CORNELIUS1 LEZENBY (RichardC, DorothyB, WilliamA) was baptized at Saint Mary-the-Virgin Parish, Blackburn, Lancashire, England, on 28 November 1821, a son of Richard Lazenby and his wife Jane Seed.[1] He died at Trenton, Mercer County, New Jersey, on 11 November 1878.[2] He married at Stockport, Cheshire, England, on 22 August 1841 ELIZABETH WILSON.[3] She was born in Ireland about 1820-1[4] and died at Camden, Camden County, New Jersey, on 12 April 1879.[5] Her parents were DAVID WILSON and his wife ELEANOR ________.
Eliza, or Elizabeth, Wilson was born at Ireland according to the 1841, 1850 and 1870 censuses, at Manchester, England, according to the 1860 census. Ireland is the more likely location, as it is in the earliest record. Because she was "from" Manchester, this could have easily been mistaken for her birthplace in 1860. Cornelius, like his father, followed the blacksmith trade; Eliza’s father and brother labored for a stocking manufacturer.
Cornelius and Eliza married in 1841, but the census of that year was taken on 6 June, before their marriage, and reported them both in their separate locations. Cornelius Lazenby, blacksmith, was reported in the household of John and Ellen Jane Thomson of Manchester, Lancashire. The census rounded off Cornelius' age at 15.[6] Elizabeth was reported with her family of origin at Henry Street, Manchester:[7]
| Name | Age | Sex | occupation | birthplace |
| David Wilson | 45 | M | stocking mfg. | Ireland |
| Eleanor Wilson | 50 | F | Ireland | |
| David Wilson | 30 | M | stocking mfg. | Ireland |
| Elizabeth Wilson | 20 | F | Ireland | |
| Alexander Wilson | 12 | M | labourer | Ireland |
| Eleanor Wilson | 10 | F | Ireland | |
| Samuel Wilson | 1 | M | Lancashire |
The census takers appear to have been rounding-off ages to the nearest 5 here as well.
The family of Cornelius and Elizabeth grew, and they soon emigrated to America. Son John reported in the 1900 census that he emigrated in 1846. If the family moved in that year it would have been after the baptism of a child on 4 October. Their migration would have definitely occurred before the birth of a child in America in December 1849. If they came very late in 1846 the migrating family consisted of a father and mother age 25, children ages 6, 4, and 2, and a baby in arms.
Their first home in America was Norristown, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, where a child was born in December 1849, and where the census reported them in June 1850. The census reported a family consisting of Cornelius, 28, blacksmith, Eliza, 29, Samuel, 10, John, 8, Ellen, 6, Martha, 4, and Alexander, 1.[8]
Based on the birthplaces of their children, the Lezenbys were in Pennsylvania in 1851, and had moved to Camden, New Jersey by 1853. The family continued to grow, Cornelius continued his trade, and filed for citizenship in the United States at the Philadelphia Quarter Sessions Court on 13 March 1854.[9] The 1860 census reported the now completed family at Camden:[10]
| Name | Age | Sex | Occupation | Birthplace | Other |
| Cornelius Lezenby | 38 | M | blacksmith, master | Blackburn, England | personal estate $500 |
| Eliza Lezenby | 38 | F | Manchester, England | ||
| Samuel Lezenby | 20 | M | apprentice to blacksmith | Manchester, England | |
| John Lezenby | 18 | M | apprentice to blacksmith | Manchester, England | |
| Ellen Lezenby | 16 | F | Manchester, England | ||
| Martha Lezenby | 14 | F | Manchester, England | school | |
| Alexander Lezenby | 11 | M | PA | school | |
| Jane Lezenby | 8 | F | PA | school | |
| Cornelius Lezenby | 7 | M | Camden | school | |
| Margaret Lezenby | 4 | F | Camden | ||
| Eliza Lezenby | 2 | F | Camden | ||
| Lily Lezenby | 3/12 | F | Camden |
The United States was soon at war, and the Lezenby family’s two young men soon volunteered to fight. Samuel W. Lezenby joined the 1st volunteer infantry regiment of New Jersey, company E, and rose to sergeant.[11] Samuel served throughout the war, and his unit actively engaged in the battles of the Army of the Potomac. John Lezenby enlisted on 24 April 1861 as a private in the 4th volunteer infantry regiment of New Jersey, company C. Mustered out on 31 July 1861, he reenlisted on 13 August 1862 as a 1st Sergeant in the 12th Infantry regiment of New Jersey, company C. He was mustered out on 4 June 1865.[12] The 12th New Jersey engaged in the battles of Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, the battle of the Wilderness, the siege of Petersburg, and the surrender at Appomattox Court House, among others.
