Historic Pelham

Presenting the rich history of Pelham, NY in Westchester County: current historical research, descriptions of how to research Pelham history online and genealogy discussions of Pelham families.

Monday, March 26, 2018

How the Women of Pelham Saved the Manor Club From Poor Management by the Men Who Founded It


In 1899, a group of local women began gathering informally in Pelham Manor homes “to do fancy work.”  As they worked, one of them read aloud from a local resident’s lecture notes about “some famous character in history.”  From this modest beginning grew a second club in the area that came to be known as “The Tuesday Afternoon Club.” 

According to an article published in The Pelham Sun in 1914, The Tuesday Afternoon Club of Pelham Manor was “a women’s study club, which meets weekly for four months each winter to give its members an opportunity to come together and to study some subject more or less seriously.  Its aim is to give purpose to the reading of the busy housewife so that the years may not drift by in desultory fashion but with passing time may yield some substantial intellectual accomplishment, some definite spiritual gain.” 

I have written before about the history of the Tuesday Afternoon Club.  See Thu., May 26, 2016:  A Brief History of the Tuesday Afternoon Club Before It Merged Into the Manor Club of Pelham Manor.  

Founded formally in 1900, the Tuesday Afternoon Club paid the Manor Club to permit it to meet in a room of the Manor Club.  Throughout the late 19th and early 20th Centuries, the Manor Club served as a social and cultural center for the little Village of Pelham Manor.  Though at that time members included men and women, men held the principal governing positions in the Manor Club.  Indeed, according to one historian of the club, it was “run” by the men – a fact that the same historian notes with some satisfaction when pointing out that in 1913 “the Manor Club . . . ran into financial difficulties.” 

The Manor Club’s financial difficulties arose at just the time The Tuesday Afternoon Club was beginning to flower.  According to one account, at about this time an unidentified member of The Manor Club “almost in jest, suggested that they offer the Clubhouse along with the Club name, to the Tuesday Afternoon Club.”  The same account notes that although the Manor Club was heavily in debt, “the ladies could not resist the temptation to own their own clubhouse.”  Within a short time, the Tuesday Afternoon Club became the new Manor Club, “taking over its name, its clubhouse and a debt of several thousand dollars.”

The ladies of the Tuesday Afternoon Club proceeded to reform the club and its finances.  They cleared its debt and raised sufficient funds so that, by 1922, they could build a new clubhouse on the site of the original clubhouse -- a structure that still stands and is still used by the club.  It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.



The First Clubhouse of the Manor Club Where The Tuesday Afternoon
Club Met During the Fifteen Years Or So It Existed Before Taking Over
and Merging Into the Manor Club.  NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

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"Our Clubs, Societies and Fraternal Organizations. . . .

The Tuesday Afternoon Club OF PELHAM MANOR.
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The Tuesday Afternoon Club is a woman's study club, which meets weekly for four months each winter to give its members an opportunity to come together and to study some subject more or less seriously.

Its aim is to give purpose to the reading of the busy housewife so that the years may not drift by in desultory fashion but with passing time may yield some substantial intellectual accomplishment, some definite spiritual gain.  

Of course, not every member can nor will give the time necessary for serious work, but lecturers and books are supplied, and members are encouraged to go as deeply into a subject as they can.

In the beginning, some fifteen years ago, the club was a little group of perhaps a dozen women who met to do fancy work while some one read aloud one of Dr. Lord's lectures about some famous character in history.  The women were too timid to write papers or to read them if they had been written.

In course of time the lectures proved tiresome and a novel was ventured upon which proved still more fatiguing.  The club was at its lowest ebb intellectually.  But a decided reaction set in which showed itself in a desire for more worthy things and which lasted for some years.

The first expression of this desire was a season spent in reading Homer's Iliad and in studying the Hellenic period, and excellent papers were not only prepared but read.

Refreshed by contact with virile Greek life the club women then pressed on to another great masterpiece and read the entire Divine Comedy of Dante which was followed by a season's study of the Renaissance in various countries.  This latter year was the first time that the club had ventured to do without a text book, depending entirely upon a plan arranged by itself.  Many of us remember with pleasure the hard work of these two seasons, especially the study of this medieval poem and its early Italian background.

Coming a little closer to modern times another great poem was chosen for study, and a season was well spent in reading both parts of Goethe's Faust.  This poem proved heavier reading than most busy women cared to undertake alone, but under the stimulus of weekly meetings and the companionship of earnest minds many of them persevered to the end which brought its own reward.

Two delightful seasons were then given to Shakespeare, which were followed by the study of a group of leaders of modern thought.

A winter's study of Browning was to have rounded out the cycle of the masters of literature, but the club, now grown large, decided to turn its attention away from the realm of the imagination and toward the problems of daily living.  The growth of feminism brought with it a certain sense of responsibility toward practical mundane affairs which caused the club to give several seasons to the study of Political Economy, Elementary Law and kindred civic subjects until after a time another current turned the tide in the direction of the arts.

Because it was the most vital and personal of the arts as well as one which combined not only literary and pictorial interest but the representation of human emotion and struggle, the art of the Diana was chosen as the subject both for last year and this.

It is gratifying to look back and to note the healthy development of the Tuesday Afternoon Club during the past fifteen years, from a dozen members to more than a hundred, and from the reading of a printed lecture to the program for the present season of 1914, when the members of the club will listen to eight lectures on the Theory of the Theatre by Clayton Hamilton, of Columbia University, and will themselves conduct discussions upon eight subjects of present day interest, such as socialism, suffrage, modern religion, modern literature, music and art.

