General Respect & Patriotism in Albany circa 1918

This blog post is not meant to be soap-box oration. However with the way our culture and society has changed and disrespect appearing to become the norm and many issues becoming overblown with the need for politically correctness. I dug out a scrapbook that I created from photocopies of old newspaper articles from Albany newspapers when I was writing my Masters Thesis.

It is pure shame that an individual/s would desecrate a mausoleum in Albany Rural Cemetery this past summer and just recently the Vietnam Memorial in LaFayette Park was defaced by graffiti. Fortunately both memorials were cleaned and restored. Last year the Tri-County Council of Vietnam Era Veterans raised $250,000 to refurbish the 23-year-old memorial and added new features including benches and a 30-foot lighted flagpole.

During my thesis research numerous articles were copied and saved which detail the American fervor for patriotism after American entry into World War I in April 1917. The Capital District was no different than other American cities. A patriotic wave swept the Nation where all things German became hated. Germany was now our enemy and the "Hun" had to be defeated. This fervor also morphed an over excited American population where any citizen could bring charges of not being patriotic against anyone.

An example of this below comes from the Albany Evening Journal dated 17 April 1918;

CITIZENS MAY ARREST DISLOYAL PERSONS

ANY AMERICAN MAY BRING TO JUSTICE THOSE UTTERING UNPATRIOTIC REMARKS

If you ever, on the street, or in a trolley car, should hear some soft-shell pacifist or hard-boiled but poorly camouflaged pro-German, make seditious or unpatriotic remarks about your Uncle Sam you have the right and privilege of taking that person by the collar, hand him over to the nearest policeman or else take him yourself before the magistrate.

You do not require any official authority to do this and the only badge needed is your patriotic fervor. The same thing applies to women. Every American under provisions of the code of civil procedure, has the authority to arrest any person making a remark or utterance which "outrages public decency."

Attorney general Lewis wrote an opinion to this effect today, after F.J. McCarthy of Silver Creek, arrested a man he heard make a seditious remark promptly took him before a justice of the peace and had him imprisoned for three months, all inside of three hours. ...McCarthy was standing in the lobby of a hotel when he overheard the remark which was to the effect that "it is a shame to send our young men across to Europe to be slaughtered."

One week earlier on 8 August 1918 the Albany Evening Journal reported;

SWIFT PUNISHMENT FOR NOT RESPECTING THE NATIONAL ANTHEM

Benjamin F. and Earle Bullis, brothers, 22 and 20 respectively, who were arrested in Proctor's Fourth street theater, Troy, last night, for failing to rise when "The Star Spangled Banner" was played were summarily discharged from the Watervliet arsenal, at which they were employed, face a charge of disrespect to the flag for which they were arraigned before United States Commissioner Sipperly and committed to jail without bail to await a hearing later, and will be arraigned in Police Court tomorrow on the charge of disorderly conduct.

Colonel Monroe commandant at the arsenal, issued a statement today giving notice that he had discharged the men and would deal similarly with any like case in the future. The brothers are from Amsterdam and were given a deferred classification for being arsenal workers.

The next day the Bullis brothers' fate was reported again in the Albany Evening Journal newspaper dated, 9 August 1918; 

SIX MONTHS EACH FOR BULLIS BROTHERS

TROY JUDGE REFUSED LECIENCY TO ARSENAL EMPLOYE WHO FAILED TO RISE FOR NATIONAL ANTHEM

THEY'RE, SORRY, SAID ATTORNEY

A mother's tears nor the eloquent plea for leniency by a prominent lawyer from Amsterdam failed to prevent Judge Byron in Troy Police Court today, passing sentence on B. Fay Bullis and Earle Bullis, brothers, of Amsterdam, for being the cause of the disturbance in Proctor's Fourth street theater in Troy Wednesday night, when they refused to stand while "The Star Spangled Banner" was being played. The court sentenced each to the county jail for six months, and there is also a charge under the espionage act pending against them before United States Commissioner Slipperly, besides which they have been discharged from their lucrative positions at the Watervliet arsenal and recommended for immediate induction into the army.

Yes, times have changed greatly. This should be food for thought for the disrespectful and for them to be grateful that times have changed.

New Mount Ida Cemetery Veterans' Monument Restoration

In September, a restoration project was undertaken at New Mount Ida cemetery in Troy. The focus of the project was to restore the grave sites of Civil War veterans who are buried in the cemetery. This venture was undertaken in the name and memory of Ed Dodge. Ed was a fellow cemetery enthusiast who passed away recently. Mr. Dodge was implemental in getting grave stone replacements for missing and damaged grave markers for veterans at the old Lansingburgh burial grounds. Ed researched, found, and photographed old abandoned Rensselaer county cemeteries. He posted his findings and photos on Find a Grave. Joe Ferrannini from Grave Stone Matters was secured and lent his expertise at preserving and conserving gravestones. 

