Wisteria

Leah Westfall and Max Paddock, July 2014 Jefferson St. Cemetery, Ellicottville, NY Above is a photograph taken in July 2014 at the 2nd annual Jefferson Street Cemetery Walking Tour in Ellicottville, NY. Leah Westfall was portraying Mary Grierson buried there. The two are standing near the stone that marks the burial for Mary and her two sisters. You can see this tombstone here . Max portrayed Chauncey Vibbard who was buried there in 1882 at the age of 17. Chauncey was the son of Chester E. Vibbard and his wife Sarah Raynor. Chester and Sarah are also buried in the cemetery as well as another son William Raynor Vibbard who died in 1873 when he was about 11 years old. You can see the Vibbard tombstone here . Both Westfall and Paddock were on hand to read a narrative of the life of their respective cemetery residents, making them come alive to the participants of the tour. Chauncey's narrative told about how he and his older brother were baptized in St. John's Church in E...

I recently unearthed some old photographs showing my father-in-law as a child with his family around the table at a Thanksgiving dinner in 1950 . I believe it was taken that year judging from his apparent age and that of his siblings. I posted a digital copy of one of the photos to Facebook to share with him, his other brothers and other members of the family. It generated a lot of reminiscing and discussion. I checked in with the brothers and wrote down any recollections they had of the time. We recently buried the youngest member of the family, Tom Westfall, just last month. He is pictured in those Thanksgiving photos at about the age of 3. Marie G. Westfall about 1927 daughter of Lawrence L. and Mabel L. (Smith) Westfall There were ten children altogether, but two died in infancy. (Plus from his first marriage, their father Lawrence had an infant daughter who died). The photo on the left, taken around 1947, is a snapshot of the surviving eight. Tom, in Marie's arms, i...

Did you know there is a connection between Ellicottville and Brooklyn NY? Read on to find out more. First, let me talk about Schoolcraft, Michigan. I have mentioned before that I subscribe to Michigana, a quarterly magazine of the Western Michigan Genealogical Society. A couple of months ago, I noted a  third installment of an article entitled "Everything Has a Story" by  Paula K. Vander Hoven. The article mentioned a Beecher/Skinner  family that migrated to Schoolcraft, Michigan from Ellicottville, New York. Juliette Beecher Skinner and her daughter Sophia Skinner were some of the early members of the first Episcopal church there in Schoolcraft which was notable for having its membership comprised of mainly women.  Juliette Beecher, the wife of Peter V. Skinner, was born in 1820. Her father Moses Beecher was part  of the 1829 organizational meeting of St. John's Episcopal Church in Ellicottville  and part of the church's building committee. The church ...

I recently read a story about a mystery solved after nearly fifty years for a woman buried in a potter's field in New York City. Original police records were consulted that provided clues to the woman's identity and origin. The story reminded me again that it is often just a small tidbit of information, one tiny clue, that can help illuminate a story of those in the past. Recently, a trip to Ontario, Canada opened up another tidbit of information that, used with a tiny clue from an old letter, adding depth to the sad story first told here : This past July, my sister and I took a weekend trip together meeting up in Ontario, Canada and staying at a friend's condo there. Ever the history buff, I checked around to see what museums, etc. I might find. There are two museums in the city of Burlington, but only one was open that weekend. I implored my sister to go, promising that we would go shopping at the local mall later. The Ireland House museum introduces you to the life...

Photos scanned from Granny's old albums Lawrence L. Westfall (Sr.) carving turkey for his family. Shown from his left and around the table: Gerald, Kenneth, Marie, Mabel (his wife), Donald, Richard, Thomas, David Michael. The boys who are still around that were at this gathering tell me that this was at the house on Middle Road where they lived until Lawrence's death in April of 1958. Another shot of the turkey carving. Below you can see that while Don (who is seated in a different spot in this photo) helps himself to the mashed potatoes, Ken seems to be giving his baby brother Tom the evil eye. Maybe because Tom looks like he's trying to leave. On the other side of Ken, Gerry seems to be eager for Don to pass the potatoes. Whoever Harry is, he was definitely invited to partake. He is sitting where Marie and Mabel were in the first photo. Maybe he was the cameraman for that shot.  Taken either before or after the great turkey carving, Dad Westfall looks...

You know how as a youngster, you might hear of or see people in your family that you assume are somehow related in one way or the other, but you never ask for specific information on the connection. You just take for granted they are part of the family and leave it at that. It can be even worse when it's your in-laws and you can't keep track of all the ins and outs of a large family. Following is a story of names and people who I have had heard about over the years in my (ex) husband's family but never took the time to question until now. It is more recent history then I usually research.  Uncle Mike (David) Westfall sent me the notice of Aunt Marie's husband Robert Rebbeor's funeral via email the other day. I asked about the identity of Clint named as Robert's grandson in the obituary. I was curious as it did not name any child surviving, only a grandson. Mike said that Bob and Marie adopted Kim Kamuda and Clint was her son, although she had other children as...

It would seem Thanksgiving is when I explore my former mother-in-law's family. I am not sure what made me look the family up again recently, but I did. So I share my finds and add to what I had explored last November. Completing blog posts about my research as I go offers a very handy way to easily see where I left off. It was back in November 2016 when I provided an update on Jennie Hayes, the wife of Rollie Backus which can be found here . I had found quite a bit on Rollie's ancestry and added a series of posts on that. There was certainly still more to explore on the Hayes line, but I left it alone until now. Initially, I had discovered a George B. Hayes listed in the 1900 census in the town of Yorkshire, Cattaraugus County, NY with his parents, Erwin and Mandana Hayes, and two sisters, Nancy and Jennie. This was perfect as I thought I found the Jennie Hayes I was looking for. The only problem was this Jennie at age 9 appeared too young to be the right one. And where was...

I have mentioned before that I frequently find myself doing research on local people who lived here in the past. I ran across the phrase “home of a thousand voices” in a fictional work recently ( The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi). I thought it a fitting phrase, for I often find myself listening for the voices of those who have gone before and there are many. (The hard part is putting together this post and trying to get all the sources accurate.) Most came from other areas originally, settling here briefly before moving on to other realms, whether otherworldly or otherwise. Take the case of little Kate Mary, 6 month old daughter of James H. Metcalfe and his wife Erzelia. Little Kate was certainly from here, she was born here. She also died here and was buried in the Jefferson Street Cemetery. According to records of St. John's Episcopal Church in Ellicottville, Kate Mary was buried from there on August 11, 1854. She was six months and eleven days old.[1] There are ...