Visit to a Lunatic Asylum

TUC.1/ EBO.1.1

…shrieks and groans went through the air…

Object: Essay Book
Description: Essay book of Laura S. Tucker, student at the Utica Female Seminary, 1863 (36 pp). Of particular interest is her essay, “Visit to a Lunatic Asylum” (probably the State Lunatic Asylum at Utica).
Date: 1863
Height: 8 ¼”
Length: 7”
Depth: ¼”
Weight: ½ lbs
On Monday, August 25, 2014 the Landmarks Society of Greater Utica is hosting a program at Old Main (for more information, click here ). What is Old Main? A stunning example of Greek Revival architecture, the former New York State Lunatic Asylum is now largely vacant. For a history of the building, click here or here.

Old Main

As a student at the Utica Female Academy, also known as The Seminary, Laura S. Tucker wrote the following essay in 1863, 2 years before the building burned down and was eventually replaced with what became Mrs. Piatt’s Female Seminary (remember Mrs. Piatt’s?).

Visit to a Lunatic Asylum

On entering the asylum we passed many comfortable rooms, in which were those who were recovering from temporary fits of insanity.

In the fourth story, we reached the cells where were confined like wild beasts, raving, yelling maniacs. Shrieks and groans went through the air. Demonic laughter and wild words that made the blood curdle in the veins, prayers, groans, and protestations, all mingled to form a sound discordant and horrible. From one end of the hall the rays of the morning sun streamed in, half lighting the abode of misery and seemed a consolation that could not be shut out, even though it came through a barred window.

…In a fit of fear that she would discover that he might sometime be crazy…

On each side of the hall were cells, which the worst cases were kept, and from their occupants the noises proceeded. In one was a man of about twenty-five whose beauty would have marked him anywhere, but he was chained to the wall, struggling, groaning, and talking. I turned away, sick at heart at the sight of a case so sad. The keeper whispered to my father that the maniac, now one of their worst cases, had once been a very handsome and talented man, fond of society, and a great ornament to it, but inheriting insanity. Still knowing this, he had married a young and very beautiful girl and in a fit of fear that she would discover that he might sometime be crazy, he had murdered her.

Since then he had been there without hope of recovery. I went away thanking God that he had not made me a terror to my kindred and friends, by inflicting upon me that most awful curse, madness.

Miss Tucker’s essays give a glimpse into the world of a young girl in the mid-19th century, and her remarks about the Lunatic Asylum suggest what sorts of spirits one might find still haunting the halls and walls of Old Main.

~Jeana
jganskop@oneidacountyhistory.org

that most awful curse, madness

Lest We Forget

1965.802

 

 

 

Object: Ribbon, Commemorative
Description: White badge imprinted with picture of General James McQuade with “Gen. James McQuade Post of New York” and beneath picture, “John F. McQuade Post of Utica In Memorial Services, Decoration Day 1904.
Date: 1904
Height: 7.5”
Width: 2.25”
Weight: light as a feather

 

“In Memorium” Decoration Day Postcard
c. 1913

The Memorial Day we celebrate today has its roots in the soldiers’ memorials following the Civil War.  Growing out of many small ceremonies that strove to honor the men who gave their lives in the deadliest war in American history, (over 3 million Americans fought, of which over 600,000 died) in 1868 John A. Logan, Commander-in-Chief of the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR), issued an order establishing May 30^th as an annual day of remembrance and for decorating the graves of the soldiers who died defending their country (Learn more, click here or here).

Memorial Day, 1904 was gloomy.

“It was not an auspicious occasion for outdoor celebration, for the skies wept from early in the morning until nearly supper time, but the spirit in which the old soldier loves to honor the day was present.  The gallant deeds, inspiring sacrifices and undying incidents of the Union’s darkest days were recalled and eloquently expatiated upon by able orators.”  (Utica Saturday Globe, June 4, 1904)

“Memorial Day Guests of Utica Veterans, Members of Gen. James M’Quade Post, of New York, Their Wives and Daughters”
(Utica Saturday Globe, June 4, 1904)

Despite the weather, Memorial Day, 1904 was extra special because of the presence of visitors from New York City.  Between forty and fifty members of the Gen. James McQuade Post of the GAR visited Utica to pay tribute to their namesake, a Utica-native, and to participate in the Memorial Day exercises.

