"Cumming Nature Center" . . "South Bristol (N.Y. : Town)" . . "Cumming Nature Center (South Bristol, N.Y.)" . . "Genealogy"@en . . "History"@en . . "The Macumbers : a family in Cumming Nature Center's past"@en . . . . "The importance to the Cumming Nature Center of understanding and interpreting the family and gravesite is discussed, emphasizing the rarity of the existence of an actual gravesite in a public educational facility. The importance of oral history (despite its problems and pitfalls) in obtaining otherwise undocumented information is also pointed out. Most importantly, it is noted that the rediscovery and identification of the obscure members of our nation's past population is becoming more and more difficult with the passing of time and of knowledgeable informants."@en . "Landowning and agricultural information derived from property deeds and census records gave a picture of the family farm and shed some light on the family's economic status. Secondary sources on Ontario County agricultural and economic history were consulted to gain a perspective as to the relative size, wealth, and production of the Macumber farm. In addition, the opinions of their descendants and their neighbors were solicited to establish that the Macumber farm was a typical, average, subsistence enterprise. Evidence of declining agricultural opportunities is given, and probable explanations for the farm's demise are offered."@en . . . "Community life in South Bristol, and the Macumbers' role in it, is described as far as the information allowed. Except for diaries and memories, no sources contained this type of material."@en . "The Cumming Nature Center of the Rochester Museum and Science Center, located south of Rochester, New York in the Town of South Bristol, is an area devoted to the study of the effect of nature's and man's impact on the land. Through an accurately reconstructed pioneer log homestead, and reenactments of domestic and agricultural activities, the cultural history of nineteenth century westerm New York is interpreted for visitors. There is great need and potential to develop and incorporate more cultural and regional history into the interpretive programming of the Cumming Nature Center."@en . . "An appendix to the manuscript contains supplementary material on the Macumber family. Recommendations for the interpretation of the family and gravesite are offered, including resetting the gravestone and erecting a fence around the site resembling similar fences surrounding rural family cemeteries. Interpretive signs placed beside the fence will explain that the Macumber family occupied and farmed part of the Cumming Nature Center during the late nineteenth century enduring the hardships of pioneer life, and that Rowena Macumber died an early death and was buried near her home. In addition, a guide pamphlet, similar to those pertaining to the Cumming Nature Center trails, will contain more specific information on the Macumber family emphasizes that the Cumming Nature Center land was once actively farmed by several families. The appendix also contains a Macumber family genealogy chart, research correspondence, a list of informants, and interview tape summaries."@en . . "The information gathered from these sources is compiled into a family history which uses Rowena and James, as well as James' second wife, Rosina Kniffen, as reference points. Their parents, their migration to the South Bristol area, their lives and deaths, and those of their children, are described. Due to the study's reliance on family descendents, the information about each person is spotty, incomplete, and sometimes inconsistent in detail. Despite these handicaps, many well-founded conclusions or speculations about what might have happened can be drawn. The progressive loss of information through the generations and the preservation of established family tales became evident in the interviews. These processes, in themselves, are important facets of the family's history."@en . . . "A gravestone found near the nature center's parking lot, inscribed with the name Rowena Porter Macumber and some biographical data, provided an ideal starting point in the study of the Cumming Nature Center's history. This, the only direct evidence of the Macumbers' existence on the property, was a potential focus for historical interpretation of the Cumming Nature Center. Accordingly, a research project concentrating on the Macumbers was initiated. The resulting manuscript contains a detailed description of the research process, background information on each Macumber family member, a sketch of their involvement in community life, a profile of their land ownership and agricultural patterns, and an appendix containing supplementary materials."@en . "The first section of the manuscript is a description of the initial literature research and the more extensive field work that occupied several months. Attempts to locate sources in public depositories met with varying degrees of success. Sources included the town historian's office, town clerks' offices, Ontario County Courthouse, Ontario County Historical Society and Museum, Naples Library, Rochester Public Library, and the University of Rochester Rush Rhees Library. Accounts of the oral history interviews include a discussion of the informants, the condition of the interview, the material obtained, and describe problems in analyzing the information. Correspondence with current and former South Bristol, residents actively studying the area's history, and with historians specializing in the study of cemeteries, is also described."@en . "The Macumbers : a family in the Cumming Nature Center's past"@en . . . .