The Tragic Life of George Muhlig

George John Muhlig was born in about 1873 and worked as a farmer in the areas around Walton and Liberty, New York.

He married Mary Jane Henderson; you may remember her from either this previous post on the Hendersons or the following post. Here's an early photo of Mary.

George and Mary had a son, Howard Ezra, born in 1906. According to an article in the October, 8, 1917 edition of the Kingston Daily Freeman, 11-year-old Howard was hit in the stomach with an apple thrown by another boy. The boy complained of a sore stomach and despite medical attention died a few days later.

In the following year, the Monticello, New York Republican Watchman published this article. It's a little hard to read, so I have transcribed it below.

Source: Old Fulton Postcards

MEN INJURED  WHEN BOOZE ESCAPED
When Car Was Overturned Near White Sulphur Springs
Accident Revealed the Fact That Supposedly Dry Territory is Very Wet

Two bottles of rum escaped injury Tuesday evening when the Ford automobile in which they were riding struck a fender near White Sulphur Springs and overturned but three men who were also riding in the automobile narrowly escaped death. George Muhlig, of Liberty, who was driving the car, had his shoulder injured; Frank Burgher, who lives on the Stevensville Road, was cut severely in the thigh, and Orlando Donaldson of Neversink, had his leg injured so that he was unable to stand on it.

The men said they were run into by another car, but eyewitnesses of the accident say that no other cars were in sight. Harry Knack, from his residence a quarter mile away, and his brother Gus heard the crash and ran to give aid. They found the Ford on its side and the men beneath it in a dazed condition.

Burgher was bleeding profusely in the leg where he had been cut and the other men were so quiet that bystanders feared they had been killed. The Ford and the fenders were almost a total wreck. The booze, which had been wrapped carefully in paper placed in a burlap bag, and stowed away in the rear, came out without a scratch. A large jug was also found in the bag and it was unhurt. But unlike the bottles, it was empty.  Those who saw the wreck say that not all the booze aboard was in the bottles.

The place where the meeting of the fender and the Ford occurred was about two-thirds of the way from Youngsville to White Sulphur.

After the accident, Gus Knack brought the men to Liberty  for medical treatment and Cliiff Edwards took the Ford to White Sulphur, where it got first aid. Dr Payne treated Burgher and had to take several stitches in his wound. –Liberty Register

 George is one of the men in this photo, though I can't be sure which one.

Here's why. I have two  copies of the same photo, but they are labeled differently.  Both have George listed, but the second man is identified as hired man, Blake Schoomacher on one card and as John Washington on the other.  I couldn't find a record of any Blake Schoomacher or Schumacher, but I did find John Washington and he was 14 years older than George. The postcard could have been printed anytime between 1904 and the 1920s, so George would have been between 31- 46 when the photo was taken. That doesn't narrow it down enough to be sure which one is George.

I'm guessing that George is the older man. I'm trying to compare the known photo of George with this one - and trying not to be too influenced by the mustache.

The next entry I find for George Muhlig is in 1924. It's the Delaware County coroner's report from the Delaware , NY Genealogy & History website. The coroner writes in his report:

On October 1, 1924 was called to the home of George Muhlig in Walton village where he had just been found hanging by the neck in the upper story of the barn. I found it to be a case of suicide. 

Mary had now lost both her son and her husband to tragic deaths.
They are all buried together at the Liberty Cemetery in Liberty, New York.
 

Source

This is a photo of Mary in 1925, the year after her husband's death, standing in a field with an empty chair.

The  writing on the back of the postcard/photo says:
Mrs. Mary J. Muhlig
taken 1925 at Mrs. Cutters at White Sulphur Springs, Sull. Co. New York.

Addendum - February 13, 2014
Every now and then we find another photo that turns out to be a missing piece of one puzzle or another. I immediately recognized it when I read the inscription on the back of this card. Here's a photo of Howard Ezra who died at 11 after being hit in the stomach by an apple thrown by another boy. How old do you think he is here? Nine, maybe? Poor fellow.