General James McQuade

The day included services in church, at the soldiers’ monument in Oneida square, and at the cemeteries, the parade, and an additional ceremony at the Munson-Williams Memorial building when the New York veterans presented the Oneida Historical Society with several flags given to the GAR post by the McQuade family.

 

~Jeana
jganskop@oneidacountyhistory.com

 

Food for thought: In 1904, the Civil War was more recent than World War II is today.  The “Old Veterans” from the Civil War marched with younger veterans of the Spanish-American and the National Guard.

 

1904 Eye-Candy…“A Winsome Figure in the Memorial Day Parade”

Proper Attire for Theater Fire Safety Assignments

1986.16

Object: Overcoat
Description: Blue wool overcoat, double-breasted with red wool lining and silver buttons.
Date: 1914-1917
Height: 43”

 

Utica Daily Press, November 4, 1914

Tuesday afternoon, November, 1914.  You’re going to see a showing of “The Littlest Rebel,” the greatest war play ever produced and the best show in town (see ad above).  You take your seat, and you feel a sense of security when you spy the man wearing this overcoat.  This coat indicates he’s a fireman and he’s here to keep you safe!

Donated to OCHS by Russell J. McCoy in 1986, this overcoat originally belonged to Russell’s father, George C. McCoy (3/2/1880-5/30/1978).  According to the donor, his father purchased this coat between 1914 and 1917, around the time he became a lieutenant with the Utica Fire Department (he was later appointed captain). Firemen wore this style of coat between home and work and on official duties, such as fire safety assignments at theaters.  By the late 1910s, the UFD dropped this style of coat from the official uniform, but Captain McCoy used it for many years and eventually passed it on to his son, also a UFD captain.  On special occasions, Russell even let other firemen wear it.

Where LaFayette and Seneca Streets meet.
Utica City Directory, 1905

The label inside the coat reads, “Maher Brothers, Utica, N.Y.”  Established by Edward Maher and his nephew John L. Maher in 1874, the firm began as a successful retail clothing establishment.  Over the next few years, the company grew and relocated several times and gained a national reputation for quality products.  In addition to men’s ordinary clothing, the firm manufactured and sold uniforms for the military, postal workers, and other groups.  Like this overcoat created for the Utica Fire Department, Maher Brothers outfitted the Conkling Unconditionals (Utica’s Republican marching club) and probably conductors and trainmen of the New York Central Railroad.

~Jeana

jganskop@oneidacountyhistory.org

 

Maher Brothers, Inc Trivia from Utica Citizens Corps Military History

1. Maher Brothers were pioneers in introducing the policy of “one price, and that prices marked in plain figures on the ticket attached to each garment.”
2. Maher Brothers were pioneers in advertising “guaranteeing complete satisfaction to every customer.”

Utica (1914)

2000.114.4

Object: Program
Description: Quarter-fold program for “Historical Pageant of Utica in the Mohawk Valley, by the People of the City, In Roscoe Conkling Park, Week Beginning Aug. 3, 1914.”  Includes Descriptions of the Episodes in the Pageant, times of the performances, and price of the performances.  Part of Old Home Week, August 3-10, 1914.
Date: 1914

Remember “Return of the Hunter?” The Old Home Week planning committee voted it as the official image.

If you could go anywhere, where would it be?  My answer is usually Paris in the 1920s, but lately, my answer is Utica, 1914.  Maybe I’m getting a little too excited about this, but, in preparation for the Utica (1914) exhibit opening on May 17, I am up to my nose in 1914 photographs and artifacts (like the block of wood, the t-square, and the pitcher).  I’ve even been reading the 1914 Saturday Globe more than Google News.  I am doing my best to take us all there!

Not sold yet? This program outlines each of the exciting historical “episodes” in the pageant.

