Michael Meggison

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Michael Meggison was a New Yorker.

Michael Meggison was a Floridian.

Michael Meggison was a Massachusettsan.

Descendant of Edward III.

Descendant of Charlemagne.

Biography

Michael Thomas Meggison, called Mike, was born in John T. Mather Memorial Hospital, Port Jefferson, Brookhaven Township, Suffolk County, Long Island, New York, at 4:59 a.m., 29 August 1967; and was baptized in St. Sylvester’s Church, Medford, Suffolk County, 13 September 1967, by Rev. Michael Rizzulo; his sponsors were Michael Anthony Santangelo and Lucille Denise Meggison. Michael had his first Holy Communion on 1 June 1975 at St. Sylvester’s Church, Medford, New York. He was confirmed into the Roman Catholic Church, 8 April 1981, at St. Joseph’s Roman Church, Livonia, New York, with Bishop Matthew Clark presiding. His sponsor was Joseph Fascella, his maternal grandmother’s brother. Michael took Joseph as his confirmation name.

Mike attended a myriad of schools in his educational career: Sachem Nursery School in Sachem, New York from 1970 to 1971; Tecumseh Primary School for kindergarten from 1972 to 1973; Lynwood Avenue School at Farmingville for first grade from 1973 to 1974; Tremont Avenue School at Medford for grades 2-5 and years 1974 to 1978; Livonia Middle School at Livonia for grade 6 from 1978 to 1979; St. Agnes Catholic School at Avon for grades 7 and 8 from 1979 to 1981 (he graduated on 26 June 1981 at St. Agnes Church, Avon); and Ralph J. Davis High School at Livonia from 1981 to 1985. He graduated from high school 23 June 1985 at the Livonia High School football field.

Mike, at these schools, won wide recognition for his art, humorous stories, and historical research. He was especially encouraged and inspired by his second grade teacher, Mrs. Lenora Graham; and his third and fourth grade teacher, Mrs. Pat Maiasky; who instilled in him a love of reading, history, music, and books (passions that he has never wavered in his enthusiasm). In high school, he was an active member of student government and Catholic youth groups. In addition, he was in the French Club Le Cirque Français and was on yearbook staff his sophomore year. Mike studied hard and was frequently on the school’s honor roll. He was selected for Who’s Who in American High School Students 1983–1984. During summer vacations, he worked as a dishwasher and maintenance man at Callahan’s Restaurant at Avon, New York.

Mike was accepted to the State University of New York at Geneseo and matriculated as a freshman in September 1985. He originally majored in business, but did not like accounting class and switched to political science. Some highlights of his college days were working as a staff reporter for the college paper The Lamron. Through this outlet, he interviewed several famous people, such as Olympic athlete Cathy Rigby McCoy, Our Gang’s Spanky McFarland Senator Daniel P. Moynihan, 60s radicals Jerry Rubin and Abbie Hoffman and various actors, actresses, politicians and celebrities. While at Geneseo, he worked as a clerk at Ames, an English tutor for students having difficulty with the language, and vice-president of Livingston Dorm. After three years at the dorm, he moved to Orchard Street at Geneseo. Mike graduated in June 1990 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science. He made many good friends at Geneseo, which have lasted to the present day. Soon after he graduated from Geneseo, he went for a one-week vacation to Prince Edward Island, where he met and was acquainted with many of his relatives that he only knew through photographs and letters.

In the interim between college and graduate school, Mike temporarily moved to Florida to find work. He lived with his maternal grandmother and great aunt in Port Richey, Pasco County. It being a recession year, he could only find more dishwashing and Wal-Mart style stores, so he left the area to go back to Rochester in early 1992. After a stint selling men’s suits at Sears Roebuck, he began working simultaneously as a dishwasher at the Olive Garden Italian Restaurant and a mail clerk in the General Mail Facility at Rochester.

