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HISTORIAN’S CORNER
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THE BALCOM SISTERS
(By Fred Gifford)
Two sisters once lived on East Main Street in the same location that the original Shekell family first settled. The house was located on what is now the lawn on the south side of the present Episcopal Church. Their names were Mary and Cornelia Balcom, the daughters of Epenetus & Mehetabeh McMillan Balcom.
They were both born in the old Balcom homestead located about 4 miles outside Clifton Springs in the town of Hopewell. Mary was born On March 22, 1838 and Cornelia on September 16, 1847.
The Misses Balcom's grandfather, Constant Balcom, had come to this section of the country from Connecticut and obtained a deed for a large track of farmland. It was said that for many years the family treasured an ancient sidesaddle on which his wife rode on her travels here. Captain Balcom, as he was known, was an upstanding citizen and commanded a section of the old New York militia, which met annually for training. The old homestead in Hopewell remained in the family for many years after the moved into town as a nephew of the family, Judson Balcom Archer, moved into the property when the sisters and their father purchased the home on East Main sometime we believe in the late 1860's or early 1870's.
Mary Balcom was very active in the forming of the First Baptist Church here in Clifton Springs and took an active part in the social and religious life of the village. In fact the group that first took it upon themselves to form a local society met in the Balcom homestead on East Main on December 20, 1875. The trustees were authorized to see if they could find a suitable site for a church and at a meeting on the 27th of December 1887 it was reported that Dr. Henry Foster had pledged a site ? two lots in the village located in Prospect Park. A sum of $1,600 was secured in pledges and work was authorized to proceed. It was decided to adopt a plan prepared by Bro. Wyman and the entire cost of the building was estimated to cost not more than $3,000.
The sisters for many years took in boarders to help sustain themselves. As Dr. Henry Foster had many visitors to his institution over the years, many of these sought temporary rooms in the residences of our local citizens. Many times this was only a room or two. We have a list dating back to the early 1900's listing the many boarding houses within the village. Not only did the income from these rentals assist the owners, but it benefited their social life for they were able to discuss with their visitors at to where they had been and what they had seen of this old world of ours. There were no radios and certainly no televisions as we have today, but they did indeed have the rewards of conversation. Both of the sisters were well read and interested in the community around them.
An article written in March of 1930 in the Clifton Springs Press celebrated the 92nd birthday of Mary Balcom. "No party was given her in honor of the occasion due to the fact that her many friends thought the excitement might be too much for her. However, she received many cards, letters of congratulation and gifts of flowers. She even visited her nephew, Mr. Archer, who continued to live in the old Balcom homestead in Hopewell for many years."
Miss Cornelia Balcom was the first of the two to pass on in 1924 and was buried in the Balcom lot in the Chapman cemetery. Miss Mary continued to live in her home on the hill for sometime until her death in 1936 and the home, for the first time since the Shekell era, became vacant.
With no occupants, the house itself fell into disrepair and was later discovered to have been broken into. The vandals wrought havoc to the interior and its contents. Every drawer was pulled out and the contents scattered and everyplace that valuables could have been stored was overhauled. The nephew, Judson Archer, the executor of the Balcom estate, was shocked when he discovered the damage and reported it to the local police. It was thought that the vandals were looking for anything of value that might have been "hidden" away by the sisters who spent so many years within its stately rooms.
Several months later the executor sold the property and eventually it ended up on the hands of local furniture dealer, Ellis M. Weld. The old house was finally leveled and Mr. Weld donated the land to St. John's Episcopal Church. The members of the church had it landscaped and made it into lawn and trees, as you see it today.
The Balcom sisters were a very important part of the history of Clifton Springs and the family name continues to be remembered by those of this generation in the Baptist Church who continue to worship in the building the Balcom sisters helped bring to life.
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