A Biography of
~ George Bucher
Ayres ~
----------------
Born February 12,
1829, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Died About 1906 –
Probably Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
The immigrants
Samuel and Margaret Ayres arrived in the Philadelphia area about
1645. From them issued forth a family line of Ayres that mostly
remained in Pennsylvania – especially in earlier times in the general
vicinity of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. One of the descendants of this
couple was a fellow named William Ayres.
On May 6,
1817, William had married Mary Elizabeth Bucher Swift in Harrisburg –
the minister being named Frederick A. Rahauser – of the Salem German
Reformed Church. The fruitage of the union amounted to eight children
– five sons and three daughters – of which the fourth son was George,
born February 12, 1829 in Harrisburg. Thus began a life that would
take in many interests – vocations and avocations – that included
telegraphy, music, singing, orchestral conducting, art, photography,
family history, journalism, and authoring textbooks and other
publications. He was the earliest of cadets in a military school
envisioned in part by his father, known as Partridge’s. William’s
active life doubtless played a major formative role in his son’s
development. Here is a quick synopsis of William’s life:
Born at homestead in Middle
Paxtang township, Dauphin Co., PA.
Quit farming for more
congenial pursuits. Became citizen of Harrisburg.
Justice of Peace, Gov.
Findlay, 1819. Again Justice of Peace by Gov.
Hiester, 1824. Admitted to
bar of Dauphin Co., April 7, 1826. Elected
to PA Legislature for years
1833, 1834, 1835 and was prominent in
political party to which he
was attached, and persistent advocate for
establishment of free-school
system of PA. 1841, elected a director of
the United States Bank, at
Philadelphia. 1850, organized the Harrisburg
gas company, and became its
first president. 1853, became President
of Huntingdon and Broad Top
railroad. 1854, projected and organized
Harrisburg and Hamburg
railroad company, and as president, was
engaged in the field with engineers at the
time of his death.
Burial: Harrisburg
Cemetery, Harrisburg, PA.
Little is known of
George’s childhood, beyond the fact that he had a father who was very
active in civic efforts. A bit is known about his schooling – his
attendance at the “North Ward public school –
“In the spring of
1844 I was a boy fifteen years of age attending
the North Ward public school at
Harrisburg.
This was kept in the
old "Lancasterian school house," on Walnut
street, between Fourth
and Fifth streets. I had a number of teachers,
previously: Emanuel
Guyer, Joseph Allison (now judge in
Philadelphia), Samuel
D. Ingram, J. M. Eyster and Charles A. Wyeth.
I was at the above
date, and I think during Mr. Ingram's
administration, that I
obtained the names of my schoolmates, and I
give them herewith, copied from
their autographs:
Charles Carrol
Bombaugh.
Elisha Boylston
Jackson.
Henry Robeson
Harrison.
Carroll McClean.
Theodore Klein.
Charles Edward Fisk,
Jr.
Matthias B. Stees.
John F. Caslow.
George Hynicka.
John J. Maglaughlin.
George Brenizer.
William Wigton
Wallace.
John Kearns.
Henry Markley
Stouffer.
John Mytinger.
Andrew J. Foster.
John Q. Adams.
Henry Stewart Wilson.
Philip Andrew Keller.
John Wesley Awl.
J. W. Piper.
Henry Fager.
J. K. Greennwalt.
Samuel Augustus
Holman.
William Smith.
Charles Fenn.
William Simon Holman.
Augustus Carst.
Jno. B. C.
McAllister.
Erasmus G. Rehrer.
A. J. Geiger.
Solomon Moyer.
Joseph Henry Bowman.
A. J. Fager.
Henry Augustus Sims.
John P. Keller.
Henry Colestock.
Christian K. Keller.
Michael Tracy.
Andrew David Elder.
William McFadden.
Daniel Schaeffer.
James Barrons.
John Andrew Krause.
T. J. Black.
Augustus S. Templin.
