Miss Flora Seaman, 19th Century Telegraph Operator at the Pelhamville Depot

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The first telegraph in the Town of Pelham was installed in early 1878 in the home of millionaire banker, broker, and financier, William Belden, located at Belden's Point on City Island.  See Mon., Mar. 02, 2015:  The Telegraph in Pelham:  Pre-Telephone Communications with the Outside World.

During the late 19th century, a telegrapher was stationed in the old Pelhamville Depot to send and receive, via Morse code, messages.  Despite the deployment of a limited number of telephones in Pelhamville by that time, telegrams remained an important way to communicate.  Indeed, use of the telegraph was so prevalent that Pelham businessmen of those days would send a telegram back to the Pelhamville Depot to be delivered to their families when they were delayed at work in New York City and needed to let the family know they would be late.  

The position of "telegraphist" was a coveted technology job of the late 19th century.  According to one source:

"Telegraphist was one of the very first 'high-technology' professions of the modern era. Many young men and young women left their farms and fishing communities in the late 19th century to take high-paying jobs as professional telegraph operators. In those early days telegraphers were in such demand that operators could move from place to place and job to job to achieve ever-higher salaries, thereby freeing them from subsistence lives on family farms."

Source:  "Telegraphist" in Wikipedia - The Free Encyclopedia (visited Sep. 9, 2017).  

Pelhamville's telegraphist during the early 1890s was a young unmarried woman named Flora Seaman.  Despite extensive research efforts, little can be found regarding Flora Seaman.  Today's Historic Pelham article will document what is known in the hope that more can be found.

During at least the early months of 1893, Flora Seaman served as the telegraph operator in the Pelhamville Depot, the old train station that once stood where today's Pelham National Bank Building stands at One Wolfs Lane.  At the time, she was employed, and paid, by the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad Company station agent at the Pelhamville Depot.  His name reportedly was Charles H. Seaman (see below).  

Flora Seaman is referred to as "Miss Flora Seaman" in at least one reference at the time, suggesting that she was unmarried.  Thus, it would seem likely that she was related to Charles H. Seaman, the station agent who paid her.  No records yet have been located, however, reflecting either a Flora Seaman or a Charles H. Seaman residing in Pelham or the surrounding region.  (There is evidence in a number of sources of a man named "Charles T. Seaman" living in Mount Vernon at the time.  This may be the station agent with a mistaken "H" for a middle initial or, of course, an entirely different person.)

Flora was paid by the station agent as follows.  She received a base salary of $35 a month.  In addition she received one half of the receipts for the telegrams she transmitted, received, and delivered.

In early 1893 (or late 1892) a dispute erupted between Flora Seaman and Charles Seaman over what she was owed as her pay.  Flora Seaman brought a lawsuit against Charles Seaman in the Westchester County Court and Court of Sessions.  A jury trial was held in the case on Monday, February 6, 1893 before the Hon. Isaac N. Mills.

According to a rather error-ridden account of the trial, attorney David Swits represented plaintiff Flora Seaman.  He provided evidence that she was employed by the station agent for "a salary of $35 per month and one half of the receipts for telegraph messages."  He also introduced evidence that she had not been paid the amount due her and that the balance due her was $52.00 (about $1,772 in today's dollars).  

The attorney for station agent "Charles H. Seaman" was Henry Ernst.  He offered a general denial of the plaintiff's allegations and pursued a counterclaim against her on behalf of the station agent.  According to Ernst, the station agent agreed to pay Flora Seaman only $30 a month and, thus, had overpaid the telegraphist by $35.  Thus, the counterclaim sought return of the alleged over-payment.  Additionally, Ernst asserted that the station agent also had "allowed [Flora Seaman] for carriage hire" (whatever that meant).  

At the close of evidence, the jury returned a verdict for telegraphist Flora Seaman in the amount of $53.04.  Only a few days later, a local newspaper reported that "Miss Flora Seaman, formerly telegraph operator at this station, will leave for Chicago about March 1st, where she will reside."

Flora's time as a telegraphist at the Pelhamville Depot apparently ended with the advent of her successful lawsuit.  No more yet has been found regarding her.  

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"COURT PROCEEDINGS.
-----

The county court and court of sessions convened on Monday, Judge Isaac N. Mills on the bench. . . .

