Chloe Thayer's Family

Chloe Thayer's Ancestors

Descendants of the Brother Thomas T(h)ayer

Descendants of the Brother Richard T(h)ayer II

Joel and Levi Thayer and the Mormon Connection

Letters from a Distant Cousin

Discovering Our Thayer Family History

William H. Page and Chloe (Thayer) Robinson were married on July 20, 1832, and spent their married life in northwestern New York and southcentral Michigan. For both it was their second marriage.

Chloe and William Page lived in a number of New York towns including Macedon in Wayne County and Webster in Monroe County, and were farmers. On October 8, 1842, Chloe bought land in Webster which she later sold to Wm. H. Wheeler on September 17, 1846. In 1843, on November 29, she again bought land which she kept until selling it to George W. Weeks on March 1, 1857. That year they pulled up stakes and moved to Bronson, Branch County, Michigan, where in 1862 they both passed away within four days of each other: Chloe on January 13 and William on January 17.

Most of what's been learned about our New York Page and Thayer ancestry is either directly or indirectly the result of one discovery. On William and Chloe's grandson George Page's death certificate, at the Eaton County building in Charlotte, Michigan, George is shown to have been born in Webster, Monroe County, New York. The find not only located our Page ancestry in New York but eventually inspired a pilgrimage to Webster, and ultimately led to the discovery of our multigenerational Thayer family roots.

The Thayer ancestry, itself, was uncovered in four additional, converging steps. In Webster it was first discovered that Riley Page's mother Chloe's maiden name was "Thayer." The second breakthrough came when an inquiry, sent to the Mormon genealogical library at Salt Lake City, revealed Chloe's parents' names, and the date she married Riley's father, William H.. The third piece fell into place with a letter from Mildred (Thayer) Struck of Webster. She was responding with a letter in March of 1980, to one I had written her father in December of 1977. In the letter, she told me all the Thayer history she could remember her father, Spencer Thayer, telling before his death in 1972. Both Mildred and I suspected we were cousins, but the positive connection between the Pages and her branch of Thayers was missing.

The final keystone came just before my auto trip to Michigan from California in October of 1980. Because I wanted to tie up as many loose ends as possible, I made several stops at the Mormon genealogical library in West Los Angeles. During the last day of research there, I decided to scan through the myriad of micro­films the library holds. Suddenly I noticed one entitled "Thayer Family." My heart began pumping faster, and I anxiously took it to a reader to look through its name index.

Checking the microfilm, I discovered that a book had been copied, and that the book had been published in 1874. The author of "Richard & Thomas Thayer and their descendants, from 1636 to 1874" was Bezaleel Thayer. The owner of the original book was an "Isaac E. Thayer" of Lima, Ohio. Isaac had been born in Ohio in 1842 to parents Daniel and Margaret (Gates) Thayer. Daniel and Margaret had left Oneida County, New York, for Ohio in 1835. When Isaac died at Phoenix, Arizona in 1912, the book became the property of Dean H. Thayer of Mesa, Arizona. To my astonishment and elation, the book told of our Thayers, making the positive connection between ours and Mildred Struck's branch. As an added bonus, the coming together of the two branches after so many years has elicited from Mildred even more information about our Thayer cousins.

Chloe Thayer's Family

Chloe was the second child of William and Chloe (Preston) Thayer, who were married in 1791. They settled at Braintree and had the first three or four of their ten children, moving to the area of Macedon, Wayne County, New York before 1800. The following is a rundown on Chloe's siblings with some biographical information:

 

