Historical Talk at the East Greenbush Community Library

Life Speeds Up: Robert Fulton and and Changing New York
Sunday, October 5 at 2:00 PM

NYS Archives retired career public historian Robert W. Arnold III will explore the legacy of Robert Fulton, the creator of the first commericially successful steamboat.  His achievement helped catalyze the expansion of steam power into the energy source of the Industrial Revolution.  He devised canal locks that were eventually used in Britain, designed the workable submarine, and more.  Registration began September 7.

Programs at the East Greenbush Library are free; however registration is required.
The Library is located at
10 Community Way
East Greenbush, NY 12061
518.477.7476

Albany Rural Cemetery incident

Yesterday Sunday afternoon I was enjoying the beautiful weather and took a ride to Albany Rural Cemetery in Menands to finish photographing and cleaning my ancestor's graves. The day was perfect.  Not too hot nor too cold.  The cemetery had numerous visitors.  Some families, couples, walkers, and bicyclists all over the place.

Unfortunately sometime shortly after I left the cemetery, a 911 call was placed to the historic cemetery.  A tombstone tipped over onto a four year old child critically injuring him.  The child was just behind the rest of the family when the accident occurred.  Very few details have emerged yet aside from the parents hearing a noise behind them and turning and finding the stone on top of their child.

This is a very unfortunate accident.  I always stress to my girls that when we are in a cemetery never ever climb on the stones for fear of this happening to them.  I am not stating that the child was climbing on the stone; since I was not there.  But it is very easy for a stone to topple over if someone attempted to climb one.  Over time the ground around the tombstone can sink causing the stone to become un-level.  After a stone starts leaning the forces of gravity will continue to pull on it where any adhesive or pinning of a top stone to a lower stone can become weakened.  With just a little force it could go over.

Parents please keep a watchful eye out for your kids in cemeteries.  My girls are teens and I still warn them everytime they are with me.  No one wants an accident like this to occur.

Below is a story from Channel 10 News:


Boy injured from falling tombstone at Albany Rural Cemetery

Posted: Sep 08, 2014 7:11 AM EDT Updated: Sep 08, 2014 07:50 AM
By Lindsay Nielsen


COLONIE, N.Y. - A young child has been treated at the hospital for serious injuries after a tombstone fell on him Sunday.

Colonie Police say the a four-year-old boy was taken to Albany Medical Center after suffering a serious head injury after a tombstone fell on him at Albany Rural Cemetery.

"The child was approximately ten feet behind the parents and one of the grandparents when this occurred they did hear a noise which we believe was the tombstone falling over," said Colonie Police Lt. Robert Winn.

According to Winn, the family rushed over and found the four-year-old boy underneath the tombstone around 4:30 p.m. Family members quickly removed the boy and called 911 for help.

Officials say it was difficult to locate the child due to the vast size of the cemetery. It took police about 12 minutes to locate the boy with the help of 911 operators and the family. Authorities say the caller was giving names on nearby tombstones to try and help officers locate the family.

"The child had sustained obvious head injuries that was observed at the scene [he] was unconscious but still breathing, [he was] transported to Albany Medical Center [and] was in surgery when our officers left the hospital. The family is with him," said Lt. Winn.

Authorities are unsure why the tombstone fell over.

"It was an older tombstone and an older section of the cemetery. We do not know at this time what led to that tombstone falling," continued Lt. Winn

Authorities are still investigating the cause of the incident, although they say it seems to have been just a tragic accident.


For the news video see:
http://www.news10.com/story/26472421/boy-injured-from-falling-tombstone-at-albany-rural-cemetery

Historical Talk at the East Greenbush Community Library

On Sunday, September 14th at 2:00 PM, P. Thomas Carroll, Executive Director of the Hudson Mohawk Industrial Gateway will give a historical talk presented by the Greenbush Historical Society on A 19th Century Silicon Valley- the Hudson Mohawk Region.

