by Charles L. Ketchum, Jr.
This is my story of Edward Katcham/Catcham and his descendants, primarily emphasizing the lineage which has led to my family.
Before I begin the story, I would like to introduce myself. My name is Charles Lawrence Ketchum, Jr. and was born in Binghamton, Broome County, New York, on December 24, 1928. I was a nice Christmas present for my parents, but as the story goes, my mother had gone to the theater on Thanksgiving eve, but she didn't get to see the show, as her thoughts turned toward thinking, that it was time for my arrival, so she was taken to the hospital, and found out I wasn't due yet. She always told me that I could have been a turkey, instead of a cute Christmas baby boy, Hah!
I don't recall much of my early life, but I have been reminded several times of a near catastrophe that happened to me when I was a young boy. We lived in a second floor apartment, with a long staircase from the first floor. One evening, my dad's mother and her aunt Laura, were taking care of me and my sister, so that my parents could go out on their own for a change. I had one of those little walkers and headed for the stairs and went down them, head over heels. Finding I was not injured, they had a good laugh and thought I must have had a hard head. Throughout the years my family reminded me, yes, I had a hard head.
Before I begin, I should remind you that as I grow older more time is allotted to reminiscing. I seem to pick up bits and pieces of my early years, which, at times I can't seem to put together. I keep thinking that God put everyone on this earth for a reason. It looks like mine was to support my family when growing up and now it is going to end up as a family genealogy researcher. When I look back on my life, I realize that the family had a mixture of good times and bad, as most families do. I made sure my children learned that the Church was a good place, while being mean to one, and another is bad. My children, said I preached too much, so I stopped. Sometimes I think I stopped too soon. I remember my dad coming over to the house on weekends, to take his grandchildren for a drive in his old car. He enjoyed this, especially when they got older.
My dad was strict, but fair. We lived on a dead-end street, and the men in the neighborhood constructed a baseball field for all the kids to use, including themselves. All the neighborhood kids played on the baseball diamond after school, but when the men came home it was theirs to use. At dinner time we were all called home, which meant right then, not a minute later, and in my family, my dad with a big hand, used it if necessary as I entered through the front vestibule, if I happened to be late. I can remember laying in bed, by my father's side, listening to the prize fights on radio. I can remember cheering for the greatest, Joe Louis. We had a front porch, which was my summer room, with bed and all. I listened to the Buffalo Bison baseball games every night they played, and on the weekends going to Offerman Stadium, (the best stadium in the world) with my dad, to see the team play. In those days, I could name everyone on the team and most of the players in the International league. Now there are far too many teams, especially in the Big Leagues, and the players are moved around from team to team, too much.
I also remember traveling by train every Christmas and summer vacation, to see my mother and grandparents. It was wonderful to see all the Christmas lights in the small towns that we passed, on our trip from Buffalo, NY to Binghamton, NY, and of course playing with the neighborhood kids while visiting. Now I travel to the same area to find information about my ancestors.
Enough of my reminiscing, its time to move onto my family ancestors and my research. It is a research which started in 1996, when my youngest daughter "Donna," asked me to help her start a "Family Tree." I had no information to guide me, so I proceeded to the Erie County Public Library in Buffalo, New York, and found the beginning of my search.
I was lucky to find an article in the "American Genealogist," Volume XXX, No. 1, dated January 1954, by John Insley Coddington, of Washington, D.C., titled, "Edward Ketcham of Cambridge, County of Cambridge, and elsewhere in England, later of Ipswich, Massachusetts, Southold, Long Island, NY and Stratford, Connecticut."
The manuscript commences as follows: "It has been known for some time that Edward Ketcham (Cacham, Catcham, Catchman, Cecham, Cetchman, Chattham, Kecham, Ketham; in later generations also Ketchem and Ketchum), a New England settler, who lived for a time in the famous university town of Cambridge, County of Cambridge, England. The record of Edward's first marriage to Mary Hall at the Church of St. Andrew the Great in Cambridge on August 22, 1619 was recorded in Phillimore's 'Cambridgeshire Marriages', and was noticed prior to 1938 by Dr. Herbert F. Seversmith, who in that year told 'Amiko' (James Morton) about it, and the latter printed an interesting article on the Ketcham family in the genealogical columns of the Boston Evening Transcript."
"Attention should be drawn to the fact, however, that although Edward lived in Cambridge at least from 1619 to 1628, he was almost certainly not born in that town or in the county of Cambridge."
