HM Quackenbush, from Herkimer, invented and manufactured extension ladders, guns, nut crackers, etc. several generations removed from the first Quackenbush in the USA: Peiter von Quackenbos from Holland who came to the US in 1660, was a brick maker, whose home is one of the oldest remaining buildings in Albany while the brick-making building currently houses, in part, the Albany Pump House where there is a Quackenbush Blonde for enjoyment. Quackenbush ancestors also created the Quackenbush Retail Stores which were in many cities around the country, were many-floored retail stores selling hardware, clothing, clocks, etc. One of Pieter’s sons, Henry, was a Col. who fought at Ticonderoga and Saratoga. Pieter’s sister’s progeny was Martin Van Buren, our eighth President. There are two books in the NY State Library that track many generations of the Q’s showing many more interesting and monumental people who made enormous contributions to the USA.

This is my 2nd great grandparents Tadgh “Tady” Coyne and wife Catherine Lydon (back row left and center). Next to them on right is one of their sons, Michael, who was an alderman in Syracuse for years. The older couple in front row are Catherine’s parents. Patrick lydon and Bridget Coyne (my 3rd great grandparents. Between them is Tady’s youngest son Timothy. They all came from the civil parish of Ballynakill in western County Galway, Ireland. Tady and Catherine came over in 1862 and Lydon parents in 1870 along with their other daughter Jane and her new husband Thomas Thornton. They all settled in Marcellus after fleeing the great famine. Tady’s brothers, Patrick and Rodger came first in 1848 and their sister Sarah Coyne Gannon followed in 1854 with her daughter Catherine. Her husband Philip Gannon had come in 1851 alone. They’re all buried in Marcellus. Photo taken in mid 1880s as Timothy Coyne was born in 1884 and Patrick Lydon died in 1888. taken in front of the Coyne home in Falls Rd in Marcellus Falls NY.

Gaetana Demartino is my great Aunt, sister to my grandmother Rose. Gaetana did not come to America. My father’s mother Rose Demartino did emigrate to America. She lived in Binghamton, NY where my 9 siblings and I were born.

Woman of 94 Years Votes for Harding One of the oldest, if not the oldest woman to cast a vote at our recent election, was Mrs. Elizabeth Florance, who in a few days will reach the age of ninety-four years. Mrs. Florance lives with her daughter, Mrs. Fred Miller. She is remarkably well preserved and has retained her faculties well. She reads, is interested in the topics of the day, and has a good memory. Mrs. Florance is a sister of Wm. C. Sworts, who is in his 92d year of age and was also able to go the polls to vote. Mrs. Florance is a Republican and cast her vote for Harding and Coolidge. — Unidentified newspaper clipping from the scrapbook of Viola Emma Florance Rose, probably Dundee Observer

This photo is of my great-grandmother, Mary Winder, my great-grandfather Samuel and their children. My grandmother is Mamie, standing second from the left. My family is quite large and I have taken on the role of family historian for my cousins, aunts and uncles. As the Documentarian for the Oneida Indian Nation, I am always doing genealogy and trying to find articles regarding our Nation’s history that will help our members connect with past generations. Unfortunately, it is difficult to find primary resources for Indian people prior to around 1800, but I certainly do my best and Ancestry has enabled me to find records I never knew existed. I am only half Indian and my non-Indian Aunt on my father’s side has researched my family and found that some arrived on the Mayflower! I also have an uncle that married President James Monroe’s daughter. In addition, I learned that my ancestor, John Watson, was the Bishop of Winchester in the 1580’s. Apparently, he had bribed an official to ensure that the Queen did not make him Bishop. She found this action more pleasing than if he had bribed someone to MAKE him the Bishop and she bestowed the position upon him against his wishes.

