Spanish American War

                                                   

On April 25, 1898 the United States declared war on Spain following the sinking of the Battleship Maine in Havana harbor on February 15, 1898. The war ended with the signing of the Treaty of Paris on December 10, 1898. As a result Spain lost its control over the remains of its overseas empire -- Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Philippines Islands, Guam, and other islands.  The conflict lasted 10 weeks.

Upon my research, we have two veterans that were born in Kendall that participated in the Spanish American War.  

Harris Lyell Danenhower (1863-1954):  The 1870 Federal census says he was six years old when him and his family moved away from Kendall to Piatt County, Illinois.  Nevertheless, he's still from Kendall and a veteran from our area in my book.

He enlisted at the age of 35yrs in 1899 and was discharged in 1901 in San Fransico, California.  He left the service with a disability.  The record shows "old fracture of the tibia and fibula". Ouch!  Harris seems to have changed one's place of residence for another many times throughout his life, meaning according to the census records he led a life that moved around a lot.  Maybe a troubled life?  Possible.  At the age of 62yrs, he admitted himself to the U.S, National Homes for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers a couple times and the institutions were in two different locations, different states.  In his final years, he was in Erie County, PA and passed away at the ripe age of 90.  He is buried in Laurel Hill Cemetery, Erie County, PA. 

 Thomas Henry Derrick (1874-1952):  He too was born in Kendall.  Thomas enlisted as a private at the age of 24 in Company E, in the 7th Artillery on 22 Mar 1898.  His place of residence at that time was in Fort Slocum, which is near the Long Island Sound. 

 He had honorable discharge on 15 Oct 1898.  As you can see, he was also a teacher.  Thomas became a husband and a father to only one child, Elizabeth. The family resided in DeLand, Florida and in 1952 he passed away.  He is buried in Oakdale Cemetery, Deland, Velosia County, Florida.

A Kendall Veteran: The Revolutionary War

As you all know, Veteran's Day is November 10th.  In the Town Hall I set up a display to commemorate our Kendall Veterans.  I have mementos from World War I and II, the Civil War, and now the Vietnam War.  Things are being added a little at a time.  Come on in and take a look at it.  If you have something that you would like to share with me, by all means let me know by pushing the contact button to your right.

                 To commemorate means to honor the memory of by some observance.
                              
                                                          The Revolutionary War

 Felix Augur is one of Kendall's Revolutionary War Vets. In actuality, he wasn't from Kendall.  He was born 2 Jun 1760 in Haddam, Hartford County, Connecticut.  He is the son of Isaac and Eunice Tyler Augur. His connection to the war began when he was just 16 years old and became a private in the Connecticut Continental Army under Captain Higgins of Colonel Douglass' regiment.  Pension roll records say he served five months in this regiment.  He continued to serve in at least three more terms for a total of about 21 months. In one term, he substituted himself for his father under Captain Butrous at Saybrook for two months, (which did not count in the pension records for lack of proof).  His service ended in 1778 where he removed to Chittenden County, Vermont.  He married Esther Taylor in 1 Dec 1784 and had five children;  Samantha, Ammon, Eunice, Appollos and Anna Augur.  From there in 1815, he came here first, then he went back for his family, then they all came and settled in north Murray or what is now Kendall and became a farmer. Felix and his family resided on Lot #144 and it cost $3 an acre.  

He remained here for the rest of his life.  Greenwood cemetery (a.k.a. Kendall Corners Cemetery) sits on donated land from Felix.  He donated it to the Town of Kendall where he and several of his descendants are buried.  Felix, Ammon, and Appollos were Freemasons. 

                                                             The Augur Family Plot

Getting Started

When you read this, bear with me as I am trying to figure everything out.  Not everything can be perfect and I have to stop myself and remember that......but I'm still going to try!  To start, my name is Heather L. Koch.  I am the newly appointed town historian as of October 1st.  The pronunciation of my last name is (cook).  Yes, its German.  And my father is the mayor of NYC!  That's my family's joke.  If you remember back in the 80's, NYC had a mayor by the name of Ed Koch and his name is actually pronounced (koch).

November 10th is Veteran's Day.  The display case located in the town hall will showcase some of the Veteran's memorabilia that I have. I would like to touch each of the wars if possible.  (I'm still finding out whats hiding down in the vault.).  If by chance anyone has military memorabilia or a military collection of anything, and you would like to share it, by all means, let me know.

Stop in and say hi.  I am very much into family history.  If you have questions, I may be able to help you.