Upstate New York

In April, I spent a week and a half on a road trip to Upstate New York where the majority of my ancestors came from.  I took two days to drive up and two days to drive back and I had seven days to research and visit with my living family members.  I will make the drive last three days each way next time I make that trip.  Traveling alone is just too hard a drive at the pace I went!

I had a room booked at the Red Carpet Inn on Goodyear Lake and that was my home base.  It was more or less centrally located to all the places I wanted to go and it was about a ten-minute drive to my aunt's home.  The room was everything I needed; it had all the amenities of the big chain motels but at a much smaller rate.

 On Day One, I went to Delhi and Meredith.  I met my 5th cousin Rita for the first time ever at the Woodland Cemetery in Delhi!  Her husband, Joe, and their friend, Norma, helped us look for the headstones of ancestors.

On Day Two, I went to Oneonta, Franklin, Binghamton, and Norwich.  I met my cousin Cheryl for the first time ever in Oneonta.  Our common ancestor is Mae Ellen Maginley at whose shared headstone we stand.

On Day Three, I went to Grand Gorge and Roxbury.  Jason Gould, my 2nd cousin 4x removed, is better known as Jay Gould.  The church named for him in Roxbury, was locked up tight. 

On Day Four, I went to Cooperstown and Milford.  At the Farmers' Museum in Cooperstown, I viewed the relocated home of my 4x great grandparents Jonas and Deborah Person More.

 

On Day Five, cousin Peggy (far left) joined me and we went to Mount Marion, Kingston, Shandaken, and Big Indian.  At Big Indian we saw our cousin David and his daughter Alicia and her son at David's Big Indian Deli and Market.  At the end of the day, Peggy and I joined her brother, my cousin Bob (far right) and his wife Tricia (next to him) in Oneonta at The Neptune Diner for dinner. 

On Day Six, I went to Walton, Downsville, Goulds, and Hancock.  In Walton, I joined 1st cousins 1x removed, Nancy Hrouda and Alan Harder for an hour at the home of  their brother, Clyde and his wife, Joanne Nault Harder . 

On Day Seven, I visited with my Aunt Margaret Cole and Gerry Gray most of the day.  Margaret has a lot of family memorabilia and I scanned some of it.  After a delicious dinner out, we said our good-byes.