Henry Moore Harrington

ALBION – The son of Shelby Harrington and Nancy Moore, Henry Moore Harrington, was born in Albion on April 30, 1849. His maternal uncle, Charles Henry Moore, was a well-respected entrepreneur and land speculator in Albion.

An astute and brilliant young man, Henry attended the Cleveland Institute at University Heights, Ohio, where he graduated as valedictorian of his class. It was with these high honors that Harrington was awarded with an appointment to the U.S. Naval Academy, an honor that he turned down in favor of a spot at the U.S. Military Academy in 1868.

Harrington’s time at West Point was completed in 1872, capped off by his marriage to Grace Berard, the daughter of a professor at the military academy. Shortly thereafter, Harrington was assigned as a lieutenant with the 7th U.S. Cavalry and stationed in the Carolinas for training during the winter and spring of 1872-1873. These training exercises were to prepare Harrington and the other men for service in the west.

Stationed at Ft. Lincoln and Ft. Rice in the Dakota Territory, Harrington was in service alongside George Armstrong Custer during the Yellowstone Expedition in 1873 and the Black Hills Expedition in 1874, the latter discovering gold in the hills of the Dakotas.

It was during the Great Sioux War of 1876 that Lt. Harrington would distinguish himself as one of the bravest men ever encountered by the Sioux Nation. On June 25, Custer divided his 7th Cavalry into three columns. Due to a shortage of officers, Harrington was assigned to Company C where he would serve alongside Capt. Thomas Custer, the younger brother of George.

Outnumbered upwards of 20 to 1, Custer’s men crossed the Little Big Horn River and led a charge against the northern end of the Native American village. Against insurmountable odds, the men made their advance on the village and were completely annihilated.

It was during Custer’s overly glorified “Last Stand” that Harrington was said to have escaped on his “unique, large sorrel.” Breaking through the encirclement of Native American warriors, he was pursued by seven men. Based on accounts of the engagement, remains believed to be those of Harrington were found nearly eight miles away from the battlefield.

Harrington’s remains were never found or identified following the battle. His wife searched for three years in the hopes of finding his remains but returned home empty-handed.

In 2006, forensic scientists with the Smithsonian Institute identified remains within the museum’s anthropological collection as those of Henry Moore Harrington. Dr. Robert Shufeldt had retrieved the skull in 1877 from a location some distance from the battlefield, leading to misidentification.

Harrington was 27 years old at the time of his death, leaving a wife and two children to mourn his passing. The family erected a cenotaph in his memory at Coldwater, Michigan.

ALBION – This once beautiful mansion was erected on South Main Street by local entrepreneur Elizur Kirke Hart.

President of the Orleans County National Bank and director of the Niagara Falls Suspension Bridge Company, Hart was well respected throughout Orleans County as a precise and decisive businessman who exuded confidence and common sense.

On July 31, 1871 Hart purchased Hemlock Island from Charles and John Walton for $100 and commenced the construction of a large and beautiful “cottage” near Alexandria Bay. The expansive structure was completed at a cost of $12,000 (over $300,000 today), measuring 84 feet long by 76 feet wide, and containing 80 rooms; hardly a “cottage” by today’s standards.

The large summer home constructed on “Hart Island” was one of the most highly desired properties in the Thousand Islands region, even more desirable than George Pullman’s nearby cottage, “Castle Rest.” Hart received numerous purchase offers on the astounding estate but consistently refused to sell.

Although he rarely considered himself a politician, Hart was elected to the New York State Assembly in 1872 as a Republican. It was during Horace Greeley’s presidential campaign for the 1872 election that Hart became a supporter of liberal ideas and a Democrat. Despite his changing of parties, he was elected in 1876 as a U.S. Representative as a Democrat in a district with an overwhelmingly large Republican majority.

Locally, Hart was respected for his efforts to bring electric lights to Albion. He was instrumental in the establishment of the Western House of Refuge for Women in Albion and served as the first president of the board of managers with that institution. A man dedicated to the continuation of education and learning, he owned one of the finest personal libraries in Western New York and was the first signer of a petition to establish a public library in Albion.

