“Overlooked Orleans” – Vol. 5, No. 19

ALBION – This photograph, taken on August 20, 1904, shows the Central Drug Store, owned and operated by Dr. Charles Moore Burrows. The storefront, now occupied by Five Star Bank, was situated in the Swan Block on the northwest corner of North Main and Bank Streets in Albion. It appears as though Burrows arranged to have this photograph taken as the store’s employees stepped outside for a quick snapshot. Standing, left to right, are Dr. Burrows, Agnes McCabe (bookkeeper), George H. Noble (manager), George W. Annis (head clerk), and Robert Moore (junior clerk); William Barker stands off to the left in “reposeful interest.”

The Central Drug Store was originally known as Barrell’s Central Drug Store, owned and operated by George Barrell of Albion. Up until 1902, the business was still being advertised under Barrell’s name and it appears as though the store remained under Burrow’s ownership until 1906 when it was sold to Dr. Jackson of Gasport. The following year it was sold to Harris Freeman who operated it until 1946 when it was sold to Marvin G. Sayles.

The image provides an interesting view into the goods carried by local drug stores at the turn of the 20th century. The left window reveals a collection of brushes and several advertisements for cigars and cigarettes. The “Finest Quality” Little Minister advertisement called attention to the store’s stock of cigars distributed by the Vincent Brothers of Rochester, NY. The Cairo cigarette advertisement below, which calls attention to the booming tobacco industry in Egypt; an ad for LeRoy brand cigarettes and a barrel of baseball bats sit outside of the window.

Stacks of notebooks sit in the right window with a sign that reads “Spencerian.” The Spencerian script was the popular style of cursive writing that allowed writers to produce quick, legible notes, particularly for business related matters. Readers might recognize examples of this script in the Ford Motor Company and Coca-Cola logos. Larger business ledgers are visible in the glass case inside with an assortment of pamphlets on display. A small sign that reads “Paul E. Wirt Fountain Pens” advertises a popular writing instrument produced by Paul Wirt, which reached peak production around the time this photograph was taken.

A 1903 advertisement in the Orleans Republican displays the breadth of products carried by the store; “The aim of this store is high quality, moderate prices and courteous attention. The drugs and medicines are fresh, pure and reliable. The Wines and Liquors are old reliable stock bought in quantities direct from the distillers expressly for medicinal purposes. The Perfumes are the best that can be produced, both imported and American. The stock of imported and domestic Cigars is the largest and choicest ever displayed here. The stock of fine Toilet Articles, Stationary, Papterie, Books, Purses, Tooth, Hair, and Toilet Brushes is superior and attractive. Huyler’s and Lowney’s fine Candies always in stock.”

The storefront to the right was home to the James Bailey & Son grocery store (v.3, no. 13), operated by Herbert Bailey. A small stand of potatoes or yams sits in front of the store below a window advertising soap; it appears as though a potato may have rolled off the table and landed at the foot of Dr. Burrows. It was quite common for local business owners to display their wares along the street, relying upon awnings to protect those goods during poor weather. The retracted awning reads “Central Drug Store” but also features two advertisements for Hires Rootbeer, the “Best Drink on Earth.” Featuring birch, sassafras, licorice, vanilla, spikenard, sarsaparilla, hops, wintergreen, pipsissewa, and ginger flavors, the company frequently advertised the product as “The Temperance Drink.” Hires remains the second oldest soft drink under continuous marketing since its introduction in 1876, which is now sold by Keurig Dr. Pepper.

Return to top

“Overlooked Orleans” – Vol. 5, No. 18

LYNDONVILLE – Taken some time in the late 1920s or early 1930s, this image shows thousands of bushels of apples piled outside of the Lyndonville Canning Company. Yates farmers established a cooperative canning company in 1916, which was then purchased by Theodore and Frank Visscher in 1917. The Visschers marketed their products under the “V.B.” label, which stood for “Visscher Brothers.”

In the early 1920s, the Visscher Brothers advertised the sale of Cumulative Preferred Stock at a cost of $100 per share; the annual dividends of seven percent were paid to owners on a quarterly basis. Shortly after, William A. Smith and Wilson McCagg purchased 50 percent of the business and the two men began to gradually shift production from a variety of vegetables to apples.

