Settlers of Albion, New York

JohnHubbard
John Hubbard (1804-1883)

These portraits of Tim’s 3rd-great-grandparents are of the oldest generation we currently have in our possession.

John Hubbard, son of Joseph and Mabel (Sutlief) Hubbard, was born 27 December 1804 in (Jefferson) New York, and died 1 August 1883 in Albion (Orleans) New York. He married 28 January 1828 in Clarkson (Monroe) New York, Lydia P. Randolph, who was born 24 March 1807, probably in Canada, and died 1 February 1901 in Albion, daughter of Abram and Jane (Koyl) Randolph.

The following is from The Orleans Republican:

Death of an Old Settler: John Hubbard, who was, we think, at the time of his death, the oldest resident in what is now the village of Albion, died at his residence on Clinton street, on Sunday evening. His last sickness was only of a few days duration. He gradually failed after the death of a dearly loved grandson, Johnnie D, aged 16 years, only son of DB and Emma P Hubbard, which occurred July 25, 1883. The deceased was born in Jefferson county December 27, 1804, and came to Albion in the fall of 1824. On the 28th of January, 1828, he was married to Lydia P Randolph, by whom he had six children, one son and five daughters. Of these four are now living — Jennie F, now Mrs. GA Starkweather; Eva L Hubbard, now Mrs. John B Hubbard; DB Hubbard, and Fannie E Hubbard. Miss A Louise Hubbard died in 1850 and another daughter, Mrs. Laura A Allen, died March 28, 1883. Mr. Hubbard followed the business of wagon making for many years, but retired from active business some time ago. He was well known in the community in which he had so long resided and had the respect of all who knew him.

Lydia P. (Randolph) Hubbard (1807-1901)
Lydia P. Randolph (1807-1901)

The 1880 Census states that Lydia was born in Canada and that her parents were born in Vermont. However, the 1900 Federal Census states that Lydia, age 93, was born “Canada/English” and that her parents were born “Canada/English” and that she immigrated in 1820, when she was about 13 years old. By 1892, after being widowed, Lydia was living with her son DB and his family in Albion, 13 Clinton St., where she died 1 February 1901. Boxes of her poetry were found in the Provincetown, Massachusetts house belonging to the husband (Karl Freeman Rodgers) of her great-granddaughter, Allegra Estelle (Hamilton) (Rodgers) Lloyd. John and Lydia are buried in Lot #111, Beech Avenue, Mount Albion Cemetery, Albion, New York.

John & Lydia were the parents of six children:

1. Jane F. “Jenny” Hubbard, born 9 September 1829 in Albion, died 27 September 1919. She married 2 November 1853, Rev. George A. Starkweather, who was born 4 December 1828 and died 8 October 1910. They are buried in the lot adjoining Lot #955, Clematis Path, Mount Albion Cemetery. Jenny & George were the parents of two daughters.

2. Laura Amelia Hubbard, born 10 April 1831, died 28 March 1883 in Albion. She married (as his first wife) 12 June 1854, Tunis Barhide Allen, who was born May 1832 in Clarendon (Orleans) New York, and died 7 March 1917 in Albion. Laura & Tunis were the parents of two sons.

3. Louisa Amanda Hubbard, born 25 January 1835, died 12 July 1850, age 15. She is buried in Lot #111, Beech Avenue, Mount Albion Cemetery.

4. Eveline L. “Eva” Hubbard, born 7 December 1839 in Albion, died 8 March 1903 in Holley-Murray (Orleans) New York. She married (as her first husband) in December 1869, her first cousin, John Bradner Hubbard, who was born in May 1836 in New York and died 28 April 1888 in Illinois, son of Eldridge M. and Mary (Bradner) Hubbard. Eveline married (as her second husband) 1 October 1899 in Holley, Avon Newell Braman, who was born in March 1828 and died 6 July 1901 in Rochester (Monroe) New York. Eveline was a seamstress. She and John are buried in the lot adjoining Lot #955, Clematis Path, Mount Albion Cemetery.

Fannie Hubbard, 1876
age 30

5. Delorma Brown “DB” Hubbard (Tim’s 2nd-great-grandfather), born 8 May 1842 in Albion, died there 21 March 1915. He married 6 February 1866 in Marian (Wayne) New York, Emma Pridmore, who was born 11 January 1844 in Great Dalby (Leicestershire) England and died 7 April 1917. DB & Emma were the parents of three children, and lie buried in Lot #955, Clematis Path, Mount Albion Cemetery.

