Of Railways and Balloons

As we prepare for our program next week on Benjamin Franklin’s kite, we have been looking through the collection for Franklin-related items. One of the things we found, a facsimile of a letter written by Franklin on balloons, is interesting both for its subject matter and for the story behind the document’s owner. William K. Bixby printed 250 copies “for his friends,” presenting the letter (nicely bound along with a transcription) to Alice and William Miner as a New Year’s gift in 1924. Like William Miner, Bixby was a railroad man, though by this time he had retired to devote himself completely to collecting and philanthropy. There are a lot of similarities between the two Williams, as a matter of fact, and it’s not surprising that they became friends.

Cover (featuring a design adapted from an 18th c. toile de jouy) and title page

William Keeney Bixby was born in 1857 in Michigan. At the age of 16, he left home to work as a railway baggage handler in Texas. Here he caught the eye of H.M. Hoxie, president of the Missouri Pacific Railroad, who eventually convinced W.K. to come work with him in St. Louis. In 1883 he made what would turn out to be a wise decision, switching from railway management to railroad car manufacturing; by 1887 he was the vice president and general manager of Missouri Car and Foundry. In 1899, he led the consolidation of eighteen railway supply companies into the American Car and Foundry Company, of which he was the president. The St. Louis-based company controlled all aspects of railroad car production, from ore deposits and timber tracts to the car-building shops.

W.K. Bixby (1857-1931)

After just six years as president, at the age of 48, W.K. Bixby retired from business and turned his attention to collecting art, rare books, and manuscripts. He was a great admirer of Robert Burns, and is said to have developed such expertise that he could identify a forged Burns document from a single letter. Bixby also endowed institutions such as the St. Louis Art Museum and Washington University, and served as president of the Missouri Historical Society. Bixby produced several dozen books of facsimiles of manuscripts from his collection, which he had printed in small editions and gave to friends and fellow collectors. The reproductions themselves are collectors’ editions, with great attention being paid to illustrations, covers, and paper—for Benjamin Franklin on Balloons, Bixby used paper made by the same company that provided the paper used to make the Montgolfier brothers’ first balloon!

Charles and Robert’s first (unmanned) balloon,
which was destroyed by the residents of Gonesse

The letter itself is one written on January 16, 1784 by Benjamin Franklin, who was then United States Ambassador to France, to his friend and fellow scientist Jan Ingenhousz. Ingenhousz had evidently asked Franklin for information about the balloons that had recently been launched in Paris, with the idea that he might try to construct one himself. Franklin sent him this information along with some advice not to promote a ballon launch unless he was really sure it would work! As Franklin said, “It is a serious thing to draw out from their Affairs all the Inhabitants of a great City & its Environs, and a Disappointment makes them angry.” A would-be balloonist at Bordeaux had learned this the hard way, when the crowd tore down his house when he failed to deliver the promised spectacle.

The “Charlière” rising above the Tuileries

Franklin himself had recently attended two historic ballooning events. First, on August 27, 1783, Jacques Charles and the Robert brothers launched the first hydrogen balloon (which ultimately crashed outside Paris and was destroyed by alarmed villagers). Then, on December 1, Charles and Nicolas-Louis Robert made the first manned hydrogen balloon flight. Charles and Robert launched their balloon from the Jardin des Tuileries and ascended to about 1800 feet and traveled about 22 miles in two hours. Charles then made a second ascent to nearly 10,000 feet, but had to return to earth when he began feeling the effects of altitude. It is said that some 400,000 spectators witnessed the launch, 100 of whom had paid a crown each to help pay for the balloon’s construction and had access to a special enclosure where they got a close-up view of the takeoff. Franklin was part of this group, and presumably he and his fellow spectators felt that they got their money’s worth!

The second Montgolfier balloon

This launch came only ten days after the first manned hot-air balloon flight, during which Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier piloted a balloon designed by Joseph-Michel and Jacques-Étienne Montgolfier. Thus, in January 1784, Europe seemed to be poised on the brink of a new era, when the possibility of flight would reshape geopolitics. As Franklin said to Ingenhousz, “Five Thousand Balloons capable of raising two Men each, would not cost more than Five Ships of the Line: And where is the Prince who can afford to cover his Country with Troops for its Defense, as that Ten Thousand Men descending from the Clouds, might not in many Places do an infinite deal of Mischief, before a Force could be brought together to repel them?” In fact, it would be a long time before aircraft played a significant role in warfare, but Franklin was certainly correct about its far-reaching possibilities. 

