By Catherine Cooper, Orleans County Historian 

Illuminating Orleans, Vol. 3, No. 10

This letter from 1836 shows an agreement for Holley businessmen to buy fire engine for $250.

HOLLEY – The elegantly penned document at right is part of the Orleans County Department of History collection. Written in 1836, it pertains to the Village of Holley, but curiously is linked to Central Hall, the building on East Park Street in Albion that houses the Department of History.

The document is an agreement between Hiram Frisbie* and Darwin Hill for the purchase of a fire engine:

Articles of Agreement made and Entered into this 30th day of September 1836 between the American Hydraulic Company of Windsor, Vermont and Darwin Hill & Hiram Frisbie of the Village of Holley, County of Orleans & State of New York.

That the American Hydraulic Company of Windsor, Vermont have agreed to furnish and deliver to the said Hiram Frisbie and Darwin Hill, a fire engine Number 3 Cooper’s patent with the hoses and with all the necessary appendages and appurtenances for the consideration of the sum of two hundred and fifty dollars to be paid them by the said Darwin and Hiram in thirteen months from the date hereof with the interest.

And the said American Hydraulic Company do hereby further undertake promise and agree to and with the said Darwin & Hiram that the said fire engine  so agreed to be delivered shall be equal in all respects to the fire engine now in said village of Holley (and so continue for the space of one year with ordinary usage and care) and shown them by the Agent of said Company and that if the said engine to be delivered should be deficient in any respect, either in size, power, force or finish, the said American Hydraulic Company will allow the said Darwin & Hiram the fair reasonable and just difference together with all damages, costs and expenses sustained or suffered on account of breach of this Agreement and of the failure of said engine to be deducted from the said sum of two hundred & fifty dollars and interest herein agreed to be paid.

And the said Darwin Hill & Hiram Frisbie in consideration of the Agreement on the ? of the said the American  Hydraulic Company agree to pay them the sum of Two Hundred and fifty dollars with the interest in thirteen months from the date hereof, subject nevertheless to the performance of the Agreement above mentioned by the American  Hydraulic Company.

The American Hydraulic Company hereby agree to deliver said fire engine in the Village of Holley at their own proper cost, charge and expense within a reasonable time from the date hereof and forty days

In witness whereof the parties have set their hands the day and year first above written.

American Hydraulic Co.  By William Barrett Agent

Hiram Frisbie

Darwin Hill

Fires were a scourge in those early years. Members of the community were the earliest fire-fighters; they could only respond by forming bucket brigades. Hand-cranked pumpers were the first improvement on the bucket brigades. The Village of Medina purchased one such machine in 1829 for $270.

In 1828, John M. Cooper, an inventive Vermonter, patented a “Rotative Piston” thought to be suitable for fire pumps which were soon being produced in Windsor, Vt. by the American Hydraulic Company (later the National Hydraulic Company). Convict laborers from the Vermont State Prison at Windsor were employed in the production of the pumps. They were paid .25 cents a day for twelve-hour days and worked six days a week. Agencies were established throughout the country to promote the company’s products.

Hiram Frisbie and Darren Hill, both prominent Holley businessmen, organized the purchase of the fire engine and undertook to pay $250. Residents and merchants contributed to the cost by donation or subscription. The new machine was, no doubt, transported by horse-drawn wagons over the Green Mountains to Albany and then on the Erie Canal to Holley. It was basically a hand-drawn, hand-cranked water pump but it exceeded the capabilities of the bucket brigade.

The doorway at Central Hall in Albion was rescued from a mansion in Holley that was demolished in the 1930s.

The Frisbie Mansion, home of Hiram Frisbie, was an impressive Greek-Revival mansion built c.1832. Situated on a knoll, it featured a two-story wrap-around colonnade of six 20-foot Doric pillars. The pillars were constructed from whole whitewood trees, the tallest of the eastern hardwoods, also known as tulip trees.

This Holley mansion was demolished in the 1930s but remarkably the stately front entrance was saved by some discerning members of the American Legion who were then renovating their building at 34 East Park Street in Albion, Sheret Post #35.

