Emily Chubbuck Judson...AKA Fanny Forester

Well depending on where you read or get your information, today is Emily Chubbuck's birthday.  Of course Emily also has three very famous names and was born in 1818, which might account for any discrepancies.

Emily was born in 1818 ln Eaton, New York, and lived as a child in a cabin (Underhill Cottage)  built by her grandfather Simeon Chubbuck a Revolutionary War soldier.  The rustic cabin was located just off today's route 26 and the spot now sports a historic marker, though the cabin is long gone.

Emily's father never had much money and worked at a number of jobs including being a postman.  Her mother came from a fine family that most likely thought she had married beneath her.  So to help the family finances Emily was sent to work at a young age working for a woolen business, a silk thread business, and through need had to educate her self.

At 16 she walked to Nelson seeking the man who could hire her as a teacher, something that she did well, though in reality she made far less money as a teacher than as a worker. 

Emily managed to start writing little books of a religious nature.  Her mother, father & sister became stayed members of the Eaton 2nd Baptist Church thats pastor was Nathaniel Kendrick who became head of Madison University, today's Colgate. It is interesting to note however, that Emily did not join a church until later and she was chided by the locals who asked her, "When are you going to be saved?"

She eventually got a job at the Utica Seminary for woman where she bartered her education for teaching and made friends with the owners.  Taking a trip to New York with a friend she was struck by the difference and glamorousness of the city and wrote a tongue and check letter to N P Willis, editor of the New York Mirror - asking if he would hire her.  The letter was signed "Fanny Forester", which became a sensation for its day.  Willis never paid her for her writings, but he did make her famous, and her many articles about her hometown and life on the Eatonbrook became a book entitled Alderbrook Tales. or Musings and Trippings in Authorland.  These and her humorous pieces for the Mirror made Fanny Forester a well known name.

Fame did go to her head a bit, and she started enjoying spending time with friends in Philadelphia. It is there that she was introduced to a man 30 years her senior who was looking for someone to write a biography of his dead wife. The gentleman's name was Adoniram Judson, one of America's first Baptist Missionaries to Burma - a man who became a star in the Baptist circles that supported him. Emily ends up marrying him.

After the marriage she went back to Burma with Judson and becomes the missionary Emily C. Judson.  Emily bore Judson two children, a girl who lived and a boy that died at the same time as her husband.  After his death Emily returned to America and started writing poetry and pieces for  the missions.

Sick with Tuberculous, Emily died a short time later - after having been three famous people... teacher Emily Chubbuck, writer Fanny Forester, and the missionary  Emily C. Judson.

Her age at her death was only 37 years old... an interesting hometown woman that had been around the world and was an early woman writer of note!

Women's Right to vote, History and Madison County

What do history junkies do for Election Day…what else ...visit historic landmarks attached to elections and a few years ago I did just that!  I decided to take a spin to Rochester and visit the Susan B. Anthony House!

Few people are well versed in the reality of Anthony’s struggle for the rights of not only women to vote, but for all the rights of every individual citizen of the United States of America.  Born a Quaker, Anthony used these learned values and hard work to accomplish her goals.  

The Anthony family moved to New York State from Mass. (where Anthony was born) after the failure of her father’s business.  She eventually went into teaching not wanting to marry and become a “drudge or a doll” teaching for years in Canajoharie.... until making a decision that she needed more in her life.  Moving back to her father’s farm near Rochester, she was given the job of running it. 

The farm was a place of some wonder as abolitionists and free thinkers often visited and stirred Anthony with their stories and no doubt brought her to her goal in life... which was rights and equality for all.

Banding with a newfound friend and confidant Elizabeth Cady Stanton, she found the voice to her drive and together the two women set out to change the world, and they did.   From temperance, to women’s married rights, to abolition and then on to voting suffrage, they tirelessly worked to give all citizens regardless of color, race or sex the rights they were supposedly given by the Constitution of the United States.

Sadly, neither lived to see their work on women’s right to vote come to fruition.  

Anthony did vote once after the 14^th Amendment gave the right to vote to the citizens of the United States,  was promptly arrested and sent to trial.  When a fair trail could not be held in Monroe County because Anthony had spoken about it in every village and town, the trial was moved to the Ontario County Courthouse in Canandaigua..

So for fun we visited the Ontario County Courthouse.  I had visited it once before to see the Celebration for the continual yearly reestablishment of the Treaty of 1794... and the polishing of the “Silver Covenant Chain” between the US Government and the Iroquois Confederacy.    

And during that ceremony…..lo and behold a Quaker speaker spoke on the history of the courthouse, the occasion, and sure enough Susan B. Anthony.  She informed those gathered that this courthouse was the place that Anthony was tried for her crime of voting for President of the United States….could this happen again ladies?

In Norm Dann’s book “Practical Dreamer” on Gerrit Smith,  I found that after Anthony was fined $100 for her crime of voting, and Gerrit Smith sent her $100 to cover the fine!  However Anthony vowed that she would never pay one dollar of the fine and didn’t……So now I wonder what happened to the $100 old Gerrit sent????? Hmm…

 Epilogue...........

