By Catherine Cooper, Orleans County Historian

“illuminating Orleans” – Volume 6, No. 13

RIDGEWAY – Our photo at top shows Fred Grey’s white horse and surrey standing south of the Universalist Church, at 3064 North Gravel Rd. in Ridgeway.

Mr. Grey was the husband of Mary Pells, a granddaughter of Seymour Murdock, an early settler and one of the founding members of this church. A sandstone stepping-stone was conveniently placed by the corner at the front of the church. Drive barns, which would have provided shelter for horses and buggies, can be seen at the rear of the church.

“We, the inhabitants of the towns of Ridgeway and Yates, at a meeting at the house of Jasper Murdock on the 14th day of December 1833, organized as the First Universalist Society of the Towns of Ridgeway and Yates.”

Seymour B. Murdock, Philo Elmer, Daniel Hunt, Samuel Bidleman and Nathan Sawyer were the trustees of this newly incorporated church. At this first organizational meeting they also voted to raise $1,000 to build a church by January 1, 1835.

Julia Perry, wife of the entrepreneurial Joseph Perry who was a postmaster, shipping agent, and owner of the hotel and tavern at Ridgeway Corners, donated the site for the new church. The site was on the west side of what is now North Gravel Road, just south of the intersection with Route 104.

Contributions were solicited and pews were auctioned to raise money for the construction. Pew prices ranged from $10 to $65, while contributions ranged from $5 to $100.

The Universalist Church at Ridgeway was dedicated in June 1835 by Rev. L.L. Sadler. Rev. Charles Hammond was the first Universalist preacher at Ridgeway. He divided his time between Ridgeway and the Universalist Church in Middleport.

Ridgeway Universalist Church in the early 1950s

This small but active congregation celebrated its centennial on December 14, 1933. But as time went by it became more difficult to find pastors. Services were discontinued in 1961 following a period of decline. The New York State Convention of Universalists took over the building in 1961 and sold it to Faith Bible Baptist Church in September 1973.

Firefighters from Ridgeway, Lyndonville and Medina battled the early morning fire at the Faith Bible Baptist Church, with assistance from East Shelby and Middleport.

On October 11, 1993, a fire of unknown origin destroyed the 160-year-old structure. In June 1994, the Middleport construction company of Barden and Robeson started construction at the site of the original church. The new 7,400 square foot Faith Bible Baptist Church was dedicated on Sunday, January 8, 1995.

‘He subsisted for 15 days on a pint of flour and a dog’s liver’

By Catherine Cooper, Orleans County Historian

“Illuminating Orleans” – Volume 6, No. 12

MURRAY – This bronze marker set on a millstone is located at the northeast corner of the junction of Routes 104 and 237 in the Town of Murray.

It was dedicated on October 12, 1932, by members of the Orleans Chapter DAR and the Jewell Buckman American Legion Post in Holley. It commemorates “the 200th Anniversary of the Birth of George Washington and the Men Who Fought in the American Revolution and Sleep in the Town of Murray.”

Many of the early settlers of Orleans County were Revolutionary War veterans or the sons of veterans. In other instances, aging parents later came to live with their families. An estimated 65 Revolutionary War soldiers are buried in Orleans County.

The Orleans Chapter of the DAR and the Rochester Chapter of the SAR have maintained records of these burials. In addition, Luci Borello and Sutton Sanders, two students from the Albion Middle School, have researched and presented a list of the Revolutionary War veterans buried in Orleans County with the guidance of their teacher, Tim Archer. They also obtained graveside markers for unmarked graves and replaced a damaged headstone.

They will present their findings on Saturday, May 16, at 10:30 am at the Pierce-Smith Pioneer Cemetery at 3960 Hulberton Road in Holley. This event is open to the public.

During this current year-long recognition of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, there has been a renewed interest in the wartime experiences of the Continental Army soldiers.

The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) and the National Park Service have created a Citizen Archivist Mission project to assist in the transcription of the 80,000 pension application records on file. Perhaps you may be interested? https://www.archives.gov/citizen-archivist/missions

Adam Tabelski, a former mayor of Medina who now lives in Batavia, has contributed several transcriptions of the experiences of these veterans buried in Orleans County to the Orleans County Department of History records:

John Percival (1754-1837)

According to his pension deposition in 1833, Percival saw much action during the war. He enlisted on May 16, 1775, with a Massachusetts company under General Heath and was involved in the Battle of Bunker Hill on June 17, 1775. He volunteered for the ill-fated Continental Army expedition to Quebec under Col. Benedict Arnold later in 1775. He testified that:

“They were supplied with Boats to carry their Baggage and provisions (at Fort Winslow) and they went up the river through a dreary wilderness. The river was very rapid, and the soldiers were obliged to wade and push the boats upstream. In many cases, the boats were taken out of the River and carried upon their shoulders…..At this time they were in the greatest distress for the want of provisions. He himself subsisted 15 days on a pint of flour and a dog’s liver.”

He was part of the group that retreated following the unsuccessful attack on Quebec. In 1777, he was involved in the burning of two British schooners and the fortifications at Fort George as well as the destruction of bridges and felling of trees tin an effort to  deter the advance of General Burgoyne’s troops. Later he was “out on one or two short alarums after Tories and Indians”. He testified that he never received any of his monthly wages except for the Quebec Expedition. Apparently, the Continental paper money soldiers occasionally received as pay for service was often worthless.

Two of Percival’s sons resided in Orleans County: Montgomery in the Town of Carlton and Samuel in the Town of Gaines. In 1824, Samuel built the hotel/tavern which is still in operation currently as  the Tavern on the Ridge, formerly the Village Inn.

John Percival is buried in Gaines Cemetery.

Robinson Smith (1761-1828)

Smith enlisted in the Continental Army in 1782 and served in General Washington’s Life Guard, a unit of the Continental Army, about 180 strong, which protected Washinton as well as the money and papers of the Continental Army. Smith was discharged in 1784. He applied for a pension in 1818 and was awarded $8 per month. Eligible to reapply in 1820, he had to cite financial need. His testimony gives a vivid description of the difficulties of the times.

