An Historic Fiftieth Anniversary in Pelham During 1922

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A Golden Wedding Anniversary is a grand and glorious event, though rarely an historic event.  Yet, one such anniversary celebrated on Tuesday, November 14, 1922 rose to the level of an historic event in the little Town of Pelham.

That day, "anyone who was anyone" in the Town of Pelham attended a grand celebration of the Golden Wedding Anniversary of Isaac Carpenter Hill and Emma Jane Lovecraft Hill who were married in what was then the tiny little village of Mount Vernon on November 13, 1872.

Isaac C. Hill was one of the most significant and transformative public education figures in the early history of the Town of Pelham.  At the time of his marriage to Emma Jane Lovecraft in 1872, he was a school teacher in White Plains.  His new wife was a school teacher in Mount Vernon.  After the pair wedded, Isaac Hill moved to Mount Vernon.

In 1877, Isaac Hill became the "Principal" of the old Prospect Hill School on Split Rock Road.  Although he was designated the Principal, the tiny school was a one-room schoolhouse.  He was the only teacher.  

Prospect Hill Schoolhouse in an Undated Photograph.

Image Courtesy of the Office of the Historian of the Town of Pelham.

982 Split Rock Road Which Incorporates the Old Prospect

Hill Schoolhouse. Photograph by the Author, 2004.

I have written about Isaac C. Hill and his career in education before.  See, e.g.:

Tue., Sep. 27, 2005:  Isaac C. Hill's Reminiscences of Early Public Schools in Pelham. 

Tue., Mar. 28, 2006:  More Reminiscences of Isaac C. Hill of Early Public Schools in Pelham. 

Mon., Aug. 11, 2014:  Excerpts of January 8, 1889 Remarks Dedicating a New School Building in Pelhamville.

Mon., Jan. 12, 2015:  Isaac C. Hill, Involved with Pelham Education for Forty-Five Years, Retired in 1922.

On Tuesday, November 14, 1922, more than one hundred guests gathered at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Isaac C. Hill to celebrate the 50th wedding anniversary of the couple.  The gathering grew so large that an adjacent neighbor opened a nearby home to receive many of the guests who could not fit into the home of the Hills on Third Avenue in the Village of North Pelham.  

The celebration lasted from the early hours of the morning until the evening.  Rev. Herbert Haight Brown, pastor of the Church of the Redeemer in the Village of North Pelham, read the original marriage certificate of the couple to the crowd.  The couple also exhibited original wedding invitations from their ceremony in 1872 as well as a beautiful locket that contained "miniatures" of the couple at the time of their marriage.  The organist of the Church of the Redeemer played the wedding march from Richard Wagner's 1850 opera "Lohengrin."

Supper was served to nearly one hundred guests.  Isaac and Emma Jane Hill entertained the guests with a beautiful and remarkable duet "When You and I Were Young, Maggie," with Mrs. Hill playing the accompaniment on the piano.  According to The Pelham Sun "The steadiness of their voices was remarkable.  Despite their fifty years of married life and their advancing years, neither of them could be called old.  The passing years have only added maturity."

The Pelham Sun posted a lengthy list of the many astounding gifts that the couple received as well as a lengthy list of many of the guests who attended the grand celebration.  

Yes, because the celebration honored Isaac C. Hill, a beloved figure who devoted forty-five years of his life to public education service in the Town of Pelham, the event was indeed an historic one now part of the history of our little Town of Pelham.

"MR. AND MRS. ISAAC C. HILL

Pelham couple who celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of their wedding

at their Third avenue home last Monday.  They were married in the

Village of Mount Vernon in 1872.  Source:  Many Congratulations For

Pelham Couple At Their Golden Wedding -- Mr. and Mrs. Isaac Hill of

Third Avenue Marked Completion of Fifty Years of Wedded Life With

Celebration Attended By Scores of Friends -- Were Married In the

Village of Mount Vernon In 1872, The Pelham Sun, Nov. 17, 1922, Vol.

