Willis Arthur Sackett MD

(1857-1897)
FatherEdwin Sackett (1827-1879)
MotherSusan Parmelia Pierce (c 1834-)
Willis Arthur Sackett MD, son of Edwin Sackett and Susan Parmelia Pierce, was born in New York StateG on 28 December 1857.1,2 He died aged 39 in Buffalo, Erie County, New York StateG, on 23 March 18973 and was buried at Temple Hill Cemetery, Geneseo, Livingston County, New York StateG.4 He married in GeneseoG on 13 April 1882, Adeline Augusta "Addie" Paul, daughter of Joseph M Paul and Delia M Seaver.1,5 Adeline was born in New York StateG in April 1858.4 She died aged 80 in Potsdam, St Lawrence County, New York StateG, on 5 February 19396 and was buried at Temple Hill Cemetery, GeneseoG.4
     In 1860 Willis was living in Geneseo, Livingston County, New York StateG, in the household of his parents Edwin and Susan, and was recorded in the census as Willis Sackett, aged two and born in New York.7
     In 1870 he was living in GeneseoG in the household of his parents Edwin and Susan, and was recorded as Willis Sackett, aged twelve.8
     In 1880 he was living in GeneseoG and was recorded as Willis A Sackett, a hotel keeper, head of household, single, aged 22. Living with him were his widowed mother Susan, 46, Susan's widowed mother Laura Pierce, 77, and Willis's brother Herbert. aged eight. There were also two male lodgers in the household.9
     Willis was listed as a physician in the Buffalo City Directory from 1892.10
Addie Sackett
     Willis's widow Addie did not remarry after his death. She supported herself and her three school-age daughters by running her home, which she owned, as a small boarding house. However, she found herself in financial difficulty and in 1904 a debt judgement for $113 was made against her. In the following year she took on the management of a much larger, 80-room, boarding house while the owner was attending to business elsewhere. Following the discovery of substantial discrepancies in the account books, Addie was charged with the theft of up to $1,000. She admitted responsibility for about $200 of this amount, but disputed the majority of the alleged loss. The result of her trial at court is not known as the relevant newspaper reports have not been found.
     In 1900 Willis's widow Addie was living in GeneseoG and was recorded in the census as Annie Sackett, proprietor of a boarding house, head of household, a widow, aged 41. She owned her home free of mortgage. Living with her were her daughters, Bernice, 17, Stella, 16, and Delia, aged 14. There was also a female servant in the household.11
     In 1905 she was living at Delavan Avenue, BuffaloG, and was recorded as Addie A Sackett, lodger, housework, aged 42. She was one of six lodgers in the household of Herbert A Smith, 24, a medical student.12
     Addie was listed in the Buffalo City Directory from 1904 to 1910. In 1907 she was a stenographer.10
     In 1910 she was living at 391 Hudson Street, BuffaloG, and was recorded as Ada Sackett, a cook in a cafe, head of household, a widow, aged 55. She rented her home. There were two female lodgers in the household.13
     In 1920 she was living in the household of her daughter Bernice and son-in-law Charles Van Housen in Auburn, Cayuga County, New York StateG, and was listed as Adeline Sackett, a widow, aged 61.14

Children of Willis Arthur Sackett MD and Adeline Augusta "Addie" Paul


6610. Willis Arthur Sackett, M. D., 1857–, of Geneseo, and Albany, N. Y., son of (3799) Edwin and Susan P. Pierce Sackett, was married, Apr. 23, 1882, to Addie Augusta Paul, daughter of Joseph M. Paul and his wife Delia M. Seaver.
Children.
9920. Bernice Ruth Sackett, b. Jan. 1883.
9921. Stella May Sackett, b. May 24, 1884.
9922. Delia Augusta Sackett, b. Jan. 13, 1886.


Death of Dr. Sackett.
After a Long and Painful Illness He Passed Away Yesterday at His Home.

