January 2026 – It's All About Family

The Potter Mansion

From approximately 1901 to late 1936, this home sat at the corner of present day South Main Street and Cedar Street (heading towards Grandview Avenue) in Wallingford, Connecticut.

The home was built for Mary Kate Linsly Potter. Mary Kate was born in 1848 to Dr. Jared Linsly and his wife, Catherine, and raised in New York City. She married Orlando Brunson Potter in 1880 after the death of his first wife. Potter was a millionaire who owned many properties in the city, a lawyer, and an ex-congressman, as well as a prominent figure in the business and political life of New York. He died on January 2, 1894, 14 years into their marriage. He also left four children, ages 16 through 25, from his first marriage.

Mary Kate’s sister Sophia Linsly was married to Noah Linsley and they lived in Wallingford at 353 South Main Street on the corner of Pine Street. The home was built in 1880 and still stands today. Some residents may recognize it as Dr. Lawrence’s dental office and home for many years.

Sophia encouraged Mary Kate to come to Wallingford and she had the perfect location. The corner of South Main and Hall Street as it was known at the time. Perfect because Sophia owned the land! Sale records from the town clerk’s office listed it as 214 feet front and rear and 330 feet deep.

*The Potter Mansion early years* *origin of picture unknown*

Mrs. Potter hired the C.F. Wooding Company to build her home. It had 10 rooms, three bathrooms, five fireplaces with attractive mantlepieces and a staircase of unusual beauty. The rooms were very large and the paneling denoted excellent workmanship. It stood on a large tract of land beautifully situated upon which a large number of fine stately trees added to the beauty of the place. (Record Journal 9/2/1936).

*1905 Wallingford map showing location of Potter Mansion and the Linsley Home*

Mary Kate, or Mrs. O.B. Potter as she was known in the newspapers, used her Wallingford home each year from late May/Early June until mid-November. It was known as “The Cedars” (Record Journal 6/12/1908) and “Linsly Lodge” (Record Journal 6/28/1911) during her use and her arrivals and departures were noted throughout her time here.

*The summer comings and goings of Mrs. Potter*

In the winter, she lived on East 80th Street in New York City with three servants.

During the time period Mrs. Potter owned her home, there was one home built in the vicinity of it. The newspaper reported in December of 1924 that a permit for a home for Emil Schmidt was submitted. The property was located “rear of Potter Mansion” and it would be a one story, six room bungalow western design with a sleeping porch and breakfast room.

In early September of 1925, the newspaper reported that Mrs. Potter was in critical condition and in the care of two nurses. She passed away at her South Main Street home on September 16, 1925 at the age of 77. Her body was removed to New York for her funeral and she is buried in Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn alongside her husband Orlando Brunson Potter and other family members.

After her death, Sophia and Noah Linsley maintained the home and allowed it to be used for various events. The Congregational Church held a Benefit Bridge-Whist (card games) fundraiser for their Christmas Fund and a flower show hosted by the Wallingford Garden Club brought over 500 visitors, many from out of town. (Record Journal 9/16/1930)

Unfortunately, as time passed with no one living there or maintaining it, the home fell into a state of disrepair, and was finally boarded up to prevent continued vandalism.

For the next few years, there were negotiations for the sale of the home and property but nothing came to fruition. Finally, in June of 1936 the property was sold to Joseph Busa/Buza who intended to tear down the mansion and convert it into building lots for real estate development (Record Journal 6/3/1936)

The dismantling began in late August of 1936 and half of it was removed to be used for other construction projects. Buza’s plan was to place 4 homes on South Main Street, 3 on Hall (Cedar) Street, and one “in the rear”. Construction for two homes on Hall Street were completed in the last 3 months of 1936 for Captain J. Orten Gadd and Frank Ollayos. (Record Journal 9/2/1936).

In early 1937, a home was completed on South Main Street for Robbins A. Hall. It was a 7 room colonial and contained a tile bath and a 2 car garage. (Record Journal 1/30/1937). # 1 on map below.

Maltby Stevens awarded a building contract to Joseph Buza for his home on the corner of South Main Street and Hall Avenue. It was to be an “English style cottage” and would cost approximately $9,000. In the same article Joseph Buza is building a home for his family. (Record Journal 2/13/37 and 3/3/1937) # 2 on map below.

