Amy Fuller Hillyer (1838-1880)

Formerly in our possession (thanks to my mother in law Anne Vedder Hoffman De Groff) is an Album of Friendship - given to Miss Amy M. Fuller by a friend.

UPDATE: Today, 2/4/2022 I mailed this friendship book to a direct descendant of Amy Fuller.  We connected via ancestry.com - as i was researching one of the children of Isaac De Groff Jr. (Rebecca.) Amy was Rebecca's daughter. Amy married Ezekiel Hillyer and had a daughter,  Harriet.  Amy passed away when Harriet was just 15 - leaving her what I am sure were many sad memories. Harriet's went on to marry John Osterhout and had five children; her youngest daughter Eveline has descendants who contributed DNA to ancestry.com and I found them.  The result- Amy's friendship book is on route to her family and will perhaps, provide happy memories!  And I have a new friend!

The book is roughly 21 cm tall and 17 cm wide and 1.75 cm thick.  Its cover is a leather-like product with a green colored circle in the center of the front and back covers - with the words "Album of Friendship" in gold lettering.  The title page reads "Miss Amy M Fuller's Album Presented by a Friend."  The book includes approximately 40 pages - of varying colors (all light toned greens, pinks, purples, yellows, with gold trim on the edge of each page.   The date above is my speculation based  on signature and  information known about Miss Fuller.

Friendship albums or autograph books were purchased at local

stores and friends autographed or annotated each other's  - there were apparently popular from early days in Europe until the late 19th century- when it is suggested by some they were replaced by yearbooks as mementos of friendships and poems.   Laura Ingalls Wilder, in her book, Little Town on the Prairie, shares the storie of her autograph book - it is held by Ingalls Homestead, in De Smet, South Dakota.  I too had autograph books - here is a page from mine (1982 - 8th Grade) signed by Suzi Gibson.

One page of the album has some hair clippings - the notation above them reads "sister Hattie's hair" and the word "dead".  The hair is braided and tied tightly with a blue bow.   There are a few Harriet Fuller's buried in the Florida area -- both that I found are wives of Fuller cousin's (the Fuller family is large and the name common).   These clippings could be from a dear friend or close cousin, hence the term "sister" being used. 

Amy did have a sister Harriet born 1850)- she is referenced in John Fuller's will as single in 1882 (age of 32) and this hair clipping could also have been hers. 

Who was Amy M. Fuller? 

Amy Fuller was born on October 5, 1837 to John Fuller and Rebecca De Groff Fuller of Florida, Montgomery County, New York. She was their first child and was christened in the Reformed Protestant  Dutch Church in Florida on May 8, 1841 the same day as her brother, James Leslie, was christened.    She was possibly named for Rebecca's mother, Amy, the second wife of Isaac De Groff of Florida.  Amy lived with her parents John and Rebecca Fuller, in Florida, Montgomery County, New York, and her brothers and sisters - as well as three siblings from John's first marrige to Catherine Van Der Veer.  One of Amy's sisters was Mary M. Fuller, who later married Garrett Staley De Groff, in Florida, Montgomery County, New York in 1878)

Amy married Ezekiel Hillyer, in about 1856.  Ezekiel and Amy had two children - Harrriet Hillyer (born 1876) who married John Osterhout in 1882 and John Hillyer (born 1872) who married a woman named Alice.  Amy died in 1880.  Her husband remarried Rebecca in 1882.  Both Amy and her husband Ezekiel and his second wife, Rebecca are buried in Chuctanunda Cemetery in Minaville, Montgomery County, New York.  Amy died before her mother, Rebecca, or her father, John, passed away.

Who signed Amy Fuller's Album of Friendship?

