Jonas Hovey had only about a decade to make his mark as a manufacturing powerhouse in Ballston Spa before he died, but he was instrumental in laying the groundwork for the Paper Bag King, George West.  

Hovey was born September 16, 1809, in Sutton, MA. Early in life he became one of the wealthiest cotton manufacturers in the city. Seeking an area for greater expansion possibilities, he relocated to Ballston Spa with his wife in 1858.  

For several years, Hovey was busy acquiring property around the Blue Mill Dam that once existed across Kayaderosseras Creek. In 1861 he purchased all of the mill properties on the northeast side of town between Milton Avenue and Mechanic Street, which included three cotton mills. 

He also purchased land from an investment group headed by Jonathan Beach and Harvey Chapman, which included the future Bag Factory and the Union Mill buildings. This purchase included land and water power west of Milton Avenue, north of Gordon Creek, and west of the Kayaderosseras.  

By 1864 Hovey’s enterprises were in full swing. He was erecting a new tower on one of the cotton mills which would contain a clock and bell, and the factory was being enlarged with the addition of another story.

He was also in the process of building his 6,500 square foot mansion on the corner of Milton Avenue and Prospect Street at a reported cost of $70,000 (about $1.6 million in today’s money). The Troy Times wrote in 1865 that the new residence “is nearing completion and will be unsurpassed by any similar structure in the county of Saratoga. It will be a model of architectural taste and elegance.” This stately residence would later be the home of George West and Frederick Bischoff, owner of the Bischoff Chocolate Factory, before being demolished in 1955. 

In 1868 the newly-formed J. A. Hovey Hook and Ladder No. 1 fire department on Bath Street was named after him. Years later the name was changed to the Matt Lee Hook and Ladder Company, which still serves Ballston Spa today. Hovey erected some 40 tenement houses for his workers to live in at reduced rates from what they were paying at the local hotels and boarding houses.

By the time he completed his expansion projects around the village, Hovey owned three cotton factories, two woolen factories, the tenement houses, the mansion, and one of the largest tracts of land in Ballston. In fact, he owned every factory in the village with the exception of the oil-cloth factory on Bath Street. Because cotton factories were labor-intensive, Hovey employed more people than any other business owner in Ballston’s history until the Haight tannery and George West surpassed his workforce size in the late 1880s. 

Hovey’s manufacturing empire was to be short lived. His business affairs forced him to travel a great deal, especially to New York City. His health began to suffer as the stress from traveling and mounting legal troubles took their toll. He entered an infirmary in Canandaigua and died there in 1875. His obituary stated, “poor health and an overworked mind and body combined to dethrone his reason.” His wife Fidelia inherited the home and his several mills. With no children, she moved back to Massachusetts where she is buried alongside her husband.

For over a year the Hovey Mills sat idle. No one was willing to take the risk of assuming control of several cotton factories when similar mills were closing around the country. However, the availability of this property came at an opportune time for George West. West owned several factories in villages surrounding Ballston Spa and his paper products were in high demand.  At the nominal price of $75,000 he purchased the entire Hovey estate, one-third of the stated value of his property just five years earlier. West acquired four mills, the Hovey residence and 30 tenement houses in the transaction.

Although Jonas Hovey does not receive as much credit as other businessmen in Ballston’s history, he left his mark during his short time in Ballston Spa by gathering a substantial number of mills under his ownership, paving the way for George West to purchase the entire property and expand into the largest industry in Saratoga County. 

Timothy Starr has published 20 books on local history in Saratoga County and the Capital District and is a former board member of the Saratoga County Historical Society.

TICONDEROGA — Fort Ticonderoga will present a one-day living history event on Saturday, Dec. 16, which will bring to life Henry Knox’s epic feat as he prepared to move massive cannon from Ticonderoga to Boston to force the British evacuation of 1776. 

Attendees may stand inside Fort Ticonderoga on the very spot where Henry Knox began his Noble Train of Artillery.

