Peter and Magdalena are the ancestor parents of the Yancey family in
northern New York. Their three youngest sons are shown beside them, of
which the youngest son Andrew (beside Magdalena) took over the farm
from his father. Hawkeye Tebidor was a neighbor and friend of the
family until his death and frequently worked on the farm. Jonas Farney
is the grandson of Peter Sr's older sister Catharine, who emigrated to
Lewis County with her mother and the 4 other children in the family
(including Peter). Peter's older brother Christian held title to the
homestead property for two years, but gave it up and let Peter Sr. take
over when Christian decided to leave and moved west. This photo shows
the first frame house built on the Yancey homestead, replaced by a
taller two-story house in the early 1900s. The first house built on the
homestead was a log house built a short distance away on the edge of
Yancey flats, near a permanent spring that still provides water to the
farm. At the new house, a deep, rock-lined well was dug for water.
Later, a windmill was built over the well and it provided water to
teams passing the road in front of the house (Long Pond Road).
Teamsters would stop and let their horses drink from the watering
trough beside the windmill. The Yancey homestead became a familiar
stopping point for people traveling up into the woodlands beyond the
house and returning from the woods on the way to town. The photo was
taken by a traveling photographer. The mounted deer heads on the house
and adjacent barn were put up just before the photo was taken.