Shirley Cox Husted's love for history, religion,
politics, cooking and folklore is evident in the more
than 40 publications she has written and/or edited.
Cook books with historical backgrounds, ghost stories
and Indian legends are among her most recent
publications, but historical romance novels,
children's stories, and gothic detective stories are
a future, "Back-of-the-Burner" goal. 
Her career as co-editor of weekly newspapers
inspired a series of articles on architecture and
history that led to her appointment as the Parma Town
Historian 30 years ago. But it was an interest in the
historic underground
railroad and the Civil War that first drew her
attention to the field of local history. She is now
compiling her third book on that subject under the
series title: "Sweet Gift of
Freedom". Writing it developed a strong
interest in General George Armstrong Custer, his
soldiers, and the unjust Indian wars.
Family legend insisted that an ancestor was an
Indian princess. "This seemed quite
impressive," she said, "...
until I learned that teenage, unmarried Indians are
all called a prince or princess!" Further
inspiring her fascination with Native American
history was the opportunity presented when a local
amusement farm put up an authentic Sioux tipi and
invited her to become their Indian storyteller.
Almost every day in October for the last five years,
she has shivered in the tipi talking about Indians to
thousands of children and adults who come from all
over the world to visit the farm. For several years
she also guided horse-drawn tours of Rochester's
Highland Park, one of the world's largest lilac
gardens. Every May the Lilac
Festival at the park attracts countless visitors.
After twenty years as Monroe County
Historian, she retired from that post, thus acquiring
more time to work on the Parma Meetinghouse Museum, a
small local history museum which she curates as a
volunteer. Arthritis of the spine and leg joints now
makes arranging heavy displays impossible and has
ended or once-loved avocation of gardening: for this
she now depends upon the assistance of her son, Brian
Glenn, named in honor of the astronaut, John
Glenn.
History played a part in the naming of the
Husted's six children. Ted was named for the baseball
giant Ted Williams
and his grandfather Edward "Teddy" Cox, his
middle name being in honor of Cousin Nathan Jones.
The family's 1983 West
Point graduate, Donald Ward, bears the name of
his cousin and grandfather. Computer requirements
limited the number of characters in a label resulted
in Don's entry on the academy's records as
"Donald War". But he will not go to war,
for he has retired from military service. Next came
Christopher Lewis, accidentally born at home and
christened in the name of an important explorer
and his father Richard Lewis Husted. Richard is a
decorated veteran of World War II with service in
Europe and Africa. He was the first man ashore in the
second wave on Anzio
beachhead. Brett Harlan
bears the name of a storied maverick in the Wild
West, his uncle and Shirley's former boss at the
Hilton Record. And Rosemary Sue, last born, inherited
the names of a grandmother, a cousin, and a respected
neighbor.
Like her grandmother, Martha Whittier Cox, a
professional seamstress, Shirley would rather be
sewing than doing almost anything, poetry writing is
a seldom used skill now, and the arthritis spreading
through her joints prohibits long stints as the
sewing machine, piano and organ, once a beloved
avocation. But her love of music remains strong. She
has written one hymn, and was pleased when her
daughter composed several songs for the guitar. In
his high school years, Donald held the first chair in
tuba for two years in the high school orchestra and
marched with the school band in the Bicentennial
Parade at Philadelphia, plus other events. The
family's love of music has been traced back genealogically
to a grandfather, Niles Hawes, who often played along
with the band at park concerts on a comb wrapped in
waxed paper. At the dinner table, he was also a
frequent drummer on pan covers and dishes, and was
often called "Greenleaf" by relatives since
he continually spouted sing-song poems while he rode
along in his horse and buggy ... just as Shirley
often did on family trips. Since the New England poet
John
Greenleaf Whitter and Shirley has common
great-grandfathers, she inherited her love of rhythm
from both sides of her family.
In her 66th year, Shirley's current challenge is
to compile as many of the "lost" Husted of
New Jersey and to contribute as much as possible from
her years of family research to the Internet, where
it can benefit everyone. "After all, isn't
that why we do it -- to help others? I've seen too
many people spend years of collecting ancestors, only
to pass on to their reward with all their research
lost to others. If we go through life but once, why
waste our work," she notes.
Beside beautiful Lake Ontario, one of the larger
Great Lakes, Shirley's new cottage "Beaver
Lodge" has become her writer's studio and
retreat, a pine-lined cabin filled with things
nautical, humble country decor and humble country
decor and historical memories. Only Republican politics
can distract Shirley from that romantic atmosphere,
where sunsets over the sparkling lake waters are
rivaled on by the often gorgeous moments of sunrise
in New York. But what does she enjoy most? The
grandchildren!
Books by
Shirley Cox Husted 
Cox/Husted
Family Genealogy Husted Homesite
Village
of Hilton "Our
Hometown" Website
