Favorite Genealogical Links

General Search Tools:
Library of Congress - American Memory Database
National Archives
US Census
Google Books
Jstor: Search Books and Papers
ResearchGate: Search Publications
Old Maps Online

Ancestry.com Family of Tools:
Ancestry.com - <My Ancestry Page> - Ancestry UK
Ancestry DNA - Genealogy.org - Genealogy.com
Archives.com - 1000memories.com - Fold3
Newspapers.com - rootsweb - Mundia

Other Genealogical Sites:
Footnote.com
FamilySearch
US Genweb
Deadfred: Genealogical Photo Archive
Cyndi's List: List of Sites

Cemetery Tools/Sites:
Find-A-Grave: Cemetery Database - <My Find-A-Grave Page>
Pittsford Cemetery
Pioneer Burying Ground
Pioneer Burying Ground #2

Newspaper Tools/Sites:
New York Times
Historical Newspapers of the Rochester, New York Region

Fulton History: Old New York Newspapers
Northwestern New York Historical Newspapers
Histoirical California Newspapers

Geographic/Lineage-Based Sites:
Kingsley Family Blog

Illuminated History Blog
Historic Pittsford
Irish Genealogy
Roots Ireland
UK Genuki


Books:
John Holbrook Estill book "A Family History"

Dr. Edgar Davidson Congdon (1879 - 1970)

Edgar Davidson Congdon (Lafayette4, Phineas3, Thomas2, John1)

  Birth 25 Apr 1879 in Walworth, Wayne, New York, USA
  Death Jun 1970

Parents: Lafayette Congdon 1845 – 1927 & Frances Anna Kingsley 1849 – 1931
Spouse: Edith Dana Jones 1879 – 1930
Children: Eleanor Estill Congdon 1912 – 2007 & Edgar Dana Congdon 1916 – 1997

Edgar Davidson Congdon was a biologist and anatomist that studied both animals and humans. He grew up all over western New York and northern Pennsylvania due to his fathers occupation as an Episcopal Theologian who change parishes every 2-4 years. Edgar attended Syracuse University for his undergraduate and Harvard for his Doctorate in the arts and sciences. In 1910, while on a post-doctorate tenure in Zurich, Switzerland he met his soon to-be wife, Edith Dana Jones. Edith was traveling the globe on a photo safari  and had come to Vienna to take classes. The next year they moved to NYC and had their daughter, Eleanor Estill Congdon.  Edgar took a position as an assistant professor at Stanford University in Palo Alto where his son, Edgar Dana Congdon, was born.  After four years at Stanford, Edgar took a Rockefeller Scientist position teaching abroad. His first stint was at the Peking Union Medical College in 1922 (his brother Wray Hollowell Congdon was also in China at this time doing missionary work) and then in 1925 moved to the Chulalongkorn University Medical School (now called the Siririj Medical School) in Bangkok, Siam. While living in Bangkok, Edith fell ill so she took the two children to Europe for her health and the children's education. Eleanor mainly studied french in various schools around France with her mother while Edgar Jr. attended a boarding school in Germany. In 1931, Edith succumbed to her illness and died. It took some months before Edgar received word and made the voyage to Europe to collect his children and move them to NYC (Brooklyn). Edgar then taught at the Long Island College of Medicine. In the 1950's he was teaching at the Chicago Medical College and in 1970 he died at the age of 91.

I am still trying to unearth many of the family-mysteries around Edgar and Edith. I am trying to put together a more thorough timeline of events through Asia, Europe and after returning to the US.

Timeline

1879 April 25   Born in Walworth, Wayne, New York.
1901   Received his A.B in Biology from Syracuse University.
1902   Received his A.M. from Syracuse University.
1906 - 1909   Austin Teaching Fellow in Zoology, Harvard University
1909   Received his Ph.D. in Zoology from Harvard University.
1909 - 1910   Hooper Traveling Fellow in Zoology of Harvard University at University of Zurich
1910 - 1911   Sheldon Traveling Fellow in Zoology of Harvard University at Versuchs Anstalt and K. K. Institut fur Radiumforschungen, Vienna (Also mention of Manchester)
1911 July 20   Marriage to Edith Dana Jones, at The American Embassy in Vienna, Wien, Wien, Austria
1911-1912   Instructor in Embryology, Cornell University Medical College, Ithaca, NY
1912 May 09  Daughter, Eleanor Estill Congdon, born in Brooklyn, Kings, New York, USA.
1912 - 1922 Assistant Professor at Leeland Stanford University Department of Biology, Palo Alto, California, USA
1916 January 27   Son, Edgar Dana Congdon, born in Palo Alto, Santa Clara, California, USA.
1922 - 1931   Rockefeller Scientist teaching abroad
1922 - 1926   Professor of Biology and Anatomy at Peking Union Medical School in Peking, China.
1926 - 1931   Professor of Anatomy and Chairman at Chulalongkorn University Medical School, Bangkok
   (now the Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University)

