Just in time for your Thanksgiving reading! And now, the final three, so to speak. They've been waiting for us. But why not, they've nowhere to go anyway!
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| John Wilkinson |
John Wilkinson
took up residence in 1952, rather recently I’d say. Born in 1868, his family
was already connected with Syracuse. Years previous, his grandfather gave Syracuse its
name. He was a smart, inventive guy, a
tinkerer. Good enough to graduate
Cornell (engineering), and good enough to play on its first football team.
He had a love of bicycles, and bicycle racing. He competed far and wide, and became a
Champion racer. He was, early on, the chief designer for the Syracuse Bicycle
Co., and is credited with designing the first bicycle built for two. He
married…who else? Why, one Edith Belden, of course. God, these Beldens were everywhere! Their
bicycle ride lasted some 55 years, their only tragedy the loss of a son, also
buried in Oakwood.
His best known success occurred while he was at the Franklin
Mfgr. Co. There, he invented the
air-cooled engine that was the automobile rage for years. The first car with
this new technology debuted in 1921, at a cost of $7,100, quite a sum in those
days. It was the first car with 4 cylinders
and got 29 miles a gallon, an excellent result for that era. He ended up as a V-P with that firm. At one time, the Franklin Mfgr. Co. consisted
of 18 buildings on 30 acres of land. As
you drive Geddes St. past Fowler High School, look closely at the football
field and imagine a bustling car manufacturer of long ago, with cars rolling
off the assembly line, cars that put little old Syracuse on the map.
Later in life, he worked with Dodge to develop a water
cooled V-6 Auto, then in WWII he worked on the Liberty V-12 engine for
aircraft. His interests led him to try
to develop a wooden car, believing that less weight meant lower costs and more
gas mileage. He correctly believed that the future of the automobile depended
on more good roads. He was ahead of his time, for sure! With Henry Ford, he helped found the Society
of Automotive Engineers. And into the
mix of all that he accomplished, he was an excellent golfer. Golf seems to be a minor theme this year.
And when he reached his 84th year, he took his
last bicycle ride, right into Oakwood Cemetery, where we met him, swinging a
golf club. Heaven.
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| Milton Price - the Merchant Prince of Syracuse |
Milton Price is
this year’s human interest story! Born in New Woodstock in 1825, he made his
way to Syracuse with a stop along the way in Chittenango to work at a dry goods
store - and a tavern. It was there he developed an affinity for
retail business – and drink.
When he got to Syracuse, he opened up a dry goods store in
the Washington Block on Salina St. The
store prospered, thanks to Milton’s business acumen, and his (many would say)
eccentric approach to the “promotion” (modern day translation – advertising) of
his store. Examples: he would walk down
the street, knock the top hat off someone’s head and crush it. He would then direct that person to his store
where they could pick out a new one, for free.
Promotion! He rode horses into
his store and trampled on the carpets, to show how durable they were. Promotion! He used to throw kids into the
nearby Erie Canal, fish them out, and send them to the store for a new set of
clothes, then instruct them to go home and tell their parents where they got
the new outfits (try that today and see where you end up!). Promotion! This offbeat approach to business earned him
the title of “Merchant Prince of
Syracuse.”
In no small part, his creativity was, many said, fueled by
alcohol. He did love a good drink. Imagine this.
Way back in the 1850s - 70s,
Milton lived in a mansion he built directly across from his store on
Salina St. Milton loved to ride his
horse all the way to Cicero, there to spend some time in his
favorite tavern, the King’s Hotel. On
more than one occasion, he rode his horse into
that Hotel. Would you ride a horse from downtown Syracuse to Cicero just for a drink?
He was labeled everything form a genius to a drunk. He was something in between all that. But he did have a knack for, and a love of,
business. He made a lot of money, and he
did love Syracuse! His generosity and many
acts of charity were legendary. Perhaps
the loss of his son at the age of 7 played a part in how he acted. No, surely that was a factor. At the age of
64, Milton died and went to his final residence, which is now in need of some
serious maintenance.
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| Dr. George Greeley - in the Oakwood Chapel |
Dr. George Greeley. If there is a sad story among this year’s
ghosts, this one is it. Horace Greeley’s
younger brother was born in 1844 and died in 1912. He lived, most people believed, a tragic life
for most of his 68 years.
He had a young sister who died at the age of three. He vowed to fight disease so future parents
would not have to lose their children like this. He saw the horrors of the Civil War, and
there he witnessed the emergence of narcotics to treat disease. During the war, they alleviated the pain of
amputation and other wounds. After the
war, they became a dope fiend’s paradise.
Soldiers, hooked on them, were the conduit for the use of opium in
mainstream medicine. There was widespread misuse of opium for sleeping,
teething, etc., in addition to pain therapy.
He did not approve of this approach to medicine. Thus, George Greeley became Dr. George
Greeley…a doctor of homeopathic medicine.
This, he thought, was the path to curing the ills of mankind. He opened his first office in Baldwinsville,
where one of his first customers was Ann Aurelia Stone. They married a few years later and had a
daughter Jennie, named after George’s deceased sister.
They moved to Syracuse where he opened a homeopathic drug
store with a small medical office next door.
They then moved to a larger location on Warren St. Business was good. Then, the unspeakable. Daughter Jennie died, and George was plunged
into deep depression as he was unable to save her….his medicine could not cure
her illness. Life became unbearable. The marriage was harmed.
Then, one day, Mabel Rice walked through his door, and the
rest, as they say…..
She was young, blonde, beautiful, and shy. He was instantly smitten, and found reason to
live again. They had a 3 year affair, which
was hardly a secret around small town Syracuse.
George divorced his wife, something that rarely, rarely happened in that
era. He and Mabel eloped. Due to the social norms of the day, his
medical practice suffered because of this “scandal.” My my, how times they have changed!
Life spun him around another corner. He began to forge checks, falsify records, and the like, all
to procure money to pay his many expenses. He was trapped in a downward spiral.
Then, the unspeakable, again. Mabel got sick, and died, at the age of
39. Dr. Greeley broke down completely. Unable to cope with life, and beset with even
more money troubles, he longed to be with his Mabel. So, one day, he came to where she was. He came to Oakwood, and on the steps of the
Chapel, he ingested enough morphine to grant his wish. He is now buried next to his beloved Mabel,
forever.
Note: How many times
have I walked by that spot, not knowing.
As you can see from the picture, we did not meet at George’s grave, but
rather inside the old Chapel, which is where he often went. So, this was the
reason for the distant check in tent.
The inside of the Chapel was dark and dank, and suffered from years of
abuse. It was cruelly stripped of
everything, but you could get a partial glimpse of what it used to be, and it
honestly made me mad that it has been allowed to fall into disrepair. My mind’s eye saw what could be an elegant
edifice that could welcome visitors even today.
It triggered in me a wild idea that Oakwood’s old buildings and
prominent grave monuments should be restored to their original beauty. Some day.
Some way?
Have a Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
Have a Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
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| The Chapel at Oakwood |
Mark Twain Quote: “In
order to know a community, one must observe the style of its funerals and know
what manner of men they bury with most ceremony.”
