When Jennie C. Overton passed around her velveteen autograph book in June of 1889, she was creating a souvenir of her years at university that would last her a lifetime. Fellow classmates inscribed their names, inspiring quotes, and loving memories on each page, sometimes accompanied by photographs or hand-drawn illustrations. What the graduates of the New Paltz Normal School may not have realized at the time, however, was that their signatures, scrawled in perfect script, would document their experience for centuries to come. 

The book itself is moderately sized, approximately 8.25 inches in length, 7.25 inches in width, and .5 inches high. The cover, wrapped in plush, soft, blue-grey velvet and imprinted with the word “Autographs,” is starting to fray and become patchy with age. The pages, once crisp and firm, are yellowed around the edges and delicate, smooth but slowly turning to dust. A beautiful cover page, decorated in blues, creams, and browns, pictures a young lady reading, perched comfortably on the letter A for autograph.

And on the first page of the book, written in slanted, neat cursive, the name Jennie C. Overton. 

We might picture Jennie, perhaps sitting at her writing desk, perhaps in her bedroom, casually writing her name in her brand new autograph book, unaware of how this one single act would lead a future SUNY New Paltz undergraduate student to research her life and death, her impact on the world. Who was she? Where was she from? What was she studying? 

Jane C. Overton, nicknamed Jennie, was born on October 29^th, 1865 in New York. Her parents were Wallace and Anna Overton, and she had three siblings: William, ten years her senior; Edna, two years her junior, and Lillie, four years her junior. The family started in Islip, on the south shore of Long Island, NY, but eventually moved to Bayport, NY by the time Jennie was 14. Her father was a farmer and her mother a housewife. 

There is not much documentation of Jennie’s life in the years before her arrival at the New Paltz Normal School. Once there, however, Jennie studied English and obtained her degree in 1889. At her commencement ceremony, Jennie presented an essay called “The Universal Language,” in which she discussed the promise of the Volapük language. Volapük is a constructed language that was created in 1879-1880 by Johann Martin Schleyer, with the goal of creating one language that all people of different countries could learn and speak. In her speech, Jennie said, “The world needs a common and simple medium of expression. Many attempts have been made to supply this need, but Volapük is the first and only one that gives evidence of success.” 

Jennie returned to New Paltz Normal School a second time, graduating with a second degree in old elementary English in 1893. Her roommate of that year, Bessie Monsell, wrote lovingly in her book, “I shall always look back with the greatest pleasure to the happiest year of my life which was spent with you, and to that time when I found a friend, that was a friend indeed. Remember me ever, as your loving room-mate of 1892-93, Bessie R. Monsell, Greenport, NY.”

Jennie disappeared from records again until 1900, when she is documented living with her parents in Bayport and working as a teacher. At this point in time, aged 35, she was still unmarried.

Another page of her autograph book is signed by Clara T. Hawkins and reads:

“To Miss Jennie C. Overton,

‘Only do thou in thought
And heart, to Him hold fast;
Be patient; more than thou
Hast sought,
Will come to thee at last.’ 

Lovingly yours,
Clara T. Hawkins,
South Haven, L.I.” 

The inscription would prove to be prophetic in a way. Sometime between 1900 and her death twelve years later, Jennie C. Overton would marry Clara T. Hawkins’ brother, Irving Hawins. They never had children. 

In July of 1909, the Kingston Daily Freeman noted that a Jennie C. Overton of Bayport, NY, entered Sahler’s Sanitarium in Kingston, NY. It is likely, judging by her death a few years later, that this was the same Jennie.

Jennie’s husband died in 1911, followed shortly by Jennie herself on the 28^th of April, 1912. She shares a plot with her husband in the David Hawkins Cemetery in Suffolk County, New York.

If our bodies were corporations, our brains would be the big bosses in crisp black suits that hold all of the power and make the executive decisions. Our brains are so powerful— they determine our outlook on life, how we interact with the world, and how we think about objects. Psychology is the scientific study of the mind and its functions. Psychologists have scrutinized the relationship between people and objects for many years since objects play such a significant role in our society. Even thousands of years ago, before items were easily available to many people, groups of humans used the environment around them to create objects that had some sort of purpose, either for enjoyment, survival, or simply to make life easier.