Below, in order as they are found in the Album of Friendship, are those who signed Amy's book: 

Ezekiel's entry 1863

Garret Staley's entry 1877

• R. H. Ferguson
• Kate A. Schaeffer
• Anna Possibly Amy's sister Ann born 1842
• E Emory Johnson of Yale College, dated November 30, 1861
• Ezekiel Hillyer, of Warsaw, Wyoming, May 20, 1863 presumed to be Amy's husband, Ezekiel Hillyer born 1839, unclear why in Wyoming and perhaps a Hillyer cousin
• Garrett Staley De Groff, of Minavile, dated Feburary 7, 1877   Amy's' brother in law, about a year before his marriage to Mary M. Fuller

• Leslie Fuller (signed" your brother") with the location of "home" December 5, 1865 Amy's brother Leslie, born 1839
• MaMa Fuller September 1, 1866 Amy's mother, Rebecca
• Thomas E (can't make out last name)
• E.S. Schaeffer, of Seward, Schoharie County, May 29, 1862
• E. Hillyer, July 5, 1862 presumed to be Amy's husband, Ezekiel Hillyer born 1839
• Amos (dedicated "sister Amy") Amy's' brother Amos born 1846
• Marian De Forest, Sloansville Schoharie County possibly this Marian De Forest os Schoharie County
• Maggie
• Abraham Bellinger, Sloansville Schoharie County perhaps a son of Isaac and Sarah Bellinger, born 1842, found in the 1860 Federal Census living in Seward, Schoharie County. 1860; Census Place: Seward, Schoharie, New York; Roll: M653_860; Page: 512; Image: 514; Family History Library Film: 803860.
• Henry Bellinger (unsure of first name), Schoharie County perhaps a son of Isaac and Sarah Bellinger, born 1844,  found in the 1860 US Federal Census living in Seward, Schoharie County.  1860; Census Place: Seward, Schoharie, New York; Roll: M653_860; Page: 512; Image: 514; Family History Library Film: 803860.

How did I document Amy Fuller Hillyer? 

The first reference I found to Amy Fuller was a burial site - in Chuctanunda Cemetery in Minaville, Montgomery County, New York.  Her gravesite is marked Amy Fuller Hillyer; her dates of birth and death are listed as October 5, 1837 and death October 10, 1880. She is also described as being the wife of Ezekiel Hillyer (d: 1904).

The next reference to Amy is of her christening - at the Reformed Protestant Dutch Church, in Florida, Montgomery County, New York -- on the 8th of May 1841.  Her father is listed as being John Fuller and her mother's first name is not given - but a last name of De Graff is listed in the church registry.
--> this is the first clue of a possible connection between Amy Fuller and the family I am researching and a possible explanation of why this friendship book is in our family's possession.

Also in the register of the Reformed Protestant Dutch Church, I next found evidence of other children of John Fuller and a mother De Graff being christened (Melissa - 1857, June 6 and James Leslie 1841, May 8) I also found an entry referencing John Fuller's marriage - in 1836, on December 29-  to a woman with the last name of DeGraff.

I was researching the De Graff /DeGroff families and had been reading a will of Isaac De Groff Senior (probated in Florida, Montgomery County, New York in 1851.) In the will, he references his daughter Amy De Graff Fuller, wife of John Fuller of Florida, New York.  This documentation added a first name to Amy's mother.

In building out both the family trees of Isaac De Groff and John Fuller, I was able to add more details to Amy's story.  I found her in the 1850, 1860, 1870, and 1880 US Federal Census and in the 1875 New York State Census.  I am able to deduce her children's date of marriage from the 1900 US Census, which included as one of the questions - "year of  marriage" for each person interviewed.

Amy's date of marriage to Ezekiel is presumed based on the date of birth of their first known child - Harriet. If there were earlier children who did not survive, I have not found evidence of them yet.

Amy's death (and birth) are documented on her tombstone.  I am assured that Amy passed away before her parents,  because Amy's father's will (John Fuller probated 1882) was presented by Rebecca (Amy's mother) and Amy's brother Leslie.

The complete connection of Amy Fuller Hillyer to Darren and Hannah De Groff

Amy's sister, Mary M. Fuller (1854-1892) married Garret Staley De Groff of Florida, Montgomery County, New York, in 1878.  Mary is the first wife of Hannah and Darren's great- great - grand father.   Amy as her sister, is the sister in law of Hannah and Darren's great -great grandfather.