 Highlighted programming throughout the day will immerse visitors in the daily life of December 1775 at Ticonderoga. Join in with soldiers who work as carpenters to build new bunks. See horsepower, ox-power, and manpower in action as they move, test, and load cannon. Discover how testing the cannon was vital for weapons destined for the siege of Boston. Learn about the science of gunnery, preserved in Fort Ticonderoga’s massive cannon collection and archives. Explore the simple luxuries enjoyed by American Continental Officers and learn more about what they ate, where they slept, and other details of daily life.

 The event is free to Ticonderoga Ambassador Pass holders and Fort Ticonderoga Members, with no reservations required. Tickets for the general public can be purchased online in advance at www.fortticonderoga.org or upon arrival.

Rebecca Jones was born in Schoharie County in the 1820s. Her family moved to Ballston Spa, where Becky attended a girl’s school. By 1850, she was in New York City, working as a domestic for the family of Andrew Gordon Hammersley, a lawyer and banker. She was with them for several decades. A newspaper later noted that she was treated well by the family and was one of those servants who “stand more on the footing of companions and friends than ordinary domestics.”

One day, after Hamersley had become ill, he explained to her that following his death there would likely be contention over his estate and requested that she never share her knowledge of family matters with anyone. “You will suffer if you do not [speak], Becky,” he warned her. Her answer was: “What of that, sir? I will keep my promise.”

After his death in 1883 – followed shortly by that of his son, Louis – a court case was commenced, challenging the will. This dragged on for quite some time. Becky had moved back to Ballston Spa, but her testimony was sought in the court proceedings. She resisted testifying, per Hammersley’s wishes. One time she even jumped from a train to avoid going to New York City to appear at the trial.

Finally, she was forced to go, but in court, she steadfastly refused to answer questions about the Hammersleys. Rather than testify, she said she’d go to jail and stay till “the resurrection day.” The judge found her in contempt of court and sent her to the Ludlow Street jail to induce her testimony.

At the jail, her walls were adorned with photos of members of the family she’d faithfully served. Visitors and newspaper reporters frequently came to see her. When she first arrived, she was unimpressed with her “lodgings,” but the warden had some furniture moved in which made it homier. She told a reporter she was happier in jail than if she were out, because all her people were dead (which was not really true, as she had a sister and brother-in-law back in Ballston Spa).

Her daily routine included an early morning walk in the prison yard, going to meals, and working on a narrative of her experiences. Also, “I read and sew and go to meeting and now and then have a good talk with the people upstairs… and everybody treats me well and I am perfectly happy.” She invited one reporter to call again, on soup day, because she found the soup to be “delicious.”

With national interest in her situation, stories appeared in newspapers all over the country. Intrigued reporters nicknamed her “Silent Becky” and “Obstinate Becky.” They were so impressed with her fidelity to her former employer that they even had portraits of her painted.

On hearing she’d be released from jail, she seemed hesitant to leave: “If I’ve got my discharge and it’s legal…I may go out.” Becky was afraid she’d have to run through the streets because people would point her out as having been in jail. She was worried about returning to Ballston Spa, as “people for miles around would come into town to look at me.” She anticipated getting a job with another family, and “if my employers die, you may be sure I’ll never breathe their family affairs.”

When released in the spring of 1885, after about a year of incarceration, she did come back to Ballston Spa. The 1900 Census shows her living there with her brother-in-law, Return J. Burnham (who sometimes went by R. Jay). A newspaper observed that she lived a quiet life, but “she is one of the objects of interest in the village and takes great pride in her course when she spent some weeks in jail…for refusing to answer questions.” She had a collection of news clippings and photographs from the time of the trial.

As noted, Mr. Hammersley’s son Louis died not long after his father. His widow, the former Lilly Warren Price, was originally from Troy, and she became the Duchess of Marlborough when she remarried to the Duke, George Churchill (whose nephew, Winston, would become famous). The Duchess inherited the Hammersley fortune once everything was settled by the courts. In the 1890s, the Duke and Duchess visited Becky in Ballston Spa, and offered her a job, which she declined. She was in comfortable circumstances because Mr. Hamersley had granted her an annual stipend of $1,500.

