Is So-Called Dollar die sinker Abraham Demarest Sr. the father of Colonel Abraham Garrison Demarest?
Zoins
Posts: 33,911 ✭✭✭✭✭
Abraham Demarest Sr. is known for engraving the Declaration of Independence from John Trumbull's painting on a number of 1876 Centennial So-Called Dollars.
- When looking up his name, there is a Civil War Union officer Abraham Garrison Demarest whose father is named "Abraham Demarest"
- Both lived in New York City.
- Abraham G. lived from 1830 -1900
- Abramam Sr performed medalist work from 1866-1897
- I haven't found information on what Abraham Demarest Sr. did before becoming a medalist in 1866 (from Dick Johnson's website).
- I haven't found information on what Abraham Garrison Demarest did after the Civil War to 1900.
Given that their known histories don't overlap, but have similar dates, is it possible that the die sinker is the father of the colonel? Or is it even possible they are the same person?
Here's the bio for the die sinker from Dick Johnson's MedalArtists.com Databank website:
DEMAREST, Abraham Sr. (fl 1866-1897) engraver, diesinker, New York City. Seal and card engraver, medals, mirror cards, badges; advertised wedding stationery, Harper’s Weekly 23 November 1861, p 752; 21 December 1861, p 816. His most detailed die engraving was the scene of John Trumbull painting, Declaration of Independence, mistakenly called “Signing of Declaration of Independence” on HK 74 to HK 79. His dies often struck by the Lovetts or later by firm H & L (q.v., Hartell & Letchworth, 1874-76). Obtained U.S. patent for shell cards 16 June 1868. Signed last name in full, or on at least two medals, A.D-F (on Statue of Liberty medals struck by Robert Lovett Junior).
http://www.medalartists.com/about-this-databank.html
The following is from the biography of Abraham Garrison Demarest, whose father's name Abraham Demarest. Abraham G. Demarest lived from 1830 - 1900. I don't have any dates for Abraham Demarest Sr.
ABRAHAM GARRISON DEMAREST is descended in the seventh generation from David des Marest, the French emigrant and first American ancestor of the Demarests (see p. 64). Samuel Demarest was born in Bergen County 1778 and removed to “The Ponds” (in Franklin Township) while a young man, where he settled and married Miss Maria Garretson, a descendant of Gerret Gerrets, the Dutch emigrant and first American progenitor of the Garretson, Garrison, and Van Wagenen families. Samuel Demarest, who was a farmer, died in 1837, and his wife in 1850. They left several children one of whom, Abraham Demarest, the father of Colonel Abraham G., married Margaret Garrison, and resided at Oakland, where their son, Colonel Abraham G., was born on the 16th of November, 1830. While the latter was still quite young he moved with his parents to New York City, where he early became imbued with the military spirit and at the age of twenty-two recruited a company for the now celebrated Seventy-first Regiment, of the City of New York, then known as the American Rifles. Organized during the “Know Nothing” movement, this regiment was composed exclusively of American citizens.
https://sites.google.com/site/bergencogenweb/home/biographies/demarest-abraham-garrison-1
More on Abraham G:
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/7220264/abraham-garrison-demarest
Comments
Here is another Abraham Demarest (1806-1897) where the deate of deat coincides with the end of medalist work in Dick Johnson's bio. This Abraham isn't known to have a child also named Abraham.
https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Demarest-181
The Illustrated Popular Biography of Connecticut indicates the engraver had a single daughter Julia. The rest of the document is behind paywall.
https://en.geneanet.org/fonds/bibliotheque/?go=1&lang=en&nom=demarest&page=23&size=30
An Abraham Demarest (1823-1909) had a daughter Julia, but a paywall is required to see the names of his other 4 children.
https://www.myheritage.com/names/abraham_demarest
The 1852 New York City Directory shows an Abraham Demarest engraver and an Abraham G. Demarest for daguerreotypes so perhaps the engraver and colonel are different people and the Colonel ended up working with daguerreotypes.
It's still possible that Abraham Sr. is the father of Abraham G.
https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_New_York_City_Directory_for/eVU_AQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=demarest+engraving+company&pg=PA143&printsec=frontcover
I'm wondering if he's related to Uncle Charlie!!
Springsteen? New Jersey? Bruce might be a descendant!
It will probably take more than an internet search. When researching the history of Robert Scot, Ancestry and other on-line resources were a dead end. Finding the names of Scot's children required getting a copy of his estate settlement at the Philadelphia Register of Wills - that was not easy, needed to travel to Philly as they required an in person visit, and then the City employees couldn't decide how much to charge for my "unusual request." Scot's estate settlement did not list all of Eunice and Robert's children, Sophia died at age ten and the only record of her life is on a 1905 photograph of the Scot family tombstone taken before the Free Quaker graves were moved to Audubon, I found the photograph while researching Free Quaker records at the American Philosophical Society Library.
"Demarest and Rachel (Demarest) Anderson
Husband of** Phebe (Springsteen) Demarest** — married 11 Nov 1829 in Essex, New Jersey, United Statesmap
[children unknown]
Died 22 Jun 1897 in Spring Valley, Rockland, New York, United Statesmap"
John Springsteen 1759-1844 Middlesex, NJ
children:
Phebe (Springsteen) Demarest 1786-1826 Essex, NJ
Alexander William Springsteen 1793-death unknown, Monmouth County, NJ
son of Alexander William:
Alexander A. Springsteen 1822-1888, Ocean, Monmouth, NJ
son of Alexander A:
Anthony Springsteen 1871-1959 Monmouth, NJ
son:
Frederick H. Springsteen 1900-1962 Allentown, Monmouth, NJ
son:
Douglas Frederick "Dutch" Springsteen 1925-1998 Monmouth, NJ
son:
Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen "The Boss" 1949- Long Branch, Monmouth, NJ
I saw Springsteen in concert a couple of times in Seattle and Tacoma 1978-1980, great concerts.
I wonder what coin was flipped for the 2009 Super Bowl where the E Street Band was playing at halftime?!
Here's a shell card for Abraham Demarest:
https://holabirdamericana.liveauctiongroup.com/SHELL-CARD-B-NY-4560-NY-New-York-A-Demarest-1-1869B-111486_i35647200
I believe you have answered your original question - they are not father and son, or the same person.
Abraham Garrison Demarest 1830-1900
Abraham Demarest Sr. 1823-1909
Too close in age to be father and son, and not the same person.
You can also see their parents and children below.
If you like doing genealogy and don't like paywalls, I recommend using familysearch.org .
It's what I use, it's free and it has a lot of power.
It has a single collaborative world family tree.
You do have to register an account to use it, but it's free.
Here are screen shots of the families of these 2 individuals.
(There is a 4th child with his second wife, but I could not fit all the kids onto 1 screen).
For fun, I looked for a common ancestor on the paternal line.
It is:
David des Marets 1620-1693
Born in France, died in New Jersey.
I recently had this bronze Demarest graded along with its silver counterpart which have his name engraved A. Demarest N.Y. just below the Court House. There is quite a bit of detail work in his medals. Easier to zoom in to see on the PCGS site.
National Commemorative Medals of the U.S. Mint:
https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/u-s-coins/medals-tokens/national-commemorative-medals-united-states-mint-1940-present/alltimeset/195526