Category Archives: Doris B Morton

Animals, Doris B Morton

[About Poultry] 1881

What do the words Brahmas, Leghorn, Spanish, Plymouth Rocks, Cochins, Golden Polish, Javas, Bolton Greys mean to you? How many people in Whitehall now wake up
to chanticleer’s clarion or go out to the hen house for an egg to bake a cake for supper? This all leads to A Walk Through the Poultry Yards of Whitehall, listed by A. Francier in 1881.

Before the days of village ordinances forbidding hen houses and their occupants, many of the well known men of the village boasted of fine fowls. H. A. Griswold, a jeweler whose shop was next door north of what is now Chase’s, would drop his repair on watches any time to talk about his fine Brahmas. He imported his first about 1865.

Julius LaTour, a tinsmith and plumber of Saunders Street kept game fowls. His fancy was the black breasted red ones. He lived on LaTour Street. Martin Feely kept game hens and Brahmas which he bred for weight and beauty. T.S. McLachlin of the Rockery at the end of Rock Avenue bred white and black Leghorns, buff Cochins and black Spanish. In 1881 he sold eggs in his hardware store on Broad (North Main street) in the Dayton block for 50 cents a dozen. Once he sold a double yoked egg to a fellow merchant for six cents. The merchant would pay only five cents. The case for one cent: was taken to Judge Buel’s conciliation court for settlement.

This court sat in Buel’s fishing tackle shop around a stove where those concerned sat on wooden boxes. This building was at the location of Stile’s Meeting Place. E.J. Baldwin, an insurance agent, had no particular breed but had a good business in the sale of hen products. He lived on Rock Avenue next to T.S. Mac Lachlin. James H. Parke kept two kinds of hens, Plymouth Rocks and buff Cochins.

Keeping hens is not all that easy, but after a bad spell he built up a good flock. His store was in the Parke building at the southeast corner of Clinton Avenue and Broad Street which would make it about west of the present Lock 12. A military hall was in the third story and the Capital Palace in the basement. S.T. Boardman had buff Cochins which couldn’t be beat.” His place had a good walk in which to keep fowls. He may have been a descendant of the Samuel of boatyard fame in 181O. My, file doesn’t yield a Samuel of this date.

L.H. Carrigan kept Brahmas. He could raise chickens better than he could ducks. Mr. Carrigan was a shoe, boot and hat merchant. He was in business with John C. Earl
whom he bought out in 1892. His store was at the site of the Army and Navy store. He was a leader in veteran affairs. James Conery, the express agent who lived on Church Street, raised Golden Polish and black Spanish. He thought he had the secret of making hens lay and wrote a book on the subject.

Stephen Osgood was a carpenter and builder who lived on Poultney Street. He had good large partridge Cochins and buff Cochins which he delighted to show to visitors.
A Jessie (Josh) Wark was just starting in the poultry business with Plymouth Rocks and Black Javas that he said were A No. 1. He felt confident that he would out rival the older breeders.

Henry Douglass sold Plymouth Rock eggs for hatching. He doubtless was a farmer on the Brick church area. Alex McNeely kept Plymouth Rocks and Bolton Greys for laying quality. He was a tailor, a cleaner and colourer with a shop somewhere on Canal Street. Orville Manville planned to reenter the fowl business, -~ and as he did all things,
people knew he would have the best. When he was in business before, he had all the dealers here and made money.

Doris B. Morton, Town Historian – The Whitehall Times – March 19, 1982 – Original Title Unknown

Animals, Doris B Morton

[41st Washington County Fair] – 1882

Race horses entered in the Whitehall Racing Park for a $60 purse were Farmers Daughter, Annie Gilligan, Bald Hornet and Plow Boy.

Events in September 1882 included the 41st annual fair of Washington County at Sandy Hill (Hudson Falls), 5-9 September. People reached it by special trains running at
9 a.m. and 6 p.m. On Thursday 10,000 people attended. There were 1,000 ‘wheeled vehicles on the ground. “Nutbrown,” an Ethan Allen colt of Mac J. Brown and Frank Douglass won the 2, 3, 5 heats and won the race.

Doris B. Morton, Town Historian – The Whitehall Times – April 28, 1983 – Title Unknown

Animals, Doris B Morton

Horse Escapades – 1883

In 1883 there were runaways instead of automobile accidents. William Pardo’s young spirited horse was standing with a cart by John Murray’s coal yard on Canal
Street, probably where Ryan’s was later. A train approached and the horse took off up (Broadway) Canal as far as Cooke Street where he reversed and ran the other way down Canal which is now Main Street, Opposite Wilcox grocery store, called the Red Front, which I presume was above Saunders Street. The cart struck the wheel of Vannier’s cart which it overturned and broke. There the horse went onto the sidewalk and passed Quiglcy liquor store at the corner of Division Street, tearing down “Charlie’s” big sign post. At Pike’s store the sign in front was split to pieces. At Travis stove store in the Arcade building a $15 plow was smashed. O.A. Manville’s drug and paint store next had its pile of cans of paint scattered. At Wait’s corner store at Broad and Canal (“Myers” corner) the horse left the walk and ran down Broad Street to Yule’s Hotel at the south corner of Bellamy. He ran between the lamp post and the house and cut around the corner into Bellamy Street. The lamp was smashed but here the horse was stopped.

The horse had run on the sidewalk a full block but no one was injured, the pedestrians leaping out of the way. Nor was there much damage even though goods and
sign posts were plentiful. One never knew what a runaway horse would do. Other horse affairs occurred at this same time. The one attached to Renois and
Son’s bakery cart took fright from a thill dropping on its head and running down Canal and Broad streets collided with William Sinnott’s delivery wagon. Both horses were
severely cut and the wagons somewhat broken. Sinnott’s was at one time on Broad Street.

Richard Woollett shod 112 horses in seven days. One of the biggest shoeing feats on record at the line barn, in seven consecutive days, with only one Sunday out.
A sign of spring as the passage through the streets of a lot of mules strung like dried apples on a rope. ([Whitehall Times] Editor’s note: Hee! Haw! Mr. Wilkins, it was)
Herbert Case used to tell that the mules were brought in from pasture on the surrounding farms in lots of fourteen tied together.

J.R. Broughton’s horse, standing in front of the store, took fright at snow falling off the building and running towards home overturned the wagon. The carriage and harness were damaged.

Doris B. Morton, Town Historian – The Whitehall Times – April 28, 1983

Animals, Doris B Morton

Another Horse Experience – May 1884

Mr. and Mrs. Harvey Bartholomew nearly drowned while crossing the ford at East Bay on their way to North Whitehall. They got out of the ford and their wagon tipped
over. Mrs. Bartholomew was going down the second time when her husband caught her in the deep water and swam ashore with her, leaving the horse and wagon in the water.

He urged her to leave and go to friends for help. He then held the horse’s head above water, which he was able to do because the animal was checked up with a tight rein. He was clinging to a tree when help arrived and the horse and wagon were retrieved from the water. The editor of the paper added to the story: “Buoy out the line of the ferry, gentlemen, so you won’t get into hot water.”

Doris B. Morton, Town Historian – The Whitehall Times – May 19, 1983