After three weeks on board the ship from Stutguard, Germany, my parents, brother, and I looked out from the ship that traversed over rough seas to arrive at Ellis Island, New York harbor, United States of American. My parents were taken in 1938 from their Ukrainian homes to work in Germany during World War II. Mom worked on a farm and Dad worked for the German railroad system. After the end of the war, I was born and a year later, my brother. We all lived in a displaced camp until we were able to immigrate to the United States. At that time we had to have a sponsor to be eligible for entry to the country. Years earlier, my dad’s relatives came to Skaneateles Falls and then bought a farm in Marcellus, N. Y. My family arrived in the Spring of 1952 and began our exploration of America, a long sought dream of my family and exploring America, land of hope with high expectations of a new life.

Circa 1950. My father and mother lived in Cicero out in the country. Dirt road. Water from a well. The rest of their family lived in Syracuse. Every Sunday they would all come to visit us ( out to the farm as they would say) and have Sunday dinner. This tradition continued for years. Both my mothers and fathers parents and older siblings came from Italy and Poland respectively.

I come from a pretty big family – 5 siblings – and we originally hailed from Rome in Oneida County. As I was thinking about my 75th birthday – a milestone in my mind – and how to celebrate it, I thought about how wonderful it would be be to gather my siblings and their families together for a fun and relaxing family reunion in July, 2019. So I made arrangements for a Family Camp experience at Mt. Snowe in Vermont – and it was the best money I ever spent! Everyone was able to make it! Some of us – the youngest members of the family – had never met. Everyone gathered family photos they had in advance to submit to one person who put together an over hour-long slide show of them as part of one evening’s entertainment. We learned things we did not know and we all felt we learned a lot about our family roots, especially with the help of the oldest members of our family present. Two of my nieces hired a photographer to be part of some of our activities – and that is how we got this wonderful family photo. Two years later we still haven’t stopped talking about the reunion and all the connecting we did with one another.

My family’s history is very well documented back seven generations by local historical sources, the OHA, news articles, buildings and monuments, biographies and the like due to our many contributions to building our local Central New York community. That said, there is a disconnect in our genealogy as my great-great-great grandfather, John (also called ASA) White removed from western Massachusetts to locate to Homer NY in the late 1790 decade, where he married and five children later relocated to Syracuse, led by brothers Hamilton and Horace, their sisters, and followed by generational siblings. His antecedents and ancestry are unclear. In 1840/42, John’s third son, Hamilton White, built the Hamilton White House, located at the eastern end of Fayette (also named Fireman’s) Park. His son, my great-grandfather, Hamilton Salisbury White, was born in that house. Often confused and conflated due to the similarity in names, they brought other family members to contribute, co-founding both Crouse College at Syracuse University, Cornell University, building five churches (four in Syracuse, one in Cortland, also contributing to St. John’s Cathedral in New York City), serving as leaders (state senators, New York Governor) politics, education, law, business and community charities (founding both the Syracuse Home Association, our forerunner to all local agencies), music (Syracuse Morning Musicals, the forerunner of all symphony, opera, chamber music groups), healthcare (hospitals, nursing and care facilities) and many others. Today, the Hamilton White Society of our local United Way is the leadership group, based on the family’s charitable contributions, and is the model from United Way leadership in medium and small county groups nationwide, to name a few.

My great aunt Lurene always took time at family get together to talk to me and she made me feel special. As I got into high school, she asked me about my classes and what my interest was. In retrospect, I think she was grooming me to be my generation’s historian. As a high school graduation gift, she presented me with a seven page genealogy outline and a promise to teach me how to research our genealogy. She encouraged me to connect the generations with their history, find stories, copy documents and summarize their choices without judgement. Aunt Lurene’s maiden name was Kinney. Her brother is my grandfather, direct line to Henry Kinne, Salem, MA. She married into the historic Wadsworth family, as in James S. Wadsworth. Our research bonded family & American History together documenting generational traits. We spent a couple of summers going to libraries, genealogy & historical societies to do research. Then to make the day more memorable, we had lunch or tea & cookies and talked about what we uncovered. What is extremely important was the bond formed between the generations. Even after decades, we would get together to spend an afternoon sharing new information, stories found, new projects, etc.

