The 7 Children of Robert and Flora Fraser

The Family of Robert and Flora Barrett

Percy Barrett’s Parents, Robert and Flora Barrett, were the parents of seven children. When I first discovered this fact, I was very surprised. Until just a few years ago, the only 2 offspring of Robert and Flora Barrett I had known of were my grandfather Percy and his sister, Aunt Lottie. At least, that’s what my mother called her. As far as I had known there were no more children in the family until I found out Percy had an older brother named Maltby. His full name was Maltby Wilbur Barrett. Maltby was born on September 15, 1875 and died on October 4, 1942. That’s why I didn’t know about him. He was gone before I got here.

Yes, Maltby is a very unusual name. In fact, according to “howmanyofme.tool4geeks.com,” there is currently no one alive in the world at this time, whose first name is Maltby. I found this out after this same website told me there were more than 1,230,000 Edwards! So, Maltby is an extremely rare first name! There are, though, 17,776 people whose last name is Maltby. It is believed that Robert Barrett’s father Isaac, had a friend who fit right into that demographic. It is also believed Isaac served in the Civil war with this man. His full name was Charles M. Maltby. Charles M. Maltby was listed as a “Sharpshooter.” Perhaps he became a friend of the family and Robert named his firstborn after this sharpshooting Civil War veteran. The reason why Robert just didn’t name his first son Charles is anybody’s guess but it could be nobody ever called the man Charles and he just went by “Maltby.” In any event, it is speculation in its truest form, but perhaps Robert named his son after this friend of his father.

Maltby was born in 1875 and Grandpa Percy was born in 1885. My mom’s Aunt Lottie Barrett, was born in 1887. I remember her well! I remember her as a very kind and friendly woman. I knew her as Lottie Vanwert, sometimes spelled Van Wert. She was married to George Vanwert. The wedding of George and Lottie took place on September 18, 1909.

Aside from Maltby, another one of Percy’s siblings whom I had never met was his sister Leta Sarah Barrett. Leta Sarah Barrett would become Leta Lefevre after she married Augustus Lefevre on November 17, 1900. She was born in 1881, July 7, 1881, to be exact and died on June 7,1946. So, she, like her big brother Maltby, she was gone before any of us still living members of the Barrett family tree had arrived. Not to get bogged down with a rather insignificant detail, but I believe her name was pronounced Lee-tuh. Her birth certificate reads “Lita.” Lee-tuh would be the proper pronunciation for that spelling too.

Now, get ready for the saddest paragraph of the story, or maybe the saddest paragraph of any story! On May 28, 1877, Flora Barrett gave birth Mary Esther Barrett. “Esther” was a family name. It was Mary Esther’s grandmother’s name as Robert Barrett was the son of Isaac and Esther Tompkins Barrett. On March 19, 1880, Flora gave birth to Flossy Barrett. I don’t know if her name was actually Florence, for which Flossy is a common nickname, or if she was just plain Flossy, sometimes spelled “Flossie.” Then, less than a year after she gave birth to Leta Sarah in 1881, both Mary Esther and Flossie passed away, Flossy on June 13, 1882 and Mary Esther on June 27, 1882. Unfortunately, the tragedy didn’t end there! On August 7, 1882, 6 weeks after 2 of her 3 daughters had passed away, Flora gave birth to a son she and Robert named Ernest. At this point in her life, Flora had an almost 7-year-old son, Maltby and a 1-year-old daughter, Leta Sarah and now a little baby son, Ernest and she had lost 2 daughters. Then, in 1883, Robert and Flora’s terrible run of misfortune continued as on March 22, 1883 at just 7½ months of age, Ernest passed away. There were no causes of deaths given for Mary Esther, Flossy or Ernest, however, by checking the death records for Danbury, Ct in 1882 and 1883, you could easily see that Diphtheria was in the neighborhood. Diphtheria was a very contagious and dangerous illness that took the lives of many youngsters in the years between 1880 and 1896. In fact, it is amazing Maltby escaped it and Leta Sarah, who might well have caught this terrible disease, lived through it!

Because Mary Esther, Flossy and Ernest were so young, it is very difficult to realize the girls were my great aunts and Ernest was my great uncle. If I ever had the chance to meet them, I’ll bet I would have really liked all 3! Ernest probably would have been my favorite! For sure, he would have loved beer and refused to ever go to a doctor!!! It also would have been an unlikely coincidence that even if he only lived to be 47 years old, Ernest would have gone to a wedding where he would have seen his niece Edwina marry a guy named Ernest! (Ernest Birch 1905 – 1977) ((Small world!))

