More on a Magical Long Distance Proposal Made to a Pelham Manor Belle in 1895

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Happy Saint Valentine's Day Dear Pelham.

Saint Valentine's Day in 1895 was a particularly memorable one for two young people who met on that date in the home of a local resident. The story of their meeting, their brief long-distance courtship, and their subsequent marriage, brings warmth to the heart.  The story is that of beau George B. Gaston of Indianapolis and Ethel Mary Bishop, an English girl who lived temporarily in Pelham Manor in 1895.  The story of their engagement made the pair famous throughout the United States and has been the subject of an earlier Historic Pelham article.  See Fri., Feb. 13, 2015:  A Magical Valentine's Day in Pelham Manor in 1895.

In 1895, George B Gaston was a bashful 35-year-old confirmed bachelor who lived in Indianapolis, Indiana. In his early youth, Gaston was involved in an electrical business managed by Thomas Alva Edison and Edison's then-close friend, Ezra Torrence Gilliland of Pelham Manor. During that time, Ezra Gilliland grew fond not only of young Gaston, but also two of his sisters.  Fate, however, led George Gaston to Indianapolis where he served as the successful Secretary and Treasurer of the Indianapolis Transfer Company.

Ezra and Lillian Gilliland were particularly fond of the young bachelor whose business frequently brought him to New York City.  According to some accounts, George Gaston often stayed with or visited the Gilliland family in Pelham Manor during his business trips to New York City.  Other accounts suggest he kept putting such visits off because the Gilliland home was always filled with guests and Gaston was rather shy.

Ezra T. Gilliland was a very successful and affluent inventor in his own right and an associate of Thomas Edison who visited Gilliland's laboratory and lovely home in Pelham Manor on occasion.  Clearly the Gilliland home in Pelham Manor often was filled with guests.  See:

Tue., Aug. 04, 2015:  Ezra T. Gilliland, The Inventor of the Telephone Switchboard and Friend of Thomas Edison, Was a Pelham Manor Resident.

Tue., May 02, 2017:  More on Ezra T. Gilliland of Pelham Manor, Inventor of the Telephone Switchboard and Friend of Thomas Edison.

Thu., Aug. 13, 2015:  Lillian Johnson Gilliland's Memories of Thomas Edison and 19th Century Life in Pelham Manor.

As fate would have it, one of the guests in the Gilliland home in February, 1895 was a beautiful 22-year-old English woman named Ethel Mary Bishop, a daughter of Hon. James Draper Bishop of London.  By all accounts Miss Bishop was a beautiful young belle with dark hair and dark eyes with a lovely English accent that reportedly captivated young men throughout Pelham during her business.  

In February, 1895, Gaston's business on behalf of the Indianapolis Transfer Company called him to New York City. While he was there, Ezra T. Gilliland invited him to visit the Gilliland home in Pelham Manor. Gaston put off the invitation until the day before his scheduled return to Indianapolis. On the appointed day, February 14, 1895, he traveled to the Gililland home where he planned to visit for a few hours. Instead, he stayed there for two weeks.

In early 1895, George Gaston's two sisters visited the Gilliland home and met Ethel Mary Bishop.  The two young women seem to have been as captivated with the young English woman as many others in Pelham.  They began writing letters to their brother George extolling the virtues of the charming Miss Bishop.  According to one account:

"From those letters Gaston had learned that Miss Bishop had been born in Shanghai, while her father was serving the English government there as Consul.  As a child she had lived in Africa, her gather having been transferred to one of the South African States.  Later she had been sent to a convent in Paris whence she went to Heidelberg, and there she took a degree in music.  Then she went to London to continue her studies in music and the classics."

In early February, 1895, George Gaston had another business trip to New York City.  Upon his arrival, Ezra Gilliland extended his customary invitation to the young man to stay with his family at his Pelham Manor home.  Gaston put off the visit until Valentine's Day -- the day before he was scheduled to return to Indianapolis.

On Valentine's Day, 123 years ago today, Gaston visited the Gilliland home and met Ethel Mary Bishop.  The following day, he could not bring himself to return to Indianapolis.  Instead, he remained in the Gilliland home for two weeks before he returned to his home.  He was more than captivated with the young English girl.  He was in love.

