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, February 25, 2019

Example of 1938 U.S. Commemorative Half Dollar that Honors Pelham History Sells at Auction for $3,600.00


In April 1937, the Philadelphia Mint minted a small quantity of legal tender United States silver half dollar coins.  These coins, dated 1938, commemorated the 250th anniversary of Jacob Leisler's purchase from John Pell of the Manor of Pelham the lands that became New Rochelle and the subsequent settlement of those lands by Huguenot refugees, many fleeing persecution in La Rochelle, France.  Although Congress authorized the minting of 25,000 of the half dollar coins, only 15,266 were struck by the Philadelphia mint.  

 The obverse of the coin depicts John Pell of the Manor of Pelham holding a rope tethered to the neck of the famed "fatt calfe" with which he is standing.  The image depicts Pell as he received the calf from Jacob Leisler in connection with the purchase of New Rochelle.  The September 20, 1689 contract of sale for those lands required Jacob Leisler, his heirs and assigns to deliver to John Pell, his heirs and assigns, every June 24 "forever (if demanded)" such a "fatt calfe.  Periodically, members of the Pell family make a ceremonial "demand" for delivery of such a fatt calfe from the City of New Rochelle in connection with family reunions and special celebrations.

 The reverse of the coin depicts a conventional "fleur-de-lis," flower of France, that also appears on the coat-of-arms of old La Rochelle, in France, from which many of the early refugee settlers who settled New Rochelle fled.  It also appears on the seal of modern New Rochelle.  The sculptor who designed the coin was Gertrude K. Lathrop of Albany, New York who also designed the Albany Charter Half Dollar minted the same year.

 I have written before about the 1938 commemorative silver half dollar that depicts John Pell of the Manor of Pelham receiving the famed "fatt calfe" from Jacob Leisler.  See:

 Bell, Blake A., John Pell and the New Rochelle Commemorative Coin Dated 1938, The Pelham Weekly, Vol. XIII, No. 7, Feb. 13, 2004, p. 10, col. 1.

 Fri., Mar. 23, 2018:  United States Commemorative Half Dollar Minted in 1937 Honored Pelham History.

 Today's Historic Pelham article reports on an interesting auction of a fine example of one of these 1938 commemorative silver half dollars.  

 December 13-14, 2018, Heritage Auctions held its last coin auction of the year.  On the first day of that auction, it offered one of the top known graded examples of the 1938 New Rochelle commemorative coin.  The example was in a sealed case reflecting a grading of MS68 by the Numismatic Guaranty Corporation.  Minimal oxidation had created a lovely rainbow of colors on portions of the coin, an effect often referenced as "toning" -- an effect for which many collectors of such coins are willing to pay a premium when the light patina of rainbow colors is considered to add beauty to the item.

 Heritage Auctions described the coin as follows:

 "1938 New Rochelle Half Dollar, MS68 Lively Luster, Spectacular Color 

 1938 50C New Rochelle MS68 NGC. The New Rochelle half dollars of 1938 were actually struck in 1937, championed by the Westchester County Coin Club of New Rochelle to celebrate the town's 250th anniversary. The coins were handled with care, but few can match the quality of this spectacular MS68 representative. Lavender-toned centers merge with accents of blue, gold, and russet around the border areas. Lively luster percolates through the layers of color. Essentially pristine. Census: 20 in 68 (1 in 68+, 4 in 68 ★ , 1 in 68+★ ), 0 finer (10/18).(Registry values: N2998) (NGC ID# BYDX, PCGS# 9335) 

 Weight: 12.50 grams 

 Metal: 90% Silver, 10% Copper"

 Source:  Lot # 3995:  1938 50C New Rochelle MS68 NGC, Heritage Auctions (visited Feb. 22, 2019).  

Heritage Auctions Image of the MS68 1938 New Rochelle
Commemorative Half Dollar.  NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

 The coin is one of only 20 graded by Numismatic Guaranty Corporation that has received the high grade of MS68 (although there is a small handful of such coins that NGC has graded slightly higher).  

 On the first day of the two-day Heritage Auctions event (December 13, 2018), the coin sold for $3,600.00.  According to an article later released by Coin World:  "Most of the original mintage of 15,266 survivors remain in higher Mint State grades and even ones graded MS-66 or MS-67 are frequently seen. The population thins in MS-68, but Heritage Auctions offered one in this grade certified by Numismatic Guaranty Corp. — one of twenty like-graded coins at NGC — at a December auction."  See Roach, Steve, "1938 New Rochelle Half Dollar is of Infrequently Seen Quality" in Coin World (Feb. 21, 2019) (online version visited Feb. 22, 2019).  
Uncirculated versions of this coin today graded as high as MS66 or MS67 can sell for up to $450.


Obverse of the Half-Dollar Commemorative Coin Depicting John
Pell Receiving the "Fatt Calfe"  NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.


Reverse of the Half-Dollar Commemorative Coin Depicting
Fleur De Lis Representing La Rochelle and New Rochelle
NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.


John Pell Who Is Depicted Receiving the Fatt Calfe on
the Obverse of the Commemorative Coin.  NOTE:
Click on Image to Enlarge.

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I have written before about the United States half-dollar commemorative coin minted to commemorate the 250th anniversary of New Rochelle celebrated in 1938.  I also have written extensively about the delivery of the "fatt calfe" to John Pell known as the "Fatt Calfe Ceremony."  For examples, see, e.g.:

 Bell, Blake A., John Pell and the New Rochelle Commemorative Coin Dated 1938, The Pelham Weekly, Vol. XIII, No. 7, Feb. 13, 2004, p. 10, col. 1.

 Fri., Mar. 23, 2018:  United States Commemorative Half Dollar Minted in 1937 Honored Pelham History.


