Yonkers suffragettes on a float in Getty Square
By Mary Hoar, City of Yonkers Historian, President Emerita Yonkers Historical Society, recipient of the 2004 Key to History, Member of the Yonkers Landmarks Preservation Board, and President Untermyer Performing Arts Council
Monday, October 23rd
October 23, 1890: General Thomas Ewing, Jr. held a reception in his home at 80 High Street to honor his war hero brother-in-law, renowned Civil War military hero William Tecumseh Sherman. After the death of her husband in 1829, Widow Sherman was left without money to raise her 11 children; the Sherman family had to be broken up. Senator Thomas Ewing, Sr. of Ohio took William in and raised him. Ewing Sr. stood up as godfather when 10-year-old Sherman converted to Catholicism at a ceremony held in the Ewing family home. Ewing Sr., the first Secretary of the Interior, later obtained a commission to the United States Military Academy for 16-year-old Sherman. Sherman later married foster sister Eleanor “Ellen” Ewing in 1850 in Washington DC; President Zachary Taylor and Vice President Millar Fillmore attended the ceremony.
October 23, 1892: Eickemeyer-Field, Eickemeyer Dynamo Machine and Yonkers Machine Companies consolidated. They formed the Eickemeyer-Field Manufacturing Company to make electric railroad equipment and power and electric light plants.
Tuesday, October 24th
October 24, 1776: The first shot of the Revolution in Yonkers was fired at Southgate, now the Crestwood section of Yonkers.
October 24, 1919: Even with five days of rain, the Knights of Columbus Memorial Hut Drive goal had reached its halfway mark, with a total collected of more than $62,500.
October 24, 1952: James Beamish of Yonkers, President of the Westchester CIO Council, made the first donation of money from Westchester unions to the John Acropolis Foundation, a living memorial to Mr. Acropolis. Acropolis, President of both Local 456 and the Westchester Federation of Labor, had been murdered in his home on Warburton Avenue. Rewards of $37,000 were posted for information leading to the arrest and conviction of his slayers. Local 456 posted $25,000 and the County of Westchester posted $5,000 of the total. His killer was never identified, remaining one of Yonkers’ most puzzling unsolved mysteries.
Wednesday, October 25th
October 25, 1908: The Manor Hall Committee of the American Scenic and Historic Preservation Society made an appeal for articles of historic interest for Manor Hall.
October 10, 1911: Hawthorne Avenue’s Agnes Edgar was the first Yonkers woman to take a trip in a “flying machine!” She flew with Airman Hopert, later telling a Yonkers Herald reporter, “I think it is the grandest thing in the world. I cannot express how much I love it… I am going up again as soon as I can get an opportunity.” She also commented she would love to have her own plane. She lived in the family residence at the corner of Hawthorne Avenue and Downing Street but spent a good deal of her time abroad. An expert horsewoman, she had a particular interest in sports.
Thursday, October 26th
October 26, 1929: Alvin “Shipwreck” Kelly ascended to the top of the Proctor’s Theater’s building flagpole to begin a weeklong perch. Years later in November 1948, he painted the flagpole on top of the Recreation Pier at the Foot of Main Street.
October 26, 1936: Time Magazine paid tribute to Hirsch Jacobs, one of the leading horse trainers in the country. Jacobs had married Yonkers own Ethel Dushock, and the blissful couple was pictured arm-in-arm, smiling happily. At the time of the article, Jacobs had saddled his 150th winner of the season; the Jacobs stable had 60 horses, with 40 of them actively racing.
Friday, October 27th
October 27, 1917: Mrs. William Ives, leader of the Yonkers Suffrage Party, led more than 100 Yonkers women to Yonkers City Hall to visit Mayor Lennon; the group then went on to march in the New York City Suffrage parade.
October 27, 1944: In honor of Navy Day, The Herald Statesman saluted Yonkers native Rear Admiral Ralston Holmes. Born in 1882, he was appointed to the US Naval Academy in 1899; after graduation, he served as Executive Officer and Gunnery Officer on the various ships and in 1920 became the commanding officer of the Mayflower, the presidential yacht. In the late 1920s, he served as Naval Attaché to the Embassy in Rome, and then became Commandant of Midshipmen at Annapolis. At the time of this recognition, Holmes was Commander of the Naval District headquartered at San Diego. Although placed on the retired list in 1943, he remained on active duty for two years.
Saturday, October 28th
October 28, 1776: American Forces crossed Mile Square and Sprain Roads on their way to the Battle of White Plains.
October 28, 1904: Barney Oldfield entered his 80-horsepower Peerless in the 10-mile race at the Empire City racetrack.
Sunday, October 29th
October 29, 1910: A replica of Robert Fulton’s Clermont was docked at the city pier to enable Yonkers residents to inspect the ship. Artifacts that belonged to Fulton and the period in which he lived were on display.
October 29, 1941: Although there were reports that sanitation workers wanted to work on Election Day to avoid having to work for candidates at the election polls, the Common Council voted to give them the day off without pay.
Questions or comments? Email YonkersHistory1646@gmail.com.
For information on the Yonkers Historical Society, Sherwood House and upcoming events, please visit our website www.yonkershistoricalsociety.org, call 914-961-8940 or email info@yonkershistoricalsociety.org.
