The Oswegatchie River Family

By Sara Jane Laffin

A Thought to the Future
Go into the noise, and hassles of the world. Remember what peace there may be in silence. Go as far as possible without surrender. Be on good terms with all people, beyond a whole some of discipline. Be gentle with yourself, you are a child of the universe. No less than the trees and the stars, you have a right to be here. Whether this is clear to you. No doubt the universe is unfolding as it should. Therefor be at Pease with your God whatever you conceive this to be.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Aug 29, 2011
• ISBN: 9781463434199

Sara Jane Laffin

Sara Jane has been married for 32 years to Ora Laffin who is a North American Indian Decent. She was inspired to write this book. She has always enjoyed people. Writing about the people in her family has been a pleasure for her. Sara Jane was a child in history not a historian. The first twelve years of her life she was raised in a house located at 209 Gilbert St. Ogdensburg New York.Sara Jane was raised by her mother Mary, Uncle Bob and her Grandmother Liz St. Andrews. She was raised with one brother, Bobby, and one sister, Sandy, all in this same house. She is inviting you into her family to hear their stories and share part of her life. The Author hopes you the reader will enjoy this book and one day she hopes sharing more of her stories with a wider audience.

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© 2011 by Sara Jane Laffin. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

First published by AuthorHouse 08/12/2011

ISBN: 978-1-4634-3418-2 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4634-3419-9 (ebk)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2011911933

Printed in the United States of America

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Contents

History

THE OSWEGATCHIE RIVER FAMILY

Names of the Family

Chapter 1

THEY MEET AT SCHOOL.

Chapter 2

INTRODUCING WILLIAM TO MA AND PA

Chapter 3

END OF SCHOOL FOR WILLIAM

Chapter 4

WILLIAM’S JOB

Chapter 5

IN LOVE

Chapter 6

WILLIAM ASK FOR SARAH’S HAND

Chapter 7

WAITING FOR PA TO TELL MA

Chapter 8

WILLIAM GIVES SARAH A RING

Chapter 9

WILLIAM AND SARAH JANE

PLAN THEIR WEDDING

Chapter 10

MOST YOUNG COUPLES IN THE 1800

Chapter 11

WILLIAM & SARAH JANE BUILD THEIR

DREAM HOUSE.

Chapter 12

BUILDING THEIR HOME

Chapter 13

DESCRIPTION OF THE HOME

Chapter 14

BEFORE THERE WERE HOSPITALS

Chapter 15

BABY NAMED DIAMOND

Chapter 16

FIRST TWO LA ROCK SONS

Chapter 17

BABY GIRL THE THIRD CHILD

Chapter 18

LIFE WITH THREE CHILDREN

A LESSON LEARNT

Chapter 19

MAG IS A BIG SISTER

Chapter 20

THE FORTH CHILD

Chapter 21

MAG HAS A SISTER MARY

Chapter 22

A SET OF TWINS

Chapter 23

TWINS FUNERAL

Chapter 24

THE SURPRISE BABY

Chapter 25

THE LAST BABY BORN IN 1900

Chapter 26

BABY GETS HER NAME

Chapter 27

MANY YEARS BETWEEN OLIVER AND ELIZABETH

Chapter 28

LA ROCK KIDS SCHOOL DAYS

Chapter 29

DEATH ON THE OSWEGATCHIE RIVER

Chapter 30

OLIVER’S FUNERAL

Chapter 31

DIAMOND TAKES A JOB

Chapter 32

WORLD WAR ONE

Chapter 33

MAG GROWS UP.

Chapter 34

MAG’S 1ST DATE

Chapter 35

JAMES MEET’S MA

Chapter 36

END OF WORLD WAR 1

Chapter 37

JAMES ASK MAG TO MARRY HIM

Chapter 38

MAG GETS A RING

Chapter 39

MAG TELLS ABOUT HER PROPOSAL.

