Home – Our Genealogy

Jane Deaton Russell

Our Genealogy

My wife (the Marsh and Holcomb side) and I (the Kosinski and Russell side) have been working on our genealogy for the past twenty years researching and documenting our families.  Our original intent was to find my wife’s great grandfather on her mother’s side for her grandmother.  Our work continued after we found that information and continued to grow into what it is today.  Our approach to research is based on standards and includes not just the direct blood lines but also siblings, aunts, uncles and cousins.  In other words, you will not find just direct blood lines related to my wife or I, but entire families and in most cases with the extended families listed as well within our genealogy.  We utilize several genealogy research sites such as AncestryFamily Search and Find a Grave.  This site provides access to our work, the documentation we have acquired and genealogical charts and forms for you to view.  We do not display information about living people unless you have an account on this system and are logged in.  We respect everyone’s right to privacy and take that very seriously.

This work is synchronized with the tree on Family Search and as we make discoveries they are also placed there. Neither my wife nor I are professional genealogists, we do this because  we have a keen interest in our genealogy  and enjoy it. It is also very important to retain the memories and legacy of each and every individual in our families. I myself have always felt that to not be remembered is true death. 

Technology has continuously improved and recently the enhancement, colorization and even animation of old images became possible.  That technology was employed to enhance and colorize many of the photographs on this page.  The animation breaths life into the photographs and is very interesting to see. 

Families Contained In Our Genealogy Work

Kosinski

Wladislaw Kuschinski
Wladislaw Kuschinski

According to my DNA my lineage on my father’s side of the family is primarily Eastern European and Russian. To a slightly lesser degree Baltics and to a much lesser degree European Jewish, Greece and Albanian. I have traced my father’s family back to my 3X great grandfather and great grandmother. Recently I located my great grand-father’s immigration documents which revealed more information about him and the family. One very important fact we learned was that my great grand-father for whatever his reason changed our surname to Kosinski. We also stumbled across another set of families located in the mid-west of the United States that are related to my great grand-father’s twin brother and sister Stanley and Bernice. We have truly been blessed in our research and we continue to forge forward and make more discoveries.  This year we attended the virtual Roots Tech and through that gained more information.  A DNA match contacted me from Poland and the information we exchanged was extremely valuable in furthering our research on the family in our genealogy.

Marsh

Mae Elizabeth (Marsh) Holcomb
Mae Elizabeth "Nana" Marsh

My wife’s maternal grandmother was a Marsh. As she grew up the Marsh family was present and appeared often at family gatherings. Our initial work was on the Marsh family. We traced Noble Marsh to find his parents to provide that information to my wife’s grandmother Mae Elizabeth “Nana” Holcomb. Nana was a very dear lady that was very loved by her family. I myself loved to be with her and talk. She had a great sense of humor, was very humble and opinionated. Her honesty, although sometimes could hurt, was legendary. We miss her terribly. Through our DNA and my wife’s great grand-father’s death certificate we found her 2X great grand-father but not her 2X great grand-mother. The DNA is suggesting a relationship to a 2X great grand-father with the same name appearing on the death certificate and a 2X great grand-mother that potentially doesn’t match. As with all things in genealogy patience and perseverance seasoned with good judgement and proof are key elements. We continue our research and discovery with this family.

Holcomb

Lucia Frances (Gleason) Holcomb
Lucia Frances Gleason

As a young girl growing up in Westfield, Massachusetts I was blessed to have a close extended family with several strong influences. My great grandmother being one of them. Mrs. Lucia Frances (Gleason) Holcomb. Our family picked her up every Sunday for church and brought her home following the service and coffee hour. There were many Sundays our family had the honor of being Greeters to welcome members of the congregation to the Sunday service. Mrs. Holcomb was always well dressed, stood with perfect posture and walked with a sense of great pride. Upon reaching the age of 12 I became initiated into the International Order of Rainbow for Girls. My great grandmother was a member of the Eastern Stars for many years and always desired to see her great granddaughters follow her affiliation. She was a member of several other organizations including DAR (Daughters of the American Revolution) and the Historical Society of Westfield. During the town’s bicentennial celebration parade my sisters and I proudly wore authentic dresses from the early 1800’s which were provided by my great grandmother. In 2010 I was privileged to borrow a scrap book that contained newspaper articles, invitations, letters and other correspondence that belonged to my great grandmother Lucia. As my husband and I looked through this scrapbook my great grandmother’s character and pride became very clear. We have taken advantage of today’s technology and have made electronic copies of her collection. Although she passed away many years ago we thank her for her contribution and additions of fact to our genealogy.

Lawrence Holcomb
Lawrence Holcomb

Lawrence Holcomb, my great grandfather, cannot be overlooked for his contributions to Westfield Massachusetts. His remarkable dedication to the land and his work in the creation of “Grandmother’s Garden” in Westfield will forever remain a part of his legacy. His involvement and his work as the Superintend ant of the Parks and Recreation Department of Westfield influenced his son, Lawrence Collister “Hokie” Holcomb who also was elected as the Commissioner of the Parks and Recreation Department of Ward 3 in Westfield. Hokie was also known for his employment as the Foreman of the Paint Department of Westfield. Many Holcomb’s throughout the years seemed to work in jobs that kept them connected with the land and the outdoors.

Grandmothers Garden
Grand-Mother's Garden

An interesting Holcomb in my family (second cousin six times removed), Amasa Holcomb of Southwick Massachusetts was the first manufacturer of telescopes in the United States. He was truly an amazing man and two of his telescopes were donated to the Museum of History and Technology, U.S. National Museum, The Smithsonian Institute in 1935 by Mrs. Grace Holcomb Steeree. We would like to welcome those interested in this genealogy to take a trip back in time and take a walk with Lucia Frances (Gleason) Holcomb. Through her own mementos she gives us glimpses into her life, her interests, her hobbies, her family and the contributions she made to the communities of Westfield and Southwick, Massachusetts.

Amasa Holcomb
Amasa Holcomb

Russell

Alberta (Russell) Walk
Alberta "Nana" Russell

My grandmother, Alberta “Nana” Russell of Jackson, Breathitt Co. KY was the motivation to research the Russell family. She was along with my grandfather Herbert Walk and my Uncle Wilmer Walk my safe haven and who I could talk to as a child and teenager. Her honest view of life and her humor got me through many tough times growing up and my memories of her are very precious. In a very large way my Great Uncle Alfred Overton Russell also contributed greatly to my interest in genealogy. He spent many years manually researching the Russell family. His work was a huge contributing factor and accelerated our progress on the Russell Family in our genealogy. We have made quite a bit of progress in documenting the family as well as the Walk and Hensley families. Through our research we have acquired a considerable amount of information, heirlooms and photographs.

Alfred Overton Russell
Alfred Overton Russell