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posted by Blake A. Bell @ 5:03 AM 0 comments

Thursday, August 30, 2018

How Extensive Did Thomas Pell Believe His Land Acquisition from Local Wiechquaeskecks To Be?


For nearly 150 years, Pelham lore held that Thomas Pell's land purchase from local Natives on June 27, 1654 (old style Julian Calendar) involved 9,166 acres.  During the late 1980s, Pelham Town Historian Susan Swanson reviewed primary sources and demonstrated that Pelham lore was flatly wrong.  Pell's purchase involved up to roughly 50,000 acres of land in today's Bronx and lower Westchester County.  What lands, however, did Pell believe he acquired from local Wiechquaeskecks?

 The agreement Pell signed with local Natives that day provides some evidence of the lands Pell believed he bought in 1654.  It describes the lands as follows:

"a piece of land Bounded by ye Sea to ye South wth yt Tract off land Called by ye English Longe Island; to ye west & west & by South wth ye bay & River & River Diawockinge Acqueonunge (Chemaqūanaock to ye East) wth all ye Islands yt are in ye salt water to ye South South East & South West Against yt Tract off Land wch is Beffore expresd."

 In his history of the Town of Pelham published in 1946, Lockwood Barr described the bounds of the purchase in modern terms, stating:

 "This treaty [sic] conveyed to Thomas Pell the lands east of Hutchinson River to Mamaroneck, including City Island, Hunter's Island, Travers Island and all the others, large and small, bordering the Shore. On the mainland, the tract included Pells Point, all the Pelhams, and New Rochelle. West of the River it included the Town of East Chester, part of Mt. Vernon, and a portion of the Bronx."

 Source:  Barr, Lockwood Anderson, A Brief, But Most Complete & True Account of the Settlement of the Ancient Town of Pelham Westchester County, State of New York Known One Time Well & Favourably as the Lordshipp & Manour of Pelham Also The Story of the Three Modern Villages Called The Pelhams, pp. 12-13 (The Dietz Press, Inc. 1946).

 A variety of conveyances of portions of the property by Thomas Pell (and by his legatee nephew and nephew's wife, John and Rachel Pell) as well as lawsuits over disputed boundaries of the land Pell purchased shed fascinating light on the extent of the lands that Pell believed he purchased from the Natives and demonstrates that Pell understood his purchase to encompass lands explicitly claimed by the Dutch on which the Dutch previously had planted settlers in 1643 and, perhaps, earlier.  

 Pell clearly believed his purchase to extend from Long Island Sound (while including numerous islands off the shores of the mainland) westward to the Bronx River.  Clearly he also understood it to extend southwest of Eastchester Bay to encompass not only today's Throgg's Neck but also the entire mainland from Throgg's Neck to the Bronx River and extending all the way to the mouth of the Bronx River where it enters Long Island Sound (including Cornell's Neck, an area now known as Clason Point in the Bronx).  To the north, Pell clearly believed his land holdings extended into portions of today's Mamaroneck on the coast and even as far as an area slightly beyond the northwestern tip of today's City of New Rochelle.

This, indeed, was a vast swath of land nearly six times the size of the 9,166 acres of land that most historians claim Pell purchased.  See, e.g., Bolton, Jr., Robert, A History of the County of Westchester from its First Settlement to the Present Time, Vol. I, p. 513 (NY, NY: Alexander S. Gould, 1848) (noting that Pell's purchase "originally embraced nine thousand one hundred and sixty-six acres"). 

 What evidence do have that Pell understood his purchase to be that large?  First, by November 14, 1654, only months after his purchase, Pell planted a group of English settlers in a settlement that became known as "West Chester" by the English and "Oostdorp" by the Dutch.  Indeed, it appears that on November 14, 1654 (old style; Julian calendar), Thomas Pell entered into some form of agreement selling the portion of his lands that became the little settlement of West Chester to the English settlers.  Before the settlers paid (or completed payment) for the lands, there arose "some troubles which hindered the underwriters possession". That trouble, of course, was the intervention of Dutch authorities who arrested and imprisoned many of the settlers claiming that they had settled on land owned by the Dutch. Ten years later, Pell seems to have "settled" this longstanding matter by obtaining written confirmation from the inhabitants of the Town of West Chester that he remained the owner of the land because they (or their predecessors) had not paid Pell for the land. At the same time, Pell affirmed in writing that the inhabitants could continue to "enjoy the present improvements of Their labors, Their home Lotts, and planting grounds with what meadowes were in times past laid out to each man's particular". In short, he affirmed that he would not evict them from the land.  For more, see Mon., Nov. 06, 2006:  The Source of Confusion Over the Date Thomas Pell Acquired the Lands That Became the Manor of Pelham. 

Next, on June 24, 1664, Thomas Pell sold lands between the Hutchinson River and the Bronx River to Phillip Pinckney and James Eustis from Fairfield, Connecticut who, in turn, arranged for ten Puritan families to come by boat in August of that year to settle on a portion of the land previously occupied by Anne Hutchinson before her murder by local Natives in 1643.  Those lands included today's Town of Eastchester, City of Mount Vernon, and portions of the Bronx.

 Two years later, in 1666, Pell became embroiled in a significant lawsuit with Charles Bridges and Sarah Cornell Bridges disputing ownership of Cornell's Neck.  The map immediately below illustrates the location of Cornell's and its relationship to Pelham Neck, the settlement of Westchester, and Throgg's Neck. 


Map Showing Location of Cornell's Neck and its Relation to the
Settlement of Westchester, Throggs Neck, and Pelham Neck.
Source:  Cornell, John, Genealogy of the Cornell Family Being
R. I., Opposite p. 21 (NY, NY:  Press of T. A. Wright, 1902).
NOTE: Click on Image to Enlarge.

