R. Clinton Thayer, Jr.
In an effort to bring news to you about the people who are doing so much for TFA, I asked Clint for an autobiography. Clint has relieved Paul Goodwin Thayer of duties as TFA Membership Chairman, Many thanks to Paul. Here now is some info on Clint.
I was born Ralph Clinton Thayer, Jr. in 1930 while my father was a farm manager in East Lyme, CT. My lineage is Ralph Clinton9, John Alden8, Jackson Otis7, Otis6, Levi5, Hesekiah4, Hesekiah3, Nathaniel2, Richard1. Although we lived in East Lyme the hospital where my mother gave a rather tortuous birth to me was in New London, CT.
For some unknown reason Levi5 left the family hearths in Braintree, Massachusetts for Braintree, Vermont in 1800, where he died in 1812. Levi served during the Revolution, as did his father Hezekiah. I'm sort of working at getting this accepted by the proper authorities for membership in the SAR. His descendants remained in Vermont until my father and family (all but me) came to Connecticut in the early 1920's to take up residence and management of White Gate Farm, a rich man's hobby then and still is, in East Lyme. We moved into New London in the early 1930's as my father became manager of a dairy. I attended New London schools (I started playing trumpet professionally when I was 13 and had my own dance band when I was 16 - all the "good" musicians were still in the army), the Eastman School of Music is in Rochester, NY. My college career was interrupted by four years (1951-55) in the Air Force Band at Sampson, NY during Korean (my name was SSGT during this period). After finishing at Eastman I joined the US Coast Guard Band in New London (my name was permanently changed to MUCS Ret. at this point) from 1956 to 1972. I also performed trumpet and conducted throughout southern New England. I taught junior high music in Groton, CT (1972-1983), did some orchestra conducting (my performance days were over) where my name was maestro, and worked in a bank and real estate (1983-1997), finally retiring then.
My mother was Eleanor Sprague Fitts, b. E. Brookfield, VT. I have traced her lines back, but have not been able to make a connection with the Sprague who wrote of us Thayers. My father was graduated from Vermont Agricultural (now Technical) College and my mother from what was then called Normal School in Randolph Center, VT.
Constance Claire Johnson, b. St. Charles, MN. and I met at Eastman and we were married at Colgate-Rochester Divinity College in Rochester, NY 1951. We have two children, Ralph Clinton, III (unmarried), and Patricia Dean Thayer McIvor (married, Peter Michael McIvor, with two sons - Peter Michael, Jr. and Christian Clinton - twins). Both Patricia and Peter are music teachers in CT public schools, and the boys (age 15) are accomplished musicians (trumpet and trombone), performing in All-State and All-New England music festivals.
Connie was a string bass player in the Rochester Philharmonic, one of the first of the female percussion, when I met her, married her, and saved her from a life in the music world, although she continued to play professionally with me for many years. She has her PhD in Curriculum and Development and teaches the Learning Disabled at Waterford (CT) HS. She has done extensive research into her families, including Johnson, Seeman, Newton, Sanborn, and Curtis.
One interesting result of our genealogical endeavors is Connie and I found out we have a common (some kind of great) grandfather (in the Fitts line), I descended from his first wife and Connie from his second. However, our children seem to be normal.
I became interested in genealogy when I realized I know nothing of my father's family. My mother's Fittses were pretty well documented, and she came from a strong family. On the other hand my father came from an abusive household. His mother, Ada Elmira Chadwick, died in a still-birth of a daughter. His father remarried soon afterward, and the stepmother was the problem after giving birth to a daughter. She apparently told her husband how bad the boys had been (my father and brother, Claude C.) when he came home, and he would beat them. It must have been pretty bad, because the state or county removed them from the home and they were raised by a foster family. I say it must have been pretty bad because this was in the early 1900's in the backwoods of Vermont. My father would never talk about his childhood, willingly. Even though we made many trips back to Vermont during my youth to my mother's family, we never went near his childhood haunts. It wasn't until toward the end of his life that he took Connie and me to meet his boyhood home in South Randolph, VT, a real hovel by this time. I realized that the many years we had come to Vermont we had passed within merely yards of this place. His brother, Claude (unmarried), committed suicide in 1929.
Under the circumstances finding out about my Thayer heritage has been a revelation. I am pleased to have the honor of doing whatever I can to help TFA towards it goals. I only hope I can do half as well as my predecessor, Paul Goodwin Thayer.