If you would like to learn more about Benjamin Franklin and the world of 18th-century science, join us at the museum on Friday, July 22 at 7:00 p.m. for “Secrets of Benjamin Franklin’s Kite.” The program is free and open to children of all ages.

You can read the complete text of Franklin’s letter here.

Busy Hands - The Barn Frame Loom

In March 1917 Alice Miner received a note from CE Hamilton, Manager of Heart's Delight Farm. He had recently fetched objects she purchased in Beekmantown and he listed them off in the note: "One red high chair (one arm off), One Rag Carpet, One high spinning Wheel (no belt), One low spinning wheel, One straight back rattan chair"... etc. The second page lists more acquisitions including: "One loom (one old board missing)"... This loom is a large Barn Frame Loom that now resides at The Alice T. Miner Museum in Chazy, NY.

The Barn Frame Loom in the Weaving Room

This is a miniature Barn Frame Loom with similar construction to the loom at The Alice

A Barn Frame Loom is constructed of large beams with mortise and tenon joints and dowels as fasteners. The construction is like that of a barn, which gives the loom its name. In our case the bench is built right into the loom and slightly tilted for comfort in the same way as the bench on the right of the miniature loom shown above. The machine is made in a way that keeps constructing and deconstructing relatively simple - in order to be taken apart and set aside when space was needed. Our Barn Frame Loom has been taken apart, stored and reassembled twice in the last eight years to make room for changing exhibits in the Weaving Room - its usual home.

Mortise and tenon joints - the only nails in our 

loom were those used to affix the replaced seat bench

Here in the museum there is space for this lovely, large work horse of a loom. And today would be a good day to sit at its replaced bench board and get some work done to stay warm! As I mentioned, this loom gets its name from the type of construction methods used to create it - like a miniature barn frame - and not because it may have been placed in the barn for use. Although it is large it would have been a very necessary tool for early homesteaders and afforded an honored place when weaving work needed to be done.

The bench can be seen at left - when constructed and placed in the museum in 1924 they managed to find an appropriately old strong board to serve as the weaver's seat

lovely details such as using a branch to hold tension on the threads

The three photos above were taken during one of the disassembly 

campaigns and show the solid construction of the loom

Another note in the archives indicates two names of women who may have once owned the loom - Mrs. Olive Culver and Mrs. Louisa Stilwell. The only information I found on either woman indicated them both as being born around 1830 in Beekmantown. Perhaps the loom was sold by later family members who no longer had a use for such a large machine in their home. The note also shows numbers next to various objects that were later crossed out - perhaps the purchase price? If so, it would indicate that Alice paid $60 for the Barn Frame Loom back in 1916 or 1917.

Museum legend talks about a friend of Alice wanting to contribute something to her museum. The woman had no appropriate antiques, but she did know how to weave. She sat down at the loom and wove a large rug that was then used in the Weaving Room for many years... Now in its old age it is safely stored away in the museum collection storage. The Barn Frame Loom serves as a handsome center piece to the museum Weaving Room. We are currently closed for tours, but come get acquainted with the loom in the spring!

A Man Named Zebulon

Last December some intrepid souls braved frigid temperatures to mark the 200 year anniversary of Pike's Cantonment in Plattsburgh, New York. Re-enactors held skirmishes and placed a wreath at the old post cemetery. Although the day was cold it was broken up by breaks inside warm buildings to listen to lectures and enjoy refreshments.

Warmth was generally not available to the original soldiers who camped out with Colonel Zebulon Pike in the winter of 1812. No winter preparations had been made for these men and they were forced to live in canvas tents with just blankets, small fires and cut pine boughs to keep them alive in the cold until they finished building shelters.

Outside of the Plattsburgh area most people know Zebulon Pike (January 5, 1779 - April 27, 1813) for the exploration he led of southern portions of the Louisiana Purchase in 1806-1807. In their reconnaissance Pike's Expedition discovered Pike's Peak in Colorado, the headwaters of the Rio Grande River, crossed over the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in New Mexico, and were even arrested by Spanish troops in what is now Colorado and brought to either Chihuahua or Santa Fe (depending on your source) for questioning by the Governor.