The spirit of the club is most generous and kindly and there is shown a steadily increasing interest in the higher things of life, both intellectual and spiritual, which is due in large measure to the influence and inspiration of the President of the club, who has held that office since the beginning.

EVELYN RANDALL."

Source:  Randall, Evelyn B., Our Clubs, Societies and Fraternal Organizations. . . . The Tuesday Afternoon Club OF PELHAM MANOR, The Pelham Sun, Dec. 20, 1913, p. 3, col. 2

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"Mrs. Joan E. Secor Dies In San Francisco; Manor Club President 26 Years
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One of Pelham Manor's Most Revered Citizens; Was First President of Tuesday Afternoon Club Founded in 1900; Later Merged With Manor Club; Town Historian for Five Years.
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Mrs. Joan Elizabeth Secor, who for twenty-six years was president of the Manor Club and the guiding spirit in the growth of the club, died suddenly on Saturday at San Francisco, where she has made her home since May, 1925.  Funeral services were held at San Francisco on Monday.  The remains will be brought east for interment.  Plans for interment have not been arranged yet.

She was the widow of James F. Secor, old resident and at one time school trustee.

Mrs. Secor was the aunt of Miss Anna Cockle and Isla V. Cockle of Pelham Manor.  She is also survived by four sisters, Mrs. Vincent Cottman and Miss Jane Klink of San Francisco, Mrs. Emil Theiss and Mrs. Franklin Huntington of Norfolk, Va., and two brothers, George T. Klink and William M. Klink, of San Francisco..

Mrs. Secor was born at Vallejo, Calif., in 1858.  In 1880 Mr. Secor while inspecting the dry docks at Vallejo, which were constructed by his father, met Miss Joan Elizabeth Klink, and after a short courtship the couple were married at Vallejo.  They came to the Secor home in Pelham Manor to live shortly after.  The dynamic personality of the young bride soon established her as a leader.

In 1900 the need for a women's club in Pelham Manor was recognized and Mrs. Secor was instrumental in establishing the Tuesday Afternoon Club whose meetings soon became the culture center of the village.  Mrs. Secor was elected president of the club.  Other officers were Mrs. Charles B. Hull, vice-president; Mrs. William B. Randall, secretary; Mrs. Charlotte E. Cowles, treasurer.

The Tuesday Afternoon Club used to meet in one of the alcoves of the Manor Club building.  The Manor Club had been established as a men's club in 1887, and for years it has been successful.  However, at the time of the organization of the Tuesday Afternoon Club, the Manor Club was experiencing difficulties, and the organization was glad to encourage the use, at a nominal fee, of the building by the women's club.

(Continued on Page Four)

MRS. JOAN E. SECOR DIES SUDDENLY
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(Continued from Page One)

In 1914 the Manor Club joined with the Tuesday Afternoon Club, and the women replaced the men as officers.  Mrs. Secor was elected president of the new Manor Club and she remained in the chair until her departure from Pelham in 1925.  After that she was honorary president.

It was under the guidance of Mrs. Secor that the Manor Club extended its membership from a handful of women to more than 500.  It was also under her direction that the present clubhouse of the Manor Club was financed and constructed.  She officiated at the laying of the cornerstone in 1921 and at the dedication of the building in 1922.

Mrs. Secor retired as president of the club in May, 1925, at which time she left Pelham to take up her residence in San Francisco.  Glowing tribute to her 26 years as president of the club was paid by the members of the Manor Club at the annual banquet.  An engrossed resolution was presented to the retiring president as well as handsome gifts in token on the esteem in which Mrs. Secor was held.  

Mrs. Secor was unanimously elected Honorary President and in recent years acted in an advisory capacity.  

Annually at the final meeting of the Manor Club a telegram of love and congratulation was forwarded to the honorary president of the club.  A similar greeting was received from Mrs. Secor.  At the last annual meeting she sent the following message:

'Greetings from the far away California coast, where I lived until I was in my 23rd year and then upon occasion of my marriage to Mr. Secor in 1880, I came to New York and shortly afterward to Pelham Manor.  I can truly say that I have lived my life in Pelham Manor, that is, in its working years, and they are the years that count.

'It was the Manor Club which gave me my first experience in the art of managing public affairs, and I learned during the years I was its president.  It is not the length of time one is in office, but what one accomplished while there which counts.  I now see that the whole-hearted cooperation in things that are uplifting, the generous willingness to do something to make the club better, more stimulating to what is highest and best in our daily lives, had made the Pelhams a finer place in which to live.  This was the great aim of our young years, and it has been accomplished as I see and feel although so many miles away.

'Life in the Pelhams is a finer thing by reason of the influence of a group of women who worked and still do, to bring out the best qualities of those about them through the study of literature, music, art, the drama and the various sections.

'Therefore, I say to you who thus labor, 'go forward, be not weary of well-doing.'  To my dear friends Mrs. Longley, who is to retire from the office of president, I send my warm love and congratulations upon her successful presidency, and now will close, my dear Sophie (Mrs. H. E. Dey) with kind remembrances to my many friends in the Manor Club, among whom you are surely included.

'JOAN E. SECOR,

'Honorary President.'

Mrs. Secor was for many years a contributor to The Pelham Sun.  Her historical articles were widely read and her history of Pelham, which she compiled as Town Historian, is very interesting.

Mrs. Secor's love for Pelham is shown in the tribute, 'A Toast to Pelham' which is printed in this issue of The Pelham Sun.  A framed copy of this tribute was presented to The Pelham Sun by Mrs. E. T. Gilliland, old resident who was a dear friend of Mrs. Secor.

