Reasons to Buy the Book, #2

Don’t we all grow by learning new things? Isn’t learning imaginatively enriching? Well, if you want to learn something new about something old, while capturing your imagination in new ways, you’ll definitely want to read the The Hulett Hotel Fire on Lake George.

The book includes almost two years of research, so I can confidently say that you’ll enjoy turning every page. I was able to unearth some incredible historical documents, which I was originally convinced were lost, that are real eye openers.

Whether you love history or just the Lake George region, you’ll learn plenty of new things when you read The Hulett Hotel Fire on Lake George.

To learn about my research, you’ll definitively want to buy:
The Hulett Hotel Fire on Lake George.

Pre-order the book here and you’ll have it as soon as it is released.

Reasons to Buy the Book, #3

There’s an old saying that says in effect; “the people make the place.”

Well a hundred years ago is a long time though, and history sometimes forgets the people “that made the place.”

One of things I enjoyed while writing, The Hulett Hotel Fire on Lake George was researching the many interesting characters that the book encompasses.

Would you like to know about the tragic, fatal accident that the District Attorney was involved in roughly a year before the arson trial started? Would you like to know which participant in the trial had a relative who went on to win the Nobel Peace Prize? Want to learn which witness had trouble testifying about their own name?

To learn the answers to these and many other interesting questions you’ll definitively want to buy:
The Hulett Hotel Fire on Lake George.

Pre-order the book here and you’ll have it as soon as it is released.

Reasons to Buy the Book, # 4

Do you like a good story? How about a good mystery?

Well you’ll read a really great story and find a mystery in a mystery in the book;
The Hulett Hotel Fire on Lake George.

A mystery in a mystery? You’re probably asking; “What’s he talking about?”

Well, I can’t give it away, you’ll have to read the book. What I can tell you is that as I delved deeper into the story, the material was quite rich and very interesting. So rich in fact, I can say that you will thoroughly enjoy it!

To learn more, you’ll definitively want to buy:
The Hulett Hotel Fire on Lake George.

Pre-order the book here and you’ll have it as soon as it is released.

Reasons to Buy the Book, #5

Did you know that the Hulett Hotel Fire of 1915 was one of the largest fires ever on the shores of Lake George?

In chapter five of The Hulett Hotel Fire on Lake George you’ll learn what happened on that day in 1915 when the fire occurred.

You’ll see the only known photographs of the two people who discovered the fire, and you’ll learn how the unique weather conditions that day made extinguishing the fire almost impossible. You’ll also learn how many other houses the fire spread to and what happened to those cottages on that fateful day!

To learn more about these interesting events, you’ll want to buy:
The Hulett Hotel Fire on Lake George.

Pre-order the book here and you’ll have it as soon as it is released.

New Book Coming Soon


I’m happy to unveil the cover of my new book:
The Hulett Hotel Fire on Lake George
.

On a clear November day in 1915, the Hulett Hotel on Lake George caught fire and burned to the ground. Quickly rebuilt, the “new” Hulett became a popular tourist destination. However, after the rebuilding, a mysterious figure claimed that the hotel’s owner, William H. Wyatt, had paid him to start the fire and a sensational arson trial followed.

Now you can read about these strange happenings in vivid detail, including the testimony offered at the trial and never before seen photographs which have their own mysterious origins.

You’ll also read about Wyatt’s other hotel on nearby Lake Bomoseen, Vermont that burned down in 1912 and see unique pictures of that hotel on fire. You’ll view never before seen photographs of the ashes of the burned Hulett Hotel and construction of the new Hulett Hotel. And you’ll learn about the trial that followed.

“The Hulett Hotel Fire on Lake George” will be released in mid-February but can be pre-ordered starting today from History Press.

The book can be ordered here from the publisher.

What better thing to do on a cold winter day than read a great book about the Huletts Landing fire of 1915 and the arson trial that followed.

I will continue this entire week with the top reasons why you will want to add this book to your collection!

Book Announcement: Coming Soon

Over the past year and a half, my writing on this site has been off a bit because I have been working on a very special project.

I am now happy to announce ….. drum roll………. that my second book is officially complete and headed to the presses!!!

So on Monday, January 9, 2012 I will announce here on the Huletts Current, the title of the book, tell you something about it, and do a public unveiling of the cover.

You will have to wait a few more days but the book has something to do with ………….. you guessed it ………. Huletts Landing and Lake George!!

I’ve spent the last year compiling some exquisite and quite rare photographs, and researching a topic which I guarantee all lovers of Huletts and Lake George history will find interesting. This past year has brought me to some very interesting places while I’ve researched this book.

So stop back on Monday, January 9, 2012 to learn more about: what the new book is about, the publisher and the release date. You’ll get a preview of the cover as an added bonus!

During the week following Monday, January 9th, I’ll be posting some of the top reasons why you’ll want to purchase this book.

This is one volume that everyone will want to have on their bookcase. You’ll see it here on the Huletts Current for the first time on Monday, January 9, 2012.

“Fort Fever” at Fort Ticonderoga Begins in January

Fort Ticonderoga volunteer BR Delaney portrays a North East Woodland Native at a recent Fort Ticonderoga event. Stuart Lilie, Director of Interpretation at Fort Ticonderoga, will talk about Native Americans and the Patriot Cause as part of the “Fort Fever Series” at Fort Ticonderoga this winter. Photo credit George Jones.

Fort Ticonderoga introduces a new series of Sunday afternoon programs running from January through April. Presented by Fort Ticonderoga staff, the programs cost $10 each and are free for Members of the Friends of Fort Ticonderoga.

The program begins with a “Winter Landscape Snowshoe Trek” led by Curator of Landscape Heidi Karkoski on January 22. Explore the Fort Ticonderoga grounds and learn how to identify trees based on their winter (leaf-less) characteristics. Bring your own snowshoes (or hiking boots if conditions require).

On February 12, Curator of Collections Chris Fox will give attendees the chance to examine several original 18th-cenutry weapons from the Fort’s extensive collection in a program titled “The Roar of Musketry and the Cracking of Rifles: An Introduction to the Weapons of the 18th Century.”

In “Native Americans and the Patriot Cause” on March 25, Director of Interpretation Stuart Lilie will discuss the roles of Native groups that sided with the colonists during the American Revolution.

On April 22, Director of Education Rich Strum will talk about “Henry Knox: Beyond the Noble Train of Artillery.” Learn about the fascinating life of Henry Knox, from his first job in a book shop at age nine through his Revolutionary War career to his role as the nation’s first Secretary of War.

The Fort Fever Series is one of several new education initiatives at Fort Ticonderoga in 2012! You can learn more about these new programs, including Material Matters Seminar, the Garden & Landscape Symposium, and the Conference on Lake George & Lake Champlain, by visiting the Fort’s website at www.FortTiconderoga.org and selecting the “Explore and Learn” button.

Now For Some History: 1930


Courtesy of Ray Rose

A rare postcard of Dresden station circa 1930.

Caption above reads: Lake Champlain at Dresden, N.Y. From the Hudson Champlain Trail

Caption below reads: Between Whitehall and Ticonderoga, N.Y.

What appears here should not to be confused with the Clemons train station. The drawing above is from a postcard of Dresden station, a few miles farther north than Clemons.

The view is looking East at Vermont.

My guess on the date is approximately 1930.

Saturday Quote

From: A Man for All Seasons

Cromwell: Now, Sir Thomas, you stand on your silence.

Sir Thomas More: I do.

Cromwell: But, gentlemen of the jury, there are many kinds of silence. Consider first the silence of a man who is dead. Let us suppose we go into the room where he is laid out, and we listen: what do we hear? Silence. What does it betoken, this silence? Nothing; this is silence pure and simple. But let us take another case. Suppose I were to take a dagger from my sleeve and make to kill the prisoner with it; and my lordships there, instead of crying out for me to stop, maintained their silence. That would betoken! It would betoken a willingness that I should do it, and under the law, they will be guilty with me. So silence can, according to the circumstances, speak! Let us consider now the circumstances of the prisoner’s silence. The oath was put to loyal subjects up and down the country, and they all declared His Grace’s title to be just and good. But when it came to the prisoner, he refused! He calls this silence. Yet is there a man in this court – is there a man in this country! – who does not know Sir Thomas More’s opinion of this title?

Crowd in court gallery: No!

Cromwell: Yet how can this be? Because this silence betokened, nay, this silence was, not silence at all, but most eloquent denial!

Sir Thomas More: Not so. Not so, Master Secretary. The maxim is “Qui tacet consentire”: the maxim of the law is “Silence gives consent”. If therefore you wish to construe what my silence betokened, you must construe that I consented, not that I denied.

Cromwell: Is that in fact what the world construes from it? Do you pretend that is what you wish the world to construe from it?

Sir Thomas More: The world must construe according to its wits; this court must construe according to the law.

Bits of Everything

NY Times: Adirondacks Warming?

The NY Times follows Jerry Jenkins, an ecologist with the Wildlife Conservation Society.

Hard frosts that a generation ago came in mid-September now arrive in October. Lake Champlain, a huge freshwater body that divides New York and Vermont, once froze over completely every winter, but now remains open in the middle some years.

Groups Look at Lake George Dredging Differently

The Post Star describes the debate.

Cell Service Almost Complete for Lake George

The Lake George Mirror reports that the entire basin has almost complete coverage.

Old Ticonderoga Hospital to Get New Use

The Press Republican reports on the old Moses-Ludington Hospital.

Teddy Roosevelt’s Home Set for Rehab

Yahoo and the AP take a look Roosevelt’s classic home.

The Strange Story of the Lost Dauphin of France and the North Country

A painting of Marie Antoinette with her son, Louis-Charles, on her lap. (circa 1787)

At the time of the French Revolution, the son of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, was known as Louis-Charles, Dauphin of France. He was abducted on August 10, 1792, when only eight years old, as the French revolution waged on.

When his parents were executed for treason under the first republic, the newly orphaned eight year old Louis-Charles would have been the nominal successor to the abolished throne.

He was imprisoned in the custody of a shoemaker named Antoine Simon. The Dauphin was kept in confinement and treated with great cruelty until he is said to have died in June 1795. He would have been 10 years old at the time of his death and was buried in an unmarked grave.

Rumors quickly spread that the body buried was not that of Louis-Charles and that he had been spirited away alive by sympathizers.

He had never been officially crowned as king, nor ruled. However, he was called by his royalist supporters Louis VII and the future Louis XVIII’s adoption of the title Louis XVIII rather than Louis XVII only added to the mystery.

Against this background, there is a legend that the Dauphin was taken secretly from his dungeon and brought clandestinely to northern New York, where there was a sizable population of Frenchmen still loyal to the monarchy. This strange story has been the subject of serious historical speculation for many years.

In the middle of the 1800’s, the Rev. John H. Hanson, an Episcopal priest, wrote a logical account of how a certain Eleazer Williams, an Episcopal priest of the North Country who died in 1858, might have been the lost Dauphin.

Williams was thought to be one of 12 children of Thomas Williams and grandson of Eunice Williams of Deerfield, Mass. who was one of the inhabitants captured by the Indians in the massacre of that village. Supposedly, eleven of Thomas Williams offspring bore unmistakable evidence of Indian heritage while Eleazer did not. Also, no record was ever made of Eleazer’s birth.

Williams himself claimed to have no knowledge of his own life before the age of twelve or thirteen. By his own account, he served in the War of 1812 as a scout and spy for American forces on the northern border of New York. After the war, he became an Episcopal missionary and was sent to the Oneida Tribe of upper New York State. He proved to be successful there, converting many of the Oneida to the Episcopal faith.

When the French monarchy was restored in 1814, hundreds of claimants came forward. Would-be royal heirs continued to appear across Europe for decades afterward.

In 1841, Prince de Joinville the younger son of Louis Phillip, the reigning King of France came to the United States. Williams would claim that the Prince had offered him a vast estate if only Williams would renounce his claim to the throne which he said he refused to do. The Prince denied this story as soon as he heard of it, saying that his only interest in Williams was as an Indian missionary.

In the February 1853, issue of Putnam’s Magazine, the Rev. Hanson, an Episcopal minister, published an article entitled “Have We A Bourbon Among Us?” That article also supported Williams’ claims. Serious historians immediately refuted Hanson’s speculations, but many others believed him and, for a while, Williams was something of a minor celebrity.

Williams died in the village of Hogansburg, NY on August 28, 1858.

The story did not die until 2000 when DNA testing proved beyond doubt that Louis-Charles had indeed died in prison.

Philippe-Jean Pelletan was one of the doctors who attended Louis-Charles shortly before his death and subsequently performed the autopsy. He removed the heart and this was not interred with the rest of Louis-Charles’s body. Philippe-Jean Pelletan tried to return Louis-Charles’s heart to Louis XVIII and Charles X, both of whom could not bring themselves to believe the heart to be that of their nephew.

The heart was stolen by one of Pelletan’s students, who confessed to the theft on his deathbed and asked his wife to return it to Pelletan. Instead, she sent it to the Archbishop of Paris, where it stayed until the Revolution of 1830. By 1975, it was being kept in a crystal vase at the royal crypt in outside Paris, the burial place of Louis-Charles’s parents and other members of France’s royal family.

In 2000 DNA testing was performed on the heart using samples from Marie-Antoinette, her sisters, their mother, Maria Theresa, and two living direct descendants in strict maternal line. The tests proved that the heart was that of Louis-Charles. It was buried in the Basilica on June 8, 2004 and forever dispelled the claims of the North Country preacher named Eleazer Williams.

(Compiled from online and print resources.)

Sign Time

I did a post some time ago about Jane McCrea, but this sign sits across the street from the Fort Edward high school and it caught my attention as I was driving by this past summer.

Her murder in 1777 was a galvanizing force for the colonists fighting the British at that time.

Veterans Day 2011

To all those who have served. Thank you.

Washington Crossing the Delaware
Emanuel Leutze, 1851

Click image to see full view.