With this succinct slogan, Albionite Ward G. Foster launched the first travel agency in Florida in 1888.

By Catherine Cooper, Orleans County Historian

“Illuminating Orleans” – Volume 5, No. 17

ALBION – “WARD G. FOSTER, 80, TRAVEL AGENT, DIES; His Slogan, ‘Ask Mr. Foster,’ Known to Tourists in All Parts of the World THE FIRM HAS 75 OFFICES A Woman in Charge of Each, After Long Training at Headquarters Here” – New York Times headline, March 18, 1940

This New York Times obituary headline from March 18, 1940, summarizes the career of Ward Grenelle Foster who died on March 17, 1940. Born in Albion on May 6, 1860, he was the son of Carlton T. Foster and Charlotte Corday Foster.

According to the 1879 Orleans County Directory, Ward’s father was a “hatter & furrier” with a store at the corner of North Main and West Bank streets. The family home was listed as 36 West State St.

Ward G. Foster established the first travel agency.

Ward attended the Albion Academy. He married Harriet Brainerd in 1884, and the couple moved to St. Augustine, Florida, which was then just beginning to realize its potential for tourism. Foster was employed as a timekeeper on the construction of Henry Flagler’s luxury resort in St. Augustine, the Ponce de Leon Hotel.

In 1888, the Fosters opened a gift, book and stationery shop across the street from the hotel. Foster had earned a reputation for being knowledgeable about the area’s activities and amenities as well as about transportation lines and timetables. Guests at the hotel were directed to his store with the instructions “Ask Mr. Foster” who graciously answered their queries.

Recognizing the potential of this market, Foster took over the advertising of a popular local publication “The Standard Guide to St. Augustine.” He added the statement: “Ask Mr. Foster for Further Advice” on every page and soon he was busy dispensing travel information and had unwittingly started the first travel agency.

Tourism in Florida expanded rapidly. Ward opened “Ask Mr. Foster” travel offices in Jacksonville and Palm Beach. In 1902, he opened an office in Washington D.C. By 1937 the “Ask Mr. Foster” travel service operated 70 Information Offices in 52 cities throughout the U.S. and Canada.

As the New York Times headline indicated, a unique feature of the Ask Mr. Foster offices was that they were managed by women. Foster recognized that gracious service, empathy and a sincere spirit of helpfulness in dealing with customers were key components for the success of his enterprise and he believed that women were more likely to possess those characteristics. The goodwill generated by such a service, he felt, would guarantee return visits and word-of-mouth promotion.

Naturally, this business model was successful. In 1936 over 400,000 customers received information, planned trips and tours, purchased tickets, and made hotel and transportation reservations, all free of charge.

The “Ask Mr. Foster” Travel Service Office is shown at the R.C.A. Building, Rockefeller Center, New York.

Foster sold the business in 1938 to a group which incorporated as the “Ask Mr. Foster Travel Service.” Though the business struggled during the war years, it rallied and in 1957, two of the stockholders bought the company for $157,000.

In 1972, Peter Ueberroth purchased the business for $1 million.

A complex series of corporate purchases ensued. Carlson Companies, Inc., acquired the business in 1979. In 1990, the name “Ask Mr. Foster” was retired and integrated into the Carlson Travel Network. This eventually became part of the Travel Leader’s Group corporation which evolved into the Internova Travel Group in 2020.

Internova, now one of the travel industry’s largest travel service companies, focuses exclusively on leisure, luxury and corporate clients. To this day, the company proudly traces its roots and ethos of service back to Ask Mr. Foster Travel.

By Catherine Cooper, Orleans County Historian

“Illuminating Orleans” – Volume 5, No. 15

Corporal John H. Stevens of Knowlesville, a member of the 151st Regiment, had the distinction of several interactions with President Lincoln.

While we were busy celebrating the Bicentennial of Orleans County on April 15, we overlooked April 14, 1865, the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, 160 years eariler. Remarkably, one young man from Orleans County was among the audience of approximately 1,700 in attendance that night at Ford’s Theater in Washington, D.C.

John H. Stevens was born in Knowlesville on Sept. 23, 1839, the son of Andrew Stevens and Sophronia Harding. Andrew Stevens had moved to the area in 1816 and was one of the earliest settlers in what was then a wilderness. A farmer, he benefitted greatly from the opening of the Erie Canal.

In the summer of 1862, additional recruits were needed for the Union cause. Captain Hezekiah Bowen of Medina received authority to recruit a company of riflemen. John Stevens was one of the one hundred who quickly enlisted, mostly sons of well-to-do farmers. They were nicknamed the “Top Buggy Company,” since many of them could afford to take their young ladies out in top-buggies, then considered an item of luxury.

