Roberta Walsh Family Collection

The Roberta Walsh Family Collection offers insight into life in Rome, New York and the upper Mohawk Valley during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Roberta’s mother, Barbara Seaton, was born in 1913 and attended the Rome Free Academy in Rome, New York. Her father, John Seaton, worked at Rome’s Revere Copper and Brass Company. Roberta’s uncle, Roger Burns, served in the Navy during World War II. His ship sank due to friendly fire and he is buried in Manila, Philippines. The collection also includes some artifacts from Roberta Walsh’s grandfather, Antonio Abruzzio, who immigrated to Rome, New York from Italy. A family friend, Peter Marinaro, also came to Rome from Italy and was a close friend of the family. Both Antonio Abruzzio’s and Peter Marinaro’s stories offer a small look into immigration in the upper Mohawk Valley. Roberta collected a few Newport, New York area diaries that are also included in the collection. The materials grant a glimpse into life in the upper Mohawk Valley during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.