1931
   Wife died. Retrieved children from Europe and moved back to USA.
   Professor of Biology and Anatomy at Long Island College of Medicine in Brooklyn.
   Lived in Bronxville, Westchester, New York, USA.

1940 - 1942+   Lived in Columbia Heights, Brooklyn, Kings, New York, USA.
1944 - 1955+   Professor of Anatomy, The Chicago Medical School, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
1970 June   Death at the age of 91. Location unknown. Probably not buried. (donated to science)

Was a member of the American Association of Anatomists and the Society for Experimental Biology and Medicine.
Reportedly taught in Baltimore for a short time before moving to China.

Chronological List of Scientific Publications

Notes on the Morphology and Development of Two Species of Eudendrium
Biological Bulletin, Volume 11, Number 1, 1906, Pages: 27-46, Edgar Davidson Congdon

The Hydroids of Bermuda
Proceedings of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Volume 42, Number 18, January 1907, Pages: 463-485, Edgar Davidson Congdon

The effect of temperature on the migration of the retinal pigment in decapod crustaceans
Journal of Experimental Zoology, Volume 4, Issue 4, October 1907, Pages: 539–548, Edgar Davidson Congdon

Recent studies upon the locomotor responses of animals to white light
Journal of Comparative Neurology and Psychology, Volume 18, Issue 3, June 1908, Pages: 309–328, E. D. Congdon

The identification of tissues in artificial cultures
The Anatomical Record, Volume 9, Issue 5, May 1915, Pages: 343–364, E. D. Congdon

The embryonic structure of avian heart muscle with some considerations regarding its earliest contraction
The Anatomical Record, Volume 15, Issue 3, October 1918, Pages: 135–150, E. D. Congdon

The distribution and mode of origin of septa and walls of the sphenoid sinus
The Anatomical Record, Volume 18, Issue 2, March 1920, Pages: 97–123, E. D. Congdon

Acquired skeletal deformities in a young fowl
The Anatomical Record, Volume 19, Issue 3, August 1920, Pages: 164–172, E. D. Congdon

Anomalous fibrous cords in the hand and the phylogeny of the flexor digitorum sublimis tendon
The Anatomical Record, Volume 19, Issue 3, August 1920, Pages: 159–163, E. D. Congdon

Simultaneous occurrence of very small sphenoid and frontal sinuses
The Anatomical Record, Volume 19, Issue 3, August 1920, Pages: 153–157, E. D. Congdon

A supernumerary paranasal sinus
The Anatomical Record, Volume 19, Issue 6, November 1920, Pages: 367–371, E. D. Congdon

Transformation of the aortic arch system during the development of the human embryo. 
Contributions to Embryology, Volume 14, 1922, Pages: 47-110, Carnegie Inst. Wash. Pub. no. 277, E. D. Congdon

The mechanical processes concerned in the formation of the differing types of aortic arches of the chick and the pig and in the divergent early development of their pulmonary arches
American Journal of Anatomy, Volume 37, Issue 3, July 1926, Pages: 499–520, E. D. Congdon and H. W. Wang

An attempt to improve the methods of anatomical teaching, including the organization of the dissection to an unusual degree by systems and the bringing of the developmental, gross, and microscopic anatomy of individual organs together in the schedule
The Anatomical Record, Volume 45, Issue 4, May 1930, Pages: 323–337, E. D. Congdon

The use of albuminous paints in anatomical preparations
The Anatomical Record, Volume 51, Issue 3, January 1932, Pages: 327–331, E. D. Congdon

Two basic aims in teaching anatomy of the first medical year and their methods
The Anatomical Record, Volume 53, Issue 2, July 1932, Pages: 161–166, E. D. Congdon

Human congenital auricular and juxta-auricular fossae, sinuses and scars (including the so-called aural and auricular fistulae) and the bearing of their anatomy upon the theories of their genesis
American Journal of Anatomy, Volume 51, Issue 2, November 1932, Pages: 439–463, E. D. Congdon, Saguan Rowhanavongse and Prasob Varamisara

