There hasn't been an entry in the ongoing saga of "things that just turn up on my desk" in quite a long time. So I was thrilled to recently receive a giant envelope stuffed with Bethlehem Central High School memorabilia. Here are some snapshots. It all looks to be related to William Schoonmaker, president of the class of 1938. Enjoy!
Have you wondered about the retreat in Retreat House Road? We’ll get to that, but first we have to explore the way the roads have changed in that area of town including the old hamlet of Kenwood, Old River Road, Old South Pearl Street and Old Route 9W. *
The modern-day landmark to start this discussion is the
Cumberland Farms on Route 9W at the top of Corning Hill Road. As you probably
guessed, Corning Hill Road gets its name from the Corning family.** The Corning
property used to run along the entire south side of Corning Hill Road. Erastus
Corning started buying up land here with the purchase of 136 acres from
Angelica Van Rensselaer in 1833 eventually assembling an estate of hundreds of acres.
Much can be said about the wealthy and influential Erastus Corning, from his
railroad, banking and insurance investments to his active political life (N.Y.
State Senate, U.S. Congressman, Mayor of Albany) to his involvement in Albany
civic projects like heading Albany’s first water commission in 1850 or his plan
for the All Saints Cathedral in 1871. The man was busy and made millions. At
the time of his death in 1872 his estate was estimated at $12 million.
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| Look for the Corning name in this snip of the 1866 Beers map showing Kenwood. Look for the V shaped roads in the middle. That is the intersection of modern-day Corning Hill Road and Retreat House Road. At that V, you can follow River Road north to the hamlet of Kenwood. There is a prominent J.R. near the V – that is about where Cumberland Farms is today. Another landmark is the spot marked J. Haswell at the lower left. That is the brick Haswell house that still stands just north of Panera on 9W 1866 Beers Map. |
And what about that Bethlehem property? During Erastus and his wife Harriet’s time it was more of simple summer retreat. Their mansion was in Albany and their more elaborate summer places were in Newport, R.I. and Sachem’s Head, C.T. It was Erastus Corning, Jr and his love of all things flora and fauna, that turned the farm into a spectacular estate. He raised Jersey and Hereford cattle, Southdown sheep and thoroughbred race horses. He was particularly known for his orchids, his collection of moths and butterflies and the many exotic specimen plants he grew. Besides a large residence, the property had greenhouses, both hot and cold, stables, barns and even a horse racing track. When Erastus, Jr died, the estate was divided into two equal farms, the upper and the lower.
Edwin Corning and his wife Louise inherited the Upper Farm
(these are the parents of Albany’s longest serving mayor, Erastus Corning). Nowadays,
this is the land opposite Cumberland Farms. A large portion of it is protected
in The Bio-Reserve, a not-for-profit biological field reserve of 68+ acres. The
driveway to this property, and the lot containing Mayor Corning’s old house, is
known as Old Route 9W.
The Lower Farm, modern day Retreat House Road and River Road
area, came to Parker Corning and his wife Anne Cassin McClure. Parker began to
rebuild the family’s wealth (Erastus, Jr managed to run through his entire
multimillion-dollar inheritance – all those orchids were expensive!) especially
through the development of the Albany Felt Company (later Albany International)
which started as a small mill at Kenwood supplied by the fleece from the sheep
his father raised. Paul Grondahl describes Parker as someone who moved easily
from the worlds of agriculture to society to business to politics (he served in
Congress from 1923 to 1937.) Especially after his marriage to Anne in 1910, the
couple embarked on a lavish, high-society lifestyle. That lifestyle included
swanky parties at their Lower Farm mansion. (They also had five other homes
where they lived and entertained as the seasons dictated.)
Biographies often note the couple’s passion for race horses.
One of their best-known thoroughbreds was Attention, who in 1941 beat the
Triple Crown winner Whirlaway. The couple had one daughter together, Mary
Parker Corning, who was born in 1912. Mary Parker enjoyed a privileged
childhood, entering society with balls and dinner dances in New York City and
Long Island culminating in her betrothal to Philip Lawrence Birrell Inglehart
in 1933. Mary shared the Corning passion for high bred horses being a frequent
visitor to the track and polo fields at Saratoga. Indeed, husband Philip was a
polo player of some note.