Coddington related that searches were made for Edward's baptism record of the various Churches in the area and to the courts for probate records, but, no records were found. It seems certain, therefore that Edward was a sojourner at Cambridge, that he was born and raised in some other part of England, came to Cambridge at some time prior to his marriage in 1619, and moved elsewhere in England after the baptism of his last recorded child in Cambridge in 1628. Edward having no real estate in Cambridge, and the fact that he moved from parish to parish during his stay there supports the idea that he was a wanderer by nature.
Edward had been a tradesman. He lived in Cambridge, England and possibly emigrated to Massachusetts Bay in 1629 with his two sons Samuel and John. Some say he came (with the Winthrop Fleet, on the ship Hopewell) but his name is not on the passenger lists of that ship nor on any other passenger list in existence.
There is no record of Edward from the baptism of his 4th child Anna (Hanna) on October 19, 1628 at St. Michael's Parish-Anglican Church, Cambridge, England until he came to Ipswich, Massachusetts, which is 30 miles north of Boston, Massachusetts, about 1635, two years after its settlement. The original records of Ipswich were lost in a fire in 1851.
In Andrew's "List of Freemen in Massachusetts Bay Colony from 1630-1691" and the writings of Savage in "A Genealogical Dictionary of the First Settlers of New England" (published in 1861 and probably the best known of the many publications that mention the little known facts about Edward) says, "Edward Katcham from Ipswich, became a freeman on March 9, 1637, and may reasonably be thought progenitor of all of the Ketchum names in our country and therefore it is regrettable, that we are ignorant of the circumstances of his migration and subsequent residence."
Becoming a freeman gave Edward the right to vote, and being a freeman back then in Massachusetts, proved he become a Puritan. Edward was recorded as a cattle owner, in Ipswich, as early as December 20, 1638, and again on June 13, 1639. In 1640 Edward sold land in Ipswich, and a short time afterwards, the Katcham family moved to Southold, in the eastern part of Long Island, NY where he became a land owner.
Edwards next and last residence was Stratford, CT, when he moved in the fall of 1653, before the colder weather of winter had set in. This is the town where Edward died, on June 8, 1655. His Will is located at Fairfield, CT, in a book which is over 300 years old and so fragile that no one has been allowed to look at it for many years but there are photostats of it. Years ago a bottle of ink was spilled on the open Will Book. Acid ate a hole through the middle of a number of pages. It seems likely someone used acid to try to bleach the fresh ink but it ate a hole in the several pages. From the photostat one would think there was a great blot on the Will but it is really a hole.
According to an inventory made on June 9, 1655, Edward's estate was valued at 90 pounds, 11 shillings, 6 pence. It has been stated, that the value of his estate was quite large for those days.
There have been no records found, to establish when Mary Hall, the first wife of Edward died, nor when he married his second wife Sarah Salmon. Although, from court records, it seems that Edward must have married Sarah by the late 1630's in time to have a daughter named Sarah who was old enough to be courted, before his death in 1655. Sarah Salmon, quite a bit younger than Edward married Henry Whitney after he died.
Back in those days a man could not begin to court a girl without first obtaining her parents' consent. Henry Whitney objected to having his step-daughter Sarah courted by young Joseph Whitman and he complained about it to the Huntington Court. Witnesses testified that before his death Edward had given his daughter Sarah permission and therefore it seems to have been none of the business of the step-father Henry Whitney.
On June 19, 1660 a complaint of Henry Whitney was presented to the Court against Joseph Whitman for stealing his step-daughter's affections contrary to her mother's mind and using unlawful means to obtain her love. In a deposition of Edward Katcham, it said that he went to Joseph Whitman, when he was upon the mill ford, then, after having some discourse about this business, gave Joseph his consent to have his daughter, provided he was in a settled way of living to maintain a wife. Young Sarah married Joseph and he became well able to "maintain a wife" as records show that his property was assessed for 145 pounds and only 11 of the other 69 families in Huntington Township were worth more in 1683.
Joseph is the next in line and is my 7th great-grandfather. He was born about 1648 in Hashamommock, Southold, LI, NY and died June 1730, in Norwalk, Fairfield County, Connecticut. When his father Edward died, Joseph was only 7 years old and spent the next few years, around his step-father Henry Whitney's mill at Huntington, LI, NY. We know very little about his childhood but we can imagine the excitement when the strict step-father's objection to his sister Sarah's beau led to a court trial in 1660. In 1665 the family moved to Norwalk, Connecticut and in 1675 his step-father died. The family became Congregationalists after the Church of the Separatist (Puritans) collapsed.
