Notes:

Olin Reece Sisco was born on Friday, March 26, 1897 in Nicholson Township, Pennsylvania to Frances "Luther" and "Mary" Mercy (Phillips) Sisco. By April 15, 1910, at the age of thirteen Olin and his family were living in Factoryville, Pennsylvania on Capwell Hill Road. His father worked as a laborer and bridge builder for the Steam Railroad Company. By 1920, the US Federal census shows Luther and Mary living on Silk Mill Road Hallstead, PA. It is unknown when between 1910 and 1920 they relocated from Factoryville to Hallstead nor whether Olin had ever lived at the Silk Mill Road residence. The only indication that he may have lived in Hallstead is the family lore has it that Olin had to walked the family cow from Factoryville to Hallstead a distance of about thirty-one miles.

Sometime around 1915, Olin must have heard about job availability at the Endicott-Johnson Shoe Company (aka EJ) and began working at one of the Johnson City, NY factories. There is a photo of Olin working at EJ as a teenager with Ellsworth Banker, Olin's future brother-in-law who was also from Hallstead. It is not known how or where Olin Reece Sisco and Ethel Mae Banker met. It may have been in Hallstead which is where Ethel lived or at the Endicott Johnson Shoe Company where they both worked. They were married on September 1, 1917 in Binghamton, NY at the parsonage of the Grace Baptist church. Ethel continued to work for the Endicott- Johnson Shoe Company until she and Olin began their family.

On June 5, 1918, after one short year of marriage, Olin registered for the World War I draft as required by law and joined the US Army. His draft registration card indicates that he and Ethel lived at 28 Carhart Street in Johnson City, NY. It was there that they became friends with Eunice and Tom Watkins who lived in the apartment above them. They always joked that they could hear each others conversations through the bathroom walls. Eunice and Tom must have been good friends and neighbors taking care of Ethel while Olin went off to basic training. Olin never deployed as the war came to an end on November 11, 1918 now forever known as "Armistice Day."

At some point between 1918 and 1920, Olin and Ethel moved a few short blocks over to 90 Endicott Road in the Village of Johnson City, Town of Union, NY. It was while living there that on February 25, 1920 that first daughter Dorotha Sisco Thomas was born. Three years later, Ethel delivered twins Leon Arthur and Leo Howard. Leo was born with a spinal defect. In a photo taken of the two infants, it was necessary to wire Leo's neck and head upright as he was unable to do so on his own. Leo died nine months after he was born which must have had an emotional toll on both Olin and Ethel. Dorotha remembers that the undertaker had a big car and she sat between her mtoether and father with baby Leo's casket lying across their lap as they drove to the Floral Park Cemetery to bury the baby.

Sometime around 1923, perhaps just prior to the birth of Leo and Leon, Olin and Ethel had purchased a home at 6 Theron Street, Johnson City, New York, near what is currently the Riverside Drive traffic circle. The Endicott-Johnson Shoe Company provided employees with many benefits unknown in today's economy. Homes were built and sold at cost. Playgrounds, recreation halls for bowling, roller skating and dancing were provided. Hospitals and a medical plan which received world-wide attention and acclaim were established. An eight-hour day, one of the first in a large industry, and other benefits were inaugurated. They even provided each employee's child with their first shoes and each Christmas each year thereafter. The home on Theron Street was one of the Endicott Johnson built homes which Olin purchased for $3,000.00.

The period from 1930 to the mid-1940's was the period of Great Depression in the United States. It was during this time of struggling economy that Olin's parents, Luther and Mary Sisco, were having difficulty maintaining and affording the small farm that they had in Hallstead, PA from the income generated from the crops grown in their fields. To help keep the farm, Olin moved his family in with his parents. They waited until June to move the family allowing Dorotha and Leon to finish the school year in Johnson City.

