LIEUTENANT PRINCIPAL WILSON MILITARY ACADEMY FINDERNE NJ FIRE LETTER SIGNED 1912
Item History & Price
| Reference Number: Avaluer:288942 | Modified Item: No |
| Country/Region of Manufacture: United States |
LT. LEROYMERLE WILSON (1874 – 19_)AMERICAN MILITARY EDUCATOR, PRINCIPAL OF THE WILSON MILITARYACADEMY IN FINDERNE and MADISON, NEW JERSEY1ST LIEUTENANT OF THEMINNESOTA HOME GUARD IN THE MINNESOTA MILITARY FORCES&CORNELL UNIVERSITY-EDUCATED ELECTRICALand MECHANICAL ENGINEERHERE’S ANAUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED BY WILSON ON “WILSONMILITARY ACADEMY, FINDERNE, NJ” LETTERHEAD, [WRITTEN SHORTLY AFTER THE FIRE THAT BURNED DOWNTHE SCHOOL] 1p, DATED AT PO BOX 231, MORRISTOWN, NJ [D...EC. 5, 1912] TO REV. J. T. SCOTT ATSOMERVILLE, NJ, ACKNOWLEDGING A CHECK FOR HIS SON’S SCHOOL EXPENSES. WILSON WRITES, IN PART:“…Wishall our patrons had been as prompt. Some seem to think the fire discharged them of any obligation to settle, & the further away they live the harder it has been to get anything, sothat at the present time we still have a lot of money due us that we needbadly…”“…Nextyear I will either be at the head of my own school…or take the best position Ican with some larger or well known schoolThe stampedtransmittal envelope cover is present with a Dec. 5, 1912 Morristown CDSPostmark.The document measures 8½” x 11” and isin VG condition.<<>> Wilson Military Academy Fire, 1912On the night of May 6, 1912, afterlights out and just before evening inspection, a young cadet attending theWilson Military Academy at Finderne, NJ secretly extinguished a contrabandcigarette and hid the remains near his dormitory bunk. Just hours later thesmoldering stub ignited the blaze that burned the school to the ground.Captain Joel Wilson, the owner and principal at the academy, wasborn in Maine around 1840, and was pursuing a career in education at the outsetof the Civil War. He had just accepted a position as principal of an academy inPortland, Maine when the call went out for volunteers. He served in the 1stMaine cavalry for four years with never a request for furlough. His regimentserved under General Philip Sheridan. Before the war’s end, he was promoted tothe rank of Captain. At the end of the war, he continued his career ineducation - first at an academy in Newton, NJ, and then as proprietor of theHudson River Military Academy in Nyack, NY.Some time around 1907, Captain Wilsonmoved the academy to the top of a hill in Finderne, eventually changing thename to Wilson Military Academy.Along with the name change came atuition increase from $360 to $400 for the term. This included tuition, board, laundry, mending, and use of horses for riding and recreation. Amenitiesincluded a wireless telegraphy station, electric light, steam heat, andplentiful athletic fields.One of the 50 cadets - aged 8 to 18 -saw the smoke, sounded the alarm, and went to wake Captain Wilson. Newspapersnoted that the military discipline employed by the boys likely saved lives inwhat could have been a terrible tragedy. Not a single life was lost, and manyof the cadets were able to save their personal effects by throwing their trunksfrom the windows as the rapidly spreading fire consumed the entire framestructure.Older boys valiantly manned the firehose while the younger cadets formed a bucket brigade in an effort to savetheir beloved school. Some of the older boys attempted to reenter the buildingto retrieve the school colors, but were held back by Captain Wilson as theblaze was too great.Captain Wilson did notrebuild at Finderne, but instead bought 50 acres at Madison, NJ. reestablishingthe academy there.Source: The View From Hillsborough – Central New JerseyHistory and Views Greg Gillette, July 29, 2016 <<>> L. MERLE WILSON Name: L Merle Wilson Age: 46 Birth Year: abt 1874 Birthplace: Maine Home in 1920: Minneapolis Ward 8, Hennepin, Minnesota Street: Colfax Ave So House Number: 2405 Residence Date: 1920 Race: White Gender: Male Relation to Head of House: Head Marital status: Married Spouse's name: Florence D Wilson Father's Birthplace: Maine Mother's Birthplace: Maine Able to Speak English: Yes Occupation: Teacher Industry: Private School Employment Field: Wage or Salary Home Owned or Rented: Rent Able to Read: Yes Able to Write: Yes Name: Leory Merle Wilson
[Leroy Mule Wilson] Race: White Birth Date: 1 May 1874 Street address: 2405 Colfax Ave Residence Place: Minneapolis, Hennepin, Minnesota, USA Relative: Florence D. Wilson Relative's Relationship: Wife NOTES re LEROY MERLE WILSONLeroy Merle Wilson Mechanical Engineer 94 Rockland Institute, NyackLeroy Merle Wilson attended Sibley College of Engineering at Cornell University, Leroy Merle Wilson, Newton NJ, Electrical Engineering C U CA CAC Treas CCCC 4 Pres
Presbyterian Union 3 4 2d Lieut 3 Electrical Society (From Cornell University)Leroy Merle Wilson Design of an Electric Lighting Plant for the Town of Newton New JerseyThe design of an electric railway system andelectric lighting plant Thesis (M. E. in E.E.)--Cornell University, 1895.About twenty of the former pupils and graduates of the Wilson Military Academy gave a
banquet at the Somerset Hotel in Plainfield, NJ, Wednesday night, followed by a dance at
the De Forest House Casino. Lieutenant L. Merle Wilson, who was connected with the
Military Academy which recently burned at Finderne, New Jersey, is at Lake Hopatcong
with about twenty of the boys. Source: PLAINFIELD DAILY PRESS, FRIDAY, JUNE
21, 1912.Instructor's manual for Foundations of college mathematics by William E. Kline, Robert
Oesterle & Leroy M. Wilson, New York, American Book Co. 667 p. Portions previously
published in Teacher's manual and key for Foundations of advanced mathematics NM I am a proud member of theUniversal Autograph Collectors Club (UACC), The Ephemera Society of America, the Manuscript Society and the American Political Items Collectors (APIC)(member name: John Lissandrello). I subscribe to each organizations' code ofethics and authenticity is guaranteed. ~Providing quality service andhistorical memorabilia online for over twenty years.~
WE ONLY SELL GENUINE ITEMS, i.e., NO REPRODUCTIONS, FAKES OR COPIES!
[Leroy Mule Wilson] Race: White Birth Date: 1 May 1874 Street address: 2405 Colfax Ave Residence Place: Minneapolis, Hennepin, Minnesota, USA Relative: Florence D. Wilson Relative's Relationship: Wife NOTES re LEROY MERLE WILSONLeroy Merle Wilson Mechanical Engineer 94 Rockland Institute, NyackLeroy Merle Wilson attended Sibley College of Engineering at Cornell University, Leroy Merle Wilson, Newton NJ, Electrical Engineering C U CA CAC Treas CCCC 4 Pres
Presbyterian Union 3 4 2d Lieut 3 Electrical Society (From Cornell University)Leroy Merle Wilson Design of an Electric Lighting Plant for the Town of Newton New JerseyThe design of an electric railway system andelectric lighting plant Thesis (M. E. in E.E.)--Cornell University, 1895.About twenty of the former pupils and graduates of the Wilson Military Academy gave a
banquet at the Somerset Hotel in Plainfield, NJ, Wednesday night, followed by a dance at
the De Forest House Casino. Lieutenant L. Merle Wilson, who was connected with the
Military Academy which recently burned at Finderne, New Jersey, is at Lake Hopatcong
with about twenty of the boys. Source: PLAINFIELD DAILY PRESS, FRIDAY, JUNE
21, 1912.Instructor's manual for Foundations of college mathematics by William E. Kline, Robert
Oesterle & Leroy M. Wilson, New York, American Book Co. 667 p. Portions previously
published in Teacher's manual and key for Foundations of advanced mathematics NM I am a proud member of theUniversal Autograph Collectors Club (UACC), The Ephemera Society of America, the Manuscript Society and the American Political Items Collectors (APIC)(member name: John Lissandrello). I subscribe to each organizations' code ofethics and authenticity is guaranteed. ~Providing quality service andhistorical memorabilia online for over twenty years.~
WE ONLY SELL GENUINE ITEMS, i.e., NO REPRODUCTIONS, FAKES OR COPIES!