 Pell claimed ownership of the region including Cornell's Neck and argued, essentially, that the claims of Charles Bridges and Sarah Cornell Bridges to the land derived from a chain of title that began with an award of the land by Dutch Colonial authorities which, according to Pell, had no ownership of, or right and title to, the land.  Eventually the court rejected the positions taken by Pell.

 Next, only two weeks before Thomas Pell died in late September, 1669, John Richbell of Mamaroneck started a lawsuit against him claiming that he "Doe unjustly detaine & keep from him a certain parcell of meadowe Ground lyeing & being neare unto or upon one of ye three necks of Land at Momoronock."  Pell claimed these lands as part of his original purchase.  Richbell also claimed the lands.

The death of Thomas Pell two weeks after John Richbell first demanded a hearing on the matter before the Court of Assizes seems to have brought the matter to a halt for quite some time.  In the interim, Thomas Pell's nephew, John Pell, became the principal legatee under Thomas Pell's will and succeeded to his estate including his large land interests.

Eventually, Francis Lovelace, Governor of the Province of New York, stepped into the matter and appointed a group of Commissioners to make recommendations regarding resolution of the dispute.  The Commissioners could not agree on a resolution. Interestingly, however, they reported to Governor that they had discovered a tree in the disputed meadow "markt on ye East side with J. R. [John Richbell] & on the West with T. P. [Thomas Pell]" from which, if a line were drawn from the tree directly toward Long Island Sound, would divide the meadow exactly in half.  Though the Commissioners did not resolve the dispute, Governor Lovelace ordered Pell and Richbell to consider the report and attempt to resolve the matter before a trial would be conducted.  On January 25, 1671/72, the men reportedly settled the matter and "agreed upon [the land] to bee divided equally between them, both Meadow & Vpland, quanity & quality alike."  Consequently, a portion of the lands originally claimed by Thomas Pell were confirmed as the property of John Richbell due to his purchase from "Cakoe," a local Native who sold the land to Richbell and likely was the "Cockho" who was among the local Natives who signed the Pell Deed in 1654.  See Tue., Oct. 24, 2006:  Thomas Pell's and John Pell's Land Dispute with John Richbell in the Late 1660s and Early 1670s.

Two decades after Thomas Pell's death, on September 20, 1689, Pell's principal legatee and nephew, John Pell, and John Pell's wife (Rachel) conveyed to Jacob Leisler of New York City 6,100 acres of land that had formed portions of the northeastern part of Thomas Pell's original land acquisition in 1654.  See Fri., Apr. 06, 2007:  The Deed Reflecting John Pell's Sale of the Lands that Became New Rochelle.  

 Finally, of course, in 1895, New York City annexed a large part of the Town of Pelham including Pelham Bay Park, City Island, and other islands nearby.  All of these lands likewise were part of Pell's original purchase.  Out of roughly 50,000 acres that Pell believed comprised his original purchase from local Natives, only slightly less than 1,570 acres of remain within the boundaries of today's Town of Pelham.

 During the 1980s, then Town Historian Sue Swanson reviewed material and crafted a map that serves as a powerful visual aid to understand the magnitude of the lands that Thomas Pell believed he bought from local Wichquaeskecks in 1654.  An image of the map appears immediately below.

Map of Pell's Purchase from the Indians and Pelham Today
by Susan Swanson, Former Town Historian of the Town of
Pelham.  NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

 Another such map sheds similar light on the monumental scope of Pell's original purchase.  Although the map does not purport to depict the entire area acquired by Pell, it is an early map that helps understand the size of the purchase.  It is a map prepared in 1708 in connection with efforts begun in 1704 to have John Drake, Henry Fowler, Joseph Drake, Edmund Ward and Jeremiah Fowler act on behalf of the freeholders of the town of Eastchester in connection with procuring a patent for local lands as they sought to clarify a land dispute with the settlement of Westchester.  The map was entitled "A Draft of the Lands in Controversy Between the Inhabitants of East Chester Joynd with William Pear Tree & Surveyed & Laid Down 1st August - Graham Lell."  An image of a later copy of the map appears immediately below.

"A Draft of the Lands In Controversy Between the Inhabitants of
Westchester & the Inhabitants of East Chester Joynd with William
Pear Tree & Surveyed & Laid Down 1st August - Graham Lell" prepared
by Colonel William Peartree in 1708. NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.
Archive of the Historic Pelham Web Site.
Home Page of the Historic Pelham Blog.
Order a Copy of "The Haunted History of Pelham, New York"
Order a Copy of "Thomas Pell and the Legend of the Pell Treaty Oak."

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Wednesday, July 11, 2018

Recollections of Pelham Firefighter Who Fought the Infamous Thanhouser Movie Studio Fire in 1913


John Gruber was an early member of the First Fire District that served Pelhamville and, later, the Villages of North Pelham and Pelham (today's Pelham Heights).  He is said to have been the first "paid" fireman of the First Fire District.

 In 1931, John Gruber (who had moved to Tuckahoe) returned to North Pelham and visited the firehouse where he once had served.  A Pelham Sun reporter had the opportunity to interview him there about the early days of the First Fire District.  

 One of the fascinating elements of Gruber's reported reminiscences was his recollection of fighting the infamous Thanhouser Film Corporation movie studio fire with other Pelham firefighters on January 13, 1913 in New Rochelle.  Today's Historic Pelham Blog article tells a little of the story of that fire and efforts by First Fire District firefighters to assist New Rochelle in battling that fire.