The primary types of extra-organic gross connective tissue structures
The Anatomical Record, Volume 67, Issue 2, January 1937, Pages: 193–203, Edgar D. Congdon

The cone of renal fascia in the adult white male
The Anatomical Record, Volume 80, Issue 3, July 1941, Pages: 289–313, Edgar D. Congdon and John N. Edson

Fasciae of fusion and elements of the fused enteric mesenteries in the human adult
American Journal of Anatomy, Volume 70, Issue 2, March 1942, Pages: 251–279, Edgar D. Congdon, Ralph Blumberg and William Henry

Gross structure of the subcutaneous layer of the anterior and lateral trunk in the male
American Journal of Anatomy, Volume 79, Issue 3, November 1946, Pages: 399–429, Edgar D. Congdon, John Edson and Salvitore Yanitelli

The chief insertion of the bicipital aponeurosis is on the ulna. A study of collagenous bundle patterns of antebrachial fascia and bicipital aponeurosis
The Anatomical Record, Volume 116, Issue 4, August 1953, Pages: 395–407, Edgar D. Congdon and Harold S. Fish

A symposium on the closely correlated or integrated course in anatomy
The Anatomical Record, Volume 117, Issue 4, December 1953, Pages: 805–828, Edgar D. Congdon, Davenport Hooker, John F. Huber and Otto F. Kampmeier

Subcutaneous attachments of the human penis and scrotum. A study of 55 series of gross sections
American Journal of Anatomy, Volume 97, Issue 2, September 1955, Pages: 331–357, E. D. Congdon and J. M. Essenberg

Notes

Known Associates:
Dr. Thomas P. Noble, Professor of Surgery at the Chulalankarana University, Bangkok.
Harold S. Fish, Co-author
Prof. A. W. Meyer
Prof. F. C. Blaisdell of the Department of Surgery
Prof. Claude Witherington Stump, previous Chairman in Bangkok

Resources

1880 United States Federal Census for Newark, Wayne, New York
1920 United States Federal Census for Palo Alto, Santa Clara, California
California, Voter Registrations, 1900-1968
Hamburg Passenger Lists, 1850-1934 (in German)
Harvard alumni directory
Historical Newspapers, Birth, Marriage, & Death Announcements, 1851-2003
New York, Passenger Lists, 1820-1957
U.S. Passport Applications, 1795-1925
U.S. School Yearbooks
U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918
U.S., World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942

Obituary for Eleanor Estill Congdon Putney, 18 Nov 2007
Eleanor Memoirs
The Chicago Medical School Quarterly, Volumes 5-6, 1944

The Dana Family Connection

One of my Congdon families is the Dana branch. The name Dana is prominent in my family, now used as a given name (first or middle). A common story that I heard growing up was that we were related to Richard Henry Dana, Jr., the reknown author of Two Years before the Mast. Since I grew up in Southern California, I was always familiar with Dana Point (named after Richard Henry). When I started researching our family roots, one of my first discoveries was that we are not directly related to him but more like third cousins. This did create some strife with a few of my relatives and I believe cast some doubt on the validity of my research. How could family legend be wrong? (tongue in cheek)

So here is the breakdown of what I found. Our earliest common ancestor is Daniel Dana. Below is the descendent chart starting with Daniel's father Richard:

1. Richard Dana (1617-1690)........................................b. England
m. Ann Bullard (1623-1711)
    2. Daniel Dana (1662-1749)......................................Selectman
    m. Naomi Croswell (1670-1750)
        3. Caleb Dana (1697-1769)...................................Capt.
        m. Phebe Chandler (1706-1772)
            4. George Dana (1741-1787)............................Minuteman
            m. Elizabeth Parks (1748-1811)
                5. James Dana (1780-1860)..........................merchant
                m. Harriet Dwight (1792-1870)
                    6. James Dwight Dana (1813-1895)..........mineralogist
                    6. Harriet Dwight Dana (1820-1882)..my 3G-Grandma
                    m. John Wyman Jones (1822-1904).........industrialist,
        3. Richard Dana (1700-1772)..............................politician
        m. Lydia Trowbridge (1710-1776)
            4. Francis Dana (1743-1811)...........................judge
            m. Elizabeth Ellery (1751-1807)
                5. Richard Henry Dana, Sr. (1787-1879)......poet
                m. Ruth C. Smith (1787-1822)
                    6. Richard Henry Dana, Jr. (1815-1882)...author
                    m. Sarah Watson (1814-1907)

The good news is that my 3rd great grandmother was brothers with someone that I was also familiar with (being a geologist myself), James Dwight Dana, volcanologist, mineralogist and zoologist. Yale University has his letters in storage where he correspondes both with his sister, Harriet, and Charles Darwin.

