the hitching post - coeymanshistory.org · the hitching post marie sturges, editor profit...
TRANSCRIPT
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The Ziegler brothers—Lawrence (1822-1892),
John (1824-1901), and Lewis (1837-1878)—
emigrated from Baden, Germany. John arrived with
his wife Regina Graf, son John Jr., and brother, Lewis
(Louis) in 1851. Lawrence’s naturalization papers
reveal he departed Havre, France at age thirty-two,
which would make his immigration about 1854. The
New York State 1855 Census shows them all living
together in the Town of Schodack.
Their stay in the Town of Schodack, however,
must not have been long because the Christian Intelli-gencer of the Reformed Dutch Church recorded that
Lawrence married Elizabeth Magee, Saturday, April
26, 1856, in Coeymans. And naturalization records
indicate John was living in the Town of Coeymans on
August 26, 1856. A few years later, Lawrence was
naturalized August 27, 1860, with John acting as wit-
ness.
Each brother had large families. Lawrence and
Elizabeth had six—Amelia (died at 18), Viola, Linda,
Frank, (Martin and Earnest died as infants), and John
and Regina also had six—John B, Emma (died at
two), Charles, Edward (Edwin), Andrew, and Martin.
Lewis married Catherine Miller from Germany, and
their two children were born in Coeymans. However,
the 1875 New York Census shows Lewis’ family
moved back to Schodack with his occupation, broom
maker. Lewis and Catherine had five more children
before Lewis’s death in 1878.
Prior to the 1870 U.S. Census, Lawrence and
John started a broom business in Coeymans. In 1863,
John purchased a lot on the north side of Fourth St,
100 feet east of the Albany and Greene Turnpike
Road on which they built a broom factory. In 1864,
Lawrence bought lots 7, 8, and part of lot 9 on the
south side of Fourth St. John purchased from Peter
Seabridge in 1869 part of lot 1 on the north side of
Second St between Third St. and First Lane, where he
started a store. Then in 1870, he purchased the lot on
the south side of Fourth St, west side First Lane from
Margaret and Horace Rennie.
Together the brothers also bought a 140-acre
farm on August 4, 1869, in North Coeymans bounded
by the lands of Alexander Willis, Philip Winne and
Andrew Ten Eyck. The location of this farm today
would be north of Magnolia Circle in Ravena, but
access was from Riverview Drive in Coeymans.
They might have bought it to grow broom corn
for their broom business or to stable horses for busi-
ness and personal use. John and Lawrence continued
as broom manufacturers, along with Charles, Edwin,
(Continued on page 3)
RAVENA COEYMANS HISTORICAL SOCIETY NEWSLETTER
Summer 2015 Vol. 13 No. 2
The Hitching Post The Ziegler Family: Immigrant Opportunists
By Lynn Van derzee Christie
Ziegler Broom Factory on Fourth Street, Coeymans, NY,
which later became Edwin Ziegler’s duplex
1891 Watson & Co. Map
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PRESIDENT’S LETTER
Friends,
Your past support has helped strengthen our historical society and helped
ensure the preservation of valuable artifacts. We are proud of the significant in-
crease in the 2015 membership drive from individuals, families, and sponsors.
Thank you.
For months our newest trustee, Roger Wilber, has been painstakingly pre-
serving a number of valuable maps. This summer we received a generous dona-
tion from the Blaisdell family which we are in the process of accessioning. At
the annual open house in December, we will display many of this family’s ob-
jects.
In this issue we feature Lynn Van derzee Christie’s article about the Zieg-
lers who started a brickyard and broom factory in Coeymans. We encourage
everyone in our area to write personal stories and/or record oral histories of their
families. These stories can be submitted to The Hitching Post or shared at one of
our monthly programs. We welcome all entries.
Best wishes,
Ralph Biance
P a g e 2
Ravena Coeymans
Historical
Society
2014 - 2015
Officers/Trustees
President
Ralph Biance 2017
V. President
David Ross 2015
Treasurer
Marie Sturges 2015
Recording Secretary
Linda Peterman 2017
Corresponding Secretary
Suzanne Celella 2016
Curator/Historian
Joseph Boehlke 2015
Trustees
John Bonafide 2016
Nancy Bruno 2016
Paul Lawler 2017
Dennis Whalen 2016
Roger Wilber 2015
M u s e u m
H o u r s
The Historical Society Museum
is open every Thursday (except
holidays) from 1 - 3 p.m.
For an appointment, call
756-9395 or 756-6536.
