Thursday, August 28, 1919

Overcast day with little rain in afternoon. Family to Ballston Fair. Mr. Schlenkser and Ira Larkin went along. Also Clara Lavery. Good fair and large crowd. Home 5:30 P.M. Played tennis. All called on Glindmyers in evening. To bed 10:30 P.M.

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I couldn't find Ira Larkin and don't know if he's related to Lewis Larkin, mentioned in an earlier post.

The Ballston Fair is the Saratoga County Fair held in Ballston Spa, NY.  Here is a newspaper ad for the fair that appeared in the Ballston Spa Daily Journal, August 21, 1919:

Wednesday, August 27, 1919

Overcast with rain in P.M. Worked on road. Shovelled gravel in Woodruff's pit. Played tennis read etc. To bed 10 P.M. Thankful for health, friends education and opportunities.

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I didn't find the gravel pit, but I think I found the Woodruffs, Ralph and Bertha, who lived on State Road in 1920 and owned a farm. Perhaps the farm included a gravel pit. State Road may have been the same as Saratoga Rd, as it is State Highway 50.  And the Woodruffs lived down the road from Uncle John and Aunt Gertie on State Road. By 1940, Ralph was a widower living on Saratoga Rd, but he still owned his farm.

Tuesday, August 26, 1919

Beautiful cool day. Arose at 5 bells and started to work at 6. Shovelled gravel in pit at Woodruffs on Saratoga road. Home 6 P.M. Played tennis. Read etc. To bed 9:30 P.M.

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I have been unable to locate any information about a gravel pit that was operating in 1919 on Saratoga Road, although I did learn that gravel mining was and still is very common in that region due to the amount of glacial material deposited there.

Monday, August 25, 1919

Fine day. No work on road. To city with father. Took Ruth and Florence Lavery home. Candled eggs & Chored around. Mother canned elderberries. Clara Lavery & Uncle Charlie back with us. Played tennis, euchre, etc. To bed 9:30 P.M.

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Florence Lavery was Clara Lavery's sister. Clara was mentioned in the August 9th post. Florence was only 15 in 1919. Twenty years later she and her sister are living with their parents, both single, Clara a school teacher and Florence an office worker at the Power & Light Company.

Sunday, August 24, 1919

Cloudy day with some rain in P.M. To Scotch Street United Presbyterian Church in A.M. Took nap in P.M. Made popcorn etc. Read. Played. Thankful for all blessings. To bed 9:30 P.M.

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Scotch Street was actually the name of a settlement, according to a History of Saratoga County that can be found on the web at rootsweb.ancestry.com. They have reproduced a document called "HISTORY OF THE VILLAGES AND TOWNS OF SARATOGA COUNTY: GALWAY," by Nathaniel Bartlett Sylvester, published in 1878.

Below are some excerpts from that history:

GALWAY is one of the western towns of the county, a little south of the centre. It is bounded north by Providence, east by Milton, south by Charlton, and west by the county line. It contains twenty-two thousand two hundred and eighty-four acres of improved land and fifty-five hundred and twenty-one of unimproved, and of this last amount thirty-nine hundred and ninety-five are woodland.

The first settlement in the town was made on Scotch street, about a mile south of Galway village. The settlement extended from the cemetery north of Galway village south through Galway and Charlton. The settlers were all Scotch emigrants, and from this fact the street became known by the name of Scotch street.

The first church in the Scotch Street settlement was located in this town; and the first pastor, Rev. James Mairs, also resided here.

When the early settlers came through the woods from Schenectady they did not reach their destination till late at night, and said they were much annoyed by the "dogs" along the way, who kept up a continual howling and barking. On being informed that the "dogs" were wolves and foxes they were quite alarmed, and felt thankful for their preservation from harm.

Saturday, August 23, 1919

Beautiful bright day. Up 6 A.M. Worked on road. Shovelled gravel. Finished swaggertown road to county line. Up to yellow house. Looked around. To ice cream social. Walked to store. To bed 11 P.M.