6. Frances E. “Fannie” Hubbard, born 15 February 1846 in Albion, died there 23 September 1883. She is buried in Lot #111, Beech Avenue, Mount Albion Cemetery. Fannie died unmarried at the age of 37.

Last Revised: 28 February 2023

We visited Mount Albion Cemetery in Albion, New York, on a research trip we took with Tim’s aunt Delorma many years ago. Unfortunately the pictures taken with a disposable camera (remember those?) didn’t come out well so we hope to return one day, now that we have a much better camera. Tim’s father, grandparents, great-grandparents, 2nd-great-grandparents and 3rd-great-grandparents (John & Lydia) are buried there.

Draken Harald Hårfagre

10-8-16-0859
10.8.16 ~ Draken Harald Hårfagre ~ Mystic Seaport ~ Mystic, Connecticut

Over time, I have come to realize that our culture has made valuable contributions to our world heritage at large. For me, it’s important to turn the spotlight on these contributions, and not just the more recent ones, but also our fantastic contributions to craftsmanship and technology. Shipbuilding was the rocket science of the Viking era.
~ Sigurd Aase
(Draken Harald Hårfagre ~ Expedition America 2016)

10-8-16-0927
10.8.16 ~ Draken Harald Hårfagre ~ Mystic Seaport ~ Mystic, Connecticut
10-8-16-0865

On a gray, misty Saturday we went over to Mystic Seaport to see the Viking longship Draken Harald Hårfagre. Draken means dragon and Harald Hårfagre refers to Norwegian King Harald Fairhair. I didn’t get to see her sail into Mystic with her red silk sail because we had been in North Carolina visiting the little one. But much to my delight, the ship will be wintering here at the Seaport. She will be covered over, though. If I keep my eye on the newsletters from Mystic Seaport, a living history museum, I hope to catch her sailing away in the spring.

10-8-16-0869
10.8.16 ~ costumed Viking enthusiasts who were also waiting in line

Draken Harald Hårfagre is the end result of a daydream of the ship’s owner, Sigurd Aase. After our tour I bought a lovely souvenir guidebook, full of stunning pictures of the journey here from her home port in Haugesund, Norway. Stops were made at the Shetland Islands, the Faroe Islands, Iceland, Greenland, Newfoundland and cities along the Saint Lawrence Seaway and the Great Lakes. Then it went through the New York State canals to the Hudson River and finally down the river to New York City and then Mystic.

The ship has a lovely website: Draken Harald Hårfagre

10-8-16-0874
10.8.16 ~ Draken Harald Hårfagre

It’s a big challenge to sail a ship of this old variety, and to prove that it is possible to sail a large open Viking ship across the seas.
~ Capt. Björn Ahlander
(Draken Harald Hårfagre ~ Expedition America 2016)

10-8-16-0875
10.8.16 ~ Draken Harald Hårfagre
10-8-16-0892
notice the fika (coffee) “machine” near the entrance to the galley ~ our guide assured us that modern-day coffee was very important to the crew members!
10-8-16-0899
personal items were stored in these chests which fit in the deck of the ship ~ the lid becomes part of the deck itself ~ our guide explained that no part of the ship is water tight so they wrapped their belongings in plastic before putting them in these narrow chests
10-8-16-0926
notice the little dinghy with a sail tethered to the longship
harald
“King Harald Fairhair” as portrayed by Peter Franzén on the History Channel’s television drama “Vikings”

And now for a pet peeve of mine. There were several visitors wearing “Viking” helmets with horns who were approached by other visitors asking them where they could get a helmet for themselves. Of course they weren’t for sale on the ship or at the museum gift shop! The guide book, if they cared to read it, debunks the myth of the horned helmet:

One of the most widespread myths in history is the one about the Vikings wearing horned helmets. Their helmets had no horns. The popular image dates back to the 1800s, when Scandinavian artists like Sweden’s Gustav Malmström included the headgear in the their portrayals of the raiders. When Wagner staged his Der Ring des Nibelungen, commonly refers to as the “Ring cycle” in the 1870s, costume designer Carl Emil Doepler created horned helmets for the Viking characters, and an enduring stereotype was born.
~ Draken Harald Hårfagre guidebook ~ Expedition America 2016

10-8-16-0932
10.8.16 ~ Draken Harald Hårfagre ~ Mystic Seaport ~ Mystic, Connecticut

The line to tour the ship, which only took a few minutes, was very long and stretched around other exhibits at the Seaport. Fortunately we were near the beginning and were marveling at how long the line still was two hours later. In spite of the rain!