Chapter 40

MAG’S WEDDING

Chapter 41

DIAMOND’S WEDDING

Chapter 42

A RING FOR NANCY

Chapter 43

NANCY & RICH

Chapter 44

WEDDING FOR RICH

Chapter 45

LITTLE SARAH JANE MEETS A HOOLIGAN

Chapter 46

JOE FOUND LIZ

Chapter 47

A LESSON TO BE LEARNED

Chapter 48

BABY STARTS TO DATE

Chapter 49

MA AND PA LIVE ALONE

Chapter 50

DIFFERENCES IN FAMILIES

Chapter 51

MARY, SKINNY, & 7 KIDS

Chapter 52

RICH & ETHEL

Chapter 53

PA IS SICK

Chapter 54

PA’S FUNERAL

Chapter 55

SARAH JANE ALONE

Chapter 56

BIG KIDS BIG PROBLEMS

Chapter 57

JOB FOR MARY

Chapter 58

SINGLE PARENTS

Chapter 59

MAG & PHILLIP

Chapter 60

LITTLE SARAH’S LESSON

Chapter 61

MONEY PROBLEMS FOR MARY

Chapter 62

LIZ & JOE’S FRIENDS

Chapter 63

MARY CAN’T PAY THE RENT

Chapter 64

JOE AND LIZ’S FAMILY LIFE

Chapter 65

DIAMOND SAVES MA

Chapter 66

SAVING MONEY

Chapter 67

UNWANTED BABY

Chapter 68

THE FAMILY BECOMES STRONG AGAIN

Chapter 69

SPRING’S COMING

Chapter 70

HAPPY AND SAD DAYS

Chapter 71

THE MOVE FOR LITTLE SARAH

Chapter 72

JOE’S OFF THE PLEDGE

Chapter 73

CAN LIZ GET OVER JOE

Chapter 74

SPRING IN ALBANY

Chapter 75

TRAIN HOME

Chapter 76

LIZ GIVES BIRTH

Chapter 77

LIZ GETS JOB

Chapter 78

LIZ FINDS A NICE HOME

History

THE OSWEGATCHIE RIVER FAMILY

Our family came to the United States before the seventeen hundreds. Ogdensburg New York is located on two rivers that would help with the development of the town.

The St. Lawrence River was the larger river that divided the two countries the U.S. from Canada. The St. Lawrence River is now the gateway to the Atlantic Ocean. The St. Lawrence County was created in 1802. This county got its name from the St. Lawrence River. The county seat is in Canton New York.

The Scotch and the Irish were some of the early arrivals in the colonies. It was said in the 1720 and 1775 over a quarter of a million Scotchmen and women arrived in America. It was said that 85% of all Americans can trace their heritage back to one of the British Common Wealth Nations, England, Scotland, Ireland, or Wales.

It was told that the Oswegatchie River got its name by accident. How this happened was and an American Indian man was in chase of his horse. He was calling for him in broken English. When he finely caught his horse he said, (os we gat chie) which he was trying to say was that, we have got you. Because some white folks could not completely understand this man. They though he was calling out about the river by its name. This story was told to me as I was growing up. Now you can tell this bit of history to your children.

Names of the Family

I will try to give you names of our family members and their stories as I can recall them. Some of our family stories were told many times as we went to visit our deceased loved ones in the Ogdensburg Cemetery.

We would walk through the cemetery placing flowers on their graves. They would tell the life time stories of the deceased person well we were visiting.

When they told me about my great grandmother Sarah Jane being buried right here and, they would point to the grave were she was buried. As they would go on telling what a nice person she was and that is why I was named after her.

When I heard this I was too young to understand what a dead person was. So I told them we needed to help her get out from under the ground. They laughed about me not understanding.

A young mind takes things as they are said, not what was meant. I will tell you their secrets and their reactions to them.

As we all know that our reactions are what make us all different. What some may laugh at, others may cry at. This is life’s drama.

However what we do and say can make all the different in other people’s lives. Some people might say feelings are made by what is said and done to them.

Most of the main characters have now passed on to the afterlife. After reading about them, I hope that they well be remembered in your hearts and your minds. With this book I will try to introduce my family members personalize as I can remember them.

Some names of the family members were called by their nick name, and are known to me by their nick names only.

I feel what has affected them in their lives we could learn from. Some made wise decisions and some not. Reading these stories with love and understanding, with compassion you may look at your life differently.

We have strong ties to the Scotch; we are a good blend of the British Common Wealth nations. Our great grandparents, on Sarah Jane’s side came from England in the late seventeen hundreds.

I was told that we also had family who came from Ireland. They had moved to England around the time of the great potato famine. In the seventeen twenty’s only the strong would survive.

Our great grandfather William La Rock’s parents came from France.

Our grate grandmother Julia Sullivan, her parents came from Ireland. It was said that her family had problems with arthritis.

Now our grate grandfather’s family came from Scotland. I do not recall ever hearing my grandfather Joseph Andrews’s father’s name. A nick name was given to him by grandmother (Liz) Elizabeth La Rock St. Andrews. Who hated him for the things he did to her. She would call him The KISER.

I’m a child whose ears heard things as a child of the nineteen fifty’s and now I’m trying to introduce them to you. Something stories may bring you to tears. I hope you enjoy these stories with knowing that I ‘am not a historian only a child in history

Chapter 1

THEY MEET AT SCHOOL.

Sarah Jane Mills was a pretty young girl who had nice thick red hair and big brown eyes. Her skin was as white as milk with a few freckles that were on the tip of her nose.

When Sarah Jane was coming into her new class room she noticed William La Rock. It was as though he was the only person in the class room. Sarah Jane liked William from the first moment she set eyes on him.

Sarah Jane was thinking of quitting school because she hated school. School was hard for her do to the fact that she could not read well. She had a good memory just not for reading.