So James Dwight Dana and Richard Henry Dana, Jr. were 3rd cousins. Interestingly, both James and Richard traveled quite a bit and visited California in its very early stages before the Gold Rush. Richard on his famous Two Years before the Mast voyage in 1835 and James on Captian Wilkes' exploratory expedition of 1838-42. Richard's book was used extensively by the hordes moving to California in the 1850's as one of the only available works with descriptions of the territory. Similarly, James' publications were used for prospecting in the Mount Shasta area as the only available descriptions on the geology of the area.

Harriet, James' sister, went on to marry John Wyman Jones (1822-1904), who I have written about previously. J. Wyman and Harriet were married 36 years before her untimely death at the age of 62. She had 2 sons with him, James Dana Jones and Dwight Arven Jones. James was a District Attorney in NYC and Dwight ran his father's Lead Mining company in Missouri among other things. I am a descendant of James Dana Jones.

I will update with my sources later.

1940 US Federal Census and Laverne Putney (1906-1976)

I had my first success with the newly release images for the 1940 US Federal Census. It took a few hours to decipher enumeration maps, collude with relatives regarding alternative potential addresses and scan through a few hundred images, I was able to find the entry for Laverne and Eleanor Putney, My Great Aunt and her husband.













Laverne and Eleanor had just gotten married in Brooklyn in 1939 and in 1941 he joined the army as a MP. In 1940 we find him back home (Batavia), living on Prospect Avenue and working as a Prison Guard at the State Prison. (Note of interest that Eleanor's grandfather had build San Quentin Prison in California.)

Enumeration Map for Batavia:

Census Record:

I used the National Archives to download the Descriptions and Maps and Ancestry.com to look at the actual census pages. Another tool that is useful to decipher Enumeration District maps here.

___________________________________

Laverne5 Putney (Addis4 Zimri3 Joseph2 John1)

Laverne was born in Genesee County, New York on 7 Mar 1906 to Addis Charney Putney and Ethel House. He grew up the son of a farmer on Bank Street Road and went to Batavia High School, graduating in 1924. Laverne then attended Syracuse University studying Forestry and graduated in 1930. About 1933 he started working as a guard at Attica State Prison near Batavia. In 1939 he married Eleanor Estill Congdon at the "Church of the Pilgrims" in Brooklyn, NY and returned to Batavia with his wife to live and continue working at the prison. He joined the army in 1941 as a private in the Military Police first stationed at Fort Niagara and then Pine Camp (Now called Camp Drum in upstate NY). He continued to work at the prison after the army and also farmed his land on the Alexander Rd. outside Batavia. Laverne had 3 children, all living. In 1963 he retired from the prison after 30 years. He died 5 July 1976 and is buried at Elmwood Cemetery in Batavia NY along with his parents and wife.

Individual Facts:

Name: Laverne Putney

Sex: Male

Father: PUTNEY, Addis Charney

Mother: HOUSE, Ethel

Birth: 7 Mar 1906 in Genesee County New York

Census: 1910 in Batavia, Genesee, New York

Census: 1920 in Alexander, Genesee, New York

Graduation: 1924 from Batavia High School

Census: 1930 in Batavia, Genesee, New York

Graduation: 1930 from Syracuse University in Undergraduate Forestry

Occupation: Prison Guard at Attica State Prison

Marriage: 18 Nov 1939 in Brooklyn NY to Eleanor Estill CONGDON

Census: 1940 in Batavia, Genesee, New York

Military: Apr 1941 in Buffalo, NY

Retirement: 1963 in Batavia, Genesee, New York

Death: 1 Jul 1976 in Alexander, Genesee, New York

Burial: Elmwood Cemetery in Batavia, Genesee, New York

Children:

LIVING

LIVING

LIVING

Sources:

1910 United States Federal Census

1920 United States Federal Census
1930 United States Federal Census
1940 United States Federal Census

Roster from the 1924 Batavia High School Yearbook

Social Security Death Index
U.S. World War II Army Enlistment Records, 1938-1946

John Wyman Jones (1822-1904)

John3 Wyman Jones (John2 - John1)