Joseph is the ancestor of most who spell the name KETCHUM but a few have changed the spelling back and forth. He married Mercy Lindall, the daughter of Deacon Henry Lindall and Rosamond Street of New Haven Colony, Connecticut. The couple named their first son after Mercy's step-father, Nathaniel Richards, and the name was carried on down in the Ketchum families for generations. We do not know when Mercy died although it was probably some time after 1683, as she was named in her mother's Will. We also do not know when Joseph married his second wife Sarah Jaggers. It is supposed she was the Sarah born in 1670 (daughter of John, who was the son of Jeremy Jaggers of Stamford, Connecticut), who married another Ketchum. It is supposed all of Joseph's children were by his first wife, but given the date of 1687 as the birth date of their son Joseph, we list him and all that came after as born by Joseph's second wife Sarah Jaggers.
Joseph was listed as a resident of Norwalk, Connecticut in 1672 and was in town service in 1701, and a Selectman of Norwalk in 1705. Joseph as one of the first settlers received a grant consisting of 6 acres of land for a home. He also received a parcel of land worth 117 pounds, on December 12, 1687, when the town divided common land around Norwalk River.
According to Norwalk land deeds and Joseph's Will showed that he owned many large parcels of land in and around Norwalk
3rd Generation - Nathaniel Ketchum I
I continue, with my 6th great-grandfather, Nathaniel Ketchum I, born January 23, 1679 in Norwalk, Fairfield County, Connecticut and died September 19, 1738 in Wilton, (Old Norwalk) Fairfield County, Connecticut.
The Town Assembly established Nathaniel as an Ensign on the alarm list of the 2nd Company, 16th Regiment, of the State of Connecticut. He made Lieutenant of the train band of the local militia on October 1727, and Captain by October 1730. The settlement of Wilton was established later than Norwalk and it took in the area where Nathaniel and his father owned property. The early records of Nathaniel lists him from Norwalk; and the births of his children were first recorded with the Norwalk Congregational Church located there. In those days a committee assigned the people to certain pews in the churches. In 1727 the committee bestowed a great honor on Nathaniel by assigning him the Great Pew of Norwalk Congregational Church. At first he undoubtedly attended the Norwalk Church but after a while there were enough people in the part of the township where he lived to establish, about 1730, a separate parish called "Wilton Parish of Norwalk". Nathaniel had the minister of the new parish record the births and baptisms of his children at their new church. This was fortunate for the Norwalk Church records (which probably contained the baptisms of his eight children) were gnawed to pieces by rats some years later.
In 1730 Nathaniel with his brother Joseph was named executor in his Father's Will; he inherited an exceptional amount of land from his father; then in 1731 he sold a parcel of this land to his brother John.
My 5th great-grandfather, Elihu Ketchum I, was born on April 22, 1714 in Norwalk, Fairfield County, CT. In 1738, Elihu I, inherited all the land his father owned at Canaan, in the Township of Norwalk, and the horse which he had previously been using. The property he inherited was a beautiful farm with a house and barn. But in 1740 he decided to move his family, which included his wife and three children, with one child on the way. He found a nice place in Sharon, Litchfield County, in northwestern Connecticut. The following year he sold his property at Canaan for 700 pounds. The deed called it a "mansion house & barn".
In the town of Sharon, he lived about one mile east of the meeting- house, which he sold on August 22, 1748 for 1100 pounds. He then moved near the schoolhouse in the "Boland District" and lived there until 1753. Not staying in one place for very long, he moved across the New York border to Dutchess County, where he was on the Tax list for Nine Partners, Crum Elbow & Charlotte from 1755 to 1765. Elihu I and Sarah ended up with nine children including five boys.
This is where my search came to a sudden halt, because there was a problem of distinguishing information I found, between him and his son Elihu II. Everything linked both father and son to the same location, which was Whiting, Addison County, VT. Census' and Town Clerk records did not distinguish one from the other. The names of both wives were the same (Sarah). Also, Elihu II's only daughter's name was also Sarah. I traveled to the area looking for the cemetery where they were buried. I found the church where they were members, which was located in the center of town, and behind the church was a cemetery. My wife Arletta and myself arrived in town late Saturday evening, so we had little time to search the cemetery, but before leaving we were lucky and found several Ketchum tombstones, including one with Elihu and his wife Sarah and several other family tombstones. We decided at that time to find a place to stay for the night and then go to the church in the morning.
