On May 28, 2016 I drove through the rolling landscape of north central Pennsylvania to the New York border. I drifted west over winding backroads until I hit the outskirts of an ancestral home. Along the banks of Cryder Creek, Whitesville contains the memories of pioneering people, including the White and Teater families, from which I am … Continue reading Sometimes You Can Go Home
Samuel S. White
Sunday’s Obituary: “And he was prospered beyond the lot of most men”
In the Sabbath Recorder, a newspaper of the Seventh Day Baptist Church, the following obituary appeared on September 20, 1860: DIED WHITE -- At the Utica State Asylum, Sept. 4th, 1860, Samuel S. White, of Independence, Allegany County, aged 64 years. Mr. White had been suffering from a partial, and at times, a total mental alienation, … Continue reading Sunday’s Obituary: “And he was prospered beyond the lot of most men”
Matrilineal Monday: Whites of Whitesville, New York
This is my brain on genealogy. While transcribing a letter dated July 24, 1869, a couple of its sentences looped relentlessly through my head, like a snippet of a catchy tune. My great-great-grandfather complained to his brother, James : My year's expenses devoured my year's salary (as principal of Rushford Academy), and left me as poor today as … Continue reading Matrilineal Monday: Whites of Whitesville, New York
The Whites of Whitesville: Tombstone Tuesday
Not long ago I took a genealogy field trip from my home in northeastern Pennsylvania to Allegany County, New York, following the Appalachian ridges to the hills of my ancestors, great-great-grands Ira and Serena White Sayles. A wonderful thing happened on the way back south - I found Serena's hometown, Whitesville. What I Found Between … Continue reading The Whites of Whitesville: Tombstone Tuesday
Shoots, Roots, and Leaves 