Cook Family
Genealogy Pages

Home Page  |  What's New  |  Photos  |  Histories  |  Headstones  |  Reports  |  Surnames

First Name:


Last Name:



Home Search Login  
Print Bookmark

Cornelius Mabie

Male 1816 - 1920  (104 years)


Personal Information    |    Sources    |    All    |    PDF

  • Name Cornelius Mabie  [1] 
    Born 4 Aug 1816  [1] 
    Gender Male 
    Baptism 28 Sep 1816  Reformed Church, Tappan, Orange (now Rockland) County, New York Find all individuals with events at this location  [1] 
    Anecdote
    • Mr. Mabie, who is now in the 103d year of his age, is probably
      one of the oldest men now living. He was born on a farm within
      300 yards of the spot where he now and always has lived, on
      August 4, 1816. He is the son of Adolphus Mabie and Rachel
      Bell, families that have their roots in the earliest
      settlements. His sire was a Revolutionary patriot, and "Cassie"
      treasures the old flint-lock musket with which his dad fought
      at the battle of Haarlem Heights.
      A more gruesome relic is an old tomahawk given him by his
      grandmother, who had it from her Indian neighbors, and "Cassie"
      remembers well hearing his father-in-law, Ralph Ver Bryck, tell
      how he melted up his pewter plates for bullets.
      "Cassie" was a young man when construction was begun of the
      ten-mile section of the Piermont end of the route on August 15,
      1838, but his memory still recalls virile pictures of those
      pioneer days when he drove an ox-cart during the building of
      it.
      For several years past he has been blind, and does not leave
      his room, but his mind is active, and his general health good,
      and he likes to have the current events, particularly of the
      great war, read to him.
    No Name 1820  Orange Town, Rockland County, New York Find all individuals with events at this location  [3] 
    • Cornelius Mabie appeared on the census of 1820 in the household
      of Adolphus L Mabie and Rachel Bell Orange Town, Rockland
      County, New York
    No Name 1830  Orange, Rockland County, New York Find all individuals with events at this location  [4] 
    • Cornelius Mabie appeared on the census of 1830 in the household
      of Adolphus L Mabie and Rachel Bell Orange, Rockland County,
      New York
    No Name 1840  Orange, Rockland County, New York Find all individuals with events at this location  [5] 
    • Cornelius Mabie and Sarah Verbryck appeared on the census of
      1840 Orange, Rockland County, New YorkMabie, Cornelius, one man
      and one woman 20-29, and one boy under 10
    Occupation Aft 1840  [6] 
    Carpenter with the Piermont, NY division of the New York and 

