Nevins Serendipity

I had some incredibly great luck recently in the family history research on the Nevins side of the family!

Many years ago while researching in Olean, I came across a notebook in the public library that contained a number of local biographies.  This was among them and I thought I had hit the jackpot.  At the time, I knew almost nothing about Henry Nevins (our maternal great grandfather).  This piece of hand-typed onion paper with a 3 hole punch out of that notebook provided HUGE clues for me to follow and I was ecstatic.

But then I noticed a few discrepancies--especially with dates-- and I have no idea how this Citizens Historical Association got its information.  In particular, I saw that Henry's father John was noted to have been born in Canada (not Ireland as I thought) and that he had lived in the Lockport area as a grocer for some time before he settled in the Ellicottville area.    I have searched all these years since for some kind of evidence that John was born in Kingston Canada and lived in Lockport NY for a time.

And then, almost accidentally, I found it!  New York State conducted a census halfway between the federal census years several times:  1855, 1865, 1875 for example.  I had John Nevins well documented in census and other records from 1860 forward--all in the Ellicottville area.  Until the other night, up popped the NY 1855 census and there was John in Lockport with his MOTHER Mary, sister Catherine and two children that belonged to a brother.  He appeared to be a "grocerman"

This verified what the Citizens Historical Association published and gave me clear evidence that John had at least one brother.  My grandmother claimed there were a bunch of brothers, but I've never found them either.

This monument is in the Holy Cross cemetery in Ellicottville.  Listed on the other side are twins Matty and Christy Nevins who died of diptheria when they were about 6-- great grandfather Henry is their brother.  I've suspected, hoped, wondered, prayed that this Mary might be John's mother.  Now I know it is and I feel like an open book has been closed.  I will presume John's father Henry was dead by the time John found himself in Lockport around 1852.

Some days you are the teflon and some days you are the velcro.  Sometimes things just go smoothly and sometimes they get sticky.  I was TEFLON this same day because I also found John's future wife in 1855 in the city of Rochester--this was a complete surprise.  Julia Fisher, 19, was documented in Rochester in 1855 with her father John, her mother Ann and her brother Christopher.  The image is very hard to read and I can't tell much from it but they are clearly there --ever so close to the Nevins family!  For some reason each family migrated to Ellicottville and that's where history was made starting in 1866 when John and Julia married.

Work hard enough and long enough and sometimes the pieces fall into place.  Ahhhhh.....

Social Networking before Facebook

I was very surprised to find my grandfather Francis P. "Weenie" Flynn on Facebook!  I don't think many people my age can say they found their grandfathers on a social networking site.  Made me wonder what he would have thought of Facebook.....I expect he would have taken it in stride the way he seemed to do with everything else.  At least, that's how it appeared to my young eyes. 

But social networking has been active for ages and ages.  Remember the party line we had on Dennison Road in Silver Creek NY in the 1960s?  That seems to me to be the ultimate precursor to Facebook.  You were connected to others (although not entirely by choice) who could monitor your activities anonymously by listening into the phone conversations.  Facebook stalking in its infancy.

Local newspapers, though, take the cake for hotbeds of social sharing.  You would never find such enlightening and entertaining information today in newsprint (if you can even find newsprint at all).  I am very grateful for such news flashes as they help build a more robust picture of our ancestors and their lives.

John Nevins is our great great grandfather (Henry's father).  This appeared in the Ellicottville Post Wed Oct 5 1898 and brings to mind the gigunda wind turbines they are bringing into Gloucester Massachusetts these days.  Everything old is new again.

Mary is Henry's next oldest sibling.  This appeared in the Ellicottville Post Wed June 14 1905 and pre-dates the All American Girls' Professional Baseball League ("There's no crying in baseball!") by nearly 40 years.  Nice that everyone in town knew about the black eye.

So, just to prove this stuff didn't just happen in Western New York, this is from the Boston Daily Globe Aug 2 1920.  Mrs. Ida Ryan, aged 27 and good-looking was the wife of Richard Ryan (Grampie Paul Ryan's brother).  This would have been our father's aunt.  All of 4'7" and 85 pounds, she could have blown into the harbor, but apparently she eventually returned home.  I do not yet know "the rest of the story" but there are all sorts of implications in this article:  "Quarrels with parents or relatives, anxiety to dress in better fashion that their pay envelopes will allow, love affairs, unrest and plain wanderlust are given by the police as primary cause in most cases".  Sometimes I wonder if we've really come very far in cases where young women disappear.
**I have just discovered that Ida Ryan was owner/manager of a tea room by 1940**  I hope she was happy.

Such articles don't appear anymore, but I wonder if those Facebook posts will be available to our descendants?