This image was taken in 1925, shortly after the death of Hart’s son Charles. At the time of Elizur’s death in 1893, he left an estate valued at $800,000 for his family equivalent to over $20 million today. In 1942 a notice appeared in the local papers stating, “everything for sale, including doors, lumber, windows, sinks, and fixtures of all kinds” Sadly, the building was razed shortly after and Albion lost a stunning local landmark.

The Hoag Library currently occupies the site of the old Hart mansion.

Henry C. Lawrence – Pharmaceutical Mentor

A native of Bainbridge, New York, Henry C. Lawrence was born on Aug. 5, 1820 to Richard Lawrence and Sarah DeZeng. Richard moved his family to Lafayette, Indiana prior to 1845 where he established “The Good Samaritan” drug store in 1844 on the north side of Lafayette’s public square. It was in 1853 that Henry would enter into a partnership with his father and younger brother, George DeZeng Lawrence.

In 1854, Henry Lawrence married Martha Stevens of Knowlesville, but their life together was short. She died on Oct. 10, 1855 at her father’s home in Orleans County. Henry remarried to Martha’s older sister Maria Stevens Flintham, the mother of Albion undertaker William S. Flintham.

Shortly after his arrival in Indiana, Lawrence became an active member of the Free and Accepted Masons, an organization emerging from the persecution of the Anti-Masonic movement of the 1830s and 1840s. In 1853 he was selected as the Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Indiana and remained in that position until 1854. It was during that year that the partnership with his brother ceased and he took full ownership of the family business.

Taking considerable interest in the business, Lawrence expanded upon the basic medicines in which his father dealt; drugs, medicines, paints, and dyestuff. He added perfumes, hair dressing, fertilizers, and spirituous liquors for both recreational and medicinal uses. It was also during this time that Lawrence took an aspiring young Eli Lilly under his wing as an apprentice during the years of “The Good Samaritan” drug store.

Lilly was present during the growth and expansion of Lawrence’s business, witnessing the transformation of the business into “The City Drug Store” around 1857. Translating from a French pharmacology journal, Lawrence instructed Lilly in the method of dipping pills in molten gelatin to produce an easy-to-swallow capsule.

The mentorship between Lawrence and Lilly ended in 1858 when it was determined that Lilly was more than capable of conducting himself in the drug business. Nearly 10 years later, Lilly would set himself on a path towards developing one of the largest drug manufacturing businesses in the United States; a company that still bears his name today.

Lawrence met his untimely death in 1862 as the result of an accident and his body was interred within his father-in-law’s lot in Knowlesville.

As part of the 1868 sesquicentennial celebration of the founding of Masonry in Indiana, a bronze plaque was erected at the gravesite of Lawrence with the assistance of Eli Lilly and Company. This marker pays tribute to Lawrence, “an encouraging teacher” and mentor of a pharmaceutical giant.

HOLLEY – On the morning of Sept. 7, 1918, Mrs. Effie Stevens received an envelope from Lt. James A. Meissner of the 147th Aero Squadron. Her eyes gazed upon the words, “My deepest sympathy goes out to you who have sacrificed your all to the country” and with that single note her son, a respected pilot and Distinguished Service Cross recipient, was yet another casualty from Orleans County.

On July 2, 1918 near Chateau-Thierry, Lt. Stevens would earn himself a reputation as one of the most daring members of the 147th Aero Squadron when he and four other U.S. pilots engaged twelve Pfalz type enemy aircraft flying in two groups well beyond enemy lines.

After sighting the planes, Stevens quickly maneuvered into position between the aircraft and the sun, gaining the advantage with some difficulty. While three of the pilots engaged the lower formation, Stevens and 2nd Lt. Kenneth Porter engaged the upper formation in a “bold and brilliant combat,” destroying two planes.

Although marked as missing on Aug. 1, 1918, he was killed the previous day when his aircraft was shot down. His body was laid to rest by German soldiers under a rough cross adjacent to his wrecked machine. Lt. Henry Richardson of Albion wrote to his mother stating that a major visited their camp with a ball-bearing taken from a downed aircraft near Lt. Stevens’ grave.