The Historical Pageant of Utica was one of the biggest parts of Old Home Week – and Old Home Week is a big part of what makes 1914 exciting.  Imagine a week-long celebration where the whole city is partying and all your relatives and former classmates and coworkers who have left Utica returned to party with you!  There’s a giant parade every day, and Wednesday through Sunday, using the north end of Roscoe Conkling Park as an amphitheater, 3,000 Uticans perform the Historical Pageant.

Did I peak your interest?  If you want to see the pictures, you’re going to have to come to the exhibit and stay tuned for more blogposts about my exhibit research finds!

~Jeana

jganskop@oneidacountyhistory.org

Okay, one picture. I love the lady in the middle with the awesome hat and summery dress. Look carefully and you can see parts of the pageant just in front of the trees

 

The Mysteries of the Mug

Mug

Object: mug
Description: Silver-plate mug, engraved on body, “Butterfield House,” stamped on bottom, “E.V. HAUGHWOUT/ NEW YORK.”
Height: 3 ¾”
Diameter: 3 9/16”
Weight: 0.75 lbs

What does a historical object tell us?

1985.54
Not-so-mysterious-looking Mug

Let’s look at this mug. It is a silvery color, but the rim, the band toward the bottom, the stamped writing, and parts of the handle are golden.  While it’s possible that some was meant as decoration, the gold color on the handle is more likely a sign of wear.  This mug was silver-plated (a process that made it look like a silver mug, but cost significantly less); However, after too much cleaning or wear, the silver plate is partially rubbed off!

Maker’s Mark

What other clues does the mug offer?  A stamp on the bottom reads, “E.V. Haughwout/New York,” which suggests the mug was made by the E.V. Haughwout company in New York City, seller of upscale items such as china, crystal, and silver.  Built to match the loveliness of the items for sale inside, the E. V. Haughwout & Company was the first building with a safe passenger elevator and also holds the distinction of being one of New York City’s architecturally most important cast-iron buildings.  To see images of the building, click here.  Our little mug originated in the same building where Mary Todd Lincoln shopped for her White House service.  (For more information, click here .)

In Elegant Script, Butterfield House

Why was this fancy New York City mug in Utica?  For this answer, we can look at the other stamp on the mug,  in fancy script opposite the handle, “Butterfield House.”  John Butterfield built Utica’s largest hotel, the Butterfield House, which opened in 1869 on the corner of Genesee St. and Deveruex St.  The elegant hotel hosted many important people as they passed through Utica, including a reception for President Cleveland in 1887.  It is fitting that a fancy hotel would have nice New York City silver (or silver-plated) mugs.  Read more about the Butterfield House here and see another picture here.

One more dot to connect – and one thing that this mug can’t tell us.  How did it get from the Butterfield House to the Oneida County Historical Society?  In 1985, Mrs. Martha Patrick Huxley, a former Utica resident, art teacher, and artist, left the mug to the Society in her will.  Where Mrs. Huxley got the mug from is a mystery left to further research!

excerpt from Mrs. Huxley’s will, 1985

~Jeana
jganskop@oneidacountyhistory.org

Utica’s “it” place for the well-to-do, a mere 140 years ago

Be Prepared for Company

Be Prepared for Company!
To always be sure that you have “something good to eat in the house”
when acquaintances “drop in”, buy your Fresh-Kept Foods by the case.

2009.076.1

Object: Cookbook
Description: 29 page cookbook published by The New York Canners, Inc., Rochester, NY, distributed locally by “Planters”, Cor. Pearl & Washington St., Utica, N.Y.
Date: 1924

“To Housewives: You appreciate, more than man ever can, the nutritive value and delight to the taste of properly preserved, Fresh-Kept Fruits and Vegetables, grown in New York State where Nature Does Its Best.”

Cherry Pie
Line a deep pie plate with plain pastry, fill with our cherries, dredge with flour, and cover with pastry; bake in hot oven.

So begins “Soups Salads Desserts Made from Fresh-Kept Fruits and Vegetables,” one of over twenty cookbooks stored in the Manuscripts room at the Oneida County Historical Society.  Not only does this delightful read from 1924 appeal to the modern housewife’s need to feed her family a nutritious meal, it also reminds her how important it is for that meal to look appealing – and encourages her with assurances of the many fresh, convenient canned and jarred options awaiting her at on her grocer’s shelves.