The New York City newspaper The Sun later published an amusing account of how Gaston eventually proposed to the young girl.  Because the proposal was made over the relatively new-fangled telephone from "800 miles away," The Sun's account was picked up and reproduced in newspapers large and small throughout the United States making the young couple famous.  According to that account:

"When he returned to Indianapolis he wasn't able to do much business.  All he could think about was the English girl on the shore of Long Island Sound.  Two weeks went by and one morning while he was sitting in his office a letter came from one of his sisters.  It was largely filled with a description of a german she had danced a few nights before, and told how all the men had simply gone daft about Miss Bishop.  Gaston thought for a moment, and then rushed to the telephone, looked up the number of Gilliland's house telephone in the long-distance telephone book, and asked to be connected.  Pretty soon he heard a feminine voice at the other end of the line call, 'Hello!'

'Hello!  Who is that?' answered Gaston.  'Who?  Oh!  Miss Bishop?  Well, this is Mr. Gaston Miss Bishop.  Where am I?  In Indianapolis.  Yes, in Indianapolis.  I thought I'd call you up to -- to ask how my sisters are.  You'll call one of them and let her speak for herself?  Oh, never mind, I said 'never mind.'  N-e-v-e-r-never.  No, not mine; mind -- m-i-n-d.  Hello!  How are you?  Just going to the city?  Theatre party to-night?  Oh, not going in till the 4 o'clock train?  Wish I were going with you.  I said I wish I were going with you.  I don't know whether my sisters would like to have me or not.  I just wanted to go with you.  Don't be foolish?  Hello!  What did you say?  Hello!  Hello!  Say, Central!  Don't cut me off!  I'm not through talking yet.  Gone at the other end?  Well, ring up again.'

As Mr. Gaston said last night, he was bound to say something then or die in the attempt.  After waiting some time, he got the Gilliland house again and began talking with Miss Bishop.

'I beat about the bush for a long time,' he said, 'and then I came out with the question.  She evidently couldn't understand me, for this was the answer I got:

'Come a little nearer Mr. Gaston.  I can't hear you.'

'Then I moved about one inch nearer to her in that eight hundred miles and asked the question over again.  This time it was perfectly understood.  I was told that I might not be sure of myself, that I had better wait for a while, and some more things like that.  I said I had lived to be 35 years old, and I guessed I knew my own mind.  Finally I was told that she would give me an answer when she called me up in two weeks.'

That was on Feb. 28.  Two weeks after that Miss Bishop was in Brooklyn one day and stepped into the office of Mr. Gilliland.  She called up Mr. Gaston.

'Hello!  Is that you Mr. Gaston?  This is Miss Bishop.  Knew the voice, did you?  Your memory for sound is excellent.  I wonder if it is as good for other things.  One other thing?  What's that?  Oh, my answer?  Was I to give you an answer about anything?  Hello!  What's that?  I know very well I was?  Yes I guess I do.  Two weeks have seemed like two years?  You say that very nicely -- over the telephone.  Well, are you sure you knew what you were talking about?  Positive?  And you don't think you'll regret it some time?  Sure?  Well, then, if you want yes, here it is.  What's that?  Hello!  What did you say?  Oh!  Well, you can't have that over the telephone.  You must come for that yourself.  Good-by, George.'

It wasn't long before he came for what he couldn't get over the telephone, and the arrangements for the wedding were made."

Yes, indeed.  The couple married.  Their engagement story represents even to this day a lovely Pelham Valentine's Day story.

*          *          *          *          *

"PROPOSED BY TELEPHONE.
-----
GOT A 'YES,' TOO, OVER RIGHT HUNDRED MILES OF WIRE.
-----
One End Each of Two Conversations Between George B. Gaston in Indianapolis and Ethel Mary Bishop Right Here -- Married at Pelham Manor Last Tuesday.