In his most recent engagement, he was credited with defending an American supply base with five other flyers who repelled an attack of 30 German aircraft, accounting for eleven destroyed machines. His remains were reinterred at the Oise-Aisne American Cemetery at Picardie, France.

This image shows 2nd Lt. John Hulett Stevens seated atop his single-seat WWI biplane adorned in the prototypical aviator’s attire. The Cobblestone Museum is displaying the same style of French aviator goggles as part of an new exhibit, courtesy of the Orleans County Department of History..

“The Lost Generation” Exhibition, highlighting the service of Orleans County soldiers, opened on Sunday at the Cobblestone Museum in Childs. Additional virtual exhibits, oral histories, and other stories will be made available through an online collaborative project between the Cobblestone Museum and the Orleans County Department of History at orleanscountyhistorian.org.

ALBION – Taken in 1932, this image shows a procession at St. Mary’s Assumption Parish in the Village of Albion.

Located at the intersection of Brown and Moore Streets, we see a number of men lining up in the street with a number of parishioners exiting the front of the church. Considering the clothing worn by those exiting the church, this is likely an image of a First Holy Eucharist celebration.

At the time, the parish had several societies for men and women. The banner, front and center, depicts the Virgin Mary and baby Jesus and reads, “Queen Confessors, Pray for Us.” On the obverse side is an image of St. Joseph, which reads, “Society of St. Joseph, February 1, 1903, Albion, New York.”

The beautiful handmade banner was constructed of green cloth with gold braiding and accents. The banner carried behind represented the Sacred Heart Society.

The buildings located along the left side of the street were torn down in the 1950s. The space is currently used as a parking lot. The Cobblestone Museum received the 1903 Society of St. Joseph banner as part of a generous donation in December of 2014.

ALBION – Formed amidst the vast wilderness that was Upstate New York, Albion was built within dense old-growth forests that covered the region. The untouched and uncultivated land proved to be both dangerous and threatening for early settlers.

Wooded regions were filled with deadly animals that have gone unseen in this area for decades, but the most deadly threat to early settlement was fire.

Dating back to 1829, Albion’s earliest protection against the threat of fire was prevention. Fire wardens sought to eliminate dangerous scenarios that often led to devastating disasters, yet for those occasions where the inevitable fire broke out, the bucket brigade became the last defense against these deadly occurrences.

Between 1831 and 1880, Albion witnessed the development and transformation of the area’s fire fighting force from the establishment of a rudimentary group of young men to the creation of a well-developed and complex system of multiple fire companies.

The earliest fire garage was situated on North Main Street at the site of Gurney’s Old Coach Inn, then adjacent to the Village Hall. On Nov. 14, 1874 the new Village Hall was constructed on the northwest corner of East Bank and Platt Streets. On the second floor, the building contained a large auditorium for meetings and entertainment while the first floor contained village offices and space for the storage of fire apparatus.

It was during this time that Village of Albion President William B. Dye took an active interest in the establishment of a new fire company – Dye Hose Company No. 5. Under the direction of George W. O. Shourds as temporary chairman, Robert Beach was selected as President and W. Lettis as foreman of the organization with approximately ten charter members. George Shourds and Morgan A. McLean were the last two surviving charter members when the organization celebrated its 50th anniversary in 1932.

The company was formed the week ending on May 28, 1881 and the group participated in their first practice at the Orleans County Fairgrounds on July 19, 1881. Adler, Dye & Company furnished the new uniforms, which consisted of blue coats, white shirts, white caps, and white pants lined with red trim. On their second anniversary in May of 1883, the Village of Albion Trustees purchased a new four-wheeled hose cart for the company at a cost of $500.

In this image, you will see Dye Hose Company No. 5 lining up for a parade on July 4, 1889 in front of the present Village of Albion Police Station. The building originally served as a garage for fire apparatus and the original doors and many windows have since been bricked over.

It is presumed that the hose cart in tow is the original cart purchased for the company in 1883. This photograph was taken from the northeast corner of Platt and East Bank Streets looking northwest – notice the boardwalk situated along the dirt streets.

This piece originally appeared as part of the Revisiting Old Orleans series at www.orleanscountyhistorian.org.

