52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks #20 John Wiedrich

John Wiedrich

I have a picture of my great grandparents John H. and Sarah Wiedrich on the wall in my living room. I

John and Sarah Wiedrich

love that picture because they look like such a cute couple and full of mischievous fun. I was fortunate that I knew Sarah since she lived to be 100-yrs-old, but John died before I was born.

He was born 14 Sept 1857 in Stafford, Genesee Co., NY to Henry and Margaret Elizabeth (Ditman) Wiedrich. HIs parents were born in Alsace and Prussia making him a first generation American. By 1860 the family lived in Elba where he attended school. By 1875 he had moved to Pembroke and back to Elba by the 1880 census.

On 8 Mar 1896 he married Sarah Angeline (Corsett) Walworth, a widow who had a farm in Pembroke. In 1910 they left the farm and went to live in Batavia, NY. There he worked as a fireman and woodworker for the Wiand Plow farm implement factory. At times he served as a constable and inspector of elections.

During the difficult 1930s depression years he would often cut firewood with his son Edward, my grandfather. I often heard the story of how my grandfather would often tell him to stop wearing a baggy old sweater when they cut but he wouldn’t listen. Then one day when they were out in the woods his sweater caught in the chain saw and it cut his arm almost entirely off. My grandfather used a belt to make a tourniquet to stop the bleeding and get him to the hospital. The arm couldn’t be saved. After that he was very resourceful strapping whatever tool he needed to use to his arm stump and completing the task.

He died on 2 Jun 1942 and was buried in Maple Lawn Cemetery in Elba, NY. He and Sarah had seven children, Edward, Lydia, Helen, Chester, Bertha, James and John.

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52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks #13 Sherman Grant Corsett

Sherman Grant Corsett

Sherman Grant Corsett was born to Edward Corsett and Matilda Norton Corsett. His birthdate was either May or 1866 or 1867 in Genesee County, New York. His names may be a nod toward the heroes of the Union Civil War generals although a Sherman Corsett is listed in an earlier Michigan census, the birthplace of his mother. In 1870 Grant was living with his parents and younger sister, Sarah in Alabama, Genesee County, New York. By 1875 the family had moved to Stafford in New York. In the 1880 Federal Census the family was living in Pembroke and Grant was 13-yrs-old and working as a farm laborer. He continued to work as a farmer laborer in Pembroke over the years as listed in the federal and state censuses through 1925. Sometime after this date he moved to Batavia and was living with his sister, Sarah. In late winter 1938 he had been in poor health. He decided to commit suicide in the Tonawanda Creek. The creek flowed just across the street from his residence at 1 Pearl St., Batavia. The Tonawanda was a section of the Erie Canal. Grant jumped into the creek and drowned. The cold weather prevented police from recovering his body for several days. He was buried in the North Pembroke Cemetery alongside his parents.

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