Relations became strained between Olin and Ethel and Olins parents. Olin's mother despised Ethel and had threatened to do all that she could to sabotage the marriage. Olin gave his mother the choice of staying in their current home or moving into the former Severson's home. Mary chose the latter. Eventually, Olin purchased the family farm from his father and also purchased the home on the road above them from the Severson's for his parents to move into as shown in the 1940 federal census. He added more property to the farm from tax sales and in time had a large farm along Route 7 (Church Street) on the road that leads from Conklin, New York to Hallstead, Pennsylvania. The first piece of property that he purchased was along the main road and the creek. Olin's dream was for both he and his son Leon, to run the farm together. Olin must have rented the Theron Street residence out as Real Estate records show that he sold it on October 19th, 1942.

Ethel would bake and can fruits and vegetables from their gardens, taking them to Johnson City to sell for extra income. The basement of the farmhouse was simply dirt floors with stones collected from the fields and creek beds stacked on top of each to provide some insulation from the dirt walls. Wood shelves were built along the walls to provide storage for canned goods and vegetables for the winter. The cool, dark and damp basements provided excellent storage for winter vegetables. Leon and Dorotha had to do the house and farm chores while Olin sold insurance.

Olin was very stern and possessed a good business sense. In 1922, to provide the family with additional income Olin joined the Prudential Life Insurance Company and was a sales agent throughout the Binghamton, NY and Susquehanna, County, Pennsylvania area.

He was well respected throughout the area for his business acumen and insights. Many people turned to him for advice on business matters. He retired from Prudential after his first heart attack. Olin was fiercely protective of his family making certain that everyone was provided for. Between January 1918 and December 1920 the world suffered from a major flu epidemic called the "Spanish Flu" that killed between 50 to 100 million people one of which was Olin's twenty-one year old sister Clara Almira who died on March 1, 1920, She left behind a husband, George Lynn Jamison and two children, four year old Lloyd and two year old Luther.

After Clara's death, Lynn abandoned the boys. His WWII Draft registration in 1942 shows him living at 60 Hamilton Street New Haven, CT. Luther was sent to live his paternal grandparents believed to be in New Haven also and Lloyd was sent to live with his maternal grandparents Mary and Luther Sisco in Hallstead, PA. Luther ended up in a children's home in Connecticut. At that time a children's home was viewed almost like a juvenile detention center as opposed to an orphanage. Olin went to Connecticut and got him out. Unfortunately, Luther became a liability. He began to drink heavily. One day Lloyd got a call from the local Hallstead theater that Luther was there drunk and causing a disturbance. Lloyd went to get him but instead of taking him to Luther and Marys, he took him to Olins house. In the process of attempting to get him under control Olin slapped Luther in the house to get him to pay attention. Luther then attempted to punch Olin but missed putting his fist through the wall in the back room that served as Olin's office. Rather than repair the wall, Ethel simply hung a picture over the hole.

On another occasion, Luther went to the Swift's slaughter house that was located across SR 1033 behind what is now the American Legion building. Olin had warned him not to go there because some of the animals to be slaughtered had diseases. Luther brought back pig cholera to Olin's pigs that he was growing for market.

While living in Johnson City in their early married life, Olin and Ethel attended the First Baptist Church, Johnson City, New York. He served the church by teaching as a Sunday school class. The family later attended the Primitive Methodist Church in Johnson City. Sometime after he joined Prudential, he got away from the church until many years later after he suffered a heart attack. At that point he became active at the First Baptist Church, Hallstead PA eventually becoming a deacon. He would travel throughout the Southern Tier of New York and northeastern Pennsylvania to hear preachers. He purchased a portable reel to reel tape recorder to record their messages for greater insights and understanding of the scriptures.

When first grandchild Yvonne Bonnie Sisco came along Olin planted a stand of pine trees in her honor across Bogart Street, then a dirt road with two ruts. Olin was an outdoorsman and enjoyed hunting, fishing on the Susquehanna River and gardening. He had two hunting hounds named Skipper and Tony that he kept outdoors even in the coldest weather because he didn't want to "ruin" them. At times the snow would accumulate to 24-36 inches, so deep that a path needed to be dug from the house to their dog houses near the detached garage in order to feed them. Only on a few extremely cold nights did he allow them into the house for warmth.