  1. Nancy Thayer b. 1792; married Jeremiah Dillingham of Farmington, Ontario Co., N.Y.
  2. Chloe Thayer b. 1794; married William Henry Page
  3. Betsy Thayer b. 1796; married Curtiss Waterman
  4. Polly Thayer b. 1798; married Amasa Taylor, and they resided in Ontario, Wayne Countv. N.Y.
  5. Aldrich Thayer b. May 16, 1800; married first to Huldah Alcott on March 5, 1820, and they settled in Ontario, Wayne County, New York, where they were farmers. Hulda was born in December of 1802. Their children were:

a.       Preston Thayer * b. 12/12/1820

b.      Clarissa Thayer b. 10/ 4/1822

c.       Polly Thayer b. 8/ 7/1824

d.      Aldrich Thayer, Jr. b. 8/29/1826

e.       Harriet Thayer b. 8/26/1828

f.        Eliza Thayer b. 8/26/1830

g.       Electa Thayer b. 5/18/1832

h.       Susan Thayer b. 9/ 7/1834, d. 12/ 2/1843

 

The following is an excerpt from the book "Landmarks of Monroe County, N.Y.," by Wm. F. Peck, Thomas Raines, and Herman LeRoy Fairchild. Boston. 1895:

 

* "Thayer, Preston, was born in Ontario in 1820, and is the son of Aldrich Thayer, who came from Macedon in early life, and now resides in Ontario at the advanced age of ninety‑four. In 1841 Mr. Thayer married Clarissa, daughter of Eliphalet Lawrence, who died in 1877, and they had five children as follows: William H., who now carries on the farm; Alonzo W., a farmer and cider maker; Alvah I., who lives in California and is a mechanic; Ida V., a teacher of music; and Jerusha A., who died October 2, 1855.

 

"Mr. Thayer was for sixteen years a justice of the peace, and settled on the farm in 1844. There is a saw mill on the farm, built by William Wiley about seventy-five years ago, which is still in use. In 1880 a feed mill was added."

 

Mrs. Huldah Thayer died in November of 1837. Aldrich then married Mary Ann McKee on December 1, 1839, she being twenty‑five years his junior. Their children were:

 

i.         Huldah * b. 8/27/183

j.        William W. b. 2/19/1846

k.      Lucius J. b. 5/28/1849

l.         Chloe b. 7/10/1852

m.     Edgar b. 2/22/1858

 

* Huldah A. Thayer was married to Alfred Benedict Potter in 1864. Alfred was a wealthy banker, born on February 16, 1833, and the youngest son of Henry Sayre Potter, a Rochester entrepreneur. Henry's story is the cliché of rags to riches.

 

Henry was born in 1798 in Galway, Saratoga County, New York. He was the oldest of four children of Nathaniel Job and Mary (Sayre) Potter—Nathaniel being originally from Rhode Island. In 1801, the Potter family moved to a farm between Seneca Falls and Cayuga lake. Then in 1808 they settled in Canandaigua, where Nathaniel kept a hotel until his death in 1810.

 

Mary Potter returned with her family to the previous farm, where Henry worked and near which he attended school whenever possible. In 1812 he became a store boy for Ebenezer Hale of Canandaigua, and there­after worked in a few other stores until moving to Pittsford, New York in 1818. There he worked for Sylvanus Lathrop, becoming a partner in 1822 and buying Lathrop out in 1826.

 

Henry owned the large mercantile business for twenty years. He married Harriet Benedict in 1824, and they had six children. The Potters then moved to Rochester in 1850 where, in 1851, Henry became one of the organizers, incorporators, directors, and largest stockholders of the New York & Mississippi Valley Printing Telegraph Company. He was elected its first president and continued as such until 1856, when he declined re-election. Also in 1856, by a special act of the New York legislature, the name of the company was changed to the Western Union Telegraph Company, of which Henry was a principal stockholder.

 

Henry Potter was also one of the incorporators of the Eagle Bank in Rochester in 1852, and he served as one of its directors for thirty‑two years. Eagle Bank eventually merged with another and was ultimately called the Traders National Bank. He was the largest single stockholder in it as well as in the Flour City National Bank, and was a large stockholder in the New York Central, the Harlem and Lakeshore Railways. He died on January 9, 1884.

 

Huldah (Thayer) and Alfred Potter settled in Fairport after their marriage, where they had three children: Alice, who married Walter Howard of Rochester; Bertha L., who married Frank Rusling, a Fairport financier; and Frederick. Alfred died on August 11, 1896, at Potter place, after having been a prominent and well‑respected citizen of Fairport for many years.