This red-brick building, which has since been renamed Central Hall, is now owned by Orleans County and houses the Treasurer’s Dept. and the Orleans County Dept. of History.

(*Frisbie/Frisbee – spelling varies)

This is one of many unidentified wedding photos in the Orleans County Dept. of History collection. Do you recognize any member of this handsome group?

By Catherine Cooper, Orleans County Historian

Illuminating Orleans, Vol. 3 No. 7

ALBION – Emma B. Tripp became engaged to Louis J. Ives in 1908. They planned to be married in April 1911. But Mr. Ives disappeared.

On February 19, 1913, instead of enjoying wedded bliss, Mrs. Tripp found herself testifying against Mr. Ives before a jury at a Supreme Court trial held in Albion. Judge Warren B. Hooker presided.

Described in the Democrat & Chronicle as “an attractive widow, gowned in deep mourning.” Mrs. Tripp was represented by attorney Harry Fox. She sought $10,000 in breach of promise damages.

Mr. Ives did not appear and was not represented.

Mrs. Tripp first became acquainted with Mr. Ives when he rented a suite of rooms at her boarding house in Buffalo in 1906. Prior to his move, Mr. Ives, a widower, had operated a successful produce business in Medina, at 339 Main St. (currently Mystic Dragon’s Lair).

A friendship developed between the landlady and the tenant. They attended the theater and other entertainments together. Soon they were constant companions. Neither were in the full flush of youth: Mrs. Tripp was then aged 51 and Mr. Ives was 65.

Mrs. Tripp testified that she assisted Mr. Ives in the development and patenting of an induction device to dry wood flooring and railroad ties. Several prominent Buffalo businessmen invested money in a company which he formed to sell the product.

In his letters to her, which were read before the court, Mr. Ives referred to her as “Honey”, “My darling” and “Love”. He wrote poems expressing his undying love for her.

One evening, shortly before April 1911, the couple attended a dinner at the home of friends in Buffalo. At one point, Mr. Ives excused himself and said that “he would be back in a few minutes.” But he did not return. Mrs. Tripp heard from him the following day. He said he had been called to Lockport suddenly on business and that he would be back the next day. She did not see him again. At the time of the trial, Mr. Ives was said to be living in St. Catharines, Ontario.

The jury found in favor of Mrs. Tripp and awarded her $2,000 in damages.

Breach of promise actions pertaining to courtship or marriage situations were also referred to as “heart balm” cases. At a time when women relied on marriage for financial security, it was understood that an engagement was a promise to marry, a binding contract between two people and that the injured party could pursue financial compensation if one person broke the contract without consulting the other.

Upon her engagement, a woman would have discontinued the pursuit of other suitors, thus limiting future marriage prospects. A woman in Mrs. Tripp’s situation would have felt embarrassment, humiliation, and concern for her reputation. Few would have relished the scrutiny and loss of privacy associated with a public court case.

In the following years, a series of high profile and salacious heart balm cases generated negative publicity:

“$100,000 Heart Balm Award Won by Author’s First Wife” – (Chicago, 1935)

“Twice Wed Mrs. Fogarty Seeks $500,000 Breach of Promise Against Gene Tunney” – (Bridgeport, Ct., 1929)

These are just two of many such headlines. Public opinion gradually shifted to favor the accused, since the “injured parties” seemed to be conniving grafters.

On March 20, 1935, a bill sponsored by Senator John McNaboe of Manhattan was passed. It aimed to curb the “racketeering” associated with breach of promise and alienation of affection cases. By 1945, sixteen states had abolished breach of promise laws.

Mrs. Tripp returned to Buffalo and vanished into obscurity. Mr. Ives died in 1925 in Mineola, New York, at the home of his daughter.

“Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.”

The Downs Hotel in Holley was built in 1893.

By Catherine Cooper, Orleans County Historian

Illuminating Orleans, Vol. 3  No. 6

HOLLEY – On Wednesday, February 13, 1893, the newly built Downs Hotel in Holley was opened to the public for the first time.

