Wells College - Cardinal Yearbook (Aurora, NY)

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the stat1on, we1e both buxlt befo1e 1820 The H1St Whe1e the College DllGCtO1 ot Musle ln es, was e1eeted by Mr Avery, the father of Mrs R1eha1d Morgan The second was bullt by Judge Shepa1d, but was late1 oeeup1ed by an eeeent11e,11ase1ble man P6t81 FO1l3, who now 1ests 1n a tomb a sho1t dlstance beh1nd the house Thls old man used so people say, to s1t 1n an uppe1 1oom of the house, and 1ead aloud W1th g1eat emphas1s f1on1 the open Blble lylng befole hun These peuods of rel1g1ous fe1vor WSIB mterrupted now and agam by its of bad tempe1 and p10 famty, 1esult1ng f1om PClJ617S too fond compamonshlp with the 1ed, red W1ne Soon, hovvevel, Mr Folt would return to h1s B1b1e, readlnfr as enerfretleally as before Pete1 Fort b1ought w1th h1m to the v1lla0fe one of Aurora s famous eha1aete1s Mr Sehney, who 11ved w1th the old gentle man fO1 seve1'1l yea1s as a eomblned valet and butle1 Then W1Slll1Dg' a more mdependent oareel, Mr Sellney opened a llttle eabmet shop 1n the bulldmof now oeeupled by M1 H1tehcoek's store He was noted throughout the v1llage for h1s gentlemanly 1nanne1 and kmd, open hea1t The old Wells gnls cannot say enough of h1s gene1os1ty, fol he contmually showe1ed upon them offermgs of grapes and apples drawn from the supply of frult he always kept on hand 1D hls sto1e It was not untll after hls ma111age that M1 Sellney masteled the a1ts of readmo' and w11t1nff The httle home Where he llved wlth h1s Wlfe had been the ii1st ff Morgan s sto1e 7' befo1e 1Bf61 1ed to On the eleetlon of a new sto1e the torme1 bu1ld1ng had been moved f1om beslde the 1av1ne and set up across the street at a sho1t dlstance to the south After 1ts ooeupat1on by the k1ndly furn1tu1e deale1 1t was always known as the 4'Sel1ney house ' It IS standmg to day, an oblong, yellow structule, 18 marlxable 1n W1nte1 f01 la1ge sto1m dOO1S of verdant hue, whlch enclose nea1 ly the Whole po1eh, and have somethmg the effect of Wmdow bllnds ln speakmv of Mr belmey and M1 H1tohcock,we a1e blought naturally to Mr I-11tohc,oek's sto1e Every Wells gul 1emembe1s he1 61 st v1s1t to th1s remarkable eur1os1ty shop, 1n the mad lush fo1 furn1tu1e upon he1 a111val as a Freshman How Sl11p1lSC-Bd she was, on reaehmof the la1ge, oddly shaped, wooden blllldlllg, p1esent1n0 to the s1de walk a facade omamented Wlth plllars and ea1v1ngs, to be told that th1s was a store' The peeul1a1 a1eh1tee ture 1S due to the fact of the bu1ld1ng havmg been erected as a Masome Lodge In 1819 DeW1ttCl1nton lald ILS comer stone 29 . - , , . . , ' 9 .1 I . .1 'I , . ' ' . i. .1 . 7 . . . V I 1 ' ' . . . i 0 9 g 'U . D I i . . T . 1. . . ' . . 1 l ' - I 1 4 I I u 1 I , . u . i i . . . P: C ' . . - 7 . . O . . . . . , 1 1 Q ' V f u , . . . . . . . . . . . ' . C ' . . I . u .1 , . . . . . . . . ' I . . . . N. D . ' ' - . .. . . . - . u . o ze' . 7 . -, - .- za . . . . . . . . . 1 . 1 . 7 , . 7 . ' - . .- 'V ' . 1 I I I i - 1 I ' . ., . . 1 . - I o ' l Q 'I h I 1 1, . . . h . 1. . I . . . . . . .. . . . in - ' I , io . 1 . , ' ' ' D u 1' I I ' .1 1 - . - f . . . . ' .

