Doctor Grandma

Did research using city directories tonight, need to write out some of this stuff.

Samuel Agnew is the elder. His two sons, William b.1806, and James b.1808. James is my GGGrandfather. Samuel first appears in the Cincinnati directory in 1831. According to the 1850 census where he is listed with James & family, he was born 1778 (this may be incorrect).

Samuel M. Agnew is listed as a shoemaker quite a few times, a tailor, was made postmaster of Fulton, a part of Cincinnati, in 1836; and lastly, a bartender in 1855, which is the last time he shows up in the city directory. Probably he died sometime shortly after that, but no burial spot or obituary has been found to date.

William is a carpenter, blacksmith, has a coffee business, and his most stable job seems to be “hatter”.

James is most of his life a “joiner” which is a specialty finishing type of carpentry, probably in his case for ships. They live on Front St., which is ON the riverfront on the Ohio river. James has a number of children with Mary Ann Freeman who he marries in 1848. My grandfather was his son James, b.1841. Still haven’t figured out who is mother was, or if by chance he was adopted (?).

James is also listed as carpenter, and lastly “conductor”in 1866, perhaps for a railroad. There is also a “David Agnew” who is around later, and at one point in 1869 is a clerk for the O&M RR, I don’t know if he could be a child of William.

James & Mary’s children were: Alfred b.1851, then Mary, Lizzie, Florence, Herman, Sarah “Sallie”. They adopt a Helen, but she is actually the daughter of James, the first son of James, also my GGrandfather.

In the city directories, the only Agnews showing all the time are Samuel, William and James, so I think they are family, & census records point to this also.

I have jumped to researching this Samuel M. Agnew who lived out most of his life, as far as I know, in Hamilton County, Ohio. His birthdate unfortunately matches the year of the famous Dr. Samuel Agnew in the “Book of the Agnews”. I do not believe he is the same person. He seems to have a son, James Agnew, b.1808 who died in 1880. Samuel is with this family in 1850 where the census records their last name as: Agnene. This family has the WORST luck with their name being transcribed correctly. It’s not that hard: AGNEW. But it gets recorded as Agnene (1850), Egnew, Agnus (1860) and other things.

in 1850, he is with the family of James Agnew b.1808……..

Samuel says he was born in PA. James Agnew’s wife here, Mary Ann Freeman, was also b. in PA. If I can find Mary as a child in PA, or Samuel in PA, they could be from the same area of PA.

It’s a strange, strange world researching the Agnews in OH. They seem to want to hide.