The Old James Bont Kested Farm
Everett's House in Mt. Morris
Gail, Everett , and Judy
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Side Trip to the Kested Farm
On our trip home from Rochester, Mn., we decided to take a side trip to Dixon, Illinois, where James Bont Kested settled after he left Broadalbin, NY.
We went to Dixon, Ill. but I didn't take any info with me because Larry thought it was just too far out of our way to visit that area...then on Friday while in Mn he said, "well, maybe we can swing around there" All I knew was the name of the town/city.....and recollection of what the Kested farm looked like from a picture. It wasn't a very good picture at that.
When we arrived in Dixon, we stopped at a MacDonald's, for a potty break . When I was about to leave McD, I saw an older couple sitting at a table. I went up to them and asked them if they'd ever heard of a Kested Farm. The husband, Mr. Ritter, told me that he knew about a Kested farm, but knew personally a Everett Kested , that he had worked with him for many years, a very nice man, and that he was still living at age 93. Mr Ritter told us that Everett lived in the small town of Mt. Morris, about 6 miles north of Dixon. He gave us direction right to the house. We found the house, but Mr. Kested wasn’t there. We saw a neighbor raking leaves, so asked her if she knew the Kested’s and if she had seen them lately. The neighbor told us that Mrs. Kested (Margaret) was in a Lutheran Nursing home in Mt. Morris. We found the nursing home and visited Margaret. She wasn’t able to help us with any information due to her advanced stage of Alzheimer's. We decided to go back to Everett’s house with hopes that maybe he had returned. He was home, as was his daughter, Judy. They invited us in, where we saw pictures, handwritten information from his father AND a letter from a Kested in Holland that he'd never answered. Both Everett and Judy were very friendly and were excited to learn of the genealogy of James Bont Kested, Everett’s grandfather. They knew nothing of the family before they arrived in the Dixon area. They had often wondered if they were Pennsylvania Dutch. Everett is going to copy the information that his father wrote down and also the letter from the lady in Holland and send it to me
Larry took some pictures of some pictures that were on the living room wall. Everett is a very young 93, walks like he's in his 60's, and sharp as a tack. His sister died two weeks ago at 101. His daughter Judy (his only child) is a nurse. She lives in another town and that day she was visiting him for a few days. She was telling us that because there weren’t any boys in his family the Kested name was not being carried on, so she had named her only daughter with the middle name of Kested. Apparently this daughter is very interested in researching the Kested genealogy but didn’t quite know where to begin. I asked Mr. Kested if he knew where the old Kested farm was. He said it’d been a long time since he was there, but he knew it was between two towns, off on a dirt road and that it was the only farm on that road. He couldn’t remember the name of the road.
the story doesn't end here...............
We started out to find it....nearly gave up, but stopped at a little gas station/grocery store. There was an elderly gentleman buying some bread. I asked him, "Sir, have you ever heard of a Kested Farm?" He said....well I guess so, I've lived around here all my life. I knew the Kested boys real well...they died you know. " This man was 95 yrs old...he told us right where the farm was...we found it and took pictures. We met the people that have bought the farm, exchanged email addresses so that if they find any Kested information, pictures or whatever in the attic, barns etc they said they’d let us know. Now how's that for a new Kested story?I thought is was something that the two people we talked to were able to give us just the right information. In another couple of minutes both of those people would not have been in those two places.
Mr. Kested and his daughter didn't know any Kested history/genealogy beyond his grandfather. They didn't know where they'd come from other than from the East They thought maybe they were Pennsylvania Dutch.
We went to Dixon, Ill. but I didn't take any info with me because Larry thought it was just too far out of our way to visit that area...then on Friday while in Mn he said, "well, maybe we can swing around there" All I knew was the name of the town/city.....and recollection of what the Kested farm looked like from a picture. It wasn't a very good picture at that.
