David Darling of Seneca County, New York, pt 5 of 6

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Descendents of David Darling of Seneca County, New York
Compiled by Sean Furniss
Revised 5 March 2004

78. Robert (Bob) Livingston6 Furniss (Ruth Nina5, Eva4, Wilmer Starkey3, Ezra2, David1) He was born 8 September 1908 at Portland, Oregon. His birth certificate lists him as "Furniss child," apparently his parents, as did his paternal grandparents, took awhile to decide on a name. He died of pneumonia due to adenocarcinoma of the prostate on 7 Dececember 1980 at Portland, Oregon.[43] His ashes were spread at Stoney Point, Coeur d'Alene National Forest, Idaho, by his brother Malcolm Furniss.

He was raised by his maternal grandparents (Thomas Watts and Eva Darling) while his parents continued their education. He was the president of Waverly High School, Waverly, New York, Class of 1926. "Bob was an exceptional student in school - valedictorian in high school and he graduated cum laude from Syracuse University. He was very modest about his accomplishments and often I [his wife Frances] learned from others about him. He received many honors and awards in his profession."[44] He published numerous scientific articles during his career.

"Bob Furniss, a well-known entomologist, died December 7, 1980, of cancer. ... he graduated cum laude from Syracuse University in 1931. At Syracuse he studied forest management with a major in forest entomology and was captain of the varsity lacrosse team. His association with western forest entomology began in the summer of 1929 when he worked in Idaho on the Couer d'Alene National Forest cruising white pines killed by mountain pine beetles.

After graduation, he worked for the Bureau of Entomology in California where devastating bark beetle outbreaks were in progress. His studies included the effects of low winter temperatures on populations of the western pine beetle. ...

In 1936 he was transferred to Portland, Oregon, and became head of the Forest Insect Laboratory there in 1942. He was appointed Chief of the Division of Forest Insect Research at the Pacific Northwest Forest and Range Experiment Station in 1954 when the staff and work of the Bureau were incorporated into the Forest Service. A year prior to his retirement in December 1966, he was promoted to Assistant Station Director. His decision to retire was hastened by his desire to devote his time to writing a comprehensive book coauthored by V. M. Carolin, Jr., entitled `Western Forest Insects.' Publication of the book was celebrated by a well attended autograph party in 1978 sponsored by the Forest Service and forest industry. The book features a host diagnostic index to aid foresters in identifying insects from host species and damage symptoms.

He was an authority on insects of the Douglas-fir region ...

He was a charter member of the Oregon Entomological Society ... the Entomological Society of America and the Entomological Society of Canada. ... he was elected Fellow by the Society of American Foresters in 1963. At the time of his death, he was Gardening Chairman of the Portland Chapter of the American Rhododendron Society and had nearly completed a manuscript on rhododendron insects which he had intensively studied.

... He believed strongly in the importance of biosystematics in understanding and dealing with populations of forest insects,... Bark beetles were perhaps his favorite group and he collected them prolifically whether on vacation in Mexico or while climbing on snowfields in the Cascade Mountains. ...

He was a prolific letter writer, arising early to tend to correspondence and to organize the day's activities. His letters always displayed his special wit and amicable, cheerful style. ... An endowment fund has been established in his memory by the Portland Chapter of the American Rhododendron Society."[45]

Extensive notes on his career were recorded in an oral interview to record western forest entomology history. An interview of Robert Livingston Furniss was conducted on 14 October 1977 by Ronald C. Larson as part of a joint project between the United States Forest Service and the Forest History Society of Santa Cruz, California. A transcription to the tape was prepared by his brother Malcolm Furniss in 1987, with final editing and photographs in February 1990. This reference should be consulted for additional information.[46]

He was married on 14 November 1932 at Fresno, California, to Frances Alene Heath."The only reason that we were married in Fresno, California, is because we met in the Sierra country. I was from San Francisco and Bob was working at a summer job at Bass Lake. ... My aunt had a cabin at the lake and the government camp where the boys lived was directly across the lake. The boys rowed a boat across the lake to visit my sister and me. it was beautiful country." She was born 4 September 1910 at San Francisco, California. Her parents were Harry Caldwell Heath and Alma Lucretia Williams.[47] They had no children.

