Steam Boat Port Byron

Here's an interesting article that captured my attention!

To find any steam boat named Port Byron is worth exploration:

Click here for Mahan patent for propulsion of Canal Boats.

Click here for Primus Emerson patent for paddle wheel.  

Civil War Soldiers of Port Byron and Mentz

Did you have a relative that served in the Civil War from Port Byron?  Come visit my latest project that features our soldiers.  The list includes soldiers born here, served or enlisted from here as well as soldiers buried in our cemeteries.

I am hopeful this will become the home for biographies, to make our men more than just names and dates.  This is the initial launch of my vision.  If anyone has a soldier from our community and would like to feature that soldier's story, just send me your write up in word and I will add the link.  Do take credit for anything you submit by including who wrote the report in the header and perhaps even your email address just in case a reader desires to contact you.  Who knows, the report could connect you with cousins you never knew you had.

Due to the large volume of data, if anyone sees an error or knows of a soldier missing, contact me so that we can continue to build our military history of the civil war.


I will be adding this link with the military links on this blog.  It will be added as ver. 1.  If any update is made, the link will be changed sequentially to provide a visual when the data has changed.

Port Byron and Mentz has much to be proud of with our veterans.  We continue to share this legacy today of protecting freedom.

Click the link below to see our soldiers:

Civil War Soldiers of Port Byron and Mentz

The Ghost of Aunt Eliza

For the past several years, I have been contacted by ghost hunters and other paranormal agencies looking for places to evaluate for sightings in the Port Byron area.  While several books have been written about this topic, despite having long ties to the community, I have never encountered anyone who experienced anything out of the ordinary.  Even with several generations of Port Byronites in my family, nothing about ghost sightings has ever been passed down orally.

Today I was browsing for something else and stumbled onto an interesting article about Eliza Button whose spirit was terrifying the locals:

 Clyde NY Democratic Herald 1888-1890  

In checking census records there was an Eliza Button living here in 1850, in the same household as Edwin Button.  I also found a couple articles about a person of this name in 1879 moved out of town due to charges of running a disorderly house.

Auburn NY Evening Auburnian 1879

Is this article a case of sarcasm or a paranormal sighting?  That we shall leave up to the ghost hunters.

Happy Halloween Port Byron!