James O. Sullivan was the patriarch of a large, boisterous, Irish-Catholic family. He was like a leprechaun – singing, dancing, telling stories and after being with him for even a few minutes, you felt lucky to have been in his presence. James O. Sullivan is a name that still resonates loudly in Oswego as he made many friends around town by working in Marksons Furniture Store, Oswego Water Department, & BINGO inspector. He was a very involved as a member of St. Peter’s Church and served proudly as 8th ward alderman for 26 years. Jim was proud and supportive of his children and grandchildren. He gave advice when one would run for student body president, he would be in the audience for dance recitals, and theatrical performances and sporting events. If someone he knew was in the newspaper, they would dub them a ‘hometown hero’ and put their picture on the refrigerator. His grandchildren shared his love of football he reciprocated by sharing their love of WWE wrestling! Jim would entertain by telling many stories to anyone who would listen. The most popular being his ‘funeral story’ about someone’s broken casket. Jim proudly served our country in World War II and was always willing to share a story or two from his time in the army.

Timothy Ferguson is my Great Grand Father from Nassau Bahamas estimated birth 1876. At that time the Bahamas was under British rule. His son Timothy Ferguson II would become a first generation American. He and his wife Mabel would have sixteen children together!

This cozy domestic scene belies a sad mystery not yet unraveled. The photo must’ve been taken around 1900, when my grandfather Harley Banks was 4, because sometime that year his mother died, leaving behind 4 children & a husband. The family had already split up when the census was taken in April, with little Harley living as a boarder in the home of non-relatives. His father was also a boarder elsewhere, and the 3 sisters scattered among relatives or lived as an “adopted” daughter/servant with yet another family. The mother, Mary Lyon Banks, lived with a brother. Harley had left school by the age of 14, when he was censused as a hired hand on a pig farm in southern Minnesota. He later moved to St. Paul, married my grandmother, and had 2 sons. But Harley became an alcoholic, and after serving in two world wars, once again went off on his own. He died in Chicago, in a skid-row neighborhood. I never had a chance to meet him.

For years, I have been flummoxed by this lovely studio portrait of my great aunt’s wedding party, taken 16 June 1915 in Brooklyn NY. That’s her in front, her lap covered by a huge bouquet of roses whose fragrance must have been divine. The groom in the center had to be satisfied with a tiny sprig in his lapel! To the right is my grandfather, brother of the bride, and far left is his wife, my grandmother. But the name of the young bridesmaid in front was unknown. I posted the photo in my great aunt’s profile in my family tree on Ancestry. It was not long before I heard from a woman in Chicago, who had a copy of the same photo and identified the young girl as the bride’s 21-year- old first cousin. And she knew all this because the bridesmaid later became her mother! Better yet, she was able to tell me all about this branch of the family, of which I knew nothing. Possible family activity over Zoom: hold up old photos and see if anyone can identify the faces, then label with pencil or acid-free pen. Your descendants will thank you!

This a picture of the progenitor of our family: George Renfroe. He is my third great grandfather and his lineage proudly continues through my daughter an Onondaga County resident. George was born in 1840 in Coldwater, Mississippi. He and his brother Phillip purchased eighty acres of land in Mississippi. On this land George and Phillip built their homes, farmed the land and raised their families. George and his wife Dillie had eleven children. Those eighty acres of land are still owned by the Renfroe family. Sincerely, Glenda (Renfroe) Green

