Alice & Her Family

Alice T. Miner was from a very large family by today's standards. I have found conflicting reports on how many children her parents, Bernard Trainer and Louisa Saunders Trainer had, but there were ten or twelve children born from 1850 - 1868 (Alice in 1863.) One would expect that such a large brood would carry on to this day, perhaps contracting slightly with the changing times. And wouldn't it be interesting to have visits from the grandchildren and great grandchildren of Alice's siblings?

As far as I know, there have been no such visits since Alice passed away in 1950, that is, until 2007. That summer The Alice had a surprise visit from Helen Highley Matel and her family. Mrs. Matel visited with me long enough to tour the museum, a place she remembers visiting as a girl, but she does not live nearby and had not been to Chazy since the year Mrs. Miner passed away. The family connection is through Helen's grandfather, James Saunders Trainer, who was Alice Trainer Miner's older brother. James and his wife, Hannah, had one child, Helen Trainer Highley, Helen Highley Matel's mother.

James Saunders Trainer

It has been very interesting to continue a correspondence with Helen Highley Matel via email. Knowing that Helen was descended from Alice's brother I asked if she could send information about who he was, when he was born, what he looked like... The museum has photographs of Alice and a few of her sisters; Matilda, Bertha, and Louisa, but not one photo of her brothers; Bernard, James and William.

Helen Trainer Highley, Helen H. Matel's mother

What I received from Helen in return really surpassed all of my expectations! In late January I picked up a heavy padded envelope from the Post Office sent from Helen Highley Matel. I eagerly opened the parcel and was delighted to find a note from Helen and nearly thirty portraits of Saunders and Trainer family members, most of which I had never before seen! The following photo is the least formal of the collection, the rest seem to be studio portraits taken in Canada and the U.S.

Alice Trainer Miner, ca. 1898 near Chicago

At last some faces for a few of Alice's brothers, and some real surprises - three photographs of James Saunders (1792-1879) and a few with his wife, Jane Woolocott Saunders. James was Alice's grandfather who brought his family over from Crediton, England to Goderich, Ontario when Alice's mother was just a child. Goderich is where Alice and her siblings were born.

James and Jane Saunders

I had seen James Saunders face many times, in a painted portrait in the formal dining room of the museum. Now we are trying to determine if Jane's face is the same one looking out at us from a painted portrait in the collection that has previously remained unidentified.

Helen included a few rather romantic photographs of Alice, Bertha, and Matilda that I had never seen. Note the letter in Matilda's lap... She was the oldest child and raised Alice and her siblings after the loss of their parents.

Matilda Trainer, Alice's oldest sibling

Bertha Trainer, also older than Alice


William Trainer who was just a few years younger than Alice

In the accompanying correspondence Helen Highley Matel says she remembers meeting William Trainer once when she was very young. William was a pharmacist, scientist, civil servant, and author in Canada, the one person in Alice T. Miner's immediate family about whom you can find information on the internet.

The last photo I'd like to share is one of Alice at approximately age 15. She has very heavy bangs that make her look as though she has short hair - an unusual style for a girl at the time - but you can see what appears to be a thick braid of hair going behind her back. This is the youngest photo we have of Alice, note those light blue eyes... Many of the Trainer children have the very light eyes we have seen for years in photographs of Alice.

Alice Trainer Miner, ca. 1878

I'll leave you with some of Helen Highley Matel's recollections of her family,

"I do remember visiting Heart's Delight Farm when I was a little girl, probably twice it must have been in the late 30's or 1940. We drove up to Chazy from Medford during spring vacation, my mother, father and sister. Seward (Helen's brother) only remembers going once, he probably was too little the first time we went. We had to be old enough to behave properly in a formal setting. It was very exciting for us, my sister and I (to) be in such luxurious surroundings. I remember Aunt Alice as being a rather portly lady, of whom I was in awe..."

The Blue Wall

As most of you know, The Alice put on a wonderful Japanese woodblock print show from our permanent collection during the summer and autumn of 2008. In order to display these stunning prints properly we completely transformed the museum’s Weaving Room into a gallery exhibit space, removing all objects that had been historically shown there. Last autumn, at the conclusion of the exhibit, the prints were placed in their archival boxes and put back to sleep in storage... the barn loom was returned, and the gallery was restored back to the Weaving Room, as if no print exhibit had ever taken place!