By 1820, he was a farmer with a wife and four children. He could do little labor as he was “badly ruptured.” His debt amounted to $30. His itemized possessions were indeed meagre  and included 3 old axes and 3 old hoes, 1 sickle, 1 barrel and 3 old common chairs.

Robinson Smith is buried in Pierce-Smith Cemetery, Hulburton. In July 1939, the Lemuel Cook Chapter Sons of the American Revolution unveiled an official marker at his grave in recognition of his services for the Life Guard.

Please note that Patrice Birner of the Orleans County DAR will speak about the DAR and the NY250 Centennial Celebration at the Gaines-Basin Cobblestone Schoolhouse, 3286 Gaines-Basin Road, Albion, at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, May 28. This is an Orleans County Historical Association program.

492 bottles of beer seized from Kendall Hotel in 1914

Photo from Orleans County Department of History: This photo of the Kendall Hotel is dated 1935. Opened in 1901, the building escaped several destructive village fires. Later known as the Kendall Inn, it is now a restaurant named The Grove 1848.

By Catherine Cooper, Orleans County Historian

“Illuminating Orleans” – Volume 6, No. 11

KENDALL – The Kendall Agricultural Club, which assembled at the Kendall Hotel in 1913-1914, played a role in the Temperance campaign leading up to Prohibition.

As early as 1912, six of the ten towns of Orleans County were “dry” or “no-license” to use the parlance of the day, meaning that the sale of alcohol was prohibited in these jurisdictions. The energetic lobbying efforts of the Women’s Christian Temperance Union (W.C.T.U.) had secured these local victories.

However, not all residents were in favor of these restrictions. Taking advantage of a loophole in the 1896 NYS Liquor License Law, Farmers or Agricultural Clubs were organized in dry towns. One such was the Kendall Agricultural Club.

Incorporated in the summer of 1913, it had the stated goal of “the scientific study of agriculture and horticulture, the effect of insectivorous pests” and other farming questions. Club members were allowed access to the two hotel rooms rented at the Kendall Hotel. Members who paid $1 were given a ticket which allowed them 20 bottles of beer. They could also fill out continuous order vouchers directing the Bartholomew Brewing Company to deliver them one case of beer weekly.

Soon there were four other flourishing Farmer’s Agricultural Clubs in the county, three in the town of Gaines and one in Lyndonville.

However, the Temperance League was a force to be reckoned with. An article in the Buffalo Sunday Morning News of Feb. 8, 1914, mentions that the Orleans County Temperance League held their meeting with church temperance organizations to discuss lobbying plans for upcoming local elections at the Court House in Albion.

The article also mentions that several detectives had been employed by temperance leaders of the Town of Kendall to conduct investigations. Shortly after their departure, on January 16, 1914, Constable Louis J. Cady of the Town of Kendall filed a petition with the Supreme Court Justice, Cuthbert W. Pound, alleging that Warren C. Miller, Ida C. Miller, Ray Miller and Garret Rocque had liquor at the Kendall Hotel for the purpose of unlawful sale and distribution.

The following day, Constable William C. Singleton of the Town of Ridgeway seized 492 bottles of beer and one bottle containing whiskey from the Kendall Hotel.

In response, Norman Lindaler, Oscar Lind, William Scheplar, John H. Scheplar, Atley Stevens,  John J. Norton, Ray R. Miller, Thomas Jeffrey, William Scheik, Garret Recqua, Henry Scheik, Otto Greinke, Henry Scheplar, Charles Backus and Cornelius Fenner, each filed a claim that they were part owners of the seized beer.

They said that they were members of the Kendall Agricultural Club, a duly incorporated club, and that they each had their own beer at the hotel lawfully, that it was for their personal consumption, and not for sale or distribution.

Medina Daily Journal headline, Feb. 3, 1914

At a hearing at the Court House in Albion on February 16, 1914, Supreme Court Justice Cuthbert W. Pound of Lockport presided over the case of the State Commissioner of Excise against the 492 seized bottles of beer. An unusual case, it had no precedent in the district. At issue was whether “Agricultural Clubs” were operating as a pretext for the unlawful sale of alcohol and avoiding the excise tax law.

The four members of the club who testified confirmed the social aspects of their activities, though none could remember any occasion on which they actually discussed any aspect of agriculture.

Judge Pound heard the evidence of Raymond Miller, who conducted the Club, and of four members of the club whose testimony confirmed the social aspects of their activities. He then took the case from the jury and directed that “it appears without dispute that this alcohol was kept within the state for unlawful distribution and that the jury is directed to take proper judgement for seizure of the same and its turning over to the State Excise Dept. to be auctioned off according to the new law by that department.”

He also stated that he did not think that there was any evidence to show that Raymond Miller was guilty of unlawful selling of beer. He directed that the Kendall Agricultural Club and similar organizations were “illegal and had been perfected for the purpose of trafficking in liquors and the evasion of liquor tax law” (Buf. Enq., 2-17-14)

New York State Excise Commissioner Farley hailed the verdict as a severe blow to the evasion of the law by these so called “clubs” and in the enforcement of excise laws in dry towns.

More than 5,000 residents in Orleans have Irish descent

A postcard view of the port of Queenstown, later Cobh (cove), on the south coast of Ireland, the disembarkation point for many emigrants to the US from 1815 through the early 1930s.

By Catherine Cooper, Orleans County Historian

“Illuminating Orleans” – Volume 6, No. 10

At one minute past midnight on April 18, 2026, the long-awaited digitized version of the 1926 Irish Census was made available by the National Archives of Ireland, to the delight of family researchers and genealogists worldwide.

One hundred years prior, on the night of April 18, 1926, householders in each home in the 26 counties of Ireland filled out a detailed census form. These handwritten forms are now available for view. In combination, they provide a detailed view of life at the time.

Orleans County is within the 8th percentile of New York State counties for Irish population density, with 5,369 residents or 13.5% of the total county population of Irish descent, according to the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey data, so the availability of this census will be of interest.

The 1926 Census is significant because it was the first census conducted by the newly established Irish Free State. A prior census had been conducted in 1911 by the British government. There had been great upheaval in the intervening years – World War I, the Irish War of Independence, the Irish Civil War.

Though we now take it for granted, digital access to census records is phenomenal and nothing short of miraculous to those of us who served time in those ante-diluvian pre-computer days.