     Dr. Willis A. Sackett of 53 Wadsworth street died yesterday after a long and painful illness. He had been connected with the World's Dispensary Medical Association for a number of years. He was born in Geneseo, Dec. 28, 1857. He was graduated from the University of Buffalo in 1891.
     On Oct. 15 he was stricken with pneumonia and in December he went to Asheville, N.C., for his health. He returned to Buffalo two weeks ago and from that time his decline was rapid. Dr. Sackett was married and leaves a wife and three daughters. A short service will be held at the family home this afternoon at 5:30 o'clock and the remains will be taken to Geneseo for interment.

Buffalo Evening News, Buffalo, New York, 24 Mar 1897, p 13


Judgments.
Addie A. Sackett in favor of Addie C. Allen (Benjamin W. Hall, atty.) ... 113.27

Buffalo Courier, Buffalo, New York, 16 Jul 1904, p 10

Woman Accused by Her Employer
Mrs. Addie Sackett of Delaware Avenue Boarding-house must plead to petit Larceny.
Smith Gone Ten Months
During that Time, so he says, Mrs. Sackett shook him down for about $1,000.
     Mrs. Addie Sackett of No. 393 Delaware avenue will be arraigned in the Police Court this morning to answer a charge of petit larceny. While the theft alleged in the warrant of arrest involves only $17.50, Mrs. Sackett's accuser charges that she has stolen about $1,000 from him. Mrs. Sackett denies taking any such amount as that, and says there was no criminal intent in what she did.
     Her accuser is George D. Smith, owner of a large boarding-house at No. 33 West Tupper street. Last July Mr. Smith hired Mrs. Sackett as housekeeper to take charge of his boarding-house while he went to Saint Louis to open a temporary hotel during the fair. He was gone for six months, then went to Florida and was gone four months more.
     Upon his return he discovered, so he alleges, that his housekeeper had been juggling the accounts to her profit, and he then began the investigation which resulted in his swearing out the warrant.
     "While I was at Saint Louis and in Florida," said Mr. Smith to a reporter for The Express yesterday, "I received letters from her saying that the house was losing money, that the business was dull and there were very few boarders. As a matter of fact, as I learned when I got back, the house was practically full all the time, and she was pocketing money she collected from the boarders.
     "To cover up her misappropriations, she doctored the account books. In some instances she collected money from new boarders who stayed only a few weeks and never made a record of their being there at all; in many instances she made false entries of the date of their arrival so as to make it appear that they had been there a much less period than they really had been there.
     "For instance, take the case specified in the warrant I swore out for her arrest. In this case she had a roomer named Thomas entered in the book as having arrived on March 7th, whereas, in fact, as she afterward confessed to me, and as I can show by his laundry account, he came on January 17th. That is a period of seven weeks during which she collected $17.50 from him, not one cent of which she turned over to me, and no part of which was entered in the book.
     "I have a list of 80 different boarders or roomers on whose accounts Mrs. Sackett knocked down from a few dollars to as high as $45 during my absence. It has taken me weeks to untangle her accounts and get the proofs against her, and I am now prepared to show that she did me out of about $1,000 during the ten months I was away."
     "When I first confronted her with my accusation," continued Mr. Smith, "she confessed that she had made some of the collections that she ought to have turned over to me, but declared that the total wouldn't exceed $400. The next day she told me the amount of her shortage wouldn't be over $300, and the next day after that, in the presence of my lawyer, Louis E. Desbecker, she cut it down to $200, but I can show by boarders and other proofs that she got away with about $1,000 if not more.
     "I asked her what she had done with the money. She said she didn't know. I have reason to believe, however, that she bought a dictionary, a sewing machine and other things which she apparently intended to give as wedding presents to one of her daughters who is about to be married."
     Mrs. Sackett is about 40 years old, a widow with three daughters, and is well known in Geneseo, where she lived up to about three years ago, when she came to Buffalo.
Mrs. Sackett's Story.
     "I confess to what I have done, but protest against being charged with more than I have done," she said last evening. "Mr. Smith has accused me unjustly. His house will accommodate 60 boarders. I have his own statement in writing that there were only seventeen in the house when he went to Saint Louis, and the house was never anywhere near full while he was away.
     "I never intended to do anything wrong. It was a complicated system. I had to keep three sets of books, and I had never kept books before. The laundry accounts alone were enough to set anyone crazy. It was a bewildering task to keep track of the accounts, and I can mention dozens of payments I made for the house that are not in the books. Where the money went I don't know, but when I came to figure it up I found I was short $85. I had no money to replace it and I became frightened and it was in that state of mind that I tore out some of the pages and made the accounts over, changing the dates and so forth. But I never intended to wrong Mr. Smith, and it was I myself who was first to let him know of my deficit. I claim now that it cannot possibly exceed $300, including even the $100 that he wants to charge me for entertaining my relatives, although he had agreed to let me have a room for them.
     "He offered to settle the whole matter if I would pay him $300, my own figures. I agreed, but he changed his figures, and my attorneys advised me to have no further dealings with him. He has used me meanly, and I say now that I'll go to jail before I'll pay him a cent, although I stood ready, up to the time he raised his figures, to pay him every cent I owed him."