13, No. 38, p. 1, cols. 3-4.  NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

*          *          *          *          *

"Many Congratulations For Pelham Couple At Their Golden Wedding
-----
Mr. and Mrs. Isaac Hill of Third Avenue Marked Completion of Fifty Years of Wedded Life With Celebration Attended By Scores of Friends -- Were Married In the Village of Mount Vernon In 1872.
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It is seldom that a golden wedding anniversary is celebrated in the Pelhams, and still more seldom that such a celebration is attended with such unusual outpourings of affection and esteem as characterized the commemoration of fifty years of wedded life last Tuesday by Mr. and Mrs. Isaac Carpenter Hill of Third avenue, North Pelham.  From early morning hours until late in the evening visitors paid their respects to the happy couple, telegrams poured in from out of town friends.  Tokens of affection in wonderful array were brought and sent by their friends and the attendance at the reception held in the evening was such that the home of a neighbor was thrown open to receive some of the guests.  The home on Third avenue was beautifully decorated, being a veritable bower of chrysanthemums, roses, asters and autumn foliage mingled with artistic embellishments which made it a fairyland.

Features of the evening reception were the reading by Rev. H. H. Brown of the original marriage certificate, the exhibiting of the original wedding invitations and a locket containing miniatures of Mr. and Mrs. Hill at the time of their marriage.  Miss Peterson of Pelhamwood, organist of the Church of the Redeemer, played the wedding march from 'Lohen-

Continued on page 4

Golden Wedding Celebration
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Mr. and Mrs. Isaac Hill Celebrated Fiftieth Wedding Anniversary Last Tuesday
-----
Continued from page 1

grin'

Supper was served to almost one hundred guests, the tables being hosted by Mr. and Mrs. David Lyon, Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Ward, Mrs. Oscar Strieffler, and the Misses Iona, Helen and [illegible] Lyon, nieces of Mr. and Mrs. David Lyon.

Mr. and Mrs. Isaac Hill were married on November 13, 1872, by Rev. Charles Seymour, rector, at Trinity Church in the then village of Mount Vernon.  At that time Mr. Hill was a teacher in the public schools in White Plains and Mrs. Hill, then Miss Emma Jane Lovecraft, officiated in like manner in the Mount Vernon schools.

Five years after their marriage, Mr. Hill came from Mount Vernon to become principal of the old Prospect School at Pelham Manor.  For forty-five years he has been identified with the educational system of The Pelhams, recently retiring from membership of the Board of Education, having closed his work as principal of Hutchinson School in 1914.  He has been a member of the vestry of the Church of the Redeemer for forty-[illegible] years and is now clerk of that body.  Mrs. Hill was for fourteen years organist of the same church and is still actively identified with the work of the parish as a member of the Parish Guild.  Both are beloved by members of the congregation.  

An interesting feature of the celebration was the singing by Mr. and Mrs. Hill of a duet 'When You and I Were Young, Maggie,' Mrs. Hill playing the accompaniment on the piano.  The steadiness of their voices was remarkable.  Despite their fifty years of married life and their advancing years, neither of them could be called old.  The passing years have only added maturity.

An interesting guest at the ceremonies was Mr. and Mrs. Charles Doad Hill of White Plains, who also celebrated their golden wedding [anniversary] on September 29th of this year.  Charles Hill is Isaac Hill's brother.

Among the list of gifts which were displayed in three rooms, owing to their great number, were the following:

