Monday, March 11, 2024

The Demise of the Beneficial Order of Earnest Workers

by Susan Zehnder, Education Director 

Every day when opening our social media accounts, we discover new scams aimed at tempting us to send money or provide personal information. Despite filters, and best intentions, it just seems to be part of doing business in the early 21st century. A blessing and a curse, digital media have increased our risk, and artificial intelligence has made scams more sophisticated. But, is this different than before? A look back at newspapers from the late 19th century proves that while the scale of scams may have increased, they are certainly nothing new.

One national scam with local impact took place in the spring of 1891. The Star-Gazette reported that over a period of four weeks, a group of citizens in Elmira lost a total of $1,500, or $50,000 in today’s money. The unfortunate group had joined a newly formed chapter of a national organization with the unlucky name of The Beneficial Order of Earnest Workers (BOEW).

Unidentified factory workers, 1890-1920, Elmira, NY

Headquartered in Philadelphia,  the BOEW boasted over 28,000 members nationwide, with the Elmira chapter counting for 128 members. The organization was one of a number of short-term beneficial societies that promised to pay investors $100 in return for their small investment in only nine weeks. At one time, the New Jersey branch took in over $25,000 in investments every week. Though not all beneficial societies were corrupt, this entire organization was.

Today, the name of the organization seems quaint, though it was a term used to describe a collective or cooperative financial group. Sometimes called friendly societies, benevolent societies focused on providing funds for a group financial or social purpose and were common before modern insurance or organized social services. Beneficial societies can still be found in countries where larger banks do not want to invest.

This society, however, wasn’t built on altruistic ideas. Instead, the officers schemed to extract hard-earned cash from anyone willing to risk their money. Men with titles like The Supreme President, The Supreme Treasurer, and The Supreme Secretary of the Beneficial Order of Earnest Workers enticed their unsuspecting victims.

When the scheme fell apart, after only a matter of weeks, various members were arrested in Philadelphia. At least one of these reportedly had his travel cases packed and tickets bought, knowing he needed to escape. One of the Elmira officers traveled to Philadelphia to recover money, but was unsuccessful. Sums lost ranged from $37 to nearly $700. Writing about the scandal, The Star-Gazette mentions a “prominent disinterested lawyer” in Philadelphia remarking that because the victims willingly invested, it would be hard to pursue justice.

It’s not clear if any of the victims ever recovered some or all of their investments. Certainly, the Elmira members were not the only ones, but for a few days in 1891, it made a dramatic story in the paper.

We like to think we’re smarter than that, but today’s schemes continue to lure unsuspecting victims. Below is information from the US government on ways to avoid being a victim of scams, and we encourage you to share it with anyone who might benefit. 

Monday, February 26, 2024

Ace Photographer

By Rachel Dworkin, archivist

 Over the years, I must have seen the logo of Ace Photo Studio on the back of a hundred photos in our collection, but I didn’t know much about the studio or George “Ace” Horsey, the man who owned it. Then two of his nieces came in looking to see what we had on their family. In the end, they wound up educating me! They kindly shared their family’s story with me so I, in turn, could share it with you.



 


 

George “Ace” Horsey Jr. (1926-1990) was born in Salisbury, Maryland one of the seven children of Danie and George Horsey Sr. He was always interested in photography. While serving in the United States Army Air Corps in World War II, he got an opportunity to take a training course on the subject. In 1950, Horsey, his wife Mary, and their young family moved to Elmira so he could take a job at the General Electric (G.E.) Foundry as the plant photographer. He took pictures for advertising purposes and the G.E. News, the company newspaper. In 1956, he was elected sergeant-at-arms in the plant’s Electrical Workers Union and served on the labor contract negotiation team at one point. 

 

From G.E. News, January 15, 1954

Outside of work, Horsey was a member of the Douglas A.M.E. Zion Church where he frequently took pictures of members and events. Quite a number of his photographs ended up in the local newspaper throughout the 1950s. In 1956, he began volunteering at the Neighborhood House where he served as the instructor for the Camera Club. He took kids on photo shoots to area parks, taught them how to develop film, and served as judge during their annual photography show. He eventually became involved on the Neighborhood House board of trustees, serving as treasurer for a time.

 

Douglas A.M.E. Zion Church choir, ca. 1960s

Horsey and his family prospered in Elmira. He and Mary had four children: Mary, Barbara, Vanessa, and George III. He encouraged his aging parents and siblings to join him here. Most did. Many of their children still live in the area today. 