They bought their own guns, Sharp’s Rifles, each paying over forty dollars apiece for them. The ladies of Ridgeway presented them with a silk flag embroidered “Bowen’s Ind. Rifles.”

Stevens was mustered in as a Corporal of Company A, 151st N.Y. Volunteer Infantry on October 22, 1862. He was wounded at the Battle of Mine Run, Va.  on November 27, 1863, receiving a bullet wound to his right thigh. Following his recovery, he was placed on duty at the Medical Purveyor’s store in Baltimore on March 4, 1864.

In June of that year, Stevens received a ticket to attend the Republican National Convention from Senator E.D. Morgan of New York. Stevens was present when Lincoln was nominated for the second time.

Stevens voted for Lincoln twice, on Nov. 6, 1860, and Nov. 8, 1864.

He was transferred to work at the Medical Bureau of the Provost Marshal General’s Office in September 1864. He attended church on Thanksgiving Day, 1864, sat in Senator Morgan’s pew and at the end of the service, walked down the aisle alongside President Lincon.

On January 1, 1865, Stevens attended the Annual Meeting of the Christian Commission, listened to a speech given by Lincoln and afterwards, shook his hand.

John H. Stevens in later years

On Good Friday, April 14, 1865, Stevens was seated in the front center seat of the dress circle at Ford’s Theater. He saw Booth leap from the box after he shot the President. Stevens was unable to see Lincoln’s remains lying-in-state because of the crowds, but he did witness the funeral procession.

Stevens was discharged on May 11, 1865. He returned to Knowlesville, and married Alice Andrews in 1866. They had two children, George and Avery. Alice died in 1875. Avery died in 1881, aged 11. Stevens married Mary D. Clapp in 1876, they had two daughters, Florence and Mary.

Stevens was an active member of the G.A.R. and a member of the S.J. Hood Post 91 for many years. He attended reunions of the 151st Regiment and liked to recount his encounters with Lincoln.

Stevens died on February 15, 1919, at the age of 80, in the home in which he had been born, having fulfilled his wish of living to mark the centenary of that home which had been built by his father in 1816. He is buried in Tanner Cemetery in the Town of Ridgeway, NY.

By Catherine Cooper, Orleans County Historian 

“Illuminating Orleans” – Volume 5, No. 13

ALBION – The original handwritten volumes of the Pioneer Association records include several photographs. Shown in the top photo are Martin Evarts (1817-1873) and his wife, Charlotte Burnham Evarts who died in 1862. Martin was a farmer in Clarendon and Town Supervisor in 1863.

Members of the D.A.R. and the S.A.R. proudly trace their lineage back to an ancestor who “aided in achieving American independence.” So too, descendants of the early settlers of Orleans County trace their genealogy back to those hardy pioneers and can now chronicle up to nine generations of continuous residence in the county.

The Orleans County Bicentennial Committee invites these descendants to attend the Bicentennial Celebration of the formation of the county which will take place at the Courthouse in Albion on April 15, beginning at 11:45 a.m. So that we may ensure seating for all, please complete the brief registration form at https://www.orleanscountytourism.com/bicentennial.

Members of the Pioneer Association of Orleans County photographed in Albion on June 19, 1869.

On June 19, 1869, those in attendance at the Eleventh Annual Meeting of the Pioneer Association of Orleans County, held at the Courthouse in Albion, assembled for a group photo. The Bicentennial Committee plans to echo this now iconic photograph by taking a group photograph of those in attendance immediately following the event.

We are interested in learning about your connections to those early settlers – please email Catherine.Cooper@orleanscountyny.gov.

First building was demolished in 1893, and second fell into disrepair and was razed in 1969

The first Presbyterian Church in Knowlesville was constructed in 1832, and then demolished in 1893 when a new building was erected.

By Catherine Cooper, Orleans County Historian 

“Illuminating Orleans” – Volume 5, No. 11

“Like all things earthly, passing away,

“The old brick church may no longer stay,

“Though dear to our hearts as our childhood home,

“Within its walls we may no longer come.

“Now lingering near the old church ground,

“We hear the busy workmen’s sound

“And see the fragments here and there

“Of what was once our house of prayer”

These lines, composed by Mrs. I.O. Root in 1893 concerning the demolition of the first Presbyterian Church building in Knowlesville, still resonate. They capture that acute feeling of loss that is felt when a church closes and remind us that nothing is permanent.

