Descendants of Thomas Margeson - A Story of a Pioneer Family in settlement of Steuben County, New York
DESCENDANTS of THOMAS MARGESON - PART ONE - FIRST & SECOND GENERATIONS
Published 9/14/2026
Report
Thomas Margeson came from Essex County, New Jersey and settled on the Sutter Place in 1806. He was the first shoemaker in town. He devoted his time to his trade and farming. He was for many years a member of the Baptist Church. He died in the Town of Wayne in 1827. The following were his children: John, Thomas, Charles, Benjamin, Job, Israel, Caleb, Cornelius, Elizabeth, Susanna, Hannah, and Mary, who now lives with her nephew, Israel, in the Town of Wayne. Source: A History of Steuben County, New York, page 426, by Prof. W. W. Clayton. Published by Lewis Peck Co., Philadelphia, Pa., 1879. Now Meet the Family and Find out many details. Thomas II settles on the Sutter Place. A few years later, he purchased the place with other farm land. The name "Sutter" is here spelled "as it sounded". In a land search, which goes back to the Massachusetts Pre-emption or Boston Pre-emption, the name is given as Sorter and also Sawter. In any case it became part of the Margeson Homestead and passed down in the family until sold in 1955. Thomas had a good trade. His best customers must have been his own big family. He was also a farmer, as deeds dated 1813 and 1819 certify. Many of his descendants, of all generations, were men "with two hands", adding a craft to farming. Thomas and his children, through over five generations, were members of the North Urbana Baptist Church. In our account of this family, we shall list the children of Thomas and Mary Brundage Margeson in detail. Second Generation - Thomas II Children of Thomas I and Mary Brundage Margeson 1. John B. b. May 3, 1784, d. Mar. 9, 1861, buried near Wellsville, N.Y., age 77; married Elizabeth Baird. Elizabeth b. Sept. 9, 1786, d. Mar. 12, 1855. They had 4 sons and 7 daughters. John was a farmer with a 66-acre farm in Urbana. The 1852 assessment of $4,125.00 was taxed for $3.88. On Oct. 30, 1834 he gave a quitclaim deed on his 1/9th share of his father's estate to his brother Job. Some time in the 1860's with his younger son John, b. 1827, he removed to Stannard Corners and later to Angelica, Allegany County. He died in 1861 and was buried in the vicinity of Wellsville. A large number of his descendants now live in Allegany County, several of them farmers. 2. Susanna, named after Mary Brundage's mother, must have been born about 1785 or not later than 1789. Mary, her sister, recorded only Susanna's name. We have no other details. 3. Cornelius b. about 1786, d. abt. 1822, age 36; married Polly Falkner. They had three sons, perhaps other children. In her later years (1870's), Polly lived with her sister-in-law, Hannah, and nephew Israel Margeson in the old original home, and her grave is side by side with Hannah in the farm burial plot. We do not have details of Cornelius' residence, only assume at some distance from North Urbana, possibly the Town of Bradford. The only living descendants, Margesons by name, are Nora and her brother Earl. 4. Caleb, named after his grandfather, Caleb Brundage, b. July 19, 1788, d. Dec. 26, 1831, age 43; married Lavinia Baird. Lavinia b. Aug. 19, 1794. They had six sons and three daughters. Caleb had a 20-acre farm adjacent to the old homestead. Caleb's descendants centered in the town and village of Bath. Others now reside in the Penn Yan area, Endicott, and the State of Michigan. 5. Thomas b. June 14, 1790, d. Aug. 1, 1861, age 71, buried Tyrone Cemetery; married Deborah Wood Apr. 10, 1814. Deborah b. Feb. 15, 1794 in Orange Co., N.Y., and d. Jan. 10, 1876, buried at Tyrone with two of her daughters. They had 4 sons and 6 daughters. Thomas II had two farms on the lake shore at what is now known as Tanglewood Point and what was known during his lifetime as "Thomas Margeson Point." He owned 90 acres of land in Urbana, assessed at $1,530.00, and 10 acres in Wayne assessed at $200.00. These properties are located on the south side of Tanglewood Gully and about one mile from the North Urbana "Corners." The Urbana-Wayne town line road and northward extension has never been exactly established or monumented. Thomas quitclaimed his 1/9th share of the homestead to his brother Job about 1830. Thomas's son held a part of his father's farm. Another son, Cyrus Bradley, worked the farm, and Cyrus's oldest son, Arnold Wilson, lived with his grandfather until Thomas's death. After that the farms were sold out of the family or lost the family name. 6. Charles G. born in 1792, married Elizabeth A. Martin, died 1857 at age 65. Had two sons and two daughters. Had a 50-acre farm, also 64 acres; in 1852 these were valued at $900 and $1,380.00. Taxes $2.70 and $3.84. 7. Elizabeth born 1795, married and may have gone West, according to a random note in her sister Mary's handwriting. No further information found. 8. Benjamin born May 6, 1796; married Elizabeth Holly. Had one son and one daughter. Had a farm in Wayne which he left to his son Dennis. He died in 1831 and was buried in the family burial plot. 9. Job born 1798, died 1863, age 65, unmarried. We bypass Job here to continue his career on page 16 (unnumbered title page) and page 17. 10. Israel born Aug. 12, 1801; married Rhoda; died Feb. 11, 1829, age 27. Had one son and two daughters. Israel and Rhoda were both buried in the family plot. He was a farmer and worked with his father and Job on the home acres. 11. Hannah born 1802, unmarried, died 1880, buried in family plot, age 78. 12. Mary born 1803, unmarried, died 1888. We shall resume with Job and his four sisters. A great deal has depended upon Job and two sisters, Hannah and Mary, for the first three generations of our family. After Mary's story, we shall have to take up the III and later generations in a series of seven distinct "Family Trees" or charts. In the meantime, please pardon any apparent duplication of details.
Method & sources consulted
Excerpt taken directly from 1970s Margeson family history book using OCR