 Between about 1:00 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. on Monday, January 13, 1913, the Thanhouser Movie Studio located at Grove Avenue and Warren Street in nearby New Rochelle was humming with activity.  More than fifty employees including actors and actresses were working hard on several movies as part of the studio's policy of turning out about three movies a week.

 Yes, in those days the Pelham region (including New Rochelle and City Island) was an important movie-making center before the rise of Hollywood.  Many Thanhouser films were made in Pelham and in other parts of our region and were distributed to theaters throughout the country as the infant movie entertainment industry began to grow.  Indeed, I have written before about Thanhouser films made in Pelham.  See:

 Fri., Jun. 30, 2006:  Is There New Evidence of a Previously Unknown Thanhouser Company Silent Film That Was Filmed, in Part, in Pelham in 1911?

 Tues., Mar. 31, 2015:  Another Silent Film Recorded in Part in Pelham In 1912.

 On that January afternoon more than 105 years ago, however, something happened at the Thanhouser Studio in New Rochelle.  To this day, no one is quite certain what.  There was in the film development darkroom an area known as the "perforation section" where film negatives were perforated so sprockets on film projection equipment could pass the film through the projectors for display to audiences.  Somehow, there was a spark from the equipment or, perhaps, friction overheated the film stock.  In any event, something happened.

 In those days, film stock was made of celluloid, a highly flammable plastic made of cellulose treated with sulfuric acid and potassium nitrate to create cellulose mononitrate.  Indeed, film stock was so combustible that most projection rooms at public movie theaters -- including that of the Pelham Picture House in Pelham -- were built as fireproof rooms with special equipment that automatically sealed all openings in the event of fire to contain the flames long enough to permit patrons and employees to escape.

 That day in 1913, somehow, the film stock in the perforation area burst into flames.  In only a few moments, the flames spread to curtains and wooden walls until they were out of control.  Employees in the darkroom burst out of the area and spread the alarm.  According to one account:

 "The cry of 'fire' caused a scene of intense excitement.  Employees working in the other departments, actors and actresses on the stage, dashed toward the cloak and dressing rooms, but were driven back by the flames.  Bert Adler, the general publicity agent, with Charles J. Hite, president of the Thanhouser Film Corporation, shouted for order, which calmed the more excited ones, and about fifty inmates of the building marched with some semblance of order through the smoke to the open air."

 It began as a two-alarm fire.  As the alarms were given, it took less than twenty minutes before two THOUSAND spectators from all over the region gathered to watch the massive conflagration.  

 Local firemen arrived promptly and, just as promptly, recognized the dangerous size of the fire as well as the fact that many nearby homes were at risk of burning as well.  The call went out for mutual aid from other communities including North Pelham and the First Fire District.

 New Rochelle Fire Commissioner Frederick E. Winter was one of the first to arrive on the scene.  He entered the building and approached stairs to assess whether it would be safe for his firefighters to battle the blaze on an upper floor.  As he neared the top of the stairs, a massive explosion blew him down the stairs and all the way into the street outside.  According to a local newspaper, miraculously he was only "slightly scorched."  

 Soon the Pelham firefighters arrived.  This was especially significant because the New Rochelle "motor fire engine" was temporarily out of commission while Pelham's First Fire District firefighters had a new pumper truck.  Moreover, there was low water pressure in the area.

 Numerous firefighters and Thanhouser employees were hurt slightly -- most scorched by the intense heat.  Miraculously, no one was killed and no one was seriously injured.  Additionally, there were many heroic actions during the blazing fire.  Although a couple of nearby homes were burned, many others that caught fire and that were scorched were saved by the firefighters.  

 One of the most amazing actions of the day was the effort by Mrs. Hattie McCroskery, a Thanhouser employee, to save all the negatives of Thanhouser films.  A local newspaper described her quick thinking and bravery as follows:

 "The quick wittedness of Mrs. Hattie McCroskery, employed in the 'journey' room, is especially worthy of note.  As soon as it was known that the building was on fire, Mrs. McCroskery dashed to the stock room and began handing out through the window the tin boxes containing the negative reels.  She refused to seek safety until the last reel was saved, and then had to be assisted from the building by the firemen."

 Other employees raced into the company's administrative offices and began throwing out of the windows "bundles of checks and money, books and papers until they were compelled to leap out of the windows on account of the heat."

Image of the New Rochelle Studio of the Thanhouser Film
Corporation Burning on January 13, 1913.  Source:  Pinterest.
NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

Pelham firefighters did all they could to help their firefighting brethren fight the fire.  According to John Gruber, "We went up there with that pumper and pumped for five hours."  Despite such efforts, however, the flames burned the studio and a couple of nearby homes to the ground.

 Once the fire was out, John Gruber drove the North Pelham pumper back to the First Fire District headquarters.  Dozens and dozens of Pelhamites who were there to watch the fire joined Pelham firefighters and hung onto the machine to hitch a ride back to North Pelham.  As John Gruber put it:  "Coming home, this machine looked like a picnic bus with half a hundred fellows from North Pelham hanging to every available hold."

 Given the volatility of film stock in that day, it was prohibitively expense to insure such locations as Thanhouser Studio.  Estimates for the loss ranged between $75,000 and $100,000 with no insurance for the losses.  Yet, the President of Thanhouser Film Corporation, Charles J. Hite, promptly announced that the company would resume work the following day by "taking advantage of the loan of their studios by other motion picture concerns."  He further announced that all employees would continue to receive their pay, uninterrupted, and that the company had leased the Cooley West building on Union Avenue near the New Rochelle Train Station that it would use as a temporary office.  He further assured the community that Thanhouser would rebuild and construct a larger fireproof studio in New Rochelle.

