Appreciation of Home

Paul Hahn with the Class of '76 shares a mural he created in Mrs. Drummond's art class in honor of the bicentennial.

Thank you for sharing with us Paul!  

Little do we realize how important it is to capture what is around us.  Two structures shown here from recent times are now gone.  The church we lost to mother nature in a bad storm and the old fire house and bell tower is now a vacant lot.

The mural measures approximately 6 ' x 4 '    

Woman's Relief Corps No. 207

The Lockwood Post GAR #175 of Port Byron once had an auxiliary but little is known about it as an organization.  In searching newspapers, I have found an entry that confirms they were indeed part of our community:

AUBURN WEEKLY BULLETIN. FEBRUARY 1, 1901

PORT BYRON, Jan. 29

The Lockwood Post Woman's Relief Corps, No 207 will hold a rummage sale in the vacant store of Mrs. James V White commencing tomorrow.

We know that this auxiliary was no longer functioning as of 1916 when the auxiliary for the R.R. Stillwell Sons of Veterans was formed.  To date, newspaper coverage listing the officers for the W.R.C. No. 207 of Port Byron has been hard to locate.

If anyone in your family belonged to the Lockwood Post G.A.R., the R.R. Stillwell Sons of Union Veterans, or any of their auxiliaries, please email me so I can update the members list.

Partial Lockwood Post GAR List

I will be creating a similar list for the auxiliaries but need your feedback to help tabulate the lists.  I look forward to hearing from anyone that had ancestors or relative that belonged to these organizations.

To learn more about the Woman's Relief Corps, click (here)

Sons of Veterans Auxiliary No. 10

Syracuse Journal January 11, 1916

Sons of Veterans New Auxiliary Instituted

Sons of Veterans Auxiliary, No. 10, taking an old number, was instituted last evening at Port Byron by the division president, Mrs. Winnie F. Durst of this city, assisted by members of General Sniper and Merriam Camp's auxiliaries.

Mrs. Minnie S. Root, wife of Commander Root of Lockwood Post, G. A.R., is president of the new auxiliary, and its other officers are: Vina Tuller, vice president; Laura Woodford, chaplain; Alice Warren, treasurer; Ella E. Emmons, secretary; Jennie Godfrey, patriotic instructor; Freda Nye, guide; Ruth Nye, assistant guide; Bessie Stillwell and Marjory Ware, color bearers; Louise Sweet, inside guard; Eliza Ames, outside guard; Nanna Lockwood, press correspondent; Margaret Clapp, Jennie Ward and Addie Warren; trustees; H. R. Warren, judge advocate.

Auxiliary No. 10 is organized for Stillwell Camp. No. 17. and will also be attendant upon Lockwood Post, which is without a Relief Corps. Division President Durst will next endeavor to organize auxiliaries at Clyde and Oneida.

Civil War Soldier Nathan Munger

Having a State Representative of the Grand Army of the Republic from Port Byron was indeed a special find.  It promoted me to learn a little more about Nathan's military service.  I hope you will agree, our soldier deserves an additional post so that we may share his service record:



Courtesy of Ancestry.com

 Nathan was born at Fredonia, NY about the year 1840 and mustered in on December 8, 1862 at Oswego, Co. I 110th NY Infantry at the age of 22.  In August of 1863 he would become detached from this regiment to serve on assignment as clerk at General Andrews Headquarters.

On September 25, 1863 he was promoted to Co. B, 12th Regiment "Corps De Afrique".  The pension index shows his unit was Co. B. with the 12th Louisiana C.D.A. Regiment of Infantry.  This unit provided Garrison Duty at Port Hudson, LA.  The unit would later be re-designated as the 84th United States Colored Troops in 1864, in which Nathan remained with Co. B.  He served as a Second Lieutenant in both units.  The 1890 veterans census indicates he was discharged on or about Nov. 28, 1864.

Nathan by trade was a harness maker.  The call of service to the Grand Army of the Republic would prompt the move of his family to Albany, NY where his occupation in the 1900 census was recorded as Assistant Adj General GAR.

Many advertisements can be found showing he continued to list himself in directories at the corners of Main and Rochester Streets in Port Byron.  It appears his time in Albany was limited, for he died at his Port Byron home in 1909.

Nathan applied for a soldiers pension in 1881, which converted to his widow Amanda Munger upon his death in 1909.  Both are buried at Mt. Pleasant Cemetery in Port Byron.

Nathan Munger

G.A. R. APPOINTMENTS.

