Author: Winchell, J. F.
Biography:
WINCHELL, J. F. (1776-1845: ancestry.com)
Library catalogues use his initials but his full name was James Fleming Winchell; his father was also James, his mother's name is not known. He was born in Stamford CT but established himself as a baker in Baltimore MD. He may have married twice: the names given by family historians are Mary Ogden and Maria Ann Thompson. He is recorded as resident with a wife and at least three children under ten in Baltimore in the Census of 1810, so he must have married about 1800. There were eventually at least eight sons. In the War of 1812 he joined the Maryland Militia, took part in the defence of Baltimore, and was promoted to Captain. Advertisements for his business in the local newspapers between 1812 and 1816 indicate some reversals of fortune but the family was still in Baltimore in 1820. He was a Master Mason there. The 1830 Census locates them in Newark NJ, however, and then they moved for the last time, to Brooklyn NY where Winchell was appointed Pound Master--the official in charge of stray animals--in 1837 and presumably earlier, given the title of his book. Family lore describes him as possessing "a poetic mind and literary tastes" (Winchell 76). He died in Brooklyn aged 69 and is buried at Peekskill Cemetery. (ancestry.com 14 Feb. 2021; findmypast.com 14 Feb. 2021; Alexander Winchell, Genealogy of the Family of Winchell in America [1869]; Baltimore Patriot 26 Apr. 1816; Morning Courier and New York Enquirer [New York] 14 Jun. 1837; True Sun [New York] 18 Aug. 1845) HJ