R.I.P. Mary Esther, Flossy and Ernest! You 3 are heroes! In the 1880s, we had no way to combat so many of these killer diseases that preyed on the most innocent amongst us. It is because of you and others like you; antivirals and vaccines were developed. We don’t worry too much about Diphtheria anymore, because of you. You are the martyrs that brought about a wonderful new world. It’s been more than 140 years since your deaths, but because you helped bring about a universal awareness of Diphtheria and other diseases, you will never be forgotten. Nor will your parents, who went through this unbearable time with you ever be forgotten!

Below are the birth records for all 7 of Robert and Flora Barrett’s children:

It is interesting that in some of these records there is a box that says 1-1 or 4-2 as two examples. The information this box is giving us is “Number of Children mother has given birth to – Number of children still alive. If you look at Percival’s record you will see 6-2. Even though they had lost 3 children, Mary Esther, Flossy and Ernest, and have Maltby and Leta and now Percival alive, it is as if after all their tough luck they aren’t yet ready to give little Percy “still alive” status. It is the same in Lottie’s birth record in which that box says 7-3. It’s like they are now counting Percy, Leta and Maltby as alive but not yet ready to say Lottie is “still alive.”.

In the birth records above, Flora consistently said she was born in Patterson, New York. No one disputes this fact. However, in all but one of the records above, Robert states he was born in just plain old New York. While there is no dispute over this either, in Flossie’s birth record, Robert says he was born in Boyd’s Corner, New York. Boyd’s Corner was and actually still is a part Kent, New York in the same way Great Plain or Mill Plain are parts of Danbury, CT.

Robert’s father Isaac Barrett’s records consistently say he was from Kent Cliffs, New York. Because of this, lots of genealogists, amateurs and professionals alike, have concluded he was from Carmel, New York. The reason they are inclined to conclude so is because if you Google Kent Cliffs, it will tell you Kent Cliffs is in Carmel. However, the Kent Cliffs this Google result is referring to is a large development that was built in Carmel in the 1960’s. We can be very sure neither Isaac, nor Robert Barrett, for that matter, grew up in a modern development. The Kent Cliffs Isaac was from is entirely different from Kent Cliffs in Carmel. When people refer to the Kent Cliffs of Kent they are referring a topography of a particular part of Kent. It is more of a natural landmark than a village or a section of town. Still, people have used it for years to describe a location of a particular part of Kent, New York. Also, it is noteworthy that the Kent Cliffs of Kent is located in Boyd’s Corner. Boyd’s Corner, at one time, even had its own post office. So, the confusion about where Kent Cliffs is located started because we have a relatively new Kent Cliffs in Carmel and a Kent Cliffs that is a God created phenomenon, which has been there probably thousands of years, and it is in Kent. So, to say Kent Cliffs in Kent is where Isaac Barrett was form is a true statement but by being from Kent Cliffs in Kent, he was, in reality, from Boyd’s Corner. It is interesting that Boyd’s Corner is now mostly a reservoir and it is a quite historical one at that. The story of this reservoir involves some faulty construction and the evil doings a tycoon named “Boss” Tweed! However, that’s a compete story all on its own!

For the story at hand though, I am very grateful to great grandfather Robert Barrett for telling us he was born in Boyd’s Corner, New York! Since he was born in Boyd’s Coner, it is very, very likely it is the same place where Isaac Barrett and the rest of his family hailed. So, now we know that in all probability, our Barrett family, before it relocated to Danbury, was from Kent, New York. This is very important to know because there was another Isaac Barrett who lived during the same time frame and this other Isaac Barrett lived in Carmel. To muddy the waters a little bit more, we are related to him too! Once again, this can, and surely will ignite another story all of its own!

A rare piece of documented evidence we have that Isaac Barrett was a native of Kent, New York is his Army induction record where he says he is from Kent. They record his birthplace as Putnam, New York. For place of birth, the army entered, “Putnam.” I believe they meant the county of Putnam because all the soldiers in this section of the registration book were registered as born in Putnam and they all were residents of towns in Putnam County.

The translation of above is: Name: Isaac Barrett, Residence: Kent Putnam NY, Time and Place of Birth:1829 Putnam NY, Rank: Private, Battalion: 6, Company: G, Enlisted: August 30, 1862, Mustered In: September 20, 1862, Rank: Private, Married, Father: James, Mother: Martha Barrett, Occupation: Farmer.

Oh, by the way, he is buried in Barrett Cemetery which just happens to be in Carmel. It is a 12-minute drive from where Isaac is buried to Boyd’s Corner, where he lived all his life. Robert, as are most of his immediate and extended family, is buried in Wooster Cemetery in Danbury, CT.

Robert and Flora Barrett’s Children’s Death Records