The online version of the 1926 Irish Census comes complete with “bells and whistles.” The forms recorded twenty-one pieces of information: name, age, occupation, religion, housing, ability to speak or read Irish. One can search by last name, first name, town, townland or electoral division.

If you click on “View Household Record,” you will see details of all of those who resided in that house on the night of April 18, 1926.

Click on “Household Form A1” to view an original view of the form, complete with the signature of the head of the household.

The data provided is linked to the 1924 Ordnance Survey map. Just toggle to “View Map” to zoom in and see with increasing detail the counties, townlands, and even outlines of fields.

You can see how many O’ Brien’s there were in Cork (5,537), or how many men in the country were named Patrick (182,070), whether your Aunt Julia was older or younger than your Aunt Molly, or find out that your cousin Bud’s name was actually Kevin, or view the residents of a street or village.

If your ancestors left Ireland in the 1920s (as many of those who fought on the side of the Anti-Treaty during the Civil War were obliged to do, finding themselves boycotted from employment), then you will see your family members, grandparents, siblings and cousins listed.

If your ancestors left Ireland prior to the 1920s, chances are, you will still find relatives. If you only know a family name and a county, you can view the occurrences of that surname on the map.

Dive in, search “1926 Irish census”. Have fun!

Oak Orchard on a serene day, 1900

By Catherine Cooper, Orleans County Historian

“Illuminating Orleans” – Volume 6, No. 9

CARLTON – You may have heard of bass jumping out of the water.

But have you heard about bass jumping out of water and into a boat?

A recent Orleans Hub article about restocking fish at Oak Orchard reminded us of this true tale recorded by Helen Allen in the 1940’s. Allen was a Town of Carlton historian and a 50-year local correspondent for the Orleans Republican.

She interviewed many older residents and chronicled their recollections. John Podgers, a blacksmith, was one of her sources. At one time, he had a steamboat which he used to take passengers up and down the Oak Orchard Creek and out on Lake Ontario, charging ten cents a person. He told tales of sudden onset storms out on the lake and close calls coming into the harbor. Helen recorded and later published Podger’s absolutely true tale of the jumping bass:

JOHN PODGER’S JUMPING BASS

“One lovely summer evening, two couples from the Inn had engaged John to take them for a ride up and down the creek. They were very tired and had come to the Inn for a quiet rest. They brought banjos and mandolins with them and played and sang as they rode along. John said the music there on the water sounded beautiful and he was enjoying it immensely.

Suddenly the nocturnal harmony was shattered by a woman’s scream and the clatter of mandolins dropped to the bottom of the boat! He looked around to see what had happened. The two ladies had dropped their instruments and were crouched up on the seat. A big black bass was flopping about on the bottom of the boat. The ladies were still moaning in terror, but the men were too excited to notice.

“Will that fish jump out?” asked one.

“Well,” John said, “he jumped in so I guess he’ll jump out if he wants to.”

At that, the man made a lunge and grabbed the fish with both hands.

“I brought out fifty dollars’ worth of fishing tackles and have been fishing for a week without getting a bite,” he said, “and this fish is not getting away.”

The ladies wanted to go in but the men insisted John go up the creek again. The bass kept jumping and soon there were six big ones in the boat. By this time their wives were in hysterics and the men had to take them ashore.

One of the men found a pail to carry the fish in and he said to John, “Come up to the hotel with me for no one will believe me when I tell this story.”

At the Inn everyone admired the bass. They weighed them and found the six totaled eighteen pounds, but no one would believe that they had jumped into the boat. So, John was engaged to take all the men from the hotel on a fishing expedition the next evening. The two musical ladies were in such a state they had to be sent home but their husbands stayed to prove the truthfulness of their story.

The next evening, a jeering crowd of men rode up and down the creek for a time without anything happening, but when it became dark enough for the steamer’s headlight to shine clearly over the water, the bass started jumping again and several landed in the boat.

After that, John and his boat were in great demand. Guests from the hotels, cottages, neighbors and people from Albion and farther away went out nearly every night. Usually, the black bass were accommodating but sometimes there was disappointment as some friend or relative was brought from a distance to see the jumping fish and nary a one showed up.

One evening, Elder Brown, the Presbyterian minister was in the boat when a bass landed on the canopy on top of the boat, flopped about for a minute and then slid off the other side. When they went ashore that night, Elder Brown told his friends that the fish had now taken to jumping right over the boat.

Charles Hart hired a fishing boat and followed the steamer. Quite a crowd of men were in the two boats and John said that the black bass were in great jumping form that night. Every time one landed in either boat, the men would yell and there was great excitement to see which one would get the bigger catch.

The steamer won out but together they caught 52 fish, and a bushel basket would not hold them all. Of course, only a small proportion of the bass that jumped landed in the boats and John said that from his position in the bow looking down the beam of the light, the fish were breaking water so fast that it looked as if the whole creek was boiling.

It was a fantastic sight, the bubbling water, the many fish jumping just above the surface and many more that leaped high and then came horizontally for a few feet, straight toward the headlight, with wiggling fins and tails and wet glistening bodies as if swimming through the air, and then dropped back into the water or into the boat.

The jumping bass of Oak Orchard Creek was the chief topic of conversation in a wide area of western New York and even in more distant places for a time.

The nest year the black bass appeared to be more sophisticated and scarcely noticed the steamboat’s headlight.”

Incidentally, the Oak Orchard River Bass Anglers Club is still active; it was started in 1975 by Jack Ainslie and Mike Elam.

The April 20, 1865 issue of the Medina Tribune included coverage of the Lincoln assassination on pages 2 and 3.

By Catherine Cooper, Orleans County Historian

“Illuminating Orleans” – Volume 6, No. 8

MEDINA – When print newspapers were part of daily life, it was not uncommon for people to clip significant articles – births, marriages, obituaries etc. as tangible records of significant events.

Historic events with loud headlines such as “WAR DECLARED” or “MAN WALKS ON MOON” somehow compelled people to save entire issues, as though the whole paper was imbued with the importance of the event. These papers still have the power to stop us in our tracks.

