Augustus C. Herrick and Josephine Niver Never Leave Caton, New York
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Augustus C. Herrick (1834-1912) and Josephine Niver (1834-1919)
Another Herrick Remains in Caton, New York
Augustus Charles Herrick was born on 31 May 1834 in Caton, Steuben County, New York. He was the son of Pierce Herrick and Ann Miller. The Herricks began their lives in the United States in the 1600’s in Massachusetts, and some of Augustus’s descendants had been involved with or lived in Salem when the infamous Salem Witch Trials occurred. However, after the trials, the Herricks began to migrate west, first into Connecticut and then into New York.
Augustus must have liked Caton and Steuben County. It appears that he remained there his entire life. In 2003, the population of Caton was only at 2,000, and it was undoubtedly considerably less when Augustus and Josephine lived there. It was named for Richard Caton, an early pioneer of the area. It is in the southeast part of the county, south of Corning. It was formed in 1839, but named Wormley first. A year later, in 1840, the name was changed to Caton. (Thanks to Wikipedia for the map of New York State. Steuben County is in red.)
Marriage and Family
Augustus married Josephine Niver, probably in Caton, in about 1852, though some sources give a date as late as 1856. Josephine was born 11 November 1834. In the Census forms, she says she was born in the state of New York, as well as her parents. Her parents may have been Abner Tunis Niver and Margaret Mariah Brot (though this has not yet been proven). At the time of their marriage, Augustus was 18 and Josephine was 17.
Based on Census records and other family trees from Ancestry, Augustus and Josephine had at least four sons and one daughter, all born in Caton, Steuben County, New York, but one (Chester) died before the age of two:
- Whiting b. 1858 d. 1922 (Note: Hazel Marie Herrick Ingraham remembers her Uncle Whiting as a “businessman in Elmira [New York] who always wore a suit.”)
- Chester b. 1860 d. 1862
- Nettie b. 1865 d. 1936 (Note: Nettie married a man named Weale. She had three children: Josephine, Irena, and Robert. In the 1900 Census she is living with her parents and her three children in Caton. What happened to her husband, and why he is not living with them, is unknown. By 1910, the grandson, Robert, is still living with his grandparents.)
- Eber b. 1867 d. 1938 (Note: Hazel Marie Herrick Ingraham remembers “Uncle Eber” well. She said, “He married Bertha and they lived down the road. He was older than my father, Bert Herrick.” Eber and Bertha had two daughters, Blanche and Mary, whom Hazel remembers. “I lived with Mary in Painted Post for a while.”)
- Bert b. 19 Oct 1875 d. 1948 2
Josephine would have been about 40 at the time of Bert’s birth.
In the photograph above: Standing, left to right: Eber, Bert, Nettie, and Whiting. Sitting, left to right: Bertha Riffle Herrick (wife of Eber), Josephine Niver Herrick, Augustus Charles Herrick, and Ida Howland Herrick (wife of Whiting).Taken in about 1900.
Census Records Tell the Story
Census records provide genealogists with a wealth of information, and one can trace Augustus’s life easily through these documents. Here’s what the census records tell us about the life of Charles Augustus Herrick:
- 1850: He is living in Caton, at the age of 14, with his parents.
- 1860: He is living in Caton with his wife, Josephine, and two children (Chester, age six months, and Whiting, age 2); Augustus identifies himself as a farmer with real estate value of $1600 and personal property of $300.
- 1870: Still in Caton, he is living with his wife, Josephine; his children, Whiting, 12; Nettie, 5; Eber, 3. The child, Chester, died in 1862.
- 1880: He is living in Steuben County, a farmer, with his wife, Josephine, and his three children: Nettie, 15; Eber, 13; and Bertie, 6. His name is spelled Augustis Herricke.
- 1890: He is found in two different censuses for Steuben County. (Steuben County, New York Directory, 1891; and New York Census, 1790-1890)
- 1900: He is in Caton, living with his wife and daughter, Nettie, and three of Nettie’s children — Josephine, 10; Irena, 8, and Robert, 6.
- 1910: Both Augustus and Josephine are still in Caton; they are living with one grandson, Robert Weale (Nettie’s son), who is now 16.
End of life for Augustus and Josephine
Augustus died in 1912 in Caton. He was 78 years old. Presumably he is buried in Caton, perhaps near his parents, Pierce and Ann Herrick.
It is believed that Josephine died on 27 April 1919, still living in the family home in Caton. Hazel Marie Herrick Ingraham, her granddaughter, remembers visiting the “Herrick House” which was just “down the road” from her own home, when she was about eight years old. She was born in 1914, and she recalls that her grandmother died when she was young.
This page written and researched by Susan Overturf Ingraham, wife of Robert Philip Ingraham, a descendant of Augustus C. Herrick and Josephine Niver. Last updated on May 28, 2023.