William and Mary Ann (O'Neil) Major married in Ireland in 1865 and emigrated to the United States where they stayed with his brother Charles in Skaneateles Falls, NY. Both men worked at the Hartlot Paper Company. Charles had arrived in Skaneateles in the late 1850s.

William and Mary Ann Major had 10 children, including John W. Major (whose name usually appears, even on his tombstone, as John J. Major. According to his widow, Rose, that was an error. Apparently, John, the first born son, was named after his grandfather, with his middle name taken from his father).

In 1893 John Major married Rose McLaughlin in Skaneateles, NY. Rose was the daughter of John McLaughlin and his second wife Mary Casey. McLaughlin and his first wife, Mary McGrorry emigrated from Ireland in 1851, settling in Skaneateles, NY, but they moved to Louisville, KY, in 1858. Mary McLaughin and the couple's child, William, died in Kentucky. John McLaughlin returned to Skaneateles in 1868. There he married Mary Casey, also a native of Ireland. They had at least four children, Rose being the second born.

John and Rose Major moved to Solvay where John was a volunteer fireman. They had six children:

• Emmett Leo Major (1894-1906)
• Margaret "Maggie" Major Nicholson (1896-1987)
• Viola "Lola" Major Kane Cullen (1898-197?)
• William "Billy" Major (1900-197?)
• Stanley Ernest "Buster" Major (1903-1985)
• Irene Major Rand (1905-1962)

John Major, about 1930. Like a lot of fathers years ago, the daily newspaper was his (and his alone) until he had finished reading it.

Even John and Rose Major went to Sandy Pond, here with Lola, Buster and Helen, and young Loretta Kane, about 1930.

John Major and Rose in Buster Major's backyard on Russet Lane in 1940. This was the last photo taken of John before his death that same year.