Buffalo Morning Express and Illustrated Buffalo Express, Buffalo, New York, 17 Jul 1905, p 6

Accused of Forgery.
A Woman Bookkeeper Is Under Arrest Upon That Charge.
     An adjournment until next Monday morning at 10 o'clock was granted by Judge Murphy in police court this morning in the case of Addie A. Sackett, a bookkeeper, of 215 Allen street, who is under arrest on the charge of forgery in the third degree. George D. Smith of 33 West Tupper street is recorded as the complainant in the matter.
     The Sackett woman was formerly in the employ of Mr. Smith. He alleges that she, while in his employ between June 16th, 1904, and April 15th, 1905, "falsified, altered, erased, obliterated or destroyed" certain accounts contained in the books in her charge and that by so doing was able to and did defraud him of a certain amount of money. How large the amount was is not mentioned in Mr. Smith's affidavit.

The Buffalo Commercial, Buffalo, New York, 1 Dec 1905, p 7

Woman Held for Grand Jury.
     Addie A. Sackett, a bookkeeper, who was arrested several days ago on a charge of forgery on complaint of George D. Smith, her former employer, was arraigned before Justice Murphy this morning. She was held for the grand jury.

The Buffalo Times, Buffalo, New York, 4 Dec 1905, p 6


Mrs. Willis Sackett
Geneseo—Burial services for Mrs. Willis Sackett, 75, who died in Potsdam several weeks ago, will be held at 2 p.m. today in Temple Hill Cemetery, the Rev. Joseph Hunter officiating.