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I wonder what yellow house he meant?

Friday, August 22, 1919

Beautiful bright cool day. Worked on road. Shovelled gravel. 6 teams 48 loads.
Small layer of gravel over top of road from Schlensker's to county line. Played tennis. Florence and Ruth Lavery here. Ella and Lena Glindmyer spent evening here.

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Lena Glindmyer was mentioned in the August 10 post. I couldn't quite read Stanford's writing then and thought maybe Glind was Lena's middle name.  Now that I have the right spelling, however, I can possibly find out something about Lena and Ella. But I haven't had any luck so far. Maybe later.

Thursday, August 21, 1919

Beautiful fair day. Worked on road. Shovelled gravel in pit on Charlton road. 6 teams 41 loads. Took ride in evening. Over to Uncle Johns. Got ice cream at Opdycke's and Wilson's.

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The Opdyckes owned a store, apparently, at least according to the 1925 New York census.  Here is an excerpt that shows them living on Saratoga Road in Glenville:

Henry Opdyke is 68; his wife, Hattie, is 52.  Hattie Jr., their daughter, is 22 and they have a 13-year-old daughter, Maxine.  All these folks would have been six years younger in 1919.

Wednesday, August 20, 1919

Beautiful bright day. Shovelled gravel. 3 teams in A.M. 4 in P.M. 24 loads. Played tennis. Road [sic] down road on bicycle. Read, played etc. Thankful for health, friends etc.

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Another long day of hard labor and vigorous play!

Tuesday, August 19, 1919

Rainy day. Very hard thunder shower at 6 P.M. Greased Hudson. Played tennis. Gathered up brush etc. Read, played etc. To bed 10 P.M. Wind blew limbs off trees etc. A very strong wind and lots of rain.

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I wonder if Stanford gathered up brush before or after the wind blew down all the limbs?

Monday, August 18, 1919

Cloudy day with rain at intervals during day. Father and H.H. to city. Took nap in A.M. Cut wood. Rolled tennis court. Played, read, etc. To bed 10 P.M. Thankful for health, friends, etc.

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It is unknown whether their tennis court was grass or clay or something else, but it was probably grass. Here is a photograph of two Australian people rolling a tennis court in 1919:

Taken from the website eHive.

Sunday, August 17, 1919

Overcast day with some rain. To Burnt Hills Methodist church in A.M. Took nap in P.M. Will Closson, wife and 2 children and Eugene called in afternoon with dodge sedan. To Charlton to church in evening.

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I'm not sure which William Closson Stanford refers to here, but it could be William Gideon Closson, who was born in 1880 and was the compiler of the Closson genealogy. He was married with three little children by 1919, but he lived in New York City at the time. If it is he, then he is visiting from Brooklyn. What gives this idea credence is that his father's name was Eugene.

Saturday, August 16, 1919

Beautiful day but hot. Shovelled gravel all day. 6 teams, 34 loads. Quit at 4 o'clock. Helped father around place. Took bath etc. To Glenville corners to ice cream social. Roy and Ray Schlensker along. Wilson Clough spoke.

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Stanford certainly earned his ice cream this day!

Roy and Ray Schlensker were brothers who lived in Glenville, according to the 1915 NY census, with their parents and siblings. They were 13 and 10 in 1915, making them 17 and 14 in 1919. Their father, Henry, was a dairy farmer. Maybe he was one of the butter suppliers to Stillman?

Now that I've found the family, though, I see that Mildred, mentioned in July 13 post, is one of their children, as is Florence. Mr. and Mrs. Schlensker, mentioned in August 3 post, are Harry and Louise.  He was born in Germany, immigrated in 1887 and was naturalized in 1895.

Friday, August 15, 1919

Nice day. Cool in morning but hot later. Shovelled gravel in pit on Charlton road. 6 teams, 42 loads. Played tennis with H.H. Talked, read, played etc. To bed 9:30 P.M.