The Visschers previously manufactured applesauce in large batches using copper kettles, producing as many as 24,000 cases of applesauce in 1924. Smith brought with him an interest in innovating and improving that production process, inventing a method for continuously cooking the apples to improve uniformity and quality. In 1930, Frank Visscher died and the business passed to Smith and McCagg. During the 1930s, Smith would file at least three patents for cooking apparatus used in the manufacturing of applesauce; an apparatus for preparing food substances (1935), a method and apparatus for refining fruit sauces (1935), and an apparatus for making fruit products (1939).

According to Smith’s sons, George and Clayton Smith, their father was a pioneer in the applesauce industry, largely due to his invention of the above listed apparatus. By the 1950s, other manufacturers were utilizing these machines to continuously cook down their product. The company remained under local ownership until 1979 when it was sold to Pillsbury.

Around 1929 or 1930, William Smith constructed a large applesauce can at the intersection of Rt. 63 and Rt. 104 on the south side of the road. A replica of the Very Best brand applesauce, travelers could stop for a sampling of the locally known product.

Return to top

“Overlooked Orleans” – Vol. 5, No. 17

HOLLEY – Taken after 1903, this photograph shows the blacksmith shop of Frank W. Donohue as it appeared on Mechanic Street in Holley, just south of Public Square. This building and the billiards room showing to the left were situated south of the block currently occupied by Holley Falls Bar & Grill. Frank “Duff” Donohue, pictured right, stands in front of his business with George Jenks (left) and Joseph Haight (middle). Mag the horse is the centerpiece of this photo, demonstrating the work primarily carried out by blacksmith shops; the sign reads “F. W. Donohue, Horse Shoeing and Repairing.”

At the time this photograph was taken, all three men were well versed in the work of the blacksmith. Originally a native of Albion, Joseph Haight worked as a stableman before entering the blacksmith trade. He eventually relocated to Sandy Creek where he opened a blacksmith shop on Rt. 237 just north of Rt. 104 adjacent to the present site of the Murray Superette. An 1894 newspaper article indicates that George Jenks commenced working out of this shop after William Wetherwax relocated to East Gaines. Jenks and Haight operated a business partnership for a short period of time, dissolving the venture that same year.

According to a business directory from 1911, Haight worked as a blacksmith out of a shop on Mechanic Street, which suggests that the photograph was likely taken between 1903 and 1911. Although the three appear to be regular, hardworking men, Jenks appears to have been more of the rough and tumble type. In 1883, he was arrested for stealing a collection of pennies from C. H. Frisbie of Holley and accused of selling the lot in Rochester for approximately $30. The following year a brief note in the Holley Standard notes that he accidentally shot himself with a revolver. Then in 1893, prior to commencing work with Haight, Jenks married Alta May Downey at the age of 15 (not necessarily uncommon for the time); the two lived together for a short period of time, then living separately until finalizing their divorce in 1904.

The men are pictured with the typical leather apron, used to protect their clothing from burning embers and heated metal. Pictured to the right of the front entryway are wooden wheels leaning against the sidewall. Blacksmiths were often able to true wooden wheels and install the metal tread that covered them; various sizes indicate that work was performed on both wagon wheels (the thicker) and buggy wheels (the narrower). Prior to the widespread ownership of automobiles, the neighborhood blacksmith shop was the equivalent of the car repair shop where horses were shoed and buggies repaired. In the years leading up to this photograph, blacksmiths would produce nails and tools in addition to the services provided by Donohue and his colleagues.

It is worth noting that this building was constructed of fieldstones of varying sizes and shapes. The utilitarian nature of the building did not warrant stones of similar size or for the stones to be “dressed” to provide a decorative or uniformed appearance. The building is also lacking in windows, which provided a darkened environment inside allowing the blacksmith to monitor the temperature of the forge based on the color of the flame.

Located down the alleyway, which still exists today, was a shed with a cupola and a dwelling with a high foundation. Both were situated along the bank of the old Erie Canal bed that looped through the Village of Holley. The house still stands today.

As a final side note, before relocating to Sandy Creek Joseph Haight raised his family at Albion where his eldest daughter Martha married William Howard. The couple’s son, Charlie, was well known locally for his portrayal of Santa Claus.