    • Erie Railroad, starting in 1840
    No Name 1850  Orange, Rockland County, New York Find all individuals with events at this location  [7] 
    • Cornelius Mabie and Sarah Verbryck appeared on the census of
      1850 Orange, Rockland County, New YorkCornelius A. Mabie, 34,
      M, Carpenter, NY
      Sarah Mabie, 34, F, NY
      Adolphus Mabie, 12, M, NY
      Allesta L. Mabie, 4, F, NY
    No Name 15 Oct 1857  Orangetown, Rockland County, New York Find all individuals with events at this location  [8] 
    • Cornelius Mabie was mentioned in the will of Adolphus L Mabie
      15 Oct 1857 Orangetown, Rockland County, New York. "Will of
      Adolphus L. Mabie, of Orangetown, Rockland County, dated
      10/15/1857, proved 1/18/1858, mentions wife Rachel, "my three
      children" Elizabeth, William A. Mabie and Cornelius A. Mabie,
      and grandson Adolphus, son of Cornelius."
    No Name 1860  Orange, Rockland County, New York Find all individuals with events at this location  [9] 
    • Cornelius Mabie and Sarah Verbryck appeared on the census of
      1860 Orange, Rockland County, New YorkCornelius Mabie, 44 , M,
      Farmer, NY, $5000, $100
      Sarah Mabie, 45 , F, , NY
      Adolphus Mabie, 22 , M, Lumber Dealer, NY
      Sarah J. Mabie, 18 , F, , NY
      Elesta Mabie, 14 , F, , NY
      Susan Mabie, 10 , F, , NY
      John W. Mabie, 4 , F, , NY
    No Name 1870  Orangetown, Rockland County, New York Find all individuals with events at this location  [10] 
    • Cornelius Mabie and Sarah Verbryck appeared on the census of
      1870 Orangetown, Rockland County, New YorkCornelius Mabie, 55,
      M, Carpenter, 10000, NY
      Sarah L. Mabie, 55, F, Keeping House, NY
      Senora Mabie, 19, F, NY
      William Mabie, 13, M, NY
      John Vervalen, 64, M, Farmer
    No Name 1880  District 1, Orangetown, Rockland County, New York Find all individuals with events at this location  [11] 
    • Cornelius Mabie and Sarah Verbryck appeared on the census of
      1880 District 1, Orangetown, Rockland County, New YorkCornelius
      Mabie, Head, M, M, W, 65, NY, Carpenter, Fa: NY, Mo: NY
      Sarah Mabie, Wife, F, M, W, 65, NY, Keeping House, Fa: NY, Mo:
      NY
      William Mabie, Son, M, S, W, 22, NY, Farmer, Fa: NY, Mo: NY
    No Name 13 Jun 1900  Orangetown, Rockland County, New York Find all individuals with events at this location  [12] 
    • Cornelius Mabie appeared on the census of 13 Jun 1900 in the
      household of John William Mabie and Sophia Kunzie Orangetown,
      Rockland County, New York
    No Name Apr 1910  Orangetown, Rockland County, New York Find all individuals with events at this location  [13] 
    • Cornelius Mabie appeared on the census of Apr 1910 in the
      household of John William Mabie and Sophia Kunzie Orangetown,
      Rockland County, New York
    No Name Jan 1920  Orangetown, Rockland County, New York Find all individuals with events at this location  [14] 
    • Cornelius Mabie appeared on the census of Jan 1920 in the
      household of John William Mabie and Sophia Kunzie Orangetown,
      Rockland County, New York
    Died 16 Aug 1920  Sparkill, Rockland County, New York Find all individuals with events at this location  [15, 16] 
    Obituary Oct 1920  [17] 
    • Cornelius Mabie, known far and wide among railroad men as the
      oldest living man of his craft, died August 20 (1920) at
      Sparkill, N.Y., aged 104 years. He was born within a few
      hundred yards of his last home, August 4, 1816. When oxen were
      doing the freighting business in the 30's, preceding most of
      the canals, "Casey" Mabie wielded a whip; when canals were
      built he helped build the lock houses along the banks; and when
      work on the Erie railroad was begun he turned his hand on this
      job, too, for he was a good carpenter. He helped build many of
      the first stations west of Piermont.
      Of late years Mr. Mabie had been blind and confined rather
      closely to his home. A sketch of his life, written for the Erie
      Railroad Magazine by the late Col. John S. Bell, contains the
      following:
      "Casey" (Cornelius) Mabie was born at Tappan, Rockland county,
      New York, August 4, 1816. He is still living in the house he
      built in the early forties, a few hundred feet from where he
      was born.
      At the age of 24, in 1840, he began work - a carpenter for the
      New York & Erie Railroad. He helped construct the freight depot
      at the end of the pier, and also the shops at Piermont; and
      with my father (five years older than he), they built what
      stations the railroad had between Piermont and Suffern, which
      didn't amount to much.
      He worked for the company many years. For the past twelve years
      he has been blind, otherwise in excellent health. I visited him
      once, and sometimes twice, each year. I have known him since I
      was big enough to remember anybody. Notwithstanding I am much
      younger than he, he is exceedingly glad to have me call on him.
      These visits of mine began five or six years ago. Until that
      time I hadn't seen him in many years. There is no one now
      living whom he knew when he was a boy.
      After the opening of the road in 1861 to Dunkirk he and a few
      others, including my father, were given passes by the then
      president of the road for a trip over the Erie. They were gone
      about a week. I remember the occasion. He spoke of that to me a
      short time ago. That was the first and only time he was ever so
      far away from home. He practically lived and worked in the
      neighborhood of where he lived and Piermont for eighty-five
      years.
      Mr. Mabie three years ago sent a letter to the editor of the
      ERIE RAILROAD MAGAZINE, in which he said he had had read to him
      from the November, 1916, Magazine an article entitled "Freight
      Trains Without Rails." He said he was much interested in the
      story. He took occasion also to say that he had passed the
      century mark, making reference to what was contained in the
      following lines:
      "I'm growing fonder of my staff;
      I'm growing dimmer in my eyes;
      I'm growing fainter in my laugh;
      I'm growing deeper in my sighs;
      I'm growing careless in my dress;
      I'm growing frugal in my gold;
      I'm growing wise-I'm growing-yes,
      I'm growing old."
      These lines impelled Mr. Mabie to write as follows:
      "I fill that bill with the exception that for the past dozen
      years or more I am blind. I, too, have driven oxen when the
      wagon was filled, sometimes with apples, corn, potatoes, wood,
      cider and many other things; also the plow, but never in a
      country where there were Indians, deer and antelope or sage
      hens. But I have driven them where there were no railroads, and
      before there were any railroads in the world. I first worked on
      the old New York & Erie seventy-seven years ago, when I was but
      twenty-three years old, and I doubt if there is another man now
      living that worked on the "Old Erie" when I first worked on the
      road."
    Name Casey 
    Name Cassie 
    Notes 
    • From the Maybee Society files. Not all data is verified. Say dates are estimates and are probably within 20 years. The Maybee Society keeps its data on The Master Genealogist�, and has been modified by Gary Hester?s WIT2NOTE� to form the GedCom file. This information is also available in a TMG file.
    Person ID I37201  Glenn Cook Family
    Last Modified 30 Nov 2006 