In the village, she had repairs made to the West High Street house that had been her father’s, arranged for cemetery monuments for family members, and made provisions for her own burial. Her name was still well remembered by the public, though, as her portrait appeared in ads promoting Dr. Miles’ Restorative Nervine. Her testimonial for that product stated that when released from jail, she was a nervous wreck. “For ten years, life was a burden.” But after using the tonic, she was “entirely well.”

Jones died in 1905 at her home. She had given instructions that her funeral would be open only to family, and that her remains were to be placed in a “plain oak casket…with white lining… with a plate engraved ‘Obstinate Becky Jones.’” She is buried in the Ballston Spa Village Cemetery.

Ironically, following her death, there was a court case involving her estate. But Becky said nothing about it!

Note: This week’s article was submitted to us during the summer by David Fiske who passed away on October 28 after a battle with cancer. We publish this story posthumously in his memory.

The Town of Waterford’s population in 1910 was said to be 6,128. Of that number, approximately 1,700 worked in the twelve knitting mills making underwear! There were four other knitting mill operations that did not produce underwear; they employed 220. One-third of the overall population worked in the industry.  Ruling out minors, the percentage would be even higher. By 1912 and continuing until the 1950s, underwear was Waterford’s largest export item. 

 Two of the Waterford manufacturers had pressing questions for the underwear-buying public.

Have you been bothered recently by dangerous underwear fads?

 Do You need to purchase underwear in a larger size because it shrinks?

The Kavanaugh Knitting Mill, owned by the Kavanaugh family, was the largest factory, with 600 employees.  Their business was built on the following belief.

Men who demand cool, comfortable garments and who appreciate good health avoid dangerous underwear fads usually wear the famous Kavanaugh Balbriggan. The comfortable underwear. Just loose enough to avoid the pinch, just light and soft enough for cool comfort, just weight enough to protect against sudden cool breezes.                                                       

This advertisement also featured caricature images of the Rough Riders. Charles Kavanaugh was a personal friend of Teddy Roosevelt.  Kavanaugh provided all the underwear for the Rough Riders during the Spanish-American War

John Wheeler Ford, in 1891, the same year as the Kavanaugh mill, opened Ford’s Mill, or Ford’s Manufacturing.  It was later purchased by the Robert Reis Company. Their main products were tee shirts and men’s and ladies’ undergarments. Their claim was as follows.

Reis’ Union Suits, we’ll put you wise; you needn’t buy them oversize. The size mark on Reis’ Lavender Label means precisely what it says. All athletic underwear shrinks when first laundered.  Instead of pretending that it doesn’t. Reis, frankly, allows for shrinkage. So you needn’t buy a 42 when your size is 38 or a 38 when your size is 34.  It’s sized right in the first place. Reis, you see, doesn’t skimp on material.  Yet, for all the roominess of a Reis, they are tailored to fit. It doesn’t flop around you like a sail or wrap you up like a bug.  They fit, and of course, they don’t chafe.  They are made for a man, not a wax figure.

Reis’ Mill lasted the longest – in business until 1979. Their main office was in the Empire State Building.  The bulk of their manufacturing was conducted at Ford’s Mill in Waterford.  During World Wars I and II, they held contracts to supply underwear to the United States Army. The employment there was listed as 300.

During the first half of the 20th century, the Harmony Mills in Cohoes and the Ford and Kavanaugh Mills in Waterford all had military contracts that impacted their ability to produce, distribute, and sell civilian supplies. The others were quick to fill the void.  In the second half of the 20th century, with the wars over, the Ford Mill, now Reis, but still known as Ford’s Mill, returned to normal operations. By the mid-1950s, they were the only one left.  All the others had gone out of business. Of the twelve mills that were listed that produced underwear, several had majestic brick buildings. They are now all gone, with the exception of the Laughlin Textile Mill, which is vacant. It was the headquarters for Ursula of Switzerland.  Ursula passed away recently.  That marked the closing of the textile industry in Waterford.

How was Waterford able to become one of the Mohawk Valley’s major producers of underwear?