An announcement reads, "join Carroll for a fascinating program on the Hudson Mohawk region.  As the place where two majestic rivers meet, this area has been blessed by nature and enhanced by engineering genius with generous water resources.  The water-powered mills enabled the region to grow into a major manufacturing and industrial center."

Programs at the East Greenbush Library are free; however registration is required.
The Library is located at
10 Community Way
East Greenbush, NY 12061
518.477.7476

Gibbonsville Burying Grounds

The Gibbonsville or Arsenal Burying Grounds were originally located on property now owned by the Watervliet Arsenal.  From viewing old maps of West Troy, I believe that this cemetery was located just north of the present day Valente's Restaurant which is just south of the Arsenal, today.

An early settler of that area, James Gibbons, sold a parcel of land to the United States government for the creation of the Arsenal in 1813; to support the fight against the British during the War of 1812. As time passed the Arsenal grew in size and as they needed more land the Arsenal acquired the land on which the "old burying grounds" were located.

The grave stones and bodies were removed and re-buried in section 100 of the Albany Rural Cemetery. Approximately 300 bodies were re-interned around 1918.  The majority of the stones were laid flat on the ground with only a handful being re-installed upright.  Over the years the ground has reclaimed just about all of the stones that were laid flat.  They have sunk into the ground and have been covered with dirt, grass, and leaves over the years.

About twenty years ago my wife and I took it upon ourselves to locate the grave site of one of my ancestors, Samuel Hitchcock, who was originally buried in the Arsenal Burying Grounds.  All of the stones were buried over with grass but with using a plot map from the cemetery we were able to pull the sod up and locate the grave stones.

Site of Samuel & Mary Hitchcock's gravestones

I recently went back to Albany Rural Cemetery with a plan to reclaim my ancestor's grave stone.  After twenty years, the ground again had covered the grave stones.  Twenty years ago is quite a while and my memory did not let me recall how deep the grave stones had actually sunk into the earth.  The lower part of them were at least six to seven inches deep.

Initial excavation of grave stones

It would be unsafe for the stones and for anyone walking over them in the condition that were.  Unlevel and with a huge divot missing from the ground.  Therefore I decided to completely remove the stones and place the earth which was on top of them underneath them.  I also brought out some leveling sand to make sure that the were level. The stones were placed back into the ground so that they were about 3/4" of an inch below the grade level.

Cleaned, raised, and leveled grave stones

As time passes, they will again be covered over with dirt but not to the extent that they were previously. The stones were cleaned with D/2 cleaning solution and rinsed with water.  The stones look almost brand new considering they are from the late 1820s & early 1830s.

Samuel & Mary Hitchcock

On an ending note, in between the time that I did the initial excavation of the stones and re-laid them, which was 3 days.  Someone came with the same intentions that I had regarding uncovering a stone.  The only difference was they left clumps of sod all over the place.  It looked terrible and I am sure that the cemetery would not be appreciative of their efforts.  I removed and disposed the sod that was left.  Anyone who attempts a project such as this, please make sure that the grounds are in the same condition as before you started.

New Mount Ida Cemetery

After picking up my daughters from sleepovers and treating them to lunch at Famous Lunch on Congress Street in Troy, we decided to head over to the New Mount Ida Cemetery on Pinewoods Avenue.  In reality the cemetery is not "New."  It is simply to differentiate two cemeteries with the same name.  The "Old" Mount Ida Cemetery is located not far from the "New" at the Poestenkill where Congress Street and Pawling Avenue intersect.

This was my first jaunt to this cemetery in almost twenty years.  The cemetery was in much better condition than I had remembered it.  I recall grass that stood knee high to over two feet high.  Through the work of a few dedicated volunteers, the cemetery is being brought back to a usable and friendly status.

