Yesterday I wrote a bit about ice skating in a buffalo wallow. A bit different, but a true tale from my youth. Having been born and raised on Eastern long island, now know famously as the Hamptons, and a prize package on the Price is Right (a fabulous trip to the Hamptons, valued at over 8000 dollars ) I never thought we had buffalo roaming the range. I thought that was only in the west. It wasn't until later on in life that I took an interest in history and the history that surrounded me. I've since come to understand that a unique history surrounds us all. That history will include many events and places familiar to others, but remains uniquely ours. I even learned that the very first ranch in America was at Montauk, in the fabulous Hamptons. Who would have ever thought there were cowboy clamdiggers? I'm certain that there were just that.
In yesterdays tale I spoke of my grandmother and her interaction with buffaloes. She wasn't a cowgirl, she was an immigrant, of sorts. You see Grandmother Bennett was sent to the United States when she was just 15. Her mission was to care for her sick Aunt. Her fathers sister needed help and she was it. She didn't come with a dream, she came because she was sent. She boarded the Teutonic, a steamship of the White Star lines, leaving Liverpool England on the 18th of August in 1899. Arriving at Ellis Island she went through the obligatory inspections and medical exams. Her Uncle met her there, acting as her sponsor. You had to have a sponsor in those days to vouch for you and sign documents that you had a place to live. So having satisfied all the requirements she was released to her Uncle and went to Champlain , New York. When she arrived there it was her duty to care for that Aunt, clean house, and do whatever chores were necessary. It wasn't a choice on her part, it was a moral obligation. That obligation existed because it was what her father told her to do. Grandmother Bennett set about learning the language. For eight long years she cared for her aunt. That Aunt passed in 1908 and with that her obligation had been fulfilled. As a reward she was sent to a culinary school, learning the trade of pastry chef. Her Uncle knew the demand for domestic help was high in those days and a trained chef, well, that would surely guarantee her a position with a wealthy family. In fact, her uncle knew just such a family. This family would be the Gardner's', of Gardner's Island fame. An old and respected family that owned a private island were they ran a plantation, among there many other business interests. They did hire on Grandmother Bennett and she went to live on that Island. She did so for a short time, living in the servants quarters. But love arrived in the form of Grandfather Horace. Oh, grandfather Horace was a smooth talker from all accounts and a bit of a dandy as well. Well, at least he liked to think of himself as such.
The Gardner family had a large and impressive estate in the Village of East Hampton. Yes, rich folks have estates, the poor people just have a house. Now Grandfather Horace had a brother that worked for the Gardner's at their estate in the village. He would come and go from there often, visiting his brother. He wasn't just being social though, as Grandmother would learn later on. But it is there she first met Horace and he swept her off her feet. Exactly why Grandma was at the estate in the Village rather than on the Island is lost to time. Perhaps the Gardner's were having a party and required her services there, I just don't know. But, love blossomed and Grandmother Bennett married Horace on the 21st of October in 1909. She was 25 years old, practically an old maid, and the years were going by. She moved from that Island to a little fishing shack in Northwest woods where she began her life with Horace. Just one year and one week later she gave birth to her first child, a girl, nine more children would follow, my mother being the last in 1929.
She remained employed by the Garners for a number of years taking a boat to the island each day and returning by boat each evening. She did so six days a week, rain, snow, sleet or hail. She took her daughter with her, huddled in that boat for the journey. I don't know the exact distance but it is a fair sail and surely was hazardous passage every day. Horace, as it turned out, was less than industrious to put it politely. He worked the water on occasion and would do odd jobs here and there. Remember he would visit his brother at the Gardner estate? Well, he did that to procure whatever goods he could get. He went to his brother who would give him cuts of meat or whatever from the larder of the Gardner's. They would never miss it. At some point in time the Garner family asked Grandmother Bennett to work at their estate in the village. It was a kindness extended by Mr. Tommy Gardner, as he felt bad for her having to travel by boat with a small child every day. It was, after all, only a walk of about three miles from Northwest to the village. Walking was far better than taking a boat. Horace never had a horse or a buggy, those being luxuries he couldn't afford. Grandmother Bennett told me she would get a ride every now and again from others heading to the village. On most days , she just walked.