As a tribute to the memory of the late Mrs. Secor the flag on the clubhouse grounds will be flown at half mast staff for a month.

The portrait of Mrs. Secor, painted by George Brehm and hanging in the assembly room of the club is draped in black.

A large spray of flowers to entirely cover the coffin was sent by the Manor Club to San Francisco."

Source:  Mrs. Joan E. Secor Dies In San Francisco; Manor Club President 26 Years -- One of Pelham Manor's Most Revered Citizens; Was First President of Tuesday Afternoon Club Founded in 1900; Later Merged With Manor Club; Town Historian for Five YearsThe Pelham Sun, Jul. 29, 1932, Vol. 23, No. 19, p. 1, cols. 1-2 & p. 4, cols. 4-7.  

"Pelham Manor:  Manor Club Directors To Open Season Tuesday. . . .

Mrs. William B. Randall, the Manor Club Bulletin, which contains an apt summary of the club's later history.

Founded Afternoon Club

'In 1900 a small group of women of the Manor arranged to read and study together.  They founded the Tuesday Afternoon Club, which for 14 years had but one president, Mrs. James Secor.  This little club held its meetings in the Manor Club house, and it grew as the village grew.  It developed a fine spirit and a real love for culture.  In congenial company the members felt equal to almost any task, and were wont to spend an entire year studying Homer, Dante, Goethe or Browning.'

As the village was not large, the income of the Manor Club was totally inadequate to the task of financing itself.  After 20 years of effort, the club was ready to give up the struggle, when Mr. Harry Dey suggested turning the Manor Club over to the women of the Tuesday . . .'

'So it was that the old Manor Club became a typical women's club, devoted a typical women's club, devoted to study and to the personal development of its members, and again it continued to grow . . . On a certain Winter evening in 1922 the new club house was formally opened by a gala performance on the stage, with flowers and speeches and congratulations on both sides of the curtain.' . . . .

Source:  Pelham Manor:  Manor Club Directors To Open Season Tuesday, The Daily Argus [Mount Vernon, NY], Oct. 3, 1937, p. 14, cols. 1-2.  

"40th Birthday Of Tuesday Afternoon Club Is Observed At Gala Luncheon
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Mrs. Hillard Birney, Manor Club President, Hostess at Luncheon Honoring Tuesday Afternoon Club, Honorary Club Members and Past Presidents.  Mrs. Dey is Made an Honorary Member.
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Mrs. Hilliard C. Birney, president of the Manor Club was hostess at a gala luncheon party in the clubhouse on Tuesday afternoon, honoring members of the Tuesday Afternoon Club, honorary members of the club and past presidents.  The occasion marked the 40th anniversary of the founding of the Tuesday Afternoon Club, one of the predecessors of the present woman's club.  Reminiscences of members of the early club added interest to the occasion which also marked Mrs. Birney's own birthday, and brought out the fact that the Manor Club was founded in 1882 as a social organization for both men and women.

The Tuesday Afternoon Club, after 14 years independent existence was merged with the Manor Club in 1914 and the organization has continued to flourish as an outstanding woman's club.  The Manor Club will observe its 60th birthday in 1942.  

At the luncheon party which was also attended by presidents of nearby women's clubs and by Mrs. Edward Whitney, president of the the Westchester Federation, Mrs. Birney announced on behalf of the Board of Directors, the election of Mrs. Henry E. Dey of Pelham Manor as an honorary member of the Manor Club.  Calling Mrs. Dey, 'one of the most beloved members of both the Tuesday Afternoon Club and of the Manor Club,' Mrs. Birney made known the honor paid to her in recognition of long and devoted service.

Singing of the tradition 'Blessing' the words of which were written by Mrs. Joan E. Secor who was first president of the Tuesday Afternoon Club and also of the Manor Club when it became a women's organization in 1914, opened the exercises.  Mrs. Hugh G. Curran, widely known as Pearl Curran, the composer, who wrote the music was at the piano.  The 'Blessing' was sung by Mrs. Winfred B. Holten, Jr., Mrs. Clarence H. Connor, Mrs. Laurence T. Hemmenway and Mrs. Francis Moore.

Mrs. Birney paid tribute to the women who made up the Tuesday Afternoon Club, 'a forward-looking' group who grew from 1900 to 1914 at which date they merged with the older Manor Club, and developed into the large and flourishing woman's club of today.

Mrs. Francis T. Kingsley and Mrs. William B. Randall both presented intimate pictures of the days of the Tuesday Afternoon Club as they knew it.  Mrs. Kingsley, who became the first treasurer of the Manor Club as a woman's club in 1914, recalled the earlier days of the community when telephones were few and far between and when the work of organization was necessarily much slower than it is today.  In Pelham was to be found, she said, a very cultured group of people.  She described briefly the limited quarters of the old Manor Club, the scene of much cultural and social activity.  

Mrs. Randall, who was the first secretary-treasurer of the Tuesday Afternoon Club and the first secretary of the Manor Club when it became a woman's group in 1914, gave an interesting view also of the 'old days.'  She recalled a small group of about twenty women meeting once a week in the months after Christmas, in the music room of the home of Mrs. Robert C. Black and her own collaboration with Mrs. Secor in mapping out a five year study plan for the Tuesday Afternoon Group which studied the world's great writers.  Mrs. Robert C. Black became the first vice-president of the Manor Club as a woman's club in 1914.