With big changes come new ideas... we thought, hmmm, why not include some adventurous color in the Weaving Room? A delicious dark cobalt blue was settled on, and we painted one panel of the North wall to add some energy to the room. Interesting how one new idea can lead to another... this new blue really wanted to become a stage to feature an additional item from the collection. Perhaps a wonderful piece of furniture that has always been difficult to fully appreciate in it's usual space in the museum? Aha!

We carefully moved a Queen Anne High Chest down from the Southeast Bedroom on the third floor and placed it in front of the blue. It actually sings in its new space! For once it is properly lit and the color of the chest leaps out!



It will be another few months before our public can come to see this transformation in person, and there will be other new exhibits when we open again for tours in the Spring. I hope this little teaser will get you in the door again... you really must see the blue wall and High Chest!

Volunteer at The Alice!

At The Alice we are expanding our docent program and hoping to reach out to community members who are looking for an opportunity to be an important part of our team of volunteers.

Volunteers and docents at The Alice fill vital roles, including; interpreting the museum and it’s collection for visitors, researching our archives, assisting at special events, keeping the garden beautiful, caring for the collection, conducting research of the collection, and working with school groups to learn about The Alice T. Miner Museum and about our Nation’s past through study of our collection.

If you, or someone you know, is interested in volunteering at the museum please call Amanda Palmer at 846-7336 to set up an interview!

The Quiet of Winter

As my commute to work becomes more of an adventure each day... and the views along the way more muted, spare, simple - I have to fight being lulled into a winter sleep. The Alice "sleeps" during the cold months as well. On the first day of the new year we close our doors to the public - except for a few evening events - through the end of March.

In the main museum rooms I lower the steam heaters and keep the lights turned down. It has always been a quiet place in winter, and these days just a few of us wander the collection. We will keep up with our work: cataloging, researching the collection, planning events, organizing archives. But the only times we will see our public are when we invite them in for events or gatherings, there are no tours for the next few months.

The collection breathes a sigh and settles down to a dark, cool quietness. In the meantime, keep an eye on our website www.minermuseum.org, and this blog for news of upcoming events! If you would like to receive email announcements of our events and exhibits please send me a note at director@minermuseum.org!

A Simpler Gift

There is something about these passing years that can make us forget how much things have changed since we were children... the days really begin to fly by in our early 20’s... life fills with friends and family, and work and play, and eventually careers, and perhaps even children of our own.

When Christmas or Chanukah or Kwanzaa come along we start thinking of gifts to get for the people in our lives. More frequently these days gifts come with batteries, or plug into our televisions or computers; iPods and Wii video games have replaced the record player and Twister. One of the gifts that was most memorable for me as a child was the bike with the banana seat I got for Christmas when I was six!

Here at The Alice, however, none of the toys have batteries or plugs, and few even have moving parts! The toys at the museum hearken back to simpler times. Dolls and ice skates were things children enjoyed for hours, and in ways that did not necessarily isolate them from those nearby.

As a way to celebrate the youthful joy of the holidays we have put together some of our toys for you to see for yourself... sort of a visual "Letter to Santa Claus" from the 18th and 19th Centuries. We hope you will come enjoy this display, and perhaps linger for a last tour for 2008.

Ice Skates, an Adventure Book, Dolls, a simple tin puppet...

@ The Alice - December 19

On Friday, December 19 at 7:30 pm The Alice will be transformed into a far away Scandinavian garden, monastery, and mysterious forest when Martha Gallagher, The Adirondack Harper, performs The Christmas Rose. With Celtic harp in hand, Gallagher tells this unusual story through original music and spoken word, weaving together song and story, music and legend.