Upwards of 24 stones were marked for restoration. Volunteers that helped in this venture included members of the Boy Scouts, members of the Sons of Union Civil War Veterans organization, and other interested parties. I brought two unwilling participants, my daughters, to help. It was thought that it would be a good lesson in sacrifice. The day was beautiful and why not have the girls give up some hours to help restore the grave sites of others who sacrificed so much more than a few hours. Grave stones of fallen Civil War soldiers not much older than my girls were found including one for a young man who died at the Battle of Gettysburg. I can only hope the girls learned a lesson about true sacrifice.

The three photos below were taken during the restoration. Notice the condition and how unlevel the stones are aside from also being broken.

The photo below is of another stone that was re-purposed for another reason. Perhaps something was incorrect with the stone or carving. Instead of discarding the stone, it was used as a base and placed under the stone and buried. Notice how clear the carving is. It almost looks brand new. The newly found stone was reburied under the tombstones after the ground was leveled.

Taken a few days later, the photo below of the semi-complete stone restoration. The stones were cleaned, re-leveled, and epoxied. The large stone needs re-mortaring where it was broken.

Forest Park Cemetery Tour

After a short hiatus from any blog posts, due to unexpected things that life holds in store for us. I am now playing catch-up on writing about events and other topics that I planned on delving into.

Forest Park receiving tomb

Last Saturday afternoon was the yearly Forest Park cemetery tour. It was led by Brunswick town historian Sharon Zankel . She mentioned that after ten years of hosting this event that this afternoon's tour might be the final tour. Although the day was a little chilly, there were over 50 attendees, including myself. This year was my first tour of the cemetery. Sharon began the tour with a welcome and an informative talk about the history of the cemetery and stated that this year's tour was dedicated and in memory of Edmund Dodge. Ed was a fellow cemetery enthusiast who researched, found, and photographed old abandoned Rensselaer county cemeteries. Mr. Dodge passed away while doing what he enjoyed most; discovering a long forgotten cemetery. Another project a couple of weeks earlier at the New Mount Ida Cemetery was also completed in Ed Dodge's name. That project will be the focus of my next blog entry.

Sharon discussed how the cemetery was created in the late 1890s by a group of wealthy Troy business men. The cemetery began with 220 acres and was designed by RPI graduated Garnet Baltimore. The goal of the cemetery was to imitate the "rural cemetery" movement from decades earlier. 

Enlarged map of cemetery layout

The cemetery financially fell on hard times filing for bankruptcy numerous times. The cemetery board also agreed to sell 200 acres of its undeveloped land to the Troy Country Club to help stay solvent. Ornately created shares of stock in Forest Park were also sold. An example of a stock certificate is below.

Stock certificate for Forest Park

As the tour began we walked to the famous headless statue at the Hollister lot where the head of the angel is missing. Horror stories about bleeding tombstones surround this moment. Vandals damaged the momument years ago as they have ruined other momuments in the cemetery also.

Headless Hollister momument

As we circled through the cemetery stopping at various lots; the tour ended at the formerly ornate receiving tomb which is now in ruins. The building was errected at a cost of $90,000 if I remember correctly. After the cemetery fell into disrepair and became overgrown and the receiving tomb vandalized; the building, which originally had a copper dome roof which was removed and scrapped by theives. The tour concluded with the rise of urban legends and ghost stories about the cemetery which was interesting. Below are photos of the ruins today.

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: Week 39; Jacobus Mulder & 73 Dove Street

It seems that I fell behind on my weekly ancestor bios. Summer and nice weather holds lots of things to do over research and writing. But, after racing around in yesterday's Albany History Race and being very near to a home of one of my great great great grandparents located at 73 Dove Street in Center Square I decided to revisit these ancestors.

Jacobus Mulder and Klaasje Klasen Booij were both Dutch immigrants to America. Jacobus, born 7 March 1824 in Leerdam, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands arrived in New York aboard the "Emblem" on 24 August 1848 with his siblings and German-born parents, Christian Friedrich Moller and Ursula Muller.

Klaasje, born 14 March 1833 in Oostellingwerf, Friesland, Netherlands also arrived in New York in 1847 with her siblings and parents, Klaas Booij and Geesje Raeloss Hoorn. At some point after arrival in the United States my ancestors names changed.

Klaas Booij changed to Nicholas Boyd. Geesje Raeloss Hoorn Booij became Lucretia Boyd. Their children's names changed also; Klaasje Klasen Booij was now Clara Boyd; brother Remmelt Klaus Booij became Robert Boyd; and younger brother Mense Booij was now known as Nelson Boyd.

Jacobus and Clara both Dutch immigrants met in Albany and were married on 13 July 1850 at the Madison Avenue Reformed Church. Jacobus was naturalized in Albany and became a United States citizen on 23 October 1854.

1854 Jacobus Mulder Naturalization

Soon after becoming American citizens the couple began their family which included:

• Eugenia: (03 October 1855 - 03 March 1876)
• John Nelson: (13 August 1858 - 12 June 1878)
• Maria Louisa: (11 November 1859 - 19 February 1919) married Edward Kirk Hitchcock
• Nicholas Boyd: (19 June 1862 - 03 October 1919) married Euretta E. Bates
• James: (08 December 1873 - 06 July 1928) married Henrietta Dorothy Karl

73 Dove Street, May 2015

In the early 1870s the family purchased 73 Dove Street. Jacobus was a carver and I am curious whether his shop was on the first floor of his home. The interior photos of the home were found on the Internet when the home was previously for sale.