Democrat and Chronicle, Rochester, New York, 29 Apr 1939, p 8

 Notes & Citations

  1. Charles Weygant, The Sacketts of America, "6610. Willis Arthur Sackett, b. Dec. 28, 1857; m. Addie A. Paul."
  2. Census.
  3. "New York, Death Index, 1852–1956" (Ancestry image), "Sackett, Willis A, d. Buffalo, New York, 23 Mar 1897, age 39-2-27, father Edwin, mother Susan P."
  4. Find a Grave.
  5. "New York State, Marriage Index 1881–1967" (Ancestry image), "13 Apr 1882, Geneseo, New York, Willis A. Sackett, certificate 1605."; "13 Apr 1882, Geneseo, New York, Addie A. Paul, certificate 1605."
  6. "New York, Death Index, 1852–1956", , "Sackett, Adeline A., d. Potsdam, New York, 5 Feb 1939."
  7. 1860 United States Federal Census, Page 422, FHL film 803778
    Geneseo, Livingston, New York
    Sackett, Edwin P, 33, farmer, real estate $1700, personal estate $1600, b. OH
    Sackett, Susan P, 27, b. CT
    Sackett, Willis, 2, b. NY
    Pierce, Flavius, 7, b. CT
    Cook, Emaline, 14, b. NY
    Cook, Reuben, 14, b. NY.
  8. 1870 United States Federal Census, Roll M593_965, p 109A, FHL film 552464
    Geneseo, Livingston, New York
    Sackett, Edwin, 43, farmer, real estate $1250, personal estate $3700, b. OH
    Sackett, Susan, 36, wife, b. CT
    Sackett, Willis, 12, son, b. NY
    Montgomery, Agnes, 13, domestic, b. NY
    Van Valkenburg, Geo, 16, labourer, b. NY.
  9. 1880 United States Federal Census, Geneseo, Livingston, New York, 5/7 Jun 1880
    Sackett, Willis A, head, single, 22, keeping hotel, b. NY, father b. OH, mother b. CT
    Sackett, Susan P, mother, widow, 46, landlady, b. CT, father b. CT, mother b. CT
    Sackett, Herbert I, brother, 8, b. NY, father b. OH, mother b. CT
    Pierce, Laura, gmother, 77, widow, b. CT, father b. CT, mother b. CT
    Patterson, James V, single, 21, laborer, b. NY, father b. NY, mother b. NY
    Anderson, Frank, single, 23, hosler, b. OH, father b. MA, mother b. MA.
  10. "US City Directories, 1822-1995" (Ancestry image), Buffalo City Directory, 1892, "Sackett Willis A. physician 663 Main, h. over 869 Main.";
    1895, "Sackett Willis A. physician 53 Wadsworth.";
    1904, "Sackett Addie A. wid. Willis, r. 299 Franklin.";
    1907, "Sackett Addie A stenog r 389 Hudson.";
    1910, "Sackett Addie A Mrs r 391 Hudson."
  11. 1900 United States Federal Census, Page 16, Enumeration District 0024, FHL microfilm 1241070
    Geneseo, Livingston, New York, 25 Jun 1900
    Sackett, Annie, head, b. Apr 1859, 41, wd, 3 ch, all living, boarding house, b. NY, father b. NY, mother b. PA, home owned free of mortgage
    Sackett, Bernice, daughter, b. Jan 1883, 17, at school, b. NY, father b. NY, mother b. NY
    Sackett, Stella, daughter, b. May 1884, 16, at school, b. NY, father b. NY, mother b. NY
    Sackett, Delia, daughter, b. Jan 1886, 14, at school, b. NY, father b. NY, mother b. NY
    Lane, Carrie, servant, b. May 1868, 32, wd, b. England, father b. England, mother b. England.
  12. 1905 New York state census, New York State Archives; Albany, New York; State Population Census Schedules, 1905; Election District: E.D. 01; City: Buffalo Ward 21; County: Erie; Page: 6
    Delavan Ave, Buffalo Ward 21, Erie, New York, 1 Jun 1905
    Sackett, Addie A, lodger, 42, b. US, housework.
    [One of 6 lodgers in household of Herbert A Smith, 24, a medical student]
  13. 1910 United States Federal Census, Roll T624_948, p 17B, Enumeration District 0222, FHL microfilm 1374961
    391 Hudson St, Buffalo Ward 23 Erie New York, 28 Apr 1910
    Sackett, Ada, head, 55, wd, 3 ch, all living, cook, cafe, b. NY, father b. NY, mother b. NY, home rented
    Cronin, May L, lodger, 29, b. NY, father b. NY, mother b. Ireland
    Moore, Rhoda E, lodger, 24, b. NY, father b. Canada, mother b. Canada.
  14. 1920 United States Federal Census, Roll T625_1089, p 8A, Enumeration District 17
    Auburn Ward 9 Cayuga New York
    Van Housen, Charles, head, 46, principal, grammar school, b. NY, father b. NY, mother b. NY, home rented
    Van Housen, Bernice R, wife, 39, teacher, public school, b. NY, father b. NY, mother b. NY
    Sackett, Adeline, mother-in-law, 61, wd, none, b. NY, father b. NY, mother b. NY.
Sackett line8th great-grandson of Thomas Sackett the elder of St Peter in Thanet
ChartsLine 3a (American)
Generation.Tree9Q.3
Last Edited30 Nov 2020
See also Thurmon King's New Sackett Family Database
3318 Willis Arthur Sackett MD
 

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