THE POST FAMILY
of
BUTLER NY




    Frank and Katharine Merrell Dennis of E. Lansing, Michigan, provided the following information on the POST family. Katharine is the great-granddaughter of Alonzo and Martha (Wilson) Post of Butler.


    One of the earliest POSTS was Peter Arnold van de POEST, whose son Pamwell, born about 1546, lived in London, England. Their surname suggests Dutch ancestry. Pamwell's grandson, Richard, came to Southampton, L.I. about 1640, and Richard's g-g-grandson, Jotham moved from Hyde Park to Palmyra about 1832. Jotham Jr. settled in the Town of Butler about the same time; he is listed as the operator of a lime kiln and sawmill on Wolcott Creek where it crosses what is now Smith Rd. about 2 miles south of Wolcott village on Rt. 89. The dam and spillway are still evident along the creek, but the lime kiln has disappeared. He was a trustee in the Butler Center M.E. Church from 1841 to 1844, and several other members of the family are also listed in the church records.

    Jotham Jr. (1805-1885) married Orrena Roe (1811-1841), 13th child of Daniel (1762-1852) and Nabby Tucker (1770-1840) Roe of Butler, and granddaughter of Capt. Daniel Roe (1740-1820) of Long Island, an officer in the Revolutionary War. Jotham and Orrena had four children, including Alonzo, between 1832 and 1841; on Orrena's death, Jotham married Mrs. Polly (Burch) Fenn of Butler, and fathered another five children.

    Alonzo (1834-1921) inherited the farm on Smith Rd. He married Alice Simpson, by whom he had two children, Willard and Myrta. Following Alice's death, he married Martha Wilson (1843-1907), daughter of Ephraim and Calista (Flint) Wilson of Rose, and had three more children - Harlan, Flora, and Orrene.

    On Alonzo's death, the farm was left to Flora and her husband, Frank Smith, and thence to their son, Theron. It was recently sold after some 170 years in the same family. No descendants with the Post surname currently live in Butler.

    Several years ago, Katharine Dennis discovered a distant relative living "next door" in Lansing. Mary Evans Gottshall is the granddaughter of Alonzo Post's sister, Sarah, who married Eustace Henderson; the Hendersons lived in what is now the office building of the North Rose Wolcott School District on Salter-Colvin Rd., and Mary was born there in 1909. She has in her home several items that belonged to Jotham Jr. and Orrene Post, including dishes, a dining room table, a wooden cradle, and a sampler made by Orrene in 1827. She also has four albums containing photos taken during the last half of the 19th century and picturing members of the Roe, Post, and several related families who lived in and around Butler.

    A photograph (circa 1893-5) of Alonzo, Martha, Alonzo's children, and some of their spouses and children was supplied by Diane Ames of Quechee, Vermont, Myrta Post Baker's granddaughter.


Post Family


Standing: Elizabeth "Izzy" Waldron Post, w. of Willard; Orrene Post; Harlan Post; Flora Post; Jasper Nathan Baker. Seated: Willard Post; Alonzo Post; Martha Wilson Post; Myrta Post Baker, w. of J.N. Children of "Izzy" and Willard in front: Edith Post, married Elmer Stone of Clyde and Edna Alice Post, married Lee Ford Heit of Clyde. Willard and Myrta were Alonzo's children by his first wife, Ann Simpson; Harlan, Orrene and Flora by his second wife, Martha Wilson.


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Created: 2/25/04
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