But it was during the War of 1812 that Pike made his mark here in the north country. He commanded between 2,000-3,000 men as they built winter quarters - not completed until December. It is said that over 10% of soldiers under his command died during the first winter in the cantonment. They quartered in Plattsburgh until spring of 1813, and the British later burned the cantonment down. It's location was subsequently forgotten, until recently. In the last few years, through the dogged research of local historian, Keith Herkalo, the site has been rediscovered and archaeological digs have been undertaken.

On January 12, 1813 Zebulon Pike wrote a letter from Plattsburgh sent to Colonel Learned reporting on the state of military affairs in Plattsburgh and asserting that he had collected all available men and taken possession of all public property. This letter is in the collection here at The Alice T. Miner Museum.

Just three months after this letter was written newly promoted Brigadier General Zebulon Pike lost his life in the successful attack on York, Canada (now Toronto). He was just 34 years old - but you wouldn't guess it by reading his impressive resume!

In Lincoln's Hand

With the sesquicentennial of the Civil War in full swing there are myriad ways to relive and learn more about that tumultuous time for our United States. One such way I am excited about is going to see the recent Spielberg film "Lincoln" which, somewhat surprisingly, covers only the final four months of President Abraham Lincoln's life. Here at The Alice we have an exhibit that highlights collection items related to that tragically bloody chapter in our young nation's history. It includes carte-de-visite photographs of many things from that era including soldiers from the 16th New York Infantry Regiment, ironclad ships, and famous generals of the time. Also on view are engravings of Lincoln and other then-current objects.

The museum collection includes some very unique pieces, such as letters written by three of William Miner's uncles who served in the Union Army during the Civil War, along with other letters included on our website for your perusal. This website letter archive was written by a Plattsburgh soldier named Charles Moore. Read them here, http://www.minermuseum.org/ by clicking the button made from a photo of President Lincoln. Or go directly to the letters by following this link, http://www.minermuseum.org/ALICELETTERS/museum_letters_intro.htm

What may surprise you is that we have two documents in this exhibit that were signed by Lincoln himself! Like the new Spielberg movie, both date from the final months of his life. I will tell you more, but you owe it to yourself to come to the Lincoln Library and view them in person.

On Tuesday, November 8, 1864 President Lincoln was elected for his second term in office. The following Monday he wrote one of the simplest and smallest job recommendations I have ever seen. This little note is in the collection and on display in our Lincoln Library. It is about the same size as a business card. Hand written and signed by the president the card reads, "I shall be glad if any Department or Bureau can give this woman employment. A. Lincoln Nov. 14, 1864". We will likely never know who she was or why Lincoln wrote the recommendation, he apparently wrote many over the years. Hopefully, it was enough to land her a job! 

Two weeks after the recommendation was written a young Union Captain named George E. Gouraud (1841-1912), along with 5,000 troops under the command of Maj. Gen. John P. Hatch, entered into the Battle of Honey Hill, SC. Further details can be found by searching the internet, but I will say that it was not a positive outcome for the Union troops. 89 Union soldiers were killed, 629 were wounded, and 28 men went missing, while the Confederate casualties amounted to 8 killed and 39 wounded during the battle, which took place on November 30, 1864.

Gouraud was awarded the rank of Major, "by brevet... for gallant conduct on the field of battle in the engagement at Honey Hill, South Carolina..." His military rank certificate is in the Civil War exhibit here at The Alice. The document was signed by Secretary of War, E.M. Stanton and by Abraham Lincoln, President, and dated March 22, 1865. Gouraud was later awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions in the Battle of Honey Hill. (Incidentally, George Gouraud became famous in 1888 for introducing the Edison Phonograph Cylinder to England.)

Just days after the Battle of Honey Hill, on December 6, 1865, the 13th Amendment to the Constitution was adopted outlawing slavery and involuntary servitude. On March 4, 1865 Lincoln was inaugurated for his second term as President. A few weeks later, on March 22nd, he and Edwin M. Stanton signed the military rank certificate for George Gouraud. Less than a month later Lincoln lay dead from the assassin's bullet. It was Stanton at the president's bedside who uttered the famous quote, "Now he belongs to the ages."