Return to top

Pioneer settlers made education a priority in Orleans County

“Overlooked Orleans” – Vol. 5, No. 16

YATES – Studying the earliest history of Orleans County shows us that education was a foundational element on which our pioneer settlers invested a great deal of funds and effort.

The Yates Academy, Phipps Union Seminary and Albion Academy all represent prestigious institutions that produced prominent and influential attorneys, politicians, educators and philosophers. Perhaps one of the most notable products of one of these institutions was Ely S. Parker, the Native American from Indian Falls who attended the Yates Academy and later served as the Commissioner of Indian Affairs under President Grant.

This photograph shows Professor Charles G. Fairman, an important figure in the growth of the Yates Academy. Born on August 6, 1823 at Northfield, Massachusetts, Fairman was educated at the Townshend Academy in Vermont, the Black River Academy, the Hancock Literary & Scientific Institute of New Hampshire, and Waterville College (now Colby College). Shortly after his graduation from Waterville, he travelled to Orleans County to teach in the Yates Academy where his skills as an educator earned him an early promotion to the position of principal in 1853.

Although his tenure at the Yates Academy was a successful one, his abilities as an educator pulled him away to other institutions. After a short term as principal of the Medina Academy from 1863 to 1867, he headed the Nunda Academy for one year in 1867 before venturing westward to Illinois. Fairman was then offered a position as Chair of the Mathematics Department at Shurtleff College in 1868.

In all respects, Fairman was a prodigy, a genius when it came to the finer points of education. His tenure at Shurtleff was highlighted by his appointment to two prominent lecturing positions; the Edwards Professor of Mathematics & Natural Philosophy and the Hunter Lecturer on Chemistry, Geology & Mineralogy. Students would later recall Fairman’s passion for the subjects he was teaching, earning him a stellar reputation at the college. When Dr. Daniel Reed vacated the position of President of Shurtleff College, Fairman and Prof. Justus Bulkley were selected to split the duties pro tem. This arrangement lasted for three years until Rev. A. A. Kendrick was selected to fill the position.

Upon his death on February 14, 1895 at Upper Alton, Illinois, students gathered for chapel on a dreary winter day, Prof. Fairman’s regular seat draped in black cloth. After 20 years at Shurtleff, he had never missed a recitation; he was regarded for his accuracy of knowledge across disciplines and his rare teaching ability. The college began the process of finding a replacement, to which they were forced to hire two professors to fill his vacancy.

Prof. Fairman’s son, Charles E. Fairman, followed in his father’s footsteps, excelling as student at the Yates Academy, University of Rochester, and St. Louis Medical School. The young Fairman entered the University of Rochester at age 16 and upon his graduation in 1874, became the youngest student to ever earn a degree from that institution. After completing his medical studies, Dr. Fairman returned to Lyndonville to practice medicine, all before his 21st birthday.

Return to top

“Overlooked Orleans” – Vol. 5, No. 14

ALBION – This photograph, taken after 1903, shows Orleans County Courthouse and Clerk’s Office located in Albion. Readers will notice a diagonal sidewalk running from the front steps of the courthouse to East State Street and a number of beaten footpaths through the front lawn. The photograph is dated post-1903 because the sandstone jailhouse is visible to the left of the courthouse. Also visible in the photograph is a tall flagpole extending from the cupola atop the dome.

According to Isaac Signor, the building was constructed at a cost of $20,000 under the supervision of Lyman Bates, Charles Baker, and Henry A. King. The county contracted William V. N. Barlow of Albion to design the courthouse. Born in Madison County in 1810, Barlow moved to Albion in 1833 and launched his career with the development of Albion’s most significant buildings. The presence of the cupola on the courthouse was a signature of Barlow’s designs, which earned him the nickname “High-Rickety” Barlow.

