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This new series will be focusing on people you may not have heard of, but they are at eternal rest in the cemeteries of Cortland County. We’ll be exploring their contributions and stories in Slumbering Souls. This installment features a gentleman who truthfully did not live in Cortland County until his retirement, so why would we want to learn more about Dr. Lester M. Pratt? Although interred at Glenwood Cemetery, Pratt appears to have simply retired to Homer. He did not live here as a child, did not attend school here, did not practice here. Let’s explore what brought him to Homer for his goldenRead More →

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This new series will be focusing on people you may not have heard of, but they are at eternal rest in the cemeteries of Cortland County. We’ll be exploring their contributions and stories in Slumbering Souls. Many of the people who came to live in Cortland County beginning in the 1790s came from nearby Connecticut, including Deacon Charles Chamberlain who arrived in Homer in 1801. Deacon Chamberlain purchased fifty acres of land “embracing the site of the village,” and here he built a home. He would marry Roxsey Lyon in Brimfield, Massachusetts in 1803, and the couple would welcome their first child, Alfred Lyon ChamberlainRead More →

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This new series will be focusing on people you may not have heard of, but they are at eternal rest in the cemeteries of Cortland County. We’ll be exploring their contributions and stories in Slumbering Souls. Leman W. Potter began his life in Cortland County on April 26, 1853, when he was born in Scott to E.H. Perry Potter and Roxanna Burdick. The Potter family’s roots were in Rhode Island, where Leman’s grandparents Ezekial Potter and Abigail West originally hailed from. Grandfather Ezekial was a miller and served in the War of 1812, winning honors for his service as a “post rider.” The Potters moved theirRead More →

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Alice Cately was born in Tully, New York, the daughter of Shepard W. Cately, renowned carriage manufacturer. Alice graduated from Cortland Normal School in 1871 and taught for a few years before training as a nurse. She married Henry Ettling but was widowed in 1885 at the age of 35, after only four years of marriage. She had one child and never remarried. Her father left his carriage business in Tully in 1876 and moved to Cortland where he was employed as a salesman at Fitzgerald and Kinney, wagon manufacturers. He was always an inventive man, and he continued to develop and patent his designs.Read More →

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We’ve recently been working with Molly Kathleen Reagan to highlight three important women from Cortland County’s past. We supplied information and Molly created portraits of each of the three women. This is week two of our series. This project is made possible with funds from the Statewide Community Regrants Program, a regrant program of the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature and administered by CNY Arts. Bertha Eveleth Jones was the oldest of two girls born to Augustus and Helen Jones. She was born on September 7, 1866 inRead More →

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How can we know so little about someone who left behind so much? That is the question I often ask myself when I consider what we know about miniature portrait artist, Meriva Carpenter. Carpenter provided inspiration for local artist Molly Reagan for her “History Highlighted” series created for Cortland County Historical Society. This project is made possible with funds from the Statewide Community Regrants Program, a regrant program of the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature and administered by CNY Arts. Meriva Carpenter was born to Dr. Ruggles andRead More →

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Like most cities, Cortland has a fair number of streets named after trees. In the old newspaper article (circa 1908) I’ve been using to investigate street names, we see Maple, Chestnut, Elm, Evergreen, Locust, Willow, Greenbush, and Holly Terrace listed. One could probably include Orchard Street in that lineup as well. In the years since 1908, other streets have popped up with tree-type names: Forrest, Pinecrest, Cedar, Oaklin, Redwood, Woodcrest, Rosewood. In previous posts, we have covered Maple (formerly Merrick Street), Willow Avenue, and Orchard Street, and you can find those stories on our blog (Blog : Cortland County Historical Society (cortlandhistory.org)). This post willRead More →

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  According to the newspaper article that details the origins of street names of Cortland, ten of the city’s then 122 streets were named after United States Presidents: Arthur, Blaine, Cleveland, Garfield, Grant, Harrison, Lincoln, Madison, Monroe, and Washington. Blaine? Who was Blaine and where is there a Blaine Street in Cortland? A quick internet search revealed James G. Blaine ran against James A. Garfield for the Republican presidential nomination. Blaine was later appointed to Secretary of State under President Garfield. One mystery solved. There was, in fact, a Blaine Street in Cortland! It was a small street located off from Clinton Avenue which wasRead More →

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While perusing the 1888 map of Cortland at CCHS, I happened to spot a small street between Church and Greenbush Streets that was called State Street. How interesting! There is no trace of this street left today if you consult Google maps. The newspaper article I’ve been consulting for information about the streets of Cortland does not list the inspiration of the name of this forgotten street. State Street opened on Port Watson Street a little more than halfway between Greenbush and Church Streets and led directly to the State Normal School. I did not find any resource that indicated that the street might haveRead More →

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As I began to research Sands Street, I noticed that on the 1888 map, it was formerly called Richard Street. I was unable to figure out how it came to be called Richard Street, but the resource I’ve been using for these street posts indicated that Sands Street was named for George S. Sands so we can take a look at what scant information I found on his life. George S. Sands was born on August 19, 1849, in Middletown, Delaware County. His parents were George H. Sands and Jane Smith Sands. His father was a farmer and conducted a country store and post office.Read More →