Puffer Genealogy
PUFFER, George[1]
1859 - 1930 (70 years)-
Name PUFFER, George Birth 19 Jul 1859 Readsboro, VT [2, 3, 4] Gender Male FindaGrave Ref# 425 [1] Residence 1865 Adams, MA [5] Residence 1930 Janesville, WI [6] - An inmate at the Rock County Asylum in 1930
_COLOR 11 Death 16 Jul 1930 Janesville, WI [7] Person ID I21479 Puffer 062124 Last Modified 9 Aug 2022
Father PUFFER, William, b. 13 Jan 1834, Readsboro, VT d. 22 Mar 1898, Rock County, WI (Age 64 years) Mother CANEDY, Maria, b. 22 Dec 1831, Vergennes, VT d. 9 Jul 1888, Janesville, WI (Age 56 years) Marriage Abt 1855 Readsboro, VT [8] Residence 1865 North Adams, MA [5] Family ID F8842 Group Sheet | Family Chart
Family DOHENY, Ellen, b. 4 Jul 1860, Janesville, WI d. 8 Dec 1932, Milwaukee, WI (Age 72 years) Marriage 3 Jul 1883 Janesville, WI [2] Residence 1 Jun 1905 Milwaukee, WI [9] Children 1. PUFFER, George Byron, b. 9 Oct 1884, Janesville, WI d. 3 Jun 1968, Milwaukee, WI (Age 83 years) 2. PUFFER, Arthur Patrick Sr., b. 23 Aug 1886, Janesville, WI d. 1 Jul 1963, Wauwatosa, WI (Age 76 years) 3. PUFFER, Mary, b. 4 May 1889, Janesville, WI d. 29 Oct 1962, Milwaukee, WI (Age 73 years) 4. PUFFER, Ella V., b. 8 Sep 1891, Janesville, WI d. 29 Nov 1958, WI (Age 67 years) 5. PUFFER, Lillian, b. 20 Sep 1893, Janesville, WI d. 26 Jul 1933, WI (Age 39 years) 6. PUFFER, Ruth G., b. 14 Jun 1896, Milwaukee, WI d. 1951, WI (Age 54 years) 7. PUFFER, Martin Lawrence, b. 2 Apr 1901, Milwaukee, WI d. 19 Apr 1950, WI (Age 49 years) 8. PUFFER, Charles James, b. 22 Oct 1903, Milwaukee, WI d. 29 Dec 1974, Milwaukee, WI (Age 71 years) Family ID F9581 Group Sheet | Family Chart Last Modified 21 Jun 2024
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Notes - He removed to Janesville, WI and about 1895 to Milwaukee, WI.
His last name (sometimes Buffer) and dates are often mis-recorded, misreported, or misremembered by many people reporting them.
The 1860, and 1870 Federal Censuses are informationally correct. The 1880 and 1900 Federal Census incorrectly records his birthplace to Massachusetts.
The 1905 Wisconsin State Census he is listed as living in Milwaukee, WI with wife and 8 children. This is incorrect as, at that time, he was in the Wisconsin State Penitentiary.
As a number of newspaper reports show he was accused and convicted of attempted murder of a police officer and sentenced to 8 years. One of his daughters had sworn out a warrant because he was "..in the habit of creating family disturbances.", having been one of numerous "..complaints that have been lodged against Puffer by members of his family." The police reports show he was a heavy drinker and "had trouble with his wife and family on many occasions."
The 1906 and 1907 Milwaukee, WI, City Directory list Nellie as the widow of George, even though he was alive. They had obviously separated or divorced by then.
He must have served his sentence almost to the end as the 1930 Federal Census shows him in the Rock County Asylum in Janesville, WI. It records the wrong birth place (MA) ca 1860 and states he was married.
A brief mention in a 1930s newspaper indicates that "he was of Janesville", 75 years old, and left a widow and 5 children. A longer obituary in the Janesville Daily Gazette describes him as 75, a machinist, resident of Janesville for 40 years, born in MA in 1855. Survived by his widow and 5 children, all of Milwaukee." Burial in Mt. Olivet Cemetery. No other George Puffer of this age is in the Janesville area at this time, concluding that this George is the son of William and Maria Canady Puffer and the husband of Nellie.
- He removed to Janesville, WI and about 1895 to Milwaukee, WI.
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Sources - [S2] Descendants of George Puffer of Braintree, Massachusetts 1639-2020, Red Letter Edition, 285, 330.
- [S2] Descendants of George Puffer of Braintree, Massachusetts 1639-2020, Red Letter Edition, 330.
- [S538] Vermont Vital Records, 1720-1908.
- [S425] _1860 United States Federal Census.
- [S680] Massachusetts State Census, 1865.
- [S382] _1930 United States Federal Census.
- [S740] _Newspaper Announcement, Wausau Daily Herald, Wausau, WI, 18 Jul 1930, page 15.
- [S2] Descendants of George Puffer of Braintree, Massachusetts 1639-2020, Red Letter Edition, 284.
- [S327] Wisconsin State Censuses, 1855 and 1905.
- [S2] Descendants of George Puffer of Braintree, Massachusetts 1639-2020, Red Letter Edition, 285, 330.