McEchron’s Mark — “Thank you tea”

William and Sarah McEchron hosted fellow parishioners of Glens Falls Methodist Episcopal Church at a “thank you tea” at their home on March 21, 1890.

It was a social event to celebrate reasons to be thankful and to raise funds for the Glens Falls Methodist Episcopal Mission Band to support two orphan children in India.

“The members will present envelopes, each containing money and a slip of paper upon which is noted something for which the contributor has special reasons to give thanks,” The Morning Star of Glens Falls reported on March 17. “The slips will be read, and the money added to the fund.”

Admission was 25 cents — the equivalent of $8.61 in 2024 dollars — and attendees could give whatever additional donation which they pleased.

There would be a program of music and recitations.

It would be among the last social events before the house was demolished to build a new house that now is the Morgan & Co. restaurant.

Work to demolish the old brick house was set to begin in a few days, The Morning Star reported on April 23.

“The work of demolishing the residence of William McEchron, corner of Ridge and Maple streets, is progressing rapidly,” The Morning Star reported on May 1.

On May 9, The Morning Star reported that demolition was about completed.

“Work on the new building will not be rushed as this structure is to be first class. It is thought that it will be finished in less than eighteen months.”

Building materials soon arrived.

“C. L. Holman shipped from Nyack-on-the-Hudson last Saturday a boat load of red sandstone for William McEchron’s house on Ridge Street,” The Morning Star reported on June 11.

More building materials would arrive in July.

“The canal boat W.S. Whitney arrived here last evening with another load of red granite, which is being used in the construction of William McEchron’s new house on Ridge Street,” The Morning Star reported on July 16.

“The stonework for the first story of William McEchron’s new dwelling house, Ridge Street, is about completed,” The Morning Star reported on Aug. 14.

The stonework was finished Sept. 6, The Morning Star reported on Sept. 8.

“The lintels and caps are nicely embellished with scroll work done by J.J. Lynch.

On Sept. 29, the Glens Falls Board of Trustees authorized McEchron to construct his new home partially of wood.

“Workmen are engaged in grading and otherwise improving the grounds surrounding the handsome new residence of William McEchron,” The Morning Star reported on Nov. 6.

On Dec. 4, The Morning Star reported: “A hot water system of heating is being installed at William McEchron’s new residence.”

In other McEchron family news collected from historic newspapers of the region:

• It was a busy, few days for William McEchron.

On Jan. 15, 1894, he was elected president of the St. Maurice Lumber Co., a group of Glens Falls area and Ticonderoga investors that owned and managed forest land in Canada.

On Jan. 16, McEchron attended a reception that Gov. Roswell P. Flower held in Albany.

Apparently McEchron missed the Glens Falls Methodist Episcopal church quarterly conference, at which he was appointed to the committees on mission and estimating the pastor’s salary.

Wife, Sarah McEchron, was appointed to the committee on the parsonage and furniture.

On Jan. 17, he participated in the annual meeting of the Glens Falls Insurance Co.

“The annual election of the ‘Old and Tried,’” as the insurance company was commonly known, “are generally uneventful, and yesterday was no exception,” The Morning Star of Glens Falls reported on Jan. 18.

And then, it was time to get ready for vacation.

“Mr. and Mrs. William McEchron expect to leave next Monday for Florida, where they will spend the remainder of the winter.”

The couple returned to Glens Falls on March 10.

• “Mr. and Mrs. William McEchron, Miss Elizabeth McEchron and Mr. and Mrs. H.A. Bowden (daughter and son-in-law) and children returned from South Lake N.J., where they have been recreating for several weeks,” The Morning Star reported on Aug. 4, 1894.
• “William McEchron leaves on Monday for an extended trip, in which he will combine business with pleasure,” The Morning Star reported on Aug. 11, 1894. “He will be accompanied by the Rev. Dr. Hulburd. They will go through the Blue Mountain Lake region, to Norwood, St. Lawrence County, and thence to Three Rivers, Canada.”
• “The selection of William McEchron to succeed Judge Brown as a member of the Board of Education was a judicious move,” The Morning Star editorialized on Feb. 5, 1895. “Mr. McEchron is a man of real experience whose conservative council will be invaluable.”
• Sarah McEchron was elected to the executive committee of the Philomela Charity Fund, which assisted the poor in Glens Falls, The Morning Star reported on Feb. 5, 1895.

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