Visit us at
coeymanshistory.org
The Hitching Post
Marie Sturges, Editor
Mary Farinelli, Copy Editor
THE CURATOR’S CORNER
Joseph Boehlke
Over the last couple of years the Albany County Historical Association
(A.C.H.A.) has been reaching out to other historical societies in the county to
share information about preserving area history for future generations. In the
fall of 2014, Ralph Biance, Paul Lawler and I attended our first meeting of this
group at the Knox Historical Society.
Since then, several meetings have been held, and at the early spring meet-
ing this year, the group decided to call themselves the Albany County History
Collaborative. The A.C.H.A., located in the Ten Broeck Mansion in Albany,
applied for and received a grant that is being used to create a website for the
Collaborative. Its purpose is to heighten awareness of Albany County history.
The newly-formed Collaborative will enable all historical societies in Al-
bany County to link their websites to the primary site, thus giving each society
more visibility and researchers a broader range of local history resources.
On Saturday, July 11, we hosted the group's quarterly meeting at our muse-
um, which gave many trustees an opportunity to learn about the progress of the
website and interact with members of other historical societies. We also listened
to David W. Palmquist, former head of museum chartering for the NYS Educa-
tion Department and currently executive director of ESCOT, Inc., a not-for-
profit corporation providing support to organizations. He offered insights about
various topics ranging from a board’s fiduciary responsibilities to new state re-
quirements and policies which must be followed.
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P a g e 3
and Andrew until about 1895. The Coeymans Herald
reports about their business:
A large quantity of broom corn was landed at our
wharf last Saturday by the steamer Eagle. It was
for John Ziegler. [6/19/1873]
The broom factory of Mr. Ziegler is running
full blast. [11/7/1877]
One day last week while at work to Ziegler’s
broom factory Emery Smith accidentally, inflicted
a severe gash to his forehead with a large brush
knife he was using in cutting twine. [12/21/1881]
Mr. John Ziegler, while out on a broom peddling
trip last Monday, had the misfortune of losing one
of the horses. The horse took sick and died.
[11/16/1887]
The Coeymans Herald also makes references to
Ziegler Island. On July 2, 1862, Lawrence and John
bought thirty-one acres of land for $950 from John
Mull on an island known as Mull’s Platt, a small nar-
row island near the northwest side of Lower Schodack
Island.
The parcel was an undivided half Brant Mull con-
veyed to John Mull. Lawrence bought the other undi-
vided half of thirty-one acres purchased September 28,
1880, for $843. The two brothers purchased that fertile
island land to grow broom corn. When that portion of
the Hudson River had been dredged, the island be-
came part of Lower Schodack Island. The Zieglers also had an ice house on this island.
Like many other businessmen along the Hudson Riv-
er, they harvested the readily available ice and shipped
it to New York City. The largest ice company, Knick-
erbocker Ice Co., had ice houses up and down the
Hudson River. On March 3, 1881, Lawrence and John
sold forty acres of their Ziegler Island property to the
Knickerbocker Ice Company for $5,000. Even after
the Zieglers had sold the island property, it was still
called Ziegler Island as noted in “The Eleventh Annu-
al Report of the State Board of Health.” Table III
shows the Knickerbocker Ice Co. stored 15,000 blocks
of ice in 1889 on Ziegler Island.
In many rural communities, the railroad was be-
ginning to change the American landscape. “The
West Shore RR has settled with the Zieglers for the
right of way through their farm for $1,000 and that
John Deahl [renter] will sell his stock and farming
implements 3/9/1882 at public auction, at his resi-
dence on the Zeigler farm,” as reported in the
2/15/1882 Coeymans Herald. On April 6, the Zieglers
sold ten acres of the farm to Edward Winslow, and on
April 7, Lawrence transferred the farm to his brother
John for $2. John sold the remaining 130 acres, June
16, to the West Shore Railroad for $265. In the
12/19/1883 issue, the newspaper reports “a steam
shovel is at work on the Ziegler farm getting filling
for the W.S.R.R. yard at this place. The rapidly in-
creasing business of the road makes it necessary for
more side tracks at this point, so that trains may be
handled and dispatched with the greatest celerity.”
Lawrence’s wife, Elizabeth Magee, died in 1881,
and five years later he married the widow, Elizabeth
Gardenier Van Dyck. Their marriage only lasted sev-
en years as Lawrence died in 1892. John’s wife Regi-
na died in 1886 and John, in 1901. Both Lawrence
and Elizabeth Magee, and John and Regina Graf are
buried in Grove Cemetery. A pink granite obelisk
marks John’s plot.