A 1979 Building/Structure Inventory Form completed by County Historian Cary Lattin for the New York State Historic Trust described the building as follows:

“Notable exterior features include a magnificent octagon dome and cupola. The dome being composed of 88 individual rafters. The columns of the Ionic order display hand carved and sawed capitols. The front entrance remains as a superb example of Greek Revival detailing. A beholder can easily be awe inspired by the beautiful proportions, symmetry, dignity and symbolism that pervades and pulsated from this masterpiece. It measures 50’ x 55’ and has a balcony in the read. The judge’s bench, clerk’s desk, dividing balustrades and rising seats are all original. Corinthian pilasters supporting a full Greek entablature are plaster, above which is a bi-level ceiling with more plaster moldings and ornamentation coming to a climax with a decorative ventilator. From this is suspended a single electrolier created in 1928 to blend with all the architectural details.”

The most iconic feature of this landmark building is its beautiful silver dome. Yet most residents would be surprised to read that this color scheme is not native to the structure. According to a newspaper article published July 22, 1929, the Board of Supervisors hired John “Jack” Finn of Albion, a local steeplejack, to complete work on the dome. The article noted that Finn applied a coat of blue lead (to seal the metal) followed by a coat of yellow paint. Once the yellow was sufficiently cured, Finn applied a layer of gold enamel paint. According to early descriptions, the dome was “gilded,” or covered with a thin coating of gold paint or gold leaf. According to Cary Lattin, the dome remained this color until 1948, when the dome was repainted with the signature silver color.

Return to top

“Overlooked Orleans” – Vol. 5, No. 14

Capt. George A. Hoyt, Company C, 8th N.Y. Heavy Artillery

This studio photograph, taken circa 1863, shows Capt. George A. Hoyt wearing a Union frock coat and holding a pair of gloves. Placed on the chair to the left is a kepi with crossed artillery pieces, signifying his service with the 8th New York Heavy Artillery.

Born in 1830/1 at Dansville, New York, Hoyt came to Gaines in 1855, marrying Julia McOmber and quickly becoming a well-respected harness maker. In August of 1862, he received a commission as a lieutenant with the 129th New York Infantry which was later converted into an artillery regiment.

Sgt. Thomas Jasper Dean of Company I wrote home to his mother at Byron on June 23, 1864, following the regiment’s engagement with Confederate troops in advance of Petersburg:

“Directly South of Petersburg about 4 miles behind breastworks we took last night ben skirmish fighting all day. Dear Mother & All Friends whom this may interest…Our company lost in Wounded yesterday but 7 perhaps more but think not. They have not all come in yet. We cant tell precisely. the Rebels are charging there position in front of us. they appear to be massing there troops for a charge on our works. Col Bates was wounded last night besides quite a number of other officers killed and wounded…I led the company into the charge last night. Our men has been marched much there spirits are verry low…” (sic)

The following day, Pvt. James Sherman of Company G wrote home:

“Since I wrote you last the regt has been in another of those terrible charges. We did not lose many men but we lost one of the bravest that ever drew a sword & that was Lieut. Col. Bates. He fell while leading the men within four rods of the enemies breastworks shot through the bowels…There was no officer left to command our company the Capt being in command of the second Batallion & all the sergeants being absent or wounded…” (sic)

According to Maj. Erastus Spaulding, after the charge described by Dean and Sherman, the unit held their position within several yards of the enemy position and “entrenched in the night under severe picket-fire.” The following morning, the enemy had abandoned the position thus allowing the 8th N.Y.H.A. to occupy the works until that evening when the unit “withdrew a distance of a mile…”

At some point during the advance on June 22, 1864, Capt. George Hoyt suffered a gun shot wound. Some records indicate a wound to one of his legs while others indicate a wound to his ankle. He was tended to by the regimental surgeon and sent home to recuperate. During his furlough, Dr. William McKennan of Albion tended to Hoyt until his untimely death on July 5, 1864. According to McKennan, Hoyt suffered “traumatic tetanus induced by [a] gun shot wound of the leg,” his death was caused by lockjaw.

A widow’s pension application filed by Julia Hoyt, a 32-year-old mother of three, illustrates the hardships suffered by so many women as a result of the ravages of war. Her oldest daughter, Marilla, had just celebrated her sixth birthday before her father was sent home to recover. The youngest daughter, Octavia Artilla, was just shy of 18 months.