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wo of Major Ledyard s daughters were Mary, or 'fPolly, and Margaret, Peggy They were dear old fashroned grrls If you want to know just what they looked lrke, you must go to the Deans parlor, Where you Wrll ind therr portrarts upon the wall Polly, the elder marrred Glenn Cuyler a lawyer of New Y ork her srster marrred Lornelrus, the brother of Glenn X pretty story rs told of Polly's mar rrage One day Polly sat sew rng on her trousseau rn the house on the hrll, makrng, we can rmagrne a prcture very nearly as pretty as that of the Purrtan Prrscrlla of nearlv two centurles ago, even rf there were rn thrs case no sprnnrng wheel to add charm to the scene Now and then the rndustrrous marden filled her needle from the lon0 skern ot thread hangrng about her neck for 1n those days spools of thread were unknownj Suddenly there came a knock at the door and there before her stood her lover Glenn '4Polly,' sard he Uwe must be mauled at once for there 1S a mrnrster rn town now and we cannot tell when one w1ll be here agarn These wer e, we must remember, early proneer days and lt was a rare event when the mrnrster made a vrsrt to the lrttle settlements Very well Glenn ' Polly answered quletly, and whrle the fashroned grrl stood up qurte srmply rn her modest, home spun gown, and was marrred then and there to her lover Devoted and obedrent to the w1ll of her husband as she mrofht be, the woman of those days was not lackrng rn the proper spurt of rndependence One day General Ledyard rode up to the lonof white house that stands opposrte the Presbyterran ohur ch to speak to Dr Delano, the physrcran of the vrllave The doctoras wrfe answered hrs knock 4 Mrstress Delano, sard he 4 where rs your lord and masteri' f'In Heaven su, she returned, devoutly and promptly It was rn that same house on the h1ll that Glenn and Polly made therr home some tlme after therr marrrage Our clrref rn terest rn thrs couple hes rn the fact that they were grandparents of Dr Theodore Cuyler of Brooklyn, whose delrghtful talks at Wells College and whose father ly rnterest rn the vrrls have made hrs vrsrts here a source of the greatest pleasure to us Perhaps the next oldest burldrng rn Aurora rs the large, sub stantral whrte frame house standrnv on the west srde of the street, not far from the narrow ravrne at whose entrance Captam Frank lrn made hrs landrno' It was burlt rn 1810 by Mr Henry Morgan, 27 T ' , . , 7 , . . . . 77 . an . - ' ' . 9 . . ' ' . ' Y ' . Z X. . , . , , . . . . I . .. D J - 7 1 1 I . . ' S i ,C . , I . ., 1 i l 1 9 ' U ..' ' a a I . , , 1 7 ' an . , . ' . , ' n l 7 7 famlly assembled, the mrnrster was summoned. Then the old- . . ' Q . ' I I 1 n . n c D . . h . 1 ' G ' 1 ' 77 ' C . ' . 1 7 ' ,, . J . . . . 1 1 n . u n n u 1 D , t , , A b u . D' ' ' O

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and proud enough the townspeople were of it-it was the first lodge in New York State. Masonic meetings are still held in the upper story. Sometime you may have ascended the narrow stair- case, and under the leadership of Mr. Hitchcock have been con- ducted about the dim, mysterious regions above the store. On the walls of the passageway which surrounds the meeting-room hang the swords of the Knights Templar, which have been carried often and effectually in various theatrical performances at the col- lege. DIn connection with public buildings it may be of interest to mention the Aurora churches. The earliest of these is the Pres- byterian. The first church edifice was erected in 1818, but the building which is the object of our weekly pilgrimage dates from 1860. In early times the church members bought their pews outright instead of renting them. When the latter fashion arose, it met with violent opposition from the conservative faction, so the story. goes, and a party broke off from the main body of the church. They began to hold meetings in the lower story of the Masonic Lodge, until finally, when their funds became sufficient, they erected the Episcopal church. Across the street from the Presbyterian church stands the old, brick Military Academy, silent and deserted since that memor- able day in 1899 when the self-important, blue-coated little Cad- dicsl' bade farewell to Aurora. In 1799 the first academy build- ing was erected. In 1802 Major Ledyard 4' conveyed to the Trustees the present academy lot, with the buildings then stand- ing upon it,'7 we read in the History of Cayuga County. This property was always to be used for educational purposes. As early as this, Aurora was dedicated to the cause of education. The first academy building was burned, a larger was then erected and used till 1835, when the present building was put up. The second building is now used as a Methodist church. It is only within recent years that the Academy has been a military school. It was originally an Academy for both boys and girls, then became a boys, school, and then once more a school for boys and girls. It is interesting to imagine what this school must have been like in the early part of the century. We can, I suppose, picture to ourselves a school-room such as we read of in histories of early New England. Rows of benches, hacked by industrious jack-knives, and dog-eared books scattered about. In winter a huge ire would roar up the chimney and the shivering little girls, who had had a long tramp through the snow to school, 30