Photo by Tom Rivers: These girls portrayed students at the District No. 5 Schoolhouse at the Cobblestone Museum during a Ghost Walk on Oct. 8, 2017. The girls include, from left: Meganne Moore, Kelsey Froman, Ella Trupo, Autumn Flugel and Liana Flugel. The museum is seeking volunteers for another Ghost Walk on Oct. 7.

CHILDS – The Cobblestone Museum is looking for a dozen volunteers who would like to take a step back in time.

Actors and actresses are needed for the Museum’s annual “Ghost Walk” on Oct. 7, in which volunteers will portray historical citizenry connected to Orleans County’s past.

The Ghost Walk is a walking tour which plays out in the buildings on the Museum’s campus, including a cobblestone schoolhouse, the oldest cobblestone church in North America and a cobblestone parsonage. Those buildings have been deemed a National Historic Landmark by the federal government.

Along the way, guests will meet apparitions of such notables as newspaper editor Horace Greeley, who once owned the cobblestone parsonage; railroad sleeping car inventor George Pullman, who attended the cobblestone church and whose parents lived in Albion; and many more.

The Cobblestone Museum is looking for “playful souls” to fill the roles, along with a handful of energetic tour guides to lead guests through the spirited sightings. Acting experience, while not required, is a plus. Some children are also needed to fill the role as students in the one-room schoolhouse.

Those interested in participating should contact assistant director Sue Bonafini at (585) 589-9013.

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“Overlooked Orleans” – Vol. 4, No. 31

Roy D. S. Bruner

On occasion I discover a photograph and set it aside for sorting, only to have it resurface several months later. The faces stare at me as if I know each person’s identity, their names, their characteristics, and personality. At times it becomes maddening when faces are recognized, and names not recalled; in reality, many photographs go unidentified.

This studio portrait taken by Francis Burnette shows a rather young Roy D. S. Bruner of Albion, NY. Inscribed on the reverse are dates, “Born March 12, 1873, Died Nov. 5, 1888.” The other markings, “Class of ’89, L. A. Achilles,” indicate that the photograph is part of a collection of images once belonging to Lillian Achilles of Albion. So, what can be said about this dapper young gentleman, with his brush-cut hair, rimless spectacles, and stand-up collar?

The brief story of Roy Bruner starts with his father, Henry A. Bruner, who was born October 23, 1823 at Danville, Pennsylvania. As a child his parents relocated to Yates County, New York where both passed, leaving the young man a poor orphan. He was forced to learn the trade of harness making in order to support him financially but was fortunate enough to attend a select school and several public schools in the Penn Yan area. Upon the completion of his schooling, he taught in a one-room schoolhouse for several years before finishing his education at the State Normal School in Albany in 1847. It was his reputation in this endeavor that earned him an appointment as the first school commissioner in Yates County in 1856.

In 1861, Bruner relocated to Albion and purchased a home on the northeast corner of Main Street and Bailey Street (now Rt. 31), currently the site of Advance Auto Parts. It was in January of that year that he acquired the Orleans American newspaper with his brother David S. Bruner, purchasing the business from S. A. Andrews. A successful and respected businessman who found himself influential in Republican politics, Bruner and his wife Jerusha attempted to raise a small family with the birth of their daughter Eliza in 1859 and daughter Etta in 1861. Unfortunately, Etta’s life was cut short at the age of 1 on November 6, 1862 and just over two years later Jerusha passed away at Elmira, New York on February 1, 1865.

The widower remarried the following year to Sarah Standart Smith in September of 1866 and the couple welcomed a healthy baby boy, Henry Jr., on October 9, 1867. This small glimmer of happiness was quickly dashed by the passing of Henry’s brother and business partner on July 9, 1868; David’s death dissolved the partnership and Henry became sole owner of the Orleans American.

It appears as though very little information exists to provide a thorough account of the lives of Henry’s two sons. What is known is that the two boys were stricken with typhoid fever at some point during the summer or early fall of 1888. At that time, Henry was a student at the Deaf & Mute Asylum in Rochester and was staying with his parents during his illness. Roy, who was fifteen years old at the time, also contracted the illness that produced a fever, fatigue, cough, diarrhea, and intestinal bleeding. On October 26, 1888, Henry Jr. succumbed to the illness followed by his brother Roy on November 5, 1888. The loss of two sons was devastating to the family, particularly Sarah Bruner who had lost her only children.

