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The Cartwrights Are Coming!
July 10, 2026 at 6 p.m.
ACHS Museum, Andover, New York
Historian, Dr. William Paquette, proudly announces that after three years of research and a year of writing, his newest book, Bryant Cartwright, Sr. and His Descendants from Nantucket Island, Rhode Island, and New York and Points North, South, and West 1715-2025, will be published by New Dominion Press. This publication will be two volumes numbering 1,523 pages with 153 photographs, 4,721 documented biographies, three appendices, and two indexes.
U.S. Congressman Matt Cartwright, D-PA wrote the book’s Foreword. This genealogical history is dedicated to Allegany County artist, David Dean who designed the book’s cover, to fellow classmates Chuck and Linda Denhoff Craven, to Ron Taylor, Executive Director of ACHS, and to the late Gail Ackerman (1947-2023), Dr. Paquette’s fellow classmate and class coordinator.
Edward Cartwright was a Sabbatarian Christian who believed that the Lord’s Day was Saturday, not Sunday. He emigrated from England in the 17th century and settled in Massachusetts. His grandson from his second marriage, Bryant Cartwright, Sr., moved to Nantucket Island and later Rhode Island. Bryant Cartwright’s descendants continued to move westward into New York State settling in the Albany area and in Allegany County. Cartwrights settled and farmed the land along East Valley Road in Andover and Alfred Townships, along Highway 19 in Scio and Amity Townships, and along Highways 275 and 17 in Genesee, Bolivar, Wirt, and Friendship Townships. Over time Cartwrights intermarried into local Allegany County families settling in all of the County’s Townships. Cartwright descendants lived in all fifty United States, in five Canadian Provinces, and in Australia. Cartwrights founded Cartwright, Wisconsin, now New Auburn and were among the earliest settlers of Salem, Oregon. The book’s three Appendices pay tribute to the Cartwrights of Allen and Granger Townships, to the Hann Homestead in Andover where Hann family members intermarried with Cartwrights, and to Andover’s Silk Mills where a number of Cartwright families worked. Some of the families Cartwrights married into include: Baldwin, Clair, Clark, Comstock, Davis, Emerson, Fish, Green, Hann, Hardy, Howland, Jones, Lee, Loftis, Luther, Millard, Muckey, Phillips, Proctor, Schuyler, Smith, Thomas, Whitney, and York.
Some notable locals in the Cartwright genealogy include: Andover, New York Mayor Bert Hann, Wellsville physician Dr. Edwin Comstock, Jr., and actor Gabby Hayes whose stepmother was Essie Cartwright of Stannard. Other prominent locals include Mary Lou Canessa who taught French and was a Guidance Counselor at Wellsville High School, Gerald Green of Andover, New York who was an inspector for the Space Shuttle and the Apollo Project and his brother Howard Green who was the head of Alfred Ag-Tech for 26 years, and the Cartwright family who own and operate Allegany County’s Maple Tree Inn. Cartwright descendants who achieved a national reputation include Bolivar, New York resident Emory James Millard who was in Ford’s Theater the night President Lincoln was shot and walked in the President’s funeral procession, Illinois State Supreme Court Justice James Henry Cartwright who President Theodore Roosevelt once considered for the US Supreme Court, Sir Sidney Richard Nelson who was the late Queen Elizabeth II’s personal physician in the 1960s, and Congressman Matt Cartwright who served in the US House of Representatives from 2013-2025 for Pennsylvania’s 8th District.
The cost of the two Volume genealogy is $90, which includes sales tax and shipping fees at a one-time special price. When the Genealogy becomes available to the general public in September 2026, it will cost $145 plus sales tax and shipping fees. The Nevada Cartwrights: Ben, Adam, Hoss, and Little Joe, are unable to attend but send their regards! A second book signing at ACHS will be scheduled for September 2026. Looking forward to seeing you July 10!
Allegany County, New York.....
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"The story of Allegany County (N.Y.) is the best kind of story—with a cast of characters any talented writer would struggle to imagine. Medicine men, dance hall girls, missionaries, and industrialists all have written on the pages of our past. Their lives and livelihoods have shaped the course of our communities and continue to speak into our future though at times only through a whisper.
The Allegany County Historical Society is committed to sharing our story with all who wish to reflect on the past and endeavor to bring about a promising future. You are an important part of our county’s present story and you play a significant role in preserving our past. Together we can preserve our heritage and share a story worth telling.” –Jeffrey Kirksey
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