MEDINA – Sports enthusiasts from Medina will recognize the name Carl Fischer from his time as a major league pitcher in the 1930s. Albion residents are familiar with his newsstand, which retains his name to this day.

Yet all of Orleans County can appreciate the contributions that Fischer made to this community after his years in the big leagues.

A native of Medina, Charles W. Fischer was born on Nov. 5, 1905 and graduated from Medina High School in 1924. Following graduation he started his professional career with various minor league teams throughout the east coast before he transitioned into the limelight. Selected by the Washington Senators, Fischer debuted on July 19, 1930 in a 5-2 loss against the Cleveland Indians.

In 1932 the “Medina Mauler” was sent to the Detroit Tigers where he would experience his best days as a hurler. It was in that year that Fischer was said to have struck out Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, and Sam Byrd consecutively in a game against the New York Yankees. Of course his career was far from glorious; Carl threw the pitch that gave Lou Gehrig his 41st home run in 1931 and the pitch that gave Joe DiMaggio his 21st home run in 1937.

In a 1933 game against the New York Yankees, Carl “Lefty” Fischer had the game well in hand until a series of walks paved the way for a Babe Ruth single and a Tony Lazzeri home run that brought both Earl Combs and Lou Gehrig in for runs. His 1933 season with the Detroit Tigers marked the best of his career, ranking 2nd in the league for pitchers with fewest home runs against, 10th in the league for strikeouts, and 9th overall for lowest earned run average. The following year in 1934, Fischer helped lead the Tigers to their first American League pennant.

Fischer capped his career with 42 wins and 50 losses, a 4.63 ERA, and having started 105 of the 191 games he played. He pitched 31 complete games, earned 3 shutouts and 10 saves with a .479 win-loss percentage. During the seasons he spent in the majors as a pitcher, he played with the Washington Senators, the Detroit Tigers, and the Cleveland Indians and earned a total of $32,000 during the length of his career, a whopping $500,000 by today’s standards (and still a fraction of player salaries today).

Upon his return to Orleans County, Carl was instrumental in the development of the Central Orleans Midget League to which he donated the “Carl Fischer Trophy” for the winning team each season.

In 1959 he opened the well-known Fischer’s Newsstand and operated the business until his death on Dec. 10, 1963, just weeks before his intended retirement. In 1964 the Village of Medina dedicated a plaque in his memory at the Medina Veteran’s Park, highlighting his career accomplishments and paying tribute to a true local sports legend.

CLARENDON – The history of Orleans County is sprinkled with the stories of our ancestors who served this great nation over the last 239 years.

As we celebrate Independence Day this weekend, it is only proper to recall the service of those men before us who risked everything they had as young men. They took up arms against what they believe to be an oppressive government focused on unfair taxation and inconsistent representation.

One such hero of the American Revolution was Lemuel Cook. A native of Northbury, Connecticut, Cook enlisted near Watertown, Connecticut at the young age of 16. He was present for the Battle of Brandywine and at Yorktown for General Cornwallis’ Surrender in 1781.

An eventual settler of Clarendon, “Lem” as he was known, would earn the distinction of the oldest pensioner of the Revolution at the time of his death on May 20, 1866 at the age of 107.

As a man in his old age, his talk became fragmented and his thoughts became scattered, but a glimmer of light appeared in his eyes when asked to recall the stories of his meetings with General Washington.

On the first occasion Washington approached Lemuel to ask “Is that your horse soldier?” Coming to attention, Lem responded, “Yes, Sir!” Placing the young lad at ease, Gen. Washington inquired of his name to which Lem responded, “Lemuel Cook, from Connecticut, Sir.”

After a quick compliment on the fine horse that Lem was tending to, Washington said, “Well, you take care of him, you will be glad you did,” and the General continued on.

The final resting place of Mr. Cook was vandalized in early 2006 and we are fortunate that quick work was made of restoring his beautiful gravestone to its rightful condition.

Nearly three years later, Lemuel would cross paths with Washington again. Minding his own business, Cook’s attention was grabbed by a deep, rich voice that called out, “Lem Cook, is that you? I thought that might be you with that Bay.”

