Henry Ward Beecher was an American clergyman, social reformer, and speaker known for his support of the abolition of slavery, women’s suffrage, and Charles Darwin’s Theory of Evolution, to name just a few of his passionate causes. Imagine my surprise when I learned that he was also a cat man!
Archive for the ‘Cat Stories’ Category
1870: Hoosier Cat, the Homeless Cat Adopted by Henry Ward Beecher
Posted: 3rd July 2024 by The Hatching Cat in Cat Men, Cat StoriesTags: Brooklyn Heights History, Cats of Old New York, Henry Ward Beecher, Jacob Hicks, Middagh, Plymouth Church
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1918: Roughneck, the Mascot Cat of New York’s Tank Corps
Posted: 3rd May 2024 by The Hatching Cat in Cat Mascots, Cat StoriesTags: 253 Madison Avenue, Cats of Old New York, James V. Parker, Military Mascots, Tanks Corps
In September 1918, the New York Times reported that the Tank Corps men of new York had placed an advertisement for a black cat to serve as its mascot. The corps used a viscous-looking black cat on its recruiting posters, so the men in New York thought it would be great to have a live cat that could serve as a mascot as well as an attraction at an upcoming benefit event.
1902: Tabby Burgmeir, the Butcher’s Cat of Windsor Terrace Who Came Back
Posted: 8th April 2024 by The Hatching Cat in Cat StoriesTags: Anna M. Ferris, Brooklyn History, Cat Museum of NYC, Garrett L. Martense, Jennie V. Wilbur, Louis Burgmeier, Windsor Terrace
After moving to New Jersey with his human family, Tabby the cat traveled 26 miles to return to the German butcher shop he loved so much in Brooklyn,
A sweet cat tale plus some interesting history about the Windsor Terrace neighborhood of Brooklyn..
1939: Tommy Tucker, the Riverside Drive Cat Who (Almost) Inherited $5,000
Posted: 23rd March 2024 by The Hatching Cat in Cat Stories, Cats in the MewsTags: Castle Village, Cats of Old New York, Charles Paterno, Henry L. Hirscher, Julius Baier, Louise Baier, Riverside Drive, Victor Baier
When Tommy Tucker’s owner died in 1939, the former street cat who had been living in luxury in a beautiful old house on Riverside Drive almost inherited a fortune. (He made out pretty good in the end.)
A great cat story with some interesting history about the Paterno Castle in Washington Heights.
1905: The Wealthy Miser Who Hoarded Money and Cats in a Midtown Tenement
Posted: 8th March 2024 by The Hatching Cat in Cat Stories, Cows and Cattle StoriesTags: Almy Townsend, Cats of Old New York, Maria Kull, New York City History, Peter Goelet, Robert Goelet, William Kull
This story features a wealthy miser who lived frugally despite her wealth, about a dozen cats that lived with her in a dingy apartment, an ottoman stuffed with cash, and a few cows that made the Goelet family one of the richest landowners in midtown Manhattan in the 19th and early 20th century.