 

  1. Susannah b. 5/11/1803; married Reverend William Sherburn on March 15, 1820. They settled in Ontario, Wayne County, where he was a Methodist Minister. They had nine children.
  2. Phineas b. 10/1805
  3. William P. b. 5/16/1807; married Electa Woodward, and they settled in Mississippi where they had children.
  4. Electa b. 9/22/1811; married Alonzo L. Wall, son of William and Sarah Wall, on December 10, 1827. They were married by Silas Dunham, Esq., of Webster. Mr. Wall was born on September 3, 1806, and was a farmer. They had eight children and eventually moved to White Pigeon, St. Joseph County, Michigan.
  5. Sally b. 1812; married Benjamin McFarlin and they settled in Webster. She died in August of 1849.

Chloe Thayer's Ancestors

Richard Tayer I was born November 7, 1558, in England and later died in England. His first wife was Ann Gibbs, born in England and died November 10, 1590, in England. They were married in 1585 in Thornbury, Gloucestershire, England. Richard’s second wife was Ursula Alice Dimery, born in 1572 in England and later died in England. They were married February 11, 1591/92 in Thornbury.                

 

Chloe's ancestors were Thomas AND Richard Tayer II—both sons of the above Richard I and Ursula Tayer. The two brothers, who were shoemakers, came to America around 1639 with their families and settled at Braintree, Norfolk County, Massa­chusetts. Later they added an "h" to make the name "Thayer." (The name "Tayer" originally meant the occupation of dressing skins.)

Descendants of Brother Thomas T(h)ayer

Chloe’s ancestor Thomas T(h)ayer was born August 16, 1596, in Thornbury, Gloucestershire, England, and died June 2, 1665 in Braintree, Norfolk County, Massachusetts. He married April 13, 1618, in England, to Margery Wheeler. She was born April 25, 1600 in Thornbury and died February 11, 1672/73 in Braintree.

 

Children of Thomas and Margery were:

 

  1. Thomas Thayer                                                
  2. Ferdinando Thayer b: 4-18-1625 in Thornbury, Gloucestershire, England, d: 3-28-1713 in Mendon, Worcester Co., MA; married Huldah Hayward.
  3. Shadrach Thayer
  4. Sarah Thayer

 

Ferdinando Thayer, son of Thomas and Margery, married 1-14-1651/52 in Braintree, Norfolk Co., MA, to Huldah Hayward b: 10-7-1636 in Braintree, d: 9-1-1690 in Mendon, Worcester Co., MA. They left Braintree in the mid-1600s to start a new settlement at Mendon, Worcester County, Massachusetts. This branch of the family remained at Mendon (a town 30 miles southwest of Braintree) until the early 1800s. The name of "Mendon" was changed to "Milford" in the 1700s.

 

Their children were:

 

  1. Sarah Thayer
  2. Jonathan Thayer
  3. Hulda Thayer b: 7-16-1657 in Braintree, Norfolk Co., MA, d: 1699     ; married Jacob Aldrich.
  4. David Thayer
  5. Naomi Thayer 
  6. Thomas Thayer
  7. Samual Thayer
  8. Isaac Thayer married Mercy Rockwood, and later, Mary.
  9. Josiah Thayer
  10. Ebenezer Thayer
  11. Benjamin Thayer
  12. David Thayer

 

The second wife of Ferdinando Thayer was Anna Freeburg, who he married after 1690.

