The mansion viewed from Delaware & Tracy. Rumsey relations continued to live in the homes on Delaware and Tupper for several decades. The Bronson Rumsey mansion at 330 Delaware was given to the Children's Aid Society upon the death of Mrs. Lawrence Dana Rumsey in 1943. Courtesy of WNY Heritage Press
The Neighborhood of Charles Cary Rumsey from Mary Beth Parrinello
Saturday, Jan 25, 2014
As I was driving downtown last weekend, I passed "Rumsey Ground" : 330 Delaware Avenue; Tracy Street, where is Aunt Gertrude Rumsey Lord's art studio still stands; Trinity Church, where many family members worshiped. The Rumsey Park extended in the back of the house to what is now Elmwood Avenue. There are photographs in the Grovesnor Room at Central Library and the Buffalo History Museum Library. I have looked at them a number of times, and it always amazes me that this was the backyard! From reading Mabel Dodge Luhan's biography, I have a sense of what is was like for all the neighborhood children to have enjoyed the amenities. Stay tune for next week's blog on Mabel's memories and who the childhood friends were!
When not time traveling, working out, or hanging out at the Burchfield Penney, Mary Beth Parrinello is the religion teacher in the Montessori program at Nardin Academy in Buffalo, N.Y. She also volunteers her time at Westminster Presbytarian Church, C.G. Jung Center, and Junior League of Buffalo, which was founded by Mary Harriman Rumsey, Charles Cary Rumsey's wife!