Mrs. Fanny Van Alstyne

Mrs. Fanny Van Alstyne is buried in the North Ridge of Sandusky's Oakland Cemetery. She passed away on June 13, 1867. Her tombstone notes that she was the wife of Pierre Van Alstyne. Fanny was born in New York on May 11, 1843. According to FamilySearch records, Fanny was the daughter of Julius Bellamy and Sarah Jane Barney. In the 1860 U.S. Census, there is a Fanny living at the household of Freeland T. Barney, the brother of Sarah Jane Barney. Helen Hansen wrote in AT HOME IN EARLY SANDUSKY, that while Mr. and Mrs. Freeland Barney were childless, they adopted several children. Fanny Bellamy may have been adopted by Mr. and Mrs. Freeland Barney, but no official records have been found to confirm that fact.

Fanny Van Alstyne had a son, also named Pierre Van Alstyne. He was born in Tennessee about 1866, per U.S. Census records found on Ancestry Library Edition. In the 1880 U.S. Census, Pierre Van Alstyne is residing with Mrs. Mary Barney, the widow of Freeland T. Barney. Pierre is listed as Mary's grandson. Pierre worked at the Barney family's hardware business in Sandusky. While do not know all the details of Mrs. Fanny Van Alstyne's family connections, or what happened to her spouse, it is clear that Mr. and Mrs. Freeland T. Barney dearly loved Fanny, and took care of her young child after her death.