Information abounds for J. Wyman Jones. A lawyer son of a shopkeeper that became wealthy at real estate, railroads and mining. He designed and pulled together the financing for the founding of Englewood, New Jersey, which some consider the first designed suburban community. The house that he built there in 1850 is (as of 1997) now owned by CBS anchor Charles Osgood. After Englewood, J. Wyman Jones became the first president of the St. Joseph Mining Company in Missouri. Along with his mine manager, J. Wyman used new diamond drilling practices to make the company very profitable. It flourished and absorbed all the competitor companies that came along. He was the president of that company until his death in 1904 at which point his son, Dwight A. Jones took over the presidency until his own death in 1913. Today the Bonne Terre Mine is closed but used as a scuba diving site called the Billion Gallon Lake Resort.


He had two sons by his first marriage to Harriet Dwight Dana. In 1882, Harriet passed away and in 1886 he married Salome Maria Chapin nee Hanna. In 1888, he purchased 300 acres in Georgia and founded the Glen Arven Country Club named after his mother, Ruth Arven. In 1899, President McKinley vacationed with J. Wyman Jones at his winter home in Thomasville, Georgia. The New York Times read "The President is resting".


** Note that he went by J. Wyman Jones in nearly all business and personal dealings.


Individual Facts:

Name: John Wyman Jones

Sex: Male

Father: JONES, John, Esq.

Mother: ARVEN, Ruth

Birth: 2 May 1822 in Enfield, Grafton, New Hampshire
Graduation: 1841 Dartmouth College, Dartmouth, Massachusetts

Occupation: 1845 as Lawyer in New York City and Utica

Marriage: 1846 to Harriet Dwight DANA

Census: 1850 in Utica, Oneida, New York

Occupation: 1850 as Real Estate Speculator in New York and New Jersey

Census: 1860 in Hackensack, Bergen, New Jersey

Occupation: 1865 as first President of the St. Joseph Lead Mining Company in Bonne Terre, Missouri

Census: 1870 in Hackensack, Bergen, New Jersey

Census: 1880 in Englewood, Bergen, New Jersey

Marriage: 1886 to Salome Maria HANNA (previously married to George W. Chapin w/ 1 living child)

Residence: 1896 in Bolton, Massachusetts (Summer Home)

Residence: 1899 in Thomasville, Georgia (Winter Home)
Census: 1900 in Bolton Town, Worcester, Massachusetts

Death: 27 Oct 1904 Manhattan, New York

Children:
JONES, James Dana

JONES, Dwight Arvin

CHAPIN, Charles M. (step-son)***

Associations:

Brother-in-law: DANA, James Dwight (Geologist)

Brother-in-law: HANNA, Marcus Alonzo (Republican Senator; McKinley Campaign Manager)

*** interesting side note, both James Dana Jone's step-brother, Charles M. Chapin, and his son-in-law, Edgar Davidson Congdon (married to his daughter, Edith Dana Jones) were distant cousins (4th). Descendants of the Converse family via progenitor, LT. Josiah Converse. 

Events:

1854 New York State Fair Superintendent of the Implement Dept.

1870 Dartmouth Alumni Vice-President

1874 New Jersey Republican Party Chairman

1894 Vacationed in Hot Springs Virginia

1880 Storm Damage to Long Branch Home and Property

A biography:

J. WYMAN JONES. (Adapted from a sketch in the "Memorial History of the City of New York and the Hudson River valley.") – It is always interesting to trace the early life of men of energy, for usually there will be found those surroundings which foster a vigorous and independent character. This is aptly illustrated in the life of J. Wyman Jones. Born in the Town of Enfield, N. H., he was subjected throughout boyhood to the hardy and healthful country life of New England; and the rugged aspect of nature, the exhilarating winters, together with a rigorous home training, combined to produce a vigorous and courageous youth, eager for a conflict with the world. His father was a sturdy New England justice, prominent in the affairs of his locality, and several times a member of the State Legislature. His mother was a woman of genuine sweetness and refinement, and a direct descendant of the famous Hannah Dustin. It was the desire of both parents to keep their only son at home, but when his school career at Meriden Academy was ended he pressed onward for Dartmouth College, where he was admitted in 1837. In his class were a son of Daniel Webster, Edward Webster, who died in the Mexican War; Rev. Dr. Leonard Swain, of Nashua, N. H.; and Gardiner G. Hubbard, Esq., of Washington, D. C.