 

Danie & George Horsey Sr. with children George Jr., Epluribus, Louise, Richard & Geneva, ca. 1950s
 

Horsey children Mary, George III, Barbara & Vanessa, ca. 1950s


Horsey children Mary, George III, Barbara & Vanessa, ca.1980

In 1958, Horsey opened Ace Photo Studio, Elmira's first Black-owned photography studio. It was originally located at 665 Lake Street, although the studio had a number of homes over the years. Horsey specialized in portraits, weddings, and commercial photographs. He was very interested in historic photography and also offered a service where he would make new copies of customers’ old family photos. Horsey retired and closed his studio in 1984. He died on May 29, 1990, leaving behind his family and a wealth of images documenting over 40 years of Elmira’s history.

Ace Photo Studio, ca. 1970s
 

The negatives from Ace Photo Studio are held by his family. One of his nieces generously allowed me to scan some for this blog. The truth is, there are so many fascinating people and stories in Chemung County and we here at the Historical Society barely know a tenth of them. It is only through the efforts and generosity of the community that we are able to learn about and share them. Thank you, Horsey family, for sharing your story. Thank you to the next person who shares theirs too.

Monday, February 12, 2024

100 Years of History

By Erin Doane, Senior Curator

On November 7, 1923, the Elmira chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution held a meeting. At that meeting, the organization’s president Dr. Arthur W. Booth proposed the creation of a historical society to preserve historic objects, documents, and stories. The first official meeting of the Chemung County Historical Society took place two weeks later with 75 people in attendance.

The Historical Society’s first home was in two rooms on the upper floor of the Steele Memorial Library on the corner of Lake and Church Streets (now the Chemung County Chamber of Commerce). The rooms quickly filled with donations from the community. Members of the society presented talks about local history and created displays of historic objects in the library for the public to enjoy.

Chemung County Historian Clark Wilcox stands in one of the
Historical Society’s rooms in the Steele Memorial Library, 1947
The Historical Society received its charter from New York State in 1947. Shortly after, they began searching for a stand-alone building to house the collections and provide more space for displays. In 1953, the Historical Society moved into 425 East Market Street and Frances Brayton was appointed as its first professional curator.

The Chemung County Historical Center on Market Street, 1950s
It was around this time that Historical Society also began searching for the mammoth tusk that had been found by Judge Caleb Baker along the Chemung River in 1778. (Read all about that tusk and the Historical Society’s search for it here) While they were not able to find the original, they were able to get a similar mammoth tusk from the American Museum of Natural History in New York City.

Mammoth tusk on display at the Historical Society, 1950s
 The Historical Society relocated again in 1965 to 304 William Street.

The Chemung County Historical Center on William Street, 1976

The mammoth tusk and all the other historic objects, documents, and photographs that had been donated over the previous 40+ years were moved into their new home. Many of the objects were used in new exhibits focused on topics we still explore in the museum today - life here in the 1800s, the Civil War, local organizations and schools, and, of course, Mark Twain. Materials that didn’t go on display went into storage. Unfortunately, one of the main storage spaces in the building was the basement, which proved disastrous during the 1972 Flood. (click here to read how the Historical Society reacted to the flooding)

The mammoth tusk on display on William Street, 1976

The Chemung County Historical Society moved one more time to its current location at 415 E. Water Street. The building was originally home to the Chemung Canal Bank starting in 1833. After the bank moved into new headquarters, the building housed law offices and apartments. It underwent major renovations in the late 1970s and opened to the public as the Chemung County Historical Society in 1982. In 1986, the Historical Society received accreditation from the American Alliance of Museums (AAM). It was reaccredited most recently in 2021. Less than 5% of museum in the United States are accredited by the AAM. In 1992, further renovations to the building took place. An addition that includes the Howell Gallery, the Frances Brayton Education Room, and the Barn Gallery, as well as a new entranceway, was added to the main building.

415 E. Water Street, late 1970s
The Chemung County Historical Society currently operates the Chemung Valley History Museum and the Booth Research Library. Our mission is to deepen our understanding of history and to provide an appreciation of our community’s place in state and national history. We’ve done this over the last 100 years by collecting, preserving, interpreting, and presenting the history of our community and we plan to continue this mission for the next 100 years.

And, yes, the mammoth tusk is still on display.

The mammoth tusk at E. Water Street, 2014
 


Monday, January 29, 2024

The Great Move

 by Phoenix Andrews, Curatorial Assistant

How do you move over 500 objects? 12 weeks ago, I joined CCHS to work on a project we nicknamed “The Great Move." The project, the relocation of items from an offsite collections facility, has involved time, access, and information. 

The first visit to the collections facility was a bit overwhelming. Seeing the physical objects in person was a very different experience than just reading a list of them. My role was to help determine which items would go where. It would take multiple trips to the facility, each carefully arranged ahead of time. While some trips allowed us to pack up small objects and bring them back to the museum, other trips resulted in setting items aside to be relocated later that would need a moving truck.