When another woman activist was not allowed to vote the women’s rights activist sued (and lost) causing the United States to insert the Amendment stating that only male citizens could vote.

It was not until 14 years after Susan B. Anthony’s death that the Constitution was amended giving women the right to vote. (Suffrage)

This year more than any year Susan B. Anthony’s words struck home: “If we once establish the false principal that United States citizenship does not carry with it the right to vote in every state in the Union, there is no end to the petty freaks and cunning devises that will be resorted to to exclude classes of citizens from the right of suffrage (to vote).

Come on folks lets get out the vote!

Visit this for more information

https://youtu.be/MuL3mnjFlrk?si=iq8dHbMqDGn5fWdJ

A Memorial Day Memory and Thank You!

Thank You... to all who attended and all who helped make Memorial Day Monday a success. 

Thanks to  Jim Monahan for use of the Auction Barn property and for going above and beyond getting his 1790's Revolutionary War Fly up to give us shade. Thanks to Pam Wexler for showing up early to help with setup and with donuts, Carolyn Tine... plus our usual crew... Jen Caloia, Barb Keough, and Michele Kelly...and anyone I forgot.

A great thank you to Dianne Morris Chilson and Doug Chilson who set up a display in the little Mini Museum next to the old one. Doug provided a glimpse into area World War II veterans, which included his father and Viet Nam...himself.  Medals and patches however cannot tell the whole story of their sacrifice.

Memorial Day in Old Eaton

The can drive was a hit and you still have a few days before they are counted... so drop any you have off at Michele's place on Mill Street or my house on Brooklyn Street.  The Cats and Museum would thank you if they could.. thank you! 

The day brought out a number of the original members of founding families which in essence is what makes a history day or old home day an important part of the community.  Our roots seem unimportant until we have children or grand children and then take the time to look back... wondering about our ancestors and how we came to be!

Eaton's history is fun to learn about for many reasons and learning about history is a great way to prove that everything is a circle and learning history gives you a glimpse into the future as well,,, it acts a like warning device. I was reminded of an old story about Eaton.  The story actually revolves around the house next to the museum on River Road, the road that was once called Water Street. The building is one of the oldest in town and was owned during the period before and after the Civil War by the Leach family. It is "Henry" I believe who served in the Confederate Army while the rest of the town for the most part was pro North.

Small towns in those days stuck together in a more cohesive way than today I guess... and after the War (Civil War) had passed, it is said that on all holidays and during parades old Mr. Leach would don his Confederate uniform and march in the parade with the many members of the GAR.  Both sides it is noted paraded up and down the streets with pride.  As a matter of fact... it wrote Mr. Leach into history and he has become part of the "Tales told of Old Eaton"... ones that you can enjoy.

Curiously, when redoing the museum we held a very large opening day celebration... and Chris Staudt with whom I bought the building and refurbished it to become  the museum for Eaton... invited friends and family down for the occasion. 

Chris' dad came down and toured...after the crowd had gone home and as he was leaving, he looked up at the American flag flying over the door, he glanced across the yard to the Leach house and said... "You really need a Confederate Flg flying here also".  To this day I wonder if old  Mr. Leach was around giving us a hint of his past... could be I guess.... after all it was Memorial Day!

The concept of Eaton Day arose from Eaton's traditional 4th July Celebration which has been taken over by Hamilton today. In "the Old Days" it was a celebration of honoring the dead warriors, remembering the past and enjoying community, today Eaton's little history group has tried to keep that spirit alive.

The Museum will be open pn Father's Day from 11 until 1.

Memorial Day Monday - Museums 25th Anniversary

Opening Day 25 years ago

Memorial Day Monday marks opening of the Old Town of Eaton Museum for this year. The day will highlight a special display in the yellow Museum Building next to the museum.  

The display will be compliments of Doug Chilson and his wife Diane who collect interesting items from Eaton’s past. The Chilsons are founding members of the Friends of the Old Town of Eaton Museum and did a display for an event 3 years ago that was a success.

The main Eaton Museum Building will be open with its extensive Eaton history and there will be books on Eaton’s history for sale by Backstreet Mary.  

The group is kicking off the little museums 25th year.  The museum started in the Wood House on Brooklyn Street for the Bicentennial in 1995, moving to the ancient stone building on River Road in 1998.

The stone museum building is one of the few early rubble buildings built just after the 1790’s.  The building was an early tannery building which became the shoemakers house.  The Sprague family kept it in the family for much of its life of service to the community.  The museum has a special display that honors Mr. Sprague who was a shoemaker, no doubt his father was as well since we have records dating to 1802 for William Sprague who was also a shoemaker..

So come out to Historic Eaton and visit for the day, enjoy the parade and history display on Rt. 26 and enjoy the rural quiet of Eaton. The hours are from 9 am until 1 pm.