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I can't tell if there is still a gravel pit on Charlton Rd, though there is one in the town. I'm guessing that by teams Stanford means teams of horses? But maybe he's talking about teams of men.

Thursday, August 14, 1919

Rainy day. Up 6 A.M. Hanford and Nellie to city. Father and I cleaned the barn from front to rear, cellar etc. Helped trim out old berry bushes. Read etc. To bed 9 P.M. Thankful.

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Sounds like a productive day for Stanford and his dad.

Wednesday, August 13, 1919

Fair but overcast all day. Shovelled gravel. 6 teams 41 loads. Wilson & Francis Clough here to supper. Played tennis. Harry and Faith Davenport called in evening. Visited until 10:30 P.M. To bed 11:15 P.M.

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Stanford doesn't say why he was shoveling gravel, but I'm very curious to know.

Harry and Faith Davenport lived at 1039 Stanford Street in Schenectady in 1920, about 1.5 miles from the Clossons at Park Place.  That address doesn't exist anymore, but the approximate location can be extrapolated from the nearby Streets of Brandywine and Plymouth (according to the census). Harry was a Math teacher. Harry and Faith were 30; they had a son, Lee, who was 4 years old in 1920.

Here is a picture of the corner of Plymouth and Stanford Streets:

Tuesday, August 12, 1919

Fair cool day but rather smoky. Sun not shine all day. Shovelled [sic] gravel all day. 24 loads. Played tennis. Up to Grace Cornell's in Evening to see Wilson & Francis Clough. To bed 11 P.M.

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What a strong young man Stanford was! Imagine shoveling 24 loads of gravel, and then playing tennis, and then having enough energy left to call on people!

Wilson and Francis Clough were brothers, sons of a Reverend Clinton W. Clough of Glenville. Wilson was born 1896 and in 1915 he was a student at Union, living on campus, according to the 1915 New York census. He later became a Professor of English at the University of Wyoming in Laramie.  His brother Francis, born in 1898, became a newspaper columnist and radio commentator, living in Newburgh, NY.  Below is a picture and article taken from a local newspaper from September 1942, when they were visiting their parents in Glenville:

 
 

Interestingly, in some of the census records, the Clough's name is spelled Clowe, so perhaps they are related to Stanford through Fanny.

Monday, August 11, 1919

Bright cool nice day. To city with father. Candled 20 cases of eggs. Helped Father. Went down street. Home about 7 P.M. Looked at catalogue, et. To bed 9:45 P.M. THANKFUL.

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I wonder how long it took to candle a case of eggs . . . Couldn't have been too long since he was able to finish so many.  But maybe he wasn't that careful?  Nah, just had a practiced eye, no doubt.  I wonder what catalogue he looked at--Sears Roebuck's?

Sunday, August 10, 1919

Up 8:30 A.M. to Albany St. Church in Sch'dy Lena Glinel Myer went along. Took nap in P.M. Read, played etc. To Glenville Center to church in evening. Mr. Griffith of Albany St. church spoke fine service. To bed 10:45 P.M. THANKFUL FOR HEALTH.

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The Albany Street Church in Schenectady was--and still is--the Methodist Church at 924 Albany Street.  Here is a picture of it:



I haven't been able to find Lena Myer(s), but she was not a relative as far as I can determine.

Saturday, August 9, 1919

An ideal day. Cool in A.M. Cut wood, trimmed trees etc. Clara Lavery, Ruth Gunderson and Shilling here etc. Up to ice cream social at hall. Took young folks to city. Et 4 dishes cream. To bed 11 P.M.

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You don't see the word et very much anymore.