So what is so fascinating about our minds when it comes to objects? Each individual perceives the world around him or herself differently, which leads to many perspectives on objects between different individuals, families, communities, and cultures. If one specific object could travel around the world and meet every culture on our planet, it would be treated in hundreds of different ways since many cultures would view the object in unique ways from another culture.

Because the mind is so complex, there are thousands of topics psychologists can study in relation to objects, including differences in cultural views on objects and materialism, attachment to objects in adults and children, and consumer psychology. Through study of these topics, psychologists have been better able to understand how the human brain works and explain why humans act the way they do towards objects.

Through researching worldviews on objects and materialism, psychologists have discovered that because cultures are so diverse, many cultures find it terribly difficult to understand other cultures’ views on objects. For example, in 1848, Native American culture was extremely different from the settlers of European descent. Over 300,000 Europeans flooded into California to look for gold, because in their culture gold was a source of wealth. However, in Native American culture, one did not become “wealthy” from obtaining objects like this. Gold had no value in their lives. Because their culture placed no emphasis on the value of gold, some tribes believed that the gold must have been a supernatural deity, since they understood and believed in the supernatural. This was the only way that they could “understand” the settlers’ obsession with gold. When we don’t understand the way another culture thinks about an object, we often project our own values and beliefs onto their thinking because it is the only thing that our mind can truly understand.

 Psychologists have also learned how different cultures view materialism and possession and which countries are the “most” materialistic. The United States seems like the most “materialistic” culture, since we are obsessed with making and spending money. However, according to a study conducted by Gülitz and Belk, there is a country that is more materialistic than the United States— Romania. It is interesting to think about Romania as a materialistic nation (since many people only think of Romania in reference to Dracula and Frankenstein). Romanians desire many household objects that we take for granted or don’t even consider having want for. This view may be because there was a debt in Romania, which led to rationing on many items. When we are denied something, psychologists have found that we tend to desire it even more.

 Happiness is really the one thing that human beings desire above all else. Through study of humans and their objects, we can learn that having more objects does not necessarily make us happier. Take Graham Hill, for example, who was miserable while surrounded by thousands of fancy objects, but is now incredibly happy leading a simple life with much less “stuff.” We live in a material world, and we are surrounded by people and advertisements telling us to buy, buy, buy! We tend to feel that if we just buy one more object, we will be happier. Companies take advantage of this belief, and have created an entire field called Consumer Psychology. Psychologists are hired by companies to tweak their advertising to make their products more appealing to consumers. However, the happiness we feel from purchasing new things is only temporary, and we soon discover that having more does not necessarily bring the happiness we desire. This can be seen through attachment to objects, which many psychologists choose to study. Attachment to objects has become such a big problem in our world today that there are psychologists that specialize specifically in excessive attachment such as hoarding.

As much as 5% of the US population has an unhealthy attachment to objects, and 4 million people in the United States are hoarders. Hoarding has recently been placed under the spotlight with the new TLC show, “Hoarding: Buried Alive,” which follows the struggles of hoarders trying to part with objects that compromise the health, happiness and order of their lives. Although these people have lots of stuff, they are not necessarily happier, and their quality of life is both low and unsafe. Psychologists have studied hoarders to find that they keep, buy, and treasure items because they feel they will need them in the future or they truly believe it has sentimental value to them. Understanding the psychology of hoarding objects has helped psychologists and a hoarder’s family members to be able to help the individual clean out his or her house and keep from hoarding again. This is very important because understanding this could help change up to 4 million people’s lifestyles, making their homes safer for them and their families.

Attachment to objects is more frequent than most people think. In fact, 70% of children are attached to a particular childhood toy or blanket. Psychologists have developed the attachment theory, which suggests that people attach to objects in order to compensate for perceived unreliable close relationships in their lives.

Objects are a huge part of our environment as humans. In order to understand the mind, we must begin to understand how we interact with objects and what effects they have on our lives. For better or worse, material things surround us. The key to happiness is to understand which objects are helpful or harmful to our mental state and how their presence influences the way we think and behave.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

“Filling the Void.” Hoarding: Buried Alive. TLC. 18 April 2010.