The following cases were tried: . . . 

Flora Seaman vs. Charles H. Seaman.  -- The plaintiff and defendant reside at Pelhamville in this county and this action was brought to recover $52, for the balance claimed to be due for his [sic] salary as telegraph operator at Pelhamville depot.  The defendant is the station agent for the New York, New Haven & Hartford R. R. Co.  The evidence upon the part of the plaintiff was that he [sic] was employed by the defendant as telegraph operator as a salary of $35 per month and one half of the receipts for telegraph messages, and that balance due her was fifty-two dollars.  The defendant put in a general denial and a counter claim.  The evidence upon the part of the defendant was that the plaintiff was to receive $30 per month and that he [sic] was over paid $35, and that he allowed him [sic] for carriage hire.  The jury found a verdict for the plaintiff $53.04.  David Swits for plaintiff, Henry Ernst for defendant."

Source:  COURT PROCEEDINGS . . . Flora Seaman vs. Charles H. Seaman, The Eastern State Journal [White Plains, NY], Feb. 11, 1893, Vol. XLVIII, No. 46, p. 2, col. 3.  

"Pelhamville.
-----

Judge Karbach and Michael Donlon are about to open a real estate office in The Pelham [sic].  A good combination.

Miss Flora Seaman, formerly telegraph operator at this station, will leave for Chicago about March 1st, where she will reside.

William Donlon, of Pelham Manor, is reported to be seriously ill."

Source:  Pelhamville, The Daily Argus [Mount Vernon, NY], Feb. 21, 1893, Vol. I, No. 275, p. 1, col. 5.

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Early History of the Telephone in the Town of Pelham

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I have written on several occasions about my efforts to determine when the first telephone was installed within the Town of Pelham. United States Patent No. 174,465 for "Telegraphy" was issued to Alexander Graham Bell on March 7, 1876.  For a few examples, see:

Tue., May 03, 2016:  More on the Earliest Installations of Telephones in the Town of Pelham.

Mon., Mar. 24, 2014:  The Earliest Telephone in Pelham? When and Where Was it Installed?

Mon., Dec. 21, 2009:  More on What May Have Been the First Telephone Installed in Pelham.

Tue., Mar. 29, 2005:  The Earliest Telephone in Pelham Manor?  

Residents of the Town of Pelham seemed to recognize the importance and value of the new invention very early.  On July 19, 1884, the New Rochelle Pioneer reported that during the previous week City Island had been "connected with the outside world by the telephone" and that "Manager Deveau has been quite active the past few days in putting up telephones."  See LOCAL INTELLIGENCE, New Rochelle Pioneer Supplement, Jul. 19, 1884, p. 4, col. 2. The same issue of the New Rochelle Pioneer elsewhere reported that "Several of the tradesmen of City Island concluded that they may as well be buried alive as be out of the fashion, so they have put in telephones in order to keep pace with the times. . . . "  PELHAM AND CITY ISLAND, New Rochelle Pioneer Supplement, Jul. 19, 1884, p. 4, col. 6.

Though Pelhamites were early adopters of the new technology,  the town was small with few residents in the late 19th century.  The technology expanded slowly.  

In the late 19th century, New York Telephone created a central district that included "all that territory bounded on the north by New Rochelle, on the east by New Rochelle and Long Island Sound, on the south by City Island and on the west by Mount Vernon."   The district was served by a central office at New Rochelle so that when Pelham Manor residents cranked their phones and connected with an operator, it was an operator in the New Rochelle central office.

By 1900, the Village of Pelham Manor had fourteen telephone lines with fifteen telephones installed on those lines.  New York Telephone decided that there were enough local telephones in Pelham Manor to create a separate telephone district for the village (which was still served by the central office in New Rochelle).  The rest of the town of Pelham including the Village of Pelham (the Heights) and the Village of North Pelham was included in the Mount Vernon District and was served from the Mount Vernon switchboard.

According to one source:

"The number of subscribers kept growing, however, and in 1908 the two districts were combined and the central office of Pelham was established.  At that time the total number of lines in the Pelham Manor office was 108, with 227 subscribers.  The consolidation resulted in a grand total of 218 lines, serving 473 telephones."