We stopped at Mount Ida to snap some photos of an ancestor's grave site. My gggg grandmother, Geesje Raeloss Hoorn married Klaas Booij on 28 October 1828 in Nijeveen, Holland.  They immigrated to America in the early 1840s with their children and eventually resided in Albany.  Somewhere along their journey their name changed from Booij to Boyd.  An even more dramatic change was my gggg grandmother's name change from Geesje Raeloss to Lucretia; as can be seen on her stone.

Boyd gravestone

Lucretia Boyd

While we were at Mount Ida, we met some of the people who are volunteering their time to help bring back the cemetery.  They were leveling and resetting some stones.  We chatted for about twenty minutes and they mentioned that Joe Ferrannini from Grave Stone Matters will be giving a presentation on grave stone conservation at the cemetery on Saturday 28 June 2014 at 9 AM.

In October 2013 I wrote a small piece on Joe.  He was repairing stones in the Greenbush cemetery.  It will be worthwhile to check this out.  Joe is very knowledgeable and friendly.  I will be definitely be checking this out.

LaGrange Cemetery

Has anyone noticed the old LaGrange Cemetery in Slingerlands? It is located at the end of Vista Blvd behind the new Shop Rite off Rt 85 or New Scotland Road.  It is a very small old cemetery with very few stones. Four larger stones are very prominent with a few small stones behind them.  We are fortunate that this old farmer's cemetery was not lost to the development of the new commercial development occurring there. Perhaps the previous owner of the land knew of the small cemetery and stated to the developers that the cemetery must stay and the development be built around it? Either way the cemetery still stands.

LaGrange Cemetery

Buried in the cemetery are Abram C. LaGrange who died 6 July 1859 aged 37 years, 4 months. Below is his stone.

Abram C. LaGrange

Christian C. LaGrange died 7 December 1851, aged 25 years.

Christian C. LaGrange

Jamima LaGrange, wife of Christian I. LaGrange died 2 December 1828, aged 32 years.

Jamima LaGrange

Christian I. LaGrange died 24 July 1848, aged 69 years.

Christian I. LaGrange

German Hotel Proprietors in Albany

The following is an excerpt from my 2005 MA Thesis, From Acceptance to Renunication: Das Ende von Albanys Deustchtum. This sub-chapter gives a brief history of Albany's German hotel proprietors and a brief synopsis of the times.

Many Germans proudly worked in the service sector of Albany’s various business entities.  They provided board, entertainment, camaraderie, and Bier.  German proprietors ran many halls, hotels, cafes, and Biergartens.  German hotels were numerous in the downtown business section and also outside the city limits.  According to Howell and Tenney, the first German hotel was the National Hotel situated across from Steamboat Square at 266 Broadway and run by former barber John Wachter.[1] Wachter operated the hotel from 1848 until his death circa 1860.  His wife, Catherine, then became proprietress until John Bissikummer (1843-1883) took control around 1868.  Another early German hotel was Schweitzer’s Hotel, located on the corner of Lydius Street (now Madison Avenue) and Broadway.  The hotel was listed in the Albany city directory of 1851-52. 

Henry Parr

Outside the city limits, Henry Parr provided a fine assortment of wines, liquors, and cigars at the Abbey Hotel, located south of Albany on River Road (today Route 144) in the Bethlehem hamlet of Kenwood.

Abbey Hotel

The landmark hotel offered accommodations for private parties, picnics, and social gatherings.  The Abbey was “…famous for its marvelous German food and good draw of hops and malt.”[2]  The famous structure was said to have been built around 1680 and was in constant use until 1945, when it became vacant.  The building became a ruin when it mysteriously collapsed in 1959 and was consequently razed for safety concerns.[3]  

The Shafer’s Hotel and Family Resort also known as Shafer’s Grove was operated by Martin Shafer and was located at Central and Colvin Avenues; the present site of the Armory Garage complex.  The grove was in operation from circa 1894 till 1924.  It featured a swimming hole and an amusement park.  The grounds were the setting for many German picnics and outings.

