Here is her Obituary from the Dec 16 1921 issue of the Potsdam Herald Recorder:
POTSDAM'S CENTENARIAN PASSES AWAY ON MONDAY
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Mrs. Leander Willson Dies in 103rd Year of Her Age
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Has Long Been the Cynosure of Many Who Did Not Know Her Personally Because of Her Advanced Age and Wonderful Vitality.
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In the death of Mrs. Tirzah M. Willson, on Monday, December 12, 1921, Potsdam loses its oldest citizen and one who for some years has been a source of much attention, due not only to her own natural attractions but, to many who did not know her personally. to her extreme age.
Up almost to to the very last Mrs. Willson kept her faculties and she was keenly alert to all the interests of the day, local and national.
Only recently have her wonderful sources of vitality been seen to be (fading or failing).
Funeral services were held at the Universalist church Wednesday afternoon, and Rev. Morrell of the faculty of St. Lawrence Theological School, spoke eloquently of the work finished yet just begaun by Mrs. Willson. The burial was in Bayside cemetery. Mrs. Willson is survived by one daughter Mrs. Ellen Whittemore of this place.
Mrs. Willson's maiden name was Tirzah Maria Harvey and she was born October 28, 1818, the daughter of Joseph and Hannah Sykes Harvey, in a log cabin in a clearing near what is now the village of Crary Mills. Her early life was spent there and following her marriage to Leander Willson, when she was 23 years old, she moved to the farm on the South Canton road now occupied by G. H. Sackett. Mr. and Mrs. Willson moved to Potsdam in 1855 and built the brick residence now owned by G.W.F. Smith. Mr. Willson extended Leroy street north to the May road. Since that time she has resided in Potsdam. Mrs. Willson is survived by one daughter, Mrs. Ellen Whittemore, 75 years of age, who has cared for her for many years. Mrs. Whittemore is the only surviving member of a fmaily of five. However she is survived by several grandchildren, great-grandchildren and by great-great grandchildren.
Mrs. Willson's paents came from Vermont, following the old turnpike from Lake Champlain to Pierrepont. Striking north from the hills of Pierrepont and the Paradise Valley of Irving Bacheller's "Eben Holden," they, with one or two other families, came to the brook which passes through Crary Mills and near this point cut from the forest and trees and hewed the logs to form their homes.
Ten years before, Benjamin Raymond and his settlers had founded Potsdam for the Clarkson family but there was no bridge across the Racket then and no road south from the settlement of Potsdam to Crary Mills. The nearest mill was at Ogdensburg. Mrs. Willson's father went there to have his grist ground. She remembers well one winter's night when it was two in the morning before he returned from the St. Lawrence river. Her mother and small brothers had spent some trying hours, for wolves had gathered about the cabin and had grown bold enough to thrust their steaming muzzles against the frosted panes of the windows. Mrs. Harvey had kept a roaring fire in the chimney fireplace and had plenty of hot water ready should the animals attempt an entrance, which fortunately they did not. Mrs. Willson well remembered the occurrence and could give a graphic account of it.
She recalled the blazing of a trail from Crary Mills to Potsdam and remembered how one night a horseman became lost in the forest and her father and one or two neighbors, roused by his shouts and the shots from his gun, turned out and brought him safely to the clearing.
Mrs. Willson als was wont to describe an Indian village in the vicinity of Crary Mills on the brook above their home. She visited it with her parents as a little girl and watched the Indians hulling the corn and cooking over their stove oven. They were members of the St. Regis tribe and their gaudy blankets and the head dresses of their braves made quie an impression on her.
When Mrs. Willson moved to Potsdam the large sandstone residence, built by David Clarkson, was about the only house in Leroy street. Its gates were near where the Baptist church now stands. The property was commonly known as the Mansion House. The east side of the street was a pasture and a rail fence served to mark its boundaries. This, however, did not serve to keep the cattle in and it was common practice to pasture them in the roadway.
In the course of the past few years, and particularly since her 100th birthday in 1918, Mrs. Willson's yearly anniversary has been more or less an event with the townspeople, and she has been the recipent of a large number of gifts and many have called in the course of her birthday each year to pay their respects.
Her husband died Feb 2 1864
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(Top: Tirzah Willson's Gravestone, Bottom: Willson family headstone in Sec E Lot 164)
Here is Mrs. Bannister's Obituary from the Feb 18 1950 issue of the Ogdensburg Journal
County's Oldest Resident Dead At 103; Rites Set
Potsdam-Funeral services for Mrs. Caroline Bannister, 103, St. Lawrence Country's oldest resident, will be held tomorrow at 2 p.m. at the Clark and Foote Funeral Home, 59 Elm.
Mrs. Bannister died yesterday at her home on the Potsdam- Colton Road, about two miles from Potsdam, where she had lived with her son Jesse, and his family for many years. Her health had been fair until recently.
The Rev. Orion Hess will officiate at the funeral services. Burial will be in the Garfield Cemetery.
Mrs. Bannister, who was a great-great grandmother, was a native of Potsdam, born Nov 10, 1846, a daughter of Galoushia and Eunice Shurtlef Foster. Her parents died when she was a small child and she was brought up by an aunt in Elmira. On Dec 31, 1865, she was married to Ira Bannister of this village. Both were 19 at the time of their marriage.
For many years the couple lived on farms in St. Lawrence county. Later they moved to the present Bannister home where she had remained since. Mr. Bannister died in 1916 and her son and his family have lived at the home and carried on the farm since that time.
During her earlier years, Mrs. Bannister had been a regular attendant at the Baptist Church until her extreme age made it difficult for her to attend. When she celebrated her 100th birthday, the occasion was noted with a family gathering when she received an orchid from the Breakfast Club in California. Until recently Mrs. Bannister had been up and dressed each day.
Surviving are three children, Mrs. W.H. Bishop of Carthage, Ira Bannister, Amsterdam, and Jesse Bannister who cared for her at home, also grandchildren, great grandchildren and great-great grandchildren.
(Bannister Family Stone in Sec C Lot 48)