Though it may come as a surprise, between 1908 and 1920, only about one hundred new telephones were installed in Pelham each year.  Then came the Roaring Twenties.  Indeed, in just the first two years the annual installations nearly quadrupled.  By 1922 there were 1,044 telephone lines in ltown serving 2,038 telephones -- without City Island which long before had been annexed by New York City.

To get a sense of the growth of the telephone in the Town of Pelham between 1900 and 1922, the following appeared in the September 3, 1922 issue of The Pelham Sun:  

"Some idea of the regularity with which the New York Telephone Company has developed in Pelham since 1900, may be gained from the following figures:

Year                     Lines     Instru. in use
1900                      14          15
1910                    265        545
1915                    498        901
1920                    773       1393
1922 (Aug. 1)    1014       2036"

Pelham, it seems, had finally fully embraced the technology of the telephone.

1884 Telephone Like Those Installed in Pelham.

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Below is the text of the newspaper article that forms a basis for today's Historic Pelham article.  It is followed by a citation and link to its source.

"Growth And Development Of The Telephone System In Pelham
-----

The development of the telephone business in Pelham has kept pace with the phenomenal growth of the telephone system all over the country during the past few years.  Five hundred and one new telephones were installed in this community in 1921, and the first seven months of 1922, an increase of 300 per cent over the next highest period of growth.  In keeping with this growth the average daily number of calls now originating in the Pelham section is more than 7,000 as compared with 5,800 calls on January 1, 1921; and the daily average of calls during the 'busy hour,' which in telephone means that hour of the day when the most calls are handled ,is approximately 885 -- an increase of more than 200 calls since the same date.

The Pelham central office district comprises all that territory bounded on the north by New Rochelle, on the east by New Rochelle and Long Island Sound, on the south by City Island and on the west by Mount Vernon.  The district is served by the central office at New Rochelle.

The first telephone district of Pelham was known as Pelham Manor and, was also served by New Rochelle.  It was established in 1900 with the small number of fourteen lines and fifteen stations.  The rest of the town of Pelham was included in the Mount Vernon district and was served from the Mount Vernon switchboard.

The number of subscribers kept growing, however, and in 1908 the two districts were combined and the central office of Pelham was established.  At that time the total number of lines in the Pelham Manor office was 108, with 227 subscribers.  The consolidation resulted in a grand total of 218 lines, serving 473 telephones.  

From 1908 to 1920 the number of new telephones installed by the New York Telephone Company was about 100 per year.  The biggest increase in the development and growth of the section has come in the last two years.  Two hundred new instruments were put into use in 1920 and four hundred in 1921.  There are now 1,044 lines serving 2,038 telephones in Pelham.  Only twelve percent of these are for business purposes.

Some idea of the regularity with which the New York Telephone Company has developed in Pelham since 1900, may be gained from the following figures:

Year                     Lines     Instru. in use
1900                      14          15
1910                    265        545
1915                    498        901
1920                    773       1393
1922 (Aug. 1)    1014       2036

From all this it can be seen that the telephone is keeping pace with the development of the village; and that the people of Pelham, like the people throuughout the rest of the United States, are appreciating more and more that the telephone is a necessity in modern life.  When Thomas Pell in 1645 [sic], bought the land Pelham is now located on, he named it with old English words to mean 'remote mansion.'  The Bell system now has changed the ancient meaning of the town, by uniting it to the rest of the world, through the 'modern miracle' -- the telephone."

Source:  Growth And Development Of The Telephone System In Pelham, The Pelham Sun, Sep. 3, 1922, p. 6, cols. 2-3.  

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More on the Earliest Installations of Telephones in the Town of Pelham

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I have written on several occasions about my efforts to determine when the first telephone was installed within the Town of Pelham.  United States Patent No. 174,465 for "Telegraphy" was issued to Alexander Graham Bell on March 7, 1876.  Residents of the Town of Pelham seemed to recognize the importance and value of the new invention very early.

