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11 M | ... - —— - — — m*m ^- — ■■ — ■ *■»«-« ■ -««*■«■-Pompey Stone, Hoax Center, Sought for Local MuseumPresident 'Richard N. Wright of I a visit, at least, if a transfer is- notthe Onondaga Historical Associa-!Prac^caDl-clt;- '-the!' “I have no idea whether theitem would like to nave• *v' i„„.,i:slone -is a valuable item in your famous Pompey stone m .he local;exhibit . material or whether itmuseum instead of in the Albany raii.s as one' around your neck,! museum where it is now on dis-iln the-latter case it can be put'.tojpto, He w„.e Dr, €*. «,«« - g^tifthe Albany museum,as follows: jstorical museum.’1 'toDfArthur Brewster's reference to the Pompey stone'in his new book “l.ife Wss Never. Dull’ seems to have aroused a great deal of interest in this early Onondaga County hoax.“We would like very much to have the stone return to Onondaga. Permanently, if possible. Forlridsrn,:efirersssn.r-idleidinIn?e■kidMetzger Heads Marine Midland Public RelationsThe story of the hoax is told In Chapter 7 of Brewster’s “Life Was Never Dull.” In 1820 Philo Cleveland picked up on his farm at Watervale an oval shaped stone, about one loot long, one foot wide and eight inches thick. -On one side were carved several letters, a drawing of a'serpent climbing a tree and the date “1520.”Expert antiquarians were. con-jvinced that the stone was of great antiquity and that it was some :ort of a gravestone to com-r.iemorate the death of a Spaniard who lived with the Indians in this vicinity-. Others thought thatJohn K, Metzger, assistant sec- Spanish missionaries had left it£-3-V-1-IdSt.idrotary in the Public Relations Division of the ■ Marine Midland Trust Co. of Central Now York, has been promoted to assistant vice-president in charge of the division, according to Harry W.Davies, chairman of the bank's'Board of Directors.Mr. Metzger,who joined the c!thn K* Mctager bank staff in 1I9, has .been a member * of the public relations staff since 1948. Since the beginning of his banking career as a messenger, he has .attended banking courses with the Syracuse Chapter of the American Institute of Banking, University College, and was graduated from the New York State Bankers School of Public Relations.Mr. Metzger is secretary of the local chapter of the Banking Institute. He is a member of theas a monument.It was not until the 90s that Dr. William M, Beauchamp exposed the fake. Not long afterwards Prof. John E. Sweet told the true story,However, he did not say why he had kept quiet for more than half a century. Prof. Sweet said that his uncle, Cyrus Avery, and his nephew, William Willard, had rut the characters on the rock end had placed it on Cleveland's farm. - . *' Dr. Henry A. Homes, librarian of the New York-State Library, in 1879'gave a paper before'the Oneida Historical Association, stating that there was no question about the authenticity of the inscription and date of 1520, He concluded that it was a memorial stone of a European who previous tc 1520 had been captured, by Indians.Many other experts were fooled by the stone which is now-on dis* play in the Albany museum and v/hich President Wright would like to see sent to Syracuse.
Newspaper Details
Syracuse Post Standard
Syracuse, New York, US
Mon, May 18, 1953
Page 9
Full Page
Clipped by
Edward E.
NA, 12 Nov 2021
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