Grandma always said, “We are Americans”, whenever I asked about our nationality. I knew we weren’t Native American Indians, yet I couldn’t get Grandma to change her story. I’d peer into this 4-generation photo of my CARRIER & REYNOLDS family, hoping to find a clue as to the origins of the CARRIER surname…thinking it’s derivation might be French. The eldest pictured in this August 1922 post card photograph are: ADORA (Reynolds) CARRIER (far right) at 73 years of age, her son FRANK CARRIER (far left) at 50 years of age & his daughter BERTHA (Carrier) LAVANCHER-my Grandmother (in the center) at 26 years of age- holding her baby HELEN (my mother) who was just 5 months old. In addition, I often wondered if the CARRIER surname had any connection to the CARRIER AIR-CONDITIONING CO., where my father worked. When queried, both Grandma and my Dad always said, “No connection.” With Grandma’s decease, research became my ally. It took decades before I pieced the puzzle together to resolve these looming questions. Neither Grandma nor my father realized the connection to CARRIER AIR-CONDITIONING CO. whose founder, Willis Carrier, was a distant cousin of our family. BUT, I have to share that Grandma was 100% correct about being American! My CARRIER line traces all the way back to 1600’s Massachusetts…and beyond that, into England.

John Schloeder and Lizzie Waibel, our mom’s parents, were married on June 2, 1896 at Assumption Church on North Salina St. Their parents had emigrated from Germany, but both the bride and groom were born in Syracuse. The portrait of their wedding party was taken by Frey Art Gallery on North Salina St. The photographer was also a member of the wedding party. The wedding celebration lasted for 3 days. In addition to owning this wedding party portrait in its original frame and the marriage certificate (in German), we also have all of the receipts from the celebration – photographer, florist, bakery, brewery, food purveyors, etc. A veritable history of the North Side just before the turn of the century.

My 4th great grandfather was one of the first African American representatives in Congress representing Powhatan county of Virginia soon after the civil War. He served one term. From 1869-1871 I believe.

This is my paternal grandmother and grandfather on one of my grandpa’s leaves from the service. He served in the Korean War and WWII and retired a major.

The first Maurice Sheehan to immigrate from Ireland to the United States did so in about 1847. He came with his wife, Bridget, and six children. They settled in Granville, NY, near the Vermont border and worked as farmers. There have been Maurice Sheehans in every generation. I named my daughter, Maura. The Maurice Sheehan I’m going to write about is my father, Maurice Francis Sheehan Sr. He was born in 1905, the middle child of five. In 1915 his father died. Consequently by the age of 13 both he and another brother quit school and went to work to help their mother. My dad worked for many years at the Utica newspapers as a laborer. In 1940 he married Frances Maher. In 1941 their first child was born, Maurice Francis Sheehan Jr aka Maurie. Soon after his birth it was discovered he was hydrocephelic and consequently had cerebral palsey. My parents had wondrful family support in caring for Maurie. Maurie started kindergarten in a regular small class in Utica. However, the teacher was not appropriate and ignored him. Soon Maurie was transferred to the special needs class in Kernan School, Utica. My parents and several others realized the children needed therapies not then available.

My daughter and I submitted DNA to Ancestry and have been tracing our family history. My paternal grandparents and their children , including, my father emigrated from England in the early 1900’s, Consequently, my daughter and I decided to travel to England to locate their ancestral home. The picture is of me and the head stone of my great grandfather,great grandmother and their toddler daughter who passed away at age three. It is located in Stoke Climsland Parish Church cemetery , Cornwall, England.

My grandmother, Kathleen Reilly, and her parents Patrick Cunningham (dressed in the uniform of the Irish Constabulary) and his wife Elizabeth Meehan. Grannie was 3 then. Elizabeth died soon thereafter off TB and Da married Mary Burke. Grannie shortly after emigrated to America and married Peter Reilly in NY who has escaped English landlord for poaching a rabbit to feed his family .