The concert is inspired by The Legend of the Christmas Rose, a story written by Sweden’s Selma Lagerlof. “My imagination was captured by this story the very first time I heard it, read by a Viking descendant by the light of the real candles that burned on his Christmas tree on a snowy winter night many years ago,” says Gallagher. The Scandinavian story takes place in a monastery garden, a poor village, and a deep, dark northern forest. There are thieves, monks, robber women, herbs, wild animals, and wilder children. There are the rich, the poor, the narrow-minded, and the open-hearted. There is danger, faith, mistrust, love and, of course, there are miracles. The tale is unusual, captivating and perfect for the darkest time of the year, when light and miracles abound throughout the many celebrations and traditions of the season. The concert is suitable for adults and older children; it is not intended for the attention span of young children. Gallagher says, “Although it’s basis is in Christian beliefs, the miracles of the heart; the “heart” of the story, transcends any one religion, making it a universal tale of faith, joy, hope and love.”

Gallagher has been sharing her spirited, distinctive, and richly varied music with audiences for over 30 years. Known in the northeastern region of New York, where she makes her home, as The Adirondack Harper, she has performed with such luminaries as six-time Grammy winners, The Chieftains. Her extensive solo tours have taken her around the US and into Canada, with several tours sponsored by The National Endowment for the Arts. She has been featured on numerous television and radio programs; most recent appearances include BBC Television, Northeast Public Radio, and Good Morning Arizona.

For more information on Martha Gallagher, please visit www.adkharper.com.

Tickets are $5

Seating is limited at The Alice so reservations are required for this performance, 518-846-7336

Or reserve a seat by emailing us at director@minermuseum.org!

A Picture (and a few well-placed labels) is Worth...

When The Alice Board began planning to exhibit our collection of Japanese woodblock prints it became obvious that the room to transform into an exhibit space was the Weaving Room. This space has the best lighting to avoid damage to paper - fiber optic lighting. But first, everything had to be removed, walls needed painting, and windows had to be creatively covered to afford increased display area. With a capable and talented maintenance man like Steve Fessette everything is possible! Even to Steve, removal of the big Four-corner Post loom or "barn loom" from the Weaving Room seemed to be the element of the puzzle that would be the most challenging. The loom is a large piece, well-constructed, with tight mortise and tenon joints held together with wooden dowels, or pins.

The loom before dismantling...

The barn loom was made to be taken apart and moved occasionally. Intellectually, we could see it was possible to dismantle, move the loom, store it safely, and then put it all back together again after the exhibit. But none of us had ever tackled this puzzle before! If we took it apart, would we know how to put it together again... so many months later?

One Saturday in June we took on the project armed with labels, a camera, and four good brains! Stephanie Pfaff, Elizabeth Greeno, Steve Fessette and I carefully labeled every joint, took meticulous photographs, and slowly dismantled the loom.

A joins with A, B with B... and so on...

Since that day in June the thought of putting the barn loom back together again has preyed on my mind every now and again! With the weather quickly changing and the time to transform our exhibit space back into the Weaving Room upon us... well, today was the day! So Stephanie, Steve and I marched out to the loom and carried the pieces of the puzzle into the Weaving Room. The labels had stayed intact, and armed with the photographs of the dismantling process, we began to reassemble.

It's amazing how well equipped we were to complete the task! We had taken so much time in the process of taking the loom apart, that putting it back together was accomplished pretty quickly!

The loom among the Japanese prints... note that the windows are still covered.

The barn loom is back in its traditional home. Currently it is surrounded by Japanese prints, but will soon have its old mates back; spinning wheels, samplers and Federal settees... that is, until the NEXT exhibit transforms the Weaving Room, once again, into the Exhibit Space!

School Days - Boire Family Donation

In May The Alice received two donations from the Boire family - Julie Duprey, Cecile Miller, Susan Mercier and Gary Boire donated these pieces to the museum in honor of their parents Orel and Theresa Boire. The student desk and 1927 Dictionary are originally from Chazy Central Rural School, where Orel worked as an electrician and Theresa was a reading volunteer. Orel acquired the objects when the old school was being razed in the 1960s. Julie, Cecile and Susan shared memories of having used the desk to play "school" as children.


