Person Page - 1

     Marie Dorothea Siefke was born on 25 March 1921 in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, New York, USA. She married Alton Parker Donnell, son of Lemuel Alexander Donnell and Henrietta Marion Knipp, on 26 October 1940 at Christ Protestant Episcopal Church in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, New York, USA; Diocese of Long Island, John Henry Fitzgerald, Rector. Marie Dorothea Siefke died on 15 March 1998 at Baptist St. Anthony Hospice in Amarillo, Potter, Texas, USA, at age 76. She was buried at the Dreamland Cemetery in Canyon, Randall, Texas, USA.¹
     She was educated at the Gibbs School at New York City, New York, USA. In 1954, Marie Dorothea Siefke and Alton Parker Donnell lived at 1267 Balfour Road in Grosse Pointe Park, Wayne, Michigan, USA, until about 1973. Marie Dorothea Siefke was a homemaker and participated in many volunteer activities associated with the local schools.

     Alton Parker Donnell was born on 29 May 1916 in Swisher, Texas, USA.¹ He married Marie Dorothea Siefke, daughter of Herman Siefke Jr and Marjorie Wheaton Piper, on 26 October 1940 at Christ Protestant Episcopal Church in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, New York, USA; Diocese of Long Island, John Henry Fitzgerald, Rector. Alton Parker Donnell died on 25 February 1991 in Amarillo, Potter, Texas, USA, at age 74. He was buried at the Dreamland Cemetery in Canyon, Randall, Texas, USA.²
     Alton Parker Donnell's birth certificate shows the name of Lemuel Alton Donnell.³ He was educated in a one-room schoolhouse by his mother, graduated from Canyon High School in 1932, then attended West Texas State University for three years.⁴ He graduated from the United States Military Academy, Class of 1940, as the 11,801st graduate and was commissioned a Second Lieutenant. on 11 June 1940 at West Point, Orange, New York, USA.
Alton Parker Donnell was assigned to the 21st Engineer Regiment (Aviation) where he was stationed at Bluie West I, Greenland, building the airfield. He was promoted to First Lieutenant on October 10th, 1941, and to Captain on February 1st, 1942. In July 1942, Alton Parker Donnell was reassigned to the North Atlantic Division Engineer office in New York, with station at Bluie East II, Greenland building airfields.
He trained to become an Army pilot at a variety of sites, including San Antonio, Texas; Chickasha, Oklahoma; Garden City, Kansas; Pampa, Texas; Orlando, Florida; and Fort Worth, Texas from June 1943 until January 1944. He was assigned as a Pilot to the 372nd Air Base Squadron at Peterson Field, Colorado, and the 9th Bomb Group (Very Heavy) at Dalhart, Texas to May 1944. He was then assigned to the 6th Bomb Group (VH) and the 24th Bomb Squadron (VH) at Grand Island, Nebraska where he transitioned to the B-29. He deployed with the 24th Bomb Squadron to Tinian Island in the Pacific where he flew 19 combat missions over Japan in the B-29.
Alton Parker Donnell was flying as a co-pilot on April 22, when an engine caught fire on takeoff. They attempted to land, but the crash knocked several crewmen unconscious. He was pulled from the wreckage by the pilot Lt. Dean Mutch. He was offered a Purple Heart, but refused it, saying they should have done a better job of landing the plane. After one of his last combat missions, he diverted to fly over Hiroshima to witness the destruction soon after the detonation of Little Boy. He commanded the 1st Bomb Squadron of the 9th Bomb Group and later served as the deputy group commander through December 1945. In 1946, he was assigned to the Manhattan Project as a declassification officer, and stationed in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. He considered that a nearly impossible job but had the opportunity to meet many of the Manhattan Project scientists.
On 2 October 1946, he was assigned as an intelligence officer in the Manhattan Project and later to the Armed Forces Special Weapons Project at Washington, District of Columbia, USA.
In 1948, he resigned his commission and began work for the Vitro Corporation where he managed several chemical and nuclear projects in New York City, New York. He also participated in the Eisenhower administration's Atoms for Peace Project as an analyst, attempting to determine what progress other nations had made in nuclear weapons and power.
In 1954, he became the Vice President and General Manager of Atomic Power Development Associates, the research subsidiary of Detroit Edison supporting the Fermi fast-breeder reactor project. In 1954, Alton Parker Donnell and Marie Dorothea Siefke lived at 1267 Balfour Road in Grosse Pointe Park, Wayne, Michigan, USA, until about 1973. In 1973, he returned to the federal government, serving on the Federal Power Commission and later the Department of Energy until he retired in 1980. He returned to the private sector where he worked for Overseas Advisory Associates until 1984 after which he returned to the family property in Canyon, Texas.⁴