Olin began smoking while working for Prudential. As a result of years if smoking he developed a "smoker's cough" better known as pulmonary edema. Olin suffered his first heart attack around 1960, eventually succumbing to atherosclerosis and severe myocardial fibrosis on October 10, 1965


Buried:
Lot 155 Section K Floral Park Cemetary Johnson City NY

Died:
Heart Attack

Olin married Ethel Mae Banker 1 Sep 1917, Binghamton, Broome, New York, USA. Ethel (daughter of Nathaniel James Banker and Lila Ann Hinds) was born 23 May 1900, Hallstead, Susquehanna, Pennsylvania, USA; died 20 Feb 1972, Binghamton, Broome, New York, USA; was buried , Johnson City, Broome, New York, USA. [Group Sheet]

1. Dorotha Mae Sisco was born 25 Feb 1920, Johnson City, Broome, New York, USA; died 2 Jan 2014, Thompsons Station, Williamson County, Tennessee, USA; was buried 9 Jan 2014, Binghamton, Broome County, New York, USA.
2. Lillian Maxine Sisco was born 28 Sep 1926, Johnson City, Broome, New York, USA; died 20 Feb 1949, Johnson City, Broome, New York, USA; was buried , Johnson City, Broome, New York, USA.
3. Leo Howard Sisco was born 9 Apr 1923, Johnson City, Broome, New York, USA; died 4 Jan 1924, Johnson City, Broome, New York, USA; was buried , Johnson City, Broome County, New York, United States of America.
4. Leon Arthur Sisco was born 9 Apr 1923, Wilson Memorial Hospital, Johnson City, Broome, NY; died 20 Oct 2000, St Petersburg, Pinellas County, Florida; was buried 25 Oct 2000, Johnson City, Broome, New York.

Notes:

Frances "Luther" Sisco was born to Stephen and Mary Ann Johnson Sisco on Tuesday, May 24, 1870 in Nicholson, Pennsylvania. The US Federal census of 1880 confirms that Luther was living at home with his parents in Nicholson. Luther married Mary Mercy Phillips who was nine years his junior on August 25, 1895 in Factoryville, PA. Dorotha (Sisco) Thomas, Luthers grand daughter relates the story that Luther worked for Mary's father who owed Luther money. Since he couldn't pay, he gave Mary to Luther in payment. By 1900, the Federal Census shows Luther as married to Mary Phillips and having two children, Olin and Clara.

Luther was a carpenter and bridge builder who worked on the Nicholson Railroad Bridge in Nicholson, Pennsylvania. His grandson, Leon Sisco recalls visiting him in a shanty village as he was building the bridge. In 1910, the US census shows the Sisco's living on Capwell Hill Road in Clinton, PA. In 1920, Luther and Mary, now in their forties were living alone on Silk Mill Road, Hallstead, PA. It is intereseting to note that their neighbors were the Elveys and Chidesters who would be their neighbors in other locations. In 1930, they were living on River Road with their thirteen year old grandson George "Lloyd" Jamison living with them as his mother Clara Sisco Jamison had died of the "Spanish Influenza" in 1920.

In 1940, Luther and Mary were living on Road 710 (now Bogart Avenue) in Hallstead in the "Severson's" house that was purchased for them by their son Olin. Olin, Ethel and their three children were living down the dirt road in the home that the Luther was originally living in. See Olin Sisco's narrative for the reasons for the living arrangements.

He possessed a bad temper. Luther died in Scranton, PA at the Moses Taylor Hospital.


Buried:
Rose Hill Cemetary

Died:
Age: 78

Frances married Mary Mercy Phillips 25 Aug 1895, Factoryville, Wyoming, Pennsylvania, USA. Mary (daughter of Charles Harris Salsbery Phillips and Almira M. Gardner) was born 1 Aug 1879, Nicholson, Wyoming, Pennsylvania, USA; died 20 Jan 1953, Hallstead, Susquehanna, Pennsylvania, USA; was buried , Hallstead, Susquehanna, Pennsylvania, USA. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Mary died at the home of Lloyd Jamison.