A well-preserved edition of the Medina Tribune was rediscovered recently at a home in Shelby. At first glance, it appears to be a run-of-the-mill issue. “Courtship Among the Zulus” and “The Oldest Man in the World” are two of the front-page articles, along with advertisements for items ranging from silk hats to oysters and the standard elixir advertisement in this case Pineapple Cider.

But the reason why this newspaper issue was saved becomes apparent on pages two and three. For it is an historic issue after all: it deals with the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. A closer look at the date provides an explanation. The assassination occurred on April 14, 1865, which was a Friday, Good Friday, in fact.

At that time local papers were weekly and were published on Thursdays. Thus, this issue, dated April 20, 1865, is the first local newspaper to cover the event and hence the reason it was saved.

On Sunday, April 16th, the churches in Medina were draped in mourning, emblematic of the deep sorrow felt for the death of the President. A Union meeting of the various churches was held at the Methodist Episcopal Church in the evening. “The house was crowded and a most intensely solemn feeling prevailed throughout the entire service.”

The discourse delivered by the Baptist minister, Rev. D. VanAlstyne was apparently particularly impressive and was included in this issue of the Tribune by popular request. It is powerful indeed; one can well imagine the impact it would have had when delivered from the pulpit, just two days after the event, by a minister who, most likely, was well-schooled in the art of oratory.

“Let the Nation in her wrath and just indignation trample the system of slavery into utter extinction. This is an uncommon occasion; a great calamity is ours; the nation is in mourning over an unparalleled crime, and I shall offer no apologies for speaking plain and honest words”

Scheduling details for President Lincoln’s funeral train were announced. Citizens who wished to take a last look at the remains were encouraged to take the morning train from Medina to Buffalo on Thursday, April 27th as the train was scheduled to stop in Buffalo from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Also included in this issue: Governor Fenton’s announcement of the National Calamity, the text of President Andrew Jackson’s Inaugural Address delivered on April 15th as well as details of the $100,000 reward offered: $50,000 for information that would lead to the arrest of John Wilkes Booth, and $25,000 each for the apprehension of conspirators George Atzerodt or David Herold.

We never cease to be amazed at the items that survive through the years, resurfacing out of time and space to give us a glimpse of another era. We thank the Zelazny family for this treasure.

Group served as fun-loving arm of the American Legion to promote patriotic bonding

This photo published in The Buffalo News on Jan. 15, 1957, shows Miss Ola Burns of Holley, chapeau of the Orleans Petite Salon of the Eight & Forty, getting some tips on her new duties from a chapeau passe, Mrs. Francis Postle of Lyndonville. The group met once a month in the Albion Legion Building in Albion.

By Catherine Cooper, Orleans County Historian

“Illuminating Orleans” – Volume 6, No. 7

ALBION – Naturally, we were intrigued by the above photograph since it references the “Albion Legion Building.” The Sheret Post #35 American Legion was located at 34 East Park St. in Albion from 1935 until 1980 when it was purchased by Orleans County for use as office space. The building currently houses the Orleans County Dept. of History.

The Orleans Petite Salon of the Eight and Forty (Eight and Forty) was the sister organization of the Society of Forty Men and Eight Horses (Forty and Eight) who also met at the Albion Legion Building.

The Forty & Eight was organized by Joseph W. Breen in Philadelphia in 1920 as La Societe des Quarante Hommes et Huit Chevaux (The Society of Forty Men & Eight Horses) as an independent, invitation only, honor society of American veterans.

This name was a reference to the French railroad boxcars which had been used to transport soldiers to the Front during World War 1. The cargo capacity sign on each boxcar was Quarante Hommes/Huit Chevaux – Forty Men or Eight Horses. The French theme carried through humorously – members were referred to as Voyageurs Militaires (military travelers) and prospective members as Prisonnieres de Guerre (prisoners of war), the local unit was referred to as the “voiture” (car), while the initiation ritual was referred to as a “wreck.” The Society was intended to be the fun-loving arm of the American Legion, its goal was to promote fun, patriotic bonding and to support charitable causes, specifically child welfare and nurses’ training.

The railroad theme was featured in the terminology and visual images used by the Society of Forty Men and Eight Horses.

The Orleans County branch of the organization was instituted in Holley on July 16, 1927, and was designated Charter No. 971. An initiation was held at the James P. Clark Post on East Center St. in Medina on September 7, 1927.

It appears to have been a fun event, in keeping  with the  society’s goals. A drum corps led a parade of candidates who exploded red flares as they marched. The costumes, make-up and antics of the Prisonniers de Guerre provided the onlookers with much entertainment. As reported in the Medina Daily Journal on the following day, the “wreck” began at 9:30 p.m. and lasted until 4 a.m., at which time the “prisonniers” were kneeling in front of the Monument Works, too tired to rise, but feebly saying prayers for the dead.” Initiations rotated to the other Legion Posts throughout the  county in subsequent years.

La Boutique des Huit Chapeaux et Quarante Femmes (The Society of Eight Hats and Forty Women) was organized in Indianapolis, IN in 1922 as the sister organization to the Forty & Eight. It also supported child welfare and nurses training and added “preventive tuberculosis” to its goals in 1932.

Logo of the Eight and Forty

The installation dinner for the newly chartered Orleans County Petite Salon of the Eight and Forty was held at the Sheret Post American Legion Building in Albion on February 27, 1951.Women who had been members in good standing of the American Legion Auxiliary for thirty-six consecutive months were eligible for membership.

Officers installed on that occasion included:

Chapeau: Mrs. Helen Van Stone, Albion, Demi-Chapeau: Mrs. Florence Bayne, Medina, Demi-Chapeau Premiere: Mrs. Arlene Tibbits, Albion, L’Secretaire and L’Caissiere: Mrs. Virginia De Palma, Fancher, L’Aumoniar: Mrs. Rowena Philllips, Albion, L’Concierge: Mrs. Alett Padaman, Holley.

A group of Orleans County members attended the Annual Convention held in Syracuse on July 23, 1959. Originally a subsidiary organization of the American Legion Auxiliary, the Eight and Forty became an independent veterans organization in 1960. It is still active nationally, as is the Forty and Eight, though their membership numbers have declined.

Photo from the Webster family scrapbook – This photograph of Jennie Webster at her millinery store in Holley is filled with fascinating details – the ladies’ clothing, the furnishings, the hats and hat paraphernalia.