Taken aback by the comment, Cook managed to let out a “Yes Sir, it’s very good to see you Sir.” A brief conversation concluded with yet another compliment of Cook’s fine horse; “I admire the lines of your Bay, Lem. I have one like it at Mount Vernon.”

Cook lived out the last days of his life at his home in Clarendon. In one of the last interviews conducted, he was asked to comment on the Civil War that was currently engulfing the nation. With a strong, booming voice he brought his cane down upon the floor with force shouting, “It is terrible, but terrible as it is the rebellion must be put down!”

Lem Cook was a celebrity in his day with people across the nation seeking the signature of their last living patriot. It is said that a publisher from Hartford, Connecticut sent a photographer to capture this only image of Cook in 1861.

Editor’s Note: Cook is buried at a cemetery on Munger Road in Clarendon.

HOLLEY – This image shows the horse barn owned by Dr. George C. Kesler of Holley. The photographer directed his camera to the southeast while standing on the north side of East Albion Street.

The house in the background belonged to Dr. Kesler and was situated along the bend of White Street. The barn itself was located on the corner of East Albion and White Streets.

George Kesler, a native of Kendall, graduated from the Ontario Veterinary College on March 25, 1892. After his return to Orleans County, he started his practice in Holley on Main Street at a location west of the hotel. He married Agnes O’Neil and the couple made their home at this site in 1893. Kesler outlived his three wives, Agnes, Ana Wilson, and Ada before his own death in 1937.

Advertising as a Veterinary Surgeon and Dentist, his ads regularly featured the line, “All diseases of animals scientifically treated – open day and night.” The gentleman kneeling in front of the fence seems to have coaxed the horses to pop their heads through the windows for this photo. Both the barn and house of Dr. Kesler were razed and no longer exist at this site.

The annals of local history are filled with the names of influential citizens who were either born here or lived here before moving beyond the political boundaries of our area to establish themselves on a much larger scale. One such man was Charles Anderson Dana, a name that few would recognize today.

This daguerreotype from the 1850s taken by Matthew Brady shows the staff of the New York Tribune. Seated left to right are George M. Snow, Bayard Taylor, Horace Greeley (once owner of the Ward House in Childs), and George Ripley. Standing left to right are William Henry Fry, Charles Anderson Dana, and Henry J. Raymond.

The son of Anderson Dana and Anna Denison, Charles A. Dana was born on Aug. 8, 1819 at Hinsdale, New Hampshire. At a young age, Charles was brought to Orleans County with his siblings where his father accepted a position as the overseer of a canal warehouse at Gaines Basin.

After several years of operating the site, Dana sought to establish himself locally on a small farm. With our knowledge of the area, it is very likely that Charles Dana received his earliest education at the Gaines Basin log schoolhouse where a young Caroline Phipps would have taught classes at the age of 14.

Unfortunately, the untimely death of Anna Dana on Sept. 7, 1828 left Anderson with four young children to care for. Anna was laid to rest at the burial ground in Gaines and the children were sent to Vermont where they were divided up amongst the living relatives. After spending time on the farm of his uncle, David Denison, Charles was sent to Buffalo where he worked at the store of another uncle, William Denison, until the business collapsed during the Panic of 1837.

With $200 in his pocket, Charles enrolled at Harvard University where he studied for two years. Upon the completion of his second year, he was forced to leave school due to poor eyesight and a lack of funds. Not soon after, an acquaintance offered Dana a position as City Editor of the New York Tribune. That acquaintance was none other than Horace Greeley, who would find his own connection to Gaines during the mid-1800s.

In 1849 Dana became a proprietor of the Tribune and was made managing editor, a position he would hold for over 10 years. After the outbreak of the Civil War, he was responsible for running the headline, “Forward to Richmond! Forward to Richmond!” which is credited with spurring Union troops forward into the Battle of Bull Run.

Following the Union defeat, Greeley suffered a nervous breakdown and Dana was forced to resign from his position in 1862.

After the war, Dana was able to raise the necessary funds from prominent Republicans in the New York City area to establish The Sun, which published its first paper on Jan. 27, 1868. Over the next several decades, The Sun became a polarizing publication focusing heavily on maladministration and the unscrupulous behavior of the nation’s biggest politicians. Dana remained in control of The Sun until his death on Oct. 17, 1897.