     Howard Arthur Cunningham was born on 15 December 1912 at Ganonoque Hospital in Ganonoque, Leeds, Ontario, Canada. He married Winifred Margaret Reed, daughter of Walter Leonard Reed and Margaret Nash, on 26 December 1944 at the Methodist Church in Cottenham Park, Wimbledon, Surrey, England.² Howard Arthur Cunningham died on 19 February 1993 at Cornwall General Hospital in Cornwall, Ontario, Canada, at age 80. He was buried at Albert Street Cemetery in Arnprior, Renfrew, Ontario, Canada. In Section C, C-192, plot 973.³
     Howard Arthur Cunningham was educated circa 1934 at Taber Business College. He was an accomplished athlete and was inducted into the Cornwall, Ontario Sports Hall of Fame for boxing in 1974.
While at high school, in track and field, he won both junior and senior championships; he also won 6 events for the S.D. & G. Highlanders at Barriefield Camp in 1938 and rounded out the day by competing in both boxing and wrestling matches. Howard played both junior and senior hockey in his hometown of Arnprior, senior hockey in Temiskaming and for the Cornwall Canadians. In football, he played half-back for junior and senior teams and attended the Ottawa Rough Riders training camp in 1937; he was offered a playing contract, but the salary in those days was poor, so he turned it down.
He won the "catch weight" boxing title and the Canadian Golden Gloves Championship in Montreal in the Light-Heavyweight Division in 1940. He signed up early in WWII and in 1940 was Royal Canadian Army Heavyweight Champ. His record as an amateur was 41 wins and only 2 losses. Boxing professionally, he won 6 matches and suffered only 2 defeats. He has the distinction very few boxers enjoy in the fact that he was never knocked out.

He joined the Canadian Army as a military policeman. He was a motorcycle courier supporting Canadian Forces in Europe and reached the rank of Lance Corporal. His career as a boxer ended in 1943 because of a fractured elbow while in Europe.⁴
At their wedding reception, the Cockney "Kid Adkins," a pro boxer (without a sterling record) and a gambler, and his wife "Dolly" passed the hat for the newlyweds. "Kid Adkins" and Howard likely knew each other through boxing. The dances were the "Lambeth Walk" and the Cockney classic "Knees Up Mother Brown."

Howard Arthur Cunningham and Winifred Margaret Reed moved to Cornwall, Ontario, Canada circa September 1945.
After the war, he was a paper researcher at the DOMTAR Cornwall plant, a bridge Life Master, and bridge columnist, director, and teacher. He was best known for teaching and directing bridge. He became a Life Master of bridge in 1975 eventually reaching the level of Silver Life Master. He was a founding member of the first Cornwall District Bridge Club and was president for four years. He ran the Community Bridge Club for four years. He was the only Master Rank teacher with the American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) in Cornwall. He wrote the “Bridge Corner” for the Standard Freeholder for more than twenty years. He taught bridge lessons for the Cornwall Senior Citizen Center and was President of the Cornwall Senior Citizen Club from 1991 until he became ill in October 1992.
Other achievements include honorary member of the International Bridge Press Association and Goodwill Committee of the ACBL. He was a life member of the Royal Canadian Legion and the Masonic Order. For years he was the DOMTAR Santa Claus.⁵