Flowers, Parish Guild of the Church of the Redeemer; gold mounted cane, Vestry of the Church of the Redeemer; Tiffany-topaz brooch, Parish Guild of the Church of the Redeemer; $10 gold piece, Mr. and Mrs. C. D. Hill; gold and white dresser set, Mr. and Mrs. Eugene Lyon; gold match box and cameo brooch, Mr. and Mrs. John T. Brook; gold tea tile, Mr. and Mrs. Matthew Herman; gold and glass cracker and cheese dish, Mrs. R. Hewitt; gold thimble, Mr. and Mrs. W. B. Lyon; flowers, Mr. and Mrs. Herman Sobel; gold pepper and salts, Mrs. M. Calderwood; gold dish, Mr. and Mrs. H. Hacker; two gold mounted fountain pens, Mr. and Mrs. A. Anderson; gold scarf pin, M. J. Lynch; gold bar pin, Miss Mary Lynch; old gold boudoir lamp, Mr. and Mrs. J. Lyon; oil painting, Mr. and Mrs. J. M. Shinn; gold thermos bottle, Mr. and Mrs. S. E. Lyon; embroidered pillow cases, the Misses Hewitt; gold and glass syrup pitcher, Mrs. W. Lyon and Mrs. Vander-Roest; gold and glass vase, Judge and Mrs. I. B. Louis; gold and glass dish, Rev. and Mrs. E. B. Rice; flowers, Wm. Edinger; gold dish, Harry A. Anderson; Ovington cup and saucer, Mrs. and Miss Offinger; Ovington cup and saucer, Mr. and Mrs. M. Offinger; $5 gold piece, Prof. and Mrs. A. B. Davis; embroidered pillow cases, E. Merritt; flowers, Miss Agnes Ward; gold and glass dish, F. Case; gold piece, $2.50, Mrs. McGalliard; book, Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Wirth; thermos bottle, Mrs. J. Brengel; cigars, J. Brengel; cigars, Mrs. Eugene Meyer; Japanese tray, Mr. and Mrs. O. Strieffler; gold bon-bon dish, Mr. and Mrs. Walter Barker; flowers, the Misses Aspenleiter; gold and glass dish, Miss Ellen Freshney; flowers, Mrs. John B. Clegg; gold and glass dish, Mr. and Mrs. Wm. Dobbs; filet lace scarf, Mrs. John Lowery; gold thimble, Mr. and Mrs. G. I. Karback; Tatting handkerchief; Mrs. H. I. Jones, gold tie clasp, Geo. Busteed; gold vanity pins, Mrs. Geo. Busteed; cigars, K. S. Durham; gold and glass mayonnaise bowl, Mrs. K. S. Durham; gold and glass dish, Mrs. MacCloud, Mrs. Rigg; gold and glass dish, Mrs. Hatch; box chocolates, Mr. and Mrs. Warren Hazen; hand painted mayonnaise bowl, Mr. and Mrs. J. Mollenhagen; flowers, Mrs. Godfrey Oden; bronze placque, Mr. and Mrs. J. Gulatsi; towel set, Mr. and Mrs. Monroe; peppers and salts, Mrs. Merz, and daughter; flowers, Mrs. Kate Mulligan; gold fish, the little Brengels; basket of flowers, Mr. and Mrs. B. Dick; peppers and salts, Mr. and Mrs. Fitzpatrick; flowers, Mrs. E. Semmons; cut glass vase and flowers, Mr. and Mrs. R. Scott; guest book, Rev. and Mrs. F. Anderson; peppers and salts, Mr. and Mrs. H. Blakeloke; bottle wine, Mr. and Mrs. D. A. Kennedy; flowers, Mrs. Merz; gold dish, Dr. and Mrs. Bryer; condiment set, Mr. and Mrs. J. Heisser; flowers, Mr. and Mrs. T. James; flowers, Mr. and Mrs. Wm. Griffin; flowers, Mr. and Mrs. Wm. Griffin; flowers, Mr. and Mrs. John Norman; flowers, Mr. and Miss Louis Kurtz; Pickard china gold plate, Mrs. Mary Dickinson; gold syrup jug and plate, Congressman and Mrs. Ben L. Fairchild.

One of the first to offer congratulations was Mrs. Hatch, who made Mrs. Hill's wedding gown fifty years ago.

