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- [S2028] FaceBook- Potter McKean Genealogy, Gerry Hamilton · March 26 2024 · The Sepulveda Story 20240328GHLn-.
Cynthia Strong Vergason (1)
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Gerry Hamilton, Top Contributor
FB Potter McKean Genealogy
· March 26 2024
· The Sepulveda Story tells how a treasure of family photos came to me. The pages are from the 100th Anniversary Portfolio, which I prepared in 2023 as a memento for the 100th anniversary of the first Mitchell-Vergason Reunion.
I used an archival-quality art portfolio, also called a presentation or display portfolio, which is a little like a book with pages inserted in plastic sleeves.
Using the portfolio allowed me to prepare most of the pages before the reunion, and family members attending were able to take the portfolio home. I left room for five more pages with photos and text about the 2023 reunion. I mailed those pages after the reunion.
Tina Johnson Daughenbaugh
Admin
Top Contributor
Gerry Hamilton, this is wonderful. I'm curious to know if you have pics of anymore of the Strong family, as well as any pics of the Dingmans. And perhaps the Conrnelius's?
1h
Reply
Gerry Hamilton
Author
Top Contributor
Tina Johnson Daughenbaugh I might. I am still going through the photos that Rick Sepulveda sent to me recently. If I find any, I will post them. I did post photos of Cynthia Strong and her four McCann sons. Do you have that one?
42m
Reply
Tina Johnson Daughenbaugh
Admin
Top Contributor
Yes, thank you. I did get a copy of that one saved
6m
Reply
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The pdf.:
Sepulveda story: Old photo leads to a family treasure
Group photo from the 1st annual Mitchell-Vergason reunion
By Gerry Lynn Hamilton
Revised Sept. 29, 2023
In 2007, I became very interested in
my family history, which led me to start
a genealogy hobby. My mother Luella
Mae (Mitchell) Hamilton became my
No. 1 resource. In 1939, someone gave
her a scrapbook as a gift, and that began
her lifelong version of genealogy. She
saved photos, clippings and miscellane
ous items for a very extended family, as
well as her friends and prominent peo
ple in Potter Co., PA.
As Mom got older, she could not
keep up with pasting all of the obituary
clippings in albums, so she filed them in
envelopes by year. When Mom died in
2010, I inherited more than a dozen
scrapbooks and photo albums, as well
as the obituary clippings and hundreds
of loose photos.
Fortunately, I got to spend a lot of
time with my Mother before she died.
She helped with photo identifications
Luella Mae Mitchell
1937 Coudersport High
School senior photo (enhanced)
and family details, and her memory was
sharp until the last. I certainly got to
know my family tree, and best of all, I
got to know Mom better as I shared her
hobby.
Her photo collection included two
group photos from the first Mitchell
Vergason reunion in 1923. She was a
big help in identifying many of the 48
people in the two pictures. She was in
the photos and she remembered what
color dress she had on that day!
Through the years I was able to identify
other people in the photos, and specu
late about the rest.
In 2018, I prepared an online pack
age for the Painted Hills Genealogy So
ciety (PHGS). That package included
the two group pictures and a detailed
article listing all of the names of the
people who attended the reunion. (To
see the package, search for “1st Mitch
ell-Vergason reunion.”)
The public has free access to the
PHGS website, which is indexed by
Google. My hope was that anyone re
searching a related topic would find this
site and perhaps contact me with more
details.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
About 2004, Richard Sepulveda of
San Antonio, TX, started a new hobby.
He is fascinated by old photographs,
and he began collecting them.
At a flea market one weekend in
September 2019, Richard acquired a
batch of about a hundred old pictures.
Richard wrote in an e-mail message:
“The guy who sold them to me had a
LOT of stuff and mentioned that he of
ten gets his stuff by buying storage
units.”
One of the pictures was a group pho
to. Richard was curious to learn more,
so he started a search for the names on
the back of the photo. He was “sur
prised that I found it in less than a mi
nute on Google.”
In his Google search, Richard found
one of the pictures I had prepared for
the Painted Hills Genealogy Society. I
included my contact information, and
Richard got in touch with me by e-mail.
He sent seven scanned photos that in
cluded eight people, and all of them are
in my family tree.
The people in the photos included
Charles L. Vergason my great-great
grandfather and his second wife Cynthia
Maria Strong. The other photos are his
descendants and her descendants.
Charles was a widower and Cynthia was
a widow so this was a second marriage
for both.
Charles is the patriarch of the Ver
gason Branch of our family tree. Also
Charles L. Vergason
Perhaps about 1894, he would have
been about age 60
9-29-2023 Sepulveda Story 68
Mitchell Reunion ® 100th anniversary
many Mitchells descend from Charles
and his first wife Alvira Russell. Their
daughter Lydia Eliza Vergason married
George Washington Mitchell (b1844).
These are great pictures that do not
appear to be available elsewhere online.
Richard speculated about the source of
the photos: “I believe they belonged to
someone who was close to Gail Wade
Heinzman because there are a lot of him
and his sister.” I was curious to learn
more, so I asked some questions. Rich
ard wrote: “I have maybe close to 500
photos from the 1930s and earlier. I find
just about all my photos from estate
sales and flea markets (mostly flea mar
kets).”