Mrs. H. G. K. Heath, an honorary member of the Manor Club, and a vice-president of the Tuesday Afternoon Club spoke briefly and the past presidents of the Manor Club were presented by Mrs. Birney and also were heard briefly.  They are:  Mrs. James Longley, Mrs. Walter B. Parsons, Mrs. Charles M. Chenery and Mrs. Louis Carreau.

Mrs. James L. Gerry, club historian and Mrs. Manning Stires, club representative with the Westchester Federation, both of the Tuesday Afternoon Club, were also presented by Mrs. Birney.  Mrs. Henry E. Dey acknowledging the honor paid to her by making her an honorary member of the club, paid tribute to Mrs. Secor, 'the spirit of the old days was the spirit of Mrs. Joan Secor,' she declared.

Guests Are Introduced

Presidents of women's clubs in nearby communities were introduced by Mrs. Birney who also presented Mrs. Whitney the Westchester Federation head; Mrs. Wilfred Winaus, president of the New Rochelle Woman's Club; Mrs. Stirling Smith, president of Larchmont Woman's Club; Mrs. Albert Ferris, president of the Crestwood Woman's Club, and Mrs. F. Leslie Jones, president of the Rye Woman's Club.

Mrs. Birney also introduced members of the present Board of Directors of the Manor Club:  Mrs. Arthur Procter, Mrs. William G. Luke, Mrs. Charles M. Hart, Mrs. John F. Hamond, Mrs. James Aukland, Mrs. Richard G. Knowland, Mrs. J. Donald Robb and Mrs. Wm. R. Butler.  Alas Mrs. Alexander Freehold, editor of the Club Mullets and the chairmen of that section; American Home, Mrs. John W. Darr; Mrs. Edward Albright, Art; Mrs. William R. Bull, Choral; Mrs. Edward A. Scott, Jr., Civic; Mrs. Talbert Sprague, Drama; Mrs. Edmund D. Scotti, French; Mrs. James B. Thorpe, Garden; Mrs. C. Kermit Ewing, Junior; Mrs. H. Llewelyn Roberts, Literature; Mrs. Pike Waldrop, Travel; Mrs. Richard Block, Music; Mrs. Robert J. Woods, Chairman of the Holiday Dance Committee; Mrs. Forrest M. Anderson, Hospitality Chairman; Mrs. George Cusack, Social Committee Chairman, and Mrs. William S. Banks, Librarian.

A birthday cake with lighted candels, in honor of the occasion was carried to the speakers' table where Mrs. Randall, at the invitation of Mrs. Birney, cut the first piece of cake.  Birthday greetings appropriate to the anniversary and birthday greetings for Mrs. Birney were sung by the club members and guests.

Songs written by Mrs. Curran added to the anniversary luncheon.  Mrs. Moore sang a number called, 'Contentment,' and Mrs. Holton, daughter of the composer, sang 'The Best is Yet to Be.'  Mrs. Curran accompanied both singers.

Guests of honor at the anniversary luncheon included:  Mrs. R. Clifford Black, Mrs. William H. Blymer, Mrs. Danforth Brown (an honorary member); Mrs. Louis Carreau, Mrs. Charles Chenery, Mrs. Theodore J. Deuscher, Mrs. Dey, Mrs. J. T. Fenlon, Mrs. Albert C. Field, Mrs. Gerry, Mrs. E. Kendall Gillett, Mrs. Ezra T. Gilliland (an honorary member); Mrs. H. G. K. Heath (an honorary member); Mrs. Edward C. King, Mrs. Kingsley (an honorary member); Mrs. George W. Lawrence, Mrs. Longley, Mrs. Schuyler Mills, Mrs. William R. Montgomery, Mrs. Robert M. Morgan, Mrs. H. B. Mulliken, Mrs. William H. Orchard, Mrs. Walter B. Parson, Mrs. Edward Penfield, Mrs. William B. Randall, Mrs. Merton C. Robbins, Mrs. Manning Stires, Mrs. W. W. Warner, Mrs. Ellen S. Whitall, Mrs. Joseph C. Wilberding. 

Mrs. Randall and Mrs. Wilberding are both honorary club members also.

The luncheon tables were decorated with red roses and stocks.  Luncheon arrangements were made by the Social Committee and the Hospitality Committee.  About 100 club members and guests also made reservations.  

The musical part of the program was under Mrs. Curran's direction."

Source:  40th Birthday Of Tuesday Afternoon Club Is Observed At Gala Luncheon -- Mrs. Hillard Birney, Manor Club President, Hostess at Luncheon Honoring Tuesday Afternoon Club, Honorary Club Members and Past Presidents.  Mrs. Dey is Made an Honorary Member, The Pelham Sun, Jan. 12, 1940, p. 7, cols. 3-4.


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Friday, July 07, 2017

James Francis Secor, Builder of Union Monitors, Ironclads, and Drydocks During Civil War, Lived in Pelham


James Francis Secor was a son of Francis Secor (b. May 22, 1776, d. Aug. 23, 1863).  Francis Secor was a merchant, shipwright, and ship chandler who reportedly was associated with Robert Fulton in the construction of the first successful steam vessel.  Francis Secor was a son of Eli Secor (b. 1743, d. 1830) and Ann Gedney. He bought a 150-acre estate in Pelham Manor and built a grand summer home on the grounds.  The family first alternated between their fashionable Murray Hill residence and their grand summer home in Pelham Manor until they suffered a major financial setback and lost a large portion of the family fortune. At that time, they gave up their New York City residence and moved to the Pelham Manor home where they lived thereafter.