By Catherine Cooper, Orleans County Historian

“Illuminated Orleans” – Volume 6, No. 6

HOLLEY – At one time, hats were an essential component of women’s clothing. A lady would simply not appear in public hatless. Hats were indicative of social status and financial means. Styles ranged from everyday bonnets and berets to large, elaborate confections with flowers and feathers.

While clothing was often homemade, hats were a specialty item and were custom made by milliners. The term “milliner” to denote a person who makes hats, comes from Milan, Italy, noted for its hatmakers in the 16th century. By the nineteenth century, milliners were primarily female. Being a milliner was regarded as a respectable profession which could be sufficiently lucrative to provide an income and financial independence.

Jennie Webster was a milliner in Holley for over fifty years. Born on April 20, 1876, she was a daughter of Martin and Marietta Perry Webster. Her father was a farmer on Hurd Road.

She is listed as a milliner in the 1900 Census. She accepted a position in a millinery store in Canton, Ohio in 1909, presumably to hone her business skills. In Feb. 1912, she purchased Miss Jennie Cole’s millinery business in downtown.

Holley and leased Cole’s parlor on the second floor of the Newton block. She travelled to Buffalo, Cleveland and Detroit in August of that year to attend the fall shows of the millinery houses and purchase goods for her store.

Suitably be-hatted, Jennie loved to travel.

Jennie moved into her new millinery parlor in Sept. 1912. Competition was stiff.

Lena A. Church operated a millinery on White Street, while Ethel A. Wilson was on Geddes Street. At that time, hats were large and elaborate. Trimmings could include ribbons, lace, feathers and flowers. Each hat was unique and tailored to the customers’ wishes. Long hat pins were used to secure them to the ladies’ hair.

Jennie regularly attended millinery shows and fashion promenades in Buffalo and Rochester and was keenly attuned to changing trends. Smaller hats and more subdued designs were preferred in the 1920’s. The 1926 Orleans County Directory indicates that Jennie was the only milliner in Holley. By that time, she had moved her parlor to a building adjoining the family home on Geddes Street. It is interesting to note that the county was still well supplied with hatmakers.

Orleans County Directory, 1926

Hats adorned with veils, feathers and artificial flowers made a comeback after World War II. As the clothing industry became more industrialized, women were less inclined to purchase custom-made hats.

Jennie adapted to these changes by joining her brother’s tailoring business on Main Street where she expanded to selling ladies apparel as well as millinery. Having weathered seismic shifts in her chosen field, she retired in 1955, when the store was closed. It was purchased by Nixon’s Clothing.

Jennie was unmarried and apparently supported herself. She enjoyed a busy, independent life. Her activities and social engagements were frequently mentioned in the Holley Standard newspaper. She died on Monday, Jan 2, 1967, at the age of 91. The Webster family is buried in Hillside Cemetery, Holley.

Photos from Orleans County Department of History: Owned by Harvey L. and Blanche Hill, this fine dining establishment was located at the corner of Knowlesville Road and Million Dollar Highway/Rt. 31 in Ridgeway.

By Catherine Cooper, Orleans County Historian

Illuminating Orleans, Volume 6, No. 5

RIDGEWAY – “Service and Satisfaction” was the stated motto of Fairhaven Manor, a very successful fine dining enterprise which hosted innumerable meetings, banquets and parties during the 1920s and 1930s.

Conveniently located on the north-west side of the intersection of the Knowlesville Road and Million Dollar Highway/Rt. 31, it was owned and operated by Harvey L. Hill and his wife, Blanche.

The substantial house was built as a residence for A.M. Brinsmaid in 1870. It changed hands several times and was purchased by the Hills. They added a large dining room on the south side of the building. Rooms were also available.

Unfortunately, the establishment was destroyed by fire in the early morning hours of Friday, April 9, 1937. The fire was believed to have started in the cellar, possibly from an overheated furnace. Sleeping on the second floor, the Hills were awoken by choking smoke around 2 a.m. They managed to escape to the roof of the addition using a rope made of sheets. They, along with the manager, Thomas Fitzgerald and farm hand Donald Latta, had a narrow escape. Mr. Hill then ran, without shoes, to the home of his son, Percy, three quarters of a mile away, to summon the Medina Fire Dept. Assistant Fire Chief Ranallo responded with two pumpers, but a strong northeast wind and a lack of water stymied their efforts. The garage and barns were saved, but only the cellar walls of the Manor remained.

Remarkably, the Medina Rotary Club bell survived the blaze. The Club held their weekly meetings at Fairview. Dr. Harry F. Tanner left the bell under the entrance staircase following the April 6 meeting. The bronze bell, which had been presented to the club in 1923 and was used to summon members to meetings, had somehow fallen through to the basement during the fire. Its mahogany base was destroyed but the bell was in good condition.

(Left) Orleans Republican ad., July 4, 1928. (Right) Unidentified boys, Fairview Manor barn in the background.

The Hills did not rebuild. Mrs. Hill died the following year, and Mr. Hill died in 1961. They are buried at Tanner Cemetery, Ridgeway.

The Dept. of History file on Fairview Manor states that “the dwelling place which now occupies the site was moved there from the grounds of the N.Y. S. Training School in Albion.”

However, in a History of Knowlesville (1958), Lois Higgins wrote:

“The house that was moved to the spot of the Fairview Manor disaster had previously stood on the south side of West Avenue (Knowlesville), between the rear of the Hatch house and the Frank Higgins house”

Can any of our readers clarify this discrepancy? Or identify these two boys? (Email Catherine.cooper@orleanscountyny.gov)

This evocative sign was mercifully saved from the garbage pile by Erica Joan Wanescki who donated it to the Medina Historical Society.

By Catherine Cooper, Orleans County History

“Illuminating Orleans” – Volume 6, No. 4

The Bishop Nursing Home in Medina, Rose Villa Nursing Home in Albion, the Rembrandt Nursing Home in Kendall are but a few of the Orleans County facilities that provided residential care for elderly and incapacitated patients from the 1930s to the 1970s.

