Fall is Here with Thanksgiving to Follow and a Lecture!!

As a special treat this Fall, the Eaton museum will be holding a lecture and virtual tour of the cemetery tour on Sunday, October  19th at 3 pm at the site of the Old Auction Barn on Rt. 26 in Eaton.  The talk and tour are free with a hope that you will donate something to the Cemetery Association and the Eaton Museum. The Old Town of Eaton Museum will be open from 1 to 3 pm with refreshments at both!

The Fall is coming on us quickly, and while getting ready stacking wood and thinking of our next museum event, " Fall History Weekend...I dug this up and thought you might enjoy reading it again!

Many of our original settlers in Eaton date back to the Mayflower and the settlers of Natick especially the Morse, Leland, Kent and Stowe families.  Eaton followed much of the tradition of Natick so I thought I would include some wonderful history on Thanksgiving and Governor Bradford who Grandma Clark was a direct relative of. 

  

Fall and the first Thanksgiving was truly different from what we see portrayed today on TV and in the movies.  In actuality, the Pilgrims who had invited the Indians over to thank them for their help in cultivating corn, in fishing and in hunting, and for basically keeping them alive for the first year, were stunned when the Indians arrived for the feast in numbers far beyond what the Pilgrim’s could feed.  So, the Indians left and hunted for deer and fowl and returned with the food necessary for the feast to last three days…yes, three days.

 This occasion was unusually frivolous for the stern Pilgrims and comprised of continuous eating, the marching of Myles Standish’s little band of soldiers, bow and arrow competition etc…  The feast meanwhile was tended to by five of the eighteen women who survived the first terrible winter.  Imagine trying to fix a feast for 140-150 people over an open fire, and then stretch it to three days.

The great Governor Bradford delivered this prayer on the first Thanksgiving and I thought I would include it for us: 

    " Oh give thanks unto the Lord; sing unto him; sing praises unto him, for the precious things of heaven for the dew, and for the deep that couches beneath, and for the precious fruits brought forth from the sun, and for the precious things put forth by the moon, and for the chief things of the ancient mountains, and for the precious things of the everlasting hills, and for the precious things of the earth and its fullness.  Let everything that has breath praise the Lord, Praise ye the Lord."

 Of interest, I think, are a number of passages from “Of Plimouth Plantation” by Governor Bradford, which mention the colony’s success only by acts of what he referred to as “God’s divine providence”.

Bradford mentions windfalls of corn from unexpected quarters, a mysterious voice that warned the colonials of a store-house fire, showers that came just in time to save the crops, even the turning back of a ship that would foreclose on the colony.  These quotes show the success of the colony having been squarely laid on the cornerstone of faith.

This faith led Bradford to guide the colony through all of its terrible trials and gave him the moral capacity to do what was right for all without wish for personal gain.  From his first election in 1622 until 1639, he received nothing for dining the court during their monthly sessions.  One comment I received after the piece on the “Common Good” read “too bad things could not be like that today!”  To this I say, “Amen!”  The word “altruism” is too seldom used to describe our modern leaders.

 The key word in our pursuit of the history of the Pilgrim’s is DEMOCRACY.  Democracy, is the basis for the Pilgrim’s government, carried through both the church and the state, something we need to concentrate on today I think.

Put your sound on and listen to and oldie and a fall favorite from a past Fall History Weekend theme!

Fall History Day and Lecture on the Historic Eaton Cemetery

Sometimes a cemetery is historic for a number of different reasons as well as for the famous people buried in it. One such cemetery is the  Eaton Village Cemetery which occupies a hill outside of the Hamlet of Eaton and contains the remains of many famous and near famous people.  

As a special treat we will be holding a lecture and virtual tour of the cemetery tour on Sunday, October  19th at 3 pm at the site of the Old Auction Barn on Rt. 26 in Eaton.  The talk and tour are free with a hope that you will donate something to the Cemetery Association and the Eaton Museum. 

Backstreet Mary will be giving the lecture for Fall History Day. On Fall History Day the Museum will be open from 1pm until 3 with the lecture to start at the auction barn site at 3.30. The museum is a stones throw away on River Road in walking distance. Refreshments will be served to celebrate Fall and all the  local history of many colors!

M E Messere

The cemetery itself dates to before 1800, on a piece of property donated by Squire Eldred. It rests on the side of the Old Indian Trail and a recently discovered map shows that the early road was exactly where the current road is. 