I was told it was one day when Grandmother Bennett was walking to the village, with her, by then three children in tow. One was in a carriage, one being carried, and the oldest, Edith, walking along, when she was met by Mr. Tommy. That's what Grandma always called Mr. Gardner. He asked her where she was going with all those children. Grandma explained she had to go shopping and that Horace was " away. " Well, that meant one thing, and those that knew Grandmother Bennett or Horace understood completely. Horace did enjoy libations, liberally and to excess. He was " away " maybe for a few days, sometimes a bit longer. Mr. Tommy gave Grandma a ride that day and vowed to do something about it. A man true to his word he purchased the old " weigh " station down to Amagansett. This station had been a stop for carriages on the way to Montauk. Since the advent of the automobile is wasn't being used nearly as much and became unprofitable. The owner was anxious to sell. It also just so happened that the Gardner family had donated a tract of land to the town of East Hampton that would become known as Freetown. Freetown was a place for the displaced Indians that had lived at Montauk and for the poor working folks. Mr. Tommy had that station moved to a small piece of land on the outskirts of Freetown, a piece of land between two major roads. The house and land was deeded to Grandmother Bennett with the stipulation that it never was to be sold. Grandmother Bennett made payments to Mr. Tommy and eventually gained full ownership of that house. She lived there well into the 1960's. The remaining seven children she gave Horace were all born in that house.
And that is just the beginning of this immigrants tale. I was asked to tell a bit more about her and this is a small portion. As a child and a young man I certainly never gave much of this a thought. I never thought of Grandmother Bennett ( nana ) as an immigrant. She did keep a small Swedish flag in a cup in her corner cabinet. At Christmas she would tell us children about her Christmases in Sweden. She seldom spoke of Sweden and her home there except during the holidays. I expect that is when she missed it the most. But, she didn't come to America with any big dreams of riches and a life of luxury. She was dispatched and did her duty to her family. And, I fear, like so many young ladies did in those days, and even to a degree today, found herself trapped by love. She had married Horace and made that promise. She did attempt to leave him just once. She traveled to a brothers house in Massachusetts taking her children with her. Horace followed her there. The brother, I was told, issued an ultimatum to her, either leave now with her children and return to Sweden, he would pay the passage for all of them, or never ask him again. She returned to that little home in Freetown, with Horace, and never left again. Now Horace passed away in that house on Christmas Eve 1949. I didn't arrive on the scene until 1953. But that, that is where my story begins. Oh, Grandmother Bennett passed in 1973 in a nursing home in Yapank having never returned to her home in Sweden. Her name was Ester Cecilia Hagberg, known as Cecilia to most, nana to me. An immigrant? Not hardly, all American in my eyes. And now here we are in 2018, 117 years after her arrival at Ellis Island still talking about immigrants. You know, I think she would have preferred to return to Sweden, although I never heard her say so, or complain about her life and circumstance. No she just went about living her life accepting whatever came along. She didn't ask for anything she hadn't earned and expected nothing. It was nana that said, " expect nothing and you won't be disappointed." As to whether she was disappointed I really couldn't say. But I do believe she expected just a bit more from America. But, then again, maybe not. I believe she arrived with just a bit of reluctance, not full of hopes and dreams. That question will forever remain unanswered and it is probably just as well.
Grandmother Bennett.
In yesterdays tale I spoke of my grandmother and her interaction with buffaloes. She wasn't a cowgirl, she was an immigrant, of sorts. You see Grandmother Bennett was sent to the United States when she was just 15. Her mission was to care for her sick Aunt. Her fathers sister needed help and she was it. She didn't come with a dream, she came because she was sent. She boarded the Teutonic, a steamship of the White Star lines, leaving Liverpool England on the 18th of August in 1899. Arriving at Ellis Island she went through the obligatory inspections and medical exams. Her Uncle met her there, acting as her sponsor. You had to have a sponsor in those days to vouch for you and sign documents that you had a place to live. So having satisfied all the requirements she was released to her Uncle and went to Champlain , New York. When she arrived there it was her duty to care for that Aunt, clean house, and do whatever chores were necessary. It wasn't a choice on her part, it was a moral obligation. That obligation existed because it was what her father told her to do. Grandmother Bennett set about learning the language. For eight long years she cared for her aunt. That Aunt passed in 1908 and with that her obligation had been fulfilled. As a reward she was sent to a culinary school, learning the trade of pastry chef. Her Uncle knew the demand for domestic help was high in those days and a trained chef, well, that would surely guarantee her a position with a wealthy family. In fact, her uncle knew just such a family. This family would be the Gardner's', of Gardner's Island fame. An old and respected family that owned a private island were they ran a plantation, among there many other business interests. They did hire on Grandmother Bennett and she went to live on that Island. She did so for a short time, living in the servants quarters. But love arrived in the form of Grandfather Horace. Oh, grandfather Horace was a smooth talker from all accounts and a bit of a dandy as well. Well, at least he liked to think of himself as such.