The Making of a Country Doctor

When Dr. George W. Clark III (George Warren) was born in Chazy in 1920, he was quickly and happily swept up into a large extended family of hard-working locals - many of whom did not have children of their own. George Warren’s aunts, uncles, grandparents and parents were fixtures in Chazy and Mooers, New York. Familiar faces one would see daily – like the Postman, the Schoolteacher, the Builder and Telegraph Operator. Many of them were born in the area and spent their entire lives here, just like George Warren. Dr. Clark’s father, George W. Clark II (1882-1934), was a rural mail carrier for Chazy and his mother, Harriet McDowell Clark (1891-1960), was a schoolteacher in Mooers, Chazy, Champlain and Altona – all part of rural school district #1 during her years of teaching. George Warren was passed around between loving aunts and uncles at gatherings, one of very few offspring in his generation. The two families united by the marriage of George Warren’s parents were the Clark family of Chazy and the McDowell family of Mooers.

George Warren Clark II - your local Postman

Clark Family

By the time George Warren was born the Clark family had been a part of Chazy life for over 80 years. Dr. Clark’s great, great grandfather Henry owned the Fillmore Hotel in Chazy, selling it to his son, Harry S. Clark (1809-1885) in 1866. Harry lost his leg in the Civil War before returning to Chazy and buying his father’s business. He soon changed the name to Clark’s Hotel. Eventually Harry’s son, George W. Clark I (1834-1908), ran the hotel and raised his children there, including George W. Clark II, George Warren’s father.

The Clark Sisters

George W. Clark II was the youngest of seven children, and a favorite of his four surviving sisters - Caroline (Carrie 1863-1953), Marion (Mame 1866-1948), Helen (Nell 1867-1953), and Martha (Mattie 1881-1960). Their sister Alice (1871-1880) died at the age of nine. Nell married James A. Yale (1865-1936), head of Customs & Immigration in Rouses Point for many years. Carrie’s husband John H. North (d.1929) was a prison guard, Mame married Orrin E. Minkler (1864-1929), and Mattie was married to Henry Swenson, a bank employee in Wellesley, Massachusetts. They also had a brother who was a telegraph operator, William H. Clark (Will 1876-1944) who married Jessie Boyd (d. 1941).

Harriet McDowell (in carriage) with her parents and sister Leona

McDowell Family

Harriet McDowell Clark had six siblings. Her father, Julius McDowell  (d. 1908), was born in Canada and settled in Mooers – making his living as a builder. Harriet had two sisters she kept in touch with and who lived in Clinton County - Leone and Kate (d. 1945).

Kate McDowell Oliver

Harriet was very close with her sister Kate, who lived in Plattsburgh. Kate married Grover C. Oliver. Grover owned Oliver Lumber Company, a building and roofing material business in Plattsburgh. The Olivers owned the lighthouse on Point au Roche Road in Beekmantown. Kate and Grover often wintered in Florida, taking Harriet along with them after her husband, George W. Clark II passed away in 1934.

In 1915 these two families became intertwined when George and Harriet married and settled down in Chazy, New York. They were overjoyed when their son George Warren Clark III was born in 1920. This story continues! 

To learn more about Dr. George Clark and his family stay tuned to this blog. We are also preparing an exhibit, "The Making of a Country Doctor" that will open at The Alice in October 2012.

Making House Calls

In 1948 young Dr. George W. Clark returned from a stint in the Army in California (checking in military men before their discharge from the Army) and then in Europe (working for the Quartermaster Graves Registration Service - caring for deceased military personnel interred outside the continental limits of the United States) and his physician's residency in Stamford, Connecticut to start his Chazy practice in the old Fisk tannery. The tannery was a stone building next door to his family home, where the Little Chazy River flows between the office and Route 9. His mother and uncle had spent hours renovating and cleaning up the interior to make it suitable for the new doctor in town.

George Clark with his uncle Henry in 1945

In those days Dr. Clark's daily schedule consisted of office visits in the old tannery from his patients in the morning. After attending to them he would usually set out on his house call rounds. Remember, during this era there were very few nursing homes, so most people were being cared for at home by their families. 