    Father Adolphus L Mabie,   b. 24 Nov 1775, Tappan, Orange (now Rockland) County, New York, , , Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 16 Oct 1857  (Age 81 years) 
    Mother Rachel Bell,   b. 10 Aug 1788, New York Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 20 Dec 1857  (Age 69 years) 
    Married 2 Dec 1806  Reformed Church, Tappan, Orange (now Rockland) County, New York Find all individuals with events at this location  [18] 
    • Adolphus Mabee and Rachel Bell, both of Tappan
    Census 1810  Orangetown, Rockland County, New York Find all individuals with events at this location  [19] 
    • Mabie, Adolphus, one man and one woman 26-45, one woman over
      45, one girl under 10 and two slaves
    Census 1820  Orange Town, Rockland County, New York Find all individuals with events at this location  [3] 
    • Mabee, Adolpos L, one man and one woman 26-45, one girl 10-16,
      and two boys under 10
    Census 1830  Orange, Rockland County, New York Find all individuals with events at this location  [4] 
    • Maby, Adolphus L, one man 50-59, one woman 40-49, one woman
      20-26, one boy 15-19, and one boy 14-14
    Census 1840  Orange, Rockland County, New York Find all individuals with events at this location  [5] 
    • Mabie, Adolphus L., one man and one woman 60-69, and one man
      and one woman 20-30
    Census 1850  Orange, Rockland County, New York Find all individuals with events at this location  [7] 
    • Adolphus L. Mabie, 72, M, Farmer, NY, $8000
      Rachel Mabie, 61, F, NY
      William Mabie, 39, M, Farmer, NY
      Margaret A. Mabie, 28, F, NY
      Peter Mabie, 1, M, NY
    Family ID F551604638  Group Sheet

    Family Sarah Verbryck,   b. 24 Apr 1815, England Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. Bef Jun 1898  (Age 83 years) 
    Married 3 Nov 1836  Reformed Church, Tappan, Orange (now Rockland) County, New York Find all individuals with events at this location  [20] 
    Census 1840  Orange, Rockland County, New York Find all individuals with events at this location  [5] 
    • Mabie, Cornelius, one man and one woman 20-29, and one boy
      under 10
    Census 1850  Orange, Rockland County, New York Find all individuals with events at this location  [7] 
    • Cornelius A. Mabie, 34, M, Carpenter, NY
      Sarah Mabie, 34, F, NY
      Adolphus Mabie, 12, M, NY
      Allesta L. Mabie, 4, F, NY
    Census 1860  Orange, Rockland County, New York Find all individuals with events at this location  [9] 
    • Cornelius Mabie, 44 , M, Farmer, NY, $5000, $100
      Sarah Mabie, 45 , F, , NY
      Adolphus Mabie, 22 , M, Lumber Dealer, NY
      Sarah J. Mabie, 18 , F, , NY
      Elesta Mabie, 14 , F, , NY
      Susan Mabie, 10 , F, , NY
      John W. Mabie, 4 , F, , NY
    Census 1870  Orangetown, Rockland County, New York Find all individuals with events at this location  [10] 
    • Cornelius Mabie, 55, M, Carpenter, 10000, NY
      Sarah L. Mabie, 55, F, Keeping House, NY
      Senora Mabie, 19, F, NY
      William Mabie, 13, M, NY
      John Vervalen, 64, M, Farmer
    Census 1880  District 1, Orangetown, Rockland County, New York Find all individuals with events at this location  [11] 
    • Cornelius Mabie, Head, M, M, W, 65, NY, Carpenter, Fa: NY, Mo:
      NY
      Sarah Mabie, Wife, F, M, W, 65, NY, Keeping House, Fa: NY, Mo:
      NY
      William Mabie, Son, M, S, W, 22, NY, Farmer, Fa: NY, Mo: NY
    Children 
     1. Adolphus C. Mabie,   b. Apr 1838, New York Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 1914  (Age ~ 75 years)
     2. Alesta Loretta Mabee,   b. Between 1845 and 1846, New York Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. Yes, date unknown
     3. Rachel Sonora Mabee,   b. 1850, Orange, Rockland County, New York Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. Yes, date unknown
     4. John William Mabie,   b. 6 Dec 1856, New York Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. Yes, date unknown
    Last Modified 30 Nov 2006 
    Family ID F551605218  Group Sheet

  • Sources 
    1. [S1251] Steve Mabie, A Chronology of Mabie Records in NY and NJ, (http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~smabie/caspar/caspar.htm), FROM THE REFORMED CHURCH OF TAPPAN, ORANGE (NOW ROCKLAND) COUNTY, NY (Reliability: 3).