Notes:

Buried:
Stark Cemetary

Died:
COD: Arteriosclerosis

Stephen married Mary A. Johnson 25 Dec 1863. Mary was born 1 Apr 1839, Justus, Pennsylvania; died 4 Nov 1907, Harford, Susquehanna, Pennsylvania, USA. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Died:
COD: Carcinoma of Liver

Charles married Almira M. Gardner 1864. Almira (daughter of Erasmus Darwin Gardner and Mercy Reynolds) was born 12 Sep 1842, Clinton Township, Factoryville, PA; died 27 Apr 1913, Nicholson, Wyoming, Pennsylvania, USA; was buried 30 Apr 1913, Evengreen-Woodlawn Cemetery, Wyoming County, PA. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

John Sisco came from Easton, Northampton Co. PA and settled near Clarks Green, Pennsylvania on a fine farm now owned by the Baptist Bible College. He was living there by 1830. He married Margaret Weiss and they raised eight children, four boys and four girls. The farm was sold to Ben Courthright in 1878 and in 1916 it was sold to the Catholic Diocese which built the Vangaurd Convent there in 1920. They sold the property to the Baptist Bible College in 1968.

Based on DNA testing of Terry Sisco, this line of Sisco's can be traced to Johannis Fransoy, a French Huegonot.