Little care or attention was given the site for a number of years with cattle roaming it and overgrowth covering it, but in 1852, George Morse, grandson of the famous Joseph Morse, bought a piece of property next to the cemetery which started him on a labor of love keeping the grounds for his lifetime.

Morse took care of the grounds planting trees & planting the myrtle that still covers the hill today.  Morse also installed fences to keep the cows that roamed nearby out. Other early pieces of property that added to the cemetery's size belonged to J. T. Whitney.  In 1884 the present Eaton Village Cemetery Association was formed, an association that still cares for the cemetery today.

Buried within its borders are the founding Morse family, the Landon Family members including the famous Eli Perkins (Melville Landon) who is buried at the top of the cemetery steps. There are Chubbucks, including the father of Samuel W. Chubbuck inventor of the camelback key and sounder for Morse’s telegraph and siblings of Emily Chubbuck Judson,  the author and missionary.

Many Civil War veteran's including Col. Henry Bagg Morse of the famous 114th Regiment of NYS Volunteers and relatives of Charles Grandison Finney who once attended school in the one room school house that was located in the cemetery.  In a special section lies the first female physician of Madison County Diedamia Button Chase and beside her is her famous daughter, historian Luna Chase Hammond. Near the front of the cemetery lies Allen N. Wood  founder of the world famous Wood, Taber & Morse Steam Engine Works, and many more.

So take a short hop on the NYS Scenic Highway Route 20, and visit the historic Eaton, For more informatio on the Old Town of Eaton Museum you can email backstreetmary@yahoo.com.

Fall History Day at the Museum..Sunday October 22nd!

 Sunday, October 22nd... will mark our 25th Fall History Day! The museum which celebrated its 25th year on May 3rd.  will host a special Fall Day to kick off the end of the history season and the start of the next!  

The museum building and its little "AG" Museum next door will be open from 12 until 3 pm will have refreshments and a hope to sign up some new members to join.   This would also be a good time for the community to make monetary donations to keep this important  piece of local history alive.  Until you get older you never realize how important a role the small town you were born in has played and how it shaped your life.  In actuality it is part of your family because in many cases your parent or grandparents may have come from the town as well.

In Eaton many of the founding families are still here, names that still fill classrooms, societies and eventually come home to rest in our local cemeteries.  History and our American root system are what hold us together as a people, and hold our tree of Democracy upright.

Community Spirit has made us what we are so... we here at the museum call ourselves the “Keepers of the Fire” for the community… known as the Friends of the Eaton Museum… we invite you and your family to come to Eaton on Fall History Day.

This will also give you the opportunity to visit over refreshments with neighbors and relatives… some not seen over the Summer.  You will also be helping keep open an 1806 stone building that houses the “Past for the Future”. It is nice to remember that memories are still a part of our “Reveries” whether we are young or old!

Put the sound on and visit with the past in the video!

A Deep Purple Day as Summer Fades

Today as I sit here in my office looking out over the the Old Union School and the historic Eaton Church, I was struck by the fact that since I came to this little hamlet in 1984 things have changed drastically.  The change has been not for the better in many cases.  

The old friends I used to treasure are for the most part gone, many relatives gone, associates gone, and most original museum members are gone.  An old friend Nellie Wooten taught me so much about the people she knew each time we walked in the cemetery...once on the way down to town she looked back over her shoulder and said wistfully with sadness...all my friends and relatives are here...I miss them.

Maybe because of my tiredness and depression caused by the fact that I have not accomplished more in  this short summer that is slipping away...whatever it is... I could not stop singing or humming a very sad song…"Deep Purple"!

When the deep purple falls..

Over sleepy garden walls?…

And the stars begin to twinkle in the night..

In the mist of a memory ..

You wander on back to me..

Breathing my name with a sigh..

As of course, you would suspect …the song has an unbelievable history.  This piece of music was written originally as a piano piece written by pianist Peter DeRose, who broadcast, 1923 to 1939, with May Singhi as "The Sweethearts of the Air" on the NBC radio network.

"Deep Purple" was published in 1933 as a piano composition. The following year, Paul Whiteman had it scored for his suave "big band" orchestra that was "making a lady out of jazz" in Whiteman's phrase. "Deep Purple" became so popular in sheet music sales that Mitchell Parish added lyrics in 1938 or 1939.

It was recorded so many times by different bands and sung by different singers that it is amazing.  On the hit charts it was a  number 1 song in 1939 with Larry Witman, it was also number 2 for Jimmy Dorsey and His Orchestra, a number 9 for Guy Lombardo and His Royal Canadians, number14 on the charts for Bing Crosby, number 17 for Artie Shaw and His Orchestra….. all in 1939. 

