Remling Genealogy: Auburn

Tuesday, September 7, 2021

Who Is Copper John?

Many people who live in, work in, or frequently visit Auburn don’t know Copper John. Yet there he stands looking over the city, Where is he? He is high above the city at the entrance to the prison, When going down State Street, pause near the entrance and look up and you will see him, a Revolutionary Soldier standing guard.

In fact, that is one of the things about Copper John. Anybody in Auburn can see his face except for one large group— prisoners within the walls of Auburn Correctional Facility. They cannot see his face, as he is gazing towards the outside and there is only a small open space between the administrative building and the outside wall.

He has stood guard at the top of the administrative building since 1821, although the original statue was wooden. It was in 1848 that a new soldier exactly like the original was created in the prison’s metal shop out of copper. This is where his nickname comes from and what he has been called ever since. Copper John is about 8’ 8 1/2” tall and with his rifle stands over 11’ in the air.

Copper John was refurbished in 2004. The corrections department decided to smooth out his physique. Let’s just leave it at he is now less endowed and more of a “Ken doll.”

The prison itself was built in 1817. This would be New York State’s second prison after Newgate in New York City. Massive blue and gray limestone walls face State Street, Wall Street, and Washington Street. The fourth side goes along the Owasco River and a little tiny street called Tehan Avenue.
The building of the prison brought about rock quarries and a water system in and around the growing city of Auburn.

The prison itself is a maximum-security prison and the original of “The Auburn System” of running prisons. Based on hard labor and silence at all times. Eventually, overcrowding in prisons made the silence unenforceable and things deteriorated into lax and corrupt routines by the guards. This system ended implementation in 1900. The stereotypical uniform of black and white stripes was developed under this system. Products produced in the shops were sold on the outside to help support the prison. Workshops of various kinds existed over the years. Perhaps the most well-known is one that continues to this day— producing license plates. At one time women were housed there as well in a separate building on the prison grounds.

Executions were done at Auburn prison. Do you know who “Old Sparky” is? That would be the nickname for the original electric chair. The first execution by electric chair was done in Auburn prison. A local bar has a chair that is said to be the original one.

It has been rumored that there was a choice between getting the prison and the Erie Canal in Auburn. Auburn chose to get the prison over having the Erie Canal come through the city. The path of the canal, however, does not support this story. It runs several miles north of Auburn through Weedsport and Port Byron. It would have had to have been diverted south to go through Auburn and would have added many miles of digging to do so.

Another rumor is that it was a choice between the prison and the state capital. Although possible, the state capital had long since been established at Albany by the time the first prisons were built in New York State. Would the state have gone to the trouble of moving the capital? I find that doubtful.

Monday, October 28, 2019

Saturday Challenge: Heirlooms

From Randy Seaver's GeneaMusings of last week:

1) The NEHGS Weekly Genealogy newsletter asked an interesting question this week - let's use it for our SNGF this week.

2) What "family heirlooms" did you inherit or obtain? What are your most cherished possessions that were owned or created by an ancestor or relative? They could be photographs, letters or documents, a diary, an audio or video recording, books, jewelry, clothing, quilts, needlework, drawing or painting, toy or doll, collectibles, musical instrument, furniture, something else?

Since I have been interested in family history since a young age and also the youngest of the family, that was the last one around home, I have gotten a lot of family heirlooms over the years. The family photographs and newspaper clippings seem to land in my possession along with other items.

A few that I stick out in my mind as somewhat unique. There are two watercolor paintings hanging on the walls in my house. These were done sometime in the 1940s or 1950s. I had seen them once when my Mom showed me a portfolio shortly before her death. She never thought they were good enough to show to others. Now many of her descendants own these and they are on display.

A couple of other wall hangings are framed cross-stitch pictures. One of them is of such fine work that people mistake it for a painting at first. These also were done by my mother.

Dominating the dining room, as in most homes, is a table. This old oak table is of unknown origins. It is probably from the late 1800s and is solid. The base has a bit of a shelf where the legs go out away from the pedestal. I have heard tales of children at various times sitting on this and hiding with the help of a long tablecloth. There, they listened in on conversations of their elders. These children were my mother and her brothers or their friends.

The history of this table that I know is that my grandfather bought it during their childhoods at an auction and cleaned it up. It then became their dining room table. This would have occurred in the late 1920s or early 1930s. I never did find out how old Mom was when her father brought it home.

After my grandfather’s death in 1976, the household was distributed as is usual. Mom had been promised the table and she decided to go get it. Her older brother, Robert, lived in an apartment in the family home and was out when they arrived. He returned home to find a pick-up in the driveway that he immediately recognized as belonging to my Dad. Walking in, he found Mom and Dad in the dining room with the table flipped upside down, taking it apart to load in the truck. He joked that he had caught a couple of robbers before proceeding to help them load it.

The table resided in our kitchen at the farm for many years after that. It was small for just my parents and me at regular meals, but when family came over, the leaves were quickly added and it expanded to hold many people. After moving to Auburn, they had more furniture than they needed and the table wasn’t used. However, Mom wanted the kitchen table I had, to use as a craft table in the basement, so she refinished the old table and traded with me.

There are lots of other items scattered around the house, but these are probably the more unique ones of them. In actuality could the house be considered an heirloom? It is the house my parents bought and moved to when they left the farm along the lake. After my mother’s death, we bought it from the estate and live there now.