Proudly Celebrating 50 Years

Back to Main 50th Anniversary Page

​​

​​​​

Memory 39: Richard (Dick) Kreitner (#3756) 

  

While I was born and grew up in Niagara Falls, I moved to Connecticut after college, well before my interest in family history was kindled.  It wasn’t until my wife and I became empty nesters that I started seriously researching my family roots in Niagara County, many ancestors having arrived directly from Europe almost 200 years ago, purchasing land from the Holland Land Company,  and some others arriving even earlier, settling in the British colonies and eventually migrating to Western New York.  

  

As my research expanded, I started attending conferences and joining genealogy organizations outside of my local area, which eventually led me to discover and join the Western New York Genealogical Society.  Even though I live too far away to attend meetings, the advent of Zoom has made it possible to participate.  I also was able to attend in-person the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society conference in Buffalo, where I got to see first-hand the wonderful collections of the WNYGS. 

  

I was particularly excited this past year when the WNYGS sponsored a program on the Witmer Cemetery in the Town of Niagara, the burial place of many of my ancestors.  This is a special place for our family which we visit almost any time we are back in Niagara Falls.  While I couldn’t attend in-person, I have worked with the Town of Niagara Historian to provide information about the family members and have original deeds to some plots.  It was great to see the interest in this cemetery and in keeping it preserved! 

  

Congratulations to the WNYGS on 50 years!

​

------------------------------

​

Memory 38: P. Martha (#3970L) 

  

When you're looking for your ancestor born in the US before birth certificates were required and with a unique surname and lots of family lore about how the name had been changed (but no one knows from what), you're left with quite a puzzle.  Add to that finding him living as a young child in another household at the age of 6, and the mystery grows. Sure, you have his death certificate that lists his parents, but they do not seem to exist. 

  

But then you may have found your ancestor and his parents with a couple of siblings on an 1850 census only, but how do you know it's the right family? You share the story with Ned Schimminger at the Tonawanda Historical Society who helps you look. Eventually he asks you about a woman he found who appears to share the maiden name with your ancestor.  That was the piece needed to not only verify you have the right family but also take the family back to a small town in France where she was born.  

  

All five children (ages 2 to 13) were living with different families in 1855. While we may never know what happened to the parents, it's amazing to know that they stayed in touch throughout their lives. We can see this through newspaper articles and records -- sisters living together, brothers as ushers during weddings, nephews serving as executors to their uncle's estate, death notices in the 1920s, etc.  

  

Oh, and that surname is just a little bit different than the original one from France, and it's spelled differently on the immigration records and that 1850 census records. Even with all that, all five children spelled it the same way as adults.

​​

------------------------------

​

Memory 37: Fred Kester (#364) 

​

“A Revolutionary Discovery in ‘76” (Part 2) 

  

  

I was walking back to my car after spending about four hours in the Randolph Cemetery and was so excited about finding the grave of my 3-great-grandparents, when all of a sudden, it happened!!!...I nearly tripped…tripped over a small gravestone! When I looked down to determine the problem, my dismay turned to disbelief. It was the grave of “EZEKIEL/SCUDDER/1766-1853/REV.WAR” Next to it was the grave marker for “CYNTHIA/WIFE OF/EZEKIAL SCUDDER/DIED/JUNE 20, 1853/AGED 80 YEARS/”. I had to reach for my handkerchief when I realized they were my 4-great-grandparents. 

  

Ezekiel Scudder, I had readd, was born in Connecticut and served as a young man during the Revolutionary War. He married Cynthia Gould in 1971. Ezekiel was a pioneer in the Genesee Country and made his first dwelling in a Sycamore tree as protection from the wild animals until his more permanent home was built. He built the first gristmill and sawmill in the settlement called Scudderville. This town was renamed as Victor after Claudius Victor Boughton, a hero of the War of 1812. After occupying his farm for thirty-five years, Ezekiel began to long again for the freedom of the frontier. He sold his farm and removed to the Randolph, Cattaraugus County in 1827. There he lived with his large family until his death at age 87. 

  

Now I was standing next to his final resting place. I have discovered other Revolutionary War ancestors, some of whose graves I have found and others whose graves I hope to find someday, but to nearly stumble over the gravestone of my first Revolutionary War soldier in July 1976 was amazing! Maybe it was Ezekiel Scudder trying to get my attention, so that I could remember his story many years later, or maybe it was the ‘Spirit of ‘76’.