Not knowing the area, we ended up traveling more than 25 miles through the hilly country side and around winding roads, before we finely found a motel to stay in. Early the next morning we arose and proceeded back to the church. We were early, so we took pictures of the tombstones, then went to Sunday School and to Church. Everyone was very friendly, the organist happened to be the Town Clerk and a young couple (just returning from missionary work in China), were being honored that afternoon. Since their return to Vermont, they had been helping run the Sunday School and singing with the choir. The following week they were to take over the church in the next town over. We were invited to the festivities (which was a picnic being held at the bed & breakfast a short way from the church). When we arrived for the picnic, we found that the bed & breakfast had been a Ketchum farm house, and the property took over the whole valley, (many 1000's of acres of land). That night we stayed at the bed & breakfast, and met with the Town Clerk the next morning.
We found no information that linked Elihu I with Whiting, VT, but Elihu II was an early minister at the church and his family was all buried there. No further information was found on Elihu I after 1765 to 1809, where many records show to be the year of his death. In fact, that year might not be correct. Only time will tell.
Time passed... In the year 2000, Arletta and I went on a trip to Massachusetts. On the way home we decided to stop in the Albany, NY area. The weather was not the best, so we ended up, for three days, at the NY State Library, and discovered more information on Elihu I and Ehihu II. I had to decipher what info belonged to whom, and this is what I came up with. After leaving Dutchess County, NY, about 1765, Elihu I, traveled north with his family, to Williamstown, Berkshire County, MA, where he built a house on Bartholomew Woodcock's old farm. In April 1769 he bought land in lot 45 for 20 pounds, from Ephriam Seeley of Pownal, Bennington County, VT, witnessed by his son Matthew I and Jedediah Smedley. By March of 1770, he moved to Pownal, Bennington County, VT, when he sold a meadow in lot 45 at Williamstown, for 14 pounds. Sometime between 1770 and 1790, Elihu I moved about 60 miles north to Cornwall, Addison County, VT, where he became a large land owner. Cornwall, VT is just down the road from Whiting, VT, so the two Elihu's lived close, but not in the same town, but they could have attended the same church. These last items, I am going to have to research on my next trip to Vermont.
5th Generation - Matthew Ketchum I
Matthew Ketchum I, born 1736 in Wilton (Old Norwalk) Fairfield County, CT, was my 4th great-grandfather. He was a member of the Baptist Church, an experienced shoemaker and was portrayed as a tall man, strong and a good wrestler.
In 1738 he moved to New Canaan, Fairfield County, CT, when his father received his inheritance from his grand-father. The family only lived there until 1740, when they moved to Sharon, Litchfield County, CT. The family moved again in 1753, to Dutchess County, NY. He married Hannah Ellis and had his first child in 1763. Matthew and Hannah ended up with seven children, six boys and one girl.
Matthew's next move was to Clarksburg, Berkshire County, Massachusetts, when I found in the town's historical records, that the settlement commenced in 1769, when Captain Matthew Ketchum I, Colonel William Bullock and Nicholas Clark came to reside. Matthew brought with him his eldest son Matthew II, and his cousins Epenetus, Daniel and Samuel. This area was a government grant to Colonel Bullock, located in northwest Massachusetts, which was a relatively level area along the upper reaches of the north branch of the Hoosic River, a perfect place for the agricultural interests of the early settlers. As most men in the town were part of the militia, Matthew joined the other members by going on an alarm, ordered by General Fellows, to help protect the nearby Vermont countryside from invaders. He was listed as a Sargent, and his oldest son Matthew II was listed as a Private, on this same march.
On September 29, 1783, Matthew sold a tract of his land in lot 108 to Mary Davis of Williamstown, Berkshire County, MA, for 100 pounds, and moved to Northumberland, Saratoga County, NY, with his family.
By 1790 Matthew moved to Orwell, Addison County, VT. A day book (account book) preserved by the Orwell Library, shows the family traded at Ruluff White's store from 1790 to 1798. From 1793 to 1798 there was an account in the name of Matthew Ketchum (to pay for his purchases, Matthew made shoes for merchant Ruluff White). On January 17, 1798 his son George gave a promissary note to pay for what his father owed at the store. Then his son Abiathar took over the family account & traded there for 15 years, when his father died. Matthew is buried in the village cemetery in Orwell.
6th Generation - Matthew Ketchum II
I do not have much information on Matthew Ketchum II, my 3rd great-grandfather, born in Amenia, Dutchess County, NY, in 1763. The first bit of information I found was when the LDS first came on the internet. I searched for Matthew Ketchum in their online files and found that he had married Nabby Keyes, in the Dutch Reformed Church in Schuylerville, NY on February 23, 1792.