A man deserved to win a wife who has the nerve to call up a girl, eight hundred miles away, over the telephone and ask her to marry him.  That is the way Miss Ethel Mary Bishop, the only daughter of the Hon. James Draper Bishop of London, became engaged to George B. Gaston of Indianapolis.  They were married last Tuesday night at the residence of Ezra T. Gilliland at Pelham Manor.

Mr. Gaston is the son of a retired physician and is the Secretary and Treasurer of the Indianapolis Transfer Company.  For several years he was associated in this city in the electrical business with Thomas A. Edison and Mr. Gilliland.  All of Mr. Gaston's friends had it settled in their own minds that he would die a bachelor.  His business frequently called hi to New York.  While in town he spent much of his time with Mr. Gilliland.  Every time he came to New York Mr. Gilliland invited Gaston to make his home at Pelham Manor.  Gaston invariably refused, saying that the Gilliland House was always filled with guests and that he hadn't time to play the agreeable to a lot of women.  Then the man from Indianapolis would picture to his old friend what large times the two might have if Gililland would only stay with Gaston in town.

'Break away, old man,' he would say, 'and we'll have some fun that deserves to be called fun!  I can't see anything in talking one's self black in the face of a houseful of women.'

One day last February Gaston arrived in New York on one of his business trips.  His two sisters had been visiting Mr. and Mrs. Gilliland for several weeks, and in their letters home they had frequently mentioned Miss Ethel Bishop, a very charming English girl, who was making her home at the Gillilands.  From those letters Gaston had learned that Miss Bishop had been born in Shanghai, while her father was serving the English government there as Consul.  As a child she had lived in Africa, her gather having been transferred to one of the South African States.  Later she had been sent to a convent in Paris whence she went to Heidelberg, and there she took a degree in music.  Then she went to London to continue her studies in music and the classics.  In fact, Gaston heard so much about Miss Bishop that, when he reached New York and Mr. Gilliland extended to him the usual invitation to visit Pelham Manor, the Indianapolis man said emphatically, 'Not much!'

Finally, on St. Valentine's Day, the day before he was to return home, Gaston consented to go out to Pelham Manor for a few hours, just to see his sisters.  He went and stayed two weeks.  He was done for, but he could not bring himself to the point of a proposal.  As he himself said last night:

'I came pretty close to it several times, but when I got just to the point I got scared.  I felt as if it would be a sort of sacrilege that I mustn't be guilty of.  I tell you, I never thought a woman could bluff me out; and so I went home.'

When he returned to Indianapolis he wasn't able to do much business.  All he could think about was the English girl on the shore of Long Island Sound.  Two weeks went by and one morning while he was sitting in his office a letter came from one of his sisters.  It was largely filled with a description of a german she had danced a few nights before, and told how all the men had simply gone daft about Miss Bishop.  Gaston thought for a moment, and then rushed to the telephone, looked up the number of Gilliland's house telephone in the long-distance telephone book, and asked to be connected.  Pretty soon he heard a feminine voice at the other end of the line call, 'Hello!'

'Hello!  Who is that?' answered Gaston.  'Who?  Oh!  Miss Bishop?  Well, this is Mr. Gaston Miss Bishop.  Where am I?  In Indianapolis.  Yes, in Indianapolis.  I thought I'd call you up to -- to ask how my sisters are.  You'll call one of them and let her speak for herself?  Oh, never mind, I said 'never mind.'  N-e-v-e-r-never.  No, not mine; mind -- m-i-n-d.  Hello!  How are you?  Just going to the city?  Theatre party to-night?  Oh, not going in till the 4 o'clock train?  Wish I were going with you.  I said I wish I were going with you.  I don't know whether my sisters would like to have me or not.  I just wanted to go with you.  Don't be foolish?  Hello!  What did you say?  Hello!  Hello!  Say, Central!  Don't cut me off!  I'm not through talking yet.  Gone at the other end?  Well, ring up again.'

As Mr. Gaston said last night, he was bound to say something then or die in the attempt.  After waiting some time, he got the Gilliland house again and began talking with Miss Bishop.

'I beat about the bush for a long time,' he said, 'and then I came out with the question.  She evidently couldn't understand me, for this was the answer I got:

'Come a little nearer Mr. Gaston.  I can't hear you.'