The early settlers in this area, having first built their homes, soon turned their attention to providing a place of worship. On August 27, 1817, the following eleven people convened at the Oak Orchard schoolhouse and formed the First Religious Society of the Town of Ridgeway: Orange Wells, Leonard Dresser, Daniel Gates, Elizabeth Whipple, Mary Ann Taylor, Lois Robbins and Sarah Lawrence, Dr. William White, Archy B. Lawrence, Martha Marsh and Anna Sheldon.

At that time the township comprised the present townships of Ridgeway, Barre, Shelby, Yates, Carlton and Gaines, all but four of the present towns which had not yet been named.

At first, the Society affiliated with the Congregationalists, but in 1820 resolved unanimously to unite with the Presbytery of Rochester. For the first fifteen years, meetings were held in homes, schoolhouses and barns.

The Holland Land Company provided a tract of one hundred acres to the first organized religious society in a township. The new trustees secured this “Gospel lot.”

With the completion of the Erie Canal, a settlement grew in the area later named Knowlesville. In 1831, the Society voted to accept a piece of land from John Aldrich and to purchase as much as was necessary for the site of a church building from John Vedder at the rate of $50 per half-acre.

A Federal style brick building was erected at a cost of $3,500. William Knowles provided half of the cost. The building was dedicated in 1832 and remodeled in 1861. It was demolished in 1893. A second brick church was built on the same site at a cost of $12,000. The Gospel Lot was sold at that time, and the proceeds were used for construction costs.

The second Knowlesville Presbyterian Church building, constructed in 1893, was demolished in 1969.

The “New Brick Church,” Victorian Romanesque in style, was dedicated in 1894. It flourished for many years, but closed in 1964, due to declining attendance. The parish was dissolved, and the physical assets were turned over to the Rochester Presbytery. The church building was demolished in 1969 as it had fallen into disrepair.

Today, a vacant lot remains on the north side of the street where the church was once located but its presence is still remembered by the street name: Presbyterian Street.

Advertisement from the Directory of Orleans County, 1903

By Catherine Cooper, Orleans County Historian 

“Illuminating Orleans” – Volume 5, No. 8

Poland China? Ayrshire? Rambouillet? Are these familiar names?

They would have been recognizable to many Orleans County residents over one hundred years ago. Poland China swine, Ayrshire cattle, Rambouillet sheep were some of the many different breeds raised in the county according to the Directory of Orleans County, 1903.

This amazing publication (click here) is accessible online courtesy of the Central Library of Rochester and Monroe County and is well worth downloading and perusing.

This Directory lists the residents of the county and their occupations, an ambitious undertaking. It was one of several such directories compiled by the George Hanford Company of Elmira, NY. So many aspects of social change are obvious when glancing through the pages.

Today’s column was prompted by the two-page listing of Livestock Breeders and Dealers in the Business section. Even a portion of the list illustrates the variety of livestock being raised at that time:

From the Directory of Orleans County, 1903

The list totals sixty breeders and dealers, some handled more than one breed. As we examine the variety of breeds represented, we are inferring that the prevalence of breeders for any one breed equated roughly with the breed’s popularity.

Cattle

Jersey cattle were first bred in the British Channel Islands and introduced to the U.S. in the 1850s.

It appears that Orleans County farmers favored Jersey cattle, with eight breeders listed. Jersey cows are small and noted for producing milk with a high butter-fat content. Ayrshire cattle, who also produce high-quality milk, were also raised, with just one breeder listed.

Two beef-producing breeds, Durham Shorthorns and Herefords were represented with two Shorthorn breeders and one Hereford breeder listed.

Sheep

Shropshire sheep are medium sized with dark faces and feet.

Raising sheep was a significant element of the farm economy in 1903.  In the Town of Barre alone, fifty-nine farmers listed sheep among their holdings. A quick tally of the number of sheep in Barre came to 2,500.

Shropshire sheep were the most prevalent in the County in the early 1900s. Of the sixty breeders listed, ten bred Shropshire sheep. Several other breeds were also raised: Cheviot, Delaine Merino, Dorset, Merino, Oxforddown, Rambouillet, Southdown, Tunis, and Yorkshiredown. The Shropshire flocks were raised for meat, as were the Cheviots and Dorsets. Delaine Merino, Merino, and Rambouillet sheep were bred for wool.

Merino sheep yield very fine soft wool.

Pigs

A colorful variety of pigs were raised, the Chester Whites being the most prevalent. Originating from Chester County, Pa., these white pigs with droopy ears produced a high-quality meat. Seven livestock owners handled this breed.

The reddish-brown Duroc-Jersey pigs which were noted for producing very flavorful pork were raised, as was the distinctive Berkshire pig, which is black with a white snout.

Several farmers raised the quaintly named Poland China pig, the oldest American swine breed. Related to the Berkshire pig, the Poland China pig is also black but distinguished by its white face and feet and a white tip at the end of the tail.

