- By daughter Evangeline Prittie Wright
Rorke

- July 1993

Leonard Galvin Prittie was probably born in Aldrich Settlement near Natural Bridge, NY. If not, he would have been born in Ottawa, Canada and brought to the States as a baby. His date of birth was June 6, 1888. He was the second chilOnisd in a family of four daughters and two sons.

On moving to Aldrich Settlement his father, Onis Prittie, was faced with clearing land and getting his farm started. There were trees to be cut and logs to be hauled to Natural Bridge, plus the caring of livestock and the planting of crops. As with most pioneer families, children were put to doing hard work at a very tender age. Leonard at age 9 or 10, was given jobs to do which today would be considered men's work.

In winter, one of the jobs Leonard did was to drive a team of horses pulling a sleigh full of logs to the saw mill at Natural Bridge. Often the weather would be exceedingly frigid and he would walk beside the sleigh to keep warm. The distance would be about 6 miles. He often was put to doing very hard and dangerous work.

As the result of giving so much time to manual labor, Leonard received only 6 years of formal schooling. However, he had a sharp mind, was good with figures; he was quick to learn and acquired many skills. Over the years he worked as a farmer, a logger, and in due course became a master carpenter.

In his twenties he went to work on the muckland near Elba, NY where he met Helen Underhill, our mother to be. He brought her back to Natural Bridge to be his bride.

The early married years were spent in Aldrich Settlement surrounded by many family members and good times. Vangie (Evangeline) and Gertrude were born at Aldrich Settlement with Grandma Kate (Catherine) Prittie as midwife. Gertrude died as a baby.

Early in the 1920s, Leonard and Helen were able to buy a home and 18 acres of land just outside of Natural Bridge village and where the other seven chiIdren were born. In the beginning, life was pleasant. At this time, Leonard was farming. He spent lots of time in the evenings with Helen teaching Vangie her letters and numbers and lots of preschool things. This didn't happen with the other siblings.

As Leonard began working as a carpenter, he was often on construction jobs which kept him away from home for long periods. He earned good money but sadly he became a' very heavy drinker and much of his money was spent on his drinking bouts. Also when he was at home he was often abusive to Helen and dealt out harsh discipline to the children. His children came to fear and dislike him. It is sad that the other chiIdren did not know the kind of dad that Vangie knew.

In spite of his failure as a husband and father, he can be remembered as a man who had many friends, and as a man well respected in his trade. And he was a person who could be charming and full of Irish wit.

He died in 1962 having spent the last seven years of his life in a nursing home as a result of a stroke.

Leonard and Helen were legally separated for several years but Helen always reminded the chiIdren to be respectful of Leonard as their father.

Helen Annjenette Underhill was born January 6, 1896 near Batavia, NY where she lived until she married. Her parents were Charles and Ida Howland Underhill. Helen was the only living daughter in a family of six children. One daughter died at age two.

Helen had much more formal schooling than Leonard. She was able to graduate from high school and was given several years of piano instruction. Playing the piano was one of the great joys of her life and brought much pleasure to her children and their friends.

Helen and Leonard were married when Helen was 18 and Leonard was 27. Since Helen had never been taught many domestic skills as a girl she had much to learn as a bride and learn she did.

Her first home in Aldrich Settlement was living with Leonard's Uncle Richard who was a bachelor. He taught Helen many things about cooking and gardening and she came to love Uncle Richard dearly. Other family members, especially Aunt Inis Swan helped Helen a lot. Aunt Inis taught Helen to sew and crochet.

In Aldrich Settlement there were lots of home parties and wherever there was a piano or organ, Helen was in great demand.

After Leonard and Helen bought their home at Naturai Bridge, the family responsibilities were easy at first but soon life changed. The seven children born in Natural Bridge were close together in age and the real responsibility for caring for their needs fell on Helen.

Along with child bearing and caring for babies there were the regular tasks of laundry, cleaning and bread making, churning butter and cooking. Then there were the chickens to raise, a cow to milk, a big garden to tend and always large amounts of meats, fruits and vegetables to be preserved for winter; even eggs were put down in waterglass. Evenings were the times Helen sewed and made over clothes for the children.

As the children grew older and had friends there was always a lot of coming and going of young people who were always made welcome and had fun with the singing and dancing,

Eventually Helen was able to enjoy some church affiliation. She had become Catholic as a bride but since Leonard did not practice his religion she left the Catholic Church. For many years she and the children attended the Natural Bridge Methodist Church where she also taught Sunday School and served occasionally as pianist. Later on Helen became a Seven Day Adventist and remained active in that faith until her death.

After caring for her father for several years Helen at the age of 52 was able to get her first job at a State Hospital on Long Island. She became an Occupational Therapist and stayed in that position until her retirement.

Her years working on Long Island and her retirement years brought many satisfactions and pleasures. The years of doing without proper clothes and the inability to get proper medical and dental care were no more. Helen was able to dress well, give gifts, socialize and take trips. She had a trip to California, one to Oregon and one to Florida. She enjoyed a very pleasant apartment home in Watertown, NY until her death in 1979.

Helen can be remembered as a loyal, hardworking wife who made every sacrifice for her family. She kept in touch with a wide circle of friends and relatives who were much saddened at her passing. She was a devout Christian, a loving mother and grandmother who set a great moral example for her descendants.

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