Matthew had moved to Clarksburg, Berkshire County, MA in 1769, with his family and in 1780, he joined his father and other members of the Town Militia, on the march to Vermont.
In 1783, he moved to Northumberland, Saratoga County, NY, with his parents. Nine years later he married Nabby Keyes in Schuylerville, Saratoga County, NY, a town just south of Northumberland on the Hudson River. They had six children all born in Northumberland. Matthew II owned a farm and mill site in Northumberland which he sold in 1827.
Soon after finding the information about Matthew's marriage, Arletta and I took a ride to Schuylerville where the church was located and spoke with their historian and found out that Matthew and Nabby were one of the first couples married by Reverend Samuel Smith, first Pastor of the Reformed Dutch Protestant Church, Schuylerville, Saratoga County, NY. During this trip we discovered a little cemetery, not far from Schuylerville, in the town of Ketchumville. A young man and a woman came up the road as we entered the cemetery. They told us a story, how her son was taking care of and rebuilding the Ketchum Cemetery as a Eagle Boy Scout project. He had refurbished the tombstones which had been pushed to the side by the farmers and replaced them in their proper place. This was done with the help of his Boy Scout friends and their families. Several of our Ketchum ancestors were buried there.
7th Generation - Luther L. Ketchum
Luther L. Ketchum my 2nd great-grandfather was born in Northumberland, Saratoga County, NY, on December 7, 1802. The first reference of Luther was found in "The History of Hamilton County, NY" by Ted Aber and Stella King in 1965.
In the book it stated that Hope Township, Hamilton County, NY was divided into six districts and that the road districts were established early in the Benson Section. By 1847 all six districts were completed in Hope Township. The property owners were assessed for the road work, which included Luther Ketchum's property. He owned land on road district 5, which began at the south line of Hope Township and ran west, past the Sawmill.
It also listed the Town of Hope's population in 1850 was 789 and was the largest town in Hamilton County, NY, and at that time farming was the major occupation of the residents, with 166 males so engaged, but with the beginning of Hope Township's second Sawmill located at Hope Falls and the tanning industry flourishing in the 1840's, local lumbering by 1850 was well underway and employed over 50 residents. The list of employees included Luther Ketchum as one of the three sawyers employed at the mill. Luther was listed as 45 year of age and the senior sawyer.
Luther and his family was listed living in the Town of Arrieta in the 1840 Hamilton County Census, a short way from Hope Township. In the 1850 Census the family was listed as living in Hope Township. Between the 1850 Census and the 1860 Census Luther moved to Saratoga County, as he was listed in the 1860 Saratoga County Census in Day Township.
It is believed that Luther's family traveled to the Broome County, NY area shortly after the 1860 Census, or around the Civil War time, according to Marianne Ketchum's letters sent on September 1, 1960 and July 9, 1965, to the Broome County Historian, Shirley Woodward.
Luther and Mary had seven children, four boys and three girls.
The 1865 & 1875 NY State Census, listed Luther as living in Broome County, NY. In the 1880 Federal Census, Luther was living with his son George Luther I, on Big Snake Creek Road South, Corbettsville, Town of Conklin, Broome County, NY. Luther lived with his son, George I until June 11, 1886 when he died and was buried in the Corbettsville Cemetery in Stillwater, Broome County, NY.
8th Generation - George Luther Ketchum I
George Luther Ketchum I, was born in 1853 in Hope Township, Hamilton County, NY and was my great-grandfather. He was only 36 years old when he died on September 21, 1889. George I came to Broome County with his father between 1860 and 1865. His farm and home was located on Big Snake Creek Rd South, Corbettsville, Conklin Township, Broome County, NY.
Arletta and I met the town of Conklin's Historian, Robert Barber in 1997. He told us that he knew the Ketchum family and said he lived up the hill, on the same street (Big Snake Creek Rd South) as a boy. He knew and played with George's son, Charles E. Ketchum's children. He then showed us where the family lived, their farm and the farm of their neighbor Leonard Chalker, whom George's widow married after his death. George I, is buried in the Ketchum family plot in Corbettsville Cemetery, Stillwater, Broome County, NY.
9th Generation - George Luther Ketchum II
George Luther Ketchum II was my grandfather. He was born on April 25, 1881 in Corbettsville, Conklin Township, Broome County, NY. In the 1900 Conklin, Broome County, NY Census it listed George II living with his step-father Leonard Chalker and his mother.
