Ross Marvin Revisited

by Erin Doane, Curator

Ross Marvin’s story is one of tragedy and mystery. Perhaps that’s why I go back to it again and again in my research, writing, and exhibits. Back in 2013, I wrote a brief blog post about him that you can read by clicking here. After eight years, it seems like it’s time to revisit Ross Marvin’s story.

Ross Gilmore Marvin

Ross Marvin was born on January 28, 1880, the youngest of six. He graduated from EFA in 1899, and surprised everyone by earning a scholarship to Cornell University. In 1901, he transferred to the New York Nautical School where he learned nautical astronomy. After graduating from there a year later, he returned to Cornell. In 1905, he graduated with a degree in civil engineering. Before finishing school, Marvin had heard about the Arctic voyage that Robert Peary was planning for 1905-1906. He made it his goal to be part of that expedition. It is said that on graduation day, he received the letter from Peary inviting him to join his team.

Peary’s 1905-1906 attempt to reach the North Pole was not a success but he tried again two years later. Marvin served as chief scientist and Peary’s first assistant on that 1908-1909 voyage. His responsibilities included taking meteorological readings, solar observations, and depth soundings.

According to the caption of this image from an article written by Peary that appeared in the August 1910 issue of The Geographical Journal, that pile of furs is Ross Marvin taking observations at 86 degrees 38 minutes north on March 25, 1909.

Peary purportedly reached the North Pole on April 6, 1909, but Ross Marvin did not survive the journey. His two Inuit companions, Kudlooktoo and Harrigan, reported that on April 10 he broke through the ice while trying to cross a lead and died. It was weeks before Peary and the rest of his men learned of Marvin’s death and it wasn’t until September, some five months after his death, that his family back in Elmira heard the news.

The story of Ross Marvin may have ended there with the local hero’s tragic death, but 17 years later, his name was back in the news. In 1926, Kudlooktoo confessed to killing him. He claimed Marvin went crazy and tried to abandon Harrigan on the ice. Knowing that Harrigan would die if he was left behind, Kudlooktoo shot Marvin.

Kudlooktoo posing with George Borup and other Inuits, from A Tenderfoot with Peary, by George Borup, 1911

The story came as a great shock to those who knew Marvin. His family denounced the story and Peary declared that he didn’t believe it. Peary’s daughter, Marie, who had been a childhood playmate of Kudlooktoo, believed his false confession was induced by religious hysteria and was an attempt to please the white man by having a sin to confess. By that point, 17 years after the fact, there was no way of proving what had truly happened. The Arctic was a sort of no-man’s land at that time with no laws or governance, so Kudlooktoo was never tried for murder. 

Despite the dark turn of Marvin’s story, his life and accomplishments have been memorialized in many ways over the years. Peary erected a stone cairn with a wooden cross at Cape Sheridan overlooking the Central Polar Sea in his honor.

Marvin Memorial, Cape Sheridan, Left from The North Pole, By Robert E. Peary, 1910
Right from Susan Kaplan/Genevieve LaMoine, Peary-MacMillan Arctic Museum at Bowdoin College, 2011

In 1910, a large stone with a brass plaque was set on the corner of Lake Street and Union Place in Elmira as a memorial. It has been moved a couple of times since then and now rests at the corner of Lake and Church Streets by the Chamber of Commerce.

Ross Marvin Monument at the corner of Church and Lake Streets

In the late 1920s, a memorial tablet to Marvin was placed in the Sage Chapel at Cornell University.

Dedication of Ross Marvin plaque at Cornell University, c. 1926, Sunday Telegram, April 5, 1931

In 1943, Marvin’s niece Gertrude Colegrove Tum, christened the SS Ross G. Marvin, a liberty ship that was used for cargo transports during World War II. You can read all about that by clicking here.

In 1948, Marvin and all the other men who had served on Peary’s 1908-1909 Expedition were awarded medals by the U.S. government. I have heard that the reason it took so long – nearly 40 years – to be officially recognized for their efforts in reaching the pole was because there were some in congress who did not want to honor Matt Henson, who was an African American, along with the rest. 