Upon graduation, in 1841, he could not be persuaded to locate at home; and although put wholly upon his own resources, he began the study of law in New York City. In 1843 he was admitted to the New York bar, and for twenty years followed his profession, the latter part of the time in Utica, N. Y. Prior to his removal there he married Harriet Dwight Dana, daughter of James Dana, of Utica, and sister of Professor James D. Dana, of Yale University, who survived until 1882. At Utica Mr. Jones made many warm friends in his profession, including the late Justice William J. Bacon, Senator Kernan, Joshua Spencer, and Senator Conkling.
Advised by his physician that he must lead an out-of-door life, he reluctantly relinquished the practice of law to give himself to rural pursuits, although still retaining his interest and membership in the New York bar. In 1858, by invitation of a former client then engaged in surveying the Northern Railroad of New Jersey, he made an examination of the proposed route, and being impressed by the natural beauty of the country, with characteristic daring determined to throw himself heartily into the development of the region where Englewood is now located. He spent the summer of 1858 in securing property rights from the original owners, and by the autumn of that year had control of nearly all the land now occupied by that village. He proceeded to lay out the town, to name its streets, and to procure a survey and map of its territory. By the spring of 1859 he had moved his family to the new place and had gained for it the support of several valuable friends. In this same spring, at a meeting of the residents, the name Englewood, suggested and advocated by him, was adopted. Since that time Mr. Jones has been prominent in the secular and religious life of Englewood, and he still maintains a keen interest in its growth and welfare. He has had the satisfaction of seeing it develop, pursuant to the general plan formulated by himself, into a beautiful and progressive suburb of New York City. In addition to the initial work at Englewood he also became largely interested in the neighboring Towns of Closter and Norwood, the latter of which he established and named.
In 1865 Mr. Jones became President of the St. Joseph Lead Company, a corporation manufacturing and mining lead in the State of Missouri; and by persistent energy, overcoming all obstacles, he has raised the company from an almost hopeless condition to its present position as one of the largest lead-producing concerns in the United States. With the lead company are also associated a railway corporation having a road forty-eight miles in length, and a cattle and farming company transacting a large business, of both of which Mr. Jones is President. He is also President of the Doe Run Lead Company. During the thirty years of his presidency of the St. Joseph Lead Company he has spent much of his time at the mines in Missouri, where now there is a prosperous community. During this entire period there has never been a strike among the men, it having been one of the chief concerns of the company, under the leadership of Mr. Jones, not only to treat its employees fairly, but also to aid in every undertaking which promised to contribute to their pleasure, or to their moral or physical welfare.
In politics Mr. Jones has been a Republican since the days of the Free Soil party. At the outbreak of the Civil War, while deep in his work at Englewood, he was an ardent Northerner, frequently speaking at public meetings. He was many years Chairman of the Republican County Executive Committee, and was chosen a delegate-at-large from the State of New Jersey to the Presidential Convention of 1872. In 1876 he was elected a delegate to the State Convention by the Englewood Republicans after he had declared himself friendly to Senator Conkling and opposed to Hon. James G. Blaine, and subsequently by the State Convention was elected a delegate to the Presidential Convention at Cincinnati. There, with five other New Jersey delegates, he refused to vote for Mr. Blaine, and voted on the first and every ballot for Mr. Hayes, who was nominated by the convention. While this course was distasteful to the Blaine adherents, so far as Mr. Jones was concerned it was in accord with the declarations he had previously made, and with the decision of his Englewood constituents. In later years he has taken no active part in politics, but maintains a loyal adherence to his party and an earnest concern for the country's prosperity.
Personally Mr. Jones is a courtly gentleman, thoroughly American, and counts his friends among all classes of men. He possesses a keen insight into human nature, and judges quickly and accurately.

In 1886 Mr. Jones married Mrs. Salome Hanna Chapin, of Cleveland, Ohio. During the winter season they reside at Thomasville, Ga., where they have a Southern home of rare attractiveness. They also have a charming historic home at Bolton, Mass., where Mr. Jones now spends the greater part of each year.

A short history of Pittsford and the region

I haven't posted here in awhile but I do have more recent research. I few recent emails have got me digging again. Since a good portion of my family seems to have stayed in western New York for a good number of generations it behooves me to understand the dynamics of the changing city and county names.


I've drawn up this basic timeline for Pittsford/Monroe.


