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Two of the most unforgettable people I've ever met were the late Bruce Stewart Donnan and his wife, Ruth Webb Donnan, the Jock Ewing and Miss Ellie of the sprawling Donnan dairy farm in York, NY, south of Rochester and a few miles from Geneseo. (Don't left his full name fool you. The Bruce was silent. My wife's family always referred to him as Uncle Stewart.) Stewart and Ruth died within months of each other in 2001. Both were 89, though they seemed much younger. I remember Stewart mostly for his dry wit. He seemed like a crusty character much of the time, but I had the impression it was just a role he enjoyed playing. Like most of the Donnans in his family tree, Stewart was a staunch Republican who liked to talk politics. He had fun with me because I think he viewed me as a misguided left-winger (after all, I worked for a newspaper). Ruth, on the other hand, was much too polite for anything like that. She was unbelievably sweet, the mother all of us want. They headed a wonderful family of colorful and interesting men and women who work hard, live well and really know how to play while squeezing about 30 hours into every day. While cows are their business, horses seem to be their pleasure, and their games include polo, fox hunts, steeplechases and something they called horse lacrosse. Rob Donnan, grandson of Stewart and Ruth, also breeds thoroughbreds. No wonder the farm seems like heaven to my daughters, Laura and Meridith, both horse lovers. Donnan Farm is an old family business that manages to be very much in the present – like the time several years ago Rob Donnan went to a computer in the milking barn so he could pinpoint the location of a cow Meridith had "adopted" as a calf the year before – yet the people and the setting remain a strong and pleasant reminder of America's past.
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| Tracing Stewart Donnan's roots: |
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Alexander
Donnan
(1759-1843) Jeanette McKerlie (1758-1846) |
ALEXANDER DONNAN, born in Whithorn, Scotland, came to the United States in 1777 while the Revolutionary War was underway. He landed in New York City, moved to Galway, a small town northwest of Amsterdam (NY) where other Scotch families had settled. He met JEANETTE McKERLIE, who also immigrated to America from Scotland. They married in 1788 and had 10 children (in order): William, Mary, John, Alexander, Andrew, Samuel, James, George, David and Elizabeth. |
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John
Donnan Esther
Clark |
JOHN DONNAN and ESTHER CLARK married in 1817. A year later they moved to the town of York. The couple had four children (Janet, John Alexander, William and James), but Esther died in York in 1825. John, a widower at 32, married MARGARET SPIER. They had five daughters (Mary Jane, Elizabeth, Margaret, Mary and Nancy Ann). John Donnan and Margaret Spier built the brick house at "The Forks" that stands today at 3054 Main St. Margaret Spier Donnan died in 1860. |
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John
Alexander Donnan Mary
Milroy |
JOHN ALEXANDER DONNAN and MARY MILROY had four children (William J., John Milroy Donnan, George A. Donnan and Anna M.) John Alexander and Mary Donnan lived on a 340-acre farm in Greigsville where the Retsof salt mine railroad was located. In 1855 they built a house on the west side of the tracks on Route 36, across from the school bus barns. House, most recently yellow, is still there at last report. |
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George
A. Donnan Mary
K. Stewart |
GEORGE A. DONNAN bought the McMillan farm about 2 miles west of York Center. This property comprises the home farm. He married MARY K. STEWART, daughter of NEIL STEWART and JANE NICHOLS. George and Mary Donnan built a large house on the NE corner of York Road West and Federal Road. The house was destroyed by fire, replaced by the present house about 1902. |
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George
Stewart Donnan Sara
Van Dusen |
GEORGE STEWART DONNAN married SARA VAN DUSEN, daughter of WILLIAM HUICK VAN DUSEN and ISABEL STEWART. George and Sarah Donnan had four children – BRUCE STEWART, George, Dorothy and Mary. (Dorothy married Oel Johnson, father of Olinda Johnson Major.) |
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Ruth's obituary: Ruth (Webb) Donnan, 89, of York, NY, died October 23, 2001 after a short illness. She was born in Holcomb, NY on September 15, 1912 to Ernest and Emma (Pardington) Webb. Ruth was a longtime member of the York United Presbyterian Church. She is survived by her sons and daughters-in-law: •
Bruce and Allie Donnan |
Ruth with Olinda Johnson Major
13 great-grandchildren. Ruth's death came less than seven months after the death of her husband, Bruce Stewart Donnan, who passed away April 1, 2001.
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