A. J. Griffith.
George Bucher Ayres.
These forty-eight,
however, would only represent the school at
the time; because
scholars come in, every few months, from the
school below, then
taught by Mr. Eyster. The primary school
always had but one
teacher, the venerable William ("Daddy")
Mitchell.
How many of this roll
are still living, where are they, and what
are they doing? I could
answer some of the questions for a number
of them, and yet there
are others I had quite forgotten until I came to
transcribe their
signatures. Those who chance to see this list may
thus recall their
schoolfellows of April and May, 1844, nearly a half
century ago.
George
B. Ayres.”
followed by his
attendance at a military school that his father had a part in
founding—
"As was the case
respecting the introduction of water and gas
into Harrisburg many
years in advance of the times, I must
be pardoned in
claiming for my father, William Ayres, the
leadership of the
movement which resulted in establishing
the "Pennsylvania
Literary, Scientific and Military Institute"
who subscribed my
name as the first one offered to make
up its roll. From
his correspondence with Captain Partridge
and other gentlemen
of military proclivities, I glean that the
matter was first
proposed during the winter 1844-5. Captain
Alden Partridge, who
had been Superintendent of the United
States Military
Academy at West Point, having resigned,
conceived the idea of
associating military instruction and
discipline with the
usual collegiate education, and had made
a successful test of
this course at Norwich, Vermont, and
Middletown, Ct.,
where his military schools had attained
great popularity...”
George wrote
an article, which describes in detail this school, and provides a list
of the first graduates, some of whom later become involved in the
Civil War, and which even lists those losing their lives during that
tragic event in history. It should be noted for future reference that
George did not list himself
among
those involved in the conflagration. Hence, it would appear that the
references so freely found of a George B. Ayres in that war would have
to apply to another so-named.
Apparently
just after his schooling, George began at least occasional, temporary
work involving telegraphy for the railroad in the Harrisburg area.
Very soon after that, he begins working in a permanent capacity, as he
writes:
"In the Winter of
1848-9, I engaged there [Harrisburg telegraph office]
permanently, and in
March we received the first Presidential message
(Zachary Taylor's) ever
sent to Harrisburg--or perhaps anywhere else--
by telgraph!--I well
remember the immense pile of paper required for
this purpose; how often
it was run through the machine, and what ado
when it happened to
catch or get torn. ..."
By the year
1850, GBA (he often used initials to identify himself) was to be found
in Montour County, Pennsylvania, and the census for that year places
him in Danville Borough, living at the premises of Cornelius
Garretson, aged 58, Tavern Keeper. Fellow boarders included a
teacher, clerks, a printer, a physician, a tailor, and one described
as “nothing.” George was listed as telegrapher. That was not the
total of his secular duties, as will be seen by the following
information taken from Egle’s Notes & Queries:
“THE PASSENGER DEPARTMENT,
Pennsylvania Railroad, who
organized it, is given by
our friend William B. Wilson, who edits
the "Pennsylvania Railroad Men's News."
Mr. Wilson writes:
"Mr. Lewis L. Haupt and Mr.
George B. Ayres, now residing in
Philadelphia, organized the
Passenger Department, the former
holding the position of
General Ticket Agent, and the latter as
Assistant. Up to 1852 these
gentlemen handled the entire passenger
ticket account without
assistance. In that year the business had
increased to such a point
that a third person became necessary.
They were highly educated,
Christian men, standing high in the
communities in which they
resided, and worked indefatigably for
the success of the road.
Mr. Ayres, in addition to being a
thorough business man, had
quiet literary tastes, many musical
accomplishments, and was an
artist of more than ordinary merit.
His brother, Colonel Bucher Ayres, also
residing in Philadelphia,
who made a broad reputation
as a railroad manager, was the first
person appointed a passenger
conductor for the Pennsylvania
Railroad. The Messrs.
