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Articles by 'Rex Ennis'

The Catamaran: Primo

The Catamaran: Primo

The objective of this article is not a comprehensive history of catamarans. It is in fact an attempt to provide the hist...
by: Rex Ennis
Grindstone’s Hellcats

Grindstone’s Hellcats

The 12th Armored Division was activated on 15 September 1942.[5] Organization and initial training was at Camp Campbell,...
by: Rex Ennis
What Did It Take to Equip a Castle?

What Did It Take to Equip a Castle?

The article may be redundant to those who have read my biography of Charles G. Emery, but a review can be constructive. ...
by: Rex Ennis
Island Military in the Gilded Age

Island Military in the Gilded Age

We don’t often think of the Thousand Islands as a militarized area, yet in the past, the Islands have been the sce...
by: Rex Ennis
The Tiffany Story

The Tiffany Story

This article is the direct result of a document given to me by my wife’s cousin and my dear friend; MaryLou Rusho....
by: Rex Ennis
Grindstone’s Small Islands

Grindstone’s Small Islands

Charles G. Emery, of Calumet Island, deliberately opened a can of worms in around 1895; he was determined to own all of ...
by: Rex Ennis
Luckenback: Gilded Age Yachtsman

Luckenback: Gilded Age Yachtsman

The Luckenback Family were prominent River people, yet they did not have a cottage, as far as this author has been able ...
by: Rex Ennis
Part I. “Toujours Jeune–Always Young” by Rex Ennis

Part I. “Toujours Jeune–Always Young” by Rex Ennis

  Editor’s Note.  Rexford Ennis published “Toujours Jeune, Always Young,” in 2012 and the...
by: Rex Ennis
Grindstone’s Millionaire Yachtsman

Grindstone’s Millionaire Yachtsman

Grindstone explorers, who study a topographical map of Grindstone Island, will note a Bench Mark out near Grindstone&rsq...
by: Rex Ennis
A Tale of Two Clubs…

A Tale of Two Clubs…

Motorboats to sailing yachts - 100 plus years of CYC! Today’s Clayton Yacht Club recently celebrated its 75th A...
by: Rex Ennis
A Dream Realized After 120 Years

A Dream Realized After 120 Years

On 9 July, 2014 Governor Andrew Cuomo announced the opening of the 1000 Islands Harbor Hotel in Clayton, NY, with the fo...
by: Rex Ennis
100 Year Old Naval Disaster Connects to Grindstone

100 Year Old Naval Disaster Connects to Grindstone

Over twenty years ago Janet, my wife, was working in her store, the Karmelcorn Shop in Watertown. It was an old building...
by: Rex Ennis
Grindstone Family’s Olympic Games Connection

Grindstone Family’s Olympic Games Connection

Editor’s Note:  For those of us fascinated by genealogy, this story is perfect.  Rex Ennis weaves his magic by...
by: Rex Ennis
St. Lawrence East

St. Lawrence East

On October 20th 2013 Jan and I entered the St. Lawrence River from the Atlantic Ocean through the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
by: Rex Ennis
Underground Railroad Station on Grindstone?

Underground Railroad Station on Grindstone?

This summer Meki Tate, a descendant of Cato Leonard visited the Thousand Island Museum in Clayton, NY.   Her v...
by: Rex Ennis
Grayce Lulu Bickford, Girl Friday

Grayce Lulu Bickford, Girl Friday

Grayce Lulu Bickford was Charles G. Emery’s girl Friday at the New Frontenac Hotel on Round Island. Born 19 December 187...
by: Rex Ennis
Excursion to England, 2012

Excursion to England, 2012

In August 1958, my family of five, mom, dad, brother, sister, and myself sailed aboard the Cunard’s famous RMS Queen Elizabeth liner to Southampton, England.
by: Rex Ennis
Why the name Chapman Shoal?

Why the name Chapman Shoal?

Chapman Shoal is located between Round Island and Pine (AKA: Beckwith) Island in the St. Lawrence River downriver from C...
by: Rex Ennis
The “Titanic” and Grindstone

The “Titanic” and Grindstone

One hundred years ago, 14 April 1912 the RMS Titanic sank in the icy waters of the North Atlantic, 1,514 perished. Consi...
by: Rex Ennis
The Ship named “Supply”

The Ship named “Supply”

The summer of 1904 proved to be the debut in quantity of the gasoline launch in the Thousand Islands. The Syracuse Post ...
by: Rex Ennis
Baseball’s Boys of Summer at The New Frontenac

Baseball’s Boys of Summer at The New Frontenac

In the Gilded Age, as now, American’s love sports; hotels, clubs, and communities had teams. The Thousand Islands region...
by: Rex Ennis
Facilities for the Faithful

Facilities for the Faithful

The first Christian denomination on Grindstone was known as Christian Order founded by elder Jason McKee of Stone Mills ...
by: Rex Ennis
A Gilded Age Fish Tale

A Gilded Age Fish Tale

The history of the Thousand Islands is littered with the tales of fishing and the big one that got away. Samuel Sondheim...
by: Rex Ennis
Santa Claus of the Thousand Islands

Santa Claus of the Thousand Islands

Julius Mendel Breitenbach or as he was known in 1928 “Santa Claus of the Thousand Islands,” was born in December 1890.&#...
by: Rex Ennis
Round Island Embezzler

Round Island Embezzler

Tuesday 3 May 1898 the First National Bank of Carthage did not open its doors for business. Why had the directors posted...
by: Rex Ennis
A Grindstone Development

A Grindstone Development

Betsey Fitch of Rutland, NY was given Lot 16. Lots 19 and 20 were sold to William Wells of Augusta, Upper Canada for a total of $1,340.00.
by: Rex Ennis
Early Pugilism in the Islands

Early Pugilism in the Islands

In 1867 the Marquess of Queensbury brought structure to the sport of prize fighting. These rules instituted the three mi...
by: Rex Ennis
“Arctic Goose”

“Arctic Goose”

When the St. Lawrence River freezes over, one mode of transportation is by “ice boat” or “air boat”, as they are called ...
by: Rex Ennis
Capitalists, a Socialist, and the Thousand Islands

Capitalists, a Socialist, and the Thousand Islands

The capitalists, the builders of our country, made the Thousand Islands their playground in what we call today the “Gold...
by: Rex Ennis
Grindstone’s Missing State Park

Grindstone’s Missing State Park

In August of 1897, at a meeting of the New York State Fisheries, Game and Forest Commission in Albany a discussion was h...
by: Rex Ennis
Geronimo's Remains in the Thousand Islands?

Geronimo's Remains in the Thousand Islands?

Are the remains of Geronimo in the Thousand Islands? The legendary Apache Chief died
by: Rex Ennis
Clayton's Historic Island Hotels

Clayton's Historic Island Hotels

Rexford M. Ennis is the author of several dissertations on Thousand Islands history; often presented to an appreciative ...
by: Rex Ennis