Julia Hoyt never remarried, her financial support derived solely from her widow’s pension which she carried up until her death on February 2, 1917. Among the affidavits and other documents is a letter penned by Octavia Hoyt Mather, her mother’s “only living heir,” requesting money to pay for her mother’s burial; $12.00 to pay for Dr. William Burbank’s bill, $102.00 for an undertaker, and $6.00 to Mt. Albion for burial.

In the years after the war, Octavia Mather attended regimental reunions in place of her father. George Hoyt had already left for war when she was born and according to several accounts, she became “the daughter of the regiment.” It was said that when Hoyt received word of his child’s arrival, he asked Col. Peter Porter “what shall I name my baby daughter?” Porter responded, “Why name her after our regiment, Octavia Artilli 8th heavy artillery.”

The Hoag Library and Orleans County Historical Association are co-sponsoring a Civil War Series in April, featuring a program entitled “When Did the Civil War End?” with Dr. John Daly of SUNY College at Brockport on April 16 at 12 p.m. I will present a program entitled “The Legacy of Rufus Bullock: Racial Liberalism and Reconstruction” on April 30 at 6 p.m. A number of other programs will take place throughout the month.

Return to top

“Overlooked Orleans” – Vol. 5, No. 13

Dr. Francis Edward Stewart

On March 30, 1842, Dr. Crawford W. Long of Jefferson, Georgia, became the first physician to administer diethyl ether to remove a tumor from the neck of James Venable. Four years later, Dr. William T. G. Morton would administer the same inhaled anesthesia to extract a tooth from Eben Frost of Boston, Massachusetts. For centuries, physicians have experimented with various chemicals to perfect the way in which medical procedures are conducted, but also to change the way in which diseases and symptoms are treated.

Francis Edward Stewart was born September 13, 1853, to Johnathan Severance Stewart and Ada E. Nichoson at Albion, New York. Unbeknownst to his parents when he was born in the home of his maternal grandfather and pioneer physician, Dr. Orson Nichoson, Stewart would become one of the foremost experts on pharmacology and a pioneer in the pharmaceutical industry. The family relocated to Philadelphia in 1872 when Jonathan Stewart accepted a position as superintendent of the American Dredging Company in that location. It was here that Francis would begin his education in medicine and pharmacology.

Previously studying at the Cortland County Academy at Homer, New York and then at Oberlin College in Ohio, Francis Stewart enrolled at the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy where he graduated with the class of 1876. Continuing down the path of higher education, Stewart graduated in 1879 from Jefferson Medical College and conducted post-graduate work at the University of Pennsylvania. At the conclusion of his schooling, Stewart moved to New York City where he spent time working with the Committee of Alms Houses for the County of New York and conducted work with the State Charity’s Aid Association.

For the majority of his career, Stewart focused his efforts primarily in pharmacology, making important developments in the pharmaceutical industry and filing numerous patents, even as a student. He became a strong supporter of placing the pharmacal and pharmaco-chemical industries under the control of the federal government for the purpose of introducing new remedies and overseeing medical advancements. Despite developing a comprehensive outline of the plan, the idea was rejected by Congress due to competing commercial interests.

Stewart pushed Parke, Davis & Company (now a subsidiary of Pfizer) to develop a scientific department where the company would perfect clinical trial methods for new medications, and assisted in the establishment of a Council on Pharmacy and Chemistry in conjunction with the American Medical Association. In 1885, Stewart relocated to Wilmington, Delaware, where he held a position as the leader of the University of Pennsylvania’s university extension at that location.

Among other notable accomplishments, he became the chairman of the Medical Board of Merck & Company and the first editor-in-chief of Merck’s Archives of Materia Medica and Drug Therapy. He served as a lecturer at the Women’s Medical College of Pennsylvania, a lecturer at Jefferson Medical College, and a professor at the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy. His expertise expanded into the realm of law when the American Pharmaceutical Association appointed him chairman of a committee to revise patent laws.

His obituary read, “Word has been received here of the death of Dr. Francis Edward Stewart, 87, a native of Albion and a physician and pharmacist of national importance, in Germantown, Pa., on Feb. 20, 1941…among notable patients of Dr. Stewart were President Benjamin Harrison, John Wanamaker and John D. Rockefeller.”