First glance at off-site storage

When determining whether an object should be kept here at the museum or can be moved off-site there are various factors to consider, but they can be simplified into a few categories, like material, condition, and amount.

There are two big questions to consider when it comes to evaluating object material. First, is the object fragile and/or likely to deteriorate? Second, does the object contain hazardous materials? If an object is fragile or likely to deteriorate, such as fabrics, unprotected wood, and rusting metals, it means they are more sensitive to deterioration. They require close observation to make sure they are in the exact climates needed to preserve them. In that same vein, if an object is made of a hazardous material such as mercury, lead, or arsenic, it is important that it is in an environment that doesn’t cause any adverse reactions or cause any deterioration.

Not all objects the museum receives are in good or original condition. Conditions determine whether the object needs frequent monitoring, something that staying in the museum can offer. Any objects affected by erosion or with broken or missing pieces are going to be more susceptible to further damage. Some objects have what is called an ‘inherent fault.’ An object in this condition is at heightened risk of deterioration and can fall into one or more of the following categories: short-lived materials, structural nature, and history. Short-lived materials are anything that was not created with long-term stability in mind; Cellulose acetate film is a good example of this. If cellulose acetate film starts to deteriorate it releases acetic acid, which not only accelerates its own deterioration but also can start deterioration in surrounding film and metals. Structural nature refers to objects that were either poorly constructed or objects that have conflicting materials that may adversely affect each other. An example of this would be a piece of furniture that has leather touching a metal component. The leather has the potential to cause and accelerate erosion to the metal. History of an object, refers to how it was used or how it was stored before coming into our collection. This can include things such as a wooden bowl that was used to store oils and is now saturated, or an object that had been stored in someone's basement. Inherent fault is certainly one of the largest factors we have to take into account, as it is not always easy to determine if an object has inherent faults. However, the more you work with these objects the easier it is to recognize potential issues. 

The simplest factor by far has to be the amount of an object we have. For example, if we only have one of an object, we are more likely to keep it at the museum due to its uniqueness in our collection. On the other hand, if there are numerous duplicates of an object, like hammers, we consider relocating offsite or possibly deaccessioning some objects. 

With this information in mind, I got to work digging through our database and started making a list of potential objects to relocate. When I started, I was doing very specific searches. I was looking at things I already knew we had multiples of or would have no issue being off-site. The further I got into the project the more broad I opened my search terms to eventually just skimming through the different categories we can classify our objects into. In the end, I had gathered nearly 900 objects that could be relocated offsite.

A side project that blossomed from the first part of this project was the creation of an exhibit at the museum. Named after the project “The Great Move” it shows off a few of my favorite objects that we discovered and is an example of the variety of objects in the museum’s collection. 

Objects in the Great Move exhibit

During this project, I learned a lot about the inner workings of museum collections and how, even with standard practices in place about recording information regarding our collections, each person who works within it will add their own unique twist on it. In viewing the collection’s entire non-textile objects in our database at least twice, I’ve been able to see the notes of those who were here before me. I could see what they determined as important information and the different ways notes on objects at CCHS have been entered. One of my favorite aspects of history is to be able to feel connected to others through their own writing. Doing this project I feel like I have gotten to know many of those who work in the collections before me. 

In the coming days my project will be reaching its end. The final objects will be moved, and with that, my time here will be coming to a close.

Phoenix at work

In the summer of 2022 I had the amazing opportunity to intern here at the Chemung County Historical Society and to have been asked back to lead this project is something I will always be grateful for. In both instances of my time here, the staff here took me under their wing and I have grown as a person because of it. I will never be able to fully express my gratitude to everyone I have worked with during my time here. I cannot wait to see what comes next.

 

Monday, January 15, 2024

A Tale of Two Brothers: Catch Him if you Can

by Susan Zehnder, Education Director

This is a story about two brothers who made a name for themselves. One became a well-regarded member of the local community, while the other went on to make national headlines for fraud, larceny, and deception.

J. Bernard and J. Francis Toomey were born three years apart and grew up in Elmira around the turn of the 20th century. Their parents were Margaret and John Toomey and their father worked as a trainman for the railroad. The family lived at East Fifth Street in Elmira. In 1906, another brother, J. Florence, was born.


The oldest son, Bernard, was full of ambition. When he graduated from Elmira Free Academy in 1915 his senior yearbook declared him to be one of the school’s most popular boys. In addition to his studies, he participated in class entertainments also known as school productions;

managed the baseball team for three years; and dated many girls one of whom was Marjorie Shaffer. 