When we arrived in Dixon, we stopped at a MacDonald's, for a potty break . When I was about to leave McD, I saw an older couple sitting at a table. I went up to them and asked them if they'd ever heard of a Kested Farm. The husband, Mr. Ritter, told me that he knew about a Kested farm, but knew personally a Everett Kested , that he had worked with him for many years, a very nice man, and that he was still living at age 93. Mr Ritter told us that Everett lived in the small town of Mt. Morris, about 6 miles north of Dixon. He gave us direction right to the house. We found the house, but Mr. Kested wasn’t there. We saw a neighbor raking leaves, so asked her if she knew the Kested’s and if she had seen them lately. The neighbor told us that Mrs. Kested (Margaret) was in a Lutheran Nursing home in Mt. Morris. We found the nursing home and visited Margaret. She wasn’t able to help us with any information due to her advanced stage of Alzheimer's. We decided to go back to Everett’s house with hopes that maybe he had returned. He was home, as was his daughter, Judy. They invited us in, where we saw pictures, handwritten information from his father AND a letter from a Kested in Holland that he'd never answered. Both Everett and Judy were very friendly and were excited to learn of the genealogy of James Bont Kested, Everett’s grandfather. They knew nothing of the family before they arrived in the Dixon area. They had often wondered if they were Pennsylvania Dutch. Everett is going to copy the information that his father wrote down and also the letter from the lady in Holland and send it to me
Larry took some pictures of some pictures that were on the living room wall. Everett is a very young 93, walks like he's in his 60's, and sharp as a tack. His sister died two weeks ago at 101. His daughter Judy (his only child) is a nurse. She lives in another town and that day she was visiting him for a few days. She was telling us that because there weren’t any boys in his family the Kested name was not being carried on, so she had named her only daughter with the middle name of Kested. Apparently this daughter is very interested in researching the Kested genealogy but didn’t quite know where to begin. I asked Mr. Kested if he knew where the old Kested farm was. He said it’d been a long time since he was there, but he knew it was between two towns, off on a dirt road and that it was the only farm on that road. He couldn’t remember the name of the road.
the story doesn't end here...............
We started out to find it....nearly gave up, but stopped at a little gas station/grocery store. There was an elderly gentleman buying some bread. I asked him, "Sir, have you ever heard of a Kested Farm?" He said....well I guess so, I've lived around here all my life. I knew the Kested boys real well...they died you know. " This man was 95 yrs old...he told us right where the farm was...we found it and took pictures. We met the people that have bought the farm, exchanged email addresses so that if they find any Kested information, pictures or whatever in the attic, barns etc they said they’d let us know. Now how's that for a new Kested story?I thought is was something that the two people we talked to were able to give us just the right information. In another couple of minutes both of those people would not have been in those two places.
Mr. Kested and his daughter didn't know any Kested history/genealogy beyond his grandfather. They didn't know where they'd come from other than from the East They thought maybe they were Pennsylvania Dutch.
Minnesota Friends
Kirk and Larry watching the
World Series
Cheri and I blogging
Our visit at Cheri and Kirk Dietzman's in Rochester, Mn., was all and more than we anticipated. They have been our friends now for over 20 years. We were there as they were expecting each one of their 3 children. Cara was born on our anniversary. Our friendship began through meeting each week in a Growth Group which was sponsored by our church, Valleyview Alliance Church, in Vestal, NY. Spending 2 hrs a week in a Bible Study, discussion group and prayer, is a great way to really get to know someone. Cheri and I started out calling me "mom" but as our friendship grew it soon was more of a friend relationship, so I became Gail to her. Cheri and I both love to decorate our homes and did so with our many purchases at garage sales. I think she's better at decorating than I am. You should go to her blog and see what I mean. http://www.housewarmings.blogspot.com/ Our visit to their home added another dimension to our many common interests. Cheri has had a couple of blogs for quite some time and she has tried to interest me into creating one. She succeeded while we were there and this blog is the result. Thanks Cheri and Kirk for your friendship over these years, the fun times together and this latest visit/hospitality in your home.