Ayres' father was William Ayres, of
Harrisburg, noted in his day
as leading in all progressive
movements in his locality." “
Two things
ought to be noted here, based on the above paragraphs, and in view of
those to come. Colonel Bucher Ayres, listed here, is Jacob Bucher
Ayres, GBA’s brother. This older brother apparently never used Jacob
in addressing himself. He always went by Bucher alone. The only
times I remember seeing the use of Jacob is in an early census, before
Bucher had much to say about the name he preferred to use. The other
item of interest is that it mentions in the above paragraph that
Bucher also
resided in
Philadelphia, thus implying his brother George was residing in
Philadelphia, and not in Danville. It may be that George had more
than one residence (as I have suspected from time to time as his
occupational affairs dictated), perhaps the primary residence being
Philadelphia; likely, though, he had not altogether left his
connections with Montour County, as we shall see later.
A fascinating
venture in George’s life at this time – while employed as telegrapher
– is involvement with the famous Swedish operatic singer, Jenny Lind.
Informed ones will recall that P. T. Barnum, the great showman, had
contracted for the singer Jenny Lind to come to the states. She broke
her contract with Mr. Barnum, yet continued to appear before the
public in this country. George Bucher Ayres was apparently asked to
get involved in booking her for the city of Harrisburg. He wrote an
article explaining how he accomplished the feat, and since it will
both demonstrate his writing style and encase a particularly busy time
period in George’s life, thus providing both details and insight, I
include the complete article here…
Fourth Series Volume I, Notes and
Queries - LIV, p 152:
WHEN JENNY LIND WAS HERE.
The visit of Mad'lle
Jenny Lind, the great singer, was a conspicuous
event in the musical
history of the State Capital.
It will be remembered
that she came to America under contract with
Mr. P. T. Barnum, the
celebrated manager, who had engaged her for a
stipulated number of
concerts, to be given in our principal cities.
She was not to appear in
opera, although her European reputation was
based largely on her
success in operatic singing.
She sailed from
Liverpool--I think it was in the old Collins Line
steamer Atlantic, Capt.
West--August 21st, 1850, and arrived at New
York September 1st. She
gave a concert on shipboard for the benefit
of the crew.
No such furore as
Barnum created respecting the advent and musical
abilities of this famous
songstress has ever been known in this
country; that ovation
remains unparalleled in the reception of foreign
notabilities. All the
newspapers seemed as if owned by Barnum, and
were kept filled with
Lind-praises, and with unexampled skill and tact
every instrumentality
possible in the establishment of public opinion
was enlisted in admiration
of "the Swedish Nightingale." Fortunately,
in this instance, the
great showman furnished a genuine attraction,
rare and unequalled.
Jenny Lind's
engagement with Mr. Barnum was designed to cover one
hundred and fifty
concerts. After a most triumphant welcome and
success in New York, she
sang in Philadelphia, October 16th, at the
Chestnut Street Theater,
and six times thereafter at Musical Fund
Hall during November and
December.
She sang again at the
then National Theater, Chestnut street,
adjoining the Museum, June
9th, 1851; but upon learning that the place
had been used for a "horse
show" or, as she called it, "a circus"--she
indignantly abrogated her
contract with Barnum, and finished the
American tour on her own
account. Right here we have an exhibition of
her innate nobility and
independence of character; she could submit to
the pecuniary loss
involved, but never (as she doubtless regarded it)
the offense of humiliation
to herself or her art.
According to the adage,
however--"it's an ill wind that don't blow
good to somebody"--this
unlooked for incident proved a happy
circumstance to the people
at large who had not been able to journey to
the cities and pay
Barnum's high prices, in order to see the wonderful
Jenny Lind.
Deviating from the lines of her
tour as proposed by Barnum, she
visited many of the
smaller cities, and stopped at some towns en route.
Among the latter was the
then Borough of Harrisburg.