Getting back to Retreat House Road, in1804, it was part of
the Albany Bethlehem Turnpike road that went from South Pearl Street connecting
up to River Road. Imagine, in the modern roadway, driving down Corning Hill
Road by Cumberland Farms. Imagine where Retreat House Road comes in on the
right. Back in the day, you could turn left and head towards Albany. This road
with its bridge over the Normanskill would lead you to modern-day Old South
Pearl Street and the long-gone hamlet of Kenwood.*** If you were to turn right
onto Retreat House Road, this is the old route of the turnpike and River Road. Continuing
down Retreat House, you come to modern day River Road. If you keep going south
a little bit more, you could veer off onto Old River Road, another original
section of the Albany Bethlehem Turnpike.
And that bit of River Road, the busy through fare that was
the turnpike that is now Retreat House Road? It ran right in front of Parker
and Anna Corning’s mansion. Bringing traffic and noise that they didn’t like. Sometime
before 1935, the Cornings used their influence to have River Road moved east,
preserving their privacy and creating the more direct route we know today that
links River Road to South Pearl Street in a smooth transition.
Parker and Anna Corning both died in 1943 and the estate came to their daughter Mary Parker Corning Inglehart. In 1945, Mary donated 43 acres to the Catholic Diocese and it became a Jesuit Retreat House. Hence the retreat in Retreat House Road. As the Jesuits noted in a history of the property, “Early in 1945 Mrs. Mary Parker Corning Inglehart, a Protestant, presented the beautiful Old Corning Manor House and Farm… as a gift.” They also noted its beautiful grounds and accessibility from downtown Albany. The Jesuits set about fixing up the old house. It was completely empty except for an old chair painted green and yellow, the Corning racing colors. They hosted many retreats for Catholic laymen over the years. One 1948 headline sums up nicely: “Many Catholic Laymen Find Seclusion to Meditate at Former Corning Estate, Where Gaiety Once Reigned.”
In 1968, the property no longer served the Jesuits’ needs and the retreat center was moved to Auriesville. For a brief time, the property served as the Center for Humanistic Education, loosely affiliated with S.U.N.Y, but by 1974, it had been purchased by the Emmanuel Community, now the Emmanuel Christian Church.
So now you know the back story of a unique street name. Take
a drive on the old roads around Corning Hill, from the busy 9W to quiet, tree
lined Retreat House Road. The old mansion is still there as are many out
buildings. A little further down is the old Beth Emeth Cemetery, established
about 1838. And when you come out onto
River Road you’ll be very near the entrance to the old Hurlbut estate at Halter
Road – we talked about the Hurlbuts last month.
https://www.albanycounty.com/Home/ShowDocument?id=11046
** I highly recommend Paul Grondahl’s book Mayor Corning:
Albany Icon, Albany Enigma. While its main focus is Albany’s longest
serving mayor, Erastus Corning III, mayor from 1942 until his death in 1983, the
book has excellent information about the Bethlehem farm which Grondahl
describes as “the family’s heart and soul, the place where it established a
sense of permanency for successive generations.”
***Kenwood was a busy hamlet boasting the usual hamlet
amenities like school (District 12), store and hotel. Over the years, and taking
advantage of the water power available on the Normanskill, the area was home to
a variety of industries from small scale saw mills and gristmills to the huge
complex known as the Huyck’s Kenwood Mills. Huyck’s knitting and felting mill
burned down spectacularly 1894. Some of
the old brick houses for Huyck’s workers are still standing on Old South Pearl
Street.
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| A circa 1950 postcard of the Jesuit Retreat House |
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| The house on March 19, 2021. |
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| Mary Parker Corning with her favorite thoroughbreds, Red and
Joy, at the opening of the Washington Horse Show. Circa 1933. |
This essay started out as an introduction to Elisha P. Hurlbut, New York Supreme Court Judge, accomplished lawyer, staunch advocate for the woman’s rights and abolition movements, and resident of Glenmont for almost 30 years. Chris Philippo of the Bethlehem Historical Association has done extensive research on the Judge and is in the process of securing a grant for a historic marker recognizing Hurlbut’s contributions to the Woman Suffrage Movement.
