Twenty-eight years ago, when Richard Elnicki was in my American Studies class at Otter Valley, he speculated that his paternal great-grandparents came from either Austria or Hungary.
Tag: Michael F. Dwyer
A conversation with genealogist Michael Dwyer on his upcoming new series
After two years, 50 installments, and approximately 50,000 words, Pittsford-based genealogist and historian Michael Dwyer has brought his much-appreciated series “Lost Names in Vermont” to a close.
Lost Names in Vermont, Part 50: Fountain, Koska, Murcray, Abare, and Hibbard
It’s not a difficult stretch to see how Fountain came from the French name Fontaine.
Names lost in Vermont, Part 49: Dwyer, Phaneuf, and Aylwin
This penultimate segment of “Lost Names” has some unexpected twists.
Names lost in Vermont, Part 48: Sird, Gordon, and Cline
A visit to Brandon’s old Catholic Cemetery on Maple Street last December seemed to underscore how much history had been lost in its empty spaces and broken stones.
Names lost in Vermont, Part 47: Nisun, Tucker, and Bunch
Our three names under study do not bear any resemblance to their originals.
Names lost in Vermont, Part 46: Oakes, Ash, Hickory, and Plumtree
The burgeoning of spring inspires me to reunite these anglicized French-Canadian names with their original birth surnames.
Names lost in Vermont, Part 45: Pelkey and Little
This exploration of the Pelkeys begins with identifying a mystery photo.
Names lost in Vermont, Part 44: Poro, Shoro, Gallipo, and Sharrow
The first three surnames, all ending with “o,” represent modified spellings from their original Québec names. Remarkably, all three families hail with the throng of émigrés from St. Hyacinthe who settled in our area.
Names lost in Vermont, Part 43: Wood, Baker, and Poutier
Christa Wood, now a nurse at Rutland Regional Medical Center, was my student in several classes during my last two years at Otter Valley. I called her “Christa Bois,” surmising that she likely had some French-Canadian ancestry.