Hornby Historical Society
Town of
Hornby
   Steuben County, New York

Hornby Historical Society

Ruth Haradon and Lillian Adams had a dream of having a town museum.
They had thought about all that was common when they were kids and how little
the children of today knew about them. (See photos below)

Then the Corning City School District abandoned a one room school in Hornby Forks.
The town bought the building for $1 and has allowed the Hornby Historical Society
to use it for their museum.


The Hornby Historical Society Museum
Former Town Historian Susan Moore on the porch
A better picture and more about Sue


~HORNBY UNEARTHED~
NEWSLETTER PUBLISHED BY
~HORNBY HISTORICAL SOCIETY~
185 SOUTH PLACE ~ CORNING, NY 14830
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JUNE 1999
Selected Sections

OFFICERS                                                         BOARD OF DIRECTORS

               President: Richard Johnson                                                  Milton Adams     Susan Moore
               Vice President: Susan Moore                                                            Laura Lehman
              Secretary: Marleah Johnson                                                              Richard Pierce
               Treasurer: Bill Haradon                                                                    Francis Hamilton

Yearly dues for joining the Historical Society and receiving the newsletter
are $3.00 for individuals and $5.00 for couples.

                 HORNBY HISTORICAL SOCIETY BUSINESS NEWS

   May 18, 1999 meeting: Election of Officers held. Susan Moore was elected as Vice
   President and the remaining three posts were reelected all for one year terms. Laura
   Lehman and Susan Moore were reelected as members of the Board of Directors for
   three year terms. President Richard Johnson has ordered pens with "Hornby
   Historical Society/Hornby Museum" imprinted on them. They are a high quality,
   refillable pen and will be available for a $4.00 donation. A supply will be on display at
   the museum this summer and they will also be available at the Hornby picnic. They
   should prove to be a successful fund raiser for the Historical Society.

   June 15, 1999 meeting: Dick Pierce brought two early 1900's era scrapbooks that had
   been owned by his father. They were large, hard bound books in excellent condition
   containing early advertisements, postcards and greeting cards. We all enjoyed tooking
   through them and being reminded of how life was "in the old days". Under the
   Queries category, some interesting questions were asked. Does anyone know of a
   hospital in Hornby that was in existence about 1900 in the Dry Run Road area? Also,
   a Hornby farmer mentions in his 1890's diary that he made a delivery to "Minkville"
   and it took him one day to complete the round trip. Does anyone know where
   Minkville was? And last, but not least, what about "Muttonville Road" in Hornby?
   Several members remember hearing the name when they were growing up but there is
   no road named that now. Does anyone know where Muttonville Road was? Answers
   to any or all of these questions would be greatly welcomed!

                                 *******************************************************

                                               HISTORIAN'S NOTES
                                                  By Susan Moore

   In the museum's book collection there are three ledger books that, when filled, were
then put into use as scrapbooks for newspaper clippings and other family mementos.
(Waste not, want not). One of these books, once owned by Jessie Humphrey Wheat,
contained a letter dated from Hornby, September 8th, 1872. It reads as follows:

Dear Sister Margaret,
   Your Mother Gardner wished to send Peter 's letter to you & wanted me to write a few
lines on the back, to let you know how she is prospering.
   She is about as usual, not very strong but does her chores [illegible] to her house-
[illegible] Peter's visit was so [next line on fold of letter - illegible] realize that he has
been here.
   She wants to know if there is a girl there by the name of Fannie or was she left in
Homer. She thought perhaps she was left behind as she has not heard from her as late.
Lettie came home to visit with her Grandma Coryell & Mrs. L--gles, but returned to
Barrington last Sat.- She liked them very much & seems to improve for her [next 2 words
illegible] fast. Ma is very feeble this summer & has a very bad cough & seems failing in
strength.
  Mr. Gardner* was buried a week ago last Wednesday. Has been a great sufferer for a
long rime, but now he is at rest.  Emily is at Williamsport now. Mrs. Hill went to Big
Flatts last week & does not intend to return to H again before she goes west. Wish she
would not go back we all want her to stay.
   Will not write much at this time. Seems a pity to spoil Peter's nice letter with such
scribbling. Tell Will I shall not write from Warsaw at present. Your Mother sends lots of
love to you all. Write to us soon. Will write more & better [illegible] time.
                                                       Your Friend
                                                         Vira

*Mr. Gardner is Henry Gardner b. 1783 and d. 1872, buried at Central Valley Cemetery,
Hornby.

Some archived "Historian's Notes" are on the History page.




Corning Leader photo

circa 1958
Ruth Haradon (top)
Elizabeth Rogers Jewett
and
Lillian Adams
holding Mrs. Jewett's grandson
David Sharman

Corning Leader photo

circa 1958
Clarence R. Adams, Holly Stephens and Fred L. Rogers
admiring an ox yoke owned by Jesse Bassage
which was donated to the museum by his widow
Ora Hendrick Jimerson Bassage


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