Welcome to the History Corner!
Celebrating the rich history of Port Byron, New York, an old Erie Canal village in the Town of Mentz. This site is dedicated to the legacy and heritage of our community as well as a variety of regional historical tidbits. I hope you enjoy your visit and will stop by again.

Sunday, October 18, 2015

EXCELSIOR CORNET BAND CONCERT for LINCOLN

7 pm Friday, October 23, 2015

Catherine Cummings Theatre
16 Lincklaen Street
Cazenovia NY 13035

Admission
Lincoln Bill for Adults         $5
Lincoln Penny 5- 12 years    $.01

Info and reservations:
nahofm1835@gmail.com
www.nationalabolitionhalloffameandmuseum.org
(315) 280 - 8828

Excelsior Cornet Band Concert for Lincoln

The National Abolition Hall of Fame and Museum will open its Abraham Lincoln: The Great Emancipator event with A Concert for Lincoln presented by the Excelsior Cornet Band at 7 p.m. Friday, October 23, 2015 at the Catherine Cummings Theatre, 16 Lincklaen Street in Cazenovia NY. Reenactor Jack Baylis, as President Lincoln, will welcome theatre goers to an evening of music connected with Lincoln.  Jeff Stockham the director of the Excelsior Cornet Band will explain the musical selections and also share his performance experience in the movie Lincoln. This program is made possible, in part, by the Decentralization Program, a regrant program of the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature and administered by CNY Arts.

The Excelsior Cornet Band is New York State’s only authentic Civil War Brass Band. Founded in 2001, the band consists of a group of Syracuse-area musicians dedicated to the performance of original Civil War era music on actual instruments of the period. Leading the band is one of Central New York’s premier brass players, Jeff Stockham. The band utilizes instruments from Stockham’s large collection of antique brass instruments. After consulting with several of the leading experts in the field of Civil War music and brass bands, Stockham formed the Excelsior Cornet Band so that the music of that pivotal period in American history could be once again heard and enjoyed by area audiences. The musicians of Excelsior Cornet Band are professional performers with many years of experience in a wide variety of musical genres. They perform with a polished enthusiasm that brings the music of the Civil War brass band era to life. The Excelsior Cornet Band presents an authentic Civil War appearance during its performances, wearing accurate reproductions of 1860s New York militia uniforms. The brass instruments used by the Excelsior Cornet Band are period originals which date from as early as 1825 to approximately 1872. Several of them were undoubtedly used by regimental bands during the Civil War. They were carefully returned to playing condition by several of the nation’s leading restorers of antique brass instruments. The mellow sound they produce is singularly appropriate for the music of the Civil War era. All of the music performed by the Excelsior Cornet Band has been arranged for the band from original Civil War era scores. The band’s repertoire includes many of the most popular melodies of the 1850-1870 period, including patriotic airs, operatic medleys, and popular songs by many of the most renowned composers and bandmasters of the Civil War era, as well as many lesser-known but equally exciting compositions. During their years of performing, the Excelsior Cornet Band has presented concerts, parades, educational programs, and living history portrayals for a wide variety of organizations and performing arts in several states. The Excelsior Cornet Band recreates the glorious sounds and appearance of this fascinating and important era, and is available for concerts, reenactments, educational presentations, and other functions.

Saturday, July 4, 2015

Ladies Auxiliary: Thurston-Schramm-Reynolds Post 8137 VFW

Early photo of the Ladies Auxiliary of Thurston-Schramm-Reynolds Post 8137 of Montezuma, NY with the first charter members and officers of the auxiliary,  Photo courtesy of Dona Roe who extends a thank you to Aaron and Lila Wilson for donating this photo to her.












Seated (left to right):  Elizabeth Wilson, Helen Aubin Hutchings, Jeannette Armstrong Giovanni, Flora Hayes, Nancy Smith Decker, Agnes Moroney Lapp and Betty Leubner Dixon.

Standing (left to right): Mary Carner Stoneburg, Ruth Garner Laraway, Micky Doran Wilson, Lila Stoneburg Wilson, Hellen Ward Davies and Vanita Wilson Roe.

If anyone can identify these woman, please contact me so that the list can be updated.

A newspaper article in 1972 says that the Ladies Auxiliary Post was formed 5 years previously and had 19 members at that time.  This dates the auxiliary as being formed in 1967.

1967 Officers:
President: Flora Hayes
Senior Vice President: Nancy Decker
Junior Vice President: Agnes Lapp
Treasurer: Ruth Laraway
Chaplain: Elizabeth Wilson
Conductress: Vanita Roe
Guard: Dorothy Garner
Secretary: Jeannette Giovanni
Patriotic Instructress: Micky Wilson
Historian: Iva Reynolds
1st Color Bearer, Helen Hutchings
2nd Color Bearer: Nellie Boas
3rd Color Bearer: Delores Townsend
4th Color Bearer: Jessie Dingman

Additional Charter Members:
Hellen Davies
Elizabeth Dixon
Bonnie Jenner
Mary Stoneburg
Lila Wilson

Wayuga Community Newspaper Inc., May 25, 1967
 Here's the 1972 article that provided insight into when the auxiliary was formed:

The Citizen Advertiser Auburn, NY - March 15,1972




Thursday, May 28, 2015

23rd Annual Peterboro Civil War Weekend

Sat  June 13 , 2015 10am-5pm
Sun June 14, 2015 10am-4pm

$8 Adults    $3 6-12 yrs    Free Under 6
civilwarweekend.sca-peterboro.org
(315) 280-8828


New York State Museum Authors Sign Exhibit Book
An Irrepressible Conflict: The Empire State in the Civil War
Robert Weible, NYS Historian and Chief Curator NYS Museum
Jennifer A. Lemak, Sr. Historian and Curator NYS Museum
Aaron Noble, Assoc. Museum Exhibition Planner NYS Museum
Saturday, June 13, 2015 10 am ~ 2 pm 




Audacious: Historical Novel by Janet Ashworth
Sat  June 13  10 am - 5pm    Author Exhibit and signing 
Sun June 14  10 am - 4pm    Author Exhibit and signing     3 pm Program


Freedom Journey: Black Soldiers and The Hills Community, Westchester County, New York

Author: Edythe Ann Quinn 
PhD, Professor of History at Hartwick College, Oneonta NY
Sat June 13 10am - 5pm Author Exhibit and signing  3pm Program
Sun June 14 10am - 4pm Author Exgibit and signing  11am Program





Veterans in a new Field: A Civil War Mystery of the Irish Brigade
Author: William H. Payne
Sat June 13 10am - 5pm  Author Exhibit and signing
Sun June 14  1pm - 4 pm  Author Exhibit and signing






Sunday, April 26, 2015

Palatine Migration

It is enjoyable to hear from others that contact me in response to my articles. Recently I was contacted by distant relatives in Canada to share that they are doing well.

The descendants of the 1709/1710 Palatine movement have called New York home for more than two centuries.  Some of their off spring found their way to Canada.  The recent contact made me take another look at my ancestor Anna Maria Hoffman who married Johann Nicholas Traver, ancestors to many of the Port Byron Traver families and their various off branches.

To recap, Anna Maria lost her husband and most of her children on the voyage to America.  Upon settling in New York, she married a man named Joseph Reichardt who also made the voyage.  Establishing a family unit was critical for this time period, as it reduced the chances of her small children being removed from the household to be placed to work.  The family not only stayed together but flourished with the addition of two additional sons from this union.

In researching what became of Anna Maria Hoffman Traver and her second husband Joseph Reichardt, I found the land deed at Rhinebeck:

"New York, Land Records, 1630-1975," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1942-32717-7704-71?cc=2078654&wc=M7HT-W3D:358133801,358565401 : accessed 26 April 2015), Dutchess > Deeds 1718-1761 vol 1-3 > image 300 of 769; county courthouses, New York.


"New York, Land Records, 1630-1975," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1971-32717-7313-75?cc=2078654&wc=M7HT-W3D:358133801,358565401 : accessed 26 April 2015), Dutchess > Deeds 1718-1761 vol 1-3 > image 301 of 769; county courthouses, New York.

There is allot of information about Joseph Rikert at the website titled Descent by the Sea.  It includes useful information about the Reichardt land in Rhinebeck and how it would later be in the possession of Zachariah Traver.  The article also states that the land was later acquired by Col. John Jacob Astor in 1905.  Astor was a casualty on the Titanic disaster in 1912 and his connection to our ancestors land is very fascinating.

Around the time he acquired the farm, Astor was buying as many farms as he could to add acreage to his Ferncliff Estate.  How Astor used the Reichardt/Traver farm is unclear, as I was not able to access the deed online for that date range.  However, the land transaction is not unusual as the Traver family also had a unique connection to Astor, being officers at the same bank where Astor was a trustee.  

In 1905, officers at the Rhinebeck Savings Bank included Augustus M Traver, President and Thaddeus A Traver, Secretary.  Both Traver men along with others, including John Jacob Astor were Trustees.  Given this connection, the relationship could have aided the purchase of the family farm.

To learn more about John Jacob Astor, read a short bio at the New Netherland Institute


Monday, March 23, 2015

Centerport Detour

Here's an interesting post that I know the Centerport residents will appreciate, it provides a clue as to when the road between Port Byron and Centerport was paved:


SYRACUSE JOURNAL   MONDAY OCTOBER 22, 1917

AS STATE REPORTS ROAD CONDITIONS

Port Byron -Weedsport — Work In progress. Leave Port Byron for Weedsport on new concrete pavement to Centerport.  At Centerport four corners turn south one-eighth mile, crossing Erie Canal, taking first left hand turn to Weedsport. Detour posted.

Sunday, March 22, 2015

Stranded

Today we travel between places without giving it any thought but can you imagine a time when you could get stranded in Port Byron and it would be considered news?  That is exactly what happened to a theater company in 1908:

THE SYRACUSE HERALD  JULY 8, 1908

The Percey-Norman Stock company which has been playing at the Auditorium Annex, is stranded in Port Byron. After paying the fares of the fourteen members of the company to Port Byron the manager had 45 cents.   There were sixteen paid admissions to see the show and so the actors were unable to get back to Auburn.  The boy who sings the solos between the acts managed to get a ride to the city after he had done his turn, while the others, sitting as a committee of the whole, are trying to devise ways and means.

Here's some background from Billboard Publications, 1908