Among those who attended the ceremonies and tendered personal congratulations were:  Prof. and Mrs. A. B. Davis, Rev. and Mrs. E. B. Rice, Mr. and Mrs. Robert Scott, Mr. and Mrs. J. Brengel, Mrs. Mary Offinger, Miss J. Offinger, of Mt. Vernon; Miss Florence Busteel, of Bronxville; Mrs. Fannie Hatch of New York City, Mr. and Mrs. O. Strieffler, Mr. William Ernst, Mrs. Wm. Barry, Miss Agnes Ward, of New York City; Mr. and Mrs. MacCloud, Mrs. Riggs, Mr. and Mrs. C. D. Hill of Mt. Kisco; Mrs. A. F. Kitchel of Sound Beach, Mr. and Mrs. A. R. Van de Water, Mrs. George Lawrence, Mrs. Wm. Twells Tiers, Mr. and Mrs. L. B. Wardrop, Mr. and Mrs. Jas. Harper, Mrs. Frederick Davies, H. J. Bickford, Judge A. N. Menkel, D. A. Kennedy, E. O. Bartlett, Mr. and Mrs. John T. Brook, Mrs. H. J. Carell, Miss Peterson, Mr. and Mrs. H. Chase, Miss Chae, Mrs. H. I. Jones, Mr. and Mrs. W. B. Hoff, Rev. H. H. Brown, Mr. and Mrs. J. Ward, Mr. Edgar Merritt, Mr. and Mrs. J. M. Shinn, Mrs. Robert Hewitt, Mr. and Mrs. M. Fitzpatrick, Mr. and Mrs. Alex. Anderson, Harry Anderson, J. Rolus, Jr., Mrs. Walter Barker, Mr. and Mrs. Walter Barker, Mr. and Mrs. Henry Hacker, Miss Helen Hewitt, the Misses Aspenleiter, Mr. and Mrs. Mm. Dobbs, Mrs. Ernest Mann, Mrs. F. Semmons, Mr. and Mrs. H. Blakelock, Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Ryan, Mrs. E. McGalliard, Mr. and Mrs. John Clegg, Mrs. Edward Temple, Miss Susan Singer, Mrs. Vander Roest, Mrs. Grace Lyones, Judge and Mrs. I. B. Louis, Thomas M. Kennett, Miss Ione Lyon, Mr. and Mrs. Herman Zoebel, Mrs. Matthew Herman, Mrs. M. Calderwood, Miss Helen Lyon, Mr. M. J. Lynch, Miss Mary Lynch, Mr. and Mrs. H. Playle, Mrs. Carew, Mrs. W. B. Lyon and little Eleanor, Mr. and Mrs. Adolph Fassler, Miss Anita Lyon, Mr. and Mrs. J. Buchanan, Mr. and Mrs. J. Gulatsi, Mr. John Lowery, Mr. and Mrs. Eugene Lyon, Mr. and Mrs. Martin Offinger, Mrs. G. I. Karback, Mrs. Loretta Cook, Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Lyon, Mr. and Mrs. Young, Mr. and Mrs. J. Mollenhagen, Rev. Dr. Louis G. Leary, Mrs. Godfrey Oden, Mrs. Kate Mulligan, Miss Mulligan, Mr. and Mrs. A. Monroe, Mrs. Merz, Miss Emma Merz, Miss L. Merz, Mr. Wm. Edinger, Mrs. Augusta Keller, Mrs. Thomas Barker, Miss Caroline Barker, Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Barker, Mrs. Harriet Barker, Mrs. Mary Dickinson.

Over a hundred telegrams and letters were received.  From Congressman and Mrs. Ben L. Fairchild at Washington came hearty congratulations; others arrived from Kansas City, Rochester, N. Y., Syracuse, Danbury, Ct., North Hero, Vt., and other places.

Mr. and Mrs. Hill wish to take this opportunity of thanking all their many friends for their wonderful expressions of good will."

Source:  Many Congratulations For Pelham Couple At Their Golden Wedding -- Mr. and Mrs. Isaac Hill of Third Avenue Marked Completion of Fifty Years of Wedded Life With Celebration Attended By Scores of Friends -- Were Married In the Village of Mount Vernon In 1872, The Pelham Sun, Nov. 17, 1922, Vol. 13, No. 38, p. 1, cols. 3-4 & p. 4, cols. 1-4.

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