Variously referred to as “convalescent homes,” “care homes” or “old-age homes,” they were privately owned and operated. Usually located in larger houses, the number of patients depended on how many bedrooms could be reconfigured and could range from 5 to 30.

In many cases the homeowners were nurses. Additional nursing staff were employed to cover shifts and nighttime hours. Doctors visited on a regular schedule and patient records were kept.

Patient care was provided in a homestyle setting. Meals were home-cooked, residents who were not bedridden could socialize in a common area. Family members or outside hired help assisted with housekeeping tasks.

The Holley Standard of June 15, 1954, contains an account of a new facility, the Birner Nursing Home in Kendall:

“After considerable remodeling and installations to conform with state laws, including the addition of a fire escape, the home is now ready for occupants. The patients will have the entire second floor, including a small sitting room of their own and a total of 12 patients can be taken care of. Mr. and Mrs. Binder and their two daughters will live downstairs”

The evolution of this era of public health care is complex. The concept of public responsibility for the care of the indigent had long been established and had evolved through various phases. By the beginning of the 20th century, the poorhouse model of care was under stress. Poverty rates among the elderly increased after the Depression and it was estimated that over 50% had insufficient income to support themselves.

The groundbreaking Social Security Act of 1935 provided a cash income to the elderly poor. However, the act prohibited the payment of cash to any “inmate of a public institution,” as a result of financial irregularities uncovered at almshouses and infirmaries. At that same time, many homeowners had lost their means of income and thus private nursing homes evolved.

The Medina Daily Journal, June 15, 1959 printed this ad for Green Acres Nursing Home in Albion.

We searched through obituary listings on www.nyshistoricnewspapers.org to compile this list:

ALBION

Doloway Nursing Home

Green Acres Nursing Home

Hughsen Nursing Home

Pagel’s Nursing Home

Parker Nursing Home

Rose Villa Nursing Home aka Hazard Nursing Home

BARRE

Waldo Nursing Home

CARLTON

Young’s Nursing Home

HOLLEY

Ethel DeVoe Nursing Home

Lynch Nursing Home

KENDALL

Birner Nursing Home

Rembrandt Nursing Home

MEDINA

Bishop Nursing Home

Casey Nursing Home

Poler Nursing Home

Timmy’s (Timmerman’s) Adult Home

This home care nursing home model was all but phased out by the early 1970s as the State Health Department imposed more stringent requirements.

Mrs. Gertude Patterson, operator of the Bishop Nursing Home in Medina, observed that they were being forced out oof business.

“Rocky (Nelson Rockefeller, (Gov. NYS 1959-1973) got a grant for state-owned nursing homes, so they are trying to force us little ones out of business so they can build big hospital type nursing homes.” (MDJ 8-10-1968)

On June 28, 1969, William Knights, Jr. presided over an auction of the “Entire Household Goods and Supplies” of “The Bishop.” Included were 24 hospital beds, 12 antique rockers, 12 regular rockers, 7, fire extinguishers, night bells, hospital commodes and “many other articles, too numerous to mention.”

(Special thanks to Mrs. Jean Cardone for her recollections. We welcome any additional information, photographs, etc. Send to Catherine.cooper@orleanscountyny.gov)

This 1913 map of Lyndonville shows a concentration of food processing plants adjacent to railway line and open area advertised by H.A. & A.A. Housel. (New Century Atlas of Orleans County, 1913)

By Catherine Cooper, Orleans County History

“Illuminating Orleans” – Volume 6, No. 3

An ad from Lyndonville Enterprise on January 27, 1910

“LYNDONVILLE – HER PROGRESSIVE HEALTHY GROWTH,

“AND WHAT IT MEANS FOR THE FUTURE –

“REAL ESTATE MARKET IS ACTIVE”

“Put me off at Lyndonville” (station)

“Why?”

“Oh! Lyndonville is such an enterprising little town that it has become a desirable place in which to settle and invest money. It is wonderful how prices are soaring and if you want to be “in it” you must “get there” right quick.

Why, within this past year, 15 new dwelling houses, at a cost of from $2,500 to $3,000 have been erected and more are to be built by spring and these mostly by retired farmers in our town who have so prospered by big crops and good prices that they have been able to pay off their mortgages and still have money enough to buy a village lot at a cost of $300 to $400 and erect an elegant house with all modern improvements from a furnace to electric lights.

Small wonder then that Lyndonville was the subject of postcards such as this 1910 era card from the Balls-McComb collection.

In addition, this past year, the Lyndonville Ice and Cold Storage plant was built at a cost of  $125.000; Barnum’s brick hotel at a cost of $4,500; the Lyndonville cement Automobile Garage; N.J. Barry’s cola building with an electric elevator. F.D. Langdon’s new drive barn is in progress, as are plans for a new general store and opera house.”

This article was originally published as a centerpiece on page one of the Lyndonville Enterprise of January 27, 1910. The Housel ad. appeared in the same issue.

Lyndonville’s prosperity referred to can be attributed to the transportation service provided by the Rome, Watertown and Ogdensburg Railroad. The first train passed through on June 12, 1876. For the next 70 years, freight and refrigerated trains transported the area’s fine produce to market while passenger trains carried passengers to Rochester and Buffalo.

While Yates Center was the site of the first settlement in the Town of Yates, it was soon eclipsed by the growth of Lyndonville just a short distance south. The Johnson Creek waterfall provided a source of power, essential at that time for operating mills. A grist mill was built in 1836. Other businesses soon followed.

The village was incorporated in 1903. In 1908, the village contracted with the Swett Electric Light and Power Company to provide electric lamp posts on Main St. Electric power was also available for the newly built “elegant houses.”

A Town of Murray road map shows Padelford Road, which connects to Route 31 near the Hickory Ridge Golf Course and RV Resort (shown on map as SUNY at Brockport – Fancher campus.

By Catherine Cooper, Orleans County Historian

“Illuminating Orleans” – Volume 6, No. 2

MURRAY – Road names are an interesting aspect of local history. We tend to take them for granted but they each have a story and reflect an aspect of our past.

Orleans County’s road names cover a range of topics: origin (Salt Works), nature (Hemlock Ridge), buildings (Schoolhouse, Fletcher Chapel), features (Culvert), boundaries (Townline, Countyline), functions (Telegraph), shape (Angling, Zig-Zag) and the wittily named Alps Road referring to its “mountainous” topography. Many roads were named for farmers or long-term residents: Carr Rd., Sawyer Rd., Lattin Rd.

