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| Jessie (Tucker) Agard and Arthur Agard |
This prompt was much
harder. As many favorite photos popped into my head, I realized I had already
posted them on this blog. But I knew the person I wanted to honor. That person
is my great-grandmother Jessie (Tucker) Agard. I have written a few posts about
Jessie, so readers may remember that she was Ulysses (NY) Town Historian for
over twenty years. That was before my time of understanding what that meant. I
now realize my desire to preserve history and to document my ancestors probably
comes from her genetic influence.
I am the lucky recipient
of Jessie’s diaries, started in 1944 up to her death in 1973, as well as her
handwritten history of the Jacksonville Community Church, listing its pastors,
boards, and members, and a copy of the handwritten and transcribed journal of
her grandmother, Adeline Cleveland Hosner who was born in Jacksonville, NY in 1809.
Adeline’s journals were edited and published as The Pioneer Clevelands. Jessie’s family can be traced back to the
Rev. John Lowthropp. The Rev Lowthropp arrived Boston 18 September 1634, and
eventually moved his congregation to Barnstable, MA.
The photo is of Jessie and
her husband Arthur Agard on her 90th birthday, January 2, 1966. The
photo was taken at a family dinner at her son, Merritt's home on Route 89, Trumansburg,
New York, overlooking Cayuga Lake. Merritt and Maude returned from their winter in Florida just for this occasion.
In Jessie’s own words,
here is what she wrote in her diary for January 2, 1966:
“This is my Birthday [90
years] Snowing. We are invited to Merritt’s for 5 o’clock dinner, Bill’s family
too, and we went with them. Ethel, Margaret, Ken, Millie, Skip, Dianne, Nancy,
Martha and Laura H. Merritt and Maude came from Florida to be here for my 90th
Birthday.”
The hutch shown in the
background of this photo now resides in our home, as does the dishes that are
displayed. This photo and Jessie's journal entry brings a lot of memories. Only two of those listed are still alive.
Oh, a photo to be treasured, along with the memories, the dishes, and the hutch!
ReplyDeleteI think of them every day and so thankful I can honor my ancestors through genealogy research and featuring them on the blog.
ReplyDelete