|
Samuel Cain (born c. 1831, New Jersey) does not turn up in the 1870 United
States census, not anywhere in the country; nor does Evaline Cain (born c.
1841, New Jersey). A logical inference is that this Evaline was widowed
(perhaps her sailor husband was lost at sea), and that she is the same Evie
Sharrock who married William Henry Smith of Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey,
on 9 February 1868. If so, then it is strong evidence that the family of
John M. Sharrick (born 1810, New York) had ties to Peekskill, Westchester,
New York, because Evie Sharrock’s marriage record says she was born there.
Only two other persons in this family turn up in the records of the Mormon
website: (1) Cordelia Sharrock was married on 22 February 1869 to David Lee
in Atlantic County, New Jersey. Their birth dates are not given and their
parents are not identified. (2) William Sharrick and his wife Mary are
identified as the parents of William J. Sharrick, born on 16 September 1875
at English Creek, Atlantic, New Jersey, and of Isabell Sharrick, born on
9 March 1873 at Catawba, Atlantic, New Jersey.
William and Mary Sharrock appear in the 1870 census as a married couple with
no children. William is identified as a seaman.
1870 CENSUS, EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP, ATLANTIC COUNTY, NEW JERSEY
LAST NAME FIRST NAME AGE SEX RACE OCCUP. BIRTHPLACE
Sharrock William 27 M W Seaman NJ
Sharrock Mary 26 F W NJ
What happened to the rest of the Sharrock family is a mystery. Already in
the census records and the cemetery records we have seen eight spellings of
the family name: Sharrock, Scharrack, Sherick, Sherrick, Shorrock, Shorrack,
Sharrick, and Shark. But the only other persons listed in the 1870 census
for anywhere in New Jersey, under any of these spellings, are all in
Paterson, Passaic, New Jersey, 120 miles north of Egg Harbor; almost all
are spelled “Shorrock,” and none are from the family at Egg Harbor.
It is understandable that the women would not be found in the census
records, as their married names would not be known. And John M. Sharrick,
the father, could have died before his sixtieth birthday. But William
Sharrock had three brothers who all disappeared between 1860 and 1870:
Larner J. (born c. 1838), John Taylor (born c. 1846), and George Francis
(born c. 1850). One of these men may have been my great-great-grandfather.
There are historical accounts of William Sharrock of Catawba. Posted on
the web is “The History of Weymouth Township,” by Stephen Csere. The
Weymouth Township area, originally called Eysen Haven (Egg Harbor) by the
Dutch, is located in present day Atlantic County. Tuckahoe, Mays Landing,
and Somers Point were important early shipbuilding centers. The ships
were built of pine, oak, gum, and hickory. Between 1825 and 1875,
hundreds of schooners were built, which plied between Mays Landing and
Manhattan, carrying charcoal, lumber, and cast iron products.
More than two hundred vessels were built along the Great Egg Harbor
River. Quite a number ended in disaster. Records generally
indicated bad storms - which would be known as hurricanes today - as
the cause. Captain William Sharrock lived in Catawba and commanded
the 184 ton Daniel S. Marshon. It was loaded with coal and in a few
7
| |