 

Hulda Thayer, Jr., daughter of Ferdinando and Huldah, married 11-3-1675 in Milford, Worcester Co., MA, to Jacob Aldrich b: 2-28-1651/52 in Braintree, Norfolk, MA, d: 10-22-1695 in Mendon, Worcester Co., MA. Among their children was:

 

  1. Seth Aldrich b: 7-6-1679 in Braintree, Norfolk Co., MA, d: 10-15-1737 in Uxbridge, Worcester Co., MA.

 

Seth Aldrich, son of Jacob and Hulda, married in 1714 in Mendon, Worcester Co., MA, to Mary, b: Abt. 1682 in Braintree, Norfolk Co. Among their children was:

 

  1. Jonathan Aldrich b: 1-2-1717/18 in Mendon, Worcester Co., MA, d: in Guilford, Windham, VT

 

Jonathan Aldrich, son of Seth and Mary, married 12-4-1740 in Smithfield, Providence Co., RI, to Mary Wilson b: in Uxbridge, Worcester Co., MA, d: in Guilford, Windham, VT. Among their children was:

 

  1. Susannah Aldrich b: 11-29-1743 in Uxbridge, Worcester Co., MA.

 

Susannah Aldrich, daughter of Jonathan and Mary, married 10-30-1765 in Uxbridge, Worcester Co., MA, to Wilson Preston b: 11-18-1744 in Ashford, Windham Co., CT, d: 8-1824 in Herkimer, Herkimer Co., NY. Their children were:

 

  1. Daniel Preston b: 11-10-1766, d: 4-27-1769.
  2. Submit Preston b: 4-25-1769 in Uxbridge, Worcester Co., MA, d: 8-29-1831 in Brownville, Jefferson, NY; married 7-23-1797 to Squire Read.
  3. Chloe Preston b: 8-2-1771 in Uxbridge, Worcester Co., MA, d: 1838 in Wayne Co., NY; married in 1791 to William Thayer b: 1768 in Braintree, Norfolk, MA, d: 1822 in Wayne Co., NY.
  4. Cynthia Preston b: 3-10-1774; married 11-6-1793 in Windsor, MA, to James Dodge.
  5. Susanna Preston b: 6-21-1775 in Windsor, Berkshire Co., MA, d: 10-16-1850 in Wayne Co., NY; married 10-9-1791 in Windsor, MA, to Ebenezer Still b: Abt. 1766, d: 2-8-1848 in Home in Walworth, Wayne Co., NY.
  6. Sarah Preston   b: 1-3-1779; married Joseph G. Lewis.
  7. Calvin Preston b: 6-9-1781.
  8. Louise Preston b: 5-26-1784; married Daniel Williams.
  9. Diadamia Preston b: 8-27-1789.

 

Chloe Preston was Chloe Thayer's mother, whose marriage and children already have been discussed. William Thayer, Jr. and Chloe Preston were 6th cousins as well as husband and wife.

Descendants of Brother Richard T(h)ayer II

Chloe’s ancestor Richard T(h)ayer II was born in 1601 in Gloucestershire, England, and died August 27, 1695, in Braintree, Norfolk County, Massachusetts. He married Dorothy, daughter of William Mortimer, and they had three children before coming to America:

 

  1. Richard Thayer III.
  2. Zachariah Thayer.
  3. Deborah Thayer.

 

Richard T(h)ayer II was admitted freeman in the colonies in 1640 (the same year Dorothy passed away). Richard apparently had remarried as he had the following additional children while in Braintree:

 

  1. Jael.
  2. Abigail, b. Abt. 1851, d. 8-6-1717, at age 66.
  3. Hannah.
  4. Nathan.

 

Richard T(h)ayer III married Dorothy Pray on October 24, 1651. Their children were:

 

  1. Dorothy Thayer b. 6-30-1653.
  2. Richard Thayer IV b. 6-30-1655.
  3. Nathaniel Thayer b. 1-1-1658.
  4. Abigail Thayer b. 2-10-1661.
  5. Joannah Thayer b. 12-13-1665.
  6. Sarah Thayer b. 1667.
  7. Cornelius Thayer b. 7-18-1670.

 

Richard and Dorothy Thayer died in 1705 within seven days of each other—he on December 4 and she on December 11.