A life committed to advancement in pharmacology, his hopes of federal oversight of the pharmaceutical industry was realized over 20 years after he first introduced the idea in 1881. The passing of the Pure Food and Drug Act in 1906, a result of the exposés of muckraking journalists, mandated labeling drugs with active ingredients and set acceptable purity levels for medications.

Return to top

“Overlooked Orleans” – Vol. 5, No. 12

Maj. Marion Patterson, 22nd U.S.C.T. & 19th U.S.C.T.

The recent vote by the Hoag Library Board of Trustees to sell the 26th U.S. Colored Troops “National Color” in March has raised questions about local connections to that particular unit and other Colored Infantry regiments. U.S.C.T. regiments, established under the direction of the Bureau for Colored Troops, appointed white officers to lead black soldiers.

According to a dissertation entitled “The Selection and Preparation of White Officers for the Command of Black Troops in the American Civil War,” by Paul Renard, the government utilized various methods of electing officers to lead U.S.C.T. regiments. Early U.S.C.T. regiment officers were selected by a board of divisional officers while others were selected in a process similar to white regiments. Renard argues that the selection of officers through an examination board overseen by the Bureau for Colored Troops was the most effective method used.

Racism permeated throughout the Union Army, which refused equal pay to black soldiers and relegated segregated units to manual labor behind the front lines. Early efforts to allow freedmen and escaped slaves to enlist in the ranks of the Union Army were met with harsh opposition by political forces. Despite this, primary source evidence suggests that a large number of the commissioned officers appointed to lead these regiments held a degree of racial liberalism that was not seen in white regiments. Many white officers were abolitionists who believed in freedom and equal rights for the men they commanded. They viewed military service as a means for black soldiers to rise against their former masters; men who truly had something to fight for.

However, it is impossible to create a generalization considering that military life for men in segregated regiments was reminiscent of slavery; relegated to manual labor, and still under the command of a white master. Men within these regiments had no hope of working their way up the ranks, would never lead their own regiments, and yet their lives were at far greater risk than white enlisted soldiers. Still, it is worth calling attention to the complex relationship between white officers and the black soldiers they led. Perusing the pages of the local town clerks’ registers of Union soldiers, at least eight local men received commissions to lead black regiments; two of those men received commissions with the 26th U.S.C.T.

Charles Henry Mattison was born March 27, 1837, at Barre to Alvah Mattison and Orpha Bull. Raised on the farm in his hometown, Mattison enlisted with Company D of the 151st New York Infantry on September 9, 1861, and was promoted to the rank of sergeant. He received a commission as a second lieutenant with the regiment but turned it down, later receiving a commission with the 26th U.S.C.T. at the same rank. He reported for duty on January 14, 1864, and was later promoted to first lieutenant and adjutant. He was with his regiment during a skirmish at St. John’s Island on January 5, 1864, and the Battle of Bloody Bridge on July 7th when 1,000 soldiers of the 26th U.S.C.T. fought an inconsequential battle; 2,000 Confederate soldiers fended off a Union force of 8,000 men.

After the war, Mattison returned to Barre Center where he purchased a wagon and blacksmith shop. Three years later he purchased the farm of his father-in-law, Hiram Fargo. He was elected as the Barre Town Clerk after the war and was responsible for recording the names of those fellow soldiers who served in defense of the Union cause. He was elected Barre Town Supervisor and later to the NYS Assembly in 1878, serving in that position for one year. Upon his death on March 23, 1883, the Grand Army of the Republic Post in Albion held a large memorial service and for years after his death, the local post would memorialize the anniversary of his passing.

Harmon Leroy Salisbury was born around 1838 at Clarendon to George Salisbury and Amanda Annis. He enlisted with Company G of the 151st New York Infantry on August 26, 1862 at Clarendon. He remained with the regiment for just over one year, receiving a promotion to the rank of sergeant before his discharge on January 28, 1864, by reason of promotion to captain with the 26th U.S.C.T. Like Mattison, Salisbury was with the regiment at St. John’s Island and Bloody Bridge in July of 1864. After the war, Salisbury moved to Vienna, Virginia, where he purchased a large parcel of land. Valued at $16,500 in 1870, he split his land into lots and sold parcels to freedmen on easy credit and generous mortgages. He provided black workers with a fair living wage and donated a parcel of land for used as a cemetery by the black community in that area. He died in 1913 and was buried at Merrifield Cemetery in Merrifield, VA.

