The Letters of Chester Beers to Emma Austin, 1869–1878 Emma Austin continued to write to Chester. They correspondeded off and on through 1878. Even though the Civil War had been ended only thee years in November 1868, there is no … Continue reading
When school was done in March 1879, Chester, now age twenty-seven, returned to Walton, New York and continued to farm. Emma Asks a Math Question Emma Austin, now eighteen, wrote Chester. She asked for help with a math problem. The … Continue reading
“Is that the new teacher?” Children and adults whispered the question as Chester Beers, six feet four and one-half inches tall, stepped into the Lumberland Congregational Church, on Sunday, November 29, 1868. Chester, age twenty-six, was a farmer from Walton, … Continue reading
Halfway Brook Village in Lumberland hosted quite a number of teachers in the 1860s–1870s, as Libby Kyte mentioned. Edith Emogene or Emma Austin, as she was called, had attended school in New York City, and stayed with her Austin relatives. … Continue reading
1866 Halfway Brook Village School On July 29, 1866 Tina Austin, in New York City wrote her cousin in the Village (Halfway Brook/Eldred). Dear Cousin Emma, So you are going to School in the village? Do you like it as … Continue reading
Parents in Halfway Brook sometimes sent their children to school to live with relatives, as Libby Kyte mentioned in the last post. At some point there was an Academy in Monticello. Mary Ann Eldred (later Austin) had lived with her … Continue reading
I went to school at home until 1861. Then for two or three years I attended at Shohola and Barryville. My teachers were Miss Ellen Beakey, George and Albert Stage, George Dubois of Bethel, Harriet Leavenworth, George Egbert Mapes and … Continue reading
