My 2nd great-grandfather, Charles Decker, was born in Carbondale, Pennsylvania, between 1862 and 1864. Searching the 1870 census of Carbondale, revealed an interesting result on page 7:
Sarah (Decker) Griggs lived with husband Orin Griggs, a house carpenter born in Connecticut. Living with them in the home, they had a son named Theodore Griggs who was 17 years old, a son named Norman Griggs who was 14 years old, and a son named Andrew Griggs who was 5 years old. Sarah's mother, Phoebe Decker also lived in the home. She was 67 and her birth place was given as New York, as was Sarah's. Lewis Decker, age 29, also lived in the home. He was born in Pennsylvania, as were Sarah and Orin's children.
Sarah's parents were Cornelius and Phebe Decker, who moved to Carbondale in 1829. They had fourteen children, of which only five were still living in 1900 when Phebe died. Cornelius died abt. 1850. (See Phebe's obituary, shown here).
What is interesting about Cornelius and Phebe's daughter, Sarah, and her husband Orin Griggs, had a son named "Norman Griggs" and another named Theodore. Charles Decker named two of his sons Norman Griggs Decker and Theodore Decker. So, not only did this family live in Carbondale, where Charles Decker was born, but the naming patterns are significantly similar. My suspicion is that one of Cornelius and Sarah's 14 children was a son who was the father of Charles?
Anyone with information, please join the Decker Genealogy Forum and share!
See the Decker page for more information and family photos.
UPDATE: 12/27/2021 Ancestry DNA shows a match between me and a descendant of Hiram Decker, son of Phoebe & Cornelius. Additional proof is needed, but there could be a connection!