Garret Abers enlisted on 18 Oct 1861 from Ellicottville, NY to serve two years and mustered in as a Private. He mustered out 22 June 1863 at New York City. (The age he enlisted at shows 37, in truth he was 48.) There are articles attached that reference his time served during the Civil War.

Garret wed *Louisa circa 1849

He would have been about age 36 and Louisa about 18.

*I have included additional info found on "Louisa Jane" at the bottom of the bio.

1855: Garret and Louisa are living in Clarksville, NY. Garret is a farmer and Louise is 24 years old. Their three children are: Sarah Jane "Jennie" (5), Irena "Carrie" (3) and Benjamin (1).

1860: The Abers are now living in Ellicottville, NY. In addition to the three children from 1855, three more have been born. They are: George (4), Emory (2), and Laura "Lottie" (1).

1865: Five years later the Abers are making their home in Machias, NY. There are now eight children living in the home. The two newest to the family are: Floretta "Etta" (*sometimes written as Alena/Alyna) (4) and Harriet (0).

1870: The family has remained in Machias, NY. Some things have changed in the household. Sarah Jane "Jennie" married Gilbert Bridenbaker in 1868, and therefore is no longer in the home. Little Harriet must have passed away as she is not in the household. Three children born in the past 5 years are: Daniel (4), Nellie (2), and Mary 1 month old.

1875: The Abers are now living in Humphrey, NY. Irena "Carrie" has wed Andrew Shope (circa 1873) and has moved to Pennsylvania. One new edition has arrived; a son Gilbert (3), who I believe to be the last child born to Garret and Louisa.

1880: The family has moved to Foster, Pa. They are living in the same house as Jennie and Gilbert Bridenbaker. Laura "Lottie" has married Charles Harrison (circa 1875) and moved away. Ben, Emory, and George have all moved out as well. The only Abers children in the home in 1880 are: Etta (19), Daniel (14), Mary (10), and Gilbert (8). In just two short years the family will suffer a horrific tragedy.

1 Jan 1882: The Abers home near Richburg, NY (also a boarding house but vacant this night because of sickness) was destroyed in a fire in the early morning. Garret carried Louisa from the fire and placed her in the snow. Doctors do not expect her to survive. He ran back in and tried to rescue the three sleeping children but was not able to succeed. Nellie age 13, Mary age 12, and Gilbert age 10 all perished in the blaze. The house and property are a total loss. It was said Mr. Abers was "insane with grief" during this time.

Louisa remains in poor health after the fire. There are many news reports of her being ill and in the hospital. She died on 19 March 1888 at Franklinville, NY. She was only 57 at the time of her death. I have not been able to locate an obituary or burial site for her.

Garret Abers married to Huldah Langion-Bacon on 1 Jun 1890 in Humphrey, New York. Some time during their marriage, Garret and Huldah adopted John H. Abers. He was born 18 Feb 1881 at Limestone, NY (or possibly at Bradford, Pa). The only reason this is known is because he is named as their "adopted son" in an obituary. I have no knowledge of his birth parents or how he came to be with the Abers. The couple lived in Great Valley and Salamanca (NY) until Huldah's death on 1 March 1907.

Garret marries for the third and final time to Cerissa Reed in 1909. (She had been Mrs. Solomon Barber prior.) In Garret's death notice posted in Marietta, Ohio (where his daughter Irena "Carrie" was living) it states he had married thrice in his life, the last time being at the age of 96. Cerissa was 65 when they wed. She applies for and collects his Civil War pension after his death. Cerissa died 6 April 1917 at Salamanca, NY.

*Garret's first wife "Louise/Louisa Jane" may have been born Elizabeth Watkins.

Garret and Louisa's son George Abers writes his mothers name on his marriage license as "Elizabeth Watkins".

There is also a newspaper article from 1903 that reports 'Hannah P. Watts of Cameron Mills, NY is trying to locate her sister "Mrs. DeGarrett Abers". She had last heard from her in 1856, when the now missing sister had been living in Clarksville, NY. "

Learning the surname of Hannah may be the key to learning Mrs. Abers true birth name. I refer to her as Louisa as she's most often listed as such.

**There is definitely a discrepancy in the ages of the first two born daughters . All information found points to Sarah Jane "Jennie" being born January 1850. The next daughter born was Irena "Carrie" around 1852. Carrie Shope has a headstone photo on her memorial showing a birth date of 18 March 1850. Either Jennie's birth year is off, or Carrie's is inaccurate. I am certain that the memorial for Carrie is her true burial site. In 1940 Carrie was living with her daughter Nancy (Shope) Siggins at Cody, Wyoming. Carrie died one year later and her burial site is located in Cody, Wyoming. Of note; although Carrie is shown widowed on most censuses after 1900, it's most likely that her and Andrew divorced by 1910. This is judging from his second marriage to Rhoda Haught-Dennis.

**Children of Garret & Louisa (with no burial info currently available)

~George Abers

Born 24 Dec 1853 NY

Died 9 Mar 1929 Collins, NY

~Harriet Abers born and died 1865-1870 likely in NY

~Nellie (13), Mary (12), Gilbert (10) all died 1 Jan 1882 near Richburg, NY

***For researchers doing a deep dive: Although Garret normally claims his place of birth as New Jersey, on the 1880 census he stated that he and both of his parents were born in Scotland. There are other times on some censuses that his children give their fathers' place of birth as Scotland as well.

RC