Colonel Anson E. Wood, State Department Commander, Names his Staff Officers.

Col. Anson E. Wood, State Department Commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, while in this city yesterday made appointments to his staff as follows:

Assistant Adjutant General, Nathan Munger, Post No. 175, Port Byron, Assistant Quarter Master General, Jared W. Wickes, Post No. 151, Syracuse, Judge Advocate General, Thomas B. O'Dell.Post No. 103, New York, Inspector General, Frank Z. Jones, Post No. 47, Rome, Senor aid de camp, J . J . Perkins, Post No. 116; Schuylerville.

The appointment of Mr. Munger as Assistant Adjutant General relieves George H. Lester of this city from further duty. His friends were hopeful of a reappointment for him. 

The Rome Daily Sentinel, Wednesday Evening, May 16, 1900

Debate Club

For anyone that has participated in the Port Byron speech and debate team, you may be interested in knowing that it dates back to 1884 per the following newspaper article:

ROCHESTER DEMOCRAT AND CHRONICLE
Friday February 10, 1893

Last Wednesday evening the Students Debating Club of Port Byron gave its ninth annual banquet at the hose house parlors. Members and guests to the number of about one hundred were present. Those who took part in the program were Robert L. Smith, Leslie Tanner, E. H. Kearns, Robert Takel Jr., Clyde Mitchel, Harry S. Vaughn, Fred J. Tanner, C. W. Armstrong, P. W. Grim, Frank Seymour, William Weston, S. V. Henry and Principal W. L. Harris of the academy.

Grocer James M Hearn

Digitized by William Hecht-Rootsweb
Home of James M Hearn
adjacent to the Port Byron High School

1939 PB Chron.

Then and Now

Many may enjoy seeing some photos of the past as compared to today

Then

Now

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Then

    

Now

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Lost Church

Many may remember attending school at this church.

Here is an earlier photo:

William Hecht Collection Rootsweb-digital enhancement by D Roe 

It's all about spelling

Just for fun I decided to see how many times I could find published material about Port Byron that contained a spelling error.  Much to my surprise, not only can I find such instances for our village here in NY, I can find the same for Port Byron, IL.

Many early works list us a Port Bryon!

Erie Canal Route

Annual Report of Social Welfare

Ever wonder what happened to that missing parcel of mail?  Maybe it was sent to Port Bryon!

Lyon's Postal Guide

The one I enjoyed the most was from the Huguenot Society where the Haddens are listed as being from Port Bryon and Port Byran on the same page!

National Huguenot Society Bible Records

Look closely at the Laws of the State of New York about our village name

Act confirming the election of officers

Did you notice Port Bryon and then Port Byron?

First Daughter of Mentz?

The Weekly Auburnian, Friday June 4, 1886

First Daughter of Mentz

Mrs. Sally Shaw, widow of the late Jacob Shaw died at the home of her daughter Mrs. William G. Soule in Savannah, on Tuesday at the age of eighty-nine years. She was the first child born in the town of Mentz, Cayuga Connty and had an unusually romantic career.  She was married in 1815 and was a mother of a large family.  The funeral took place this afternoon. 

For anyone that wants to see the original article (click here)

It is sometimes difficult to know if a newspaper obit is correct or not.  The above would suggest her birth year was about 1797, and given the headline caption this caught my eye.  Upon closer inspection, her head stone says she died in 1887 but the newspaper heading clearly shows she died in 1886.  Her stone says she was 84 and the obit states she was age 89. 

I believe she was the daughter of Henry Cook based on census readings.  In 1870, Henry has a Sally Shaw in his household.  The 1850 census would suggest her name may have been Nancy Sally.

While census readings indicate she was born in MA or NJ, her obit says she was the first child born in the Town of Mentz.  If this article holds true, it may suggest she was the first child born in the present-day town of Montezuma, which was once part of Mentz.  However, the 1810 census does not produce Henry, so perhaps they are living together with another family.  The first child born in present-day Mentz is believed to be Ezekiel King who was born about Sept. 2, 1800.

Lost Cattle

Union Springs Advertiser

November 5, 1908 ?

Five hundred dollars worth of cattle went to destruction Sunday night at Port Byron as the result of a fast train flying through a herd that George S. Newkirk of Port Byron and William Judson of Conquest had purchased. The purchasers had unloaded the cattle from a box car and were driving them across the track when the flyer came along at a fast clip.  Thirteen of the cows were killed and three others mangled.

NYS Cemetery Aerial Maps

In need of help finding a cemetery?