ALBION – Irish Catholic immigrants flocked to Orleans County as early as the 1820s and 1830s, well in advance of the Great Famine of 1845-1852.

The Irish in Albion and Medina quickly found work within the newly established sandstone quarries located throughout the region, yet no house of worship existed to meet their weekly sacramental requirements.

Around 1840 Rev. Patrick Costello of Lockport visited Albion to celebrate Mass in the home of John Walsh, an early Irish settler in the village. The earliest Irish population was small, consisting of the families of Samuel McCaffrey, Denis Sullivan, Patrick McMahon, Bernard Flaherty, Thomas Crean, and Felix McCann, the latter a veteran of the Battle of Waterloo.

The community rented space in the Burrows Block on Main Street and priests held monthly services from Lockport or Rochester. These priests were also called upon to administer the sacraments of baptism and matrimony.

In June of 1849 Bishop John Timon visited Albion with Rev. Harmon of Medina in order to secure the site on North Main Street. Work began soon after and the edifice was completed in 1852 under the direction of Rev. O’Conner; the first Mass was celebrated on Palm Sunday of that year.

Over the next 10 years, the congregation saw numerous priests come and go until Rev. John M. Castaldi arrived in 1862. His tenure with the parish would be one of the longest in the history of the congregation.

Castaldi ensured the continued growth of the parish with the erection of a parochial school located behind the church, opening in 1869 under the direction of the Sisters of Mercy. He also secured 26 acres of land located on Brown Street for use as a Catholic cemetery, then called “Holy Sepulchre.” Two years later, the parish purchased the property of Mrs. English for use as a convent for the Sisters.

This growth and the size of the congregation elevated the parish to the rank of “Irremovable Rectorship,” meaning the priest left only by retirement or death. It was the death of Rev. Castaldi in 1895 that led to the erection of the new sandstone church on Park Street; another story for another time.

This image shows the original site of St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, located between Erie Street and Caroline Street. Unlike the current edifice, this church was constructed of wood and was likely meant to serve as a temporary house of worship.

Those familiar with St. Mary’s Assumption Parish in Albion will notice some similarities between this structure and the Polish parish building. Both the interior and exterior of the Polish church resemble the original St. Joseph edifice.

The Department of History is now seeking submissions for the inaugural edition of “The Pioneer Record.” Check out www.orleanscountyhistorian.org for more information.

SHELBY – This photograph taken in June of 1907 shows the interior of Nelson N. King’s Blacksmith Shop located at Shelby Center. A native of Newfane, King started his blacksmithing career in Orleans County working with Maxim “Peter” Pilon at Carlton Station.

In July of 1900, Pilon sold his shop and all of the associated tools to King who assumed control of the business shortly after. On June 27, 1903 King married Lillian Ryan at Shelby and started to rent the Bailey Blacksmith Shop at Shelby Center in late October of 1904.

Nelson King is bent over with the horse’s hind leg positioned between his own legs preparing the hoof for shoeing. On the left, Pierson “Syke” Neal is shown working a horseshoe on the anvil while Adra Wormuth, a local farmer, observes.

Blacksmiths wore aprons to cover their clothing, protecting them from sparks created by the pounding of heated metal. The only man in the photograph not wearing an apron is Wormuth, which suggests that he brought the horse to the shop for shoeing.

This shop is particularly unusual given the amount of light inside of the room. Blacksmith shops were often dark, allowing the smith to observe the changing colors of the metal. Different colors represented different temperatures and depending on the intended final product, a combination of specific temperatures and tools were required.

Scattered across the floor are a number of this tools including tongs and sledgehammers. Hanging on the wall next to the door is a rake used for working the fire in the forge, which was likely off to the left of Neal’s anvil.

ALBION – Operated by Mathew Ciszek, an Austrian-Polish immigrant, the old “Club 469” served as a saloon and bottling works for the community of East State Street during the first quarter of the 20th century.

A 1910 Orleans County Business Directory entry indicates that the business had expanded considerably and the Ciszeks were dealing in coal and wood in addition to the saloon and bottling business. After Mathew’s untimely death in 1910, his son Frank took control of the business.

