Isabelle (Freitas) Roller

Isabelle 'Belle' Freitas was born in September 1869 in Buffalo, New York. Her father, John, was 24, and her mother, Mary, was 15. She was the oldest child. Isabelle married John George Henry Roller on November 28, 1889, in her hometown. George was a grocer by trade. They had 10 children (6 boys and 4 girls). Family memories were shared of the children coming home from school and getting to choose anything they wanted for their lunch. Grace picked tomato soup, and George Jr. would pick a can of beans. On Sunday afternoons, the family would take a buggy ride through the country, where they would pass by a gypsy campsite. George would always stop to barter, pretending he would sell them his horses. When economic times were tough, Isabelle (known affectionately as ‘Ma Belle’) would accept the few pennies that were left on the counter by her customers in exchange for the supplies they needed. Isabelle's family (including her mother, Mary Ann) lived at 193 Hamburg Street (original house on the Seawall strip). She died on February 18, 1937, in Buffalo, New York, at the age of 67, and is buried at Forest Lawn Cemetery.