Bernard attended the University of Buffalo to study dentistry. It was World War I and when the United States joined the war effort, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy. After the war, he returned to Elmira and opened his own dental practice at 243 Lake Street. A year later, Bernard married Marjorie Shaffer and the couple had a daughter, Judith.

For the next 38 years, Bernard was an active member of the community. He was president of the City Club, founding member of the Elmira Area University of Buffalo Alumni Association, a member of the Chemung County Dental Society and of the Torch Club, and director of the Chemung Valley Savings and Loan Association. Bernard promoted conservation through his work with Fur, Fin, and Feathers, Inc. He belonged to the Elmira Elks Lodge, the Harry B. Bentley Post of the American Legion. He was also an active congregant of Our Lady of Lourdes Church. In addition to his private dental practice, he was a dental consultant for the County Welfare Department.

In 1959, when he was 64, Bernard suffered an acute heart attack and died. Newspaper obituaries listed among the survivors his mother, his wife, his daughter, and only one brother, Florence.

Why wasn’t his middle brother mentioned? Apparently, Francis had been leading a very different life. The earliest mentions of him in local newspapers are positive, citing various elementary school achievements, like good attendance, or moving on to next grade. A few years later, his name appears as a participant in a public discussion “The Social Club as an Agency of Moral Uplift.” But soon after, Francis’s name started showing up in less flattering ways.

Apparently one evening, he and a couple of buddies broke into George Ells’ Machine and Bicycle Repair Shop on Lake Street, not far from where he lived. The boys ransacked the shop and took a number of electric flashlights, cigar packet lighters and other small items. Their identity must have been known --a year later, the police revealed their names when Francis was caught for another crime. This time he and a buddy had broken into Dr. F.B. Greene’s garage. After rifling through the garage, they stole a motorcar and went on a joyride. When it got stuck on West Church Street, they abandoned it, leaving $50 worth of damage--over $1,500 in today’s dollars. The boys were told to make amends.

That same year, 1912, Francis disappeared for three months. He had been involved in an accidental shooting and feared being arrested. According to the paper, the victim, only identified as an Armenian, “was not seriously hurt.” Regardless, Francis made his way to New York City and took a job with the railroad. He was injured on the job and in order to receive full pay, he was required to get his parents’ signature. Instead he listed J.P. Sullivan in Elmira as his guardian and misaddressed the envelope hoping it would never be delivered. A postal worker caught the “mistake” and the letter made its way to his folks. His father went and collected him.

A year later, he was working at Sullivan’s furniture store on East Water Street in Elmira, when a suspicious fire broke out. The fire was contained on the third floor of the Grand Theater Block and a larger crisis was averted. Damage to the building was estimated to be $15,000. While he was questioned, Francis was never charged.

In 1917, his name showed up more dramatically. Trying to follow in his brother’s footsteps and join the war effort, Francis headed to Fort Niagara Training School to enlist. He was denied because he was underage. Undaunted, he returned to Elmira wearing a military uniform and was greeted like a hero. But when people start to question details of his enlistment, he took off for Cleveland. For a while he passed as a lieutenant and was treated well. He was wined and dined and made himself popular with the ladies. He also cashed fraudulent checks. Again, before he was discovered, he left for Chicago and repeated his impersonation. This time it didn’t end well. When he was caught, nineteen-year-old Francis received a sentence of two-years and eleven months to be served at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. This was eventually reduced to 13 months when a judge felt the sentence was too harsh.


A few years later, he was connected to larcenies committed in Princeton, New Haven, and New York City. Then in 1923, Francis tried to pass himself off as the son of E. M. Statler, a man who had made millions in the hotel business. For a while he was living in luxury until once again he was caught this time in Boston. When arrested, he was wearing a tuxedo, and pennants from various colleges were found in his room. He was fined $25 and sentenced to a year.

In 1935, he was arrested when he tried to enroll in graduate school at the University of Tennessee using a bad check. Things quickly unraveled for him. Authorities discovered he had not received a degree from Tulane University, as he claimed. He admitted to using various aliases including Archie G. Glenn, Justin F. Toomey, Floyd Stranhan, Richard Forgan, Francis Sullivan, Jack Allen, Millard Jones, and F. J. Sullivan. He also admitted to committing felonies in California, Pennsylvania, and Georgia and to having spent time in jail in each of these states including San Quentin. He was sent off to prison again. He was thirty-two.
J. Francis Toomey Photo courtesy of National Archives of Kansas City

Little is known of his whereabouts between 1935 and 1960. In 1960, the newspaper published a notice in the newspaper that he had violated parole and was being held without bail, but no indication of what parole he had violated.