The Hotel Germania, at 34 Beaver Street and summer Biergarten in the rear of the building was first managed by John Bissikummer from 1871 until his death on May 24, 1883.  Bissikummer’s wife, Caroline [Wachter] (1847-1926), then operated the hotel until 1889.  William Menk took charge next until 1892, when John Bissikummer Jr. (1869-1895) brought hotel proprietorship back to the Bissikummer family from 1892 to 1894.  Theodore J. Gutekunst was the last manager of the Hotel Germania.  

1893 Ad

He operated the hotel until 1901, when he opened the Hotel Washington, located at 93 Washington Avenue.  Gutekunst ran the Hotel Washington only three years.  Mrs. Bertha Klemp next took control of the 93 Washington Avenue locale, until 1906 when she opened a new hotel at 73 Whitehall Road.  The Whitehall Road hotel was in operation until circa 1924.

Washington Hotel

Michael Milhauser

German proprietors sometimes moved from location to location.  When this occurred, other German proprietors soon followed and established their businesses in the locale of a former German establishment.  For instance, Michael Milhauser (1841-1935) ran a saloon at 49 Madison Avenue from 1887 to 1889.  He relocated to 33 Green Street and opened the Württemberger Hof there from 1890 to 1891.  William Firmbach next moved into 49 Madison Avenue and established the German Hotel between 1891 and 1892.  After Milhauser left his 33 Green Street location, John Markert (1855-1920) moved into the locale and established Markert’s Hotel from 1892 to 1907. 

  

John Markert

Markert made lodging available weekly or daily board along with Dobler’s Lager, fine liquors, and cigars.  Württemberger Hof from 1892 to 1912.  Nearby, at 29-31 Green Street, Nicholas Engel (died 30 July 1896) operated a restaurant known as the “The Best Lager.” The rear of the restaurant backed into John Bissikummer’s summer Biergarten at the rear of the Hotel Germania.[4] Meanwhile, Milhauser moved to 68 Green Street and reopened the

                                                             

 The Hotel Columbia was a first class German hotel and restaurant.  It was located at 44 Beaver Street.  Gustav Zinserling was the owner from 1892 to 1900.  Louis Dube operated the hotel from 1901 to 1903 and John B. Staats from 1904 to 1911.

                                               

1893 Ad

 The Schlitz Hotel and Rathskeller, operated by Phillip H. Kalkbrenner (1863-1925) was located at 578-580 Broadway from 1897 until the 1930s. 

Schlitz Hotel

                            

1902 Ad

Ernest Zeller (1827-1879) operated the Progress Hotel at 93 Green Street from the early 1860s till 1873.  He then became the operator of the Belvedere House, sited at 39 Beaver Street, until his death.  Zeller’s wife, Elizabeth, ran the hotel until 1892, when Nicholas J. Dell and Joseph Neuser took over. 

1889 Ad

The Bavaria at 38 Beaver Street was managed by Ernestine F. Gioth, in 1889 and 1890, until she moved to San Francisco in 1890. 

1891 Ad

Other German hotels and cafes included the Café Columbus, the Deutscher Hotel, located at 270 Broadway, the Old Homestead Hotel and Restaurant, which was run by Wilhelm Grandpré (1855-1922), who was also the president of the local branch of the DANB.  The hotel was situated at 33 Hudson Avenue.  Henry Schuster (1840-1922) from Nordheim, Bavaria ran the Hotel Schuster at 199 South Pearl Street from 1895 to 1900. 

Wilhelm Granpre

         

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[1] Howell and Tenney, eds., History of the County of Albany, N. Y, pp. 652-653.

[2] Times Union, July 7, 1970, 5:1.

[3] Knickerbocker News, October 12, 1959, 1B:1.

[4] City Atlas of Albany, New York (Philadelphia: G. M. Hopkins, C. E., 1876), Plate E.