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Guy Mannering: Good Dog
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Dudley Olcott was a member of the Olcott family that owned the Ten Broeck mansion, Arbor Hill. Born in 1838, he attended the Albany Academy and took a course in civil engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and then joined the family business (well, one of them) as an assistant cashier at the Mechanics’ and…
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The Incredible Embroidery of Catherine Hewitt Pfordt
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Yesterday we noted that one of the awardees in Philadelphia’s Centennial Exhibition in 1876 was Mrs. C. Hewitt Pfordt of Albany. For embroidery she submitted, she was commended “for great taste in design and workmanship, displaying extraordinary skill.” A supplement to Scientific American described her submission: “A white silk flag is elegantly worked with…
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The Centennial Exhibition Awards Capital District Manufactures
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Last week we mentioned that Edgar Smith’s dry air refrigerator, a product of Albany manufacture, was featured at the Centennial International Exhibition in Philadelphia in 1876, what was essentially the first world’s fair held in the United States and a celebration of the tremendous progress, particularly industrial and agricultural progress, the young country had…
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Amos Eaton: Pioneering Educator, Ex-Convict
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One of the founders of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Amos Eaton, probably doesn’t get sufficient credit for developing new instructional methods relating to the practical application of science, using the radical method of learning by doing, having students experiment and deliver lectures. His initial aim in creating the Rensselaer School was to teach the teachers,…
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Edgar Smith’s Dry Air Refrigerator
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For what seems to be a brief period right around 1876, the Smith Refrigerator Company of No. 7 (later No. 12) James Street in Albany manufactured a dry air refrigerator, essentially a somewhat more sophisticated ice box, that gathered a little bit of attention and a national award, and then (as far as we…
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The Sale of Hoxsie to Any Armed Persons After Dark Is Prohibited
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(With special thanks to an alert reader!) On July 15, 1863, the city of Troy was rocked by a draft riot, generally thought to be the second-worst riot against the Civil War draft (New York City’s riots being the worst). Rioters drove African-American residents out of the city in fear of their lives (and…
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Pigeon Louis
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From a far less sensitive time, the Times-Union ran with this headline in 1903: “Aged Cripple Drinks Poison and Dies.” They were speaking of Louis Slyer, reported as 75, 79 or 80 years old depending on the edition of the paper you read. Slyer was “formerly a well-known resident and property owner of the…
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Inventor of Gas Meters, and Possibly Soap
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We ran across this article from 1903 about the invention of Mr. James J. Mulhall, “the well-known resident of Catherine street.” “The invention is an improvement on gas meters now in use and Mr. Mulhall’s ideas have been approved by the patent department of the United States government. His meter is much smaller and…
Recent Posts
- A Meal at the Van Curler Hotel
- “She’s honest and all right”
- Beautiful Details from Schenectady, 1834
