Discards: An Epilogue (Goodell & Mulberry Streets 1956)

As a wee lad William Robert came to America with his family in 1914 from the area of United Kingdom now known as North Ireland (which was not established until 1922). His father's birthplace was Drumfin, over in the Catholic part, and I'm not so much guessing that things were a bit unsettled there, what with a War of Independence to start in 1916.

Father Adam already had 3 brothers and 3 nephews here (and a sister in Oregon), so Buffalo was a natural destination for the family, which included 8 children. William Robert was the youngest.

Somewhere along the line William Robert bought a camera and started taking pictures.  The slides that came into my possession were all dated 1955-1957. Most were scenery type shots, and I forwarded them on to folks who might appreciate them more, but I kept a few.

Even though these have family in them, they are distinctive also for the dense neighborhood that once existed in the area of Goodell and Mulberry Streets, stretching on down to Virginia and all points around.  It's now known as the start of the Goodell ramp onto the Kensington Expressway.  The rest has been leveled....Urban "Renewal"...been "shovel ready" for nigh on 50 years now...

Back in the 50's a service station was located at 223 Goodell at Mulberry. The family lived nearby and many members worked there at one time or other.  May have even owned it for all I know, seeing as Father Adam's brother Arthur once owned a gas station at 179 Ellicott at the turn of the century.  Gave jobs to his brothers and nephews when they first came to America...another story there.

Anyway, I had hoped the slides would turn into better pictures, but having chosen convenience over perfection, it is what it is....A blast from the past...

William Robert passed away in 1987, the last of his siblings.  I wish I could say that I remembered them better, but since they were my grandfather's cousins, you can guess where that went...But at least these slides were someone's discards these past 24 years, so that they could become treasures again!

Family Farm

I was looking to see if I could find some Parker High/Elementary School related photographs for an alumni of '75 (which I think makes him a Clarence alumnus of '81 ot thereabouts). Reason being is that there's a new Facebook page for Parkerites (?) and a photo of the school was lacking.

Now I know my mom's yearbooks probably have some from the 40's, but I was into a right now kind of thing.

So I scanned a picture from Oneta Baker's History of the Town of Clarence.


For good measure I also sent along a photo I took of Jared Parker's monument in Forest Lawn, where he is seen favoring the Napoleanic look. I wrote about him previously here.


Then I went back to the book to see if there were any more pictures. Reading a bit more on Parker who had donated much money for a large school, later known as Parker, of course.

I noticed buried within a paragraph that at one time he lived on Lapp Road, at what later became known as the Hartwig farm. My great-grandparents! They were the ones without electricity, and the grandchildren looked forward to spending the night and playing checkers by candlelight.

Recently I had attempted to take a picture, but the house is back at the end of a long driveway, the way a lot of farmers set up their land, and I didn't want to go up all the way up. Didn't want to get out of the car in case dogs were roaming around either. At least they moved the school bus. Anyway, the picture is what it is.


The Hall family lives there now, but the farm acreage is now undeveloped County land and is known as Beeman Creek Park.

The things I learn by reading, and would have learned sooner if I didn't hop through a lot of non-fiction books. Now you can say you learned something today too :)

Clarence Historical Museum

Today is the "History Day" part of the Clarence Heritage Days weekend celebration. That brings us directly to the front door of the Clarence Historical Museum, located at 10465 Main Street, on the north side of the Town Park. It will be open all weekend so that residents and visitors alike can view the collected materials relating to early and present day Clarence.

A couple of weeks ago I stopped by and was shown around by the museum curator, Clarence alumna ('71) Alicia Bush Braaten (pictured). There are various sections on military history (including current residents in the armed forces), domestic life, industry, schools (including yearbooks from back when through 2008), and much more.

The Goodrich-Landow log cabin is also located on the grounds and is available for inside tours. It was interesting to learn that the phrase "sleep tight" originated in the need to tighten the ropes that held the mattress up. The "bed bugs" part is self-explanatory.

I've posted the pictures I took in a web album for all to browse through. I'll be adding more as I go back on a later date and meander though the parts I missed that day, due to becoming fascinated on one side of the museum, while at the same time, reminiscing with a childhood friend :) So much to see, so little time alloted...Time flies, both that day and in the historical sense.

Today there will be a special focus on old time games and activities for an afternoon of memories. From the brochure:

"Outside there will be a checkers tournament, croquet, nine pins, game of graces, jacks, marbles, and more! Inside the building speakers will present short programs at the top of each hour. Historic re-enactors will be on the grounds to answer questions, especially the age old one, "Was life easier back then?"

Ha!

The regular hours of the Museum are Wednesday 10am - 2pm and Sunday 1pm - 4pm (March 1 - October 31). The hours for Clarence Genealogy research at the Gerber Greatbatch Library, 10871 Main Street are Wednesday 9:30am - 12noon (716-749-1623).

Harbison Brothers - A Correction of Sorts

Back on November 27th I wrote a post called "Harbison Brothers and Buffalo's First Gas Station". I was using a small article published in Business First in 1997, the facts of which were probably gleened from family members. The contentious part of a paragraph is this one:

"Harbison Brothers Inc. was originally founded as a maker and re-builder of wooden barrels in 1893 by Adam and Andrew. John, a younger brother, joined them at a later point in time."

Knowing that Adam and Andy were older than John I just assumed that they must have been a lot older, without consulting any family trees. They were not. In 1893 all three were still wee lads on the old sod.

This is were it gets a bit speculative, knowing some facts and not others, since it was a long time ago. However, three uncles had arrived in America first, the original Harbison Brothers. Arthur Ross Harbison and 2 brothers, William and Andrew most likely formed the original business in 1893.

The younger Harbison brothers, Adam, Andrew, and John began arriving in the 1902, as they each became old enough to pull up roots and settle anew.

The most likely scenario is that the younger family members eventually took over the family business. A letter from the Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society dated 1990 adds some additional info:

"We searched the city directories and found that the Harbison Brothers were first listed at 179 Ellicott St. in 1917. The business was described as "barrels." In 1918 the description reads "gasoline and oils," still at 179 Ellicott. In 1919 the listing is "Harbison Brothers, 2nd hand barrels, 32-42 Appenheimer St. So it would seem that the photograph must be from either 1917 or 1918."

Meanwhile, I have heard from a previously unknown 3rd cousin in England, Pauline Erwin. It seems many family members and their friends have fond memories of Arthur Ross meeting them at Ellis Island and welcoming them to America. He eventually settled in East Aurora with his wife Sara Victoria, where his namesakes and other descendants still reside. His brothers, William and Andrew, remained single and are buried at Forest Lawn.

**UPDATE**  There was another uncle (verified with death certificates) , brother to Arthur, William, and Andrew, who came to the United States with his family and worked at the garage.  His name was Adam, and he is buried in Forest Lawn, along with his second wife, Annie Morton, and 5 of his/their children (4 of whom remained single, and a daughter who is next to her husband).

I have temporary possession of my mother's meticulously kept genealogy files on the Harbison side. They were put together with input from other relatives, some of whom have their own extensive files. I will be scanning these into the computer to share with Pauline and others as we explore family ties. My thanks to her for getting me interested in this side of the family again.

For those of you that I have totally bored with this article, I leave you with one thought:

Do you know who's in your family tree?

Harbison Brothers and Buffalo's First Gas Station

There was a great article in Sunday's Buffalo News regarding the Vitascope. This was the first motion picture theater actually designed for this purpose. It was located in the Ellicott Square Building in downtown Buffalo, and the area still exists at the bottom of a spiral staircase.

This reminded me of a photocopy of an article I had laying around from Business First of Buffalo, week of February 24, 1997. It is of Buffalo's first gas station (according to family history), located at 179 Ellicott Street. That number on Ellicott no longer exists and is probably part of a larger parcel owned by the NFTA.

The picture was taken in 1917. The founders of the business were Irish immigrant brothers - (as pictured) Andrew, Adam, and John Harbison (my grandfather). Their names grace the walls of Ellis Island.

Harbison Brothers Inc. was originally founded as a maker and re-builder of wooden barrels in 1893 by Adam and Andrew. John, a younger brother, joined them at a later point in time. Harbison Brothers now reconditions and recycles steel drum barrels and is operated by the descendants of Adam Harbison.

In later years Andrew would be involved with a lawsuit against the City of Buffalo (Harbison vs Buffalo) . It seems he had been operating a cooperage on Cumberland Avenue since 1924, which was then an industrial area. Years later people built homes around him and wanted him out. The farmers in "rural but becoming residential" areas can probably empathize with his position.

One of the attorneys on the case was William J. Ostrowski, father of attorney and writer Jim Ostrowski, founder of Free New York. This case is still cited in various existing non-conforming land use cases throughout the country.

Eventually Adam and John would move their families from Buffalo to Clarence, while Andrew moved his to East Aurora.

No word on what the price of gas was in those days.

(**Update** I wrote a correction/addition on January 8, 2008, as some of the dates don't quite jibe)