Here are some useful links to help you navigate:

GPS Waypoints of over 4,800 NYS Cemeteries

To view the aerial maps, jump down to the list by township and click on the respective cemetery to see the map.

Cayuga County Cemetery Maps from Cayuga County Historian's Office

Port Byronite

Port Byronite coined as early as 1878!

Well folks, it's official.  If you are from Port Byron, NY you are a "Port Byronite".


Thanks to fultonhistory.com, the term can be traced back as early as 1878 in The Evenings Auburnian when five our of residents left for Texas.

The phrase has been used to describe all kinds or activities connecting to our home town, from race car drivers, school bowling teams to fireman's parades.


 

1950 Weedsport Cayuga Chief

Not on your best behavior?  Then be prepared; you may be called out on the carpet for it as shown in this Syracuse Herald clip taken from the Port Byron Chronicle:

Photo per Rootsweb 

The term Port Byronite was even found in our business district when the Brown and Martens show room opened in 1948.

1948 Grand Opening of Brown and Marten Auto Dealers

How proud are you to be a "Port Byronite"?

Masonic Building Design

Sometimes when browsing published histories of other places, your eyes will see something that brings back the feeling of home.  That was the case when reading the history of North Platte, Nebraska.

Looking at their buildings, I was drawn to North Platte's brick jail building.

The picture above appears in the book North Platte: City Between Two Rivers by Jim Backus.  If this building looks familiar, your eyes may be spotting the similarity to Port Byron's Masonic Building below:

While the buildings are not an exact copy there is enough similarity to see they have similar design with ours having an extra floor and more elaborate center windows.
Link to original photo here









Full copy of Port Byron's Masonic building can be found here

Ring the Bells for 1812

On June 18, 2012 at 12:00 Noon, the New York State Organization DAR is asking everyone to ring a bell in honor of the beginning of the Bicentennial of the War of 1812.

From my own research experience, there are many patriots who served in this campaign that today their service continues to be unrecognized.

Countless soldiers of the War of 1812 rest in our cemeteries where there is no distinguishable marking to reflect their service to our Country.

Please join the Owasco Chapter NSDAR and many other chapters across the Empire State in recognizing the soldiers of the War of 1812 by ringing a bell on June 18th at Noon.

Titanic News Coverage 1912

Articles about Titanic from 1912

Civil War Concert

Interested in Civil War era music? 

Madison County is hosting two unique programs: 

Local Military of the 1820's

To follow up my article about how the village of Port Byron received its name, I decided to see if I could yield any dates from the military appointments.  We had a local military unit when the Erie Canal opened in 1825.  For the grand opening, requested to be present for the canal celebrations was a John S. Willis.  The 1825 newspaper called our unit the "Byron Grey's".

Military Historian Anthony Gero adds "Rifle companies were suppose to be in grey then in NYSM so, at this point, "assume" this Port Byron company may have been such."

My interest in this development is because this association to John S. Willis may suggest our current namesake of Port Byron may predate the official opening of the Erie Canal.

Since our militia was known as the "Byron Greys" and Brutus had a unit of light infantry known as the "Brutus Blues" with a commander by the last name of Kennedy, I found a newspaper article indicating that the Brutus Blues formed in 1824.  It is not known if we can determine what year the Byron Greys formed, but their name is suggestive of the use of Port Byron, which the earliest evidence was a newspaper from 1825.  However, given John S Willis's appointment in 1822 from his military appointment, this may suggest our name changed during the construction period of the Erie Canal and not at the time of the grand opening.

MILITARY MINUTES OF THE COUNCIL OF APPOINTMENT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, 1783—1821.

(Pertaining to 1822 names I quickly recognize 

from Port Byron or Mentz are highlighted in blue)

Blue=Port Byron/Mentz

CAYUGA COUNTY

One Hundred and Fifty-eighth regiment of infantry:
Abraham Gridley, major, vice Price, resigned; John H. Bennet, adjutant, vice Young, moved. Captains — John C. Lewis, vice Crane, resigned; William Haines, vice Montgomery, resigned; Henry H. Cooley, vice Smith, resigned; Almeron H. Cole, vice Gridley, promoted. Lieutenants — Henry Ramsey, vice Hanes, promoted; Alanson Smith, vice Robertson, deceased; William E. Tibbils; John B. Tallman, vice Cooley, promoted; John Wait, vice Lewis, promoted; John Oliphant, junior, vice Cole, promoted. Ensigns — Charles M. Nicolls, vice Ramsey, promoted; Henry M. Griffin, vice Tallman, promoted; James Dole, vice Smith, promoted; Arman Rhoades; John S. Willis, vice Wait, promoted; Clark R. Hotchkiss, vice Oliphant, promoted; William Mandeville, vice Arnold, resigned.

