Person:Bruce Donnan (1)

MARRIED: BRUCE STEWART DONNAN, York, NY. TO: Ruth Gertrude Webb, Holcomb, N.Y Bruce, first child of Sarah, born July 27, 1912 at York, NY strong and healthy, he soon entered school and moved along with his classes. Graduating from Greigsville High he entered Cornell Univ. so he and his older brother can check on what is best for the land that it may produce abundantly and save it for the years of famine. Somewhere in his travels he met Ruth Gertrude Webb, of Holcomb NY., they became engaged and were married February 23, 1935 and are living on their Father's farm. We had the pleasure of meeting her in 1935 but the rest of them were out on that 400 acre farm and that day we had to move on. Their address is Piffard, NY R.F.D.

From http://major-smolinski.com/STEWART.html Two of the most unforgettable people I've ever met were the late Stewart and Ruth Donnan of York, NY, the Jock Ewing and Miss Ellie of the sprawling Donnan dairy farm in York, NY, south of Rochester and a few miles from Geneseo. We were fortunate to visit them several times in the 1980s and '90s. (Don't left his full name fool you. The Bruce was silent. My wife's family always referred to him as Uncle Stewart.) Stewart and Ruth died within months of each other in 2001. Both were 89, though they seemed much younger. I remember Stewart mostly for his dry wit. He seemed like a crusty character much of the time, but I had the impression it was a just role he enjoyed playing. Like most of the Donnans in his family tree, Stewart was a staunch Republican who liked to talk politics. He had fun with me because I think he viewed me as a misguided left-winger (after all, I worked for a newspaper). Ruth, on the other hand, was much too polite for anything like that. She was unbelievably sweet, the mother all of us want. They headed a wonderful family of colorful and interesting men and women who work hard, live well and really know how to play and squeeze about 30 hours into every day. While cows are their business, horses seem to be their pleasure, and their games include polo, fox hunts, steeplechases and something they called horse lacrosse. My daughters, Laura and Meridith, both horselovers, especially enjoyed their visits. Donnan Farm is a place that manages to be very much in the present - like the time Rob Donnan went to a computer in the main barn so he could pinpoint the location of a cow Meridith had 'adopted' as a calf the year before - yet remains a strong and pleasant reminder of America's past.

1. ↑ Beaufort Bob Donnan. The Donnan Home Page Website. (Online <http://www.clis.com/donnan/sl02.txt>)
   Recorded 30 May 2002.
2. ↑ Major-Smolinski Website. (http://major-smolinski.com/STEWART.html)
   Recorded 26 Apr 2004.