This is our 3rd great-grandfather, John Jacob Franzen and his family. He emigrated to the Syracuse in the 1850’s with his parents, in part to avoid the mandatory military conscription required in Germany at that time, only to enlist for the US Civil War at the age of 17. He served in Company B of the 185th Infantry under Captain John Listman and Colonel Edwin Jenney. After the war, he would dress up in his uniform for parades and go visit the schools to tell them stories of the war. He worked for the Bendixen-Peck Cigar Company and was a member of the Cigar Makers Union. He is pictured here in 1907 with his wife and family members. From left to right, top row: John Jacob Franzen (with the cigar), his daughter Jessie Franzen, his son-in-law Humphrey Bush. Bottom row: His wife, Elizabeth (Libby) Smith Franzen, his daughter Julia Franzen Bush holding her son Donald and daughter Mary Elizabeth (Tibby) Franzen, who was our great-grandmother.

Born in 1836 in Oneida County, Wayne Howe Parsons died in a bicycle accident in Watertown, NY, in 1898. He was a telegrapher in the Union Army, accompanying Sherman on his march through Georgia. He was active in the League of American Wheelman (now League of American Bicyclists), serving as a local consul for the organization and responsible for developing a cycle route between Watertown and Sackets Harbor. Parsons was my great great grandfather, and I inherited his cycling enthusiasm – but I wear a helmet when I ride!

My grandfather was born in 1933. His name was William (Bill) Eadie. He never knew his real father. His mother gave him up for adoption when he was a baby and the family that took him in, were named Eadie. They were American with a Scottish heritage and so he grew up thinking he was Scottish. (He loved participating in the local “Scottish Games” festival in Syracuse NY) Then, eventually, he found out he was adopted. So he decided to find his true parents. Finally, he did find his mother, Helen Sittig, she was of Northern Irish, and Scottish, English and German decent but, she was not sure who the faher was. She was older at the time my grandfather met her and she had not the best memory… She did give clues though. It was either a guy from Hamilton University or Colgate. The name my grandfather was given was a guy named Tompkins, who’s ethnicity was apparently, English and Native American. My grandfather thought that he was infact, his true father and even called him up. But Tompkins never knew any Helen and was confused. So my grandpa Bill still had not solved the mystery. Anyway, he after 38 years of marriage to my grandma Marie (Chiovitti) Eadie, at the age of about 79 with dementia.. passed away.

My great great great grandparents house in Washington DC is where President Lincoln was taken after her was shot and where he subsequently died . It is currently part of the US Parks System and can be toured in DC . The photo is of the letter from the adept of the Interior confirming this information. The place is the Peterson House across from Fords Theatre. My grandparents and great great parents lived in Syracuse.

The wedding of Josephine Rose Sophia to Joseph James Stagnitta on October 5, 1940 at Our Lady of Pompei Church in Syracuse, NY. The parents of both the bride and groom immigrated from Sicily to Onondaga County in the early 1900’s.

This is a photo of my mother, Georgene on her birthday. She is with her parents and my cousin Virginia and ge Her sister. My great grandparents immigrated from Czechoslovakia at the Turn of the century I just discovered Virginia’s story this fall. My mother never spoke of her. Virginia was my mother’s younger first cousin, the child of her father’s brother and his wife. Virginia looked up to my mom and lived around the block from her father’s family. She stayed with them often. Sadly, Virginia’s parents died when she and her siblings were still young. Virginia and her sister were sent to live her mother’s family and lost touch with our side completely. My mother passed away in 2001 and never saw Virginia again. Virginia ‘s granddaughter found me on “23 and Me”. When we discovered our connection we were able to puzzle out the relationship between Virginia and I. Her granddaughterarranged for Virginia and I to speak on the phone. Before she reached out I did not know Virginia existed. I hope I can meet her some day and hear more of the stories she has to tell about her life and relationships with I my family.

Michael & son left Liverpool England 4/7/1883 on steam/sail ship Lord Gough. Rough seas spilled over deck; wreckage floated by. Saw whale. Arr Philadelphia 4/19, went to N. Billerica MA to work. Wife Clara & 2 daughters joined them 9/1883.