This television series shows various cases of hoarding. The types of materials hoarded vary from clothing, yard sale items, garbage, animals, and food. In most cases, there is a tragic event that triggers hoarding. In all cases, the lives and well-being of the hoarder and their family are compromised in the presence of so many objects.

Ger, Gülitz. Belk, R. “Cross Cultural Differences in Materialism.” Journal of Economic Psychology 17.1 (1996): 55-77. Web. 31 Mar. 2013.

http://www.provost.bilkent.edu.tr/guliz/economic_psychology.pdf

A study is conducted to examine various cultural differences in views towards materialism, possession, envy, non-generosity, and preservation. Results show that consumers from affluent Western countries and consumers from less affluent countries are not more or less materialistic than one another. Results also hint that the most socially and economically dynamic countries show the highest levels of materialism (Romania, Ukraine). Surprisingly, The United States does not have the highest level of materialism.

Hill, Graham. “Living With Less. A Lot Less.” Sunday Review: The New York Times. The New York Times, 9 Mar. 2013. Web. 20 Mar. 2013.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/10/opinion/sunday/living-with-less-a-lot-less.html?pagewanted=2&_r=2

A young man shares his story of how materialism consumed him. He came into a great deal of money by chance, and found himself living lavishly with an abundance of clothing, furniture, and motor vehicles. He later finds that life with less objects is more freeing and results in happiness and appreciation.

Morris, Steven. “Why children become to attached to toys and comfort blankets”. The Guardian. The Guardian, 8 Mar. 2007. Web. 31 Mar. 2013.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2007/mar/09/psychology.uknews

A study is conducted to test if children are more likely to choose an “original” toy that they cherish versus an identical toy that is brand new. Results show that the majority of children that came in with a toy or blanket they were attached to were likely to choose their original toy, rather than the new “duplicate” of the toy. Psychologist Bruce Hood suggests that children often anthropomorphize certain objects and give them an essence that cannot be duplicated.

Taylor, Steve. “The Madness of Materialism.” Psychology Today: Out of the Darkness. Psychology Today, 10 Mar. 2012. Web. 21 Mar. 2013.

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/out-the-darkness/201203/the-madness-materialism

Briefly discusses the European view on gold in the 17th century and the difficulty Native American’s had understanding why the Europeans valued it so much. The author discusses different explanations for materialism, and ultimately suggests that we feel the need to accumulate wealth and materials as a means of alleviating our inner discontents.

CAPTION
These small, delicate objects don’t look like much from a distance, yet their role in the lives of the Esopus Indians was one of extreme beauty. These tiny pieces of shiny copper, rolled into cones called tinklers, attached to women’s dresses during ceremonial dances, tell as much about these Native American people as they do about their relationship with the settlers who entered the land in the 17^th century.

DESCRIPTION
The tinklers, once bright and shiny, are now growing speckled with age; mottled with various mossy greens, ranging in shades of dark forest, to emerald, to sandy beige, they seem as much a part of the earth from which they were uncovered as the grass itself. The copper is astoundingly well preserved, considering it’s around 400 years old, dating between 1609 and 1700 A.D. They are small, ranging between 1.5 and 3 centimeters long. Still, the tinklers have maintained the conical shape that made them jingle and gave them their memorable name. These delicate, decorative cones were part of the Late Woodland Period in the Northeastern United States and belonged to the Esopus Indians who roamed New Paltz and the surrounding region.

PROVENANCE
These tinkle cones were found in New Paltz, Ulster County, New York. They date from the Late Woodland Period and were part of the Esopus Indian culture that dominated the region. They are dated between 1609 and 1700 A.D. and are currently housed in the Historic Huguenot Street Visitor’s Center, located in New Paltz, NY.

NARRATIVE:
We approach the scene: on one side of the clearing, Dutch settlers arrange a wide assortment of brass and copper utilities, iron weapons, silver cutlery, blankets, cotton clothing, liquor, and guns. They seem confident, chatting amongst each other, knowing the sale will go well and they will profit, maybe more than they deserve. For them, these objects are commonplace, imported from Europe where the technology has long existed.

Still, there is a slight sense of fear in the air. Since their arrival in North America, the settlers’ relationship with the Native Americans has been unpredictable, largely because of the difference in cultures and a lack of efficient, or in some cases honest, communication. Quietly but purposefully, their trade partner signals his arrival with the snap of a twig: stepping out of the forest, an Esopus Indian. He is tall, strong, with long dark hair and across his sinewy shoulders stretches a dead deer, a peace offering to the Dutch.

Deals are made, objects exchanged, and a part of history is formed. Each side leaves with something new in their pocket: metal utilities that make survival exponentially easier, or a piece of paper that signs away hundreds of acres of land. One of the most important trade items of all, however, was shiny, malleable copper. This element, never before used by the Esopus Indians, provided a variety of new utensils, weapons, and decorative accessories that could be easily made or altered. While projectile points and pots were essential to the Esopus way of life, one surprising object of a different nature survived 400 years to be found in New Paltz, NY. This object was the tinkle cone.

Tinkle cones, or tinklers, are small pieces of copper rolled into the shape of a cone. When attached to dance and ceremonial clothing, these cones created a melodic jingle, the perfect accompaniment to the drums, rattles, and custom songs of the Esopus. The women, tinklers sewn into their dresses and dangling from their ears, swayed their bodies and reached down towards the ground, thanking the earth that sustained them.

While the Esopus culture was tragically maimed during the increasing settlement of the land, their delicate copper accessories, then a bright metallic orange, survived the test of time to inform later generations of the people that once lived in the area. Now, like the earth that played such a crucial role in the lives of their people, the tinkle cones are a beautiful, natural green.

Sources

Kraft, Herbert C. The Lenape-Delaware Indian Heritage; 10,000 BC to AD 2,000. N/A: Lenape Books, 2001. Print.

Kraft, Herbert C. The Lenape Archeology History and Ethnography. Newark, NJ: New Jersey Historical Society, 1986. Print.

Caption – A tiny and simple representation of high societal living: Gertrude Deyo’s silver mirror played an essential role in preparing herself to venture out in public. There was no question that a modern and sophisticated woman of this time had to look her loveliest at all times. Based off the photos and images of Gertrude, she satisfied these standards quite mesmerizingly. What can be said of the woman whose face appears in the mirror’s reflection?

Description – This sterling silver mirror is surprisingly heavy to the touch yet a humble size of 9 ¼ inches long with the diameter being 4 ¾ inches across. It is over 100 years old and resembles an artifact that could be discovered as one of the remainders from the Titanic ship. Yet the mirror has been exceptionally preserved as the glass on the mirror is vividly clear and reflects a circular frame.  When one turns the mirror around floral designs are seen along with two female looking goddesses in the middle of the surrounding designs. One of which the viewer only sees a side profile and flowing hair and another whose full figure is displayed making her significantly smaller when compared to the woman’s side profile. These depictions most likely represent the importance of a female’s beauty during the time that could be preserved through the mirror. The handle of the mirror is sturdy and one can feel the designs on the mirror implant their characteristics into one’s hands if it’s held tightly enough.

 Provenance – This object was found within the Blake House and was manufactured by F&B Sterling Pat’d 1901. It was donated by the Blake estate which is located on Libertyville Road in New Paltz in 1984 along with 66 other objects that had arrived to Huguenot Street with the collection. The mirror has remained in the Deyo House ever since its arrival. According to the Historic Huguenot website that discusses the Blake’s collections:

This collection was created by William Henry Dill (W.H.D.) Blake (1843-1926), farmer and Civil War officer, and family members after they moved to New Paltz in 1881. In addition to W.H.D. Blake, other family members represented in the collection include his wife, Matilda Booth (d. 1904), two sons Alfred Booth Blake (d. 1950) and William Culbert Booth, a daughter, Matilda Booth (d. 1970), and two cousins Amy L. Hepburn (d. 1966) and Dollie B. Hepburn (1891-1976), both of whom came to live at the house in their retirement beginning in the 1950s. (www.huguenotstreet.org).

Narrative –

CAPTION

Printed in the weekly Poughkeepsie Journal on September 5^th, 1810, this runaway slave notice from one of the most prominent New Paltz families advertises the reward for the return of their slave, Harry. Slavery in the North, though thought to be much less brutal than in the South, was still prominent, and living conditions were detestable enough that slaves were still desperate to run away.

DESCRIPTION

On an off-white page in the Poughkeepsie Journal newspaper lies a rectangular announcement nestled amongst “for sale” and “wanted” advertisements. Atop the eggshell colored paper made from discarded cotton and linen rests crisp, typed words printed in ebony ink announcing a reward for runaway slave Harry from New Paltz, New York. It then describes Harry’s general physical appearance, the items he took with him, and states the company that he ran away with. The inked letters are stamped inconsistently in pressure, with some letters having a bolder, darker presence on the page. Some letters are almost illegibly soft and blurred, maybe due to over two hundred years of survival. Although there is no title, the first four words are printed larger than the rest, begging your eyes to keep reading about the reward and Harry. All 158 words are an unformatted, standard text, except for five words located approximately ¾ inch from the bottom of the advertisement— “widow of David Hasbrouck deceased.” Even after 203 years, the advertisement is still smooth to the touch and legible for all those who desire a snippet of New Paltz slave history.

PROVENANCE

The newspaper containing this slave runaway notice was distributed out into the mid-Hudson Valley region. It is unknown how many prints were made; however, newspapers during this time were better equipped to survive than later newspapers because when papers began to be made out of paper, they were quick to deteriorate. This newspaper was most likely owned by a white resident. This specific ad survives today, and is now located in the New York State Library in Albany, New York.

DATE OF CREATION

Although some slave runaway notices were posted in the paper more than once, this advertisement was only placed in the Poughkeepsie Journal one time, on September 5^th, 1810. Because the newspaper was not a daily newspaper until the Civil war, the notice itself was written sometime within the six days before the 5^th of September. Because it is dated September 3rd, we can assume that this is the day that it was written.

NARRATIVE

The view of the mountains comforts me in these troubling times. My name is Harry and I formerly lived on Butterville road, with a fantastic view of Paltz point located to the west of my residence. Many would find this home ideal— a medium sized stone house, measuring 40×35 feet, with eleven windows. But life for me on Butterville Road was dreadful. Why? My home wasn’t my home by choice. In fact, it wasn’t even really my home. I was enslaved to Mary Hasbrouck.

 Days have passed since I ran away with my friend Caesar, although we’re still in the New Paltz area. My life has not been the way most people from different parts of the world probably imagined it to be. I heard tell that many people believe that cruel treatment of slaves only happens in the South because the North has abolitionist feelings. However, this is not the case. New Paltz is situated in New York—a Northern state. You might believe that people here hold antislavery views. I can say without hesitation that this is not the case.

Take a look at my runaway slave notice posted in the Poughkeepsie Journal. Although I’m a human being just like anyone else, I’m painted as inferior. I’m referred to as “remarkably well spoken,” as though it is surprising that I would be able to speak civilly and respectably because I am a person of color. I ran away from the Hasbrouck family, a founding family of New Paltz who signed the New Paltz patent. They are very prominent and influential in the community, and are therefore promoting discriminatory views that degrade people of color. Slavery is an acceptable part of New Paltz, a place that I have been forced to call home.

Many people do not realize that life as a slave in New Paltz has not been easy. Every prominent household has at least one slave. Let me tell you about the Hasbrouck family. Although they put out this notice to capture me, the Hasbroucks have more than enough money to hire someone to work for them instead of promoting slavery. March Hasbrouck’s mother-in-law, Wyntje Deyo, is one of the wealthiest residents of the community and David Hasbrouck (Mary’s deceased husband) inherited all of his father’s land in Ulster county.   

So why is Harry’s slave notice significant to the history of New Paltz? “Harry” mentioned that people in that time might think that slavery was only cruel in the South, and this is true of today as well. We are blind to so much of our history. In school, we learn about slavery in America and the abolition movement that took place in the North. Yet, we never stop and think, what about right here? What about this very street I’m walking on? Were people here against slavery? Were blacks filled with terror when walking through the streets of New Paltz? It’s easy to convince ourselves that New Paltz was a community against slavery since it is located in New York, a state in which many abolitionist movements took place. However, this is not entirely true. We learn from slave notices like this one that New Paltz was heavily involved with slavery and believed that blacks were inferior.

The slave runaway notice is significant because we gain insight into the different worlds between slaves and a wealthy family such as the Hasbroucks. The notice shows us how few possessions and clothing the slave owned, making him easily identifiable to others in the area. The detailed focus on the slave’s attire and possessions shows that New Paltz took the capture of slaves seriously. Although we may be naïve and think that New Paltz was a safe place for people of color, New Paltz must have been terrifying to live in if you were black. There was mistreatment and hatred towards blacks.

RESOURCES: ******

Downey, Meg. “From the Bill of Rights to IBM.” http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/services/aboutthejournal.pdf

The tombstone of Rebekah McClang, a nineteenth century woman who died on May 3rd, 1862 at  the age of thirty, is a New Paltz community object with a story to tell. Little information has been found on Rebekah’s life, including why she died so young. There is but one detail that enlightens us: she was insane.

Rebekah’s tombstone lies in New Paltz, at the current Ulster County fairgrounds, where the former Ulster County Poorhouse was located. Upon entering the grounds, at the entrance with the red barns, one takes notice of a commemorative sculpture entitled “Rebekah,” by local artist Judy Sigunick. The sculpture is broken at the neck and chin area.

As one makes their way towards the back of the fairgrounds, Rebekah’s tombstone will come into view, surrounded by a white fence. It is large and made of heavy material. It is about 3 inches thick, and five feet tall. The surface is rough, cold, and one can feel the grooves of the earthy stone. The inscriptions upon the tombstone are very faint, one can decipher what is said, although it is really hard to do so. The usual date of birth and death is inscribed, as well as Rebekah’s mother’s and father’s names. There is also a poem on the tombstone entitled “Who’ll Weep for Me?” that addresses the age-old question of who will remember a person after they’ve passed. Who wrote the poem, or who decided it was properly suited for the tombstone, is unknown. Inside the white-fenced area, along with the tombstone, is a plaque with the transcribed poem, as follows:

Who’ll weep for me?

Wher’ neath the cold damp earth I lay,

And sleep in quiet day by day,

And have no more on earth to say.

Who’ll weep for me?

When I am sleeping in the tomb,

And o’er my head fair flowers bloom,

Or midnight’s showers in her gloom.

Who’ll weep for me?

Yes others too will weep for me,

As here I sleep beneath this tree,

That waves its branches over me.

They too will weep for me

My mother dear – I know she’ll weep,

And father too while here I sleep,

My brothers and my sisters dear,

Will weep for me while I lay here.

The tombstone belongs to Rebekah, however there is no way of knowing precisely who set up the tombstone in terms of design and content. The person who did do this cared enough to place a poem upon it — most likely Rebekah’s parents. According to the 1849 Admissions Book for the Ulster County Poorhouse, Rebekah was admitted for one, singular cause: “insanity” (Stessin-Cohn 1).

So, what is the dreaded poor house? It is precisely how societies in the past have dealt with the underprivileged. The underprivileged, in nineteenth century Ulster county society, were the poor and the insane. It is a pre-millennial government program (like welfare, food stamps, and the like) that attempted to place the underprivileged into society in ways that would benefit them. However, the Poorhouse has been remembered differently. “Conditions in these institutions were often deliberately harsh, so only the truly desperate would apply,” states Carlton Martz in the 1998 issue of the Bill of Rights in Action (Wasserman 1).

By June 1828, a poorhouse was established in New Paltz, in the same area where the Ulster County Fairgrounds now reside. An 1824 law, stating that a county poor house will be constructed, goes into detail about what sort of individuals were expected in the county poorhouse, listing paupers, begging children, disorderly persons, and other “such persons in such indigent circumstances as to require relief,” as expected residents (“Law Establishing County Poorhouses in New York”). According to an 1852 Ulster County Poorhouse admissions record, individuals were admitted based upon their “dependence.” Reasons for dependency were as diverse as the case of an Irish girl named Mary Holland, aged twenty six, entered on the grounds of “prostitution,” to little Patrick, Mary, and William Molone, ages five, two, and under one, respectively, who are listed as entering the poorhouse because of  “debauched parents” (“Admissions – 1852”).

The County Board of Supervisors and the Judges of the Court of Common Pleas assembled to assign the position of Superintendent of the Poor in 1828. Twenty years later, this position became an elected one. A man in a county was able to hold the position for three years. The election must have been centered around some sort of ethical measuring of each prospective Superintendent. In other words, people in New Paltz had to have looked at this man and wondered: what will he do for the poor? Is he a good man?

In order to address such questions, inspections of the poor house were issued and published in the New Paltz Times throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. This was a sort of way to address the issue and perhaps calm the spirits of those genuinely concerned about the well-being of those in the poorhouse. A report dating back to December 16th, 1869 analyzes the care of Superintendent Andrew Ketcham, stating,

“The main building was visited first, where everything was in complete order, bed linen clean, and each bedstead furnished with a good straw bed, and comfortable covering … At the colored house, everything was ‘all right,’ according to the language of the inmates. At the insane building, a pitiful site is presented; to look upon the poor maniacs, talking of everything, and yet of nothing, is a sad sight … But one of the attendants says ‘everything is done for their comfort, that can be.’ We would suggest as a comfortable improvement for this building, that it be heated by furnaces.”

Upon reading this review, citizens were expected to arrive at the conclusion that everything was fine and that the unfortunate were being properly taken care of. The very end of the review states,

“After inspecting the premises, the party returned to the residence of the Superintendent, where a sumptuous banquet was prepared, to which they did ample justice, after which cigars and refreshments were partaken of, and the gathering soon dispersed; the Supervisors starting for Kingston and the guests to their respective homes.”

The Ulster County Poorhouse is also, however, known to have been a very pitiful sight, evidenced in the writings of a journalist at the New Paltz Times that states that the poor house is:

“A DISGRACE – We do not believe there is a single county in this state, wherein the insane poor are as miserably cared for as in Ulster. The building in which these unfortunates are confined, is nothing more or less, than a “shanty” half-a-story high … Only a few months ago, a stranger having the small-pox, was taken to a “shanty” in the woods – there being no other place – and left to die.”

Rebekah’s tombstone, within its white fence at the Ulster County Fairgrounds, where the Poorhouse used to stand, is just one tombstone remaining at a burial ground believed to have contained 2,500 bodies of the unfortunate. Hers is the only tombstone left, among thousands lost. When Susan Stessin-Cohn, Director of Education at Historic Huguenot Street and Poorhouse Historian, discovered the tombstone, it was nearly falling through the dirt and would have otherwise disappeared had she not made sure a cement foundation was put into the ground. Exactly why Rebekah’s is the only tombstone still in existence at the site is unknown, yet this stunning artifact of the poor house epitomizes the extreme negligence Ulster County has given to the underprivileged in the past.

WORKS CITED

“1824 Law Establishing County Poorhouses in New York.” Passed 27 November 1824. Print.

“A Disgrace.” Snippet, New Paltz Times 6 December 1862. Print.

“Visit to the County Poorhouse.” New Paltz Times 16 December 1869. Print.

Stessin-Cohn, Susan. “Finding Rebekah.” Ulster County Poorhouse Project. Ulster County Information Services. 2004. Website. 15 March 2013.

—. “Admissions – 1852.” Ulster County Poorhouse Project. Ulster County Information Services, 1852/2004. Web. 17 April 2013.

Wasserman, Gabriel J. “Ulster poorhouse was grim refuge.” The Poughkeepsie Journal 16 November 2004. Print.

Smaller than your modern chess set, the pocket chess-board was a portable game for travelers to carry from one destination to the next. Because the object was created with a series of slips and paper chess pieces, it was easy to stop at any moment and close the book without disturbing the game.

Description:

The pocket chess-board, when closed, looks like a small hard cover book made out of cloth material. When closed, you can feel the roughness of the object as if you’re touching the cuff of a fresh pair of jeans. There are small bubbles on the back cover where air trapped itself inside the cloth material over time. On the object’s edges, you can see pieces of the cloth are slowly starting to rip off. The word chess is written in pencil at the top left. The chess board is light brown, but was probably burgundy or red once upon a time. Upon opening the small 4-by-6 book, a mini chess board is located in the middle with blue and white squares surrounded by a red-orange border. Below the border are the words Chess written in script again. Above the border reads: “Johannes Lefevre 126 reg. N.Y.R.” and “1862” on the left corner. The chess board is made out of paper with blue lines on the left and right side, creating little slips for small white tear-drop shaped chess pieces. On the pieces there are printed chess shapes in red and blue ink. Some are in chess slots, others are to the side, waiting to be used.