79. Clinton (Bill) Chollet6 Furniss (Ruth Nina5, Eva4, Wilmer Starkey3, Ezra2, David1) He was born 8 March 1913 at New York City. He died 3 May 1984 at Garden Grove, California, from complications resulting from a brain tumor. He was buried at Riverside National Cemetery, Riverside, California.[48]

He attended Waverly High School from September 1928 until January 1933. He received his diploma in June 1932 and completed a semester of post graduate work in January 1933. Between 1935 and 1937, he attended Michigan State University at East Lansing, Michigan, where he studied Hotel Administration and Accounting. He received an Associate of Arts degree in Business Administration from the West Contra Costa Junior College in Richmond, California in 1956. He completed a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration at California State University at Fullerton, California in June of 1979. Upon graduating from Fullerton, he received the Martfufi Award for being the graduate with the earliest birthday. He was a strong advocate of education and took advantage of every opportunity to improve his knowledge. Every place he lived during his life he studied. He studied at schools in Michigan, California and Washington, and even attended the University of Heidelberg in Germany in 1953. He took advantage of numerous training courses offered by the U.S. Army including subjects such as welding, photography, communications, artillery, guided missile systems, and civil engineering.[49]

He had a gift for languages. He studied both german and french in high school. As a result of his military experience in Europe and Africa, he spoke arabic, italian, french and german well. In his later years, he started studying spanish and sign language.

Some time between 1933 and 1935 he worked at a logging camp on the Canadian side of Sioux Ste. Marie, Michigan. There he worked as a teamster (horse handler), loader and cook for $25 per month. From there he went to Lansing, Michigan to attend college. At Lansing, he worked as a stablehand and joined the Reserve Officer Training Corps which eventually lead him into his military career.[50]

He joined the Reserve Corps 4 August 1937 and accepted a commission to active duty as an officer 6 March 1940. After leaving Fort Knox, Kentucky in the late summer of 1942, his unit was transferred to Ireland to await assignment to the war. In Ireland his unit was based at Killyleagh Castle, Killyleagh, Northern Ireland. It was during this stay in Ireland that he met Maire Keenan, who later became his second wife. In late 1942 his unit was assigned to Africa. While serving in the North Africa campaign in Tunisia his unit, the 68th Armored Field Artillery Battalion was cited for conspicuous gallantry in battle 15-17 February 1943.[51] He was wounded in late 1943 while serving in North Africa and was evacuated to a hospital in England, where he remained until at least early 1944. In 1945 he was serving in Italy.

His military career included serving as an artillery officer in the North Africa campaign during the Second World War, managing radio receiver and transmitter sites, providing security for nuclear weapons, instructor of electronic theory at the guided missile school, Reserve Officer Training Corps instructor at the University of California at Berkeley, technical advisor to the California National Guard, and serving as Provost Marshall and special agent of the Counter Intelligence Corps in Europe. He participated in a number of classified operations for the OSS (Office of Strategic Services, the forerunner of the Central Intelligence Agency) while serving in Italy and Germany. He participated in the Nuremberg Trials.

After retiring from the military, he worked as a purchasing agent for a number of organizations including Ransom Research, Wyle Manufacturing Co., Palos Verdes Peninsula School District, Tustin High School District and the City of Santa Ana where he worked until Jan. 1983.

He enjoyed hunting, fishing, gardening and stamp collecting. He loved to travel and talked to anyone who would give him a chance to talk. He was a very outward going person.