 

Nathaniel Thayer, son of Richard III and Dorothy Pray, married Hannah Heydon on May 27, 1679, and they settled at Braintree. Children were:

 

  1. Nathaniel Thayer b. 1680.
  2. Richard Thayer b. 1683.
  3. Hannah Thayer b. 1685.
  4. Zachariah Thayer b. 3-10-1687.
  5. Ruth Thayer b. 6-17-1689.
  6. Dorathy Thayer b. 1692.
  7. Lydia Thayer baptised in 1715.
  8. Daniel Thayer b. 1695 d. 1799. [See NOTE below.]

 

Nathaniel Thayer, Sr. died March 28, 1729. (NOTE: In Bezaleel Thayer's book on the Thayer family, the eighth child of Nathaniel and Dorothy is written as "David." However, when Bezaleel later tells of the eighth child's marriage and family, the name is shown as "Daniel." Daniel is most likely the correct name, since "David" seldom if ever occurs in this branch of the Thayer family during the early years. Thus I have replaced the name David with Daniel in the above list of children.)

 

Daniel Thayer, son of Nathaniel and Hannah, married Elizabeth Thompson on June 2, 1718, and they settled at Braintree. Children were:

 

  1. Patience Thayer b. 8-29-1719.
  2. Daniel Thayer b. 8-3-1721.
  3. Jacob Thayer b. 2-27-1726.
  4. Elizabeth Thayer b. 9-11-1730.
  5. Joazaniah Thayer b. 12-11-1733.
  6. Mary Thayer b. 6-22-1736.
  7. Nathaniel Thayer b. 2-6-1738.
  8. Elijah Thayer b. 1741.

 

Daniel Thayer, Sr. lived to be 104 years old.

 

Daniel Thayer, Jr., son of Daniel, Sr. and Elizabeth, married Ruth Clark on April 15, 1741, and they lived at Braintree. Children were:

 

  1. Mary Thayer b. 2-27-1741.
  2. William Thayer b. 8-26-1745.
  3. Eleathia Thayer b. 4-20-1748.
  4. Avis Thayer b. 4-28-1751.
  5. Nathaniel Thayer b. 3-4-1754.
  6. Daniel Thayer b. 9-9-1756.

 

William Thayer, son of Daniel and Ruth Clark, married Susannah Dunham on December 21, 1765. Their children were:

 

  1. William Thayer, Jr. b. 1768.
  2. Susannah Thayer b. 6-16-1770.
  3. Polly Thayer b. 10-10-1778.

 

William Thayer, Sr.'s wife Susannah passed away, and he married a woman with the surname of "Kingman." Their children were:

 

  1. Isaac Thayer.
  2. Daniel Thayer.
  3. Caleb Thayer.
  4. Betsy Thayer.
  5. Clark Thayer.

 

William Thayer, Jr. was Chloe Thayer's father, whose marriage and children already have been discussed. As mentioned earlier, William Thayer, Jr. and Chloe Preston were 6th cousins as well as husband and wife. William, Jr.'s sister Susannah married Abner Hill on November 10, 1793, and the Hill family settled in Macedon along with William, Jr.'s family. Susannah died on May 6, 1868.

 

 (For much of the above information on the Thayer family, this project is greatly indebted to the genealogical work, "Richard & Thomas Thayer and their Descendants from 1636 to 1874," a book by Bezaleel Thayer. Oswego: 1874.)

Joel and Levi Thayer and the Mormon Connection

Chloe Thayer's distant cousins, the brothers Joel and Levi Thayer, were living in Palmyra, Wayne County, New York in the early 1800s. They, along with the Grandin brothers, were owners of a building called "Exchange Row" or "Thayer and Grandin's Brick Block." It was a large building, built in 1828, and housed the weekly Palmyra newspaper, "The Wayne Sentinel," owned and published by Egbert B. Grandin. The newspaper was located on the Row's third floor; on the second was a book binding establishment; and on the first was a bookstore, along with other shops run by Phillip Grandin and Joel and Levi Thayer.

A year after the Row was built, a visionary by the name of Joseph Smith, Jr., and a wealthy local farmer, Martin Harris, contracted to have the original 5,000 copies of the 600-page Book of Mormon printed. Handling the contract was Egbert Grandin, who signed the agreement in August of 1829 and had the first bound copies ready for sale in March of 1830.