He married Beulah Jane Blanding, by Charles L. Crook, Justice of the Peace on May 18, 1904 in Hallstead, Susquehanna County, PA. I never knew him, as my grandmother divorced him before I was born. They had one child, Charles L., Sr.
After many efforts to find information about George at New York State Libraries and inquiries on the internet, a lucky event happened. On August 18, 2000, I received an e-mail, in answer to a query which I had put on the internet a couple years ago, inquiring if anyone had any information on George L. Ketchum, born in 1881. I received an e-mail from a new found cousin, Donald LeCouver Ketchum, Jr. His grandfather and my grandfather were brothers. We exchanged information and came up with a more complete family genealogy. The information he was able to furnish me included the name of George II's twin sister, which was Ruth and that she died in infancy, and that he had been married two other times. He died in California on July 5, 1938 and buried in Forest Lawn Cemetery, Glendale, CA. I also talked, by telephone, with my new 83 year old cousin Francis E., daughter of Seymour, who is another brother of George II. Francis told me she had lived with my grandfather's third wife Gussie after he died and that they were very good friends. I never thought I would ever locate any information on George II, in fact I just about given up any hope of finding anything.
10th Generation - Charles Lawrence Ketchum, Sr.
My father Charles Lawrence Ketchum, Sr. was born in Hallstead, Susquehanna County, PA on July 20, 1904. Throughout his whole life he was called Lawrence or Larry and went by the name C. Lawrence Ketchum.
My dad worked as a Dairyman in his early years. He also cut ice blocks from the lakes during the winter months, for the storage of the milk products.
He served in the Army for a short time during the 1st World War, (From January 27, 1921 to July 30, 1921 with Battery A, 79th Field Artillery.)
After the family home burned down in 1924, they moved to Binghamton, Broome County, NY, where Charles met Gladys Margaret Rueffer and were married in 1927. They had two children Charles Lawrence, Jr. and Patsy Darlyne.
At the time of the depression, jobs were scarce, My dad went to Buffalo, Erie County, NY and found a job, but my mother did not care to stay in Buffalo and returned to Binghamton. His mother Beulah Jane came to Buffalo to help raise his two children.
We spent many days at the Offerman Stadium watching the Buffalo Bisons baseball team. Our seats were always the same, left side bleachers with all our friends we had made at the ballpark. These seats were always saved, by the early goers, for about 20 to 25 people, and dare anyone who was not one of the group, from trying to sit there, until about five minutes before the game was to start.
My father was a hard working, consciences and very caring man. During the week he worked as an electrical mechanic, then on the weekends he would spend with his grand children. He took turns with the two families, taking them for rides in the country, baseball games, circus or to the park, always treating them on their return home, by stopping at the corner soda parlor or Henry's Hamburgers, which they all loved.
On Monday, February 7, 1972, my father had a heart attack at work and was taken to the hospital. All week long he tried to get released from the hospital, so that he could finish the one job at work that he had not completed, but its one job he could not finish as he died the following Monday, February 14, 1972. I believe my father knew he was about to die, he did not have a will, but all his bills were paid, insurance policies and all the necessary papers were piled neatly for me to take care of.
My dad was buried along side his mother and sisters, in Chenango Valley Cemetery, Hillcrest, New York.
11th Generation - Charles Lawrence Ketchum, Jr.
I finally got to me, Charles Lawrence Ketchum, Jr, born on December 24, 1928 in Binghamton, Broome County, New York.
During the depression years when jobs were scarce, there were no jobs available for my father in the Binghamton, NY area, where his family was living. He finely found a job in Buffalo, Erie County, NY and moved his family to that city. But, my mother Gladys Margaret (Rueffer) Ketchum, did not care to stay in Buffalo and returned to Binghamton. My father asked his mother Beulah Jane to come to Buffalo to take care of his two children, while he was at work. After a couple years, the family moved to Kenmore, Erie County, NY, but, finding it too far from work moved back into the City of Buffalo.
My sister and I, were raised by my father and my grand-mother. The family went to Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, Buffalo, where I was baptized on January 23, 1938. I attended Buffalo Public School No. 74 and Buffalo's East High School. I enlisted in the US Navy during World War II, then after being discharged from the Navy on November of 1947, I enlisted in the New York Army National Guard and served for 30 years, retiring from the 221st Engineer Group as a Command Sgt Major.