His first wife was Helen Theresa Guzenski. She was the daughter of W. Guzenski. In 1939, they lived in Duluth, Minnesota. In 1941 his family moved back to his wife's parents home at 85 Spann St., Buffalo, New York, for a brief period in 1941-42 the family lived in Hogensville, Kentucky, near Fort Knox. After his departure to Europe in the fall of 1942, he remained separated from the family. Clinton C. Furniss and Helen T. Guzenski were divorced in 1946. They had two children.

Clinton C. Furniss married for the second time at Fort Knox, Kentucky, to Maire Keenan. She was born 25 October 1922 at Monaghan, Co. Monaghan, Ireland. She was born at �The Hill� in a house on the hill opposite the hospital. John McNally was her godfather. She died on 25 July 2000 of heart failure, associated with fluid in the lungs and lung cancer, at the Western Medical Center, Santa Ana, California. She is buried with her husband at the National Cemetery in Riverside, California. She was the daughter of John Joseph Keenan and Catherine Gallagher. Bill and Maire had four children.

In 1940, she attended Ross' College (preparatory school to study for college) at Stephens Green across from St. Vincent's Hospital with her sister Kay (Catherine) and Pat McGuire. The three of them were the first girls to be admitted to the boys school. In the fall of 1941 she went to radiology school at Trinity College but did not like it. She was hired by the Grand Central Hotel in Belfast as a trainee.

She went to work at the Mayfair Hotel in London in the summer of 1943 and worked their until Christmas of 1945. During the 1950's she worked as a volunteer with both boy and girl scout groups, and as a volunteer in hospitals.

She received an Associate of Arts degree in Nutrition and a certification in Hotel Management from Orange Coast College in 1978. In June of 1981 she graduated with honors from California State University at Fullerton with a Bachelor of Arts in Accounting. During the 1980's and 1990's she worked as a tax accountant for H & R Block in Orange County, California.

Clinton Furniss and Maire Keenan lived in the following locations: Oberramgue, Germany, 1946; Rosenheim, Germany, 1947; Frankfort (Hansa Alle), Germany, 1948; Christmas of 1949 was spent in Florida with Ruth Watts Furniss; Stüggart (Ober Esslingen), Germany, 1950; 49th St., Sacramento, California, 1951; Greenfield, California, 1952; San Luis Obispo, California, 1952-53; Heidleburg (Freudenheim), Germany, 1953-55; 905 Ramona Ave., Albany, California, 1955-56; Ft. Bliss, El Paso, Texas, 1956-57; 2077 S. Evans, Ft. Sill, Lawton, Oklahoma, 1957-59; Qtrs. 8033, Ft. Lewis, Tacoma, Washington, 1959-60; 790 17th St., San Pedro, California, 1960-61; 2025 MacArthur St., San Pedro, California, 1961-68; and 2011 Kingsboro Circle, Tustin, California, 1968-present.

+117.iRose7 Marie Furniss
118.iiWalter Joel Furniss[52]
+119.iiiMichael Furniss
+120.ivSean Barry Furniss born
+121.vKathleen Lynda Furniss
+122.viMaureen Ruth Furniss

80. Jerome (Jerry) Bogardus6 Furniss (Ruth Nina5, Eva4, Wilmer Starkey3, Ezra2, David1) He was born 20 November 1914 at New York City. He died at Carmichael, California, on 25 February 1984 and was buried on 1 March 1984 at East Lawn Cemetery.[53]

Jerry was a professional carpenter and for many years he was an official of the Carpenters Union Local in Sacramento, California. Like his brothers Bob and Bill, he enjoyed a nice flower garden. His home in Sacramento always seemed to have lots of beautiful tuberous begonias in hanging baskets. He had severe problems with arthritis which eventually led to his knuckles and hip sockets being replaced with artificial joints.[54]

Married to Helen L. Rimbey. She was born 7 March 1914 in Mauch Chunk (later renamed Jim Thorpe), Pennsylvania. Her parents were John Rimbey and Alva Geiger. She died 13 December 1973 at Carmichael, California, and was buried on 17 December 1973. Her family was from Sayre, Pennsylvania, just south of Waverly, New York, where Jerry went to high school. In a December 1982 letter, Clinton Furniss noted that Jerry "Had just called Waverly, New York + Syracuse where some of his in-laws reside."[55]