I have written about the notable Secor family and the Secor estate on a number of occasions.  For examples, see:

Mon., Mar. 27, 2017:  More on Francis Secor of Pelham, Father of James Francis Secor and Grandfather of James Frances Secor, Jr.

Tue., Aug. 25, 2015:  Joan Elizabeth Klink Secor, Known as Annie, Was a Notable Pelham Manor Resident and Town Historian.

Wed., Apr. 15, 2015:  The Secor Estate in the Village of Pelham Manor.

James Francis Secor was born in New York City in about 1814.  He and several of his brothers followed in the footsteps of their father, Francis Secor.  James and three of his brothers, Zeno, Henry, and Charles, formed the shipbuilding firm of Secor Brothers that operated out of Jersey City.  During the Civil War, Secor Brothers constructed at least five ironclads to the United States Government, including the Mahopac.  



Source:  U.S. National Archives Photograph, No.
NWDNS-111-B-409. NOTE: Click on Image to Enlarge.

According to obituaries published after his death, James Francis Secor's most notable accomplishments included the construction of the Mare Island Navy Yard in San Francisco, the Pensacola Navy Yard and "many of the monitors, ironclads and dry docks which contributed so largely toward putting an end to the civil war."  

The father of James Francis Secor, Francis Secor, died on August 23, 1864.  James Francis Secor succeeded to the Secor home on Secor Hill after his father's death.  Like Francis Secor, James Francis Secor and his son James Francis Secor, Jr. (and his daughter, Anna M. Secor,) became notable Pelham residents who shaped the early Village of Pelham Manor and various of its important institutions including the Manor Club.

James Francis Secor died at about the age of 90 on Tuesday, December 27, 1904.  According to an obituary, "until a few hours of his death retained the mental clearness and physical vigor which had been the marvel of his friends for many years."

Today's Historic Pelham posting transcribes the text of several obituaries of James F. Secor below and provides citations and links to their sources.

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"FAMED NAVAL BUILDER, JAMES F. SECOR, IS DEAD
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Family at Bedside in Beautiful Pelham Manor Home
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HAD PASSED HIS 90TH YEAR
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He Built Navy Yards at Mare Island and Pensacola, Besides Monitors for Civil War.
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After a long and eventful business and social career, which had brought him into close relations with Daniel Webster, Admiral Farragut and hundreds of other men who a half century ago were prominent in shaping the destinies of the Nation.  James F. Secor, builder of the Mare Island Navy Yard in San Francisco, the Pensacola Navy Yard and many of the monitors, ironclads and dry docks which contributed so largely toward putting an end to the civil war, died suddenly in his handsome country home in Pelham Manor last evening.  He was 90 years old and until within a few hours of his death he retained the mental clearness and physical vigor which had been the marvel of hundreds of friends for many years.  

Mr. Secor complained yesterday morning of being ill and went to bed.  That was such an unusual thing physicians were summoned.  At first they did not think his condition serious, but when he continued to grow weaker they advised the family to summon his daughter, Mrs. Frank Dickerson of this city, at one time commander of the New York Yacht Club.

FAMILY AT BEDSIDE.

Mr. Secor's other children, James F. Secor, Jr., a New York business man; Mrs. Washington Cockle and Miss Anna Secor, were with their father when he was stricken, the handsome old manor house, which in Colonial days belonged to Lord Pelham [sic], being their home, too.  All day long they remained at the bedside watching the life that had been such a strong link between the past and the present slowly and peacefully come to an end.

When it became known in Pelham Manor that Mr. Secor was dead the expression of regret was general.  He not only was one of the wealthiest and most prominent men in that section, but his remarkable vitality, mental vigor, uniform good nature and acute interest in the development of the Pelham Manor district had served to make for him thousands of friends who never failed to grasp an opportunity to show their warm regard.

Only a few weeks ago Mr. Secor celebrated the ninetieth anniversary of his birth.  Hundreds called at the manor house to congratulate him upon having joined the ranks of the nonogenarians [sic], and many others sent flowers and other tokens of friendship.

LOVED OLD MANOR HOUSE.

One of the strong traits of Mr. Secor was affection for the old Colonial manor house in which he died.  It came into the possession of the Secor family several generations ago, and then passed from it.  After Mr. Secor had won wealth as a builder of navy yards, dry docks and warships he decided to dedicate part of his fortune to regaining possession of Lord Pelham's manor [sic].

About twenty years ago the opportunity presented itself and Mr. Secor seized it.  He converted the estate into one of the handsomest country places in Westchester County and went there to live.  Having more land than he needed, he decided to develop it, and it is upon land he sold that a large part of the town [sic] of Pelham Manor now stands.

Mr. Secor was born in New York city.  His father was a famous shipbuilder here in the early part of the last century.  Mr. Secor succeeded to this business and enlarged it to such an extent that before the civil war began his name had become known widely.  When the Federal Government wanted navy yards and dry docks on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts Mr. Secor built them, and when monitors and other armored craft were needed to assist in putting down the secession movement Mr. Secor received many of the construction contracts.  

It was when engaged in this work that he became known so well to Admiral Farragut and other men prominent in the struggle to preserve the Union.  Being an ardent supporter of the Union movement and an uncompromising Republican, Mr. Secor was in hearty accord with the purposes of these men and did everything possible to forward them.  His home became a social and political centre, although Mr. Secor never aspired to or held office.

INTERESTED IN RAILWAYS.

Several years after the close of the civil war he retired from active business life, although he retained large holdings in several of the big railroads in the country.  He devoted himself to the development of his handsome estate in Westchester, and it was one of the sights in Pelham Manor in recent years to see Mr. Secor, who was nearing his century mark, out in the grounds and gardens, engaged actively in supervising the work.