I was married three times. In 1950 I married Ruth Helen Aycoth with whom we had 6 children Linda Sue, Bonnie May, Patricia Lynn, Charles III, Donna Marie and Infant Ketchum who died at childbirth. In 1952, I moved my family into a new home in Eggertsville, Erie County, NY. In 1968, after the divorce from my first wife Ruth, I married Patricia Ann Hoke and gained four step children, Rae, Rita, Roann and Roy. In 1989, after the death of my second wife I married Arletta Ethel Neipp and moved to West Seneca, Erie County, New York.
I had always been active in my Church, singing in the choir, ushering, doing repair work or any other jobs needing to be done around the church. I also was on the Church Council for many years serving as a Deacon and an Elder.
After retiring from the Navy I found a job erecting fences and steel construction. Soon after I hired my own crew and started my own business, which continued for 15 years. (Business was good, but with selling, working on the job with my crew and doing the book keeping, it got a little much.) With persistent Union problems threatening my men, I decided to call it quits and took the Postal Service examination and was hired the following month, this caused a little problem as I had several jobs lined up, which I had to finish. Working the two jobs (Post office 12 hours and working with my crew for a minimum of 8 hours) there was little time to rest.
I also had one other problem that I did not want to just drop. A laborer who worked for me, from the time I started the company, had lost his wife in a car accident leaving him with 4 children. Being a young man and coming from a poor family with little schooling, he just could not take care of his finances, so, I had been taking care of them for him, I had started a savings account for him and gave him the necessary funds for his children, along with weekly spending money. I continued helping him throughout the following year and taught my friend how to take care of his own finances, until he was able to do it for himself.
Shortly after being hired as a clerk in the Post Office, another exam became available, which was for an Electronics Mechanic position (which I felt more qualified for), I took the exam and was hired as a technician for the Post Office. Soon afterward I became Supervisor holding the position until I retired in 1986.
As I was a very hyper active person I took a job driving a school bus, to fill my morning spare time. The Bus Management decided I would make a good inspector and promoted me to certify School Bus Drivers. I received my certification from New York State.
In 1982, the Masonic Service Bureau of Buffalo was having a difficult time with their finances and needed a good manager. I applied for the job, was hired, put the Bureau in the black and continued as Manager until 1996.
Even with all these time consuming jobs I joined the Masonic Fraternity (Tyrian Lodge No. 925) on March 26, 1962. The Lodge needed officers, so I became an officer immediately after joining. I continued as an officer until 1996 when I retired to Winter Haven, Florida. During those years in the Fraternity I was Master of my Lodge in 1973, 1977, 1988, 1992 through 1996, and held just about every other Office in the Lodge.
In 1973, as the (organizing secretary) along with several other masons in the area formed the Knights of Mecca (a Masonic unit which would be a liaison between the lodges and Ismailia Temple, AAONMS). I was also instrumental in organizing a Masonic Research Lodge and in May of 1983, a Charter was granted in the Name of Western New York Lodge of Research. I became Master of this lodge in 1985. I wrote several short books on masonry including my Lodge's History, and the Early History of Freemasonry in Erie County, NY. I have also written many masonic educational and historical short stories. In 1996/97, I edited an unfinished history of the Holland Land Company and the William Morgan Affair, which had caused major political problems in the United States for many years. LaVern Lambkin the original author died before he could get it published. Before LaVern died he had asked me to edit his manuscript for accuracy and to add any additional information pertaining to the subject. I found this history interesting and challenging, continued the research, which began from the time of Robert Morris and the Dutch coming to settle in New York State, land speculators, the surveying of Genesee Country in New York State by Joseph Ellicott, the Holland Land Company of Batavia, NY, Seneca Indian history and much more. But, in 1996 my daughter Donna asked me if I would help with a Family Tree, which I accepted. I found out that Our Family Genealogy is more interesting and now my first priority. This will be a continuing project until I is no longer able to carry on.
A Little History of my daughter Donna Marie Ketchum
Donna has worked as a Missionary Associate of the Assemblies of God and became involved in community projects in the inner city. She has traveled frequently, volunteering in poor communities in Siberia, Russia; Cairo, Egypt; Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala; and Mexico City, Mexico. Her interests are in teaching Christianity and helping the unfortunate (especially children).
Donna Ketchum was born in Buffalo, Erie County, NY, on May 12, 1959. She resided at 461 Springville Avenue, in a section of Amherst, Erie County, NY, called Eggertsville. Donna's early education was in the Amherst school system and was a 1977 graduate of Amherst Central High School. Continuing her education she earned her degree in journalism at the State University of New York at Buffalo.