+123.iJoan Marie7 Furniss
+124.iiRobert Jerome Furniss

82. William Wallace6 Furniss (Ruth Nina5, Eva4, Wilmer Starkey3, Ezra2, David1) He graduated from Waverly High School. He attended the University of Michigan where he received a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering. He served in the U.S. Navy, where he completed radar schools before serving aboard ship, maintaining sonar and radar equipment. He attended the University of California at Berkeley where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration and a Masters in Business Administration. "During his professional career, he worked (25 yrs) for a Standard Oil of California subsidiary (American Bitumuls & Asphalt) before forming his own firm (Furniss Enterprises) to do consulting work in energy and hazardous waste (12 yrs)."[56]

He married Patricia Ann Meier on 24 June 1949 at St. Peter's Episcopal Church, San Francisco, CA. She was born 5 January 1926 in St. Louis, MO, and died on 27 March 1998 at Tustin, CA. Funeral services were conducted at Trinty United Presbyterian Church on 3 April 1998. Her parents were Charles and Martha Meier. She had two sisters - Virginia Meier Gould (Walnut Creek, CA) and Audrey Meier Brown (Cupertino, CA). Pat graduated from Lowell High School in 1944 and attended the University of California at Berkeley, where she received her Bachelor of Science degree in Public Health in 1948. She was active in the Assistance League of Tustin and served as President of three Parent Teacher Organizations. She was active in civic and volunteer work. She was recognized as the Tustin Area Woman of the Year for 1973-74.[57]

+125.iWilliam Wallace7 Furniss
+126.iiSteven Charles Furniss
+127.iiiBruce MacFarlane Furniss
+128.ivCraig Scott Furniss

83. Jacqueline (Jackie) Jay6 Furniss (Ruth Nina5, Eva4, Wilmer Starkey3, Ezra2, David1) She was born 3 July 1922 at South Plainfield, New Jersey. She died 24 December 1987 at Oakland, California. Her ashes are interred beside her mother at Sunset View Cemetery, Berkeley, California. Never married.

"Jackie was probably the catalyst that started the western migration of the Furniss family in 1942. Bob and I [Frances Furniss] invited her to come out to Portland and live with us in 1942. She had been in a severe auto accident resulting in facial damage. We felt that recovery would be easier for her in a new place where no one knew her. It worked out well and `Mother' Furniss was pleased. I encouraged her to enroll at Reed College in Portland - renowned for its academic achievements - many Rhodes Scholars for such a small school. Jackie had a good scholastic record from high school and was accepted. Mother Furniss was the next one to come to the west coast and soon she was well established in Berkeley."[58]She attended Reed College in Oregon, for two years and finished her final two years at the University of California, Berkeley.

She worked as a senior administrator for Pacific Telephone and Telegraph Company in San Francisco, California, from 1946-1978. She loved to travel and took trips all over the world. She was also a great lover of the sun and the beach.

84. Malcolm MacFarlane6 Furniss (Ruth Nina5, Eva4, Wilmer Starkey3, Ezra2, David1) Malcolm studied forestry at the University of California at Berkeley. He spent his entire career working as a forest entomologist with the U.S. Forest Service. Most of his career was spent in Idaho. He retired from his position at the Forest Service Experimental Station in Moscow, Idaho. He has published numerous scientific papers about bark beetles. Malcolm is an avid hunter and fisherman. On 13 October 1979, the New York Times reported that Malcolm Furniss and James W. Young obtained a patent (4,170,631) for a chemical called MCH which is used for combating the Douglas fir beetle which infest felled trees.[59]

Malcolm was married to Irene McDonald Drummond. Irene was born at San Francisco, California. Both her parents, James McDonald Drummond and Amelia Field Ross, emigrated from Dundee, Scotland. .[60]

+129.iRichard Allen7 Furniss
+130.iiCarolyn Joyce Furniss
131.iiiJeffrey James Furniss born 2 August 1958 at Boise, Idaho, and died 4 August 1958.
132.ivHeidi Furniss born 30 May 1960 at Boise, Idaho, and died 1 June 1960.