The student desk is a solidly built piece of furniture - truly made to last! On a metal handle of the desk drawer below the seat is inscribed, ' "MOULTHROP" MADE BY LANGSLOW FOWLER COMPANY, ROSHESTER, NY'. Samuel Parker Moulthrop was a progressive and effective educator, a devoted Mason, Sunday school teacher, public speaker, Boy Scout Troop leader, and outdoorsman in Rochester, NY in the 1890s and 1900s.

'Colonel' Moulthrop, as he was affectionately called, developed the design for a desk with an adjustable top in 1905, to be used in Washington Grammar School where he served as School Principal. This desk offered more flexibility for the classroom over the previous use of benches, and was also a better seat for the student. The design attracted the interest of the Langslow Fowler Furniture Company, a maker of Arts & Crafts furniture, and they began producing this new style of desk a short time later. Our desk is about the size used by a kindergarten student, has a recessed pencil holder on the desktop and in the drawer, and a little metal holder for the student's name on the back of the chair.


The 'Funk & Wagnall New Standard Dictionary of the English Language' from 1927 is a large, heavy volume that was probably referenced by many students at CCRS during its heyday! "Prepared by More Than Three Hundred and Eighty Specialists and Other Scholars Under the Supervision of Isaac K. Funk, D.D., LL.D., Editor-in-Chief" this volume must have been a wonderful resource. With over 2800 pages the dictionary weighs at least 20 pounds (it would have been the perfect book to be placed under your shorter cousin to boost him or her up at the Thanksgiving table!) With small engravings on most pages, the volume also includes numerous full-page illustrations (some in full color) on such subjects as Aeronautics, Bacteria, Coats of Arms, Fire-fighting Appliances, and Wireless Telephony.

The desk is now right at home in the Childrens Room, and the fully illustrated Dictionary sits on the table in the Lincoln Library. The Board, Docents and Staff at The Alice are very grateful to the Boire siblings for their thoughtful donation.

A Family Returns...

In the first week of August we were visited by a family with a connection to William H. Miner that stretches back to his childhood in the 1870s. Descendants of Carrie Eudora 'Dora' Oliver Simonds came to The Alice to tour the museum and reconnect with their ancestors. The family ties between Dora and Will are a little murky... but Dora was like a sister to Will.

Dora, Aunt Huldah, Will and Uncle John, ca. 1877

William H. Miner was orphaned by the time he was 10 years old. His step-mother wished to return to her native Scotland and take young Will with her, but his family feared losing him forever and he was sent to Chazy to be raised on the family farm. The couple who took him in - Aunt Huldah and Uncle John Miner, had no children of their own but were already raising their niece, Carrie Eudora Oliver. Dora and Will were close in age and kept in contact with each other throughout their lives.

When I began learning the story of Will Miner I heard about Dora and marveled at the kindness of Huldah and John, raising these two orphaned children with a combination of strong love and strong discipline. The only photo of Dora I knew of was the one shown above. I had no idea what she looked like, and did not know what became of her.

Through my work on the archives at Miner Institute I found unusual photos of the Simonds family. They stood out simply because they were portraits, with names written on the negatives. The majority of photos in the archives are of scenery, buildings and animals on Heart's Delight Farm. A very small percentage are photos of people, and even fewer of those actually name the persons pictured. But I did not know who the Simonds family were, or what connection they might have had to the Miner family.

A great-granddaughter of Dora, Diane, sent me three photos after she visited The Alice, along with some writings done by her grandmother, Anna Simonds and Anna's older sister Eva. These writings and photos have connected some seemingly unrelated fragments in the archives and have been very exciting for me! First, of course, is the name Simonds, Dora's married name. I had not known that I was looking at portraits of Dora's children (these two photos are from the Miner Institute archives)...

Diane sent three photos of Dora and a photograph of Huldah as a young woman. Finally I could see what Dora looked like! It was also wonderful to see Huldah when she was in her prime, I had only seen her photos taken after Will started building Heart's Delight Farm, when he was in his forties and Aunt Huldah was a gray haired senior.

Not only was that first photograph the only one I had ever seen (knowingly) of Dora, but also the only one I had seen of Uncle John, until this one sent by Diane:

Dora, Uncle John, and Aunt Huldah, ca. 1867

The photograph of Dora that really connected the dots for me is the one that gave me a first look at Dora's face. Note those pursed lips...