Waterpower was the top priority in the development and location of textile mills which was abundant in the Waterford and Cohoes area. The Mohawk River, and in Waterford the King’s Canal, provided plenty of rushing water, the humidity was sufficient for spinning, access to seaports was convenient with the Erie and Champlain Canals, and there was an abundant labor supply. For these reasons, the textile industry took root across the northeast, along the Mohawk River valley, and especially at the terminal point of the canals in Waterford and Cohoes.

In 1855, Clark Tompkins, from Troy, NY, patented the first fully mechanized knitting machine. The upright rotary knitting machine relied on mechanical advances not available until the 1840s. In many ways, this invention foretold the industrial future for the Hudson and Mohawk River Valleys. By 1890, Mohawk Valley had become the number one knit-goods manufacturing center in the country.

New York knit-goods manufacturers primarily produced underwear.Two-thirds of all underwear produced in the United States in the late 19th century was made in New York, and of that, a large percentage came from the Mohawk Valley. In 1909, The Knit Underwear Industry reported that New York State produced 33.5% of all knit goods in the United States.  With the opening of the King’s Canal in 1830, Waterford successfully harnessed the power available from the Mohawk River. The King’s Canal area became heavily industrialized, with more than half of the underwear manufacturing concerns listed located.

Kavanaugh made mention of Dangerous Underwear Fads. The Utica Brand underwear company asked, tired of underwear fads? Many hours were spent searching newspapers for those fads. Following are some of the underwear fads that appeared between 1890 and 1940.

I found evidence of the underwear that doesn’t have to be ironed. Material fads of fine rayon mesh, nalmook, and crepe. A no underwear fad.  A black underwear fad during the Depression to cut down on washing. A pretty underwear fad. Silk underwear. Colored underwear. Dr. Diemel underwear fad. Velvet underwear fad.  In 1929, a lightweight underwear fad was to blame for hospital admissions. None seemed particularly dangerous unless you were in Illinois, where in 1929 lightweight underwear apparently caused hospitalizations, and the wearing of silk underwear was successful grounds for divorce.

Russ VanDervoort is the Waterford Town Historian, leader of the Waterford Canal and Towpath Society and a Trustee of the Saratoga County History Center. He can be reached at russvandervoort@gmail.com

The story of the Peebles is a portrait of an early American family. It is a story spanning over 100 years of endeavors, patriotism and influences covering the colonial era, the war of independence, and the periods of the local formation of the new nation, the industrial revolution and further land expansion.

Thomas Peebles (1729-1774) was of Scottish lineage. When he arrived on the northern frontier at Halve Maen, the region was part of the County of Albany, in the Province of New York, under British rule. His wife Elisabeth Bradt (1739-1806) was born into Dutch Albany families, and together they settled in Halfmoon. About 1763 they started construction of their home on a parcel of land that bordered the Hudson River for water access and by the Great Road (the Kings Highway) for land travel. Their homestead known as Brookwood Manor still stands today adjacent to Halfmoon Lighthouse Park on Route 4 & 32.

In 1770, Thomas was appointed by British royal authority the position of Justice of the Peace. In Colonial America, this was one of the most powerful public offices opened for a colonist; it was the judicial, executive, and legislative powers rolled up in one. He was reappointed two years later.

What role Thomas Peebles would have played in the war for independence is unknown. Fate cut his life short – he dies in 1774 at the age of 45 years and is buried on the property.

With her husband’s sudden death, Elizabeth was a 35-year-old widow with five young children. In 1775 she opened their home for lodgers; it became known as the Widow Peebles tavern. This not only provided widow Elizabeth income for the family, but a needed service for the increasing number of persons journeying the Great Road – the main transportation route between Albany and Forts George and Ticonderoga.

The Widow Peebles tavern appeared to be a respectable establishment mostly for lodgings rather than a rowdy stop for a pint or two! It is noteworthy that on the 1779 Isaac Vrooman map of the region specifically commissioned by General Washington, only one tavern is highlighted by name. That tavern was owned and operated by the Widow Peebles. Elizabeth was an early female entrepreneur – in a 1788 published list of the 40 Halfmoon innkeepers, Elizabeth was the only woman owner.