 


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References

[43] "Frances Furniss to Sean Furniss," 19 Jan. 1988, in possession of writer; Death Certificate for Robert Livingston Furniss, 16 Dec. 1980, Local File No. 1315, Public Health Department, Washington County, OR, copy in possession of writer.

[44] Notation of the back of a photograph of Robert Livingston Furniss and his grandfather Tom Watts, in possession of Malcolm Furniss;"Frances Furniss to Barry Furniss," 3 Mar. 1988, in possession of writer.

[45] V. M. Carolin, Jr. and Malcolm Furniss, Obituary of Robert Livingston Furniss, 1908-1980, copy in possession of writer.

[46] Malcolm M. Furniss, ed., Western Forest Entomology History -- Interview with Robert Livingston Furniss, Feb. 1990, copy in possession of writer.

[47] "Frances Furniss to Sean Furniss," 19 Jan. 1988, in possession of writer.

[48] Birth Certificate for Clinton Chollet Furniss Jr., 8 Mar. 1913, Certificate and Record of Birth 14425, Bureau of Vital Records, Department of Health, New York, NY, copy in possession of writer; Notice of death for Clinton C."Bill" Furniss, copy in possession of writer.

[49] High School Transcript of Clinton C. Furniss, 1 Apr. 1955, Waverly High School, Waverly, NY, in possession of writer; Clinton C. Furniss, personal history sheet, 1963; diploma Contra Costa College; diploma CA State Univ. Fullerton;"Duane L. Day to Clinton C. Furniss," 7 May 1979, notification of award; all in possession of writer.

[50] "Clinton C. Furniss to Barry and Martha Furniss," 17 Feb. 1983, in possession of writer.

[51] Statement of Service for Clinton C. Furniss, 27 Aug. 1959, U.S. Army Records, in possession of writer; General Orders No. 147, 27 Nov. 1943, HQ, North African Theater of Operations, U.S. Army, certified copy in possession of writer.

[52] "Rosemarie Walker to Sean Furniss," 6 Jan. 1991;.Family Group Records for Rose Marie Furniss provided by Rose Marie (Furniss) Walker Jan. 1985, both in possession of writer; Recollections of the writer based upon a visit from Walter Furniss in 1962-1963.

[53] Memorium Card for Jerome B. Furniss, dates of birth, death and burial noted, in possession of writer.

[54] Recollections of the writer.

[55] Memorium Card for Helen L. Furniss, dates of birth, death and burial noted, in possession of writer; "Clinton Furniss to Barry and Martha Furniss," 25 Dec. 1982, in possession of writer; "Joan Tavares to Sean Furniss," email message 1/12/1999, in possession of writer.

[56] "Malcolm Furniss to Barry Furniss," 14 Mar. 1990, in possession of writer;"Malcolm Furniss to Barry Furniss," 1989, misc. notes; Notes of William Furniss, 18 May 1992, in possession of writer.

[57] "Craig Furniss to Barry Furniss," 23 Aug. 1988, in possession of writer; Obituary of Patricia Furniss, 3 Apr 1998, local newspaper (Orange County Register or Tustin Times?), copy in possession of writer; Patricia M. Furniss Memorial Service publication, undated, copy in possession of writer.

[58] "Frances Furniss to Sean Furniss," 8 Apr. 1990, in possession of writer.

[59] New York Times, 13 Oct. 1979, p. 26, col. 6, Library of Congress.

[60] Family Group Records for Malcolm MacFarlane Furniss, Richard Allen Furniss and Carolyn Joyce Furniss provided by Malcolm Furniss in possession of writer; additional notes made on corrections to earlier drafts of this family history.


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