According to Mormon history, Smith was directed to a hill near Palmyra by the angel Moroni. There he was shown a set of golden plates which held the history of an ancient American civilization whose origin was a lost tribe of Israel. Four years after the 1823 inspection, Joseph Smith was allowed to take the plates to his home. There he translated them into English using the power of interpretation given him by their guardian, Moroni. Witnesses to the existence of the plates, prior to their being spirited away by Moroni, were:

Oliver Cowdery
Martin Harris
Jacob Whitmer
John Whitmer
Joseph Smith Sr.
Samuel H. Smith
David Whitmer
Christian Whitmer
Peter Whitmer, Jr.
Hiram Page
Hyrum Smith

The Mormon Church, also known as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, was born with the publication of the "Book of Mormon." Many years later, in an effort to preserve artifacts of its history, the Church located and purchased the original printing press in 1906. In 1979 it bought the building at 217 E. Main Street in Palmyra once known as Exchange Row. According to a church official in a 1980 article by Steve Crosby, appearing in the Rochester "Democrat & Chronicle" newspaper, "We plan to eventually open this up as a visitors' center and a museum." Don Enders, who has the task of restoration, also said, "We're not just going to push the connection with the Book of Mormon. This was a large print shop for the time, and we would like to show people the history of it."

Joel and Levi Thayer were probably the twin sons by that name of Captain Levi Thayer, who had been active in the Revolutionary War along with his father Ensign Samuel Thayer. Captain Levi was a great-great-grandson of Ferdinando Thayer (a son of Thomas T(h)ayer) who had left Braintree in the mid-1600s to start a new settlement at Mendon (later Milford), Worcester County, Massachusetts. Joel (and, apparently, Levi) left for New York in the early 1800s.

Joel Thayer married Ruth, a daughter of Judge Daniel Hudson, and they left Milford, settling for a while at Chenango, Broome County, New York. They moved to Phelps, Ontario County around 1808-09, where Joel and his father-in-law managed the salt track near Webster for a short time. Ruth died at Phelps on January 22, 1823, after which Joel remarried. Joel died at Buffalo, Niagara County on January 28, 1853. The name of one of his and Ruth's children, George Hudson Thayer, born on October 14, 1819, was later repeated in that of Riley Page's son George Hudson Page.

Letters from a Distant Cousin

The following letters are from Mildred (Thayer) Struck, the first of which I received on March 17, 1980, after I had written one to her father Spencer Thayer on December 10, 1977. Mildred and I sent each other Christmas cards and gave news regarding our families until her death December 19, 1997.

"Dear Mr. Paige:

"In going through my desk I came across the letter to my father (Spencer Thayer). He passed away in 1972. My brother Richard gave it to me to answer--said I knew more about the family. I am Mildred Thayer Struck.

"We may well be related of that I'm sure. Here is the way I have it from gravestones and what I've been told (if I'd only written it down). Then I talked to a neighbor who had a book of old settlers.

"We always thought the first Thayer to come to these parts was Robert Thayer, but according to this book it was William, who came from Braintree, Massachusetts, first going to Macedon. Then he bought on Lake Road in 1820, at the east of County Line Road, that he had bought for his sons. Traveled between the two towns taking care of them. There were many children I understand.

"Aldrick and William

"Now whether your great-great-grandmother was a daughter sounds as though it might be.

"Aldrick was born in 1800--died 1897, and was married twice: first to Huldah Alcott, born 1801--died 1837, by whom he had eight children; second to Mary Ann McKee, born 1820--died 1899, by whom he had five children.