His accurate reminiscence of events in the last seventy years, his knowledge of the motives underlying many important historical movements and his facility in the recital of stories bearing on the political and social lives of men of national and international prominence with whom he had been intimate and whom he had outlived, made Mr. Secor the delight of hundreds of friends."

Source:  FAMED NAVAL BUILDER, JAMES F. SECOR, IS DEAD -- Family at Bedside in Beautiful Pelham Manor Home -- HAD PASSED HIS 90TH YEAR -- He Built Navy Yards at Mare Island and Pensacola, Besides Monitors for Civil War, The New York Press, Dec. 28, 1904, Vol. XVIII, No. 6,237, p. 2, col. 5.  

"AGED WARSHIP BUILDER DEAD.

New York, Dec. 28. -- James F. Secor, builder of the Mare Island navy yard in San Francisco, the Pensacola navy yard and many of the monitors, ironclads and dry docks which contributed so largely toward putting an end to the civil war, is dead at his country home in Pelham Manor.  He was 90 years old."

Source:  AGED WARSHIP BUILDER DEAD, The Minneapolis Journal, Dec. 28, 1904, p. 1, col. 7.  

"JAMES F. SECOR DEAD.
-----
Built Monitors, Ironclads and Drydocks During Civil War.

New York, Dec. 29. -- James F. Secor, builder of the Mare Island navy yard in San Francisco, the Pensacola navy yard and many of the monitors, ironclads and drydocks which contributed so largely toward putting an end to the Civil War, is dead at his country home in Pelham Manor.  He was ninety years old and until a few hours of his death retained the mental clearness and physical vigor which had been the marvel of his friends for many years."

Source:  JAMES F. SECOR DEAD -Built Monitors, Ironclads and Drydocks During Civil War, The Bemidji Daily Pioneer, Dec. 29, 1904, Vol. 2, No. 205, p. 1, col. 5

"James Francis Secor.

James Francis Secor, a well known  resident of Pelham Manor, died Tuesday night aged 90 years.  The funeral services will be held from the residence on Friday morning at 11 o'clock, and the interment will be made in Woodlawn cemetery."

Source:  James Francis Secor, The Daily Argus [Mount Vernon, NY], Dec. 28, 1904, p. 5, col. 6.  


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Monday, December 05, 2016

Program for Laying the Cornerstone of Today's Manor Club in 1921


Late in the afternoon on June 28 1921, hundreds gathered to lay the cornerstone of today's Manor Club located at the intersection of Esplanade and Black Street.  The clubhouse was the club's second.  The cornerstone of the first clubhouse was laid on Thanksgiving Day, November 24, 1887.  See Mon., Feb. 08, 2016:  Laying of the Cornerstone of the First Manor Club Clubhouse on Thanksgiving Day in 1887.  



Photograph of the Manor Club's "Manor House" Published
in 1892.  Source:  Manor Club "Memory Book."  NOTE:
Click on Image to Enlarge.

By 1921, the Manor Club had 433 members and had outgrown its beautiful clubhouse designed by Pelham Manor architect F. Carles Merry.  On that early summer evening in 1921, members of the club gathered at the site to lay the cornerstone for the clubhouse that replaced the first one designed by Merry.  As with the cornerstone laying ceremony for the first clubhouse in 1887, we know much about the cornerstone laying ceremony for today's clubhouse in 1921.  

Significantly, Henry Waters Taft of Pelham Manor delivered the keynote address at the laying of both cornerstones in 1887 and in 1921.  Taft served as the first President of the Manor Club before the organization evolved into a women's club.  

Henry Waters Taft was a brother of William Howard Taft who served as 27th President of the United States.  Henry was an attorney who began his career in 1884 as a “salaried” associate with the New York City law firm of Simpson Thacher & Barnum, now known as Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP.  In 1889 he joined the law firm of Strong & Cadwalader, known today as Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft LLP.  Although late in life Taft had a residence in New York City, he lived for many years in Pelham Manor and even served on the Executive Committee of the Pelham Manor Protective Club during the 1880’s before the Village of Pelham Manor was incorporated.



Henry Waters Taft in 1908.  Source: Wikimedia Commons,
from the U.S. Library of Congress Division of Prints and
Photographs Under the Digital ID ggbain.03468.
NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

Famed Pelham Manor resident and Manor Club stalwart, Mrs. Robert C. Black, used the same silver trowel from the first cornerstone laying in 1887 to lay the cornerstone in 1921.

The program scheduled for the cornerstone laying on June 28, 1921 was as follows:

  • Mrs. James F. ("Joan") Secor, president of the club, presided  
  • The Gloria Trumpeters furnished some music
  • Invocation by the Rev. Lewis Gaston Leary, minister of Huguenot Memorial Presbyterian Church
  • Hymn:  "O Lord of Hosts" (Duke Street version) 
  • Address, Henry W. Taft, first president of the Manor Club
  • Vocal solo, Miss Rose Wirthlin 
  • Laying of the cornerstone by Mrs. Robert C. Black
  • Short salute by the Gloria Trumpeters and a moment of silence observed in memory of the departed members of the Manor Club listed as Robert C. Black, John H. Dey, James F. Secor, Sr., William K. Gillette, James M. Townsend, Mr. and Mrs. Charles F. Roper, William Allen Smith, Mr. and Mrs. G. Osmar Reynolds, Ezra T. Gililland, Charles H. Coffin, George Barnett and Charlotte Cowles
  • Song:  Should Auld Acquaintance be Forgot  
  • Address by Joseph C. Wilberding
  • Benediction by the Rev. Herbert H. Haight, Rector of the Church of the Redeemer
  • More music by the Gloria Trumpeters 

As one might expect, the program of the cornerstone laying ceremony in 1921 was very similar to the first ceremony in 1887.  The clubhouse built on the site following the 1921 ceremony stands today and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.



