24 June 2014: An exciting day for the Stillman Family! June 24, 2014

I consider today a wonderful day for me genealogically speaking.  I finally got a reply to a request I made for the photo below.  Some good folks with the Town of Alfred NY sent me a copy of this photo of my great, great, great grandparents, Maxson Stillman (1774-1857) and his wife Esther Crandall (1775-1864).

Maxson is the son of George Stillman IV (1739-1817/9) and Esther Stillman (1740-1824).

Esther Crandall is the daughter of Phineas Crandall (1743-1821) and Ruth Rogers (1748-1783).  Esther is also the sister of Lydia Crandall Roger who married my 3rd great grandfather Russell Wells.  So this make Esther and Maxson not only my 3rd great grandparents, but also my 3rd great aunt and uncle as well!

I’m just thrilled to be able to add it to my photo collection, especially since it replaces their headstone photos as their photos in my genealogy program.

Maxson Stillman Sr and wife Esther Crandall

The Stillmans definitely have some of the best photos in my collection.  I have to imagine they weren’t too hard up for money as they do seem to have taken quite a few portraits of the family.

Here’s a few more photos of the family.  Their son, Phineas Crandall Stillman (my great great grandfather)

Phineas Crandall Stillman (1809-1892)

This is Phineas’ daughter Pauline Rudiger (Stillman) Wells (1855-1922) and her twin sister Corinne Edgerton (Stillman) Rudiger (1855-1902)  They’re cute, but it’s a little creepy too if you ask me.  Pauline is my great grandmother.

Twin sisters: Pauline Rudiger and Corinne Edgerton Stillman. Born 1855

Here’s Pauline all grown up.

Have any great Stillman family photos you’d like to share?  I’d love to see them.  I think it’s important for us as folks who share a love of our family history to come together and share what we have.  When families move from generation to generation, the history gets split up.  One son gets the photo album, another gets the family papers.  One moves across country and one stays close to home.  Before you know it, the family history is scattered to the winds, with each distant cousin holding only a small fraction of the family’s once proud history.

-Jennifer

jegeoghan@hotmail.com