Last week I discussed the Union Village Academy & it's founder & first principal James I. Laurie. This post is about his sister Mary Lourie Mattoon & her connection to a movie musical.
Mary Lourie was the granddaughter of James Irvine, the 1st supervisor of the Town of Jackson, and the daughter of George Lourie, officer in the War of 1812, which is currently celebrating its bicentennial. Her other brother Thomas B. Lourie was a local farmer. In June 1846 she married missionary Stephen Mattoon & they sailed for Siam (now Thailand) that July.
Stephen was the 1st US Consul in Bangkok from 1856-1859. Then he served as pastor of the First Church of Bangkok from 1860-1866. During this time he was engaged in translating the New Testament into Siamese & did not return to the US until the completion of this project in 1866.
During her time in Siam, Mary was involved in teaching the local girls English & how to become good Christians. She gave birth to one boy, Lourie (1850) who died in infancy, & two girls, Mary (1854) & Emma (1857). The Mattoon's also adopted a Siamese girl the called Esther. The family, minus Stephen, returned home in 1864 due to Mary's (mother, not daughter) poor health.
The family lived in Ballston Spa in Saratoga County, NY for a few years until Stephen took a position in North Carolina. The Mattoon family reocrds are held at the Presbyterian Historical Society in Philadelphia.
The Mattoon's were in Siam at the same time Anna Leonowens was teacher to the Siamese Court (1862-1867). Mary Mattoon is a minor character in the King and I a musical adaptation of Mary Landon's 1944 novel Anna and the King of Siam. I love musicals & will gladly give the King and I another viewing to catch Mary Lourie Mattoon!
Greenwich, NY
Showing posts with label James Lourie. Show all posts
Showing posts with label James Lourie. Show all posts
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Thursday, November 8, 2012
Education in Union Village
In the early 1830s, a Union College graduate named James Irvine Lourie came to Union Village (the present village of Greenwich) to start a private school. The venture proved a success, & in 1836 the Union Village Academy was formed with Lourie as principal.
James Lourie grew up in Jackson, & attended the Cambridge academy. In 1840, he resigned as principal & began practicing law with the Honorable Judge Charles F. Ingalls here in the village. Also in 1840 he married Mary Harriet Robinson. In 1854 he was elected to the NY State Assembly & became an ardent supporter of the Temperance Movement. In 1868 he was elected county surrogate judge. Judge Lourie died July 13, 1888.
The 1st building of the Union Village Academy stood where the Presbyterian parsonage stands. In 1849 the academy built the large brick building at 6 Academy Street.^ In 1869, the academy became part of the free public school system in Greenwich. By 1907, the building was condemned & sold to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows Lodge (IOOF). A new high school building was constructed on Gray Ave. The story goes that the Gray Ave site was decided by a vote of 277 to 276. The loosing site was on Bleeker St.* The new high school building burnt in 1926 & had to be reconstructed.
In 1850 Union Village Academy had 135 students. By 1937 the Greenwich School District had 756 students. Current enrollment is 1153 students.
Noteworthy students during the early years of the academy...
Daniel Anthony (brother of Susan B.)- governor of Kansas
Reverend James A. "Ticonderoga" Tefft- missionary to the West Coast of Africa
Chester Alan Arthur- 21st President of the US
^ Now the current home of the Village of Greenwich offices, the Greater-Greenwich Chaber of Commerce, the Greenwich Youth Center, & the fire department. The addition to the building is now condemned & the fire department is search for a safer location.
* Much of the above information can be found in History of Secondary Education in Washington County by Roscoe L. Williams. Originally produced as a Master's thesis in 1937, it was published in 1991 by the Fort Edward Historical Association & is available at their gift shop.
James Lourie grew up in Jackson, & attended the Cambridge academy. In 1840, he resigned as principal & began practicing law with the Honorable Judge Charles F. Ingalls here in the village. Also in 1840 he married Mary Harriet Robinson. In 1854 he was elected to the NY State Assembly & became an ardent supporter of the Temperance Movement. In 1868 he was elected county surrogate judge. Judge Lourie died July 13, 1888.
The 1st building of the Union Village Academy stood where the Presbyterian parsonage stands. In 1849 the academy built the large brick building at 6 Academy Street.^ In 1869, the academy became part of the free public school system in Greenwich. By 1907, the building was condemned & sold to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows Lodge (IOOF). A new high school building was constructed on Gray Ave. The story goes that the Gray Ave site was decided by a vote of 277 to 276. The loosing site was on Bleeker St.* The new high school building burnt in 1926 & had to be reconstructed.
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| Union Village Academy after it was sold to the IOOF |
In 1850 Union Village Academy had 135 students. By 1937 the Greenwich School District had 756 students. Current enrollment is 1153 students.
Noteworthy students during the early years of the academy...
Daniel Anthony (brother of Susan B.)- governor of Kansas
Reverend James A. "Ticonderoga" Tefft- missionary to the West Coast of Africa
Chester Alan Arthur- 21st President of the US
^ Now the current home of the Village of Greenwich offices, the Greater-Greenwich Chaber of Commerce, the Greenwich Youth Center, & the fire department. The addition to the building is now condemned & the fire department is search for a safer location.
* Much of the above information can be found in History of Secondary Education in Washington County by Roscoe L. Williams. Originally produced as a Master's thesis in 1937, it was published in 1991 by the Fort Edward Historical Association & is available at their gift shop.
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