​​​

------------------------------

​

Memory 36: Fred Kester (#364) 

 

“A Revolutionary Discovery in ‘76” (Part 1)

 

The year was 1976 and Bicentennial Fever was in the air. In January my Mom and Dad gave me a genealogy kit from Everton’s for my birthday. In March, Dad and I joined as members of the Western New York Genealogical Society.

 

In May, I was doing genealogical research at the Buffalo and Erie County Public Library, downtown branch, when I discovered in the 1893 History of County, New York the names of some ancestors who had lived in Randolph, New York, where my grandfather and great grandmother were born. So, in July, I decided to take a couple days’ vacation to do research in Randolph.

 

The Randolph Cemetery seemed like a good place to start. I slowly walked among the many rows of graves and stopped now and then to copy some of the inscriptions. Farther in the cemetery, I saw a tall obelisk monument. After reading the inscriptions on the opposite sides of it, I realized it was the grave marker for Joel and Hannah Scudder, my 3-great-grandparents. They had died on the same day, March 3, 1866, and were buried in the same casket. Between the inscriptions for each of them was an engraving showing two clasped hands and under it the word: “They were lovely and pleasant in their lives and in their deaths, they were not divided.” I was touched to read the words and to have found their final resting place.

 

By then, however, it was late in the afternoon and having spent about four hours in the cemetery, I was tired and decided to leave. I was walking through the old section on the way back to my car, when all of a sudden, it happened!!!!...

​

------------------------------

​

Memory 35: Kay White (#3974) 

  

I joined only a few years ago.  When I learned of your existence I immediately joined.  My paternal 2nd great-grandfather came to Stafford, Genesee County from Yarnscombe, Devon, England via the Erie Canal in 1837.  His son, my great-grandfather, James Karslake, moved 5 miles away and lived, worked and died in LeRoy.  My grandfather and his sister attended the LeRoy Academic Institute.  My grandfather went to Lafayette University in Pennsylvania, eventually earned his PhD and become a Chemistry University Professor until he moved back to Western NY to live in Buffalo from 1918 to 1953.  Anna was able to attend college at Ingram University, right there in LeRoy, NY.  She became an elementary school art teacher.  After I joined, I learned WNYGS had a table in the Grosvenor Room in the downtown Buffalo library.  I have been going once a year (in the summer) to the Grosvenor Room to do research and finally in 2022 (?) I talked to someone at the WNYGS desk.  Thank you for what you do.

​

------------------------------

​

Memory 34: Becky Burke (#3790F) 

  

I originally joined WNYGS in May of 2017.  I was not born here nor were my parents, we are the beginning ancestors in Western New York.  I knew what amazing people were in the society from attending the free workshops they provided.  I wanted to connect with them and find out more about my genealogy.  My mom’s family had been here since the early days of America, migrating from the north ultimately to the south.  My dad’s family only since the late 1890s, early 1900s, in the NYC/NJ area, depending on which of his parents. I love the detective work and hunt of genealogy research.  Sadly, I ended up realizing I needed a little more time before I could dedicate myself to the full process of the society.  During the interim years, I continued to attend the wonderful workshops the society provides, keeping in touch and working on going back farther than my grandparents. 

After my retirement in 2022, I rejoined the society.  I knew our society had continued to be filled with amazing folks, who know so much of the ins and outs of researching, preserving, and organizing the history/genealogy of the local and larger community.  I was ready to dive fully in.  I decided to volunteer on the Index and Transcription Committee. I met many wonderful people and learned many things. In 2023, I took on the position of Registrar, interacting with all our wonderful society members.  In addition, I am currently on the 50th Anniversary Celebration Committee, helping with all the events.  I would encourage others to volunteer and get involved. I have to say, I am having a ball!  

And shameless plug, we have 2 wonderful events coming up in celebration of our 50th anniversary. The “Save our Cemeteries” on Saturday, July 13th and a full day conference and luncheon, with world renowned genealogical experts, Thomas and Karen Jones, as the speakers for the “Founders Celebration” on Saturday, October 5th.  You can find all the details on our Meetings page.

