Taylor Swift's Surprising Family Connection to Western New York
Singer Taylor Swift is rumored to make an appearance at this Sunday's Bills-Chiefs playoff game in Orchard Park, NY - but according to the Post-Journal of Jamestown, NY, Swift has family connections in the Western New York area.
According to the paper, Swift's maternal great-great-grandparents, Julius and Delia Mayer, owned the long-closed Mayer Music, a music store in downtown Dunkirk, NY, about halfway between Erie and Buffalo on I-90.
The store was located at what is now an empty lot at 123 Central Ave. in Dunkirk.
According to the Journal's article, which was confirmed by a local genealogist, the Mayer's had a daughter named Eleanor Mayer, who married Lance Gardener Finlay of Cleveland, who then had Robert Bruce Finlay, grandfather of Swift.
One local fan says while it may be a distant connection, it brings him just a little bit closer with his favorite artist.
"It's interesting to see how aligned that she is within this particular community," said Darren Sobol, a musical education graduate student at SUNY Fredonia near Dunkirk, who has been to several Swift concerts and owns various items of merchandise.
"Granted that [SUNY] Fredonia was established as an academy in 1826 and had specialized in teaching and musical excellence, so to know that they had a footprint in the community here to aid in that growth and provide resources is really cool."
But Sobol feels despite her distant connections to the area, it likely won't have the singer telling the Bills that "You Belong With Me."
"I think her allegiance is going to align with the Chiefs," said Sobol.
"I think it's going to stay in that direction, but I would love to see if she does pay homage to her roots, specifically here in Dunkirk. Again, she grew up in the area of Pennsylvania, and has had roots here for many years so it would be nice to see if she ends up coming down this way in some sort of delusion to see where things started."
Sobol also added that Swift's maternal grandmother worked as an opera singer.