"THE MANOR CLUB," an Architectural Rendering Prepared by
William H. Orchard, Architect, in 1921.  Source:  Manor Club National
Register of Historic Places File (Reference No. 14000207), Enhanced
with Adobe Photoshop.

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Below is the text of a brief article published in 1921 that describes the planned program for the laying of the cornerstone of the new Manor Club building later the same day.  It is followed by a citation and link to its source.  

"Pelham Manor
-----

Miss Helen Walker was the guest of Miss Cockle of the manor last week.

Witherbee Black was president of his class at the reunion held at Princeton University.  

Mr. and Mrs. J. Frank Duffy have returned from Asheville, N.C. where they spent one week.

Mr. and Mrs. Edgar H. Laing have as their guest Miss Emily Goldthwait, of Hanover, N.H.

Harris B. Fisher, Jr. has returned to his home on the Shore road for the summer vacation period.  

Dr. and Mrs. Percy Norman Williams have closed their home in Siwanoy place for the summer and gone to their summer home at Lake Cayuga.

Mrs. Robert C. Black and Mrs. James F. Secor attended the lecture given yesterday at Rye by Mrs. Morrill Hamlin on 'The Japanese Monroe Doctrine.'

Miss Marie Fenlon, of 167 Secor lane, sailed Saturday on the steamship Calamards to visit Miss Mercita Hornsby, whose father is the president of a trust company in Cuba.  Miss Fenlon will probably be away about six weeks.

Village president H. W. Nuckols attended the installation of Rowland Angell as President of Yale Universtiy last week in New Haven.  Mr. Nuckols was designated as the representative of Indiana State University, his alma mater, at the exercises.

Prior to her departure for Allenhurst, N.J., Mrs. George W. Grote gave a bridge party at her residence 554 Fowler avenue last Wednesday afternoon.  The friends present were Mrs. John Heck and Mrs. Edwin Romaine of Jersey City, Miss Hastings and Mrs. H. C. Dornhelm of Bronxville, Mrs. G. Hirsch, Miss Mirriam Harris and Mrs. Edna Horton, of Pelham Manor.

The corner stone of the new Manor club will be laid at 5:30 o'clock this afternoon with appropriate ceremonies.  The program will include an address by Henry W. Taft, brother of ex-President William Howard Taft, who was the first president of the Manor club.  The corner stone will be laid by Mrs. Robert C. Black, using the same silver trowel used by her at the laying of the corner stone of the old building on Thanksgiving Day, November 24, 1887.  There is also an unusual coincidence in connection with the ceremony.  At the first corner stone laying ceremony, it was intended originally to hold the program outdoors, but after the laying, the party repaired to the residence of one of the members, John H. Dey, and had them there.  The date of this year's ceremony, June 28, is the birthday anniversary of Mr. Dey.  The program will start promptly at the hour set and will begin with Mrs. James F. Secor, president of the club presiding.  The Gloria Trumpeters will first furnish some music, then will come the invocation by the Rev. Lewis Gaston Leary, minister of Huguenot Memorial church; Hymn, O Lord of Hosts (Duke street); address, Henry W. Taft, first president of the Manor club; vocal solo, Miss Rose Wirthlin; Laying of the Corner Stone by Mrs. Robert C. Black; song, Should Auld Acquaintance be Forgot; address, by Joseph C. Wilberding; benediction by the Rev. Herbert H. Haight, rector of the church of the Redeemer; music, by the Gloria Trumpeters.  Immediately after the laying of the corner stone, the Gloria Trumpeters will give a short salute and a moment of silence observed in respect to the memory of the departed members of the Manor club.  These are Robert C. Black, John H. Dey, James F. Secor, Sr., William K. Gillette, James M. Townsend, Mr. and Mrs. Charles F. Roper, William Allen Smith, Mr. and Mrs. G. Osmar Reynolds, Ezra T. Gililland, Charles H. Coffin, George Barnett and Charlotte Cowles.  The membership of the Manor club is at the present time composed of 433 women, the men joining the Pelham Country club."

Source:  Pelham Manor, The Daily Argus [Mount Vernon, NY], Jun. 28, 1921, p. 11, col. 3.

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I have written about the Manor Club and its history on a number of occasions.  Seee.g.:  

Bell, Blake A., Early History of the Manor Club, The Pelham Weekly, Vol. XIII, No. 20, May 14, 2004, p. 12, col. 2.

Tue., Dec. 13, 2005:  The Manor Club's First Clubhouse Built in 1887-1888

Wed., Dec. 28, 2005:  The Mystery of the "Manor Club Girl" That Set Pelham Tongues Wagging in 1913

Fri., Aug. 4, 2006:  Early Images of the Original and Current Clubhouse Structures of the Manor Club in the Village of Pelham Manor, New York.

Mon., Feb. 15, 2010:  Early History of the Manor Club in the Village of Pelham Manor.

Thu., Sep. 25, 2014:  The Manor Club's Celebration of its Golden Anniversary in 1932.

Mon., Feb. 08, 2016:  Laying of the Cornerstone of the First Manor Club Clubhouse on Thanksgiving Day in 1887.

