farmauction

"W. Archer Thompson" not Warcher

This appears to have been the scene, on November 1, 1913, of a big auction at the Long Island farm of the late New York Mayor William Jay Gaynor, who had died in September. Items at auction included Gaynor's horses and farm animals, and drew a crowd of 1,000. The New York Times of January 28, 1892, reported the wedding of William Archer Thompson and Louise Schermerhorn Little. [They sound like the names of Edith Wharton characters.] Among the wedding guests was Miss Moller, and her mother, Mrs. Moller. Former (and future) President Grover Cleveland had been invited, but sent regrets. When this photo was taken, Mrs. Butler Duncan had been a widow for over a year. Her husband, William Butler Duncan II, had been a New York banker and president of a railroad before his death on March 30, 1912.

Richard: Thanks for the correction. Will sumit for update to the catalog record.

Those aren't water towers in the background, those are silos.

This is true, but I can't find anywhere that they are referred to as water towers...

could it be the one on the right with the ladder is a water tower and the left is a silo?

mainja, the water tower reference is in the tags

My guess is that they both are silage towers. No water at all.

The one at left may have been a corn crib or some other sort of granary.

This appears to have been the scene, on November 1, 1913, of a big auction at the Long Island farm of the late New York Mayor William Jay Gaynor, who had died in September. Items at auction included Gaynor's horses and farm animals, and drew a crowd of 1,000. The J. E. Smith Haddens had an estate called Hempstead Farm, near Hempstead, Long Island, on Meadow Brook Road, not far from the Meadow Brook Hunt Club and polo grounds. The woman in this photo probably is Mrs. Smith Hadden -- not "Miss." Bain has mistaken her marital status. A NYT news item from 1899 recalls an earlier adventure of Mrs. J. E. Smith Hadden with a horse and an employee named John Kelly. [The John Kelly in this photo looks too big to have been a jockey.] "MRS. J. E. SMITH HADDEN IN A RUNAWAY" "Hempstead, L. I. (April 8) Mrs. J. E. Smith Hadden's pony ran away today. A groom named Kelly was driving her through the village. Mrs. Hadden, who is a member of the Meadow Brook Hunt Club, and an expert horsewoman, jumped from the cart and escaped injury. Kelly could not stop the pony and was thrown out. His shoulder was dislocated. The pony ran into the wagon of George Sessions, and was stopped. The animal escaped injury." ---New York Times, April 9, 1899.