This image, taken sometime between 1910 and 1915, depicts the interior of the bar room of Ciszek’s Saloon located at 113 East State Street. The original bar rested along the west wall, was moved to the east wall later on, and finally returned to the west wall with the opening of the Crooked Door Tavern.

Along the foot of the bar rests several spittoons as well as a luggage bag balancing on the foot rail. Near the ceiling are two large boxes that appear to contain taxidermy mounts. Two pints of beer on the bar indicate that several men ducked out of the way for this photograph. The man in the image is believed to be Frank S. Ciszek.

A day to remember those soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice over the last 239 years, Memorial Day serves as an occasion for each and every citizen to reflect on the freedoms that we enjoy.

“Decoration Day,” as it was called, has its roots in the Civil War when loved ones decorated the graves of their dearly departed soldiers. Today, we continue that tradition by adorning the graves of our veterans with flowers and flags.

Over the next four years we will commemorate the passing of the centennial of the First World War. A horrific and deadly conflict that was said to be “the war to end all wars,” took the lives of several dozen Orleans County citizens over the course of 19 months. Our families sent over 1,000 young men to face the horrors of war and upon their return, the physical and emotional scars would remain for the rest of their lives.

This photograph depicts Company F of the 108th Infantry. Originally believed to be a 1917 image showing men preparing for their departure from the Medina railroad station.

Instead, the image appears to show the men of Company F upon their return to Orleans County at the conclusion of the war. With medals pinned to their chests, the soldiers paraded along the streets of Medina amidst a crowd of teary-eyed onlookers lining the roads adorned with flags and patriotic bunting.

The Battle of St. Quentin Canal was still fresh in their minds – the day Medina’s own Company F broke the Hindenburg Line. Orleans County lost 12 men that day, September 29, 1918, including James Clark, William Collins, Frank Bloom, Walter Gaylord, Cecil Green, Albert Coon, Walter Lindke, Fred Hellert, Leon Clark, Alex Wilson, Egbert Sheret, and James Sheret.

Capt. John S. Thompson recalled the bravery each man from Company F exhibited as they went over the top at 5:50 a.m. that Sunday morning. They sang cheerful melodies as they advanced to the front line and continued to carry their tune as they advanced on the German line. Such heroism should forever be remembered.

The Orleans County Department of History continues to accept contributions of photographs, both originals and duplicates, as well as documents, records, and other items relating to the history of the area.

If you have materials you would like to share, please contact Matthew Ballard at Matt.Ballard@orleanscountyny.gov or 585-589-4174. In conjunction with “The Lost Generation” exhibition set to open at the Cobblestone Museum in early July, the Department of History is working towards assembling a detailed record of Orleans County’s 20th century military history and needs help from the community.

This image shows the storefront of F. H. Lattin & Company in Chicago, Ill. Although this is not an image of a building in Orleans County, Frank Haak Lattin of Gaines operated this store as one of several specializing in the sale of natural specimens, instruments and supplies.

Graduating from the Albion High School in 1882, Lattin would spend several years teaching in Gaines. Lattin recognized the rich geological nature of the Orleans County region and collected a number of specimens from neighboring sandstone and limestone quarries.

In his earliest years as a collector he focused his attention strictly on birds’ eggs and started a publication called the “Oologist” in 1884. That collection of eggs became so extensive that it occupied two warehouses and at one time pieces of the collection were placed on exhibit at the Field Museum in Chicago.

By the time of his retirement in 1896, he was regarded as one of the most well known dealers of his kind in the United States. He would later attend the University of Buffalo, graduating from the medical department in 1899.

Lattin also became a well-respected fruit grower throughout New York State with over 200 acres of land dedicated to the growing of pears, cherries, peaches, plums and apples in both Orleans and Oswego counties.

At the time of this photograph, Lattin was heavily engaged in the wholesale and retail business, selling specimens, instruments, supplies and publications for the naturalist. The careful eye can catch a glimpse of the variety of specimens within the storefront.

In the window to the left is the nose extension of a sawfish. In the window to the right you can see an alligator lying across the length of the window and the mounted head of a red fox. Frank Lattin is standing on the left.