A Friendly Family

By Rachel Dworkin, Archivist

 

It’s fascinating the influence a single family can have on a town, or even a nation. In the 1850s, four brothers immigrated to America from Bavaria, Germany. They were the sons of Josef M. Freundlich, a Jewish dairy farmer turned livestock dealer. Following a series of failed pro-democratic uprisings across the German states, there was an antiemetic wave which spurred many Jews to flee to the United States throughout the 1850s. The brothers Henry, Theodore, Samson, and Myer were part of this group.

The brothers initially settled in Cuba, New York, where they worked as peddlers. I was unable to find which brother arrived first, Henry or Theodore, but whichever did changed the family name to Friendly, the English translation of their original German surname. The younger brothers, Samson and Myer, came next around 1865 but found Cuba wasn’t to their liking. The boys headed further west to Lawrence, Kansas, which they used as a base of operations while they traded with the Native Americans out on the Great Plains. They soon amassed a small fortune trading in buffalo skins. Around 1875, they headed back east to settle in Elmira.

Theodore Friendly (1839-1933) came to Elmira in 1875 to establish Friendly Brothers dealership in wagons, carriages and agricultural implements with his brothers Samson and Myer. The business fell apart in the mid-1880s as each brother went his own way. Theodore opened a wagon store at 255-257 W. Water Street. He retired and moved to Los Angeles, California in 1908. His children were Abraham Friendly and Caroline Friendly Fybush. He had been a long-time member of Temple B’Nai Israel and he left them $500 in his will to establish a fund for building improvements and maintenance. 

Theodore Friendly

 Samson J. Friendly (1843-1919) left Friendly Brothers to establish a boot and shoe company. He brought his nephews, Myer and Solomon, into the business which they kept running after his eventual retirement. After retiring, he became a silent investor in a number of area industries and bought property here, as well as in Syracuse, Buffalo, and California.  He was an active member in Elmira’s Jewish community serving as president of Congregation B’Nai Israel from 1900 to 1908 as well as on the board of the Young Men’s Hebrew Association. He donated generously to both in his will, as well as the Arnot-Ogden Hospital, where he donated $5,000 to establish a fund for the care of indigent patients. The on-going renovation of his former home at 456 W. Water Street is currently the subject of a popular Instagram page.  

Samson Friendly

 

Myer Friendly (1848-1937) opened a wholesale/retail business in wagons, carriages, and farm implements on State Street after the breakup of Friendly Brothers. He and his wife Sarah built a stately home at 510 W. Church Street which eventually served as the first group home run by Glove House. He and Sarah had three children: Helen, Edwin, and Joseph, none of whom remained in the area. Edwin went on to become the long-time general manager of the New York Sun newspaper.  

 

Myer Friendly

Henry Friendly (1835-1910) was the eldest brother, but the last to settle in Elmira. Despite only being here a short time, he managed to have a pretty significant influence.  He came in 1891 at the urging of his sons, Myer and Solomon, who ran a shoe business with their uncle Samson. Henry served as the Elmira Park Commissioner under two consecutive administrations in the 1890s and early 1900s. At one point, he came under fire for the way he had ordered the willow trees trimmed at Eldridge Park. Apparently, he’d ordered the trees to be pollarded, a rather radical pruning that removes most branches in order to spur new, dense growth. Henry had to bring in a forestry expert from Cornell University to publically justify his decision. Three years later in 1909, the newspaper printed an apology agreeing that he made the right call and the trees looked better now. Henry joined Congregation B’Nai Israel where he served as president 1894 to 1897. He was a thrifty man and the fact that each of the city’s three synagogues had mortgages troubled him. So, he offered to pay off all the mortgages, providing each of the congregations agreed not to take up any new ones during his lifetime and five years after.

Henry Friendly

 Henry’s sons Myer H. Friendly (1862-1938) and Solomon H. Friendly (1865-1943) ran that shoe store I mentioned. After retiring in 1916, they both became real estate agents. Myer’s wife Leah was the founder of the local chapter of National Council of Jewish Women, which helped recent immigrants navigate the naturalization process and provided scholarships to Jewish youth. Stay tuned for the next paragraph about her and Myer’s son, Henry.  Solomon and his wife, Bertha, were unable to have biological children and instead adopted Bertha’s niece, Elsa, who became the modern languages teacher at Southside High School.