​​

------------------------------

 

Memory 33: Lois Lane (#3782L) 

  

In the last 50 years, I have become interested in Genealogy.  I am not sure why, but it may have started when my cousin Ron Batt put out our Batt Genealogy around 1972 (with the assistance of Glenn Atwell).  I was interested in finding out more about my mothers WALTER side of the family.  It was a challenge as at that time, there was very little access to online information.  My mother and I went to St. John's Church in Alden on Sandridge Road to look through the Birth, Marriage and Death records that were recorded in the old books.  That was VERY interesting as I found my Aunt Ida on my Fathers side, listed for her first marriage and where it stated her mother as being a WALTER.  I have since researched that line and found the connection to both my mother’s and father’s sides.   

  

The other Great Find was a paper that was given to my mother, Mary Louise Walter, by her first cousin, Celestine (Sally) Walter that listed a whole family with 22 children and explained how they were related.  It showed that my Great Grandfather, Mathias Walter, first married a Widow, Josephine Girard (who was previously married to Bernardus Fix and had 2 daughters with him.)  Then Mathias and Josephine had several more children (I Found some DNA Matches here) and she passed away in 1871.  Then Mathias married another widow, Carolina Baumann, whose first Husband Peter Bachmann, had passed away after they had 5 children.  Mathias and Carolina are my Biological Great Grandparents, where my Grandfather, Edward Martin Walter, was the youngest of the 22 children.  It helped to explain the 1880 Census where there were FIX children, BACHMANN Children and WALTER Children all in one household. Thanks to my mothers single older cousin, who gave that paper to the right person who would pass it on to me to keep their story alive.  This is the Best addiction to have and I never feel alone when I am with my fellow Genealogy nuts.  History has also become more important to me and I wish that Genealogy was a part of the History classes we take in school (although I understand how it could be hard for those that are not with biological families).

​

------------------------------

​

Memory 32: Lois Lane (#3782L) 

During Covid I spent a LOT of time on the Internet (mostly late at night where my Internet usage was unlimited until 5 AM) researching my family Tree and my DNA Matches. I know it was during this time that I helped a couple of my DNA matches that were adopted to find their biological family connections. The first connection, I had two possibilities for the mother (living), so I looked at their Facebook accounts and almost immediately I saw the resemblance of the one woman. I don't recall HOW the actual introduction was made but I know initially when contact was made the bio mother was told to deny the adult person that was given up for adoption. Luckily she did not listen to that advice and she is now in touch with her first born. Her other children born since then with another father have also DNA tested where I now know of other distant cousins. There is Good communication with the family even though they live far apart. There is NO Shame in giving up a child for adoption when you are not prepared to give that child the life they deserve and the child put up for adoption was raised by a loving family and now has a family of her own with adult children and a loving husband. She just became a Grandmother so now her biological mother can claim the Great Grandmother status. All is well in their world,

The other DNA connections were a daughter and her MOTHER who was put up for adoption. With the shared matches, I was able to narrow down the specific line in the family where the connection was and when told that this mother was born in the Syracuse area was able to find the part of my family in that line that lived in that area. Of course, there was no meet and greet as the bio family had long since been deceased but there is at least PEACE that they know where they came from and can further research their biological line. So now I have new family members that I welcome and have become facebook friends with. They live out West and have never met them but perhaps some day I will create the ultimate Family Reunion of all my DNA Matches. This is one of my 50 year memories.

​

------------------------------

​

Memory 31: Dr. John R. Schmidt (#3699L) 

 

Every Christmas I would head home to Western New York to visit my mother.  December 2005 was like other trips, as I had to take her to the hospital to be “drained”.  She was suffering for a very long time with congestive heart failure.  On this occasion, when I returned to her house on Christmas Eve, I sat down with a pen and paper and asked her to tell me about the family.  She died three months later. 

  

Returning to my home in Michigan following her funeral in April, I sat down at my computer.  I looked on my shelf and noticed a CD for Family Tree Maker.  I had purchased it a while ago as an outdated $5 software at Staples.  I loaded it into my PC, not knowing if it would still work.  Surprisingly, it went out to the Internet and downloaded the latest version!  What a deal! 

  

I started entering the information that my mother had shared.  It wasn’t long before the software warned me that I had entered 100 people and should probably save it.  I was hooked! 

  

Probably about 10 years later, I attended my first New York State Family History Conference in Syracuse.  There, at a booth, I met two wonderful people—Rhonda Hoffman and Jennifer Liber Raines, representing WNYGS.  The rest is history.  With a little help, I now have over 2700 relatives in my family tree. 