John, Johan, Fransoy /(Francisco)Birth: 1660[1]
Death: 19 Nov 1733Place: Newark, NJ[2]Residence - - Newark, Essex County, Province of East Jersey in 1691.
Jan FRANSOY 1666It is not known when Jan arrived in America. He is noted in the Newark, NJ Town Book, dated December 30, 1695, where he is called "Jonn Francis" as selling land within the bounds of Newark on the east side of the third river, containing 24 acres. This land had been purchased August 1,1698 and is probably the confirmation of an earlier unrecorded deed. It appears that Jan died before November 19, 1733, as confirmed by the will of Abraham Vrelant of Newark who wrote his will December 10, 1734 and in which he bequeths land "bought of the sons of John Fransoy" on November 19, 1733.[3]
The name could be Francois (French or Waloon Belgian) or Franicus (Latin) or Fraser / Francis (British). In a later NJ census, descendants of Fransoy list themselves as "Francifka" which has a ring of Slovak to it. Then again "Jan Fransoy" could be nothing more than a nickname meaning "John, the Frenchman" with no surname indicated. .
"November 27,1685. Aboard ' Henry & Frances of New Castle' Last will and testament of William Rig, son of Thomas Rig of Athorny, dec'd, names as heirs children of brothers Walter and James Rig of Scotland, Eupham Scott, dau. of George Scott of Pitlockey,dec'd, Rev. Archibald Riddall, James, son of said George Scott, Executor..................................Witnesses-James Dundas, brother of the Laird of Armestonn, James Hutchinson, apothecary, and John Fraser, writing master. Proved February 9,1685-6." [4] -
Some believe the writing master, John Fraser is Jan Fransoy because the date is about right for Fransoy to have arrived in this country, the name of the ships are identical to the names of two of Fransoy's sons and Fransoy is reported to have been able to read & write ( not a common thing at that time). I have not been able to uncover anything written by or signed by Fransoy.
Children of John · Hendrick "Old Henry" FRANCISCO Born: 11 Jun 1686 France.
· France FRANCISCO Born: Abt. 1700, Essex, New Jersey
· Barat FRANCISCO Born: Abt. 1700 Essex, New Jersey
· Abraham FRANCISCO Born: Abt. 1700
· Johannis FRANCISCO Born: Abt. 1700 Essex, New Jersey
Sisco/Francisco DNA Project The Sisco/Francisco DNA Project has produced a wealth of information.[5] [6]
Paul, the project leader, recommends the 37-marker Y chromosome test.[7]
Francisco-417's background is:1. A large family descended from John Fransoy, a French protestant (Huguenot) born about 1660 in France, who fled north to the Netherlands to escape religious persecution. His name probably just means "John the Frenchman" = Jean le Francois in French. He married a Dutch woman, Elizabeth Geitje, either in the Netherlands or in New Jersey. In the Netherlands and in the Dutch community of Second River, New Jersey, he was known as Johannis Franse, which means "John the Frenchman" in Dutch. Later the name was written as Francisco or Fran Sisco. He is supposed to have had five sons, Henry, Frans, Johannis, Abraham, and Barent. Many of the descendants of Barent in New Jersey shortened the name to "Sisco", whereas the descendants of Henry in New York and points west kept the full name of "Francisco". A southern branch of this family is descended from a John Francisco who moved to North Carolina about 1750. The southern branch changed the name from Francisco to Sisco or Cisco about 1800. A letter from Elon Francisco in the Family Research Documents at left shows how the name was in transition from Francisco to Cisco or Sisco in the early 1800's. Men of this lineage have the R1b1b2a1b Y chromosome haplotype of Western Europe.[8]
We haven't connected all the dots. But it appears our common ancestor was a French Protestant born about 1660 in France who fled France during the period of persecution of the protestants by King Louis XIV. His name is variously given as Johannes ( John ) Francisco, John Fransoy, and Johannis Franser. The name is probably a Dutch variant of "Jean le Francois" -- John the Frenchman. The word "Frans" in Dutch means "French. He married a Dutch woman named Elizabeth Geitje (pronounced and sometime spelled "Geeshee"). He died and is buried in New Jersey.[9]
It is a pleasure to make the acquaintance of a descendant of a famous member of our town's past. 'Anthony Francisco' and 'John Francisco' are interred in the cemetery at the Old Dutch Church. Their names are read each year at the roll-call on the 4th of July. For the Revolutionary War Veterans, 66 patriots buried in the churchyard at the Old Dutch Church in Belleville, New Jersey.
My 'Cisco' Family descended from Johannes "John" Francois ( Fransoy, Francis, Francisco/Sisco ), a French protestant (Huguenot) born about 1660 in France, who fled north to the Netherlands to escape religious persecution. His name probably just means "John the Frenchman" Jean le François in French. He was married to a Dutch woman, Elizabeth Geitje, either in the Netherlands or in New Jersey. In the Netherlands and in the Dutch community of Second River, New Jersey, he was known as Johannis Franse, which means "John French" in Dutch. Later the name was written as Francisco or Fran Sisco. He is supposed to have had at least five sons, Henry, Frans, Johannis, Abraham, and Barent. Many of the descendants of Barent in New Jersey shortened the name to "Sisco", whereas the descendants of Henry in New York and points west kept the full name of "Francisco". A southern branch of this family is descended from a John Francisco who moved to North Carolina about 1750. The southern branch changed the name from Francisco to Sisco or Cisco about 1800.