Peary Polar Expedition medal awarded posthumously to Ross Marvin, 1948

The Marvin Islands, a group of islands in extreme northern Canada were named after him. In 1957, the Elmira Lions Club dedicated Ross Marvin Park on the triangle of land between Lake Street and Union Place. In 1967, the State University Maritime College, from which Marvin graduated in 1902, named a wing of their new Science and Engineering building Ross G. Marvin Hall. And finally, in Woodlawn Cemetery, in the Marvin family plot, is a stone dedicated to him. The inscription on the stone reads:

 In Memory of
Ross G. Marvin
Jan. 28, 1880 – April 10, 1909

 Scientist with the Peary Arctic Expedition
Which discovered the North Pole
Drowned in the Arctic Ocean Lat 84 degrees North

 Peacefully he sleeps in his watery grave.
Tho no marble shaft marks his last resting place
it is watched o’er by towering sentinels of snow and ice.
The stars too keep silent vigil while the north winds
sing a requiem for a brave soul gone to meet his maker.

Ross Marvin marker in Woodlawn Cemetery, 2018

If you have made it all the way to the end of this post, thank you! I hope you enjoyed this and other stories I have told during my 10+ years as curator at CCHS. This is my very last blog post here. I will be leaving the museum at the end of October. It’s been a great joy learning about the county’s history and being able to share it with all of you!

 

Interesting Historical Points in 1922

by Erin Doane, Curator 

When I was researching my last post here about theMcCann Boulder, I came across an article in the Star-Gazette from 1922 presenting the monument as part of a series of articles entitled “Interesting Historical Points Around City Told In Pictures.” From February 14 through March 2, the newspaper highlighted 13 different points – seven historic buildings and six monuments. The buildings featured were the first post office, the home of Thomas Maxwell, Elmira’s first academy, the Young Americans’ Hose House, the Civil War prison camp morgue, the Park Hotel, and John Hendy’s cabin. Unfortunately, those buildings no longer exist, but all six monuments can still be seen today.

American Girl Statue

Star-Gazette, February 14, 1922, Article Text:

     The above statue is American Girl, a famous trotting horse which held many records during Elmira’s early days some fifty years ago. This memorial was erected in Eldridge Park, facing the site of the track where she captured so many triumphs.
     American Girl was owned by William Lovell of New Yor. [sic] The beautiful animal was foaled in 1862 and had 150 heats to her credit. Her record time is 2:16 ½. All her races were in 2:30 or less.
     American Girl dropped dead in a free-for-all race staged October 2, 1875, when thousands of racing fans from throughout the East journeyed to see this fastest of all horses race.

American Girl stood in Eldridge park until October 7, 1980, when vandals used a vehicle to pull the statue off its pedestal and broke it into 147 pieces. In 2016, after being skillfully repaired and restored by Tom Beatty, the statue was finally returned to the park. It now stands in its own custom building on the northeast side of the lake next to the miniature golf course.

American Girl in Eldridge Park, July 16, 2021

Civil War Prison Camp Marker

Star-Gazette, February 15, 1922, Article Text:

     Here is all that remains of the once famous United States Confederate prison camp in 1861 in operation during the Civil War. The marker is a few feet east of Hoffman street. The camp extended west about one half mile from the marker, which is noted by arrow in the above picture. The marker is on the river side of Water street near Hoffman Creek It was erected by the Baldwin Post, No. 6, G.A.R., in 1900. Doubtless there are many patriotic Elmirans who did not know that the marker exists.

You can read about the history of the prison camp by clicking here. The stone marker is still in the same place just east of Hoffman Street. There are hedges growing around the monument but they have been trimmed so that it is visible. Just a block south of Water Street on Winsor Avenue, the Friends of the Elmira Civil War Prison Camp have reconstructed some of the site and welcome visitors on Saturdays throughout the summer. You can find more information on their website: www.elmiraprisoncamp.com.

