Some of the roses came from England in the 1600s when the May family first came to Massachusetts. They brought the roses from there to here in western NY. The farm is probably the same age as yours, Porkpal, this part of the state was settled late as it belonged to the Seneca nation of the Iroquois Confederation.
I just wish I had had the opportunity to talk with someone who actually knew the history of the roses. By the time we had ferreted them all out of the weeds and rock piles, the one person who might have known anything was suffering from a quite severe dementia. The people who were left just didn't care and had never paid any attention to them.
I'll try to post some recent pictures. They are still in the camera.