 Never to miss an opportunity to tell a good story, within mere weeks the Thanhouser Film Corporation released a new film entitled "When the Studio Burned."  That silent film may be watched in its entirety by clicking on the play button below.

*         *          *          *          *

 "John Gruber Returns To Recall Early Days of Fire Department
-----
Boasts He Was the First Man To Operate Pumper in North Pelham; Recalls Moving Picture Studio Fire in New Rochelle in 1915.
-----

 Memories of former days in the First Fire District were conjured up last week at fire headquarters on Fifth avenue, when John Gruber, former resident of North Pelham, and the first paid fireman to be employed by the district, dropped in for a visit.

 Gruber, who moved away from this village a number of years ago was discovered inspecting the old pumper of the department which was purchased in 1914.  Each shining bit of metal and the various items of equipment on the machine were gone over, almost lovingly by Gruber, the first man to drive this engine.

 'That's a great old pumper,' he said to several of the firemen who were standing around.  'I can remember how many hours I pumped at fires with it.'

 Several moments were spent in discussing the days before the purchase of the pumper, when horses were used to draw the engines.  At that time there were five equine members of the department and the best of all these was a big 'black' according to Gruber.

 'Remember the Thanhauser [sic] fire in New Rochelle?' Gruber was asked.

 'Do I remember that fire?  Well I ought to,' he replied.  'We went up there with that pumper and pumped for five hours.  That was in 1915 and that moving picture studio made some blaze.  Coming home, this machine looked like a picnic bus with half a hundred fellows from North Pelham hanging to every available hold.'

 A rather amusing incident was mentioned by Gruber in connection with the pumper.  He told of the time, many years ago, when the Highbrook Arms was afire.  He was sick at the time and the department rolled out to answer the alarm.

 'They got to the fire,' he continued, 'but the pumper began to act up so they came and got me out of bed to make the thing work.'

 Among other fires recalled by this veteran was the Hazen school fire in Pelham Manor, when the firemen had to work in a heavy snow storm as they fought the flames.

 Charles W. Foster, custodian of the firehouse, who was a member of the board of fire commissioners of the First District that appointed Gruber to duty, enjoyed the reminiscences.  After saying good-bye to the men on duty, Gruber left for his home in Tuckahoe."

 Source:  John Gruber Returns To Recall Early Days of Fire Department -- Boasts He Was the First Man To Operate Pumper in North Pelham; Recalls Moving Picture Studio Fire in New Rochelle in 1915, The Pelham Sun, Jul. 24, 1931, p. 7, cols. 4-5.  

 "THANHOUSER PLANT BURNED
-----
MANY NARROW ESCAPES FROM DEATH IN THIS CITY'S MOST SPECTACULAR FIRE. -- LOSS MAY REACH $100,000. -- NO INSURANCE.
-----

 The destruction of the entire plant of the Thanhouser Film Corporation, located at Grove avenue and Warren street, on Monday afternoon, entailed a loss of approximately $100,000, and is characterized by Fire Chief James Ross as the largest and fiercest blaze the local firemen have had to deal with.  The total loss of the Thanhouser plant ant the building alone is estimated at $85,000.  Neither the building nor the plant were insured owing to the excessive insurance rates necessitated by the great fire risk in a business of this nature.

 The blaze, which started shortly after 1 o'clock, necessitated the turning in of two alarms.  In about twenty minutes after the location of the fire became known there were several thousand spectators on the scene.  

 The origin of the fire, it is generally believed was in the perforating section of the dark room.  It is thought that a spark perhaps from an electric coil or from friction in one of the perforating machines which might possibly have refused to work smoothly, set fire to a reel of film.  The film, which is on a celluloid base, burned so quickly that the flames communicated to the dark curtains and woodwork with lightning rapidity.  In a few minutes the interior of the room was a mass of flames, and the employees of this department dashed through the building spreading the alarm.  

 The cry of 'fire' caused a scene of intense excitement.  Employees working in the other departments, actors and actresses on the stage, dashed toward the cloak and dressing rooms, but were driven back by the flames.  Bert Adler, the general publicity agent, with Charles J. Hite, president of the Thanhouser Film Corporation, shouted for order, which calmed the more excited ones, and about fifty inmates of the building marched with some semblance of order through the smoke to the open air.

 Narrow Escapes Many.

 On the arrival of the firemen, the building was burning like so much paper.  Fire Commissioner Frederick E. Winter, who was one of the first firemen to arrive, started up the stairs.  He was warned not to go in, but he wished to see if it were safe for the firemen to work inside.  As he neared the top of the stairs, where was an explosion and he was hurled backwards down the stairs and out to the street.  He was slightly scorched.  The firemen were handicapped at first by the low water pressure and the absence of the motor fire engine, which is not at present in use.  They did heroic work, however, and saved a number of surrounding dwellings that at one time appeared to be doomed.

 It is fortunate that no breeze was blowing while the fire was in progress, or about an entire block of closely built frame houses would have been burned to the ground.

 Escapes from serious injury on the part of firemen, Thanhouser people and spectators were numerous.  Samuel W. Dassler, commissioner of assessment, who was formerly a fire commissioner and one-time head of the department, ran across the street, under the wall of the factory, to straighten out a line of hose.  His right arm was badly scorched by the heat.  Several firemen, who refused to retire, when their comrades did, were scorched and cut by glass.

 Numerous Displays of Heroism.

 Displays of bravery were not lacking and the presence of mind shown by a number of employees of the plant is being highly commended upon today.  The quick wittedness of Mrs. Hattie McCroskery, employed in the 'journey' room, is especially worthy of note.  As soon as it was known that the building was on fire, Mrs. McCroskery dashed to the stock room and began handing out through the window the tin boxes containing the negative reels.  She refused to seek safety until the last reel was saved, and then had to be assisted from the building by the firemen.