"Here is a list of the children we know of:

  1. Preston Thayer, born 1820—died 1909; married Clarrisa Lawrence born 1819—died 1898
  2. Clarrisa Thayer, born 1822—died 1897; married Henry Smith, born 1819—died 1898
  3. Polly Thayer, born 1825—died 1903; married Elias Smith, born 1825—died 1903
  4. William W. (Stub) Thayer, born 1846—died 1923; married Lenora Shepard, born 1848—died 1936
  5. Sarah Thayer, born 1852—died 1909; married Sherman Colby, born 1852—died 1928
  6. Aldrick Thayer, Jr. married Mary Putman. He built a cobblestone house on the property on Lake Road.
  7. Susan Thayer
  8. Chloe Thayer married Abe Mogray—a seaman (retired)
  9. Edgar (Ed) Thayer
  10. Lucius Thayer died with meningitis as a young man
  11. Hulda Thayer married Albert Potter

"Preston Thayer's children were:

  1. William H. Thayer, born 1842—died 1923; never married
  2. Alonzo Thayer, born 1844—died 1916; married Mary Pellett and they had children:

a.       Edith Thayer, born 1882—died 1956

b.      Spencer Thayer, born 1889—died 1972

c.       Floyd Thayer, born 1891—died 1953

  1. Jerusha Thayer, born 1851—died 1856
  2. Ida Thayer, born 1854—died 1932; married William Chapman as his second wife. No children.
  3. Alvah Thayer, born 1857—died ?; married Ella Smith and they had children:

a.       Clifford Thayer

b.      Wilbur Thayer

"Edith Thayer married Henry Borkhris, and their children were:

  1. Ralph Thayer, born 1906
  2. Claude Thayer, born 1909
  3. Preston Thayer, born 1910—died 1922
  4. Bessie Thayer, born 1912

"Spencer Thayer married Louise Legge and their children were:

  1. Mildred Thayer, born 1911
  2. Richard Thayer, born 1915

"Floyd Thayer married Estella Burnett. No children.

"Mildred Thayer married Frederick Struck, and their children are:

  1. Fred Thayer, Jr., born 1944
  2. Lois Ann Thayer married Dale Hilfiker, and their children are:

a.       David Hilfiker, born 1969

b.      Dwayne Hilfiker, born 1971

  1. Marion married Norris Cooper.

a.       Michael Ray Cooper, born Jan. 12, 1982

"Richard Thayer married Susanna Van Houte, and their children are:

  1. Jean Thayer, born 1943; married Richard Smith, and their children are:

a.       Laura Smith, born 1970

b.      Kathryn Smith, born 1973

  1. Elaine Thayer, born 1949; married James Stewart, and their children are:

a.       Allison Stewart, born 1970

b.      James Stewart, Jr., born 1975"

On a separate slip of paper, Mildred also wrote:

"Mr. Paige:

"I hope I've helped you some. Maybe I've confused you. I've been collecting data for my niece, too. If you ever come to Webster I hope you'll call me. Maybe we can compare things. By your letter we're in the same generation. I'm 69 but I think you're younger. Mr. Batzing was my children's teacher. Mrs. Witmer--we knew her husband ran a grocery store. No one knows of 'Pages.'"

The following is another letter from Mildred complete with two addendums:

"January 14, 1981

"Dear Charles,

"I thank you so much for all the Thayer history. You have cleared up a lot. My grandmother Thayer was great for family relations, even of people she just happened to meet. I guess it rubbed off on me.

"My father wasn't interested in family history. He was with his uncle William--seemed real fond of him. He used to help him on the farm. Dad's father and mother lived south of the Thayer farm where my grandfather had a cider mill.

"We have had it very cold; started Christmas Day. It was 4 below zero and only got up to 12 or 14 today. At least the sun shone most of the day. They say it's going down to 5 below tonight."

"January 18, 1981

"I guess this is going to be like a serial story--and then continued. The girls were here yesterday and would you believe we made 15 dozen doughnuts. Sounds like a lot but we freeze them. Make about 5 dozen each. We do our canning and freezing together and have fun doing it. There's always something to laugh about.

"Must be we're going to have another snow storm--have lots of birds at the feeder. The weatherman says a high of 35 degrees tomorrow. We have about a foot of snow on the ground.

"I see you were born same year as our daughter Marion Ruth Cooper. Her birthday is next Wednesday the 21st. Our baby but what fun she is. She works at Kodak.