Despite the wintry weather, guests came from Rochester, Buffalo and even Elmira. A reception, banquet and ball were held that evening. Supper was served from 8 to 10 p.m. A Rochester orchestra played music for a large crowd of dancers until small hours of the morning.

The new hotel, designed by Rochester architects Warner & Brockett was acknowledged to be the finest in the area. Located at the corner of the Holley Square and Thomas Street, the three-story trapezoidal building had a perimeter of 300 foot and a depth of 100 foot.

The sandstone which covered three exterior walls came from the Downs and Gorman quarry south of the village. The fourth wall was of brick construction and was trimmed in stone.

The main entrance was on the south side, it was protected by a large balcony. The roof line was broken by several dormers. A cylindrical corner on the southeast was designed as a band room.

Hardwoods were used on the lower floor: quartered oak in the hall, reading room and office and ash in the dining room. Steam heat was featured throughout the building. The 35 guest rooms were equipped with electric lights, call bells, lights in closets and baths, and a high pressure water supply. The cost of this project was estimated at $30,000.

Frank Crocker, an experienced hotelier who had managed hotels in Attica and Olcott, and had owned the Mansion House for several years, was the manager of the new hotel.

The Mansion House was Holley’s first hotel.

The Downs Hotel was built on the site of the former Mansion House which had been built by Samuel Cone in the late 1820s when business in Holley increased due to the Erie Canal.

Former owners of the Mansion House included: 1830-44: H.B. Avery; 1844-45: Alva Ogden; 1845-60: H.B. Perry; 1860-61: Mr. Wilcox; 1862-66: Mrs. H.B. Perry; 1866-68: Bennett & Nielsen; 1860-85; Eli D. Olds; 1885-90: Frank Crocker; 1890-92 Mr. Nelligan.

John Downs was the visionary behind the newly built hotel. A successful Holley businessman and entrepreneur, he had amassed his wealth first as a livestock trader and sheep shipper and later as a private banker.

He purchased the Mansion House in 1892 and promptly had the building torn down. He noted that he had traveled extensively in his career and realized the importance of clean lodging and good food for travelers, and he wanted to offer comfortable facilities in Holley.

The Downs family lived in a large Italianate home at 1 South Main Street in Holley. Referred to as the Stoddard-Downs house, it was built by Moses Stoddard in the mid-1860s and purchased by John Downs in 1886. It was destroyed by fire on January 5, 2020.

John Downs died on April 4, 1901, at the age of 55. Sadly, Hattie Lee, his 12-year-old daughter died in October of that same year from appendicitis.

The Downs Hotel was reportedly sold in 1915 by the Downs Estate to E. Roessner, proprietor of the Portland Hotel in Rochester, for $16,000. That transaction must have been problematic as the Downs Estate later concluded a sale of the hotel “which had been unoccupied for some time” to the Holley Hotel Corp. for $9,000, in 1920.

In later years this fine hotel was variously referred to as the Hotel Holley, The Holley Inn and the Holley Hotel.

The Hotel Holley is pictured in 1935.

File photo by Tom Rivers: The triangular units that form through-truss bridges are evident in this photo of the Gaines Basin Road Bridge.

By Catherine Cooper, Orleans County Historian

Illuminating Orleans, Vol. 3 No. 5

In Orleans County, which spans 24 miles across, twenty bridges facilitate north-south vehicular access across the Erie Canal. The Brown Road Bridge in Albion allows pedestrian access only. There is one stone arch tunnel at Culvert Road.

Orleans County Erie Canal Bridges, West to East

• Medina: Marshall Road, Prospect Street, Glenwood Avenue, Horan Road, Bates Road, Beals Road, Knowlesville Road and Presbyterian Road.
• Gaines: Eagle Harbor Rd. Bridge
• Albion: Gaines Basin Road, Lattin’s Farm Drive Bridge, Albion Main Street, Ingersoll Street, Butts Road, Keitel Road, Hulberton Road, Groth Road, Telegraph Road, East Avenue Lift Bridge in Holley, Bennetts Corners Road.

Regular maintenance of this infrastructure provided jobs for many. “Canal Appointments” was a listing of those hired to work on the canal. Those appointments were published in the local newspapers in the early 1900s.