This photo is of my 18 year old grandmother (standing) along with her brother, his wife, and six children. My grandmother and her brother immigrated from Poland to America in the early 1900s. I am currently writing a novel about her journey from Poland, an arranged marriage, and a possible murder! Or was it self-defense? Either way, I am enjoying the process of “finding her roots”.

Photo of Joseph Forrest Johnson, aged 64 ((at the time) at his home in Utica NY. Photo was taken approx. 2-3 years after Joe retired from the NY State Office of Mental Health and transitioned to teaching Yoga part-time. I am multi-racial; my father was African American and my mother was 100% Japanese as best as I can determine.

This is my great-great grandfather, Lambert Weller (1852–1935). Lambert was born in Clay, NY, where he married Mary Sellens in 1876. He began digging the cellar for his new store in September 1897, near the Cigarville (Clay) train station. The building, known locally as Weller Hall, served as a grocery store, post office, dance hall, and meeting space. This photo of Lambert with the opossums is a family favorite. That twinkle in his eye makes us long to hear all the stories he could share.

This is my grandfather. He came to the USA in 1893 from Germany. He worked in the coal mines of Pennsylvania for a short time, but finally settled in Auburn, NY. He ran the Auburn turnverien (similar to today’s gyms) for a number of years. During the 1920’s he owned and operated Hai’s restaurant on Osborne St. in Auburn. It was very popular and well known for its German sandwiches and beer. He was also very active in the Elks Club and other civic organizations. After much research, I was able to trace his family to the 1600’s to two small villages on the Mosel river in Germany. In 2010, I visited those villages with two newly found cousins. It was amazing.

Half of my father’s side of the family has always been a mystery. My father never knew who his biological father was and growing up no one ever talked about it. My father never talked about it to us, his children, even though we would ask now and then. It was a secret that we thought would die with my grandmother. Before she died, my grandmother wrote a letter to my father and told him his father’s name, described him, and apologized for loving this man so much. She regretted keeping this secret. The letter was tucked away for years after my father read it. When the letter was found, I had a name, Arthur Wheeler, and where he was from, Fulton County, NY. Through research, I found part of the Wheeler family had moved to Cayuga County, almost in my backyard! I traced the names to Union Cemetery located on a backcountry road. I took the ride alone to see if I could find just one ancestor, my 3rd great grandparents, Parley and Edy Wheeler. I rounded the curve, anticipating that I would have to search for the headstones, and found that I had discovered Parley, Edy, and over ten Wheeler relatives!

We recently discovered my husband’s 3X great grandmother’s grave, right next to her in-laws (his 4X great grandparents. We would love to find her maiden name and learn more about her and her family.

I am one of the lucky ones who was made aware of some of my roots. The most interesting one is probably my father’s maternal side and his descendance from James Brown. My Aunt Gin from California was always telling us about this man who it turns out was a minor historical figure in Canada. James Brown emigrated from Glasgow, Scotland to Quebec City then Montreal in 1794. He worked as a printer, then was the manager of the first paper mill in Canada, then also became the publisher of the Montreal Gazette. There is a bronze plaque on the cairn at St. Andrews regarding his part in the start of the paper industry in Canada. Quite a while ago now, I put some information about James Brown on my web page and shortly after, I got a call from an Alan O. Brown (who lives in Kingston, Ontario) saying he thinks we are related. We are. He told me he has written 2 books about James Brown and his descendants. I ordered and read both of them. He also indicated they are in a library in Toronto. The first was A Biography and Family History, the second Family History in 2005. Many of the descendants still live in Canada but my Great Grandmother Flora Anne Frazer Brown married an American in Montreal, and had her children (my grandmother) in Montreal. They all moved to California when my grandmother was about 8 years old. The photo was taken in Montreal. In the front row on the right is Charles Henry Brown – James Brown’s grandson, Charles’ wife Mary is on the far left, his children are Flora Anne Frazer Brown, Andrew and William. My great grandmother is Flora.