It looks like Mom did the writing:  

Dear Grandpa + Grandma. Will send you a picture of myself I got at school This is taken on the door (?) yard in front of the house
all well
Howard E. Muhlig
when are you coming down to see us

Time is on the Wing - Birds in Advertising - Part 2

Thus, like the miller, bold and free, let us rejoice and sing;

The days of youth are made for glee, and time is on the wing ; 

The first card is a very early engraved calling card, probably circa 1840, so it's not really an advertisement.  But I suppose you could say that calling cards are really a form of personal advertisement. In any case, this one says Time is on the Wing, and there's something very beautiful about its simplicity. Once there was a name written underneath, but it's impossible to read now.

The words are from The Miller of Dee, a traditional folk song. You can read the full lyrics here.

The second card advertises Carters Little Liver Pills, available at Heyne Druggist in Syracuse, New York. Heyne had many beautiful trade cards in the 1880s.

And this card is a rarity, because it's a trade card with a bird on it that's actually advertising a novelty and bird store, Stinard's, also of Syracuse, New York.

More cards from Syracuse, New York. These are from George C. Young & Brothers.

The back of this next card is more interesting than the front, also from a merchant in Syracuse, Kenyon, Potter & Company.

And now for some gratuitous eggs. If you didn't see Birds in Advertising-Part I, you can click here to see it.

Grace Shapley in Upstate New York

These are all scanned from the collection of Grace Shaply of Binghamton, New York. You may recall the previous two posts that showed some of Grace's other photos of cars and airplanes, and Oquaga lake.

Grace was born to Sara Mary (Thorne) Shapley and William S. Shapley in 1902. She seems to have graduated from Binghamton High School in 1923, which would have made her a little older than her classmates. I am guessing that her mother's death in 1919 had something to do with the delay in her schooling. And it appears that her father died the very year of her high school graduation, leaving Grace, who was an only child, very much on her own.
Here's Grace changing a tire.

I think this is Grace posing with her father.

In the next photo, it looks as if young Grace is wearing the big hat and her father is standing to the right. Is that her mother standing next to her?

And here's a male cheerleader at a Binghamton High School football game.

After Binghamton High School, Grace enrolled in Russel Sage College, a women's school, in Troy, New York. I think this picture shows some of her college pals.

Grace with unknown child.

 

Here are some additional pictures from her folder of negatives and photos.

Grace never married or had children. She is buried with her parents in Spring Forest Cemetery in Binghamton, New York.

Source

Birds in Advertising - Part 1

It's not often that you see birds used in advertising anymore, but back in the 1880s birds were common in advertisements for all things unrelated to birds, everything from dry goods and shoes to liver pills and throat lozenges. The businesses hoped that people would collect the beautiful cards and remember their business that way.

The first one is from American Breakfast Cereals.

 

Then there are these beautiful cards from Solomon Rosenbloom & Sons, shoe dealers in Syracuse, New York. I highly recommend this blog post about the Rosenblooms and Daniel Rosenbloom's house on a blog called My Central New York. Samuel Gruber, the blog's host, has conducted thorough research, included a number of interesting photos, and writes a compelling story.

The last trade card from Liberman & Stevenson, also of Syracuse, take a different approach to advertising, emphasizing humor instead of beauty.

More birds in Part 2, coming soon.

Lake Oquaga, New York

When you walk into Scott's Oquaga Lake House in the Catskills of upstate New York, you might just as well have stepped out of a time machine in the 1940s or 50s. In fact, I'm guessing it wasn't all that different in the teens/early1920s when Grace Shapley was there.

I have a folder of negatives and prints that belonged to Grace, showing Binghamton and surrounding areas, including Oquaga Lake, Russel Sage College, as well as Syracuse University and Scranton, Pennsylvania. Grace was born in Binghamton in1903. In the 1920 Census her father is listed as proprietor of an iron foundry, presumably Shapley and Wells, which manufactured steam engines.

The young woman on the right is standing a little too close to the edge for my comfort. I don't know who any of the people are, but I really like the clothing, including these boys' shoes.

 

I think I have a clear sense of what it must have been like to spend time at the relaxed family resort, because it just doesn't seem to have changed that much. The resort has been there since 1869. We stopped by for lunch on October 7, 2007.

Here's a copy of the menu.

This is a sign on the outside of one of the buildings; it looks like it's been there for awhile too.

You can take dancing lessons in Scott's Playhouse or canoeing lessons out on the lake. There's also shuffleboard and a golf course where Grace took a few pictures.

Here's a photo of the Scott's bus and a couple of guys who may have been slightly damaged on their voyage in the time machine.