Funeral services for the young man were held in the Baptist Church and officiated by Dr. A. C. Osburn of Albion. One can imagine the sorrow felt by his fellow pupils in the Albion High School as the students neared graduation.

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2 History professors will perform as U.S. generals

Provided photo: Derek Maxfield, left, and Tracy Ford will portray Union generals Ulysses S. Grant and William Tecumseh Sherman during a presentation on Dec. 5.

Press Release, GCC

BATAVIA – The History Club at Genesee Community College invites everyone to the Batavia campus on the first Wednesday evening of every month this fall to witness the Historical Horizons Lecture Series.

• The Fall 2018 line-up kicks off on Wednesday, September 5, at 7 p.m. with “The Jewels of War: Robert E. Lee, George B. McClellan and the Battle of Antietam” presented by the author of Shepardstown in the Civil War, Kevin R. Pawlak, an Albion native.

The Battle of Antietam is America’s bloodiest single day. In totality, twelve hours of fighting on September 17, 1862 left approximately 23,000 casualties. During this lecture, Pawlak will assess the dramatic events of the battle from the unique perspective of the commanders on the field.

• Then, on Wednesday, October 3, at 7 p.m. Pulitzer Prize-winning professor of history from New York University, Steven Hahn will discuss his latest book, A Nation Without Borders. This is an important reinterpretation of 19th Century America, a kind of coming-of-age story especially significant for its contribution to the scholarship on the Civil War period.

“A massive and masterly account of America’s political and economic transformation between 1830 and 1910 . . . Hahn describes his book as telling ‘a familiar story in an unfamiliar way.’ It is much more than that. Attempting a synthesis of a century’s worth of American history is a daunting task. Writing one as provocative and learned . . . as this one is a triumph, nothing less.” – David Oshinsky, The Washington Post

• On Wednesday, November 7, at 7 p.m. David A. Bell, Sidney and Ruth Lapidus Professor in the Department of History at Princeton University, will present on his latest book, Napoleon: A Concise Biography. In this work Bell emphasizes the astonishing sense of human possibility – for both good and ill – that Napoleon represented. By his late twenties, Napoleon was already one of the greatest generals in European history. At 30, he had become absolute master of Europe’s most powerful country. In his early 40s, he ruled a European empire more powerful than any since Rome, fighting wars that changed the shape of the continent and brought death to millions. Then everything collapsed, leading him to spend his last years in miserable exile in the South Atlantic.

• On Wednesday, December 5, at 7 p.m. in a unique presentation, GCC professors Derek Maxfield and Tracy Ford will present “Now we stand by each other always” – an engaging conversation between Generals Ulysses S. Grant and William Tecumseh Sherman. The two-man play is based on historic resources and references. Together, they recount the important meeting and conversation held at City Point, Virginia in March 1865 when the two Union generals discuss the campaigns in Georgia and the Carolinas and consider how to close out the Civil War.

All lectures in this series begin at 7 p.m. in room T102 of the Conable Technology Building. All lectures are free and open to the public.

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A pioneer settlement as depicted in the Historical Album of Orleans County (1879)

“Overlooked Orleans” – Vol. 4, No. 30

CARLTON – On September 10, 1810, eight men from Stockbridge, Massachusetts signed a contract binding one another to a settlement on the Holland Land Purchase in Western New York. These men were unsure of what they would encounter in the virgin woods of the Genesee Country where land was scarcely settled, and neighbors few and far between. When gazing upon the text of this agreement, the articles read like a manifesto built upon a foundation of communism. Now this is not to say that these pioneers sought to establish any semblance of a communist society in the wilderness of Carlton, but the premise of this collective was to share the fruits of labor.

The first line of Article 1 read, “…for the purpose of our better accommodation and mutual benefit, we do and have resolved ourselves to one respective body or company…” That organization established under the name of the “Union Company,” was formed with the purpose of sharing labor while providing the freedom to purchase land without limitation by the group.

Although such record was lost, a secretary was selected by the company to track the progress of the expedition while maintaining a record of “…whatever has been furnished, and by whom, as well as the value of said articles…” Any man putting forth a disproportionate amount of funds would be justly compensated by the group.