After the war, the sons settled down. Samuel and John both married in 1865, Ellen married in 1866. The 1870 census reported a shrinking household at Camden, consisting of Cornelius, 48, blacksmith, Eliza, 48, keeping house, illiterate, Jennie, 19, seamstress, young Cornelius, 17, Maggie, 14, at school, Eliza 13, at school. and Lillie, 10, at school.[13]
I have not found the record of Cornelius being sworn in as a citizen, but we know he was. He ran for office, for Justice of the Peace of the South Ward of Camden in 1867. Cornelius ran as a Democrat and lost, 370-263.[14]
The decade of the 1870s was one of great loss for this family: Samuel died in 1872, Ellen in 1874, Cornelius in 1878 and Eliza in 1879. The children continued to die young: Martha in 1883, Jane in 1884, Lillie in 1889, and Cornelius in 1899. Of ten children in this family, all ten lived to adulthood, but five died between the ages of 29 and 36, one at 46 and one at 54. Only three lived beyond the age of 60.
Cornelius Lezenby and his wife Eliza Wilson had the following children:
1"England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975," database, Family Search (familysearch.org : accessed 18 December 2011), St Mary the Virgin, Blackburn, Lancashire, Cornelius Lazenby, 1821.
2David Barnett, to Charles A. Maxfield, electronic mail, 19 October 2015, "mark up of Lezenby descendants,"; privately.
3Church of England. Record Office Chester, "Cheshire Parish Registers, 1538-2000," database, Family Search (familysearch.org : accessed 25 May 2018), St Mary, Stockport: Marriage, Lazenby-Wilson, 1841.
4Seventh Census of the United States: 1850, population, Norristown, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, roll 800, p. 274B-275A, household 623, Cornelius Lezenby family; digital images, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 4 December 2014); NARA Microfilm Publication M432; Record Group 29; National Archives, Washington, D.C.
5Evergreen Cemetery, Camden, Camden County, New Jersey, Find a Grave, digital images (findagrave.com : database 27 May 2018), Eliza Wilson Lezenby; Created by: Dave B.
6Census Returns of England and Wales, 1841, Piece: 575; Book: 19; Enumeration District: 37; Folio: 51; Page: 24, John Thompson family; digital images, The National Archives of the UK: Public Record Office, Kew, Surrey, England, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 13 November 2016).
71841 Census, Piece: 577; Book: 13; Enumeration District: 23; Folio: 24; Page 43, David Wilson family.
81850 Census, Norristown, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, roll 800, p. 274B-275A, household 623, Cornelius Lezenby family.
9P. William Filby ed., "Philadelphia Naturalization Records," database, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 4 December 2014), No. 63573 Cornelius Lezenby; Philadelphia, 1789-1880 Naturalization Records
10Eighth Census of the United States: 1860, population, Camden, Camden County, New Jersey, roll 686, p. 556-7, household 490, Cornelius Lezenby family; digital images, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 1 December 2014); NARA microfilm publication M653; Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration.
11United States Department of Veterans Affairs, "General Index to Pension Files, 1861-1934," Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 4 December 2014), Samuel W. Lezenby; National Archives and Records Administration. Washington, D.C., Record Group Number: 15; Series Number: T288. William S. Stryker, Record of Officers and Men of New Jersey in the Civil War, 1861 - 1865 (Trenton, N. J.: John L. Murphy, 1876, New Jersey State Library, http://slic.njstatelib.org), 82.
12"General Index to Pension Files, 1861-1934," John Lezenby. Stryker, New Jersey in the Civil War, 1861 - 1865, 56, 595, 622.
13Ninth Census of the United States: 1870, population, Camden, Camden County, New Jersey, roll 856, p. 447B, household 416, Cornel Lezenby family; digital images, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 5 December 2014); NARA microfilm publication M593, Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration.
14"Camden City Election," West Jersey Press, 20 March 1867; Genealogy Bank (genealogybank.com : accessed 27 June 2018). p. 2.
15"England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975," Cathedral, Manchester, Lancashire, Martha Lezenby, 1846.
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16Evergreen Cemetery, Camden, Martha Lezenby Hewitt; Created by: Dave B.
"Died," Philadelphia Inquirer, 13 August 1883, v. 109, p. 5; Genealogy Bank (genealogybank.com : accessed 26 October 2016), Newspaper Archives. p. 11.
17"New Jersey, Marriages, 1678-1985," index, Family Search (familysearch.org : accessed 29 May 2018), Hewett-Lezenby 1866.
