By RICK MILLER
Olean Star
MACHIAS — For the past 20 years, as Cattaraugus County historian, Sharon Fellows helped people reconnect with their family histories.
Most of her work since being appointed in November 2006 was dedicated to genealogy. She retired in March due to the effects of Parkinson’s disease.
“It was my favorite job,” she told the Olean Star Monday from the assisted living facility in Bradford, Pa., where she now resides. “I really enjoyed the genealogy.”
On Saturday, Fellows was honored at a retirement party held at the Cattaraugus County Museum and Research Center in Machias.
County Administrator Kelly Reed and Museum Curator Brian McClellan spoke at the party for Fellows.
McClellan, who was hired a few months after Fellows, said she was in charge of the archives at the county museum and research center and was the primary person for helping people with the genealogy questions — including requests by mail, phone and people walking in off the street.
“She has been our resident expert on genealogy for two decades,” McClellan said of Fellows. “She’s as good as it gets in my opinion. She did it as a hobby before becoming county historian.”
McClellan said Saturday was a bit emotional because even though Fellows was new to the job when he started, she was there, so she was kind of established in my mind, and I always looked up to her. She’s been invaluable, not only as a historian to everybody who’s come in or contacted the museum for research purposes for the last 20 years, but for me as well, personally and professionally. She’s been as good a historian as good a colleague and as good a friend as I could have hoped for, so you know we hate to see her go.”
McClellan unveiled a bronze sign dedicating a bench near the museum in Fellows name. Those attending also shared in a cake marking Fellows accomplishments and retirement.
Fellows said she used to go to the old County Museum in Little Valley with her late mother. She had retired from Allegany State Park at age 55 when the historian’s post became vacant and she applied for the job and was appointed. Fellows said she was looking for a part-time job until her Social Security kicked in when she turned 62. She enjoyed the job so much she put off her retirement.
The genealogy work was most rewarding — helping people find a tidbit of information about their ancestors — “unless they didn’t want to know about it.”
Fellow said, “Now, people get a lot off the internet, so when they come in, they’ve basically looking for little items that might be in records turned in to us. Ninety percent were very well researched before they got to me.”
Fellows also directed volunteers cutting out and filing newspaper articles for the archives that will be used by future genealogists.
Fellows’ hankering for history goes way back. “It was my favorite subject in school,” she said.
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