Dr. Clark brought along everything he might need for these house calls, including the medicines for patients of all ages. First, he would visit the homes in Chazy, then, depending on the day of the week, the towns beyond - Chazy Landing, Coopersville, Rouses Point, Champlain, Mooers, Mooers Forks, Ellenberg, Altona, West Chazy, then on to Plattsburgh to care for his patients in the hospital. Every two weeks or so he would also be the attending physician in the emergency rooms there, finding Saturday to be the roughest night to work!

The practice of making house calls has virtually disappeared for many reasons, not the least of which is modern medicine's increasing reliance on sophisticated technology to assist doctors in diagnosing illness. Large machines simply don't fit in the doctor's bag - consequently, if the physicians have not been trained to diagnose problems without the use of this technology, they are frequently unable to help a patient at home. For George Clark,  and most doctors of his generation however, visiting one's patients in their own home was an important part of their practice. In fact Dr. Clark regularly put approximately 38,000 miles on his cars each year. He said that no one ever taught him how to do house calls, so when he first started his practice he did not know what to bring with him on the first house call! He soon figured it out:

~ a stethoscope
~ a sphygmomanometer (blood pressure meter)
~ an otoscope to examine ears
~ thermometers
~ tongue depressors
~ sutures, bandages
~ alcohol, eye wash, local anesthetic
~ myriad bottles of tinctures and drugs for all ages

The bottom of the bag held the medicines, plus all the little envelopes to put them in for each patient. His nurse would keep the bag filled and in the same place always, so he could grab it quickly when a call came. Dr. Clark cared for each patient until they recovered, frequently returning to their homes several times to treat the same malady.

As Dr. Clark aged so did his patients. After delivering babies for the first 25 years of his practice insurance became too expensive and this role was taken over by specialists. He said he missed delivering and caring for the newborn, but did not miss the disruption of the usual doctor routine while attending to births! Eventually the majority of his patients were of the geriatric variety, whom he always seemed to enjoy. He often found himself visiting over 100 patients in nursing homes throughout the area. 

One of Dr. Clark's bags

Finally, after 56 years of service to the local community, Doctor Clark retired in 2003. He felt 'sinful' for the first six months of retirement not having the responsibilities and ties that had precluded him from doing the travel he had always longed to do. After an adjustment period, however, he settled into a comfortable and relatively care-free retirement. After providing care to so many families and delivering so many of their babies into this world, and gently ushering many back out, time had come for George to just be himself and enjoy his golden years. 

Dr. George Warren Clark passed away in May 2009 - leaving hundreds of wonderful photographs and family documents to The Alice for safe keeping. We are currently preparing an exhibit about his life that will document the more than 100 years his family lived and worked in Chazy and surrounding areas. The exhibit will open in late October. 

The Old Country Doctor

While passing through Chazy recently I saw something that caused my thoughts to turn to a dwindling breed of individual. I'd passed the Riverview Cemetery and had spotted a large headstone with the name FAIRBANK carved in the face. I was moved to research Dr. Alexander Fairbank and found he had served the community of Chazy as a family physician for many generations - beginning to do so directly upon graduation in 1874 from Albany Medical College. Not only did Dr. Fairbank care for and heal many of his neighbors, he also helped inspire at least one youngster, George W. Clark III, to pursue the medical arts.

A young George Warren with his father George Clark II, ca. 1930

George W. Clark III was the son of a rural mail carrier and a school teacher, but he had dreamed from an early age of becoming a doctor. George Warren (as they called him in his youth - probably to distinguish him from his father and grandfather) wrote an essay in his last year of high school about his desire to become a doctor. Even as a teen he knew about the different disciplines from which a medical student could choose. He knew he could make more money as a surgeon or specialist, but George Warren wanted to help his community by becoming a Country Doctor like Alexander Fairbank. In the essay about his future he states that he chose this profession "long before" he entered high school.

After graduating from Chazy Central Rural School in 1938 he went on to Union College in Albany, eventually transferring to McGill University to study medicine. In college he began signing his name as George W. Clark. His father had passed away years before and George was now becoming a man.

