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Friday, February 29, 2008

Advertisement for Sale of Newly-Developed Lots Along Pelhamdale Avenue in 1891

Please Visit the Historic Pelham Web Site
Located at http://www.historicpelham.com/.
Please Click Here for Index to All Blog Postings.

The January 25, 1891 issue of the New-York Tribune contained an interesting little advertisement offering lots along Pelhamdale Avenue "midway between Pelhamville Station (main line) and Pelham Manor Station (Harlem Branch)". The text of the advertisement appears

Thursday, February 28, 2008

Presbyterian Conference at the Little Red Church in Pelham Manor on March 20, 1889

Please Visit the Historic Pelham Web SiteLocated at http://www.historicpelham.com/.Please Click Here for Index to All Blog Postings.The Little Red Church was the first sanctuary of The Huguenot Memorial Presbyterian Church in Pelham Manor. Opened in 1876, the little wooden church stood on the site of the present sanctuary of the Church at "Four Corners" -- the intersection of today's Boston Post

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Brief Obituary of Edwin R. Bertine of Pelham Manor Published on August 7, 1888

Please Visit the Historic Pelham Web SiteLocated at http://www.historicpelham.com/.Please Click Here for Index to All Blog Postings.Recently I have tried to collect 19th century obituaries of Pelham residents. One brief obituary for Edwin R. Bertine of Pelham Manor appeared in the August 7, 1888 issue of the New-York Tribune. The text of that obituary appears immediately below."DIED. . . . .

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Disputed Pelham School Board Election of 1882 Led to Charges of Fraud

Please Visit the Historic Pelham Web SiteLocated at http://www.historicpelham.com/.Please Click Here for Index to All Blog Postings.Yesterday I posted to the Historic Pelham Blog an item regarding the Pelham School Board elections of 1881. One year later, the School Board election was much more controversial and led to charges of voter fraud. A lengthy article about the election appeared in the

Monday, February 25, 2008

Town of Pelham School Board Trustee Election of 1881

Please Visit the Historic Pelham Web SiteLocated at http://www.historicpelham.com/.Please Click Here for Index to All Blog Postings.Residents of the Town of Pelham, including women who owned property, voted in the Town election for two School Board Trustee positions in 1881. A very brief account of the results appeared in the October 13, 1881 issue of the New-York Tribune. The text of that

Friday, February 22, 2008

Burglary Spree in Pelham Manor in 1880

Please Visit the Historic Pelham Web SiteLocated at http://www.historicpelham.com/.Please Click Here for Index to All Blog Postings.In the early 1880s, a group of local residents formed a “Citizen’s vigilante committee”. That committee, in turn, created an organization known as “The Pelham Manor Protective Club.” The Pelham Manor Protective Club was formally organized on December 15, 1881 – ten

Thursday, February 21, 2008

Obituary of Cornelius W. Bolton Published in 1906

Please Visit the Historic Pelham Web SiteLocated at http://www.historicpelham.com/.Please Click Here for Index to All Blog Postings.For many years, one of the sons of the Rev. Robert Bolton who founded Christ Church in Pelham Manor served as the rector of the Church of the Redeemer in the area once known as Pelhamville and, later, the Village of North Pelham. His name was Cornelius W. Bolton. I

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Pelham Teachers Threatened to Strike for a Pay Increase in 1906 -- All Eleven Of Them

Please Visit the Historic Pelham Web SiteLocated at http://www.historicpelham.com/.Please Click Here for Index to All Blog Postings.In 1906, there were only eleven school teachers in all of Pelham's schools located in the three villages. A brief article that appeared in the May 28, 1906 issued of the New-York Tribune indicated that the teachers that year threatened to strike if they did not

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Foul Play Suspected in Disappearance of the Head of the Pelham Ice Company in 1905

Please Visit the Historic Pelham Web SiteLocated at http://www.historicpelham.com/.Please Click Here for Index to All Blog Postings.For many years in the early 20th century, the Pelham Ice Company maintained an ice plant in a structure located where Tiffany's now maintains a facility behind the Village of Pelham Village Hall on Sparks Avenue. The plant processed ice for delivery to Pelham and

Monday, February 18, 2008

The Night Nearly Everone in the Town of Pelham Died: April 17, 1904

Please Visit the Historic Pelham Web SiteLocated at http://www.historicpelham.com/.Please Click Here for Index to All Blog Postings.On the evening of April 17, 1904, the 5,000 residents of the Town of Pelham narrowly escaped asphyxiation in their sleep due to a massive gas main break. Citizens of nearby towns also were in peril and fumes made 100 sick.The quick action of a Police Sergeant named

Friday, February 15, 2008

Village of North Pelham Saved From a Flood in 1903

Please Visit the Historic Pelham Web SiteLocated at http://www.historicpelham.com/.Please Click Here for Index to All Blog Postings.The Village of North Pelham avoided a catastrophe in 1903. The quick actions of the New Rochelle Fire Chief prevented the calamitous collapse of a dam holding back thirty million gallons of water that would have rushed into the Village. An article published in a New

