A couple weeks ago I was contacted by a descendant of C.C.P. and Effa VanTuyl Eldred. She wanted to share some documents and photos from her family.
What a wonderful surprise that one of the documents was for the 1831 selection of our common ancestor James Eldred to be the Lumberland Postmaster. It was signed by William T. Barry, Postmaster of the United States of America.
My readers may know that Barryville, New York was named after the US Postmaster General Barry around 1831. It’s always nice to get documented proof of an event.
Who is C.C.P.?
Louise: Thanks for the question.
C.C.P. Eldred was a son of James Eldred, and halfbrother of my great-grandmother Mary Ann Austin. The initials stand for Charles Cotesworth Pinckney. My grandfather called him Cortzi.
C.C.P. Eldred was the Lumberland/Highland Post Master in 1851; and he was responsible (as I understand it) for the change in the name of Halfway Brook Village to Eldred…because the official/s at the US Post Office wanted a shorter name.
I’ve heard two stories: 1. the village name of Eldred is after James Eldred; 2. that C.C.P. named it for himself.