Friday, October 26, 2007
Minnesota Trip - Friday
Molly - Maddie - Gabby
Nate and Grandpa Cramer after dinner on Friday night
Cheri's Chickens -- The one in the foreground is a rooster
that is learning to crow
Cara, the only Dietzman we didn't get to see.
She's in Cincinnati, OH in her last year of nursing school.
........Cheri and me relaxing and blogging in the sunroom
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Minnesota Trip - Thursday
The first time I eyed this tree my thought was, "what a great tree to climb" ! In my day, I would have been up it in a minute.
As you can see, Danae had the same idea, but she didn't have to think twice about it. She got a little boost from her Dad though.
It was good to see Danae again. We figure the last time we saw her she was 11 years old. Now she's a Freshman in college. She's a beautiful girl in more ways than one. So many memories popped into my head of her when she was just born, a toddler, and elementary age playing with my grandkids at the cabin.
Minnesota Trip - Thurs Lunch
Today we drove to Winona, Mn to visit Danae at the college that she attends. She showd us her dorm room and around the campus. It's a beautiful campus, about 8,000 students. Here is Dad/Gpa at the Acoustic Cafe a typical college hang out. We saw several studious looking students eating lunch while keyboarding on their laptops. The sandwiches and soup were delicious.Winona is a very historical town, with many interesting homes and archetectural buildings. Kirk drove us around as Danae gave a verbal tour. She directed Kirk to go up a steep hill to a lookout, which over looked the Mississippi River and the Town of Winona. A breath taking site.
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
California Family
I know this is out of order as far as events go, but wanted to show you my cousins that visited us last week from California. Ginger, Tom, Kim, and Robin. This picture was taken up at the Blue Mt. Lake Museum in northern NY State.
Visiting Friends in Rochester, Mn.
Here is Dietzman's little Yorkie, Gabby, barking up a crabapple tree in their front yard. She will sit there for literally hrs waiting for the squirrel to come down. Gabby has also been known to climb up onto a branch of the apple tree out back to get at a birds nest.We left NY early Saturday morning, Oct 20th...the weather was great and even though I was nursing a bum knee, the trip was very enjoyable. I did a lot of reading in the back of the car where I could stretch out. We drove 625 miles on Saturday....with stops along the way, we arrived in Angola, Indiana in 12 1/2 hrs. We traveled 9 hrs on Sunday, arriving at Dietzman's about 5:30 p.m.
We watched the Red Sox at the Motel and the Sunday night game while here. Nice going Red Sox (sorry Chris)
We've talked practically non stop, tweeked her Art Room, went shopping, reminicesed and tomorrow we are going to Winona, Mn to Winona State College to visit Danae. Shipway's had given us the address of their house when they lived here in Rochester back in the 60's/70's. We drove over to the South East side of Rochester and located it.
Cheri has helped me set up this blog, so I'm learning. I forgot to bring my camera so will have to use Cheri's if I add more pictures from Mn.
Harvest Dinner
Fall has arrived in the foothills of the Adirondack Mountains. We welcomed family with a Harvest Dinner at the cabin. My cousin, Tom, his wife Ginger , (who live in RedBluff, California) arrived on October 10th, driving up from NJ where they had just embarked from a cruise along the N.E. coast to Newfoundland. Their daughters arrived at Albany airport at midnight. My husband and Tom drove to the airport to pick them up, arriving back at the cabin around 2 a.m. Saturday (Oct. 13th) was our first annual Harvest Dinner. I roasted two large turkey's for the event. Members of the family brought along dishes "to pass". Our son Steve drove his 39 ft. motor home from Georgia, arriving on Friday the day before the Harvest Dinner. Son, Scott and his daughter Jessie, our daughter Shari and her husband Steve all arrived Saturday a.m. Others that attended were my sister, her son Paul, several of her gkids, my brother and his wife and 2 of their children and several gkids.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)