Marion Patterson, born May 11, 1840, at Clarendon to Calvin Patterson and Julia Ann Matson, enlisted as a private with the 13th New York Infantry at Rochester on April 30, 1861; he was discharged as a “minor” on September 7, 1861. He returned home to teach school for a year and enlisted with the 11th New York Heavy Artillery on his birthday in 1863. Unable to fill the full regimental quota, the unit was merged with the 4th New York Heavy Artillery and Patterson was promoted to the rank of sergeant. On December 9, 1863, he received an appointment as first lieutenant with the 22nd U.S.C.T. and later was appointed to fill a vacancy as captain with the 19th U.S.C.T.

According to one account, his promotion to captain came as the result of his daring rescue of the regimental colors during the Second Battle of Fair Oaks in October of 1864. At the end of the war, Patterson was placed on general court martial as a Judge Advocate, a position he held for some time. At the conclusion of his service, he returned to Western New York where he married his wife, Eliza Van Wagoner, at Lockport before relocating to Kansas in 1871. He worked a large farm there, raising livestock, and was elected to the Kansas State Legislature in 1891.

Wallace Myron Sterling, born June 26, 1840, at Gaines to Alphonso Sterling and Mary Horton, answered the call to service on May 11, 1861. He was mustered into service on May 22, 1861, with Company D of the 28th New York Infantry. On May 25, 1862, he was captured at the Battle of Winchester and paroled three days later. After his release, he was sent home on furlough for an undisclosed amount of time. According to a published account of the Sterling family genealogy, Wallace had placed his unloaded musket behind a door in the house. His older brother loaded the gun and ventured out on a woodchuck hunt in the afternoon. Upon his return and being unsuccessful in his adventure, the brother placed the gun in its place behind the door. Later that evening, Mary Jane, a 19-year-old sister, asked Wallace to demonstrate the manual of arms. He mimicked the loading of the rifle, aimed, and she gave the command to “fire!” He pulled the trigger, discharging the musket ball into her head. The accidental death of his sister plagued him with sadness for the rest of his life.

After his discharge from the 28th New York Infantry, he reenlisted with Company B of the 9th New York Heavy Artillery in July of 1863. The following month he was presented a commission as second lieutenant with the 1st U.S.C.T. from President Lincoln, an opportunity he accepted nine days later. In July of 1864, Sterling submitted his resignation with supporting documentation from an examining surgeon. Dr. Willoughby wrote, “…he is suffering from great mental depression, caused by his having, by accident, caused the death of a sister, more than a year ago, since which time he has had fits of mental disturbance, being at times partially insane.” The surgeon believed that the condition would become permanent should he remain in the service. After the war, he relocated to Elysian, Minnesota where he served as the local postmaster and justice of the peace.

Return to top

“Overlooked Orleans” – Volume 5, Issue 11

On occasion I stumble across rather interesting photographs that grab my attention; either the image itself is intriguing or the inscription contains a fascinating tidbit of information. While uncovering a box of photographs and albums, I discovered an image with the inscription “F. J. Wickham Lyndonville, N.Y. this man went to Panama and helped build the Panama Canal.” So who was Mr. F. J. Wickham and how did he end up in Panama?

Born to Samuel Kenyon Wickham in Yates, Jeremiah Fernando Wickham grew up in Orleans County with his brothers George and Dewitt working the family farm and attending the district schools of the area. When the Civil War broke out in 1861 both Dewitt and Jeremiah enlisted with the 8th New York Heavy Artillery, but Jeremiah despised his first name (his grandfather’s name) and elected to enlist under his middle name. He served the duration of the war while earning the rank of corporal, his brother Dewitt rising to the rank of lieutenant.

After the war, the brothers had a falling out over a business decision which proved problematic for Fernando when applying for his pension. Using his middle name to enlist instead of his first, he was required to provide a deposition proving who he was, which he requested of his brother who then refused to do so; that is, until a special investigator showed up at his home to request it. Fernando returned to Yates where he lived on the county line, working as a carpenter by trade. His military service helped earn employment with the U.S. Government, working as an inspector of the shores of Lake Ontario up until the 1890s when he was employed as a breakwater inspector in Buffalo.