 Mr. Hite, Mr. Adler and John Desmond, an office boy, turned back to

 (Continued on last page)
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Thanhouser Plant Burned
(Continued from first page)
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 the offices to save some of the company's records.  They threw out of the windows bundles of checks and money, books and papers until they were compelled to leap out of the windows on account of the heat.

 Loss of Money and Clothing.

 Very few of the employees were able to save any of their personal belongings.  Charles Gercke, in charge of the developing room, was unable to save $65 which was in a wallet in his coat in the cloak room.  He did good work, however, in saving valuable negatives.  Actors and actresses escaped in their stage costumes and make-up, leaving street clothes and extra wardrobes in the dressing rooms.  David Thompson, one of the actors, was the only one to save anything.  He dashed into his dressing room and saved his vest in which was his gold watch and chain.  

 Miss Bishop, one of the office assistants, it is reported, went back into the burning building to try to save a valuable brooch which was in her purse in her coat.  She was carried out of the building and the brooch was lost.

 Soon after the walls fell, a can of chemicals exploded near Grove avenue, making a loud report, and throwing blazing debris into a group of firemen and spectators.

 Adjoining Buildings on Fire.

 When it was seen that neighboring dwellings were likely to be burned to the ground, the occupants made haste to remove their belongings.  Household articles of all kind were unceremoniously dumped in the mud of the street.  The roof of the cupola on Ruppert's brewery station on Crescent avenue caught fire, as did several other buildings.  Several were badly scorched by the heat, which was the most intense of any fire in the history of New Rochelle.

 The houses of Hyman Bolnik on Grove avenue and James Graham on Crescent avenue were destroyed and the houses occupied by Mrs. Maher, Sophia Kallenberg, August Effern, Finn, Moore, Kermin, Slattery and Hoffer, began to smoulder.  The houses of Effern and Finn, on Grove avenue, opposite the factory, caught fire near the top, but the flames were extinguished.

 Company Resumes Work.

 Despite the total loss of its plant, the film company resumed work on the following day, taking advantage of the loan of their studios by other motion picture concerns.  The Thanhouser company has hired the building of Cooley & West on Union avenue, near the railroad station, which it will use as a temporary office.

 In reply to a query by Mayor Waldorf on Tuesday evening as to whether the Thanhouser corporation will remain in New Rochelle, Mr. Hite replied that a meeting of the firm had been held at his residence and it was practically decided to remain in this city, and to build a fireproof studio and factory here. Mr. Hite announced, during the fire, that the employees would continue under salary as though nothing had happened.

 Some of the Losses.

 For several days after the fire a search of the ruins was made by different Thanhouser players in the hope of recovering a part of their personal property that had been lost.

 It is reported that Bert Adler found in the ruins a gold bracelet and an opal necklace owned by Miss Marguerite Snow, which she valued at $2,000.  Miss Snow's entire wardrobe was burned.  This consisted of about thirty dresses and costumes of all descriptions.

 James Cruze, the leading man, lost fourteen suits of clothes, mostly stage costumes of fine material, and several hats of different descriptions.  In the suit he had worn to the studio that morning, he had $50 in bills, a diamond ring, a diamond pin, valued together at $300, and a gold watch and chain.

 George Barnes lost ten suits of clothes and considerable money.

 David Thompson, who plays 'heavy' roles, lost about $1,000 worth of clothing, his watch and jewelry.  Tuesday morning he found in the rains a silver belt buckle belonging to Miss Lila Chester, one of the 'juvenile' women, the silver heads of his two canes, and a diamond pin worth about about $30.

 Miss Chester lost a valuable diamond brooch in the fire.  Frank Grimmer found one of her gold bracelets in the ruins of her dressing room.

 Charles Van Houten, a carpenter, found his gold watch.  The watch was still going, though the gold case was fused and partly melted.

 One of the things saved by Charles J. Hite, president of the company, was a foreign check for $1,500.

 The $2,000 automobile used for carrying the photoplayers from place to place, was destroyed in the garage under the building."

 Source:  THANHOUSER PLANT BURNED -- MANY NARROW ESCAPES FROM DEATH IN THIS CITY'S MOST SPECTACULAR FIRE. -- LOSS MAY REACH $100,000. -- NO INSURANCE, New Rochelle Pioneer, Jan. 18, 1913, Vol. 54, No. 43, p. 1, col. 5 & p. 8, col. 5.  

 "THANHOUSER FIRE
New Rochelle Plant Destroyed, but Releases Will Continue Without Interruption

 The plant of the Thanhouser Film Company, including the studio, indoor theater and dressing rooms, at Grove, Warren Street and Crescent Avenue, New Rochelle, was destroyed by fire at 1.30 o'clock Monday afternoon, Jan. 13.  The flames started in the perforating room and spread to every part of the big, two-story building within five minutes.  Fifty employees, mostly women, remained in the offices, on the second floor, with J. C. Hite, the owner, in an effort to save films and apparatus, and got out just in time.  Mr. Hite, Bert Adler, the publicity agent, and John Desmond, a boy, were cut off from the stairways and had to jump from a second-story window.  Mr. Hite was the last to leave the building.

 The fire was a spectacular one, as the chemical contents of the building burned like powder, and there were several loud explosions.  Fire Chief James Ross was on the scene two minutes after the alarm was sounded.  The chief placed the damage at not more than $75,000, but Mr. Hite's estimate of his loss slightly exceeded that sum.  There was no insurance on the building, or any of its contents.