The tavern had many prestigious guests. In December 1775, the patriot Robert Treat Patine documented lodging at Widow Peebles in his diary. Paine was traveling the northeast drumming up military and monetary support for the independence cause, meeting several days with George Clinton and Philip Schuyler. He would later be a signer of the Declaration of Independence.

In 1783 General George Washington journeyed through upstate New York conferring with people regarding the formation of the new nation and personally visiting the Saratoga battlefields. Included in his entourage was Alexander Hamilton and Gov. George Clinton. It was during this tour that he and company lodged at the Widow Peebles. In General Washington’s records he highlighted paying the Widow Peebles “extra for feed and attention for the horses.”

With these and other people frequenting the inn, Elizabeth Peebles and her children were exposed to peoples of all walks of life, including political and military leaders. The family would see first-hand the activities passing by their home on water and land. All the Peebles would become supporters of the colonists’ cause.

When the local call for New York County militia units sounded in October 1777, Thomas and Elizabeth’s eldest child, Hugh, enlisted. Barely a teenager, Hugh becomes a quartermaster for the 12t h regiment serving under Colonel Jacobus van Schoonhoven. This local militia was formed to reinforce the Continental Army during the Saratoga Campaign. Hugh would spend his young adult life in some military capacity, spanning approximately 25 years. After the revolution, he served with the newly- formed NY state military, including a 1786 appointment as paymaster for the town of Queensbury.

The younger son Gerrit Peebles was only 8 years old during the Battles of Saratoga. He was too     young to fight in the Revolutionary War but would be appointed a captain in the NYS militia in 1789. Like his older brother Hugh, Gerrit would follow in merchant businesses, including the formation of the Cohoes Manufacturing Co. He would relocate to the growing Lansingburgh village, become Sheriff of Rensselaer County and purchase Havor Island in Waterford with his wife Maria Van Schaick; hence the isle becomes known as Peebles Island.

Daughters Maria and Rosanna Peebles both married revolutionary war veterans and raised large families. The youngest Peebles child, daughter Gertrude, spent her youth assisting her mother at the tavern. She was there in May 1791 when Thomas Jefferson and James Madison stayed at the Widow Peebles during their sightseeing tour of upstate New York forts and battlefields. Gertrude married Benjamin Tibbits, a merchant in Troy who unfortunately died young. She later married the widower Rev. Dr. Eliphalet Nott who is best known as the longest reigning president of Union College.

Elizabeth Peebles operated the tavern for 20 years until 1795 when she turned over the property to her sons. The Peebles family, one of the original twelve families of Halfmoon, served travelers and the military, fighting for the revolution, and shaping the new nation locally. They would help start churches, the first public school systems, the first local banks, a library, agricultural societies, serve as trustees, and raise children who continued in their footsteps.

“We can say with truth that a braver set of young men are not to be found, and should they be called to meet the foe there will be no flinching on their part, but all will give a good account of themselves. In such hands, we are perfectly willing to trust the reputation of Old Saratoga for bravery and prowess in arms.”  

– The Ballston Journal, April 27, 1847

When the call went out for volunteers in the winter of 1846 to fight in the Mexican War one of the first from Ballston Spa to respond was 20-year-old Ransom Pettit. Enlisting in Colonel Burnett’s 1st Regiment of New York Volunteers, and was sent to Fort Hamilton in Brooklyn, NY to begin their military service. Early in 1847, the regiment boarded ships in New York Harbor and on Feb. 1 dropped anchor off Tampico on the eastern coast of Mexico. By the Spring of 1847, another two dozen men from Ballston Spa had volunteered and followed Pettit to fight in this war against Mexico.

The Ballston Journal of April 27, 1847, reported the departure of these young men with these words of praise: We can say with truth that a braver set of young men are not to be found, and should they be called to meet the foe there will be no flinching on their part, but all will give a good account of themselves. In such hands, we are perfectly willing to trust the reputation of Old Saratoga for bravery and prowess in arms. 

