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I have been at this brickwall for sometime. My 2x great grandfather claims to be born in France but could be England around 1812. He emigrates to the US in 1839/40 and settles in the upstate New York area. He marries a Mary Morse and has four sons. Around 1850/1 according to family rumor he returns back to england due to death in family by the time he returns his wife is dead and the 4 boys are split between caretakers. On poor house papers for onondaga county NY he says he has a brother and a sister, she is deceased by 1880 and his parents are deceased. His father is a shoemaker. Anyone have a possible matchup in their tree.

thanks Mary

Any idea what his parents names are?
Father at least should be noted on his marriage.
What were his siblings names?

for ref:-
John Lansdown
United States Census, 1850
Name: John Lansdown
Event Type: Census
Event Year: 1850
Event Place: Spafford, Onondaga, New York, United States
Gender: Male
Age: 38
Race: White
Birth Year (Estimated): 1812
Birthplace: England
House Number: 890
Household Role Gender Age Birthplace
John Lansdown M 38 England
Mary Ann Lansdown F 25 New York
John Landauer M 5 New York
Matthias Landauer M 3 New York
Edmund Landauer M 1 New York
Household ID: 925 , Line Number: 41 , Affiliate Name: The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) , Affiliate Publication Number: M432 , Affiliate Film Number: 568 , GS Film Number: 444284 , Digital Folder Number: 004202536 , Image Number: 00320

So 1850 he was still in USA


John Lansdown
United States Census, 1870
Name: John Lansdown
Event Type: Census
Event Year: 1870
Event Place: New York, United States
Gender: Male
Age: 59
Race: White
Race (Original): W
Birth Year (Estimated): 1810-1811
Birthplace: England
Page Number: 79
Line Number: 29 , Affiliate Name: The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) , Affiliate Publication Number: M593 , GS Film number: 000552560 , Digital Folder Number: 004276943 , Image Number: 00296

So it's 1880 census that he states born in France:-

John Lansdown
United States Census, 1880
Name: John Lansdown
Event Type: Census
Event Year: 1880
Event Place: Onondaga, Onondaga, New York, United States
Gender: Male
Age: 70
Marital Status: Widowed
Race: White
Race (Original): W
Occupation: Inmate Of Alms House
Relationship to Head of Household: Other
Relationship to Head of Household (Original): Other
Birth Year (Estimated): 1810
Birthplace: France
Affiliate Name: The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA)
Affiliate Publication Number: T9
Affiliate Film Number: 0906
Household Role Gender Age Birthplace
Herbert W Williams Other M 18 New York, United States
Christian Young Other M 44 Germany
John Abrams Other M 30 Germany
Esther Brownell Other F 65 New York, United States
Amelia Chamberlain Other F 43 New York, United States
Bethial Day Other F 57 New York, United States
Catherine Kaiser Other F 55 Germany
Johanna Kiley Other F 53 Ireland
Emily Thompson Other F 60 New York, United States
Thomas Anderson Other M 25 Ireland
Mary Darling Other F 71 ---
John Lansdown Other M 70 France
Michael Grady Other M 78 Ireland
John Gaughan Other M 74 Ireland
James E Gage Other M 40 New York, United States
William Connors Other M 48 New York, United States
Mary Hayes Other F 18 New York, United States
Julia Delaney Other F 50 Ireland
Grace Travis Other F 40 Ireland
Ellen Finley Other F 36 Ireland
District: 187 , Sheet Number and Letter: 132C , GS Film Number: 1254906 , Digital Folder Number: 004243409 , Image Number: 00268

He claims birth France on civil war papers, onondaga county poor house papers, otherwise he states england. He never lists his names of his family and he left between the 1850/51 as my great grandfather was born july 1851 yet 1860 he is remarried to abigail in the town of skaneatlas,ny as mary morse dies oct 1851. Possible names could be John, Edmund or Timothy as they are not on the mother's side.

The possible names you give, are they for his father or sibling?
How do you know that his father was a shoemaker if was not named on the marriage certificates?

1865 also states born England:-

John Lansdown
New York, State Census, 1865
Name: John Lansdown
Event Type: Census
Event Year: 1865
Event Place: , Sennett, Cayuga, New York, United States
Birth Year (Estimated): 1811
Page: 42
Household Role Gender Age Birthplace
John Lansdown M 54
Abby Lansdown Wife F 55
Household ID: 318 , Line Number: 39 , GS Film Number: 000853201 , Digital Folder Number: 004239220 , Image Number: 00202

The only christening coming up on family search, for a John Lansdown born abt. 1812 is this one:-

John Lansdown
England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975
christening: 27 June 1813 St. Sampson's, Cricklade, Wiltshire, England
residence: Cricklade, Wiltshire, England
father: Thomas Lansdown
mother: Sarah


.................do you have his exact date of birth?

Poorhouse paper under state act filled out by John on may 22 1880 he states fathers occupation as shoemaker and nationality as france and mother as english. Looks like she might have been a seamstress word was hard to read. Have yet to locate marriage record as state law did not require until the late 1800s. Could either father or sibling. He gave his middle name as francis in civil war register.

There is also this death Catherine.


England & Wales deaths 1837-2007 Transcription
Print transcription View image Attach to tree
First name(s) JOHN
Last name LANSDOWN
Gender Male
Birth day -
Birth month -
Birth year -
Age -
Death quarter 2
Death year 1838
District CRICKLADE
County Wiltshire
Volume 8
Page 236

It may or may not be the son of Thomas and Sarah.

Francis is a very french name but, if he was born in France, to have any chance of finding a baptism then you would need to know exactly where in France he was born.
BMD and census records are all free to view but there is no central data base that you can check unfortunately.

Thanks for all the help. I have tried dna testing of myself and brother to try and hopefully find someone. France is both a stong point in our lines.