She liked being at home doing all the things to keep house. She loved to fish because this came so easy to her. Sarah Jane also loved living on the river. She was good at catching fish and better at cooking the fish. It was said that her fish would make your mouth water, mum good.

Sarah Jane’s mother taught all these skills to her. Sarah Jane’s parents did not think girls needed to have an education. The Mills thought it was a waste of time for most girls because they became a house wife. The Mills loved their daughter Sarah Jane and wanted her to go to school if that is what she wanted to do. She could quit school at any time.

She also knew if she did quite school, she would never see William La Rock again. Time seemed to go by slow in school be for she seen William. After that her mind was on him and time went by fast.

It was about noon when the teacher looked up at the clock and noticed that it was lunch time. She told the children to put their books down it was time for lunch. The teacher was thinking that it was a nice fall day and there would not be too many more of these beautiful days left.

You children can take your lunch outside today. In one hour when lunch is over I will ring the school bell, to let you all know lunch is over. Then you all can come back in school for after noon classes.

After the teacher told the class that they could have their lunch outside in the fresh air. William started to get a little nervous. He thought to himself, this is my chance to meet Sarah Jane. If only I could think of something to get her attention. His mind was going so fast. He was not use to thinking fast. He was used to being in control. He was not watching where he was going when he bumped right into her.

Sarah Jane was also into deep thought and did not notice he was coming towards her. She bumped right into William. They were standing face to face. When they spoke they said the same thing at the same time to each other. This was funny to them. Then they both started to laugh. That broke the ice for them. It was so easy to talk to each other after that.

Sarah Jane would you like to have your lunch with me? We can eat under the big tree over there by the back of the school on the grass. That tree was at least 200 years old. It was a giant of a tree just as their love for each other would become.

Sarah Jane’s heart was pounding so hard she was afraid everyone could hear it. She could hardly find her voice. Sarah Jane’s face had gone pink. You could see her blush because of her fair skin. Finely Sarah Jane got her words out. Yes, I would love to have lunch with you.

After they ate their lunch William handed Sarah Jane a nice red apple. This was the best time of the year for apples were in the fall. They were tart, sweet and juicy. Sarah Jane told William thank you as she took a small bite of the apple. Then she handed him the apple, would you like to have bite? He smiled as took a bite.

It was a nice day with a warm wind that blows her red hair gently as the sun gave way to show her his blue eyes.

He loved her red hair as much as she loves his blue eyes. His eyes were as blue as the river and her hair was as red as the apple. They were a nice looking couple. Time would go fast for this young couple today.

When an hour had passed so quickly the teacher called all the children in for their afternoon classes by ringing the school bell.

In no time it was three p.m. The teacher told the class to put their books away. I will see you all here tomorrow. Those who have homework, be sure you get it done before you come back tomorrow. You can put your home work papers on my desk.

Sarah Jane can I walk you home. William wanted to know where she lived. This was the best way without coming right out and asking her.

Sarah Jane’s face turned pink for the second time that day. As she looked into his blue eyes she felt dizzy. How could I feel like this she thought? I just got to get a hold of myself before he sees how I feel.

Then she found her voice, Yes that would be nice. William offered to carry her books. Sarah Jane thanked him.

Sarah Jane was thinking to herself, why I even bother with those books. I might as well leave them at school. I can’t even understand anything that is written in them.

Their walk was nice the sun was warm and the sky was blue. They shared small talk along the way. All too soon they were on South Water Street where Sarah Jane lived. William was surprised that Sarah Jane lived so close to his family’s home. That was nice he thought. William said good bye and handed her the books. I will see you tomorrow.

All night they were both thinking of each other and they could not wait for the next school day to come. The next morning William surprised Sarah Jane by coming by her house to walk her to school. He carried her books to school and talked all the way there.

Chapter 2

INTRODUCING WILLIAM TO MA AND PA

William and Sarah Jane were walking to school that morning when William told Sarah Jane all about his family. He told her were his father worked and what his mother did. William also told her that he was offered a job at the lumber mill.

My father’s boss Lawrence said that I can start work next week. This means I will have to quitting school at the end of this week. I would to keep seeing you. That is if you would like me to? Oh, yes. I would like to see you anytime. Do you think I could meet your parents after school today? Yes, I would like you to meet them.

After school Sarah Jane and William went to her parents’ home. William was a little nervous about meeting Sarah Jane’s parents. William was not much for talking, except for talking to Sarah Jane that was.

When they got to her house she called into her parents. I have a friend from school I would like you to meet. Pa told, Sarah Jane to bring her friend into the kitchen. Pa stood up and put his hand out for William to shake. William shook Pa’s hand both men had a firm hand shake. In those days it said a lot about a man. With a hand shake it could seal many deals in those days.

