Tuttle – Bridging the Silences

Ontario History: Railroads, Water, Land, Orchards, Electricity and the Contributions of Earl Richardson

Let’s step back and review what we’ve learned about the history of Ontario, California. Here is a summary… Date Event 1876 Southern Pacific Railroad is built through future Ontario region Late 1870s-Early 1880s George and William Chaffey arrive from Canada and engineer irrigation system for Ontario 1879 Thomas Edison develops a reliable light bulb 1880sContinue reading “Ontario History: Railroads, Water, Land, Orchards, Electricity and the Contributions of Earl Richardson”

Researching Our Gelston Roots: In Vain Pursuit of More Hartford Founders and a Mayflower Ancestor

Each of us has 64 fourth great grandparents. By the time we work back to the 17th century we are in the realm of eighth and ninth great grandparents, of which each of us has 1024 and 2048, respectively. There are a lot of places to look for interesting ancestors. Further fueling this math isContinue reading “Researching Our Gelston Roots: In Vain Pursuit of More Hartford Founders and a Mayflower Ancestor”

Family Paths Crossing in Connecticut

Having tracked the Sandford and Tuttle family branches back to the origins of colonial Connecticut in the 1630s, a compelling question arises: did the two families know each other? The Sandford(Sanford) brothers, Thomas, Robert and Andrew came to America in the 1630s and participated in the founding of Hartford and Milford before our ancestor EzekielContinue reading “Family Paths Crossing in Connecticut”

Linked Memories: Who Was “Cousin Mary”?

As kids in the mid-late 1960s, during visits to Ontario, California, our grandmother Margaret would sometimes send us to visit Cousin Mary. A short walk down the alley, left on Flora Street and down a couple of houses, these visits were win-win-win propositions–the elderly Cousin Mary got company for 45 minutes or so, grandma gotContinue reading “Linked Memories: Who Was “Cousin Mary”?”

Linked Memories: Irrigation Day

Memories of the citrus grove at our grandparents’ home at 501 North Vine Ave in Ontario, California shed light on our ancestry. One evening during a visit in the mid 1960s a tractor came down the alleyway and proceeded to plow trenches along the length of the grove. The entire process took perhaps an hour.Continue reading “Linked Memories: Irrigation Day”

The Model Colony

The Chaffey brothers George (1848-1932) and William (1856-1926) were engineers and entrepreneurs born in Brockville, Ontario, Canada. They followed their father to California in the late 1870s and in 1881 bought the land and water rights for the region that would become the cities of Ontario and Upland. They built the irrigation system that transformedContinue reading “The Model Colony”

Ezekiel and Jonathan, the Bridge Builders

While Zachariah Sandford was running the inn and meeting house in Hartford, his brother Ezekiel Sandford, our 7th great grandfather, was establishing himself in Southampton, Long Island. Born in Hartford in 1647, Ezekiel appeared in Southampton by 1670, probably in search of new beginnings. Southampton had first been settled around 1640 by settlers who hadContinue reading “Ezekiel and Jonathan, the Bridge Builders”

The Tuttle Family of New Haven

Great grandmother Mabel Tuttle was born Jan 31, 1863 in Wilmington Illinois to parents Burton and Jane Thompson Tuttle. Burton came from New York and Jane was born to parents who had immigrated from Scotland. Mabel was an only child. By 1870 the family had moved to Mankato, Minnesota, where Mabel married Henry Edson SwanContinue reading “The Tuttle Family of New Haven”