Henry J. Friendly (1903-1986), Myer and Leah’s son, is widely regarded as one of the most influential Federal judges of the 20^th century. He was the valedictorian of the EFA Class of 1919 and editor of the school newspaper, despite being two years younger than his peers. He attended Harvard College and Harvard Law School, where he served as editor of the Harvard Law Review. After graduation, he practiced law in New York City until he was named to the Federal Second Circuit Court of Appeals in 1959 where he served until his death in 1986. His name was once floated as an option for the Supreme Court, but it never panned out.

Although there are no longer any members of the Friendly family residing in Elmira, their influence still lingers on both locally, and across the nation.

New Project with the Smithsonian

 by Susan Zehnder, Education Director

There is no life that is not geographic.

-Ruth Wilson Gilmore

I heard this statement back in July at a workshop for the first group of educators involved in a new Smithsonian program. Another way to put it is who we are is shaped by where we come from, and that is what participating students in Chemung County will be exploring this fall in the Smithsonian’s Democracy in Dialogue, Virtual Exchange program. They will connect with other students from across the nation to talk about how our local history shapes us.

The Smithsonian designed the program to be part of the national celebrations around the 250^th founding of our country, coming up in 2026. They intend for educators to foster conversations and connections among young people, 13 to 18 years old, from different parts of the nation, to build a deeper understanding of what makes us the same and what makes us different. The first group of facilitators in the program consists of 20 educators, all classroom teachers except myself as education director of the museum, and a librarian in Idaho. Eventually there will be 80 facilitators across the nation.

Students here in Chemung County have been paired with students from a school in Laramie, Wyoming over 1,700 miles away. 

The student conversations will take place virtually. Over the fall semester, they’ll also be sending things to each other through the mail as they get to know each other. My co-facilitator in Laramie and I have chosen the theme of The Ordinary Becomes Extraordinary as a way for students to think about local history they want to share.  We’re having them start by introducing themselves through a chosen object, one that means something to them, and then sharing with the group.

To introduce myself, 

I’ve chosen a treasured button box that I inherited from my grandmother. It is a 6-inch -tall, highly decorated metal box with a thin metal handle and attached lid. Long ago, in the 1920s, it held cookies and part of the Lorna Doone shortbread label is still visible. 

When shaken, it makes a rattling sound because, as long as I’ve known it, it’s held buttons. So many buttons, that the box is full. The buttons are extras or cast offs from clothes my mother and grandmother made, or ones that I purchased while making my own kids’ clothes or Halloween costumes. The buttons remind me of my mother and grandmother. They remind me of clothes that were made for me, or clothing I’ve sewn.  They remind me of people I love and the joy of creating something special for someone who loved me.

My artifact tells a story of women creating. Our students will be exploring artifacts in our collection, and  will have virtual access to collections in the Smithsonian. They’ll be selecting an ordinary object, like my cookie tin, or a person, place, thing, or an event that has had an impact on others. They'll share that story by creating a 3-to-5-minute movie that the Smithsonian has the option to post on their site, and that we will post on our social media.

As an example, consider the story of John W. Jones, a compassionate and hard-working man who overcame many hardships in his life, and what he did as a conductor on the Underground Railroad, stewarding people to freedom, and what he did as he carefully buried the soldiers that died at the Civil War Prison Camp, helped shape Elmira’s identity. He wasn’t from Elmira, but is buried here and his story is woven through Elmira’s history.

We are excited to see how local history and geography inform what the students choose to share with each other and what they create to add to the American story. Already, some of the students were interviewed on local television. 

At the project's conclusion, we will be sharing their work on our social media. The Smithsonian has the option of sharing their work too!

The project has begun, but there is still room in the program for interested students. Please help spread the word about this amazing opportunity taking place this fall. Students can expect to spend about an hour a week and must be between 13 and 18 years old. 

Questions? Please reach out to me at the museum during business hours #607-734-4167 or write me at Educator@ChemungValleyMuseum.org 

 

Students being interviewed by WetmTV 18 reporter Nicolas Dubina