidelia died 22 October 1862 at 21 years, 2 months, 15 days, bc 1841 Spencer married second to MARY J. GARNER of Orleans in 1868 and they had one son, Elmer. Mary J. was born
about 1845.
b. Morgan b 1832
c. Ema b 1834
d. Fanny bc 1827 married ____Bauder. In 1865 she was a resident of Philadelphia, Jeff. Co.
and residing with her parents. Her brother, Morgan, was in the household as well
as Julia Bauder age 13, and Cecile age 10.
5. JOHN DIETRICH SHIMMEL b 1 April 1798 in Minden
6. JACOB SHIMMEL b 8 Jan. 1800 in Minden and he married MARGARET HOUSE.
7. MARY SHIMMEL b 30 Nov. 1801 in Minden and died in 1862 in Jeff. County. She married DANIEL AUGSBURY who was born 1801 and died 1886. Daniel came from the Mohawk Valley in 1812 and located in Pamelia on his father's farm. When his father died, he became owner of the farm. At about age 20 he married Mary, and they had three sons and four daughters: (Augsbury surname)
a. Angeline
b. John B. L.
c. Susan
d. Mary Ann
e. Frances.
f. Edmond K.
g. Irene E. O. - In 1863 she married James K. Miller and they located in Gouverneur,
St. Lawrence Co., and then moved to Kansas, where they remained for seven years.
Irene returned to Pamelia with her children, two sons and four daughters: Addela,
Alice, Mary, Almira, James and Royal. Addela married and lived with her mother
at Pamelia Four Corners.
8. RACHEL SHIMMEL b 16 June 1804 in Minden. She married IRA COLE, who was born in 1805 and they were residents of Dodge County, Wisconsin.
9. BETSEY (Elizabeth) SHIMMEL was born 7 August 1806 in Minden and married Myers Vincent, who was born about 1805. They became residents of St. Joseph County, Michigan. Betsey and Myers Vincent had a daughter, Emma Taylor, who was born 3 March 1843 and died 7 Feb. 1927 at age 83 and three others mentioned in their grandfather's will: HARRISON VINCENT, MADISON VINCENT, and MYERS VINCENT and also two others whose names were not known, Emma being one of those two. After Betsey died, Myers Vincent married on 22 February 1849 to MARGRATE PACKER b 1814.
Children of Myers Vincent and Betsey Shimmel: (Vincent surname)
a. William Harrison Vincent b 1824 d 1908; married Rachel Shimmel
b. James Madison Vincent b 1825 Watertown, NY; d 6 Aug. 1885 Cass Co. MI
married Elizabeth Augsbury b 1823 d 1888
c. Myers JudsonVincent b 30 Jan. 1830 in Jeff. Co., NY d 10 May 1915 in
Michigan. He married Julia Selinda Hathaway on 6 April 1858 in
Monroe Co., Michigan.
d. Martha C. Vincent b 20 Sept. 1840 and died 8 Dec. 1932 in Michigan She
married George Farwell b 1832 and d 1903. Their marriage was in 1862.
10. ISAAC SHIMMEL b 30 October 1809 in Minden. He moved to Nottawa, St. Joseph County, Michigan. He married Elizabeth___, b 1810 and died 1867 in Michigan. Isaac died 25 March 1882 in St. Joseph County, MI.
11. KATY (Catherine) SHIMMEL born 15 May 1812 in Minden; she married PLINEY UPHAM. She died 15 May 1892 in Sturbridge, MA at 80 years, a widow.
12. BENJAMIN SHIMMEL was born about 1815 and married Nancy____, who was born about 1813. He married Nancy___. Their children were: Nancy, Mary C. and Walter.
There is additional information about Conrad Shimmel, the third child above, and Margaret Fikes; the article below is a quote from the Gouverneur Free Press of September 15, 1897, page 3.
"Mrs. L. L. Mitchell recently visited her grandmother, MRS. MARGARET SHIMMELL who resides 14 miles this side of Watertown near Perch Lake. Mrs. Shimmell is familiarly known as Aunt Peggy. She will be 99 years old the 14th of next April and is still well preserved. She can converse on any subject as well as many others at 50 years, is able to walk with the aid of a cane and goes to the dining room and takes dinner and supper with the family. She was born in the town of Herkimer, of a large family two of whom, herself and brother are now living. Her brother, Jacob Fikes lives only a few miles from her home. He is ten years younger, is hale ad hearty and visits her often. She was married at the age of seventeen, was the mother of eight children; one son and seven daughters, four of whom are now living: MRS. DAVID PRICE of Gouverneur is 78 years old. Mrs. MELISSA HOUSE of Phoenix, Oswego Co., MRS. KATIE FIKES of Orleans, Jeff. Co., and MRS. LANY WALTS who is tenderly caring for her aged mother. She came with her husband to the town of Orleans soon after her marriage and settled on the farm where she now resides, lived in a log house until they had a clear deed of their farm of 120 acres. They now have some fine buildings on their place. She has linen sheeting, tablecloths, garments and bedding in woolen which she carded and spun and wove with her own hands. She has resided on the same farm 76 years. When she first settled there it was nearly all a wilderness from there to Watertown which was the nearest market place. Her husband, CONRAD SHIMMELL, died fifteen years ago at the advanced age of 87 years. Her many friends wish that she may live to celebrate her one hundredth birthday and longer if God wills it." (Note: the article spelled the surname as "Shinnell".)