Richard has continued to send pho
tographs by e-mail. So far all have some
words of identification for the people,
and such pictures are priceless. As the
photos arrived, I researched the identi
ties as we pieced together the puzzle
that is the Vergason family tree. The
extended family includes many sur
names ? Strong, McCann, Dingman,
Weir, Heinzman, Mitchell and many
others.
Richard is not related to the Ver
gasons, and he doesn’t have any par
ticular interest in genealogy. Perhaps he
can be classified as the accidental gene
alogist, and we can give some thought
to adopting him as an honorary Ver
gason.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
How did those pictures get to Texas?
Gail spent most of his life in Pennsyl
vania and New York.
Cynthia Maria Strong
(1835-1915)
Charles Vergason (left) and Gail
Heinzman. Gail's photo was cropped
from the 1923 Mitchell-Vergason Reun
ion group photo. Both photos were en
larged and enhanced.
Gail Wade Heinzman, born 29 Jun
1917 in Bradford, McKean Co., PA,
was the first of three children born to
Glenn O. Heinzman and Mary Estelle
Weir.
Gail married Ethel M. Lathrop on 18
Oct 1940 in Olean, Cattaraugus Co.,
NY. Ethel was born 24 Apr 1920 in
Crosby, McKean Co., PA. She died 23
Feb 1991 in Webster, Monroe Co., NY.
Gail was a ham radio enthusiast. In
2006, InterceptRadio.com “the world’s
largest radio/scanner frequency data
base” listed Gail with a San Antonio
address. Possibly Gail moved to San
Antonio by 2006 when he was in his
80s.
Gail died 17 Sep 2009 in San Anto
nio. He was 92. The pictures Richard
Sepulveda acquired may have belonged
Gail Wade Heinzman
This photo had no ID on the back, but
Richard Sepulveda believes this is
Gail. I agree based on a comparison
with a known photo.
to Gail. There are some clues that Gail
had a daughter named Diana. Perhaps
she also lived in Texas.
Postscript: I have been in touch with
Diane Marie Heinzman of San Antonio.
She confirmed that these photos be
longed to her father Gail Heinzman. ¾
Children of Cynthia Maria Strong (from left): Albert Harry Vergason (1877-1970), Hattie
Belle Vergason (1869-1934), Frank James Vergason (1874-1949) and Levi Orange
McCann (1855-1862). Levi was the oldest of Cynthia's four sons with William Clark
McCann. Cynthia had five children with Charles L. Vergason (1833-1924). Albert was Cyn
thia's youngest. This photo was among those provided by Richard Sepulveda.
Mitchell Reunion ® 100th anniversary
9-29-2023 Sepulveda Story 69
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Sepulveda Story old pics FB240328GerryHamiltonPoMcK
20240328GHLn-
Gerry Hamilton, Top Contributor
FB Potter McKean Genealogy
· March 26 2024
· The Sepulveda Story tells how a treasure of family photos came to me. The pages are from the 100th Anniversary Portfolio, which I prepared in 2023 as a memento for the 100th anniversary of the first Mitchell-Vergason Reunion.
I used an archival-quality… |
 |
Screenshot (116)
20240328GHLn-
Gerry Hamilton, Top Contributor
FB Potter McKean Genealogy
· March 26 2024
Children of Cynthia Maria Strong (from left): Albert Harry Vergason (1877-1970), Hattie
Belle Vergason (1869-1934), Frank James Vergason (1874-1949) and Levi Orange
McCann (1855-1862). Levi was the oldest of Cynthia's four sons with William Clark
McCann.… |
 |
Strong Vergason, Cynthia kids fr Sepulvedapdf(1)
20240328GHLn-
Gerry Hamilton, Top Contributor
FB Potter McKean Genealogy
· March 26 2024
Cynthia Maria Strong
(1835-1915)
· The Sepulveda Story tells how a treasure of family photos came to me. The pages are from the 100th Anniversary Portfolio, which I prepared in 2023 as a memento for the 100th anniversary of the first Mitchell-Vergason… |
 |
Screenshot (117)
20240328GHLn-
Gerry Hamilton, Top Contributor
FB Potter McKean Genealogy
· March 26 2024
Heinzman. Gail's photo was cropped from the 1923 Mitchell-Vergason Reunion group photo. Both photos were enlarged and enhanced.
left: Charles L. Vergason
right: Gail Wade Heinzman
· The Sepulveda Story tells how a treasure of family photos came to me. The… |
 |
Screenshot (118)
20240328GHLn-
Gerry Hamilton, Top Contributor
FB Potter McKean Genealogy
· March 26 2024
left: Luella Mae Mitchell
1937 Coudersport High
School senior photo (enhanced)
right: Charles L. Vergason
Perhaps about 1894, he would have been about age 60
· The Sepulveda Story tells how a treasure of family photos came to me. The pages are from the… |
 |
Screenshot (117)(1)
20240328GHLn-
Gerry Hamilton, Top Contributor
FB Potter McKean Genealogy
· March 26 2024
Gail Wade Heinzman
This photo had no ID on the back, but Richard Sepulveda believes this is Gail. I agree based on a comparison with a known photo.
· The Sepulveda Story tells how a treasure of family photos came to me. The pages are from the 100th… |
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d. 17 Sep 2009, San Antonio, Bexar, Texas, USA 