Twenty-first regiment of infantry:
Simon Culver, colonel, vice Chadwick, resigned; Ezekiel Parker, lieutenant colonel, vice Culver, promoted; Herman Bissell, major, vice Parker, promoted; Joseph Bishop, adjutant; Josiah Chatfield, quartermaster. Captains — Elias Tillotson, vice Barger, resigned; Robert Sharpsteen, vice Bissell, promoted; Peter Lawson, vice Haywood, moved. Lieutenants — Philo Baldwin, vice Lawson, promoted; Selden Chadwick, vice Tillotson, promoted; Hiram Rathbun, vice Sharpsteen, promoted. Ensigns — John C. Bull, vice Robinson, promoted; William Pancus, vice Baldwin, promoted; Daniel D. Owen; Allen Palmer; Charles S. Olmsted; Humphrey Hunt, vice Bush, moved.

One Hundred and Sixty-seventh regiment of infantry:
Ebenezer Curtis, quartermaster. Captains — Robert Gait, vice Emerson; John Dolson. Lieutenants — Gardner Jeffries, Isaac Van Doren. Ensigns — Robert Gridley, Amos Barnes, Peter Young, David Trumbull.

One Hundred and Ninth regiment of infantry :
Ezra Hough, colonel, vice (Agreen) Ingraham, moved, and (William) Greenfield, unfit; Asa Little, lieutenant colonel, vice Hough, promoted, etc.; Samuel Odell, major, vice Hough, promoted; Isaac Wood, quartermaster, vice Pierce, resigned; Silas N. Hall, surgeon, vice Ford, moved; David E. Lord, surgeon's mate, vice Hall, promoted. Captains — Elijah Austin, vice Fuller, resigned; Isaac W. Skinner, vice Little, promoted; John M. Brinkerhoff, vice Ten Eyck, moved; Abraham J. Slover, vice Stivers, moved; Ezekiel Smith, vice Branch, moved. Lieutenants — Eleazer Woodard, vice Austin, promoted; John Locke, vice Skinner, promoted; Hezekiah Johnson, vice Brinkerhofif, promoted; James D. Hewitt, vice West, promoted; Alvin Kellogg, vice Smith, promoted. Ensigns — ^Jotham Bassett. vice Woodard, promoted; James Powers, vice Locke, promoted; William Slover, vice Johnson, promoted; Orrin Standish, vice Slover, promoted; Ephraim Hardy, vice Kellogg, promoted; Thomas Cone, vice Kennedy, promoted.

Auburn State Prison Guard:
Joseph S. Colt, captain; James Fitch, lieutenant; James Francis, ensign.

1930's School Photo

Pearl Becker of Weedsport invited me to take a digital photo of her Dad's school picture taken at the Port Byron Central School.  Do you recognize these faces?

This school was the last of three buildings to be constructed on Church Street.  Today it is the Church Street Apartments.

Click the link to learn more about the previous buildings at this site:

Port Byron Free & Academy 1859-1898

Port Byron High School 1899-1935

Thank you Pearl!

Emma Sweet's Horse Accident

Weekly News and Democrat
Auburn, NY Wedesnday March 31, 1897
Cost $1.00 per year

PORT BYRON, March 25.—A fractious young horse attached to a buggy, the
property of Eugene Sweet, of Troopsville, and driven by Miss Emma Sweet,
indulged in a very spirited runaway Tuesday noon. It has been the custom
of Miss Sweet, who drives from Troopsville to attend the Port Byron high
school, to exercise her horse at noon time, and it was while so excersizing that the accident occurred.  She had proceeded as far as Park street and went on a down grade when the king bolt dropped out, letting the thills drop upon the animal's heels, causing him to run the whole length of Park street.  From there he ran into the garden of James English, where the buggy broke in two, throwing Miss Sweet out upon her head into the soft mud.  The horse with the two forward wheels attached then ran through the garden to Utica street, where he was captured after crashing through a high board fence, by William Alfreds.  Owing to the soft condition of the garden Miss Sweet was not injured and was able to walk to the schoolhouse very much covered with mud.

1911 Church History

Oswego War of 1812 Symposium

For those interested in the war of 1812: