McKinley writes his mother Jennie Austin.August 12, 1917 letter on Y.M.C.A. stationery from McKinley Austin to his mother.
Army Stationery
Mac and later Raymond usually wrote their letters on stationery from the Y.M.C.A. It seems there was a choice between paper with a Y.M.C.A. or Knights of Columbus letterhead.
McKinley Austin to Jenny Austin
August 12, 1917
Dear Ma,
I have not got any letters yet, but I suppose everyone is well. The army is no picnic, but it is not so very bad. They say our bunch is to be assigned to the machine guns.
I was vaccinated the second time and it is coming on pretty good.
I was down to the station where they were unloading watermelons and a man dropped one of the melons on my sore arm.
Most of the officers are good, but there are two I don’t like. One is a sergeant who thinks that hollering is the only way to learn a man. The other is a conceited kid corporal. Jimmy Sullivan says he would like to meet them again when the war is over. Continue reading →
Postcard of Mountain Grove House where Mort, Jennie, Raymond, Will, Elizabeth, Art, and Robbie Austin lived in Eldred. Aunt Aida and Uncle Lon Austin lived nearby.
McKinley Austin, Chattanooga, to Aida Austin, Eldred
Dear Aunt,
I am here and like it better than at Fort Slocum. We get better food and the officers seem better, though we had a fine sergeant there.
It took over 34 hours to come here, counting from the time we left the barracks at Ft. Slocum, till we got here. If I am lucky, and come back, I wouldn’t miss this for five thousand dollars. The trip down to here was worth a year of a man’s life. I’ll never forget it. I am sure.
For the present, my address is: Mortimer Austin, 11 U.S. Inf., F Company, Military branch, Chattanooga, Tennessee. Your nephew, McKinley
McKinley Austin, Chattanooga, to His Family, Eldred
To all family, relations, friends,
I am very well and certainly like this place. We left Port Jervis on the morning train instead of the 12:15. Of the 15 applicants, only 2, Al Delaney and I went. We were examined at Poughkeepsie and a bunch of us, 13 in all, were sent to Ft. Slocum. We got there late at night.
Sunday we were examined again and four were sent back. Also we were vaccinated and inoculated for typhoid. My vaccination didn’t take, but the inoculation did.
Monday we got our uniforms and were assigned to our squads. Tuesday afternoon, we were told to get ready to go South. And we were examined again.
About 7:30, we left our barracks, turned in our blankets and marched to the parade ground. The commander inspected us. Then we were sent aboard a ship and sent down the East River.
All the way down, everybody on shore was waving. Every boat was saluting and the factory whistles were blowing. The Battery was crowded with people cheering, waving and throwing their hats in the air. I saw the Brooklyn Navy Yard, Brooklyn Bridge, Statue of Liberty, and other noted places. Continue reading →
July 7, 1917, postcard from McKinley Austin. I have arrived safely. M. McKinley Austin.
McKinley at his aunt Aida Austin’s house.McKinley Austin to His Family
July 7, 1917: I have arrived safely. I have been accepted and am at Ft. Slocum. Your son, McKinley
Irwin Briggs, Ft. Logan
On July 7, 1917, Irwin Briggs enlisted in the army at Ft. Logan, Colorado. In 1935 Irwin and his family will live in Barryville. He will be the Methodist pastor for Eldred, Barryville, and Pond Eddy. Pvt. Briggs was sent to Ft. Riley, Kansas, for training. He asked to be placed in the Medical Corps and was with the 89th Infantry.
Both McKinley and Irwin would be stationed in France.
Irwin Briggs, future Methodist minister was sent to Ft. Riley, Kansas, for training.
Clambake at Chester Middaugh’s around 1940.Left: A brother of Mr. Quick; Mr. and Mrs. Quick from Barryville; Mr. Deats, Lottie Dewey, Uncle Lon Austin, Frank Dewey. In front from left: Mildred, Laura and Mary Briggs; unknown lady; Chester Middaugh is behind the watermelon that Irwin Briggs cut; Dewey’s son; John Briggs; Myrtle Briggs; friend of the Malconians; Mrs. Malconian and Rev. Malconian.
Plaque in Methodist Church honoring service of Chester Middaugh, who had clambakes each summer at his place.
July 1941
Tuesday morning, July 1, Aida was down to the A&P. The last several days had been terribly hot. The men finished haying at Proctor’s on Tuesday.
When Aida was at the A&P Thursday morning, she stopped to talk with Lizzie Wilson. On the way home she got some rhubarb from Frances.
Thursday morning (at the end of July) Aida saw Mrs. Sparks, Emma Stevens, Nellie Crandall, Mrs. Winter, and two boarders from Rothman’s at the Eldred Post Office.
August 1941
Monday morning, August 4, in Eldred, Aida couldn’t find salt and saleratus (baking soda) at the A&P. She had to get them at Randolph’s.
Tuesday Aida went to the A&P for sugar and milk. Wednesday she washed and got some wood.
Thursday Aida ironed and went to the Village for bread. She canned some blackberries when she got home. Saturday morning Aida was back at the A&P.
Sunday, August 10, Lon went to the Methodist Church in the morning; in the evening he attended the Congregational.
Sunday the Austin brothers went to their aunt Christina’s house to have dinner with their aunt Anna Leavenworth.
Tuesday afternoon Chester Middaugh was in to see Lon to tell him there was to be a clambake at Chester’s place on Friday.
Aida Austin continued her daily trek to the A&P. Friday morning Aida rode with Frances Knorr to get bread at the A&P. She met Jennie Crandall and Mary Bosch.
Friday morning Lon went to the clambake at Chester Middaugh’s about eleven. It began raining about noon and continued the rest of the day. Continue reading →
Alfred, Bessie and Joan visit the Austins.Bessie, Alfred, Joan, & baby Louise at Letchworth State Park.
Note: Alfred and Bessie Hill were good friends of the Austins. Art boarded with them when he came home after the War. The photos of Alfred and Bessie and their daughter Joan shown here are from the summer of 1949.
May 1941
Friday, May 2, there was quite a frost in the evening, but Aida didn’t think it hurt the fruit. Emily and Howard Stevens were up for watercress Saturday evening.
Sunday morning, May 4, Lon took charge of the service because Mr. Briggs was at a conference.
Rowlee visited Aida about noon to give back her book and get some watercress. Arthur was there a few minutes in the afternoon. The Austin brothers had sold The Pines (both their parents had died) and wanted to store some items at Aida’s.
Tuesday morning Aida walked to the A&P. Lon discussed storage options with Arthur.
Saturday afternoon Aida walked to the Eldred Cemetery and then over to see Emily Schoonover. Rowlee was working in his shop.
Sunday, May 11, it was cold all day. Edith Parker was up to Aida’s in the morning for some watercress.
Bessie and Alfred took Lon and Arthur home after church. Late afternoon Arthur and Alfred drove some of the Austin belongings to Aida’s, and put them in an upstairs room.
April 1941
Tuesday morning, April 1, Aida went to the Village.
Wednesday afternoon Aida went over to Mae’s, who had gone to Port Jervis. Mae’s brother Will Hammond was sick.
Thursday morning Lon went to Mae’s to see Will Hammond who was feeling better. In the afternoon Lon went to Monticello with his nephew Will Austin.
Friday Aida did her washing. Saturday she ironed. Lon went to the Village.
Sunday, April 6, was rainy and snowy, but clear in the afternoon.
Tuesday morning Aida rode up to the A&P with the Bragues. In the afternoon she went over to Mae’s. Herman and Robbie Bosch trimmed trees for her in the evening.
Wednesday morning Lon went to the Village. He and Aida picked up apple tree wood in the afternoon.
Thursday afternoon Aida went to the Village and then to see Anna Ort. Mary Sergeant was there. Aida was home when Nellie Crandall dropped by.
Sunday Arthur drove Lon home from church and visited with his aunt Aida who had a terrible cold.
Monday morning Lon walked to the Village. Rowlee was up to Aida’s for some watercress. Tuesday afternoon Lon went to the Village for bread and butter.
Wednesday morning, Aida walked to the A&P. Her cold was much better, but she felt quite weak.
Thursday afternoon Mr. Briggs drove Lon to a Methodist supper in Port Jervis. Mrs. Briggs went with him for a ride and got some watercress.
Monday Jim Leavenworth (from west Eldred) was fighting fires. There were terrible fires in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and New York.
Tuesday morning Aida went to the A&P and Post Office. Continue reading →
Eldred Methodist Church on the west side of the village that Lon and Aida Austin attended. January 1941 February 1941 March 1941
March 1 (Saturday) came in like a cold, blustery lion. Lon went up to Herman Bosch’s in the morning to see about wood for the church. Then he was down to the Village.
Monday Aida went to the Village twice. She went back a second time to take Bertha Sullivan’s apples to her. Mary Bosch drove by just as Aida passed Paul Knorr’s place. So Aida went to Barryville with Mary.
Tuesday it was too cold and windy for Aida to wash. Wednesday was still cold and windy. But the bright sunshine encouraged Aida to do some wash.
Thursday morning Lon went to the Village for the mail. Aida had a letter from Emma Waidler, Rowlee’s sister. Aida walked to the Village a little after noon for bread.
Friday afternoon Herman and his son Bob stopped by Aida’s and trimmed an apple tree for her. Saturday, “it commenced snowing again.”
The snow was quite deep Sunday morning in Eldred. Aida brushed out the paths before Lon went to Sunday School. Lon was up to Mary Bosch’s for milk on Monday, March 10. When he got back he went to the Village.
Tuesday Aida walked to the A&P about noon. It snowed more that night, so on Wednesday Aida brushed out the paths again. Lon got his hair cut Thursday. He rode home with a fruit man and bought some apples from him.
Sunday morning, March 16, Dr. Austin was in to see Aida a few minutes. Lon had gone to church.
Tuesday morning was very cold and windy. Aida went to the Village. Aida thought Wednesday “was the coldest and windiest day we have ever had.”
Thursday was warmer. Aida met Rowlee near the Collin’s place, and he gave her a ride to Mae’s. Mae and Ruth were going to Port Jervis and took Aida with them, so Aida didn’t get to the Village on Thursday. Lon went at noon on Friday for bread.
Saturday Aida purchased oil on her daily trek to the Village. Sunday morning, March 23, Lon went to Sunday School and Church. Arthur visited his aunt Aida for a few minutes in the afternoon.
Lon walked to the Village late Monday afternoon. Tuesday morning Aida went to the A&P. Herman Jr. trimmed the trees in the afternoon, but not on Wednesday when it was cold. Thursday was much warmer. Herman Jr. trimmed the trees.
Sunday night Arthur went to church and drove Lon home afterwards. Monday Lon walked to the Village to get butter.—excerpt from Farewell to Eldred, pp. 227–9.
Young Aida Austin. My great-aunt Aida Austin was an unconventional lady. She had unique ways of expressing herself which could be called Aidaisms.
Aida handwrote all her research and letters. Letters she rewrote up to six times, and kept all the copies.
Each version added a few new details, so it was necessary to save all the sheets in order to know the complete information and the nuances.
Often information was written on whatever paper (scrap or new) was available.
Aidaisms (letter excerpts)
• Here I am at last. I’m afraid you will begin to think that I am very slow and have been very idle. I am slow but I have not been idle.
• Here I am at last. When I obtained your address, I planned to write to you just as soon as I had finished some work for my brother Eldred, which I thought would take only a few days…And I have worked steadily, excepting that once in a while I have taken just a few moments to berate Mr. Winston Churchill for keeping the world in such an uproar.
• I think I must be somewhat like a boy who a number of years ago worked for Mrs. Phillips of Black Lake. The first morning he went out to do the chores. He took a long time. So long that Mrs. Phillips became worried and went to see what had happened to him. When she reached the barn, she found him milking the cow, and he said to her, “Madam, I’m a very slow milker.”
• I am not inferring that I am a slow milker, because I am not. When I was small and wanted to learn how to milk, my sisters said to me, “Don’t you learn! If you do, you’ll have to milk!” So I followed their advice and never became a slow milker, but I will have to acknowledge I am a slow worker and seem to be getting slower and slower.
• It may be that the weather has been making me slower than usual. I can’t say, for the weather don’t stay in one place long enough for anyone to make a study of it. Sometimes, it comes flooding us with sunshine, and a few minutes later it has gone with the sun somewhere and is pelting us with snow and sleet. You would think such a freakish winter would be able to stop this war.
—Farewell to Eldred, p. 232.
Three unknown young folks in front of the Austin homes facing Proctor Road where Aida (right) and her brother Lon Austin (left) lived.
Lon and Aida Austin
In 1940 Aida, 79, and Lon, 83 (who had never married) continued to live in Eldred and refer to it as “the Village.”
They each lived in their own place next door to each other, on the original Austin property possibly bought around 1840. Lon lived in the house where he, Aida, and their siblings had grown up. Why?
Aida: Save only the clippings that you want from newspapers. Lon: Save the whole paper if you are interested (as his house proved). Aida: You should boil the water first when you make oatmeal. Lon: You should mix the oatmeal in cold water, and then cook it.
Obviously with such diverse thinking, the elderly Austin siblings couldn’t live in the same house. They were very concerned and caring for one another; and went back and forth a dozen times a day to check on one another.
Aida was a somewhat peppery, independent lady. Both she and Lon had strong opinions. But they did try to change things they thought were wrong.
Sometime around 1940 Aida researched the history of both her family and the Town of Highland (originally Lumberland). She hand copied excerpts of many land deeds, the oldest of which was from 1815.
Aida’s great-niece Melva Austin sometimes helped by carrying Aida’s groceries home. Melva would be tired out when she arrived at Aida’s, but Aida was not.
Aida made Melva hot chocolate, after first chopping some kindling wood to start the fire in the stove. As they drank hot chocolate, Aida talked to Melva about the history she was finding and saving. Sometimes Aida played recordings of Caruso for Melva, or played songs on the organ.
I more and more realize that while we were socializing and she was telling me “stories,” I was being taught.—Melva.
Aida entrusted Melva with her extensive assortment of photos, letters, and research, all of which played a major part in the Halfway Brook Series and was the basis for the story of the arrival of the James Eldred Family in, The Mill on Halfway Brook.
Lon and Aida walked the hilly, rough terrain from their place on Proctor Road to the Village and the A&P almost daily; sometimes twice a day—but at different times.The neighbors and townsfolk were very caring to Aida and Lon.
Often a neighbor on the way to or from town would stop and give Aida or Lon a ride. Though Lon, at least, preferred to walk.
Aida’s Diary of the early 1940s started around August of 1940.
Dining Room Fireplace in Log Cabin, Terrytown, Bradford County, PA. Historic American Buildings Survey, Stanley Jones, Photographer September 1, 1936 ; LOC 142738.“The River” (later Barryville) on the Delaware River. In the collection of Aida Austin.Close up of Sylvia Hickok’s stone, courtesy of Jane Butler.Sylvia Hickok’s gravestone in the Old Eldred Cemetery courtesy of Cousin Cynthia.
My great-great-great-grandmother Esther Hinman Hickok died in Warren Township, Bradford County, Pennsylvania, April 23, 1844. Esther, 84, was buried in the Cadis Cemetery, beside her husband, Asa Hickok, who had died in 1836.
Esther is one of those “quiet” people in history that not much is known about. She grew up in South Britain (Southbury), Connecticut, one of many Hinman descendants who settled very early in the section of Ancient Woodbury that is now Southbury.
Esther was most likely a near neighbor of Asa Hickok, who she married at the end of 1777. Esther’s uncle Elijah Hinman was one the Captains in the Revolutionary War and led one of the units Asa had been in.
Asa and Esther Hinman Hickok and their six adult children left Connecticut for Lumberland, New York in 1812. They settled two miles above “the River” (now Barryville), on the Delaware River; and near Halfway Brook.
The location must have been reminiscent of her childhood home near the Pomperaug River and the Great River, or Housatonic as we now call it.
Daughter Sylvia died in 1815 and was buried in the Old Eldred Cemetery. Son David and his family moved to Pike County, Pennsylvania in 1820.
In 1823 Asa and Esther accompanied by son Reuben and daughter Louisa, moved to Warren Township, Bradford County, Pennsylvania.
Son Justus and daughter Hannah remained in Lumberland, later Highland. As you may know Hannah Hickok married James Eldred, the year after his first wife died. James and Mary Ann’s daughter Mary Ann would be my great-grandmother.