Perhaps you may see a family name in this list published in the Medina Tribune, May 29, 1913.

• Water patrolmen: Daniel Horan and Thomas F. Holloran of Albion
• State Boat: Captain Noah D. Smith, Albion, William Brazzell, Medina
• Carpenter: James McKenna, Albion
• Laborers: John Fox, Patrick Rooney, Andrew Heckman and Thomas Cleary, all of Medina. Edward Woodhull of Knowlesville, and James J. Crandall of Albion
• Lift Bridge Operators: Knowlesville – John Manning, Joseph Higgins and Frank Hibberd; Eagle Harbor – Charles Maxon, John Webber and A.V. Lord; Albion Main Street – John W. McCarthy, John Owens and Martin Lucas.
• Bank Watchmen: Medina – Martin Fox, Arthur Cox, John Maher and Patrick Burns; Knowlesville – John Hauser; Albion – Mason Miller, Edward Maxon, Albert Steldinger and Leonard Fackler; Fancher – James Ballou; Holley – Mortimer Clark, Michael Compoleti, Edward Coady and William Sweeney.
• In addition, twelve men were employed at the waste weirs.

One can infer the ethnic origin of these workers from their last names. One can also infer their political leanings, as these appointments were made on the recommendations of the Orleans County Democratic Committee, the Democrats having aligned with canal interests. Indignant comments decrying “canal patronage” and “political activities among the faithful” were frequently lobbied, particularly by the Medina Daily Journal.

Politics had swirled around the Erie Canal from the beginning.

(Left) A stylish seasonal design adorned the cover of the Christmas 1926 issue of Albion High School’s Chevron. (Right) Snowstorm, Christmas, 1919.

By Catherine Cooper, Orleans County Historian

Illuminating Orleans, Vol. 2, No. 41

ALBION – A century ago, Albion High School students produced several annual Christmas editions of their literary magazine, The Chevron. The covers feature student submitted artwork evocative of the 1920s.

The Chevron was first published in 1912. The editorial in that first issue acknowledged that the name “Chevron” was new and unfamiliar and explained that it had been selected because it symbolized an ideal.

(Left) A wintry scene, Christmas, 1920. (Right) The third Wise Man was enroute, no doubt.

In medieval times apparently, a knight’s shield would be adorned with a representation of the rafters of a house to signify an accomplishment. Later, this inverted V-shaped design was used on badges or insignia to denote rank, hence the selection:

“As the chevron of old meant honor to a knight, so we hope to make this paper an honor to the school.”

Santa Claus reads his mail, 1925 issue

Students contributed the material included in these publications. Their youthful optimism and humor shine through.

The Literary Section contains whimsical, imaginative fiction and poetry. There are club notes, alumni roundups, poetry, sports summaries and even several pages of jokes which tend to rely heavily on puns:

Teacher: Name the Tudors

Student: Front door and back door (1925)

Chester Sledzinski contributed The Faculty Banquet, a brave parody of Longfellow’s Song of Hiawatha to the 1925 issue:

By the shores of Lake Ontario, by the shining big lake water,

Stood the Superintendent Bergerson, big chief of the Albion High School.

Dark behind him rose the forest, rose the black and gloomy pine trees….

The poem describes a fictional banquet organized by Chief Bergerson and his wife to make the teachers “better natured”, and “appease their savage tempers”. Name references to the teachers throughout the poem would no doubt have amused the readers and, one hopes, the teachers.

The 1925 issue also includes a stirring account of a football game between the “fighting Albion” team and Medina, it’s “ancient foe”, held in Medina on Thanksgiving Day, under perfect weather conditions and before a record crowd of 2,000. The Albion team met “a not inglorious defeat” but vowed with grim determination to seek future triumph.

Among the many treasurers we discovered in these early Chevrons was a poem in the 1916 issue which conveys the worries and darkness of that time. It was composed by a then 18-year-old Cary Lattin, who was later Orleans County Historian, from 1958-1974.

Poem by Cary Lattin, published in the 1916 edition of The Chevron, Albion High School’s literary magazine.