18Twelth Census of the United States: 1900, population, Camden, Camden County, New Jersey, enumeration district (ED) 38, roll 958, p. 1B, household 21, Charles Hewitt family; digital images, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 16 September 2015); NARA microfilm group T623; Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration.
19Calvary Cemetery, Cherry Hill, Camden County, New Jersey, Find a Grave, digital images (findagrave.com : accessed 31 May 2018), Charles Hewitt; Created by: Dave B, Photo added by J M.
201900 Census, Population, Camden, Camden County, New Jersey, ED 38, roll 958, p. 1B, household 21, Charles Hewitt family.
21Calvary Cemetery, Cherry Hill, Mary Hewitt; Created by: Dave B, Photo added by J M.
221860 Census, Population, Camden, Camden County, New Jersey, roll 686, p. 556-7, household 490, Cornelius Lezenby family.
23Evergreen Cemetery, Camden, Jane “Jennie” Lezenby Wood; Created by: Dave B.
24Barnett to Charles A. Maxfield, electronic mail, 19 October 2015.
251860 Census, Population, Camden, Camden County, New Jersey, roll 686, p. 556-7, household 490, Cornelius Lezenby family.
26Evergreen Cemetery, Camden, Cornelius Lezenby; Created by: Dave B. "Died," Philadelphia Inquirer, 14 November 1899, v. 141:137, p. 14; Genealogy Bank (genealogybank.com : accessed 6 June 2018), Newspaper Archives.
27Barnett to Charles A. Maxfield, electronic mail, 19 October 2015.
28New Jersey. Surrogate's Court (Camden County); Camden, New Jersey, Record of Wills, 1844-1900, will of Cornelius Lezenby; "New Jersey, Wills and Probate Records, 1656-1999," digital images, Ancestry (ancestry.com: accessed 9 September 2015); Book V, p. 470.
291860 Census, Camden, Camden County, New Jersey, roll 686, p. 556-7, household 490, Cornelius Lezenby family.
30Evergreen Cemetery, Camden, Lilly F Lezenby Fennimore; Created by: Dave B.
31Barnett to Charles A. Maxfield, electronic mail, 19 October 2015.
32Pennsylvania, Death Certificates, 1906–1963, certificate 65628, Benjamin P Fennemore, 1931; digital images, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 15 June 2018); Records of the Pennsylvania Department of Health, Record Group 11, Series 11.90. Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
I am indebted to David Barnett, who has shared his research with me through electronic mail, and who has posted much information on the internet at findagrave.com as David B.
Barnett, David. "mark up of Lezenby descendants." Electronic mail to Charles A. Maxfield. 19 October 2015. Privately held.
Calvary Cemetery, Cherry Hill, Camden County, New Jersey. Find a Grave. Digital images. findagrave.com : 2018.
England, Church of, Record Office Chester. "Cheshire Parish Registers, 1538-2000." Database. Family Search. familysearch.org : 2018.
"England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975." Database. Family Search. familysearch.org : 2011.
Evergreen Cemetery, Camden, Camden County, New Jersey. Find a Grave. Digital images. findagrave.com : 2018.
Filby, P. William ed. "Philadelphia Naturalization Records." Database. Ancestry. ancestry.com : 2014.
"New Jersey, Marriages, 1678-1985." Index. Family Search. familysearch.org : 2018.
New Jersey Surrogate's Court (Camden County); Camden. Record of Wills, 1844-1900. "New Jersey, Wills and Probate Records, 1656-1999." Digital images. Ancestry. ancestry.com: 2015.
Pennsylvania Department of Health. Death Certificates, 1906–1963. Digital images. Ancestry. ancestry.com : 2018.
Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 13 August 1883; 14 November 1899
Stryker, William S. Record of Officers and Men of New Jersey in the Civil War, 1861 - 1865. Trenton, N. J.: John L. Murphy, 1876, New Jersey State Library, http://slic.njstatelib.org.
United Kingdom, National Archives of the. Census Returns of England and Wales, 1841. Digital images. Public Record Office, Kew, Surrey, England. Ancestry. ancestry.com : 2016.
United States Department of the Census. Seventh Census of the United States: 1850, population. Digital images. Ancestry. ancestry.com : 2014.
________. Eighth Census of the United States: 1860, population. Digital images. Ancestry. ancestry.com : 2014.
________. Ninth Census of the United States: 1870, population. Digital images. Ancestry. ancestry.com : 2014.
________. Twelth Census of the United States: 1900, population. Digital images. Ancestry. ancestry.com : 2015.
United States Department of Veterans Affairs. "General Index to Pension Files, 1861-1934." Ancestry. ancestry.com : 2014.
West Jersey Press. Camden, Camden County, New Jersey. 20 March 1867.