He earnestly began looking for a graduate school to study once home at Livonia. He settled on Northeastern University at Boston, the school his grandfather, Ernie Meggison, attended in the 1930s. Mike was accepted and he moved to Boston in September 1993. He also went to work at the Boston General Mail Facility at Dorchester as a mail clerk. At the Department of Political Science, the visiting professor was none other than former governor and presidential candidate Michael S. Dukakis. Mike took demanding classes in International Law, Japanese Politics, Public Policy, Media and the Presidency, and Middle Eastern Politics. In Boston, he absorbed the city and New England culture with relish, attending many concerts at the hallowed “hatch shell” near the Charles River, and saw the renowned Boston Pops play there on Independence Day 1993. Among his favorite bars and clubs were Avalon, Kask-‘n’-Flaggin, the Rathskellar, and Our House. In 1994, he and a couple of his friends in the graduate hall dormitory saw one of Mike’s favorite musical groups of the time, Guns ‘N Roses. Mike graduated from Northeastern University in May 1994 with a master’s degree in political science with concentrations in American politics and international affairs. While residing at 7 North Union Street in Boston’s South End in the summer of 1994, he suffered a severe bout with gastroenteritis coupled with untreated mononucleosis and nearly died, but has since fully recovered.

Michael Meggison had worked as a computer helpdesk technician for the Sutherland Group, Ltd., in Rochester, New York, and later was employed as a documentation specialist for Xerox in Webster, Monroe County, New York. In 2001, the University of Rochester’s Department of Chemistry hired Mike, where he assisted the professors in their manuscripts, tests, grants, and research proposals. He presently works in Administration for Paychex, Inc., a leading payroll company at Rochester. He resided for two years at 103-1 Laburnam Crescent, Rochester, New York, and at 7 North Goodman Street, Apartment 308, Rochester, New York. He now resides at 314 Penbrooke Drive, Penfield, New York.

Over 20 articles have been published in various genealogical journals since 1993.

Genealogical Research Interests

Born and raised on Long Island; residing in Rochester, New York area for several years. Been doing genealogy since teenage years. Always willing to assist and help with linking and finding roots with my common ancestry. Looking for ancestors of Meggison (Whalton, Morpeth, Hartburn, and later Stepney London area to PEI in 1804), Cooke (Morpeth), Harle (Bolam and Hartburn), Patterson, Ferguson, Crawford (Berwick Upon Tweed), Alder (Longbenton), Fenwick, Gibson (Bolam) (all from Northumberland), Eden and allied lines (Durham), Layton and allied lines (Yorkshire), McAlduff (Ireland to PEI, Canada), lines from Lipari Island, Messina, Sciacca, Porto Empedocle, Milazzo, Misilmeri, Termini Imerese, and Palermo; and mainland Italy (Avigliano, Positano, Potenza, and Bella).^[1]

Other interests

I have been into pop, rock, and a little bit of country music since childhood; this love rivals my love of genealogy. I have an encyclopedic knowledge of bands like The Beatles, AC/DC, Def Leppard, The Doors, Led Zeppelin, The Bee Gees, The Beach Boys, Pink Floyd, The Who, CSNY, The Hollies, The Rolling Stones, and ABBA; and solo artists like Phil Collins, Johnny Cash, Neil Diamond and Alanis Morissette.

I go to many comic conventions; I love meeting actors, actresses, and comedians. I have met many of them; I am friendly with scores of famous and not so famous comics and actors.

I also enjoy writing, music, guitar playing, collecting autographs and political memorabilia, books (especially biographies and humor), running, swimming, weightlifting, and movies. Trivia has been a great love of mine, and many of the books that line his shelves are on topics such as politics, music groups, science, biography, and art.

I blog on local media personalities; it is satirical and not for everyone's tastes. Even so, it is reaching 1 million viewers, with an audience of more than 2000 daily if the blog I drop is especially popular. If you must take a look, my blog is called The King of Rochester. All opinions and comments are of mine alone and represent no one other than myself.

Publications

• "Historic Ancestors: Sir Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey," Fall 2022 The Genealogist

My line of descent from Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, a first cousin of Catherine Howard, ill-fated wife of King Henry VIII, who was executed by the paranoid and vengeful monarch.

