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| Hachaliah Brown - A Brief Biography |
Born in Somers, New York in 1775, son of James and Anne Brown, Hachaliah Bailey was raised on a farm that stood a quarter mile from his Elephant Hotel. As the son of a farmer he undoubtedly participated in farm life, but Hachaliah apparently aspired to other things. As a young man he participated in varied business interests. Hachaliah worked as a drover, transporting cattle to New York Markets. In 1809 he became Secretary of the Croton Turnpike company, which operated three toll gates on Somerstown Turnpike (now Route 100), including one just north of his family home. In Thomas Scharf’s History of Westchester County, Hachaliah is attributed as being part owner of a Hudson River shipping sloop, and later owner of the Red Bird stagecoach line. He has been credited as part owner of Bull’s Head Tavern in New York City, though there is no documentary verification. Hachaliah also served as postmaster, transported mail via stage coach from Sing Sing to Somers, and ran for State Assembly unsuccessfully in 1829. Hachaliah’s interests and occupations as a drover, cattle merchant, menagerie entrepreneur, and hotel owner, belie a man with varied interests and enormous energy. Hachliah Bailey’s enduring fame results from his acquisition of an unusual creature he discovered around 1805. The second elephant brought to America, probably from India, was first brought into Boston Harbor in 1804 and exhibited by Edward Savage in Northeast United States. Around 1805 the elephant was being shown throughout the region, and though the exact date of purchase is unknown, it is probable that young Hachaliah acquired the elephant at this time. The elephant became known as “Old Bet.” Hachaliah, familiar from his frequent trips to the cattle markets of New York City with the tavern yard exhibits of animals, undoubtedly understood the public fascination in viewing exotic animals. Bailey took on partners who traveled with the elephant throughout Westchester, Putnam and Dutchess counties in New York and then further afield, from Savannah to Maine. It became tradition to travel at night to avoid giving free glimpses of the animals. Hachaliah’s fame inspired a young P.T. Barnum, part of the next generation of aspiring entrepreneurs, who relates in his 1855 autobiography of meeting Hachaliah Bailey in his Bethel store. Barnum also relates the tale of an unscrupulous partner whom Hachaliah confounded by threatening to shoot his half of their jointly owned elephant. Other menageries formed in the area and soon partnered with the small traveling circus companies. A canvas tent was first used by a Somers man, Joshua Purdy Brown, to provide shelter for the outdoor events. Hachaliah’s Old Bet was killed in Maine in 1815. Hachaliah exhibited her skeleton in New York City in 1816. Hachaliah acquired a second elephant, Little Bett and a third elephant, Columbus, in 1817. Hachliah purchased land at the crossroads of the Croton and Peekskill Turnpikes in 1807, and built the Elephant Hotel, which opened in 1825. In front Hachliah erected a wooden elephant statue atop scrolled ironwork and a granite pillar to honor his elephants. Hachaliah sold the Elephant Hotel and moved to Fairfax County, Virginia in 1837. He purchased 536 acres in an unicorporated community known as Bailey’s Crossroads. Hachliah’s son Lewis, who had toured as a clown, and Lewis’ wife Maria, a former equestrienne performer, operated an inn there, known as the Moray Mansion, for many years. Hachaliah deeded over his property to his daughter-in-law Maria, and returned to Somers in 1845. While in Somers, he was kicked by a horse and died. He is buried in Somers’ Ivandell Cemetary. His large obelisk marker has three simple words on it, “Enterprise, Perserverance, Integrity.” ################ More information about menageries & circuses in the United States: With The Greatest Show On Earth by John G. Quinius. Bandwagon, Vol. 2, Mar-Apr, 1956, pp. 3-4. Retrieved Aug. 15, 2008 For more information about toll roads like the Croton and Peekskill Turnpikes: History of Westchester: The Pastoral Life, 1783-1865 prepared by Susan Cochran Swanson and Elizabeth Green Fuller in 1982, Westchester County Government website, http://www.westchestergov.com/history/1865.htm. Retrieved Aug. 15, 2008 From Trunk to Branch: Toll Roads in New York, 1800-1860 by Christopher T. Baer, David B. Klein, and John Majewski, Working Paper no.121, August 1992. PDF format. Retrieved Aug. 15, 2008 Croton-On-Hudson by Croton-on-Hudson Historical Society, Retrieved Aug. 15, 2008 Other Sources: The Elephant Comes to America by R.J. Brown, editor-in-chief, HistoryBuff.com, Retrieved Aug. 15, 2008. |
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