The Mexican-American War, often called the Mexican War in our country, broke out in 1846 after the United States formally annexed Texas. When President Polk called for volunteers to aid in the fight, New York State responded by sending two regiments. Lasting less than two years, the war increased the size of the United States by adding one-half million square miles of territory including the present-day states of California, Nevada, Utah, and large parts of Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico. In terms of lives lost, of the 100,000 American servicemen who participated in the war, over 12,000 lost their lives. With diseases such as yellow fever and malaria plaguing the troops all through the war, only one death in eight was caused by enemy action. 

When these battle-proven soldiers came back home 16-months later, four of their comrades were missing from their ranks. As we will learn, the brave souls who gave their lives for their country would soon be memorialized by the citizens of Ballston Spa. For those who returned, the community came together and held a supper in their honor. This acknowledgment of their service, held at Ballston Spa’s Village Hotel in Aug. of 1848, was attended by 130 guests. 

As the four young men who had fallen during the conflict were not brought home for burial, plans were already underway to remember their sacrifice with a monument. It was never revealed whose idea it was to establish a memorial for those who gave the ultimate sacrifice for their country, it is likely that the returning veterans were at the forefront. A subscription-based fundraiser was started, and the community responded with enthusiasm. 

For the design and cutting of the memorial, the community turned to Ballston Spa stone and marble craftsman Orville D. Vaughn. The monument was a white marble obelisk inscribed with “Erected by the citizens of Ballston Spa and vicinity Oct. 19, 1848,” as well as the individual commemoration of the fallen soldiers on each of its four sides.

On the side facing east is an inscription for Sargent James Schermerhorn of Co. F, 9th Regiment United States Infantry. James was born in Ballston Spa on July 1, 1827, the son of Cornelius & Hannah Schermerhorn. James was the son of a war veteran, Cornelius who had served in the War of 1812 as a private in the New York Militia’s Saratoga Battalion. During the Mexican War, James took part in battles in Contreras, Churubusco, San Antonio, Molino del Rey, and Chapultepec, as well as the capture of Mexico City. He died at Pachucha, Mexico on March 9, 1848, one month after the signing of The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo which officially ended the war. 

Facing West is the memorial to Ransom B. Pettit, of Company H, 2nd Regiment New York Volunteers. Ransom, born in Ballston Spa on June 25, 1827, was only 19 when he enlisted in Dec. of 1846. Under the command of Colonel Ward Burnett, the 2nd Regiment landed at Vera Cruz in March 1847 where they took part in the siege of that city. They then moved westward, fighting in the Battle of Cerro Gordo, where they were in the vanguard in pursuing and capturing Mexican General Santa Anna. Private Ransom Pettit died during what was known as the action of Atlixco on Oct. 19, 1847.

The North side of the monument commemorated 38-year-old Private Alvin Luther. He was the son of Gideon & Mary Luther. His father Gideon was a Revolutionary War veteran who had served as a private with the Rhode Island Militia Regiment. Alvin had enlisted on May 24, 1847, in Whitehall and was assigned to Company A 1st Regiment US Army. During the war, he served as part of the garrison that occupied the city of Vera Cruz. They were next stationed along the Rio Grande where Alvin died on April 4, 1848, probably of yellow fever, malaria, or one of the numerous other diseases that were constantly plaguing the army during those years. 

On the South side is Private Hiram Smith, who had served in Company E of the 3rd Regiment United States Dragoons. Hiram was born in Ballston Spa on Aug. 8, 1830, and having enlisted on April 21, 1847, at the age of 16, was likely the youngest volunteer from the village. So far, no records have been located to indicate which Smith family from Ballston Spa Hiram was related to. The 3rd Regiment had been raised for one year of service in the Mexican-American War just two months before Hiram enlisted. Dragoons were a class of mounted infantry, who used horses for mobility but dismounted to fight on foot. Private Hiram Smith was likely involved in the Battle of Molino del Rey in September of that year and gave his life in service of his country at Perote, Mexico on Oct. 23, 1847. 

The monument to these four young men who gave their lives for their country still stands in the Ballston Spa Village Cemetery. 

This year, 2023, marks 175 years since the dedication of this monument.  A rededication event will be held with a parade and ceremony at the Cemetery on Sunday, Oct. 22.