Holland Land Office Museum

Ryan Duffy is 18 months into his job as director of the Holland Land Office Museum and members of the Genesee County Legislature have taken notice of the improvements he's made to the local history destination.

Several members praised him Monday after he give his annual review report to the Human Services Committee.

"Two years ago or three years ago there was significant activity and concern about the museum," said Robert Bausch, chairman of the legislature. "I just want to compliment you. The issues that we raised are being addressed and addressed in a positive way. I just want to congratulate you."

During his presentation, Duffy laid out some of the activities at the museum, which include continuing the just-completed History Heroes summer camp, cataloging more than 8,000 items at the museum, bringing in more groups to use space at the museum for meetings, bringing in more guest speakers, and starting a Java with Joe morning speakers series.

Duffy also brought back the annual antique show at Batavia Downs, which this year had vendors from as far away as Syracuse and Binghampton and brought in 450 visitors.

The museum also continues to grow as a tourist destination. Duffy said in 2017, nearly half of all people who visited the museum were from outside Genesee County.

Duffy also suggested people start thinking about their Wonderland of Trees decorations. This year's theme will be "favorite holiday movies."

"You’ve done fantastic," said Legislator John Deleo. "You’ve energized everybody including the board."

During his presentation Monday, Duffy also mentioned two recent acquisitions by the museum.  

Top photo: Six pictures of Gen. Emory Upton. The larger picture on the left is from the West Point yearbook when Upton was an instructor at the academy. The other five are of Upton during the Civil War, showing Upton as a young lieutenant fresh out of West Point through the end of the war when he was a brevet major general (brevet means a temporary promotion usually awarded for valor or exceptionalism; Upton was a brigadier general prior to the brevet promotion).

The photos were obtained from a private collector.

"The pictures show not only the change in himself over time but also his change in rank," Duffy said. "We didn’t have anything like that before. We had later things of him but not something tracing his career. We had the beginning and the end but not the middle."

Bottom photo: A painting of Henry Glowacki on a piece of ivory. Glowacki was a prominent citizen of Batavia in the second half of the 19th century and he had a pretty fascinating biography. Born in 1816, the son of a Polish general, Glowacki was promoted to major in the Polish Army at age 17. He was probably part of the November Uprising, when a group of young officers rebelled against Russian rule of part of their homeland (source). The officers were banished from Poland. He intended to make exile in Illinois but he came into contact with David Ellicott Evans, then manager of the Holland Land Office. Evans hired Glowacki, though he was still only 19 and didn't speak or read English. Within four years, he mastered the language and studied law under H. J. Redfield and he married Mary Redfield. He passed the New York State Bar in 1840 and became a prominent local attorney. He was chairman of the local Democratic Party, a recruiter during the Civil War, a Village of Batavia trustee, an original trustee of the NYS Blind School, and he donated land for the first hospital in Batavia.

Prior to obtaining the painting -- about the size of an egg -- the only pictures HLOM had of Glowacki were as an old man with mutton chops, Duffy said.

Museum staff located the painting while attending an antique show. It is etched on the back with Glowacki's name and his date of birth and death.

The museum already possessed his Polish army uniform and a paperweight he used while employed at the land office.

The Holland Land Office Museum hosted its annual penny carnival Thursday for children participating in the History Heroes summer program.

Below is a photo submitted by Tiff Plimpton of Carson Colantonio and Ben Landers.

Photo of HOLM Director Ryan Duffy, assistant Nellie Slocum, and History Heroes coordinator Anne Marie Starowitz at the Holland Land Office Museum yesterday.

They're gearing up for the annual History Heros summer program.

More information:

The 2018 Holland Land Office Museum will again be conducting its History Heroes Summer Program.

The program is an eight-day camp for local youths from the ages of 7 to 12 to learn more about the local history of Genesee County and Western New York in a fun and educational environment.

The theme of this year's camp is "Summer Days at the Museum."

The campers will be busy with all sorts of fun and educational activities and projects.

Some of the highlights of History Heroes include: a field trip to the Buffalo and Erie County Naval Park; a visit by animals of the rainforest courtesy of the Buffalo Zoo's Zoomobile; tours of the museum and historic Batavia; a trip to the movies; penny carnival; end of program presentation, and much more.

The dates for the History Heroes this summer will be July 17th through July 20th, and July 24th through July 27th, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day. Those who wish to attend can sign up for all eight days, or for individual days.

The cost per day is $25, or $20 for museum members, excluding the field trip day. Please contact the Holland Land Office Museum for further information at 343-4727 or at hollandlandoffice@gmail.com.

The information for the History Heroes Summer Program is also available on the museum's website hollandlandoffice.com.

The Holland Land Office Museum would also like to thank the sponsors for this year's History Heroes, who without their generous donations the program would not be what it is today: Ken's Charcoal Pits, Batavia Showtime, T-Shirts Etc., Tompkins Insurance, Bontrager's Auction, Tonawanda Valley Federal Credit Union, Artic Refrigeration, Batavia's Original, Batavia Turf Farms, Bohm-Calarco-Smith Funeral Home, Jim Dommer -- CPA, J. Leonard McAndrew Funeral Home, Kreative Design Kitchen & Bath, DelPlato Casey Law Firm, Edward Jones, Ficarella's Pizzeria, Lambert's Design Jewelers, Max Pies Furniture, Pellegrino Auto Sales, The Batavian, Valle Jewelers.

Batavia's rich art history doesn't get a lot of attention, except, maybe, from Ryan Gaebler, who was among the vendors this year with a booth at the Holland Land Office Museum's annual antique show and sale at Batavia Downs this weekend.

About six years ago, Gaebler bought a couple of paintings from Dave Thompson at the flea market at the Genesee County Fairgrounds and Thompson started talking with him about local artists he enjoyed and collected. So Gaebler started keeping an eye out for works by local artists at estate sales, auctions and online.

For Gaebler, collecting works by local artists has become a passion.

"There is great art history in Genesee County, more specifically, Batavia —  the Masons, Roy, Max, Nina Mason Booth, Pat Burr, Rose Pontillo Dicarlo, Virginia Carr Mumford, R.W. Ware, I just love them all," he said. "It’s a lot of great history and a lot of great art."

Gaebler buys pictures to collect them but generally, his collection is for sale.

"I buy them because I love them and I collect them but they’re also for sale," Gaebler said. "I don’t sell a lot. I love to collect them until they sell but if they don’t sell, well, it’s not a big deal if I don’t sell them."

For those interested in buying local art, Gaebler can be reached at ryjon88@yahoo.com.

An oil painting, a watercolor, and a sketch by Roy Mason, perhaps Batavia's most renowned artist. The oil painting, Gaebler said, is, he thinks, Mason's finest work in oil.

There is a letter from Mason that goes with the watercolor that talks about the piece, adding to its value.

Michael Welch, co-owner of Welch and Craine in Batavia, with a pastel portrait of Gen. Henry Warner Slocum, who was originally from Central New York, served in the Civil War and served two terms in Congress.

Picture of Holland Land Office and image of Joseph Ellicott provided by Anne Marie Starowitz.

Anne Marie Starowitz, who serves on the board of the Holland Purchase Historical Society, reminded us today that "every antique has a story to tell."

The reminder comes in time to mention again that the Holland Land Office Museum is currently preparing for its 12^th Annual Batavia Antique Show & Sale April 6-7 at Batavia Downs.

Before retiring from a 45-year teaching career in Le Roy and Batavia, the lifelong Batavia resident says she delighted in taking her fourth-grade students on tours of the museum.

She would explain to the children what an antique was -- a collectable object such as a piece of furniture or work of art that has a high value because of its age and quality, and that has a personal value because of its story.

A large gold mirror on display at the museum happens to be the subject of one of her favorite stories -- and pictures.

Archived as number "90.699   Mirror, Wall" -- it is described as a "Pier mirror; plate glass with rococo gold gilded frame. 51x108. Gesso design of roses, vines and leaves; stands on a wooden base with similar gesso design; 4 legs, 10 inches high; topped with marble slab."

"What I tell the children when I show them the beautiful mirror is that it stood in Dean Richmond’s home on Main Street. ... That brings me to the parking lot next to St. Joseph’s Church and the black wrought-iron fence. I ask them to imagine a very big white house with big pillars standing proudly in the space where you park your car when you visit the library or go to church.

"That will then take me to the story of the library, the beautiful original room dedicated to Dean Richmond Junior by his mother Mary Richmond. Dean Junior died at a young age and a plaque over the fireplace explains how the library got its name.

"I have a favorite picture of mine with one of my classes sitting in front of the mirror. This beautiful mirror stood in grandeur in a living room in the Dean Richmond Mansion."

Another beloved olden object at the museum is a desk.

​"93.148    Desk, drop-front" -- "Drop front desk, constructed of mahogany wood; Sheraton style butler's type. Birdseye maple desk interior; parallel sides; 4 drawers, top one of which drops to form a writing surface; interior has bottom section of three open cubby holes with drawers at sides; three graduated height drawers at front; 4 turned legs at bottom. Purchased from the great granddaughter of Robert Morris with the desk originally coming from the Morris home in Philadelphia."

"Since my students at the time went to Robert Morris School, seeing a desk that belonged to Robert Morris was quite exciting," Starowitz recalled. "A signer of the Declaration of Independence and the United State Constitution sat at this desk. It makes the history come alive."

Her favorite person from local history is Joseph Ellicott, the founder of Buffalo and Batavia. His surveying equipment is displayed in the museum. The room where he sold land to the first settlers to this area creates an image of the great man in the minds of the children, according to Starowitz.

"Either you like antiques or you don’t," Starowitz said. "It is just a preference. I for one love antiques, every piece of furniture we own or piece of art has a story that we like to share with family and friends."

She encourages those who would like to see antiques, artifacts, learn their stories, view the displays, to visit the Holland Land Office Museum. Hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.

"A side note, if you have an antique, write your story about it, tape it to the underside or someplace on your antique where its story can continue."

And, of course, she encourages the antique aficionados to stop by the 12^th Annual Batavia Antique Show & Sale next month.

Press release:

The Holland Land Office Museum will be hosting the 12^th Annual Batavia Antique Show and Sale on Friday and Saturday, April 6^th & 7^th. The antique show will take place at the Batavia Downs Gaming & Hotel located at 8315 Park Road, Batavia.

The show opens at 5 p.m. on Friday, April 6^th and continues until 8 p.m. It reopens Saturday, April 7^th at 9 a.m. and ends at 3 p.m. The admission is $5 per person, which helps support the museum to continue to hosts events and programming for the community.

The Batavia Antique Show and Sale is an annual event that brings together antique dealers, collectors and vendors from across Western New York, the Southern Tier, Central New York, and even out-of-state.

It contains a wide variety of vendors displaying many different and unique items, including: jewelry, glassware, books, and much more.

Each attendee will receive with their purchase of a ticket a $5 Free Play to be used at Batavia Downs. In addition, Saturday admission is free with the proof of Friday attendance.

For more information about the 12^th Annual Batavia Antique Show and Sale, please contact the Holland Land Office Museum at 585-343-4727 or hollandlandoffice@gmail.com

Press release:

Tonight at the Richmond Memorial Library (19 Ross St., Batavia) from 7:30 to 8:30 "No Blarney" will be performing traditional Irish music with Rich Conroy and Don Bouchard.

This free program is sponsored by the library.

Then on Thursday the duo performs again at the Holland Land Office (131 W. Main St., Batavia) from 7-9 p.m.; cost is $5.

David Fitzpatrick, the author of "Emory Upton: Misunderstood Reformer," spoke about his book and what he learned about the Civil War officer who was born and raised in Batavia while researching and writing the book.

At 10 a.m., Fitzpatrick will participate in a panel discussion with local historians at Genesee Community College in the Conable Technology Building, room T119.

Previously: New book corrects the record on Emory Upton's attitude toward the military and the Republic

A group of veterans being treated at the PTSD clinic in Batavia got a special Valentine this afternoon at the Holland Land Office Museum.

Students participating in a history class there presented each of the veterans with a patriotic Valentine's Day card that they made themselves.

Anne Marie Starowitz also presented a $250 check to the veterans, a donation to the clinic or however they want to use it. She said they could throw a party for themselves if that's what they wanted to do with the money.

The money comes from the sale of her book, “Back in the Day, Snapshots of Local History, the Way I See It!”

Starowitz said she was inspired to make the donation and support the veterans after a group from the PTSD clinic in Batavia visited the museum and she felt so moved to meet them and learn something about them.

Several of their veterans expressed their gratitude, including ones who said the gesture was so meaningful because they are currently separated from their own children while undergoing treatment and they miss their kids.

"One of the symptoms I deal with is kind of numbing everything out, but this really cracked through the ice," said one veteran. "This is special."

Carl, who served two terms in Iraq, said the cards meant a lot to him but wanted to remind the children that the word "hero" has a special meaning.

"To us, hero means the people who didn't come home," Carl said. "That's something that we hold dear to our hearts and I'm sure you do, too, but on the other hand, it's people like you guys who are willing to do this and support us and happy to do it that make it easy for us to go over there and fight."