I was at that time
engaged with Mr. Samuel H. Brooks, in the
telegraph office, the
business of which was comparatively small, and we
had time to spare. Jenny
Lind's advance agent, who bore the famous
name of Samuel Johnson,
came along, and enlisted my assistance in
securing a place for
holding the proposed concert.
There was really no
audience room in the old town musically suitable,
or even fit to receive
such a distinguished vocalist. A dancing hall
in the Shakespeare
building, on Locust street; a dingy room in Masonic
Hall, which had been
occasionally used for theatrical purposes, negro
minstrels, and tramp shows
of various kinds; and the old Court House,
comprised the list to
choose from.
But I deemed them all unsuited and
unworthy of the extraordinary
purpose in view, if it was
in anywise within the range of possibility
to secure one of our
churches. I had heard Jenny Lind sing in
Baltimore, during the
previous April; I knew the quality of the treat
in anticipation, and hence
I considered that the very best room in the
whole town was none too
good for this rapturous singer and noble woman.
My application to the
various church authorities was not encouraging,
however, for the reason
that the Whig National Convention, which
nominated President Wm.
Henry Harrison, in 1839, had been held in the
original Lutheran church, on Fourth
street, and had abused the room
somewhat; and this created
a traditional prejudice against the use of
churches for any secular
purpose.
Still I did not
despair, for I had gained a foothold at least with
the Methodists by urging
the admitted excellence of Jenny Lind's
character as a woman, her
well-known beneficence, and that she was a
devout Lutheran; while at
the same time I offered a tempting
compensation for the use
of their room. Rev. Frances Hodgson was
pastor at that time, and
the church was a rather small and plain
structure, located on the
south side of Locust street, just below
Third.
I required several
interviews before I succeeded, and then only after
wrestling with objections
which we would ridicule to-day. Among other
things they wanted to
insist on their old custom of seating the men and
women on opposite sides of
the center aisle--and this was indeed the
chief rock of offense--but
I somehow managed to get over it. They
wanted to know, too,
whether all the performers would stand on the
pulpit floor; not that
they had the least objection to Jenny herself,
but through fear that the
rest of the company might be an ungodly set.
I met this obstacle,
however, by agreeing to cover the entire pulpit
out of sight by erecting a
platform in front of the desk. Would
tickets be sold and money
taken at the door? No; that could be
done elsewhere. Would the
audience make any demonstrations of applause
by clapping "in the house
of God?" Well, I could not guarantee
everything, and our
negotiations became critical.
But I kept my "best
wine" until the last, and so far I had withheld
that which I believed
might prove the most effective and practical
argument. After extolling
Jenny Lind, and recapitulating other reasons
for their approval, I
reminded them of the gain to accrue to their
church treasury, and that
we would bear all expenses in restoring the
room to its proper
condition. "More than that, too, gentlemen, I am
authorized to offer free
tickets for yourselves and wives; now's your
chance to hear Jenny
Lind!" The effect was magical, and those saintly
brethren were still human
enough to see that they were only hesitating
upon pecadillos, and it
was soon fixed that the loveliest voice then
known on earth was to be
heard within that old Methodist church.
Mr. Johnson had with
him a draughtsman, whose function it was to take
dimensions of the halls
engaged for concert purposes, make diagrams,
and apportion the
sittings, which were numbered and priced according to
location. The seats were
rated at two, three and four dollars, and
(I think) were all sold in
our telegraph office. In recognition of
my services Mr. Johnson
requested me to help myself to the first
choice.
Under the experienced
supervision of Mr. Johnson, the familiar
church-room was speedily
metamorphosed into a concert hall, barring the
pews; the pulpit being
completely screened by drapery of white muslin,
the rear of which was made
to serve as a sort of "green room" for the
troupe. Of course the
church was at best entirely too small for the
sway of such phenomenal
voices as Lind and Salvi, while the space was
even further restricted by
the necessity of the temporary stage, which
extended to the front
pews.
Jenny Lind arrived in
Harrisburg via Pennsylvania railroad from the
&
