My family has history in Rochester. German immigrants 1848-1868, Nagels, Ihrigs, Helmstaeters, Franks, from Wurttemberg and the Palatinate, worked as butchers, tradesmen and Lutheran clergy, wound up with a lot of property which has of course become worthless.
My Dad’s Aunt lived there in a big old house, died there in 2008 age 97.
Thank God she didn’t live to see what her city became.
What part of Rochester did they live? I lived on the west side of the city, on a small street off Jay Street, near Ames Street...what they called Dutchtown. I graduated from Madison High School in 1965. It was down the street from Bulls Head where St. Mary's Hospital still is.
When I joined ancestry.com a few years ago, and started working on my family tree, I discovered I had ancestors from Germany as well...mostly from the Germanic period. My father was born in Holland, but the Germany ancestry came from my mother's side. She was born in Canada, and her family roots were mostly from England. I've got 21% Germany in my DNA summary. 22% Denmark and Sweden. Nobody in my family ever knew that.