Carrie Eudora 'Dora' Oliver, ca. 1881

There was a portrait in the archives of a handsome family that I had been intrigued by... It did not show William and Alice, Aunt Huldah, or any of the few others I had seen formal portraits of... this was a family, perhaps three generations. But with no name on the negative... how frustrating to not know who they were! Until I looked closely at those pictured, and that is when I noticed Dora!

Dora is the woman seated on the left... and could that be Aunt Huldah next to her?

The Simonds family lived with Aunt Huldah for a few years and this portrait may have been taken at that time. Diane and I assumed that it was likely captured around 1893, based on the ages of the children. Anna Simonds had not yet been born (she was Diane's grandmother, born in 1902) but Eva is there, and she was born in 1889. Eva is the child sitting on Dora's lap.

One of the photos I shared with Diane was a real treat for her because she had known Eva Simonds, who lived well into her nineties, because Eva shared a home with Anna in their elder years. Diane and her siblings visited with them when they were children.

Eva & Anna Simonds

The last photograph to share is one of Dora Oliver Simonds taken in 1942. The way she held her mouth seems just the same in all three adult photographs. To me, the most important lesson in these discoveries is how necessary it is to write names on photographs, we cannot assume that later generations will know who everyone is by sight!

Dora Oliver Simonds, 1942

The narrative pieces Diane sent to me have also been incredibly valuable. Although some of the memories are faulty, there are a few wonderful insights into peoples lives. Anna Simonds seems to have had very accurate memories of William H. Miner and of the people who worked at Heart's Delight Farm. But it is Eva's recollection of the first time she met Alice T. Miner that I really enjoyed,

"I was about eight years old when I first remember seeing this boy now grown into fine manhood. My family was living with Aunt Huldah and he came to spend his honeymoon.

I think she was the prettiest girl I had ever seen. Light golden hair, beautiful blue eyes the color of the sky and it was June, the year was about 1896. (Alice and William were married in 1895). I remember her blouse; the sleeves were large at the top and tight at the forearm and wrist. Her skirt was long and with wide gores like my mother's. She was the youngest of the four sisters Mathilda, Louisa, Bertha and Alice."

Le Breviaire d’Henri de Lorraine

Last December Jackie Sabourin and I journeyed hours away to transport a manuscript from the collection to a book conservator for some long awaited TLC. For a 600 year old book the breviary was in excellent condition. Perhaps that's like saying "for a 200 year old human he was in great shape!" Contemplating the age of our breviary really brings into question how it has survived intact these long years and many miles.

details from the breviary

Le Breviaire d'Henri de Lorraine was created ca. 1430 in Rouen, France, for Henri de Lorraine, then Bishop of Therouanne. Alice T. Miner purchased the manuscript from her friend and fellow collector Frank Gunsaulus around 1917. When Alice opened her museum in 1924 the breviary was placed on the third floor for visitors to see. When our collections committee prioritized it for conservation it had been in it's display case on the landing since that time.

the breviary

Deborah Evetts has an unusually broad rare book and manuscript conservation résumé. She was Head of Rare Book Conservation at The Pierpont Morgan Library for many years, and now runs an independent conservation service. Deborah has a talent and passion for book arts which we hope to employ in 2009 with a book binding workshop @ The Alice.

We sought out Deborah to assess the breviary's condition and to formulate a conservation plan for it. Our Collections Committee then approved implementation of the plan. Her work began immediately - the breviary was dis-bound completely and she removed the glue from the spine.

the breviary without it's binding - the process of removing the glue...

The binding had been sewn so tightly that it had caused swelling of the fore-edge. Therefore, the next step in Deborah's work was re-sewing the binding using a herring bone stitch.

sewing the headband...

The book cover also received some much needed repair, including rebuilding of the corners, the addition of a new lining on the spine, and re-backing done with the appropriate calfskin leather, stained nearly identical to the original. Upon first glance it is difficult to see the repairs - one of the marks of an excellent conservator!

the corner before repair...