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| Elisha P. Hurlbut borrowed from Dunnington's work. |
Catherine’s mother, Catherine Gansevoort, likely grew up at the famous Whitehall
mansion. Her father Leonard purchased it, and about 1000 acres, in 1789, the
same year she was born. (Modern day Whitehall Road is its namesake. The house
was near where Whitehall, Delaware and Ten Eyck come together. Until 1916 this
area was in the Town of Bethlehem.) One wonders if she heard the story growing
up of how her aunt Magdalene Gansevoort’s thwarted suitor, a man named Sanders,
instigated the terrible fire of 1793 that destroyed much of Albany. The family
moved out to Whitehall after their city home burned down in the fire. After
Leonard’s death in 1810, Whitehall came to Magdalene and her husband Jacob Ten
Eyck.
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| For a time located in Bethlehem, the Whitehall Mansion was originally built in the 1760s, thought to be a Loyalist hideout during the Revolution and extensively rebuilt by Leonard Ganesevoort, Catherine Hurlbut’s grandfather. The image here is from Allison Bennett’s book The People’s Choice and is a mourning sampler made by Hester Gansevoort Ten Eyck in 1810. Bennett suggests that the two women in the portrait are Leonard’s daughters Magdalena and Catherine. |
One wonders if Catherine Van Vechten spent time at the elegant mansion, both before and after her marriage to Elisha Hurlbut. It would have belonged to her aunt and uncle. And how did Catherine meet Elisha? Probably through the interconnected social circles of those practicing law in Albany and New York City.
Elisha was born in Herkimer County, New York on
October 15, 1807, attended the Fairfield Academy and studied law under Arfaxus
Loomis. In 1835 he moved to New York City. Dunnington summarizes well, “ As a
young lawyer, Hurlbut enjoyed tremendous success, becoming well known across
the state, and in law circles around the country. In one particular case, Bailey
vs. The Mayor, he earned the largest fee ever obtained by a lawyer in New
York City at the time. After a successful, lucrative, and brief law career,
Hurlbut was elected to be a judge on the New York Supreme Court in 1847, the
youngest person to achieve the honor.”
While Mrs. Hurlbut was not afraid to voice her opinion on both political and family matters, she habitually deferred to her husband, following the era’s customs. Upon her death, Hurlbut wrote:
"All her conduct shows that her family was her world—her children her jewels—and her husband her protector and unfailing reliance. She was not learned as a scholar—her headaches in youth having prevented study—but she had remarkable sense—great household economy—and was wholly devoted to her husband and children. She retained the simplicity of childhood through life. Her father called her “a child of nature” truly—and she lived and died uncorrupted by society.”
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The Hurlbut Mansion in Glenmont was located at the end of modern-day
Halter Road off of River Road. Surely Catherine influenced the elegant design
decisions that are apparent in this photo. The house is seen here when it was
owned by John Eddy (you might remember him from last month’s article.) It is no
longer standing, having burned down in 1915, as this headline from the Albany
Evening Journal announces: Old Hurlbut Manion Destroyed by Fire. Crowd
Attracted by Spectacular Blaze at Glenmont – House Was Owned by John Eddy.
The Hurlbuts were a wealthy family. They owned the 12-acre estate in Glenmont. Inspired by the landscape marked by a hill and a glen, Hurlbut named it Glenmont on the Hudson. He also desired to distinguish the property, the former Abbey Farm, from the nearby, and rowdy, Abbey Hotel.
The Hurlbuts also owned property in Albany. I wonder if these Albany acres, which were across Delaware Avenue from the Whitehall mansion, were part of Catherine’s inheritance from her grandfather Leonard Gansevoort. As the crow flies, they are only a few miles from their Glenmont home. The Hurlbuts are remembered today in the names of Albany streets between Second Avenue and Delaware: Jeanette, Bertha, Van Vechten and of course Hurlbut.