By January 1949 Paul Weston and His Orchestra recorded it as well as Billy Ward and His Dominoes in September.  For us 70 year olds it became number 1 again for Nino Tempo and April Stevens in September 1963 and also a hit for Donny and Marie Osmond in December 1975.

It just seems to remind you of every love, every person you ever knew.. and how loneliness feels at night in this small town.

In the still of the night

Once again I hold you tight..

Though you're gone,

Your love lives on when moonlight beams

And as long as my heart will beat,

Sweet loved ones we'll always meet..

Here in my deep purple dreams…

I have been working all summer on my house that was going to the bulldozer when I bought it...Mr Woods house... and part of the old school.  It has survived 200 plus years of floods, wars, trees falling on it, and this past two a fire...I am still working on it.  

I am working on a growing website of history for Eaton, another website to try and help people understand the importance of fixing their animals called 4 Community Cats, my blog View from the BackStreet that reflects my thoughts on history on the area, and a perhaps a bit of hope.

My hope rises as the Stone Morse House on the hill is finally being saved, plus all in all we still have here  Eaton Fire Department, a Community Bible  Church, a well kept EatonVillage Cemetery, the  Old Town of Eaton Museum, a store and gas station... as well as a beautiful scenic place to live. A place we can just look out at the world with all its wars, sorrows, and disasters from. 

Depressed...yes I am...but filled with some hope for the future.

A Great Place to Visit inFall

Fall, History, Travel to Palatine Church......

This week has been busy with  getting ready for winter & our upcoming Fall Festival Event in September. in my heart however, I wanted to be on the road again visiting my favorite places for fall travel...The one I love the most is the old Palatine Church on the historic Mohawk trail to Albany near Nelliston.  I take people to it whenever we are driving by.... it is probably the most notable German Palatine structure in upstate New York.

Rising off the highway it stands on a hill near a spot that was once the settlement of Fox’s Mills. The limestone church dates to 1770 when it was erected by the subscription and the labor of a number of families in the area. The Garoga Creek, which flowed near by, provided waterpower for a number of mills and businesses in the small community, now gone which is today called Palatine Church.

Most notable among the families of the area was that of Hendrick Nellis who not only donated the land it stands on, but helped build the church with other community members.

Nellis and his grandson however remained loyal to the Crown at the outbreak of the Revolutionary War and had to flee to Canada. Other members of the family remained so typical of the division of loyalties at that time.

History has it recorded that in October of 1780, when the Tory forces under Sir John Johnson dropped down from Canada with the allied Native Americans to burn the farms and harvest of the valley, the church was saved by a British Officer who stopped it saying he had promised Nellis.

The site is also a historic marker site as it was the camp of the American Army under General Van Rensselaer after winning the Battle of Clock’s Field retreated to this site to make camp. Van Rensselaer refused to pursue the Tory forces, an act for which he was later tried for treason.

Today the church has been restored including its famous raised pulpit with sounding board and has had its organ rebuilt by noted organ builder Robert S. Rowland. Rowland built it in the style of old colonial organs. The inside has many historic artifacts on display as well as a rare 13 star American Flag that was found during the renovation.

Visitors from all over the world come to what is today call “The Shrine of Lutheranism in the Mohawk Valley”, and all passing it on Route 5 still admire its Colonial beauty! I love it! 

Tales of Old Eaton, the Confederate Flag in Eaton and old Mr. Leach!

Leach house to the left of museum.

I realize that I have been tardy in getting some new blogs out...but I have also been struggling along trying to beat cancer.  Yes, modern medicine may be able to cure you, but the side effects of the drugs effect every part of your body...including your ability to think and write.

This week has been good for me and my brain and while watching the hullabaloo on TV about the Civil War statues 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 had past, 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 and I who bought the building and refurbished it as 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!

I hope everyone will come out and visit what has become the Old Town of Eaton Museum currently owned and run by the not- for- profit museum group Old Town Folks.  Of great interest... a new group has formed to help support it...Friends of the Old Town of Eaton Museum. The group has officially become a recognized charity so all donations to it are are tax deductible. The museum is open on the First and Third Sunday's until October or by appointment.

The "Friends of the Museum" will be hosting a special event in September... "Fall History Day" and if able I will be speaking to help raise money for the group and to tell more "Tales of Eaton"  and its rich historic past.  Please join us then.