The Story Behind Writing a Book Series on Tottenville
Once upon a time the tiny community of Tottenville began with people just like you: the Lanape Native Americans who built their homes on the beautiful shore of Raritan Bay.
Tottenville is the southernmost part of New York State, part of the borough of Staten Island in New York City.
My fascination with its history began when I was a reporter for the Staten Island Register weekly newspaper.
Assigned to cover the demise of Spanish Camp, I learned of Dorothy Day who stayed at a summer cottage there as a retreat from her Catholic Worker work in Manhattan helping the poor. That led to learning of her acceptance into the Catholic faith at Our Lady Help of Christians Church in Tottenville, my own parish.
When the parish was preparing to celebrate its one hundredth anniversary, the pastor asked me to write an inclusive history for it.
In 1998 while researching for the centennial anniversary of Our Lady Help of Christians church, I found a fascinating book stored in reference at the Tottenville Public Library.
In 1950 Benjamin Franklin Joline self published a portrait of Tottenville entitled Tottenville in Retrospect. The book’s narrative began in 1668. History came alive for me as I read of the people of Tottenville, recognizing their…