He did very well in college, all the while keeping in close touch with the Chazy community and his mother Harriet. There were likely influences other than Dr. Fairbank that inspired the young George Warren to become a family doctor. After all, he had lost his father to an un-named illness when he was just a teen. But what young person in a small town does not dream of being admired by all? In his high school essay George Warren states, "In our own town Dr. Fairbank will always be remembered as a good citizen; always helping, always encouraging, always working for the good of the town."

Dr. Alexander Fairbank was an admirable citizen - aside from serving as healer, Dr. Fairbank did much for his community. In Nell Sullivan's A History of the Town of Chazy, she says he "contributed to the success of many organizations in Chazy, including the school and the library." Young George Warren Clark wanted to be admired, and he really wanted to help his neighbors.

George Warren with his mother Harriet McDowell Clark, ca. 1933

These days it is becoming more and more difficult to convince medical students to study family medicine. With huge debt accruing, most choose more lucrative specialities like surgery, oncology, or dentistry, etc. One study asserts that only twenty percent of medical students choose to enter into family medicine. Chazy itself is no longer home to a practice specializing in family medicine. This is true of many communities.

Whether in his little office, or through the virtually lost act of making house calls, Dr. George W. Clark was, for the time being, the last of the breed of community servants who healed generations of Chazy families through a general family practice. Let us hope others come along to revive this legacy. Hail to Dr. Clark and Dr. Fairbank!

Charles F. Moore Civil War Letters

The Alice has a very diverse and deep collection. The most obvious elements of the collection are those one would see on a tour of the museum: decorative arts, furniture, samplers, pewter settings, lovely paintings, engravings, and prints... What most visitors do not explore are the archives.

Among the many letters, photographs, and papers in the archives relating to Alice and William Miner are; postcards from Europe, volumes full of holiday cards from the 1900s, letters written by famous Americans such as Thomas Jefferson and George Washington, journals written by William Miner's relatives, and a wonderful collection of over 100 Japanese woodblock prints.


I have written about a few of these precious documents before, and exhibited may of those mentioned. A few years ago the museum transposed a very interesting collection of letters written by a north country lad named Charles Moore. These letters are on our website, www.minermuseum.org, as a permanent "floating" exhibit. We have placed images of the letters along with a typed version for easy reading.


If you would like to read about young Mr. Moore's experiences serving as Quartermaster with the 16th NY Infantry and later with 16th NY Sprague Light Cavalry defending Washington, DC, in his own words, simply go to the website, click the "Enter" button on the front page, and then click the link next to President Lincoln's photograph on the top right of every page.

Intimate Objects

With birds nesting and spring cleaning in full swing, I have been preparing the museum for our spring and summer visitors. Recently I put together a new exhibit in the Dining Room, and another in the first floor hall at The Alice. The museum collection holds a wide variety of wonderful treasured objects - pieces to interest a range of visitors and tastes; from Japanese prints and Sheraton furniture to engravings of famous statesman & poets, and silhouettes, ceramics, glassware, pottery, 18th century firearms, and rare books and manuscripts. Also within these walls that Alice and William Miner built remain some of their own intimate possessions.

the display with a photo of Will and my current
favorite photograph of Alice in the center

The museum also holds a large archive with many of the boxes filled with papers, letters and photographs belonging to Alice & William. Along with these records of their lives we have some of their personal belongings, including a few of the lovely gifts Will gave to Alice; a colorful Venetian brocade table cover, beaded purses and belts... oh, and some very sweet letters!

a few of Will's books and his fez complete with box!

Many of these objects are tucked away in what we call "The Miner Room" or "The Memento Room." I have brought some of my favorites together, converted the dining room table to a display space, covered it with the lovely Venetian brocade, and placed their intimate objects around the table for you to experience. In the center of the display I have placed a very handsome pair of silver-resist, green glass scent bottles with stoppers which were given to William Miner by Diamond Jim Brady, a friend and business associate.

letters from Will to Alice

Alice along with a cup and saucer from a set given
to Alice and William as a wedding gift in 1895

The new displays will only be on exhibit for a month, so come experience them for yourself. The Alice is open by appointment only for the month of April. On May 1 we will resume our regular hours: Tuesday - Saturday by guided tour, with tours starting at 10:00 am, noon, and 2:00 pm. For reservations please call 846-7336, or email me at director@minermuseum.org