• John William McCormack Sep 2017 publication Bloomsbury Academic

Written by Professor Garrison Nelson, I am acknowledged as a source on p. 71, Footnote 9, and p. 854, for my genealogical research on the ancestry of former Speaker of the House John W McCormack.

• Making a Killing: The Unofficial Story of the Sandy Hook Massacre Aug 17, 2014 Amazon Digital Services, Inc.

Book written by Dennis and Sabrina Phillips. I conducted extensive genealogical research for them to establish Sandy Hook murderer Adam Lanza's correct lineage and family relations, in order to dispute many press reports and establish a reason for the spreading the misinformation about the Lanza family.

• "Some Descendants of Timothy Bush of Connecticut, Vermont, and Western New York" with R Andrew Pierce, Apr 2011 The Genealogist

Timothy Bush is the ancestor of two United States presidents, but for many years, only the direct lines to the president were well known and published. This article traces his possible ancestry in Connecticut and presents his numerous descendants, who settled across the entire United States.

• "From the Azores to Cape Cod: Manuel Spindle and His Descendants" Jan 2006 The New England Historical and Genealogical Register

Manuel Spindle/Espendello was an immigrant who came from the Azores to Dennis, Mass., in the late 1700s. He was one of the earliest non-Northern European immigrant to New England. His life and descendants to the mid 1900s are treated in this article.

• “Descendants of Fairbanks Bush: The Bush Family that Stayed in Vermont” Jul 2005 Vermont Genealogy

Of Timothy and Deborah (House) Bush's large Vermont family, almost all of their children eventually settled in western NY state. Only Fairbanks Bush and his family stayed in Vermont. This article traces his descendants (covering Mass., Wisc., N.H. and N.Y.) to the mid 1900s.

• "Using the Census, and Analysis, to Find the Parentage of Mount Morris Bevier Family" Mar 2005 The Historian

The paternal origins of James Samuel Bevier (1834-1902) were unknown to the Bevier family genealogists until the author discovered his ancestry utilizing local newspapers, the NY State census, gravestones, and onomastics (using proper names as clues in the development of a genealogical theory).

• “Resurrecting Albert Vose (1805-1855) of Rochester: Bringing an Urban Genealogical 'Dead Branch' to Life Through Onomastics and City Directories" Jul 2004 The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record

Albert Vose immigrated to Rochester, NY from Massachusetts in the early 1800s, leaving very little paper trail as to his origins. Using city directories and analyzing census, newspaper, and vital record data, he was found to be the "Albert Vose" in a Vose genealogy, where the author wrote he moved to NY but "died unmarried." This article also demonstrates he indeed married and had a large family with descendants living to this day.

• Notable Kin #71 “Royal Descents, Notable Kin, and Printed Sources: The Immediate New England and Royal Ancestry of the Beach Boys" Jul 2003 [AmericanAncestors.org]

The ancestry of three Wilson Brothers (Brian, Dennis and Carl) and first cousin, Mike Love, of the world famous rock group, The Beach Boys, was traced to distant origins in New England, the Mid Atlantic and Southern states, Holland, Canada, and Sweden.

• "The Alanson Cummingses: Solving the Ancestry of Alanson Bonapart Cummings (1812–1873?) of Herkimer and Jefferson Counties, New York" Jan 2003 The American Genealogist

Using several types of traditional and nontraditional genealogical sources, as well as using careful analysis, the author was able to accurately trace the lineage of a 19th century upstate New York settler to Massachusetts, and chronicle his descendants to the 20th century.

• "My 'Cousin,' Canaletto Sep 1999 Lo Specchio

The landscape painter Canaletto (Giovanni Antonio Canal [28 October 1697 – 19 April 1768]) was a member of the Canali family of Venice, who were well established before a branch immigrated to the Island of Lipari, in the Aeolian Islands in the 1600s. The origins of the Canali family and their relation to the famous painter are presented.