Let me begin by apologizing for taking so long to get back to you. IÂ’ve been loaned some Eardley will abstracts microfilms by a very generous genealogist, and have been working madly to get them all read before I have to return them.

Robert Bertine was my g g grandfather. Family lore says he was a merchant of some sort, probably in NYC, and was quite wealthy. According to the same family lore, he was descended from Huguenots who came to America during the inquisition. I have no reason to disbelieve this, but have found no record of the Bertines as yet in that area. I would GREATLY appreciate it if youÂ’d pass on any info you have about that to me.

A book, “The history of Dutchess County, NY”, lists him on the contributor’s page as being born in “New York City or Westchester” in 1803 or 1804. The book was written in 1882. Since he died in 1876, I doubt he actually contributed to this book. It’s more apt that his widow and children did so in his name, making the question of where he was born more understandable.

Again, back to family lore, which is most of what I have to go on. Robert bought a summer house in Amenia, Dutchess County, probably after the Civil War. He must have retired there. On an 1867 map, his house is referred to as a “homestead”, not a farm. I have recently met a man who says he has a picture of a very “grand” house which has been identified to him as the “Bertine” house. The first D.C. census I found Robert on was in 1865, in the Town of Amenia. He is buried in Amenia. His tombstone is a rather grand pink marble obelisk. So everything I’ve learned about him jibs with the idea that he was a wealthy merchant from NYC, who retired to Dutchess.

Once he gets to Dutchess, I have a tremendous amount of information about his family, mostly gleaned from the local newspapers. His four daughters were Ann Eliza, Gertrude, Josephine, and Mary Frances (my g grandmother). All but Mary Frances married people with strong ties to NYC, and most lived in NYC after their marriages. Mary Frances married a local with no ties to NYC and in the long run, produced me, a very clever thing to do if I say so myself. As a young man, his son, Robert D. Bertine, seems to have run a general store in Shekomeko, later moving to Binghamton.

I have the names of most of his daughtersÂ’ children, and few of their grandchildren. I have nothing on his son Robert D., other than he was married and had children. One of these days, IÂ’m hoping to get a copy of the Binghamton census and find out what the wife and childrenÂ’s names were. If we can tie my Robert and your William up, I can send you all the names I have.

My 83 year old aunt has told me that the Bertines were from Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. But I donÂ’t know if this was Robert or RobertÂ’s married children.

I havenÂ’t found much else on him. Given the relative rarity of the surname, if you have a Robert, itÂ’s probably my Robert and IÂ’d love any info you can give me.

I have my grandmother’s scrapbook, which has a picture (circa 1950’s?) of a Marian Bertine, apparently of Mount Vernon. She was the president of the “Zenger Society”. There are also three newspaper clippings of St. Paul’s Church in Eastchester, Mt. Vernon, which apparently had something to do with Peter Zenger. Given the four clippings, I assume that my Bertines may have somehow been connected to this church, although I wouldn’t want to stake my life on it. There’s also a newspaper clipping of a picture of Edwin K. Bertine of Bronxville (circa 1950’s). Again, I’m sure he’s a relative, but I don’t know if he’s a child of Robert D. of Binghamton, or a child of one of Robert Sr. brothers.

Again, IÂ’m sorry for taking so long to get back to you. IÂ’d love to hear any info you have on the family.

Your perhaps 700th cousin, 20 times removed,

Susan Brehm