By Catherine Cooper, Orleans County Historian 

“Illuminating Orleans” – Volume 5, No. 6

JEDDO – This headline which appeared in the July 29, 1926, Niagara Gazette caught our attention. According to the article, George Prudom of Jeddo felt unwell and thought he was having an attack of rheumatism.

Dr. Thurman of Lyndonville was called, he suspected lockjaw, but Mr. Prudom could not recall having received a scratch of any kind that might have caused the infection.

Dr.  Russell, a specialist from Buffalo, was consulted. He agreed with the lockjaw diagnosis and prescribed a lockjaw serum treatment which was effective and after a week, Mr. Prudom was able to open his jaws slightly. He recovered fully after some time.

Upon reflection, the only incident that Mr. Prudom could recall was that a short time previously, he had been handling a heavy piece of hemlock timber which had fallen on his foot. At the time, the injury was slight, and Mr. Prudom paid no attention to it. He surmised that the infection may have been caused by a scratch from a hemlock splinter.

However, hemlock trees are not poisonous, so Mr. Prudom’s lockjaw was not caused directly by the hemlock log but was most likely the result of an infection caused by tetanus spores entering through a cut or scratch occasioned by the fall of the log onto his foot.

Hemlock trees are native to this area and were growing in abundance when the first settlers came here. They used hemlock splints for the roofs of their log cabins. Lacking furniture, they made comfortable beds from hemlock boughs laid on the floor and covered with blankets.

When laying the first roads from Ridge Road to the lake, Jeremiah Brown, the first Commissioner of Highways in the Town of Ridgeway wrote: “We would lay a road, following the lines between lots to the lake, keeping us busy all day. At night, we would make a fire, cut some hemlock boughs for bed and sleep soundly all night.”

There is a plant known as poison hemlock which is highly toxic to humans and animals. It contains coniine, an alkaloid capable of inducing paralysis. Hemlock trees and the poison hemlock plant are unrelated, they share a name because their leaves emit a similar odor. The roots of this plant were an ingredient in witches’ brew in Shakespeare’s Macbeth: “Root of hemlock, digg’d in the dark”

Hemlocks are large pyramid-shaped evergreen trees which resemble Christmas trees. They can attain a height of 60 – 70 feet. There must once have been a significant stand of hemlocks on the road which was named Hemlock Ridge Road which runs east-west through the Towns of Shelby and Barre. Some hemlocks may still be seen along the road. Hemlock trees may also be found in Mt. Albion Cemetery.

Historian urges community to embrace for painted Ox statues for county’s bicentennial celebration

Orly the Ox was featured in the Nov. 30 Medina of Parade of Lights. It was the debut of Orly in his mascot costume. The vest includes the names of Orleans County towns, villages and hamlets. The statue was propped up on a trailer for the parade. The County Bicentennial Committee would like to see more of the statues painted to celebrate the county’s 200th anniversary.

By Catherine Cooper, Orleans County Historian

“Illuminating Orleans” – Volume 5, Number 5

ALBION – Hoag Library patrons may very well wonder if they are experiencing auditory hallucinations.

“Did I just hear a moo?”

Yes, Orly the Ox is temporarily “Ox in Residence” at Hoag. He emits a hearty “Moo” from time to time. Owned by Cornell Cooperative Extension, Orly is the first ox in Orleans County’s bicentennial herd. Scenes depicting his role in agriculture were created by artist Stacey Kirby Steward.

Orly’s “ambassador” is a nimble two-legged character with a winning personality. Orly in costume has proved to be very popular. He has recently made appearances at the Canal Culvert and and at various businesses throughout the county.

Charged with honoring the county’s 200th year since its political formation, the Bicentennial Committee chose the ox as its mascot, since oxen were indispensable to the early settlers. The ox also represents the importance of agriculture to the county and honors all of those who labor in the fields.

‘Slow, steady, strong and sure-footed, oxen were more suited to the rough terrain than horses. They could pull heavier loads than horses, and they could pull steadily for longer periods of time.’

The settlers who moved here in the early 1800s provided detailed written accounts of their journeys here and of their experiences as they tried to wrest arable land from deep woods. They used oxen to haul their wagons westward, an arduous trip which took from three to five weeks. Slow, steady, strong and sure-footed, oxen were more suited to the rough terrain than horses. They could pull heavier loads than horses, and they could pull steadily for longer periods of time.

