Chautauqua County Historian

04/13/2026

📣 Upcoming Meeting: Chautauqua County Genealogical Society
📅 Wednesday, April 15, 2026
🕡 6:30 PM
📍 Cassadaga American Legion, 228 Maple Ave., Cassadaga

Join us for an evening of local history and genealogy! Our speaker will be Andrew Kolstee, Office Manager at the Fenton History Center in Jamestown.

✨ Topic: Turning Genealogical Research into Written Family Histories

Andrew will share how to transform family research into clear, structured biographies—starting with gathering information, organizing it chronologically, adding historical context, and building full narratives with proper sourcing and footnotes.

🎤 Presentation begins at 7:00 PM
👥 The public is always welcome!

For more information, contact VP Gail Dash at 716‑785‑8420.

📚✨

04/06/2026

Step into local sports history with the Busti Historical Society and the Chautauqua Sports Hall of Fame! 🏆

Join us for “Busti Athletes”, a special presentation highlighting current and former Busti residents honored in the Hall of Fame. Randy Anderson will share stories of standout athletes, including Bobby Schnars — a 2002 inductee known as “The King” of local stock car racing, with an incredible 136 feature wins over a career spanning more than two decades.

📅 Sunday, April 26, 2026
🕑 2:00 PM
📍 Busti Historical Society Meeting Room
3443 Lawson Road, Jamestown, NY

🎟️ Free Admission

For more information:
📧 [email protected]

📞 716-483-3670

Don’t miss this opportunity to celebrate the rich athletic legacy of Busti!

03/16/2026

This Wednesday, March 18, the Chautauqua County Genealogical Society opens its 2026 meeting schedule with a special memorial program for Wayne Leamer. The business meeting starts at 6 p.m. and the memorial at 6:30.

Wayne was one of the giants of local genealogy but in a less conspicuous way than any of the others I could name. The event will be open to the public so I urge everyone to attend.

Wayne was a leader in taking advantage in both intended and unintended ways of the many new opportunities genealogists enjoyed in his generation. His passing is a reminder to all of us of several things. These include the fact that more of us, old and young, need to step up to leadership and volunteer project work of the sorts Wayne exemplified and that once again there is a new generation and a whole new world of opportunities dawning in genealogy.

The Society has embarked on a revitalization project with more serious effort and learning offered and planned. New scanning devices and programs, artificial intelligence, and programs which can read, search, and index hand written documents will transform genealogy as much as computers and the internet with its derivative institutions have for us.

The meeting is at the Cassadaga American legion, 228 Maple Avenue, Cassadaga, at 6 p.m. Wednesday the 18th.

01/19/2026

Today, we observe Martin Luther King Jr. Day, honoring the life, legacy, and lasting impact of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. His work reminds us of the importance of service, equality, and community. 🤝

In observance of the holiday, Chautauqua County offices are closed today, Monday. Essential services will continue to operate. All County offices will reopen on Tuesday.

⭐

01/06/2026

Chautauqua County mourns the loss of former County Clerk Larry Barmore, a devoted public servant who left a lasting legacy. 🕊️

Flags at all county facilities will be flown at half-staff in his honor. 🇺🇸

More: https://chautauquacountyny.gov/county-clerk/news/chautauqua-county-mourns-passing-former-county-clerk-larry-barmore

01/01/2026

🎉 Happy New Year Chautauqua County: Wishing all a safe, healthy, and joyful start to 2026!

Please note, all County offices will be closed on Thursday, January 1, 2026, for the holiday, except for essential services. Offices will reopen Friday, January 2, 2026.

Thank you for your continued support, and we look forward to serving you in the new year!

12/22/2025

Ralph W. Leamer

May 22, 1950 – Dec. 8, 2025

R. Wayne Leamer, 75, of Ashville, NY passed away unexpectedly on Monday, afternoon, Dec. 8, 2025 at his home.

He was born on May 22, 1950 in Dunkirk, NY, the son of the late Ralph and Shirley (nee Arneman) Leamer.

Wayne is survived by six siblings, H. Eileen (Paul) Dorman, Gary (Polly), Earl (Becky) , Norm (Cheryl) Leamer and Glenn (Deanna) Leamer and Carol (Chris) Warner; also survived by many nieces & nephews.