Provenance:

The object was owned by Civil War Soldier Johannes Lefevre of New Paltz. It is believed he carried the object with him during his time in the war. The object was perfect for the life of a solider because of its portability and inability to be disrupted by closing the game at any given moment. Though it is unclear how Lefevre possessed the object, the pocket chess-board was manufactured by D. Appleton & Company in New York City 13 years after its invention by Peter Mark Roget. After Lefevre’s death it was given back to the family and passed down through generations. It presently is located at Historic Huguenot Street.

Dates of Creation:

The object was manufactured in 1858, but was said to be created 13 years ago by Peter Mark Roget (1779-1869) prior to being sold in general D. Appleton & Company shops.

Narrative (VERY ROUGH DRAFT):

In 1858, D. Appleton & Company began selling its first-ever pocket chess-board for all to own. It became a staple for those who traveled because it was a portable form of entertainment for long journeys. Prior to it being sold at the D. Appleton & Company general store in New York City, it was invented by Peter Mark Roget. During the Civil War, its invention was created for the entertainment of travelers, soldiers and sailors who were always on the go during the Civil War. It was during this time period where Johannes Lefevre took ownership of his own pocket chess-board where he used it for entertainment on long travels and nights throughout the war.

It wasn’t uncommon for a civil war soldier to have such an item. For Lefevre, he probably either had the item before the civil war. He was traveling and looking for jobs upon graduating from Union College, where he obtained a science degree. He most likely used the item as a form of entertainment and played with other travelers. If this wasn’t the case, Lefevre mostly likely obtained the item once he returned to New Paltz upon hearing of his brother Peter’s enlisting in the Union Army. He was visiting his uncle in Michigan at the time. Johannes must have received the item as a gift or bought the item before his departure.

On his journey, Lefevre never wrote about his chess-board to his family and friends, but he was surely in possession of it during his duty as a solider. Throughout his journey in the Union Army, Lefevre picked up a pencil and wrote on the inside of the item: “Johannes Lefevre 126 reg. N.Y.R.”  He also wrote “1862” on the left corner of the chess-board  He wrote “Chess” at the bottom of the page and on the cover of his pocket chess-board too, possibly because of boredom.

Johannes Lefevre had a successful and emotional career in the military, as was depicted in his civil war letters about death, women and family. He soon faced a horrible death when he was fatally wounded during the battle of Cedar Creek. The bullet went into the side of his rear. He was then taken to a Dr. West who was helping him recover. His father, Josiah Lefevre, went south after receiving a letter from Dr. West about his son’s injury. Upon reaching him, Josiah realized his son was recovering and left for New Paltz. However, it wasn’t until his departure that Johannes developed Gangrene disease from the exposed wound. He died in the late fall of 1864.

The chess-board, at that moment, was with all of Lefevre’s things when he died. His brother, Isaac went down to get the body and return it to the family in a coffin, according to Huguenot Street researchers. His belongings, such as the chess-board, were passed down through relatives until finally ending up at Historic Huguenot Street, where it was donated. The chess-board is now part of a larger Johannes Lefevre collection which is split between Historic Huguenot Street and Elting Memorial Library.

Work Cited (More will be added):

Hudson River Valley Heritage, “Civil War Letters of Johannes Lefevre.” Historic Huguenot Street. 1864. Web. 15 Mar. 2013.

Glazer, George D. “The Pocket Chess-Board.” George Glazer Gallery: Antiquarian Globes, Maps and Prints. 1997. Web. 15 Mar 2013.

Sutler Of Fort Scott. “Pocket Chess/Checker Board.” Museum Quality Reproductions. 17 Jan 2013. Web. 15 Mar 2013.

Phillips, Del. “Brewster Viewer By Appleton.” Double Exposure. 2001. Web. 15 Mar 2013.