    2. [S1233] Barbara Millar, Barbara Miller, HTTP://FREEPAGES.GENEALOGY.ROOTSWEB.COM/~SPONHOLZ/BIOCMABIE.HTM L ERIE RAILROAD EMPLOYEE MAGAZINE FEB 1919, PG 717 (Reliability: 3).

    3. [S1254] Steve Mabie's Website, Steve Mabie, 1820 CENSUS (Reliability: 3).

    4. [S1254] Steve Mabie's Website, Steve Mabie, 1830 CENSUS (Reliability: 3).

    5. [S1254] Steve Mabie's Website, Steve Mabie, 1840 CENSUS (Reliability: 3).

    6. [S1233] Barbara Millar, Barbara Miller, ERIE RAILROAD EMPLOYEE MAGAZINE OBITUARY 1920-10 PP 25-26 (Reliability: 3).

    7. [S1254] Steve Mabie's Website, Steve Mabie, 1850 CENSUS (Reliability: 3).

    8. [S1251] Steve Mabie, A Chronology of Mabie Records in NY and NJ, (http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~smabie/caspar/caspar.htm), PAGE 51 (Reliability: 3).

    9. [S1254] Steve Mabie's Website, Steve Mabie, 1860 CENSUS (Reliability: 3).

    10. [S1261] Steve Mabie's 1870 census, Steve Mabie, ROCKLAND COUNTY, ORANGETOWN, PAGE 613, M593-ROLL 1087 (Reliability: 3).

    11. [S1242] Steve Mabie's 1880 census, PAGE 132A, NATIONAL ARCHIVES FILM T9-0924 (Reliability: 3).

    12. [S1235] 1900 US Census, ORANGETOWN, ROCKLAND, NEW YORK; ROLL: T623 1155; PAGE: 10B; ENUMERATION DISTRICT: 68 (Reliability: 3).

    13. [S1236] 1910 US Census, ORANGETOWN, ROCKLAND, NEW YORK; SERIES: T624; ROLL: 953; PAGE: 92A; ENUMERATION DISTRICT: 112; PART: 1; LINE: 8 (Reliability: 3).

    14. [S1237] 1920 US Census, ORANGETOWN, ROCKLAND, NEW YORK; ROLL: T625_1258; PAGE: 8A; ENUMERATION DISTRICT: 217; IMAGE: 842 (Reliability: 3).

    15. [S1248] Royal A Mabee's notebook, Royal A. Mabee Royal's information was principally based on interviews with descendants. There is a significant chance for error in his dates for early generations The original of Royal's notebook is at the New York Genealogical and Biographical Soc, SAYS 16 AUGUST (Reliability: 3).

    16. [S1233] Barbara Millar, Barbara Miller, ERIE RAILROAD EMPLOYEE MAGAZINE OBITUARY 1920-10 PP 25-26 SAYS 20 AUGUST (Reliability: 3).

    17. [S1233] Barbara Millar, Barbara Miller, HTTP://FREEPAGES.GENEALOGY.ROOTSWEB.COM/~SPONHOLZ/BIOCMABIE.HTM L ERIE RAILROAD EMPLOYEE MAGAZINE OBITUARY 1920-10 PP 25-26 (Reliability: 3).

    18. [S1251] Steve Mabie, A Chronology of Mabie Records in NY and NJ, (http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~smabie/caspar/caspar.htm), FROM THE REFORMED CHURCH OF TAPPEN, ORANGE (NOW ROCKLAND), NY (Reliability: 3).

    19. [S1254] Steve Mabie's Website, Steve Mabie, 1810 CENSUS (Reliability: 3).

    20. [S1251] Steve Mabie, A Chronology of Mabie Records in NY and NJ, (http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~smabie/caspar/caspar.htm), FROM COLE'S HISTORY OF THE REFORMED CHURCH OF TAPPAN (Reliability: 3).



This site powered by The Next Generation of Genealogy Sitebuilding ©, v. 10.1.3, written by Darrin Lythgoe 2001-2017.