Author: Cody, Isaac
Biography:
CODY, Isaac (fl 1808-22)
No official records of his birth, marriage, or death have been found and his name was not uncommon in the US at the time, but Cody turned for publicity to local newspapers and it is possible to trace some of his activities through the NY press. He might be the Isaac Cody who was responsible for the accidental killing of another man with a musket in Augusta in 1807. In Schenectady he was employed as a schoolmaster for some time; there he published his tragedy in 1808 and paid to promote it repeatedly in 1808-9. In 1809 he advertised the opening of a night school for “youth of both sexes” where besides the three Rs he offered instruction in English grammar, book-keeping, and surveying. This school was to be held in a large room adjacent to his existing day school. It is clear from other advertisements that he later turned to store-keeping, either in place of or in addition to teaching. The 1810 census indicates that he had married, since he was living with a younger woman and a much older one who must have been his or his wife’s mother. In Nov. 1814 his wife Sally died, aged 27. About 1819 he moved to Cicero NY where he kept a store and a post office and in 1822 offered his services as a land agent. The advertisements peter out in 1823 and nothing more is heard of him. (findmypast.com 22 Jan. 2024; ancestry.com 22 Jan. 2024; Columbian Gazette [Utica] 11 Aug. 1807; Western Budget [Schenectady] 10 Jan. 1809, 24 Jan. 1809; Cabinet [Schenectady] 1 Sept. 1813, 9 Nov. 1814; Spectator [New York NY] 26 Jul. 1822)