The specifics regarding his employment with the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) are unknown, but in 1905 he was sent to Colón, Panama as a superintendent on the Panama Canal project. The 48-mile wide canal started in 1881 by the French was an expansive project taken over by the U.S. in 1904 when President Theodore Roosevelt oversaw the purchase of the Panama Railroad and French excavation equipment at a cost of $40 million.

Upon his arrival, Wickham wrote home to describe his trip to this foreign area. The ship departed New York City on June 21, 1905 with forty passengers on board, most traveling with the ICC. While traveling to Cuba, he recalled seeing a “nearly fifty-foot whale” and a school of porpoise that traveled with the ship for a few hundred yards. The arrival of the vessel at the Port of Colón was startling as the conditions of the town were extremely poor.

Any available space in the town was taken up by the machinery left by the French when they abandoned the project in 1894, most of it was deteriorated and unusable. Wickham remarked, “You could not conceive the amount [of equipment] unless you could see it, and then I do not think a person could.” He went on to say, “It was wonderful the amount the French laid out here to abandon, and the small results accomplished with the outlay.”

Wickham was stationed with the architectural department and charged with overseeing the repair of buildings constructed by the French during the previous two decades. It is likely that his work as a carpenter prepared him for this type of employment. Many U.S. papers published stories about the horrors of life in Panama, the terrible health conditions and poor living conditions. Wickham remarked that many men arrived with the expectation of minimal work and high pay, but arrived to find the opposite. Young men were frequently disappointed by the lack of recreational activities; the typical day consisting of work followed by sleep with no time for anything else.

He concluded his letter by writing that his health was good, but that he had already lost some weight, which he said, “I could afford to do that, for I was most too fleshy when I came away.” His wife, Anna Gray Wickham, remained in Orleans County with their daughters and upon his return, the family relocated to Pasadena, California where Fernando died in March of 1923.

Return to top

“Overlooked Orleans” – Vol. 5, No. 10

Johann George Singler, c. 1862

BARRE – This photograph shows Johann George Singler around the time of his enlistment in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Born March 28, 1829 in the territory of Baden to Joseph and Mary Greisbaum, Singler received his common education (equivalent to a high school course in the United States) while in Europe.

At the age of 22 he emigrated to the United States on a 49-day journey across the Atlantic, settling at Cleveland, Ohio. Six months later he traveled to Buffalo where he worked as a carpenter for eight months and finally relocated to the town of Barre sometime around 1853. On February 10, 1855, he married Eva Rupp at Clarendon and the couple raised eight children together on a modest farm in Barre.

At the outbreak of the Civil War, Singler enlisted with Company G of the 151st New York Infantry at the age of 33. He was mustered into service on October 22, 1862 and left his wife and four children to care for the farm.

William De Wolf, another member of Company G, later recalled the first call for volunteers at Holley in August of 1862. “The meeting was held in the Academy yard, and though the speakers are not fresh in my mind, I think one was Robinson by name.”

It is likely that Chauncey Robinson, an outspoken abolitionist and resident of Holley, was the speaker De Wolf noted. “The next one was at Hulberton…At this time there was an ice-breaker lying in the Basin at Holley, and we trimmed it up with evergreens and flags, an put planks across for seats. We got a small drum corps, and hired a boy, horse and tow-line and started for the meeting.”

“Company G was composed of as bright a number of young men as ever went into the service of Uncle Sam. They were mostly farmer boys, well brought up and most all educated.”

Although the documentation of Singler’s service is somewhat limited, one published biographical account suggests that he was injured in an accident while driving a team of horses at The Wilderness. As a result, he received a $14.00 per month pension from the government.

After his three years of service Singler was granted his citizenship and in 1868, he relocated his family to Ellington, Wisconsin where he lived out the rest of his life. He lived a simple life, farming a small 40-acre farm in that location which he worked diligently to clear of timber. A Republican in politics, it was claimed that he refused to vote in elections, instead focusing his attention on encouraging qualified candidates to fill positions.

Return to top