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My 5th great grandfather was also in the military from Dutchess County in 1775. He joined up to invade Canada after Bunker Hill. I’ve also got a line of Quebec Canadians from the 1600s so we might have some connections there.

I lived in MA and worked in NY for 10 years, husband for 20, commuting weekly, so we passed Sturbridge constantly. Always stopped to eat at Rein’s Deli in Vernon NY. Not getting out traveling, that’s the place I miss the most.

My 5th great-grandfather was Francis B. Way, Lieutenant, 2nd Regiment Dutchess County Militia. He originally lived in Newtown, New York, which at that time was part of Long Island. It's now Elmhurst, a borough of Queens. After he married Elizabeth Gorsline in 1741, they moved to Fishkill, NY. He was a mason by trade and mostly built their home himself. His great-grandfather was James Way, born in Bridport, Dorset, England. It's said he came to this country as a child with his parents in what is known as the Puritan Great Migration (1621-1640). I also had Quakers on my mother's side. They lived in Canada.

Francis Way's son Daniel was in the same Dutchess County Regiment as his father. After the war he left the country and headed to Canada. Married the daughter of a Loyalist, and Francis wrote him out of his Will.