     Winifred Margaret Reed was born at home on 18 February 1922 at 16 Claremount Avenue in New Malden, Surrey, England.¹ She married Howard Arthur Cunningham, son of Harold Willoughby Cunningham and Luella Beatrice Orser, on 26 December 1944 at the Methodist Church in Cottenham Park, Wimbledon, Surrey, England.² Winifred Margaret Reed died on 23 May 2022 at the Cornwall Community Hospital in Cornwall, Ontario, Canada, at age 100.
     She finished school at age 14, worked in a gown shop, was a window dresser and worked in sales in London until the start of World War II. In 1939, at the age of 17, she volunteered and started working at P.E.T.E. Aircraft which was a subsidiary of Hawker Aircraft. They made the Hurricane and Spitfire fighter planes. She learned to use air drills and to hammer in rivets. She worked on the wings and flaps. She worked straight nights for one year; seventy-two hours per week, 8:00 PM to 8:00 AM with only one day off in every eight days. They worked in teams of two at a tall bench and were on their feet the whole shift. After that, she was a conductress on the double-decker busses.³
At their wedding reception, the Cockney "Kid Adkins," a pro boxer (without a sterling record) and a gambler, and his wife "Dolly" passed the hat for the newlyweds. "Kid Adkins" and Howard likely knew each other through boxing. The dances were the "Lambeth Walk" and the Cockney classic "Knees Up Mother Brown."
On 2 May 1945 Winifred Margaret Reed sailed on the Athlone Castle landing in Halifax, Nova Scotia after 12 days at sea, dodging German U-Boats, and dropping depth charges. They celebrated VE Day, May 8th, 1945, at sea on the first troop ship carrying war brides and soldiers to Canada. The lower decks contained returning Canadian soldiers, mid decks had the war brides, and the upper decks had British air crews enroute to western Canada to train for the war in the Pacific. On VE day, the war brides were given one bottle of beer to celebrate; more went to the Canadian and British service men. The Athlone Castle was the first Victory Ship to arrive at Pier 21 in Halifax on May 12, 1945, where they were greeted with a band and celebration.⁴ After a couple of days on a train, she met her mother-in-law on the platform in Arnprior where they lived briefly.
Winifred Margaret Reed and Howard Arthur Cunningham moved to Cornwall, Ontario, Canada circa September 1945. She did floral arrangements for weddings, sold Avon, acted in theater, and taught and was the choreographer of dancing for the Senior Show at the Senior Center. Her line dance group danced for special occasions and entertained at nursing homes.⁵

     Marjorie Wheaton Piper was born on 14 December 1894 in Barnesville, Lamar, Georgia, USA. She married Herman Siefke Jr, son of Herman Siefke and Wilhelmina Dorothea von Dohlen, on 9 June 1920 at Christ Church in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, New York, USA. Marjorie Wheaton Piper married Frank Richardson Oates, son of Harry Hankins Oates and Hannah Richardson, on 27 August 1957 at St John's Episcopal Church, South Salem, Westchester, New York, USA.² Marjorie Wheaton Piper died on 20 November 1971 in Norwalk, Connecticut, USA, at age 76. She was buried at the West Stockbridge Cemetery in West Stockbridge, Berkshire, Massachusetts, USA.³
     She graduated from Brooklyn Heights Seminary in Brooklyn, Kings, New York, USA.⁴

     Herman Siefke Jr was born on 20 August 1890 in Brooklyn, New York, USA. He married Marjorie Wheaton Piper, daughter of Alexander Ross Piper and Marie Susan Cozzens, on 9 June 1920 at Christ Church in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, New York, USA. Herman Siefke Jr died on 8 January 1924 at Brooklyn, New York, USA, at age 33 of pneumonia. He was buried on 11 January 1924 at the Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York, USA.²
     He graduated with honors from Princeton University in 1912 and was an honor graduate from Harvard Law School at Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.³ He served as a Lieutenant, junior grade, in the Navy on the U.S.S. South Carolina during World War I. He hosted his father Herman (133) on the ship on 8 July 1918.³ Herman Siefke Jr was a lawyer.

     Frederick Van Dyke Siefke was born on 17 September 1923 in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, New York, USA. He was baptized on 16 March 1924 at Lutheran Church of the Good Shephard in Bay Ridge, New York, USA, by his uncle, Dr. Charles D. Trexler.¹ He married Jean Louise Carroll, daughter of James Bird Carroll and Louise Bachmann, on 4 April 1959 at the Scarsdale Congregational Church in Scarsdale, Westchester, New York, USA. Frederick Van Dyke Siefke died on 5 July 2021 at Bridges Cornell Heights in Ithaca, New York, USA, at age 97.
     He graduated from Kent School and attended Cornell University. His time in Ithaca was interrupted by a stint with the 380th Engineering Battalion with which served in the Philippines and later Japan. He returned after the end of the war to complete his degree in 1948. Frederick Van Dyke Siefke was a chemical engineer for Exxon and later a financial officer for the company where he spent his entire career.

