One of the reasons it's so interesting working at LIMM is how the little things end up making a big difference. Something as simple as showing kids around the Bayman's Cottage during a school tour. The things we adults just glance over and never really notice more than superficially. Like the sewing machine (shown left) in the Bayman's Cottage, for instance. Many of us come from an age where girls were required to take Homemaking or Home Economics in school, so we're more than familiar with sewing machines and the first blouse or skirt we had to make on them. Not so today. However, the sewing machine in the Bayman's Cottage serves a two-fold purpose. Not only does it remind visitors of a time when you didn't just run out to Target or Macy's to pick up an outfit, but its also a link to a hugely important part of the Long Island Maritime Museum. Were it not for that humble sewing machine, you would not be reading this now.
Frederick Gilbert Bourne was born on December 20, 1851, the son of Boston minister George Washington Bourne and his wife, Harriet Gilbert Bourne. The family moved to New York City, where Frederick attended public schools. Although the family was moderately well off, money was not available for college and Frederick found work as a clerk in the Mercantile Library. Besides being naturally industrious, it seems that Bourne was also known for his singing voice.
Frederick Gilbert Bourne, better known in the musical world a few years ago as the barytone (sic) soloist in the choir of the Church of St. Mary the Virgin, New York, was a third soloist at Trinity. At a special musical service given in the church these three boys (Ed: Bourne, Richard Coker and Theodore Toedt) sang the angels' trio from 'Elijah' and 'Lift Thine Eyes.
It was during one of his performances in the church choir that Frederick came to the attention of Alfred Corning Clark. Clark was himself a fine tenor and well-known music patron who regularly invited talented singers to evening gatherings in his mansion. After several hours of music making, the group would dine together and then relax while discussing world events. Apparently Frederick acquitted himself quite well. While his singing voice had opened the doors to this new world, his "good sense, mental alertness, good nature, and general capability" so impressed Clark that he offered the young man a job.
Alfred Clark's father, Edward, was the attorney and partner of Isaac Merritt Singer, the flamboyant inventor and president of the Singer Sewing Machine Company. The elder Clark had given up a partnership in a New York City law firm to become Singer's business partner. For the rest of his life he assiduously advanced the company's interests while Singer basked in the role of resident genius. On Singer's retirement to England, Clark created the Singer Manufacturing Company, giving Singer 40% of the stock. The Singer Company's early success was due in large measure to his brilliant management skills.
Alfred had hired Frederick to work in the family real estate business, managing his father's estates, which included the construction of the elder Clark's elaborate apartment house at 72nd Street and Central Park West - the Dakota. It is said that its name is an ironic reference to its distance from the urban core - at that time it was so far north that it was said to be in the Dakota Territory. For this reason, it was expected to be a financial failure and hence dubbed "Clark's Folly." Construction had barely started when Edward Clark died in 1882, and the job of directing the construction of the famed building fell to Frederick.
On Clark's death the Board of Directors honored his wish to allow Alfred to fill his seat on the board. Alfred did not, however, ascend to the presidency of…
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