On July 19, 1884, the New Rochelle Pioneer reported that during the previous week City Island had been "connected with the outside world by the telephone" and that "Manager Deveau has been quite active the past few days in putting up telephones."  Source: LOCAL INTELLIGENCE, New Rochelle Pioneer Supplement, Jul. 19, 1884, p. 4, col. 2.  The same issue of the New Rochelle Pioneer elsewhere reported that "Several of the tradesmen of City Island concluded that they may as well be buried alive as be out of the fashion, so they have put in telephones in order to keep pace with the times. . . . "  Source:  PELHAM AND CITY ISLAND, New Rochelle Pioneer Supplement, Jul. 19, 1884, p. 4, col. 6.

Clearly telephone technology was sweeping the lower Westchester region in 1884.  The September 19, 1884 issue of The Chronicle published in Mount Vernon, New York reported breathlessly:  "The office of the Westchester Telephone Company was moved into their new quarters in the rooms over Spicers harness shop, a few days ago.  The office is now kept open day and night.  Miss May Johnson is in charge during the day time, and Mr. James Brett at night."  Source:  LOCAL NEWS, The Chronicle, Sep. 19, 1884, Vol. XVI, No. 783, p. 3, col. 1.  

There were so few telephones in the region in 1884 that a local merchants in Mount Vernon who had a telephone encouraged prospective customers to call the business using phone number "18."  See MRS. D. FERGUSON First Street, Mr. Vernon Near the Depot - Stoves, Ranges, Furnaces, Etc. Hardware [Advertisement], The Chronicle [Mount Vernon, NY], May 2, 1884, Vol. XV, No. 763, p. 2, col. 7.    

As I have noted before, records of the Pelham Manor Protective Club indicate that on June 2, 1884 the members of the organization authorized the Westchester Telephone Company to install a telephone in the Pelham Manor Depot on the Branch Line near the end of today's Esplanade. On July 9, 1884, the Club authorized payment of the first bill from the telephone company in the amount of $20.20. Although the bill likely was for use of the telephone, admittedly it is unclear precisely what the bill was for and whether, for example, it was for installation of the telephone at a later date.  It seems clear, however, that the telephone installed by the Pelham Manor Protective Club was installed before July 4, 1884.  See PELHAM AND CITY ISLAND, The Chronicle [Mount Vernon, NY], July 4, 1884, Vol. XV, No. 772, p. 3, col. 5 (reporting that as of July 4, 1884, "The Protective Association of Pelham Manor, have connected themselves with the outside world by telephone.").

It seems, however, that the honor of installing the first telegraph line and telegraph communication system belongs to City Island, once part of the Town of Pelham.  According to one report, in June 1878, financier William Belden was involved in the installation of a telegraph line to an office in his home manned by a telegrapher.  See City Island, The Chronicle [Mount Vernon, NY], May 31, 1878, Vol. IX, No. 454, p. 2, col. 5 (reporting that "Mr. Wm. Belden is having the A. & P. Telegraph wire extended as far as his house, and has an operator and an office of his own at his private residence.").

It seems likely that the tiny little hamlet of Pelhamville was just as active in pursuing the latest fad and installing the new telephone technology.  I have been unable, however, to locate any references to suggest that any telephone was installed in Pelhamville in July, 1884.  Below the image of the 1884 telephone, I have provided links to earlier postings addressing the issue of when the first telephone was installed within the Town of Pelham.

1884 Telephone, From a Newspaper

Advertisement Published that Year.

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Below are links to previous Historic Pelham blog postings that deal with the issue of the first installation of a telephone within the Town of Pelham.

Tue., Mar. 29, 2005:  The Earliest Telephone in Pelham Manor? 

Mon., Dec. 21, 2009:  More on What May Have Been the First Telephone Installed in Pelham.

Mon., Mar. 24, 2014:  The Earliest Telephone in Pelham? When and Where Was it Installed?

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The Telegraph in Pelham: Pre-Telephone Communications with the Outside World

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"What hath God wrought!" were the words tapped out by Samuel F. B. Morse from the United States Supreme Court chambers in Washington, D. C. to his colleague, Alfred Vail, in Baltimore on May 24, 1844.  With those now-famous words, Morse made clear to the world that the telegraph was a viable means of virtually instant communication throughout the nation if not the world.  Within two years, the first commercial telegraph line was completed between New York City and Washington, D. C.  Soon, telegraph lines criss-crossed the entire United States.