'Then I moved about one inch nearer to her in that eight hundred miles and asked the question over again.  This time it was perfectly understood.  I was told that I might not be sure of myself, that I had better wait for a while, and some more things like that.  I said I had lived to be 35 years old, and I guessed I knew my own mind.  Finally I was told that she would give me an answer when she called me up in two weeks.'

That was on Feb. 28.  Two weeks after that Miss Bishop was in Brooklyn one day and stepped into the office of Mr. Gilliland.  She called up Mr. Gaston.

'Hello!  Is that you Mr. Gaston?  This is Miss Bishop.  Knew the voice, did you?  Your memory for sound is excellent.  I wonder if it is as good for other things.  One other thing?  What's that?  Oh, my answer?  Was I to give you an answer about anything?  Hello!  What's that?  I know very well I was?  Yes I guess I do.  Two weeks have seemed like two years?  You say that very nicely -- over the telephone.  Well, are you sure you knew what you were talking about?  Positive?  And you don't think you'll regret it some time?  Sure?  Well, then, if you want yes, here it is.  What's that?  Hello!  What did you say?  Oh!  Well, you can't have that over the telephone.  You must come for that yourself.  Good-by, George.'

It wasn't long before he came for what he couldn't get over the telephone, and the arrangements for the wedding were made.  Mr. and Mrs. Gaston are now at the Imperial, but this evening they will leave for Indianapolis, their future home.  Mrs. Gaston is an unusually good-looking woman, perhaps 22 years old.  She has dark hair, large dark eyes, and a graceful figure.  She has a musical voice, and speaks with a decided English accent.  Speaking of her engagement, she said:

'I have travelled over a good bit of the world and heard of plenty of romances, but I never dreamed that I should come to America to get engaged by telephone.  And I shouldn't if George hadn't been such a dear fellow, with such an awful lot of cheek at long distance.'"

Source:  PROPOSED BY TELEPHONE -- GOT A 'YES,' TOO, OVER RIGHT HUNDRED MILES OF WIRE -- One End Each of Two Conversations Between George B. Gaston in Indianapolis and Etel Mary Bishop Right Here -- Married at Pelham Manor Last Tuesday, The Sun [NY, NY], Nov. 30, 1895, Vol. LXIII, No. 91, p. 1, col. 5.  See also PROPOSED BY TELEPHONE, The Shepherdstown Register [Shepherdstown, WV], Dec. 12, 1895, New Vol. 31, No. 8, p. 1, col. 4 (same text); Proposed by Telephone -- GOT A 'YES,' TOO, OVER EIGHT HUNDRED MILES OF WIRE, Shenandoah Herald [Woodstock, VA], Dec. 20, 1895, Vol. 70, No. 39, p. 1, col. 2 (same text). 

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Delay in Completion of the Pelham Region's First Telephone Circuit in 1882

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Like so many other American inventions, the telephone changed life in the little Town of Pelham in the 19th Century.  Indeed, United States Patent No. 174,465 for "Telegraphy" was issued to A. G. Bell on March 7, 1876.  Within only a few short years, residents of Pelham began telephone installations throughout the region.

The telegraph, of course, pre-dated the telephone.  It was developed by Samuel Morse during the 1830s and 1840s.  Despite the earlier development of the telegraph, Pelham seems to have remained cut off from the rest of the world regarding electronic communications until June, 1878, when financier William Belden had a telegraph line installed by the Atlantic and Pacific Telegraph Company to an office in his home on Belden's Point, City Island in the Town of Pelham.  The telegraph was manned by a private telegrapher employed by Mr. Belden.  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.").  In 1882, the telegraph system was expanded when the Western Union Telegraph Company installed telegraph lines between Williamsbridge and City Island to connect with the line of the Atlantic and Pacific Telegraph Company.  See Fri., Nov. 27, 2009:  Telegraph Wires Connected Pelham to the Outside World in 1882.  The same year (1882), a telegraph office began operating in Pelham Manor daily (except Sundays) from 6:00 a.m. until 8:45 p.m. each day.  See Tue., Aug. 11, 2009:  News of Pelham Manor and City Island Published on July 14, 1882.