As William was shaking Pa’s hand he said my name is William. Have a seat William. William pulled out a kitchen chair for Sarah Jane and then one for himself. Pa asked, were does your father worked? At the lumber mill here in town.

Sarah Jane told her parents that they were in the same class. Pa asked William, What grade son? Mr. Mills, I’m in the twelfth grade for now. I’m quitting school this week I plan on working in the lumber mill with my father and uncles. I was told that it was hard work but the pay is good. My father’s boss, Lawrence has offered me a passion there.

I will start work on Monday for the lumber company. They say jobs like this are few and far between. I would not want to lose this chance of having a good job for an education with no job. So I will be there first thing Monday morning. Friday will be my last day at school.

Before William left he told them that it was nice meeting them both. They told William that they were pleased to meet him, and stop by anytime. Let us know how you made out on the new job.

Ma and Pa seemed to like William. They were happy to see how polite he was. They could see how Sarah Jane liked him just by the way she would smile when she was looking at him.

Sarah Jane walked William to the door to say good bye.

Sarah Jane found herself waiting for the next time he would come by. He would set her heart to race and her stomach would have butterfly’s. She never met anyone like William.

When she went back in to talk to her parents they told her that they thought he was a very nice young man. Sarah Jane was so happy that the meeting went well. She loves her parents and wanted them to like William. He was in Sarah Jane’s dreams that night.

Chapter 3

END OF SCHOOL FOR WILLIAM

On Friday morning William was going to school with the intentions of quitting. This would be his last day of school and his life would never be the same. After this he would be a working man. A new kind of learning was a head of him.

When he knocked on Sarah Jane’s door they called for him to come in. Sarah Jane looked so pretty in her light green jumper with a sweet white blouse. A green ribbon was strung through the sleeves as to match the jumper. Her red hair was pulled back with a green ribbon to match the one in her blouse. She was trying to look pretty for William. When William seen her he told her that she looked very pretty.

Ma told William that Sara Jane was just eating her breakfast. Would you like me to make you some toast and tea? No thank you mam. I ate early this morning before chores. Then Sarah Jane said, I’m ready William, if you are ready. Okeydokey William said. Sarah Jane told her mother she would see her after school. Ok, honeys have a nice day.

On the way to school William told Sarah Jane, I know I will miss the learning part of school. I enjoy reading and this is something I can do in my spare time. Our teacher told me that I was very good in math. She told me that I can teach myself with the use of books to increase my learning levels.

Sarah Jane informed William that she did not like school. I’m very happy you did like school and reading will keep you learning. This way you could have both. A good job and by reading you can have a better education. I’m lucky to have a chance to make a good life. I hope I do well at my interview Monday.

They had a nice chat on the way to school and as always when they are together time flies. The day went by fast when William told his teacher that this was his last day of school. He thanked her for all that she taught him.

At the end of the school day all his class mates wrote their names on his white tee shirt. They all wished him well and, hope they would see him in town. Most of the guys were looking for jobs to, but were not as lucky as William.

William and Sarah Jane had a nice walk home. It was a warm fall afternoon with just a warm breeze on their backs. Today they were walking slower just enjoying the moments together.

William told her that he was a little worried about his meeting on Monday. Sarah Jane said, William, you will do well everyone all ways likes you. I see no problems for you at the lumber mill; I think they will be happy to have you as an employee. You will like working at the mill so stop your fretting. William gave her hand a little squeeze and then he winked at her. When he gave her a wink her heart started pounding as if she was having a heart attack. She loved how he would look at her with the twinkle in his blue eyes.

William would you like to come in for some of ma’s lemon aid? Yes, that sounds good to me if your Ma don’t mind. Oh, she seems to really like you. Well I’m glad that she likes me. May be she will let me hang around with you, if I can stay on her good side. Oh, you are silly. You are all ways on everyone’s good side, that’s just who you are.

When they came in Ma asked them if she could get them something cold to drink. We would love some of your lemon aid Ma, if you have any made? I sure do. I just made some for when Pa comes home from work.

As they all sat drinking their drinks and some small talk. Ma peeled potatoes.

Sarah Jane asked, Ma can I help you peel some of those potatoes? Thank you honey, but that all I have to do before supper.

When William finished his drink he thanked Ma for the lemon aid. I had choirs to do before dinner. Ma told William, now don’t you be a stranger you hear? I won’t. Not with the two prettiest women in the burg right here. You couldn’t keep me away. Then he winked at Sarah Jane.

Sarah Jane walked him to the door. I would like to see you on Sunday, if your parents won’t mind. We will be here after church. So come by Pa will be happy to see you. Ok, then I will see you on Sunday.

Chapter 4

WILLIAM’S JOB

Sunday came and William went to visit Sarah Jane. He was looking forward to seeing her. She was the only one who made him feel good about himself. The truth was that he could not get this pretty little red head