Civil War prison camp marker, July 16, 2021

Close-up of the marker, July 16, 2021

Ross Marvin Memorial

Star-Gazette, February 16, 1922, Article Text:

     Elmira has the distinction of being represented in the discovery of the North Pole by Admiral Robert E. Peary. The above memorial to Ross Gilmore Marvin is located at the intersection of Lake and Union place. It was erected by Elmirans in memory of Mr. Marvin who was born on January 28, 1880. He was lost in the Arctic ocean on April 10, 1909, while a member of the Peary Expedition, which discovered the North Pole. Mr. Marvin was a student, teacher and explorer. Mr. Marvin was the son of Mary Marvin, 700 Riverside avenue.

To read more about Ross Marvin, and learn details about his possible murder, click here. Marvin’s memorial is no longer at the intersection of Lake Street and Union Place, though that location was designated as Ross Marvin Park by the Elmira Lions Club in 1957. The monument was moved several times over the years and today rests at the southeast corner of Church and Lake Streets.

Intersection of Lake Street and Union Place, July 16, 2021

Marker in Ross Marvin Park, Lake Street and Union Place, July 16, 2021

Ross Marvin Monument at the corner of Church and Lake Streets, July 16, 2021

Samuel L. Clemens’ Headstone

Star-Gazette, February 20, 1922, Article Text:

     This simple headstone marks the spot in Woodlawn cemetery where rest the remains of Samuel L. Clemens (Mark Twain), famous American humorist and author, who made is home in the city during his younger days. Mrs. Clemens was one of Elmira’s fairest daughters, Olivia Langdon Clemens. Ostentation had no place in the life of Mr. Clemens, except as a target for many a pinioned shaft of keenest wit – and in death a simple stone bears the name that needs no costly mausoleum to add to its luster.

The Clemens and Langdon families’ gravesite in Woodlawn remained rather modest until 1937 when Sam and Livy’s daughter Clara Clemens Gabrilowitsch had a large stele with bronze portraits of her father and her husband installed. Woodlawn Cemetery has made it easy to visit Samuel Clemens’ final resting place. Enter the cemetery through the Walnut Street gate and follow the signs to Mark Twain.

Samuel Clemens’ headstone, Woodlawn Cemetery, July 16, 2021

Clemens/Langdon family plot in Woodlawn Cemetery, July 16, 2021

Shohola Monument

Star-Gazette, February 27, 1922, Article Text:

     The above monument was erected by the United States Government to mark the last resting place of 49 unknown Confederate soldiers, who were killed in a railroad accident near Shohola, Pa., and later moved here.
     The monument stands in the northeast extremity of Woodlawn cemetery near the private cemetery of a large number of Confederate soldiers and entrance may be gained through the upper Davis street gate. The names of the unknown Confederate soldiers are engraved on a tablet. Their graves are unmarked.

The Shohola monument no longer marks the northeast extremity of the Woodlawn National Cemetery. Since its dedication, hundreds of U.S. military veterans have been laid to rest to its north. You can click here to learn more about the National Cemetery. To visit the monument today, enter Woodlawn National Cemetery through its Davis Street gate then walk south.

Shohola Monument, Woodlawn National Cemetery, July 16, 2021

McCann Monument

Star-Gazette, March 1, 1922, Article Text:

     The huge rock near the Davis street side of Woodlawn cemetery marks the final resting place of George and Crete McCann, early settlers of Elmira. The boulder was hauled from the east side of the canal over a specially built bridge. Several teams of oxen were used to draw it to its present position. Mr. McCann was the uncle of Supreme Court Justice George McCann. He was an active Elmiran and in the city’s early history Mr. McCann’s name appears prominently.

To read more about George and Crete McCann, and their monument, click here. While visiting Samuel Clemens and family in Woodlawn Cemetery, it is very easy to find the McCann monument just down the hill.

McCann monument, Woodlawn Cemetery, July 16, 2021

If you would like to read the full series of articles from 1922, including those about the historic buildings, click here.