From the information in the above article, I have pulled information on some of the children of Conrad and Margaret:
1. PHILLIP SHIMMEL born 1825, died 1882, buried in the Perch Lake Cemetery. His wife was named Elizabeth and was born 1826 and died in 1917. In 1870 they had a daughter, Eliza A. age 9.
2. MARGARET A. SHIMMEL (Mrs. David Price) of Gouverneur, born 1819. DAVID PRICE, her husband, was born in 1811 in New York and his father was born in Germany and his mother in New York. In 1880 at Gouverneur, their daughter, DIANA REED, age 24 and granddaughter ANNA REED, age 8, was living in their household. Two others, WM. SHINDLER, a nephew, age 19 and CAMERON PRICE, a grandson, age 11 were also in the household. On 23 August 1883, Margaret Shimmel and Lany Walts of Orleans deed to Addie Shindler and Martin Shindler, husband and wife. See: Jeff. Co., NY Deeds, Vol. 235, p. 335.
3. MELISSA SHIMMEL (Mrs. John House). In 1870 they were of Oswego Co., NY; he was bc 1815 and Malina/Melissa was born about 1822. Their daughter, Malena was age 17 in that year.
4. KATIE SHIMMEL (Mrs. Adam Fikes) in 1880 was living in LeRay. She was born about 1829 and Adam about 1830. Catherine died in 1912 in Jeff. Co. Son, Joseph, was in the household at age 19.
5. LANY SHIMMEL WALTS (Mrs. Nelson Walts) born August 1836. Her husband, NELSON WALTS, was b about 1829. In an indenture made 2 June 1881, between Conrad Shimmel and Margaret Shimmel, his wife, of the town of Orleans, Jeff. Co. of the first part, and LANY WALTS, the daughter of said Conrad and Margaret Shimmel of Orleans of the second part...for the sum of $5,500, do grant and convey a tract of land in the town of Orleans...from Perch Lake to Flat Rock...containing 78 acres of land being the same premises which were conveyed to the said Conrad Shimmel by John Lafarge and wife by deed dated the 28th of November 1836, and recorded in the Jeff. Co. Clerk's Office on the 13? day of December 1836 in Liber H. 2 of Deeds...another parcel containing 22 acres ...premises described in a deed from Phillip Shimmel and wife to Conrad Shimmel, dated Sept. 2, 1869 and recorded in the Clerks Office in Book 181 of Deeds, p. 286...
Conrad and Margaret Shimmel both signed with an X, their marks. The witnesses were: Wayland F. Ford, W. N. Walters and Hiram Timerman.
See: Volume 227, p. 78 of Land Records of Jeff. Co., NY.
On 23 August 1883, Margaret Shimmel and Lany Walts of Orleans deed to ADDIE SHINDLER and MARTIN SHINDLER, husband and wife, for $1, one acre of land...
See Volume 234, p. 335 of Land Records of Jeff. Co., NY.
6. PHEBE SHIMMEL as born about 1818 and died in 1892; she married SOLOMON PICKARD who came from the Mohawk Valley, at an early day and settled with his father in the town of LeRay. He was born in Springfield, Otsego Co. NY on 6 April 1812 and died on 31 Oct. 1875 in Pamelia, Jeff. Co., NY. From LeRay, Solomon moved in 1852 to Pamelia.
The couple had 10 children: (Pickard surname)
a. Willard W. (30 June 1839- 18 Nov.1871) buried Watertown, NY
b. Merick (Robert M.) b 24 Sept.1840 in Pamelia Twshp- 2 Dec. 1911 Herkimer, NY; married
Mary Covell c 1865
c. Lyman (22 June 1843 Orleans Township- 5 Aug. 1914 in Evans Mills)
d. Asa (18 Aug. 1849 in Orleans- 17 April 1935 in Champion); married 3 April 1870 in
Pamelia to Elizabeth Goodrich.
e. Amos A. (1854- 1 April 1924 Watertown, NY, buried in Carthage)
f. Margaret Susan (20 April 1842 in LeRay- 12 June 1938 in Theresa)
g. Mary Jeanette (Feb. 1846 in Orleans Township- 5 Nov. 1922 Watertown, NY. Married
William HIcks on 22 Dec. 1864 in Orleans.
h. Delilah (18 July 1847 in Antwerp Township-25 Dec.1912)
i. Phebe A. (17 Dec.1855- 19 Oct. 1860)
j. Ella J. (27 Feb. 1866-6 March 1923 in Philadelphia, buried Evans Mills Cem.) adopted?;
m 1)___Meeker and 2)David Henry Drake
When their son, LYMAN PICKARD, was 19 he enlisted in the Union Army and served until the close of the war. On 1 January 1871 he married ABBIE A., daughter of G. W. HILL of Clayton and they had one son, ORRIN S.
On October 28, 1856, at the residence of J. W. Shimmel, the marriage of John Pickard of LeRay and Betsey Shimmell of Pamelia was recorded. It is not clear what the relationship may have been between these two families.
The family of Margaret Fykes is included on this site under Pioneer Henry Fikes Family.
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