The Gokstad ship we saw in Norway last year was one of the inspirational sources for the design of this ship: Viking Ship Museum.

10-8-16-0945

This is a fantastic opportunity to create history by reliving the challenges our Viking ancestors overcame. An adventure one wouldn’t miss for the world. It is thrilling to bring the Sagas to life and do something a little crazy and down to earth at the same time.
~ Arild Nilsen
(Draken Harald Hårfagre ~ Expedition America 2016)

two years old

9-30-16-0397
9.30.16 ~ Katherine painting with water

We had a wonderful vacation week visiting our granddaughter and her parents in North Carolina. Katherine just turned two years old and what a busy little girl she is! So many interests.

9-30-16-0400
9.30.16 ~ morning light

One morning Katherine and I took a walk and sat for a little while and shared an apple. A squirrel started digging a hole for his nut very close to us. Then we watched him race up a tree and come back down with another nut which he buried in another spot. Katherine asked me to pick her up so she could follow him with her eyes, up and down the tree, burying one nut after another in the ground under the leaves. After a while Grandpa Tim found us to tell us breakfast was ready and he took the picture below.

9-30-16-0409
9.30.16 ~ squirrel magic
9-30-16-0420
9.30.16 ~ Katherine got a lot of practice saying “squirrel”
9-30-16-0426
9.30.16 ~ back home for breakfast, purse and cell phone in hand

One day we went to the Museum of Life & Science in Durham…

10-1-16-0463
10.1.16 ~ contemplating mirror images
10-1-16-0501
10.1.16 ~ Katherine loves making friends with animals
10-1-16-0502
10.1.16 ~ Katherine and friend
10-1-16-0503
10.1.16 ~ not sure what kind of animal this one is

Back at home Katherine decided that PB the Penguin needed a walk in her stroller. 🙂

10-1-16-0569
10.1.16 ~ Katherine has PB strapped in well
10-1-16-0588
10.1.16 ~ Katherine and her chicken friends
10-1-16-0649
10.1.16 ~ cute as a button
10-1-16-0694
10.1.16 ~ deer magic
10-1-16-0727
10.1.16 ~ time to take PB the Penguin back home
10-1-16-0740
10.1.16 ~ consulting with Mom about readjusting PB’s safety straps

Needless to say we had a great time on our visit!!!

maritime heritage festival

9-9-16-4419
9.9.16 ~ the tugboat “Patricia Ann” leads the parade,
shooting celebratory sprays of water into the air

Last weekend we went to the Connecticut Maritime Heritage Festival. The weather was terribly hot and unbearably humid, but we pressed on… You can see how hazy it was in the pictures. I love tall ship parades. After the parade we went home to recuperate in our air conditioning. When you can’t cool off standing by the sea it is just too hot.

9-9-16-4432
9.9.16 ~ pretty sure this is the schooner “Columbia”
home port Panama City, Florida
9-9-16-4463
9.9.16 ~ pretty sure this is the schooner “Brilliant”
home port Mystic, Connecticut
9-9-16-4473
9.9.16 ~ schooner “Mystic Whaler”
home port New London, Connecticut
9-9-16-4480
9.9.16 ~ spectators at Eastern Point Beach
9-9-16-4503
9.9.16 ~ pretty sure this is the schooner “Amistad”
home port New London, Connecticut
9-9-16-4556
9.9.16 ~ another spectator

Later on we went over to New London to take a dinner cruise on the Mystic Whaler. I have a bit of history with this schooner. Back in the early 1980s two of my aunts signed up for a two-night cruise to Block Island. But just before they were to leave, one aunt got sick and couldn’t make it. The other aunt insisted I go with her, which I did, very reluctantly. I had three small children and didn’t want to leave them for two nights!

The cruise was a mixture of very high and very low experiences. I loved the sailing and the meals grilled outside on the deck and the captain singing and playing his guitar when we were anchored for the night. I just wished I was there with my husband! Sadly, though, my period came early and heavy and it was a struggle to use the “head” (bathroom) correctly. And in the next cabin was a teenage boy and his mother. They were up most of the night, or so it seemed, as the mother pounded his back trying to loosen the stuff in his lungs. He had cystic fibrosis and his suffering tugged at my heart.

