Catherine “Katie” Beasaw, born around 1864, first appeared in the 1870 U.S. Census as a 6-year-old living in Saranac, New York, with her parents Jerome and Martha Resow (also recorded as Resan) and several siblings. Her racial classification varied over time—initially listed as white, later recorded as American Indian in 1880, and then consistently white in subsequent records.
By 1880, Katie was a 16-year-old homemaker. In 1883, she married Levi Jabbert (also spelled Jabaut), and by 1900 they were raising a large family in Saranac. Of their nine children, seven were named in the census. Her mother, Matilda, lived with them at the time as a widow.
In the following decades, Katie’s life saw changes in residence, family composition, and identity details. She moved to Plattsburgh, where her husband’s name was sometimes recorded as Oliver Jabot. By 1920, she was a widowed day laborer supporting her children. In 1921, she remarried Alexander Coreture (later appearing as Alex Seymour in records). Her name then appeared as Catherine Seymour in the 1925 and 1930 censuses.
Throughout her life, inconsistencies in records regarding her age, race, parents’ birthplaces, and marital status appear frequently, likely due to clerical errors or evolving personal and societal identities. Catherine died on November 22, 1937, in Plattsburgh, having lived through significant shifts in family, identity, and community life.
Ask ChatGPT