Clara Lavery is probably the young woman who lived with her parents, Bernard and Elizabeth, at 245 Park Place in Schenectady. She was Stanford's age and was in 1920 attending school, probably college since in 1940 she shows as having a four-year degree. Later she becomes a high school teacher and in 1930 is shown living with her parents in Scotia.  In 1940 she is still unmarried, still teaching, still living at 2 Washington Road in Scotia with her mother, now a widow, and her sister, an office worker for a power and light company.

Below, on the left is a recent picture of the house in Schenectady where Clara Lavery lived in 1920 when her father was an inspector for an insurance business. On the right is a recent picture of their house on Washington Road, where they lived in 1930. It's a much nicer neighborhood; there's even a park to the right of the house. By 1930 Mr. Lavery was a general manager of an insurance company, so that might explain their having moved to the suburbs.



245 Park Place, Schenectady, NY

2 Washington Rd, Scotia

Friday, August 8, 1919

Bright day but very windy. Up 6:30 A.M. Stayed in country. H.H. and father to city. Cut wood, raked grass etc. Played checkers, piano etc. To bed 10 P.M. Thankful for health, friends etc.

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Stanford always stays busy!

Thursday, August 7, 1919

Beautiful bright, very hot in P.M. Winds in evening. Worked around country place. Sawed wood etc. Uncle John, Aunt Gertie and Eleanor Riggs here with Kim[n]'s Horse to supper. Played tennis etc. Read. To bed 11 P.M.

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I can only imagine that there was a horse owned by someone named Kim or Kin. I haven't seen that name before, so I don't know what it could mean.

I'm still researching Eleanor Riggs; I think I may have a line on her. There was an Eleanor Riggs who lived with her parents in Amsterdam, which is about 12 miles from Glenville.  She was only 14 at the time, which gives me pause, but maybe John and Gertie were family friends and were happy to take Miss Riggs with them when they went visiting.  I've sent a message to the owner of a family tree that includes Eleanor Riggs of Amsterdam, so we'll see if she has any answers for us.

Wednesday, August 6, 1919

Cloudy with some rain. To city with father.  Got and candled 10 cases eggs. Home to dinner 2 P.M. Read. Took nap. Supped. Played Piano, Merge etc. To bed eleven bells.

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Not sure what Stanford meant by Merge. Could it have been a game?

Tuesday, August 5, 1919

Bright mild day. Overcast. Sprinkled little at night. Our family, Uncle John and Aunt Gertie and Eleanor Riggs to Saratoga to Sabrina Peck's to dinner. Around town in Park etc. Home 8 P.M. To bed 9:30 P.M.

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Couldn't find Eleanor Riggs, but Sabrina Peck is a child of Phoebe Closson Jones, one of Charles's sisters, and therefore Stillman's aunt. Sabrina Jones Peck, then, would be his cousin. Charles Peck was her second husband.

Monday, August 4, 1919

Beautiful bright hot day. Up 7 A.M. Trimmed apple trees and cut wood. Took nap in P.M. Played. Read etc. Sawed wood at night. To bed 10:30 P.M. Thankful for health, education, friends and comforts etc.

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I wonder what kind of apples they were growing on their property?  No way to know (there were hundreds of varieties at the time), but here's a pretty picture of apples, painted in 1919 by a Swiss artist, Felix Vallotton.

Sunday, August 3, 1919

Beautiful bright day. To Glenville Corners to Church. Took Uncle Henry, Sam, and Grace. 9 in all. Took nap. Mr. & Mrs. C. S. Smith and Floyd called. To Charlton to Church in P.M. Mr. & Mrs. Schlensker along. To bed 10:30 P.M.

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The Clossons certainly liked to go to different churches. And they often took others along.

Mr. & Mrs. C.S. Smith are Floyd Smith's parents, Charles and Eva. Floyd is one of Stanford's friends; see my blog post for June 20th for details on him.  Ray and Mildred Schlensker are Mr. & Mrs. Schlensker. See July 13th post for more on the two of them.

I'm not sure who Sam and Grace are.