Articles 6-18 set forth the specifics of share labor and resources. For two years after the signing of this contract, each man was responsible for furnishing labor for other members of the company. In order to avoid potential conflicts within the group, a proportional amount of wood was to be consumed from each man’s land to allow for the growing of crops and planting of orchards.

Perhaps the most interest of the 18 articles is Article 8 which reads, “We agree that the avails of our joint labor, of whatever kind it may be, shall be equally distributed among said body or company not having any reference to the lands or owners of said lands from whence said avails proceeded.” This stipulation prevented any one man from focusing too much attention on his own interests while neglecting the interests of the others. The mentality conveyed in this article followed throughout the remaining articles, including one that provided for the construction of houses and barns, none of which were to exceed the expense of the first house and barn constructed.

Although a communal mentality was present, the group was not responsible for debts incurred by an individual. An “out” was provided for those who succumbed to the unfortunate trials and tribulations of the frontier, understanding “…that it is possible that the best human calculations are often thwarted and disappointed, and the best intentions are sometimes providentially rendered incapable of performing these most solemn vows…”

The list of signers included Minoris Day, Fitch Chamberlain, Charles Webster, Anthony Miles, Selah Beardsley, Moses Barnum, Russell Smith, and Giles Slater. According to Isaac Signor in Landmarks of Orleans County, Russell Smith never took up his land in Carlton, while Charles Webster lost his pocketbook and money in Lake Ontario while on a trip to Canada. The latter left the area and never returned.

These men arrived in Carlton, mostly single, where they held “Bachelor’s Hall.” This particular site is often mistaken for a Bachelor’s Settlement, where single men arrived together to settle a particular location. A Bachelor’s Hall is a boarding house where men shared living quarters while establishing themselves on their own land; a common practice for that time. The one exception to the bachelor title was Anthony Miles who was already married but left his wife in Massachusetts while he established himself in Carlton. He returned to New England in 1812 and brought his bride to their new home. Fitch Chamberlain and Giles Slater followed suit, each returning to Massachusetts, marrying, and returning to Carlton with their wives.

Based on available information and maps from the Holland Land Company, these men settled near each other along the southern shore of Lake Ontario. According to Signor, Minoris Day, Moses Barnum, and Fitch Chamberlain settled adjacent to one another just west of the Oak Orchard Harbor. Selah Beardsley and Giles Slater settled about one-half mile east of Kuckville on land now occupied by Lakeside Beach State Park; Anthony Miles settled three-quarters of a mile south of Kuckville. As the Orleans County Historical Association prepares to dedicate a sign over Beardsley Creek in Gaines today, it is important to note that this waterway was named for Selah Beardsley of the Union Company and not Levi Beardsley as previously reported.

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Provided photo: Gravesite of  Levi Beardsley at Kent Cemetery.

By Al Capurso, President of the Orleans County Historical Association

“Overlooked Orleans” – Vol. 4, No. 28

GAINES – Creeks, steams, brooks and springs were very important to our pioneer settlers. They provided a source of drinking water for humans and livestock alike, as well as a means to wash clothing and for cooking.

Traveling the historic Ridge Road in Gaines you will encounter a very unique circumstance, that to my knowledge, does not exist anywhere else in the area. There are three creeks or brooks running south to north adjacent to each other, all three named after the pioneer families that settled on their banks. Moving from West to East, just past the Eagle Harbor Road we come to Beardsley Creek; named after the Levi Beardsley family who settled in Carlton in 1827. Born in Connecticut in 1777, Mr. Beardsley died on his homestead in 1867, aged 90 years.

Next is Proctor Brook, winding its way through the Cobblestone Museum Complex at the intersection of Rts. 98 and 104 named after John Proctor who came from Massachusetts originally in 1810, finally settling near the brook in what is now Childs with his wife Polly Cummings in 1812. Perhaps there is no one more prominent in the development of Childs and the Ridge Road’s famed cobblestone buildings than Mr. Proctor. Born in 1787, he suffered the tragic loss of three wives and several children to sickness but he himself lived to the age of 81.

Last, but not least, is Gilbert Creek. This stream originates south of Rte. 104, intersects Brown Road as it meanders north and crosses The Ridge where the Gaines Carlton Community Church now stands. It was on this site that Elizabeth Gilbert and her husband (his name not known) settled around 1807, becoming the first settlers of record to occupy land on the Ridge Road between Monroe and Niagara County. Elizabeth suffered the loss of her husband around 1808 of an apparent epileptic seizure. She and her niece, Amy Scott and two children under the age of 10 continued on for another 3-4 years before moving to Canandaigua presumably due to the threatening War of 1812.

On Saturday, July 28th at 2 p.m. all are welcome to attend the unveiling of the Beardsley Creek Sign created by Jim Bonafini, Cobblestone Society Board President. Dignitaries will speak and refreshments will be served. The site is on Ridge Road, just west of Gaines Corners (Gaines Basin Road) at the cobblestone home of Robert Bruning (Anderson Cobblestone).

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“Overlooked Orleans” – Vol. 4, No. 26

Henry “Hank” Lyon Porter, a native of Albion, illustrates an insignia for the 108th Observation Squadron during World War Two as his boss, Walt Disney, observes.

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, released in December of 1937, is perhaps one of the most iconic animated cartoons ever produced by Walt Disney. As the first full-length animated cartoon, Snow White is one of Disney’s more recognizable characters even today. So, would you believe that this artistic masterpiece was made possible, in part, thanks to a man from Orleans County?

Henry Lyon Porter was born in 1901 in the Village of Albion to Wells H. Porter, a piano tuner, and Nellie Lyon. Porter spent his early childhood in the vicinity of West and West Bank streets and graduated from Albion High School in 1918. At the age of seven, his mother died of cancer leaving his father to care for him; Ella Jackson, the family’s housekeeper, helped raised Henry and his younger brother Allen. Porter was left-handed, and his artistic talents quickly surfaced as a young man, so it is no surprise that he was an illustrator for the Chevron and illustrated the cover for the 1920 Albion High School Yearbook; the cover shows a distressed graduate contemplating the various paths into the professional world. He was also proficient as a pianist.

After completing his studies at Albion, he left for Chicago where he enrolled at the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts. Although his early professional career seems disjointed, he spent some time working for the Knickerbocker Press in Albany as an illustrator and later operated his own commercial artist business in Buffalo for nearly eight years. At some point Porter was given an opportunity to enter the New York School for Walt Disney Animators, which he graduated from in 1936. He quickly picked up and relocated to the Los Angeles studio of Walt Disney to begin his work as an illustrator.

The company was amidst the production of the largest animated undertaking in the history of film to date; Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. In earlier years, cartoons were often “shorts” that appeared in advance of longer feature films. Disney pushed the envelope, seeking to further expand the impact of animation. To produce such a film was no small task. Illustrations were produced by hand; thousands upon thousands of cartoon images were drawn by dozens of artists to produce the smooth flow of the film.

Despite his rather “late” arrival on the project, Porter found himself in the middle of production efforts. In a letter he wrote home to his father in December of 1937 and later appeared in local papers, he described the painstaking work that went into the detailed illustrations. In this letter, he encouraged the readers to watch for the scenes that he penned. Where the dwarfs exit the mine with shovels, singing “Heigh-Ho, Heigh-Ho, it’s home from work we go,” they suddenly stop short and pile up onto one another; Porter was responsible for this scene. He also notes that the scene in which the dwarfs force Grumpy to take a bath in a watering trough was “a loo-loo of a scene, was it tough! I worked six months on it.” He also worked on a scene where Dopey gets soap in his mouth and blows bubbles. Perhaps the most remarkable part of this whole movie was the fact that it took illustrators months to produce these scenes, ultimately requiring three years to produce in full.

A simple Google search of “Hank Porter” reveals pages upon pages of auctions for pencil drawings and paintings produced by Porter over the years. Despite his prolific career with Disney, he was overshadowed by his boss and lost his identity as did many of Disney’s illustrators. What we know of his work was passed down by family and some interesting publications about his work during World War Two. During the war, commanding officers submitted requests for illustrated insignias produced by Disney’s company. In this particular photograph, Walt Disney watches as Porter drafts an emblem for the 108th Observation Squadron, depicting a “sharp-eyed eagle” to be displayed on the squadron’s aircraft. Several of these illustrations along with an image of Porter with Roy Williams appeared in the May 26, 1941 issue of Life magazine.

Porter was one of two Disney artists selected to draft these insignias, all produced at no charge to the U.S. military. Porter quickly became Disney’s most dependable illustrator, his boss often calling him “the one-man art department.” He illustrated hundreds of these insignias that appeared on trucks, tanks, ships, and planes across the world. Even more significant than these contributions are the other notable accomplishments that we are aware of. Porter is credited with the redesign of Donald Duck. It is also believed that Porter was responsible for crafting the iconic “looping D” that adorns Disney’s signature. During the 1930s and 1940s, Porter was one of a few illustrators authorized to reproduce Disney’s signature for autographs. So many of those signatures passed around by Walt Disney were the handiwork of Porter.

Unfortunately, Porter’s career was cut short with his untimely death on October 7, 1951. His body was returned to Albion and was interred at Mt. Albion Cemetery.

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L-R: George Henry Ballard, Robert George Ballard, Frances A. Ballard, Mary Simpson sitting on front steps of the family home on Culver Road.

“Overlooked Orleans” – Vol. 4, No. 25

BARRE – The passing of a bicentennial is a once in a lifetime experience, a milestone that brings with it an aura of prestige and pride. For younger generations, we did not have the opportunity to experience the excitement that came with the passing of the national bicentennial in 1976, but we can look forward to other significant milestones looming on the horizon; the Orleans County Bicentennial in particular.

As we celebrate the Erie Canal Bicentennial (2017-2025), the towns of Shelby and Barre are celebrating 200 years of their “independence” from the towns of Ridgeway and Gaines, respectively (and tongue-in-cheek, of course). The Town of Barre will celebrate this milestone June 29th-July 1st with plenty of festivities aimed at drawing upon the town’s rich history, rooted strongly in the Village of Albion as well.

Bicentennial celebrations are an opportunity to draw communities together, at a time when we are perhaps not as close-knit as past generations may have recalled. It is also a time to reflect on the contributions of the “common folk,” scattered throughout the countryside, those who plowed their fields, raised their families, and made a modest living without recognition.

I often cite the writings of Arad Thomas and Isaac Signor who gave us the most complete written histories of Orleans County, however, these works forget a large portion of our community. Those who lived on modest farms or made their living off of trades often found themselves forgotten from these published histories; the poor, women, African Americans, and immigrants. So, these celebrations, those that come every once in a great while, are an opportunity to build upon our histories, a chance to capture a snapshot of life as we are experiencing it now; a time to pen an autobiography, write a journal, compile your genealogy, or record an oral history.

As I thought about my article for this week, my mind crossed Thomas Cushing of Barre, a physician who gave up the practice of medicine in favor of studying history and philosophy. His contributions to our understanding of local history often went unpublished and therefore are overlooked. I thought again about my own family and my mind rested upon my grandfather, Robert George Ballard, who was born in Barre on September 11, 1928 to George Henry and Frances Bowen Ballard. Several years prior, George purchased the family “homestead” on Culver Road from Lancelot Harling and brought his wife and daughters to the area from Niagara Falls. Robert spent the majority of his early life in Orleans County, minus a short stay in Florida in 1929 while his father sought work as a cooper.

As a young man, life for Robert was far from easy. His father found it difficult at times to make a living with a trade that was often seasonal in nature. When the Great Depression hit on October 29, 1929, George was out of work and found himself seeking odd jobs to make ends meet. He found work with a neighboring farmer in Barre making barely enough to support himself let alone his wife and children. When he pleaded for food from the farm to help feed the children, he refused. During an oral history I conducted with my great aunt in 2010, she remarked “…the bastard wouldn’t give us the sweat off his brow.”

The children attended school but were unable to graduate from high school. Robert’s sister Doris recalled nearing the end of her schooling but was forced to drop out a year early because the family could not afford new books. When Robert was nine, his mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. George was working for Duffy Mott in Hamlin at the time, driving the family car to and from work each day. His inability to miss work due to the family’s financial need forced Frances to take a bus each week to Roswell Park in Buffalo to receive cancer treatments.

Leaving early in the week, Doris would remain in the city until she regained enough energy to make the bus ride back to Albion where George would pick her up. Doris, who was married and living south of the swamp on Culver Road, would trek to the homestead to care for her brother while her father was at work. She recalled her fatigued mother sleeping in a room converted into a small bedroom at the front of the house, vividly remembering her mother’s radiation burns and scars. When doctors urged Frances to undergo a double mastectomy to combat the cancer, she vehemently refused. She lost her battle with cancer on February 10, 1944, one day after her 46th birthday. She left her husband, two daughters, and 15-year-old son to mourn her loss; Robert had dropped out of school shortly before her passing.

These stories, although sometimes inconsequential on the surface, tell us a great deal about ourselves and our ancestors. They tell us far more about a community than the tomes of published histories and are worthy of our preservation. So as our community continues to celebrate these monumental occasions, take some time to recall the reasons why we are afforded this opportunity. Make every effort to preserve your own history!

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“Overlooked Orleans” – Vol. 4, No. 24

Alice McIntyre Bogue and Virgil Bogue

ALBION – Ninety-five years ago, the Virgil Bogue Home for Dependent Children opened its doors to young children in need of a home due to the “loss of their parents or the inability of their parents to support them.”

In the years leading up to the establishment of the Bogue Home, as described within the “Bogue and Allie Families” genealogy published in 1944, children in public orphanages were often adopted out, their parents unable to learn of their whereabouts until reaching the age of 21. It was the vision of the Bogues to change that and provide care for children until conditions or circumstances changed, allowing the family to reunite.

Virgil Bogue was born on June 25, 1851 at Elba, New York to Dan Harris Bogue and Lucy Maria Turner. One of seven children born to the couple, he attended local schools in Elba and later enrolled at the Cary Collegiate Seminary in Oakfield and the LeRoy Academy until reaching adulthood. At the time, Elba was known as Pine Hill and a local businessman named Elias Pettibone operated a small nursery in the area. Charles Bogue, Virgil’s older brother, was taught the art of tree grafting by Mr. Pettibone and later shared this skill with his younger siblings.

In 1875, Virgil opened his own nursery at Albion with stock grown from his brothers’ nurseries and in the following year on January 27, 1876, he married Alice McIntyre, a local girl from Elba. According to historian Cary Lattin, at the peak of his business along with the nurseries of his brothers “…would have made the largest nursery in the world.”

For one reason or another, the Bogues did not have any children of their own. According to Lattin, “It has been said that in his younger years Mr. Bogue was not fond of children and was frequently cross with small trespassers who attempted short-cuts across his property.” At some point in time, he had a change of heart. Virgil and Alice believed that there should be an institution for the purpose of caring for children whose parents had passed away or fallen on hard times; should circumstances change, every effort should be made to reunite the children with their family.

This vision was entered into the will of Mrs. Bogue on January 16, 1909, that “…as soon as possible after my death, unless such corporation shall have been already organized, to cause to be organized, under the Membership Corporation Law, in the State of New York, a corporation for the care and maintenance of children under twelve years of age residing in the County of Orleans who are in need of a home by reason of the loss of parents to support them, such corporation to be known as, The Virgil Bogue Home for Dependent Children.” It is interesting to note that Alice added the stipulation for the institution to be named for her husband.

The organization was to consist of nine individuals, including Virgil Bogue, Isaac S. Signor, Charles Bidelman, Albert C. Burrows, Rollin A. Flagg, Walker Hannington, J. Sawyer Fitch, Burton Reed, and Lafayette H. Beach, who would serve as directors. In her final direction, Alice indicates that should the organization not be established, the residual of her estate should go to the Town of Elba to support the schools. Following Alice’s death May 12, 1911, incorporation papers were drafted just five months later on October 11, 1911. Virgil held regular meetings of the Board of Directors until his death on October 6, 1922. His will set forth the stipulations for investing his estate, allowing the organization to draw from the interest of investments to operate the Home.

Initial plans to open the Bogue Home involved the use of Bogue’s orchard on Clarendon Road in Albion, but the Board of Directors felt that it was disadvantageous to remove the Home from the boundaries of the village where it had access to the municipal water and sewage systems. Instead, the Bogue property on the northwest corner of Clarendon Street and East Avenue was selected as the site for the Home; all of the family’s furnishings remained in the home when it opened on November 1, 1923.

Mrs. Martha Howard, mother of Charles W. Howard, was selected as the first matron of the Home; Mrs. Ada Dawson was selected to assist her. The Bogue Home quickly became a valuable resource for families who had fallen on hard times, housing anywhere from two to twelve children at a given time for over twenty years. On March 8, 1946, Mrs. Howard resigned her position as matron due to illness and the directors voted to cease operations effective March 15, 1946. Six months later, Margaret McCabe was hired to fill the vacancy left by Howard and the Home reopened its doors for three more years until a lack of funds forced the directors to shut down, yet again, on October 1, 1949. Due to the language within Virgil Bogue’s will, the corporation was handcuffed to the amount of funds it could invest. By the 1940s, the amount of interest gained from securities and bonds was no longer sufficient to support the operation of the institution.

Around 1963, it was determined that there was little need for this type of home as the State preferred to send children to foster or boarding homes. As a result, the Bogue Home for Dependent Children changed its name to the Bogue Fund for Dependent Children, sold the Bogue Home, and voted to turn over its income to the Child Welfare Association of Orleans County. Over the years, the organization continues to support scholarships and other endeavors in line with the intentions first set forth by Virgil and Alice Bogue over 100 years ago. In 2016, the Bogue Fund deposited a collection of records relating to the foundation of the corporation, which are now accessible to researchers in the County Department of History.

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“Overlooked Orleans” – Vol. 4, No. 23

MEDINA – Shortly after starting my tenure as County Historian in 2015, I wrote a short piece about a photograph of Sacred Heart Church given to me by Mary Ann Tillman of Albion. I stumbled upon the photograph again this week and thought that perhaps my initial article on the subject was rather short, lacking a more detailed account of the earliest years of the parish.

In the early 1970s, Helen Allen compiled a thorough record of historical accounts from various churches throughout Orleans County. She notes that Medina’s first Polish settlers came to the area in the early 1880s in search of work within the area’s sandstone quarries and factories. Facing language and cultural barriers, the growing community lacked a space for meeting their spiritual needs so local Poles attended St. Mary’s Church until a priest was available to say Mass in their own language.

Ks. Stanislaus Bubacz (Ks. or Ksiądz, meaning priest or clergyman), then the rector of Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church in Albion, recognized the need for Polish communicants to practice in their own language and organized a Mission at Medina. According to Medina Historian Cecilia White, Bubacz visited Medina every Sunday and “conducted services in a Commercial Street residence owned by Wincenty Wysocki.” The community was encouraged to appeal to Bishop Charles Colton to establish a parish for the congregation.

On February 1, 1910, Bishop Colton appointed Ks. Tomasz Gwodz as the first resident priest and tasked him with establishing the parish and constructing a church. Construction of the wood frame structure began in the spring of 1910 and finished during the summer of the same year. On August 7, 1910, at 9 o’clock in the morning, Mass was celebrated in the new building and High Mass celebrated at 11 o’clock. In October of 1910, Msgr. Nelson Baker, who attended in place of Bishop Colton, formally dedicated the church. K.S. Jan Pitass of Buffalo, the father of Buffalo’s Polish community, celebrated the Mass following the dedication ceremonies. Ks. Wojcik, Ks. Burtkowski, Ks. Bubacz, Ks. Gwodz, Rev. O’Brien, and Rev. Malloy were also present.

The choir from Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Albion sang the Mass and the men from the St. Joseph and St. Stanislaus Societies participated in the program. A large delegation of men, accompanied by two bands, escorted the officiating clergy to the church where hundreds of people crammed into the new edifice. Those who were unable to secure a seat in the church participated in the service from the front lawn of the property.

Ks. Adalbert Cichy arrived in 1912 to replace Ks. Gwodz, the former initiating a two-week Mission over Christmas and the New Year to “raise the spiritual and moral standards of his parishioners.” In 1925, Ks. Charles Mioduszewski petitioned the Franciscan Sisters of St. Joseph to establish a parochial school for the young congregants of the parish. The parish purchased a convent and constructed a schoolhouse prior to the arrival of the Sisters in December of 1925 and school commenced on January 2, 1926 with 62 pupils taught by two Sisters. It was during this time that parishioners recognized the need to improve their house of worship and bricked over the church edifice, the rectory, and the school. Roofs were replaced, new heating systems, plumbing, and lighting were added and the parish debt continued to grow. As a result, the congregation made few improvements until 1975 under the pastorate of Rev. Msgr. Marcinkiewicz when he initiated the repair of bricks, replacement of roofs, and repainting of the buildings.