"Must close. Hope you find some of this interesting. Too bad we can't get together. Fred says I talk a lot (ha ha). (They say you shouldn't live in the past, but I find some of it very interesting, don't you?)

"Your distant relative,

"Mildred"

Addendum #1 with Mildred's family legend--

"It has been said Richard Thayer, father to the first William, walked out on the ice of Lake Ontario chasing a deer, and was never seen again.

"Wilbur Thayer told us when he came for a visit in 1941, that the Thayers were great for wine, women and song. (Great, eh?) Wilbur never drank until he was 50 years old. He sold the auto repair business in San Raphael and he and his wife Julia took a European trip. They started as a bicycle repair shop when first going to California. Of course, cars came in so they went into car repair.

"Their shop was finally sold to become a fruit stand or store.

"My grandfather Alonzo was a drinker--also my uncle Floyd. They used to drink wood alcohol that they had for the 1913 Ford car. Grandma used to keep hiding it but they'd find it. At last it killed Grandpa. Uncle Floyd was in World War I. He always drank, but he was a man who could do anything in the house or out. Every now and then he'd have to go on a bender. It done him in, too.

"I can't talk to you so I write the family gossip.

"I find I have Preston Thayer's picture."

Addendum #2 with some old newspaper clipping excerpts--

"These are from clippings that I've found that my grandmother saved through the years. Maybe they will be of interest to you:

'A net estate of $256,783 was left by Mrs. Bertha (Potter) Rusling, 53 West Church Street, Fairport, who died July 2. She was the widow of Frank Rusling, financier, and daughter of a former Fairport banker. Sole beneficiary was a brother, Frederick J. Potter of Fairport. The gross value of $271,034 did not include a major part of the $85,028 Mrs. Rusling inherited from her sister, Mrs. Alice P. Howard, who died February 5, 1935. Of that bequest, $55,256 was not reported in the gross as it had been previously taxed. The state collected $4,003.00 from Mrs. Rusling's estate. She left no will.' (so she must have died last in 1935 or 1936. I think she was Huldah Thayer's daughter. I was told recently that the Potters were rich and had a stage-coach with a coachman and rider behind. Huldah's brother Edgar was the rider. They had a beautiful coach with horses. Huldah must have felt she was a queen).

'Dr. Herbert A. Thayer of 200 Park Avenue, Rochester, 41 years old, leaves his wife Helen E. Thayer, one son, Harold E., his parents, Mr. and Mrs. William Thayer, and two sisters, Mrs. George Chapman and Mrs. Florence De La Mater of Flushing, New York.'

'1931--In San Rafael, Calif., March 2, Ida (Thayer) Chapman, widow of William J. Chapman, leaves two stepsons, George and Frank Chapman, and other relatives. The funeral will be at Smith & Lotz in Webster on March 10 @ 2:00 o'clock. Interment at Union Hill Cemetery.' (Her body was shipped here from California.)

'1923--William H. Thayer, San Raphael, Calif., born in Ontario, New York in 1842, passed away. Son of Preston and Clarissa Thayer, he moved to California in 1909. His body was sent to Webster and buried in the family plot at Lakeside Cemetery.'

'1923--Oct. 20. William W. Thayer died leaving wife, Lenora, two daughters, Mrs. George Chapman and Florence De La Mater of Long Island; one grandson Harold, two sisters: Mrs. Abram Mogray (Chloe) of Ontario, and Mrs. Huldah Potter of Fairport; and one brother, Edgar S. Thayer.'

'September 3 (don't know what year) The annual reunion of the Thayer family descendants of Aldrich Thayer and Mary McKee was held at the old Thayer homestead on Lake Road, with Mrs. Harriet Thayer Chapman. The Thayer family traces its origin back to Richard Thayer, who was born in Gloucestershire, England in 1600 and settled in Braintree, Massachusetts in 1641. The family takes its place as one of the earliest to settle in western New York.'"

Copyright 1982, 2011 Charles W. Paige

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Last modified: Wednesday December 28, 2011

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