Once the seven homes were completed, there was another development in the works. This development contained 14 building lots and would be known as Morningside Terrace. The property was sold to Joseph F. Buza, a relative of the Potter Mansion development by Emil Schmidt. “The land affords an excellent view of Long Hill and beyond that to the eastern mountain range for miles in both directions.” Emil and his wife lived at the end of Hall Street and their home sits at the corner with Morningside Terrace. (The Journal 9/21/1937).

Between 1951 and 1955, Hall Street became Cedar Street. Cedar now runs from South Orchard Street east to a dead end just past Morningside Terrace. All the homes built in 1937 on Hall Street and Morningside Terrace still stand today.

*2025 view of South Main Street and Hall/Cedar Street*

Reviewing town directories for the 1937 time period I matched up the names to the homes:
#1 – Robbins A. Hall
#2 – Maltby Stevens
#3 – Herbert Crump (not mentioned)
#4 – Frank Ollayos
#5 – Captain J. Orten Gadd
#6 – Emil Schmidt – built in 1924
#7 – Edward Clark (not mentioned)

I thought it might be fun to look at a side by side of this area between 1905 and 2025

I’m not sure exactly when I heard about the Potter Mansion. We walked or drove down South Main Street and Hall Street every day growing up in 1960s and 1970s, and I wonder if one of my parents ever mentioned it. In 2014, a picture showed up in a Facebook group about old homes but no one had any information. The idea that a house of this size was on that corner for a relatively short period of time has always astounded me and I just wanted to tell its story.

*A later picture based on the size of the tree in front*

The Caregiver

The Week 2 topic for 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks is “A Record That Adds Color”.

In 1912, my grandmother, Julianna Ingram Posluszny was 24 years old with a husband, a daughter Antoinette, born in January 1909, and a son, Conrad, born in November 1910.

*Julianna, Konrad and Antoinette (late 1909)*

Her cousin, Mary Kukulska Juszczak came to the United States with Julianna’s sister, Marianna in 1907. Mary’s daughter Mary was born in 1910. Sadly, some time in the same year, Mary’s husband died in a work accident at the sugar refinery. But the following year she met and married Michael Zupko.

It was in April of 1912 that Mary gave birth to a son Michael Zupko. The only record to be found is their headstone with the year, 1912.

Suddenly Julianna found herself as little Mary’s guardian. Her stepfather didn’t want to take care of her and asked my grandmother with a 3 year old, a 2 year old, and a baby on the way to take her. How could she refuse? She now had 3 children under the age of 4.

Her son, Louis, was born in February of 1913. She and her husband, Konrad, hung in there as long as they could but in 1914 they realized they had to give Mary up for adoption.

Fortunately, Herman and Elizabeth Fauth, German Methodists who had recently lost a daughter, heard of Mary through their church and petitioned to adopt her. Mary never had to go to an orphanage.

The adoption was final in October of 1914. My grandparents would go on to have a daughter Julia in 1917, and my mother Elizabeth in 1922.

What a loving thing my grandmother did! Two children of her own and one on the way, and she takes in, I’m sure without hesitation, another 2 year old. She was always a very giving person but this information helped me see her in such a different light.

I wrote about this in January of 2020 when I was contacted by Mary’s granddaughter and 2 years later when “who died when” was determined by an ancestry relative.

Admirable Ancestor

The Week 1 topic for 52 Ancestors in 52 weeks for 2026 is “an ancestor I admire” and after looking at my family tree, I’ve decided that falls on my great grandmother Carolina Straub Posluszny Bonk. Although, technically, she is not my biological great grandmother, her son, Konrad and my grandmother Julianna Ingram were 2nd or 3rd cousins, so there is Carolina DNA in my body.

Carolina was born on April 12, 1855 in Wildenthal (what is now Dzikowiec) in the Galicia region of Poland. She was part of “an ethnic German population living in the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria in the Austrian Empire established in 1772 as a result of the First Partition of Poland” (Wikipedia). This area was also known as Austrian Galicia or Austrian Poland for my family members asking are we Polish or Austrian or German? The answer would be “all of them”!

If her siblings list is accurate, Carolina was the 11th child born of 15 to her parents. Four of them born prior to her, died at birth or in their infancy. Carolina herself would give birth to 14 children with eight living past five years old.

