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Contributed by Ward R. Bray, Amherst, New York
This is a photo of my great-grandparents’ (Fred and Lizzie Brandt) family who lived in the Village of Tonawanda, Erie County, New York, between 1891 and 1944. Tonawanda is the western terminus of the Erie Canal. Fred and Lizzie Brandt settled in the Village of Tonawanda around 1890, soon after giving up his way of life–as a canaler on the Erie Canal. Competition from the new railroads and the new Erie Barge Canal in the late 1800s made the canal life obsolete. Fred then worked as a carpenter for the Herschell-Spillman Company, making carousels, or “Tonawanda machines,” as they were known then. This photo was taken around 1907.
Center â€“ Elizabeth Brandt (nee Wasmund) born Pomerania,Â Germany, 1864
Upper right â€“ Her husband, Frederick Henry Brandt, born Pendleton Centre, 1864
Upper left â€“ Their son, Earl Brandt, born 1893
Lower left â€“ Their daughter, Minnie Augusta Johanna Brandt, 1891
Second from right â€“ Their daughter, Pearl Brandt, born 1896 (notice the chicken she is holding)
The other two ladies are not related to me. They may be friends/neighbors, Minnie Harder and Augusta Rodgers.