Both our Calderwood and Swan ancestors lived in the same small region in northern Vermont in the 19th century. This raises two questions: Did the two families know each other there? Is it just coincidence that the two family branches from Vermont would merge in 1921 in Ontario, California with the marriage of grandparents JoeContinue reading “Did the Swans and Calderwoods know each other in Vermont?”
Monthly Archives: April 2020
The Lacuna
Recall that we have two genealogies describing the Sandford family history. Robert Sandford and His Wife Ann Adams Sandford with Some of Their Descendants, 1615-1930, written by Josephine Sandford Ware is the one known by our branch of the family since its 1930 publication. The Sandford/Sanford Families of Long Island, Their Ancestors and Descendants byContinue reading “The Lacuna”
The Mule Driver and the Physicist
A little more on the family of great grandmother Annie Calderwood. Right after publishing yesterday’s article, I rediscovered this clipping from 1958, copied last summer from the files of the Model Colony History Room at the Ontario Public Library. The article was surely saved by our grandparents Joe and Margaret. In addition to sharing aContinue reading “The Mule Driver and the Physicist”
The Calderwood Family of Scotland and Vermont
The family of great grandmother Annavilla (Annie) Agnes Calderwood came from Dunlop, Ayrshire Scotland, about 15 miles southwest of Glasgow. Her father, John Calderwood (1822-1896), arrived in the United States in 1841 at age 18 or 19. Difficult economic conditions in Scotland, driven by the growth of the industrial revolution, created tides of immigration toContinue reading “The Calderwood Family of Scotland and Vermont”
The Sandford Family Genealogy, written by Josephine Sandford Ware
For ninety years, the primary record of the genealogy of our branch of the Sandford family has been the book Robert Sandford and His Wife Ann Adams Sandford with Some of Their Descendants, 1615-1930, written by Josephine Sandford Ware. This 85 page account has been floating around our family since its 1930 publication. It canContinue reading “The Sandford Family Genealogy, written by Josephine Sandford Ware”
The Swan and Kenworthy Families of Mankato
A good anchor point for the story of great grandfather Henry Edson Swan is this lithograph published by Alfred Theodore Andreas in 1874 as part of a larger collection of 19th century maps of the midwest. Grandma Margaret gave a copy of this to Claire years ago. Henry’s parents (our second great grandparents) were JamesContinue reading “The Swan and Kenworthy Families of Mankato”
The Loyalists of Prince Edward Island
The family of great grandmother Laura Jane Wright immigrated to America twice in 250 years. The first time was around 1635 from England to Lynn, Massachusetts. The early Wrights migrated from Lynn to Sandwich on Cape Cod to Oyster Bay, Long Island, to Queens and Westchester, New York. Future posts will look at thisContinue reading “The Loyalists of Prince Edward Island”
The Topsham Generations
Third great grandfather Thomas Gelston Sandford was born in Portland, Maine in 1781, the middle of seven children of Thomas and Jerusha Gelston Sandford. He was married at age 32 to Maria Halsey Head from Warren, Maine. The 1783 marriage notice cites Thomas Gelston as a resident of Topsham (the ‘h’ is silent), so heContinue reading “The Topsham Generations”
The Sandford Family in Portland
After Long Island and before Vermont and California, four generations of Sandford ancestors lived in Maine between 1768 and the 1860s, first in Portland, Maine (originally known as “Falmouth” or “Falmouth in Casco Bay” to distinguish it from Falmouth, Massachusetts on Cape Cod), later in Topsham (the ‘h’ is silent) thirty miles to the north. Continue reading “The Sandford Family in Portland”
Bridging the Silences 