Charles E. Padelford

In April 1973, Town of Murray Supervisor Thomas De Palma took what a Medina Journal editorial described as “a brave and commendable step” of naming two roads in the town in honor of former physicians. Dr. Charles E. Padelford and Dr. Leon Ogden tended to the needs of Murray residents for a total of 78 years, having started their practices in the horse and buggy era.

Padelford Road is located south of Fancher. It runs from Lynch Road to Route 31.

Ogden Road is located east of the village of Holley and runs from Route 31 to the Orleans-Monroe County line.

Charles E. Padelford was born in Canandaigua in 1869. He trained as a jeweler and optician but always wanted to practice medicine. Following his marriage to June M. Sidell in Victor in 1898, he entered the University of Buffalo School of Medicine and graduated in 1905, at the age of 36. He practiced in Clarendon for five years, then moved to Holley where he practiced until his death at the age of 74 in 1943.

In his memoir “Roses and Garlic” Michael A. Charles recounted that Dr. Padelford charged $1 for homecare, including medicine, but would accept food as payment. Since the Charles family operated a store, Dr. Padelford liked to get paid with large cans of black olives or stop at their gas pump to fill his tank.

Ogden Road is east of the Village of Holley in the southern part of Murray, close to the Clarendon town line.

Dr. Padelford helped found the Holley Rotary Club and the Holley Rod and Gun Club. In 1922, he donated a cup to the Gun Club which was to be owned permanently by the person who won the title three years in succession.

He had a keen interest in local history and was a collector of clocks, coral, books, canes and antique firearms. Several boxes of his papers were donated to the Holley Depot Museum. Dr. Padelford and his wife, Jenny, who died in 1963, are buried in Hillside Cemetery, Holley.

Dr. Leon Ogden was born in the hamlet of Allen’s Hill, Ontario County in 1875. He studied medicine at the Albany Medical School and by 1900 was practicing in the Murray area. The Holley Standard of Sept. 6, 1900, reported that “the excessive warm weather of the past week has caused a good many cases of sickness. Dr. Ogden has been very busy attending calls.”

He served as Coroner for 25 years and in 1950, he was honored by the New York State Medical Association for 50 years of service as a physician. His favorite pastimes were hunting and fishing.

He died in 1953 while vacationing in Lake Nipissing, Ontario, Canada. He and his wife, Katherine, who died in 1968 are buried in Hillside Cemetery, Holley.

By Catherine Cooper, Orleans County Historian

“Illuminating Orleans” – Volume 6, No.1

MEDINA – The gusty winds of January revive generational memories of terror for one household in Medina. A news article in The Daily Press, Jan 10., 1889, gave a vivid description.

“Nearly all day yesterday, the wind blew a strong gale from the west…. About four o’clock (a.m.), a terrible crash that could be heard even above the roaring of the wind, shook the town. People who heard it awoke with fear and trembling, and it was soon learned that the Methodist Church spire had fallen, and that the residence of M. Cooper, situated about twenty feet directly east, was partly buried under the pile of debris.

“People began to collect and it was found that the spire had fallen in a northeasterly direction, just grazing the west wing, tearing the cornice off and completely crushing the woodshed. The yard is filled to a depth of some three feet with a pile of broken timbers, brick and slate, all of which are broken in fine pieces and the collapse could not be more complete.”

Medina businessman, Michael Cooper (1839 – 1899) had a narrow escape when the spire of the Methodist Church fell on his home on January 10, 1889.

The residence at 216 West Center St. had been built in 1850 by Sylvester Sherman. Michael Cooper purchased it in 1866 for $3,000. At the time of the steeple collapse, it was occupied by Michael Cooper, his wife Catherine and sons John and George.

Construction of the First Methodist Episcopal Society of Medina Church at 222 West Center St. was completed in 1876. A prior location on Main Street had been destroyed by fire.

A notable feature of the new construction was a 156-foot-tall spire. (The height of the spire was also described as 180 feet and at 235 feet.) Currently, the 175-foot–high spire of the Presbyterian Church in Albion is the highest point in Orleans County.

Whatever its exact height, the spire was not structurally sound. A high wind in May 1884 caused a three-foot-long crack in the brick work. Architect A.J. Warner of Rochester, who was hired by the Board of Trustees of the Village of Medina, described the spire as “unsafe and in a ruinous condition and liable to fall and do serious damage to life and property.” He recommended that it be taken down or “rendered entirely safe” without delay.

Architect William Morgan of Somerset agreed that it was unsafe but proposed that it could be made perfectly safe with new braces. He supervised the repair which was carried out by “a force of men” and “pronounced it entirely safe, in fact stronger than ever.”

The repair only lasted four years. The church was badly damaged by the collapse of the spire, the Cooper house was badly jarred, but “the family of Mr. Cooper had a very narrow escape and are receiving the congratulations of their many friends today.”

This charming “Merry Christmas” postcard was mailed to Miss Hattie Ball in Lyndonville in 1903. (Ball-McCombs Card Collection)  

By Catherine Cooper, Orleans County Historian

“Illuminating Orleans” – Volume 5, No. 43

Who could better provide a glimpse into life in days gone by other than a County Historian?

Joseph B. Achilles served in that position from 1944-1957. Here are some of his observations about life in Albion in the late 1890s.

Reminiscences of Main Street

“Shopping for the ladies in those days was a comparatively simple matter. You went to Upper Landauer’s, now a grill, where Moritz Landauer sold you Sattinetts, Cassimeres, Velveteens etc., or to Lower Landauer’s where Simon Landauer, his brother, showed you the same patterns in the recently streamlined store, now operated by his grandson. That dignified and friendly competition has no counterpart in the savage merchandising of today, and you did not require a metal name plate and a number to open a charge account, and you did not have to pay before the end of the month either.”

Joseph B. Achilles, Orleans County Historian, 1944-1957

“The residents of “Ruffled Shirt Hill”, as Upper Main Street was called, turned out on Sunday morning in fine equipages, some even ran to part time coachmen and the ladies sported those small black silk parasols to protect complexions that would drive Elizabeth Arden green with envy.