He was preceded in death by a sister, Ruth Alonge.

Wayne graduated from Ripley Central School ” Class of 1968″. He was the owner of Leamer Electronic Repairs and Services in Lakewood, NY.

Wayne loved history and was a member of many local historical societies in Chautauqua County. He also enjoyed family genealogy researching his ancestors.

A Celebration of Life will be held at the convenience of the family.

Arrangements have been entrusted to the Mason Funeral Home, 37 Clinton St. Westfield, NY. Please share online condolences at www.mason funeral.com

Ralph W. Leamer May 22, 1950 – Dec. 8, 2025 R. Wayne Leamer, 75, of Ashville, NY passed away unexpectedly on Monday, afternoon, Dec. 8, 2025 at his home. He was born on May 22, 1950 in Dunkirk, NY, the son of the late Ralph and Shirley (nee Arneman) Leamer. Wayne is survived by six […]

12/17/2025

In Memoriam: Wayne Leamer

Wayne Leamer, a retired electronic repairman and devoted local historian, passed away on Monday, December 8, 2025.

I had known Wayne 28 years, almost entirely through the Chautauqua County Genealogical Society. When I took this job in May, 2024, Wayne began volunteering for me almost immediately. He was here faithfully every Tuesday.

Wayne was newsletter editor and membership chairman for the genealogical society for many years up to the day of his death. He was involved in numerous projects for the society and for me as well as for his own research. He also volunteered regularly at the Fenton History Center in Jamestown.

Wayne was a lifelong bachelor, no widow or children to look after his affairs. Such men often get short shrift from society at death. Wayne’s family plans a service some months from now and will work through the Mason Funeral Home in Westfield.

Wayne was a native of Ripley but lived near Stow. His shop was just west of Lakewood.

— Norman Carlson
Chautauqua County Historian

12/03/2025

🗺️ Historic Map Mystery!
Help us uncover the story behind this beautiful reproduction of Adam Friedrich Zurner’s double-hemisphere world map (ca. 1700), recently rediscovered in county offices. County Historian Norman Carlson is asking: Do you know who donated this map—or why? Even the smallest memory could help us piece together its history.

📸 Want to see it? Learn more at the link below:
👉 https://chautauquacountyny.gov/county-historian/news/county-historian-seeks-publics-help-uncover-story-behind-historic-world-map

11/18/2025

Thanksgiving, the holiday where families get together.

Family historians should take advantage of this. Make sure you have on hand a supply of family group sheets. These are readily available in most libraries and local history museums and readily downloadable and printable from many sources on-line such as the Chautauqua County Genealogical Society: www.chautgen.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/family-group-record.pdf

Help both visiting and local relatives fill them out with recent marriages, deaths, and births as well as what they know about ancestors. Updating information about the family is usually the main topic of conversation anyhow.

It might be good to have a little sheet or card prepared with links to helpful genealogical sites such as:
Ancestry www.ancestry.com
FamilySearch www.familysearch.org/en/united-states
Chautauqua County Genealogical Society www.chautgen.org
Cyndi"s List www.cyndislist.com
Old Fulton Newspapers www.fultonhistory.com/Fulton.html

A good subject to talk over with relatives is any research or writing about the family or the community that has been done by someone in the family. Just in Busti where I live, and just in recent years (the 21st century) I am aware of several self-published accounts intended just for family members and prepared in extremely few copies. Get your hands on a copy of these and make sure a local historical society is given a copy. You can have them scanned and reproduced, at some societies free of charge.

Often these works are very poor in production standards and editing, but they are still of tremendous value to family members and historians now and in the future. (I should state that the works done in one Busti family, the Pillsburys, have the best production and editing I have ever seen in all my career.) Way too often the authors or close relatives give no thought either to long term preservation of their work or future access.

While relatives are visiting is also an opportunity to identify and locate bodies of genealogical research and audio interviews and recordings someone has made. It is also a good time to recall collections of photos, slides, and home movies of the family. Get them digitized. Contact me for help if necessary.

- Norman Carlson, Chautauqua County Historian