Planters’ Grocery Co.
(Thos. J. Madden and Henry B. Isaac),
groceries 200-206 Pearl
(Utica N.Y. Vol 1., Sanborn Map Co., 1934 Revision of 1925 edition)

In the case of Utica housewives, that grocer may have been Planters.  The front of the cookbook lists Planters as located on the corner of Pearl and Washington St. at phone number 525 or 526.  The 1919 Utica Directory lists Thomas J. Madden and Henry B. Isaac as managers of Planters’ Tea & Grocery Co., selling teas, coffees, groceries, etc. on Broadway at the corner of Pearl.  By 1932, the establishment is still managed by Madden and Isaac selling, simply, “groceries,” at 200-206 Pearl.  According to the cookbook’s donor, Donald J. Stern, “my uncle’s Grocery store …was in downtown Utica in the 20’s, 30’s, 40’s and 1950’s…The store was located where the Radisson Hotel is now.”

In Tin or Glass the Quality is the Same.

~Jeana

jganskop@oneidacountyhistory.org

Still looking for recipes for frugal appetizers or Spiced New Year’s Punch?
Here’s a page from another OCHS collection cookbook,
“Cold Cooking,” Vol. VII, no. 1 by Westinghouse Refrigerator.

mysteries of the force of gravity and unstable equilibrium

Object: Atlas
Description: Atlas of Utica, New York, edited by D. L. Miller, C. E., published by D. L. Miller & Co., Philadelphia, PA.  Colored maps illustrating the transportation,  streets, and buildings of Utica, NY.
Date: 1896
Height: 19”
Width: 15.5”
Weight: 6.0 lbs (if using it for research, you can skip the gym today)

Utica, NY, Ward 11

Today, I bring you into our archives, into our map collection, to look for familiar places in a place that looks not-so-familiar 117 years ago.  To be more specific, let’s examine Genesee Street and Oneida Square.   My intent was to find out more about the Soldier’s Monument or the Williams’ and Proctor’s residences at 312-324 Genesee Street, but I was drawn to that peculiar yellow rectangle that reads, “Utica Bicycle Academy.”  A bicycle academy?  I’ve never heard of such a thing.

peculiar yellow rectangle

Don’t take it from me, T. Woode Clarke describes how the Academy came to be:

“By the summer of 1895, bicycling had become such a universal fad that an academy was opened in the old armory on Bleeker Street to teach people to ride.  A list of the pupils, as published in the paper, might well be mistaken for a copy of a Utica social register.  Shortly afterwards, a larger and far more elaborate bicycle academy was opened at Oneida Square.  Here ladies and gentlemen met and, under the care of diligent instructors who submitted docilely to being seized frantically about the neck by terror-stricken society leaders, strove to learn the mysteries of the force of gravity and unstable equilibrium.” (T. Wood Clarke, Utica: For a Century and a Half, Utica, NY: The Widtman Press, 1952, p 75)

“Business”
Utica Observer, 1897

The new building opened on June 19, 1895.  According to John J. Walsh, “The front was two stories in height, with towers on either end.  On the first floor were the office, wheel livery, repair shop and boiler room.  On the second floor was a ladies’ parlor and a large studio…  In the rear was the bicycle rink, 76 by 140 feet in dimensions.  There were platforms at the side upon which spectators could sit.”  The Academy was open daily, with admission based on anticipated activity and duration of stay (without riding, 10¢; lesson, 40¢, “Wheels are rented at reasonable prices”).   (John J. Walsh, From Outpost to Modern City:A History of Utica, 1978, p. 443-444)

While the Bicycle Academy flourished for a few years, by 1900 it was vacant.  The building reopened for a year as an ice skating rink, but then became the Miller & Mundy Motor Carriage Co.

No longer the Utica Bicycle Academy
Oneida Square, 1903

~Jeana

jganskop@oneidacountyhistory.org