73 Dove Street, interior, pre 2014

73 Dove Street, interior, pre 2014

Shortly after daughter Eugenia died in March 1876 from consumption, Jacobus purchased a plot in Albany Rural Cemetery on 20 May 1876 for $50.00. 

1876 lot purchase card

On 19 December 1887, Jacobus died from pneumonia at 73 Dove Street. His wife, Clara, died on 19 February 1920 from arterio sclerosis. They are buried in the Mulder family plot at Albany Rural Cemetery.

Mulder plot in Albany Rural Cemetery

Albany History Race 2015

Earlier today my new friend Paul and I competed in the second annual Albany History Race hosted by the Albany Public Library. The goal of the race is to introduce Albany's history in a fun and competitive way by getting clues from a booklet and then driving to a specific location where a photo of a team member has to be taken to prove that you found it. It is a big scavenger hunt. Last year I missed the race but was not going to miss it this year.

Every team had to pick four out of six "missions" to seek, find, and photograph with a team member in each picture. Each mission had two locations to find. So we had to find a total of eight locations. Upwards of twenty teams; each with varying numbers of members competed today. After finding each location and taking a picture, we raced to the next location.

We quickly tried to plan our route in a loop fashion so that we did not have to back track. When we left the Albany Public Library on Washington Avenue we headed out and got on Lark Street on our way to a secluded ravine just west of Lincoln Park where the water from the Beaverkill can be seen. The stream is completely underground flowing through a large conduit.

Our next stop was to find the Trolley Tree Sculpture at the Delaware Avenue public library.

Next we headed over to the Myers Middle School off Whitehall Road for a quick photo.

The fourth stop was to go to where Dan O'Connell was born at the corner of Second Avenue and South Pearl Street.

Our fifth stop was to photograph the small bridge and fencing where the Patroon Creek went underground and flowed to the Hudson River on North Pearl Street near Tivoli Street.

The sixth stop was to find the Myers house on Livingston Avenue.

The seventh stop was head to the birth place of Mayor Erastus Corning. He was born on Chestnut Street between Lark and Dove Streets. We realized this mission/stop while we were on Lark Street heading to our first stop; just after we passed Chestnut Street. With all of the one way streets in that area it was thought to get it later.

Our last stop was at the United Traction Company on Broadway and Columbia Street.

After we left the former United Traction Company we rushed around the corner to McGeary's where the finish line was. Paul and I came in third place and it was a great time. If this race is continued, I would recommend this event to anyone; especially families. At McGeary's it was nice to meet and chat with some other Albany historians who are involved with the Facebook group Assiduity!

Cemetery Restoration Project at New Mount Ida Cemetery

Coming up this weekend is a cemetery restoration project at the New Mount Ida Cemetery on Pinewoods Avenue in Troy. The dates are Saturday and Sunday, September 19th and 20th beginning around 8 AM.

The focus of this project will be to restore the grave sites of Civil War veterans who are buried at New Mount Ida. This venture is being undertaken in the name and memory of Ed Dodge. Ed was a fellow cemetery enthusiast who passed away recently. Mr. Dodge was implemental in getting grave stone replacements for missing and damaged grave markers for veterans at the old Lansingburgh burial grounds.

Joe Ferrannini from Grave Stone Matters will be there lending his expertise at preserving and conserving gravestones. Please stop by to lend a hand at restoring the graves of our veterans.

Albany History Race 2015

Coming up soon is an event that I missed last year and sounds like a lot of fun. The Albany Public Library is hosting its second "History Race" on September 26. It is modeled after the TV show the Amazing Race. Details of this event are below and clipped from Albany.com

Albany History Race

September 26, 2015 - September 26, 2015

• Location: Albany Public Library
• Address: 161 Washington Ave, Albany, NY 12210
• Times: From: 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM
• Admission: Free!
• Contact: Local History Librarian
• Phone:518-427-4376

Why visit one historic site in Albany when you can visit eight in one afternoon followed by a discounted meal with fellow history enthusiasts? The Second Annual Albany History Race is an Amazing Race style afternoon scavenger hunt for history experts, novices, and visitors interested in learning about Albany's past. The event will begin in the library's local history room and conclude at McGeary's Pub where participating teams will receive 20% off their food and drink that afternoon, plus additional discounts and prizes for the fastest teams! Registration required. For more details on how this exciting and educational competition works, and to register your team, visit the albanypubliclibrary.org event calendar.

Event Duration (Hours): 3
* Advanced registration required
Advanced Registration Information: Registration required. Please register your team by September 26th through the albanypubliclibrary.org event calendar.  Register here 

Not suitable for children under: 8
Additional Equipment required: Each team must have a car and either a phone or digital camera to take and store photos of their visits.
Not Wheelchair Accessible