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.

I have written on numerous occasions of the histories of telegraph and telephone communications in the Town of Pelham.  See, e.g.:

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

Tue., Aug. 11, 2009:  News of Pelham Manor and City Island Published on July 14, 1882.

Fri., Nov. 27, 2009:  Telegraph Wires Connected Pelham to the Outside World in 1882.

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?

Mon., Mar. 02, 2015:  The Telegraph in Pelham: Pre-Telephone Communications with the Outside World.

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

By 1882, it seems, Pelham and the entire region were clamoring for installation of telephone lines and telephones.  There was talk of the creation of a telephone circuit through installation of telephone poles and wires throughout the City Island, Pelham, New Rochelle, and Larchmont region with a central office ("general office") to be located in New Rochelle.  The concept was to have merchants and residents in the region who wished telephone service to pay "monthly dues" to fund installation of the poles and wires as well as creation of the telephone circuit.  

By late summer of 1882, however, it became clear that the initiative would not proceed that year.  Residents of the lovely summer resort community of Larchmont did not want "ungainly" telephone poles erected along their streets.  Instead, they wanted telephone wires to be laid underground.  Additionally, the entire summer resort was more seasonal than residential.  Because most in Larchmont at the time closed their resort homes for the winter and departed to other locations including New York City until the spring, Larchmont residents did not want to begin paying "monthly dues" until the following spring season when they would return to their vacation homes.

New Rochelle merchants who wanted phone service raised similar concerns.  They noted "now that the season is so far advanced, [they] would rather commence paying the monthly dues for the same in the spring."

Given such concerns, on August 26, 1882 the New Rochelle Pioneer reported that "telephone managers at present are not making arrangements to erect poles about New Rochelle, Larchmont, Pelham and City Island, with a general office at New Rochelle."  It also reported that "From the present outlook the telephone circuit will not be perfected before the winter sets in."

Pelham would have to wait a little longer before its residents could install the latest technology:  the telephone.

1884 Telephone, From a Newspaper

Advertisement Published that Year.

NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

*          *          *          *          *

"The telephone managers at present are not making arrangements to erect poles about New Rochelle, Larchmont, Pelham and City Island, with a general office at New Rochelle.  The Larchmont people do not care to have the ungainly poles erected about their streets, and there is a strong possibility that the wires will be laid under ground.  This will delay the work until late in the fall, and by that time Larchmont will be deserted.  We understand that a number of the New Rochelle merchants, now that the season is so far advanced, would rather commence paying the monthly dues for the same in the spring.  From the present outlook the telephone circuit will not be perfected before the winter sets in."

Source:  [Untitled], New Rochelle Pioneer, Aug. 26, 1882, Vol. XXIII, No. 20, p. 3, col. 2.  

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Early History of the Telephone in the Town of Pelham

Archive of the Historic Pelham Web Site.

Home Page of the Historic Pelham Blog.

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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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Home Page of the Historic Pelham Blog.
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More on the Earliest Installations of Telephones in the Town of Pelham

Archive of the Historic Pelham Web Site.
Home Page of the Historic Pelham Blog.
Order a Copy of "Thomas Pell and the Legend of the Pell Treaty Oak."

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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Home Page of the Historic Pelham Blog.

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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? When and Where Was it Installed?

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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 largely 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 the Town of Pelham seemed to recognize the importance and value of the new invention very early.  In fact, I have tried, many times, to establish when the first telephone was installed in the Town of Pelham.  I have written on this topic twice.  Each time I have focused on what seems to have been the earliest telephone installed in Pelham Manor.  See, e.g.:

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.

Had I thought more critically, however, I would have focused on the broader area of the Town of Pelham during the late 1870's and early 1880's.  That area, of course, included City Island, Bartow Station, and the area along what we know today as "Shore Road."  