So one day Tim surprised me with tickets for the dinner cruise. The following pictures were taken from the ship…

9-9-16-4586
9.9.16 ~ New London Harbor Light
9-9-16-4607
9.9.16 ~ New London Ledge Light
9-9-16-4665
9.9.16 ~ Zbierski House at Eastern Point Beach (our beach!)
it looks so different from the mouth of the Thames River
9-9-16-4666
9.9.16 ~ Tyler House at Eastern Point Beach
the benches behind the fence with the white posts are where
Tim & I usually sit to have our supper in the summer
9-9-16-4694
9.9.16 ~ in for a landing

As it turned out this cruise had its share of negative aspects, too. It was still so hot outside that I never needed the jacket I brought, figuring it would be cool out on the water. And I wish we had been informed that most of the tickets were held by a raucous group of people celebrating a birthday. They brought their own drinks and things got lively very quickly. Someone even started choking on his food and luckily someone else was there to perform the Heimlich maneuver on him.

So much for romance at sea!

wild turkeys

9-11-16-4732
9.11.16

You can’t be suspicious of a tree, or accuse a bird or a squirrel of subversion or challenge the ideology of a violet.
~ Hal Borland
(Sundial of the Seasons)

9-11-16-4733
9.11.16

After way too many days of miserable heat and sticky humidity the weather finally changed Sunday afternoon. We celebrated by going to our favorite gluten-free pizza place and having our supper there outside in the fresh air.

9-11-16-4734
9.11.16

On the way home I spotted six wild turkeys in a field and insisted Tim turn around so I could get some pictures. Most of them had their heads down in the grass, feeding. But the lookout was keeping his eye open for danger or trouble. I’m glad he didn’t seem to think we posed any threat.

9-11-16-4738
9.11.16
9-11-16-4746
9.11.16
9-11-16-4747
9.11.16

This field is separated from the road by a stone wall. After feeding for a while, the lookout turkey jumped up on the stone wall and started watching the cars go by. It seemed like he was looking for a good opportunity to cross the street with the rafter of turkeys in his charge.

9-11-16-4751
9.11.16
9-11-16-4752
9.11.16
9-11-16-4753
9.11.16
9-11-16-4754
9.11.16
9-11-16-4761
9.11.16
9-11-16-4762
9.11.16

There was just too much traffic! We grew tired of waiting and the other turkeys kept on feeding themselves so we decided to leave. When we drove past him on the road I tried to get a picture of him from that side of the wall, but it came out blurry. But still, it was fun to watch them, and a great way to end the weekend.

before the storm

9.2.16.4110
9.2.16 ~ juvenile laughing gull

Five days ago there were a lot of birds at the beach, perhaps getting ready for Tropical Storm Hermine… I had some fun trying to identify the different stages of life of the laughing gulls…

9.2.16.4126
9.2.16 ~ non-breeding adult? or first summer? laughing gull
9.2.16.4130
9.2.16 ~ non-breeding adult? or first summer? laughing gull
9.2.16.4144
9.2.16 ~ non-breeding adult? or first summer? laughing gull

We had a few gusts of wind which ruffled some feathers…

9.2.16.4154
9.2.16 ~ laughing gull with feathers puffed up from a gust of wind

I wondered if the cormorants would be staying out on their island during the storm…

9.2.16.4162
9.2.16 ~ cormorants on their exclusive off shore island

The baby great black-backed gull wondered if we would be handing out a french fry. Tim had unintentionally dropped one recently, renewing hopes for some of the younger birds…

9.2.16.4165
9.2.16 ~ juvenile great black-backed gull

My friend knows better — he’s content to visit with us. 🙂

9.2.16.4194
9.2.16 ~ my herring gull friend with the mangled foot

We also saw a great egret — they don’t often come this close, preferring their island in the middle of one of the salt ponds.

9.2.16.4221
9.2.16 ~ great egret

The swan’s pond has mostly dried up due to the drought…

9.2.16.4262
9.2.16 ~ swan

Sharing the estuary by the sea wall, we were amazed to see eight snowy egrets feeding with the great egret, the swan and a flock of Canada geese!

9.2.16.4282
9.2.16 ~ swan and snowy egrets
9.2.16.4290
9.2.16 ~ great egret, snowy egrets and Canada goose

The calm before the storm… Hermine gave us mostly gale force winds and drizzle. Several branches and many leaves and twigs came off the trees, but no trees were uprooted in our vicinity. That was more than enough excitement for us!

9.2.164274
9.2.16 ~ swan and Canada geese