Centennial and a Quarter
July 28, 2002
Hi! For those of you who do not know me, I am Dennis Martin, the youngest grandchild of Hamilton Martin. The story as I know it is that Hamilton's father George immigrated all the way from Picton, Ontario, Canada in 1877 when Hamilton was just four years old. George and Sarah bought a 120 acre farm on Hayes Road outside of Ithaca and Hamilton and his brother, George Jr., grew up there. Hamilton later took over the farm and with his wife, Nora, I believe, had nine children of their own. The youngest of Hamilton's nine kids was my father, Royce. The next youngest, Ned, married Doris and they are currently the proud keepers of the farm.
Here are some pictures of Hamilton and Nora that Doris gave to my sister for me to scan in.
Back in 1977 there was a huge reunion to mark the Centennial. I was only 10 at the time so it was hard to remember who was who, especially when some 400 people turned out. Unfortunately, 25 years later, my memory is not any better. Of course I remember Ned and Doris and their six kids (Alan, Sally, Sue, Kaye, Sharon, and Dan). Ned is the only surviving offspring of Hamilton. My father Royce passed away back in '95. Royce and Marlene had five kids, Greg, Dawn, Cheryl, Doug, and myself. My aunt Beatrice and her husband Earl had a daughter, Carolyn, and my uncle Lynn and his wife Eileen had a son Don, and Don and Joanne and their kids were at the reunion too (they are also related to my family on my mother's side, with Joanne's Grandmother Neva being my Mother's Aunt, to add to my confusion).
If I spelled a name wrong or got a detail mixed up, I apologize. With some 200 people at the 125 year reunion, I know I left a lot out. As I recall, George Jr.'s branch of the family was even bigger than Hamilton's. Feel free to forward the link to this page to every family member, and if you want to fill in some information, I would be happy to hear from you. You can email me at lprezdente@hotmail.com.
Enjoy the photos!
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