Re: Bortle Bible
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In reply to:
Re: Bortle Bible
Gerald Burkland 11/05/07
Peter's wife was born Marytje (Mary) Van Deusen of Columbia Co, NY.The Van Deusens and Bartle/Bortles intermarried several times.Mary's brother Matthew married Peter's sister, Gestje (Lucretia) and in both cases the oldest children were born at Claverack.Peter was an Indian trader and one of the first settlers in western NY.Matthew followed him.Both are missing in 1790 (It appears their area was not enumerated).By 1800 they were both in Phelps.He served in the War of 1812 because of his connections with the tribes. Since Matthew was in the Revolutionary War, I believe Peter was also.
I believe that Peter died in NY.His wife's bIO (Michigan Pioneers) states that he died after the War of 1812.I couldn't find him in the 1820 census.She did not come to Michigan until the late 1830's and then with her children. Perhaps they planned to eventually bring his remains to MI or erect a tombstone in his memory as was sometimes done.The DAR placed a marker on Mary's grave.The likelyhood is that Peter was either buried on his property or that the stone has been destroyed in whatever cemetery it was placed.My own experience with MI tombstones says that anything over a hundred years old will be eroded badly or missing. Try looking for a will or a record of land transfer from Peter to his wife or one of his children.