The object I chose went beyond something you can see closely, touch, or hold in your hand. When I was asking family, specifically my mom about an object that has familial and personal history, she gave me the perfect idea. My object is my great grandmother Ruth Geiss’s house, that her and her second husband Arther Brown lived in over seventy years ago located in Hurley, NY. I was raised in Hurley, NY, so this house felt like the perfect place to learn about my past ancestors and how my family that was once separated, found each other again.

Finding pictures of the house during the time my great grandmother lived there was impossible, but my mom went to visit the house last year and the work they did to it is beautiful. Standing in front of the house on the right is my mom, Robyn Finch, in the middle is her cousin, Martie Brown-Lott, and on the left is her other cousin, Lori Creamer. The house known now as the Brown-Creamer Hurley Homestead has plenty of land surrounding it such as freshly cut grass and mulch with eight plants, four to each side of the door, with one big pink and white flower arrangement on the right, covering most of the front glass window. There are cobblestone steps from the driveway on the left side of the house leading up to the dark brown wood door. A glass window in the middle divided equally into four square sections with a minimalistic green wreath hanging center. Two grey pots that are holding more greenery on each side of door. A black lantern hanging on the upper left corner with an oval shaped bulb waiting to turn on as dusk approaches. The cream-colored home that was painted over red brick with a grey brick roof and red brick chimney is perceived to have rough texture. The black shutters equally bordering each window to make the house symmetrical on both sides. Also noticing the black lamppost on the right side of the stairs melded into the mulch to stay upright that is taller than all the women. It has a vertical infinity symbol above the middle tier. The bulb is enclosed by four glass windows and topped with a bell-like figure.

Now I want to immerse you in how this house became so prominent in my family’s history. Before the house was discovered by Ruth Geiss (pictured on the left) and her second husband Arthur Brown, Ruth originally married Douglas Creamer Sr and had three children (pictured below). One of the children being my grandmother (far right), Lorraine Creamer and her siblings Douglas Creamer Jr (far left) and Constance Creamer (middle). Unfortunately, a scandalous affair happening between Ruth and Arthur broke up the family which made Douglas Sr leave and never return. Ruth and Arthur raised her three children and had one child of their own named Lawrence Brown Jr. From there, Ruth and Arthur got married and move into the Brown-Creamer Hurley Homestead from Kingston, NY. As Ruth Geiss was suffering from uterine cancer, she died in 1953, being only 37 years old, leaving my grandmother Lorraine at only 18 years old. Lorraine took on the roll of raising her three siblings along with her stepfather Arthur in the Hurley Homestead.

The first reunion of the Brown/Creamer family in the Hurley Homestead happened in 1976. The reunion included Arthur Brown Sr who then remarried after Ruth passed to Dolly Brown. Lorraine Creamer (Finch) who married Robert Finch in 1975, their two children Robyn Finch, my mother, who Robert adopted from Lorraine’s first marriage and Joshua Finch who was Lorraine and Robert’s son. Douglas Creamer and his wife with their two twin daughters, Sherri and Lori Creamer. Constance Creamer with her husband and children. Finally, Lawrence Brown and his wife Georgette, with their two daughters Monique and Martie. Lorraine, my grandmother was closest with her youngest brother Lawrence who lived in Grants Pass, Oregon for the remainder of his adult life. Lorraine occasionally saw her brother Douglas who lived in Kansas City, Missouri, and he would often visit NY. There is an unknown reason Lorraine was least in touch with her sister Constance.

Fast forwarding to September 2018, Monique Brown, Lawrence Brown’s daughter, committed suicide. This devastating tragedy rekindled the relationship of my mother, Robyn Finch and her cousins, Martie Brown-Lott and her husband Jeremey Lott, Sherri Creamer and her husband, and Lori Creamer and her husband Jeff. Each year after, the family made it a point to visit one another to stay in touch. After Martie and Jeremy Brown-Lott adopted their son Larry in February of 2020, my mom, stepdad, sister, and I went to visit them in Pasadena, California when he was only 2 years old. After the brunt of COVID-19, in July 2022, my mom, stepdad and I went to visit Lori Creamer in Kansas City, Missouri. In September 2023, all the cousins visited Kingston, NY. Kingston, NY is where I currently live with my mom and stepdad. This past summer, June 2024, all the cousins visited Grants Pass, Oregon where Martie grew up. Each year it is the tradition of the Cousin’s Reunion. Going back to September of 2023, where the reunion was held in Kingston, NY, a return to the original family homestead was requested along with a visit to the Hurley Cemetery. My great grandfather was buried in between his two wives. In researching the Hurley Homestead, my stepdad, who has a GIS program called parcel viewer, for his commercial real estate business, found that my mother’s cousin’s daughter (on her stepfathers’ side) had bought the Brown-Creamer Hurley Homestead in 2021. Messaging was exchanged and a tour was planned for the cousin’s reunion on September 7th, 2023, to see the Hurley Homestead, 71 years after my great grandmother and great grandfather lived there.