Sad Drowning Accident | Southampton | December 1897

 

Photograph of Charles Halsey by Cincinnati photographer W. B. Poynter, 1913

 

"Remember. If we get separated in the water we'll all meet at the Roosevelt Hotel."

Grace Morgan Holden

VICTIM OF THE S.S. MORRO CASTLE FIRE

Daughter of John Davis and Ellen Hoyt Morgan. Wife of Reuben A. Holden, Jr. Grace died from accidental drowning in the burning of the S.S. Moro Castle in the Atlantic Ocean, off of Point Pleasant, New Jersey.

 

For the Reuben Holden family, the situation aboard the Morro Castle must have been particularly appalling. They were not supposed to be aboard the ship.

The Holdens were originally booked aboard the older, considerably less deluxe Ward Liner Orizaba's August 29th sailing and, by the morning of September 8th, they should have been at their Michigan Avenue home in Cincinnati. The change of plans was so sudden that their names remained on the Orizaba's voyage manifest, with a notation "Failed to board" appended.

Mr. and Mrs. Holden traveled in the Morro Castle's best cabin, C-238 while their sons John Morgan, 12, and Reuben Andrus, 16, shared C-245.

The Holdens were awakened by the reflection of fire outside of their porthole. Mr. Holden roused his sons, and the family went aft together. Grace Holden remained calm, and when the smoke drove the family overboard she took the time to kiss each of her boys and tell them "Remember. If we get separated in the water we'll all meet at the Roosevelt Hotel."

The family was separated, and Mrs. Holden 

"I sometimes wish that modern female youth were not so conscious of its modernity."

 

4 July 1939 | Sir Wilfred Grenfell to Jesse Halsey

Dear Jesse:

Thanks for your little affectionate thought and action. What big things little things may be. Don’t I wish you were coming on the journey. We sail on Monday.

 

When I get back, most certainly come down and bring Mrs. Halsey and put in a few days with us. I know the communion would be helpful to me. 

 

The wops keep up in number, and I am still as optimistic as ever about the coming of the Kingdom of God. Christ still means to me the hope of humanity. I sometimes wish that modern female youth were not so conscious of its modernity.

 

Be sure to come. You can drive here so easily on route #7.

 

My love to you both.

 

Yours ever, 

Wilfred Grenfell

Friends of Babbie's : Zella de Milhau

In 1920, Rosella "Zella" de Milhau sponsored a pageant Babbie produced with the people of the Shinnecock Nation to raise money for an emergency fund on the reservation, and in 1939, Zella de Milhau she helped create the costumes for a second pageant. Always unconventional, also in August 1920, she was sworn in as a motorcycle policewoman in Southampton. A friend of the irrepressible Zella once said, “[She] came to Shinnecock to be with friends and to make life merry for others in her own absurd and lovable way. . .” 

De Milhau originally came to Shinnecock Hills in 1896, to study at William Merritt Chase's Summer Art School. In 1924, she represented Southampton as a judge for the Boston Terrier Club of Philadelphia.  She had a lodge in Montauk, a house in New York City, and an eccentric cottage in the Art Village, called "Laffalot," a two-story cottage built 1891, by architect Katherine Budd, which she shared with Mollie Lawton, where she worked primarily in printmaking. 

Bird Houses, Southampton

About Laffalot, the Autumn 1912 issue of Southampton Magazine, wrote, “This bare little hut under her magic ownership has grown from time to time by repeated accretions, like the native rambling vines on the neighboring hillsides, until the resultant structure is one of the most picturesque and pleasing hereabout and is as integral a part of the landscape as the brambles, bayberry bushes and furze of the fields beyond.”

Sand Spit, Shinnecock Hills, N. Y.

Lawton, an Engllishwoman of Lawton Hall, was an author and playwright. She wrote a thinly-disguised autobiography about her life with De Milhau called "Thank God for Laughter," under the pen name Mel Erskine, in 1936. Before the war, Vanity reported that Lawton's red Chow, was a champion in England, and at the 1914 Southampton Kennel Club. 

The two served together in the English Ambulance Corp in the south of France in 1914-1916, receiving five decorations and citations, including the gold Medaille de la Reconnaisance and the Croix de Guerre with stars, from the French government, for their "bravery and devotion to duty." The two had turned their own car into an ambulance. Later, the Town of Southampton would donate an ambulance to their unit.

Hampton Dunes

6 August 1920 | Ironwood Daily Globe (MI)

10 September 1919 | Tampa Bay Times

Friends of Babbie's: Emily Nichols Hatch

Hatch in her studio w/ "Rosemary Enters" 

Goldenrod by the Sea, Belle Harbor, NY | 1904

Emily Nichols Hatch was born in Newport, Rhode Island, in 1871. She studied at the Artists and Artisans Institute, and the Shinnecock Summer School of Art on Long Island with Charles Hawthorne, Walter Shirlaw and William Merritt Chase. 

She made several trips to Europe and had a studio in Paris. She was listed as portrait painter, wood-block printer, lecturer, teacher, and writer. In 1912, she was the recipient of the Macmillan Portrait Prize from the Woman's Art Club of New York. She was a member of the Pen and Brush Club, and the National Association of Women Painters and Sculptors, where she served as President from 1921 through 1925. Elizabeth Cady Stanton served as President from 1928 to 1930. 

LHW Photo, Orchard at 49 N Main

Around 1917, Lizbeth Halsey White notes in her scrapbook: "The old mulberry tree in the orchard and the swing. Emily [Nichols] Hatch painted a picture of this which has hung in several exhibits. Babbie, Manda, Jo, Ibby, and Boo." 

On 6 July 1922, her work, "Rosemary Enters" [Portrait of a Woman] was included in an exhibit of paintings by the National Association of Women Painters and Sculptors at Memorial Hall. Additional work included Edith Stowe Phelps’ group “Mother and Children;” Hilda Belcher’s “Aunt Jennifer’s China”; Christine Hefler’s “French Woman,” and Lucy Taggart’s “Janet.” 

Rosemary Enters | 1914

The Southampton Press covered the opening saying, "There are portraits and child studies, landscapes, flowers, etc., all beautifully executive." On July 1, 1922, Babbie resigned her position as the Secretary of the Committee Building in Ithaca to study in New York City. It's extremely likely that she was at the art opening, sponsored by Samuel Parrish, which also included a musical program. 

In 1940, Hatch became the Director of the Art Center in Tarrytown, New York. Hatch died in 1959, and her papers are in the Archives of American Art at the Smithsonian Institution. 

Dora on the Beach at Belle Harbor | c 1900

Portrait of a Child | c 1952

A Dip in the Ocean | 1906

Prout's Neck Beach, Maine | 1920

Coastal View | 1920

Untitled Water Color

147th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. panoramic photograph.

From the Presbyterian Historical Archives

Detail of photo, Jesse Halsey back row in flat cap

 

Jesse Halsey 1935

  

"Twenty-five years ago, I was ordained. A quarter of a century and I have seen the overturning of all the substantial verities of my youth and of that generation into which I was born. The greatest war in history, in it I had a little part; the eternal verities of many centuries have been challenged—who can say how successfully; the Bible, the bulwark of my fathers faith, for twelve generations has been entirely re-edited (as it were) and the swift succession of mechanical invention and scientific knowledge has revolutionized the world of communication of transportation and of travel. I pinch myself to see if I am I." --Reverend Jesse Halsey 1935 

Church Has Own Print Shop and Issues Paper

 

The Seventh Church, Rev. Jesse Halsey, D.D., Pastor

22 May 1930 | The Presbyterian Banner

The Seventh Presbyterian Church in Cincinnati is looked upon as one of the most influential in Cincinnati. For sixteen years the present pastor has led his people on in a steady forward march.

 

There is no more modest man in the ministry, nor more princely in character. His influence permeates into every nook and corner and particularly where there is need. In some mysterious way he has an intuition for sensing homes of sorrow and need—and his sense of duty draws him away from everything else and carries him to those whom he can help. His congregation is the wealthiest in the Presbytery, but the pastor is ever alert for the needs of the humble. Jesse Halsey has not an enemy in the world and all who know him cherish his friendship as a choice treasure. Like the Master, he goes about doing good.

5 December 1926 | Letters re: Cincinnati Enquirer's New Building

 

Letter from Reverend Jesse Halsey

President Coolidge's Cabinet

Reverend Jesse Halsey c1925

 

Church Service is Cut Short by $5,000 Blaze in Annex; Memorial Painting is Saved

17 March 1941 | Cincinnati Enquirer 

Fire of undetermined origin cause $5,000 damage to the two-and-one-half-story stucco annex of Seventh Presbyterian Church, Madison Road and Cleinview, Walnut Hills at noon yesterday during services.

 

The annex, which connects with the church, houses the pastor’s study, a library, a music room, an auditorium, and storage quarters.

 

The fire, starting in the upper half story of the storage room, burned fiercely under the slate roof, Assistant Chief Edward Shearwood and Marshal William Cunningham reported.

 

First news of the fire was given to Fire Company 23, a square away at Madison Road and Hackberry Street, when a motorist, George Hack, stopped to report that smoke was pouring from the building. The company hurried to the scene, followed immediately by other companies.

 

So quietly did the firemen approach that few among the congregation attending services were aware of the blaze until the pastor, Rev. Jesse Halsey, curtailed the almost completed service as smoke started to filter into the edifice.

 

The congregation filed out of the structure in orderly manner. Many then joined spectators on the sidewalk to watch the fire.

 

Rev. Mr. Halsey had been informed of the blaze some time before by the assistant pastor, Rev. Samuel Warr. Rev. Mr. Warr told his superior that firemen were on hand and that everything was under control.

 

Rev. Mr. Halsey and Mrs. Halsey thanked fireman and the Salvage Corps for protecting an oil mural in Rev. Mr. Halsey’s study with tarpaulins. The mural hung immediately below the point where the fire was most intense. The picture is one that Cleveland Woodward painted as a memorial to the Halseys’ son. William Halsey, who, when 7 years old, was killed by an automobile in front of the church in 1927. The building in which the fire started had been used earlier in the morning for children’s Sunday school classes. The children were out of the building, however, when the fire was detected.

Marshal Louis Schraffenberger and Captain Carl Rogers started an immediate inquiry . .   . 

Persons associated with the church were summoned to a hearing in Deputy Feldmeann’s office this morning.

 

Too Much Competition!

“There’s too much competition!”

Thus did Rev. Jesse Halsey, pastor of Seventh Presbyterian Church, impart to his congregation yesterday the knowledge that a fire in the edifice was too intense to permit him to complete the morning worship service. 

 

Rev. Mr. Halsey had been informed of the blaze previously by an assistant pastor, Rev. Samuel Warr. The clergymen had hoped that firemen, already on the scene, would be able to keep the flames under control sufficiently to avoid disruption of the services. 

 

Boy Scouts of Cincinnati In Foreign Lands

22 September 1929 |Cincinnati Enquirer

Boy Scouts who went to England to attend the international jamboree at Birkenhead have returned home. These pictures were taken during their visits to England, France, Belgium, and Holland.

Boy Scouts of Cincinnati who attended the international jamboree, held at Birkenhead, Englad. Left to right, they are: Edgar M. Hymans, Frederick S. Stricker, Charles A. Maish, Frederic Henry, S. Laurence Ach, Stanley Klein Jr., Frederick I. Halsey, Robert F. Stewart, Sherwood B. Faison, Newell R. Bush, Merrill W. Hazelton, Daniel B. Startsman, Laurence Blustein, Robert A. Bernhardt, Robert Denhausen, Charles S. Upson, William G. Corkins, and Dr. Earl R. Bush.

Cincinnati Boys Are Victorious In Regattas | Society At Harbor Point and Wequetonsing Enjoy Boat Races and Late Summer Parties

 24 August 1930 | Cincinnati Enquirer

 

Harbor Point, Mich., August 23 Both busy and happy ones are the midsummer days here, with the season at its height. Cottages and clubhouse are full of resorters and their guests, outdoor sports are flourishing, and delightfully informal entertaining goes on apace.

Colorful Regatta Interests Cincinnatians

Las Saturday and Sunday the third of a series of Northern Michigan regattas was held in the harbor here, in which many speedboats and outboard motors competed. In the midst of deafening noise and flying spray the boats shot around the course at amazing speeds, establishing new records for watercraft. The large dock in Harbor Springs was crowded with spectators, and hundreds of people lined the shore in Wequetonsing, which afforded a splendid view of the races.

Sunday was devoted entirely to professional racing, both speedboat and outboard motors, but Saturday belonged to the amateurs. Boys from all the surrounding resorts came that day, either to see the races or to compete in them.

A crowd of Cincinnati boys were present to try their luck, or to encourage their comrades. All these boys gathered together for a racing luncheon at Harbor Point, at the home of Mrs. Smith Hickenlooper. Among those present at this very jolly party being Messrs. Smith Hickenlooper Jr., Gordon and John Hickenlooper, Robert, Thomas and John Dunlap, who came over from Conway, bringing with them their guests, Messrs. Don Myer and Robert Smith. From their summer home on Burt Lake came Messrs. Rudolph and Albert Tietig and their four guests Messrs. Jack Wright, Richard Resor, Bart Hawley, and Tommy Atkins. Last, but far from least, were the five boys who are guests of the Hickenloopers, Messrs. Asa Atkins, Frederick Halsey, “Chuck” Drackett, John Kirkpatrick, and Bailey Coke.

The outboard motor races were the primary interest of these young sportsmen, who were delighted with the honors carried off by some of their confreres. In the Class A race, Mr. jack Woods won first place and Mr. Gordon Hickenlooper second. The Class C race was also won by a Cincinnati boy, Mr. Frank Woods, who came in first.

While the boys are racing and tearing around in their outboards, their elders are enjoying many cruises on the handsome yachts, which are such luxurious features of this region. Mr. Harry L. Leyman is at present off on a cruise in his yacht, having with him as his guests Judge Frank Woods, Judge Smith Hickenlooper, and Mr. Welbon. The goal of the cruise is Georgian Bay, where the fishing is excellent, and where these enthusiastic fishermen intend to try their luck.

New Citizens’ Day

 

16 June 1935 | Cincinnati Enquirer

Social Activities of Greater Cincinnati

Mr. Eugene S. Howard, who has been spending the week in Montreal, Canada, will return home today. Mr. Howard has been present at the National Conference of Social Work, and as Director of Cincinnati Citizen Council was asked to take part in the program.

He talked before the assembled delegates on Tuesday, describing the interesting classes that are conducted in Cincinnati for the foreign-born, the socializing effect that they have had, especially upon the women, who are now visiting outside their homes and organizing English circles in an effort to carry on their class work.

Upon his return Mr. Howard will devote a large part of his time to preparing for New Citizens’ Day, which will be celebrated at the Zoo June 30. He is working with Mr. Carl Giesse, General Chairman of the celebration, in making plans for the program. Mayor Russell Wilson will make a speech of welcome to all of those who have become citizens within the past year.

The reception and program will be open to American as well as foreign-born citizens and Mr. D. B. Meacham, Chairman of the Citizenship Council, extends a cordial invitation to all civic-minded men and women to enjoy the reception.

Among those working with Mr. Giesse on his committee are Mrs. F. E. Mackentepe, Miss Alice Sterne, Mrs. Alice Burtner, Mrs. Esther Gardner, Dr. David Philipson, Miss Anna M. Crouse, Miss Charlotte Haupt, Miss Lucille Patronis, Mr. M. F. Candioto, Mrs. William Duning, Mr. Harmon Hartmann, Mr. John P. Harritos, Miss Margaret Johnnes, Miss Julia Wehby, Mr. Frank Mohaupt, mr. William Herbert, Miss Helen Bottigheimer, Miss Sophia Chakiris, Mr. Eric L. Schulte, and Miss Vera Jacobson.

Officers serving with Mr. Meacham and members of the Board of Trustees of the Citizenship Council include Dr. Earle E. Eubank, Vice Chairman; Mr. Frank P. Goodwin, Treasurer; Mr. Thomas M. Muir, Secretary; Mr. Robert S. Marx, Judge Robert Nevin, Rabbi Philipson, Mr. George Puchta, Mr. Edward D. Roberts, Mrs. Siegfried Geismar, Rev. Jesse Halsey, Dr. Thomas P. Hart, and Mr. Giesse.

Cincinnati Glass Craftsmen and Windows Celebrate Easter's Hope

14 April 1968 | Cincinnati Enquirer

Jesse Halsey Chapel

20 October 1952

Cincinnati Enquirer

(4) Carl Zimmerman, artist, confers in his Loveland studio with John A. Riordan, right, Cincinnati manufacturer of stained glass, on a work-drawing of a window for the Jesse Halsey Chapel of the Seventh Presbyterian Church, Madison Road, Cincinnati.

New Church Window Depicts the Risen Christ

4 April 1953
Cincinnati Enquirer

This Te Deum window, depicting the triumphant, risen Christ surrounded by angels, martyrs, apostles, and others, is in the new Jesse Halsey Chapel of Seventh Presbyterian Church on Madison Road. It was designed by Carl Zimmerman, Cincinnati artist, and was given in memory of Pgc. Robert R. Pogue, who died in World War II, by his parents, Mr. and Mrs. John C. Pogue; in memory of Mrs. Helen Collord Taylor by Mr. and Mrs. August Marx; and in memory of August Edeler by his widow, Mrs. August Edeler.

Seventh Presbyterian Church

Cincinnati Post | 11 June 1938