 None of the actors or actresses employed by the film company were in the building at the time of the fire.  Six or eight of them, including Marguerite Snow, the leading woman, and James Cruze, the leading man, were at dinner at their hotels when the alarm was sounded.  Mr. Hite, who is president of the Mutual Distributing Company, which controls the Thanhouser plant and four others, said that he would at once begin the erection of a new plant at New Rochelle.  He promised employment in one or another of his companies for all of the actors and actresses until the new plant is completed.

 The Thanhouser Producing Company in the Middle West, under Mr. Heffron, was to be back at New Rochelle last week, but they have been wired to go right on to Los Angeles, to the Thanhouser Company's studio, where a company under Mr. Henderson has been working for a month past.  This will make two companies at work there turning out the regular 'three-a-week.'  As all the negatives were saved, they will not even miss one single release, as already advertised.  

 Lawrence Marston, the producer of the Star of Bethlehem and other Thanhouser features, is busy furnishing a studio at New Rochelle, and is even now at work on a picture right on the ruins of the fire, entitled A Thanhouser Heroine.

 The Thanhouser Company is equipping a temporary studio and factory in New Rochelle, and will decide within the next few days in regard to a permanent new factory, studios and offices, which will undoubtedly be located in New Rochelle.  For the present they should be addressed at the Cooley Building, New Rochelle, where offices were equipped within a few hours after the fire."

 Source:  THANHOUSER FIRE -- New Rochelle Plant Destroyed, but Releases Will Continue Without Interruption, The New York Dramatic Mirror, Jan. 22, 1913, p. 30, col. 1. 

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Friday, March 23, 2018

United States Commemorative Half Dollar Minted in 1937 Honored Pelham History


John Pell, so-called "Second Lord of the Manor of Pelham," is believed by many to be the individual depicted on the front of a legal tender United States half dollar minted in small quantities at the Philadelphia Mint in April of 1937.  He is shown holding a rope tied to the famed “fatt calfe” that Jacob Leisler, his heirs and assigns are required to deliver to John Pell, his heirs and assigns, every June 24 “forever (if demanded)”. Periodically, members of the Pell family make a ceremonial “demand” for delivery of such a fatt calfe from the City of New Rochelle in connection with family reunions and special celebrations.

This “requirement” arises from a sale of lands by John Pell and his wife, Rachel, on September 20, 1689.  They sold to Jacob Leisler of New York City 6,000 acres from the lands originally purchased from local Native Americans by Thomas Pell.  At the same time they gifted to Leisler another 100 acres for use as church grounds.  Leisler reportedly was commissioned to acquire the land on behalf of French Huguenots seeking to relocate to North America, many of whom fled from La Rochelle in France.  The land became today’s New Rochelle, named in honor of La Rochelle from which many of the Huguenots fled religious persecution by the French Catholics.

A condition of the sale in 1689 was that Jacob Leisler, his heirs and assigns should deliver to “John Pell his heirs and assigns Lords of the said Manor of Pelham . . . as an Acknowledgment to the said Manor one fatt calfe on every fouer and twentieth day of June Yearly and Every Year forever (if demanded).”

The story behind the famed New Rochelle Half Dollar that commemorates this annual “Acknowledgment” is a fascinating one – nearly as interesting as the scene depicted on the front of the coin. The half dollar commemorates the 250th anniversary of the settlement of New Rochelle, celebrated in 1938.  That event, of course, was of local – not national – interest.  So, just how did it come about that a legal tender coin came to be minted for a local event?

The answer is:  the affluence and influence of the members of the Westchester County Coin Club of New Rochelle were responsible.  The members of that club reportedly exerted pressure on their Congressional Delegation.  Consequently, on May 5, 1936, Congress passed legislation calling for not more than 25,000 half dollars to be struck at a single mint.  The coins were specifically to be dated 1938 regardless of when they were struck since they were being struck in celebration of the 250th anniversary of the settlement of New Rochelle in 1688. 

The design process for the coin was painful – so painful that it is now legendary.  Sculptor Lorillard Wise was selected to design the coin.  His design for the front of the coin showed a Native American crouching at the shoreline watching an approaching European ship on the waters with a sunburst on the horizon.  His design for the reverse of the coin included the seal of the City of New Rochelle as well as various commemorative and other inscriptions. 

The Federal Commission on Fine Arts delayed approval of the design and considered criticisms offered by members of the public.  Still, it granted formal approval of the design on September 16, 1936. Barely a month later, the Federal Commission on Fine Arts reportedly had second thoughts and reversed itself.  Commission Chairman Charles Moore issued a letter dated October 28, 1936 saying:

“The Commission feel that this work should be placed in the hands of an artist who has had experience in producing designs for medals and coins.”

An artist named Gertrude K. Lathrop was named to replace sculptor Lorillard Wise.  Lathrop was the sculptor of the Albany Charter Half Dollar minted that same year.  She quickly produced new designs for the front and back of the coin.  She chose a man dressed in an elegant period costume holding a rope tied to the famed “fatt calfe”.  Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the design on the front of the coin is the fact that no one knows the identity of the man with the “fatt calfe”.  Most presume it to be John Pell, but Lathrop apparently never said this to be the case.  As one author has written:

“Many people believe that the figure in the late 17th Century costume is meant for John Pell, but this is unconfirmed; the design can be read to mean either that the calf is being brought to Pell by one of Leisler’s people, or that Pell has just accepted the delivery.  Had Ms. Lathrop specifically meant the figure to represent Pell, she doubtless would have said so.”

Despite such a conclusion, there seems to be fairly strong evidence that the figure on the coin depicts John Pell.  Indeed, the sales pamphlet distributed by the “New Rochelle Commemorative Coin Committee” in connection with New Rochelle’s 250th anniversary celebration in 1938 states:

“The obverse of the coin shows Lord Pell receiving the protesting ‘fatt calfe,’ while the reverse bears a conventionalized fleur-de-lis, flower of France, which appears on the coat-of-arms of old La Rochelle and on the seal of modern New Rochelle.”

