6 Edward Livingston Youmans. 



little waif had embarked in charge of a woman who 

 seemed to be her nurse, and who died during the voy- 

 age. On his arrival in port, the captain, following an 

 ordinary custom under such circumstances, put little 

 Catherine up at auction for her passage money. She 

 was bought by a physician of New Haven. Her 

 clothing, her delicate features and graceful manners, 

 all betokened refined parentage but who could her 

 parents be ? Her purchaser, who became fondly at- 

 tached to her, endeavoured time and again to ascertain. 

 But in days of slow and infrequent ocean voyages, of 

 inland travel slower still, his efforts proved fruitless. 

 As Catherine Moore grew to womanhood her graces 

 of mind and person increased the interest felt in her 

 origin, but the mystery was never cleared up. At the 

 age of sixteen she was wooed and won by Philip Ken- 

 nedy, a native of Ireland. Their eldest daughter be- 

 came the mother of Catherine Moore Scofield, who 

 married Vincent Youmans. 



At the time of this marriage Miss Scofield's family 

 were living at Westerlo, in Albany County. Vincent 

 Youmans was brought up on a farm in the neighbour- 

 ing town of Coeymans. The market for the Coey- 

 mans farmers was at Albany, some fifteen miles dis- 

 tant, and hence there was urgent need of " lumber 

 wagons," as they were called, for carrying farm prod- 

 ucts. One Jabez Burrill, a shrewd and energetic 

 wagon maker of Sheffield, in the Berkshire Hills, was 

 foremost in supplying this demand, and not unfre- 

 quently visited Coeymans to deliver wagons and get 

 fresh orders. He was in the habit of stopping at the 

 house of Jeremiah Youmans, and made a great im- 

 pression on the minds of that farmer's sons, John and 

 Vincent. Both were eager to accept his offer to take 



