The Castle

Craig-E-Clair Castle a.k.a. Dundas Castle (Williams family photo 1958) 

We called it the castle.  I think we even stayed there overnight once.  Maybe not, but we visited it  many times.  I heard my parents talk about the Masons, who owned the castle as well as nearby property which had a large barn-like structure and a big swimming pool that was filled with nice colored families; I remember there was a really cute lifeguard, a teenager, working there.

Me, age 6

You can google Dundas Castle Roscoe NY for the history, but
it took some digging to see mention of the Prince Hall Masons,
a Black branch of the Masons who owned the property at some point.

Fast foward to 1997, my parents had gotten divorced and my father moved out of Florida to be near me, my family and my brother's family in NC.  That summer we took a road trip north, spending time in New York City, Roscoe and Boston - me, my husband, two daughters and "Ga-ga". During that trip we searched and found the castle, almost missing it from the gravely path because it sits so low and you could barely see the spires through the tall grasses.  But there it was with lots of broken windows and missing or half-boarded up doors where you could walk inside. We saw a white tiled kitchen filled with mildew, rust and dirt, and a marble winding staircase that led to who-knows-what.  The girls, age 10 and 13, enjoyed exploring and dramatically pretending to be creeped out.

1997 visit

Who Are They?

These two photos first sparked the desire in me to share my collection of photographs.  I looked into these faces and thought: They appear so ordinary yet, in someone's family history, they were very special. They have names but I don't know them.  Their names exist somewhere out there - on someone's family tree or in family recollections passed down over generations, but do the names have pictures?   

Elizabeth "Libbie" Jones, my gr. gr.
grandmother b. 1839 Otsego NY. married
to Samuel Jones.  

Heck, they could be my ancestors!  I lament that I know nothing of my gr. gr. grandmother, Libbie Jones' background other than what we heard as kids: She was an Indian. But Libbie's eyes are gray in the one photo I have. Just like the woman's eyes here. Then could he be a Mohawk Indian? I stare at these two faces and ask questions: Who are you? Where were you born? How many children did you have?  How many grandchildren? How hard was your life?   They stare back but don't share the answers. 

Early Pioneers of Unadilla…and my Aunt Dell.

I have many photos labeled Aunt Dell.  I found out that her actual name was Julia Ardell Jones (b.1867) and that she was the daughter of Samuel and Elizabeth Jones, sister of Charles Jones, my father's grandfather who helped raise him in Roscoe.  There's no evidence that she ever married but for a long time I was fascinated by two small snapshots. 





They show a middle aged Dell outside, as if in someone's, a white family's, back yard.  Something about the smiles and comfortable body language makes it seem that the family was very close to Dell.  The casual familiarity and the arms wrapped around her display genuine fondness.  And Aunt Dell, which is probably what they also called her,  comes across as a firm but loving person with a sassy sense of humor. An independent, never married woman.  Someone I'd like to know.  And I very much wondered who the other  people were.

I searched around and found that according to the 1905 New York State Census, Ardell Jones age 37 was a live-in servant to the North family,  address: 375 Main St. Unadilla NY.  Mr. Samuel S. North was a banker, his wife was Belle and his daughter age 21 was Blanche.   The 1915 New York State Census shows Julia A. Jones age 47 working for a different family - the Cones also on Main Street.  Frederick L. Cone (62) was a farmer.  His wife was Harriet G. Cone (50).  

My searching led to a wonderful manuscript entitled The History of Otsego County, NY 1740 - 1878 (published 1878).  Among  the many early settlers of Unadilla who came from New England to what was then called "the western wilds of New York State", were some very familiar names: Col. Samuel North "closely identified with the politics of his county and state"  and Dr. Nijah Cone.  So, my Aunt Dell worked for two prominent white Unadilla families!

Dr. Nijah Cone was of particular interest to me. As soon as I saw that name Cone, I wondered if it had been changed from the Jewish Cohen.  And then I read that Dr. Nijah Cone was "among the prominent pioneers of Unadilla and one whose career was marked with honesty of purpose, uprightness and a desire to alleviate the wants of his fellow-man".  I immediately thought: Abolitionist.  Safe havens along the Underground RR.  Did he help my gr. gr. grandfather Samuel Jones (b.1826 VA) to escape and settle in Unadilla?    And in my mind, it made sense that the descendants of this man, with whom Aunt Dell had lived and worked, and whose children she helped raise, would likely share some of those honorable qualities.  Hence the warmth, acceptance and affection that I see in the photos.

I would love to meet a member of the North or Cone family whose family stories, passed down through generations, may have included a woman named Dell Jones.

Something About the Eyes...

Elizabeth Jones

Aunt Dell

So, I continue to search for information in order to fill in the gaps of my family's story.  It's maddening that a woman's maiden name, the name she was born with is so hard to find because she replaced it with her husband's surname, as was and still is the custom. Growing up we were told that Samuel Jones' wife was from an Indian reservation located near the Canadian border. Does that mean she was Mohawk?  There are Indian Records that I could search, but with only a first name, a very common one, Elizabeth, what are the chances of finding any information? And she looks mixed - part white.  Do I have a picure of her parents in my collection?  I have stared and stared into the faces of three  photos: Three portraits that are identified - Elizabeth and daughter Julia Adell (Dell) and one of a dark haired fair skinned woman standing beside a girl that resembles Dell as a young girl. I look for similarities, the rounded cheeks and parted hair of Dell, the thin line of Elizabeth's mouth, the same buttons and white collar of her dress.    

Possibly Dell and mother, Elizabeth Jones.

Julia Adell Jones (Aunt Dell)