Similarly, an article that appeared in The Pelham Sun at the time noted that six local Pell family members had bought commemorative half dollars and affirmed that the coin depicted delivery of the "fatt calfe" to "their forebear."  The full article stated:

"Six Pells Buy Pell Coins

Six descendants of the Lord John Pell who deeded 6,000 acres to Jacob Leisler for French Huguenot settlers 249 years ago, have purchased commemorative half dollars depicting the delivery of a 'fat calfe' to their forebear, the 250th Anniversary Celebration Committee revealed last week.

The Pells are S. H. P. Pell, John Pell, and Howland Pell, of New York City; Herbert C. Pell, of Pellbridge, Hopewell, N.Y.; Clarence C. Pell, of Westbury, L.I., and Mrs. Walden Pell, of Cedarhurst, Long Island.

The delivery of the 'calfe' alludes to the reservation Lord Pell made in the deed, 'paying unto the said John Pell his heirs and assignes Lord of the said Manor of Pelham or to the assigns of him or them or their or either of them as an Acknowledgment to the Lord of the said Mannor one fate [sic] calfe on every fouer & twentyth day of June Yearly & Every Year forever (if demanded). . . ."

Source:  Six Pells Buy Pell Coins, The Pelham Sun, Jun. 3, 1938, p. 5, col. 1.  

Another local news article published at about the same time also indicated the coin depicts John Pell receiving the fat calf.  The article, quoted in full below, stated:  "The obverse of the coin shows Lord Penn [sic] receiving the protesting 'fatt calfe.'"  Numerous newspaper articles published throughout the country in 1937 and 1938 affirm that the image depicts John Pell receiving the calf, not a resident of New Rochelle delivering it.  See, e.g., THE COIN COLLECTOR, The New York Sun, Dec. 4, 1937, p. 19, cols. 1-2 (""Gertrude K. Lathrop, sculptor of Albany, is responsible for the design, to picture Lord Pell receiving the protesting 'fatt calfe,' on the obverse. . .").

The reverse of the commemorative coin depicts a stylized fleur de lis – a symbol found in the seal of the City of New Rochelle, borrowed from the seal of La Rochelle, France, after which the City of New Rochelle was named.  Lathrop’s designs were approved by the Commission of Fine Arts on February 25, 1937.

Despite some news reports at the time suggesting more coins were sold, reliable numismatic authorities indicate that 25,015 half dollars were minted.  However, 9,749 coins were never sold to collectors and were returned to the mint for melting, leaving a net mintage of 15,251 (15 of the original coins were reserved for assay). 

Uncirculated versions of this coin today are worth more than $450 to coin collectors.


Obverse of the Half-Dollar Commemorative Coin Depicting John
Pell Receiving the "Fatt Calfe"  NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.


Reverse of the Half-Dollar Commemorative Coin Depicting
Fleur De Lis Representing La Rochelle and New Rochelle
NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.


John Pell Who Is Depicted Receiving the Fatt Calfe on
the Obverse of the Commemorative Coin.  NOTE:
Click on Image to Enlarge.

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"Commemorative Coin Will Increase In Value After Close of Anniversary Fete
-----
Unsold U. S. Half-Dollars Issued to Commemorate 250th Anniversary of the Founding of New Rochelle Will be Melted Up.
-----

When the Commemorative half-dollar issued in conjunction with this city's 250th Anniversary celebration is withdrawn from sale, the number of residents of this county who will benefit from its almost certain increase in value will not be in proportion to the large number of its purchasers elsewhere in this country.

This condition was revealed by Pitt M. Skipton, chairman of the Commemorative Coin Committee here, in an announcement that 17,000 of the limited issue of 25,000 coins have been sold, and that the unsold copies will be melted when the sale closes after the Anniversary Celebration on the week of June 12 to 18.

An experienced numismatist and a director of the Westchester Coin Club, Mr. Skipton asserted that the limited issue, the fact that the coin bears only the date 1938, that it has but one mint, and that unsold copies will not be released to dealers, practically insure an early rise in the value of the half-dollar.  Now being sold through local banks at $2.00 each, Mr. Skipton cited the value increase of other limited issues of commemorative coins as an example of what may be expected for the New Rochelle half-dollar.

'A half-dollar issued in 1935 for the 150th anniversary of the City of Hudson, N. Y. now sells for between seven and eight dollars,' he pointed out.  'The Hawaiian half-dollar issued in 1928 to commemorate the sesqui-centennial of discovery of the island by Captain James Cook now sells for between ten and twelve dollars a copy.'

Authorized by Congress in 1936, the New Rochelle coin was designed by Gertrude K. Lathrop, member of the National Academy of Design and of the National Sculpture Society.  The obverse of the coin shows Lord Penn [sic] receiving the protesting 'fatt calfe,' while the reverse bears a conventionalized fleur-de-lis, flower of France, which appears on the coat-of-arms of old La Rochelle and on the seal of New Rochelle."


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I have written before about the United States half-dollar commemorative coin minted to commemorate the 250th anniversary of New Rochelle celebrated in 1938.  See Bell, Blake A., John Pell and the New Rochelle Commemorative Coin Dated 1938, The Pelham Weekly, Vol. XIII, No. 7, Feb. 13, 2004, p. 10, col. 1.  I also have written extensively about the delivery of the "fatt calfe" to John Pell known as the "Fatt Calfe Ceremony."  See, e.g.:


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posted by Blake A. Bell @ 4:42 AM 0 comments