As some newspapers do today, the Amsterdam Morning Sentinel printed advertisements on its front page on September 17, 1886.
Albany jeweler Henry Rowlands had the largest large front page ad and other large ads were taken by Bradford & Dickinson at 46 East Main Street and Larrabee & Barnes, then at 38 East Main.
Bradford wanted people to buy Town and Country mixed paints, “It is conceded by all to be the best paint in the market.”
Larrabee’s was pushing stoves, ranges, furnaces and much more, “Hardware iron and nails, blacksmiths’ supplies, saddlery, wheels, horse blankets, halters, collars, whips, guns, Dupont gunpowder, hay wire and carpenters’ tools.”
If you didn’t want to invest in a new stove, Harvey Chalmers at 23 East Main would repair “any stove made,” promising the lowest prices.
The Central Hotel, Ernst Kurlbaum proprietor, advertised moderate terms at its 12 Market Street location, plus choice wines, liquors, lager and cigars always on hand. Grocer L. Ostrom promised the best brands of flour were always on hand at his East Main and Schuyler Street location, along with family groceries, teas, coffees and spices.
Reasonable terms were promised at Wilmot’s Livery Stable on Spring Street, which we know as Guy Park Avenue. Horses and carriages were available at all times of the day or night.
Providing meats on short notice was a selling point for J. B. Sprague, advertised as the Market Street butcher.
JOSEPH CORNELL
Fulton County historian Peter Betz is a native of Amsterdam in neighboring Montgomery County and has added to the story of 19th century Amsterdam farmer and businessman Joseph Cornell.
Carpet magnate Stephen Sanford bought Cornell’s house at 61 Church Street in 1869, according to city historian Robert von Hasseln. Through the years, Sanford and his son John renovated and expanded the structure. In 1932, John Sanford conveyed the property for one dollar to the city, which has used it as the City Hall ever since.
Von Hasseln said it appears likely the main house at 61 Church was built by Cornell in the early 1850s, possibly using a foundation from an earlier home on the site built by S. and A. Waters.
Betz has found that Cornell was born in Queens, New York in 1778 and was listed in the 1830 census as a resident of Southampton on Long Island. He moved to Amsterdam in 1833.
In 1843, Cornell and ten other people united with the Presbyterian Church. Land for the then new Green Hill Cemetery was purchased from Cornell in the 1850s, about the time he built his home at 61 Church Street. Cornell’s son was the first person buried in the cemetery. Cornell’s wife was a woman named Maria Stryker from New York City. She died in 1868.
After selling his Amsterdam home to Sanford in 1869, Cornell moved to Brooklyn to live with a nephew. He returned to Amsterdam in 1870 to attend the dedication ceremony for the new Presbyterian Church on Church Street. That building was destroyed by fire in year 2000. The new United Presbyterian Church currently stands on the site.
Cornell took sick while visiting Amsterdam. According to his obituary from June 8, “Attended by his nephew from Brooklyn, he traveled about town calling upon his numerous friends and as it seemed to be, these were his farewell calls. The deceased was much respected by all who knew him. He died after a few hours of illness (at the Amsterdam Hotel) in his 92nd year.”
Cornell was buried from the residence of Mrs. G.W. Stryker. His funeral service was the first one held at the new Presbyterian Church. His grave is in Green Hill Cemetery.