Oxen are castrated male cattle, four years old, who have been trained to work. They can weigh up to 2,600 pounds, depending on weight. “Oxen” refers to more than one ox. A “yoke of oxen” refers to working pair, connected by a wooden beam (the yoke) on their necks, which allows them to pull together

The following are but a few references to oxen from first-person accounts published in the Pioneer History of Orleans County by Arad Thomas, 1871:

David Matson raised the first log-house in Clarendon in 1814. He sold the horses which he brought into the country, having no use for them in the forest. He bought oxen which drew the logs for the first shanty.

Nathaniel Brown came to Kendall with three yoke of oxen and wagon.

Adin Manley arrived in Kendall in 1815. The following fall he returned to Massachusetts and married. In February 1816, he set out with three yoke of oxen and a covered wagon, for his new home in Kendall. Unfortunately, that was the “year of no summer”:

“We had three yoke of oxen and nothing for them to eat, this was the worst of all. We turned them into the woods and cut browse for them, but the poor cattle suffered much.”

As the woods were cleared, oxen hauled logs and pulled the stubborn tree stumps out of the ground. Oxen were used in Orleans County for quite some time. As late as 1871, the Orleans County Agricultural Society Fair held in Albion included a category for Working Oxen, one for the Best Pair of Working Oxen and one for the Best String of Ten Yoke of Oxen.

The Bicentennial Committee encourages businesses and community organizations to participate in the “Oxen of Orleans County” Public Art project. We hope to populate Orleans County with an artistic & historic ox trail. Several are already on order!

Details are available on the Orleans County Tourism Page. Click here for more information.

Orly the Ox will be out highlighting people, places and things in Orleans County this year. Orly recently stopped by Canalside Tattoo Company in Medina where he got some ink from owner Shawn Ramsey. It was actually a sticker. To request a visit from Orly the mascot, click here for more information.

Orly also was hyped for the Buffalo Bills playoff games. Here he is wearing a Josh Allen jersey. Orly’s adventures can be followed on the Orleans County Tourism’s social media.

‘Our county was very unhealthy until 1828.’ – Jeremiah Brown, pioneer in Ridgeway

By Catherine Cooper, Orleans County Historian

“Illuminating Orleans” – Volume 5, Number 4

“About the first of the next September (1816), myself and my wife and one child were taken sick, and until December following, we suffered everything but Death. Often during that time while myself and my wife were confined to our beds, our children were crying for food and neither of us had strength sufficient to enable us to get to the cupboard to help them.” (Jeremiah Brown, Ridgeway)

This account describes an illness encountered by the early settlers of Orleans County, they referred to it as “a fever and ague “(sounds like “ay-goo”). It was a miserable, debilitating condition which affected everybody, even the strongest person. It persisted for months and was recurrent.

“Our children, then four in number, had their full share of fever and ague. It was painful to see the little ones draw up to the fire while suffering the chill, then see them retire to their beds, tormented by the raging thirst and fever following the chills, while their mother could do little for them, except to supply their frequent requests for water.” (Asa Sanford, Barre)

In Albion, Lansing Bailey was sorely afflicted: his wife and brother died of the fever and ague in August 1813. After his wife’s funeral, some friends who lived on the Ridge took the children home with them. Bailey returned to his “desolate house to spend one of the loneliest nights I ever knew.”

The illness was thought to be part of the acclimating process, or “a penalty to Nature.” It occurred “whenever an opening was made in the forest; or the earth was turned over for the first time to the hot rays of the summer sun.”

Asa Sanford ascribed it to “clearing trees and building dams.” In 1817, Henry McCall and Robert Perry built a dam and mills at Sandy Creek to serve the twenty families living there. The dam raised the water to cover eighteen to twenty acres.

“The water killed the timber, and a terrible sickness followed among the inhabitants, about one quarter of whom died in one season. The well persons were not numerous enough to take care of the sick and bury the dead, and settlers from other neighborhoods came there and helped the needy ones. The mill dam was taken down and the sickness disappeared.”

We now understand that this was a malarial-type illness, caused by the mosquitoes who thrived in those water-logged areas. Those who had access to a doctor were prescribed “quinine and the blue pill” but that many people “just let it work itself off the natural way.” Adin Manly mentioned that some early Kendall residents drank whiskey to keep off the fever and ague.

Dr. White, who attended Lansing Bailey told Bailey that he could prescribe something that would stop it, but that he would be well advised not to take it. Bailey said that he would take it on his own responsibility. Dr. White gave him arsenic, Bailey took it.

“It stopped the ague, but I did not get well for a long time.”

Jeremiah Brown observed that “our county was very unhealthy until 1828.”

Asa Sanford recalled that “as the county was cleared up and the lowlands drained of their surface water, the people suffered less from ague.”

(Source: Pioneer History of Orleans County, Arad Thomas, 1872)