Francis outlived his younger and older brothers by more than a decade. On November 15, 1970, the Star-Gazette printed a death notice for him. He had died in New York City four days earlier. A High Mass was held for him at St. Cecelia’s and he was buried at St. Peter and Paul’s Cemetery. No survivors were listed.



Wednesday, December 27, 2023

2023: A Year in Review

 By Rachel Dworkin, Archivist

When people ask me what I do, I tell them I am an archivist. When they stare at me blankly, I explain that it’s a subspecies of librarian. The job of a librarian is to collect, catalog, and share the information patrons need for their education and entertainment. Keeping these goals in mind, let’s take a look at how well I did this year.


 

1.       1. Collecting

Here at the Chemung County Historical Society, we collect items specifically related to Chemung County history, people, and organizations. In 2023, we accepted archival material from 93 donors. Some of these donations were just one or two items. For example, on recent donation consisted of the 1918 diary of Elmira Free Academy student, J. Lawrence Kolb. There was another earlier in the year that was just a poster for the Auto Thrill Show at the Chemung County Fair, circa 1970. Other donations were a bit larger. George Farr donated his research material for his book Lincoln’s Banner Regiment which contains over 100 items related to the history of the 107th New York Volunteers. A former employee at Sumirail/ABB Traction in the Heights, donated 500+ photographs documenting both companies and their products. 

Movie poster from 1937 we received earlier this year.

In addition to donated items, I also collect items related to things happening around the community. This includes newsletters from the Elmira City School District, the Foodbank of the Southern Tier, the Friends of the Chemung County Library District, and Congregation Kol Ami. I also collect programs from the plays I attend, fliers for various events, and menus from new restaurants. In this way, I’m able to capture a snapshot of what is happening now for future generations.

I also conduct oral history interviews. This year, I conducted 8 interviews. The topics included Elmira’s LGBTQ+ community; area Polish, Italian, and Finnish communities; COVID-19; and historic weather events.   

Oliver Lindblad, a 100-year-old man I interviewed in July.
 

2.      2. Cataloging

It’s all very well and good to collect things, but an archivist must take what my grad school professors called “intellectual control.” In short, an archivist must figure out what they have, wrestle it into some sort of order, and then make that order apparent to everyone else. This is known as “cataloging.” It can be a pretty time consuming process, especially when a single donation may contain hundreds of items.

To be honest, I’ve been a little behind on the cataloging this year. I’ve only cataloged about one-third of our new items. Part of the reason for the delay is that I’ve been working hard on getting our older finding aids up on EmpireADC (see this blog post for detail).  A finding aid is an index for an archival collection which provides additional context about the creator(s) of the collection and the circumstances under which the collection was created, as well as the collection’s size and organization. We joined EmpireADC this summer. Since then, I have uploaded 111 old finding aids to the site. Check it out here

1.       3. Sharing

Collecting and cataloging information is all very well and good, but it is pointless if it isn’t shared. The archives here at the Chemung County Historical Society are open to the public 1pm to 5pm, Monday through Friday. Visitors may come in and request to see anything within our collection. We are also open for researchers to call or write in with questions weekdays from 9 am to 5pm.

In 2023, we had 84 in-house researchers. This was down from pre-pandemic levels, but up from 2022. We also had 210 write-in research requests. I did not keep track of the number of phone requests, but it was well over 100. Two people requested and received permission to use our photographs in their publications.  

In addition to assisting researchers, I also find other ways to share information with the public. This blog, for instance is a pretty handy tool. This year, I wrote nine blogs. I hope you liked them. I was also interviewed by the press half-a-dozen times about topics ranging from City Hall to Iszard’s to daylight savings time. Earlier this summer, I teamed up with Maggie Young, the genealogy librarian at the Steele Memorial Library, to create a master list of genealogical resources at both our institutions. Next year, we hope to expand it to other places in Chemung County. You can find it here.

We also have several digital collections on the New York Heritage website where researchers can access material for free at any time. 

Our older collections include the records of the Thatcher Glass Manufacturing Company, the records of the Methodist Committee for Overseas Relief, Chemung County high school yearbooks, and the Black Oral History Project. This year, I received a grant to digitize and upload the records of Elmira midwife, Rose Spadaccino. I also began uploading some of our older oral histories to the site as part of a collection called “Voices of Chemung County.”

Looking back, I think I accomplished quite a bit. What do you think? For my next trick, I shall finish cataloging all the items we received in 2023, finish the shelf read, add at least one new finding aid a week to EmpireADC, upload my recent oral history interviews to New York Heritage, and have fun doing it.

 

Me, having fun doing it.