Thursday, February 14, 2008

True Love: Man Risks Being Shot To Visit His Sweetheart

Please Visit the Historic Pelham Web SiteLocated at http://www.historicpelham.com/.Please Click Here for Index to All Blog Postings.On this Valentine's Day, it seems appropriate to reproduce a rather curious story about a lover who risked life and limb by visiting his sweetheart in North Pelham on the evening of October 19, 1902. The poor man, who did not speak English, left his lover's home

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

North Pelham Election That Ended in a Tie in 1901 Was Decided by Drawing Lots

Please Visit the Historic Pelham Web SiteLocated at http://www.historicpelham.com/.Please Click Here for Index to All Blog Postings.When the election for the Village of North Pelham President (i.e., Mayor) ended in March, 1901, the Republican and Democratic nominees were tied. Thus, the election was decided by drawing lots from a hat. The New-York Tribune reported on the development as follows.

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

He Fought the Bull and the Bull Won: Mad Bull Killed North Pelham Farmer in 1900

Please Visit the Historic Pelham Web SiteLocated at http://www.historicpelham.com/.Please Click Here for Index to All Blog Postings.A North Pelham farmer suffered a horrible death in a strange battle with a bull on July 13, 1900. The odd event merited a lengthy article the next day in the New-York Tribune. The sad circumstances are a reminder of an earlier time when Pelham was dotted with farms

Monday, February 11, 2008

Prison Escapee Foiled in Effort to Kidnap Two Small Boys in North Pelham in 1900

Please Visit the Historic Pelham Web SiteLocated at http://www.historicpelham.com/.Please Click Here for Index to All Blog Postings.A hardened career criminal who had escaped from the Westchester County Jail attempted to kidnap two young boys in North Pelham on a May evening in 1900. The kidnapping was foiled by a quickly-formed posse led by the boys' father and Constable Marks. The events were

Friday, February 8, 2008

The New-York, Westchester and Connecticut Traction Company Begins Building a Trolley Line in North Pelham in 1900

Please Visit the Historic Pelham Web SiteLocated at http://www.historicpelham.com/.Please Click Here for Index to All Blog Postings.Recently I have posted several items to the Historic Pelham Blog regarding the efforts of the New-York, Westchester and Connecticut Traction Company to obtain a franchise from the Village of North Pelham to allow it to develop a trolley line in the village. Today's

Thursday, February 7, 2008

Village Elections in Pelham in 1900 - New York Athletic Club Members Campaign Against the Prohibition Ticket in Pelham Manor

Please Visit the Historic Pelham Web SiteLocated at http://www.historicpelham.com/.Please Click Here for Index to All Blog Postings.The Village of Pelham Manor election of 1900 appears to have been "one of the liveliest contests" in Westchester County. The prohibition debate was raging. The President (i.e., Mayor) of Pelham Manor was Inventor E. T. Gilliland. He was running for reelection on

Wednesday, February 6, 2008

More on the Application of the New-York, Westchester and Connecticut Traction Company Application to Operate a Trolley Line in North Pelham

Please Visit the Historic Pelham Web SiteLocated at http://www.historicpelham.com/.Please Click Here for Index to All Blog Postings.Yesterday I posted to the Historic Pelham Blog a brief item describing an application filed in January 1900 with the Village of North Pelham by which the New-York, Westchester and Connecticut Traction Company sought to operate a trolley line in North Pelham. Slowly

Tuesday, February 5, 2008

Trolley Franchises: The New-York, Westchester and Connecticut Traction Company Applies for a Franchise in North Pelham in 1900

Please Visit the Historic Pelham Web SiteLocated at http://www.historicpelham.com/.Please Click Here for Index to All Blog Postings.In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, momentum grew to provide trolley car service throughout the region as an important means of mass transit. Various companies vied for the right to operate trolley cars on the streets of the three villages that comprised the

Monday, February 4, 2008

Hurt Due to Bad Road on Prospect Hill in Pelham, Wagon Driver Sued Town of Pelham in 1883

Please Visit the Historic Pelham Web SiteLocated at http://www.historicpelham.com/.Please Click Here for Index to All Blog Postings.During the 19th century, by nearly all accounts, the "roads" in Pelham were constantly in a state of disrepair. Typically they were little more than muddy, rutted and eroding pathways. One wagon driver who was badly hurt in an accident on Prospect Hill due to the

Friday, February 1, 2008

Battle Royal in Pelham Manor to Stop the Westchester Lighting Trust from Erecting Electric Light Poles in 1902

Please Visit the Historic Pelham Web SiteLocated at http://www.historicpelham.com/.Please Click Here for Index to All Blog Postings.Wealthy residents of Pelham Manor nearly came to physical blows with workers from the Westchester Lighting Trust on April 3, 1902. The Trust had permits from New York City to erect electric light poles along today's Shore Road. When it tried to erect such poles