Posts Tagged ‘Cats of Old New York’

On April 24, 1904, The New York Times reported that Bull, the famous black mascot cat of the Cotton Exchange, had gone on strike. A few days later, the price of cotton had dropped $13 a bale. Many newspapers, including The New York Times, reported that Bull the cat was responsible for the sudden bear market and the Cotton King’s downfall.

One week after a fire gutted the offices of Adams Express on Broadway, cats of all colors and sizes were seen prowling around the financial district. Tenants in neighboring office and residential buildings began receiving visits from these strange cats, who were in turn trying to make new deals to be adopted and furnished with food and lodging.

On March 27, 1904, a mother cat and her kittens tried to attend Bishop Henry C. Potter’s confirmation service at the new Episcopal Church of the Archangel on St. Nicholas Avenue in Harlem.

On March 25, 1890, Jefferson Market Police Court Justice White committed Mrs. Jane Duncan to the care of the Commissioners of Charities and Correction “for examination as to her sanity.” The sentencing stemmed from charges from her landlord, Dr. Thomas C. Knox, who feared that Mrs. Duncan had too many cats in her apartment at 30 Bedford Street.

Red Cross was a pure white kitten who was born at Bellevue Hospital in 1904, All the doctors adored her, and she had full run of the hospital grounds–including one very tall tree.