The Vanderbilt Connection

Yup! We’ve got a Vanderbilt connection, folks! . . . . . . . . .
But first a little about my trip to find this connection!

I picked Tuesday to travel to Dickinson College Archives to find check out some information I had found on the internet. Tuesday, as anyone who lives in midstate Pennsylvania remembers, was a horrible weather day! The rain and wind had turned to ice in different areas, and before I had reached the Harrisburg Airport area, I had seen 3 different traffic incidents with emergency vehicles attending each one of them. When I got to Harrisburg Airport the traffic was at a dead stop all the way to the Harrisburg area, miles away. A flashing sign noted that the turnpike was closed going west, the direction I was heading. I opted to leave the 283 and travel up a 2 lane road to Harrisburg and then cross the river in that area and take another route to Carlisle where Dickinson is located. Well, it seems this was not an original idea, as the traffic was not as bad as the 283, but was going slower than normal. By the time I got on I-81 heading west the traffic was horrendous! Every vehicle that had been diverted from the turnpike was now on the I-81! It took me 2 ver-r-y long hours to get to Carlisle! That was the bad part of the day.

The good part of the day was find the information that Cornelius L. Vanderbilt was the guardian of George Auxer of Newton Township, Cumberland “during his minority.” He reached his majority and filed the release on 18th December 1847. According to my calculations, this would make this particular George, the George H. Auxer who was a Daguerrian in Chambersburg and Marietta, Pennsylvania. My reasons for this theory are :

• George Oxer and Elizabeth Harlan, were married on March 29, 1825 in Big Springs Presbyterian Church in Newville, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. George H. Auxer was born about 1825 according to the 1825 census.
• George Auxer filed his release in December of 1847 when he reached his majority, making his birthdate just about 9 months after above referenced couples marriage.
• I believe the middle initial of “H” in George’s name stands for his mother’s maiden name of Harlan.

The release does have George Auxer’s signature on it. Now if we can find a document that George H. Auxer has signed, perhaps we can match them!

Now for a bit of history on Cornelius L. Vanderbilt. He was the Tax Collector in Newton Township, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. When Elizabeth Harlan Auxer died, Vanderbilt was the Administrator her estate. According to documents found, Vanderbilt had his fingers in a lot of estates, real estate, etc., in that area. He saved copies of each receipt, and tax list. The surnames of Cope and Harlan are found in quite a few records in this file.

Any thoughts on this?