Unfortunately, an arsonist destroyed the sanctuary of the church in 1981, requiring nearly two years of remodeling. In 2008, the Diocese of Buffalo closed the church and merged the parish with St. Mary’s of Medina and St. Stephen’s of Middleport to create Holy Trinity Parish as part of the Diocese’s Journey in Faith and Grace program.

This particular photograph shows the original church edifice of Sacred Heart of Jesus R.C. Church in Medina, located at the corner of Ann and High Streets. The children of the parish are gathering on the front steps of the church and the appearance of white dresses suggests that it was a First Holy Communion celebration. It appears as though the priest is standing on the porch of the house, which served as his living quarters.

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Photo by Matthew Ballard: Grave of William & Ruth Tanner – Tanner Cemetery, Albion, New York

“Overlooked Orleans” – Vol. 4, No. 22

I spent some time over Memorial Day weekend photographing historic markers and cemeteries as part of an ongoing inventory project I am working on. I was amazed at the beauty of our little burial grounds scattered throughout the county; there is definitely something to be said about the peacefulness of eternal rest and the aura that exists within the cemeteries.

Unfortunately, over the years many of our rural cemeteries have fallen victim to Mother Nature, or worse, vandals. In 2006, two cemeteries in Clarendon were attacked by mischievous kids who knocked over stones and smashed others with sledgehammers. In 2012, vandals were active at Beechwood Cemetery in Kendall, tipping over several dozen stones. A lack of respect and appreciation for our past often fuels this type of behavior.

I have received a number of inquiries over the past several months about some of the smaller cemeteries in our area including the Billings Farm Cemetery on Baker Road in Carlton and the Long Farm Cemetery on Rt. 31 in Albion near Transit Road. In the case of the latter, many of the graves are marked by fieldstones and masked by overgrowth and thickets. The question I most often hear is “why?” Why are these cemeteries allowed to fall into a state of disrepair? Time, money, and no descendants are often the reasons, but are these smaller grounds not just as important as our larger cemeteries?

I stumbled across an article written by Bill Lattin a number of years ago, an article drawn from one written by his father Cary Lattin in relation to the old Annis Cemetery on Rich’s Corners Road in Albion. In 1907, Sophia Harling Lattin visited the cemetery where her grandparents were buried, only to find that the grounds were overgrown with briars, locust, and myrtle. She found the condition to be quite shameful, overcome by disappointment that sacred ground should be allowed to fall into such a state of disrepair. Refusing to be deterred, she trudged through the thicket and gathered the names of the deceased from the tombstones in order to assemble a battalion of workers to clear the dense brush.

Upon the completion of this herculean task, the Town of Albion was encouraged to mow the cemetery from that point forward. Lattin paid $10 to have a wrought-iron gate and posts installed at the front of the cemetery, which still stands with a small wooden placard that reads “Annis Cemetery” (albeit in poor condition). Within this cemetery stands a small monument to the memory of Jonathan Rich, a member of Capt. Ebenezer Mason’s Company of Minute Men who responded to the Lexington Alarm on April 19, 1775; the quintessential Patriot.

Another example of community-driven efforts to resurrect the sacred space of our rural cemeteries is Tanner Cemetery, situated across the road from Mount Albion Cemetery. I am often asked about the origins of this particular burial ground given its close proximity to the much larger municipal cemetery. It appears that the cemetery, “established” in 1833 started as early as 1825 with the burial of Ruth Tanner, wife of William Tanner (1751-1831). The couple was interred on the farm owned by their son, Samuel Northrop Tanner, who is buried atop a hill east of the main gate in Mount Albion Cemetery. On numerous occasions, this cemetery became overgrown by weeds, vines, and small trees and on each occasion was cleared by volunteers. Over the years, stones were knocked over and broken with the occasional passerby leaning the stray markers against trees. Small unmarked rocks are situated throughout the burial ground, likely marking the graves of those who could not afford an etched stone.

Records indicate that William Tanner was paid 9 pounds in March of 1781 for service as a private with the 9th Regiment of Foot, U.S. Service with Col. Crary commanding. Those same records indicate that he was wounded during his service and carried a scar for the remainder of his life. Also buried on this site is Sgt. Jedidiah Phelps, a member of the Connecticut Militia and silversmith by trade. After his relocation to Barre in 1819 (then part of Genesee County), he played an active role in establishing the First Presbyterian Church at Albion.

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