Sunday morning in those days meant church, not a hangover. You dined at the Albion House about 1:30 p.m. and the check was about $.75, not $7.50. Meals like those are definitely a matter of history.

Short drives in the afternoon and a light lunch in the evening closed Sunday for our grandfathers and if the surrey with the fringe on top didn’t get you here or there very quickly, at least the finance company was not interested in it, and you could cross the street in front of it without someone collecting your insurance.

People were born, lived and usually died in their own homes. The maternity ward and the pulmotor* squad and funeral home were still in the future, and a doctor was called when you needed him and not just when you wanted him, and home remedies took care of most of the troubles of those days.

And, if the toll of years or the lack of Sulfa* or Penicillin closed your earthly account, George Brown and the Black Team took you for a quiet ride in the plumed hearse out the Avenue to Mt. Albion for a long rest in the only surroundings that seem to have defied the changes that Time has made in the Albion of those other days.”

*surrey: a four-wheeled open horse-drawn carriage

*pulmotor: an early device for artificial respiration

*Sulfa: antibiotics

The West Barre Church as it appeared in 1940.

  By Catherine Cooper, Orleans County Historian

“Illuminating Orleans” – Volume 5, No. 42

WEST BARRE – Mildred Anne Paine, who grew up in the cobblestone house on Pine Hill Road in the Town of Barre, spent over forty years of her adult life as a missionary in Japan. Hers is a remarkable story.

Born on July 25, 1893, Mildred was the third of five children of Emory and Martha Waterman Paine. Emory was a farmer in Barre. Mildred’s great-grandfather, Elisha Wright, an early pioneer, was one of the organizers of the West Barre Methodist Episcopal Church, as it was then referred to, in the 1830s. (An historic marker on Eagle Harbor Road highlights the location of Wright’s home.)

Mildred received her early education at Schoolhouse #6, a one-room cobblestone structure close to her home. She later attended Genesee Wesleyan Seminary in Lima, NY and Oberlin College, Ohio. She then taught at West Barre and Shelby schoolhouses for several years.

Mildred Anne Paine, 1893-1988

In 1919, at the age of 26, she was commissioned by the Woman’s Foreign Missionary Society as a missionary to Japan. The Society, which had been established in 1869, sponsored and sent women to establish schools and spread the word of Christ.

Mildred studied Japanese for one year and worked at the Japanese city of Kagoshima in southern Kyushu for five years. She wrote:

“The strange Japanese culture and baffling language were my environment at the Tokyo Language School and in Kagoshima until 1926.”

She returned to the U.S. in 1927 and studied for a Master’s degree at Boston College.

In 1928, she was assigned to rebuild an important Methodist sponsored Welfare Center in Tokyo. It had been destroyed by an earthquake in 1923. The center, named “Ai Kei Gakuen” (Garden Radiating Love and Grace) was located in a slum. Many residents were ragpickers, while scores were homeless or destitute. Mildred was associated with the Center for 33 years, during which time thousands were enrolled in the orphanage, schools, and clinics which she established.

In an interview with the Democrat and Chronicle while on a rare visit home in 1934, Mildred explained that their missionary work could not be overt:

“If we made any attempt to coerce the people towards the religion, the Buddhists and Shintoists would at once take their children away. If we live our faith, and the people find there is something in Christianity that these other religions do not have, then is the time to explain. Once they become our friends, then we can discuss any subject freely with them.”

She commented that life there was far from monotonous, but full of thrilling adventures and “underground currents.”

With the outbreak of WWII, Mildred was interned in September 1942. Her sister, Helen Parsons Frey, recounted that “The soldiers who came to arrest her shot their guns inside of her house. All of her dishes were broken – except one plate. She found the plate when she returned after her internment.”

Fortunately, Mildred experienced “very fair” treatment at the camp. She was also fortunate to be among the 1,300 repatriates who boarded the M.S. Gripsholm, a Swedish cruise ship which had been chartered by the U.S. government to transport civilians and POWs caught behind enemy lines.

Mildred enjoyed time with her brother Cuyler following  her return to the U.S. in 1963. He died in 1965.

The six-week return voyage began in Mormuago, a small harbor in Portuguese India, on October 19, 1943 and included stops in Port Elizabeth, South Africa and Rio de Janeiro. On her arrival in New York on December 1, 1943, Mildred was greeted by her sister, Helen (Howard Parsons) and by Rev. Jesse Young, and his wife Ruth, who later served at the West Barre Church from 1955-57.

Mildred spent several months with Helen, Howard and their family at the family home on Pine Hill Road. She returned to Japan after the war and remained there until 1962. She was awarded two honors by the Japanese government: a citation from the Welfare Ministry of Japan in 1958, for her “devotion to children, boys and youth welfare” and in 1960, the 4th Class of the Imperial Order of the Sacred Treasure from the Japanese Ministry of Health and Welfare in recognition of her social work at Ai Kei Gakuen.

Upon her return to the U.S. in 1963, she was involved in counseling and promotional work for the Wesleyan Service Guild. Following a stroke in 1967, she went to live at the United Methodist Retirement Home in Asheville, N.C., where she died on September 7, 1988, at the age of 95. She is buried in the family plot in the West Barre Cemetery.

A collection of Mildred’s personal papers, including 23 diaries, correspondence and photographs is held by the General Commission on Archives and History, an online mission of the United Methodist Church. This collection covers the years 1957-1974. Sadly, the material from 1926-1943, which would have chronicled her first impressions and early experiences, is missing.  Most likely, it was destroyed at the time of her arrest.

Mildred’s brother, Cuyler and sister, Ruth continued the family involvement with the West Barre Church. In later years, her younger sister, Clara Otis, joined Mildred in Japan to assist her missionary work. Continuing the family tradition, her niece, Esther, and husband George Heustis spent forty-three years as missionaries in Brazil.

Mildred’s sister Helen served in the Youth Ministry in New York City along with her husband, Marvin Frey. Marvin wrote over 300 hymns and is the subject of an historic marker at the West Barre Cemetery.

Many thanks to Adrienne Daniels, Town of Barre Historian, and Karen Markle of the West Barre Church for their generous assistance.