When my Gramma Gertrude passed away nearly four years ago, I asked for these photos that hung on her bedroom wall. They’ve been on the plate rail in our dining room for two years, and, on Friday, I arranged them according to what branches they inhabit on my family tree.
The little smiling cherub on the bottom is my Dad, and, on viewer’s left is a toddler photo of Gramma Gertrude, complete with side curls and a crocheted sweater, pointing at something fascinating over the photographer’s shoulder. Her parents, George Fisher and Ethel Violet Pilch Fisher, or Nana, are on the left. Nana lived with Gramma when I was little, rocking in her chair in the kitchen at Gramma’s gorgeous house on School Street, and she passed away when I was eight.
Above Nana, going clockwise, are George Fisher’s parents, Grandpa & Grandma Fisher, as Gramma Gertrude’s note says, leaning on a rather ornate column. Her name was Anna, and I’ll defer to Dad and Uncle John to fill in his name. Clockwise and up a bit are Nana’s parents, Robert Owen Pilch and Mary Ann Monement Pilch, rocking on the porch. Mary Ann looks exactly like her daughter would when I knew her years later. I believe Mary Ann was blind, and I think my Dad told me he remembers being in her kitchen as she was cooking and singing.
10/7: Regarding Grandpa & Grandma Fisher, from Dad: “My grandfather Fisher’s father was named Johannes Fischer—a Swiss immigrant. He and Anna (who was German) lived in Hermann, Missouri—a German-speaking community on the Missouri River, founded by Socialists in the 1840’s—It is now famous as a wine-growing tourist destination. Johannes lost an eye in the Civil War—he fought on the Union side–Missouri was about 50/50 in the war. Grandpa Fisher dropped the “c” during the First World War—there was strong anti-German prejudice at the time.”
On viewer’s right of my agreeable little Dad, who has a little curl “right in the middle of [his] forehead,” are his father, John Alexander Polhemus, with his parents, Julia Hanna Polhemus and George Warren Polhemus. Moving counter- clockwise, George’s parents are above him and to the right; they are Mathias Van Dyke Polhemus and Eliza Warren Polhemus. Up and to the left are Julia’s parents in the separate photographs, John A. Hanna with the astonishing moustache and his wife, Ada Preston Hanna. John Hanna was a New York assemblyman and head of Dutchess County’s Republican Party.
Okay, we’re ready for photos of the ancestors of our three other parents. I’ve thrown down the gauntlet. I’ll find some wall space.
Happy Birthday, Gramma.
you can prob. guess from my name why im leaving this reply; I did a search for my self and this came up-I have to assume that there is a relation, but i only know my family back to my grandfather who’s name was also Mathias VanDyke Polhemus. Do you happen to know if George Warren Polhemus had any brothers?
Hi,
My grandfather (maternal side) Norman Polhemus was the brother of your grandfather John, so that makes us cousins. My mother, Sally Polhemus Farnsworth Casale, never spoke much about her relatives and now has Alzheimer’s. Both of my parents were/are only children so my immediate family is not large.
Out of curiosity, I was looking to find out how the Polhemus’ came to the U.S. and stumbled on your site. If you have any insight I’d be interested to know.
My family grew up in West Boylston, MA. I was born in 1959 and have 4 siblings that all live back East while I live in Seattle, WA.
You look similar to Lisa Van Vleck, who lives in Cambridge and has Polhemus family reunions in Chatham. I went once as a teenager, you may not have been born yet. I haven’t been to any others. I live on Capitol Hill in Seattle, if you’re ever in the area I’d love to meet. Best Regards, Ann Duffy