The sleepy little Town of Pelham had little need for the new invention.  The area was not yet a business suburb of New York City.  The New York and New Haven Railroad did not reach Pelhamville until a single track was laid through the area in late 1848.  Likewise, the Harlem River branch of the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad did not reach City Island and the Pelham Manor area along the Sound until 1872.  Most residents of the Town were oystermen, seamen, shipbuilders or local merchants on City Island or were farmers and local merchants on the mainland.  Despite a number of grand country estates owned by businessmen, artists, and financiers along the Sound, for the most part Pelham residents were perfectly content having no instantaneous communications with the outside world.

Things seemed to change shortly after the so-called Branch Line came to the area in 1872.  Efforts began to develop an area on the mainland as an exclusive suburban enclave for affluent business commuters who wished to live in a suburb of New York City.  Additionally, the City Island and Pelham Bridge areas of Pelham were becoming a regional tourist destination.

In 1878, millionaire banker, broker, and financier, William Belden, had a residence on City Island in the Town of Pelham.  Belden was one of the most colorful characters of 19th century Wall Street.  He is remembered as one of the three principal financiers, together with Jay Gould and Jim Fisk, who manipulated the price of gold upward until the bubble burst and caused the "Black Friday" stock market crash of September 24, 1869.  Thereafter bad business deals and years of prosecution for his misdeeds forced Belden into bankruptcy in the late 1880s.  In 1878, however, Belden had residences in Manhattan and City Island and continued to dabble in high finance.  According to one account, Belden was responsible for the first telegraph line ever strung to the Town of Pelham when he had the Atlantic and Pacific Telegraph Company extend a private line to his house where he operated an office and had his own telegraph operator to man the line.  See City Island, The Chronicle [Mount Vernon, NY], May 31, 1878, Vol. IX, No. 454, p. 2, col. 5 ("Mr. Wm. Belden is having the A. & P. Telegraph wire extended as far as his house, and has an operator and an office of his own at his private residence.").  When Belden had the A&P telegraph line extended to his residence on City Island in 1878, the company was controlled by Belden's fellow financier and acquaintance Jay Gould.  (See below.)

In early May, 1882, the Western Union Telegraph Company seems to have run another telegraph line from Williamsbridge to City Island and connected the line with the more extensive lines of the Atlantic and Pacific Telegraph Company.  Only a few years before, in 1875, financier Jay Gould had acquired sufficient shares of the company to take control and initiated a rate war with competing telegraph companies including Western Union.  By 1878, Gould sold the Atlantic and Pacific Telegraph Company to Western Union at a profit, thereby enabling Western Union easily to arrange connection of its City Island telegraph line to the lines of its affiliate, Atlantic and Pacific Telegraph Company in early May, 1882.  See Fri., Nov. 27, 2009:  Telegraph Wires Connected Pelham to the Outside World in 1882.  See also COUNTY MATTERS, New Rochelle Pioneer, May 6, 1882, Vol. XXIII, No. 5, p. 2, col. 3 ("The Western Union Telegraph Company are putting up a wire between Williamsbridge and City Island, to connect with the line of the Atlantic and Pacific Telegraph Company.").

A Morse Telegraph from 1872-73 of the Type Likely

in Use at About the Time William Belden of City Island

Had a Telegraph Line Extended to His Residence There.

Source:  Wikimedia Commons.  NOTE:  Click to Enlarge.

It is not certain precisely when the tiny settlement of Pelham Manor was first connected to the local web of telegraph lines.  It certainly seems to have been at about the same time as the extension of the public line to City Island in early May, 1882, about two years before the first telephones were installed in Pelham Manor and on City Island.  A local newspaper reported on July 14, 1882 as follows:

"PELHAM MANOR.

The telegraph office at Pelham Manor will be open hereafter daily (Sundays excepted) from 6 A. M. till 8.45 P. M.

Messrs.  Cochran & Mulvey, the former the telegraph operator, have opened a grocery in the depot building.  The young men have put in a nice stock of selected groceries, and are deserving of liberal patronage. . . ."

Source:  PELHAM MANOR, The Chronicle [Mt. Vernon, NY], Jul. 14, 1882, Vol. XIII, No. 669, p. 2, col. 4. 