1788 Oliver Phelps and Nathaiel Gorham of Connecticut signed Treaty of Buffalo Creek with Seneca Indians
1789 Simon and Israel Stone from Salem Washington Co. NY settled here (went back to bring friends and family)
1792 District of Northfield, Ontario Co. created from 7 townships
1794 School built in Mendon (school structures called Stonetown then The Milepost)
1796 Town of Northfield created (Silas Nye, first supervisor and Dr. john Ray was town clerk)
1808 Northfield was divided and became Boyle
1813 More divisions and renamed Smallwood
1813 Town of Mendon was organized in Ontario County
1814 Smallwood was divided into Henrietta and Pittsford (P. was named by Col. Caleb Hopkins)
1821 Mendon annexed by Monroe County when created

Here is a good short history sourced from here:

The earliest history we have of our area is that it was part of the lands of the Seneca Indians, the western most tribe of the mighty Iroquois nation. We have records that show that the Marquis DeNonville crossed Lake Ontario from Montreal in 1687 with a force of two thousand French and Indian warriors to make war on the Senecas. DeNonville landed at what is now Ellison Park on July 10, and marched overland, following roughly the path of Irondequoit Creek. That army camped at the Big Spring, a favorite camping site of the Native Americans. DeNonville and his punitive forces were successful in driving the Senecas from this region but in so doing he created a powerful ally of the English against the French. Whenever there was conflict between the two nations, the Senecas sided with the British.


In 1788 Oliver Phelps and Nathaniel Gorham of Connecticut settled with the state of Massachusetts for a title to the land in western New York. On July 8, 1788, Phelps and Gorham met with the Senecas and signed the Treaty of Buffalo Creek at Geneseo in Livingston County at which the Indians gave up title to all the land between the Genesee River on the west and Seneca Lake on the east and from Lake Ontario south to the Pennsylvania line. This comprised about two and one-half million acres, Simon and Israel Stone, two cousins from Salem, New York, Washington County, had been officers in the Revolutionary War. They had heard about this fertile land in western New York state and arranged to purchase 13,296 acres of land, land for which they were to pay about 36 cents an acre. The two men came to this area in the year 1789 and built crude log cabins. Israel established his site at the Big Spring and Simon's was just a short distance to the south. The two cousins then went back to Salem and were able to persuade family members and friends to join them in this new venture in the "west".


In 1792 the seven townships northeast of the Genesee River were organized into the District of Northfield as part of Ontario County. That same year, Simon built a grist mail on Irondequoit Creek. He built a sawmill the following year and frame houses soon appeared, giving the new community a more permanent look.


The early settlers were proud of this Northfield and wanted to be sure that it grew and developed into a thriving community. A school house was built in 1794 in the area where Mendon, Mendon Center, and Stone Roads merge.


This settlement of structures was called Stonetown but later was known as The Milepost. The cost of this school, the first in what is now all of Monroe County, was raised by subscription with each family paying in proportion to the number of children who would be attending. That cost was $ 1.00 per student.


On April 5, 1796 the District of Northfield was organized as the Town of Northfield. A full set of town officers were elected at that first town meeting held in what is now Pittsford village. Captain Silas Nye was elected the first supervisor and Dr. John Ray was chosen to be Town Clerk - a position he held for the next sixteen years.


In 1808 the town was divided and the name Northfield was changed to Boyle. In 1813 there were more divisions and the name Smallwood was given to this area. In 1814 Smallwood was divided and one part was called Henrietta and the remaining part was named Pittsford. That name was chosen by Col. Caleb Hopkins, a leading citizen who had been supervisor and a hero of the War of 1812. Hopkins named this town for his hometown of Pittsford, Vermont.


A great event in the life of our community was the opening of the Erie Canal in 1825. The village soon become a busy shipping port with produce being sent to the eastern markets. It also brought a heavy migration of settlers from New England and land values rose rapidly. The village expanded and was incorporated in 1827. Another important event which contributed to growth was the coming of the Auburn and Rochester railroad in 1842.


Prior to the Civil War, there had been stories of runaway slaves being hidden in homes and cellars - all part of the Underground Railroad. Unfortunately, we have very little documentation of this theory. We do know that Samuel Crump, a merchant whose store was at the Four Corners, is known to have received runaways into hiding in his barn and in turn, took them in his wagons to the Port of Charlotte where they boarded a boat for freedom in Canada.


There are also, rumors of underground caverns and tunnels beneath the streets of Pittsford village. We have the accounting of more than one person who says they have been in those tunnels, but no one alive today is able to corroborate this fact. If there are caverns and tunnels underground, there is no evidence of any connection with Underground Railroad trafficking.


