History of Edmeston, New York/References

Edmeston
History

Alexander

See Edward P. Alexander

Quotes by Dr. Alexander: 1765

Arnold

G. W. Arnold

Bennett

Matilda C. Bennett

Butterfield

Lyman Henry Butterfield (1909-1982) was director of the Institute of Early American History and Culture at Williamsburg, Virginia, starting in 1951. He was an associate editor of The Papers of Thomas Jefferson at Princeton. He spent his summers at in Hartwick, New York, at the house built by Major James Butterfield in the 1790s. Starting in 1954, he was editor in chief of The Adams Papers, published for the Massachusetts Historical Society by Harvard University Press.

Mr. Roy L. Butterfield (died February, 1968) was born in the Town of Lisle in Broome County, New York. He graduated from Cortland Normal School and worked as a teacher and principal at several upstate schools, most in the Rochester area. He was the great-great-grandson of Major James Butterfield, a Revolutionary War veteran and a survivor of the Cherry Valley Massacre.

In 1906, working a summer job as the Cortland correspondent to the Syracuse Post-Standard, he uncovered the first clue that led to the arrest and conviction of Chester Gillette who was later convicted of the murder of 20-year-old Grace Brown. This case was the inspiration for Theodore Dreiser's 1925 novel, An American Tragedy.

In 1935, Roy Butterfield and his wife Ethel purchased a former inn, (the White House on today's Rt. 205) in Hartwick, New York. It had been built by his ancestor (Major Butterfield) in 1792, and is said to have been one of the first white houses west of Albany. They began restoring the house during vacations.

That same year he became an active member of the New York State Historical Association, attending summer seminars in Cooperstown. In 1947, his son Roger, an historian and writer, moved into the White House, and together they built a large fireproof library to hold a large collection or historical books and other items.

Roy retired from his high school principal position in 1948 and served as Otsego County historian from 1956 until 1967.

Publications by Roy Butterfied include:

The Great Days of Maple Sugar in New York History, Number 39 (1958),
In Old Otsego (1959)

— Oneonta Star article by Mark Simonson, August 7, 2003

Cunningham

Mary E. Cunningham (April 25, 1917 - June 6, 1986), an associate in education and publications of the NYSHA, is largely credited with getting the Yorker movement under way. [c.1940] She was born in Mamaroneck, New York. In 1939 she joined the staff of the State Historical Association of New York. During her tenure with that organization she served in a number of capacities, including editor of the Yorker and New York History, assistant to the director, associate director, director of school services, and librarian. In 1957, she began her career in government service as deputy director for the Division of Public Information, New York State Department of Commerce. In 1959, she became editorial director for Ingham & Co., where in consultation with State Education Department, she developed social studies curriculum for New York State Schools. Similarly, she continued this kind of work as editorial director at Follett Publishing Company, 1960-1962. She served the administrations of John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson in the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), first as Chief of the Consumer Information Branch, then after reorganization, as Deputy Director of the Division of Consumer Education. Following her government service, she worked as an editorial director of social studies for Rand McNally & Company. Among her other activities, she was author of "New York State Story," a syndicated column about the State's history. She was also founder of American Heritage magazine, and served as its first editor. Lastly, she was actively involved in the Democratic Party. She died in Cooperstown, N. Y..

— New York State Library: Mary E. Cunningham papers, 1940 - 1983

— Oneonta Star article by Mark Simonson, December 27, 2004

Dockstader

Janet Dockstader

Edwards

Ethel Edwards (born July 11, 1906) graduated from Edmeston High School in 1925, went on to Oneonta Normal School to become a teacher. She started teaching in a one-room school with two students in Ketchum and then taught junior high school social studies at Edmeston Central School. She retired after teaching for more than 50 years in the school district.

After she retired from teaching, she was asked to be the village historian, and she oversaw the formation of the village's museum in the second floor of the municipal building [the old bank building]. She also traveled extensively, visiting Quebec, Great Britain, Belgium, France, Spain and Egypt.

— Oneonta Star article by Andrew Tutino, July 27, 1999

— Oneonta Star article by Tom Grace, June 23, 2001

Fielder

Dorothy Scott Fielder is the author of Otsego County Postal History (1994), which lists all of the post offices that have operated in Otsego County, with complete lists of their postmasters, photographs of post offices, examples of different postmarks from various offices, and information about the post office operation, transportation and mail routes.

— Otsego County Histories book list

She retired as Schenevus, New York Postmaster in 2003 after 22 years on the job. Before that she was a high school and college biology teacher. She also led a youth stamp club in Schenevus from 1982 until 2000.

— Oneonta Star article by Jill Fahy, April 19, 2003

Haggerty

Sandra Lohnas Haggerty graduated from Edmeston Central School in 1956.

Willard Vincent Huntington

Huntington

Old Time Notes Relating to Otsego County and the Upper Susquehanna Valley, compiled by Willard Vincent Huntington (July 21, 1856 – 1951) of Oneonta, New York. The original notes are in the Huntington Library in Oneonta. A copy also available in the New York State Historical Association Library in Cooperstown, New York. Other works by Huntington include:

Oneonta Memories and Sundry Personal Recollections of the Author, Bancroft, 1891

Hickling

Susan Hickling

Jones

Hazel Larsen Jones was a native of Edmeston and a teacher at its schools. The quotes from her were from a paper she wrote for her graduate work at the State University of New York at Oneonta in 1953. The paper was entitled History of Edmeston 1770 to 1855 and was reprinted in the New Berlin Gazette.

Kelsey

Myrta Kelsey

Parker

Winifred Wilcox Parker (died April 23, 2004) of Edmeston, NY, graduated from Cornell University in 1934. She was a retired teacher, active in community and religious affairs, and the wife of Donald Parker.

Pickering

Professor James H. Pickering was Graduate Chairman and Associate Chairman of the Department of English at Michigan State University. Documents quoted include New York in the Revolution: Cooper's Wyandotté published in New York State Historical Association's New York History, Vol. XLIX, No. 2 (April 1968), pp. 121-141.

Pope

Spencer B. Pope

Shillieto

David Shillieto wrote the article History of Burlington Green in the Burlington Bicentennial Committee publication, Town of Burlington, Then and Now.

Sholes

Irving R. Sholes

Slocum

James Slocum

Swinney

Alice H. Swinney

Talbot

Newell Talbot, direct descendant of Timothy Taylor, brother of Rev. Stephen Taylor. — (1770)

Publications

Gazetteer of the State of New York, by J. H. French, Published by R. Pearsall Smith, Syracuse, N. Y. 1860 uwbdytwcytwvuyextrewvuyevxytwduvctqccwbchgvc