The Gardner family had a large and impressive estate in the Village of East Hampton. Yes, rich folks have estates, the poor people just have a house. Now Grandfather Horace had a brother that worked for the Gardner's at their estate in the village. He would come and go from there often, visiting his brother. He wasn't just being social though, as Grandmother would learn later on. But it is there she first met Horace and he swept her off her feet. Exactly why Grandma was at the estate in the Village rather than on the Island is lost to time. Perhaps the Gardner's were having a party and required her services there, I just don't know. But, love blossomed and Grandmother Bennett married Horace on the 21st of October in 1909. She was 25 years old, practically an old maid, and the years were going by. She moved from that Island to a little fishing shack in Northwest woods where she began her life with Horace. Just one year and one week later she gave birth to her first child, a girl, nine more children would follow, my mother being the last in 1929.
She remained employed by the Garners for a number of years taking a boat to the island each day and returning by boat each evening. She did so six days a week, rain, snow, sleet or hail. She took her daughter with her, huddled in that boat for the journey. I don't know the exact distance but it is a fair sail and surely was hazardous passage every day. Horace, as it turned out, was less than industrious to put it politely. He worked the water on occasion and would do odd jobs here and there. Remember he would visit his brother at the Gardner estate? Well, he did that to procure whatever goods he could get. He went to his brother who would give him cuts of meat or whatever from the larder of the Gardner's. They would never miss it. At some point in time the Garner family asked Grandmother Bennett to work at their estate in the village. It was a kindness extended by Mr. Tommy Gardner, as he felt bad for her having to travel by boat with a small child every day. It was, after all, only a walk of about three miles from Northwest to the village. Walking was far better than taking a boat. Horace never had a horse or a buggy, those being luxuries he couldn't afford. Grandmother Bennett told me she would get a ride every now and again from others heading to the village. On most days , she just walked.
I was told it was one day when Grandmother Bennett was walking to the village, with her, by then three children in tow. One was in a carriage, one being carried, and the oldest, Edith, walking along, when she was met by Mr. Tommy. That's what Grandma always called Mr. Gardner. He asked her where she was going with all those children. Grandma explained she had to go shopping and that Horace was " away. " Well, that meant one thing, and those that knew Grandmother Bennett or Horace understood completely. Horace did enjoy libations, liberally and to excess. He was " away " maybe for a few days, sometimes a bit longer. Mr. Tommy gave Grandma a ride that day and vowed to do something about it. A man true to his word he purchased the old " weigh " station down to Amagansett. This station had been a stop for carriages on the way to Montauk. Since the advent of the automobile is wasn't being used nearly as much and became unprofitable. The owner was anxious to sell. It also just so happened that the Gardner family had donated a tract of land to the town of East Hampton that would become known as Freetown. Freetown was a place for the displaced Indians that had lived at Montauk and for the poor working folks. Mr. Tommy had that station moved to a small piece of land on the outskirts of Freetown, a piece of land between two major roads. The house and land was deeded to Grandmother Bennett with the stipulation that it never was to be sold. Grandmother Bennett made payments to Mr. Tommy and eventually gained full ownership of that house. She lived there well into the 1960's. The remaining seven children she gave Horace were all born in that house.
And that is just the beginning of this immigrants tale. I was asked to tell a bit more about her and this is a small portion. As a child and a young man I certainly never gave much of this a thought. I never thought of Grandmother Bennett ( nana ) as an immigrant. She did keep a small Swedish flag in a cup in her corner cabinet. At Christmas she would tell us children about her Christmases in Sweden. She seldom spoke of Sweden and her home there except during the holidays. I expect that is when she missed it the most. But, she didn't come to America with any big dreams of riches and a life of luxury. She was dispatched and did her duty to her family. And, I fear, like so many young ladies did in those days, and even to a degree today, found herself trapped by love. She had married Horace and made that promise. She did attempt to leave him just once. She traveled to a brothers house in Massachusetts taking her children with her. Horace followed her there. The brother, I was told, issued an ultimatum to her, either leave now with her children and return to Sweden, he would pay the passage for all of them, or never ask him again. She returned to that little home in Freetown, with Horace, and never left again. Now Horace passed away in that house on Christmas Eve 1949. I didn't arrive on the scene until 1953. But that, that is where my story begins. Oh, Grandmother Bennett passed in 1973 in a nursing home in Yapank having never returned to her home in Sweden. Her name was Ester Cecilia Hagberg, known as Cecilia to most, nana to me. An immigrant? Not hardly, all American in my eyes. And now here we are in 2018, 117 years after her arrival at Ellis Island still talking about immigrants. You know, I think she would have preferred to return to Sweden, although I never heard her say so, or complain about her life and circumstance. No she just went about living her life accepting whatever came along. She didn't ask for anything she hadn't earned and expected nothing. It was nana that said, " expect nothing and you won't be disappointed." As to whether she was disappointed I really couldn't say. But I do believe she expected just a bit more from America. But, then again, maybe not. I believe she arrived with just a bit of reluctance, not full of hopes and dreams. That question will forever remain unanswered and it is probably just as well.
Grandmother Bennett. 
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