Ichabod Foster (1740 - 1813) is my great-great-great-grandfather, He kept a diary that has come into my hands...

...I traveled to Vermont in October 2003 to follow Ichabod's trek from Whiting to Willink. His diary showed me the way. He walked beside the open ox-drawn wagon which carried his wife Susannah an dyoung Susanna, age 11(relationship unkown), and all their effects. They covered about 12 miles a day. He was 71, his wife 67.

Why, at their ages, would Ichabod and Susannah leave their friends, their community with its Baptist Meeting House and school? Many factors may have motivated their move. But primarily they were following their sons and younger siblings who were moving to the Holland Purchase. Others would follow.

To read more of Julie Foster Van Camp's story, see page 36 of the Summer 2005 Heritage Magazine. Subscribe now!

Since the early days of the 19th century, Buffalo has had public transportation. Following New York City's lead two years earlier, and two years after the incorporation of the City of Buffalo in 1832, horse cars were carrying passengers from the Erie Canal debarkation point at Pearl Street and the Terrace, out Niagara Street to Ferry Street. At the foot of Ferry Street, connections were made with a boat, which took passengers and horse-drawn vehicles across the Niagara River to Canada.

The operating company, the Buffalo and Black Rock Land and Railroad Company, owned two cars in 1834. In fair weather, an open car carried 20 passengers on board seats. In foul weather, protection was provided by a flat roof mounted on stanchions to which glazed canvas curtains could be fastened. Contrary to popular belief, these horse cars traveled on wooden, not metal, rails.

To read more of Joseph H. Radder's story, see page 52 of the Summer 2005 Heritage Magazine. Subscribe now!