     Jean Louise Carroll was born on 7 July 1927 in White Plains, New York, USA. She was christened in September 1927. She married Frederick Van Dyke Siefke, son of Herman Siefke Jr and Marjorie Wheaton Piper, on 4 April 1959 at the Scarsdale Congregational Church in Scarsdale, Westchester, New York, USA. Jean Louise Carroll died on 4 September 2018 in Norwalk, Connecticut, USA, at age 91.
     She was educated at the Connecticut College for Women and the Katharine Gibbs School before starting a career in radio advertising. She enjoyed travel, volunteering, and spending time with family and friends.

     Alexander Ross Piper was born on 1 March 1865 in Fort Wadsworth, Staten Island, New York, USA.¹ He was baptized at Church of the Holy Innocents, Highland Falls, Orange, New York, USA. He married Marie Susan Cozzens, daughter of Sylvanus Thayer Cozzens and Susan Allen Wilson, on 20 June 1890 at Church of the Holy Innocents, Highland Falls, Orange, New York, USA, by the Reverend W. R. Thomas, archdeacon of Orange County.² Alexander Ross Piper died on 21 November 1952 at Peppeneghek in South Salem, Westchester, New York, USA, at age 87. He was buried on 24 November 1952 at United States Military Academy Cemetery in West Point, Orange, New York, USA, (Location I, A, 24.)³
      Until 1876, he lived at several Army posts, principally at Fort Hamilton, New York Harbor; Columbia, South Carolina; and Fort Monroe, Virginia. After his father's death in 1876, he lived with his uncle Alexander Piper (509) (Colonel, 5th U.S. Artillery) and Aunt Addie (508), and with his cousin (by marriage) and future wife Marie Susan Cozzens (56) at West Point, New York. He also lived with his uncle William Kirkpatrick Piper (1158) at Carlisle, Pennsylvania, USA, until he received his appointment to the Military Academy. He received his nomination to the Military Academy in 1885 from Idaho which was not admitted to the Union until 1890 when it became the 43rd state. David Livingston unraveled the mystery by discovering that his nomination came from Theodore Frelinghuysen Singiser (1845-1907) who was the Representative of the Territory of Idaho in the 48th U. S. Congress, 1883-1885. Singiser was born in Cumberland County and served in the Pennsylvania military during the Civil War. From there he may have known the Piper family and was willing to forward the nomination to the Secretary of War and the President.⁴
Alexander Ross Piper graduated from the United States Military Academy in the Class of 1889 as the 3,310th graduate. He considered himself a "goat," because after an accidental explosion damaged one eye, he needed to be tutored during his senior year. And he was ranked 29 in a class of 49, technically putting him in the bottom half of his class. Afterwards, he marked his correspondence with a rubber stamp of a goat.⁵
Alexander Ross Piper was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant, 8th U.S. Infantry at Fort Robinson, Nebraska, USA. From October 1890 to February 1891, because his commander Captain Corliss had a severe eye disease, he was in the field in Command of Company C, 8th Infantry, during the Sioux Indian War. His unit was assigned the role of the "home guard" defending the Ogallala (also spelled Oglala) School at the Pine Ridge Agency. (Note: Lieutenant Piper's disappointment with not being part of the action in what became known as the Battle of Wounded Knee is documented in his letters to his wife, which were published in the referenced endnote. In retrospect, his commander did him a favor by keeping him back.)⁶  At the close of the Sioux Campaign, he was transferred to the 2nd Infantry, stationed at Fort Omaha, Nebraska, USA. From 1 June 1892, he served as Professor of Military Science and Tactics at Gordon Institute, Barnesville, Georgia, USA. On 16 July 1896 he was promoted to 1st Lieutenant, 15th Infantry and stationed at Fort Sheridan, Illinois.
His regiment was transferred to Fort Bayard, New Mexico. At Fort Bayard on February 7, 1897, he lost his right arm due to a gunshot wound in a hunting accident. He remained at Fort Bayard until his company was sent to Fort Apache, Arizona in April 1898. At Fort Apache, because of a shortage of officers, he was the Company Commander, Post Adjutant, Commissary and Canteen Officer, and Post Surgeon.
On 14 May 1898, he was appointed Captain and assigned to the 2nd Brigade, 1st Division, 1st Corps. On July 26th, during the Spanish-American War, his unit deployed to Puerto Rico. His Brigade landed at Arroyo, Puerto Rico and pushed on to Guayama.¹
As a "Captain, Assistant Commissary of Subsistence", he was awarded the Silver Star for Gallantry in Action. [NOTE: the award certificate, signed by the Secretary of War, was not issued until 1927.]  In January 1899, because of illness, he was ordered to New York and assigned as Purchasing Commissary for Transports, where he served until promotion to Captain of Infantry and retirement from active duty, July 11, 1899. He, his wife, and their 4 children at the time, moved to Sing Sing (now Ossining-on-Hudson), New York.
Alexander Ross Piper entered commercial life with the Seamless Metal Ware Co, the Mobile Company of America, and the Cosmopolitan. He was appointed Superintendent of Final Disposition, Department of Street Cleaning in New York City. He was subsequently the Second Deputy Police Commissioner where he instituted the "block" system, one-way streets, and the use of mounted police for traffic control. He developed the Traffic Regulations and Rules of the Road. He and Marie Susan Cozzens first moved to Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, NY and moved again into 7522, 2nd Avenue, Bay Ridge, where they lived from 1907 until 1942.
Alexander Ross Piper was hired by the City Club of Chicago to assess Chicago's police, the report of which became known as the "Piper Report", which is discussed in the endnote.⁷ 2 March 1904 Alexander Ross Piper became the General Superintendent of the American Railway Traffic Company. In 1905, Alexander Ross Piper was called to testify before the "Committee on the Police Problem). (Note: His name appears in the report multiple times and his testimony begins on pg. 162.)⁸  He, with two others, bought what is commonly called "The Farm" or "Peppeneghek" at South Salem, Westchester, New York, USA, in 1911.
On 11 April 1917 Alexander Ross Piper returned to active duty and was assigned to the New York Quartermaster Depot. There he was the Finance Officer, was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel (March 5, 1918) and to Colonel (May 25th, 1918). He was then assigned to Port of Embarkation, Newport News and then returned to Port of Embarkation, New York.¹ After the Armistice, he was discharged and reverted to his former rank on the Retired List as Captain of Infantry. He returned to civilian life and was the President of the South Brooklyn Railway Company for nearly 20 years.
Alexander Ross Piper was the President of the Association of Graduates, United States Military Academy from 1934 through 1936, where he was honored with Generals Saltzman and Rhodes, for ensuring that Congress passed a law bestowing the Degree of Bachelor of Science on all graduates.⁹ He and Marie Susan Cozzens finally moved to their country home at Peppeneghek in South Salem, Westchester, New York, USA, in 1942.