She married Joseph Posluszny on May 31, 1876 in Wildenthal and she gave birth to her first child in March of 1879 when she was 24 years old.

Seven months following the birth of her daughter Elizabeth Eva in September of 1896, her husband and my great grandfather, Joseph Posluszny passed away. Carolina became a widow at the age of 41 with seven children ranging in age from 16 to 7 months old.

Last September, another of Carolina’s great-granddaughters through her son Joseph contacted me after finding this blog in google. She told me the following: “Pa’s father had been the village blacksmith. Pa’s father had an apprentice. His name was John Bonk. When Pa’s father died, John Bonk took over the blacksmith shop and apparently the family. Pa was not happy with this and it was about that time that he left Austria.”

Carolina and John Bonk were married on May 12, 1898. Carolina gave birth to a daughter who died at birth and in 1903 at the age of 48, gave birth to a son Walter John Bonk.

Her older sons did head to the United States shortly after her marriage to John. Her son John left in 1899, Konrad in 1900, and Joseph in 1901.

Carolina, John, daughters Mary and Elizabeth, and their son Walter immigrated in July of 1907 and resided in Perth Amboy New Jersey until their final destination of Wallingford Connecticut.

*The Posluszny/Bonk Family about mid/late 1907*

This photo ends up in nearly every Posluszny post. Carolina is seated on the right, with her son Walter in front of her. She is 52 years old at the time of this photo in 1907.

*Frank and Josephine Posluszny wedding 8/1909 – Carolina front left*, *husband John Bonk behind her*

She, along with her daughter Mary, was an active member in the local Polish National Catholic Church in Wallingford, St. Casimir’s Church.

Carolina died at the age of 70 (not 64 as the newspaper article said) after suffering from stomach cancer. My Aunt Judy told me in a conversation years ago, that she and her mother, my grandmother Julianna, would go to Carolina’s house a few blocks away to take care of her when she was ill. Also, that my grandfather Konrad and Julianna were kind to her second husband. Carolina and John gave my grandparents the downpayment for their home in Wallingford on Clifton Street. I found it touching that my grandmother did the same for my parents when they purchased our home here on Atkinson Lane.

She is buried in the Polish National cemetery in Wallingford.

*Carolina Bonk – St. Casimir’s cemetery*

I can’t imagine a life with 14 siblings, or to give birth to 14 children only to have 3 die in the same year from smallpox. I don’t know the cause of her husband’s death at the age of 43, but with young children still at home and a business to run, the best option was to married the hired help. She did what she had to, to survive. She was well-respected in her church and community at their death and that makes me proud of her.

Looking Back at 2025

Yesterday, I took a trip down memory lane of the people I researched and wrote about this past year. I’m proud of the information I found, stories I wrote, and living relatives I uncovered during my search. Here’s a review month by month….

January

I started the year with a couple of posts from the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge by Amy Johnson Crow. The first topic was “In the Beginning,” and I chose to write about my parents’ courtship and wedding. I had fun going through old photos of them from their wedding and trips with my aunt and uncle. Ancestry provided the high school yearbook pages and my mom’s collection of postcards showed us the sweetness in their relationship.

The second post was “Favorite Photo.” My favorite photo will always be the Posluszny Family photo that started this crazy research journey! I think it is in every post I wrote about the family this year. It’s probably time to frame it and put it on a wall.

The third post in January told the story of my great-uncle John Posluszny. At the end of December 2024, I wrote about solving the “mystery” of his death in 1942, so I really wanted to start my Posluszny series with his story. I connected with his granddaughter, Janine, in 2012, and she shared the photos of her father, Stanley with me. I enjoyed finding and sharing the newspaper articles with her. I currently have a message out to a great-granddaughter of John and hope I hear from her to make another family connection.

February

On the 1st of February, I wrote about my mother’s diagnosis of brain cancer. Even 38 years later, memories were fresh.

Next up was a little break from family with a post about a sampler completed in 1817 and found by my father in the attic of his paint store in the early 1980s. He held on to it always curious about where it came from. Unfortunately, I didn’t think about researching it until after he passed away in 2010. I still haven’t delivered it to the Portland Historical Society!