We are Related to (Old Henry Francisco) of Whitehall, New York, U.S.A. [10]
Some exciting DNA results have just come in. Louis Joseph Francisco III, a direct descendant of Henry Francisco of Whitehall, NY, was DNA tested and his Y chromosome is an excellent match to the Y chromosome of other men who are part of the large Francisco/Sisco/Cisco family of French Protestant origin.
Not all of you may be familiar with Old Henry. He claimed to be 134 years old when he was interviewed by Benjamin Silliman in 1819. I’ve attached excerpts from that interview compiled by Shirley Wicker Hendrix of Murray, KY.
It’s generally agreed that some things in the interview are inaccurate. Henry may actually have been born in Essex County, NJ, as a son of Johannes "John" Fransoy/Franse/Francisco and his wife Elizabeth Geitje. It is more likely that his father John fled France at the time of the persecution of the French Protestants in the late 1600’s. John then married a Dutch girl. French Protestants were usually Calvinists, and they fled to countries or provinces where Calvinists were welcome: the Netherlands, England, parts of Germany, British North America, and Dutch-colonized South Africa. Frederick William, the ruler of the German state that included Berlin, was a Calvinist, and he issued a special Edict to help his co-religionists – the Edict of Potsdam.[11]
But his family did believe Henry died at the age of 134. I’ve attached page 2 of the family bible of his son Solomon Francisco of Cincinnati, Ohio. In the lower left-hand corner you can see the note about Henry’s death. If that is correct, Henry (born in 1686) would have been 82 when Solomon was born in 1768.
You can also see how fluid the spelling of the family name was. There are three spellings on this single page of the Bible – Francisco, Fran Sisco, and Sisco. Henry’s pension records from his service in the Revolutionary War also use all three spellings.
Henry is probably the most famous member of our family An article in Military History magazine in 2010 repeated much of the Silliman interview, and also included information about his pension records. [12]
Don’t believe everything you read about Old Henry. The events of his life and his age when he died are still controversial. But later generations of Francisco, Sisco, and Cisco men were noted for their long lives and their ability to produce children over a long period. Don’t forget that Senator Strom Thurmond started a family of four when he was 70 years old. The grandfather of one of my neighbors married a 14-year-old girl when he was 65 and proceeded to have nine children with her. Winter-spring marriages of that sort were not unusual in those days, especially when the man had a pension as Henry did. That gave security to his young wife.
Here is the lineage of Louis Joseph Francisco III from Old Henry. Louis’ ancestor Charles Austin Francisco of Richmond, Indiana, was a prominent banker in that town.
Louis Joseph Francisco III
Louis Joseph Francisco, Jr. (1921 – 1989)
Louis Joseph Francisco (1884 – 1949) m. Marie Marguerite Dumas
Charles Austin Francisco (1843 – 1907) m. Hannah Dickinson
Louis Jones Francisco (1819 – 1874) m. Abigail Jane Casad
Calvin Francisco (1796 – 1871) m. Sarah Ashmore Jones
Solomon Francisco (1768 – 1844) m. Mary Freeman
Henry Francisco (1686 – 1820) m. Ruth Fuller
Sources · ↑ New York Genealogical and Biographical Review Vol. 96 Author: George F. Kent Publication: July 1965 issue. pp. 156-172
· ↑ New York Genealogical and Biographical Review Vol. 96 Author: George F. Kent Publication: July 1965 issue. pp. 156-172
· ↑ - NYGBR, Vol. XCVI, (1965), p.156-164.
· ↑ N.J. Colonial Documents-Patents & Deeds - HR929.3749, page 70
· ↑ http://franciscofamily.wikifoundry.com/
· ↑ http://www.familytreedna.com/group-join.aspx?Group=Sisco
· ↑ The results of the DNA tests are posted at [1]
· ↑ described in the following Wikipedia article http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R1b1b2a1b
· ↑ The Johannes ( John ) 'Francisco' Sisco Family History. From: Paul Hardeman Sisco Jr. who is conducting a Cisco/Sisco/Francisco Family DNA Project
· ↑ From: Paul Sisco of the Cisco/Sisco/Francisco Family DNA Project:
· ↑ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edict_of_Potsdam
· ↑ A link to that article is: http://www.mediabistro.com/portfolios/samples_files/88544_wuTnOmFSZzh7sYpWY4ti6MUix.pdf
· NJGS. "Francisco: Francisco, John (Francoys; ffrances; Frances)" njgsbc.org. Accessed 22 Nov 2016. http://njgsbc.org/indexes/bergen-county-families/

John married Margaret Weiss Abt 1815. Margaret (daughter of Michael Weiss) was born 1794, Pennsylvania, United States; died Aft 1865, South Abington, Lackawanna, Pennsylania. [Group Sheet]

Rufus married Lillias Young 5 Oct 1817, Scituate Twp, Providence County, RI. Lillias (daughter of Edwin Young and Amy Tucker) was born 14 Aug 1799, Scituate, Providence, Rhode Island, United States; died Dec 1880, Nicholson, Wyoming, Pennsylvania, United States; was buried , Wyoming County, Pennsylvania, USA. [Group Sheet]

Erasmus married Mercy Reynolds. Mercy was born Abt 1804, PA; died 26 Mar 1863; was buried , Evergreen-Woodlawn Cemetery, Factoryville, Wyoming County, PA. [Group Sheet]