FrancoAmerican Gravy: Family History & Stories from Upstate New York, Quebec and Acadia

Stories of family and ancestors who lived and worked in Cohoes (textile and garment workers, butchers and barbers), Waterford (canalers), Whitehall (farmers and canalers), Port Henry (iron miners and Civil War soldiers), Champlain (canalers and farmers) and other towns along the Champlain Canal in New York State with some diversions to the places they emigrated from....Quebec (landless farmers, shoemakers, sailors, soldiers), Acadia (more farmers), and even Cornwall, England (tin miners).

Friday, March 4, 2011

A Younger Emile Rivet Found

A year ago, I acquired the Spindle City Historic Society's books entitled Cohoes and Cohoes Revisited. Recently while browsing the latter volume, I realized there was a picture of Paul Emilie Rivet on page 21! The only photos I know of Emile Rivet were taken when he was in his late 60's and early 70s, so this was truly a FIND. Thank you to Spindle City Historic Society for putting this photo in Cohoes Revisited.
If you are thinking of a gift for a Cohoes history lover consider buying by emailing Books@SpindleCity.net.

Emilie is the barber wearing suspenders and putting shaving cream on the draped recumbent customer! Circa 1905 - probably before Emile opened his own barber shop on Vliet Street.

Below is the 1928 city directory listing "Emil Rivet" as a barber at 8 Vliet Street, Cohoes

Modeling in the Grandilly Monument Yard

Across the street from the house the Wills family rented at 7 Saratoga Street, in Cohoes was a monument or stonecutter's yard where the Wills girls liked to take photos of one another. From a 1931 Troy City Directory that includes Cohoes, the identity of the monument company can be made...it was Grandilly Monument Works on the corner of Oneida and Van Rensselaer Streets. It provided an ideal backdrop for photo shoots.