Another great uncle, Joseph Posluszny, was my next subject. I can hear to this day my Aunt Judy saying, “Uncle Joe Post”. I’ve worked with his great granddaughter on Ancestry for many years and the majority of pictures I have came from her. In September, I was contacted by one of Joseph’s granddaughters who lives in Connecticut about 45 minutes away. I look forward to getting to know her better and hearing her stories!

This post was born during my Posluszny research when I noticed, after 15 years of research, that my great grandmother, Caroline Straub is listed on the 1910 census as having given birth to 14 children with 8 of them at the time still living! I headed over to the amazing Geneteka website, started searching, and managed to find the records for five children who died either at birth or a very young age.

March

Early in March we said goodbye to our sweet chihuahua, Wally and late in March was the anniversary of my dad’s passing.

April

The 98th anniversary of my grandmother’s passing was in early April and if you don’t know her story, you can read it here.

I wrote about my great uncle Frank Posluszny. He was a tough one over the years to find anything about because he was in a mental institution from the 1930 federal census to the 1940 census. I had very little information on the family and wasn’t sure where to look. But as the years go by, more information becomes available and I was able to find his great-granddaughter! We emailed back and forth and she actually knew him! She sent pictures which I included in his story.

*Josephine, Frank, and Mildred Poslushny*

May

I spent May working on my great uncle Charles Posluszny’s story. I posted once to check in to say I was working on him and at the end of the month, completed it. Once again, there are grandchildren and great grandchildren alive, but in this case, I don’t have a way to contact them.

June

June was busy with visiting relatives and a trip to Chicago so there were no posts in June.

July

In July I wrote about the sisters in the Posluszny family, Mary Posluszny Biega, and Elizabeth Posluszny Laçź. One who was well known and the other who disappeared without a trace.

August

I finally made it to the last of the Posluszny children, Walter Bonk, son of Caroline Straub and her second husband John Bonk. I knew all of his children and his grandchildren.

My second post was the result of a stranger’s request on Ancestry looking for “living relatives of Alfred Donroe”. He was my cousin in law’s father and he died in World War II. This person in France is working with citizens of Gouesnou France to create a permanent memorial to the soldiers and civilians who died there. I received a comment on there from my younger cousin, and we had a nice email conversation. He and his wife plan to go to France to see the monument.

September

The last quarter of the year I focused on my maternal grandfather and his family. Their lives were so entwined for many so years, that the first story takes you from Jacob and Katherine’s arrival in the United States through 1916. This was Part 1.

October

Engram Family Part 2 took place from 1916 through the 1930s. I became acquainted with a second cousin a few years ago and he sent a slew of family pictures. I also began searching on Newspapers(dot)com using family member’s names where I found Kitty and Louise playing basketball!

Later in the month, I wrote about Theresa, Katherine, and Louise from the 1930s through their lives. My half aunt Joanne shared photos with me as well as few letters Katherine wrote to Theresa’s daughter Irene. I’m grateful to Joanne for the information and the years of emails back and forth. I saved them all and finally printed them out and put them in order. I was overwhelmed by the amount of information that suddenly made sense!

November

Five posts in November! First up was the lives of Elizabeth and Hannah. Elizabeth had an interesting situation which deserved a post to explain it. It’s amazing what a person can find when they look hard enough, and have help from strangers on Ancestry! Thanks to Newspaper(dot)com again, I discovered a third cousin living about 20 minutes away!

In time for Veterans Day, I shared a post from June 2024 called The Effects of War about my grandfathers in World War I, and uncles in World War II.

Then it was back to the Engram Family with Jacob Sr.’s story. I wish I knew more about him!

My cousin, Brian, messaged me pictures of a letter Jacob Jr. wrote to his sister Theresa. The war was over and he was waiting to go home. When Brian and I got together during Thanksgiving week, we sifted through all the Engram pictures and letters and there were more letters from Jacob to his sisters. They were very interesting to read.

December

I wrapped the year up with a re-post of December 7, 1941, the story of my Uncle Walt during the attack on Pearl Harbor.

I rounded out the Engram family with the final story of my grandfather Jacob Jr. I learned so much about him from my Aunt Joanne’s emails that again, didn’t make sense until it was time to write his story.

And here we are – the end of the year! I’ve signed up again for the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge and I will be looking through my family tree for new ancestors to tell you about!

Happy New Year!