  

Oh, by the way, aren’t those stories from our relatives interesting?  Some turn out to be correct while others . . . well, you know.  I always knew my mom didn’t care for my father’s side of the family. ;) 

 

------------------------------

​

Memory 30: Peter Ames (#3375)

  

This is a memory that I will hopefully never forget, and it is what hooked me on genealogy. 

  

My father spent 20 years after he retired, tracing our family history and compiling 2 spiral bound binders. One contained names, dates and stories of our ancestors that he had information on. Now this was all done pre computer, so he accomplished this all the old-fashioned way by making phone calls, writing letters and visits to many different sources. The other binder contained entries from his journals which covered a period from 1933-1971 while we were all children growing up. He was a dog with a bone, so not being able to glean the following drove him nuts. 

  

My maternal grandmother would never divulge the story of her youth prior to marrying my grandfather and my grandfather wouldn't share her secret following her death. That piqued my interest, and what followed was a 9 year quest to figure it out. I hit many a brick wall and fell down numerous rabbit holes, but finally I struck gold. 

  

Ethel was listed in the 1911 Canadian Census, but I read her surname as UNKNOWN and I thought that it was a useless document. Fortunately, I sent the image to a friend in Toronto and she read it as WREN. I will never forget the day that she shared that information with me and the floodgates opened. 

  

Turned out that Ethel May Elizabeth Wren Taylor Hebdon Dovesmith was an orphan from London and shipped to Niagara On The Lake at the age of 6. She came with about 200 children under the care of Maria Rye and placed with a widow who did laundry. She was indentured until she was 18 and a few years later met Joseph Dovesmith, came to Niagara Falls, NY and got married. Her whole story is in a previous WNYGS Journal if you would like to read it. No wonder she would never share the secret of her childhood as she didn't want to relive it. 

  

I am sorry that this is so long, but I wanted to stress that research isn't always easy, but that is part of why I love it so much. Sometimes it takes a lot of twists and turns until one small clue can break it loose. What a feeling! 

​​

------------------------------

 

Memory 29: Dennis Gates (1508)

  

In the mid 1990's, while working as an airline pilot, I had a long layover in Buffalo. I decided I would rent a car and visit Orleans County, where my Great Great Grandfather, Daniel Gates, had settled after leaving Vermont. I thoroughly enjoyed the drive around the county, getting a sense of place. The highlight of the trip was my stop at the County Clerk's office. I asked about any records for Daniel. The clerk was very helpful and located the probate records for Daniel and even made copies for me. I was incredibly grateful when she offered to make copies of the records for me. She went above and beyond, and it was a wonderful tie to my ancestors.

​​​

------------------------------

​

Memory 28: Suzanne Scripter Harris (3520L)

  

My father grew up in Arcade, Wyoming, New York.  He went to college in Michigan and lived in that state the rest of his life.   I have always lived in Michigan.  We would travel to New York for my Dad’s vacation every year.  Many years ago, I got interested in genealogy and would gather information when I was in that state.  My grandmother was a big help!  She would gather information for me and have it ready for when I was in the area. 

  

In 2007 I made a genealogy trip to the area with someone that I met as she responded to a inquiry I put in the “Genealogical Helper” back in 1976 about the Sherwin family.  We researched that family and the Scripter family in Holland, Batavia, Warsaw and Buffalo.  We visited libraries and walked thru a few cemeteries.  A great deal of information was gained at many of the places in Western New York, particularly in Buffalo.  

  

I am now a life member of the Western New York Genealogical Society and continue to get information on my family even though I haven’t been to that area for a few years.  I attend as many of their zoom meetings as I can. 

​

------------------------------

​

Memory 27: Pamela Bouquin (3378)

  

I joined because my family history is deep in Buffalo. My great-great grandfather, Matthew (Matthais) Denz, came from Germany to Buffalo in 1859. He lived on Emilse and the family worshiped at St. Anne's Church. He was a clockmaker and very innovative on clocks for churches. He put the first clock in St. Peter and Paul church in Williamsville in 1867. The church had a "Pic-Noc" to help pay for the clock. The clock lasted until 1922 when a windstorm blew it out. It was repaired, and the tower that held it was repaired as well and it worked until 1925. Unfortunately, my g—g grandfather passed away at 59 in 1879, he had left his wife with 10 children who all lived to adulthood.​​

​​​​​

​