John’s oldest son, John Jr., listed as a cigar mak-er in the 1870 census, later moved to Brooklyn, and
there does not seem to be any further contact with
him. Charles went into proprietorship with H. Long to
run a meat market. One day “a steer belonging to
Ziegler & Long broke loose while being led to the
slaughter house yesterday and created considerable
excitement before recaptured; everybody seemed will-
ing to give it plenty of room” [Coeymans Herald
12/21/1881]. Then a few years later the paper reports
the “firm of Ziegler & Long was dissolved by mutual
consent with Charles Ziegler retiring” [8/8/1883].
Charles’s next business endeavor in 1883 was
selling harness equipment, cutters, and sleighs, and in
that year, he married Rena Keller. “Charles purchased
the meat business formerly conducted by Harry Long
(Continued from page 1)
(Continued on page 4)
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at the old stand in the Whitbeck building on Westerlo
Street,” is announced in the 3/26/1885 Coeymans
Herald edition. According to the 1892 N.Y. State Census, Edward Ziegler is listed brick worker;
Charles and Andrew, broom makers; and Lawrence’s
son Frank, boat engineer. The only change in occupa-
tion of second generation Zieglers is found in the
1900 U.S. Census: Andrew, a farmer, bought 117
acres from his wife’s family, the Trenchards.
It may have been Edward’s experience as a brick
worker and Charles’s connection to Peter Seabridge,
a former brickyard owner from 1850-1864, that gave
the Zieglers impetus to form their own brick company,
Ziegler & Ziegler, in Coeymans. Between 1880 and
1920, New York City experienced the greatest growth
of any city in the world. With that growth, there was a
tremendous need for brick. Lawrence’s son, Frank,
and John’s sons, Charles, Edward (Edwin), and An-
drew took advantage of the readily accessible Hudson
Valley clay and an industry where the start-up costs
were low. And the Hudson River provided easy
transport to NYC.
Edward and Andrew managed the brickyard,
while Charles, a boat captain, and Frank, an engineer,
were in charge of hauling the brick to the New York
City market. The symbol on their brick was either
Ziegler or ZZZ. Located where the Lafarge marine
terminal is today in Coeymans, the Ziegler brickyard
employed about forty people and used three mixing
machines.
News about the progress of the Ziegler Brick
Company appears in the Coeymans Herald:
The Messrs. Zieglers are pushing the work
of equipping their brick yard as rapidly as possible and expect to have their plant in
readiness to start up as soon as the brick
making season shall arrive. [3/8/1905]
Ziegler and Ziegler began manufacturing
brick on Thursday, burning out their first
pit full that day. Their brick have the
appearance of being A No. 1, and their
machinery and yard 1st class. [5/3/1905]
Mrs. Charles Ziegler and son Keller left
on Mr. Ziegler’s brick barge last night for
New York where they will remain a couple
of weeks. [8/30/1905]
The Zieglers have chartered an extra boat to freight their brick to market. [9/13/1905]
Ziegler & Ziegler expect to ship the last of
their season’s output of brick the latter
part of this week. The season has been an
exceedingly good one and although they were somewhat late in starting yet their
entire product, something over three million
brick, has been sold at very profitable
prices. Since manufacturing ceased they
have built an additional yard and will install
another machine in the spring. [11/29/1905]
The brick manufacturing firm of Ziegler & Zieg-
ler has just purchased a new brick barge
capable of carrying a cargo of 300,000 brick.
They will use the vessel in their business next
spring. [1/24/1906]
(Continued from page 3)
P a g e 4
The Ziegler Family at their brickyard
*Identifications ~ p.6
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P a g e 5
Dr. A.T. Powell and Andrew Zeigler returned
from their trip South and brought with them a
large number of colored men to work in their
brickyards. [5/12/1911]
BRICK INDUSTRY WILL SOON BE IN FULL
SWING – The other yards on the Coeymans beach
are also making preparations for the starting up
in a few days of moulding brick. Corwin &
McCullough, Powell & Minnock and Ziegler &
Ziegler have given employment to large forces of
men the past few days in the preliminary work.
The outlook is good for all the yards operating to
full capacity the entire season. [5/3/1912]
Because brick making was seasonal, each of the
Zieglers had other businesses. As mentioned previ-
ously, Charles ran a meat market and became a boat
owner and captain, while Frank became a marine
engineer. In March 1911, Andrew decided to start a
broom factory:
Andrew Ziegler is fitting up a broom factory in
the building at the corner of Gazette and Wester-
lo streets and expects to commence operations in
a few days. Years ago broom manufacturing was
conducted on a large and prosperous scale here,
and there seems no great reason why the indus-
try could not be revived and profitably contin-
ued. There is considerable island land here suit-
able to cultivation of the corn and no other crop
more valuable could be grown. [3/10/1911]
Zeigler’s new broom factory on Westerlo Street
is now in operation. [3/17/15]
There does not seem to be a record of what happened
to the Ziegler brickyard. Sometime between 1915
and 1920 the Ziegler Family ceased making brick. A
1916 issue of The News-Herald notes that “Martin
Ziegler [John’s youngest son] is filling his usual po-
sition of time keeper at the Inter borough Ice Co.”
The 1920 U.S. Census lists Charles as a proprietor of
retail groceries; Edward, a machine shop operator
(Ravena Iron Co.); Frank, a steam engineer for the
railroad round house; and Andrew, proprietor of a
coal yard in New Baltimore. Andrew ran this ad in
The News-Herald:
ANDREW ZIEGLER Coal, Lime, Cement,
Feed TRUCKING. Avoid Uncertain deliveries
and empty bins during cold weather. Order
now to insure delivery at designated time.
Trucking any where, anytime. Telephones
36F6 and 50F4 New Baltimore, NY. [7/1922]
The ambitious Ziegler men from Germany, first
generation Americans, sought opportunities to buy
property and establish a broom factory. When the
broom industry shifted out West, the second genera-
tion saw the potential in the area’s natural resources
to start a brick business. These two generations took
advantage of opportunities in the Hudson Valley to
raise their families.
_________
Notes Ziegler is a common German surname meaning
brick maker. In my research of this family, I found the name spelled Ziegler, Zeigler, Zigler, and Zeagler.
All second generation Zieglers had black onyx rings,
each with a white letter Z. The Zieglers were Catholic, but the hardship of going the distance to Albany by horse and wagon
made them decide to join The Dutch Reformed Church in Coeymans.
Of the four Zieglers running the brickyard, only Charles did not marry a woman by the first name of
Elizabeth.
Charles Ziegler’s wife, Rena Keller, was the older
sister of my grandfather Keller.
Peter Seabridge, who ran a brickyard from 1850- 1864, was Rena Keller’s grandfather.
Lawrence Ziegler’s home was on First Lane (now Second St). The McNaughton house on Fourth
St. in Coeymans was John Ziegler’s home. The house across from them was the broom factory, which was
later made into a duplex. Edward (Edwin), Elizabeth, daughter Laura and husband Howard Youmans lived on one side, and the Bakers, on the other half. Charles
lived in the duplex at 4 Colvin Ave., and his meat mar- ket was located on Westerlo St. next to the Frangellas’ business.
Edwin Zeigler of Schodack is a descendent of younger brother Lewis (Louis). Edwin has two sons, Leroy
and Eric.
The last-known male Ziegler of John’s lineage was
Roy James (Jim) Ziegler, who died at 99 on January 19, 2013, in East Stroudsburg, PA. A chemical engi-
neer, he worked for the fragrance industry. Informa- tion in these notes Jim related to Jean Bush and me because of his interest in Ziegler genealogy. For
twelve years, Jean and I compiled research for him. I thank Jean Bush for all her research help.
(Continued on page 6)
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P a g e 6
Sources
Albany and Rensselaer County Deeds Albany Hall of Records: Naturalization and Declarations of Intention
Brick Collecting.com “A Brief History of Coeymans, NY from the perspective of the Great Hudson River Brick Industry.” Bush, Jean. Researcher of references to Ziegler family in Coeymans Herald and The News-Herald.
Christian Intelligencer of the Reformed Dutch Church Coeymans Herald and The News-Herald
Huey, Paul R. “Historical and Archeological Resources of Castleton Island State Park, Towns of Stuyvesant, Columbia County, New Baltimore, Greene County and Schodack, Rensselaer County, New York: A Preliminary Phase I Cultural Resources Assessment.” May 1997.
Hutton, George V. The Great Hudson River Brick Industry: Commemorating Three and a Half Centuries of Brickmaking.” Fleischmanns, NY: Purple Mountain Press, 2003..
Lynch, James M. “Second Annual Industrial Directory – Register of Factories 1913.” Document of
The Assembly of State of NY, Volume 39. New York State and US Federal Censuses
Powell, Ten Eyck. Conversation May 2015. Watson & Co., 1891 Map 30 Section Portion of Albany & Greene County
Ziegler, Roy James. Conversations and letters 2001-2012.
__________________
(Continued from page 5
Writer Lynn Van derzee Christie and Jim Ziegler April 2007
*Identifications of the Ziegler Family (page 4)
1st Row: Libbie Ziegler (Mrs. Frank), Annie Hazelton (Mrs. John C.), Rena Ziegler (Mrs. Charles), Lida Ziegler (Mrs. Andrew),
Mrs. Keller (Rena’s mother)
2nd Row: Ed Ziegler, Libbie Ziegler (Mrs. Edwin), Frank Ziegler, Howard Youmans, Laura Youmans (Edwin and Libbie’s daughter),
Keller Ziegler (Charles’s son), Bertha Ziegler
Top Row: Andrew Ziegler, Andrew Ziegler, Sr., Bronck Hazelton, Maude Robbins, Niles Keller (Rena Ziegler Keller’s brother),
Bessie Hazelton, Charles Ziegler, Mable Ziegler (Frank and Libbie’s daughter)
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P a g e 7
2015 MEMBER SPONSORS BENEFACTORS ($250+) Joe & Gail Boehlke Bob & Ann Hallock Sylvia & Paul Lawler Harry & Marie Sturges Dennis & Alice Whalen
PATRONS ($100+) William Bailey & Penny Gould Ralph Biance Clesson & Jean Bush Linda & Edgar Roosa INDIVIDUAL LIFETIME [New] ($100) Mary K. Pape Stephen Coye SUPPORTING/FAMILY ($50 annually) John & Anna Marie Bonafide Lynn Van derzee Christie Eileen & Raymond Collins Charles F. Coons Patricia and James Feuerbach Keith & Lynda Geraldsen Mary McCabe Robert & Ruth McCabe Robert & Laraine Misuraca Tony & Cathy Ricciardi Elizabeth Spoor Gordon & Linda Stanton SUPPORTING/INDIVIDUAL ($25 annually) Karol Beck Marcia Blakesley Nita J. Chmielewski Elaine Christopher Ron Decker Mary Farinelli Greene County Historical Society Henry Hamilton Barbara Heinzen Rev. James J. Kane Peggy Matheny Terry and Cathy McEneny William & Judith McMillen William R. Meyer Louise Pape Danielle Parks Carol Pitsas Jay W. & Connelly-Anne Ragley Bonnie Ruso
2015 BUSINESS SPONSORS BENEFACTORS ($1000+) Village of Ravena
PATRONS ($250+) Babcock Funeral Home Callanan Industries, Inc. Lafarge Building Materials Inc. Port of Coeymans State Telephone Company Town of Coeymans
SUSTAINING ($100+ annually) C.A. Albright & Sons LLC Bullock Utilities Coeymans Landing Marina Collins & Son Inc. Crossroads Ford National Bank of Coxsackie Ravena Shop’n Save
Stanton Farms LLC TCI of NY, LLC Robert P .Van Etten Excavating, Inc. BUSINESS SUPPORTER ($50 annually) Baynes Law Firm John T. Biscone, Esq. Boomer’s Garage Central Hudson Fori’s Variety Store Little Feet Daycare Center, Inc. Mueller’s Automotive LLC Persico Oil Company Ravena Auto Supply (Napa Auto Parts) Note: All members/sponsors are listed on the website.
MEMBERSHIP GENERAL MEMBERSHIP BUSINESS SPONSORS Member $10 annually Supporter $50 annually Family $15 annually Sustaining $100+ annually Supporting/Individual $25 annually Patron $250+ Supporting/Family $50 annually Benefactor $1000+ Patron $100+ Benefactor $250+ Individual Life $100 (55 or older)
The Society welcomes new members, businesses and contributions. Checks are payable to The Ravena Coeymans Historical Society c/o Treasurer
P.O. Box 324, Ravena, NY 12143
In Memoriam
Harry K. Christie
Marvin S. Ruso
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The Hitching Post
Ravena Coeymans Historical Society P. O. Box 324 Ravena, New York 12045
coeymanshistory.org
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Published semi-annually by The Ravena Coeymans Historical Society
2015 Fall Programs
September 13, 2015 ~ 2:00 PM
The Art of Surveying: Then and Now
Cynthia Elliot, a local surveyor, will provide a historical overview of the art of surveying
and the equipment used, with some famous and not-so-famous highlights.
October 11, 2015 ~ 2:00 PM
The Ice Harvesting Industry
Tom Ragosta of the Watervliet Historical Society will present a history of the ice harvesting
industry along the Hudson River, including it in Watervliet and Coeymans
November 8, 2015 ~ 2:00 PM
Wee Willie Winter’s Eve
Shelby Mattice, curator of the Bronck Museum, will explore the challenges of winter life
on a Hudson Valley Dutch farmstead in the 1600s.
December 13, 2015 ~ 1:00 to 4:00 PM
Annual Holiday Open House ~ Highlights of the Blaisdell Collection
Ravena Coeymans Historical Museum