By Shannon Butler As we head into the brisk time of the year known as Autumn (AKA Fall, AKA Sweater Weather), it's pleasant to sit down and enjoy a nice cup of tea. Did you know that Poughkeepsie was once the home to a major tea importing business that was run by a visionary woman? Perhaps some of you even remember heading down Route 44 to visit the G.H. Ford tea shop and purchase a cute little sampler tin. Gertrude Ford Ramsay came to this country with the notion that anyone could build a[...]

By Bill Kleppel Recently, we had a visiting patron in the Local History Rooms doing research for a project on Hudson Valley composers. He was particularly interested in sheet music from the 19th and early 20th centuries.  My colleague and I selected material for him in advance so he could get to work right away. This is when we happened upon LH Document Box 780-M. Inside the box were musical compositions created by Ruth Linda Deyo in 1892. This music was published when Ms. Deyo was seven years old. Ruth Linda Deyo was born[...]

By Shannon Butler In previous blog entries we have discussed several female doctors that have lived, worked, and studied here in Poughkeepsie. It stands to reason that since we are home to one of the first female colleges in the country, this city would naturally be a more attractive place to do business. Some of these women came to Poughkeepsie to work for Vassar College, while others joined together and set up practices of their own. Some would serve in the military as doctors and see action overseas, but no matter what path they[...]

By Bill Kleppel Another treasure was found while sifting through the miscellaneous files of the History Rooms at the Adriance Memorial Library. Today, I’ll introduce you to a local outspoken suffragette and social reformer who ran her own dairy cattle farm. Her previously unearthed memoir was written in the year before her death at the age of 89. The document gives us a glimpse into her astounding life, as well as her family’s fascinating history. Yet, most of the story is dedicated to her crusade to take down crooked financial swindlers before, during, and after[...]

January 26, 2024 By Shannon Butler There are lots of photographs of interesting people in our collections here in the Local History Room. Some of those people have been properly identified, while others have not. It can be somewhat difficult to put a name to a face, when everyone who might have remembered that face is gone. However, sometimes we get lucky and a research request can yield an answer that we never expected, and even a story that was lost to history. Not long ago, I received a request from a man looking[...]

Ellen C. Roosevelt: An Early Legend of Tennis It’s Women’s History Month, so we thought we would spotlight a local lady who inspired young women to get out and play tennis in the 19th century. Even if you don’t know anything about tennis, you’ve probably heard of some of the big names of female players today, like Venus and Serena Williams, or Billie Jean King. These women are powerhouses on the court, but they have the benefit of wearing modern day shoes and light attire. Now, if you were hitting the tennis ball around in 1890, you played on[...]

A Murder and a Suicide in the Tower Family Albert Edward Tower Sr. had done well for himself and his family. He had made himself a millionaire with his iron industry here in the City of Poughkeepsie. The Falkill and Poughkeepsie Iron works were both operated by him in the mid-19th century, and cranked out thousands of pounds of “pig iron and projects thereof.” His work in the iron industry allowed him to raise a large family, own lots of property, and donate large sums of money to his place of worship, Christ Church. However, wealth does not always[...]

The Trial and Execution of Lucy Ann Hoag If you missed our Historic Murders in Dutchess County program, fear not, we will do it again in February. In the meantime, we thought we would share an interesting story that was uncovered in the midst of researching some of the characters who committed evil crimes. Did you know that the fourth woman to be executed in New York State’s history was put to death in Poughkeepsie? Did you also know that this method of justice being served took place inside the Dutchess County Courthouse just down the road from this[...]

The Sad Story of Carlotta Eastman They say that dogs are a man’s best friend. Well, as Abigail Adams once said, “remember the ladies,” because the same concept also applies to women and their K9 companions. A fine example of such affection is shown in the photographs to the right. Here we have Carlotta Eastman with her beloved pups as photographed by the Vail Brothers Photography studio here in Poughkeepsie. She had a lot of love for them as she would have had to spend a good amount of money (or at least her father’s money) on these precious[...]

Elizabeth Weeks Barrett and PHOIS Yearbook 1922 As you may have heard, in the fall, we will be covering the life and work of Poughkeepsie born artist, Thomas Weeks Barrett Jr.. His art was heavily inspired by his hometown's architecture and its politics. We will have Local History Discussion and a special art exhibit, both located here at Adriance Memorial Library. While digging through the Barrett art collection I came across an interesting bit of artwork hiding in plain sight within the Poughkeepsie High School Yearbook (PHOIS) of 1922. Much of the artwork and designs in that book were[...]

Helen Wilkinson Reynolds: Our Patron Saint of Local History It has occurred to our personnel here in the Local History Room that not everyone knows who Helen Wilkinson Reynolds is. We feel like we need to change that, so we’ll start with a little blog post. For anyone who delves into local history, whether it's searching for information on your Dutchess County ancestors, or admiring an old Dutch house here in the area, Helen Wilkinson Reynolds probably had something to do with whatever information is available to you. She was well known in the area for her passion for[...]

Doctor Sara Josephine Baker: Fighting for Life In 1890, two men from the same household died from typhoid fever, only a few months apart. Sadly, this was not uncommon. What makes their deaths so special is that their loss of life inspired a young girl to change her goal of studying liberal arts at Vassar College, to going to medical school and becoming a doctor. In her mind she needed to do this as quickly as possible in order to financially take care of her remaining family, and to find a way to stop people from dying from useless[...]

The Poet with the Annoying Husband Did you know that April is National Poetry month? It's a time to celebrate the great poets and poems that have left an impression on our minds. Did you also know that the woman who was once known as the “Poet Laureate” of Dutchess County, tried to have her husband removed from her farm for being an annoying squatter? (Seriously, we can’t make this stuff up) She wrote poems about America’s victory in World War I and about her very famous neighbors, the Roosevelt family, particularly President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Emma Victoria Pitkin[...]

by Shannon Butler “Who run the world? Girls!” as Queen Beyonce says, and who ran things in southern Dutchess county from 1709 until her death in 1764? Why, none other than Catheryna Rombout Brett. Her legacy and her home have stood the test of time, and it's hard to find someone in the Fishkill/Beacon area who doesn’t know that name. But do you really know who Madam Brett was? We don’t have a picture or a painting of her, but she left her mark all over the place. We know she was smart, business savvy, and she certainly must[...]

by Shannon Butler This year (and we can all agree, it has been one heck of a year) we are called to perform our civic duty, and that is to vote! The Presidential election of 2020 may be one of the most important elections in recent history and we all need to get out there and do our part. Imagine, for a moment, that you were ready and willing to head out to vote, but you were barred from voting because you are a woman. Of course we know, this is not some imaginary tale, but in fact it[...]

by Shannon Butler The Vail photography studio that once operated on Main Street took thousands of photographs of the people of Poughkeepsie. As we discussed in an earlier blog post, we have in our collection boxes and boxes of these photographs. However, until fairly recently, most of the people were unidentified. Not long ago, our local history librarian Kira Thompson discovered that some of the ledgers from our collection have names and numbers that match up with these photographs. So now we are endeavouring to transcribe these ledgers so that we can put the names to the faces. While[...]

by Shannon Butler We have some wonderful things stored away in boxes and folders here in the Local History Room. Every once in a while we come across something that we forgot we had and when we come across it again, we remember just how cool it really is. Recently we were asked if we had some photographs by a female photographer named Margaret DeMott Brown. As it turns out, we have quite a few of them. As it turns out, Margaret had a studio right here in Poughkeepsie and much of her work was based on subjects in[...]