After graduation, Donna moved to New York City and worked in publishing and public relations. Then in 1986, she moved back to her hometown and helped her father, after his second wife died. Donna became a dedicated worker for the Assemblies of God Church in Tonawanda, Erie County, NY. But with full time jobs hard to come by in her field of expertise, it was necessary to take a position as secretary in Buffalo General Hospital. Soon after she opened "Just a Reminder" gift shop in the Village of Williamsville, Erie County, NY. While operating her business, she traveled frequently, volunteering in poor communities in Siberia, Russia; Cairo, Egypt; Mexico City, Mexico and Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala. She also became involved in community projects in the inner city of Buffalo.
Donna, who developed a fascination with maps and globes as a child, sold her business in 1997 to become involved full-time in international missions. She began to work as mission's coordinator for an organization that leads teams from all over the United States into Cairo, Egypt and Mexico City, Mexico.
Donna as a Missionary in the Land of the Pharaohs
In January 1999, Donna was given an invitation to the Lillian Trasher Orphanage, which takes six hours by train ride from Cairo to the orphanage located in Asyut, (pronounced Ah-soot) Egypt. It was established by an American woman named Lillian Trasher in 1911. While living in Egypt, Trasher heard the cry of a terminally ill mother. The mother died, leaving a three-month old girl. With no one available to care for the child, Trasher took her home. Five years later, she was caring for 50 children. Today the organization sits on a 13-acre campus and houses 650 orphans, widows and blind women.
After returning from her trip to Egypt, Donna decided to volunteer for a two-year stint at the Lillian Trasher Orphanage, beginning on October 15, 1999. She knew that she would be bidding farewell to the luxuries like gourmet coffee shops, manicures and dry cleaning, but, as she said, "It's very 'villagey', and it is definitely a very classic kind of village where it is necessary to drive through the desert to get there, with few paved streets." She would dress modestly, as Egyptian women do. "Muslims are covered, Egyptian Christians dress modestly, wear cotton, not much polyester."
Non-American conveniences were the hardest part, even in the grocery stores you don't find the little things, like spices or mixes, from food to personal items. They're difficult to come by. To combat this, she stashed everything she would need, such as deodorant and toiletries, and chocolate of course. Everyone craves American chocolate over there.
Egypt has two seasons, summer and winter, it can get up to 120 degrees Fahrenheit in the summer, but it's a dry heat, 90s and 100s usually.
The orphanage is nestled behind brick walls and inside luxurious gardens grow. Donna said, "It's very beautiful with lots' of grass and gardens growing, and if I was an orphan, it would be a wonderful place to be." There is also a cow farm inside the walls, used to feed the orphans. It takes three cows a day if they're having beef. The cost to run the orphanage is about $1000.00 per day.
Boys' are separated from the girls. All children are engaged in regular activities ranging from recreation, education and chores. At any given time you could see children sweeping the grounds or older girls sewing for the younger kids.
Many villagers send their children to the orphanage to attend school. Every morning there is a neat, long procession of children. "It is so cute," Donna said. "There is a boy beating on a drum and they all march into school. For them it's something fun to do."
The orphanage takes in children as early as three-days up until the age of 18. Many come back to work there. In fact, the director and his wife were orphans who grew up there, met and fell in love.
Donna's position included setting up and running a vocational program to teach office and computer skills to teens; designing a curriculum to train Egyptians to teach these skills to children in their own language; teach English and promoting the orphanage within its own country for financial sponsorship.
"In a country where adoption is stifled by government, the staff at the orphanage does their very best to supply everything necessary to train up the hundreds of children that depend on them," she said.
Her residence was in Maadi, outside of Cairo, although she stayed at the orphanage for periods of time. "Maadi was a place where international people tend to conjugate," she said. "It's a melting pot of many nationalities." Cairo was described as a very hectic, busy city, where you would see millions of cars and people walking all over the place. It has an old Cairo and a new Cairo. The Nile River (the longest in the world) runs right through the city and you can take a long or short boat ride on.
Donna rarely got homesick. "The people that she knew there were like a family," she said, "there were times when she came back to the USA, she would miss them."
Donna found Egyptians to be warm, affectionate and friendly. "Men greet other men with kisses on the cheek," she said. "You frequently see two men holding hands, embracing and talking, because they are good friends." Women are expected to be home in the evenings, according to Donna. "There are many clubs for men to meet and socialize, but you don't find women doing that," she continued. Relationships between men and women however, take total precedence over "time is money" type thinking.
Egyptians tend to be late, if they're supposed to meet you at 8:00 p.m., but see a friend on the way, they'll stop and talk, not worrying about being late. That's why when you make plans, you always ask, American time or Egyptian time?
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