Goodnow wrote several textbooks to advance nursing profession

By Catherine Cooper, Orleans County Historian

Illuminating Orleans, Vol. 2, No. 39

Chad Fabry recently found this poster in the attic of the Swan Library building.

ALBION – Miss Minnie Goodnow was no stranger to the audience assembled at the Court House in Albion on Monday, September 10, 1917, to hear her speak about her experiences as a nurse in France.

Minnie was born in Albion on July 10, 1871, the daughter of Franklin and Elizabeth (Arnold) Goodnow. The 1887 Directory lists Frank as a builder, the family home was at 28 Clinton St.

(According to the Goodenow Family Association, five Goodenows immigrated from the south of England in 1638 on the ship Confidence and settled in Sudbury, Massachusetts. The name is spelled various ways including Goodenough, Goodnough, Goodno, and Goodnow among others.)

Minnie attended Albion schools. The family moved to Denver, Colorado, where she trained as a nurse. At the age of 44, she was a member of the second contingent of the Harvard Surgical Unit who volunteered to provide medical assistance during World War I. Under the leadership of Dr. David Cheever, the group of 30 physicians and 36 nurses sailed on the Noordam in November 1915 and arrived at the General Hospital winter quarters at Wimeraux in France on Dec. 2. The first intake of wounded soldiers from the front lines arrived on Dec. 15. The unit treated 1,400 patients over the next three months.

In a letter to friends in Decatur, Ill., Minnie wrote:

“It is utterly impossible to tell you or make you realize what it is like over here. War is the business of the country, and it is organized on a remarkably permanent basis. Everything is affected by it. France is drained of her able-bodied men, and the work of the country is being done by boys, old men, and women.”

The Orleans Republican of March 22, 1916, published a request from Minnie for writing paper and envelopes for the soldiers in hospital who wanted to write to their families. She also requested drawstring bags, about 9” by 12”, made of plain material, in which soldiers could store personal items.

Reporting on the Unit’s service in the April 1916 Harvard Alumni Bulletin, Dr. Cheever wrote:

As would naturally be expected in the winter season, probably one-half the cases were sick rather than wounded…. The wounds were almost entirely due to high explosive shell fire, machine-gun and rifle fire, and bombs, the proportion of injuries by shrapnel being comparatively low, owing to the fact that there is a great preponderance in the use of high explosive shells over shrapnel.

During her distinguished career, Minnie held executive posts at several hospitals: Directress of Nurses, Milwaukee County Hospital, Superintendent of the Women’s Hospital, Denver, of the Bronson Hospital, Kalamazoo, and of the Children’s Hospital in Washington, D.C., the Newport Hospital (R.I.) and the Pratt Diagnostic Hospital in Boston.

She was considered a pioneer in the fields of nursing education and nursing history and was the author of several textbooks which were published by W.B. Saunders of Philadelphia:

• The Nursing of Children, 1914

• Outlines of Nursing History, 1916

• War Nursing: a Textbook for the Auxiliary Nurse, 1918

• Practical Physics for Nurses, 1919

• Ten Lesson in Chemistry for Nurses Saunders, 1919

• First Year Nursing, 1920

• Nursing History in Brief, 1943.

Minnie maintained her Albion connections and visited the area frequently. The Holley-Standard of May 24, 1894, listed her as among those who had attended the laying of the cornerstone of the Pullman Church. When visiting, she stayed with her sister, Mrs. Adeline Porter, or with her friend Lillian Achilles, Director of the Swan Library.

Minnie travelled extensively. Returning from a two-year round-the-world trip in 1937, she lectured frequently on her observations. Locally, she addressed the Union Evening of the Protestant Churches in Albion in November 1937 on the topic of “Zionism in Palestine and Christianity in Asia”. Having acquired first-hand information on international affairs during her travels through forty countries, she outlined the facts of the Jewish-Arab-English situation in Palestine and the underlying issues of the Sino-Japanese conflicts “in an interesting and charming manner” (Orleans Republican, 11/10/1937)

She died in Boston at the age of 80 and is buried at Blossom Cemetery in Hamlin, along with her family.