The Milliner’s Goldfish

by Erin Doane, Senior Curator

On September 15, 1939, Mrs. Bertha Whitley’s pet goldfish passed away. Such an event would not normally make the news but, in this case, the goldfish was reportedly 41 years old. If true, it would have been born around 1898. That was the year the USS Maine exploded in Cuba’s Havana Harbor, sparking the Spanish-American War. The same year saw the founding of the Goodyear tire company, the annexation of Hawaii by the U.S., and the discovery of radium by Marie Curie. The goldfish would have lived through the First World War, the Roaring Twenties, and the Great Depression.

Matt Richardson wrote about Mrs. Whitley and her goldfish in his “‘Round Town” column in the Star-Gazette on November 14, 1939. He sounded a bit skeptical about her claim that the goldfish had lived 41 years, but he didn’t push the issue. He wrote about her home about two miles west of Fitch’s Bridge with its $400 fence with two swinging ornamental iron gates and how she liked listening to the radio. He also mentioned that she had worked for nearly 50 years in the millinery and hair goods business in downtown Elmira, having been trained by Louisa Hoppe, one of the city’s best wigmakers.

After reading Mr. Richardson’s article, I dug a bit more into Mrs. Whitley’s life. She was born Bertha A. Valois in 1857. Her parents were of German and Swiss descent, according to the 1930 census. She married Eugene Whitley, three years her junior, on November 2, 1890 at the Park Church in Elmira. Rev. Thomas K. Beecher officiated. They did not appear to have had children. Mr. Whitley worked several different jobs. The city directories list him as a farmer, painter, gardener, and clerk over the course of about 30 years. Mrs. Whitley first appears in the 1893 directory as a milliner at 328 East Water Street. Around 1900, she moved her shop to 135 East Water Street where she remained for more than 25 years. The couple lived on West Water Street until 1910 when they moved to Maple Avenue. Around 1920, they moved into the house past Fitch’s Bridge where Mr. Richardson spoke with Mrs. Whitley.

The big question I could not find an answer to in my research was: when did the Whitleys acquire their goldfish? If the goldfish was born about 1889, one or the other of them could have had the fish before they got married. Was it Mr. Whitley or Mrs. Whitley who first brought the young fry home? While goldfish were very common as pets at that time, I can’t guess whether they appealed more to men or women. Either way, it seems the goldfish was with them their entire marriage.

Goldfish were first introduced to North America in the 1850s. The species of carp, originally from East Asia, quickly became popular as pets in the United States. Goldfish became so widespread by the mid-1900s, they were often given away as carnival game prizes. I always wanted to win a fish at our local carnival and I’m sure my parents were glad I never did.

A goldfish’s lifespan is greatly determined by its environment. A goldfish in a small bowl or container lives an average of 6 months to 5 years. A tank or aquarium, with good filtration and suitable food, can increase that to 10-15 years. The best environment for the little creatures is a natural pond where they can live for up to 20 years. For Mrs. Whitley’s goldfish to have lived 41 years is phenomenal, but not impossible. The Guinness Book of World Records lists the world’s oldest goldfish as Tish, owned by Hilda Hand of Thirsk, North Yorkshire, England. Tish was 43 years old when it died in 1999. Tom and Pauline Evans of Bradninch, Devon, England were owners of Goldie, a 45 year old goldfish who died in 2005. They, unfortunately, didn’t have the documentation needed to get into the record book.

Mrs. Whitley didn’t report doing anything special to keep her aquatic pet alive for so many years. She changed its water once a week and fed it fish food from Banfield’s. Now named Banfield-Baker, the seed and animal feed company was founded in 1880 by Frederick Jennings as Jennings Seed Company. It became Banfield-Jennings Corp. in 1920 and was located at 222 W. Water Street in Elmira. Mrs. Whitley would have gotten her fish food there until the end of her pet’s life. The business moved to Railroad Avenue in the 1940s and became Banfield-Baker in 1960. The Bakers had been involved in the company since 1935. In 1977, during Elmira’s urban renewal, the city acquire the company’s building, and it moved out of downtown to 2512 Corning Road. You can still shop at Banfield-Baker today, though I don’t know if they still sell fish food.

After her goldfish’s passing, Mrs. Whitley was left living all on her own in her tidy little house near the Bennett Crossing. Her husband had passed away just a year before their goldfish on October 7, 1938. She had retired from her millinery store downtown more than ten years earlier but still engaged in the business of false hair for women out of her home. In the summer, she also grew berries to sell, sometimes making up to $75 for a single crop. She passed away at home on June 13, 1940. She and her husband are interred in Woodlawn Cemetery in the mausoleum. There’s no record of the final resting place of her long-lived goldfish and I never learned its name.