The vellum paste-downs in the front and back of the cover were removed from the boards supporting the cover and replaced with paper. After many hours of expert work, the cover and pages were reunited and the breviary returned to it's intended state. Finally, Deborah made a new box to house the breviary when it is not on display.

(L) preparing the sewing supports prior to lacing on the board... and (R) the new box to house the breviary during times when it is not displayed...

A short time ago we received the call that Deborah's work was complete. I made the trip to her workshop with Seana Remillard and Stephanie Pfaff to retrieve the breviary. Upon our arrival, Ms. Evetts kindly gave us a tour of her workshop! We then surveyed the conservation work she had done on the breviary before leaving for the long trip back to Chazy. Le Breviaire d’Henri de Lorraine is now back @ The Alice and on display for you to enjoy!

Deborah Evetts in her workshop explaining the work done on the breviary...

Japanese Prints from 'The Alice' Collection

“Warriors & Entertainers”, an exhibition of Japanese Woodblock Prints @ The Alice T. Miner Museum in Chazy, NY, runs through October 25, 2008. Nearly all of the prints are ukiyo-e, “pictures of the floating world,” dating from about 1700 through the late 1860s, featuring actors, courtesans and warriors. These prints, exhibited for the first time, originated primarily from Edo (Tokyo), with Osaka, Kyoto and Nagoya also represented. The collection was acquired by Alice T. Miner in the 1920s.

Kikugawa Eizan (1787-1867) Teahouse
waitress walking through the snow.


Totoya Hokkei (1780-1850)
Saito Oniwakamaru subduing a giant carp.

On Saturday, July 12 the exhibit opened with great fanfare! The day featured a lecture by David Waterhouse, Emeritus Professor in the Department of East Asia Studies at the University of Toronto entitled, "Momentary Pleasures: Glimpses of Old Japan from The Alice T. Miner Collection." Mr. Waterhouse also wrote an essay for the exhibit catalog and helped to select the prints from our collection of over 100 images.

All Photos: PHOTOPIA/Shaun Heffernan

Docent - Janet Brendler, David Waterhouse and Joseph Burke

Although it was a very warm and humid day, we had a capacity audience for the lecture as well as an enthusiastic turnout for the reception. The opportunity to view prints of this caliber in Northern New York is rare indeed!

The Lecture Audience

The Alice staff and maintenance crew transformed the Weaving Room into a lovely exhibit space to display the prints, hiding four windows and adding lighting for the center of the room to illuminate display cases, which hold two large, stunning prints. The Curators of the exhibit were Board Members Helen Allan and Marguerite Eisinger.

The Exhibit Room

Guests were greeted and guided by a wonderful group of docents stationed throughout the museum. Without our dedicated group of docents these events simply would not be possible. I hope readers will humor me as I thank them by name: Virginia Brady, Janet & George Brendler, Lynda Cote, Tia Duffy, Seana Remillard, Jackie Sabourin, and Jaimie Trautman. Docents assisted by framing and hanging the prints, addressing envelopes, and performing myriad tasks on opening day. Many of The Alice Board Members were also a great help by distributing posters throughout the area and helping at the opening.

Docent Cynthia (Tia) Duffy at her post!

This is the first event of its kind for the museum. The Alice T. Miner Colonial Collection Board and Trustees have been planning the exhibit for over three years. The Board underwrote "Warriors & Entertainers" in order to introduce this collection of prints to the public. We were all quite excited to finally usher in our guests to enjoy these works of art that Alice Miner collected so long ago!

Joseph C. Burke - Board Member & Joan T. Burke - Board Chair
of The Alice T. Miner Colonial Collection


Guests enjoying the food...


...and reading the catalog that accompanies the
"Warriors & Entertainers" exhibit.

If you would like to come to The Alice to experience the prints for yourself, kindly coordinate your arrival to coincide with our tour times: Tuesday - Saturday, 10:00 am, noon and 2:00 pm. (If you arrive in between these times we may be on a tour and might not be free to answer the door.) A beautiful catalog of the exhibit is available for sale at The Alice for $10 including tax. The exhibit will be open until October 25.

Docent - Lynda Cote, Curatorial Assistant - Stephanie Pfaff,
and Director/Curator - Amanda Palmer