Mary Lofland Carlisle Miller and Russell Louis Clement

Mary Lofland Carlisle³ Miller (Agnes Augusta² Blaney, James D.¹) was born at home in Buffalo on 4 August 1893. A breech delivery, she and her mother were both near death, and the doctor said; "Forget the baby! Just save the mother." Ignoring the doctor's orders, the woman attending the birth gave Lofland a spoonful of whiskey and a dunk in cold water, and both survived. Lofland always hated her name as unspellable and unpronouncable. When she went to work for the draft board, a co-worker commented: "I can't say that! Pick another." Lofland picked Marion, and used it the rest of her life.

After her father abandoned the family while she was still an infant, Lofland was boarded with a series of relatives and strangers while her mother worked to support them. Until she was old enough to be left home alone, she only saw her mother on weekends. As a result, she adored her mother as a rescuing angel and developed a fierce need for independence. She learned secretarial skills in high school in Rochester and worked steadily until failing health forced her to retire from her job as the principal's secretary at the Ridgeway School in the 1970's. She died in Rochester, Monroe Co. NY on 10 October 1979.

She met her husband on a May walk in the early 1920's, when she and a group of friends took the trolley one Sunday afternoon to Webster, a Rochester suburb, and missed the last car back to the city. They begged a ride from two young men driving a Model-T. (Those were different times, indeed.) Lofland left her camera in the car, and Russell Clement tracked her down to return it. A farm boy, he was smitten by her sophisticated city style, and asked her for a date. They were married on 15 November 1923.

Russell Louis Clement was born in Webster on 18 May 1903, the son of Dexter Clement, a Canadian immigrant, and Louise Katherine Grim. His mother's mind began to fail when he was still tiny. The family would find 12 pickles lined up in the pantry, "For the twelve apostles," she would explain. on a walk, she would point to six trees and explain "The six days of creation!" When she began to wish to go to heaven in a fiery chariot like Elijah, she was placed in the insane asylum, where she died when Russ was only seven. His maiden sister Minnie, who lived at home with him, was his mother after that.

Life on a truck farm before the First World War was hard work, and Russ decided it was not for him. He got a job as a salesman at a plumbing supply shop in the city. When the depression hit, sales dried up, and so of course did commissions. Russ lost his job and the little house where the family lived in Irondequoit. To support the family, he subcontracted in plumbing, heating, and electrical work. He couldn't work in the city of Rochester, however, after they introduced a written test for plumbers. He knew what needed to be done; he just didn't have the schooling to explain it. The family always had enough to eat, but somtimes it was only oatmeal. Marion found a house that had been empty for many years, and Russ fixed it up. Their daughter was always embarassed by its improvisational eccentricities; Russ's grandchildren were delighted by them.

While the depression was closing in on them, Russ discovered his life-long passion: boats. After a few trips on a friend's, he decided to build his own. He went to the shore of Lake Ontario and found a tree curving up from the overlooking heights and felled it for his keelson. His little daughter Patricia Ann watched as he steamed the great oak boards for the ribs and bent them like spaghetti. He built the rest of the boat of cypress, and the family enjoyed many trips around the lake in the "Patsy Ann."

The Second World War brought job opportunities; Russ got a job in 1942-46 as the foreman in charge of machinery at the bomb plant in Spencerport making incendiary bombs that exploded upon contact with water. After the war he and a couple friends bought the tug "Wyanoke" hoping to make a living fishing and doing odd jobs. It never paid off, but they did have one adventure hauling a locomotive out of the Genesee River after the engineer had a heart attack.

After they sold the "Wyaonoke" Russ used the money he had saved working at the bomb plant to found the Charlotte Marine Company, where he was the sole owner and worker repairing marine diesel engines on yachts. He became a legend on the river for his ability to handle the toughest jobs; in fact, he preferred "the interesting ones." The shop was never really a job; it was a passion, and Russ had to be prodded to send out bills. Accounting was just never as interesting as rebuilding an old Grey motor. Russ never made much money, but he made a lot of friends, particularly among people who loved boats and appreciated real craftsmanship. That was his second passion: people. A friend said once that "if Russ worked as much as he talked, he'd be dead by now." And when Russ died, a part of the river's history died with him. Russ died 4 November 1994 at the age of 91.

Mary Lofland Carlisle Miller and Russell Louis Clement had the following child:
 

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Patricia Ann Clement

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