     Michael Carl Fink was born on 15 June 1945 at St. Joseph Hospital in Ann Arbor, Washtenaw, Michigan, USA.¹ He died on 1 May 2015 at The Farm in South Salem, Westchester, New York, USA, at age 69.
     He graduated from Ann Arbor Pioneer High School in Ann Arbor, Washtenaw, Michigan, USA. He graduated from Michigan State University with a Bachelor of Science degree and from Central Michigan University with a degree in counseling in 1978.¹ He was a teacher, elementary school counselor, and administrator at East Lansing Public Schools, East Lansing, Michigan, USA.¹ From his obituary:

     Sarah Anne Kithcart was born on 17 August 1987 in Mount Kisco, Westchester, New York, USA. She was christened in December 1987 in St. Petersburg, Florida, USA. She died on 2 April 1992 in St. Petersburg, Florida, USA, at age 4.

     Susan Allen Smith was born on 22 September 1950 in White Plains, Westchester, New York, USA. She died on 30 July 2023 at age 72.¹
     She attended the Dorothea Hopfer School of Nursing at Mount Vernon Hospital in Mount Vernon, New York, where she received a degree in nursing. in 1973.

     Alfred Pierce Donnell was born on 20 September 1850 in Cross Timbers, Hickory, Missouri, USA.² He married Elizabeth Frances Langford, daughter of William Thurman Langford and Sarah Ann Bailey, on 25 February 1875 in Benton, Missouri, USA.³ Alfred Pierce Donnell died on 12 April 1942 in Canyon, Randall, Texas, USA, at age 91, ten days after breaking his leg.³ He was buried on 13 April 1942 at Silverton Cemetery in Silverton, Briscoe, Texas, USA, Plot Org.N.Side #21.⁴
     From Charles Donnell's genealogy: In 1891, Alfred Pierce Donnell and Elizabeth Frances Langfordleft Missouri in search of land and settled in Briscoe County, Texas. They were instrumental in establishing the town of Silverton and the Presbyterian Church there.⁵ He was a prominent farmer and stockman.⁶