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Thursday, November 17, 2016

Report on the Previous 25 Years of Progress in Pelham Published in 1913


The year was 1913.  Pelhamites were proud.  They were supremely proud of the progress of the previous twenty-five years.  They were proud of the technological progress that prompted construction of trolley service to connect Pelham with surrounding Villages, Towns, and Cities.  They were proud of their three "artistic" railroad stations:  the Pelham Station, the Pelham Manor Station, and the Fifth Avenue Station of the New York, Boston and Westchester Railway.  Pelham also was proud of its new high school, the first ever opened in the little Town.  We know that school today as Siwanoy Elementary School.  Pelham was especially proud of its new sewage disposal plant.

The local newspaper, The Pelham Sun, was not yet three years old.  It clearly saw its mission not only to report the news, but also to extol the virtues of the growing Town of Pelham, still in its infancy.  As the newspaper sought to gain its footing, it relied heavily on articles of interest prepared by local residents.  

On December 20, 1913, The Pelham Sun published an article by James Francis Secor, Jr., one of Pelham Manor's most notable early residents.  The article extolled the progress in the Town of Pelham during the previous 25 years.  It was a rightly prideful article that also was optimistic for the future.  Today, the article sheds light on Pelham of yore and the efforts of those who came before us to make Pelham what it is today:  a community of note.  

James Francis Secor, Jr. was born in 1847.  He married Joan Elizabeth Klink in 1880.  Joan Elizabeth Klink Secor became President of the Manor Club and served in that capacity for decades.  She was a social force in Pelham and is still esteemed by members of the club she nurtured.  She also is remembered by those who appreciate the history of the little Town of Pelham.  

At the time, the Secors owned a large swath of land adjacent to Boston Post Road.   Eventually, they began to subdivide and sell the property.  In 1913, of course, James F. Secor certainly understood the need to extol the virtues of his little Town, particularly if he planned to subdivide and sell his lands. . . . . 

The report on 25 years progress in Pelham published in 1913 provides us today with a fascinating glimpse of the things about which Pelhamites were proud.  The entire report prepared by Mr. Secor appears below.   



"PELHAM MANOR VILLAGE HALL"
PAST 25 YEARSThe Pelham Sun, Dec. 20, 1913,
p. 9, cols. 4-5. NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

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Below is the report written by James F. Secor on the previous 25 years of progress in Pelham published on December 20, 1913.  The text is followed by a citation and link to the source.  

"Progress in Pelham Township
DURING PAST 25 YEARS.
-----

The advance made in Pelham Township during this period will certainly bear comparison with that made in other localities.  To begin, only a very small part of the town was settled.  In Pelham Manor between the Boston Turnpike and the Pelham Manor station there were but a few houses.  In 'Pelhamville,' now North Pelham, the number was greater.  The section now known as Secor Hill, Fowler Hill and Pelham Heights, contained not more than six houses.  The section between the Pelham Manor station and the Sound contained (including the 'Priory' and church) but three houses.  City Island and Pelham Bay Park were part of the town.  The small stone building on the Shore Road near Bartow Station was the Town Hall, where votes were cast at all elections, and where town meetings were held.  City Island, having the largest population, controlled the election, and hence the appropriations.  The 'Main Land,' as our part of the town was called, received but a small sum for the improvement of roads, although our part of the taxes.  What changes have taken place in twenty-five years, the foregoing statement, contrasted with the present condition, will show, New York City has annexed City Island and Pelham Bay Park.  The latter has been improved with fine roads, a golf links, and bathing beaches established, of which residents of the town have the same privileges as city residents.

Our town now has its own town government.  We have three separate villages -- North Pelham, Pelham and Pelham Manor -- also a portion still unincorporated, bordering on the Village of Pelham Manor and New York City.  Since the elimination of City Island we have by the fortunate selection of our town and village officials secured large amounts of money for improvements, also its honest and efficient expenditure, the result showing in our well paved streets of brick, asphalt and macadam, cement and flagstone sidewalks, sewers, water, gas, with electricity in our streets, and the lighting of the same.

We now possess a trolley service through the town and to neighboring cities, also transportation to New York City by trolley, or electric railroad, giving frequent service to Grand Central Station, and Third Avenue Elevated Railroad, from the three comfortable and artistic stations.  The town owns a fine Town Hall, situated in the village of North Pelham, also a sewage disposal plant.  The Villages of North Pelham and Pelham ('Pelham Heights') have a modern and well equipped fire department and an efficient police force.  The town has one Free School District, and through liberal appropriations has erected three modern school buildings in which are maintained a fully graded grammar school at North Pelham, a fully graded grammar school and high school at Pelham Manor, a building at Pelham Heights (not in use at present) and in addition the old brick school building with with one acre of land in Pelham Manor.  We also have in Pelham Manor an influential private school, known as 'Pelham Hall.'

The Township also has within its borders the new Pelham Country Club, the Manor Club, the New York Athletic Club at Travers Island, and an artistic building in North Pelham, housing the Masonic Lodge.  We also have five churches, the Priory (Episcopal), Huguenot Memorial (Presbyterian), Congregational, Catholic and Church of the Redeemer (Episcopal).

Contrast all these comforts and conveniences as factors of civilization with the former conditions of dirt roads, no sidewalks, no gas, no electricity, no running water, no sewerage, few trains, no trolleys, inadequate school buildings, no telephones, -- and it is most apparent that Pelham has progressed along material lines very greatly during the past twenty-five years.

JAMES F. SECOR."

Source:  Progress in Pelham Township DURING PAST 25 YEARS, The Pelham Sun, Dec. 20, 1913, p. 9, cols. 4-5.


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