Saturday, August 2, 1919

Beautiful and bright but windy. Took Nellie to bus. To Uncle John's from 9:30 A.M. to 8:30 P.M. Fine dinner. Took walk down creek in A.M. and ride in P.M. to Charlton, Burnt Hills, etc. Called at Ed Closson's home.

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Ed Closson is probably Edward John Closson, the son of Eli Seaman Closson, brother of Charles and John Henry. Eli was born 1840, and Edward was born 1867. He died in 1931 at his farm in Ballston Center, NY, which is close to Charlton and Burnt Hills. He married Leila Grace Myers in 1903. So Eli would have been Uncle Eli to Stillman, and Edward would be Stillman's first cousin and Stanford's second cousin.

Here's a picture, taken from Find-a-Grave, of Ed's gravestone at Hillside Cemetery in Burnt Hills, NY:

Friday, August 1, 1919

Beautiful bright day. Up 7:15 A.M. Out on truck with Father. Father let flat lower 108 P.P. to Mr. Pettis. Candled 13 cases of eggs etc. Home 6 P.M. Played. Read etc. Thankful for all comforts and blessings. To bed 10 P.M.

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So now it's confirmed that the flat rented by Mr. Pettis (still there in 1920) was the lower flat. That means the upper flat was the "boarding house" for which Mrs. McGadien was the housekeeper.

Thursday, July 31, 1919

Bright, mild day. Helped clean flat 108 P.P. Mopped floors, cleaned tubs, swept etc. Out with Father on truck. Cleaned cellar. Down street. To library in evening. To bed 10 P.M. Mother and H.H. in country.

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Stanford probably went to the public library in Schenectady.  Here is what it looked like then:

The photo appeared in the book Images of America: Schenectady.

Here is the library, now Webster Hall, as it appears today:

Wednesday, July 30, 1919

Beautiful bright day. Ruth, Father and I to city to let flat 108 P.P. (Park Place) downstairs. Candled 15 cases eggs. Around town in evening with Wagner. To Rexford Park etc. To bed 10 P.M. Thankful for health.

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108 Park Place is of course right next door to 110 Park Place, where the Clossons lived in Schenectady. They apparently owned that building too.

Below is a picture of it as it appears now.  On the left is 110 Park Place. It seems that 108 has the better lot, but maybe it didn't back then.

In 1920, the census shows both flats rented. In one, there are four people: William Pettis (30), his wife Theresa (29) and their infant son, William Jr. (1 mo) There is also a 22-year-old single boarder, Mr. William Parker. Mr. Pettis is a bookkeeper for the city, and his boarder is a coil winder for the Electric Company.  

In the other, there are six people, five of whom are adults. Sounds a bit crowded! There is the widowed Anna McGadien and her son, Walter.  There is also a daughter listed, 22-month-old Lois, but since Mrs. McGadien is 61 years old, I'm going to guess that Lois is actually Walter's daughter, born out of wedlock, perhaps. Mrs. McGadien's occupation is housekeeper for a boarding house, presumably the one she lives in. There are three boarders, all single: Thomas Stafford (28), W.H. Miewker (24), and Henrietta Yerdon (32). Thomas and Henrietta are both clerks in factories (Thomas at GE, Henrietta at the locomotive factory), and Mr. Miewker, from Germany, is an electrician for the locomotive works.  

Here is some information about the locomotive factory, taken from Wikipedia:

The Schenectady Locomotive Works built railroad locomotives from its founding in 1848 through its merger into American Locomotive Company (Alco) in 1901.[1] After the 1901 merger, Alco made the Schenectady plant its headquarters in Schenectady, New York. One of the better-known locomotives to come out of the Schenectady shops was Central Pacific Railroad type 4-4-0 No. 60, the Jupiter (built in September 1868), one of two steam locomotives to take part in the "Golden Spike Ceremony" to celebrate the completion of theFirst Transcontinental Railroad.

And a picture of how it looked in 1920: