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aQuestion AnsweredWho Was The Man Who Gave The Atwood Prises ?FRANK L. SWANN(Yates County Historian)At the forthcoming commencement of Penn Yan Academy for the 51st time, the superintendentof schools will read from the list of annual prizes, the awards that are known as the Alfred T. Atwood prizes—$10 for the best essay, boy or girl, on “Character Building/' $5 each to the best boy and girl speller; $5 each to the best writers, boy and girl, and prizes of $10, $7.50 and $2.50 for essays on . American history.Who was Alfred T. Atwood?reEach year from 1906 and since, this man’s name has been mentioned as the donor of these prizes and for a period of years the quadrennial award of a scholarship in the College of Liberal Arts at Syracuse university. yThe writer has lost count of the number of persons to whom he has posed this question, usually receiving the rather trite answer: “Isn’t he the one who gave the Atwood prizes?”Curiously the local papers of 1906, the Penn Yan Express and the Yates County Chronicle (the Penn Yan Democrats of that year are not available) tell of the setting up of the awards, but nothing concerning the man himself. After two or three months of research, the writer is not surprised, for while Mr. Atwood was a man of high principles, he was not one to undully advertise himself or his benefactions.The story told here pieces together bits of data received from Florida. Maryland, Massachusetts and Moravia4 N. Y., as yell as locally. Particularly helpful were Leslie L. Luther of Moravia and Mr. Atwood’s nephew and namesake, Alfred T. Comstock of Lynn, Mass.The son of Thomas and Martha Atwood, Alfred T. Atwood was born in Moravia, where a major part of his life centered, Sept. 12, 1832.Early Penn Yan BusinessmanWhen in his 20’s, he came to Penn Yan in the early 1850’s. What lead him here we do not know. Several business men of that period came to Penn Yan from Moravia. He had worked here as a clerk in one of the typical general stores of that era. He made an impresison for his ability and integrity. When Myron Hamlin purchased the interest of Samuel R. Fish in the firm of Bruen Fish by whom young Atwood had been employed, he attracted the attention of Jared Howes Munson, who in December 1856 had purchased the established business of T. Sharpe Co.In September 1857 the firm became Munson Atwood, operating at the present location of Conrad Tunney’s shoe store. In the spring of 1860 they moved their stock and business to Harmony-ville (now Pulteney). The Elmen-dorf diary in 1867 refers to him as part owner of a grist mill at Branchport and the owner of a Pulteney vineyard. (Whether fact or fancy).Soon came the Civil war and Mr. Atwood enlisted. He participated in several engagements and at Gettysburg his horse was shot from under him. By the close of the war he was a captain in the Quartermaster’s corps, serving under General George G. Meade. In (Continued next.week)
Newspaper Details
Penn Yan Chronicle Express
Penn Yan, New York, US
Thu, Jun 21, 1956
Page 24
Full Page
Clipped by
Midpointe L.
OH, USA 30 May 2024
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