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| 1891 Beers map - the cross roads in the middle are modern day Whitehall Road, Delaware Avenue, and Second Avenue. On the green side of the line is Bethlehem, on the yellow Albany. |
While I tried to highlight Catherine here, her husband Elisha
P. Hurlbut truly was a fascinating character. You are encouraged to read more
about him and his thoughts on civil rights, religion and phrenology in
Dunnington’s work. https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/51290226.pdf
And that fire in 1793? The story is disturbing on many
levels, from the catastrophic fire to the eventual death of two slaves, Bet and
Dinah, charged with arson. Curious? Start with this page from the People of Colonial
Albany Project:https://exhibitions.nysm.nysed.gov//albany/doc/fire1793.html#scandal
Flashes and Dashes
I am getting back to walking and talking history with a series of Second Saturday events. First up on Saturday, March 13 is a walkabout in historic Slingerlands. Find more information at the Bethlehem Historical Association’s website and Bethlehem Parks & Recreation’s Seasonal Brochures.
http://www.townofbethlehem.org/295/Seasonal-Brochures
This past weekend I was able to go over to Elm Avenue Park, check out the nature trails, and see how the Black History Month story walk was looking. And it is looking good! Go see for yourself!
The trails are located opposite the playground. As you drive in, the playground is on your right and the nature trails are on the left. Look for the sledding hill, watch out for those zooming daredevils, and follow the walkway down the hill. The story walk is the trail to the right.
And as promised for those of you not anxious to try out the snowy footing, here are the pages I created. There are more on the trail created by staff at the Parks Dept. that honor other African Americans.
And a note before you get started, I fully recognize that just introducing a selection of Black people is a very simplistic endeavor. There are layers and layers of context we could (and should) apply to each historic era represented here. There are so many questions for which I have no answers! If you would like to wonder together about what life was like for some of these Bethlehem people, I am happy to have those conversations with you.
Two possibilities for you to get outside and enjoy some history this month.
A Winter History Hike
Saturday, February 13, 10 AM
Join Town Historian Susan Leath and bundle up for a brisk winter history hike at Henry Hudson Park. See what the leaves have been hiding all summer long like the Nicoll Sill House and Follywyck. Learn about the days of ice harvesting, steam boats and summer homes. Meet at the gazebo for a loop through the park on the shores of the Hudson River and along Lyons and Barent Winne Roads.
You must pre-register with the Bethlehem Parks Department,
online at townofbethlehem.org or call 518-439-4955, option 7.
Check the website of the Bethlehem Historical Association
for weather related cancellations, BethlehemHistorical.org. Questions: email
Susan at sleath@townofbethlehem.org
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| I took this picture in December 2007. I bet there is more snow on the 13th! |
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| Also taken in December 2007, we might see these remains on the walk. Low tide is about noon time, so it will be going out while we are walking. |
Hello! If you are a regular reader of this blog, these stories might be familiar to you, but they bear repeating. Also, be sure to skip down to the field trip ideas. I've got a history hike at Henry Hudson Park coming up as well as the story walk at Elm Ave. park. More on those later!
Bethlehem Stories Westward Expansion focus
Last month, I mentioned I was preparing for Slingerlands’ elementary students to visit the Slingerland Family Burial Vault. Since Covid-19 had other plans that did not include field trips, I will share with you what I would have shared with them – the stories of John I. Slingerland and the Niver Brothers. So, buckle up for some thoughts about Bethlehem connections to Westward Expansion.
John I. Slingerland
John I. Slingerland, who
was born in 1804, grew up on the West Manor of Rensselaerwyck in the Town of
Bethlehem at a farm centered at modern day 1575 New Scotland Road. His father,
John A. Slingerland, had rented the land here from the Patroon in the late
1790s. The Patroon was the head of the wealthy and influential Van Rensselaer
family who controlled the land of the manor. Their control goes back to the
1630s when the first Patroon, Killean Van Rensselaer, diamond merchant from
Amsterdam, began to assemble his 700,000+ acre estate.
Annual rent had to be
paid for the right to live and work on their land. John I. remembered, and
resented, having to go to the Patroon every year with his father’s rent,
usually in the form of the fattest chickens and the best of the wheat crop. The
Patroon looked down upon the country folk coming to his mansion with their
payments. Slingerland believed it was wrong for a single person or family to
control such large acres of land, land that the farmer through his own labor cultivated
and improved. He felt that the individual farmers were being severely taken
advantage of by the demands of the Patroon.
Slingerland’s experiences
with the Patroon here in Bethlehem influenced his work in Congress. He served
in Washington from 1847 to 1849. Slingerland believed that the western
territories recently acquired by the Federal government should not be
monopolized by large land holders. Instead, they should be allotted directly to
actual settlers, people who would live and work on the land. He also believed
small settlement would curtail the influence of slave holders, arguing that
large tracts could only be profitably worked by slave labor. The Homestead Act,
an early version of which he championed, passed in 1862. It allowed citizens
from all walks of life to claim 160 acres which they would own free and clear
after five years of living there.
John I. Slingerland was
born, raised and lived at 1575 New Scotland Road, and inherited it from his
father in 1850. He and his first wife Elizabeth Vanderzee had three children,
Maria, John and Harmon. He had two more, Elizabeth and William, with his second
wife Sally Hall. John I. and Sally are both buried in the Slingerland Family
Burial Vault. His third great granddaughter is an active member of the Friends
of the Slingerland Family Burial Vault.
John I Slingerland, again.
Is anyone getting sick of this picture or is it just me?
Wish we had another image of him
.
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| John I's house on New Scotland Road about 1900. |
The Niver Brothers
While people from
Bethlehem moved west in the 1800s for a variety of reasons, they were often young
men seeking opportunity and excitement. Two brothers of the Niver family of
Selkirk went west. One met a tragic end. One eventually returned to Bethlehem
and often told of his adventures in the Wild West.
Pheobe and David Niver
raised seven children on their farm on modern day Maple Avenue in Selkirk. In
1873, their son Garret decided to enlist in the army. He joined the U.S. Army’s
7th Cavalry on October 2,1873, at age twenty-seven in New York City under the
assumed name of Garrett H. Van Allen. Family tradition says he used a different
name in order to somehow protect his mother.
Garret traveled to Fort
Abraham Lincoln in Dakota Territory where the 7th Calvary was stationed. He served under
Lt. Col. George A. Custer, and was, perhaps, with him when the 7th discovered gold in the Black Hills.
Garret was with his unit two years later when the 7th met defeat at the hands of the Lakota
and Cheyenne during the Battle of the Little Big Horn. Garrett’s memorial at
Bethlehem’s Elmwood Cemetery reads “Killed in the Custer massacre on the Little
Big Horn Dakota June 26, 1876.”
Garret’s younger brother
Conrad started for Indian Territory around 1874. He wanted to make a new start
and changed his name to John Eddy.
Conrad, now John, had
many adventures. He landed in rough and tumble Dead Wood, South Dakota where he
panned for gold. He had a terrible encounter with desperados in Cheyenne,
Wyoming where he was shot in the arm and had to have his arm amputated without
any anesthetic. As fate would have it, in June 1876, John was passing through
the area where the Battle of Little Big Horn had recently happened. Years later
he learned in a letter from his father that his brother Garret had been killed
there.
By 1880, John Eddy lived
in Bloomington, Illinois where he met and married his wife Nellie Long. He
prospered there, owning a cigar store and part of a trolly line company. He was
active in politics, and was appointed postmaster of Bloomington by President
Grover Cleveland.
John seems to have always
felt the pull of home and his Niver family roots in Bethlehem. While well
established as John Eddy in Bloomington, he signed his letters home “Conrad”. John
and Nellie moved back to Bethlehem in 1906, first to Glenmont where he
purchased the old Hurlbut estate (more about Judge Hurlbut next month.) Later they
moved to 732 Madison Avenue in Albany. John Eddy, aka Conrad Niver, died June
15, 1935 and is, as one obituary stated, “sleeping very peacefully in his
mausoleum in the Elmwood Rural Cemetery, Selkirk, NY.”
Conrad (left) and Garret Niver about 1870.
You are also welcome to take a respectful stroll around Elmwood Cemetery, where the Niver Brothers are interred. It is located at 922 U. S. Route 9W, Selkirk, just south of the Jericho Drive-In. See if you can find Garrett’s memorial stone (it is just off the entrance road, on the left, opposite the water fountain) or the Niver-Eddy mausoleum (tucked in the woods at the back left of the property.)
Need more outdoor time in
February? Visit the Story Walk at Elm Avenue Park. The walk will be honoring
Black History month. Or how about a Winter History Hike guided by yours truly
at Henry Hudson Park? The date for that is Saturday, February 13 at 10 am. Pre-register
with the Parks Department, 518-439-4955, option 2 or at TownofBethlehem.org.
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| Garret Niver's memorial stone at Elmwood Cemetery. |