Interestingly, by analyzing whatever I could find on the subject, it turns out that there seems to have been a wave of telephone installations during the summer of 1884.  Indeed, in the Town of Pelham in 1884, it suddenly became fashionable (actually, a "fashion" as described in the press) to install the latest technology that we now know as the "telephone."  Members of the Executive Committee of the Pelham Manor Protective Club on the mainland of the Town of Pelham decided on June 2, 1884 to install a community telephone inside the Pelham Manor Depot.  That was the Branch Line train station that no longer exists but once stood near the end of the Esplanade).  

Residents of the Town of Pelham who lived on the mainland in the area then known as "Pelham Manor" were known as "mainlanders."  Residents of City Island (then also within the Town of Pelham) were known as "islanders."  There was a constant competition between the mainlanders and the islanders.  

In the early 1880's, the new-fangled telephone was sweeping the nation.   City Island residents (the islanders) were feeling the heat of competition.  A tiny report in a local newspaper clarifies the situation.  It reported:

"PELHAM AND CITY ISLAND.

-- 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, Vol. XXV, No. ?, Jul. 19, 1884, p. 4, col. 6.  

On the same newspaper page, under "LOCAL INTELLIGENCE," a related report provides a little more precision as to when the first telephone was installed on City Island.  Clearly it was installed between July 13 and July 19, 1884.  The related report states:

"--City Island has been connected with the outside world by the telephone during the week.  Manager Deveau has been quite active the past few days in putting up telephones."

Source:  LOCAL INTELLIGENCE, New Rochelle Pioneer Supplement, Vol. XXV, No. ?, Jul. 19, 1884, p. 4, col. 2. 

A further report narrows the range of dates during which telephones were first installed on City Island to the six-day period from July 13 to July 18, 1884.  The brief reference states:

"City Island is connected with the outside world by telephone.  Among the subscribers are von Liehn, Hawes, Booth, E. Leviness and others."

Source:  PELHAM AND CITY ISLAND, The Chronicle [Mount Vernon, NY], Jul. 18, 1884, Vol. XV, No. 774, p. 3, col. 4.  

1884 Telephone, From a Newspaper Advertisement Published that Year.

It seems that the mainlanders may have won the competition to install the first telephone.  Although the issue cannot be determined with certainty, it appears that the community telephone installed in the Pelham Manor Depot may have been in place shortly before City Island tradesmen "put in telephones in order to keep pace with the times."  

First, as noted in my Historic Pelham Blog posting nearly ten years ago on March 29, 2005 entitled "The Earliest Telephone in Pelham Manor?", on June 2, 1884 the members of the Pelham Manor Protective Club 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.  

Second, a newspaper reference from the period strongly supports the same conclusion.  It states:

"The Protective Association of Pelham Manor, have connected themselves with the outside world by telephone."

Source:  PELHAM AND CITY ISLAND, The Chronicle [Mount Vernon, NY], July 4, 1884, Vol. XV, No. 772, p. 3, col. 5.  

While Pelham Manor may have installed the first telephone in the Town of Pelham, it seems that the honor of installing the first telegraph line and telegraph communication system belongs to City Island.  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:

"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."

Source:  City Island, The Chronicle [Mount Vernon, NY], May 31, 1878, Vol. IX, No. 454, p. 2, col. 5.  

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A transcription of the complete news article from which the excerpt quoted above is taken appears immediately below:

"PELHAM AND CITY ISLAND.

--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.

--The industrial school at Pelham bids fair to be a success, and the boys and girls of that vicinity will have an opportunity to learn something to help themselves during the coming winter.

--Thieves stole a horse and buggy from the stable of Dr. Burnett, at Mount Vernon physician, at half past 10 o'clock Monday night and the thieves were known to have made for New York with their plunder.  The rig was recognized by officer Conroy, proceeding down Third avenue, New York, and after repeatedly calling the driver to stop, he shot one of them in the back which had the desired effect.  The bullet did no other damage than raising a big lump, and the prisoners were locked up on a charge of theft."  

Source:  PELHAM AND CITY ISLAND, New Rochelle Pioneer Supplement, Vol. XXV, No. ?, Jul. 19, 1884, p. 4, col. 6.  

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