Joseph Plucknette, the son of Walter and Ann Plucknette was born in France on January 10, 1867. The family moved to Bognor, England when he was four years old. As a young boy he and a friend emigrated to Canada and worked as farmers. At 18 years old he came to Rochester and worked as a coachman for a family on East Avenue. It was there that he met and married Martha Giles who had grown up in Adams Basin and worked as a maid at the same East Avenue home. Joseph then became one of the first licensed chauffeurs in Rochester. Joseph and Martha had three children: Ella (Laughlin), Margaret (Wells) and Walter Plucknette, and eventually moved to Spencerport. In 1935, Joseph went to work as a flag man on the lift bridge in Spencerport and also as a bank walker. Arch Merrill, an author who wrote The Towpath, a book about the Erie Canal, mentioned Plucknette saying how beautiful and well kept the rose garden he planted was. Joseph retired at the age of 90 and eventually passed away at the age of. 97.
Their son Walter and his wife Amelia “Millie” Plucknette lived on Amity Street in Spencerport and had three sons: Walter (Jean), Thomas (Joyce), Michael “Mike” (Agnes) who, with their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren are featured in the photograph provided. The family members wore blue, red and white to honor the French and American flags. Walter’s family in white, Thomas’ in red and Mike’s in blue.
Joseph and Martha Plucknette have 128 family members (and one on the way) who attended the reunion in July. It was a day full of sun, fun and love for one another.
Provided information