Thus, it would appear, by July, 1882, Pelham Manor had a telegraph office that likely was in the Pelham Manor Depot and was operated by one of the two men who operated a grocery in the same depot building.  

At the time these telegraph lines were run in 1878 and 1882, telephones were not yet available within the Town of Pelham.  Only a few years later (by mid-1884), however, telephones were beginning to be installed in the town.   See:

Mon., Mar. 24, 2014:  The Earliest Telephone in Pelham? When and Where Was it Installed?

Tue., Mar. 29, 2005:  The Earliest Telephone in Pelham Manor?

Mon., Dec. 21, 2009:  More on What May Have Been the First Telephone Installed in Pelham.

Soon, with widespread installation of telephones, the days of the telegraph and its utility within the Town of Pelham were numbered.

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The Earliest Telephone in Pelham Manor?

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United States Patent No. 174,465 for "Telegraphy" was issued to A. G. Bell on March 7, 1876. For many years, however, the American population seemed unaware of the possibilities of the new-fangled telephone invented by Alexander Graham Bell who was forced to lecture about his invention for pay as he fought -- and eventually won -- an expensive legal battle against inventor Elisha Gray. Gray claimed that he had invented the telephone and, indeed, lost the race to the patent office for his own invention by a matter of hours.

Residents of Pelham Manor seemed to recognize the importance and value of the new invention very early. Indeed, recent research has revealed the story behind the installation of what may have been the first telephone in Pelham Manor. A review of the minutes book of the Pelham Manor Protective Club (click here for the February 23, 2005 blog posting entitled "The Westchester County Historical Society Acquires Records of The Pelham Manor Protective Club From Dealer in Tarrytown, NY") has shed light on the topic.

The Pelham Manor Protective Club was established in late 1881 -- ten years before incorporation of the Village of Pelham Manor. Members of the Club took all kinds of steps to protect the area of Pelham within one mile of the Pelham Manor Depot located on the New Haven Branch Line from crime.

By June 2, 1884, members of the Executive Committee of the Pelham Manor Protective Club were considering the installation of a telephone at the Pelham Manor Depot to permit members of the Club to make calls and to report to New York and New Rochelle authorities instances of criminal activity. On that date, two members of the Executive Committee, Messrs. William E. Barnett and Thomas D. De Witt, reported to the full Committee on their efforts to prepare a pamphlet of "suggestions" to be distributed to all members of the Pelham Manor Protective Club. Among the many "suggestions" contained in the proposed pamphlet was one that read as follows:

"4. Telephone. - A telephone connecting with New Rochelle and New York will soon be placed in Pelham Manor Depot in the name of the Protective Club, which may be used by any member for the purpose, in case of necessity, of obtaining assistance as against vagrants and other criminals, and for other purposes." Records Pelham Manor Protective Club, Vol. 1, p. 75 (entry for Jun. 2, 1884; original in the collection of the Westchester County Historical Society).

During the same Executive Committee meeting, the "Chairman and Secretary were authorized to arrange with the Westchester Telephone Company for a Telephone at Pelham Manor Depot for the use of the members of the Club." Id., p. 76.

By July 9, 1884, arrangements had been made for seems to have been installation of the telephone and the Executive Committee authorized payment of a bill from the telephone company. The minutes for an Executive Committee meeting on that date state that the "Treasurer presented a bill of the Westchester Telephone Company for $20.20, which was ordered paid." Id., p. 77 (entry for Jul. 9, 1884). The nature of the bill is unclear. It may have been payment for installation of the phone or it may have been payment for phone service after the phone had been installed.

It seems fairly certain, however, that the phone had been installed by October 1, 1884. This can be surmised from the minutes of a meeting of the Executive Committee of the Club on November 29, 1884. Those minutes contain the following entry: "The bill of the Westchester Telephone Co. for service from October 1st 1884 to January 1st 1885, $26.95 was audited and ordered paid." Id., p. 82 (entry for Nov. 29, 1884).

Barely eight years after invention of the telephone, Pelham Manor had what may have been its first telephone. While there have been suggestions that Robert C. Black (one of the principals of famed jewelry firm Black, Starr & Frost) may have installed the first telephone in Pelham, the telephone installed in the Pelham Manor Depot in the autumn of 1884 is the earliest telephone installation that can be documented with some degree of certainty.

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