Pittsford was established as an agrarian community by people of common stock who were willing to let commercialism pass them by. Industry was not encouraged, although there was at one time a thriving Pickle Factory in the community and Pittsford Milling Company was a flourishing business through World War II. The town today is primarily residential and serves as the "bedroom community" for the city of Rochester which is only about ten miles away. Pittsford is an area of beautiful homes and gardens, trees and historical buildings. The school has an excellent reputation as does the library. The municipal officers of both the town and village have paid particular attention to parks and recreational opportunities and have collaborated on many community events. There are numerous restaurants, shops, boutiques and places of worship. In a word, Pittsford is an ideal community in which to live and is ideally located in beautiful upstate New York.

Maud Estill (1856-1908)

Maud8 Estill (James Madison7 - James6 - James5 - Wallace4 - John3 - Thomas2 - Henry1)

I am still far from considering Maud vetted to even a minor degree. She is my Great-Great-Grandmother on my Jones side. She was the youngest child of General James Madison Estill and Martha Ann Woods. She was born after Martha arrived in California from her cross-Panama trek from Missouri to join her husband who had come via wagon train. I need to dig through my notes to verify dates and logic but I know that Maud married James Dana Jones, a lawyer from New York and son to J. Wyman Jones and eventual disinherited son to the family fortune. Maud had 2 girls with James Dana Jones, Edith and Eleanor. James was reported to have a drinking problem and was divorced to Maud and then died young. Maud then lived in San Rafael California with her girls. She reportedly provided shelter to many after the great San Francisco earthquake of 1906.

** Note that in some documents her given name is spelled "Maude".

Individual Facts:

Name: Maud Estill
Sex: Female

Father: Estill, James Madison
Mother: Woods, Martha Ann

Birth: 17 Feb 1856 in California
Census: 1860 in San Francisco, San Francisco, California
Marriage: 24 May 1878 in Manhattan, NY, NY to James Dana JONES
Census: 1880 in Englewood, Bergen, New Jersey
Census: 1900 in Russian River, Sonoma, California
Death: 23 May 1908

Children:
Jones, Edith Dana
Jones, Eleanor Estill

Picture of a young Maud:

From Congdon Families

Picture of Maud in San Rafael Ca circa 1905 (daughters in background)

From Congdon Families

Documentation:

[1] 1860 United States Federal Census, San Francisco Dist. 10, San Francisco, California Roll: M653_67; Page: 283; Image: 284

Name left blank, assumed to be Maude (6, CA). Household of Martha A Estill (46, KY) with daughters Josephine (21, KY), Martha (13, MO) and Florence (11, MO); son James R Estill (17, MO); mother Elizabeth L Woods (66, Virginia); and domestic help Elizabeth Riley (21, MA).

Living next door to William R. Garrison and wife Mary Elizabeth Estill (sister to Maud).

From GENO

[2] 1880 United States Federal Census, Englewood, Bergen, New Jersey

Maud Jones, age 24, in home of father in law, J Wyman Jones, with husband J. Dana Jones (age 29) and daughter Edith D. Jones (age 1).

From GENO

[3] 1900 United States Federal Census, Russian River, Sonoma, California Roll: T623 114; Page: 6B;

Maude E Jones, age 44, head of household (widowed), with daughters, Edith D Jones (age 21) and Eleanor Jones (age 16).

Also living with Maude was a servant, Celia Herald, and a boarder, Harold Wrightson.

From GENO

[4] New York City Marriages 1600s-1800s

Name: Maude Estill
Marriage Date: 1878
Marriage Place: Manhattan, New York, New York
Marriage ID: 2220830750
Certificate Number: 2702
Other Comments: See Family History Library catalog for films 1543971-1562446 (Manhattan) and Film 1653852 (Brooklyn), for actual certificate.
Source: Marriage Registers, Extracts from Manhattan (1869-1880) and Brooklyn (1895-1897)
Publisher: Dept. of Health, Division of Vital Statistics, New York.
Publication Place: New York, NY

[5] The Dana Family in America, Page 497

1. JAMES DANA 7 JoNES, b. June 18, 1850; Yale, 1871; m. May 24, 1878, Maud Estill, b. Feb. 17, 1856, d. May 23, 1908. He d. Jan. 3, 1893 or 1898.
Child:
(1) EDITH DANA 8 JONES, b. New York; m. -Congdon, assistant professor of anatomy at Stanford University. Res. Palo Alto, Cal.

[6] John Holbrook Estill, "A Family History by One of the Family", The Morning News, Savannah Georgia, 1908. Pages 120 and 121.